Q&A—Jim Hyland
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322 in the little flock. Thank you.
No water has left today. I'm afraid I'm a freak on.
Oh my God.
#40 thank you.
Alright, we have 7 questions tonight and uh, some of them I think we can answer briefly. Uh, what I'll do is uh, I'll suggest some scriptures and a little explanation and then we'll give opportunity if someone else has, uh some scripture to suggest to go along with it or a question relevant to it. But umm, I'd like to try to get through all of these. They're good questions. So umm we'll move along a little bit and uh, we can discuss them after two and amongst yourself.
So the first one is this.
Do you think that the Bible is reliable? Why or why not? If some unbeliever asked you to give evidence that the Bible is reliable, what would you say? Well, first of all, let's turn to a verse. We've quoted it or read it already today, but in John chapter 17.
Now, before I read this, let's get the context of this chapter. This is the Lord Jesus in prayer to God the Father. So it's the Lord Jesus here in this world, and he's speaking to his Father. And let's notice one of the things that he says in verse 17 particular to the end of the verse. But I'll read the verse, sanctify them through thy truth. Now we had that before us earlier today in connection with Nehemiah, but this is what I want to notice.
My word.
Is true. So here is the Lord Jesus as a man here in this world in prayer. And one of the things he says in prayer is a confirmation that God's word, the word of God his Father, is absolute and is true. So to me this is one of the greatest scriptures that confirms the word of God, the reliability of the Word of God now up until this point.
What had been had been written or recorded, it had was the Old Testament. So here we find that the Lord Jesus confirms that the Old Testament is the is the the truth of God, the word of God reliable. Now let's go to Hebrews chapter 4 then for another scripture.
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OK.
Hebrews Chapter 4.
And verse 12.
For the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight, but all things are naked and open under the eyes of him with whom we have to do so. I believe here we find that the word of God, that is the Bible we hold in our hands.
It is living and it's the only book in the world that is living and it is powerful or it is operative. It's it's working. And again, it is the only book that is is such. That's why you will never get to the bottom of this book. No matter how many times you read a chapter or a portion, no matter how many times you take up the subject or a book, you will never exhaust it because it is a living book. You young people that study hard at school.
No matter how profound those books you study are, you could eventually get to the bottom of it of them, because they are written by man. Now here's another proof that the word of God is true, and it's in connection with what we've just read. First of all, the Jew. You know, history upholds the word of God. Not that I need the word of God, that that I need history to uphold the word of God. But true history and the word of God will never counteract each other.
Just like true science and scripture will never counteract each other either. Again, not that I need science to uphold the word of God. I believe it by faith, but the two always correspond. But just look at the Jew and their history. Just talk to the Jews about their history. It will confirm exactly what we read in the word of God and exactly the position that they are in today. So that's one proof of the reliability of the Word of God.
But here's something even more significant, and I I think probably most if not all of us can relate to this. This evening I have seen and you no doubt to have seen lives changed through the word of God. You know, I've seen lives change through the reading of other books, but it doesn't last. There might be some emotions conjured up and some change of direction through reading some book, maybe even a novel. But.
Or the history of of somebody or something, and it changes your direction a little bit. But the word of God, being living and powerful can take people who are drunkards on drugs abuse their family. Li live in the gutters in the inner cities and it can clean up lives like no other book can, if you want to know the reliability and the power of the word of God.
Just read about change lives that have been completely changed.
What? One other comment and then we'll get some other aspects of it from some others. But look at the autobiographies of Scripture. Look at Jonah, who would write about all their failures like that in their autobiography if they weren't writing by divine inspiration. You know, if you and I were writing about our lives, we wouldn't write merely about all the failures that, uh, came into our lives and how we tried to run away from God and.
All those things, So a lot of the biographies that you have, because they're so honest, I believe they show that they were not just the thoughts of men concerning their own lives, but they were written by inspiration. Men of God wrote exactly what God told them to write.
19.
We also have a moisture word of complicity, whereby we do well that you take heed as unto a light that shineeth in a dark place until the day dawn the Daystar arrives in your heart.
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Prophecy is another proof.
There is numerous processes about the Lord Jesus, his, his coming, his death.
Things that he could not control. Humanly speaking, his place of birth, his time of birth. Umm.
But it's not just there. I years ago I read a chapter in a book Josh Mcdowell's evidence, The demands of verdict on prophecies fulfilled in the nations around Israel that have already been fulfilled. The city of Tyre, umm. Its destruction was detailed before it happened. Umm, And that's an amazing story. The city of Babylon.
Doesn't.
Is not inhabited anymore. Uh, the city of Petra, but interesting in Jordan that built into the rock that was another prophecy would not be inhabited. Umm, And I think there's there's there's more, uh.
And.
Is it the?
The trustworthiness of the Bible. There's a lot of support.
Umm. And what I can keep mentioning Josh McDowell. He started out as an agnostic. He was going to dig into Christianity and prove it wrong. And he's one of the biggest proponents of an apologist for Christianity. And he keeps having to republish his book because he just keeps collecting more. More evidence. Umm.
If if that's a concern of people, look into it. Challenge. Take the challenge. You won't be disappointed. It's an amazing.
Prophecy. The word itself. How many authors? 40 authors, 39 authors over 1500 years? You try to get any group of people to write a book and you'll get argued, disagreements. But God's Word hangs together It it's constantly you're leaving God come back to the Lord.
It's the same topic all the way through. The processes hang together.
Umm.
Even the apparent discrepancy you look at them.
And and and.
Look at them and there are very reasonable and actually obvious explanations to what people will say. Hey, that's a discrepancy.
So most has wrote the book of Genesis, but Moses wasn't alive when all that took place. And so that's another proof of divine inspiration. In the four gospels, there were only two of the the writers that company with the Lord Jesus and the two that didn't, which were Mark and Luke are the ones that write the most detail about the life of the Lord Jesus. In fact, Mark is the one who is most chronological in his presentation.
Of the uh different events that took place in the life of the Lord and they weren't even there. So all these things I believe show the veracity of the scriptures. And just to add to what Mark said too, as far as prophecy and understanding where this world is and where it's headed. David said I have or the psalmist said I have more understanding than all my teachers and more understanding than the ancients because I keep thy preset. That's the 119th Psalm so.
A. A person, a young person who's reading their Bible.
And prayerfully and with exercise, will understand more about prophecy and what's going on in the world today and what's ahead for this world and for Israel and for the nation, then all the wise worldly politicians and statesman that are all trying to figure it out by their own intellect.
To look a little bit more at the second part of that question, uh, what was There was like 2 questions. There was the the second part. So if an unbeliever asked you to give evidence that the Bible is reliable, what would you say? OK, so we we've had some good answers to that. Uh, but I'd also like to point out that umm, although scripture we can sit down and we can prove the scriptures through proving scripture is true is not enough.
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Umm.
If we could look at first uh first Corinthians uh chapter one for just a few verses here and most most of the people that uh that will question whether or not the Bible is true will not be Jews. They will argue uh They will argue that Jesus is not the son of God and that he is not their Messiah. But uh for most of the beginning of the Bible they'll agree with it. So First Corinthians chapter one beginning.
Uh verse 21. For after that and the wisdom of God. The world by wisdom knew not God that pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe for the Jews require a sign. Now there's another verse, I believe it's Matthew 24. It says unto the Jews shall no sign be given but the sign of Jonas the prophet, that Jesus was going to die and spend 3 days in the grave and rise again.
And the Greeks seek after wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified unto the Jews of stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness. But unto them which are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. And uh, you can sit there and argue, uh, argue, whether the Bible is true or not with someone. And if you say, well, if it is true, what about your sins are you going to trust in the Lord Jesus, bring out the question of their sins and salvation, and present Christ?
Umm, it's a primary focus. Umm you can you can sit there and argue, argue until you're blue in the faces to the the truth of Scripture, but present the Lord Jesus to them.
And remember, you can't. There's no use arguing. It has to be accepted on the grounds of faith. It's like the Genesis account of creation. I accept it not because science upholds it, but by faith. We understand that the word that the world's were framed by the word of God. So unless a person has faith, they're never going to accept the God-given account or record that we have called our Bible or the word of God.
It's not a no, there's there's lots of evidence. The last step will be faith.
But it's not a blind faith.
OK, let's let's move on. There's lots could be said on any of these questions, but let's try to get everybody's question in this evening. So the next question is what is the best way to approach someone that thinks they can lose their salvation, but only through a major sin like running from the police or being involved in a major crime. Now before I turn to some scripture, I think that's very interesting the way this question is worded because you will find.
That those who try to teach that you can lose your salvation, they start to categorize sin and they don't realize that the thought of foolishness is sin. Well, I have to hold my hand up and say I've had a lot of foolish thoughts today, and I guess I've shared some with with some as we've gone along and had some fun and so on. So the thought of foolishness is sin.
A. A A word out of place. There's lots of things that are sin.
That, uh, we don't really even think about. So again, if we if we start saying we lose our salvation, after we're saved, we're gonna have to start raising sin as to how bad or how not bad for lack of a better expression we think sin is. But with with God's sin is sin. It's black and white. I know there are degrees of things as far as the government of God and so on, but sin is sin now.
I wanna look at a couple of scriptures. First of all, we're gonna take two scriptures in Romans, one in the sixth chapter, very well known verse, and then we're going to pair it with another one later on enrollment.
Romans chapter 6 and verse 23. For the wages of sin is death. And now notice this. But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. So when I got saved, God gave me a gift and that gift was eternal life. Now it's the very life of Christ, it's divine life and so on and it's eternal. But go over to the 11Th chapter and I like to pair that.
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With a verse that shows that God, when God gives me something he doesn't take it back. So in the 11Th chapter of Romans.
Uh, notice verse 29 for the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. Now, in Mr. Darby's translation he has a footnote concerning this verse and he says the thought is irrevocable. In other words, God gives us gifts and God gives us many gifts, and we could go through a lot of the gifts that God gives us, but we're particularly interested in this gift of eternal life relevant to this question.
God has given me eternal life. Is is that gift irrevocable? Is God going to take that gift back? Now the other thing to realize is because people say, well what about the sins I do after I'm saved. But you know when the Lord Jesus died on the cross, how many of my sins were future? Every one of them the sins before I was saved and the sins after I was saved.
Did God know about every sin that I was ever going to commit before I was saved and after I was saved? Absolutely. Now let's go to 1St John to follow this up.
So first John chapter one.
And verse 7. We'll just go quickly through some verses here, but if we walk in the light, if he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another. Now notice this and the blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanseth us from all sin. How many of my sins were taken care of at the cross? How many of my sins were taken care of when I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior? All my sins by sins that I had committed up until that point of salvation?
And the sins that I have committed after. Now let's go on if we say verse eight that we have no sin.
We deceive ourselves and the truth is not in it. He's writing to believers here. He's writing to the family. That's why I said earlier today, it's important to understand each of the different writers and the the line of truth that they are presenting. John is writing to the family of God. OK, so if we say we, if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. So after we're part of the family of God, we still sin. What's the remedy?
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. When I sin as a believer, I do not have to ask the Lord for forgiveness because according to Ephesians chapter one and verse 7 and other scriptures, I have the forgiveness of sin. But what he wants us to do is come and confess our sin. Now to me the clearest verse as to the eternal security of the believer.
Is verse one of the next chapter, my little children? Now again he's writing to the family. These things write I unto you, that ye sin not. Now notice this, And if any man sin, we have an advocate with who?
The Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. If it said we have an advocate with God, we might well wonder if we lose our salvation when we sin.
But we do not have an advocate with God. We have an advocate with the Father, showing that when I sin, I in no way lose my salvation, but I do have to do with my father. So any of us who've had children understand this. When our children went against us or disobeyed us, we didn't bring them up to the court of law or disown them. But they did have to do with us as parents. They did have to do with us as as fathers, so when we sin.
We come to our Father, we have an advocate, which is the Lord Jesus.
But it's with the Father, not with God, And to me this is one of the clearest verses of eternal Security.
Along with the fact that when God gives us a gift, it is irrevocable, He does not recall that gift.
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So it doesn't say here when I commit a major sin or a small sin. It doesn't categorize sin here. It's simply sin. Just say this briefly. That sin does not break the family relationship, but it does break the joy of our fellowship. So again, we've all experienced this. We did something against our parents and we didn't feel comfortable in their presence. You went to your room. Send it some extra time in your room.
Or you went out for a walk or a ride on your bike or something because you just weren't comfortable around Dad because your conscience was bothering you. So sin does not break the family relationship, but it does break our joy.
Go to Psalm 51 just comes to mind in connection with David who sinned and maybe this will be helpful as well.
If you notice the title of this Psalm, it's David's prayer of confession when his sin in connection with Bathsheba is brought before him by Nathan the Prophet. And here he praised this this Psalm. And notice what he says in verse 12.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation. Now notice the wording carefully. He doesn't ask to be restored as to his salvation.
He doesn't say restore thy salvation. He says restore unto me the joy of thy salvation. So his conscience has spoiled his joy in the Lord. And in his prayer of confession he asked that that joy be restored. So again, like the child, they come to their parents, they confess what they have done. Maybe there's some consequence involved, and that joy of communion they're not.
Uncomfortable anymore?
They're now happy again in the presence of that parent, but they never lost their family relationship.
Need comment you put the two together and I think it's fairly clear the 1St is numbers.
Numbers 23.
And verse 19 God is not a man that he should lie, neither the Son of man, that he should repent. And hath he said, And shall he not do it? For hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
Then just the phrase of the Lord Jesus on the cross.
John chapter 19 and verse.
30 he said. It is finished.
The work has been completed. There's no the question that when he said it is finished that we could lose.
Our salvation, because it's been it would suggest that his death on the cross did not pay for some of our sins. The work was finished. Everything was paid for.
Maybe one more scripture in Hebrews chapter 10.
Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 12.
This goes along with what has just been read to us. But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. Now notice this, for by one offering he has perfected forever them that are sanctified. I've sometimes said in commenting on this that the fact that God raised the Lord Jesus from the dead and seated him at his right hand.
Is God. Amen. It's got the proof that God is forever satisfied with the work of Calvary, and having availed myself by the grace of God, of that finished work, if God were to refuse me now.
He'd have to refuse his own Son, and that is impossible. That is the security in which the believer stands before God tonight. God cannot refuse me now because he cannot refuse his Son who satisfied him at the cross.
00:35:22
I'm thinking of that uh father relationship and and we are brought in as uh Sonic uh sons and daughters and uh just thinking of uh the uh the variable of the last the sun has to be there and look uh Luke 15 I won't read anything but just reminds me of how he told his father 1215 verse 22 he said 12/21 he said in the sunset unto him father.
I have sinned against heaven and and in my sight.
There were no more words.
But uh, even if, uh, you know, even if our parents put us out of our home, we're still our father's son and father's son or daughter. So in the same way I like to think of it, uh, with uh, God our father, Once we're sons and daughters, we can't lose that place.
That doesn't give us license to send.
Because again, as we had earlier today, it's great.
An understanding of that grace that has brought us into the relationship that teaches us to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age.
All right. Let's move along to our third question here.
If perfect love casts out fear, why do we still fear? Let's turn to 1St John where we have this verse because I believe it answers itself in the portion. So first John chapter 4.
Now maybe before I read this, if we were to read this chapter, we would find that he's talking about the only perfect love that there is, and that is the love of God and the love of the Lord Jesus for us. None of us love perfectly, only we we. But we are loved with a perfect love, the love of God the Father and the love of the Lord Jesus. So that's that's the context.
And in verse 16 he says God is love. Uh now let's notice verse UH 18.
There is No Fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. OK, so we're loved with the perfect love. Why do we still fear? Because we haven't entered in fully to the love of God and to the love of the Lord Jesus.
You know, a child who doesn't enjoy their parents, who fears their parents, is a child who doesn't perhaps understand or enter in to the heart of that parent. The more a child enters into the heart of a loving parent, the more comfortable that child is going to be in the presence of that parent. Now, with God our Father and the Lord Jesus, it's not a question.
Of how much we love God or how much we love the Lord Jesus. What it is is a question of how much we enjoy His love for us. And the more we enjoy His love for us, the less we are going to fear in in His His presence. So the reason I perhaps have fear, or one of the reasons at least is because I'm not in the full enjoyment of His love. Now I'll just say in that regard that the more.
I enjoy His love, the love of God the Father, and the love of the Lord Jesus. For me, my love will deepen and my love will grow, but not because I tried to generate some love within myself for Him. Notice what the next verse says, verse 19. We love Him because he first loved us or we love because He first loved us. What generates love in our hearts?
It's again to understand his love and what that love is. So it the more.
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We enjoy His love the more the less fear we will have. The reason I have fear is because I don't enjoy fully His love. Perfect love casts out fear. Not my perfect love for the Lord because that'll never be perfect, but to understand His perfect love for me.
Maybe I should just mention, there is a kind of wholesome fear that we should have, and there are many verses we can turn to in connection with the fear of the Lord. It's the beginning of the of wisdom. It's the beginning of knowledge, and so on. But that's a different kind of fear than we're talking about here. That is a fear to do something that displeases the one that loves us and the one that we.
Love in, in, in return.
So that's a different kind of fear, you know, if your father or mother really love you and you reciprocate that love, you're going to fear to do something that that displeases, displeases them so. And as we see relationships forming amongst young people too, between a young man and a young lady, we noticed that the young man or the young lady as they fall in love with the.
Person, then they want to please that person and they're careful.
They're on guard not to do something that they know will displease that person. So that's a wholesome kind of fear. But I believe the fear we have here is a little bit different. We we don't have to fear God. We don't have to fear our Father because we enter into that perfect love that he has for us. The unbeliever does fear God. Even the devils, they believe in God and tremble, but they don't enter in and understand his love, his heart of love.
Loans or attachments out sphere and you think that has any connection with obedience?
With obedience from our board.
Well, again in the measure in which?
I enter in to the love of God and the love of the Lord Jesus. Then I am going to want to walk in obedience. And we have another question that's going We're going to take up that very line of things. So if a man loved me, he will keep my commandments. But again, I would say that that love for him is generated or developed not within ourselves, but it develops within a fuller appreciation.
Of his love, let me use a little illustration from the Old Testament in connection with your question.
You remember this, the bride and the Song of Solomon. And in Song of Solomon you have more or less a dialogue between the bridegroom picture of the Lord Jesus and the bride in application, a picture of you and me as the bride of Christ. There are a few others that take a little part, but more or less it's a dialogue between the bridegroom and the bride. At the beginning of the dialogue, the bride is asleep. She's asleep to the affections and love of her bridegroom.
But as she is awakened to those affections of her bridegroom, and begins to enumerate his glories and qualities, and begins to appreciate more his love and desire for her.
What happens at the end of it? Her love and appreciation for the bridegroom have deepened, but it wasn't because she tried to generate that appreciation or love. It was the unconscious result of going over the enjoyment of the bridegroom and his love for her. And so at the end of it, there's No Fear and love because she realizes how deep that love is for her.
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And her love, as a result, has deepened.
OK, another question.
Why does God lay out so many rules for us to follow?
I'm gonna turn to a verse in a minute, but before I do that, I'm gonna just qualify this by saying the Bible is not a book of rules. It's a book of principles. God gives us principles. Now I realize in the Old Testament there was the law that was given to Moses and it was this do and thou shalt live. And there were very stiff penalties if you didn't keep that law. But for us, the Bible, I say again, is not a book of rules. It's a book of principles. Now let's go to a verse in.
John's Gospel, The last chapter of John's Gospel, John chapter 21.
And see what we are to follow.
So to get the context, here we have the Lord Jesus talking to the Apostle Peter. Peter had failed very badly. He had earlier denied the Lord three times with those and curses. Now he has been restored to the Lord by His grace and by a real work in his soul. Now the last recorded words of the Lord Jesus in John's gospel are to Peter. What I'm gonna read now are the last recorded words of the Lord Jesus and John. Notice what he says.
In UH verse 19.
Uh, verse 22. I'm sorry, just the last three words of the verse.
Follow thou me, thou notice, and I understand where this question is coming from, so I'm not putting this question down because it's a good question. But notice what the Lord Jesus says, the last recorded words of the Lord Jesus in John's gospel to Peter. He doesn't say follow what I've said. Follow the ministry I've given you because John is the gospel that's most doctrinal in his character.
John and John we have more instruction by the Lord Jesus to the disciples than any other gospel. Chapter 13141516 and other parts of John's Gospel where he lays down certain principles and instructions, but in the end of it he doesn't say to Peter, Follow the instructions I've given but follow me because in Christianity it's a person now.
If we're following the Lord Jesus, we're going to follow his instructions as well.
The Lord Jesus is presented to us in John's Gospel as the shepherd. What characterizes sheep? They follow the shepherd. They're one of the few animals that are that are lead goats are driven. You drive cattle, you herd pigs, but what do you do with sheep? They and I, when we were in Germany this last time, we went out for a walk outside the village of Liebenshire, Germany, where there's a little assembly and all of a sudden we saw literally hundreds and hundreds of sheep.
Out on the hillside, and they're all coming down the hillside. Why? Because at the beginning of the at the at the beginning there was a shepherd, and they were following that shepherd, and he was leading them down through the village and I suppose on to other pastures. But they were following a shepherd. Now the shepherd had instructions for them as well, which we couldn't understand because they were in German, but it was the person that they were following. And if you and I have Christ before us, following the Lord Jesus.
Then we're going to follow the instructions that he has given us. I'm going to give you a little illustration. As I said, in the Old Testament you had the law that was given and it was this do and thou shalt live, and if you didn't do it.
There were very stiff penalties, even death. Now, some of you young people have heard me give this illustration before, but I'll repeat it because as we said earlier in connection with what Andre brought up, if a man loved me, he will keep my commandments. So the Old Testament is like a man who hires A housekeeper, and he hires that housekeeper. And what happens? Well, there's a set of rules.
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Maybe they're posted on the kitchen wall and Monday she's to do the wash What Tuesday she's to do the ironing. Wednesday there's some housekeeping. Thursday there's something else. Friday is the baking for the weekend. These instructions are established and there's a salary that goes with these instructions. Nobody would raise an eyebrow at that. That would be very in keeping with a man.
Hiring.
Hey uh, I'm I'm may hire hiring a housekeeper. But let's suppose for the sake of illustration, that time goes on and the man falls in love with the housekeeper and he eventually marries her. Now what happens?
You go into that home, wouldn't you be surprised if you saw a list of rules and regulations still up on the board, in the in, on the bulletin board, in the kitchen? And wouldn't you be surprised if on on Saturday?
In fact, I would suggest that you would find things were probably done better than they were before. Why Not because it was posted on the kitchen bulletin board, and not because there was a salary that was paid on Saturday evening, but because there was a motive of love. And so, again, if a man loved me, he will keep my commandments. The Lord said my commandments are not grievous, so the one who was the housekeeper when she did those duties.
Maybe they were just mundane tasks that she knew she had to do out of a sense of duty and for a salary, but now she does them with joy. I trust better not talk to our wives too much afterwards, but we trust they're done even better and that they are done with joy. Why? Because now the motive is love. The man who who married her loves her and she loves him. And now there's there's that response. And when there's love.
A command or I'm sorry, a request, has the power of a command when there's love involved and it's not something that's hard or difficult.
I really wonder if that was a thoughtful call. Look at this in the Galatians.
Galatians 2 Where the Lord was telling Peter to follow, Follow me. This is I wonder what the thought of Paul is really saying in Galatians 220.
Nevertheless I live yet not I, that Christ liveth in me. And this is what I was really thinking. And the life which I now live in the flesh. I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Yeah, that's absolutely right. Paul lived for the Lord not out of the sense of duty and because he had to keep certain rules or even certain principles, but because he realized that the Lord Jesus had loved him and gone to the cross to die for him.
Yeah, that's very good.
This next question I think we can answer. It's very very con person, concise and I think it's very clear answer. This is a question concerning Romans, chapter 8, verse 19 to 21. Before I read the question, let's read the scriptures that are denoted here.
So Romans chapter 8.
00:55:07
And uh.
Let's see, Nathan, you wanna read for me? Verses 1920 and 21, please.
Of the sons of God. For the creature was made to object to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him that subjected the same in hope, because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the ******* of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Thank you. So the question is in Romans 8 chapter verses 19 to 21, What is the creature?
Referring to.
So to get the context of this chapter he's talking about, he's contrasting our present condition now, still in a world affected by sin in relationship to the glory that you and I as believers are going to share with Christ in a coming day, but what he goes on to refer to in these verses is the fact that all creation is suffering today.
As the result of sin, so for the word creature here we could substitute creation. So when Adam sinned in the garden, not only did Adam and and his descendants come under the curse and the effects of sin, but it says the here, the later on the whole creation. Verse 22. Let me read it, for we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
So every level of creation came under the curse and effects of sin.
We had a beautiful popu popular tree outside our kitchen window and one year it got a blight. And I went out and looked at that tree and every leaf it seemed on that tree was affected by a blood. That blight. And that blight is the result of sin, the animal creation. They they feel the effects of sin. Animals prey on one another, animals get hurt, animals suffer pain and so on. That's the result of sin, the whole creation.
Groans and travails in pain as a result of sin and the effects of the curse of sin are not going to be removed until the Millennium. That is very simply what these verses are saying, that there's going to be a redemption for creation. Creation is going to be set free when the Lord Jesus comes back, and to a great degree at least, reverses the effects of sin.
And on on the on the creation now you and I today we're redeemed with the blood of Christ. First Peter, chapter one, we're still feeling the effects of sin. Some of us in the last year have felt it perhaps in a way that we've never felt it before. Some of us have been through some sicknesses and and so on. Tim felt it as a result of what happened last year and I think he still has some effect effects of it. So in all to 1° or other we all feel the effects of sin. Why?
Because we haven't been completely delivered from sin and its effects, and that's why it says later in Romans, Now is our salvation nearer than when we believe. That's not the salvation of our souls, but that's why our complete deliverance or salvation from these bodies that feel the effects of sin and age and breakdown and from the effects of sin that we feel in the creation all around us. But not only are we going to have full deliverance when the Lord comes to take us.
To heaven. But when the Lord comes back to reign in this world in righteousness, then this world is no longer going to feel the effects of sin. Isaiah chapter 55, we won't turn to it, but verse 12 tells us this, that even the trees are going to clap their hands. Now I know that's figurative language, but what it's showing is that even the lower creation, even the plant life, those popular trees that have the blight now.
They're going to not feel in that way the effects of sin. So from from the plant creation, the lower creation, right up, uh, there's going to be a joy and a liberty that they have never experienced since the fall of man. You know, when Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden.
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As far as the the uh effects of sin on the the ground and the plant life, it says that the the ground would bring forth thorns and thistles.
That was one curse. When Cain sinned, there was another curse put on the ground. It would no longer bring forth in abundance. So I always tell the farmers, you have to take care of the weeds because of Adam. You have to fertilize because of Cain. Those two curses weeds because of Adam. And when Cain sinned and the earth opened up to receive the blood of his brother Abel, righteous Abel, God said the earth would no longer bring forth an abundance. But.
If we were to go to Isaiah and other scriptures we would find in the Millennium it's gonna the earth is gonna bring forth in such abundance so fast it says the Reaper will overtake the sower and the sower the Reaper. I know you farmers can't hardly imagine such a thing, but one crop is going to overtake the other and they won't even be able to harvest it fast enough to get it all in. So I believe that very simply, that's what these verses are referring to. They're referring to a future day, Not for us.
'Cause we're gonna be with the Lord, we're already gonna be delivered from the power and presence of sin, but for this whole creation, they're going to enjoy a liberty that they've never enjoyed before.
So I wondered if this look at this in Colossians, the Colossians one and verse 20.
And 21 And I I think this is right, that the work that the Lord Jesus did on the cross.
Accomplish reconciliation for the whole world, the whole earth, And it accomplished reconciliation for us, and it brings it out here in Colossians 2 Uh, Colossians one verse 20. And having made peace through the blood of his cross by him to reconcile. And this is what we were talking about, all things unto himself by him, I say, whether they be things in earth or things in heaven.
And you that were sometimes alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, you now have to be reconciled. So the work that was accomplished on Calvary's cross accomplished all of this.
So that's good and and just let's quickly look at two further scriptures to confirm what you say, uh in Hebrews chapter one.
Now in verse two he's talking about the Lord as Creator, but whom also He made the world. OK. And then he says in verse three, who being the brightness of his glory and the express age of his person, and upholding all things by the word of His power. In other words, he's not just the Creator, but he's sustaining the whole universe, upholding it by the word of His power. Now notice this. Now we lose the sense in the King James Version.
He said in the King James it says when he had by himself purged our sins. But it's a broader thought. If you notice Mr. Darby's translation, he's made the purification for sin. He he perched our sins. That true, but it's a broader thought here because the Lord is going to take everything back and bring it into order and blessing in creation not as just as creator, but on the grounds of redemption.
Because the blessing for this earth is going to be on the basis of the work of of Calvary. Now go over to the second chapter and you'll see this confirmed again. Again, we lose the sense in our King James Bible, but umm verse 9. But we see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor that he by the grace of God should taste death.
Not just for every man, but again, notice another translation. Mr. Darby says. For everything you see, there'll be no there can be no blessing for man, for the earth apart from the work of redemption. Our our redemption, our salvation is based on the work of the Lord Jesus, and the millennial blessing for all creation is based on that work as well. So the Lord Jesus is going to take it all back and bring it into order and blessing, not just on the grounds that he's creator.
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Now we have a very good question here. These are all good questions. This is another good question. How does one learn to hate and despise sin?
To be repulsed by it, especially the ones we like, that are enticing, that don't seem as bad as and that we justify. So how do we learn? How do we learn to despise or hate sin? Because you know, there are, scripture says there is pleasure in sin, pleasure in sin for a season for a little time. So I think this is a a very good question. There's a lot of scriptures we could look at.
Let's go to 1St John, Chapter 2.
First John chapter 2 and verse 15.
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loves the world, now notice this. The love of the Father is not in him, for all that is in the world is the lust of the flesh. The lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the Father, but of the world. Now we've talked already about the our our enjoyment of the love of the Father, God the Father, the love, the our enjoyment of the love of the Lord Jesus.
I believe again, what? What is going to cause us to shun sin. To have no time for sin, no love for sin is to have our hearts filled with the love of the Father. So if you fill a glass with water, there's no room for anything to file it. If we fill our hearts with the love of God our Father, then we're not going to have a love for sin.
And it's gonna be really an unconscious thing, isn't it? If in the more we love the Father and the Lord Jesus, the less of a love we're going to have for sin, Let's go to John 14.
For another verse.
We may have quoted this verse already, but let's just read it again.
Yes, we we've talked about this, but just to reconfirm it, Verse 23, John 1423 So we've talked about the love of the Father. Now we'll talk about the love of the Lord Jesus. Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my word and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him and make our abode with him. So again, it's to be filled with the love of the Lord Jesus.
That's going to.
Leave no room for our love of sin or our love of the world. So the scriptures too. But maybe somebody else can share some some other scriptures and some thoughts.
Just read a few verses there.
Romans chapter 8 and start with verse.
Six, really. This whole chapter kind of brings it all together. We'll start with verse 6. For to be carnally minded is that? But to be spiritually minded is life and peace, because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God. Neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God if you're not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.
Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is not of his.
And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin. So really just verse 6.
Umm, it's been helpful to me to be To be carnally minded is that. But to be spiritually minded is light and peace. Umm. I was listening to meeting recently by brother Harry Hajo. I was speaking umm about reading the word of God, and his statement was we need to read the God word of God.
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Central We are so saturated that we think in the language of Scripture, and so if we are so spiritually minded, we won't have that carnal mind in us. We'll be saturated with the thoughts of the Word, with the thought of the Lord and have for us, and there won't be room for our minds to think of those things which are seen.
So that goes along with Colossians. Set your mind on things. Above again the King James says our heart. But in the context in Colossians it sets your mind on things above where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God. So let's go to a couple of verses in the Psalms that confirm what has been has been said Psalm 97 and verse 10.
OK. And this goes along with some of the things we've already talked about in regard to the other questions as well. But Psalm 97 verse 10?
Ye that love the Lord hate evil.
You see, again, it's in the measure in which our affections go out to the Lord Jesus that we're going to hate that which is displeasing to him. So like we've been saying, if you love someone and they love you, you don't want to displease that person. Let's go to Proverbs chapter 8 for something similar.
Proverbs, Chapter 8.
And verse 13.
The fear of the Lord is to hate evil. So again, what gives me that hatred for evil? What's gonna give me the the, the what's gonna take away my desire for that which is unholy? It's again my love for the Lord and the fear of the Lord, which is different than the fear we spoke of earlier, but the fear to do something that would displease the one that loves us and the one that we love.
So one last question very quickly. This question won't take long. You know, there's sometimes when questions are asked, we have to say 3 famous words. I don't know. And you know, it's better sometimes when someone asks a question to say I don't know than to try to make up some answers. That is not the truth of God. However, we will read the scriptures that this question refers to.
It says Could you explain the reference in the book of Ezekiel, chapter one about the wheel within the wheel? Let's go to the Book of Ezekiel.
I I will be able to tell Ezekiel when I get to heaven that I read his book, but I'll have to confess to him that I really didn't understand very much, or any of it.
So in Ezekiel chapter one and I'll read verse 16.
The appearance of the wheels and their work was like under the color of barrels, and the four had one likeness, and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel, or a wheel within a wheel.
Now I don't understand all the symbolism here in the book of of Ezekiel. I do understand this that Ezekiel's prophecy had to do with the judgment, the government of God against his earthly people Israel, because of their sin and their idolatry. And Ezekiel wrote during the captivity when God and his governmental ways had allowed his people to be carried away into Babylon.
So it has to do with the government of God. There is one other other thing I understand in connection with the book of Ezekiel. If you read this first chapter and then you go on and notice in the 10th chapter as well, I believe it is, you'll find that there are four living creatures that are mentioned and he's describing them. And this is part of the description. This wheel within a wheel, wheels within a wheel and so on. It's part of the description of the four living creatures.
These four living creatures we have in the Book of Revelation as well in Revelation 4:00 and 5:00. And I do believe the four living creatures represent to us God's governmental ways on the earth in connection with these earthly people and in connection with the earth itself. And God is going to deal with this earth in his government in a future day. And the living creatures and their description, and again, I don't understand.
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All the symbolism, but it has to do with God's government in the earth. I would just make this very simple remark in connection with these wheels. It would perhaps speak to us of the swiftness.
And consistency of God's government in dealing with man on the earth, with his earthly people, Israel, and with the earth in general. More particularly in Ezekiel, it is the earth in the earthly people, Israel. In Revelation, it's beyond, it's even beyond that. It's a general government and there's always a swiftness and a consistency. So they would understand this back in Bible times. The Chariots with those wheels.
They were pulled by the horses and there was a swiftness and consistency that went with a chariot that had proper wheels. Wyatt's wheels within a week in wheels. Perhaps it's just simply the thought that God is operating in different ways and what in what he does and sometimes his purpose is overlap and so on. Other than that, I don't have a great deal of explanation. Maybe someone else has a thought.
So we have a couple more minutes. So you talk about the last, the previous question. Sure, sure, Tim. Yeah, comments on that. Umm.
The question I like the way it was word of having it. Losing an appetite for sin and gaining an appetite for the Lord appreciated that thought. But oftentimes when a temptation comes along or umm, or Satan presents something to us, it's not.
When we're at our best it's not gonna be when we're at our best and.
So I'd I'd like to look at a verse, just mention a few scattered verses a little bit about what sin is about and umm and the thought of lust. Umm there's a person says lost when it hath conceived bringeth forth sin and sin, when does it finish bringeth forth death. And when a thought comes across our mind that isn't right, it needs to be judged right then.
Uh, we're we're going to read this first, Later, second, Timothy chapter 2.
Umm.
It says Flea useful locks, and it was mentioned that this is a a send that is especially enticing, probably a frequent problem, something that we especially desire. So this UH and second Timothy. I'm flipping everywhere, but it's the right page.
UH, Second Timothy, chapter 2. It says flee youthful lust.
That's, uh, verse 22. We also useful Lux, another translation of that word. Youth. Uh, useful is often recurring. It's not that the user something that happened when they're young, it's that they keep coming back. They just keep coming back, flee them, just get away from it. And umm, so that's one one verse on the subject. But the sin is the conception of the lost when the decision is consciously made that I'm going to pursue this.
There's a difference between, uh in a positive way. There's a difference between seeing and looking upon. When you see something, boom, something went by, I saw it, but then you can study it. And if you if you continue to be focused on this, on this loss to this bad thought, it's going it. That's the conception or become sin before any action is carried out, that decision in your mind to continue in whatever it is, umm, we could.
I'm sure every one of us has a dirty list that we could hold up.
Umm. And many of our lists may be the same and many may be different. But uh some other verses that were read in first John chapter one. It speaks of a fellowship.
And speaks of confessing sin. And we like to think that we can con confess the sin to the Lord. But I want to encourage you to umm be accountable to someone else as well. Because this fellowship in first John is not only with the Father and with the Son, but it's also with the apostles and I believe all that believe. And so it's like a fellowship. And to get in the door you say, well this is this is the case.
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Umm and I think it would be helpful if you were accountable to someone else if you said, well umm, I sinned and I need help. Umm and to to show another verse on that Hebrews chapter 3.
Umm. Hebrews chapter 3 and verse 13. Sin is sin is deceitful and umm.
I'd like to present itself in a way that's appealing to us.
So Hebrews chapter 3 and verse 13. But exhort one another today, or encourage one another today, or as long as it is called today, while it is called today, daily while it is called today. Let any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Try to be an encouragement.
We're all in the same boat.
If you can reach out to someone else, there's a likely chance that you'll find someone else that is going through the same things that you're going through.
And it it would be help if you were an encouragement to one another daily because.
Like I said, it's not when we're focused on the Lord. It's not on Sunday morning right after we've had the breaking of bread meeting and we're we're sitting here wondering at this wonderful savior, it might be on Thursday afternoon after you've had a rough day at work. But if you if we were more active in encouraging one another. We're all brothers. We're all brothers and sisters in the Lord. We're all in this together, encourage one another so that we're not fooled.
Into thinking that the stem which as was admitted, is attractive to us, It is attractive to that old sinful nature. If we can encourage one another, it would be a big help.