Next week, the Jewish people will be celebrating Purim. This holiday is derived from the Book of Esther in the Bible, a book which contains a biblical mystery. Stay with me and we'll talk about that in just a moment. Hello, friends. Welcome to Open Line, Moody Radio's Bible study across America. My name is Michael Radonich. I'm the academic dean. I'm a professor of Jewish studies and Bible at Moody Bible Institute.
I'm so grateful that you're joining me around the radio kitchen table, because we're talking about your questions about the Bible, God, and the spiritual life. If you have a question you'd like to call, the phone number here is (877) 548-3675. Let me give you a clue. Sometimes people say I can't get through I try and I try. Well, the way to get through is to call at the beginning of the hour. And so if you're listening, you're thinking, I want to call today. Now's the time to call the
phone number (877) 548-3675. Tricia McMillan is sitting there in the producer's chair. Omar Mendoza is our tech guy today. Lisa's answering the phones. We're grateful for that. And the phone number here again is (877) 548-3675. So go get yourself a cup of coffee. Open your Bible. We're about to study
the scriptures together. Can you imagine someone writing a history of the birth of the United States, including the Revolutionary War, the Constitutional Convention, the first federal government, and omitting George Washington, the indispensable man? That would be inconceivable. How much more? When we look at the book of Esther, and the one who is central to the entire story isn't even mentioned. That's right. God is never mentioned directly, even one time
in the book of Esther. The book tells of a Jewish girl, Esther, who becomes the Queen of Persia. Her cousin Mordecai, who advises her and Haman's ultimately thwarted plot to destroy all the Jewish people. Jewish people still celebrate Purim because of this great deliverance. The name of the festival is derived from the Hebrew word poor, which means lots, and the book recalls the overturning of Haman's plan, but it still omits God's name. This certainly couldn't have been
an accident. It's not an oversight. The author must have had some purpose since Purim, the Jewish holiday that celebrates the deliverance of the Jewish people in the Book of Esther, will be celebrated next week. I thought it would be good to answer the great Purim mystery. Where is God in the book of Esther? There are four possible answers that have been given. Some say this is the first one, that the book is too profane for God to be in it. According to this view, the King in the
Book of Esther. Xerxes is essential despot. Esther is a manipulator who uses her beauty to advance herself. Mordecai is considered insolent because he refused to bow to Haman, and the whole book is merely about vengeance. One author says, morally, Esther falls far below the general level of the Old
Testament and even the Apocrypha. A second view is that the Scroll of Esther is merely nationalistic propaganda, and it has no spiritual message, since this view, says Esther, is merely a tale of national defense and struggle against Hellenism, one commentator said, God forbid that God should appear in such a story. A third approach is to view the Book of Esther as a picture, or an allegory in which God is hidden in the book through various characters.
Mordecai represents the Holy Spirit. The king represents the believer's flesh. Esther represents the redeemed believer. Haman represents Satan. This allegorical approach is far too subjective. It's actually far fetched and we can't take it seriously. A fourth, and the most likely explanation is that the Book of Esther is about providence. The book deliberately conceals the name of God to reveal his actions. Providence means that God is lovingly guiding all
of history with his good purposes and intentions. It refers to God's invisible hand. Someone wants to find Providence as God, performing a miracle but deciding to remain anonymous. The Scroll of Esther reveals that the Jewish people had adopted the Persian culture, but forgotten their god. The message of this book is that even when Israel forgets God, God always remembers his people. So the name of God is deliberately left out, just as the Jewish people of Persia had
left him out of their lives. It declares that God is working even when we don't acknowledge him. Providence is evident throughout the Book of Esther. Here are just a few examples. It's all the just happens. Esther just happens to find favor with the royal official in charge of the beauty contest. Mordecai just happens to overhear the plot To against the king. The king just happens to welcome
and point his scepter at Esther. The king just happens to have insomnia and hear the story of Mordecai saving him. And Haman, the genocidal maniac and hater of Jews, just happens to perish on the very day that he planned to murder all the Jewish people, and on the very gallows that he prepared for Mordecai. Well, what does this all have to do with today? Well, first of all, God was active in preserving the Jewish people so the Messiah Jesus could come if God hadn't intervened in the
days of Esther. The Messiah wouldn't have been born. God secured the safety of the Jewish people so the Jewish Messiah could come and redeem the whole world. Second, God remains active in preserving and protecting the Jewish people today and always in light of the huge explosion of anti-Semitism around the world and in particular in the United States. In fact, in the United States, there's been a 400%
increase in anti-Semitic incidents in 2024 alone. Well, this should give us comfort to know that God will always keep his promises and preserve the Jewish people. Third, God is active in the lives of all followers of Jesus today, caring for us, accomplishing his purposes, protecting us even if we neglect him sometimes. All those coincidences that happen for our good are not coincidences at all. They're the invisible hand of God, working all things together for our good.
To this day, the Jewish people continue to celebrate their deliverance by God from the genocidal plans of Haman. The celebrations include reading the Scroll of Esther in the synagogue, complete with noisemakers, to drown out the name of Haman every time his name is read. It's also customary to deliver baskets of foods and sweets to neighbours, just as in the Book of Esther, chapter nine, verse 22, it's customary to eat tri cornered pastries reminiscent of Haman's hat, or,
some say, his ears. It's reminiscent, and as a result, we perform plays re-enacting the defeat, reenacting the defeat of Haman. And in light of Hitler's Holocaust, these celebrations have broadened their meaning to remember God's preservation of his people at all other times. And so, just as the Passover liturgy states, we remember, for not only one enemy has risen up against us in every generation they rise up to destroy us. But the Holy One, blessed be he, always delivers us
from their hands. Well, I hope that will be an encouragement to you the next time you read the Book of Esther, and maybe a good week to read it as you prepare for Purim. Well, we're going to go to the phones right now. We're going to talk to Patty in Arlington Heights, Illinois, listening on Wmbi. Welcome to Open Line, Patty. How can I help you today?
Thank you. Michael, my friend posed a question to me the other day. Is it commonplace for kings to ride into the city of Jerusalem on mules or donkeys? She read that in the Book of Kings. And I said, well, I know the Messiah did, but I didn't know anybody else did. Is that a normal thing?
Well, in fact, that's what was considered something that, uh, like, for example, uh, behold, your king comes to you, uh, and the Lord Jesus comes on, on a riding on a donkey. It was I've heard some people say, well, that's the royal animal. I think that the verse in Zechariah nine nine. By the time Zechariah is writing in the Post-exilic age, kings are not coming in on donkeys, and that's why it says he's coming to you lowly
and seated upon a donkey. So a horse would be what you would expect the king to come on, not a donkey. Uh, and so, uh, and of course, we have the imagery of the Lord Jesus returning in revelation 19, and he returns. How? On a white horse. So I think that not.
I'll pass that on.
Great. Okay. Thanks for your call. Really appreciate it. And we're going to talk to Theo in Stickney, Illinois, listening on wmbi. Hi, Theo. How can I help you today?
Um. Shh.
Wait wait, wait. Theo, before you ask me a question, are you. Are you all.
Alone? Are you with your folks?
I just I'm just talking to somebody. Okay.
Ah! Hey. Hey, Theo. You know what? Uh. Are you alone yet? So that you can. We can hear you.
I'm not lonely at my grandma's. Still by me.
Hear, hear.
Oh, good. Well, I'm glad your grandma's by you. You. Hello. You keep. You keep talking. How old are you? Theo. Hey, I'm not sure. Theo. How old are you?
I'm six.
You're six years old. And you decided to call the program by yourself, or did someone put you up to it?
My grandma put me up to it.
I thought so. Yeah. And so your grandma listens to the program? She thought you. Did you ask her this question first?
Um, yes.
Yes. Okay. And how? What grade are you in, Theo?
First.
First grade. Okay. And do you go to school or are you homeschooled? How do you go to school?
I'm going to school. I'm not at home.
At home? You're homeschooled. Gotcha.
No, I'm not okay.
I'm not. I'm not at homeschool. I'm at regular school.
Oh.
Are you okay? Good good good good. Do you still have first grade? You're studying everything. Do you have a favorite subject?
Yes, it's kind of. It's Jim.
Jim. That's always was my favorite subject, too. That's great. Well, Theo, what's your question? Maybe I can help you.
Is God real or not? I might not. My grandma told me that he was there always in the sky when nothing was there. Well, I'm kind of. It's hard to believe.
Huh? Well, what do you think is harder to believe that God always Existed or that this world came out of nothing. Think about it. You know that there's an old thing that nothing comes from nothing, that there's always something that causes anything else. Like, for example, do you have a favorite toy?
Um, yes. It's my Legos.
What is it?
Your Legos. Ah, my grandson loves Legos, too. Now, do you think those Legos just appeared, or were they made?
No.
Well, who made them?
They were.
Made.
At a factory, right? At a toy factory?
Yeah, right.
They were.
And and, uh. And that's the point. When you look at the world, it's really important to remember that this world didn't come from nothing. The Bible teaches us that God alone is the Eternal One. He always existed. And then everything else that came. The very first part of creation came because God created it. We. When we look at the world, we have to assume that there's a creator.
And not only that, he's the master engineer. Think about how great this world is, how everything works just so wonderfully. The sun comes up and the and the earth rotates, and all the things that we're supposed to know about the world. How does that all happen without a great designer making it happen? So I think it's important to listen to your grandma and believe her when she says that God is absolutely real. But I'm going to tell
you one more thing. God not only made the world, he not only designed it to be perfectly, but the Bible teaches that he made you, and he designed you perfectly because he has a wonderful purpose and plan for your life. He wants to use you in a great way.
So would you be like Jesus?
I it is. It was. It's really easy to believe that Jesus rose again because literally, there's an afterlife. It kind of, um, it makes a lot of sense how he died for our sins.
We're having some technical difficulties with Michael's connection. But, Theo, thank you so much. I'm glad that's making sense to you. Um. And that we could have this. Um, we're going to take a break, and we'll come back and reconnect with Michael. You're listening to Moody Radio's Open Line with doctor Michael Melnick. I'm producer Trish McMillan. We'll be back in just a moment.
What did he say? What happened? Okay.
And we're back. Seemed that had a little bit of a technological technology glitch there. I'm glad that Tricia was able to pick up the the microphone and keep on going. Uh, glad that, uh, you know, it's always great to have a team like we have at Open Line. I don't know how I could do it without this team and Tricia picking up the the the break. There is just an example of why a team is so necessary. Omar, uh, part of the team, uh, getting getting me back connected
in with the studio. Into the studio. My studio. Into the studio there. So that's that's really about teamwork. And I so appreciate it. I met a member of the team last week that I didn't even think about. It's a it's someone that that hosts, uh, on their station. It's one of our affiliates. They have open line and the station manager said to me, uh, I'm a kitchen table partner. And I thought, really? He not only has the program on his local station, but he's also a
kitchen table partner. And that's part of the team, too. We've got a lot of partners, and they are the ones who, uh, help keep us on the air by giving every month. They keep us on the air every week. And so if if you are interested in becoming a kitchen table partner, one of the things that we do is every other week we send out a Bible study moment. Trish and I prepare it, and it's a Bible study moment designed to give you a little brief Bible study about 8 or 10 minutes. It's a way of saying
thank you for being part of the team. If you're interested in becoming part of the team, all you have to do is call 447122. That's (888) 644-7122. Or go to open line radio.org. And we're going to go to the phones right now. Uh, and our uh next caller is Amy in Chicago listening on Wmbi. Welcome to Open Line, Amy. How can I help you?
Good morning, Doctor Adele. God bless you.
Thank you.
Um, I have a question that's really not important, but is something I've been wondering about. Like, okay, this morning I was reading Psalm 130, which says, and it's this particular phrase that I'm wondering about. It's he's talking about how his hope is in the Lord and he's waiting on the Lord. And he says, I wait on the Lord more than they that watch for morning. And I'm wondering what what is the context of this in ancient times? Do you happen to know what? Who are the people.
That.
Wait for the morning?
Yeah, The the idea is that every city had watchmen on the walls and they were watching not just for the to make sure that no enemy was coming and that people were safe, but they waited for the morning when they could see better, because the most dangerous time was when attack would come. And at night. And so they would watch not just through the night, but they would watch for the morning to come, because it would
always be safer than a surprise attack at night. And so that's there was a real longing, a desire for morning to come.
And I.
Think it's, uh, Isaiah 62 that talks about the watchmen on the walls. Uh, uh, it says, uh, Isaiah 62 six, uh, Jerusalem. I have appointed Watchmen on your walls. They will never be silent day or night. There is no rest for you who remind the Lord. Do not give him rest until he establishes and makes Jerusalem the praise of the earth. And so it's using the watchmen on the walls, kind of metaphorically there to represent, just as there are watchmen
on the walls to protect the city. So there are a watchmen on the walls for the Jewish people, praying for them and protecting and seeking God's help. So that's, uh, that's what that's about. Does that help, Amy?
Absolutely. Thank you so much. God bless.
You.
Thanks for your call. Appreciate it. Uh, Judy in Round Lake Beach, Illinois, listening on wmbi. Welcome to Open Line. How can I help you?
I was hoping you could help explain, um, the feast of Passover and what we have traditionally called Good Friday as believers. And I've heard it both ways. Um, for years and years I was taught, oh, Jesus was crucified on Friday. And then someone explained, well, it was probably Thursday because of the High Holy Days. Can you explain all that to me?
Well, it's it's kind of complicated, but I do think he was crucified on Friday. Uh, the reason that people say that it was Thursday is, uh, that they are looking for, uh, a an explanation because Jesus says in Matthew 12 that the Son of Man will be in the belly of the earth for three days and three nights. And so they get out their fingers and they count three days and three nights and Friday, Saturday, Sunday just doesn't compute to three days and three nights. And so
they say Thursday. And then there's a reference in the book of Mark to the high holiday, the High Sabbath, actually. And so the the explanation, I think that's more reasonable is that in both the Bible and Jewish literature of that time, they use something called inclusive time reckoning. Inclusive time reckoning. And what inclusive time reckoning means is that any part of a day constitutes a day and a night. So it's just a term. It's used in the Book
of Esther, for example. Uh, Esther had them pray for three days and three nights, but it was on the third day that deliverance came. So, uh, that she was able to go to see the King. So the point being, uh, that, uh, when it says three days and three nights, it just means a part of three days. So Friday would be a day and a night. Saturday would be a day and a night, and Sunday morning would be a day
and a night. It's just an idiomatic expression for three days. Uh, and then the other issue is there's no evidence of Passover ever being called a high holy day, which is what you have to believe, uh, for the high Sabbath thing that that happens, uh, in the book of Mark that mentions it's just talking about Sabbath, and it's considered
a high Sabbath because it's the weekend of Passover. And if you go back in the Jewish calendar, uh, that, uh, first night of Passover was Thursday night, and then Friday was the the day of the Passover in A.D. 33. And it was on a Friday that the Lord Jesus was crucified. So that's how I understand it. But you know what? Uh, it's kind of, uh, I hope that explains it somewhat to you, but there's a little more detailed explanation. In a book I wrote called 50 Most
Important Bible Questions. And, uh, maybe what you could do is you hang on. Trish will get your name and number, Judy, and I'll mail you a copy. We'll mail you a copy of 50 most important Bible questions. Okay?
Okay. Well, I have one of the Chosen People calendars you had mentioned on the program, and I have one of those. And this year I think Passover is on the previous Thursday, like the week before. So I was wondering if anybody traced it back to see which day it was that year.
Yeah, yeah.
It was on a Friday.
Uh, it.
Was on a Friday.
Yes. The first day. Uh, and and just so you know, that that there's a difference between when Passover and Good Friday come out today is because since the Council of Nicaea. The date of the observance of the crucifixion has changed, and and the Christian calendar is based on a solar calendar, and the Jewish calendar is based on a lunar calendar.
So since the fourth century, things are really different. So you hang on and what we're going to do is send you a copy of the 50 Most Important Bible questions.
That'll go into it a little bit more detailed. And if you're listening and you think, I have a lot of Bible questions and I can't always get through, what you can do is you can go to your local Christian bookstore and pick up that Moody Publishers book I wrote called 50 Most Important Bible Questions that probably the most common questions that we get here on Open Line.
And I'm always grateful that when someone asks a question that I actually answered on in the book 50 Most Important Bible Questions because because that that gives me confidence that that I, I really did answer the right ones. So anyway, we're going to come right back with more of your questions in just a moment. In fact, the mailbag is coming in with Tricia in just a bit the Febc mailbag. So don't go away. You're listening to Open Line with Michael Radonich. Welcome back to Open Line.
It's time for the Febc mailbag. Febc far Eastern Broadcasting Company partners with Open Line to bring us the mailbag every week. And I so appreciate this ministry. They bring the gospel to people all around the globe with the use of media and also personal engagement with people. People to people. I so appreciate this ministry. You should check out their their podcast. It's called Until All I've Heard. The way to find out about Febc and the podcast
is by going to their website febc.org. And joining me right now, back from being away for a couple of weeks. Uh, is Tricia McMillan here? How you doing, Tricia.
I'm doing okay. Yeah.
Okay. Hey, so here's a really interesting thing that one of the most common questions I get from people is, how did we get the Bible? You know, I love the Bible, but how did we get it? How do we know it's inspired? How do they choose the books? You know, after The Da Vinci Code, people are like, well, was there some conspiracy in choosing the books? Uh, how did how did they get it transmitted down from generation
to generation? How did they translate it? Like, for example, what version of the Bible do you usually use?
I mostly use the ESV, the English Standard version, and then my fallback is the new American standard. Yeah.
See. And I use the the Hcsb, the Holman Christian Standard Bible. And then I also fall back to the new American Standard. Or if I'm really, really serious, I read the Hebrew and the Greek, but that's not what everyone else can do. So but anyway, the the the reason I mention this is because I get this question so much. Here's the resource I've picked for this month and next month. It's called The Story of the Bible.
It's written by a friend of mine, Carl Laney. Uh, and it takes you on this journey to understand from inspiration to canon to transmission, copying the texts, ultimately to English translation. And it really shows how God worked to preserve his word. And that's that's the resource that we're using this month and next. And if anyone would like to give a gift to Open Line, it's theirs. Uh, as our thank you to them. Uh, it's it's theirs.
All you have to do is give a gift of any size and ask for the story of the Bible. It's a really wonderful little book, and it will really help you with those questions. Uh, if you'd like to give a gift, go to Open Line radio.org or call (888) 644-7122. And make sure to ask for the story of the Bible by Carl Laney. Have you seen the book yet, Tricia?
I have, I haven't had time to look through it. It arrived.
Yeah, it arrived and I'm so glad I saw it. And I thought, yep. When I first, you know, I found this book. He's a friend of mine. I saw that he published it, and I found the book, and I. He didn't send me a copy. Well, not that good a friend, huh? So he just. I bought a copy, and I just liked it so much that I said, hey, let's use this as a resource.
Yeah. And when there's a good resource, we want to pass that on as a thank you.
Yeah. And, you know, we've got an unusual audience about the resources we use. I listen to some of the other radio programs that have resources, and they're not quite as content driven as Open line listeners. Like. They like to know books that are. I think it's because they love the Bible. Our listeners and they. Okay. Well, give me a book that explains something to me that really helps me. And and that's why I think they respond to books like this.
Yes. And I think that the books that the resources that we find are designed to help you in your Bible study. We're really trying to focus on resources that would talk about or help you study the Bible, God or theology and the spiritual life. And so those kinds of things, um, are what we're looking to help you do, because that's what we're trying to do on the program. And so we're out of out of that. We're also trying to pick resources that would also help you do that.
Yeah yeah I agree. So hey, well, let's let's get to the mailbag.
All right. Again these are these are also a little bit different than some of the questions we've had before. So I love it. Um, and this one from Lori. She wrote us on Facebook and said, did Moses, Joshua and other Old Testament authors walk around with pen and papyrus or the New Testament authors? Were they following Jesus with no pads of some sort, like they're depicted in The Chosen? And then I have a yeah, go ahead.
Well, like they're depicted in The Chosen. I think that's kind of funny. Well, I don't know if they walked around with it or what they did. I know Moses had I'm sure they carried things with them, but I don't when I picture when I am. And in my mind, I can't speak to this absolutely, categorically. But I think Moses had a lot of time on his hands, for example, because of the wilderness wanderings. And he, you know, 40
years in the wilderness. So he just sat down and would go into his tent, his sukkah, he would take out his papyrus or his actually probably was more leather than papyrus, uh, his skin that he would write on. And then he would write there. I don't think he carried around with him like a memo book and the same thing, I don't know, I haven't seen that part
of The chosen where they carry around paper. Uh, but, uh, I think the same thing that, uh, first of all, because writing and reading, reading was common, but, you know, billboards and all the different things that we see all the time, all the it wasn't quite as common. So people had a much greater memory. And so they would really work to remember and memorize what they saw and, and heard. And I think as a result of that, then they would go and write it down after they
memorized it. And so what you have when Matthew writes the book of Matthew somewhere, I think in the mid 40s, that's I put it very early in the mid 40s, about 12, 13 years after the resurrection of of Jesus. He's writing it down from memory, and maybe he had taken some notes through the years after, let's say he heard the sermon on the Mount, and then he wrote it down. But then what he does when he writes his book, The First of the Gospels, he puts it
together in a literary fashion. He's got a structure to it that he wants to follow. And, uh, and so they're not writing down. They're not they were not like, uh.
Like journalists, like at a, at a press conference where they've got their notepads or their iPads. Now, obviously they wouldn't have had iPads, but where they have their little notebooks and they're just taking notes and writing down the quotes in this.
Even more so they're not court stenographers is what I wanted to say. Okay. You know who who get down every word. Exactly. Even the US and the ums. Yeah. You know.
Okay. So now you you had mentioned my follow up to this is you had mentioned a few weeks ago, we had talked about, um, the, um, the people that it was a passing comment, but I'm, I was teaching through my Sunday school class, teaching about the the exodus and the wilderness time in the Pentateuch. And Moses had selected 70 leaders to help him lead. And they had
even leaders. There were like leaders to the, you know, a leader for the hundreds and the leaders for the down to the tens kind of a thing.
To take tens.
Yes. To to to help him lead these people and answer these questions that they had that that he just didn't need to spend his time on while he was also leading these people through. And you made some passing comment about that may have been so that he could be writing down the law. I was like, what? Like that.
Had I I've never actually thought about like, when would he have written all of these words, which I have to imagine the specificity of the law in the Pentateuch in those first, you know, those, um, Exodus, Leviticus, numbers, Deuteronomy, those would be very important, much like a court stenographer. But but that, that that you were like, that's that would be part of the reason that he didn't need to settle these disputes between brother and brother or different
tribes and things. And he also needed to write down the first five books of the Bible. And I was like, oh, you're right, because he has to do that before he dies. He dies at the end. So somewhere he has written that down.
And.
I think it's really important to understand the, the Torah, the it's one book really. Genesis in five volumes. And it's a story. Yeah. And, uh, you know, you've got you've got creation, you've got the patriarchs, you've got the deliverance from Egypt, you've got that whole story. Then all of a sudden laws get dropped in. Uh, I like to consider it. So think about it. I think Moses was very quick to write down the laws as he received them from God. Like when he went up on
top of Mount Sinai, he wrote them down. But that's really not the Torah, what the Torah is. He took those laws and dropped them into the narrative. Uh, it's like the way I when I teach at Moody, I show a screen with the narrative, you know, just a timeline with the different creation. Uh, and primeval history, patriarchal history, redemptive history from Exodus, wanderings. And then a bag of laws gets dropped in, and it. And the timeline kind of animates and goes all around the bag of laws.
And it's a book about the law. It's a story of how God gave the law to Israel. It's not the law itself. It's the story about the law. Okay? And it's and there's there's real. We're taking too long on this, but it may help people. There's real literary art in that book. One of the things that that you can see is that there's a long narrative. Then there's a this happens four times long narrative, long, long story. Then there's a poem or a song like in Genesis
one through 48. And then there's Genesis 49, this oracle by In Poetic Fashion by Jacob. Then there's an epilogue, the death of Jacob and Joseph. And then you start the next story, which is the enslavement in Egypt and God's deliverance, then the song of Moses, and then the travel to Sinai is the epilogue, and then you've got the next story and it goes on and on like that. And so it shows. Narrative poem, epilogue. It shows structure. Moses wasn't just saying, where do I dump the laws, right?
He had a whole strategy in what he was doing.
And I think even, even the reminder that the Bible has structure, each book has structure. And each author, even if they had written down notes, they went back and they added the structure, or they wrote it with structure, depending on who it was. They may have done that too. Um, but that there is it's not just like I think we think about those first five books, like, oh, this is the law, okay. And I just have to slug
through it. And it's really hard. I've been surprised in teaching through it that how many, how many again, how many stories I've read it before, but how many stories are in there? This narrative that you're talking about is there. And then there's, you know, 2 or 3 chapters of laws or Are more but but often I think at this time of the year, this beginning part of the year, people can get lost in, oh no, I have to read through all of these laws and in even just
the idea is overwhelming. And so they may not even start or they'll just skip it. But there's a lot of narrative in there.
Yeah.
And there are blocks of laws that's very interesting to me there. There are whole sections and then they have narrative. One of the things you're going to find is every time Israel sins, they get another block of law and the sin leads to the next block. And the point of that is, is someone I think it may well, I know it was Paul in the book of Galatians the law was added because of transgression. Yeah. So, hey, we're going to take a break here. All right, Tricia, but, uh,
it's interesting. I think Paul was reading the Torah as a narrative, and that's how he got the law was added because of transgression. Well, we're going to come back with more of your questions right here on Open Line. That was Tricia McMillan. I'm Mike Radonich. We're glad to be with you and talking about the scriptures together with you. Stay with us. We'll be right back. Welcome back to Open Line. So glad to be with you today. You know, people often ask me, do Jewish people still need to
hear about the Messiah Jesus? Do they still need to put their trust in him? Well, I think it's absolutely essential that Jewish people hear the good news. And there's a booklet that Chosen People Ministries is offering. It's called To the Jewish People First, to the Jew First. And it was written by Doctor Al Mohler, who is the president of Southern Baptist Seminary, He said that the cause of reaching Jewish people with the good news is the test of faithfulness to the gospel today, that we have
to continue with that commitment. And I think it's a great booklet. I hope you'll you'll get a copy of it. The way to get it is by going to our website. That's Openline radio.org. Scroll down. You'll see a link that says A free gift from Chosen People Ministries. Click on that. You'll be taken to a link where you can sign up a form that you can fill out and sign up for your very own copy of Al Mohler's booklet To the Jew first. And we're going to talk now
with Mike in Alabama, uh, listening on Wmw. So glad you called. Let me just remind people the phone number here, (877) 548-3675. Uh, you can give us a call right now. We've got a couple of lines open, and, Mike, uh, Calling from Alabama on Wmw. How can I help you today?
Thank you for taking my call. And good morning to you. I'm wondering about Hebrews chapter six, verses four, five and six. It came up in Wednesday night Bible study. The you're not going to be able to restore that person crucifying Christ afresh. What are your thoughts on it?
What are your thoughts on it?
Well, what came up was can you lose your salvation? And yeah, there's there was three points made. Yes you can. No you can't. And the writer of Hebrews is just trying to scare them to death, to stay into Christianity and not go back into Judaism. Uh, but my personal thought is that these people were never saved.
Mhm.
Well, it's it's kind of an interesting discussion. I had a real hard time with this passage. I really believed in the security of the believer. Or even better, I like to call it the perseverance of the Savior, not the perseverance of the saints that Jesus holds us. But I came to this passage and it really bothered me.
And I remember being a freshman at Bible college and bringing it up in class when we were talking about the security of the believer, and the professor tried to give me all sorts of explanations that just didn't satisfy me. And then finally he said, I'm going to teach you one of the most important Bible principles that you'll ever learn. And I was ready, and it really is, he said, always interpret the unclear in light of the clear.
Right.
And what that means is what is the clear teaching of Scripture. Then you come to something against it. You've got to kind of build your interpretation of that over what overall what Scripture says. And I'm going to share with you one of the clearest verses there is. Uh, it's John six, and in John six it says, all that the father gives me will come to me. You know that verse, I think, uh, yeah.
Where he says he never lost no one.
Uh, here's what he says of all that he has given me. This is the I've only come to do the will of the one who sent me. And then he says in verse, uh, uh, this is the will, verse 39, this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose none of those he has given me, but raise them up on the last day. And so Jesus stakes his entire identity as the Messiah on the
fact that he cannot lose one of us. So I hope that clear teaching of Scripture that nothing will ever separate us from the love of God that's in Messiah. In Romans eight, the clear teaching of Scripture that we are sealed with the spirit until the day of redemption. And who's going to break that seal? No one. Uh, all those are good evidence that we are secure. However, Hebrews six is a difficult passage, but I'll tell you
what clears it up for me. First of all, in Hebrews three six it says that Christ was faithful as a son over his household, and we are that household. If we hold on to the courage and confession of confidence, of our hope. But if we don't hold on to it, then what it's saying is that we are not his household. In other words, if we don't hold fast, we're not his household. Uh 314 if we hold firm until the end, the reality we had at the start, we have become
companions of the Messiah. If we hold firmly, if we don't hold firmly, then we have not become companions of the Messiah. And then in chapter six, when it starts describing those moving on, a lot of people think he's saying, leave the elementary message, meaning the the foundational principles of being a Christian. But that's not what he's saying. When he says leave the elementary message. He's talking about the
Old Testament predictive element about the Messiah. And the reason I know this, he says that we have to move on from teachings about ritual washings. In verse two that's talking about Old Testament washings, not about Christian baptism. So he's telling them, you need to move on from an Old Testament faith to a full New Testament faith. You have to move on from looking for the Messiah to
to believing in the Messiah. And, uh, then what? He says, if you abandon this faith now, it's impossible to renew you to repentance. Uh, you've come close. You've tasted, you've been in the congregation. You've seen the signs and power. If you abandon the faith now. And that's what they were thinking of doing because they were being persecuted.
Right?
There's nothing going to renew you. So it's not talking about losing your salvation. It's talking about you need to get saved. Is what he's saying to these Jewish people. You need to go to the. The to a full faith, a complete faith in the Messiah. Not just some sort of. Superficial that you're going to abandon until such time that the persecution goes away. That's his warning in Hebrews six.
So I hope that helps, uh, understand it when, uh. Uh, just trust the that which is clear, uh, rather than unclear. Interpret the unclear in light of the clear. Well, thanks for your call. Thanks for listening. That's the first hour. We're going to come back with more questions in the second hour. Check it out. Uh, our web page, open line radio.org. During the break, uh, shows you everything you're looking for. Our Bible study across America will continue in
the second hour, so stay with us. Open line with Doctor Michael Radonich is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute. Stay with us. We'll be back.