February 2024

Bible Q&A with Pastor Paul – February 2024 Teacher: Pastor Paul LeBoutillier Calvary Chapel Ontario Pastor Paul: Hello, and welcome to our February 2024 Bible Q&A. I'm Pastor Paul from Calvary Chapel Ontario. And I'm here with my wife, Sue. And we are here to answer Bible questions that we've been getting from you. They've been coming in through our YouTube channel. They've been coming in through email sent to our office. They've been coming in, you grab some from Facebook sometimes too, don’t you? Sue: Do I? Perhaps, sure. Pastor Paul: Yeah. Well, I saw that there was one that's from Facebook, and then wherever else a question might pop up, we add them to the list. And this is our time to just sit down and respond to some of the things that are on your heart. So we're looking forward to answering some good questions that we have this time. Sue: I find it interesting to see what people think about and what they're interested in. Pastor Paul: Absolutely. Sue: It's very, very interesting. Pastor Paul: It's very eye opening. Sue: It is. We'll start with Thomas. He says, “Hi, Pastor Paul and dear Sue, in Genesis 6:6 the Bible tells us that God regretted creating man. How can you explain this concept of regret in relation to God telling us in the New Testament that he has chosen (foreknew) us before the foundation of the world? May God bless you for what you're doing.” Pastor Paul: This is a good question. But I do have to tell you that whenever the Bible uses human words, (well what else is it going to use) to describe an emotion or a response of God, we have to take it in stride, because God is not like us. And we have to remember that we're limited in the way that we can communicate the emotional responses and the actions of God. We have to use people words to describe someone who is not a people from the standpoint that he's being like us. He is a person, of course, but he's not a human being from the standpoint, like us. And so, what we have to do is we have to these words are actually called anthropomorphisms. We refer to God, or speak of God, using words that we would normally use to describe things that we're feeling. It's interesting that the word regretted is used, the ESV uses that, the latest revision of the New American Standard Bible says, The LORD was sorry, that He had made mankind on the earth. And that's probably a better rendering, just from the standpoint of helping us to understand what's going on. But the thing we have to remember is that there was nothing about mankind's tumble into sin that took God by surprise, or shocked him in any way. So any word that might be used in the Bible to describe his response, we should not assume to be expressing a limitation on the on the part of God Himself. Sue: That makes sense, I suppose when it says, And God was angry with them, or when he says, I am a jealous God. Those are other examples of what you call anthropomorphisms. Pastor Paul: And especially in light of the fact that we have to remember things like jealousy, we would normally think of it as a very negative sort of an emotion, and God has no sin. There's no darkness in him at all, the Bible says. So, obviously, his jealousy is very different from ours. Sue: Sure. All right. Austin says, “Pastor Paul, can you comment on other non- canonical books, such as Enoch, Jubilee, and Giants? Are they books you have studied?” Pastor Paul: I have not. I don't take any time at all with any non-canonical books. There are 66 books in our Bible, and I'm still working on getting a handle on those even after teaching them and reading through them as many times as I have. I'm still figuring out things that's written there. And I don't feel like I have the time and the energy, frankly, to invest in books that aren't inspired and part of our biblical canon, simple as that. Sue: All right. A YouTube user asks you, “Is it acceptable to seek the favor from a known wicked or sinful man? My concern arises because I require assistance for college admission, and my father has approached an influential individual for recommendation who doesn't seem morally upright to me.” That's a good question. Pastor Paul: It is a good question and I can understand this person's hesitant to do that. And the Bible does issue some warnings along those lines. Proverbs 22:7 says, the borrower is the slave of the lender. And in Proverbs 23:6-7, it says, do not eat the bread of a selfish person; or desire his delicacies. And you could probably carry that into the whole idea of don't desiring what belongs to him. It goes on to say, for as he thinks within himself, so he is. So I think that there are ample biblical warnings that could be taken into consideration. And I think if this person is getting a red light warning from the Holy Spirit, then he should heed it. Sue: Sure. It's further complicated by the fact of honoring his father here who has an idea, it is one way moving forward. And so it needs to be prayed through. Pastor Paul: It does. I'm assuming the person that wrote is an adult himself. And in that sense, as an adult, there's a different dynamic that comes into play. If he were a young man under his father's roof, and under his Father's authority in those early ages, I would say, well just do what your father wants. But if he's a grown man in his own right, he has the ability to just speak into the situation. Sue: Right. Okay, Bethany says, “What does the Bible say about there being babies in heaven?” Pastor Paul: The Bible doesn't say anything. Now, you shouldn't take that to mean that when the Bible doesn't say anything, the silence on the part of the Bible, is not a comment. In other words, we don't comment based on silence, we simply say, and that's the answer to this question, the Bible doesn't say anything about babies in heaven. I think a lot of people wonder, what about children that died in childbirth or died very soon after, or even died immediately before childbirth or something like that, are there going to be babies in heaven? Well, again, the Bible does not say. Sue: Alex wants to know, “Are pagan gods demons? Because 1 Corinthians 10:20, the apostle Paul said, the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons.” Pastor Paul: The answer to this question is yes and no. And I hate to be ambiguous about it, but the answer is yes and no. What is behind pagan deities are demonic spirits. I don't think the people who worshipped those pagan deities knew that or would even have believed that or even today, I don't think they would believe that. They truly believe there's the god of the sun and the god of the moon, and the god of water and the god of fertility. And you know what I mean, because the pagans have a god for everything, and for everything a god. But Paul reminded us there, as this person quoted from 1 Corinthians, that when people offered sacrifices to anything beyond the eternal God, who has revealed himself in the scripture and so in nature, that those things go to demons, there's just kind of this natural sort of a default thing, that if you're not addressing the God, who is the one God overall, that then demons get involved in receiving that sacrifice, or worship, or whatever the case might be. So again, the answer is yes and no. Sue: All right. Norman Jeffery says, “Pastor Paul, where do demon spirits come from and where did they get their power to torment?” Pastor Paul: Well, this is one of those interesting questions that we have to kind of piece together from reading the Bible, and there isn't just one little or two little spots that says, all right, now we're going to talk about the origin of demons. We learn things as we look at the whole council of God's word related to these things. And we believe that demonic spirits were once angels. And one of the reasons we believe this is that in Revelation Chapter 12:4, there's a statement speaking of the dragon, which is a symbolic reference to Satan, and it says, his tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And of course, many people, myself included, believe that that is a reference to the fallenness of some of the angelic spirits who were created by God to be good, but who rebelled along with Satan and were cast out of heaven. And then in that same chapter of Revelation down in 12:7, it says, now war arose in heaven. Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back. So that's just a few verses away from this symbolic reference to the dragon sweeping with his tail, and taking some of the stars of heaven, stars being a symbolic reference to angels. And then the other reference we have, frankly is words by our Lord Jesus as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 25:41 where he says, then he and the speaking of the Lord will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’ Once again, there's that reference there. And so it is believed from these passages put together, and others, that demonic spirits, or demons if you will, unclean spirits, as they were called in the particularly often in the New Testament, are former angels of God who followed Satan in his rebellion. As to where they get their power to torment, they’re angels, they're powerful beings, they have innate abilities, which we don't know a lot about, frankly, we just simply know that man was created a little lower than the angels. So the angels have one up on us if it were not for the power of God and the name of Jesus Christ in our lives. Sue: Don't you think that, culturally, it is possible to tamp down on the power of the demonic spirits. For example, when the gospel began to spread, there was quite a battle for a number of years. But then as the certain countries really embraced the gospel, I feel like the demons kind of lost some of their power. Pastor Paul: And by the same token, as the world gets farther and farther away from biblical Christianity, we're seeing a rise of demonic power, and authority, and influence in the world today in which we live, which is exactly what the Apostle Paul told us would happen in the end days that people would follow teachings inspired by demons. And that's what's happening today. Sue: All right. An Anonymous YouTube user says, “Is Calvary Chapel Ontario a Reformed Church and does it embrace reformed theology?” Pastor Paul: Good question. No, Calvary Chapel is not reformed. And we do not embrace Reformed theology. I'm aware of the fact that there are probably a good number of people that don't know what Reformed theology is. And I don't really have time to get into all of it. But I want to say two things. First of all, for those of you that don't know, I would encourage you to just to look into it. You can Google it, “what is reformed theology.” But secondly, I would caution others who do know what Reformed theology is not to jump to conclusions because when I say Calvary Chapel is not reformed, from that standpoint, there are people who will instantly jump to the opposite and they will say, oh, then you must be then this. And usually, that describes some polar opposite of Reformed theology, which often is Arminianism, which we are not, either. So it's one of those things you have to be very careful about, because it's a label, it's a title that people have used to describe a particular form of theology, which you know me, I don't like titles, I don't like those sorts of things. But I do know that they can at times serve a purpose. But we just have to be careful not making assumptions. And I would encourage people, just find out what Calvary Chapel does teach rather than trying to label it and put it into a particular bucket. Sue: I'm happy for your answer because I thought for a moment you were just going to say no. Pastor Paul: And just leave it at that. Sue: But you're a teacher, so that would never happen. John says, “I've been seeking God's will and direction for several months and have not been able to determine God's will. Heaven seems silent.” That is a really good phrase. I think people can resonate with that. He says, “To hear a pastor or teacher or layperson say that ‘God is always speaking, we're just not listening,’ is very discouraging. Can you shed any light on this? Are there any scriptures that state God is always speaking?” Pastor Paul: Yeah, it is a good question and I can shed some light. I think when people say God is always speaking, they may forget to elucidate exactly what they mean by that and I agree with it. I believe God is always speaking and here's a scripture that proves it. Hebrews 4:12 (ESV), the word of God is living and ACTIVE, it's not inactive, it is ACTIVE. It's sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing the division of soul and spirit da-da-da-da, you know the rest of the passage. The Bible is constantly speaking to us. And I think one of the reasons people refer to God as silent when they say, I'm praying about a particular decision or thing in my life, but Heaven is silent or goddess silent, it's because they're expecting they have an expectation of God speaking to them in some predetermined specific way that they've just decided this is the way I'm expecting it to happen. And when it doesn't happen that way, they say God is silent. And I believe that what we need to do, especially during the times when we're seeking God for a particular answer, is that we need to just be living in the Word and allowing that Word to minister to our hearts in such a way that as we're consuming it and digesting it, that we hear Him speaking to us. Every time you read the Bible, God should speak to you. I'm not talking about an audible voice. But I'm talking about the Holy Spirit's confirming, affirming, and sometimes directing through His Word. And we all love those times when we're going along in life and the Holy Spirit just taps us on the shoulder and says, from His Holy Spirit to our spirit, here's the direction, here's what I want you to know, whatever. Those things have happened rarely in my Christian life. They've happened, but they've been rare. If I were to put all my eggs in that basket of God's communication, I would probably be disappointed a lot of the time, or I would come out with the same response this person did, God is being silent. But when you are immersing yourself in the Word of God, you're opening the door for heaven to speak in ways that are just wonderful. So I would really encourage this person just be consuming the Word right now. Sue: That's very good. George asks, “Other than Leviticus 19:28, what does the Bible say about tattoos?” Pastor Paul: The Bible doesn't say anything about tattoos. And in fact, the reference that George is referring to in Leviticus 19 really isn't talking about modern tattoos at all. Because what God was forbidding in that particular passage was his people, the Jews, taking a tattoo, which was part of pagan worship practices, and so it was because he was specifically forbidding them to follow the ways of the pagans, if you will. There were lots of things the pagans did, that God said, don't do that. Don't be like them. So, Leviticus 19 is not saying, don't go get a tattoo that says, Mom, on your arm. You know me, I'm not a big tattoo fan anyway. I think under the New Covenant as a New Testament believer, I think that we should simply recognize that our bodies are not our own. We've been bought with a price. And if you're thinking about getting a tattoo, I think you should consult the Lord about it, and ask him, he purchased the body that you have through the blood of His Son, and you should talk to him about it. Sue: All right. Denzel says, “I've read your first book (Pastor, I have a question). When is the second book coming out?” Pastor Paul: Well, the first answer to that question is hopefully soon. I'm hoping by this summer, we're going to be able to publish a second book, and it's not going to be another question and answer like the first one. Sue: Although I think some at some point, people would like round two, volume two, because they have a lot more questions than pages in the first book. But then he also said, “My question is about the fruit of righteousness mentioned in Philippians 1:11. Is this the same as the fruits mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23 or is it fair to say, the fruit of righteousness is just another name of The Holy Spirit?” Pastor Paul: I don't believe it is just another name for the Holy Spirit. The passage he's referring to, if you back up a couple verses, is Philippians 1:8-11 (ESV), Paul writes, For God is my witness how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus, and it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more with knowledge and all discernment. And so that you may approve what is excellent and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ. Here's where he says it, FILLED WITH THE FRUIT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God. Some Bibles actually translate that, the fruit of your salvation. And so, I believe, I think that there is a direct correlation between the fruits of a person's righteousness or the fruit of their salvation, and essentially what Paul describes in Galatians 5, which is the fruit of the Holy Spirit, it's the fruit of that spirit filled life, and the fruit of what should be shining through our lives because we are children of God. Sue: In many ways, the word fruit could almost be exchanged with the word results. Because even in nature, the result of a growing season of a fruit tree should be fruit, if there's health to it. Pastor Paul: The results of a fruit tree should be fruit. Sue: It should be fruit and that should be the result if it's healthy. And so the same in these kinds of for sure phrases. Another Anonymous question, “The internet is buzzing lately about the question of whether or not a believer should attend the same-sex marriage ceremony. What are your thoughts?” Pastor Paul: Usually people ask this, and I've gotten this to, and usually people ask this question when they've been invited to a same-sex ceremony. Can I just tell you that that's not the time to try to figure this out. That's going to really put a lot of pressure on the situation because you're going to give considerations in areas that that are going to potentially sway you in a direction that you may not ultimately want to go. These are questions that every Christian should think about beforehand, before any sort of an invitation comes. However, I tend to think that rather than asking, should I attend to same-sex wedding, I think there are other questions that need to be answered. First, such as, what is a wedding as it is defined in the Word of God? Because mankind did not come up with the institution of marriage, nor even the coming together of a man and a woman in marriage. So that's the first thing we should think about. So since God came up with it, he defines it. What is that definition? Secondly, what does God's Word say about same-sex relationships? That's what you have to ask yourself that question, what's the Bible say? What’s the Bible say? Number three, do you believe that a same-sex wedding is legitimate and lawful? Well, that's going to affect your decision to be a part of that. Number four, what does my presence at a same sex wedding communicate to the couple or to anyone who might be in attendance? What does that say about me? What is it communicating about my beliefs and so forth? And then lastly, since we all know that weddings are a celebratory occasion. We come together to celebrate the coming, the joining of two people in marriage. We have to ask ourselves the question, how do you feel about being part of the celebration of a same-sex couple? So those are questions that that need to be answered. And then I think once you work through those questions, you're going to be able to arrive at your own conclusions as it relates to the initial question, should I attend a same-sex? Sue: Those are really good questions to break it down. Pastor Paul: Well, you need to break it down. Otherwise, it becomes an emotional decision. And that's what you don't want. You don't want it to be a purely emotional decision because we weren't told in the Word of God to live our lives on an emotional level. I mean, emotions are part of us, don't get me wrong, but if we live on an emotional level only then the Bible is not going to truly be our guide. Our emotions will be our guide. Sue: All right. Thomas says, “I love to listen to your Bible studies on the BSF, which stands for (Bible Study Fellowship) passage that we study weekly. My question is: Even though Jesus and the Holy Spirit are equal with God, is there a hierarchy in the Trinity? I ask because of this verse and others and then the quotation is Philippians 2:8-10. “And when he was living as a man, He humbled Himself and was fully obedient to God, even when that caused his death – death on a cross. So God raised Him to the highest place.” Pastor Paul: I appreciate him putting in the quote, because that does help me to understand his question. So he asks the question, is there a hierarchy in the Trinity? And I would come back and say, it depends on what you mean by hierarchy. Because people could have a different definition for that word. If by hierarchy, you mean is one person's superior to the other persons of the Trinity that I would say no, there is no hierarchy. If, however, by hierarchy, you are referring to one or more persons of the Trinity adopting an attitude of willing submission to the other, which is what you see in the passage there in Philippians, then, yes, we do see that kind of relational hierarchy in the Bible. Jesus humbled Himself, but he did it willingly. God the Father did not humble Jesus, the Holy Spirit did not humble Jesus, that passage in Philippians makes it very clear, He humbled Himself. And so there is that willing attitude or action of humbling and submitting oneself in the Trinity. Sue: All right. Georgie says, “At the end of your teaching on Genesis 32-33, you spoke of believers trying to work out their own issues instead of waiting on the Lord. But how do we know when God expects us to take some action on our own behalf?” Pastor Paul: Oh, we get this pretty often the old challenge of what does it mean to wait on the Lord? And I think this is an almost universal question, don't think? I mean, people struggle with this. And they've wondered, what does it mean? What is waiting on the Lord look like? And I have kind of come to learn that waiting on the Lord is not so much a cessation of activity necessarily on my part. It's an attitude. It's an attitude of my heart toward God. Waiting on the Lord for me means really putting my heart in a place of submitting to His will. It doesn't mean I'm just going to sit around and wait for the phone to ring or I'm going to sit around and wait for a door to open, I might even be busy, wiggling knobs to see if a door unlocks or making phone calls and seeing if there's something there. Waiting on the Lord means whatever does happen, I'm going to submit to Him. In other words, I'm giving God total veto power. And I'm giving him the freedom to redirect my path at any time he chooses. So, to me, that's what it means to wait on the Lord, I'm waiting for your will. I'm waiting to see your will play out in my life. And, again, that doesn't mean I'm sitting on the couch. I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing. I'm occupying until He comes. And I'm moving around in my life expecting the Lord to lead as I move. Sue: Isn’t it interesting? These two questions are right together, you just kind of expounded on Philippians Chapter 2, He humbled Himself and became obedient. And you're almost giving the same answer here. It's not a cessation of activity, but rather it's a humbling yourself in your activity and becoming obedient to what the Lord has, and he will stop you or cause you to start running or whatever. It's Philippians 2:8. Pastor Paul: Yes, it is. And this is one of the biggest areas where I think Christians struggle in their understanding of what the Bible says. And what the Bible is saying to believers, is that we try to distill it down to an action when it in fact, it is a heart attitude. God looks to the heart. And so, we have to remember that all the time, it comes down to a heart attitude, and a heart posture before the Lord. Sue: All right. Jack says, “We're told that there will be peace on earth during the Millennial Kingdom. Yet we're also told there will be people on earth during that time that will have a sinful nature. And he referenced (Zechariah 14:17-19). There seems to be a contradiction. To me peace on earth means everyone behaving and getting along (no crime, murder, etc.), but if there will be sinful men on earth, won't there still be crime, murder, etc. during the Millennial Kingdom, thus negating any true peace on earth?” Pastor Paul: It's a well thought out question, because he's right. During the Millennial Kingdom, there will be people who are mortal. They will have a sinful nature, and they will be living and propagating on the earth during that 1000 year period. You got to remember about two other very important facts about the Millennial Kingdom. The first one is Satan will be bound during that time. So Satan is not going to be around influencing in the same way that he is currently. And secondly, we have to remember that Jesus Himself will be personally ruling and reigning on the earth during the millennial kingdom. There will also be a huge population of people living on the earth during the Millennial Kingdom who don't have a sinful nature. Because there will be people who have will already have experienced the resurrection. Although, not everyone, so there's going to be an unprecedented peace. Sue: So talk about a culture that tamps down on demonic influences. Pastor Paul: We've seen the body of Christ in this age come to faith and create huge influences in culture. There are stories of some of the revivals in England that were so widespread and so profound, the police had nothing to do. And they would go around singing like barbershop quartets because the crime was so tamped down as you like to say. So imagine what it's going to be like during the Millennial Kingdom when Satan is bound, Jesus is on the throne, there are people living among others who do have a sinful nature, who don't have a sinful nature, creating that godly influence. And it will, in fact, be a time of unprecedented peace. Now, we know that by the end of the Millennial Kingdom, Satan will be released and will deceive the nations one final time. But remember, he has to be released in order to affect that deception. Sue: It will be like nothing we've ever experienced, and so we can't know. Pastor Paul: Perfect way to say it. Sue: Wilma says, “My question comes from a discussion that a few friends had. Some are curious about the new Bible translation, the Legacy Standard Bible. What are your thoughts?” Pastor Paul: I am aware of the Legacy Standard Bible. And I've even looked into it a little bit. And I know that it exists. I gotta be honest, I'm a little confused as to why it exists. Not that I have any problem with people or organizations coming out with another Bible translation, that's fine. We do have a lot of them. But what's interesting about the legacy Standard Bible is that it is published by the Lockman Foundation. And the Lockman foundation is also the organization that publishes the New American Standard Bible, which is an excellent Bible translation. Now, the Legacy Standard Bible, if you go to their introductory information on the internet, they will tell you that the Legacy Standard Bible is essentially a retooling, for lack of a better word, of the New American Standard Bible revision of 1995, which has been a very long standing revision, somewhat wooden in its or in the way it reads, but still a very good translation. So the Legacy Standard Bible is a retooling of the 1995 NASB. And, by the way, the Legacy Standard Bible came out actually in 2021. In 2020, the Lockman foundation published the New American Standard Bible 2020 revision, Sue: Which just was about time. It had been 25 years? Pastor Paul: Sure, no problem. But both the 2020 revision of the NASB and the Legacy Standard Bible both say that they are a revision or a retooling of the NASB 1995 for the purpose of modernizing some of the language, making things more clear and becoming more accurate. They both say the same thing. So within a one year time, the Lockman foundation got behind the 2020 NASB and the Legacy Standard Bible. Now, the only real difference is that the legacy Standard Bible is also being supported by some other people, other than Lockman Foundation, such as John MacArthur, and others. And that might be one of the reasons that they decided to go ahead and publish this additional Bible translation that I think, is really very similar to the NASB 2020, which I like by the way. They did modernize the language, and they took away some of the rigid reading style of the New American Standard Bible. And I think they came up with a really good translation of the Bible. That's why I struggled to know why they felt the need to do yet another. Sue: Maybe giving it a name. I don't know who's to know. Pastor Paul: Maybe so. Maybe somebody can write to me and tell me what the reason, maybe they know more and they could explain it to me. Sue: All right. Well, Perry says, “1 John 2:1 says it's possible for believers to sin and be forgiven when we confess it to Jesus who is our advocate. But what happens to believers who know their sin is wrong but still continue to sin, not wanting to be made right with God?” Pastor Paul: Okay he says, what happens to them? So does he mean when they die? Sue: I don’t know. Pastor Paul: That's right, you don't know. Because he didn't specify what happens to them in life? What happens to them? Sue: What is their life like? And maybe those are two good ways to answer it. Pastor Paul: Well, rather than doing that, I prefer to go back and simply ask the question, how is a person saved? Because you see when you really nail that down, then you understand that if a person dies believing that Jesus Christ paid his or her price on the Cross for his or her sin, then they're saved, even if they were living ridiculously, rebelliously, stupidly. If they die in faith believing in their heart that Jesus died on the cross for them, they're going to be saved. Sue: And do you know who that's really important for us. I think about the people who have stubborn to them sins. For example, let's say that a born again believer believes that their cigarette smoking habit is wrong. They believe that for them that is sinful, and yet, it is so stubborn inside of their, it's just very difficult. So it's very important for them to have this hope that you're talking about that. It wasn't getting rid of it in the first place that got them saved. So when we think about sin, there are some sins that we would want to cast off. We're working on casting them off. Maybe that's not what they mean, they know what's wrong but they continue. But there's some stubborn things that you know it's wrong, you believe it's wrong and yet you're continuing in a frustrating way. Pastor Paul: Christians struggle with the idea of salvation by grace through faith. Let's just face it, they struggle. They know that they are saved as a free gift from God, but what they struggle understanding is, how can I continue to mess up, or how can my uncle who confessed Christ and I believe he really truly opened his heart to the Lord, and he invited Jesus into his life, and I believe that he believes that Jesus is the Savior and he died on the cross for Him, however, Uncle Bill or Jack or Bob, whatever, he had these issues in his life, or he ended his life the last five years living kind of rebelliously. Well, the question is, Did Uncle whoever, did he die with faith? Did he died believing? He’s saved. He's born again. The point is this, the presence of sin in the life of a believer does not nullify their salvation. That's what believers struggle accepting. Because you have to understand something, if I'm saved by grace through faith but I lose my salvation because of works, then you boil that down and I'm saved by works. If it's works on either side, then it was it was salvation by works. So we don't believe in salvation by works. We're saved by grace through faith and this not of ourselves. Sue: The next question is a companion from a different viewer, “Can you explain through God's word, how sin cannot separate you eternally from God but only relationally?” Pastor Paul: And they probably hear me talking about that how sin as a believer separates us, can separate us relationally from God where there's a distance. And we need to repent and make it right so that our relationship is restored. But I have said many times, that when you sin, that's not going to cause you to lose what you have been given because you're going to continue to sin. You're going to mess up and you're going to feel horrible about it, you're going to repent, you're going to go back to the Father, and He loves you and he will forgive you. But in Romans 8:1 (ESV) couple of passages in Romans 8:1 (ESV) says, there's therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. And Paul is making a statement here, that if you are in Christ, and that means my confidence is in Him and His finished work on the cross, there is no condemnation any longer. It doesn't exist, because Jesus bore my condemnation. And then later on in that same chapter, Paul goes on to do that very famous passage (Romans 8:38-39 ESV). Where he says, for I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. So those are some biblical references to explain that just because I continue to mess up, I'm not going to be separated eternally, that sin no longer has the power. And the reason is, is because of the curse of sin has been broken in my life, because Jesus became a curse for me. The curse of sin is death and separation from God. If my sin causes that curse to come back, then that means my sin was more powerful than what Jesus did on the cross to break that curse. Sue: You’re such a good explainer. Jacob says, “Pastor Paul thank you for your channel! What is the difference between the gift of prophecy and someone who says they are a believer, but claims to have a ‘psychic’ ability to things that come true or using astrology as their source of ‘power’?” Pastor Paul: If somebody says that they are a Christian, but claims to have psychic ability, or claims to use astrology as their source of power, I would stay as far away from that person as I could, because those two things are diametrically opposed. As somebody who has a gift of prophecy receives insight about situations. Sometimes, insight that comes before the event takes place but not always through the Holy Spirit. A psychic, or someone who is who is using astrology, is using manmade/demonic means of knowing or predicting. So you're talking about the difference between something that comes from God and something that comes from Satan, the enemy, that's the difference. Sue: I think the picture is really clear. We're in first and second Kings in our women's Bible study. And the prophets are speaking for the Lord, but so many of the kings wanted knowledge through divination and so they would go to these other sources. And who knows what their motivation was, maybe they wanted the same thing that the prophets had, but it wasn't their lane. So they head over to these other areas from the demonic sources. Pastor Paul: Yeah, it’s very dangerous. Sue: Fred says, “Hi Pastor Paul and Miss Sue, thank you for this great study method, through the entire Bible. Here's my question, are there people gifted to interpret dreams like Joseph was? (Genesis 39 to 41)” Pastor Paul: That's a really good question. I do have to say that interpretation of dreams is not listed by the apostle Paul, as one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Now, having said that, God can do whatever he wants to do. If God wants to open up the meaning of a dream that he has given to someone, He can certainly do that. But honestly, I would be very dubious of anyone who came to me and said, I have a spiritual gift of interpreting dreams. And the reason I would be dubious is because it's not listed in the Bible as a spiritual gift. Again, I think it's possible for somebody to be given an ability, but it's not listed as a spiritual gift. Sue: Amara asks, “What is a lukewarm Christian? Are they born again?” Pastor Paul: First of all, the term lukewarm only occurs once in the entire Bible and that's in the book of Revelation. It's in the letter that Jesus dictated to the church at Laodicea. And you know what he basically said there. He said that they were lukewarm, they were neither hot nor cold, and that is the definition of lukewarm. Even in our culture if I'm running water from the faucet, I say it's lukewarm. It's not hot, it's not cold. In biblical terms, it didn't just mean slightly warm and not really, but not really cold. In biblical terms, lukewarm meant useless. Because in ancient times, people either drink cold water or hot water and they did not consider lukewarm water to be useful and they would spit it out. And so that's one of the reasons why Jesus said what he did to the church at Laodicea. However, I have to go back to the question. And the question is, what is the lukewarm Christian? All right, if the person is genuinely a Christian, and the question is, are they born again? There's no such thing as a non-born again Christian if we're going to really be technical. Somebody might say, well, Pastor Paul, are you saying that somebody can't claim to be a Christian who really isn't? No, I'm not saying that. Somebody can claim to be a Christian and not be born again. Sue: Nat says, “On YouTube I often listen to music that I know is Christian by context, but is sung in a language I don't understand. I find that because I don't understand the language I feel a greater spirituality than when I hear music sung in English. Is my musical preference unbiblical?” Pastor Paul: Well, it's not really unbiblical in a strict sense. So this person likes to listen to Christian music in a language they don't understand. There's nothing wrong with that. But I would say that if you can't understand the words to the song that you're hearing, you also can't apply the message in your life. I mean, you can use music to worship the Lord and that worship can come from within you. But there's really nothing in the music. I think what Christians have to do is you have to be careful about putting feelings here as kind of the quintessential barometer of whether or not I think this is good or bad. And that's what this writer says. Nat says, I feel a greater spirituality. Well, just because you feel a greater spirituality doesn't mean that listening to music that way is more spiritual. The real question is, does it change the way you live? Because the way you live is what makes you a spiritual person. How you live? We talked earlier about that life of righteousness, the fruit of righteousness, that spirituality, it's not how something makes you feel. Sue: Good. Cicely, “Hello from England, I enjoy watching your videos on YouTube. I was wondering, is it selfish to pray to Jesus to return soon, given that so many people remain unsaved?” Pastor Paul: I appreciate this question because Cicely understands from the Scripture that God is delaying the return of Jesus for that very reason, because he wants none to be lost. But the heart cry of the Body of Christ is, come. The book of Revelation ends by saying the Spirit and the bride say, come. There's a cry inside of us. Come, Lord Jesus, Maranatha. And so no, I don't think there's anything wrong at all with even praying, Lord, come soon. That's our heart cry. We want to see our savior. We are the bride, we're longing for our bridegroom to appear. I mean, who wouldn't? What bride wouldn't long for the bridegroom to appear? Sue: Robert says, “Is the term ‘kingdom of God’ and ‘kingdom of heaven’ interchangeable?” Pastor Paul: They are interchangeable. Sue: Is that the question that you're gonna say, yes? Pastor Paul: That's my quick response. Yes, they are. Sue: Well, then Grace says, “Hi Pastor Paul, I had a question about communion. Does the Bible explicitly say we must confess our sins before taking communion? And must the confession be to a priest? I am Ethiopian Orthodox, and unless we are children or the elderly, most churchgoers don't take communion because we are not considered pure. I wanted to understand the Bible's view on this. Thank you very much.” Wow, that is a different perspective than my world. Pastor Paul: Yes, it is. First of all, let's start answering some of these initial, does the Bible explicitly say, we must confess our sins before taking communion? No, it does not. Must confession be to a priest? No, there is no reference in the Bible that confession must be made to a priest. The Bible tells us that we have one advocate before the Father, and our advocate is Jesus Christ. So the need of a third party is not required. The misunderstanding that not only Ethiopian Orthodox have related to communion and the worthiness of an individual taking communion, those are all references that are taken from Paul's letter to the Corinthians. And he did talk to them about the fact that during their love feasts, there were people who were ignoring others who had less, let's put it that way. So he said, some of you are over here in a corner during this love feast gorging yourself. And there are others who had little or nothing to bring and you're not sharing, you're not considering the body. You're over there drinking wine and practically to the point of drunkenness, and somebody else has nothing else. And the love feasts of the early church were intertwined with their celebration of the communion table, and so they were kind of considered to be one thing. So what Paul said to the Corinthian church was, this is why some of you are sick, because you have not taken into consideration the body there isn't that kind of love and care among you. He said, some of you are sick and some have even died. So the natural conclusion of people who like to generalize things in the Bible is that if there's anything in our hearts that is in any way out of shape or wrong that you better not take communion because you're liable to drop dead. Well, that's just simply not what the Apostle Paul was saying. The fact of the matter is none of us are worthy. And all of us struggle in the areas of sin. Listen, before they begin to serve communion, if you just go before the Lord and said, Lord, I know my heart is not right with you all the time. So I lay my heart before you, even as they're passing out the communion elements, or however it's done in your church, I ask you just to forgive me, cleanse me, and wash me. Lord, just show me the areas of my life where I need to be right. And I know that through the blood of Jesus Christ, I stand righteous before you, and then just go ahead and take communion. Paul was not forbidding people to take communion unless they're worthy, because nobody is worthy. So just prepare your heart before you take communion. Understand that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just forgive us and cleanse us from all un- righteousness. And by all means, take communion. It was meant to be something that we participate in. Paul wasn't trying to scare us away from participating in communion. Sue: Very good. An anonymous person asked you, “What Bible program do you use for studying and what kind of computer do you have?” Pastor Paul: Oh, what a fun question. And it's a good question, because people will write to me from time to time and ask me to recommend some good commentaries. And I never see the cover of commentaries because I don't have them in book form. They're in digital form. They're on my computer. I use Logos Bible program for my study of the Word. I love it. It works great. You use it too. Sue: Yes, I do. Pastor Paul: And we really enjoy it. And we've been using Bible programs for years and years and years. And we've amassed a pretty big digital library. Sue: That takes up no space. Pastor Paul: Well, it takes up just this amount of space right here. Sue: And I never have to dust them and it’s fantastic. Pastor Paul: Although you'd like books, I didn't even display. Sue: I do like books a lot. Pastor Paul: But anyway, the point is, we have a digital library of probably over 1100 resources right on our laptops. So Logos isn't the only one, there are free Bible programs that are available. In fact, I would encourage people, if you're kind of low on cash, just Google it: “freeware Bible programs.” There are some that are online, there are some that you can download. There's some great ones. And I would encourage anything that really aids in your study of the Word. And as far as the kind of computer I have, I work primarily off a MacBook Air. But I also keep up with Windows computers. And I got to say, just because people asked about it, my favorite operating system of all to work with is Chrome OS. It's not Mac OS. It's not Windows, but it's Chrome OS. I love Chromebooks. And just because it's so simple, and you don't have to worry about viruses and stuff like that. So you're using a Chromebook right here. This is a pixel book, which they don't make anymore. This was one of Google's early versions of a Chromebook. But we're still using it. We love it. It works great. Sue: I picked this up for my son who is casting off. Pastor Paul: We both teach from a Chromebook. We study on our different laptops. So there you go. Sue: All right. Pastor Paul: That's fun. Sue: You don't mind doing tech talk. Pastor Paul: That was fun. More questions on tech. I love that. That's a nice diversion. Sue: Well, here's our last question again from an Anonymous viewer. “I've heard much debate on who the ‘sons of God’ were in Genesis 6. I know the Bible does provide further references to the ‘sons of God’ that would seem to point them as angels, but I know that's also debated. In a nutshell, why should we care so much about knowing exactly who they were? Thank you.” Pastor Paul: Man, I wish more people would ask that question, that last part there. Sue: Does it really matter? Pastor Paul: Why should we care? That's so good. Most of the time, the questions that Christians debate, I would refer to as dancing on the head of a pin. And, honestly, the answer to the question simply doesn't matter. We ask a lot of questions just for pure curiosity. And this is one of them. The reference to the sons of God in Genesis 6, some people say, yeah, those are angels. Some people say, no, they were godly human beings. And there's this debate that rages on and I talk about it and if this person wants to know what I think they can go to my study in Genesis chapter 6, it wasn’t that long ago we did that because we started over on our fourth study through the Bible. And you can hear what I have to say on it. But the answer to the question is, why should we care so much knowing exactly who they were is spot on? There really isn't a reason other than being able to say, this is my side of the debate. It truly doesn't matter. Now, some would say, well, but it plays into why things took place. Like for example, many people who believe that sons of God refers to angels, they believe that that is the reason for the great wickedness that then produced the flood or caused God to delusion, the whole earth and kind of start over again, with the family of Noah. Yeah, I can see where you can connect the dots. But it still doesn't matter because the floods still happened, whether it was because that humans caused it or that fallen angels were involved in that process. The floods still happened. We still then came from Noah and his family. And in the final analysis, it doesn't make a heap of difference. Sue: I kind of feel like if a person were to say, what are the top 100 things that I should understand from the Bible, that's all I got space for, is the top 100 things? Pastor Paul: That's your hard drive limit. Sue: Yeah, that's my limit. Pastor Paul: Storage limit. Sue: And that probably wouldn't be in there? Pastor Paul: No. Sue: So I’m good. Pastor Paul: You know, it's funny. But I wrote a book that has over 150 questions. And I wonder how many of those would fall under this category? Sue: We should do that. You should do that. That should be one of your future books, the top 100 things that don't matter. That would be easy. Pastor Paul: The top 100 questions that don't matter to yourself. There you go. Sue: It's a plan. Pastor Paul: Oh, there we go. But I appreciate the question. I really do from this person that wrote in. Does it matter? Sue: Yeah. Pastor Paul: Hey, thank you so much for joining us. Just a reminder, I did write a book in case you want to get a copy of it. It's available on Amazon. You can search for it. It's called Pastor, I Have a Question. And that came out about a year ago or so. And it does cover over 150 questions that came in just the way these came in and I answered them in book form. And this is the last time that I'm going to see you here for a few days. I mean, you take off on Monday for Germany to teach at a women's retreat. Just tell us very quickly. Sue: Retreat this weekend, I'm super happy. Some of the Calvary Chapels in Southern Germany have gotten together, they haven't had a women's retreat for five years. And some of these young to me women have just put themselves out ask the Lord to really bless the ladies with a good women's retreat. And so, it's a great worship leader coming and I get to share the word. Pastor Paul: And you're flying into Frankfurt. And then the retreat will be…? Sue: In the Heidelberg area. Pastor Paul: Heidelberg area. I bet you're looking forward to that. Sue: I am. I don't get out of the country very often. And so it's always such a blessing to be in the body of Christ in a different culture, in a different area. I mean, even in a different language. In this case, there will be a translator and I think it just is a real blessing to have that sensation of seeing this the body of Christ in a different expression and seeing really how big the Lord is how big the Spirit of Christ is throughout the world. Pastor Paul: Well, we'll look forward to hearing more about it when you get back. That'd be a lot of fun. And I'm stocked up on soup and ramen. Sue: And there's some chicken and rice in the freezer for you. Pastor Paul: There is frozen chicken and rice for me. Sue: I'm did my job. Pastor Paul: So I’m expecting to survive this nine day fast. No, I'm fasting from my wife. But excited about it. And that sort of thing. Hey, thank you so much for joining us today. Hopefully, answered some questions and maybe put some issues to rest in your heart. If you have further questions, we'll be gathering them up to have a March Bible Q&A. One of the best ways to do that is to email us at the office office@ccontario.com. And we will compile those questions and be back here toward the end of March to do this all over again. So until then, Lord bless you. Have a good rest of your day and we hope to see you soon. Bye-bye. Sue: Bye-bye.