Hour 2: Learning from the Scriptures

Published Jun 21, 2025, 4:01 AM

Each Saturday on Open Line, we study the Scriptures together to learn how the Bible applies to our lives today. Dr. Michael Rydelnik answers your questions about the Old and New Testaments, the Gospel, Jesus' earthly life, and much more. Join us this weekend with your questions.

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Hello friends. It's time for the second hour of Open Line with Doctor Michael Moody Radio's Bible Study Across America. We're talking about your questions about the Bible, God and the spiritual life. My name is Michael Ray. I'm the academic dean, and I'm also a professor of Jewish studies and Bible at Moody Bible Institute. We're live today sitting around the radio kitchen table, and we're talking about your questions about the Bible, God, and the spiritual life. If you'd like to give us a call with your question, the phone number is (877) 548-3675. That's (877) 548-3675. If you can't call, just go to our website Open Line radio.org. Click on the link that says Ask Michael a question and you can post your question there. It'll be put into the mailbag. Now, do you have your second cup of coffee? I hope so, because if you have your Bibles open, we're ready to talk about the scriptures, and we're going to talk with Jeff in Minnesota listening on CTI. Welcome to Open Line, Jeff. How can I help you today?

Thank you. Michael. It's very much an honor to talk to you today. My question is about the law. About the law to understand the, uh, you know, it all the that which, uh, the New Testament tells us Jesus fulfilled the law. Did he? First off, is there a definitive list? And did he fulfill just the sacrificial part? Certainly there's some law that we follow in the legal, uh, governmental, uh, situation right now. Uh, basically the same, same thing. But he didn't deliver us from from that. But just I was trying to find out. Is there a definitive list or where I should look to really get a full description?

The passage you're talking about the the Lord fulfilling the law, right? Is Matthew five okay? Right. That's what you're talking about. Or am I telling you or are you. Are you aware of that?

Yeah, I'm aware of that. That's that's true.

Okay. So Matthew five says this in verse 17. And I think most people miss this. Are you ready?

Yes.

Don't assume that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill. When he talks about the law of the prophets, he's not talking about just the Law of Moses. He's talking about the Old Testament. Now, later on, uh, the Jesus and Luke talks about the law, the prophets, and the writings, or the Psalms. The threefold. But generally speaking, when people talked about the scriptures, the Old Testament scriptures, they called them the law and the prophets. And so when Jesus said, I didn't come to destroy the law or the prophets, I didn't. I didn't come to destroy, but to fulfill. He's saying, I didn't come to destroy the scriptures. I came to fulfill the scriptures. He's talking more broadly than just the Law of Moses. And then he goes on to talk about the law of Moses in particular. But he is talking about the whole Bible. Uh, that's the first thing. Secondly, when we look at the Bible, people will say, are we under the law of Moses or are we not? And I give the really clear answer of yes and no. Uh, the the reason I say no is when we use the word law, it's used a number of ways. It's used of the Pentateuch from Genesis through Deuteronomy, right? Right. Is that the word of God, or are we under its authority? Yeah, of course it is. It's our authority. When when Paul talks about the inspired scriptures, he's including that, right? That's our authority. So, uh, on the one hand, yes, we're under that. Secondly, he also uses it of the Sinai covenant, the laws, the 613 commandments that were handed down. Now, many of those Sinai covenant laws have been repeated in the New Covenant. So if we're new covenant followers of Jesus, we have to be obedient to those same laws. Uh, like nine of the Ten Commandments are repeated in the New Testament. So are we under that? But our lifestyle is sort of an enhanced New Covenant law, meaning Paul keeps talking about the law of Christ. You may have seen that the Messianic Torah, the messianic law, that's that's how you could translate it. So we're we're operating our operating system is the law of Messiah, but that encompasses, uh, the teachings and the principles that are in the law of Moses. So, for example, kosher laws, I think all foods have been declared clean. People can eat whatever they want. Uh, people can keep kosher. They can not keep kosher. It's up to them. You want to have bacon and eggs or instead of turkey bacon, have actual bacon from a pig. It's allowed. Right? However, there are principles that are in that passage. So no matter what, we need to treat those individual laws as God's wisdom and find the wisdom principle that governs our lives. And in that sense, we're under it. We're not under the specific don't eat these foods, but we are under the principle of that. God said he wanted Israel to be holy in Leviticus 11. He wanted Israel to be separate, and one of the ways they could separate themselves would be to carry, to keep the kosher laws. So that's why, uh, it says be holy, for I am holy there at the end of Leviticus 11. Should we keep ourselves distinct and separate? Yeah, that's the wisdom principle. And we have to be different in some way than those people around us. Does that does that make sense?

Yeah, it gives me a lot to think about, about fulfilling all the scripture, uh, rather than just the first five list, Leviticus and and whatnot. So, uh, yeah, I appreciate that insight. Yeah, it gives me more. Yeah.

Great. Uh, okay. Uh, we're going to, uh, we're going to talk to Tony in West Chicago, uh, listening on Wmbi. Welcome to Open Line, Tony. How can I help you?

Thank you. Um, yeah. Um, my question, um, has been something that's been on my mind for a while now. And just to preface, uh, I am a strong supporter of Israel. I hope and pray for their safety and success. However, Old Testament Israel was disciplined by God for idolatry, by enemy nations, and news of Israel's secularism, like the abortion, uh, counts and homosexuality, which is all idolatry, has been very worrying to me. Could it be that the October 7th massacre has been a wake up call to Israel? And if so, has there been a discussion on this perspective in Israel regarding future concerns, and should we be praying in this respect in this regard?

Well, I would put it this way. You know what? I'm going to be really blunt here. Where would I rather be as a person who affirms God's and the biblical expectations of human sexuality? I would rather be in Israel than, for example, in Gaza, where Hamas kills people who have same sex relationships. Right? They throw them off the roof. So I would I would rather be in Israel where there's freedom, just like I think in America. I think that I would rather be in a democracy that has recognizes the humanity and human rights of of people like, engaged in, in same sex relationships. I'm not in any way saying that we need to, to to, uh, have anything but respect for those people, even if we disagree with their lifestyle. I'm not endorsing anything about the lifestyle. I'm just saying people are made in the image of God. And I appreciate that Israel doesn't do what happens in many countries around Israel. Wouldn't you agree with that?

Well, I think that's that's not only just one issue of of idolatry. It's the whole issue.

Well, I'm going to go on to talk about the others, but I just want to know if you agree with me about that.

I think that, um, it's certainly good to be certainly trying to find how to help those who are have made these decisions. Absolutely. And in, in as a Christian, I work I absolutely work toward that.

Yeah. Okay. Good. Now, uh, Uh, the. That's a governmental perspective, not a personal. Do you understand what I'm saying? Uh, I think that we ought not to do anything unkind or un. Uh, untoward, uh, to anyone. Even people who don't know the Lord. I mean, what do you think? So, uh, now, the other thing I would say about this is. Yes. God. Uh, so often people think there's, like, this tit for tat thing going on, but God does this in our lives, too, doesn't he? He brings difficulties and challenges in our lives, either to make us more faithful or to correct us when we've been unfaithful. Isn't that true? Right? That's what Hebrews 12 is about.

So pretty. Pretty, uh. Painful?

Yeah. And so not that there was any justification for what, uh, for what Hamas did. Not that, uh, there's any endorsement of it. Uh, and we shouldn't approve of it in any way, shape or form. Uh, we should condemn it. Hate it, uh, respect Israel's right to defend itself. All that's true. But don't you think it causes people to say, well, I better seek the Lord? You know, it says in Psalm 120, verse one, uh, that out of my distress I cry to the Lord, and he heard me. And so I've been talking to friends who are followers of Jesus in Israel, and they have been telling me they have never seen Israelis quite as open spiritually as they've seen them since 1011. That this has done something in the land to bring a sense of searching, a searching for the Lord, to see where God is at. So that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to pray that God opens hearts and people will, uh, come to know him because of the struggles that they're facing. I think that's how I would pray for Israel right now. Not only for deliverance from this difficulty. Difficult situation. For safety, for protection, but also for spiritual pursuit of the Lord. And that God would reveal himself to them. I think that would be great, don't you, Tony? I do, I hope so. Absolutely. Yeah. Okay. We'll be back with more questions in just a moment. This is open line with Michael Radulovic. Welcome back to Open Line. I'm Michael Radulovic. Glad to be with you today. Talking about your questions about the Bible, God and the spiritual life, and seems like today a lot of questions about Israel as well. So, uh, I do want to mention a couple of things. One is we have our favorite. I have my favorite resource. I think I've given it a long time as a thank you for your gift of any size. And that is a Bible dictionary. Uh, I think it's so crucial that everyone build a library and, uh, a good Bible library as a resource when you're reading the Bible to be able to turn to something and and look things up. Uh, when you wonder who are these people that are mentioned? What's this place name? What happened there? What's this event? What's this Holy day? Well, you could look it up in the Ultimate Bible Dictionary, published by B.A. publishers. It's the same publisher that produced my favorite Bible translation, the Holman CSB. And we'd like to send you a copy of the Ultimate Bible Dictionary as a thank you for a gift of any size. And boy, we could really, uh, we would really appreciate a gift. Now, this month, as we come to the end of our fiscal year at Moody Bible Institute. So if you'd like to give, uh, the best way to do that is to call (888) 644-7122 or go to open line radio.org, and we'll send you a copy of the Ultimate Bible Dictionary. You're going to love this handy terrific book. Uh, it's it's small, it's easy to carry. It's a great resource. Again, call (888) 644-7122 or go to Open Line radio.org. And remember to ask for the ultimate Bible dictionary with your gift of any size. Now some people are asking me about something else, and I need to mention this that one of one of the things that happens if you become a kitchen table partner, which is people kitchen table partners give monthly so that we can be on the air weekly. Uh, it's a commitment they make, uh, for 12 months to give monthly. Uh, do you still get the resource? Yes. All you have to do is ask for it. We're really grateful for the gifts that you give on a monthly basis. And of course, we want to send you the resource, but we really appreciate that monthly commitment to be a kitchen table partner. And if some of you have given occasionally or never given and would like to help keep this program on the air. What a great time now at the end of the fiscal year, to make that commitment to become a kitchen table partner. Again, all you have to do to become a kitchen table partner is go to our website, Open Line radio.org or call (886) 447-1221. And we're going to talk with Craig and Grand Rapids Michigan listening on WGN. Welcome to Open Line Craig. How can I help you today.

Hi. Um, thanks for taking me. And I'm kind of I've been reading through the Bible and stuff. And then with all the, all the wars and stuff going on right now, and, and I just had the question, like going through, um, in Matthew where Jesus says, um, to love your enemy. And then in Luke he says, do good to them. I don't, it's how how would that look if, say, Netanyahu said, I'm going like, I.

I love Iran and so they can nuke me if they want. They can nuke my people.

Well, no, no, no, not if and I believe I believe in Israel because it says in the Bible, um, don't ever go against Israel.

Well, here's here's the thing that you're asking about, first of all, those verses about love your enemy. That's not talking about international affairs, that's talking about, uh, into interpersonal conflicts. And I think it's, uh, very important that we do make enemies in life, and we have to love them and care for them and do good for them. That's first of all. Right. Uh, secondly, uh, Uh, sometimes holding people accountable is the most loving thing to do. I'll think back to when there was some people. I was leading a Bible study that was going to become a congregation in Brooklyn, New York, and we were there, and some people came in to disrupt the meeting, and they started turning over our tables and knocking over chairs and knocking people down and doing all this. And one of our guys working with the ministry I was with grabbed one of those guys to protect the people and held them. He was sort of a martial arts expert. He didn't hurt the guy. He just held him. We called the police and the police said, uh, you know, when the police were on their way, we called 911. Uh, this guy says to us, I thought you were supposed to be Jesus followers. What about loving your enemies? And we said, we do love you. You have to learn not to act this way. And the way you can learn that is by being held accountable. And so we're calling the police in love, and we're going to press charges and we're going to, you know, try and find every charge we can. Press. So you learn not to behave this way because that would be the most loving thing to do. That's also loving and doing good for people. And then finally, uh, there's the responsibility of a state. According to Romans 13, that it's not that it's not loving, but there still is this accountability that other nations will have if they threaten, uh, your nation with a nuclear weapon to eradicate it. A government would be responsible to stop that. Uh, and it would be the most loving thing to do for all involved. The same thing when Hamas acted that way and threatened to have repeated, um, uh, assaults on Israel, repeated invasions. They said that right away. This is not the first one. We're going to do it again and again and again. Well, then there had to be. The most loving thing to do is to hold them to account. And so it's a lot of times we look at love as being very soft. And sometimes love has to be very tough.

That's not that's definitely not what I'm saying, but I'm saying Jesus says so they came in the Hamas did that horrible thing. And I can understand they threw your tables over. You stopped the guy. Yes. That's defending immediately. But they're done. They're gone. And now we plan. And you look at Jesus and say, all right, Jesus, what do we do? We get over there. And I just can't like, does Jesus say, yes, get over there and kill them.

He says, well, I'm going to tell you what he says. Okay, Craig.

Greg can handle it.

Craig. This is what he says. He is the New Testament, the word of God.

Yes.

Yes. So it's the word of Jesus. In fact, it's called the Word of Christ in Romans chapter 13. It says that the government is a servant of God. Twice it says the government is a servant of the Lord to carry out vengeance appropriately. Now, I don't mean revenge.

But that's a verse.

Yeah. Here's what it says.

Said to carry out vengeance.

Here's what it is. Uh. An avenger. Listen to the verse. Government is God's servant for your good. This is Paul writing. But the word of God is the word of Christ, right? So. But if you do wrong, be afraid.

Right?

Pardon me.

Whether they believe or not. Believe.

Yeah. Listen to this, okay? Government is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid because it does not carry the sword. That's the assault weapon of the first century. For no reason for government is God's servant and avenger that brings wrath on the one who does wrong. That's a governmental responsibility.

Yeah, that does make sense. What verse was that?

Romans 13 four.

Okay. And then so would it be wrong to you for a soldier in Israel, to a Christian soldier, to say, I'm not going over there and killing those people?

No, I think it would be wrong. Uh, a soldier is under the government, and the government is authorized to do this. And just like in Israel, in ancient Israel, when God authorized, uh, the government of Israel to to go to war.

Yeah, I understand what you're saying, but I'm saying, would Jesus would that be he's using Jesus as to say, that's my worst enemy.

I think he I think I think.

He's.

I think what he would be saying would be misusing the words of Jesus, which have to do with personal enmity and not governmental responsibility.

So you could hear Jesus only saying, get over there.

And you know what, Craig? I'm trying to say to you as clearly as I can, that I believe I was once in a discussion with a pacifist who didn't believe that anyone should ever go to war, and when asked why wait, Craig. Wait when when when when he said that the question was why? And he said, what would Jesus do? And I said, okay, read revelation 19 and revelation 19 says that the Lord Jesus himself will go to war. So if we're going to do what Jesus did, there may be circumstances that a government requires us to go to war. So that's all I'm saying. And what you're doing is dealing with a non-governmental situation and trying to make it into, uh, apply it to a governmental situation, which is different.

I know. Okay. We follow the government until it goes against. And I'm not I'm not saying it's wrong.

I'm talking about.

I'm. I'm just confused.

Craig. I'm talking Craig. I'm talking about a biblical responsibility for government. Romans 13 four. So. Okay. That's what I'm talking about.

What happened when Babylon came in and took them?

Babylon was held accountable for that. Read the book of Habakkuk.

But yeah, but that's the I mean, God came in and said, go, go with.

Them, you know. Craig, listen, I'm going to just tell you Babylon has really nothing to do with what we're talking about here. Here's what it says. The Bible says that that's a governmental responsibility. That's all I'm saying. Okay. And that may be the most loving, loving thing to do. And by the way, I do think it's loving, uh, to get Hamas out of Gaza. That would be the best thing to do. So anyway, thanks for your call, Craig. Uh, we're going to talk with, uh, David in Mentor, Ohio. Uh, welcome to Open Line. David. How can I help you?

Uh, good morning, doctor. Thank you for taking my call. Sure. I have a question. Well, first, before I say anything, I want to say to Craig, um, he needs to learn what Jesus meant when Jesus said that no longer, uh, you know, you would go bare handed that you would need to pick up a sword. So you're allowed to protect yourself anyway?

Yeah. Go ahead.

Getting to my question.

Mhm.

And acts 1040. Verse 42 and says to him, uh, which was ordained of God to be the judge of the quick and the dead. I'm kind of curious if the quick if he's referring to people who are physically alive, or is he talking about people who are spiritually quickened and with the dead? Same thing. People were physically dead, or people who are spiritually dead. It may be both.

But I think he's talking about.

The living and the dead just means all people for all time. That's all it means.

It's a it's a it's.

A merism meaning that he is going to be the judge of all people. People who have died, people who are alive, people who will live, all people he will be the judge of. Okay.

You're here to talk that people are. People are saved, that they will not be judged. But I believe.

He.

Is the judge of all people.

For actions. Yeah.

He's a judge of all. And now he's going to judge believers differently. It'll be at the the Bema Seat of the Messiah. Well, thanks for your call, David. We'll be back in just a bit with more of your questions right here on Open Line with Michael Ray Dolnick. Welcome back to Open Line. I'm Michael Ray Elnec, and so glad to be with you. So grateful that you're listening. And also so grateful that Tricia McMillan is coming in with the Febc mailbag. So happy to see you, Tricia. The Febc mailbag is there because the Febc Far Eastern Broadcasting Company partners with us to bring you the mailbag. And this is a terrific organization that brings the good news to people through media, through personal engagement. They have a wonderful podcast called Until All Have Heard. It features Ed Cannon, the president of Febc. I encourage you to check it out by going to Febc. Org or to your favorite podcast distributor and get a copy of that. Listen to it and be encouraged as the gospel is spread through Febc. Hey, Tricia. Hey, we got a lot of questions here. Let's see how many we can do. What do you think?

All right. Sounds great. We got a question on Facebook from someone who says I'm a baker for farmers markets. And last year, I began a farmers market in our church parking lot with the support of the pastors, elders and trustees and then the vendor fees that the people selling things, um, pay goes back into the church and needs there, which is kind of a cool deal.

So it's.

A fundraiser in a sense, for the.

Church? Yeah. Several members of the church are vendors there, too. And we've even had a hot dog lunch outreach as a youth group fundraiser. An influential member has compared this farmer's market, though, to the story of Jesus overturning the tables in the temple and has told has told me that we should know better. My vision was to use it as an outreach, a collaboration with the church, creating connections in the community, and so many good things. But instead it seems to be turning into a battle. I don't want to continue this if it's a bad thing. Is the market comparable to the temple money changers? And I would even throw in like a church rummage sale would be, I think, a similar thing.

Well.

This was not only did this come up once before when I was a pastor in New York a long time ago. Uh, we were going to a Bible conference, and we had a lot of new Russian Jewish immigrants in our congregation, and they couldn't afford to go to this Bible conference at a Bible conference center in the mountains. And we were going to go. And so what we did is we had a rummage sale in our parking lot. Everyone brought everything, and we raised enough money to send every single person that couldn't afford to go to this conference. And what was so strange is there was one woman in our congregation who just went crazy about it. She thought this was the end of the world. She thought that what we were doing was turning our our temple into a den of thieves. Uh, and so I've encountered this before. Here's what I would say. The problem with the money changers and what was going on in the temple is completely different. Here's what was happening. First of all, they people had to bring a sacrifice so they would go to the temple. No matter how spotless or perfect their lamb was, if they brought one, the inspectors from the priesthood would say, nah, that's not quite good enough. We want the ones that we can be sure of. You have to buy one of ours. And it was like at airport prices is the way I would describe it. You know, you go to the airport and you want to get a hot dog and it's $16 and you're like, wow. Do they know what's going on outside of the airport? So they would charge a great deal for those perfect spotless lambs and goats and things in, in the temple. And then you'd say, okay, I'll buy it because I have to bring my sacrifice. And then they would say, oh, I'm sorry, your money's no good here. You've got to go to the money changers. We only have temple currency. You can't give us a shekel. You've got to give us a temple shekel. And. Okay, so I'll go to the money changers, and those guys would charge. Well, there's a 20% fee to convert your money to temple money. And so they were making money in a corrupt way. And that's what was upsetting the Lord. Not that there were if they had just been a nonprofit and providing the animals at at proper price, if they were converting the money with a reasonable amount of, of a surcharge, I don't think it would have spurred the, the, the, the, the conflict that that did come out because of it. That's what made the Lord Jesus so righteously angry. And so it seems to me. Go ahead with your parking lot farmers market. It's it's a great way to raise money.

Okay. All right. Thank you for that question. I hope that helps. Um, as you continue to reach out in your community. Uh, Michael wrote us in Indiana, listens to WGN, and said, I'm leading a Bible study through the book of acts. And as I have prepared, I have gotten to verse two, chapter 16, verse three, which has raised two questions for me. One why would Paul circumcise Timothy? Let me read the verse. Paul wanted Timothy to go with him, so he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places. Since they all knew that his father was a Greek. So why would Paul circumcise Timothy if, as he states in first Corinthians 718 and 19 and Galatians five six, the circumcision isn't what saves you, and it doesn't matter. Um, and then perhaps more to the point, number two, how would anyone even know that Timothy was circumcised?

Okay. Uh, the verse, first of all, let me just state that when Paul writes in first Corinthians 718, was anyone already circumcised when he was called? In other words, are you Jewish because Jewish people would be circumcised on the eighth day because of an outward sign of the Abrahamic covenant? He should not undo his circumcision. There was actually a surgery that people were doing. So they compete in Greco-Roman World Games that demonstrated that restored the circumcision or undid the circumcision, I should say. And so he said, don't do that if you're Jewish, stay Jewish. Uh, he should not get if someone is uncircumcised, if you're a Gentile and become a follower of Jesus, don't get circumcised. You don't have to become Jewish to become a follower. So when he says he should not get circumcised, he's talking about Gentiles. Same thing in Galatians. What was the problem in Galatians? They were telling Gentiles they had to be circumcised in order to become followers of Jesus. It was addressing Gentiles. He says in the Messiah, Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision accomplishes anything. In other words, if you're a Gentile, you don't have to be circumcised to come to faith. That's the point of that. And so. why is it that Paul Circumcises Timothy? Is because Timothy's mother is Jewish. He considers Timothy fully Jewish. The outward sign of the Abrahamic Covenant. Not for salvation, but for the the God's faithfulness to Israel was through circumcision. And so Paul did that as a mark of the Abrahamic covenant, just as you would with any Jewish child. Uh, just as Paul was circumcised on the eighth day. So that's why he circumcised Timothy. He wouldn't have circumcised Titus. In fact, he says he didn't. The reason he didn't was because Titus was a Gentile and there was a principle involved. Don't want anyone to think that a person has to be circumcised on the eighth day, or ritually, in order to be saved. That's why it was for the outward sign of the Abrahamic Covenant. How did they know? I think people would ask, uh, are you are you are you circumcised? Yeah. You know.

Because they would know that he's Jewish.

Yeah.

Okay.

Yeah. That's it. Okay. And they would also know that his father wasn't Jewish. People would. And. And so they ask, I don't think that they have an inspection.

Okay.

You know, I've been asked. Believe it or not, when, uh, when I've met people, uh, in very observant Jews and they find out I'm a messianic Jew, they'll say, well, were you circumcised? Of course. Eighth day, you know.

Okay.

So no one ever would do anything other than that.

Okay. And it wouldn't matter that that his father was Greek because his mother was Jewish.

Yeah.

Either in the Bible, either parent being Jewish makes the child Jewish.

Okay. All right. And therefore, as a witness to the Jewish people in those places where he was going to go, this was also a witness to them.

I would go even further. Not just a witness. Yeah. But also because God commanded Jews to circumcise on the eighth day. He missed it because obviously his father had objected to it. So, uh, but as an obedience to Abraham, the outward sign of the Abrahamic covenant.

Okay. Okay. Thank you. Thank you for that. You want to do one more?

Yeah.

Let's do it real quick.

Okay. Anita in Indiana listens to WGN and says, first John 516, which says if anyone sees his brother committing a sin that does not bring death, he should ask as in prayer, and God will give life to him. To those who commit sin that doesn't bring death. There is sin that brings death. I am not saying he should pray about that. So Anita wants to know, is this saying not to pray for someone who has rejected God in faith? How do we know that that person won't repent and that we shouldn't pray for them?

Yeah, this is not talking about whether a person, uh, sealed their fate or if they're saved or anything like that. This is talking about believers. And what it's saying is that there are people, there are certain sins that mentions it in first Corinthians 11, that there are some people taking the Lord's Supper unworthily, and they were sick. Some have even gone to sleep or died. Euphemism for death. Mhm. That there's a sin that can lead to death. Uh, that there are certain sins, whether it's abusing, taking the Lord's Supper, uh, inappropriately. Uh, there are certain sins. I'm not sure what they all are, but we know that there are certain sins that are more significant and that they, the Lord, will take someone home. Um, and he said, here, uh, in this verse, if a person is involved in sin, this believer, and it's not one of those sins that they're not sick yet, they're they're not on the verge of death, but pray for them that they would repent. On the other hand, there may be a person who is involved in a sin that brings death, and they're already sick. They're on the point of death. Uh, it is clear that God has disciplined them. I'm not saying he should pray about that, because the only thing that can help this person is James five. I believe if they call for the elders to pray, and that person not only will be raised up from their deathbed, but also their sins will be forgiven. So that person has to repent. This is just talking about temporal sin. Okay. So temporal judgment for sin.

Okay. All right. Thank you.

Yeah. And sometimes it's God's mercy that he takes us home rather than let us go on in our rebellious ways. Yeah, it's hard for us to imagine that, but that's what it is. We're going to. We're going to take a break here. Tricia, thank you so much for putting the mailbag together.

You're welcome.

I, I just I find it amazing how many you get through and grateful for all of you who write to Openlibrary.org by going to ask Michael a question. Really appreciate that. That was Tricia McMillan asking the questions. I'm Michael Ray. I'll be right back with more of your questions about the Bible, God, and the spiritual life. In just a moment. Welcome back to Open Line. There's so much today going on in Israel and a lot of questions today at Open Line about that as well. It's so hard to see where the future is going. But the Bible is really clear. And that's why one of our partners, Chosen People Ministries, is offering a really helpful book, and it's for free if you'd like it. It's called Israel's Glorious Future. It's a book that reveals the promises that God made to Israel and his covenants. And what the. Although the past may be difficult, the future is indeed glorious. If you'd like a copy of Israel's glorious future, All you have to do is go to our website, Open Line radio.org. Scroll down until you see the link that says A free gift from Chosen People Ministries. Click on that and you'll be taken to a page where you can sign up for your very own free copy of Israel's Glorious Future. Also, I did want to mention that even though it's summertime now, heat wave, heat wave, uh, here in the Midwest, I guess all over the country. We can start planning now for a winter vacation. I'm going to be doing something really special and people are interested. You might want to know about this. Uh, going to be on a tall ship, a Bible conference on a boat, so to speak. Tall ship in the Caribbean next December 6th through 13th. Uh, if you're interested in studying the book of Daniel with me and enjoying the Caribbean in the cold weather, uh, here in the Midwest, we can go down or anywhere you are in the country, go down to the Caribbean, to the Bahamas, and then sail for for a week. Uh, all you have to do is As as we study together, worship together, and then enjoy the warm weather together back in the future. Uh, when we need it, you can check it out. Go to Open Line radio.org and scroll down till you click on the link that says Michael Wright Personal website. Uh, if you want to check that out, that's where it'll be. Uh, and we're going to talk to Jim outside of Cleveland listening on CRF. Welcome to Open Line. Jim. How can I help you today?

Oh, thank you, doctor Ray. Um, it says in Luke 1040 to 42, but Martha was distracted in much serving, and she approached him and said, Lord, do you not care that my sister has helped me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me. And Jesus answered and said to her, Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things, but one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part which will not be taken away from her. I just wanted to make sure that wasn't like, um, the Lord diminishing service of um, to him, except just the fact that she was worried and distressed.

Well, I think this has to do with priorities that so often, uh, what we do in our lives is we get very busy with work and responsibilities and family duties and so many things that we need to do. It may be even making sure that everything is done on the house or in the garage is cleaned out and all these different things that we prioritize that because we want to run our households well and we neglect that which is most important, which is spending time with the Lord Jesus. It's not saying.

That.

Wait wait, wait, Jim, it's not saying that service is wrong. It's not even saying that we shouldn't do those things. It's just saying that what Mary has done is prioritize her time with the Lord. And that's all it's saying. Uh, and what? Martha, Martha was kind of consumed with her tasks, and as a result, uh, she wanted help. But sometimes, you know, I often tell moms it's okay not to sweep the floor every minute. Uh, if it means that you're not going to have time with the Lord Jesus, I tell guys, you don't have to make sure the garage looks perfect. What you have to do is make sure that every day that we, we, uh, spend time with the Lord and give that some priority. Does that help, Jim?

Yeah, yeah. That did, um, I heard a sermon one time, and they were saying how Martha was really, uh, good. And they went on to say, you know, her service to the Lord was was right, but they didn't balance it with what Jesus said about Mary, which is really the point.

Of, well, this is really about priorities, Jim. That's that's what it is. And our first priority every day is to spend some time at the feet of our Lord. That's what we need to be doing. So hey, thanks for your call. I really appreciate it. Jim. We're going to talk to Ron in Elmwood Park, Illinois, listening on W-m-b-d. Welcome to Open Line, Ron. Good morning.

How are you?

Good. How are you?

I'm well, thank you. I have a very mundane question. I believe in Joshua, uh, and specifically Joshua ten. They speak about the sun standing still and near the end of the, um, that chapter, I think it says that the Israelites were invading Gibeah. And while they were doing this, the stunts played out for a day and a half over Gibeah. Now, some thinks that thoughts were that, well, maybe Israel needed more time. So that's why the sun stood still. But in the Bible we're reading and in the footnotes try to explain that if people had a couple thoughts that no, God made the world stand still and or he had, um, reflective devices which reflected the sun for this day and a half. Any comments or thoughts?

Well, first of all, it says on the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the Lord in the presence of Israel. Sun, stand still over Gibeon and moon over the valley of Ayalon. Ayalon and the sun stood still, and the moon stopped until the nation took vengeance on its enemies. Isn't this written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed its setting almost a full day. There is been no day like it before, since when the Lord listened to the voice of a man, because the Lord, the Lord fought for Israel. Here's that's those are the verses you're talking about. I think the simplest way is say, this is a miracle that I can't explain. Uh, if the sun and moon, if the if the day really stopped that it didn't proceed as it should have. You know, the sun we revolve around the sun. The sun doesn't revolve around us. But it looked like the sun stopped. I don't know how that happens, because that that has to do with the regulation of time and the world. I don't know how we would have stopped or the sun would have stopped and I can't understand it. There are people who propose scientific explanations, but frankly, I, you know, I just live with it, that it was a miracle. God understands how it worked. I don't need to, and I'm okay with that. So I hope you are too. That's. That's how I live with it. Uh, Ronald, thanks for your call. Uh, thanks for listening, everyone. That's the program for the week. I can't believe that's two hours of of my life I think of every week. Is being here with you? Thanks to the Open Line team, uh, for being here with us for all that you do. I really appreciate it. And remember, keep in touch with Open Line during the week by going to our website, Open Line radio.org. It's got all the links that you're looking for. It'll be right there. Keep reading the Bible. We'll talk about it next week. Open line with Doctor Michael Ray is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute. See you next week.

Open Line with Dr. Michael Rydelnik

At times, all believers have questions about the Bible, God or the spiritual life. Where can we turn 
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