Hello, friends. Welcome to the second hour of Open Line with Doctor Michael Ridelink Moody Radio's Bible Study Across America. We're talking about your questions about the Bible, God and the spiritual life. My name is Michael Ray Dolnick. I'm the academic dean and professor of Jewish studies and Bible at Moody Bible Institute. We're live sitting around the radio kitchen table taking your questions. Time to give me a call right now. (877) 548-3675. Again. (877) 548-3675. If you can't call,
just go to our website open Line radio.org. Click on Ask Michael a question when you're there and you can post your question if you can't get through, or if you just don't want to make the call, go ahead and do that and do that. And Tricia will put your question into the mailbag. Well, I hope you have your Bibles open and you have a second cup of coffee, because we're ready to talk about the scriptures, and we're going to talk with Christina in Clermont, Florida, listening online.
Welcome to Open Line. Christina. How can I help you?
Good morning, doctor, and thank you so very much for taking my call. I have a question about a scripture in revelation two nine, and I think it's also in chapter three where it says something about the Jews who are not Jews, but the synagogue of Satan. Who are those people.
Not Jews, for one thing, you know, the if you look at church history, people like John Chrysostom basically tried to say that all Jewish people were the synagogue of Satan and hated Jewish people because of it. In fact, he said, God intended all Christians to hate the Jews. I think that is so contrary to what the scriptures say. You know, Romans 11 says that Jewish people remain beloved and chosen. Romans 1128 and 29, uh, and chosen at
least for national purposes, not for salvation. As you know, everyone has to make a personal faith decision, but at least for national purposes, that God has. And then, you know, the Lord Jesus would go and teach in Jewish synagogues. Matthew nine talks about he went to all the synagogues in Galilee and taught. Do you think the Lord would really teach in a something governed by Satan? I don't
think so. Paul also did the same thing. He went throughout the diaspora, went to the synagogues, and preached the gospel there first. And so, uh, what is it referring to? I think it's talking about false teachers who had been creeping in, and their false message was that Gentiles needed to convert to Judaism before they could believe in Jesus. They were adding a legalistic work to Gentile salvation. It's what Paul wrote the book of Galatians about. It's what
the Jerusalem Council was about. But the difference between the book of Galatians, which was quite early, and the Jerusalem Council, which these things took place in the late 40s in Jerusalem and in the first missionary journey and places like that, that was predominantly Jewish people who had become followers of Jesus but wanted Gentiles to convert. And that's what the book of Galatians says. No, no, no, that's not necessary.
Then you get the Jerusalem Council. But by the time you get to the book of Revelation in the 90s, there were Gentiles who had succumbed to this teaching. They themselves had gone through this ceremony and had converted to Judaism first, and they were trying to convince, uh, others to other Gentiles to convert to Judaism first. But you really can't. You're either descendant of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, or you're not. They were trying to say, you can.
If you go through the circumcision process, you can become. And so what does the Lord call them in revelation? He says, they say they are Jews, but they are not. They're only Gentile converts who were teaching this false, legalistic teaching. That's what who he's talking about. It's a legalistic, false teaching that has come through into the church. And he says, they say they are Jews, but they're not, uh, it's a false teaching governed by the enemy. Okay.
Thank you so very much. Can I ask you one quick question?
Yeah.
As a messianic Jew, you are still cheap. Like the booze, the festival of booze and things like that. Do you still celebrate those type of things?
Yeah, I think anyone can celebrate them, but they're not obligated to. I celebrate them because it's part of my heritage and it's meaningful to me. But the thing I always tell everyone when I celebrate a Jewish holiday, I celebrate it with Jesus as the fulfillment of it. He is the center of my celebration, the object of my worship.
Oh that's great. Thank you so very much. I appreciate.
It. Okay, sure. Thanks for calling, Christina. We're going to talk with John in Orlando, Florida, listening on Wcqs. Welcome to Open Line. John. How can I help you?
Thank you. Thank you for taking my call. God bless everyone that's listening. Um, I had a question. My pastor did a sermon on Matthew 513, uh, last week. And, um, I'm a believer, a firm believer that once saved, always saved. We can't lose our salvation. We can become carnal Christians, of course, but salvation is secure. But the way that he was, kind of the way I interpreted, the way he was kind of explaining that verse. Um, kind of went down the the path that, you know, by that
being salt. And what happens with salt if it loses its flavor? Um, it's, uh, you know, purpose that it's good for nothing but to be trodden under foot. And so, you know, if he's calling them salt, then it's not like they weren't Christian.
Okay.
So he's referring to John.
Let me let me see if I understand. You want to know what it means? That the Lord Jesus uses the phrase, uh, you are the salt of the earth. Am I right? That's what you're asking.
Yeah. That, along with being trodden under feet, if it loses its. Yeah. If it loses its.
Yeah, yeah. That's fine. Uh, okay. Let me just start by saying that there was no refrigeration in the ancient world, and yet people needed to store meat. And what they did is they would salt it and the salt acted
as a preservative. Salted meat. Uh, you probably can get some of that when you go to the gas station and there's a, you know, a meat sticks there that when you're paying for your gas or something, I see that all the time or go into a little, uh, a little, uh, Kwik Shop, you know, things like that, uh, 7-Eleven or something like that. They sell this at the counter. Well, that's a lot of meat that that wasn't fresh. If
they needed it, they had salted meat. And so to say you're the salt of the earth means that believers are designed to prevent the rottenness, the corruption that is in the world. That's what believers in Messiah are supposed to do. And also we're to provide Righteousness to not just stop the bad, the corruption, but advance the good. You are the light of the world, he said. Salt of the earth, light of the world. One is to stop the corruption. The other is to advance the good
in the world. And then when people will see our good works, they'll give thanks to our father who is in heaven. And what he says is, if a believer is not out there trying to stop the evil in the world, using their influence to stop, we like salt will back then. You know, salt doesn't really lose its flavor, but they didn't have pure salt like we have today. What they did is they had minerals that had salt in it, and that's what they used to salt meat.
But over time, as it was stored, the salt would drop out of that mineral and they would have all these other minerals that didn't, uh, stop the corruption of the meat. And what they did with that is they would bring it to the, the Temple Mount. And the southern steps were are very slick, and when it rained in the winter time in Israel, it was very slippery. And they would throw that down and it would be trodden under foot. But it was useless for for stopping
the corruption of meat. And so what what the Lord is saying is, unless we're actively engaged in stopping evil in this world and advancing the good, we're we're becoming pretty useless, not losing our salvation, but we're useless, and we're comparable to that salt that's lost its savor. And it's just being used underneath, underfoot. That's that's what, uh, that's what would be the explanation of that. Okay.
That was awesome. Thank you very much. Appreciate it. Keep up the good work.
Thanks so much, John. Really appreciate it. You know, I a lot of people have questions about the Bible. That's the basis of this whole program. But one of the things that I've really committed to is, uh, that we do study on our own. And it's why I worked so hard with Michael Van Landingham on the Moody Bible Commentary. And now, uh, what we are making available as a resource is an excerpt from the Moody Bible Commentary. That excerpt is, uh, Galatians. Ephesians. Uh, Colossians. It's it's just
a great little tool. Uh, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians. It's just taken right out of the Moody Bible Commentary. It's a little book. If you're interested in studying these great truths in those books, this little commentary will really help you. And that's our current resource. It's it's the way we want to say thank you for you sending in a gift of any size. We want to send you a copy of this excerpt from the Moody Bible Commentary,
I think you'll really find it. It really delves into the truths of this, uh, these important Pauline epistles and also, uh, gives you some help, whether you're preparing a Bible study or a home group or maybe even just wanting some help as you're reading these books on your own, if you'd like a copy. Remember, it's our way of saying thank you for a gift of any size. So if you'd like to make, uh, to give a gift, what you do is call 88864471228886447122 or go to open line radio.org.
And remember, when you give your gift, ask for this excerpt from the Moody Bible Commentary. We're going to come back in just a bit with more of your questions. Our number (877) 548-3675. Uh, this is a time for you to ask your question. We're talking about the Bible, God and the spiritual life. My name is Michael Ray Dolnick. You're listening to Open Line. Stay right there. More questions coming up. Straight ahead. Stay with us. Welcome back to Open Line. I'm so glad to be talking with you,
hearing your questions, having our Bible study across America. Uh, I did again want to mention that it was a terrific time. Uh, of course, a very serious issue opposing anti-Semitism. The summit last week, though, went wonderfully. Uh, and it just was a really great time. People were really motivated. And one of the outcomes of that summit was the formation of the Coalition Against anti-Semitism. And, uh, I'm I'm
really grateful to God for that. If you're interested in the Coalition Against anti-Semitism, uh, which is a website that can you can join, you can get resources from all sorts of things that will be helpful. Just go to oppose anti-Semitism. No, no spaces, oppose anti-Semitism dot com. And it's got that material there. One of my favorite things about the summit last week was meeting all the kitchen table partners who came from all over the country, Nashville.
I met people from Kitchen Table Partners, from Florida, from Indianapolis, Cleveland. I met Kitchen table Partners from Los Angeles. Uh, and also from Spokane. It was just great. So many kitchen table partners there who really believe in open line. And a lot of people said that they've grown so much
by studying the Bible together every week. I'm so grateful to God for that, and I so appreciate it that they they're saying, you know, we want to give monthly so you can be on weekly and, and minister to these people. And I am so grateful for that partnership with these people who are really part of the team. That's how we're able to do this. And so if you're interested in becoming a kitchen table partner, just know
that we have a special benefit for you. Every other week, Trish and I produce a Bible study moment that you get sent and you can open your email, click on it, listen to it. Uh, also if if you commit to $30 a month or more, you get 50% off the Moody Publishers catalog. That's a great benefit. And I think that it's it's just a terrific opportunity. And we're really grateful to God for everyone that decides to do that. If you'd like to become a kitchen table partner, become
part of the team. All you have to do is call 712, two or go to open line radio.org. And I will tell you one of the funny thing, everyone that our emcee at the summit was Doctor William Washington, the dean of student life at Moody. And he was really kind of interesting because he met people and they said, where, where Open Line listeners. And that's how we heard about it.
And that's how he came to the summit. And he just looked at him, and he actually would look at them and say, are you a kitchen table partner yet? And they'd say, no. He says, well, what are you waiting for? What are you waiting for? I thought it was pretty funny. He has more chutzpah than I do to say things like that. I would never, but he was telling everyone and that person said, well, I don't know. Why not. I'll become a kitchen table partner. It was
pretty funny, I loved it. So anyway, we're going to talk to Patricia in Bridgeview, Illinois, listening on Wmbi. Welcome to Open Line. Patricia, how can I help you today?
Good morning Michael. I am at my kitchen table halfway through my second cup of coffee. Um, so I have recently heard that many churches and even friends of mine believe that women are prohibited from being leaders pastors, whether that's assistant pastor or youth pastor, um, teachers of the church, especially when it pertains to, you know, teaching over men. I know that this is based on first Timothy 212
and first Corinthians 1434 through 35. I guess my question is, why is it that so many who love God and follow and study his words, take those two verses out of the context that they were written for their, you know, in that culture in that time, the way that Paul wrote it and they fit it to, in my opinion, the perspective of, you know, manly, manly traditions of our world. I guess I'm just trying to get a better understanding. Well.
First of all, I'm one of those ones that you would disagree with. Uh, and, uh, I want to be really clear. There are there's a lot in Scripture that women should and should do. For example, I think that it's okay for women to teach men in a small group context in a Sunday school class, something that's not the authoritative proclamation of the word. Uh, I don't think that women should be silent in the church, so to speak. Uh, because the word there. Well, first Corinthians 11. That women
could pray. Uh, and they could also at the time when the gift of prophecy was in effect, they could prophesy. If you look at First Corinthians 11, because he talks about women praying and prophesying, prophesying with their heads covered. And so obviously it wasn't absolute silence. Uh, Priscilla and Aquila in a small group setting, uh, taught Apollos and
and Priscilla was a woman. So I see variations. I also see Timothy as a child, learned the scriptures from his mother and his grandmother, according to first and second Timothy. So obviously there are lots of places where women can teach. Titus two says, uh, I want the older women to teach the younger women to love their husbands and various other things. So there's a lot of teaching that women
can and should do. Uh, and what I see in first Timothy is, uh, verse 12, I don't allow a woman to teach or to have authority over a man. That appears to me to be referring to the authoritative proclamation that elders do in the local congregation. So when we gather to worship, there's someone that gets up and, uh, today we call him the pastor. But one of the elders would proclaim the word teach the word in an
authoritative way. Uh, that's that's what Paul is prohibiting. And when he says to exercise authority, that means not that every man can be an elder, but women were not to be one of the elders in the local congregation. Now, I understand your view, Patricia, that you're saying, well, that's because of the culture of the day. Am I right in understanding it that way?
Yeah. Well, I mean, he was talking to the Ephesians who were being misled by false teachers and women who were uneducated with Scripture.
Yeah. And so and some people say because of the temple of Artemis and the women's role there, Paul is reacting to that and so forth. Uh.
However, with, uh.
Corinthians. Patricia. Patricia. One second, I want you to notice something that verses 13 and 14 give the reasons that Paul gives this prohibition. Okay. And the and the reason is the order of creation. For Adam was created first, then Eve, and then the second reason. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and transgressed. And so the second reason is not the order of creation, but the fall. And I don't think Paul is saying
that women are more naive or more gullible. I think what he is saying is, look what happened when Eve did not follow the the established order in the home that God had set up for men to be the spiritual leader and look at the bad consequences. So, uh, the reason I think that verse 12 continues, is as a trans cultural prohibition is because the two reasons that Paul gives have nothing to do with the culture of that day, but rather the reasons he gives have to
do with creation and the fall. And so that would lead me to conclude that Paul was not talking about the situation locally in Ephesus, but rather he was talking about the, the principle of. You'll notice everywhere he went he appointed men to be elders. It says in first Timothy three. This is a trustworthy saying. If anyone aspires to be an overseer, he desires a noble work. It literally says, if any man desires. Aspires to be an overseer,
he desires a noble work. Doesn't mean that every man should be an overseer, because it's something that they have to desire. And then also he gives the qualifications. So it's not every man. It's just saying that certain men who have a level of maturity and want to do this and serve in this way, they are the ones that should be elders. It's not saying that, uh, every man, uh, we have to be really careful because a lot of people are saying, oh, this means that every man is
authoritative over woman. Not true. That's just the elders. And then the other thing I would say, it's not saying women can't serve in ministry. There are many, many ways that women can serve in ministry. It's just saying that the elder role is not, in fact, in first Timothy three.
It talks about, I believe, about deaconesses, uh, in verse 11, uh, where it says women too must be worthy of respect in the context of deacons, uh, women deacons or deaconesses, uh, those who serve in the local congregation, obviously they can serve in that way as well. So, uh. I'm sorry, Patricia, if I disappointed you by giving you my opinion on this, but, uh, I really do think that's what the word says.
But I just was hoping for some better.
Well, then if you if you respectfully disagree, I appreciate that, but here's my question. How do you explain the fact that Paul doesn't cite the reason as the local culture, but instead cites creation in the fall as the reasons?
I don't know how to explain it. I just find it. I just find it difficult to accept when, um, believers take one sentence, one verse out of a whole letter and base their belief off that one sentence. Because if you go down a couple more verses, it also says that women are saved through childbearing. And I don't know about you, Michael, but I was saved by the blood of Jesus, not by giving birth to my children.
Well, in first Timothy 215, where it says women will be saved by bearing of children. I think that we have to understand that the word saved is not talking about eternal salvation. I don't think Paul would get that wrong if you think that's what he meant. I think what the word sozo in Greek has a broad meaning, and in context here it's meaning something quite different. It
means delivered. They'll find significance in their lives, not through leading the local church, but by bearing and raising children, if they literally is what it says. My version says if she, but it says if they the children that she is born, continue in faith, love, holiness with good judgment. And so the idea is a woman will find her significance, not necessarily by trying to lead the local congregation, but
by raising children for the Lord. I know that there are some people that are beyond, uh, the age of having children. There are some women that can't have children, some women don't marry and have children. But I was just thinking that as a general rule, what Paul is saying, you know what? You have to find significance in your life and your family. That's the most the greatest impact
you can have. And then beyond that, uh, even women who can't have kids, like, uh, at the opening of the first hour, I talked about, uh, my dear friend Arlene, who went to be with the Lord in her late 80s. Uh, but when I was a teenager, she she she and her husband couldn't have kids, but they basically became surrogate parents for me. And she and her husband did that
with bunches of teens who needed parenting. And she did fulfill that by raising up many of us to walk with the Lord and and grow in him and serve him. And so I don't think it means that you had to have that child yourself. There are a lot of ways that women who couldn't have a child that can serve the Lord that way and and raise them up to love him in faith, love and holiness. Hey, Patricia, love your interaction. Appreciate it so much. We'll be right
back with the mailbag in just a moment. Don't go away. And we're back. I'm Michael Ray Dolnick, and joining me right now is the person who puts the mailbag together. She gets all the ones that you send her, and she not only puts the mailbag together, But Tricia McMillan decides which ones she's going to ask. It's not up to me. So sometimes people write to me and they say, you know, I sent in a question and it never made it on the air. I just say, blame Tricia.
Thank you. How do you feel about that, Tricia? How about. How's that for throwing you under the bus?
Yes, very much so. That said, we do have a limited amount of time to ask these, so I'm also limited by sheer time.
That's true. That's why we do, uh, programs periodically where we catch up and we try and clear the spindle a little bit and get most of the questions done. But if you do want to send your question in, just go to Open Line radio.org, uh, and you'll see a link that says ask Michael a question and you click on that and post your question. And Trish will put it into the mailbag. And we will get to
it usually sooner or later. The reason, you know, I have really tried to focus on the questions, sending questions there, because sometimes people go to the Facebook page and they see a comment and then they unrelated to it. They'll post a question there or they'll send it, you know, on a message board or something like that, or Instagram, and they'll send a question there. And the truth of it is, if you send it in too many different places, it's hard to find. And so that's why I've really
tried to encourage people to just do it. Open Line radio.org. Ask Michael a question. Although Tricia, I know you look all over.
I do, I do check all of those places because I know that they come in to all of those. So if you have sent it there, I do see it. It just may not be as immediate as the as the ask Michael a question thing, but I do see it. I do find them. Yeah.
Yeah. Okay. Well let's ask Michael a question now.
All right. All right. This question is from Susan in New York. Listens to why John 15 two Jesus is talking with his disciples and he says, every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away. If the branch is in him, then they're believers. I know the word that's been translated takes away is aero. Aero meaning to lift up. Can you please expound on this verse? What is our Lord saying here? Uh, John 15 two.
Yeah. Uh, there is. You know, I always wondered about that. Verse two. Now, many years ago, I read a journal article, uh, and uh, it's kind of interesting. It was it was called abiding is Believing. Uh, and, uh, it was I think it's really important. Uh, it was it was written by a Western seminary professor. And, uh, the thing about it is, I think what he is saying here is I am the true vine and my father is the vine vineyard keeper. Every branch in me that does not
produce fruit, he removes. Some people say it means he lifts it up and he prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit. Uh, but then verse four, remain in me and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit in and of itself unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me. Uh, and so what he is saying is we can't produce fruit unless we abide. And that the idea of abiding isn't just staying in the faith, but that if a person
has a genuine faith, they abide. And if they don't have a genuine faith, they're not really they won't abide. And so abiding, he says, is believing genuine faith will produce fruit. Uh, and, uh, those who this passage, as we look at it, those who are not abiding, it says I am the vine. You are the branches. The one who remains in me, and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me. But if anyone does not remain or abide in me, he
is thrown aside. And I think that, uh, and they're gathered up and, uh, separated out. So I think that that's an accurate assessment, uh, uh, that abiding is actually being a genuine believer. It's not just sticking with your faith, but a genuine believer will abide. And that's why that article was written. Uh, uh, abiding is believing. I think that really captures it, that a genuine believer is, uh Is, is, uh, is someone that will abide in the Lord. I'm pulling
it up right now. The the author is a wonderful author. He's written a lot of books. Uh, and it's J. Carl Laney. Carl Laney is just a I want to make sure he was the one that wrote it. I remembered the article, but Carl Laney, uh, who is kind of one of those people that I should have been really, really good friends with. We ran into each other once in, in Israel and we became friends. And now we're just friends on Facebook, which is kind of funny, you know? Uh, uh,
but and we write to each other. But I really have never had, like, a lunch with him or anything or. But we're kind of distant friends because I like his work so much. And he was writing to me, and he read a book that I. That I wrote and said how much he liked it. So we were mutual admirers, you know. Yeah. Uh, but but that article, uh, abiding is believing in Bibliotheca Sacra about 40 years ago, maybe
42 years ago. Uh, that's that was a great article. And, uh, it says that a genuine person who abides, uh, is a believer.
So I always had this idea that abiding takes more effort than, than just genuinely believing that you that there's more action on my part. But you seem to be saying that. No, it's it's just that genuine faith.
Yeah. The genuine faith will lead to abiding. It will, uh, the person who just has, uh, maybe an intellectual assent like we talked about last hour, maybe an emotional response, but not a decision to follow. They won't abide. Okay. Like like, uh, the the the seed that falls on the soil, that's that's, uh.
Uh, that has shallow.
Roots, shallow root. And yeah, they're not abiding. So abiding is genuine faith.
Okay. So this is really just a follow up to last hour's question where we talked about what what true faith was. Okay. Wonderful. Well, thank you for that question, Susan. And for taking us a little bit deeper. Jeff wrote us from Ohio, listens to Wtxf. Wants to know if you have a recommendation of a resource on Jewish traditions, culture and expectations at the time of Jesus wants to better understand this part of the New Testament?
Yeah. Uh, there's a book. There's a couple of books that I would recommend. Uh, there's Jodi Magnus's book. Uh, and it's I'll give you. It's kind of a funny title. Jodi Magness is a Jewish archaeologist, and it says that Jodi Magness. Magness, uh, stone and dung, oil and spit, Jewish daily life in the time of Jesus. That's about daily life.
Okay.
Okay. It is.
It is a different title. Yeah.
It's stone and dung. Oil and spit. Jewish daily life in the time of Jesus. Jodi. Jodi magness. M a g n e s s excellent. Uh, archaeologist who wrote that? Uh, but if you want to know about Jewish beliefs in the time of Jesus, the, uh, the the theology of Judaism at the time, or I should better say, theologies of Judaism, there are a lot of books about that, and they kind of differ. But there's one book that's kind of old, I think it may be almost 100
years old, maybe from the 1940s. Uh, and it's still available. It's still in print. You can find it. Uh, it's called Judaism. In the first centuries of the Christian era. Judaism in the first centuries of the Christian era. That's what the beliefs were, the expectations about the Messiah, things like that. And the author's name is George. Foot as in hand versus foot. Right. So foot more George foot Moore. And it's called Judaism in the first centuries of the
Christian era. And it has like you can look up it'll have what did Judaism believe about the Messiah? What did Judaism believe about other things? And it's it's a great little book. Okay. It's a big book, actually. Two volumes.
Oh, no. Okay. Yeah. So it's you settle in to read it. Yeah.
Well, it's. But you'd have to look in the index and find what you're looking for if you want to understand it.
So it's more of a a bigger resource. That would be more extensive. Yeah. Okay.
But that doesn't deal with the daily life. It just deals with the beliefs of Judaism.
I will I will link both of those on our website for people who are trying to find them or didn't catch the titles.
You know what's so interesting about those books, uh, is that I'm all I'm often asked questions about Jewish life in the first century. And there's others. Social life Sketches of Jewish Social Life in the Times of Jesus by Alfred Edersheim. Uh, that's a 150 year old book. But he was a great rabbinic scholar and became a Jewish believer in Jesus. And he has a lot about social, social life. And, uh, daily life is Jodi Magness. That's
a fairly recent book, probably about ten years old. And then, uh, about Jewish beliefs. I think we've got that book by George Whitmore. George Whitmore.
Yeah. What was the edersheim book?
Uh, sketches of Jewish Social Life in the Time of Christ?
None of these are short titles, either. So they take me a moment to write down sketches of Jewish social life in the.
In the time of Christ.
Time of Christ.
And its Alfred Edersheim. One of the most, uh, really, uh, well known Jewish believers from the previous. From the 1800s.
Wow. All right, well. Thank you. Okay. That's a vast that covers covers a lot of history in terms of when they wrote these books. So. But I appreciate it. Thank you for that question, Jeff.
Yep. Uh, well, I think we'll just take a break here. Yeah, yeah, we'll go back to calls. Thank you so much. You're welcome for sending it in. And thanks for putting it together, Tricia. It's always great. I really I tease her, but you know how much I appreciate you, Tricia. Yes. You know, even though I blame you for not getting the questions on the air, it's my long answers that really keep them off the air. We'll be right back with more
of your calls. That was Tricia McMillan. I'm Michael Radonich. This is open line. Stay right with us.
We'll be right back.
Some claim Paul is the key person who took the message of the Jewish Messiah. Jesus made it into something Gentile. But Paul is also the one who wrote, brethren, my heart's desire for Israel is for their salvation. Romans ten one. Chosen people ministries. One of our underwriters wants us all to learn what drove Paul's passion for his own people. They're offering the book The Heart of the Apostle by
Rich Freeman, free to all open line listeners. To get this exposition of Romans nine through 11, just go to our website, openline. radio.org. Scroll down to the 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 very own free copy of The Heart of the Apostle. Paul. Welcome back to Open Line. I've had a great time with you in the word. Uh,
it's been a lot of fun studying the scriptures. I love calling this the Bible Study across America, because when you see all the people calling from across the country, uh, it's just amazing. And I'm so grateful for your listening. Uh, I do want to thank Omar Mendoza for doing a great job at the board today, and Tricia for doing a great job producing with the help of Tyra and to, uh, also for tiara answering the phones. Uh, you guys appreciate your help being part of the team here. And, uh,
we're going to go right back to the phones. We're going to speak with DJ and Annandale, Minnesota, uh, listening on Ksfb. Welcome to Open Line. DJ. How can I help you?
Good morning. Thank you so much for your show. I enjoy it very, very much. Thank you. Um, I also yeah, I also just received my copy of the Moody Bible Commentary. I'm so excited to dig into that too.
You just received it? Yes.
I just ordered it online.
I was very excited.
Oh, wow. You know what? Do you know what? I should really mention that to people, though. That it's November. And November means people are starting their holiday shopping. Christmas, Hanukkah, things like that. And one of the best presents I think people can give is the Moody Bible commentary. So. And I want to encourage that. Uh, you know, that's a wonderful gift. If you're wondering what to get dad, what to get your brother, what to get your sister.
It's a moody Bible commentary. Thanks for the reminder, JW. That's great. Or you can get one for yourself. Like. Like JW did, right?
Yes. Um, my question today is when I read in the Psalms, very often I see a Bible verse end with the word Selah, and I have not been able to find anywhere that can give me a definition of that word. Can you help me out with that?
I might, you know. I always thought it meant that there was going to be a music group by the name of Selah and and a contemporary music group. So it was sort of a prophecy. No, no, I don't think you've heard of that music group, haven't you? Yeah. It's not that, uh, you know what? What it is. You know, there are a lot of directions or some, uh, what would you call it? Uh, uh, for example, I just opened my book of Psalms. It says in Psalm 78, a maskil of Asaph. And so Maskil refers to a
teaching psalm, a wisdom psalm. So that's that's what that means. And sometimes we see the word Selah or Selah or Selah and. Well, what is that? Uh, my. I'll tell you what. My Bible, uh, in the back of it, I have a hcsb Bible, uh, produced by B and H in the glossary. It has a glossary in the back, and it says Selah, a Hebrew word whose meaning is uncertain. Various interpretations include one a musical notation, likely two a pause for silence. That would be a musical notation as well.
It would be a kind of musical notation. Three A signal for worshipers to fall prostrate on the ground. For a term for the worshipers to call out. And five a word meaning forever. Now that's different things that scholars have put out as to what it means. In my opinion, it just it's a musical notation that means pause. That's what it means. Take a breath.
Oh, interesting. Mhm.
That's because remember these were written.
Thank you for these. These were.
These were written to be sung.
So. Yeah. That's right.
Yeah. So it's just a musical notation for a pause. But it's a good question. You see it all the time in the book of Psalms, right.
Yes. Yes, exactly. Yeah.
Well, thanks for thanks for listening. DJ by the way, taking a pause when we read the Psalms. Not a bad thing. Take a minute. Think about what you just read. Take a, you know, 10s and then keep on. Not a bad idea. So.
Okay, I think that's the purpose of putting it there. So thank you so much. Have a great day.
Yeah. Thanks for your call. Richard in Plainfield, Illinois, listening on Wmbi. Welcome to Open Line.
Thanks, Michael. Got a quick question for you. In acts chapter eight, verses 16 and 17, it seems that some Samaritans have been baptized but did not receive the Holy Spirit until Peter and John arrived from Jerusalem and laid their hands on them. So I guess my first question is how does one receive the Holy Spirit? Is it through baptism or the laying on of hands, as Luke seems to be implying in these verses?
Well, let me just start by saying, if you read through the book of acts, uh, it's not always the case. For example, in acts ten, no one laid hands on Cornelius. Uh, he didn't pray to receive the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit fell on, on him. Peter relates, just as he did upon us at the beginning in acts two. And the same thing in acts two. The Holy Spirit fell. There was nothing that they did to make the Holy
Spirit fall. It's just one of the things that you see in the book of acts is that the Holy Spirit falls upon people differently. Different settings. Uh, and the Bible says if you this is what it says in Romans eight nine, if we don't have the Spirit of Christ, we don't belong to him. First Corinthians 1213 says, we are all baptized by one spirit into one body. It is why, uh, people have said that we should, uh, we should not teach the apostles experience. That's what the
Book of Acts says. It's a narrative of a transition. We should not teach the apostles experience, but we should experience the apostles teaching. That's what we find in the epistles. What I think happened in the transitional nature of the the book is that to keep the Samaritans from forming a schismatic separatist group of believers, just remember the Samaritans. They were schismatic from Judaism. Do you remember that? Well, the same way there is the danger of the Samaritans
first receiving the gospel and separating from the apostles. So instead they waited for the apostles to go to Samaria, lay hands on them, the Holy Spirit falls on them, and they are brought into the authority under the apostles. And there's only one church, not a Samaritan one versus a Jewish one. So that's why I think it happened that way. But the epistles were going to go for our teaching. That's the program for the week. Thanks for your call, Richard. Thanks for all of you who called.
Thanks for making Open Line possible. Keep in touch with us by going to our website, Open Line radio.org. It's got all the links you're looking for how to become a kitchen table partner, how to get our current resource, how to get receive the gift from Chosen People ministries. Keep reading the Bible. We'll talk about it next week. Open line with Doctor Michael Rolnick is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute. See you next week.