Bible Q&A • Episode 67

When I'm out ministering, when I'm sharing in a Bible study, when I'm teaching at church, when I'm sharing the gospel with an unbeliever, I have an expectation that the Holy Spirit is going to empower me. That is what the baptism of the Holy Spirit is all about. Hello, everyone, and welcome back to our Bible Q&A. We do this pretty much weekly. I'm Pastor Paul. I'm here with my wife, Sue. and we're going to tackle some more of the questions that you sent in to us. So let's get started.

Yeah, I'll start with question number 1 from Julie.

Okay,

she says, I live in a very liberal area and attend a church that has female pastors. They teach that we're saved by grace but kept by works. Is it best to stay in this sort of fellowship where friends and connections have been made and when appropriate share Bible truth? Should I leave? If there was a Calvary Chapel in my town, I would attend, but since there isn't, I watch you. Wow.

Bless her heart. You know, there are a lot of different dynamics that come into the question of whether or not I should make a change in, in terms of the fellowship that I'm attending. And one of the big questions that obviously needs to come up, and this does come up with a lot of people, uh, are these, are these side areas? Are these side issues? Are these deal breakers? Are they salvation? Questions. And in, in Julie's case, you know, she obviously knows that saved by grace, kept by works is not biblical, and yet she's attending a church, and that is a salvation issue, you know. So she'd probably be hindered a little bit in, like, you know, bringing a friend to church.

That's because, you know, it's true.

She— yeah. And there's a lot of churches that are like that, you know. You You get saved by grace, but then you got to live a moral life, keep the— sometimes even keep the law, whatever. I get it. You know, when you've attended a church for a long time, you've made those deep friendships, those connections. It's a very difficult decision. And obviously, I can't make it for someone. All I can really do is kind of help think through the process of why would you change? Why would you change? In a situation like Julie's, there is a salvation matter. Yeah.

Yeah.

You know, we believe that the Bible teaches that we're saved by grace through faith, and we're kept by faith. And so it's all faith. It's from faith to faith. In fact, that's what the Bible says. So this is a salvation issue. So she probably— she might come back to me and say, well, if I did leave, what do I do? What do I do for fellowship? Well, that's kind of— that's the Lord's problem. I, I encourage people to just— if you need to pull back and you don't know where you're going to fellowship, but you feel like, you know, the church I'm attending has some doctrinal issues that I'm just not comfortable with and I need to pull back.

Mm-hmm.

So the Bible tells me not to forsake the assembling of the believers. So what should I do? I believe that in a situation like that, somebody Again, if they feel the need to pull back, that they should do their best to find some like-minded believers that they can gather with weekly for just some time in the Word, prayer for one another.

Mm-hmm.

While you are praying about, Lord, where do you want me to go? What do you want me to do? How do you— you know, you're the one that says to me, first of all, that I am to rightly divide the Word, and secondly, that I should not forsake the assembling. So I'm putting this on your shoulders, Lord. Yeah. Where do you want me to go? What do you want me to do? Meanwhile, I'm going to fellowship with believers. I'll get together weekly, even if it's in the home for, you know, a Bible study. 2 or 3 people invite 2 or 3 people that you know that you are doctrinally aligned with. They're— they love the Word just like you do. And get together and read a chapter in the Bible, talk about it and pray. And then ask the Lord, where do you— where would you like me to go long-term? And leave it in his hands.

Yeah. I have another question. As someone who pastored for 40 years, would you suggest to someone like this that she go to the pastor and say, um, I'm having a difficult time staying here because we have doctrinal differences on how we view things, and have that conversation first to You know, would you recommend that or not?

You know, fundamentally, there's nothing wrong with going to a pastor and just communicating what's going on in your heart. And I think that if you've attended a church a long time, it's always best to at least communicate your departure. Don't just leave and leave them with a bunch of questions. I never liked that as a pastor when people were just suddenly gone. But I don't expect that it's going to really make a difference.

Sure.

Okay. Especially if you're in a denominational church where there's deep roots into their doctrinal leanings. Some of the churches, you know, I mean, they're just going to— the pastor is going to say, well, this is kind of— this is what we teach.

This is who we are.

And this is who we are. And you kind of knew that going in. And I appreciate you letting me know, you know, that there were some of these issues. But this is the way we are. And so I think it's, it's fine to go and talk to your pastor. But Don't expect him to go, well, then we're going to change.

Yeah,

you know, and that sort of thing. So yeah.

Yeah, but I think what you said, communication is best.

Communication is always good,

right?

You know. Yeah.

Our next question is from Austin, who says, I often find myself defending things that I have never experienced before. I believe in the power of the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Holy Spirit given according to his will, but I have never experienced the power of prophecy, tongues, healing, etc. I'm running out of ways and words in prayer to ask for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It's been something that's been gnawing at me for a couple of years now.

You know, this is the kind of a question that comes when somebody has a specific expectation of what the baptism of the Holy Spirit is going to look like, sound like, or, or whatever. And I, I really appreciate it, and I, I, I have a heart for this person, uh, because I think this is a fairly common question.

Yeah.

churches have a tendency to lay out what the baptism of the Holy Spirit ought to look and sound like. And so people walk into it thinking, well, I'm waiting for that to happen. Here's the deal. Here's the thing a lot of Christians forget. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is a necessity that arises in our lives when the situation warrants it. In other words, when I'm out ministering, when I'm sharing in a Bible study, when I'm teaching at church, when I'm sharing the gospel with an unbeliever, I have an expectation that the Holy Spirit is going to empower me.

Yeah.

That is what the baptism of the Holy Spirit is all about. It's not about just speaking in tongues. It's not about getting a warm sensation from your head to your toes. Those things can happen. But what Jesus said about the baptism of the Spirit in Acts chapter 1 is you will receive power. Now, that power has a purpose. And that purpose is ministry. So I would encourage this person, get out of your house. And, and you've already been asking God to empower you. Now go out and find yourself in situations where you're going to need that power.

Sure.

And expect that that power is going to be there. It might be the power to prophesy, might be the power to pray for someone's healing. It might be the power to give a word of wisdom or a word of knowledge, but you're not going to know until you're in that situation.

Right, or to evangelize appropriately and effectively. I love in Acts how it says often, and Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, and then we get a narrative of something that he did. And also our expectation, I think you're right about that, as modern Christians is always toward the grand.

Yeah.

And, but we have lists of gifts of the Holy Spirit that aren't so grand in the New Testament. We have gifts of teaching and administration. And the same thing could be said every time you got up and taught in church. And Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, taught 2 Chronicles chapter 3, which probably didn't feel grand in the moment.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I hear what you're saying, and that's, and that's an excellent point. But again, yeah, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is for action. It's not for sitting around in my living room and experiencing, you know, a situation where I can feel God, you know. Get out and do the work of the ministry and have an expectation that you will be empowered. The baptism of the Holy Spirit comes by faith, just like everything else.

Yeah.

And so as we get out and find ourselves in ministry situations where We need his power. We can expect that he will meet us in those places.

Right. Our next question is along a similar line.

Okay.

With, um, uh, it's from Erica. She says, how can I speak in tongues? In my church, I was taught to begin with saying a few words that are similar to Latin.

How, how can I speak in tongues? Remember what tongues is. Tongues is being able to speak in a language you've never learned before.

Yeah.

So here's the answer to how can I speak in tongues? You can't apart from the work of the Holy Spirit. And here's the deal, God doesn't give the gift of tongues to everybody. You can ask, and there's nothing wrong with that, but Paul very clearly says in 1 Corinthians, he asked the question, do all speak in tongues? And it was a rhetorical question that demanded the answer no. Now, I have never encouraged anyone not to ask, but forget about what you were told about speaking words that sound like Latin. That's ridiculous. The gift of tongues is supernatural. It doesn't come through our manipulation. The gift of tongues is a wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit. You and I have both— we were baptized in the Spirit and given the gift of tongues back in the '80s. Uh, and, and, and it's been great. And I use it— I don't use it publicly. I've never used it publicly that I can really recall. I've only used it privately in my own prayer time, prayer closet. But it is a wonderful gift, but it is something that God gives according to his will. And you can ask, and you can believe, and leave the rest to God. Yeah. But don't, don't follow some manipulative pattern of, here's how you start to speak in tongues. when God gives you the gift, you'll know, and you'll be able to just go for it.

Elijah is from London, and he says, first, thank you for your ministry. Your teachings are a blessing to my wife and me. My question is about 1 Chronicles 28:7 and the idea of this prophecy having a dual fulfillment. My confusion is based on the mention of a kingdom being established forever, which I believe is in reference to Jesus. But if that's the case, why is there a condition of obedience? And considering that Solomon eventually walked away from the true worship of Yahweh, was his condition technically broken?

Okay, let's, let's back up and give a little context. This— the passage that, that he's referring to is one where David is kind of retelling how he had intended to build the temple for the Lord and how the Lord sent a prophet to him, the prophet Nathan, to say to him, Actually, it's, it's not you who's going to build the temple. It's your son who's going to build the temple. And then he launched into a prophetic insight that leads us to understand that he was also talking about Jesus. Right. And because he said to David, but I'm going to build you a kingdom, and that kingdom is going to be forever. And so the Lord said all kinds of wonderful things to David. But what this person— what's the name of the person writing here?

Elijah.

Elijah. What Elijah is making reference to is what we call the law of double reference, where a prophecy in the Bible can have a dual fulfillment. And that is one of them. When, when Nathan is talking to David about the fact that Solomon is going to build the temple, that's a prophecy for the local time. But then he begins to also make reference to a kingdom that will go— will last forever and ever. And that is speaking of a kingdom that belongs to Jesus. What, what he is confused about in this passage is why was the condition given about obedience? The— because the Lord said to David, I will establish, you know, this kingdom as long as, you know, these, these men obey me.

Right.

And he's speaking specifically about Solomon, but he's also speaking about all who come after him, as long as they obey me. Well, When you have a prophecy which qualifies under the law of double reference, there's going to be things that are going to apply to the short term, and there's going to be things that apply to the long term. Obviously, the whole issue of the if he obeys doesn't apply to Jesus, but it did apply to Solomon, the son of David, and all the kings who came after in the Davidic line. Right? And so that's what you have to do when you look at a prophecy. And that, frankly, that's how we know about and can call a prophecy as applying to the law of double reference, because there are things that apply in one sense but not in another.

Right.

Okay. And so that's the first issue of confusion. The second part of his question is, did, did, uh, Solomon violate and nullify this promise from God by his own personal disobedience. Well, you know, God is very patient and, uh, very kind, and he allowed generations and generations to go on before he kind of pulled the plug a little bit on the Davidic kings and allowed the Babylonians to invade the land and take them captive. Um, so, you know, God's word— God's word is true, and he eventually did— he did say, that's enough. But Jesus is the final fulfillment of the Davidic kings who comes and establishes his throne, and that kingdom lasts forever and ever. And so, um, there is no problem with the passage. Again, again, when you're dealing with the law of double reference, there's always going to be some elements of the prophecy that only apply to one side of that dual fulfillment and some that apply to the other side, the other fulfillment. And so it's— there's no problem with it.

Yeah. Okay, well, our next question is a little bit more Christian living, I think. How do we find the balance between enjoying our work, pursuing our passions, and making sure God always comes first? How can we recognize whether we're following his direction rather than just our own desires, and when something we love is starting to become an idol?

Honestly, can I tell you that this is a classic question that usually involves a lot of overthinking? Um, you know, people, people realize that the world that we live in is full of all kinds of pleasures,

right,

that, that, that kind of tantalize our desires and, and that can have the real potential of drawing us away from the Lord. And so people begin to become afraid because of that, and they begin to ask questions like this: how do I know if I'm enjoying life to such a degree that it's dangerous?

Sure.

And that it's going to draw me away into some kind of form of idolatry? Listen, if you abide in Christ, Yeah. You're not going to worry about this. You don't have to worry about this. Just make— don't, don't— this question should not be your focus. Your focus should be abiding in Jesus. I'm just going to— and I'm going to take what he, what he gives me, because I'm also going to recognize that he loves me and he loves to make me happy. You know, God enjoys giving us things that make us happy. He's not opposed to us being happy. He's not opposed to us experiencing pleasure.

Right.

He created this world to be pleasurable. You know, unfortunately, with our sinful nature, those pleasures can take over and become our reason for living, which is really when you kind of enter into more of an idolatrous relationship, I suppose, with those things. But, you know, you can focus on, here's what I need to do Or you can focus on just abiding in Jesus.

Yeah,

staying in his word. Stay close. Just pray.

He'll lead you.

Yeah. And just know, know that you know that you know he'll lead you. And listen, if something starts to get a little out of order,

yeah,

he'll let you know. He'll tap you on the shoulder and say, dear daughter, over this way a little bit, you know. And, and he will guide you, and you don't need to be in charge of making sure that you stay on the straight and narrow. He'll take care of that. He'll take care of all of that as you just abide in him. You know, Jesus had a lot to say about abiding in him. And he said, you know, you can do nothing apart from me. Right. You know, I'm the vine, you're the branch. Don't let the branch get lopped off because it'll die. So you just stay connected. Just abide. Just stay connected to me and don't worry about the rest. I'll take care of the rest. And that's what I would say to this person.

Yeah, and the point is to produce much fruit.

Yeah,

you know, and so, um, yeah, it can only

happen when you abide,

right?

Yeah.

John is from Mexico, and he says, I have a question with regard to the teaching that women are not to teach men. Do you understand this to be restricted to the Bible, or is it applicable in other areas as well?

The Apostle Paul didn't consider, like, institutions of learning or anything like that. He didn't consider himself to have any authority in those areas.

Right.

He wouldn't have walked up to a college, you know, board and say, you've got a woman teaching men biology. That's— he wouldn't have done it. Paul knew that his area was the church, and that's— he was an apostle to the Gentiles. He established churches, and in those churches he said it is out of order for a woman to take authority over a man, because that's what happens when we teach. When we teach the Bible, we take authority over our audience. And so the reason Paul didn't allow women to teach men was because women were to submit to their husbands, not to instruct them and to take authority over them.

Yeah.

And so Paul believed that it was inappropriate and out of order for the church to allow that to happen when We had earlier said, wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. And so, no, it doesn't go beyond the church. That's not our area of concern.

Okay, this question is from a YouTube comment. Is it biblical to rebuke Satan or to bind him and demons and cast them out? This is what I've been taught mostly online.

Yeah. Oh boy, you've been taught online, huh? You know, is— well, first of all, the question is, is it biblical? And what that simply means is, do we find that in the Bible?

Yeah.

Yeah, of course. Yeah, we find that in the Bible. But, you know, we find it in the Bible when the Holy Spirit came upon his servants and enabled them and empowered them to respond in the way that they did to a person who, you know, was invested with a demon or or, or whatever the situation might be, if they were sick. You know, the, the thing that the Word Faith Movement tends to do is it tends to lead us to believe that all Christians at all times should be walking around casting out demons and healing diseases every time they encounter something that seems ungodly or unbiblical. That's not what the Bible shows us. The, the miracles that are given to us in the Bible are wonderful, but they were extraordinary. And Paul didn't heal everybody, you know. Um, he— in, in 2 Timothy, the, the 4th chapter of 2 Timothy, Paul writes to Timothy and tells Timothy about how he left one of his, uh, assistants sick.

Yeah, that's right.

In an area,

right?

He said, I had to leave him. He was sick. I had to leave him and had to move on, you know. Well, you might— well, why didn't Paul heal him? Because they didn't heal everybody. So in— the question goes, should I be doing this? Well, only when the Holy Spirit empowers you and, and instructs you to do it. That's when you do it. I don't just walk up to somebody who maybe even has a demonic spirit and make up in my mind that I'm going to release this person from that. Yeah. I, I can't do that. I have no power in and of myself. Now, somebody might say, well, yeah, but you have the Holy Spirit living in you. Yes, I do. And I am to be led by him, not by me. And he doesn't necessarily direct me to, to respond to someone who has a demon or who has a disease in the same way every time.

Yeah,

he doesn't do that. We should do those things when we're being led by the Holy Spirit to do those things.

Right.

That's really the answer to that question.

The answer is, yes, it is biblical.

Yes, it is biblical, but it's not something you should expect to happen all the time.

Christopher said, could you explain or share your thoughts on why Christians venerate the cross, whether it's having it up in church or wearing it as jewelry? I wonder, if Christ had died on an electric chair, would we have electric chair in our churches? Or if he was hung, would there be a rope hanging on the outside of our churches? Doubtful the first-century Christians, especially the disciples and the mother of Jesus, would have kept the instrument of his death.

I've always said the same thing. I really have. The, the cross was a hideous form of very cruel, very tortuous execution. Hideous. And I agree that I, I don't think the first-century believers would have wore a cross around their neck, probably. It just, it just wouldn't have been done. I will take issue, though, with one thing that this person said in their question. Why do Christians venerate the cross? We don't. The word venerate means worship. Yeah, we don't worship the cross. We look to the cross as a symbol.

Sure.

It is a symbol of the sacrifice that Jesus made for us that we might have life That we might have forgiveness, uh, and, and that we might have the abundance of a relationship with God. That's why we have crosses. That's why we look to the cross as a symbol, um, but we don't venerate it.

No, but we've had 2,000 years, and through all the cultures and all the geographic areas where Christians have been, it has emerged as a symbol of identification. If you see a building with a cross on it, we process it and simply say, must be Christian.

Yeah, it's an identification.

Right.

Yeah, it's an— now, I will say this, it's also a piece of jewelry, and it's worn by unbelievers. Sometimes it's worn by people for superstitious reasons.

Sure.

You know, so it doesn't mean that everybody who has a cross or wears a cross is doing it for the right reason. And are there people who do venerate the cross? Maybe. I've never met any.

Yeah.

It's— it is— it is a symbol. It is a symbol of Christianity, is a symbol of what Jesus did for us on the cross. And that's— and that's all. The reason we can put up a cross on our buildings, even though in the— in that— in the time of Jesus, it was a hideous form of execution, is because it's no longer done today. And it has turned into something for us. that it was probably never meant to be.

I

don't think the Romans ever came up with crucifixion and said, this is going to be a great symbol for the Christians someday. But it has become that, and I don't have any problem with it. And, you know, there are groups that really do, like the Mormons will not have crosses around.

Yeah.

They won't let you wear crosses. I think that's bunk. You know, it's like if somebody wants to wear a cross as a symbol of what Jesus did for them, I'm cool with it.

Yeah.

Yeah. So

that's it. Oh, that's it.

There's all the questions. Wow. Okay, well, we got through them, I think. Hopefully we answered your question. If you have some more questions that you'd like to send our way, email us at questions@lifebibleministry.com. We'll do our best to get to those. And by the way, next week We're going to be doing our Q&A in front of a live audience at Calvary Chapel Meridian. And so that's where you're going to see our next— your next questions being answered. So until we're with you again, God bless you. Have a good rest of your day, and we'll see you soon. Bye-bye.