Hour 1: Jesus is the Reason for the Season

Bible study across America. Here we are sitting around the radio kitchen table and we're taking your questions about the Bible, God, and the spiritual life. If you have a question and you'd like to call, the phone number, here is (877) 548-3675. Let me give you that again 775483675. Tricia McMillan is producing as is. To hear Haynes and am I saying it right? I get them all confused. I get all these names confused. They're jumping around all at me. And

also Chris Sieghart is is our engineer today. And tiara. That's why tiara. Tiara. Tiara is answering the phones. Well, again, the number (877) 548-3675. Go get yourself a cup of coffee. Thank you, by the way, for this one, I have right here. And open your Bible, because we're about to study the scriptures together. This new Netflix biopic about Mary was released for streaming just last night. And for the sake of authenticity, Director D.J. Caruso selected a young Israeli actress,

a Jewish actress, Noah Cohen, to play Mary. And that's the reason for the internet protests, with calls for a boycott of Netflix. According to The Times of Israel, critics of the casting choice accused filmmakers of erasing what they called the Palestinian identity of Jesus parents. One online protester wrote, there's something profoundly offensive about having an Israeli actor play Mary,

the mother of Jesus. How absurd. This anti-Semitic protest is rooted in identifying Mary or Miriam, her actual name, as a Palestinian, and says she is not Jewish. This is just a revivalism, a revival of Marcionism. It's the second century Heresy. Marcion sought to remake the scriptures without any Jewishness. He dropped the Old Testament, most of the Gospels, most of the epistles, and just kept part of Luke and the letters of Paul. And that's it. That's it for

the Bible. Although condemned by the church, Marcion's anti-Semitism did influence most of the Church Fathers that followed him. But was Mary a Palestinian or was she Jewish? Clearly. Clearly in Scripture, Mary was a young Jewish woman. That's evident in her genealogy found in Luke three, showing that she was a descendant of King David through his son Nathan. Also in Luke 222 through 24, Mary completes her days of purification, goes to the temple, and offers two turtle

doves as prescribed for Israelite women in Leviticus 12. Not only that, but the Christmas story celebrates Mary giving birth to the Jewish Messiah Jesus called the Son of David. He was circumcised in Jerusalem in Luke 221. It records that. And when Simeon saw him, he called the Lord Jesus, the baby Jesus, the glory of your people Israel. That's why Paul says the Lord Jesus is physically descended from

the Jewish people in Romans nine five. All these birth events of the Messiah happened in places like Bethlehem in Judea and Jerusalem in Judea. In fact, the New Testament never names these places as Palestine. Palestine was a word coined by the Romans and applied to Judea in the second century AD, to try to erase the Jewishness of the land, and the birth of the Jewish Messiah through

a virgin was foretold in the Jewish scriptures. The book of the prophet Isaiah predicted that a pregnant virgin would bear a son who would be God with us. Listen, here's my point. Mary, the Jewish mother of the Jewish Messiah. Jesus gave birth to him in the Jewish land of Judea according to the Jewish scriptures. Nothing could be more Jewish. So why would these protesters object to the casting of

a Jewish woman to play Mary? The only explanation is the same one given for Marcionism hatred of the Jewish people. And just a reminder. Do you know the last group that tried to efface the Jewishness of the Bible, of Mary and of the Lord Jesus? That would be the Nazis who tried to replace the Bible with Mein Kampf, while claiming that both the Lord Jesus and Mary were

actually Aryan. We need to be on our guard, not just to oppose this wicked hatred of Jewish people, but also to always take our stand for the truth of God's Word. Well, I hope you. I haven't checked out the, uh, the, uh, movie Mary, but I will, and I'll let you know what I think of it if it's accurate. Not accurate. I never find that these films are all that accurate, but I'm still glad that they made a movie about her and what a godly young woman. I love reading

about her in the book of Luke. Well, we're going to go to the phones right now and talk with Charlene in Laurel, Mississippi, listening on WMU. Welcome to Open Line. Charlene. How can I help you today?

or something else. The point is, God had to put something out there so that they could choose because they had untested, creaturely holiness. If God made it impossible for them to choose good and impossible for them to choose evil, just then they would have just been computers. They would have been programmed automatons. That's it. And so to have an actual relationship. Um, well, that needs, uh, that needs choice. For God to engage in a relationship with humanity, we

have to choose. Now, I know a lot of people think, well, we don't have free will any longer, but somehow God gives us responsibility to choose today, to trust in Jesus. Uh, just seems to me that even though Adam and Eve had not yet sinned, were not fallen, they still had the imperative to choose to obey God. And and that's what they failed to do. So I think the ultimate design was not to teach, not to teach them something,

but to give them an opportunity to obey God. Uh, that would be the the test of their their willingness to engage in a relationship with him.

platoon and gives his life and sacrifice. The Bible says greater love has no man that, but that he give his life for his friends, right? Yes. So their love could have existed. But without evil, that greatest love couldn't exist. And so what God did.

of the Messiah, the, the church. Sometimes we need a little help unpacking those books, and I am grateful that what Moody has done is they've pulled an excerpt of Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians and made a separate little book and is making it available to the Open line listeners. And if you would give a gift of any size, whatever you'd like to give, we so appreciate your gift that we want to send you a copy of this excerpt from

the Moody Bible Commentary. I know it'll give you insight and help as you read those books and understand them. It'll help you really understand them a lot. I know it helped me as I read them done by our wonderful Bible professor here, Doctor Gerald Peterman. So if you'd like to give a gift, call (888) 644-7122 or visit openline radio.org. And when you go there, you can give your gift. Remember to ask for the the Galatians. Ephesians, Philippians and

Colossians booklet. We're going to be right back with more of your questions. (877) 548-3675. Call me. We'll talk about your questions in just a moment. Welcome back to Open Line. I'm Michael Ray Dolnick. So glad to be with you this Saturday morning talking about your questions about the Bible, God and the spiritual life. The phone number here again, (877) 548-3675. And we're going to go right back to the phones and speak with Heath in Florida listening on keys. Welcome

to Open Line. Heath. How can I help you?

Because I don't have enough information to really give you a good answer. So I can talk about what the scriptures say. The scriptures say I command the married, not I, but the Lord. A wife is not to leave her husband. That's first Corinthians seven, verse ten, but then verse 11, but if she does leave, if she does leave, she must remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And

a husband is not to leave his wife. So, uh, those are verses that's not talking about separation like we have in our legal system, where there's separation in some states and then divorce. That's just talking about divorce right there in Scripture. Don't leave your husband. Don't leave your wife. If you do. Now, that's a general Statement. If you do, then stay unmarried and then be reconciled if you can be. But that's a general statement. There's much more in Scripture.

There's the, uh, charge in Matthew 19 where the Lord Jesus gives the exemption, uh, of, of uh porneia is the word that he uses, uh, except for cause of immorality, uh, which is a very broad term. Uh, then there's abandonment here in first Corinthians seven by a nonbeliever. That's a different issue. I think that breaking of vows indicates that there's reasons sometimes that are not even specified. For example,

it says if the unbeliever leaves, let him leave. A brother or a sister is not bound in such cases. What does that mean? It means that there are cases like this that maybe are not even specified where a vow is broken and that I would put the in such cases things of breaking vows like violence that you mentioned. Uh, and so for me, uh, I'm a real strong affirmer of staying married, working out your problems. You can't force

your wife to do that, but you can try. And it sounds like you are the best thing to do at this point, in my judgment, is for you to go talk to your pastor and get pastoral care. It's very tough, very tough to go through something like this. You need spiritual strengthening and oversight through this. Okay.

in our congregations. So that's that's really important. Okay. Let's talk to Charles in Springfield, Illinois. Oh, we just I just just just lost him. Uh, Anne in Illinois, listening on wmbi. Welcome to Open Line, Anne. How can I help you?

and rose again. That's how we're saved. And by the way, if you're listening and have never made that decision, you think I'm kind of intrigued by the Bible. And that's why I listened to this program. But or I'm just driving along in my car and I'm listening. The best gift is out there. Right there. Don't wait for Christmas. It's right now. You can receive.

to challenge you to do that. But an you've got a really good question. Uh, what is first Timothy 215 mean? It says she will be saved through childbearing. What? What about I mean, what about women who can't have children? Does that mean they can't be saved? Well, what about single women? They can't be saved. Obviously. Let me just say that the word sozo in Greek has a wide sense and based on context is what we get it, how we understand it. The word sozo can mean delivered

physical deliverance. But there are godly women that have died in childbearing. So it doesn't just mean physically delivered through childbearing. Uh, here's what I think. Let's put it in context. That's always the best way to understand a verse. And the context here is Paul says women should not pursue being an elder to, uh, to teach or exercise a authority

over men. Now, he's not saying that women can't teach small groups, or they can't teach children, or they can't teach other women, or they can't teach men in a Sunday school class. He's talking about the authoritative proclamation of the Word of God. When the community gathers together, that's what elders do. They exercise authority with that kind of teaching. And he says, women shouldn't don't look to make your mark as an elder. You can have a far greater influence,

is what he is saying a far greater ministry. And then he says he gives the two reasons why. But then he says, but she will. And if I would take the word save her life, find her meaning, find her deliverance, find her significance through childbearing. If in my version says she, but it literally is they. If they continue the the children continue in faith, love and holiness.

In other words, what Paul is saying is and this is just a general statement, it's not true for every woman, but a woman will find her significance not by being an elder, but by being a mom, and she will have far greater influence on other people through winning her children to the love of the Lord and following the Lord. That's what he's saying. She will find her significance be

delivered in meaning and significance when she raises children. Now, what do you do with women who first of all, couldn't, uh, can't have children? Well, or they're not married? That doesn't mean that they can't have ministry in the lives of young people. Uh, just a couple of weeks ago, a dear friend of mine went to be with the Lord at 88 years old. She she her husband. When I

when I came to faith, my dad disowned me. Her husband took me sort of as an adopted son, and she was always there and built into my life and also into the lives of many other teens through the years. And dear Arlene Rigney is now with the Lord. She never had kids, she was never able to have kids, but she really cared for young people and ministered in our lives. She was a second mom to so many.

So even though that this is first of all written to about actual child rearing, bearing and rearing, uh, it's uh, it's also for other women who can have that kind of ministry in the lives of others. I think of my missions prof. Here at Moody, she had never married, but she had a wonderful has. Well, uh, Rosemary Turner now with the Lord. But her her adopted daughter Carrie still walking with the Lord, having a great impact in life. So it doesn't it doesn't just apply to people who

are married and have children. It can apply to married people who can't have children. It can apply to, uh, single women who who have this kind of impact in an adopted child. Uh, it is it is important that we see that a woman's significance, her deliverance, is going to be found in the children, that she impacts even more than she would as she as an elder or a pastor of a congregation. But again, that limitation doesn't mean women can't minister in the church. It doesn't mean

women can't minister to other women. There are all sorts of great opportunities. It's just referring to being an elder. Does that help you at all, Ann?

stay with me. We'll be right back. Welcome back to Open Line. I'm Michael Radonich. So glad to be with you again. I'm glad to be back. You know, a couple of weeks ago, I was in California and did the program with pastor Mike Fabares from Compass Bible Church. Focal Point Radio had a great time with him sitting in his little midsize office, I would say with with the sound equipment there, he had it all set up. It was great. We had a great time together. And

I think of of Mike, he's a regular backup. I think it was really the first time we did the program, just taking questions together. I've had him on when he's written books and we've talked about his books, but the first time we just took questions together and we had so much fun doing that. He's part of the team. He's regular. When I'm not here. He's the he's our go to guy to see if he could be on

the program. And also Trish is part of the team always making sure that I'm here on time and getting ready to do what I'm supposed to do and getting everything ready. That's team member and to to hear you're here every week now it seems like, uh, whether Trish is here or not. And I am so glad you're here today. So to hear as part of the team, here's my point. Uh, open line doesn't just happen with me showing up. There's a team that that works it

all together. And part of that team are our kitchen table partners, people who give monthly so we can be on the air weekly. They pray for us, they care about us. And I appreciate our kitchen table partners so much. Uh, some of you are thinking about becoming a kitchen table partner. One of the things we do for kitchen table partners is we send out a Bible study moment every other week via email. And, uh, and it's just a brief Bible study prepared exclusively for our kitchen table partners. You

might enjoy receiving that. If you'd like to become a kitchen table partner, all you have to do is call (888) 644-7122 or go to open Line radio.org. Really, really appreciate all of you. Whether you become a kitchen table, kitchen table partner or not. We really do appreciate you listening to Open Line. And here is Takehiro with the big mailbag that Tricia produced. Right.

festival into a Christian festival. And what they did is they made it a celebration of the birth of Jesus. Is it the birth of Jesus? We don't know when the Lord Jesus was born, but that's what they did. And they and so that was the point of it to to Christianize a pagan festival. People say, well, you shouldn't do that. You have to tear it down. Well, actually,

that's not exactly true. When someone asked me once about Christmas trees and all the stuff that I don't even have a Christmas tree, you know, I like them, but I don't have one. I'm Jewish, you know, we. I was raised without Christmas trees. I don't want my neighbors to think that I only follow Jesus now so I can have a Christmas tree. So I've never I don't have a Christmas tree. But someone asked me about it, and I said, it's okay. And they said, what do

you mean, it's pagan? I said, well, I'm not sure that verse in Jeremiah is really talking about Christmas trees, but even if it were, uh, it's just meat sacrifice to idols. That's what I said. And what I mean by that. You look at first Corinthians eight and there there's the issue of, can you go and buy meat at the pagan Markets and and buy that and eat it. Now, some Christians didn't have conscience for it. Others did. And Paul says it's without moral significance. And what what I

mean by that is it's neither right nor wrong. And so you don't have to have a Christmas tree or, or even celebrate Christmas. But if someone wants to, it's without it's sort of like, you can go to Zeus's market. You can, you can, you know, or Zeus's butcher shop, get a Zeus burger. It was no problem. Paul said, if your conscience could bear it, if your conscience can't, then don't do it. That's what I would say about Christmas. It's, uh,

just like those sacrifices had a pagan origin. Mhm. Still they were, you know, you weren't using them for paganism. So if you, if your conscience is okay with it, celebrate Christmas. Go ahead celebrate Christmas. Uh that's what I would say. And so not to worry about it. But Jenny, if it bothers you, don't celebrate Christmas. It's no big deal. So.

These were wise men who looked at the stars. Astrology. Not astrologers, but astronomers. And they saw a sign, and they put it together with what they had read from the scriptures. And they knew that the Messiah had been born, and they were wise men, and they brought gifts of frankincense, gold, and myrrh. Right? Yes. Uh, so frankincense, some people say, because incense is offered to God. That was a symbol

of the Messiah's deity, the gold, uh, of his royalty. Uh, a very expensive gift and myrrh being a spice used for burial. So even at his birth, it was anticipated that he would die for us. Uh, and then, of course, be raised again. Whether that's true, I don't know, but there were three gifts. Does that mean there were only three wise men?

because just so you know, this snake could talk. And even in Genesis three, it was not Narnia. That was very unusual for a snake. God didn't make animals. Only supernaturally can snakes talk, and and or any animal can talk. And numbers 22. A donkey talks because God opened its mouth. Genesis three. Someone else supernaturally opened its mouth. The reason we know is because the snake was tempting to evil. So that couldn't have been God that opened its mouth

so we know it was the enemy. And, uh. And so God speaks to the enemy, the power behind the serpent and the word seed that's used there can mean physical offspring, and also it can mean followers. It's used in a variety of places in Scripture. Uh, like offspring of wickedness in the book of Isaiah. That doesn't mean that wickedness gave birth to to wickedness. Uh, it means

followers of wickedness. Okay, so what it's saying there is I will put hostility between you and the woman, between the enemy or Satan and the woman, between your followers. That would be the demons that fell and her physical descendants. And he will strike you one of her physical descendants. An individual one will strike your head. That's the Messiah, the descendant of the seed of the woman who crushed

the head of the serpent. And you will strike his heel in death, just as a serpent bites a person on the heel with a deadly blow. A nahash is the word for a serpent, so this one will strike him on the heel. Just as in the crucifixion, when the Lord Jesus had a nail put through his his, uh, his ankle. So.

the we, the three Kings of Orient. Right? Or the wise men from the East came so it's appropriate to have a song like that. O come, O come, Emmanuel. And you know, it's also appropriate for me to remind you that many people think that Paul is the one that turned the Bible. The message of Jesus into something for Gentiles, uh, that that God was finished with the Jewish people, according to Paul, that there's nothing further from

the truth. And most important is to understand Romans nine through 11, what Paul's great heart for the Jewish people was. And so there's a book called The Heart of the Apostle, and Chosen People Ministries is offering it for free to Open line listeners. If you'd like a copy of this book, The Heart of the Apostle, that shows Paul's great love and concern for his own Jewish people. Uh, that's the book for you. What you have to do is go to Open Line radio.org. Scroll down all the way to

the bottom. That's our website Openline radio.org. Scroll to the bottom and as you scroll down, you'll see a link that says A Free gift from Chosen People Ministries. Click on that and you'll be taken to a page where you can sign up for your own free copy of The Heart of the Apostle. So I'd like to speak with Robin in Idaho, listening on 107.9 FM. Welcome to Open Line. Robin. How can I help you today?

we're from. And that's the tribe of Levi. Because, uh, There was always the anticipation that the temple would be restored, so father to son would always relate. Whether you're a priest, which is from the tribe of Levi, a Levite, or a or an Israelite, meaning a just one of the lay people of Israel. So we've always maintained knowledge of whether a person is a Levite, whether a priest or

a Levite. So that's one thing I like. That's how I know I'm a Levite, because my dad was a Levite, his dad was a Levite, and so forth and so forth and so forth. So that's that's right, right at the outset. We do know some things. The other thing is Jewish people have maintained their distinctive Jewish identity. There may have been some intermarriage in the different countries of the diaspora, but truth to tell, Jewish people were dispersed

among the Christians and among the Muslim world. And it was very rare in the 2000 years since the close of the New Testament 2000 years, almost since the destruction of the temple where the records were kept. Uh, in in that time, Jewish people did not intermarry in the places where they were, because they were forbidden to. The church wouldn't allow Christians to marry Jewish people, and the the mullahs wouldn't allow Muslims to marry Muslim women to

marry Jewish men. Uh, a Jewish woman could marry a muslim, but then they would have to convert to Islam and they would be lost to the Jewish community. So for that reason, there was just not a whole lot of intermarriage. Up until modern times. And so Jewish people have preserved their, uh, ethnicity through all these years. And the the end result

will be in the tribulation period. Yes. God knows that there are what tribe people are from, and he will he keeps good records in heaven there, and he's going to distinguish who it is that that is the one that, uh, that that is really Jewish. I, I hope that helps. Uh, I'm going to quick take a call with Robin. Robin, just go ahead and ask your question.

Because the best of all possible worlds is a world in which evil has been overcome. That's what I understood.