Death to Life podcast
A podcast that tells the stories of people that used to be one way, and now are completely different, and the thing that happened in between was Jesus.
Death to Life podcast
#174 Bible Verse Draft pt 3
Summary: In this bonus episode, prepare for a whole bunch of gospel fire. Death to Life hosts its Bible Verse Draft in true fantasy sports league fashion. The theme? Most Commonly Misunderstood Verses in Scripture.
Four Bible fanatics take turns selecting the hottest verses across a range of categories, explaining false interpretations, and sharing the true power behind the punch.
Join host Richard Young and guests Justin Khoe, Jonathan Leonardo, and Tyler Morrison, as they pick their favorites and the true gospel is given center stage.
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The world doesn't think that the gospel can change your life, but we know that it can and that's why we want you to hear these stories, stories of transformation, stories of freedom, people getting free from sin and healed from sin because of Jesus. This is Death to Life, yo. Welcome to the Death to Life podcast. It's your boy, Richard Young, and today's episode is another round of the Bible verse draft. People have been itching, they've been wanting. The phones have been ringing off the hook. They want it, and so this is another round of the commonly misunderstood Bible verses. I think you're going to really love it. Let's jump into it without any further. It's you.
Speaker 1:This is the Bible verse draft, round three Love y'all, appreciate y'all. Okay, it's been a long time. We shouldn't have left you without a dope beat to step to. We're back. It's the Bible verse draft, and we had so many responses after our last two Bible verse drafts. They were like man, we want more. We want more Bible verse draft, but we want less. Ben, like we don't want him in the draft. And Ben, I don't know if you're listening to this. I fought for you, I wanted you to be in, but hey, man, this is a democracy.
Speaker 2:We had to give the people what they want.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we got to give the people what they wanted, and so, ben ben, you're out. You're out of this, never to be seen again. Actually, his schedule uh was conflicting because he uh was recording the dusty boys, which I'm still upset about. But it is the bible verse draft, uh and uh. Let me give you the rules real quick how we do it. Let me give you the rules real quick how we do it. It's a snake draft, so we're going to go one through four. I went into the internet and I did a randomizer, so we have the random order. The order is Justin Tyler, jonathan Richard. Justin Tyler, jonathan Richard. Then we'll go back, so I'm the last one, so I go twice. And we are drafting from these different categories. The different categories are Jesus epistles keep reading.
Speaker 1:and then wildcard Tyler, you didn't know what a wildcard was in our text thread which makes me wonder about you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm just like well, how will my wildcard be graded? I want to make sure I win this draft, and I'm curious if we know who won the past ones too. Oh, we do know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's why Ben's not here, because he won the last two Got it. He was so freaking thoughtful. But let me introduce everybody. If you've never heard of Bible Verse Draft, this is my brother from another mother, tyler Morrison, the bald eagle. Tyler, say what's up, what's up. Everybody, that's what's up. We got my brother from another mother, jonathan Leonardo. What's up, jonathan, what's up?
Speaker 2:Say what's up to the people Hello.
Speaker 1:His energy always starts low in these things, and then it ramps up, it ramps right up. Oh man, I'm excited to see that. And then we got Justin Koo out here on the island of Oahu, my brother from another mother. Justin, what's up, man, say what's up.
Speaker 3:Hey, what's up, y'all.
Speaker 1:All right, guys, we have been preparing for this for months. We're back and the first pick goes to Justin. Justin, on the commonly misunderstood, or Bible verse draft. What are you taking in this?
Speaker 3:round three Bible verse draft. What are you taking in this round three? I'm going to jump us right on into John, chapter 16, verses 7-11. This is the 7-11 passage, john 16, 7-11. And it's Jesus speaking and he says nevertheless, I tell you, the truth is to your advantage that I go away, for If I do not go away, the helper will not come to you, but if I go, I'll send him to you. And when he comes away, the helper will not come to you, but if I go, I'll send him to you and when he comes, he'll convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment. No, concerning sin, because they do not believe in me. Concerning righteousness, because I go to the father and you will see me no longer. Concerning judgment, because the ruler of the world is judged.
Speaker 3:And the reason why I want to pull this passage up is because I used to feel like it was the Holy Spirit's job to make me feel real, real, real bad about my life, that it was His job to keep me in line, because if I didn't keep in line I wouldn't quite make it. And so I often felt like the verses that would talk about oh God knows what you're doing in secret. All these things are going to be exposed. I thought that it was a way for me to just toe the line, make sure that I behaved accurately, and that in many ways the Holy Spirit was trying to find out when I did something wrong.
Speaker 3:Then I come to realize that in this passage the text actually says that he's going to convict the world concerning sin. And I wonder and I actually would like to put this up to the galley of y'all Do you see that same kind of distinction that the world is convicted of sin but then the Holy Spirit then convicts about righteousness and judgment? And so I don't know I'll just say this as the big picture I didn't know that the Holy Spirit was convicting me of righteousness and that kind of changed the game. But then just the notion of he's convicting the world concerning sin and how kind of changed the game. But then just the notion of he's convicting the world concerning sin and how that might change the way that we feel about the Holy Spirit being a little bit of a nosy Nancy in our lives, oh, I want that Holy Spirit to be all up in my life.
Speaker 2:Like a nosy Nancy, I remember reading this and also not understanding it, and as I read it, something that stood out to me was what actually is said right after. He says the world of sin. If you go to verse, if you want to turn this into a, just keep reading. You just keep reading to verse nine. And it says of sin because they do not believe in me. So yeah, again, the category of the world meaning those who do not believe in me. So yeah, again, the category of the world meaning those who do not believe in Christ. Why would they be convicted of sin? Because they don't believe in the one whom is the propitiation for their sins. And then it goes on to say of righteousness, because I go to my father and you see me no more talking about his ascent and his coronation and the Lord. So why are we convicted of righteousness? Because he is Lord. So yeah, I'm with you, justin. You keep reading that passage and it's a lot better news than what I thought it was at first glance.
Speaker 1:Are you taking this and keep reading?
Speaker 3:or Jesus. You know truth be told, I was going to keep it in the Jesus section, but Tyler made a convincing argument that this is a keep reading passage, so I'll swap my other passage to the Jesus passage. This is a keep reading submission. Keep reading.
Speaker 1:And I guess they could all be keep reading. So, justin, are you saying that we, as Christians, we are not a part of the world? We're in the world, but we're not of the world. And so if we're not of the world, then this part of the verse that is proper to us is the conviction of righteousness, and this part of the verse that is proper to us is the conviction of righteousness.
Speaker 3:You know, I am saying that it seems as though that God draws a line of distinction between the saints and the sinners, the converted and the unconverted, those that walk in darkness and those that walk in light, those who are in the world but not of the world. It seems like these two classes do not blend into each other imperceptibly like the colors of the rainbow, but they are as distinct as the midday and midnight, so eloquent, and if you're wondering, that's not a quote. Wink, wink, that's totally off my dome.
Speaker 4:Oh, I was about to say I was completely sold, that that was just riffing. I was like, yeah, this guy is good, Somebody get him a TV show.
Speaker 3:For real? No, no, that is a quote from one of those often quoted peoples who will not be mentioned, but if you want to go searching for it, that quote does exist and I just like to offer that what we see in the text is there?
Speaker 4:Why aren't they mentioned?
Speaker 3:Because it's that one quote or that one person who's often quoted to uh say no, y'all are wrong. You should identify as a sinner for the rest of your life because of this and this and this and this and this and no no it's like hey, listen, text makes it clear.
Speaker 3:You're in the flesh, you're in the spirit. Either you're alive or you're dead. Either you're with me or you're against me. Either you're a sheep or you're a goat. Which one is it? Pick one. And it just so happens to be that this person seems to make that plane also. Not that that's where I'm building the belief off, but it just happens to be a quote. It was an eloquent quote.
Speaker 2:It was a good quote, very eloquent, very well done man, my turn.
Speaker 1:Oh you, uh, yeah you. Your turn is next and and because justin kind of uh, he kind of was playing a little fast and loose with the rules, you're going to have to say the category that you're taking your verse in first. Go ahead, uncle Tyler.
Speaker 2:Okay, well, I know all you guys were probably going to pick this, so read them and weep. But in the category of Jesus, I'll take Mark, chapter three, and not the whole chapter, but definitely a part of it. There's a verse in here which, by the way, I got to confess something I forgot until you started this that the general draft is Bible verses that are commonly misunderstood. I forgot that commonly misunderstood thing, which is why I was like wait.
Speaker 3:You're just going to go with your favorite Bible verses, just going to pick verses that you like.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, we could do that one day I prepared for months, verses that are commonly understood all the time.
Speaker 3:I'm not sure if there's any of those that exist.
Speaker 2:That's true. So Mark 3 has one of the verses that I know has been at least tough to grapple with, and it is chapter 3, verse 33. Jesus says who is my mother or my brothers? And he looks around in a circle at those who sat around him and says here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of God is, I think, everybody who loves and cherishes their family kind of bristles they're like. This is very calloused. This doesn't sound like the sweet, tender, inclusive Jesus that we know His family's just out there trying to hang out. Inclusive Jesus that we know His family's just out there trying to hang out.
Speaker 2:But Jesus, this story starts with him in Mark 3. Basically, over and over, it says that he's doing miracles, he's teaching, and that Mark draws an emphasis on the point that multitudes are gathering, and they're gathering in really intense ways. And so verse 7, it says Jesus withdrew to the sea and great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judea, jerusalem and Udaman and beyond the Jordan and those from Tyre and Sidon a great multitude. When they heard how many things he was doing, they came to him. So he had to get in a boat, get in the water, because the crowd was pressing around him so much and he was worried that they were going to crush him. So he's doing all these miracles. And then it says later on here in verse 20, the multitude came together again so that they couldn't so much as eat bread. They're in a house and the multitude's so packed in he can't even eat. They can't get bread to him or he can't get his hand to his mouth. I don't know what that, but it's packed. And it says when his own people and I know another version actually says when his family heard about this, they went out to lay hold of him. For they said he's out of his mind.
Speaker 2:And so there's context here in Mark three that Jesus is doing the will of God and the multitudes are pressing in around him in a way that's actually seemingly slightly hazardous to his own health. He can't eat a meal, he can't get alone time and his family, who cares for his well-being, is like, hey, this is too much, like he needs a break. And so it's on those grounds that then later Jesus is in this room, packed, and his brothers and his mother verse 31, they come and they stand outside and they call to him in. A multitude was sitting around him and they said look, your mother and your brothers are outside. They can't get to him. They're trying to get Jesus out.
Speaker 2:And it's precisely because they're actually working against the will of the father in Christ Jesus, who's doing works and signs and wonders that are attesting to who he is, that Jesus is like. No, no, no, my mother and brother and sisters are those who do the will of my Father, who sent me. So it's drawing a hard line that sometimes the people who really care most about us, they, can't see that what we're doing. There might be a little bit of suffering that God has called us into and we must walk joyfully through that and not allow anything to pull us off, because those are brothers and sisters in Christ. My bad, I went a little long. No, that was good.
Speaker 1:That makes sense to me. That was good. That makes sense to me.
Speaker 3:I remember when I was in college I actually quoted this verse to my mother because we were in an argument. It did go well, if you're wondering.
Speaker 1:Somebody jot that down. Use this against your folks when they're talking crazy uh it did not lead to peace, but a sword so the main reason why people uh misunderstand this verse is because they're sad, because they love their mom and their their sister I think.
Speaker 2:I think that's why it was hard for me to understand. I'm like, but that doesn't make any sense. Like you know what I mean.
Speaker 1:I do know what you mean. I'm glad you cleared that up for us. Uncle Tyler, that was eloquent and good. I'm not sure if it's going to win the draft. I'm not sure if it's a strong first pick. Vote for him in the comments. Yeah, vote for him in the comments. All right, we would have had Ben next, but he's dead to me, so we're going to Jonathan. Jonathan man, I'm so excited to hear what you're going to say. We've been waiting for almost a year your first pick.
Speaker 4:Why have you been waiting a year For what?
Speaker 1:Oh, because everybody loves what you say on these bible verse drafts no, no, that's not what I was told last.
Speaker 4:I don't even want to talk about last time, where y'all oh, that's right, I forgot about last time what is the over under that?
Speaker 3:jonathan drones on about something that we are struggling to understand.
Speaker 1:Oh, no, no, I'm locked in.
Speaker 4:I'm flinging really hard the other way. Oh okay, Y'all wanted me to be on and I'm just going to give the most plain text. Hit us 2, Timothy.
Speaker 3:Oh, I know where he's going, oh, no never mind Verse 8. And you're taking this in epistles.
Speaker 1:Oh, he's going for it. He's going. Oh no, never mind. Verse eight and you're taking this in epistles.
Speaker 4:He's going for it.
Speaker 3:He's going for it.
Speaker 4:Yes, and it reads always remember that Jesus Christ, a descendant of King David, was raised from the dead. Or another iteration is remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descendant of David. This is my gospel. Or another version says remember Jesus Christ risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel. Or a literal translation that says remember Jesus Christ raised out of the dead, of the seed of David, according to my good news. There it is.
Speaker 1:What's misunderstood about that? Tell us.
Speaker 4:Oh, I'll tell you what's misunderstood about it, mr Young. It is that all too often, the framing of the gospel has something to do with an offer to you of salvation. Oh, but it seems as though the gospel is an announcement in keeping with a promise that God made, for a life that is lived in light of this promise being fulfilled. Let me say that again, the gospel is an announcement of a promise fulfilled, so that a life is lived in light of this announcement, which is the promise fulfilled. So what you have is a promise that God will dwell with his people that's the promise. And that a seed will people, that's the promise. And that a seed will come, that's the promise from the whole Old Testament. You follow the whole arc and he's like I will be your God, you will be my people, I will be with you, emmanuel, and over and over.
Speaker 4:We have the promise that God will come near. God will come near. God will come near, and this promise is going to be in keeping with the line of David, and he will come near according to the line of David, and a king will come. A king will come according to the line of David. So then this promise takes on a life almost of its own, where the king that will come will be one that rules in power and authority and military might, so that he is a warrior and he is called the anointed one who will lead Israel from out of the subjugation, from her enemies. And so the promise in the Old Testament of God coming to his people in the person of the anointed one is understood to be that of a warrior, king, or this magisterial conqueror who will be at the head of Israel.
Speaker 4:Right, so that's one way of understanding right. And so Israel understood that. And lo and behold what happens. Unto us, a child is born. Unto them, a child is born, a lowly carpenter, or maybe a stone worker who knows from Nazareth, who delivers Israel from out of their bondage by way of conquering powers and principalities in his crucifixion. So they're like he's going to be a warrior and he's like I'm going to a cross, he's going to release us from the subjugation of the Romans. No, I'm freeing you from sin and death.
Speaker 2:Like huh, what, what, what.
Speaker 4:Say what, what? Say what, what? What happened? What way? What way did he go? And so what happens? That this fulfillment of this promise by Jesus the anointed one is passed down to us over 2,000 years and too often. Now we have received it and so we say the gospel is an offer to believe in Jesus as Lord and that then our lives will be better, so that the gospel becomes a product that's included into our lives. It's very much a consumerist sort of Christianity. This is a consumerist presentation of the gospel, right when you have this offer of Jesus Christ as Lord, you receive him as Lord and your life will get better, your marriage will get better, get eternal life.
Speaker 4:But Paul cuts through all that noise and he upends the expectations of Israel and he completely recorrects our expectations of the gospel. By putting it simply Remember Jesus, the anointed one, raised from among the dead, as I preach in my gospel. This is the gospel. The gospel is that the promise that God would come has been fulfilled in the person of Jesus, who resurrected from the dead according to the hope of the Old Testament, now fulfilled bodily in Jesus the anointed one, the king of all the universe, and that this is Paul's gospel.
Speaker 4:You read Acts and you see Paul make his defense of the gospel over and over, and his gospel is all about I have this hope that there is a resurrection, and why would God not be able to resurrect somebody? This is what he tells Festus and Agrippa over and over, and his gospel is all about. I have this hope that there is a resurrection, and why would God not be able to resurrect somebody? This is what he tells Festus and Agrippa. Right, and Festus is like Paul, you is crazy, all these readings of the books got you crazy.
Speaker 4:And Agrippa's like you think you're going to make me a Christian right here, right now. Paul's like I wish that you was except my chains, but I wish that you was so that you would receive the hope of Israel, which is Jesus Christ resurrected. Because if you actually believe Jesus Christ resurrected, you'd live life a whole lot different and you would see that the hope of all mankind has been satisfied in Jesus, the anointed one. So then, when he writes to Timothy, he's telling him that he's like hey, remember my gospel Jesus Christ raised from the dead. So when we make the gospel something other than the announcement that the kingdom of God has come in the person of Jesus Right. We are deviating from the promise fulfilled and we're also deviating from the announcement when we first make it an offer, and this is why this verse is so important to me.
Speaker 2:I rest in my case Wow.
Speaker 1:So maybe the verse is not misunderstood, but everything about the gospel is misunderstood, and the verse clears it up. Is that what you're offering us, Jonathan Leonardo?
Speaker 4:Listen, I'm going to tell you the truth. I don't really care about your draft rules. I just wanted to testify to this year good gospel and this thing that has given me so much life, that the gospel is the Royal announcement that the kingdom of God has come in the person of Jesus, who pre-existed with the father, was made incarnate, died, according to Scripture, was buried, was resurrected on the third day, according to Scripture, was seen by many, ascended to the right hand of the Father, is now seated in power at the right hand of the Father, has given us the Holy Spirit and he will return as judge of the dead and the living. Jesus is the king, there is no other. This is the announcement, the good news, the gospel. I just wanted to say all of that. So I don't care about your rules, I don't care about your draft. Jesus is king. All hail King Jesus.
Speaker 3:All hail, all hail, amen. You know, my favorite part about this whole thing is that Jonathan has been so removed from the weeds of doing Death to Life as a production now he doesn't know that we have a video version of the podcast, and his whole passionate telling of this gospel thing is done much in the style of a 90s cartoon parent, where you don't see their head, you just see the torso. So I'm really grateful for that.
Speaker 4:You know what's here's here's, here's the plot twist. I absolutely know that this is on camera and I still made this choice so that I could say it with my chest.
Speaker 2:I was gonna make a say with his chest joke, but man it was his chest all right, that was, uh, powerful, uh.
Speaker 1:And now you're about to get a lot of Richard, because I got two in a row and I was thinking about which was going to be my first one. And I've decided to go with Jesus because, as Jonathan said, jesus is king. So we are going to go to the book of John. We're going to go to chapter 14 and verse 15.
Speaker 3:Oh, I know this one and it says.
Speaker 1:It says this If you love me, you will keep my commandments. Amen. If you amen, brother, call the offering.
Speaker 4:Say it again let's.
Speaker 1:That's the whole sermon. No, if you love me, keep my commandments. How is? How could this possibly be misunderstood? Well, beats me.
Speaker 1:It depends on what the word is is, as William Jefferson Clinton said, no, it is actually depending on the word commandments. Now, the word commandment, if I am not mistaken in the Greek here is entole, which means a command. Sometimes we think of Jesus here talking back about the law, that he would be using the word logos, that he would be referring back to the law, that he would be using the word logos, that he would be referring back to the Torah and, even more specifically, the Decalogue. Because of the word commandments.
Speaker 1:Because in many of our English Bibles, exodus, chapter 20 is the Ten Commandments, but while in the English version it is called the Ten Commandments, it's actually known as the Ten Words or the Ten Sayings, and it's an encapsulation of the whole Torah. So the Ten Commandments are actually not commands, they're sayings. And so what Jesus is pointing to here is not, and we can go to Galatians 3, we can talk about how living under the law, is not it? So if he's not talking about the law, what's he talking about? I would offer that in one chapter before and in one chapter, after he says A new commandment I give to you that you love one another just as I have loved you, and you also are to love one another. And then in John chapter 15, john 13, verse 34, if my computer will go to John chapter 15.
Speaker 2:Oh no, oh, you don't have a paper Bible. Oh no, not a real Christian.
Speaker 1:I don't know.
Speaker 2:Uh.
Speaker 3:John chapter If you had one, you wouldn't be in this bind.
Speaker 1:Now I'm like my whole screen is frozen. Uh, in chapter 15, I got my Bible out. It's John, chapter 15, verse four Lord have mercy. My turn is getting taken up by John, chapter 15, verse 4, he says that is not where it is. What chapter of John is that? It's John, chapter 15, verse 12.
Speaker 1:This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. So in John chapter 13, he says a new commandment. In John chapter 14, he says if you love me, you'll keep my commandment. And then in John chapter 15, verse 12, he says this is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. So sometimes this is misunderstood to say that Jesus is calling back to the Torah and I would offer you no sir, no sir, and that's why I would say it is misunderstood. What say you guys? Before I keep on going, we need to have a break in me talking. What do you guys think?
Speaker 2:Ooh, I mean, I'm just externally processing, but my first thought is that it's not so much that he's not calling back to the Torah, so much as he's demonstrating the fulfillment of the Torah. Because I think about, whenever I think of this, I think of Paul saying in Romans 10 that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. And so there's this element of, like those who live, live by faith and the fruit, the works of their life, is love, obviously, but what is it that actually happens? Is the word comes. How can they hear unless someone tells them? And the word of faith comes as a gift and it is planted in their heart, bears fruit.
Speaker 2:They confess Jesus is Lord, making a plug back to the gospel and, as a result, like this word is the same thing that the Torah, like prophesies of If you will hear what I say, really listen to what I say and do everything that I've said, then it's all of this covenant of faith and peace and so, like this element of the word actually being implanted in Jesus, being the word like Jesus is the fulfillment. I got this line. I had to ask him what he meant, but Jonathan explained what the prophetic impulses of the law of the Torah, what they actually all testified of, jesus fulfills in the saying of like, if you keep my commandments, if you keep what I've said to you, if you do what I'm saying. It's all summed up in the same thing about like you really hear. Like you can't really hear and not obey, you can't really hear and testify that you agree with it and not have a life that looks like love.
Speaker 1:So you think Jesus was? Is Jesus trolling when he says a new commandment, cause he's like it's not new, but I'm telling you so it isn't new.
Speaker 4:I mean well, if you if you read, if you read First John, that's exactly what John points out. He's like yo, a new commandment he gives, not that it's new, it's an old commandment, right. So it's in that same spirit, where it's like the fulfillment of the law, like the whole fulfillment of the law, according to Paul in Romans 13, is love does no wrong to a neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law, right? So when Jesus is talking about his entelase in John chapter, what is it? 13?
Speaker 1:13, 14, 15.
Speaker 4:Yeah, right, he's talking about that. Like the command is to love the way he has loved, because his loving, the way he's loving is the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Old Testament. That the has said butcher, the Hebrew word mishpat, I think his judgments chesed. Loving kindness, zedek, righteousness, all of these things come, embody the judgments of God, the loving kindness of God, the justice of God, all of it in his person and the way he's going to most clearly fulfill what the Old Testament was actually pointing to is in his death, burial and resurrection, and that he is attested to as the anointed one through his miracles, works, wonders and signs. This is the gospel proclaimed by Peter in Acts, chapter two. Like this man attested to us by God through his miracles, works, wonders, signs, right, we and you. You killed him Right, we and you. You killed him Right and he was attested to us by God. But in you killing him it was according to the definite plan and the foreknowledge of God, so that the children of Israel and subsequently the nations, the Gentiles, might be released from sin, death, the powers and principalities, and receive the Holy Spirit, so that the Old Testament prophecies are indicating this righteousness that would come. This is 1 Peter 1.11.
Speaker 4:As they were writing this stuff, they're thinking who is this? Jesus shows up and he is the love of God, manifest and prior to his going to the cross. And this is just prior. John chapter 12, right, john chapter 13 is the last supper. So this is just before that. He's telling them listen y'all, this is the ultimate of the ultimate Love, the way I have loved, like well, how do we do that? I'm dying for you and I'm laying down my life Like. This is how you serve and love one another. Right, this is the fulfillment of it. But if we get really, really specific and granular, rich, the reason that sometimes we make such a clear distinction between namas law and entele commandments and your draft pick with clarifying that this is not talking about keep the 10 words is precisely because of our background and faith tradition as Seventh-day Adventists. So if you want to get real funky in talking about what you just talked about, what informs this is a whole, you know, iceberg underneath the water yeah, that's, that's all I was gonna say.
Speaker 3:I was gonna say I don't like it because, uh, if what you're saying is true, that what jesus is really calling us to is to love one another as he's loved us, then how in the world am I supposed to weaponize guilt and shame so that people will come to my hear my preaching every Sabbath? You're, you're removing all of my tools from my utility belt, batman.
Speaker 4:Yeah, and if it's, and if. But then the other side is well, if it's love, right, love is best demonstrated in the commandments as a transcript of his character. And the first four how you love God. The last four are how you love God. The last six are how you love each other. So you can't really say you love God if you're not keeping his commandments. People are like, of course we're keeping his commandments. Ain't nobody trying to kill, ain't nobody trying to steal, ain't nobody trying to rob. Like yeah, but what about that number four, though? Right, and that's. That's really where the pain point is.
Speaker 4:If we're going to pull the veil back at real honest, real granular, the pain point is Sabbath keeping and whether or not it actually indicates if you truly love God, whether you're in Christ, and if it's ultimately salvific. So you know, let's not be these other guys and beat around the bush, let's just call a spade a spade. Is Sabbath keeping necessary unto salvation? And are you in Christ If you don't keep the Sabbath the way Seventh-day Adventists say you ought tobath, the way seventh-day adventists say you ought to? Or some seventh-day adventists say you ought to.
Speaker 1:Yeah, is that what jesus is talking about?
Speaker 4:jesus talking about the sabbath in john chapter uh 14, verse 15, because everybody else doesn't kill some would say, yeah, right, and then some would go as far as you know, making these inventive. Uh, uh, yeah, they get. They get real creative in the way that we now frame new testament teaching, because the sabbath is still binding. So you know, if I'm, if I'm gonna pull, if, if I'm gonna poke you right in the belly there fella, I'm pretty sure that's what's informing this reading of john, isn't it Richard?
Speaker 1:I happen to be a Seventh-day Adventist in good standing.
Speaker 4:But yeah, I would say my faith tradition. I bet you're thinking about Nellie right now. You're good as dead, but you think he's getting hot in her.
Speaker 1:It was getting hot in her.
Speaker 2:And maybe I'll explain that. Go ahead, tyler. I think that your pick was seeming kind of weak at first, but with that that uh belly poking that jonathan just said, I think it strengthened it.
Speaker 1:I think it strengthened your pick yeah, make it more clear why it's misunderstood yeah, it is definitely probably more misunderstood in my faith tradition.
Speaker 3:Uh, the beautiful seven-day adventist so, um, yeah, I was gonna say I don't know that it's that misunderstood like big c church, but there's probably 20 odd million people that misunderstand that one well, yeah, that's, yeah, let's, let's pull that one back.
Speaker 4:Whether or not they understand, I think.
Speaker 3:I think most people are like, yeah, it's not talking about that one thing. They're talking about Like, no, like, obviously, if you love Jesus, you're in keeping with all the things that he's leading us to do Dog, you want to get real funky?
Speaker 4:Y'all done. Read the comments. You've read the comments. Y'all read the comments. I've seen them, people that are listening. Right now there are loads of YouTubers that are asking whether or not Seventh-day Adventism is a cult, right? Yeah, and just recently this week, the Perry, but I don't know their names properly.
Speaker 1:Jackie Hill Perry and her husband and Eric Mason.
Speaker 4:Yeah. And so they're asking is Seventh-day Adventism a cult? And one of the things that gets real down to it is whether or not they believe that only Sabbath keepers will actually receive eternal life. Because the sign and seal of God and Adventism, some Adventist whole eschatological paradigm, requires only Sabbath keepers to actually get in Right. And so the old joke you know, when we're all up in glory there's going to be a walled off section. People are going to be like what's that? Like, oh, keep it down, those are the Adventists. They think they're the only ones here because of Sabbath keeping. So let's, let's pull it all the way back.
Speaker 1:That Rich picked that exactly, Probably because he'd been watching them interviews the last couple of days I, I did take in some amount of those interviews, not gonna fib tell the truth and shame the devil. That's the hat that my man was wearing during the podcast, uh, but yeah, um, we can talk about.
Speaker 3:Oh, yeah, tyler, um clearly jonathan's been watching these interviews too, because he got a fire underneath him oh yeah, I dog, dog like ben affleck and goodwill hunting.
Speaker 4:Keep your ear to the grindstone, was it? Keep your ear, keep your nose to the grindstone rich I think it's nose to the grindane-er. Gentlemen, gentlemen, gentlemen.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that was for there might be one or two Adventists listening to this episode. So that was for y'all, and I'm glad that Jonathan broke it up, because I have the next pick as well. Thank you. Jonathan so you left that hanging in the air.
Speaker 4:We're just going to leave it hanging in the air.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we're going to leave that hanging in the air. I going to leave it hanging in the air. Yeah, we're going to leave it hanging in the air.
Speaker 1:I don't think you left it hanging. I don't feel like you left anything hanging. Go ahead. Okay, we're going to take a quick break from this episode and I'm going to bring my friend, bianca. Bianca, what's up?
Speaker 5:What's up?
Speaker 1:What's up, Rich? Quick question Do you love the gospel? Uh quick question Uh, do you love the gospel? I do love the gospel.
Speaker 5:How long have you been rocking with that good gospel? Uh, it's been about a year now, yeah, one year.
Speaker 1:Uh, has it done anything to your life in any way? Would you say, nah, no, I'm, I'm just, that's what I thought it's done.
Speaker 5:um, it's done so much, I, just over this past year there's just been so much gradual changes and and some just drastic changes, and just how I act, how I interact with my family, my, my husband, my friends, and it's just, it's just good. It's just so good. There's just this peace and this joy that I just didn't know before. So it's just done everything.
Speaker 1:It's just good. It's just good. Listen. You've dedicated time, money, energy so that this movement keeps going forward, and the movement is the proclamation of the gospel. Why is that important to you?
Speaker 5:Because everyone should hear this. I just want everybody to get it and to know this peace and this joy and just this love that we have from our father.
Speaker 1:You know what? That's a great point. I don't know anybody who shouldn't hear it. Yeah, Like that. So that's everyone right. Listen, if you guys are listening and you want to partner with us to get this thing moving forward. Loverealityorg slash give. That goes to fund Internet Church, our podcast network. Every dollar goes to keeping this thing moving forward. Partner with us, loverealityorg slash give. Thanks. Thanks for coming on, Bianca.
Speaker 5:See you later.
Speaker 1:Bye. My next pick is a keep reading, and this one might be just as spicy. Oh my gosh, we are.
Speaker 2:We are going to the book of james I thought this dude was about to say daniel no, we're going to the book of james this is.
Speaker 3:we're gonna have to have a new category for the next one Apocalyptic literature. Ooh.
Speaker 1:It's chapter two and it's verse 17. If you're familiar with this verse, it says this so also, faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. Faith without works is dead. Whenever you're preaching the gospel, as we tend to do from time to time from place to place, when we're preaching it, somebody will jump out of the bushes and be like faith without works is dead.
Speaker 2:Oh no, brother, you can't do that. That's five to ten.
Speaker 1:Excuse me, brother. Hey brother, brother, faith without works is dead. That's five to ten and so. Hey brother young brother, young brother, young brother, young brother, young brother, Put your hand up put your hand on your chest.
Speaker 1:So why is this a keep reading? Well, because, obviously, if we were to read the book of Ephesians, if you read the book of Romans, if you read all these, all the scripture is going to tell you that God has saved us without merit, without works, without anything. He has saved us without all of that, but it seems to be that he saves us. And then you also got to save yourself a little bit by doing some work. Save yourself a little bit, Richard.
Speaker 4:You have to do your part, Richard.
Speaker 1:You got to do your part. You gotta do your part, all right? Well, let's find out. Let's find out what is our part. And this is why it's called a keep reading, because if you keep reading chapter two and you go to the end of the chapter, what are we going to find out? He says uh, do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? He's saying the same thing.
Speaker 1:James is coming in hot and then he tells this was not Abraham, our father, justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar. So the works that Abraham did doesn't seem like it's like feeding the poor. It doesn't seem like it's, you know, painting the church or collecting the chairs after potluck or just doing nice things around town. The works that Abraham did is that he offered up his son Isaac on the altar. So his first example is Abraham. Then he keeps going.
Speaker 1:He says in verse 24, you see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way, was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For as by the body apart from the spirit is dead. So also, faith apart from works is dead. So faith apart from works is dead.
Speaker 1:What are the works that my man, james, is talking about? It's the same thing that Jesus said that this is the work that God would have you do Believe in the one who he has sent. So it is true that faith apart from works is dead. And the work is this that you believe in the one who he has sent so much that you trust God that you would be able to offer up your son Isaac, and you don't really get it.
Speaker 1:Or that you're Rahab the prostitute and God tells you to do this and you trust him. You let them into the crib. The works is still believing in him, who God has sent, and it's not necessarily or is doing all the nice good things and staying away from this and staying away from that. Whatever, I want to know what works people are talking about when they're considering that faith without works is dead. But I do not think it is the faith or the work that Abraham did, or the work that Rahab did. That's why this is a keep reading and that's why I'm standing on this as my second pick.
Speaker 4:What's up y'all? You keep picking picks that are somewhat informed by the immediate context that you're doing ministry in.
Speaker 1:Same to you, my brother. You just did a pick that had nothing to do with the gospel draft or the Bible verse draft.
Speaker 4:It had nothing to do with the gospel draft. I think it's in the name. If it's the gospel draft, I messed up Richard.
Speaker 2:Richard, you had a good point till you missaid it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I missaid it. I was excited, that's why I jumped all over you. No, no, I think till you missaid it, yeah, I missaid it.
Speaker 4:I was excited. That's why I jumped all over you. No, no, I think you know it's well stated, but I I'll let the other guy speak before I want to just aggressively pull the band-aid off well, uh, where you're going.
Speaker 3:I I would ultimately agree with that point, because I know, because I've been guilty of it, I've used this verse in that exact way you're going to allude to, but I think that this is perhaps more common than the john 14 thing, where I made the joke that about 20 million or so people might have misunderstood john 14. I think this is largely more misunderstood, because anytime that, uh, someone and by someone I mean definitely not me is not doing what I think you ought to do, I think this is where the faith without works tends to come in. Whatever pet peeve it is, whatever standard that some might expect you to live by, this one generally shows up.
Speaker 2:So I think that the word faith and the word works are commonly misunderstood in this verse. And I actually did a little worship talk for an elementary school recently and I was praying about what to do and the first verse that popped into my mind was James 2.20. And I was like why am I going to be talking to little kids about how faith without works is dead? And I got this little story, jonathan, I've been writing another kid's book.
Speaker 2:And in this kid's book there's this boy named Jimmy named after our boy James here and Jimmy's got a birthday and throughout it's like twilight zone. Everything throughout his birthday doesn't make any sense. It's called little Jimmy in the world. That don't make sense and every single thing along the day it's like. His mom pours him cereal but there's no cereal in the bowl. She gives him milk but there's no milk in the carton and he's like this doesn't make any sense. And she's like you just got to believe it's there and so he like that. That makes no sense. He goes and gets on the bus. The bus doesn't go anywhere.
Speaker 2:The bus driver just like and he's like yo, we got to get to school. And the bus driver's like we're on our way, just believe. And Jimmy's like that don't make no sense. And so it just goes like this throughout his whole day and he feels like he's going crazy. And then the next day he wakes up and the cereal's in the bowl but he doesn't believe it's there, so he don't eat it. And the bus driver is going to the school but he doesn't get on because he doesn't believe he's going to get there. And so it's contrasting the two things where it's like one belief without any substance don't make no sense, not for real. And if you've got substance but no belief, it's like having the keys to the car and not driving it. And I think that that seems to be what James is communicating here.
Speaker 2:Faith comes by the Word of God. Jesus is the Word of God. If Jesus is alive, sitting on the throne and mediating the Holy Spirit to us, then it would make no sense that we do not have works in our lives that attest to the fact that Jesus is on the throne. It makes absolutely no sense. So if I have faith, of course, like in the same way that works attested to his claim that he's the son. He is still interested, through the Holy Spirit, in giving works through us, works beyond believing in the son. But because we believe in the son and we have obeyed that command that he's given us and this work that the father requires, then there are also going to be other works that the father grants to us via his grace to testify that what we're claiming that Jesus is on the throne, that that's actually real. It's true in substance.
Speaker 1:I like it. What say you, Jonathan, before you rip the bandaid off?
Speaker 4:No, I don't know if I will. Now what I think to simplify is to appreciate that the gospel is an announcement right, and I'm going to keep coming back to this and it's announcement of what? It's an announcement of the promise fulfilled. So there's a promise prior to the announcement and that promise is prophesied in the Old Testament. So you have a promise and then you have the announcement that the promise has been fulfilled and then, because of this announcement, there is a reality and or life lived that follows in light of the announcement, right? So think about it like the acronym here is PAL PAL. You have a promise, that promise finds its fulfillment in an announcement and then, because of that announcement, there is a life lived and what we're talking about here is the life lived. Part right, because a life lived in allegiance to the reality of the announcement, because this is to some degree of what Pistis is talking about that a life lived in allegiance to the announcement is no allegiance at all If your life lived doesn't testify to the truth of the announcement. That's what James is saying. He's like listen, your faith, your pistis, your trust, belief, allegiance there's any one of those variations Is no allegiance, trust or belief at all If the life that follows isn't in agreement with the thing you're saying, you believe, if there's this announcement that has been made about God coming in the person of Jesus and giving us the Holy Spirit, so that then what follows is that we live in agreement with the reality that that announcement has brought to us, so that if you say you have this allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ and you're showing partiality, as James talks about earlier in that passage, then your allegiance to Christ Jesus is no true allegiance at all, because what he taught us about not showing partiality you're actually disobeying. And then this is where James goes on If I build up what I tore down, then I'm a sinner. So if I build up a wall of partiality now between Jew and Gentile that Jesus has torn down and included me, but now I'm building it back up, I'm demonstrating myself to be a sinner and yet I've been liberated from that. So why would I do that? So why not live a life in keeping with the truth of the announcement and actually live my life as though the allegiance I claim has a living, breathing example? That is my life lived.
Speaker 4:And I think that we misconstrue and misframe the faith versus works because we have a gospel that says Jesus has made this offer that if we just believe certain propositions about him, then we're in, so that then there is this bifurcation of faith versus works, because, like, oh well, I believe Jesus is the son of God, right, like, I believe that. And what are we talking about? Just this mental assent about, like a proposition that we check off, like, well, I believe that. And the gospel announcement is that if you believe that, if, if you receive this announcement, are allegiant to it, then there is a life that follows, right Like and and, and. It's not a life that follows. This is, again, one of our errors is that we then make it moralistic that the life that follows has to be this life that is demonstrated by morality. So that is the framing of works. Works is moral, works are good things, virtuous things that we can look at and say, oh, you're doing the right and good things because Jesus was such a nice and good guy, and it's like no, no, that is to reduce the gospel, right Like, think of Paul on his way to Rome after he was with Festus in Agrippa, and he's on that ship that gets shipwrecked and people are about to kill the prisoners, like some of the guys want to kill the prisoners.
Speaker 4:But the captain of the ship I think it's the captain is like no, because he wants to keep Paul alive. And they get shipwrecked and stranded on Miletus the Isle of Miletus, I think it is and Paul is picking up sticks one night to make dinner and he gets bit by a snake Right. And what does Paul do? He just shakes off the snake. Everybody watching this thinks Paul's going to die. They're like surely he is a murderer and justice has found him because he escaped the sea. And they wait and wait and wait and nothing happens to Paul, right. And they're like he's not God. Why is it that nothing happens to Paul?
Speaker 4:If you read previously to that Paul is told by Jesus or by you know, yeah, you will go to Rome, you will go to Rome to testify of me there and your fellow shipmates will not die, right. So when Paul gets bit by a snake in a place that isn't Rome, guess what Paul does? He shakes it off. Why? He knows he can't die because he's been given an announcement and in giving allegiance to that announcement, he knows that snake ain't going to kill him.
Speaker 4:And I think this is what James is really going on and that we do a disservice to those passages when we make it about transactional salvation, about, oh, since the gospel is just an offer, all I have to do is say yes to this set of propositions, and then for anybody who then tries to tell me I have to do these moral works, I can then respond and be like, oh well, we're just all sinners, man, we're all trying and that just seems to be to misframe the whole thing right, so that then, when we try to make sense of these texts by responding to some of the criticisms, we are participating in that framework, and that's what I would say. No, let's not do that. Let's just actually present the gospel for what it is, which is the fulfillment of a promise, that's announcing what God has done in the person of Jesus, and then, in light of kingdom, we have to give allegiance.
Speaker 2:Yes, sir.
Speaker 1:And that leads us to Jonathan's pick.
Speaker 4:I was thinking can we just keep going and not hear me talk more?
Speaker 2:yeah, let's skip. Me and jonathan have weighed in a lot on the last three picks. Let's skip ahead to justin's pick. Yeah, that's okay. Is that what you guys want to do? Yeah, yeah, because we don't have that much more time we can go a little longer, right no, I got.
Speaker 4:I got a schedule, homeboy.
Speaker 2:I also have a schedule.
Speaker 1:You guys are some haters. All right, Justin Koo, your turn.
Speaker 3:This one's coming in hot off the press from what I was just doing with Ben Dusty Boy's recording, and it's in Matthew, chapter 13, where we are launching into season two of the Dusty Boys talking about the teachings and the parables of Jesus, where we are launching into season two of the Dusty Boys talking about the teachings and the parables of Jesus, and it's this moment when the disciples come to Jesus and say hey, why?
Speaker 3:do you speak in parables and basically, jesus says to you it's been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it's not been given. For to the one who has more will be given, and he who has an abundance, or sorry, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taking away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they don't see, and hearing they don't hear, nor do they understand. Instead, in their case, the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, that says you will indeed hear, but never understand. You'll need see but never perceive. For this people's hearts are grown dull and with their ears they can barely hear, and with their eyes they have been closed. So they should see with their ears and hear with them, okay, so it just keeps on going.
Speaker 3:The thing that we wanted to bring to the surface is um, is this mark four? This is in uh matthew, chapter 13, sorry, 13, okay, uh 10, and if you read all the way to 17 is kind of where we were talking about a lot. But uh, I remember going through this passage and just feeling like I had missed the boat and what I mean by that is all the times that I tried to open up the Bible to try and understand it and felt confused. I read something like this and inferred that it was because I had done something wrong, that I was maybe cursed, I was separate from God. Maybe my track record had finally caught up to me, because apparently there's these certain groups of people who will never understand, who will never see, who will never hear. And I thought, dang it, that's me, because I don't understand, because if I could understand the parables then I would be in Come to find out.
Speaker 3:Jesus is giving this and I love the way that it interrupts both the telling of the parable and the interpretation of the parable. Jesus gives this promise in verse 11, to you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God. In other words, jesus is responding directly to the disciples who feel like they don't get it and ask if they can understand. Jesus first gives the promise that they already have it and that they will see, and that they will hear, and that they will understand, and so that the parables are not to be used as some barometer that says you're on the outside. Therefore, stop even trying, because you're never going to get it. Never going to get it, but instead we could lean in with a posture of curiosity, because we have been given the spirit who does guide, who does teach, and that God is interested in revealing himself to us. And so I don't know.
Speaker 3:I think that the misunderstanding is that if we don't understand the Bible, it says something really, really, really bad about us. But I think that the truth is more in line with this Like hey, even if you don't understand, there's a teacher who you can lean into and ask the question. And sure enough, as the following verses go on to testify that this teacher is very, very interested and willing to explain what he means. And so I would just offer this larger pericope I don't think I used that right, I think that's the wrong use of the words Big one, but this larger chunk of scripture to encourage anyone who has ever felt like the Bible was confusing and to remind them you have been given the spirit who longs to guide and to teach and to lead you in all things. That's my pick. That'll be the Jesus section of my, my pick that was a I like that encouraging word for the saints I like that.
Speaker 1:I like that a lot, tyler, do you? Do you want to go now? Because I, because I have a pick. If we're going to wrap up in five minutes, I got a pick that we can discuss and you tell me what you think but if you want to happen up in five minutes, send it okay, because, uh, you were right, you guys have been talking quite a bit. Uh, we're gonna go to matthew 7, 6 and it's kind of in the same light, I think.
Speaker 3:Uh, maybe, yes, this one's also about the sabbath, you guys yeah then the god made sabbath for man.
Speaker 1:All right, seven, six says matthew. Seven six do not give dogs what is holy and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you. Now, I've been understanding this as if I'm preaching the gospel and they're not picking up what I'm laying down. Then, to just be like y'all don't get it, peace, I'm not going to give pearls to you, nasty pigs. Has anybody else heard that one before, or felt that here here?
Speaker 1:Okay, but I think we misunderstand that if we're not understanding what the pearls are that we're putting before the pigs, because notice the pigs they trample over these pearls, and I think that Jonathan I have a feeling would tell you that the pearl is what, jonathan, what do you think the pearl is? That Jesus is talking about not handing out the gospel, right, it doesn't mean that we don't hand out anything. It just means that we don't hand out the gospel to these pigs so that they'll trample them underfoot. What we can do, though, is offer them the law, kind of what Jesus does in this exact sermon, where he's like hey, y'all, that was a curveball, I was not expecting that.
Speaker 2:I wasn't either.
Speaker 1:He's like hey, y'all, if you want to be righteous, your righteousness needs to exceed that of the Pharisees. And he positions everybody in this way on the Sermon on the Mount. He positions the rich young ruler this way. He positions all these people in that they have no chance. But he doesn't even say it like you have no chance, he just presents it like hey man, sell all your goods. Hey man, you got to have more righteousness than the Pharisees.
Speaker 1:So when we're not offering our pearls, we can offer stuff. That just positions these people that don't want the pearls in this we're dead. We really got to work this out really hard and then be like good luck, yeah, have at it. My boy, you want to still consider that you have a sinful nature? Well, tell me how it goes, good luck. And so we offer them stuff. They don't want the gospel and if we give them the gospel, they're not going to appreciate it, like the same way pigs don't appreciate. What is it? Truffles? What does he say? Matthew 7, 6 pearls, my bad. Uh. What do you guys think?
Speaker 3:too much provocative a little extra. I have not considered it in this light yet, but, man, you got my brain going because, because jesus, talking about you, have heard it said, but I say to, and he just keeps elevating and elevating and elevating to where, yeah, maybe the desired effect is this thing is impossible, this thing that you're trying to do, and you feel like you're so close, actually you're way further than you even thought.
Speaker 2:And simultaneously.
Speaker 1:I mean, that's how I've been doing ministry. I've been doing ministry in the way that they're sorry, tyler, I've been doing ministry. When they're like man, I just see myself like I have no value because like I'm not good at school or I'm not funny, and I'm like, yeah, you're not funny and you're not good at school, so I guess your value is zero, huh. And then they're like, oh, I'm like good luck with that.
Speaker 3:And then they're like, I'm like good luck with that, Good luck with that, my boy no.
Speaker 1:and then they realize their foolishness, and then perhaps they're ready for some pearls.
Speaker 2:So go ahead, tom. Oh, I don't have anything else, I was just saying it's farther than you think and also closer, because he is the righteousness, absolutely, uh, that they're looking for it. So he's like, I'm here, but also, you can't have it unless you believe in me jonathan, you have anything, I want my pick to be last.
Speaker 4:I'm going for it, I'm gonna send it and all right, your pick is right now rich galatians one verse. That matter of fact, watch galatians one. If you just go galatians one, I'm gonna pull it up myself because I was gonna go in verse uh, six, but I think I want to switch it. Let's see, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:Is this about a different?
Speaker 4:gospel. Start reading verse three, verse three.
Speaker 1:It says this Grace to you and peace from God, our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. I am astonished that you're so quickly deserting him, who called you in the grace of Christ, and are turning to a different gospel. Not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.
Speaker 4:So the gospel, what is the gospel? Right? And this is where we just dance around, fill it in with this, that and the third, like, oh, the gospel, the gospel, the gospel. But Paul just gave it to us and sometimes we haven't noticed it. I know that I've heard this verse preached often, like we preach the gospel, yeah, we preach the gospel, we preach the gospel, we preach the gospel, yeah, but what is it? What is it? And he actually gives a quick gospel presentation in Galatians 3 and 4. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Verses 3 and 4.
Speaker 4:I mean he unpacks in the rest of the book, particularly this thing about being in Christ versus trying to retreat back to some sort of law keeping to justify you before God. But look at this verse 3,. Grace to you and peace from God, our father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse four, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. He just gave the gospel presentation right there, and so I just wanted to frame that that the gospel is always the royal announcement that the kingdom of God has come in the person of Jesus, right and right here for Paul, it's who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age. So don't forget Jesus, the anointed one raised from among the dead ones, as I preach in my gospel. Well, according to the seed of David, as I preach in my gospel, so that this is at the heart of the gospel over and over.
Speaker 4:Jesus gave himself to deliver us from this present evil age. Jesus died, buried, resurrected. Jesus, seen ascended, sitting at the right hand of the whole of the father, giving us the Holy Spirit. Jesus, who was preexistent with the Father and incarnate gave himself. This is always at the heart of it. He gave himself for us so that we would be delivered and that when we actually believe and receive this announcement, we offer in return allegiance. And a bodily allegiance I love our author, matthew Bates, uses this phrase a bodily allegiance back to him so that we steward these bodies through the Holy Spirit given to us and we actually are different because of this announcement, this gospel. So, yeah, just to keep that the main thing and just how clear Paul is If somebody else comes with something different, let them be anathema, even if that other person that comes is an angel, let them be accursed.
Speaker 1:That's real good. I don't want to be cursed. I don't want to have a different gospel even though there isn't a different gospel. So, guys, I think that was a successful Bible verse draft. We successfully had Tyler only have one pick, which I think that's a win. At the end of the day, no matter if we have a different gospel. No, we have to have the only gospel. But thanks, boys. Maybe we'll do it again with Ben, maybe we won't, maybe this will be the last one, but thank you guys for joining us. Do not forget to vote on the Facebook group.
Speaker 1:Richard Young, champion of the Bible verse draft. Love y'all and appreciate y'all. All right, you want to say anything? That's cat. All right, tyler. Thank you guys for listening to this episode. It was so much fun to record. I learned a lot. If you want to kick it with us on the Bible studies, go to loverealityorg slash circles loverealityorg slash circles, because that's where it pops off. We talk about these Bible verses all day, every day, and when I say all day, every day, I mean at the appointed times that we meet. So check out our Bible studies. They're so much fun. It's where we are all growing in this community together. Love y'all and appreciate y'all. Bye.