Podcasts about Herodian

The rise and fall of King Herod Agrippa I illustrates God's opposition to human pride and the unstoppable nature of His Word. Despite persecution of the early church including the execution of James and imprisonment of Peter, God's sovereign justice prevailed when Herod accepted worship as a god and was struck down.• Background on the Herodian dynasty as puppet rulers installed by Rome• Herod the Great was the first in this dynasty, ruling through fear and brutal tactics• The Herods maintained power through brutal oppression despite public works projects• Herod Agrippa I persecuted the church by killing James and imprisoning Peter• God's dramatic judgment fell on Herod when he accepted divine worship• The Word of God continued to grow despite persecution• Four key lessons: the danger of power and wealth, God's opposition to pride, God's sovereign justice, and the unstoppable nature of God's WordIf you've never done so, tell God you're opening your heart to believe in Jesus as your Savior and receive the promise of eternal life in Him.Video available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSPhIM2SAmk

What if the birth of Jesus wasn't just sweet and sacred—but strategically subversive? In this episode Aaron J. Smith (www.aaronjsmith.net) joins as guest co-host to take a hard look at Matthew chapters 1 and 2 through the lens of power, empire, and authoritarian fear.We trace the political tension that pulses beneath every angelic message, Herodian sh*tfit, and nativity set piece. This isn't just theology—it's resistance, survival, and the God who sides with the vulnerable.Listen in and see what empire always fears most: a different kind of king.www.aaronjsmith.netAaron on BlueSky, Instagram, and Threads...Read LIT online: https://www.litbible.net/matthew-1 and https://www.litbible.net/matthew-2More about the Liberation & Inclusion Translation: https://www.litbible.net/translation-commitmentsSupport LIT & FIT: https://donorbox.org/found-in-translation-1...Opportunity Walks by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

In this message, Danny provides a historical overview of the Herodian dynasty, distinguishing between Herod the Great and his sons, including Herod Antipus, who is featured in the Luke passage. The sermon explores Herod's curiosity and desire for a sign from Jesus, contrasted with Jesus's profound silence. Danny emphasizes the significance of this encounter, highlighting how Herod, despite his power and position, missed the true identity of Jesus. The message also touches upon the innocence of Jesus as affirmed by both Pilate and Herod, and the prophetic fulfillment of these events. Verses Used:Luke 23:6-12Luke 13Isaiah chapter 6Deuteronomy 19:15Acts 4:25-26John's Revelation (general reference to Christ's return)

Appointed by the Romans as king of Judaea and thanks to his feature in the Gospel of Matthew, King Herod ‘the Great’ is one of the infamous figures from the whole of Ancient history. So what do we know about this ancient near eastern ruler, who in his lifetime had contacts with a series of ‘goliath’ figures from the ancient Mediterranean World: from Caesar to Cleopatra and from Marc Antony to Augustus. Dan Snow's History Hit podcast available at https://amzn.to/48HlmtH Books by Seth Schwartz available at https://amzn.to/49US5vJ ENJOY Ad-Free content, Bonus episodes, and Extra materials when joining our growing community on https://patreon.com/markvinet SUPPORT this channel by purchasing any product on Amazon using this FREE entry LINK https://amzn.to/3POlrUD (Amazon gives us credit at NO extra charge to you). Mark Vinet's HISTORY OF NORTH AMERICA podcast: www.parthenonpodcast.com/history-of-north-america Mark's TIMELINE Video channel: https://youtube.com/c/TIMELINE_MarkVinet Website: https://markvinet.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.vinet.9 Twitter: https://twitter.com/HistoricalJesu Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denarynovels Mark's books: https://amzn.to/3k8qrGM Audio credit: Dan Snow's History Hit podcast (Episode 1337: King Herod with Seth Schwartz, professor of Classical Jewish Civilization at New York City’s Columbia University). Audio excerpts reproduced under the Fair Use (Fair Dealings) Legal Doctrine for purposes such as criticism, comment, teaching, education, scholarship, research and news reporting.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Eve Harow took a break from the news and spent a few hours digging at one her favorite sites, Herodian. She interviewed archaeologist Amichai Lifshitz to get some context and just enjoyed a beautiful Judean day. It's about the moments.

The city of man will always try and triumph over the city of God. This is seen in the interaction between Christ and Herod. The Pharisees warn Jesus that Herod wants to kill him, but their motives are uncertain. They might be a faction that legitimately cares, or they might be with the rest of the Pharisees who want to silence Jesus. Herod himself represents the worldly pursuit of power, maintaining peace through intimidation by control and violence. John the Baptist is a clear victim of the tyranny demonstrated in the Herodian family.Christ seeks to confirm and establish the Lord's heavenly city. Christ seeks to bring the true vision of peace from heaven. This is not a kingdom that is established through fear and threat. No, it is a kingdom where one experiences the ideal of the shalom of God. A kingdom where one takes on the yoke of Christ, is in fellowship with God, and is restored rather than exploited. So, Christ, being confident about the true vision of peace (Jerusalem), does not cower before Herod. In fact, he makes his opinion known regarding Herod. He does not even address Herod, but instead calls him a "fox," exposing his weakness, smallness, and cunning ability to stand on the coattails of giants. Christ remains resolute in his mission, showing that true peace is not found in earthly empires but in the kingdom of God and entrance through the narrow door.Christ does not seek safety but willingly moves toward Jerusalem, knowing that Herod is not the threat but the earthly Jerusalem. His ministry of healing and casting out demons demonstrates his authority, yet Jerusalem rejects him because he does not fit their mold of a messianic king. The irony is that while people try to warn and protect Jesus, they fail to recognize that he is the one who has come to protect them, confirming the promise that God is a shield and defender. The ultimate rejection of Christ is not just by political rulers like Herod or Rome but by Jerusalem itself—the very city that should have embraced him as the fulfillment of God's promises. We are so deeply sinful, and it is so deep-rooted that we reject the prophet.Finally, we are challenged to reflect on the human tendency to resist God's work, much like Paul before his conversion, who "kicked against the goads." Despite Israel's rejection, Christ still offers the gospel and calls all humanity to repent. He weeps over Jerusalem, using imagery from the Exodus of the mother hen being like the eagle protecting its young. Christ knows that in order for Psalm 118 to be confirmed, he must be rejected by the builders only to be raised up as the cornerstone.The call to enter through the narrow door remains open right now. We are called to bow our necks under Christ's domain, discern what is pleasing to the Lord, and seek to live out his will. Let us mourn how the city of Jerusalem embraced Christ, let us celebrate God's sovereign will that He overcomes, and let us ultimately long for the vision of peace that comes from heaven. Praise be to God that even in this life, we have a taste of it. Let us walk as living sacrifices to our redeemer, knowing that our lives are hidden and secured in Him.

Joyful Non-Compliance. In this episode of the Voxology Podcast, Mike and Tim discuss the significance of synagogue life during the Jewish exile and how it shaped the identity of the Jewish people. They explore the relationship between Jesus and the Herod family, particularly focusing on Herod the Great's dual legacy as a builder and a tyrant. The conversation delves into the prophetic background surrounding Jesus' birth, the political climate of Judea, and how these elements influenced Jesus' teachings and parables. The episode concludes with reflections on the implications of these historical contexts for understanding Jesus' message. What was the complex dynamics of power during the time of Jesus, particularly the Herodian dynasty and its rulers, including Archelaus, Antipas, and Philip? How did Jesus interact with these figures and how were his teachings a form of subversion against the oppressive systems of power? What is D Willy's concept of 'joyful non-compliance' as a response to authority? How does it contrast with 'fearful compliance' that is prevalent in contemporary society? Ultimately, today's episode calls for a deeper understanding of the Kingdom of God and the active role believers can take in promoting its values in a world often dominated by greed and power struggles. As always, we encourage and would love discussion as we pursue. Feel free to email in questions to hello@voxpodcast.com, and to engage the conversation on Facebook and Instagram. We're on YouTube (if you're into that kinda thing): VOXOLOGY TV. Our Merch Store! ETSY Learn more about the Voxology Podcast Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify Support the Voxology Podcast on Patreon The Voxology Spotify channel can be found here: Voxology Radio Follow us on Instagram: @voxologypodcast and "like" us on Facebook Follow Mike on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mikeerre Music in this episode by Timothy John Stafford Instagram & Twitter: @GoneTimothy

01/05/2025 In an era of Herodian power-grabbing and religious lethargy, we have an opportunity to reclaim the joy and awe of those who move towards Jesus in humble worship.

The Western Wall  Part 9:  The Isaiah Stone  -  English and Spanish.  Near the southern end of the Western Wall, just below Robinson's Arch, a verse from the Scriptures is engraved into a Herodian stone. A leading archaeologist described it as 'one of the most dramatic and memorable finds of the excavations that followed the Six Day War.' This centuries-old paleo-Hebrew inscription has a message for us today!  Translated from a podcast originally recorded on January 17, 2023. El Muro Occidental - Parte 9: La piedra de Isaías - Inglés y español.  Cerca del extremo sur del Muro Occidental, justo debajo del Arco de Robinson, hay un versículo de las Escrituras grabado en una piedra herodiana. Un destacado arqueólogo lo describió como «uno de los hallazgos más espectaculares y memorables de las excavaciones que siguieron a la Guerra de los Seis Días». Esta inscripción paleohebrea de siglos de antigüedad tiene un mensaje para nosotros hoy.  Traducido de un podcast grabado originalmente el 17 de enero de 2023.  

Lessons from 'Meditations' by Marcus Aurelius. Marcus Aurelius was a Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoi,c philosopher. Marcus wrote his Meditations in Greek as a source for his own guidance and self-improvement. The historian Herodian wrote: "Alone of the emperors, he gave proof of his learning not by mere words or knowledge of philosophical doctrines but by his blameless character and temperate way of life." Ways to Support: Substack: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ijmakan.substack.com/subscribe?=⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://becomingantifragile.com/support⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/BecomingAntifragile⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Episode Synopsis: In this episode of The Mummy Movie Podcast, we delve into the historical accuracy of the character Commodus, as portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix in the 2000 film Gladiator. We explore how closely the movie's depiction aligns with historical records and what creative liberties were taken in bringing this infamous Roman emperor to life on screen.Support the Show:Patreon: Support us on PatreonContact Us:Email: mummymoviepodcast@gmail.comEpisode References:Benfree. (2011). RoaringCrowd.wav. Retrieved from https://freesound.org/people/benfree/sounds/130568/Burgersdijk, D. (2024). A revised Loeb of Historia Augusta - (D. Magie, D. Rohrbacher, Eds. & Trans.), Historia Augusta, Volume I (Loeb Classical Library 139). Cambridge, MA, and London: Harvard University Press. The Classical Review, 74(1), 121-124.Dan_AudioFile. (2022). Football-match_Cheering_Large-crowd_Ambience.stereo.wav. Retrieved from https://freesound.org/people/Dan_AudioFile/sounds/654085/Dio, C., Cary, E., & Foster, H. B. (1917). Roman History: Volume VI, Books 51-55.FunWithSound. (2017). Applause 4.mp3. Retrieved from https://freesound.org/people/FunWithSound/sounds/381358/Giovannitp. (2015). Horse and chariot 30 sec.mp3. Retrieved from https://freesound.org/people/giovannitp/sounds/271060/Herodian. (n.d.). History of the Empire, Volume I: Books 1-4.Jakobthiesen. (2013). Ext Large Crowd at Sunnyside Pool.WAV. Retrieved from https://freesound.org/people/jakobthiesen/sounds/194865/Kreaton. (2008). isaapp1.wav. Retrieved from https://freesound.org/people/Kreaton/sounds/61288/Kevp888. (2022). R4_00357_FR_LaughAndCheering.wav. Retrieved from https://freesound.org/people/kevp888/sounds/662101/Lenski, N., & Talbert, R. J. A. (2012). From Village to Empire: A History of Rome from Earliest Times to the End of the Western Empire. New York.Nicholls, M. (2019). Galen and the Last Days of Commodus: Galen's Treatise Περὶ Ἀλυπίας (De indolentia) in Context, 245.WebbFilmsUK. (2013). Marching 2.wav. Retrieved from https://freesound.org/people/WebbFilmsUK/sounds/200323/ Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Encounter series by D.M. Griffin looks at four women who each had a brief encounter with Jesus and its profound effect on their lives. The final book, Return of the Son just released. Listen in to see what you'll find in the covers of this Biblical fiction novel.  note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.  Have you ever wondered who the "Widow of Naim" might have been?  Griffin takes a look at what could have led up to the heartbreaking moment that led to one of Jesus' encounters with broken people.    Don't miss her first episode HERE. Return of the Son by D. M. Griffin Her life was perfect. At least her childhood was. Eve never wanted anything except her father's presence. As a prominent advisor to the evil King Herod, Eve's father was split between his duties to the king and his duties as the only living parent for his daughter. With no heir to claim his family's land, Eve's father did what any loving father would do. He arranged for her betrothal. But this wasn't just any betrothal. Her potential husband was related to the king she despised. With a rough marital journey ahead of her, she tenuously clings to the promises of God. Not sharing her father's enthusiasm or respect for the Herodian dynasty, Eve acted like the spoiled child she was upon first meeting her betrothed. With faulty expectations and prejudiced opinions, she did what she could to ruin the marriage before it began. It wasn't until it was almost too late that Eve's eyes were open and she saw the opportunity to experience love for the divine intervention that it was. Fraught with political intrigue and personal challenges, would Eve be able to fully surrender to the life God wanted her to live by loving a man she thought she could never love? When that man's shadows chase the family into the future, would Eve's son pay the ultimate price? Or would God intervene there too? Could He? Only a single, unforeseen encounter could answer Eve's impossible question. Does love truly conquer death?  Learn more about Demi on her  WEBSITE and follow her on GoodReads and BookBub. Like to listen on the go? You can find Because Fiction Podcast at: Apple  Castbox  Google Play Libsyn  RSS Spotify Amazon and more!

Welcome to the Maccabean Revolt period! Jeff Cavins joins Fr. Mike to introduce the tenth biblical period in our journey, which begins with the Greek oppression of the Jews under Antiochus Epiphanes, and ends with Herodian rule of the Holy Land. Jeff and Fr. Mike walk us through the key events of this period, highlighting the zealous response of the Maccabean family, the celebration of Hanukkah, and the heroic martyrdom of Jews who would not betray their religious identity in the midst of persecution. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

In this message, Pastor Lewis teaches why Jesus warned his disciples of the leaven of political leaders. Support This Ministry

(1:47) Bible Study: Mk 6:17-29 Father talks about the Herodian family. They were not good people. (18:25) Break 1 (19:40) Letters: Do you need to go through Chemotherapy in order to preserve your life, what is penance really and why is the Catholic 10 commandments different from the Protestant 10 commandments? Father answers all of this questions and more. (35:34) Break 2 (36:11) Word of the Day: Delighted (38:49) Phones: Cathy - call no man your father. Can you explain more? Jennifer - My family rejects Vatican 2. How do I explain this to them? Roe - Can a minister to the homebound bring multiple hosts to someone? Do they really stay consecrated the whole time?

In this episode: Herod, Western Wall, Herodian bricks, 3 Kings, Wise Men, Persian priesthood, Rab Mag, Daniel, Babylonian, Seutonius, King of the Jews, Star of Bethlehem, shekinah, gold frankincense myrrh, Kingship, Divinity, sacrifice. Become a supporter and get unlimited questions turned into podcasts at: www.patreon.com/theologyandapologetics YouTube Channel: Theology & Apologetics www.youtube.com/channel/UChoiZ46uyDZZY7W1K9UGAnw Instagram: www.instagram.com/theology.apologetics Websites: www.ezrafoundation.org www.theologyandapologetics.com

In A History of the Hasmonean State: Josephus and Beyond (T&T Clark, 2019), Kenneth Atkinson tells the exciting story of the nine decades of the Hasmonean rule of Judea (152 - 63 BCE) by going beyond the accounts of the Hasmoneans in Josephus in order to bring together new evidence to reconstruct how the Hasmonean family transformed their kingdom into a state that lasted until the arrival of the Romans. Atkinson reconstructs the relationships between the Hasmonean state and the rulers of the Seleucid and the Ptolemaic Empires, the Itureans, the Nabateans, the Parthians, the Armenians, the Cappadocians, and the Roman Republic. He draws on a variety of previously unused sources, including papyrological documentation, inscriptions, archaeological evidence, numismatics, Dead Sea Scrolls, pseudepigrapha, and textual sources from the Hellenistic to the Byzantine periods. Atkinson also explores how Josephus's political and social situation in Flavian Rome affected his accounts of the Hasmoneans and why any study of the Hasmonean state must go beyond Josephus to gain a full appreciation of this unique historical period that shaped Second Temple Judaism, and created the conditions for the rise of the Herodian dynasty and the emergence of Christianity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

In A History of the Hasmonean State: Josephus and Beyond (T&T Clark, 2019), Kenneth Atkinson tells the exciting story of the nine decades of the Hasmonean rule of Judea (152 - 63 BCE) by going beyond the accounts of the Hasmoneans in Josephus in order to bring together new evidence to reconstruct how the Hasmonean family transformed their kingdom into a state that lasted until the arrival of the Romans. Atkinson reconstructs the relationships between the Hasmonean state and the rulers of the Seleucid and the Ptolemaic Empires, the Itureans, the Nabateans, the Parthians, the Armenians, the Cappadocians, and the Roman Republic. He draws on a variety of previously unused sources, including papyrological documentation, inscriptions, archaeological evidence, numismatics, Dead Sea Scrolls, pseudepigrapha, and textual sources from the Hellenistic to the Byzantine periods. Atkinson also explores how Josephus's political and social situation in Flavian Rome affected his accounts of the Hasmoneans and why any study of the Hasmonean state must go beyond Josephus to gain a full appreciation of this unique historical period that shaped Second Temple Judaism, and created the conditions for the rise of the Herodian dynasty and the emergence of Christianity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

In A History of the Hasmonean State: Josephus and Beyond (T&T Clark, 2019), Kenneth Atkinson tells the exciting story of the nine decades of the Hasmonean rule of Judea (152 - 63 BCE) by going beyond the accounts of the Hasmoneans in Josephus in order to bring together new evidence to reconstruct how the Hasmonean family transformed their kingdom into a state that lasted until the arrival of the Romans. Atkinson reconstructs the relationships between the Hasmonean state and the rulers of the Seleucid and the Ptolemaic Empires, the Itureans, the Nabateans, the Parthians, the Armenians, the Cappadocians, and the Roman Republic. He draws on a variety of previously unused sources, including papyrological documentation, inscriptions, archaeological evidence, numismatics, Dead Sea Scrolls, pseudepigrapha, and textual sources from the Hellenistic to the Byzantine periods. Atkinson also explores how Josephus's political and social situation in Flavian Rome affected his accounts of the Hasmoneans and why any study of the Hasmonean state must go beyond Josephus to gain a full appreciation of this unique historical period that shaped Second Temple Judaism, and created the conditions for the rise of the Herodian dynasty and the emergence of Christianity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/jewish-studies

In A History of the Hasmonean State: Josephus and Beyond (T&T Clark, 2019), Kenneth Atkinson tells the exciting story of the nine decades of the Hasmonean rule of Judea (152 - 63 BCE) by going beyond the accounts of the Hasmoneans in Josephus in order to bring together new evidence to reconstruct how the Hasmonean family transformed their kingdom into a state that lasted until the arrival of the Romans. Atkinson reconstructs the relationships between the Hasmonean state and the rulers of the Seleucid and the Ptolemaic Empires, the Itureans, the Nabateans, the Parthians, the Armenians, the Cappadocians, and the Roman Republic. He draws on a variety of previously unused sources, including papyrological documentation, inscriptions, archaeological evidence, numismatics, Dead Sea Scrolls, pseudepigrapha, and textual sources from the Hellenistic to the Byzantine periods. Atkinson also explores how Josephus's political and social situation in Flavian Rome affected his accounts of the Hasmoneans and why any study of the Hasmonean state must go beyond Josephus to gain a full appreciation of this unique historical period that shaped Second Temple Judaism, and created the conditions for the rise of the Herodian dynasty and the emergence of Christianity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/middle-eastern-studies

In A History of the Hasmonean State: Josephus and Beyond (T&T Clark, 2019), Kenneth Atkinson tells the exciting story of the nine decades of the Hasmonean rule of Judea (152 - 63 BCE) by going beyond the accounts of the Hasmoneans in Josephus in order to bring together new evidence to reconstruct how the Hasmonean family transformed their kingdom into a state that lasted until the arrival of the Romans. Atkinson reconstructs the relationships between the Hasmonean state and the rulers of the Seleucid and the Ptolemaic Empires, the Itureans, the Nabateans, the Parthians, the Armenians, the Cappadocians, and the Roman Republic. He draws on a variety of previously unused sources, including papyrological documentation, inscriptions, archaeological evidence, numismatics, Dead Sea Scrolls, pseudepigrapha, and textual sources from the Hellenistic to the Byzantine periods. Atkinson also explores how Josephus's political and social situation in Flavian Rome affected his accounts of the Hasmoneans and why any study of the Hasmonean state must go beyond Josephus to gain a full appreciation of this unique historical period that shaped Second Temple Judaism, and created the conditions for the rise of the Herodian dynasty and the emergence of Christianity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In A History of the Hasmonean State: Josephus and Beyond (T&T Clark, 2019), Kenneth Atkinson tells the exciting story of the nine decades of the Hasmonean rule of Judea (152 - 63 BCE) by going beyond the accounts of the Hasmoneans in Josephus in order to bring together new evidence to reconstruct how the Hasmonean family transformed their kingdom into a state that lasted until the arrival of the Romans. Atkinson reconstructs the relationships between the Hasmonean state and the rulers of the Seleucid and the Ptolemaic Empires, the Itureans, the Nabateans, the Parthians, the Armenians, the Cappadocians, and the Roman Republic. He draws on a variety of previously unused sources, including papyrological documentation, inscriptions, archaeological evidence, numismatics, Dead Sea Scrolls, pseudepigrapha, and textual sources from the Hellenistic to the Byzantine periods. Atkinson also explores how Josephus's political and social situation in Flavian Rome affected his accounts of the Hasmoneans and why any study of the Hasmonean state must go beyond Josephus to gain a full appreciation of this unique historical period that shaped Second Temple Judaism, and created the conditions for the rise of the Herodian dynasty and the emergence of Christianity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biblical-studies

Daily Dose of Hope July 25, 2024 Day 5 of Week 17   Scripture:  I Samuel 17; I Chronicles 2; Acts 12   Dear friends, welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope!  This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!  Let's also rejoice in God's Word and all we are learning.  With that, we head into our Scripture for today.   We start with I Samuel 17.  Today, we read the classic story of David and Goliath.  For those of us who grew up going to Sunday School, we know this one by heart.  Young, naïve David triumphs over the giant Philistine.  But as I read it again today, I was reminded of something.  This is not a story of human courage and power but rather incredible faith and trust in a powerful God.  Goliath was truly a giant.  He measured over 9 feet tall and was broad and strong.  His size alone would have been quite overwhelming for the Hebrew army but he also had state of the art armor and weaponry.  Goliath was a soldier who fought to the death in one on one combat.  He would fight against a single man from an enemy army and the solider who was left standing won the battle for his people.  The dead soldier's people would become subjects of the victorious nation.  There isn't much evidence that the Israelite army did much one to one combat; it was typically the whole army fighting together. This was new to them and they were scared to death. No one dared to face Goliath. David arrives at the battle lines to bring food provisions to the soldiers.  His three oldest brothers were fighting with King Saul.  We don't know why David wasn't on the battle lines, possibly because he needed to stay at home and help his father.  He arrives in time to hear Goliath taunting the Israeli soldiers, who were quite fearful.  David was obviously disturbed that Goliath could so boldly insult the Hebrew army, the army of the living God.  He starts to ask questions, greatly annoying his older brother who, possibly out of fear himself, says some pretty awful and untrue things about David.  David is unrelenting.  His offer to fight Goliath is initially refused by King Saul.  But David is determined.  Finally, Saul agrees and even offers David his own armor and sword.  Interestingly, David clothing himself in the royal armor is a foreshadowing of what is to come: David will soon be king.  But David quickly abandons the royal armor; he wasn't used to fighting in such things.  He dressed like a shepherd would have, using what seemed normal and natural to him–a stone and a sling.  Just so you know, the stones were not little pebbles but would have been about the size of a tennis ball.  Nothing to laugh at for sure.  But what's most impressive to me is that David understood this was a theological battle.  It wasn't just him fighting against this Philistine.  This was God's battle.  When the Israelites went to war, it was supposed to be a spiritual battle.  They represented Yahweh, the one true God.  For that reason, they were only to go to war with God's blessings and they were to be ritually pure.  David was making a point.  This wasn't about him.  God would fight the battle for him.  Of course, we know the rest of the story.  Goliath is defeated.  I'm hoping none of us have to be engaged in any kind of one of one combat.  But we certainly have battles to fight.  What might it be like to allow God to fight our battles for us?  How would that change our perspective?  How would it change how we handle the situation, the words we speak, and our demeanor with the people involved?  Spend some time today thinking about your current battles.  Consider giving them to God, for real, and not taking them back. Let's move on to I Chronicles 2.  From this chapter through chapter nine, we will be encountering more genealogy and lists of people.  Why so many lists?  I did a bit of a deep dive into the purpose of the genealogy, specifically in I Chronicles.  The author did this very intentionally.  He wanted to create a monument of sorts of those from Israel who died before the exile.  Apparently, family histories in that time and culture were really only provided for the elite.  I think the author knew that all of these individuals and families were important to Israel and important to God.  He wanted them to be remembered.  I can't help but think about all the monuments and memorials I've visited over the years.  One that always brings me to tears is the Vietnam Wall in Washington D.C.  The pure number of names is overwhelming.  And then there are those who find a loved one or relative and take pictures or make an imprint onto paper of the name they came to see.  It gives their lives meaning.  It helps us remember.  It's critical to our history.  In many ways, I think these first few chapters in I Chronicles are similar.  These men deserve to have their names written, read, and remembered.  We will close today with our New Testament reading from Acts 12.  Things are getting rough for Peter and the Christians.  Persecution is increasing.  Herod is getting especially agitated and throws Peter in prison.  I want to talk about the miracle of Peter being released but first let's discuss the Herod dynasty because I think that's important.  The Herodians were given power of the region of Judea by the Romans.  While they were brutal and power-hungry, they did consider themselves to be Jews.  This Herod from Acts 12 is Herod Agrippa I.  His grandfather was Herod the Great; he was the Herod who called for the killing of the Jewish baby boys after Jesus' birth.  He was the nephew of Herod Antipas, who ordered the beheading of John the Baptist and to whom Jesus was brought.  All of these Herodian kings were insecure and felt easily threatened by those who criticized them or their way of life.  Thus, this Herod was persecuting Christians and had already executed James, the brother of John.  Peter is arrested and thrown in prison with many, many layers of security.  But no soldiers or shackles can stop God!  He sends an angel who frees Peter and leads him out of the prison to a home where many believers were meeting.  This is just the beginning of the miracles God is going to do. Finally, let's talk about Herod's death.  After securing some kind of peace deal, King Herod stands before the people and gives his royal address.  The people go wild!  They begin to say this is the voice of a god, not a man.  And insecure Herod just soaks it up.  But God is having none of it, and he strikes him down dead.  Y'all, arrogance does not pay.  God calls his people to be humble.  All glory and honor belong to God.  Yes, there are times in which we can be appropriately proud but we have to be very, very careful.  The way of Christ is always humility. Blessings, Pastor Vicki    

#Indiana Hoenlein and the Lost Herodian Quarter of Jerusalem. Malcolm Hoenlein @Conf_of_pres @mhoenlein1j @ThadMcCotter @theamgreatness https://www.israelhayom.com/2024/05/30/a-blast-from-the-past-unveiling-jerusalems-priestly-neighborhood-from-herodian-era/ 1898 Old City Jerusalem

In our study in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 6, we explore the story of King Herod and John the Baptist. Beginning with verse 14, we learn how Herod, upon hearing about the miracles performed by Jesus and His disciples, becomes convinced that John the Baptist has risen from the dead. This episode details the complex relationship between Herod, John the Baptist, and Herodias, leading to John's imprisonment and eventual execution. The historical context about the Herodian dynasty and their notorious immorality, paints a vivid picture of the political and social dynamics at play. Discover how John's death marks the end of the Old Testament prophets and an overlap start of the new covenant with Jesus Christ. This is a powerful reminder of the sacrifices made by those who paved the way for the gospel's spread. Join us as we delve into this pivotal moment in biblical history.

From the tabernacle to Herodian times. Thank you for listening! Please leave a 5 star review, share and subscribe!

Hosanna to the Son of David St. Matthew 21:1-43 by William Klock That first Palm Sunday, Jesus made his last trip to Jerusalem for the Passover.  In the little town on the hill opposite the city he made arrangement for a donkey, then he rode down into the valley, back up to the city, and fulfilling the ancient prophecy of Zechariah about a humble king who would come to deliver his people.  You and I know where this story is headed.  Just in case we might have forgotten, the long Palm Sunday Gospel gives us an opportunity not just to remember but to put ourselves in the story of Jesus' arrest, his trial, and his crucifixion.  But the people on that first Palm Sunday had no idea that the story was headed in that direction.  Jesus had put two and two together—or maybe we should say that he'd put Moses and Isaiah or the law and the prophets together—and he knew that somehow he was headed to his death, despite the acclaim of the crowd.  I have to think that there were a few others amongst his people, wise people steeped in Scripture and who had heard Jesus preach, who might have suspected what was coming.  But that Good Friday, that the Cross, were just a few days away, would have been a complete surprise to most.  They had heard Jesus preaching good news to the poor; they had seen him heal the sick, the blind, and the lame; they had seen him cast out demons and raise the dead.  These were “Messiah things”.  And even if Jesus didn't always make a lot of sense, even if he was doing other things that didn't fit the narrative they had in their heads, the Lord, the God of Israel, was clearly with him.  And now, here he was riding into Jerusalem on a donkey just as Zechariah had prophesied.  He had to be the long-awaited King. Jesus' timing was perfect.  There couldn't have been a better time for the King to arrive in Jerusalem.  This was Passover.  This was the annual festival where the Jews not only remembered how the Lord had delivered them from their bondage in Egypt, but it was also the time when they looked forward with hope to the day when the Lord would deliver them again.  The people travelling the road with Jesus were on their way to gather with friends and family to tell the story of Moses and Pharaoh, of the ten plagues, of the angel of death and the Passover lambs, the crossing of the Red Sea, and of the Lord meeting them at last in the wilderness.  They were rehearsing a story over a thousand years old, but it was their story.  This was how they became the Lord's people and how he became their God.  It was a story of deliverance in the past and as they retold it each year they expressed their longing for and their faith in God's deliverance in the future.  And now, in Jesus, they see the King finally arriving, and that meant that the covenant renewal and the Lord's visitation and vindication of his people had to be just around the corner. There were a lot of other stories of deliverance in Israel's history, but as they waved their palm branches that first Palm Sunday, the people had to have in mind the story of Judas Maccabaeus.  Two hundred years earlier, he and his army had marched on Jerusalem.  They defeated their Greek overlords and retook the city.  And after retaking the city, Judas cleansed the temple, which Antiochus, the Greek king, had desecrated.  The people of Jerusalem had greeted Judas Maccabeus with palm branches too.  For about a century the Jews lived in freedom under the Maccabees and many in Jesus' day were looking for a King to come like Judas, to once again drive out the oppressors—and this time the Lord would truly be with and stay with his people.  Finally, he would set the world to rights. But Jesus' procession into Jerusalem wasn't the only one.  Pontius Pilate had his own procession into the city.  He lived in Caesarea, down on the Mediterranean coast, but to keep the peace during the Passover as the city was packed with people, Pilate, the Roman governor marched up to Jerusalem with his soldiers.  Pilate would have arrived from the opposite direction as Jesus.  He might have arrived the day before or later that same day, but it's entirely possible that he and Jesus arrived at the same time, King Jesus representing the Lord, the God of Israel, and Pilate representing the great Caesar.  The people caught on.  They were expecting a showdown.  They saw Jesus on the donkey and they remembered Zechariah's prophecy of the coming King.  And in thinking of the King they would certainly also have remembered other prophecies about the King.  They sang psalms on the road to Jerusalem and may have been singing some of the royal psalms about the King coming to conquer the nations, breaking them like a rod of iron and smashing them like pottery.  Jesus looked pretty humble and peaceful now, but many of the people expected him to throw off the humble itinerant preacher disguise to rise up like another Judas Maccabeus.  He would drive out the Romans, the corrupt Herodian sell-outs, and the corrupt priests who governed the temple.  And then he would rule like David and Solomon. So we can imagine the excitement of the people when Jesus headed straight for the temple.  Our lesson from Matthew 21 in the Liturgy of the Palms stops just short of that bit of the story.  Jesus marched into the temple and promptly set about upsetting everything.  He drove out the very people who sold animals and made the sacrificial system possible.  Jesus' problem wasn't so much with the buying and selling.  Sacrifices required pure animals.  Carrying animals all the way from places like Galilee was impractical.  They could escape, get injured, or die on the journey.  The people selling animals were offering a needed service and there was nothing wrong with making a profit—they had to feed their families like everyone else.  The money changers were necessary too, because the temple had its own currency.  No, quoting Jeremiah 7:11, Jesus shouted out that they had turned the temple, God's house, into a house of robbers.  When Jeremiah said these words, he was rebuking people who thought that they could find comfort in God's house while continuing unrepentant in their sin.  By Jesus' time the word for “robber” had taken on added meaning.  The Jews had borrowed the word from Greek and used to refer to violent revolutionaries, like the Zealots, who wanted to overthrow the Romans.  The temple was supposed to be the place where the people came to the Lord in prayer and submitted to his will and his agenda, but instead the people had made it the focal point of their hopes and dreams for violent revolution—of another Maccabean revolt and a violent Messiah like Judas.  And so Jesus did something that disrupted the temple and that stopped the sacrifices.  It was an acted-out prophecy declaring that the temple's days were over and with it the old order.  God was about to do something new.  Jesus had been teaching this all along—and acting it out as well.  Whenever Jesus healed and forgave and declared people clean and bypassed the temple and the system of ritual and purity, he was sending the message that the temple's days were coming to an end and with it the days of the priesthood and the sacrifices.  The Lord, in Jesus, was about to do something new, to offer a better sacrifice, to build a better temple, to make a better priesthood—all centred in him.  So Jesus does it again here in Matthew 21.  Jesus brought the sacrifices in the temple to a halt and then, Matthew says, the blind and the lame came to him and were healed. What kind of King were the people looking for?  Again, they were looking for a warrior like Judas Maccabaeus, but Jesus arrived on a donkey and wept over the city because it did not know the way of peace.  They were looking for a king to come and restore the temple and to once again make it the centre of the world, but Jesus, instead, acted out a prophecy of its destruction and declared that he would tear it down.  They looked for another king like David who would vanquish Israel's enemies, but Jesus instead taught of a king whom the people would reject and murder. Jesus went back to the temple the next day to teach.  Matthew says that the chief priests and elders confronted him to ask by what authority he said and did these things and Jesus threw their question back at them.  They were afraid to answer.  If they admitted that the Lord truly was behind Jesus they'd have to answer for rejecting him.  If they denied it they would lose the respect and obedience of the common people who loved Jesus and, even if they didn't understand him very well, they could see the obvious: God was at work through him.  So the priests and elders simply refused to answer.  They were more concerned with their position of authority than with the truth. Jesus responded with a parable.  This is what he said: “Once upon a time there was a householder who planted a vineyard, built a wall for it, dug out a winepress in it, and built a tower.  Then he rented it out to tenant farmers and went away on a journey.  When harvest time arrived, he sent his slaves to the farmers to collect his produce.  The farmers seized his slaves; they beat one, killed another, and stoned another.  Again he sent other slaves, more than before, and they treated them in the same way.  Finally he sent his son to them.  “They'll respect my son,” he said.  But the farmers saw the son.  “This fellow's the heir!' they said among themselves.  ‘Come on, let's kill him, and then we can take over the property!'  So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.  Now then: when the vineyard-owner returns, what will he do to those farmers?”  “He'll kill them brutally, the wretches!” they said.  “And he'll lease the vineyard to other farmers who'll give him the produce at the right time.”   “Did you never read what the Bible says?” said Jesus to them: “‘The stone the builders threw away Is now atop the corner; It's from the Lord, all this, they say And we looked on in wonder.'”   “So then let me tell you this: God's kingdom is going to be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the goods.  Anyone who falls on this stone will be smashed to pieces, and anyone it falls on will be crushed.” (Matthew 21:33-44 KNT) This time the priests and elders understood.  We know they understood because Matthew goes on to say that they were angry because they knew the parable was about them.  They would have arrested him then and there if it hadn't been for the crowds.  You see, they knew a similar story that Isaiah had told long before.  In Isaiah 5 the story is about a man who lovingly planted a vineyard, but no matter how well he cared for it, it produced only worthless wild grapes.  In the end the man was forced to tear down the wall protecting the vineyard and to let the wild retake it.  Isaiah himself had said that the man was the Lord and the vineyard was Israel.  But, now, in Jesus' version of the story he makes it plain that the problem isn't just the vines producing bad fruit.  It's the tenant farmers refusing to acknowledge the vineyard's real owner: the Lord. Jesus stresses that they've had warning after warning.  The Lord sent his prophets, but they rejected and murdered them.  Now he's sent his own Son whom they're about to reject and murder too.  This is one of the most explicit statements Jesus makes about both his relation to the Lord and about his mission, his vocation to bear himself the hatred and violence of the very people to whom he was sent.  And here Jesus reminds us of the problem.  Again, the people were looking for a David or a Judas Maccabaeus.  They were looking for a king who could overpower Caesar.  But the King who came will, instead, allow the violence of his own people and of Caesar to crush him.  Somehow, Jesus is saying, God's plan will be worked out by everything going terribly wrong in order to make everything perfectly right.  The King will let evil—will let sin and death—do their absolute worst to him.  He will be rejected and scorned.  But the stone that the builders rejected will somehow end up becoming the cornerstone of a new and better temple.  This is where Holy Week is headed.  It's not until Easter, when we find the empty tomb and meet the risen Jesus, that it all makes sense. In the meantime, we need to ask which King we are following.  The world is a mess.  Violence is everywhere.  Strife is everywhere.  Poverty is everywhere.  And the very moment it seems one situation is improving, things fall apart somewhere else.  The things the world looks to for hope never seem to pan out—often they just make things worse.  Brothers and Sisters, we need to ask: In what or in whom do we place our hope for peace and a better world?  Caesar has failed over and over and over.  Many of us place our hope in mammon, but mammon's track record is no better.  We need to declare with Solomon, “Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son!  May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice!” (Psalm 72:1-2). But then we need to ask a more personal question.  The Palm Sunday crowd was fickle, hailing Jesus as King on Sunday and crying out for his crucifixion on Friday, but they weren't wrong in their hope for the Lord's deliverance of his people.  They longed to see God's kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.  They hoped for the justice and peace of God to set his Creation to rights.  Where they were wrong was in missing, in failing to see the means by which Jesus would usher in God's kingdom, not by violence, but by giving himself.  Brothers and Sisters, Jesus calls us to follow him on the road through Holy Week—this road of rejection, and of suffering, and even death.  He demands our all.  That's what it means to repent—to turn aside from everything that is not him, to turn aside from every source of security that is not him, and to turn aside from every plan that is not his and to give our lives to the task of proclaiming this King, who gave his life for the sake of his enemies.  It means that we give our whole selves in faith and in hope to make his kingdom known on earth as it is in heaven in practical and tangible ways, that through us, no matter the cost, the world may see his justice and his peace, his mercy and his grace. Let us pray: Almighty and everliving God, in your tender love for mankind you sent your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ to take upon him our nature, and to suffer death upon the cross, giving us the example of his great humility:  Mercifully grant that we may walk in the way of his suffering, and also share in his resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

Appointed by the Romans as king of Judaea and thanks to his feature in the Gospel of Matthew, King Herod ‘the Great' is one of the infamous figures from the whole of Ancient history. So what do we know about this ancient near eastern ruler, who in his lifetime had contacts with a series of ‘goliath' figures from the ancient Mediterranean World: from Caesar to Cleopatra and from Marc Antony to Augustus. Dan Snow's History Hit podcast available at https://amzn.to/48HlmtH  Books by Seth Schwartz available at https://amzn.to/49US5vJ WELCOME to our newest Patreon members Leslie, Dennis, Laura, Jack, and Kate at https://patreon.com/markvinet where you can get exclusive access to Bonus episodes, Ad-Free content, Extra materials, when joining our growing community.  SUPPORT this series by purchasing any product on Amazon using this FREE entry LINK https://amzn.to/3k8qrGM (Amazon gives us credit at no extra charge to you). It costs you nothing to shop using this FREE store entry link and by doing so encourages & helps us create more quality content. Thanks! Mark Vinet's HISTORY OF NORTH AMERICA podcast: www.parthenonpodcast.com/history-of-north-america                                                  Mark's TIMELINE video channel: https://youtube.com/c/TIMELINE_MarkVinet Website: https://markvinet.com/podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denarynovels  Twitter: https://twitter.com/HistoricalJesu   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.vinet.9  YouTube Podcast Playlist: https://www.bit.ly/34tBizu  TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@historyofnorthamerica  Books: https://amzn.to/3k8qrGM  Linktree: https://linktr.ee/WadeOrganization                                                                Credit: Dan Snow's History Hit podcast (Episode 1337: King Herod with Seth Schwartz, professor of Classical Jewish Civilization at New York City's Columbia University). Audio excerpts reproduced under the Fair Use (Fair Dealings) Legal Doctrine for purposes such as criticism, comment, teaching, education, scholarship, research and news reporting.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How did the many rituals and traditions of Judaism develop in the centuries prior to Jesus' birth? Listen to this message to hear a detailed history of the period which included the Maccabean Revolt and the rise of the Herodian dynasties. See the key sects of the Scribes', Pharisees', and Sadducees' origins and how this led to a belief that righteousness could be achieved by one's own good deeds. Appreciate how Paul deftly debunks this belief.

01/07/24 In an era of Herodian power-grabbing and Religious lethargy, we have an opportunity to reclaim the joy and awe of those who move towards Jesus in humble worship.

Absolutely incredible find! Thanks for listening! Please leave a 5 star review, share and subscribe!

Scripture Reading: Acts 3 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time for prayer, at three o'clock in the afternoon. 2 And a man lame from birth was being carried up, who was placed at the temple gate called “the Beautiful Gate” every day so he could beg for money from those going into the temple courts. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple courts, he asked them for money. 4 Peter looked directly at him (as did John) and said, “Look at us!” 5 So the lame man paid attention to them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, stand up and walk!” 7 Then Peter took hold of him by the right hand and raised him up, and at once the man's feet and ankles were made strong. 8 He jumped up, stood and began walking around, and he entered the temple courts with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 All the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 and they recognized him as the man who used to sit and ask for donations at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and they were filled with astonishment and amazement at what had happened to him.11 While the man was hanging on to Peter and John, all the people, completely astounded, ran together to them in the covered walkway called Solomon's Portico. 12 When Peter saw this, he declared to the people, “Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this? Why do you stare at us as if we had made this man walk by our own power or piety? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our forefathers, has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate after he had decided to release him. 14 But you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a man who was a murderer be released to you. 15 You killed the Originator of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this fact we are witnesses! 16 And on the basis of faith in Jesus' name, his very name has made this man—whom you see and know—strong. The faith that is through Jesus has given him this complete health in the presence of you all. 17 And now, brothers, I know you acted in ignorance, as your rulers did too. 18 But the things God foretold long ago through all the prophets—that his Christ would suffer—he has fulfilled in this way. 19 Therefore repent and turn back so that your sins may be wiped out, 20 so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and so that he may send the Messiah appointed for you—that is, Jesus. 21 This one heaven must receive until the time all things are restored, which God declared from times long ago through his holy prophets. 22 Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must obey him in everything he tells you. 23 Every person who does not obey that prophet will be destroyed and thus removed from the people.' 24 And all the prophets, from Samuel and those who followed him, have spoken about and announced these days. 25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed.' 26 God raised up his servant and sent him first to you, to bless you by turning each one of you from your iniquities.”Main ThemesThe MiracleThe SettingWe learn in chapter 2 that believers pray daily in the temple. (This means they prayed in the temple courts, not literally inside the temple.) So, chapter 3 opens with a predictable scene—Peter and John find themselves going to the temple to pray (3:1). We can safely assume they were going to participate in a corporate prayer meeting (as opposed to a time of personal prayer).We are aware that at some point synagogues established three prayer times during the day. We have evidence from early Christian writers that Christians continued this practice for a while. Even in Acts we read of three times of prayer: 9:00 AM (Acts 2:15), noon (Acts 10:9), and 3:00 PM (Acts 3:1). There is some doubt that the synagogue tradition was firmly in place at the time of Acts chapter 3, but most agree that was the case.We might ask ourselves: What did these times of corporate prayer look like? It may have included corporate singing of Psalms and other worship, a person leading everyone in prayer, and everyone praying differently but simultaneously.We might also ask ourselves: How long did the miracle and Peter's preaching (which we are about to discuss) take? We learn at the beginning of chapter 4 that Peter and John are arrested towards evening, and recall that Peter and John head towards the temple around 3 PM. So, the miracle and subsequent preaching probably lasted about 3 hours. Although this may be obvious to the reader already, we should note that the speeches we read in Acts are obviously summaries. Luke records the main points made by Peter.The Lame Man and the GateAs the believers head to the temple to pray, they run across a lame man who was placed at the temple gate daily. As a quick historical note, we are not certain at which gate he was placed. Ancient sources do not specify which gate was popularly called “the Beautiful Gate.” We are able to ascertain that it referred to either the Nicanor Gate (which led from the Court of the Gentiles into the Court of Women) or the Shushan Gate at the eastern wall. Since the fifth century, the tradition has been that “the Beautiful Gate” referred to the Shushan Gate, but that tradition may not be reliable.Of more relevance than which gate is being described is the fact that the lame man was at a gate. Because of his defect, he may not have been allowed to go any further into the temple. Also, temple gates were useful for begging since they were frequented by many people. Moreover, one may assume that people at the temple were a more charitable audience than elsewhere. Finally, we must keep in mind the lame man's dismal situation. Begging (considered highly shameful) would have been his only way to provide for himself. There was no other social safety net. As a scholar points out, the poor in ancient cities were “ill-fed, housed in slums or not at all, ravaged by sickness,” and with little hope of social betterment.The ExchangeThe lame man begins the exchange with the apostles on the basis of his need—he requests money. Truly, he requested alms—money given to the poor as an act of charity—but our translation uses money because the term alms is unfamiliar to current readers. Giving alms was viewed as honorable by Judaism.The lame man's request opens the door for a dramatic demonstration of the gospel. The Old Testament strongly emphasized the charitable treatment of the disabled. Consider, for example:You must not curse a deaf person or put a stumbling block in front of a blind person. You must fear your God; I am the Lord. Leviticus 19:14“Cursed is the one who misleads a blind person on the road.” Then all the people will say, “Amen!” Deuteronomy 27:18Like I have pointed out many times before, the gospels are replete with commands to help the poor.Most importantly, according to the Old Testament, healing of the sick would be a sign of the messianic era. Consider Isaiah:Tell those who panic, “Be strong! Do not fear! Look, your God comes to avenge; with divine retribution he comes to deliver you.” Then blind eyes will open, deaf ears will hear. Then the lame will leap like a deer, the mute tongue will shout for joy; for water will burst forth in the wilderness, streams in the arid rift valley. Isaiah 35:4-6)In the Old Testament, the lame also work as a type for the mistreated people of God:Look, at that time I will deal with those who mistreated you. I will rescue the lame sheep and gather together the scattered sheep. I will take away their humiliation and make the whole earth admire and respect them. Zephaniah 3:19So, Peter healing a lame man works on a literal level—it is an astonishing miracle that validates his credentials as one sent by God—and on a narrative level—the story of redemption has reached the messianic era in which the people of God will be gathered.The Disclaimer—No MoneyUpon the lame man's request, Peter and John clarify that they do not have any money. (The phrase “silver and gold” simply means money, “minted coins.”) Although this is nothing but a footnote in the story, we should notice that as the believers shared all their possessions with one another (see chapter 2), the apostles do not seem to have been enriched. Also, this distinguishes Peter and John from magicians of that time, who took payment for their services.The MiracleJesus' NamePeter begins the miracle by giving credit to Jesus Christ. Jesus's name is a key element that recurs throughout this section. It is repeated many times in chapter 3, and its mention continues into chapter 4. This leaves no doubt that the apostles are acting only as agents for the one who sent them—Jesus.We should notice that Peter specifies that he speaks of Jesus “the Nazarene.” This shows a reference to a real, historical figure, and it operates as defiance to popular expectations of greatness. Being from Nazareth was certainly nothing to brag about.How should we understand the use of Jesus' name? For example, in the context of prayer, calling God's name generally means one is addressing God. For example:Now Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he stopped, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” 2 So he said to them, “When you pray, say: “‘Father, may your name be honored; may your kingdom come. . . .” Luke 11:1-2But in prayer, one is also calling on the Lord himself to act. Consider how the Lord's prayer continues:Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And do not lead us into temptation. Luke 11:3-4Invocations of God's name could be directed at people or at least with people as the intended audience to prove who is acting. Consider Elijah challenging the prophets of Baal:“Then you will invoke the name of your god, and I will invoke the name of the Lord. The god who responds with fire will demonstrate that he is the true God.” All the people responded, “This will be a fair test.” 1 Kings 18Consider also David's blessing of the people of God in the name of the Lord. This probably means he was calling on the Lord to the bless them.When David finished offering burnt sacrifices and peace offerings, he pronounced a blessing over the people in the Lord's name. 1 Chronicles 16:2So, when Peter asks the lame man to walk “in the name of Jesus Christ,” he may be pointing to who is doing the miracle.We could also understand calling on the Lord's name slightly differently. Both in Jewish and Gentile tradition, we can find brokers (i.e., representatives or messengers) using the name of their patron to denote on whose authority they speak or act. So, to say “in the name of Jesus Christ” is to say, “as a representative of Jesus Christ.” We find this (or a very similar) use of the expression in the Gospel of John when praying in Jesus' name (John 14:13; 15:16; 16:23-24). In John, praying “in one's name” evokes praying “on the merits of,” or because of, another's status before the one entreated (much like Israel seeking favor before God on account of their ancestors' favor).Notice that under either interpretation of using the Lord's name, it is Jesus or through the power of Jesus that the miracle happens. The difference is whether the apostle works as an announcer of what Jesus is doing or as the agent through whom Jesus acts.We should also notice that Peter does not use a particular ritual. For pagans, God's favor could be sought by using very specific rituals that needed perfect execution. Jewish ritual was less particular, but correctly implementing the ritual remained important, leading to conflicts between, for example, Pharisees and Sadducees. Peter also does not employ techniques or ingredients that would lend themselves to be interpreted as magic. The only ingredient, so to speak, is the power and authority of Jesus.The HealingPeter clasps the lame man's right hand—typically a sign of agreement or covenant in the ancient world. Given the man's low social status, this denotes acceptance and kindness on Peter's part. Peter helps him up.The miracle is emphatically evident. The man jumps up and immediately walks. Then we are told repeatedly that he “walks around,” walks and leaps,” and all saw him “walking.” The miracle works as a sign that draws attention to the message about to be preached.Why is the miracle so effective? Those at the temple recognized this man as the one “who used to sit and ask for donations.” Since he had been lame from birth, we can conclude he had been placed there daily for a very long time.Moreover, if we are correct in concluding that the lame man could venture no further into the temple due to his disability, the fact that the man enters the temple courts to praise God is significant. His barrier to experience God has been removed by the power and grace of Jesus.The SpeechThe SettingPetter delivers his speech at Solomon's Portico. It was a long outdoor hallway supported by pillars on the east of a pre-Herodian structure, which overlooked the steep Kidron Valley. Apparently Solomon's Portico was a traditional place for Christians to meet and preach; we read about it in Acts (Acts 3:11; 5:12) and in John 10:23.The MessageWhodunit?Peter begins his sermon by correcting an apparent misunderstanding by the crowd. He makes clear that the cause of the healing is Jesus, not himself.Wonder-workers were common at the time, and they were often understood as sorcerers. Clarifying that Jesus was the source of the miracle, along with other passages in Acts (e.g., Acts 8:7-13, 18-24; 19:11-20) work as an antimagical apologetics. These are miracles done by God, Peter is pointing out, not magical works done by Peter's power or cunning. Moreover, Peter is separating himself from certain Jewish traditions that held holy men had power to make certain things happen. (Pagans had a similar notion, believing that piety could lead to spiritual power. For example, Romans believed that their sacrifices could expiate the gods and that their continued worship could even make the gods embarrassed to continue in anger against Rome.)Unlike a sorcerer or a man acting by his own piety-fueled power, Peter points to Jesus and immediately says the following::The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our forefathers, has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate after he had decided to release him.In other words, the main proposition of the speech is that the God of Israel who acted to resurrect Jesus is continuing to act.The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob“The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” was a familiar Jewish expression, derived from the biblical revelation to Moses recorded in the book of Exodus. It appears multiple times in Exodus and the Old Testament, but probably the most memorable mention is in the scene of the burning bush.Now Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to the mountain of God, to Horeb. The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from within a bush. He looked, and the bush was ablaze with fire, but it was not being consumed! So Moses thought, “I will turn aside to see this amazing sight. Why does the bush not burn up?” When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to look, God called to him from within the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” God said, “Do not approach any closer! Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” He added, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. Exodus 3:1-6This title for God was common in Jesus' time, appearing in Jewish prayers and benedictions, making it one of the most familiar titles for God. Someone who had read both of Luke's works would remember that Jesus had used this title before—once before. Jesus defended the resurrection of the dead with this very title and the very scene of the burning bush, concluding:But even Moses revealed that the dead are raised in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live before him.” Then some of the experts in the law answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well!” For they did not dare any longer to ask him anything. Luke 20:37-40There seems to be no coincidence that Peter uses that same title for God to preach about restoration as Jesus did to preach about resurrection. The God who demonstrated his faithfulness to the patriarchs in the exodus would be faithful to his promise to raise them from the dead; God demonstrated that faithfulness in raising Jesus from the dead; so, one can expect God to deliver on his promises of restoration as well.The Servant, the Holy and Righteous One, the Originator of LifeBecause I have discussed some of these Old Testament allusions in many occasions, I will provide only a brief summary of what the titles used for Jesus are meant to evoke in the listeners' minds.The term servant along with the theme of glorification almost inarguably points to Isaiah' servant.Look, my servant will succeed! He will be elevated, lifted high, and greatly exalted—(just as many were horrified by the sight of you) he was so disfigured he no longer looked like a man; his form was so marred he no longer looked human—so now he will startle many nations. Kings will be shocked by his exaltation, for they will witness something unannounced to them, and they will understand something they had not heard about. Who would have believed what we just heard? When was the Lord's power revealed through him? He sprouted up like a twig before God, like a root out of parched soil; he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention, no special appearance that we should want to follow him. He was despised and rejected by people, one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness; people hid their faces from him; he was despised, and we considered him insignificant. But he lifted up our illnesses, he carried our pain; even though we thought he was being punished, attacked by God, and afflicted for something he had done. He was wounded because of our rebellious deeds, crushed because of our sins; he endured punishment that made us well; because of his wounds we have been healed. Isaiah 52:13 – 53-5“The Holy One” was especially a title for God himself in both the Old Testament and in early Judaism. In a context that draws heavily on Isaiah, the “holy one” title could imply deity (“Holy One” appears thirty times in Isaiah, including for God as Israel's savior and “redeemer” in the servant contexts). The title could also function as an acceptable title for one of God's servants when conjoined with “of God.” In the case of Acts 3, that seems like a difficult interpretation to hold.“Righteous one” is not a common expression for Christ later in the New Testament. (Although we see some uses, such as in 1 John 1-2. It says, “But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous One, and he himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for our sins but also for the whole world.”) So why is this title for Jesus used in Acts?In Acts, the title of righteous one is used exclusively when preaching to Jerusalem audiences, which is perhaps a clue as to its intended meaning. Calling Jesus the “righteous one” heightens both the contrast with Barabbas the “murderer” and the guilt of those who denied Jesus. It also fits one of Luke's central themes: Jesus was innocent. Moreover, the term “righteous servant” appears in the servant song of Isaiah (Isaiah 53:11), solidifying the connection between the term “servant” and Isaiah's servant.“Prince of life,” “Founder of life,” or as our translation puts it, “Originator of life” is antonomasia—a title that substitutes the name of a person. Examples in other contexts would be referring to Shakespeare as the Bard or to Lebron James as the GOAT.In Peter's speech, we see a recurring contrast between life and death, including between he who raised to life and those who kill. Calling Jesus the Originator of life is a great rhetorical device to emphasize that contrast. Also, a biblically literate listener would probably recall Deuteronomy 30:“Look! I have set before you today life and prosperity on the one hand, and death and disaster on the other. What I am commanding you today is to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to obey his commandments, his statutes, and his ordinances. Then you will live and become numerous and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are about to possess. However, if you turn aside and do not obey, but are lured away to worship and serve other gods, I declare to you this very day that you will certainly perish! You will not extend your time in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess. Today I invoke heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set life and death, blessing and curse, before you. Therefore choose life so that you and your descendants may live! I also call on you to love the Lord your God, to obey him and be loyal to him, for he gives you life and enables you to live continually in the land the Lord promised to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Deuteronomy 30:15-20There is much debate about exactly to interpret the word translated as prince, founder, or originator (ἀρχηγός). The term appears frequently in the Septuagint to refer to heads of clans—hence the translations prince and founder. The term could apply to authors or originators of something, or the “initiator” of something. However, for readers steeped more in biblical Greek than in Greek tradition, the image of leadership would be dominant. Jesus is thus the hero leading the way to the historic goal of achieving eternal life, and as such fulfills the promises and inaugurates the opportunity for the eschatological era of blessing. In the words of other New Testament passages, he is the “firstborn” from the dead, who thereby guarantees life to the rest of his people. Perhaps a great translation of ἀρχηγός is “pioneer,” but modern scholars find “pioneer” to be on the list of icky words (for reasons I am sure you could guess).Believe, Repent, and Then . . . The Messiah's ReturnVerses 15 through 21 sounds quite similar to the speech in chapter 2, so I will not discuss them in detail except for the conspicuous differences. By differences, I do not mean inconsistencies. I mean the two speeches are not identical and we learn some distinct information.As in the prior chapter, Peter tells the Jewish audience that they killed Jesus, their divine king sent by God, yet God raised him from the dead, a fact to which the apostles are witnesses. In chapter 2 Peter points to the audience as witnesses of God's miracles (as opposed to the apostles). But in chapter 3 Peter quickly points out that the audience has now witnessed a miracle. The crowd was familiar with the lame man who was healed, making this charge effective. All in all, the setup of the message in chapter 3 is similar to that of chapter 2.The first distinction, albeit in tone and not theology, is in how Peter addresses the crowd's culpability. In chapter 2, Peter emphasizes the guilt of the crowd. In chapter 3, Peter minimizes (although does not remove) their guilt by highlighting their ignorance.Then just like in chapter 2, Peter then clarifies that Jesus' death was according to scripture. Finally, Peter calls the crowd to repentance.The real difference between the two speeches begins in verse 20. What are the fruits of repentance in chapter 2? “Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit'” (Acts 2:38). Peter also tells them to “Save yourselves from this perverse generation!” (Acts 2:40). In short, the result of repentance is forgiveness of sins, receiving the Holy Spirit, and salvation (which in the context of chapter 2 means avoiding judgment).What are the fruits of repentance in chapter 3? “[S]o that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and so that he may send the Messiah appointed for you—that is, Jesus. This one heaven must receive until the time all things are restored, which God declared from times long ago through his holy prophets” (Acts 3:20b-21). Repentance will be followed by “times of refreshing” or what may also be called restoration; and, once sufficient restoration has occurred (“the time all things are restored”) then Jesus will return.This idea of restoration is found throughout the Old Testament prophets. Perhaps the best known passage is in Ezekiel:“‘I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries; then I will bring you to your land. I will sprinkle you with pure water, and you will be clean from all your impurities. I will purify you from all your idols. I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your body and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my Spirit within you; I will take the initiative, and you will obey my statutes and carefully observe my regulations. Then you will live in the land I gave to your fathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God. I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and multiply it; I will not bring a famine on you. I will multiply the fruit of the trees and the produce of the fields, so that you will never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. Then you will remember your evil behavior and your deeds that were not good; you will loathe yourselves on account of your sins and your abominable deeds. Ezekiel 36:24-31Jews during Jesus' day and thereafter linked the idea of turning to God with the restoration of Israel. Many Jewish sources show an expectation that Israel would return to God's law in the last days. Often Jewish teachers, particularly in later rabbinic texts, predicated the end's arrival and Israel's restoration as chronologically contingent on Israel's repentance.Summary and ConclusionsWhat does this tell us about the current age? The opportunity to turn to God is now. The good news is going out to all the nations (see verse 25) that the Lord has already raised the firstborn from the dead. Anyone who trusts the “Pioneer of life” shall reach the same destination. And, one day, when all the people of God have turned to Him, Jesus will return to judge, to heal, to restore, and to reign a world that will be filled with love, peace, and joy.The concept of restoration and Jesus' return also prompts a few questions. Peter's speech claiming that heaven would receive Jesus until the period of restoration echoes Psalm 110:1, which Peter quoted in chapter 2. The psalm says:Here is the Lord's proclamation to my lord: “Sit down at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.” The Lord extends your dominion from Zion. Rule in the midst of your enemies. Your people willingly follow you when you go into battle. On the holy hills at sunrise the dew of your youth belongs to you. The Lord makes this promise on oath and will not revoke it: “You are an eternal priest after the pattern of Melchizedek.” O Lord, at your right hand he strikes down kings in the day he unleashes his anger. He executes judgment against the nations. He fills the valleys with corpses; he shatters their heads over the vast battlefield. From the stream along the road he drinks; then he lifts up his head. Psalm 110:1b-7So, will all enemies of Christ be defeated and then Jesus will return? Should we expect the church to advance and (peacefully) conquer all the world, every institution, and every person? Will nearly everyone become a follower of Christ? Some believe this. Other passages in scripture have led most Christian throughout history to temper those expectations, with some taking an opposite, extremely negative view of history's arch. But regardless of how we harmonize scripture, the theme of an advancing church (whether ultimately victorious or not) seems inarguable. Many will come to Christ. The enemies of the church will not prevail against the plan of salvation.The second question we might ask is whether Acts 3 (and other texts, such as Romans 11) means that it is the conversion of Jews (not Gentiles) that will trigger the end—the return of Jesus. Many Christians in the United States hold this view today. Often times, although not always, this view includes the belief that national Israel will be restored and blessed before the final judgment. In other words, that Acts 3 is talking specifically about the ethnic nation of Israel. This partially explains why many conservatives in the United States are committed to supporting the nation of Israel. One may also take a passage like Acts 3 and argue that, for example, Peter seems to intentionally omit the more Israel-centric portions of the Old Testament text he cites, and that at the end of chapter 3 Peter again highlights that the promise of salvation is for all nations. Therefore, restoration involves all the people of God—the Church—and not specifically Jews. (Of course, the arguments for the different theological positions look for evidence all over the Bible. I give examples only from the texts we have recently read so as not to derail our conversation.)So far I have avoided these eschatological topics because people feel very strongly about them. Discussion can easily get heated. My intention behind these brief comments is simply to introduce some of the options available.

rWotD Episode 2392: Sosipater.Welcome to random Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of a random Wikipedia page every day.The random article for Tuesday, 21 November 2023 is Sosipater.Sosipater (Greek: Σωσίπατρος) is a person mentioned in the New Testament, in Romans 16:21. He is probably the same person as Sopater mentioned in Acts 20:4.In church tradition, he is known as Sosipater of Iconium, and is numbered among the Seventy Apostles. St. Sosipater's feast days are on April 28 (Slavic tradition), or 29 (Greek tradition) with St. Jason; November 10 with saints Erastus, Olympas, Herodian, Quartus and Tertius; and January 4 with the Seventy. According to Latin tradition, the disciple of St Paul the Apostle died on the 25th of June in Beroea.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 01:06 UTC on Tuesday, 21 November 2023.For the full current version of the article, see Sosipater on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm Kendra Neural.

Welcome to the Maccabean Revolt period! Jeff Cavins joins Fr. Mike to introduce the tenth biblical period in our journey, which begins with the Greek oppression of the Jews under Antiochus Epiphanes, and ends with Herodian rule of the Holy Land. Jeff and Fr. Mike walk us through the key events of this period, highlighting the zealous response of the Maccabean family, the celebration of Hanukkah, and the heroic martyrdom of Jews who would not betray their religious identity in the midst of persecution. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Chris White discusses the theory that the Solomon's temple (and the Herodian temple) was 600 feet away from where it is currently believed to have been.  

[See below for the written description of this 2007 program.] * Tragic 2020 Update: Considered a solid Christian leader by many thousands of believers (and in many ways beloved by us here at BEL), the founder and host of Stand to Reason, Greg Koukl has tragically stated, beginning at 9:40 into a podcast, that "some same sex couples are fabulous." Please pray for Greg and for the man who phoned in a question, and for all those Greg is not-so-subtly influencing to become moral relativists. Here's what happened... 9:20 A caller asks whether children are better off in foster care or adopted by same sex parents. 9:56 "Some same sex couples are fabulous. Some same sex couples are deplorable. And actually, the same is true for heterosexual couples." Greg then offers the softest possible objection to one of the fiercest moral dangers of our day, which is homosexuality. (For, "In the public square, biblical Christianity and homosexuality are mutually exclusive. One or the other will be in the closet.") He followed that by repeatedly obfuscating with moral relativist utilitarian distinctions about which parents give the "advantage" and which is "better".  Koukl draws false equivalencies between homosexuality and heterosexual singleness, cohabitation, and bad parenting. Regarding same sex parenting, "there are other things [aspects of their parenting] that may be really good... there are a number of factors that are involved here. ... All things being equal I think it is better for heterosexual couples to raise children." 12:24 "A father brings something different to the relationship than a mother does. Period." Koukl puts much more emphasis on practical distinctions than he does on the far greater matter of the utter perversion and rebellion of homosexuality. Greg exhibits more fear about how his audience will view him than he does about the child raised in a dystopian world of normalized homosexuality. "Just to show that I'm not unfairly prejudiced here... I don't believe that single people should adopt." 14:50 "What we want to do is to make decisions based on the ideal." 15:45 "This is why it's hard to make a judgment. Are children in foster care better off [being adopted by] same sex couples or better off staying in foster care. It depends on the individual circumstance. I would rather see a child in a reasonably healthy environment with a same sex couple than in an abusive environment with a heterosexual couple." If that isn't moral relativism, then there is no such thing. 16:13 Constantly equivocating on underlying morality and legitimacy, "The big thing is, what's best for the kid... Heterosexual parents are better than same sex parents, on balance." 17:07 "However if this child had no parent whatsoever and was living in the squalor in the street somewhere..." Talk about situational ethics. Would Greg rather see a child rescued from a volcanic eruption by a human trafficker, than be burned alive? Oh brother. Come on. (Here's an actual example. In our 2007 debate Greg was defending pro-abort Rudi Guiliani, who got 3% of the pimary vote, and Christian listeners applied his arguments to pro-abort Mitt Romney of course, who got 22% of the vote, with pro-abort McCain winning. Regarding Romney, the presidential candidate four years later who regarding an unborn child who might end up being raised by a crack-addicted mother, would be only too happy to support the premptive killing of that baby. Or, for that matter, he supported killing any unborn child for any reason, for Romney is the father of tax-funded late-term abortion on demand.) 18:13 "Heterosexual couples bring something more to the parenting environment than same sex couples bring." 19:05 "You've got to start from the standards and work to the circumstances that you're faced with." Which is exactly the opposite of what Greg had just done in yet another text-book case of moral relativism. * Correction: Bob unintentionally exaggerated Clinton's willingness to support the PBA ban. See the full correction at the end of this show summary. * Christian Leader Koukl Defends Candidate Giuliani: Stu Epperson moderates the debate between Bob Enyart and STR.org's Greg Koukl on Stu's syndicated TruthTalkLive.com talk show. In the debate, Koukl defends Rudi Giuliani, an aggressively pro-abortion, pro-homosexual, anti-Christian worldview candidate, as acceptable to Christian voters. Koukl denies that Giuliani is a mass murderer and denied the parallel between Koukl's own position and that of the Herodians of the New Testament. To start the debate, Bob asked Greg, "What if Rudi Giuliani is the Republican nominee, should Christians support someone like Rudi Giuliani?" Greg spent the whole show answering that question in the affirmative, stipulating only that his answer applies if two candidates in the running are Rudi and a Democrat candidate like Hillary Clinton. Bob characterized Greg's position as moral relativism. * Bob's Notes Against Christian Support for Giuliani: Christians should not support mass murderers. Rudi Giuliani is a mass murderer who as a governing official and candidate promotes child killing through public hospitals, tax funding, police enforcement, etc. Moral relativist Christians would oppose a candidate who was caught embezzling funds (not because it violates God's command, Do not steal, but because it is politically-incorrect). And while they'd not support a Republican caught embezzling, they support Republican candidates who brag of their support for killing children. The Gospels mention a pragmatic political party, the Herodians, the religious leaders who allied themselves with Herod Antipas, thinking that the Herodian dynasty was the lesser evil (than any alternative allegiance, with a choice between Herod or Christ, they would choose Herod), thinking the Herods were the best the Jewish worshippers could pragmatically expect in their hopes of attaining to their kingdom on Earth. (I have this understanding of the Herodians from my recollection of reading, way back in the 1970s, Alfred Edershiem's Life & Times of Jesus the Messiah, a classic written in the 1800s.) Like Rudi Giuliani, Herod was personally sexually immoral and murderous. Greg Koukl's moral relativism would defend supporting Herod. But John the Baptist, instead of joining the Herodians, rebuked Herod, and for his courage, this wicked ruler beheaded the man whom Jesus described as the greatest born to women (Mat. 11:11). But how would Jesus describe Koukl? Greg's moral relativism might have led him to campaign for Herod (as he does for Giuliani), and instead of persecution, Herod might have hired Koukl as an apologist for his murderous reign and his hopes for the continued support of Ceasar after Antipas built Tiberias (Koukl: yes, Herod murdered John the Baptist, but I would still campaign for him to rule). Greg Koukl is imitating the pragmatic religious leaders, the Herodians. Mat 22:16, 18 ...the Herodians, [said], "Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth [lip service]... But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, "Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?" [also at Mark 12:13] Mark 3:5-6   [Jesus saw] the hardness of their hearts, [and] the Herodians [plotted] against Him, how they might destroy Him. "You shall not murder" (Rom. 13:9) "Do not kill the innocent" (Exodus 23:7) Romans 3:8 mentions "do[ing] evil that good may come of it" (Romans 3:8), Paul considered it slander to be accused of something Christians now embrace, doing evil, that good may come of it. "we must obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29) Giuliani is not only radically pro-abortion, but for years even supported the especially horrific partial-birth abortion. Giuliani is radically pro-homosexual, and would ban all handguns. New York Daily News, March 8, 2004  Rudy Giuliani came out yesterday against President Bush's call for a ban on gay marriage. ... "I certainly wouldn't support [a ban] at this time," added Giuliani, who lived with a gay Manhattan couple when he moved out of Gracie Mansion during his nasty divorce. Secular humanists who support Giuliani: Sean Hannity, Hugh Hewitt, Michael Medved, etc. Publicans: tax collectors, public building contractors, and military suppliers. The New Testament condemns the publicans, so Christians now sell their souls for the Re-publicans. The theme of much of the Old Testament, from the books of Moses, through Joshua & Judges, through the prophets, is that God's people did not trust Him, nor obey Him, not with national politics, and instead made alliances with wicked leaders, and so God abandoned them to their own destruction. * Comments at TruthTalkLive.com: Carl: where does Koukl draw the line? ... at 100,000,000? What line must be crossed that will turn Christians from supporting wickedness and back to God? Dave: Koukl thinks that Scalia, Thomas, Roberts and Alito would fight for the Personhood of a child. I guess he did not read the Supreme Court decision of Gonzales v. Carhart. John quotes Reagan: "Politics I supposed to be the second-oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first." Gus B: Mr. Koukl says Giuliani will appoint justices like Thomas and Scalia. Pastor Enyart points out these two do not believe in personhood... to which Koukl says, "Pro-Life Justices are not relevant to this topic." Andrew: To support the better of two murderers is relative. ... Webster should post your photograph next to "moral relativist." * Give your opinion at TruthTalkLive.com. * Koukl on Foster Care: The socialist foster care system of the government being intimately involved in the funding and raising of children should be abolished. Sadly, in Greg Koukl's ten-minute call beginning at 9:20 about homosexuality and foster care, he never gets around to condemning either and instead makes destructive comments such as, "some same sex couples are fabulous" and misleads on a terrible aspect of socialism by saying at 15:05 that "in the foster care system there are many saints." Today's Resource: Have you seen the Government Department at our KGOV Store? You can view BOTH of our powerhouse Focus on the Strategy DVDs for only $22.99! Also, we are featuring Bruce Shortt's vitally-important book, The Harsh Truth about Public Schools. And also, check out the classic God's Criminal Justice System seminar, God and the Death Penalty, Bob on Drugs and the Live from Las Vegas DVDs! * Correction: I need to clarify a comment I made debating Greg Koukl. I unintentionally exaggerated when I stated that Hillary supported the PBA ban. I was taking this position from the years of public position the Clinton administration maintained regarding the PBA ban. When Hillary and Bill came to Colorado in 1999 and spoke as a couple to Columbine parents, Brian Rohrbough told Bill, "Mr. President, when you vetoed the PBA ban, you became responsible for murder far more violent than what happened to our children." Clinton replied, with Hillary at his side, that he would have signed the bill, but it did not have an exception for the life of the mother. To the extent that they were a two-for-one deal in the White House, I had always assumed that was her position also: willing to support the law, as long as it had exceptions (like many "pro-life" Republicans). At any rate, it was wrong to say outright that Hillary supported the ban. I should have clarified, and in the intensity of the debate, I did not realize that I had mistated her position. Also, I kept wanting to talk about Rudy's pro-abortion actions as NYC mayor, but never got that in. And finally on this, since the 1990s, we have had an Errata link on our homepage and on every page at kgov.com (just scroll down to see it) And I've also posted this correction at Stu Epperson's TruthTalkLive blog. Thanks! -Bob Enyart * Dec. 21, 2015 Update: Bob Enyart posted the following to STR... Hi STR! Dr. Richard Holland of Liberty University wrote "God, Time and the Incarnation" surveying the leading Christian theologians on this topic and concluded that specifically with respect to the Incarnation the church has never openly defended its claim that God is utterly unchangeable. In my debate with theologian Dr. James White I took that insight and five times asked him about whether God the Son took upon Himself a human nature. (There's a 2-min YouTube showing those excerpts.) So far beyond the old/new covenant issue, reaching right into the heart of the Trinity, God the Son became a Man. God is unchanging in His fierce commitment to righteousness (i.e., His holiness), but because He is the Living God, He changes in immeasurable ways, including when the Son became the Son of Man. * For Bob's Many Other Fun and Educational Debates: See kgov.com/debates for our creation/evolution sparring with Lawrence Krauss, Eugenie Scott, AronRa, Michael Shermer (and spats with Jack Horner, PZ Myers, Phil Plait, & Jerry Coyne), and our exposing the liberal in the conservative with Ann Coulter, Dan Caplis, Greg Koukl (of course), Tom Tancredo, AFA's Bryan Fischer, AUL's Paul Linton, CWA's Robert Knight, National RTL's Board, NRTL's Political Director, Focus on the Family's Washington State Affiliate; and exposing the wickedness in the liberal with Barry Lynn and libertarian candidates; and opposing the national sales tax with Ken Hoagland and Neal Boortz; and debating sexual immorality with homosexual activists Wayne Besen and Gregory Flood; and defending the death penalty on Court TV; and theology with a Seventh Day Adventist, drinking alcohol with a Church of Christ minister; and whether or not God is inexhaustibly and eternally creative with Dr. James White, and King James Onlyism with one of their leading advocates; and finally, abortion with Ilana Goldman, Peggy Loonan, and Boulder, Colorado's infamous late-term abortionist Warren Hern.  

The Western Wall  Part 22:  Herodian Stones -  English only.  Thousands of stones make up the Western Wall, but the ones dating back to the time of King Herod stand out. Perhaps, God wants his children to learn a lesson from those stones!  Recorded July 5, 2023.

The city of Tiberias looms large over the life and ministry of Jesus because of the powerful group of Jews it represented: The Herodians. These were wealthy, influential people who supported the pro-Roman Herodian regime. When we understand the background and origin of the city of Tiberias alongside the strategic ambition of the Herodian family, it makes perfect sense why the Herodians saw Jesus as a threat. By the end of this episode, you'll see why integrity and vulnerability lead to human flourishing rather than exploitation. 

The Western Wall  Part 9:  The Isaiah Stone  -  English only. Near the southern end of the Western Wall, just below Robinson's Arch, a verse from The Scriptures is engraved in a Herodian stone. Leen Ritmeyer, a leading archaeologist, described it as 'one of the most dramatic and memorable finds of the excavations that followed the Six Day War.' This centuries-old paleo-Hebrew inscription has a message for us today!  Recorded January 17, 2023. 

Esau and the Edomites is an often overlooked topic in many churches. The question arises, if evil is associated with Esau, when did this hatred end and when did God change his mind to love Esau as much as Jacob? The Bible provides insight into this subject. Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife who was barren and the Lord answered his prayers. Rebecca, his wife, gave birth to twins who struggled in her womb before birth. The Lord told Rebecca that two nations were in her womb and one would be stronger than the other, with the greater serving the younger. According to the Book of Jasher, Esau was deceitful from birth while Jacob was perfect and wise. Isaac loved Esau for eating his venison, but Rebecca loved Jacob. In Genesis 25, Jacob offered Esau bread and lentil pottage, and when Esau ate it, he despised his birthright. Jesus mentions that Esau fled from Nimrod due to exhaustion from fighting and fleeing. Esau was 40 years old when he married Judith, the daughter of Bride. Isaac blessed Jacob and charged him not to take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. Esau cried bitterly when he saw Isaac bless Jacob and send him away. The Bible mentions a conflict between Isaac and Jacob in Genesis 33. In Exodus 17, there was a war between Israel and Al-Malik, descendants of Esau. The Lord told Moses to write a memorial of this in a book and to declare it to Joshua. The Edomites did not accommodate the Israelites, leading God to hold it against them for generations. In 2 Samuel 8, David had a close companion who turned on him, typical of Edomites who deceitfully gained high positions next to the king. In John 13:18, Jesus spoke of his betrayal and death, referring to Judas Iscariot. Jesus used the same term as David when referring to his betrayal. In Matthew 21:38, Jesus gives the parable of the householder concerning the vineyard of the Lord. The husband sent his son, who the husbandmen wanted to kill to seize his inheritance. In John 8:38, Jesus argued with the Pharisees and Sadducees, saying they sought to kill him because his word had no place in them. Jesus revealed they were of their father the Devil. When Jesus was born, Herod, a descendant of the Herodium who had converted to Judaism, was on the throne and tried to kill Jesus. When Jesus confronted the Herodian scribes and Pharisees, he was dealing with Edomites who betrayed him. In Psalm 83, Edomites are described as warmongers and God has declared war against them. They are Confederate against the tabernacles of Edam and the Israelites of Moab, Gebal, Ammon, and Philistines.

Saturday, 19 November 2022   And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now it was during the Days of Unleavened Bread. Acts 12:3   The previous verse noted the killing of James with the sword. Now, it continues, saying, “And because he saw that it pleased the Jews.” The meaning is clear. This doesn't mean all the Jews collectively, but those who represented the nation. It is referring to the Jews who were in the powerful positions and whose favor would more fully establish his political relations with them along with his own power within the realm. Because these leaders were happy that Agrippa had done away with one of the leading apostles, “he proceeded further to seize Peter also.”   The Greek is actually in the form of a Hebraism, saying, “he added to lay hold of Peter also.” It is a way of showing an increase in a proposition, whatever it may be. In this case, it is the proposition of eliminating the apostles for the sake of cementing political status and power.    The apostles had been a thorn in the side of the leadership for about ten years. Therefore, having the ruling governmental authority over them harass and destroy this group was a welcome occasion for the leading Jews. And because this pleased the Jews, while also solidifying his own position and power, Agrippa decided to continue with his attack against them. As Peter was a chief figure among them and one who had spoken boldly against the ruling council, he was probably personally called out by name by the Jews as the next suitable target. Ellicott agrees with this being a matter of politics, saying –   “This was throughout the ruling policy of the Herodian house. The persecution did not spring from any fanatic zeal against the new faith, but simply from motives of political expediency.”   Likewise, Cambridge further clarifies this relationship between the two by citing Josephus –   “This Josephus notices (Antiq. xix. 7. 3), for, comparing Agrippa with the Herod who ruled before him, he mentions that the latter ‘was more friendly to the Greeks than to the Jews,' in which matter he says Agrippa ‘was not at all like him.'”   With the event explained, the timing of it is next provided, saying, “Now it was during the Days of Unleavened Bread.”   The meaning is that this is during the time of the Passover and the pilgrim feast of Unleavened Bread which accompanies it. Luke unites the two in one thought as he did in his gospel. This is evident because the Passover actually precedes and leads into Unleavened Bread. Notice, however, that Luke unites them using the commonly used terminology for both that had been adopted in Israel –   “Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover. 2 And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people. 3 Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. 4 So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them. 5 And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. 6 So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude. 7 Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed. 8 And He sent Peter and John, saying, ‘Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat.'” Luke 22:1-8   As it is now the time of the Passover, it would be especially pleasing to the Jews. They had crucified Jesus at this time, and it was certainly welcome that Peter had been seized at the same time of year. However, one can see the backroom dealing of the Jews and Agrippa in the words of the coming verse which will be analyzed in the next commentary.    Life application: Some people refuse to talk to others about religion and politics. Some will talk about religion but not politics, or vice versa. The fact is that Christians are obligated to speak out about Jesus in order to be considered faithful servants of the Lord. This doesn't mean that all must be evangelists and stand on the street corner, but we should be willing to speak about Jesus when the occasion arises or when questioned about our faith.   But it is also true that we live in a world where earthly governments rule. It is the policy of some sects, such as the Roman Catholic Church, to participate in the running of governments, dictating to them what should and should not be done. It is the policy of some sects and cults to never engage in any political activity at all, not even voting. This is the policy of the cult known as the Jehovah's Witnesses.   Both approaches are flawed. Governments that are led by religion will inevitably become religiously tyrannical. Governments that have no representation of faithful Christians will become wholly immoral and destructive against any who are spiritually aligned with Christ.   As this is so, it is incumbent on faithful Christians to engage in voting and even in running for political office. By doing so, their views can be expressed and protected. Paul was a Roman citizen and he appealed to his citizenship unashamedly. He attempted to convert public officials, kings, and others in governmental positions. These things are undeniable as revealed in Scripture. Therefore, it is to the benefit of both the general population and the working of the government in which one lives to be active in both religious and governmental affairs.   Have a right balance in your thinking concerning these things. And above all, do not listen to those who claim an ultra-piety that says, “I am not of this world.” In this, they rip the words of Jesus (John 15:19) out of any proper context in order to absolve themselves of any responsibility for the events of life.   Rather, Paul clearly shows – both in his actions and in his writings – that we are in this world, and we must conduct our affairs in this world, but that we also have a better hope than this world. We cannot deny either without having an unbalanced approach to the lives that we live – in the here and now and in the hope of the future that lies ahead.   Lord God, how good it is to know that even though we are in this world and have lives to lead, we also have a hope that transcends this earthly life. Our true hope is not in a leader, a bank account, a form of government, or a retirement that provides a false sense of safety and security. None of these things can ever come close to the glory that lies ahead when Christ comes for His people. How we long for that day, and may that day be soon! Amen.

Welcome to the Maccabean Revolt period! Jeff Cavins joins Fr. Mike to introduce the tenth biblical period in our journey, which begins with the Greek oppression of the Jews under Antiochus Epiphanes, and ends with Herodian rule of the Holy Land. Jeff and Fr. Mike walk us through the key events of this period, highlighting the zealous response of the Maccabean family, the celebration of Hanukkah, and the heroic martyrdom of Jews who would not betray their religious identity in the midst of persecution. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Romans 12:3-5 Rev. Erik Veerman9/25/2022A Humility that Promotes UnityThis morning, we'll be considering Romans 12:3-5. You can find that on page 1126 in the pew Bibles.This is a continuation of our short series in Romans 12. We're getting into the heart of the chapter. It relates to us together, our relationships with one another and service in the church.Please stand for the reading of God's Word.Reading of Romans 12:3-5PrayerIntroductionThe big news over the past few weeks has been the passing and legacy of Queen Elizabeth II – the queen of England. She was the longest serving monarch in their history. And as you've heard over and over, she was faithful, kind, and gentle – a true example to follow.One of her former bodyguards shared a story that happened a few years ago. He was on a long walk with the Queen near her estate in Scotland. They happened to come upon 2 American hikers. These guys didn't recognize the queen and she didn't tell them who she was. She was dressed in casual attire and a scarf for the hike. They had a nice conversation. The Americans asked them where they were each from. The queen replied that she had a holiday home in the area but mainly lived in London. They asked how long she had been coming up to the area, to which she replied, “for about 80 years since I was a little girl.”“Oh, you must have met the queen, then,” one of them responded.Her majesty came back, “I have not met the queen, but he has multiple times,” pointing to her bodyguard.They then asked him what she was like. He responded, “oh she can be a little cantankerous at times, but she has a lovely sense of humor.”The Americans then handed the queen one of their cameras, asking if she would take a picture with this guy who has met the queen. After all he had me the queen. So she did, and then her body guard insisted that he take a picture of them with her.They all went on their merry way. I wonder if they ever realized who she really was.She never said, “don't you recognize me, I'm the queen.” She wasn't stand-off-ish or prideful because of her position. No she had a sweet and humble sense about her. Here are some quotes from recent articles written about her:• Queen Elizabeth II – A figurehead of such dignity, grace, humility, and faith• One author wrote: “Elizabeth's humility was her ‘real strength'”• Here's another: “Queen Elizabeth has shown selfless humility, grace, and loyalty”• “Her majesty was an incredible humble woman at heart”• And finally: “She had a humble, down to earth demeanor”Perhaps her humility came from her belief in Christ and His Word, I don't know. But we certainly could say she modelled Romans 12:3, not thinking of herself more highly than she ought, but rather with sober judgment.That phrase in 12:3 is a good definition of humility. Biblical humility is… having a perspective of ourselves that we are helpless without God and his grace. It means in our relationships with others, we give deference, and are gentle and respectful, lifting each other up, not arrogant or prideful, but kind and caring. And the humility that Romans 12:3 speaks of, should be the foundation of our relationships and our work together. It all begins with humility. Let me say it in a different way. Unity in relating to one another and unity in serving alongside one another begins with humility. Humility is an essential ingredient in the unity of the church – the body of Christ.That's what these verses are about. And let's look at them in three parts.1. A Humble Example – the Apostle Paul begins with himself.2. A Humble Appeal – There's a clear admonition here.3. A Unifying Reason – We're not just given a charge, we're given a reason. And it's a beautiful one.So, an example, an appeal, and a reason.1. A Humble ExampleSo first, Paul references himself as a receiver of what he is about to exhort them. He says, “for by the grace given to me, I say to you.” In other words, I have received a humility beyond human reason or logic. It has been and continues to be a grace in my life. It's a blessing. And I want you to have that same humility.Listen, Paul had everything to boast about. He was a Roman citizen. He was a Hebrew of Hebrews, from the tribe of Benjamin. He was well educated - trained at the feet of Gamaliel, the top Jewish scholar of the day; Fluent in several languages. He had been a pharisee of pharisees. Yet, as he says in his letter to the church in Philippi, he counted it all as rubbish compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ.It's not that the apostle didn't have convictions. He certainly did. But his disposition towards others was kind and his view of himself was modest.For him it all started at his conversion. You may know the story well. He was on the road to Damascus seeking to persecute believers of Jesus. And a bright light blinded him. God humbled him. He fell to the ground, as God called out to him. And he believed.Just like Paul, our coming to faith in Christ is at its foundation an act of humility before God. We submit ourselves to God. When we do so, we recognize him as our creator, as our Lord, and as our Savior. We are nothing apart from him. That's what happened to the apostle Paul in a radical way. And he calls the humility he received “grace.” The Greek is Xaris. The gift of faith from God to him. And God gave him wisdom, and knowledge and passion. But he attributed all of it to God. And Paul was intensely relational. The love he displayed to all believers and churches was so apparent. That is very clear in the opening and closing greetings in his letters. There was no one that he considered himself superior to, whether a prisoner, slave, woman, child, or whatever background.Culturally, his humility was radical. In the broader Greco-Roman world, humility was not a virtue. In fact, it was considered shameful to be humble. If you displayed humility towards someone who had a similar or lower class status, you were unethical. There was no category for humility in the lists of virtuous characteristics.Today, humility is more appreciated. There's even a trend among business executives to be humble and approachable.But not so back then. Paul's humility was radical, and so he began his exhortation with the example of his life. A humble example.2. A Humble AppealAnd that brings us to his appeal. This is point #2. Paul's appeal to the church in Rome. You could say, his humble appeal to be humble.And the church in Rome especially needed to hear this. The church was very diverse. In chapter 16, Paul greets many in the church. Their names indicate their different backgrounds and cultural status. Some had Greek names, some Jewish names, others Roman names. The list references believers from Asia minor as well. And some names indicated aristocracy, like “Herodian.”Even though they were all from the Mediterranean region, each came with cultural expectations and different ways they expressed themselves. Plus, they were from different segments of the population. Even thought they were all Christians, it would be easy to misunderstand or presume or get frustrated at each other. They would also be tempted to think their cultural background or status was superior to other people in the church. The apostle Paul knew this, and he wanted to be really clear. In regard to the church, it didn't matter who you were or where you came from, you were called to be humble. The church in Rome needed that exhortation.Look at that phrase, “I say to everyone among you.” The emphasis in the Greek is on each and every. Leaders, servants, young, old, new believers in Christ, mature believers. There's not a single person in this room that this doesn't apply to.“Do not think of yourselves more highly than you ought.” Rather, “think of yourselves with sober judgment.” Remove any sense of pretense about who you are because of your family, your occupation, your education, your hometown, your role in the church, your age, whether you are married or not, your ethnic background, your neighborhood, how much money is in your bank account. Don't elevate your worth and value above anyone else. No, rather with thoughtful, level-headed sobriety, consider each-and-every other person as made in the image of Christ and as either a fellow Christian OR someone who needs the saving grace of Christ.One of the greatest theologians in the history of the church was Augustine. He served as a leading bishop in the church back in the 4th century in northern Africa. He described the importance of humility this way “For those who would learn God's ways, humility is the first thing, humility is the second thing, and humility is the third thing.” Augustine saw humility as a vital characteristic of the Christian faith, from which flowed all others.Have you every prayed that God would humble you? It's a dangerous prayer, isn't it! Because if God answers that, how will he humble you?A few years ago, I remember praying that God would humble me. And I remember being surprised that God actually answered it. I mean, no one wants to learn life lessons the hard way, but when it comes to humility, it often requires God humbling you in painful ways, showing you that you are not worthy of higher honor or status than anyone else. Without sharing the details, I'll just tell you that the process of being humbled was painful and difficult, but it was a sanctifying work in my life.If you are humbled in some way, the question is, will you cooperate with what God is doing? In those difficult times, whatever it is, will you grow in humility? You see, our natural sinful tendency is the opposite. When hurt or humiliated or shamed, we can become bitter, envious, insecure, or defensive. But instead, we should humble ourselves before God and before others. Would you heed the call of Romans 12:3 to think of yourself with sober judgment? Would you pray that God would humble you? Would you pray that God would deepen your understanding of his undeserved grace your life? … just like the grace that he gave the apostle Paul.Before we look at verses 4 and 5, there a phrase at end of verse 3 that is difficult to interpret. It says, “according to the measure of faith given to you.”You may have wondered what that means. So have I! So, let's take a brief couple of minutes to analyze it.The reason it's difficult to interpret is because that word “faith” can mean different things in the Scriptures. It can mean saving faith – you know, the saving faith you have in Christ, when you came to faith. But it can also mean the level of trust you have in God. Like the call to grow in your faith… grow in your hope… grow in your reliance upon God… seeking to mature in your trust of God. That kind of faith is about the maturity of your walk with the Lord.But look at the phrase, again. It says, “according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” The word “measure” in English seems to indicate that we are each given different levels of faith. Well, that reading seems to indicate that the faith mentioned is a sanctifying faith, not saving faith. However, some have pointed out that word “measure” in Scripture does not usually mean a different amount, rather it means “fulness.” So the “fulness of faith that God has assigned.” With that reading, it would be saving faith that Paul is talking about.Those are the main two interpretations. The difference is this: The first interpretation means that as you grow in your faith, you should become more humble. The second is that you should be humble because of the saving faith that God has given you. Which is it? I'm not exactly sure, but I lean toward seeing it as saving faith. In other words, be humble because of the fulness of the saving faith that God has assigned… or that God has given you. That interpretation also ties nicely back to the beginning of verse 3. The grace given Paul is similar to the grace given you. And a couple verses later in verse 6. That same phrase “according to” is used, but with the word “grace.”Regardless of which interpretation is correct, it doesn't change the appeal. Either way, God calls each and every one of us to humility.3. A Unifying ReasonSo, the first point was A Humble Example – the apostle's own humility because of the grace given him. The second point was A Humble Appeal. The call to humility.That brings us to point 3: A Unifying Reason.Verses 3 and 4 answers the question, “why?” Really, I would say, this is a mix between the reason and the result. You see that word “for” (f-o-r) right at the beginning of verse number 4. That's similar to the word “because.”Here's the whole thing: “For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”This is so rich. Really, over the next 2 weeks, we're going to see this applied in 2 ways. First, in the different spiritual gifts we are each given. And second, in the love and care of one another to which we are called. Stay tuned for those.But these two verses, 4 and 5, are the foundation. The analogy is of a body. You've probably heard that phrase a lot, “the body of Christ.” It means the true church. We are members together in Christ's body. That word “body” is referencing someone's physical body. And it's a metaphor. It's saying, just like your body is made up of different parts, and each has a different function, so it is with the body of Christ.Kids! I want you to think of the different parts of your body. What are these? (waving my hands) Hands! You have eyes. A brain. (although sometimes I wonder if teenage boys have a brain! I wonder if I did back then) Feet to move around. What else? Ears to hear. A mouth to talk. A nose to smell. Yeah, all of those. The adults here have a little more knowledge of what's inside of you that makes those things work. Like your nervous system, which coordinates your movements and allows you to feel pain. You have your heart which pumps blood throughout. It brings energy and nutrients to your muscles and organs. You have your digestive system which processes the food you eat and turns it into either energy (or waste).And think about how the different parts of your body work together. Your eyes and your hands. Your ears and your mouth. Think about how your brain and heart and nerves work together to keep you alive and animate all your parts.It's quite amazing how God made us, isn't it?!And what these verses are saying is that the church is like a body. Each person has a different function or role in the church. Each part of the body of Christ works together. Each serves in a different way. We each, in the body of Christ, support each other in different ways. Each role serves a purpose. Next week we're going to talk about the different gifts that God gives his people, you, to serve the church. But the broader point is that the parts of the body, of the church, work together. Each is an indispensable part.You say, “but how does this all relate to humility?”Well, God is saying through the apostle Paul that humility is the essential ingredient. We all need to have humility to see that we each play an important role. The gifts and responsibilities we are given in the church are different, but we are each brothers and sisters in Christ, each serving alongside one another, and each building up his body and giving God the glory. Humility promotes unity in the church. When God's people are humble, we serve well alongside one another.To be sure, this applies beyond just the workings of the church to fulfill the mission of the church. This applies to marriages. A husband and wife may have different roles, but a unified marriage requires the man and woman to humbly serve and listen to one another. This applies to other family relationships - brothers and sisters, children and parents. When we have a humble disposition toward each other in a family, God unites us closer together.Let's focus in on verse 5 for a moment. It says, “so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.” Many but one. Individual parts but one body. Diversity but unity.Really these three verses are full of this theme. The many and the one. The many: “everyone among you,” “members,” the word “individually,” and the word itself “many.” But also the idea of togetherness. The phrase “one body” is used twice, and verse 5 ends with “members, one of another.” We are all individuals, you and me, but we are one body together. But where does that unity come from? What is the glue that unites us? What is the tie that binds?Well, it's right there in the middle of verse 5. We are “one body in Christ.”Through saving faith in Christ, God's Spirit unites each of us to Jesus. And in that uniting to Christ individually, we are united together in him. Sometimes we use the phrase “union with Christ.” Or the Westminster confession uses the word “ingrafting.” We have been grafted into Christ. And through that union with him… we reap all the benefits of Christ in his life, ministry, death, and resurrection. In our suffering, we suffer in Christ and have his strength. Our death is now hidden in Christ's death. And through his resurrection, we will be resurrected. That's what Romans 6:5 tells us. “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” The benefits of our union with Christ are literally immeasurable. And one of the great benefits is our union together.We are united together, one to another, in Christ. We are one body in Christ. One body, many members, one to another in him.ConclusionAs we come to a close, here's where I want to tie this unity all back to humility. The unity that we have together in Christ, is a unity that is founded on humility. It's Christ's humility that has made our unity in him possible!We read the beginning of Philippians 2 early in our service. It has a very similar emphasis to Romans 12. It says, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” It goes on to describe that humility more, but then it lays down the foundation of our humility. It is Jesus. Christ's humility is the foundation and model of our humility.It says, “though [Christ] was in the form of God, [he] did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” What that means is that when Christ became man, he set aside the external display of God's glory in him, by becoming a man. He didn't set aside his nature as God, rather, his glory was veiled in the incarnation.Philippians 2 goes on, “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”The ultimate display of humility is the cross of Christ. The ultimate model for our humility is the cross of Christ. The ultimate source of our humility is found in the cross of Christ. And the ultimate reason for our unity is the humility of the cross of Christ.The humility that promotes unity is the humility of Christ.If the God of the universe humbled himself for you, how much more so should you humble yourself before one another? May we be humble people united in heart and soul, lifting each other up as one body in Christ, for his glory, not ours. Amen

Audio Transcript: This media has been made available by Mosaic Boston Church. If you'd like to check out more resources, learn about Mosaic Boston in our neighborhood Churches or donate to this ministry, please visit mosaicboston.com. Heavenly Father, we thank you that you, the Great God of the universe have given us this opportunity to come and worship you. We thank you Jesus, that while we were yet sinners, you came and you died for us. Not because there was anything lovely in us presently or in the future, but because you are a loving God. Lord, I pray, remove any distractions and help us focus on your Holy Word. Help us to meditate today on the Sovereignty of God that you are God over everything, over every detail, over all the minutia of our lives and all the minutia in the world. And help us take solace in the fact that you're in control, even when we look at our lives and we look at the world, it seems like everything is out of control. Your word tells us that when we submit ourselves to you, when we love you with all our heart, soul, strength and mind, you take every single aspect of our lives and you weave them all together for our good and for your glory. Bless our time in the Holy Scriptures now, as we look at a profound passage. It's difficult in many ways, but it's not difficult to understand. It's difficult to receive, so give us grace to receive it. We pray Holy Spirit, come now and minister to us. Take these words that are on paper, that are on screens and apply them to our hearts. Make us the people who love you with everything that we got. Love the Gospel with everything we got, so much so that we're willing to sacrifice anything and everything, so that others might have the opportunity to hear the Gospel and be prompted by the Holy Spirit generated in their hearts and drawn to you. Bless our time in the Holy Word. We pray all this in Christ's Holy Name. Amen. We're continuing our sermon series through Romans 9. Today, we're in Romans 9:1-5. The title of the sermon is, Heartbroken Over Eternal Souls. We've moved from one of the most popular passages in all the Scripture, Romans 8 to one of the least popular and most avoided. It's a difficult passage, but it's not that difficult to understand. I can explain it to you. It's difficult for many to accept and receive, partially because it cuts against the grain of our very nature. Our nature is driven by self. In many ways, we are natural Pelasgians. Pelagius taught that we have the power to come to Christ whenever we want. That we have a free will that's truly free and we can choose Christ whenever, wherever. That's not true. I love this portion of Scripture. It's balm to my weary soul, because it shows us that God is Sovereign. That God is King. That God is God. He is all powerful. He can do whatever he wills, and whatever he wills is good because he is good. I love this portion of Scripture because it reminds me I'm not in control, nor do I need to be. God is in control. And thanks be to Jesus Christ, the one who is in control loves me and wants the best for me. In Romans 8, one of my favorite verses is Romans 8:28, which says, "And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Well this verse is only true, if God is Sovereign over every single detail in the universe. If God is Sovereign over everything, then he is Sovereign over who gets saved, because who gets saved is part of everything. And if you don't understand just how totally Sovereign God is, you don't really understand the character of God, not yet. Romans 9 is an explanation for why the word of God has not failed, even though God's chosen people Israel, as a whole, are not turning to Christ and being saved. In Romans 8, God says, "There is nothing that can sever God's people from God's love." There is nothing that can sever God's people from God's love, and here someone can raise the question, "Whoa, whoa, hold on. What about Israel? What about the Jewish People, the chosen people of God? Why aren't they flocking to Christ as they should be?" They have received so many of the privileges that many people are not born into. Here St. Paul says, "Hey, hold on. God never promised that salvation will be given to all of ethnic Israel, because salvation isn't based on DNA. Salvation isn't based on our genes. It's not based on our religious pedigree. It doesn't matter how many religious people you had in your family before you. What matters is faith in Jesus Christ, your own personal faith in Jesus Christ, your own relationship with Christ." God's word has not fallen and the sovereignty of God's grace has brought in, in Romans 9, as the final ground of God's faithfulness, despite Israel's faithlessness, their failure to trust in Christ. And therefore, God's sovereignty is the deepest foundation for the precious promises of Romans 8. With that said, would you please look with me in Romans 9:1-5, "I am speaking the truth in Christ. I'm not lying. My conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. They are Israelite. And to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen." This is the reading of God's holy, inerrant, infallible, authoritative word, may write these eternal truths upon our hearts. Three points to frame over our time. First, anguish over lost souls. Second, accursed and cut off. And third, religious privilege doesn't save. First, anguish over lost souls. Look at verse one. Look at Paul's solemnity. He's giving a declaration with the deepest sincerity that he can muster. He says, "I am speaking the truth in Christ." He invokes Christ, the second person of the Trinity. "I'm not lying. Speaking the truth. I'm not lying. My conscience bears me witness." Brings in his conscience. "In the Holy Spirit," brings in the third person of the Holy Spirit, to show us just how sincere he is and what he's about to say. Why? Because he knows that he's said some things that are problematic for religious Jewish people of his day and religious Jewish people of our day. Before Paul looks at how God has taken the Gospel from the Jews to the Gentiles community, grafting Gentiles in the place of Israel. That's what Romans 9-11 is about. He wants to make sure that these people, his brothers, his brethren, his kinsmen. His brothers that he grew up going to synagogue with these people. This is his family. He wants the Jewish community to know that he is writing these words with tears. He's not angry. He's not hostile toward them. He's speaking with a loving and burdened heart. Why is such a strong assertion of truthfulness of his love? Because he knows that he has spoken hard truths. And when you speak hard truths to people, it's easy for them to misinterpret your intentions. He's speaking truth, because he loves. Probably because Paul also knows that his fellow Jews were suspicious of his loyalty and his patriotism, because he was used by God to bring so many Gentiles into the people of God. He was viewed by a number of his Jewish people as a traitor, that he has lost his natural affection towards his people and he denies this. They doubted his love. So that's what he starts with. Why would they doubt his love? Because he said hard things, like Romans 2:24, "For as it is written, the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you." He's talking about religious people who offered God nothing more than mouth service. They worshiped God with their mouths, but their hearts were far from him. The Gentiles saw the testimony, the sermon of the lives of these people. And he said, "You worship God?" They blaspheme the name of God. Romans 3:9, "What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin." This was his message. His message has never changed. His message was, it doesn't matter what your pedigree. It doesn't matter what your genealogy. It doesn't matter what your DNA. It doesn't matter how many faithful people you had in your past, in your family. None of that matters, because God doesn't have grandchildren. God only has children. So everyone is a sinner. He's preaching the same message to both Jews and Greeks. And the Jews will say, "Hold on, hold on. You're saying we're as much sinners as the Gentiles?" And Paul says, "Yes. We're all sinners. We're all under the condemnation of God. We all deserve damnation. We're all accursed apart from God." And then he says in verse six, and we'll cover this next week in Romans 9:6. He says, "But it's not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel." It's not your genealogy that saves you. Saying it over and over and over, God's covenant doesn't guarantee the salvation of every Jew. The ultimate reason why some are cursed and cut off from Christ is that they are not among the elect. Romans 11:7, "What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elective obtained it, but the rest were hardened." Before he gets to these hard truths about election, he wants everyone to know that these truths are coming from a heart that loves people. He says in verse two of chapter nine, "That I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart." You can feel his pain as grief. It's a perturbed heart, kind of like Christ was. And the more that you know Christ and love Christ, the more Christ-like you become. This is why Jesus saves us, so that we can be refashioned and transformed into the image of Christ, that we become more Christ-like, and Christ loved sinners. Christ gave everything to save sinners. On his way to Jerusalem, he knows the passion is coming. He knows the crucifixion is coming, and he knows the people that he is dying for, killed by. These are people that he loves and he wants them to be saved. This is what Jesus says, as he cries out in lament about Jerusalem, a city that hardened their hearts against the word of God. Matthew 23:37, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it. How often would I have gathered your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you are not willing." Paul continues and this is point, accursed and cut off. In verse three, he says. This is how deep his grief. This is how deep his sorrow. He says in verse three, "For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh." Well, you got to pause here and meditate on what he's saying. What are you saying, Paul? The first thing that he's saying is an implication. What he's implying is, that his kinsmen, his brothers according to the flesh, his fellow Jewish believers are accursed and cut off from Christ. He does soften the statement of their loss by expressing in relation to his own anguish, but the statement's unmistakable. He's saying that the Jewish people who rejected Christ are accursed, that they're lost. They're on their way to hell, under the judgment of God. The word for accursed here is anathema. It's used in other places, like 1 Corinthians 16:22, "If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. O Lord, come." So why are these people accursed? What makes one accursed? Well, breaking the moral law of God. You break the moral law of God, God's curses upon your head. It's upon your soul. And there's only one way to be saved from the curse that we all deserve for our law breaking. That's the trust in the God Man, Jesus Christ, who was cursed on our behalf. These people rejected the only one who could save them from the curse of the law. Galatians 3:13 says, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree." Paul knows this. Paul knows that the only way to be saved from damnation is to trust in Jesus Christ, that Jesus Christ, the substitutionary atonement, he bore the curse that we deserve. And as soon as we trust in him, the curse is lifted off from us, and Christ's righteousness is imputed to us. "He who knew no sin became sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God." Paul knows this, but he still sees his brothers and sisters as kinsmen in the flesh. They've rejected Christ, and he says some haunting words. He says, "For I could wish that I were accursed on their behalf." What he's saying is hypothetically, if there were a way for them to be saved and for me to be cursed, I'm willing to take their curse upon myself and bear eternal torment forever. Of course, he's speaking hypothetically. It's impossible that any mere man could be cursed in exchange for the salvation of others, but Paul expresses this impossible wish in uncertain terms. He says, "My conscience bears me when it's in Christ, I'm saying the truth in the Holy Spirit." He knows it's not true, but if it were true, he would do it. The wish can't be fulfilled. Nothing can sever believers from the love of Christ. We already know this from Romans 8, but he says, "May I be damned so that they would not be." Martin Luther comments. He says, "It seems incredible that a man would desire to be damned in order that the damned might be saved." Well, this is as Christ-like as you can become. He sees people that he loves and he's willing to do absolutely anything and everything sacrifice everything for these people to meet Christ. That's what Christ did. He knew that there was no other way for people to be saved, other than for Christ to come, live a perfectly obedient life of love toward God and people. And then, Christ goes to a cross. He's crucified and the crucifixion was chosen by God. This is pre-destined sovereignty of God. He controls every single detail. God chose crucifixion, because it was the most excruciating form of capital punishment ever known to man, and even that was just a tip of the iceberg of the spiritual anguish that Christ went through. Christ bore our curse upon himself, and that curse was bearing the wrath of God in his soul. Christ went through hell so that we would not have too. You can hear the grief and the voice of St. Paul here at the unbelief of his people. And I wonder, could you say this? Could you say anything remotely close to this? Could you say you love someone so much that you give up your own salvation for them? Those of us who have loved ones who were lost, perhaps a sibling or a spouse or a child or a parent, a grandparent, friends, we know this grief. We know this sorrow. We made joy time with them, laugh with them, even play with them, but there's always a pain underneath knowing, unless this person trusts in Christ, we will spend eternity apart from each other. Luther put it this way, "Love is not only pure joy and delight, but also a great and deep heaviness of heart and sorrow." The good news is, we don't have to give up our salvation for the salvation of others. But if you put yourself in this posture of heart, where you're willing to give up your salvation for that of another, well it makes other things so much easier, like sharing the Gospel with them. As awkward as it can be as politically incorrect as it may be, you can have a difficult conversation with the person. And by the way, this is what St. Paul and by the way Jesus calls each one of us to. The great commission wasn't just given to the disciples or the Apostles or professional trained clergy. The great commission was given to each one of us. Jesus Christ tells each Christian, "Look, I've saved you and now I'm giving you a job. I'm commissioning you, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to do everything that I have taught you." I do want you to increase your evangelistic ministry. You should have one. Every Christian should have an evangelistic ministry, where you have unbelievers that you are heartbroken over, sorrow, anguishing your heart over, and you beg God to save them. And you take any and every opportunity to share the Gospel with them, to read Scripture with them, to speak truth in love and serve them. This is what Paul did. These aren't just words for Paul. He devoted his life, his whole life to sharing the Gospel, planting Churches and doing missionary work. Paul's immense heart broke for Israel and he uses the same word when he writes to the Galatians, the word anathema. The Galatians were being seduced away from the true Gospel in Galatians 1:8. He says, "But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a Gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed." So what he's saying to false teachers who do not preach the full Gospel? He says, "May you be cursed for preaching lies." What he's saying is, "Damn you for destroying the Gospel." This is the worst kind of curse that could be brought against a human being. It goes back to the Old Testament, when God's curse was upon Canaan and God tells the people of Israel, "Don't even take their goods. Slaughter them, give them up to absolute destruction." This is the kind of anathema that Paul is calling upon himself. "I am willing to go through this anathema so that my kinsmen could be saved." And the reader of Romans who knows his or her Bible will immediately spot, that the posture of heart in verse three is very similar to that of Moses. When Moses comes down from Mount Sinai and he sees that the people of Israel have fashioned golden calf, and they're worshiping it. Moses discovers the sin of the people and he knows that God is about to vanquish them, and he says, "God, you got to hold on." And he intercedes for them in Exodus 32:30-32, "The next day, Moses came to the people. You have sinned." And he said to them, "You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the Lord, perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.' So Moses returned to the Lord and said, 'Alas, this people has sinned a great sin. They have made for themselves gods of gold. But now, if you will forgive their sin. If not, please blot me out of your book that you have written." What a heart for the lost, and I pray that the Lord develops a similar heart in each one of us. This is why we exist. This is why this Church exists. This is why we have an army volunteers, every Sunday, show up here like 6:00 AM. They're here till like 2:00 PM, sweating and burning calories. You worship God and you get a workout. It's like CrossFit. Jesus is the center of the cross. This is what we do. We do everything. We do glorify God, and we want unbelievers to meet Jesus. That's what we want. And every single Sunday, there's unbelievers that show up and we hear, people get saved. We prep people for baptism, discipleship, et cetera. The Lord is doing his work. Third point is religious privilege doesn't save. Romans 9:4, "They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship and the promises." What he's saying is, some people are given more revelation than others. These are spiritual privileges. If you grow up in a Christian family, you have a father and a mother who care for you, teach you the Gospel, teach you Holy Scriptures, have devotions with you, pray with you, pray over you, care for you. And they embody the truth of the Gospel with their own lives. That's incredible privilege. I think of my own parents. Every single morning, I walk down the stairs as I go prep breakfast on the way to school. And my dad is on his knees, open Bible, praying to God. My mom and my dad loved the Lord, incredible privilege. But what we are you saying here, it doesn't matter the privileges that you've been given, if you don't do anything with them, if you don't make them your own, if you don't accept these blessings, privileges. The privileges missed, the first one is adoption. And here he is talking about Israel not as adoption given to individuals. And this has to be clarified because in Romans 8, he does say that we have been, "Christians individually adopted into the family of God." Israel did not have the same adoption. They had a national blessing of adoption conferred on them, but they still had to appropriate for themselves. In the Gospel of Matthew, we see this application from the Old Testament, when Jesus Christ was born and then Herod issued the threat of infant slaughter. An angel comes and warns Joseph in a dream to flee from Bethlehem and not to return to Nazareth, but go to Egypt until the threat had passed. And then Matthew tells us, that Joseph took Mary and the baby Jesus and fled to Egypt. And when the Herodian persecution was over, they come back to Israel, thereby fulfilling the Old Testament prophecy that we're given. And this is the text in Matthew 2:13-15. "Now, when they had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, 'Rise, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child to destroy him.' And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, 'Out of Egypt, I called my son." Well, the original reference to this adoption was when God, through Moses brings Israel out of captivity, out of the yoke of slavery under Pharaoh and calling the nation, his son. And that's Hosea 11:1, "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son." The Israelites were those who had been called to enjoy the adoption, but then they've run from the Lord, turned from the Lord and turned to idolatry. The second privilege that they were given is the glory, and the Greek word for glory's Doxa, where we get the word doxology from. When we sing the Doxology after every Sunday Service, we're giving glory to God. He deserves it. The Latin equivalent of the word Doxa is Gloria, from which we get the Gloria Patri, Glory Be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning and is now and ever shall be. Amen. In this context here, Paul is undoubtedly referring to God's presence to people of Israel. God was amongst them, but the reader of Romans have forgotten that Paul has attributed this characteristic to Christians, that God is in us. The Holy Spirit is in us in a way that wasn't true with Israel, but they did experience the Glory, hovering over the mercy seat in the Arc of the Covenant, in the Holy of Holies and glory in Israel is connected to the Shekinah, the blazing light that manifested God's Glory and made him a consuming fire. Ezekiel saw the Glory of God rising from the City of Jerusalem and departing. And at the birth of Jesus Christ, the Glory of God flooded the landscape and the angelic choir gave Glory to God. The covenants were given to Israel, the covenants with Adam, with Noah, with Abraham, with Isaac, Jacob, Moses and with David. And the covenants we inherit from the Jews, not from the Gentiles. We inherit these from Paul's kinsmen. The covenants belonged to them. Covenants and promises probably goes together, but we'll get to the promises later, but all these covenants that God made and all the promises that God made belong to Christians as well. You elect remnant of Israel, you future ethnic Israel as a whole, and you Gentiles who trust in the Messiah and are grafted into the tree of the covenant of the promise, these are ours. Why? Because in Jesus Christ, "All the promises of God are yes," as 2 Corinthians tells us. The giving of the law. We received the law because the law was given by God to Israel. The law wasn't given to Hammurabi. It wasn't given to Babylon, Phoenicia or Egypt. The law was given to Israel and through Israel, it was given to all of us. And the law was given to us, so that we might realize that we are sinners in need of the Grace of God. Romans 3:19, "Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God." The whole world. The moral law is given to every single human being. It's not just the Jewish people. And as you read the Ten Commandments, you realize that there's a self authenticating power to them. That these are God's words and these words are written on our hearts, so that's the self authentication. And ultimately, the law is given to us to show us that we need salvation. We need Christ. Romans 10:4, "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." In the long term, aim of the law wasn't our condemnation. It was our salvation. For trusting the Messiah for our righteousness, the law has become to us, what it was given for, a servant to lead us to Christ. And the word worship. The worship was given to the people of Israel and the word for worship that he uses here is the same word as service. So to worship God is to serve God. To serve God is to worship God, the Greek word [foreign language 00:29:19]. Our instructions about how to bring praise, sacrifices to God in corporate worship were given to us through the people of Israel. And the word here refers to ministry of priests and the offering of sacrifices. And the supreme temple service, the supreme temple worship was the Passover. In the Passover, a lamb was to be slaughtered. Blood was supposed to be shed. And then you take that blood and you paint it over your doorway, so that the angel of death passes over your household. And then, 1 Corinthians 5:7 says that, "Christ is our ultimate Passover lamb. He has been sacrificed." He has performed the final and decisive atoning temple service on the cross. So when we say the temple service belongs to true Israel, we mean in the fullest saving way, our sins are forgiven and God welcomes us into his fellowship. Then six, he says, "The promises we're given to them." Which promises? And there are thousands in Scripture, but in particular, it's the promise that God would save his people from their sins, and we'll get that from the very beginning in Genesis 3 right after the fall. In Genesis 3:15, God gives us the Protoevangelion, the first Gospel in Genesis 3:15 where he says the following, "I will put enmity between you." He's talking to the serpent saying, "And the woman, between your offspring and her offspring, he." So this is the offspring of the woman. "He will bruise your head and you will bruise his heel." And this is God promising that the seed of the woman. This is going to be a human being, but it's a human being who can vanquish Satan. So it has to be God. He's the only one who can vanquish Satan. He's the one that will come and he's the one that will save. A friend sent me a video this week of Jordan Peterson. Apparently, he's been getting into the Bible recently, and it was a video of him with a slide behind him of every single Cross reference in Scripture. And it's just arc after arc after arc. And I'm like, I already knew this, but he was amazed. There's 65,000 Cross references in the Bible. I actually think it's more, but 65,000 Cross references in the Bible and he's like, "This book is ... You can't make this up. This is a miracle." He called it the first hyperlinked book ever. He's like, "There's no links to click, but it's hyperlinked." It's telling one story. 3000 years, three millennia, 40 plus authors, three plus language, all speaking in harmony unison about this Gospel. We have sinned. God is gracious, sends his Son to vanquish Satan, sin and death. All these things, the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship of God and God's promises, they came through to Paul's kinsmen Israel. Don't you see? This is why Paul is in tears. You've been given so much. You've been given every single piece of the puzzle. You're only missing the Cross at the center, Jesus Christ. Romans 9:5, "To them belong to patriarchs. And from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God overall, blessed forever. Amen." The implication of this is stated in Romans 11:28, "As regards the Gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers." And we'll get into that in a few weeks. But in other words, God freely chose Abraham, freely chose Isaac and Jacob and promised to their descendants that they would be heirs of God. And what we see from Romans 9-11 is that, this is meant in three ways. First, that there is an elect remnant of Israel. There always was, and there always will be. Elijah, I don't know if you remember this one text, where he's just complaining to God like, "God, I'm the only Christian. I'm the only one that loves you." I wonder if you ever feel like that in Boston. I'm the only one. I'm the only one in my company, probably the whole university. If you go to BU, you're probably right. I'm the only one. I'm the only one. And God says to Elijah, "Stop complaining. I've got 7,000. 7,000 people who have not knelt a knee to Baal. Well that's election. That's God's saving his remnant. There's also promise that all ethnic is real. At some point, in some future time, when they're alive, will be saved. It will be incredible revival amongst Jewish people. And Gentiles, that's us who trust in the Messiah, become sons of the fathers with the same blessing as the natural children. So if you repent of your sin and trust in Jesus Christ, you become a child of Abraham as much as Isaac was. Everything promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is yours, in the Messiah Jesus Christ. Verse five, I don't know if you noticed. He says, "Christ, who is God overall, blessed forever." Paul does affirm Jesus' Jewish ancestry, that Jesus was fully human, but he doesn't stop there. He gives one of the clearest, most decisive affirmations of the Deity of Christ, that we find anywhere in Scripture, that Christ is God. He's over all things, the entire universe. The Jews use this expression to refer to God's dominion over the entire creation. "Christ is God over all, blessed forever." So if you're having a conversation with a Mormon or a Jehovah's Witness, they don't believe that Jesus is God, just keep this one in the back pocket, Romans 9:5. Just take him there, Romans 9:5, "Christ is God, blessed forever." Here, someone might raise a legitimate question and say, "Will we go to heaven, be sad throughout all eternity, because of those who are cursed and cut off from Christ in hell?" What if we have a loved one who never turns to Christ? Brother or sister, sibling, spouse, child, there will be a sadness in eternity because of them. And the answer is no. The Scripture says, "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes and neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore." But God will have to wipe out tears. God will have to wipe off our tears. Why are we weeping in the first place, in a place of bliss? I think there will be moments in the very beginning, where we wish we had done more, kind of like Schindler's List at the end, where he is like, "Here's the watch. Here's the pen. I wish I had done more." Well, that's just a reminder for us to do the more now, be encouraged to be more bold and preaching the Gospel now. "And with respect to any affection that the godly may have had to the finally reprobate, the love of God will wholly swallow it up, and cause it wholly to cease," as Jonathan Edwards says. In conclusion, pray for God to burden your heart for the lost. If you hear this and you're like, "I've never even thought about praying for the lost." Well first, pray for your own heart, you're living in disobedience. Pray for your own heart to care for the lost and then pray for the lost and share the Gospel with the lost. Romans 10:1, this is what Paul says, "Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved." St. Paul had to pray for God to save people. He couldn't do it himself. He believed in the sovereignty of God. He believed that God elects people to salvation. And because he believed that God elects people to salvation, he prayed for God to save the elect. A lot of people use God's sovereignty in saving people as an excuse to do nothing. Well, if God saves people, then he doesn't need me to share the Gospel. If God is the one to predestine people a salvation, well he doesn't need me to do any. He doesn't need me to pray. That's false. If God predestines the end, he predestines the means. And the means that he predestines is for every single one of us to pray for the lost and share the Gospel with the lost. And the fruit of Paul's anguish is to pray for them and ask that God would save them. If Paul had to pray, if Paul prayed for the lost, we should too. If Christ prayed for the lost, we should too. Jesus Christ on the cross says, "Father, forgive them. They know not what they do." He's praying for the loss. And because Christ prayed for the loss on the cross for their salvation, we are called to pray as well. 2 Timothy 2:25 says, "God may perhaps grant them repentance, leading to a knowledge of the truth." May the Lord do so even now. If you don't know if you're a Christian, if you're still under the guilt of your sins and accursed and cut off from Christ, well don't stay there. Today, turn to Jesus Christ. Look to Christ on the cross. Christ crying out from the depth of his soul and anguish and heart, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Christ was accursed. Christ was caught off from God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, so we would never have to be. He bore the wrath of God, so that we would not have to. He bore the curse, so that we might receive the blessing. So trust in him as your only hope, and you will be saved today. I'll close in Matthew 11:25-30, before we transition to communion. It's a text where Jesus Christ thanks God for closing the eyes of some, opening the eyes of others and saying that only the one to whom the son reveals the Father can be saved. And still Christ says, "Come to me all who are burdened and heavy laden." Matthew 11:25-30, "At that time, Jesus declared, 'I thank you, Father Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children. Yes Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart. And you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Lord, we thank you for all the spiritual privileges that you have bestowed upon us as a Church and as individuals. We thank you for the full canon of Holy Scripture, a word that testifies to you, a word that reveals you, a word that reveals the Living Word of God, Jesus Christ. Lord, we thank you that your, "Word is living and active, sharper than any two edge sword, piercing the division of soul and of marrow, revealing to us the intentions of the heart." And we come to you Lord and we ask for forgiveness of all our sin, of all our pride of all our selfishness and self-reliance, and help us not trust in our spiritual privileges. Make us people who only trust in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And make us people who walk in a manner worthy of the Gospel, to bring glory to you and attract attention to the beautiful Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe, every single person who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. We pray all this in the beautiful name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and savior. Amen.

Audio Transcript: This media has been made available by Mosaic Boston Church. If you'd like to check out more resources, learn about Mosaic Boston in our neighborhood Churches or donate to this ministry, please visit mosaicboston.com.Heavenly Father, we thank you that you, the Great God of the universe have given us this opportunity to come and worship you. We thank you Jesus, that while we were yet sinners, you came and you died for us. Not because there was anything lovely in us presently or in the future, but because you are a loving God. Lord, I pray, remove any distractions and help us focus on your Holy Word. Help us to meditate today on the Sovereignty of God that you are God over everything, over every detail, over all the minutia of our lives and all the minutia in the world. And help us take solace in the fact that you're in control, even when we look at our lives and we look at the world, it seems like everything is out of control. Your word tells us that when we submit ourselves to you, when we love you with all our heart, soul, strength and mind, you take every single aspect of our lives and you weave them all together for our good and for your glory.Bless our time in the Holy Scriptures now, as we look at a profound passage. It's difficult in many ways, but it's not difficult to understand. It's difficult to receive, so give us grace to receive it. We pray Holy Spirit, come now and minister to us. Take these words that are on paper, that are on screens and apply them to our hearts. Make us the people who love you with everything that we got. Love the Gospel with everything we got, so much so that we're willing to sacrifice anything and everything, so that others might have the opportunity to hear the Gospel and be prompted by the Holy Spirit generated in their hearts and drawn to you. Bless our time in the Holy Word. We pray all this in Christ's Holy Name. Amen.We're continuing our sermon series through Romans 9. Today, we're in Romans 9:1-5. The title of the sermon is, Heartbroken Over Eternal Souls. We've moved from one of the most popular passages in all the Scripture, Romans 8 to one of the least popular and most avoided. It's a difficult passage, but it's not that difficult to understand. I can explain it to you. It's difficult for many to accept and receive, partially because it cuts against the grain of our very nature. Our nature is driven by self. In many ways, we are natural Pelasgians. Pelagius taught that we have the power to come to Christ whenever we want. That we have a free will that's truly free and we can choose Christ whenever, wherever. That's not true.I love this portion of Scripture. It's balm to my weary soul, because it shows us that God is Sovereign. That God is King. That God is God. He is all powerful. He can do whatever he wills, and whatever he wills is good because he is good. I love this portion of Scripture because it reminds me I'm not in control, nor do I need to be. God is in control. And thanks be to Jesus Christ, the one who is in control loves me and wants the best for me. In Romans 8, one of my favorite verses is Romans 8:28, which says, "And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Well this verse is only true, if God is Sovereign over every single detail in the universe. If God is Sovereign over everything, then he is Sovereign over who gets saved, because who gets saved is part of everything. And if you don't understand just how totally Sovereign God is, you don't really understand the character of God, not yet.Romans 9 is an explanation for why the word of God has not failed, even though God's chosen people Israel, as a whole, are not turning to Christ and being saved. In Romans 8, God says, "There is nothing that can sever God's people from God's love." There is nothing that can sever God's people from God's love, and here someone can raise the question, "Whoa, whoa, hold on. What about Israel? What about the Jewish People, the chosen people of God? Why aren't they flocking to Christ as they should be?" They have received so many of the privileges that many people are not born into.Here St. Paul says, "Hey, hold on. God never promised that salvation will be given to all of ethnic Israel, because salvation isn't based on DNA. Salvation isn't based on our genes. It's not based on our religious pedigree. It doesn't matter how many religious people you had in your family before you. What matters is faith in Jesus Christ, your own personal faith in Jesus Christ, your own relationship with Christ." God's word has not fallen and the sovereignty of God's grace has brought in, in Romans 9, as the final ground of God's faithfulness, despite Israel's faithlessness, their failure to trust in Christ. And therefore, God's sovereignty is the deepest foundation for the precious promises of Romans 8.With that said, would you please look with me in Romans 9:1-5, "I am speaking the truth in Christ. I'm not lying. My conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. They are Israelite. And to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen." This is the reading of God's holy, inerrant, infallible, authoritative word, may write these eternal truths upon our hearts. Three points to frame over our time. First, anguish over lost souls. Second, accursed and cut off. And third, religious privilege doesn't save.First, anguish over lost souls. Look at verse one. Look at Paul's solemnity. He's giving a declaration with the deepest sincerity that he can muster. He says, "I am speaking the truth in Christ." He invokes Christ, the second person of the Trinity. "I'm not lying. Speaking the truth. I'm not lying. My conscience bears me witness." Brings in his conscience. "In the Holy Spirit," brings in the third person of the Holy Spirit, to show us just how sincere he is and what he's about to say. Why? Because he knows that he's said some things that are problematic for religious Jewish people of his day and religious Jewish people of our day. Before Paul looks at how God has taken the Gospel from the Jews to the Gentiles community, grafting Gentiles in the place of Israel. That's what Romans 9-11 is about. He wants to make sure that these people, his brothers, his brethren, his kinsmen. His brothers that he grew up going to synagogue with these people. This is his family.He wants the Jewish community to know that he is writing these words with tears. He's not angry. He's not hostile toward them. He's speaking with a loving and burdened heart. Why is such a strong assertion of truthfulness of his love? Because he knows that he has spoken hard truths. And when you speak hard truths to people, it's easy for them to misinterpret your intentions. He's speaking truth, because he loves. Probably because Paul also knows that his fellow Jews were suspicious of his loyalty and his patriotism, because he was used by God to bring so many Gentiles into the people of God. He was viewed by a number of his Jewish people as a traitor, that he has lost his natural affection towards his people and he denies this.They doubted his love. So that's what he starts with. Why would they doubt his love? Because he said hard things, like Romans 2:24, "For as it is written, the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you." He's talking about religious people who offered God nothing more than mouth service. They worshiped God with their mouths, but their hearts were far from him. The Gentiles saw the testimony, the sermon of the lives of these people. And he said, "You worship God?" They blaspheme the name of God. Romans 3:9, "What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin." This was his message.His message has never changed. His message was, it doesn't matter what your pedigree. It doesn't matter what your genealogy. It doesn't matter what your DNA. It doesn't matter how many faithful people you had in your past, in your family. None of that matters, because God doesn't have grandchildren. God only has children. So everyone is a sinner. He's preaching the same message to both Jews and Greeks. And the Jews will say, "Hold on, hold on. You're saying we're as much sinners as the Gentiles?" And Paul says, "Yes. We're all sinners. We're all under the condemnation of God. We all deserve damnation. We're all accursed apart from God." And then he says in verse six, and we'll cover this next week in Romans 9:6. He says, "But it's not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel." It's not your genealogy that saves you. Saying it over and over and over, God's covenant doesn't guarantee the salvation of every Jew. The ultimate reason why some are cursed and cut off from Christ is that they are not among the elect.Romans 11:7, "What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elective obtained it, but the rest were hardened." Before he gets to these hard truths about election, he wants everyone to know that these truths are coming from a heart that loves people. He says in verse two of chapter nine, "That I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart." You can feel his pain as grief. It's a perturbed heart, kind of like Christ was. And the more that you know Christ and love Christ, the more Christ-like you become. This is why Jesus saves us, so that we can be refashioned and transformed into the image of Christ, that we become more Christ-like, and Christ loved sinners. Christ gave everything to save sinners.On his way to Jerusalem, he knows the passion is coming. He knows the crucifixion is coming, and he knows the people that he is dying for, killed by. These are people that he loves and he wants them to be saved. This is what Jesus says, as he cries out in lament about Jerusalem, a city that hardened their hearts against the word of God. Matthew 23:37, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it. How often would I have gathered your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you are not willing."Paul continues and this is point, accursed and cut off. In verse three, he says. This is how deep his grief. This is how deep his sorrow. He says in verse three, "For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh." Well, you got to pause here and meditate on what he's saying. What are you saying, Paul? The first thing that he's saying is an implication. What he's implying is, that his kinsmen, his brothers according to the flesh, his fellow Jewish believers are accursed and cut off from Christ. He does soften the statement of their loss by expressing in relation to his own anguish, but the statement's unmistakable. He's saying that the Jewish people who rejected Christ are accursed, that they're lost. They're on their way to hell, under the judgment of God.The word for accursed here is anathema. It's used in other places, like 1 Corinthians 16:22, "If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. O Lord, come." So why are these people accursed? What makes one accursed? Well, breaking the moral law of God. You break the moral law of God, God's curses upon your head. It's upon your soul. And there's only one way to be saved from the curse that we all deserve for our law breaking. That's the trust in the God Man, Jesus Christ, who was cursed on our behalf. These people rejected the only one who could save them from the curse of the law. Galatians 3:13 says, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree."Paul knows this. Paul knows that the only way to be saved from damnation is to trust in Jesus Christ, that Jesus Christ, the substitutionary atonement, he bore the curse that we deserve. And as soon as we trust in him, the curse is lifted off from us, and Christ's righteousness is imputed to us. "He who knew no sin became sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God." Paul knows this, but he still sees his brothers and sisters as kinsmen in the flesh. They've rejected Christ, and he says some haunting words. He says, "For I could wish that I were accursed on their behalf." What he's saying is hypothetically, if there were a way for them to be saved and for me to be cursed, I'm willing to take their curse upon myself and bear eternal torment forever.Of course, he's speaking hypothetically. It's impossible that any mere man could be cursed in exchange for the salvation of others, but Paul expresses this impossible wish in uncertain terms. He says, "My conscience bears me when it's in Christ, I'm saying the truth in the Holy Spirit." He knows it's not true, but if it were true, he would do it. The wish can't be fulfilled. Nothing can sever believers from the love of Christ. We already know this from Romans 8, but he says, "May I be damned so that they would not be." Martin Luther comments. He says, "It seems incredible that a man would desire to be damned in order that the damned might be saved."Well, this is as Christ-like as you can become. He sees people that he loves and he's willing to do absolutely anything and everything sacrifice everything for these people to meet Christ. That's what Christ did. He knew that there was no other way for people to be saved, other than for Christ to come, live a perfectly obedient life of love toward God and people. And then, Christ goes to a cross. He's crucified and the crucifixion was chosen by God. This is pre-destined sovereignty of God. He controls every single detail. God chose crucifixion, because it was the most excruciating form of capital punishment ever known to man, and even that was just a tip of the iceberg of the spiritual anguish that Christ went through. Christ bore our curse upon himself, and that curse was bearing the wrath of God in his soul. Christ went through hell so that we would not have too.You can hear the grief and the voice of St. Paul here at the unbelief of his people. And I wonder, could you say this? Could you say anything remotely close to this? Could you say you love someone so much that you give up your own salvation for them? Those of us who have loved ones who were lost, perhaps a sibling or a spouse or a child or a parent, a grandparent, friends, we know this grief. We know this sorrow. We made joy time with them, laugh with them, even play with them, but there's always a pain underneath knowing, unless this person trusts in Christ, we will spend eternity apart from each other. Luther put it this way, "Love is not only pure joy and delight, but also a great and deep heaviness of heart and sorrow."The good news is, we don't have to give up our salvation for the salvation of others. But if you put yourself in this posture of heart, where you're willing to give up your salvation for that of another, well it makes other things so much easier, like sharing the Gospel with them. As awkward as it can be as politically incorrect as it may be, you can have a difficult conversation with the person. And by the way, this is what St. Paul and by the way Jesus calls each one of us to. The great commission wasn't just given to the disciples or the Apostles or professional trained clergy. The great commission was given to each one of us. Jesus Christ tells each Christian, "Look, I've saved you and now I'm giving you a job. I'm commissioning you, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to do everything that I have taught you."I do want you to increase your evangelistic ministry. You should have one. Every Christian should have an evangelistic ministry, where you have unbelievers that you are heartbroken over, sorrow, anguishing your heart over, and you beg God to save them. And you take any and every opportunity to share the Gospel with them, to read Scripture with them, to speak truth in love and serve them. This is what Paul did. These aren't just words for Paul. He devoted his life, his whole life to sharing the Gospel, planting Churches and doing missionary work. Paul's immense heart broke for Israel and he uses the same word when he writes to the Galatians, the word anathema. The Galatians were being seduced away from the true Gospel in Galatians 1:8. He says, "But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a Gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed."So what he's saying to false teachers who do not preach the full Gospel? He says, "May you be cursed for preaching lies." What he's saying is, "Damn you for destroying the Gospel." This is the worst kind of curse that could be brought against a human being. It goes back to the Old Testament, when God's curse was upon Canaan and God tells the people of Israel, "Don't even take their goods. Slaughter them, give them up to absolute destruction." This is the kind of anathema that Paul is calling upon himself. "I am willing to go through this anathema so that my kinsmen could be saved." And the reader of Romans who knows his or her Bible will immediately spot, that the posture of heart in verse three is very similar to that of Moses.When Moses comes down from Mount Sinai and he sees that the people of Israel have fashioned golden calf, and they're worshiping it. Moses discovers the sin of the people and he knows that God is about to vanquish them, and he says, "God, you got to hold on." And he intercedes for them in Exodus 32:30-32, "The next day, Moses came to the people. You have sinned." And he said to them, "You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the Lord, perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.' So Moses returned to the Lord and said, 'Alas, this people has sinned a great sin. They have made for themselves gods of gold. But now, if you will forgive their sin. If not, please blot me out of your book that you have written."What a heart for the lost, and I pray that the Lord develops a similar heart in each one of us. This is why we exist. This is why this Church exists. This is why we have an army volunteers, every Sunday, show up here like 6:00 AM. They're here till like 2:00 PM, sweating and burning calories. You worship God and you get a workout. It's like CrossFit. Jesus is the center of the cross. This is what we do. We do everything. We do glorify God, and we want unbelievers to meet Jesus. That's what we want. And every single Sunday, there's unbelievers that show up and we hear, people get saved. We prep people for baptism, discipleship, et cetera. The Lord is doing his work.Third point is religious privilege doesn't save. Romans 9:4, "They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship and the promises." What he's saying is, some people are given more revelation than others. These are spiritual privileges. If you grow up in a Christian family, you have a father and a mother who care for you, teach you the Gospel, teach you Holy Scriptures, have devotions with you, pray with you, pray over you, care for you. And they embody the truth of the Gospel with their own lives. That's incredible privilege. I think of my own parents. Every single morning, I walk down the stairs as I go prep breakfast on the way to school. And my dad is on his knees, open Bible, praying to God. My mom and my dad loved the Lord, incredible privilege. But what we are you saying here, it doesn't matter the privileges that you've been given, if you don't do anything with them, if you don't make them your own, if you don't accept these blessings, privileges.The privileges missed, the first one is adoption. And here he is talking about Israel not as adoption given to individuals. And this has to be clarified because in Romans 8, he does say that we have been, "Christians individually adopted into the family of God." Israel did not have the same adoption. They had a national blessing of adoption conferred on them, but they still had to appropriate for themselves. In the Gospel of Matthew, we see this application from the Old Testament, when Jesus Christ was born and then Herod issued the threat of infant slaughter. An angel comes and warns Joseph in a dream to flee from Bethlehem and not to return to Nazareth, but go to Egypt until the threat had passed. And then Matthew tells us, that Joseph took Mary and the baby Jesus and fled to Egypt. And when the Herodian persecution was over, they come back to Israel, thereby fulfilling the Old Testament prophecy that we're given. And this is the text in Matthew 2:13-15."Now, when they had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, 'Rise, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child to destroy him.' And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, 'Out of Egypt, I called my son." Well, the original reference to this adoption was when God, through Moses brings Israel out of captivity, out of the yoke of slavery under Pharaoh and calling the nation, his son. And that's Hosea 11:1, "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son." The Israelites were those who had been called to enjoy the adoption, but then they've run from the Lord, turned from the Lord and turned to idolatry.The second privilege that they were given is the glory, and the Greek word for glory's Doxa, where we get the word doxology from. When we sing the Doxology after every Sunday Service, we're giving glory to God. He deserves it. The Latin equivalent of the word Doxa is Gloria, from which we get the Gloria Patri, Glory Be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning and is now and ever shall be. Amen. In this context here, Paul is undoubtedly referring to God's presence to people of Israel. God was amongst them, but the reader of Romans have forgotten that Paul has attributed this characteristic to Christians, that God is in us. The Holy Spirit is in us in a way that wasn't true with Israel, but they did experience the Glory, hovering over the mercy seat in the Arc of the Covenant, in the Holy of Holies and glory in Israel is connected to the Shekinah, the blazing light that manifested God's Glory and made him a consuming fire.Ezekiel saw the Glory of God rising from the City of Jerusalem and departing. And at the birth of Jesus Christ, the Glory of God flooded the landscape and the angelic choir gave Glory to God. The covenants were given to Israel, the covenants with Adam, with Noah, with Abraham, with Isaac, Jacob, Moses and with David. And the covenants we inherit from the Jews, not from the Gentiles. We inherit these from Paul's kinsmen. The covenants belonged to them. Covenants and promises probably goes together, but we'll get to the promises later, but all these covenants that God made and all the promises that God made belong to Christians as well. You elect remnant of Israel, you future ethnic Israel as a whole, and you Gentiles who trust in the Messiah and are grafted into the tree of the covenant of the promise, these are ours. Why? Because in Jesus Christ, "All the promises of God are yes," as 2 Corinthians tells us.The giving of the law. We received the law because the law was given by God to Israel. The law wasn't given to Hammurabi. It wasn't given to Babylon, Phoenicia or Egypt. The law was given to Israel and through Israel, it was given to all of us. And the law was given to us, so that we might realize that we are sinners in need of the Grace of God. Romans 3:19, "Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God." The whole world.The moral law is given to every single human being. It's not just the Jewish people. And as you read the Ten Commandments, you realize that there's a self authenticating power to them. That these are God's words and these words are written on our hearts, so that's the self authentication. And ultimately, the law is given to us to show us that we need salvation. We need Christ. Romans 10:4, "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." In the long term, aim of the law wasn't our condemnation. It was our salvation. For trusting the Messiah for our righteousness, the law has become to us, what it was given for, a servant to lead us to Christ. And the word worship.The worship was given to the people of Israel and the word for worship that he uses here is the same word as service. So to worship God is to serve God. To serve God is to worship God, the Greek word [foreign language 00:29:19]. Our instructions about how to bring praise, sacrifices to God in corporate worship were given to us through the people of Israel. And the word here refers to ministry of priests and the offering of sacrifices. And the supreme temple service, the supreme temple worship was the Passover. In the Passover, a lamb was to be slaughtered. Blood was supposed to be shed. And then you take that blood and you paint it over your doorway, so that the angel of death passes over your household. And then, 1 Corinthians 5:7 says that, "Christ is our ultimate Passover lamb. He has been sacrificed." He has performed the final and decisive atoning temple service on the cross. So when we say the temple service belongs to true Israel, we mean in the fullest saving way, our sins are forgiven and God welcomes us into his fellowship.Then six, he says, "The promises we're given to them." Which promises? And there are thousands in Scripture, but in particular, it's the promise that God would save his people from their sins, and we'll get that from the very beginning in Genesis 3 right after the fall. In Genesis 3:15, God gives us the Protoevangelion, the first Gospel in Genesis 3:15 where he says the following, "I will put enmity between you." He's talking to the serpent saying, "And the woman, between your offspring and her offspring, he." So this is the offspring of the woman. "He will bruise your head and you will bruise his heel." And this is God promising that the seed of the woman. This is going to be a human being, but it's a human being who can vanquish Satan. So it has to be God. He's the only one who can vanquish Satan. He's the one that will come and he's the one that will save.A friend sent me a video this week of Jordan Peterson. Apparently, he's been getting into the Bible recently, and it was a video of him with a slide behind him of every single Cross reference in Scripture. And it's just arc after arc after arc. And I'm like, I already knew this, but he was amazed. There's 65,000 Cross references in the Bible. I actually think it's more, but 65,000 Cross references in the Bible and he's like, "This book is ... You can't make this up. This is a miracle." He called it the first hyperlinked book ever. He's like, "There's no links to click, but it's hyperlinked." It's telling one story. 3000 years, three millennia, 40 plus authors, three plus language, all speaking in harmony unison about this Gospel. We have sinned. God is gracious, sends his Son to vanquish Satan, sin and death.All these things, the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship of God and God's promises, they came through to Paul's kinsmen Israel. Don't you see? This is why Paul is in tears. You've been given so much. You've been given every single piece of the puzzle. You're only missing the Cross at the center, Jesus Christ. Romans 9:5, "To them belong to patriarchs. And from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God overall, blessed forever. Amen." The implication of this is stated in Romans 11:28, "As regards the Gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers." And we'll get into that in a few weeks. But in other words, God freely chose Abraham, freely chose Isaac and Jacob and promised to their descendants that they would be heirs of God. And what we see from Romans 9-11 is that, this is meant in three ways.First, that there is an elect remnant of Israel. There always was, and there always will be. Elijah, I don't know if you remember this one text, where he's just complaining to God like, "God, I'm the only Christian. I'm the only one that loves you." I wonder if you ever feel like that in Boston. I'm the only one. I'm the only one in my company, probably the whole university. If you go to BU, you're probably right. I'm the only one. I'm the only one. And God says to Elijah, "Stop complaining. I've got 7,000. 7,000 people who have not knelt a knee to Baal. Well that's election. That's God's saving his remnant.There's also promise that all ethnic is real. At some point, in some future time, when they're alive, will be saved. It will be incredible revival amongst Jewish people. And Gentiles, that's us who trust in the Messiah, become sons of the fathers with the same blessing as the natural children. So if you repent of your sin and trust in Jesus Christ, you become a child of Abraham as much as Isaac was. Everything promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is yours, in the Messiah Jesus Christ.Verse five, I don't know if you noticed. He says, "Christ, who is God overall, blessed forever." Paul does affirm Jesus' Jewish ancestry, that Jesus was fully human, but he doesn't stop there. He gives one of the clearest, most decisive affirmations of the Deity of Christ, that we find anywhere in Scripture, that Christ is God. He's over all things, the entire universe. The Jews use this expression to refer to God's dominion over the entire creation. "Christ is God over all, blessed forever." So if you're having a conversation with a Mormon or a Jehovah's Witness, they don't believe that Jesus is God, just keep this one in the back pocket, Romans 9:5. Just take him there, Romans 9:5, "Christ is God, blessed forever."Here, someone might raise a legitimate question and say, "Will we go to heaven, be sad throughout all eternity, because of those who are cursed and cut off from Christ in hell?" What if we have a loved one who never turns to Christ? Brother or sister, sibling, spouse, child, there will be a sadness in eternity because of them. And the answer is no. The Scripture says, "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes and neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore." But God will have to wipe out tears.God will have to wipe off our tears. Why are we weeping in the first place, in a place of bliss? I think there will be moments in the very beginning, where we wish we had done more, kind of like Schindler's List at the end, where he is like, "Here's the watch. Here's the pen. I wish I had done more." Well, that's just a reminder for us to do the more now, be encouraged to be more bold and preaching the Gospel now. "And with respect to any affection that the godly may have had to the finally reprobate, the love of God will wholly swallow it up, and cause it wholly to cease," as Jonathan Edwards says.In conclusion, pray for God to burden your heart for the lost. If you hear this and you're like, "I've never even thought about praying for the lost." Well first, pray for your own heart, you're living in disobedience. Pray for your own heart to care for the lost and then pray for the lost and share the Gospel with the lost. Romans 10:1, this is what Paul says, "Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved." St. Paul had to pray for God to save people. He couldn't do it himself. He believed in the sovereignty of God. He believed that God elects people to salvation. And because he believed that God elects people to salvation, he prayed for God to save the elect. A lot of people use God's sovereignty in saving people as an excuse to do nothing. Well, if God saves people, then he doesn't need me to share the Gospel. If God is the one to predestine people a salvation, well he doesn't need me to do any. He doesn't need me to pray. That's false.If God predestines the end, he predestines the means. And the means that he predestines is for every single one of us to pray for the lost and share the Gospel with the lost. And the fruit of Paul's anguish is to pray for them and ask that God would save them. If Paul had to pray, if Paul prayed for the lost, we should too. If Christ prayed for the lost, we should too. Jesus Christ on the cross says, "Father, forgive them. They know not what they do." He's praying for the loss. And because Christ prayed for the loss on the cross for their salvation, we are called to pray as well. 2 Timothy 2:25 says, "God may perhaps grant them repentance, leading to a knowledge of the truth." May the Lord do so even now.If you don't know if you're a Christian, if you're still under the guilt of your sins and accursed and cut off from Christ, well don't stay there. Today, turn to Jesus Christ. Look to Christ on the cross. Christ crying out from the depth of his soul and anguish and heart, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Christ was accursed. Christ was caught off from God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, so we would never have to be. He bore the wrath of God, so that we would not have to. He bore the curse, so that we might receive the blessing. So trust in him as your only hope, and you will be saved today.I'll close in Matthew 11:25-30, before we transition to communion. It's a text where Jesus Christ thanks God for closing the eyes of some, opening the eyes of others and saying that only the one to whom the son reveals the Father can be saved. And still Christ says, "Come to me all who are burdened and heavy laden." Matthew 11:25-30, "At that time, Jesus declared, 'I thank you, Father Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children. Yes Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart. And you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."Lord, we thank you for all the spiritual privileges that you have bestowed upon us as a Church and as individuals. We thank you for the full canon of Holy Scripture, a word that testifies to you, a word that reveals you, a word that reveals the Living Word of God, Jesus Christ. Lord, we thank you that your, "Word is living and active, sharper than any two edge sword, piercing the division of soul and of marrow, revealing to us the intentions of the heart." And we come to you Lord and we ask for forgiveness of all our sin, of all our pride of all our selfishness and self-reliance, and help us not trust in our spiritual privileges.Make us people who only trust in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And make us people who walk in a manner worthy of the Gospel, to bring glory to you and attract attention to the beautiful Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe, every single person who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. We pray all this in the beautiful name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and savior. Amen.

Today we're going back to a debate between the late great Bob Enyart and famed Christian apologist and talk show host Greg Koukl of Reasons to Believe. Tragically, Koukl puts on full display his moral relativism, which Bob takes issue with. This debate is the battle of two conservatives, both intellectual powerhouses. Dominic Enyart will also be adding some commentary on today's broadcast classic, then next week on Bob Enyart Live we're going to get to a devastating 2020 update from Koukl where he said, "some same sex couples are fabulous." Today's Resource: Monthly Bible Study Subscription Receive Bible studies once a month, and start by getting a firm foundation of the basics. Once you have a solid understanding of the overall plot of the Bible, the origins of Israel, the integration of the gentiles, and the character of God, then you'll be ready to dive into the deeper details of the Bible. Start with the milk, then graduate to the meat. Those who have subscribed to the Monthly Bible studies have said it's changed their life dramatically for the better and given them a new appreciation for the Bible and God Himself. Sign up now, before prices rise! (Due to inflation. Thanks, Biden- ugh.) See the original show summary below from October 26th, 2007.  [See below for the written description of this 2007 program.] * Tragic 2020 Update: Considered a solid Christian leader by many thousands of believers (and in many ways beloved by us here at BEL), the founder and host of Stand to Reason, Greg Koukl has tragically stated, beginning at 9:40 into a podcast, that "some same sex couples are fabulous." Please pray for Greg and for the man who phoned in a question, and for all those Greg is not-so-subtly influencing to become moral relativists. Here's what happened... A caller asks whether children are better off in foster care or adopted by same sex parents. "Some same sex couples are fabulous. Some same sex couples are deplorable. And actually, the same is true for heterosexual couples." Greg then offers the softest possible objection to one of the fiercest moral dangers of our day, which is homosexuality. (For, "In the public square, biblical Christianity and homosexuality are mutually exclusive. One or the other will be in the closet.") He followed that by repeatedly obfuscating with moral relativist utilitarian distinctions about which parents give the "advantage" and which is "better".  Koukl draws false equivalencies between homosexuality and heterosexual singleness, cohabitation, and bad parenting. Regarding same sex parenting, "there are other things [aspects of their parenting] that may be really good... there are a number of factors that are involved here. ... All things being equal I think it is better for heterosexual couples to raise children." "A father brings something different to the relationship than a mother does. Period." Koukl puts much more emphasis on practical distinctions than he does on the far greater matter of the utter perversion and rebellion of homosexuality. Greg exhibits more fear about how his audience will view him than he does about the child raised in a dystopian world of normalized homosexuality. "Just to show that I'm not unfairly prejudiced here... I don't believe that single people should adopt." "What we want to do is to make decisions based on the ideal." "This is why it's hard to make a judgment. Are children in foster care better off [being adopted by] same sex couples or better off staying in foster care. It depends on the individual circumstance. I would rather see a child in a reasonably healthy environment with a same sex couple than in an abusive environment with a heterosexual couple." If that isn't moral relativism, then there is no such thing. Constantly equivocating on underlying morality and legitimacy, "The big thing is, what's best for the kid... Heterosexual parents are better than same sex parents, on balance." "However if this child had no parent whatsoever and was living in the squalor in the street somewhere..." Talk about situational ethics. Would Greg rather see a child rescued from a volcanic eruption by a human trafficker, than be burned alive? Oh brother. Come on. (Here's an actual example. In our 2007 debate Greg was defending pro-abort Rudi Guiliani, who got 3% of the pimary vote, and Christian listeners applied his arguments to pro-abort Mitt Romney of course, who got 22% of the vote, with pro-abort McCain winning. Regarding Romney, the presidential candidate four years later who regarding an unborn child who might end up being raised by a crack-addicted mother, would be only too happy to support the premptive killing of that baby. Or, for that matter, he supported killing any unborn child for any reason, for Romney is the father of tax-funded late-term abortion on demand.) "Heterosexual couples bring something more to the parenting environment than same sex couples bring." "You've got to start from the standards and work to the circumstances that you're faced with." Which is exactly the opposite of what Greg had just done in yet another text-book case of moral relativism. * Correction: Bob unintentionally exaggerated Clinton's willingness to support the PBA ban. See the full correction at the end of this show summary. * Christian Leader Koukl Defends Candidate Giuliani: Stu Epperson moderates the debate between Bob Enyart and STR.org's Greg Koukl on Stu's syndicated TruthTalkLive.com talk show. In the debate, Koukl defends Rudi Giuliani, an aggressively pro-abortion, pro-homosexual, anti-Christian worldview candidate, as acceptable to Christian voters. Koukl denies that Giuliani is a mass murderer and denied the parallel between Koukl's own position and that of the Herodians of the New Testament. To start the debate, Bob asked Greg, "What if Rudi Giuliani is the Republican nominee, should Christians support someone like Rudi Giuliani?" Greg spent the whole show answering that question in the affirmative, stipulating only that his answer applies if two candidates in the running are Rudi and a Democrat candidate like Hillary Clinton. Bob characterized Greg's position as moral relativism. * Bob's Notes Against Christian Support for Giuliani: Christians should not support mass murderers. Rudi Giuliani is a mass murderer who as a governing official and candidate promotes child killing through public hospitals, tax funding, police enforcement, etc. Moral relativist Christians would oppose a candidate who was caught embezzling funds (not because it violates God's command, Do not steal, but because it is politically-incorrect). And while they'd not support a Republican caught embezzling, they support Republican candidates who brag of their support for killing children. The Gospels mention a pragmatic political party, the Herodians, the religious leaders who allied themselves with Herod Antipas, thinking that the Herodian dynasty was the lesser evil (than any alternative allegiance, with a choice between Herod or Christ, they would choose Herod), thinking the Herods were the best the Jewish worshippers could pragmatically expect in their hopes of attaining to their kingdom on Earth. (I have this understanding of the Herodians from my recollection of reading, way back in the 1970s, Alfred Edershiem's Life & Times of Jesus the Messiah, a classic written in the 1800s.) Like Rudi Giuliani, Herod was personally sexually immoral and murderous. Greg Koukl's moral relativism would defend supporting Herod. But John the Baptist, instead of joining the Herodians, rebuked Herod, and for his courage, this wicked ruler beheaded the man whom Jesus described as the greatest born to women (Mat. 11:11). But how would Jesus describe Koukl? Greg's moral relativism might have led him to campaign for Herod (as he does for Giuliani), and instead of persecution, Herod might have hired Koukl as an apologist for his murderous reign and his hopes for the continued support of Ceasar after Antipas built Tiberias (Koukl: yes, Herod murdered John the Baptist, but I would still campaign for him to rule). Greg Koukl is imitating the pragmatic religious leaders, the Herodians. Mat 22:16, 18 ...the Herodians, [said], "Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth [lip service]... But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, "Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?" [also at Mark 12:13] Mark 3:5-6   [Jesus saw] the hardness of their hearts, [and] the Herodians [plotted] against Him, how they might destroy Him. "You shall not murder" (Rom. 13:9) "Do not kill the innocent" (Exodus 23:7) Romans 3:8 mentions "do[ing] evil that good may come of it" (Romans 3:8), Paul considered it slander to be accused of something Christians now embrace, doing evil, that good may come of it. "we must obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29) Giuliani is not only radically pro-abortion, but for years even supported the especially horrific partial-birth abortion. Giuliani is radically pro-homosexual, and would ban all handguns. New York Daily News, March 8, 2004  Rudy Giuliani came out yesterday against President Bush's call for a ban on gay marriage. ... "I certainly wouldn't support [a ban] at this time," added Giuliani, who lived with a gay Manhattan couple when he moved out of Gracie Mansion during his nasty divorce. Secular humanists who support Giuliani: Sean Hannity, Hugh Hewitt, Michael Medved, etc. Publicans: tax collectors, public building contractors, and military suppliers. The New Testament condemns the publicans, so Christians now sell their souls for the Re-publicans. The theme of much of the Old Testament, from the books of Moses, through Joshua & Judges, through the prophets, is that God's people did not trust Him, nor obey Him, not with national politics, and instead made alliances with wicked leaders, and so God abandoned them to their own destruction. * Comments at TruthTalkLive.com: Carl: where does Koukl draw the line? ... at 100,000,000? What line must be crossed that will turn Christians from supporting wickedness and back to God? Dave: Koukl thinks that Scalia, Thomas, Roberts and Alito would fight for the Personhood of a child. I guess he did not read the Supreme Court decision of Gonzales v. Carhart. John quotes Reagan: "Politics I supposed to be the second-oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first." Gus B: Mr. Koukl says Giuliani will appoint justices like Thomas and Scalia. Pastor Enyart points out these two do not believe in personhood... to which Koukl says, "Pro-Life Justices are not relevant to this topic." Andrew: To support the better of two murderers is relative. ... Webster should post your photograph next to "moral relativist." * Give your opinion at TruthTalkLive.com. * Koukl on Foster Care: The socialist foster care system of the government being intimately involved in the funding and raising of children should be abolished. Sadly, in Greg Koukl's ten-minute call beginning at 9:20 about homosexuality and foster care, he never gets around to condemning either and instead makes destructive comments such as, "some same sex couples are fabulous" and misleads on a terrible aspect of socialism by saying at 15:05 that "in the foster care system there are many saints." Today's Resource: Have you seen the Government Department at our KGOV Store? You can view BOTH of our powerhouse Focus on the Strategy DVDs for only $22.99! Also, we are featuring Bruce Shortt's vitally-important book, The Harsh Truth about Public Schools. And also, check out the classic God's Criminal Justice System seminar, God and the Death Penalty, Bob on Drugs and the Live from Las Vegas DVDs! * Correction: I need to clarify a comment I made debating Greg Koukl. I unintentionally exaggerated when I stated that Hillary supported the PBA ban. I was taking this position from the years of public position the Clinton administration maintained regarding the PBA ban. When Hillary and Bill came to Colorado in 1999 and spoke as a couple to Columbine parents, Brian Rohrbough told Bill, "Mr. President, when you vetoed the PBA ban, you became responsible for murder far more violent than what happened to our children." Clinton replied, with Hillary at his side, that he would have signed the bill, but it did not have an exception for the life of the mother. To the extent that they were a two-for-one deal in the White House, I had always assumed that was her position also: willing to support the law, as long as it had exceptions (like many "pro-life" Republicans). At any rate, it was wrong to say outright that Hillary supported the ban. I should have clarified, and in the intensity of the debate, I did not realize that I had mistated her position. Also, I kept wanting to talk about Rudy's pro-abortion actions as NYC mayor, but never got that in. And finally on this, since the 1990s, we have had an Errata link on our homepage and on every page at kgov.com (just scroll down to see it) And I've also posted this correction at Stu Epperson's TruthTalkLive blog. Thanks! -Bob Enyart * Dec. 21, 2015 Update: Bob Enyart posted the following to STR... Hi STR! Dr. Richard Holland of Liberty University wrote "God, Time and the Incarnation" surveying the leading Christian theologians on this topic and concluded that specifically *with respect to the Incarnation* the church has never openly defended its claim that God is utterly unchangeable. In my debate with theologian Dr. James White I took that insight and five times asked him about whether God the Son took upon Himself a human nature. (There's a 2-min YouTube showing those excerpts.) So far beyond the old/new covenant issue, reaching right into the heart of the Trinity, God the Son became a Man. God is unchanging in His fierce commitment to righteousness (i.e., His holiness), but because He is the Living God, He changes in immeasurable ways, including when the Son became the Son of Man. * For Bob's Many Other Fun and Educational Debates: See kgov.com/debates for our creation/evolution sparring with Lawrence Krauss, Eugenie Scott, AronRa, Michael Shermer (and spats with Jack Horner, PZ Myers, Phil Plait, & Jerry Coyne), and our exposing the liberal in the conservative with Ann Coulter, Dan Caplis, Greg Koukl (of course), Tom Tancredo, AFA's Bryan Fischer, AUL's Paul Linton, CWA's Robert Knight, National RTL's Board, NRTL's Political Director, Focus on the Family's Washington State Affiliate; and exposing the wickedness in the liberal with Barry Lynn and libertarian candidates; and opposing the national sales tax with Ken Hoagland and Neal Boortz; and debating sexual immorality with homosexual activists Wayne Besen and Gregory Flood; and defending the death penalty on Court TV; and theology with a Seventh Day Adventist, drinking alcohol with a Church of Christ minister; and whether or not God is inexhaustibly and eternally creative with Dr. James White, and King James Onlyism with one of their leading advocates; and finally, abortion with Ilana Goldman, Peggy Loonan, and Boulder, Colorado's infamous late-term abortionist Warren Hern.  

Lisa has a true momma heart, especially as she shares some of her “big breaks”: the disappointments and difficult challenges she has experienced with her children. Before she shares the details of the circumstances, she wisely shares and gives us information about three different vessels. A Lachrymatory, or tear jar; a Herodian lamp, a lamp like what the 10 virgins might have used; and a broken bowl using the Japanese art of Kintsugi to repair it —the joining together of the pieces with a special kind of lacquer from the Urushi tree mixed with gold. The symbolism and the explanation of the different vessels is wonderful to know. Lisa shares about the loss of her young teenage son due to death of a unique neurological disease, the loss of another son who chose to live a different lifestyle and how his choices affected Lisa's relationship with him, as well as the relationship separation Lisa experienced due to another child's choice to distance themself from The Church and its teachings. Lisa speaks about her own disease – a hard heart. She speaks about real emotions of anger, disappointment, guilt, and shame while dealing with these “big breaks” and her own brokenness. Trusting in the Savior, attending the temple, and time have been her healers – TRUST, TEMPLE, and TIME. Sharing her testimony of the Savior and His Atonement, Lisa knows coming to Him helps us to “Hold on” in His way. Lisa is generous in her sharing in a real and vulnerable way. Her experiences and stories will touch your momma heart and might give you some hope to “Hold on thy way” with a few of the “big breaks” you may be experiencing in your own journey. We thank Lisa Grant for her message of hope and love and testifying of the Savior Jesus Christ, even in her brokenness. For those new to our Stay by the Tree series and Mothers Who Know, we would like to share some of our FREE resources with you: FREE ebook, "Momma Trauma: Now What?: Finding Hope When Your Child Battles Pornography or Other Challenging Issues", by Karen Broadhead, Second Edition - https://www.lifechangingservices.org/momma-trauma Join our FREE Mom Power Training - https://mompowertraining.org/ Warrior Mothers Who Know - this FREE group meets every Tuesday at 11 MT and provides moms with a safe place to ask questions that might be more sensitive. A therapist joins the group on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays. https://motherswhoknow.org/warrior-mothers-support-group/ Book a FREE 30-minute visit with Karen Broadhead, Parent Support Specialist. Karen would love to meet you right where you are and give you a safe space to be heard and to help heal. https://karenbroadhead.youcanbook.me/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/motherswhoknow/support

John the Baptist was beheaded. Does that mean that Herod won? This scripture is full of evil plots, sin, and power-hungry moves. Let's walk through this and unravel it step by step as we seek to uncover the lesson that God has for us. (Matthew 14:1-12, Mark 6:14-29, Luke 3:19-20) ********** Welcome to Walking in the Word, a Women World Leaders' Podcast. My name is Julie Jenkins, and I am so happy you have joined us! Women World Leaders is a worldwide ministry whose mission is to empower YOU to walk in your God-given purpose. Kimberly Hobbs started this ministry as a Bible Study in her home, but God had bigger plans! As the number of women involved in the ministry increased, God continued to empower us to reach even more for Him. Besides this three-tiered podcast, which focuses on teaching, inspiration, and encouragement, we also offer an array of tools to help you grow. Please visit our website at www.womenworldleaders.com or our Facebook page under the name Women World Leaders to find out more about how God may be calling you to be empowered and to use the gifts He has given you to empower others. We have leaders from around the world and offer opportunities to grow as a writer, artist, musician, speaker, event-coordinator, prayer-warrior, financial consultant, … the list goes on and on. Our biggest endeavor, however, is growing together as followers of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Today, you have landed on Walking in the Word. This is our 15-20 minute Bible Study podcast. Each Wednesday, we take a deep dive into a few Scripture verses, and we take a deep breath as we ask God to guide us through and teach us what He wants us to know today from His Word. We are currently walking through the gospels chronologically. Please know that once we put up a podcast, your donations allow us to keep it available to you. So no matter what platform you are listening on, you can always go back and relisten to a particular teaching that God may be calling you to. These podcasts can be a great tool to help you start your own Bible study! Some of the best discussions I have been involved in throughout my life have centered around Scripture. We would LOVE to hear how you are using the podcast! Drop me a note at julie@womenworldleaders.com and let me know. Today's scripture reads much like a soap opera. There are steamy characters, betrayal, thwarted love, and even murder. Who ever said that the Bible is boring has simply never read it. Today we are talking about John the Baptist's death as we study Matthew 14:1-12, Mark 6:14-29, and Luke 3:19-20. Before we begin, let's pray… Dear Most Holy God…thank you for giving us your Word to study together. God, we know that the Bible is living and active, meaning that though it was written years ago, it's teachings are relevant to us today, and will always be relevant to those who read and study it. We acknowledge that the words we are reading today were breathed by You and that, as we read, you will unveil the lessons that you want us to learn. God, I pray that you take my own thoughts out of this teaching and allow me to present only Your thoughts. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.   Matthew 14 in the New Living Translation begins… 14 When Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee,[a] heard about Jesus, 2 he said to his advisers, “This must be John the Baptist raised from the dead! That is why he can do such miracles.” We just finished reading about Jesus sending out His disciples, giving them His power to preach as well as to heal and cast out evil. As they traveled, we can surmise that news of Jesus and His followers reached Herod Antipas, who was the ruler over the area where Jesus ministered. And this news scared Herod – sending him into a guilt-induced speculation that Jesus was actually John the Baptist resurrected. This kind of makes no sense…because Herod was a Sadducee, so he didn't even believe in resurrection…and WE know that John the Baptist and Jesus were born nearly at the same time, that John foretold of Jesus' ministry, and even had baptized Him. But truly…there isn't much about Herod Antipas that makes sense. Herod Antipas was a son of Herod the Great, who had 10 wives and many sons…all named Herod! Herod the Great was notoriously evil and had no problem killing his wives or children. You may remember Herod the Great as the Herod who, fearing he would lose his power, ordered all the babies in Bethlehem to be killed after he learned that the new King of the Jews had been born. God protected baby Jesus by sending an angel to Jesus' earthly father, Joseph, and telling him to flee with Mary and Jesus to Egypt. So Herod Antipas, who we are reading about today, had clearly come from a long line of evil and power-hungry egotism. When Herod the Great had died, his kingdom was divided among three of his sons. Herod Antipas, being one of them, became a “tetrarch”- which meant a ruler over a fourth of the kingdom, at the age of 17. Throughout his reign of 30 years, Herod Antipas craved more and more power. As part of that craving, he married his first wife, the daughter of an Arabian King, to gain a political advantage. But fifteen years later, while visiting his brother Herod Philip, a civilian in Rome, Herod Antipas fell in love with Herod Philip's wife, his own sister-in-law who also happened be his half-niece and was named…wait for it…Herodias! Herodias, who was also power-hungry and conniving, was game for the new marriage with her brother-in-law, but on the condition that Herod Antipas divorce his current wife. So now we have a NEW power-couple, so-to-speak…Herod Antipas and Herodias. And their conniving and evil ways fed into each other. Remembering that our scripture began with Herod Antipas succumbing to a guilt-induced speculation that Jesus is the resurrected John the Baptist? As we read on, we see where that guilt comes from. What is recorded next is a flashback…and it had been festering in Herod Antipas' conscience. Matthew 14:3… 3 For Herod had arrested and imprisoned John as a favor to his wife Herodias (the former wife of Herod's brother Philip). 4 John had been telling Herod, “It is against God's law for you to marry her.”  Mark 6:19-20 fill in some of the details for us… Herodias bore a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But without Herod's approval she was powerless, 20 for Herod respected John; and knowing that he was a good and holy man, he protected him. Herod was greatly disturbed whenever he talked with John, but even so, he liked to listen to him This is fascinating to me! We just uncovered the evil and confusion that existed in this family, and yet, Mark writes that Herod Antipas RESPECTED John the Baptist and he protected him because he knew that he was a GOOD and HOLY man. And even though what John had to say disturbed Herod…He still LIKED to listen to him! Luke tells us that John publicly warned the people of Herod's sin of marrying his brother's wife, which displayed John's own loyalty as a prophet of God. But John also courageously spoke truth directly to Herod AFTER he was imprisoned for speaking truth PUBLICLY. John advised Herod that marrying his brother's wife was against scripture. Herod WAS a Jew, so it should have mattered. And he listened. God was working on Herod. Despite Herod's evil ancestry and his worldly sins, God did not give up on him. And our God, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, hasn't given up on you either. Herod listened, but he turned away without response. It isn't enough to listen to God, and then turn away. God calls us each to respond. What is God trying to tell you today? How is He asking YOU to respond? Matthew continues in 14:5… 5 Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of a riot, because all the people believed John was a prophet. So Herod CONTINUED to listen to John…who was speaking for God…but he also continued living his life as usual. Herod had built a royal palace meant for lavish entertaining, and then he proceeded to use it for a lavish pagan celebration – his own birthday party. Mark tells us this party was full of high government officials, army officers, and the leading citizens of Galilee. This was no doubt a raucous event with plenty of alcohol to go around. It was normal, at a party such as this, to put slave girls on display as they danced sensually for the pleasure of the men. But as we have seen, the Herodian family was not quite normal, and they certainly lacked family values. And as Herodias was seeking power…she sent her daughter out to be the entertainment. Her likely pre-teen daughter. And the men were indeed entertained. And Herod gave her great praise. Matthew 14:6 continues… 6 But at a birthday party for Herod, Herodias's daughter performed a dance that greatly pleased him, 7 so he promised with a vow to give her anything she wanted. Mark records that Herod said to the young girl…“Ask me for anything you like, and I will give it to you.” 23 He even vowed, “I will give you whatever you ask, up to half my kingdom!” 24 She went out and asked her mother, “What should I ask for?” Her mother told her, “Ask for the head of John the Baptist!” 25 So the girl hurried back to the king and told him, “I want the head of John the Baptist, right now, on a tray!” Herodias was seeking power herself. She saw the relationship building between John the Baptist and Herod. John had actually been imprisoned for two years by this time. Herod had plenty of time to listen to John's teaching and respond. He listened. But he didn't respond. And then, through a string of bad decisions, Herod's path was determined. Herod gave into his desire for power and control and married his first wife for political reasons. Then he gave into his lust and married his brother's wife. Next, Herod heard John's public warning, and, as a favor to his wife, had John imprisoned. He then sat and listened to John, a man he respected as good and holy – but Herod refused to respond and, instead, allowed his heart to continue to harden. Then Herod threw a raucous pagan party, and promised the young, promiscuous dancer, who was also his wife's daughter, anything she wanted. And she asked for John's head. In front of the government officials, army officers, and the leading men of Galilee. From the depths of his hard heart, he now had no choice. Mark continues in 6:26… 26 Then the king deeply regretted what he had said; but because of the vows he had made in front of his guests, he couldn't refuse her. 27 So he immediately sent an executioner to the prison to cut off John's head and bring it to him. The soldier beheaded John in the prison, 28 brought his head on a tray, and gave it to the girl, who took it to her mother. 29 When John's disciples heard what had happened, they came to get his body and buried it in a tomb. Matthew ends this section with… Then they went and told Jesus what had happened. John was a good, upstanding man. A righteous prophet who was courageous and faithful. And he was beheaded. Herod Antipas was a wicked, weak, and confused man who had every opportunity to listen and respond to John's teaching. He did listen. But he refused to respond and enjoyed his fun in the sun. Who won? History tells us that Herod Antipas' divorce from his first wife led to a border war and serious military losses. And Herodias continued to cajole him into attempting to gain more power; but instead of becoming king, in the end he was removed from power and banished to Gaul, where he died. But more importantly than that, we saw Herod's heart harden. It is never up to us to say that someone is with or without an eternity in heaven. But we don't have any record that Herod did turn to Jesus. And that is the biggest loss of all. God gave Herod EVERY opportunity, and he turned away again and again. God DOES pursue each of us. But it is up to each individual to not only listen, but to respond. And make no doubt about it, although our God is patient, there will be a time when it will be too late to respond. If you refuse to listen to God, your heart will grow harder day by day, until you can no longer hear His call. AND the fact is that God can simply close the door at any moment – because the end times are coming and none of us know when our last breath on this earth will be. And then, no matter how ready you are, if you haven't already responded, it will be too late. So in this twisted drama, who won? John was beheaded – but he is spending his eternity with God in heaven. Herod Antipas enjoyed the party and the power – but he died alone, and to our knowledge without turning to God. Are you on the winning track? Have YOU listened and responded to Jesus' call? If not…will you now? Before it is too late? Oh most gracious Lord and Savior…we come to you today with humble hearts asking you to break the strongholds in our lives. Asking you to allow us to hear You and giving us the courage to respond. God, we confess that we are sinners in a broken world. We confess that without you, we are alone and our lives are empty. Jesus, enter our hearts. Forgive our sins. And set us on a path of resolution with you. We thank you for your guidance and for giving each of us the next steps to respond to your grace with courage. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.

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