Hello friends. It's time for the second hour of Open Line with Doctor Michael Radonich Moody Radio's Bible Study Across America, where we're taking your questions about the Bible, God and the spiritual life. I'm Doctor Steven Sanchez in the studio for Doctor Who's leading a tour of Greece and Turkey, and I think they're going to go to Rome, too. What a great opportunity for him. I'm a professor of Bible at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, and I
teach on the faculty with Michael. If you have a Bible question, you can call us now at (877) 548-3675. That's (877) 548-3675. You can also send us your question at our website, Open Line radio.org. Look for the Ask Michael a question form and fill it out. And we'll get to the mailbag and answer some questions that have been sent in later in the program. Keep your Bibles open. Go get a second cup of coffee, because we're going right back to the phones with more of your questions. Let's start
with Lynn in Chicago listening on our very own wmbi. Lynn, what's your question this morning?
Oh good morning. I just love it when you're on. Um, my question is, doctor, I'm on. I'm a volunteer ordained chaplain, and my platform has been the singleness. I see so many Christians fornicating, and they're they're strong Christians. And I am in awe of this because First Corinthians, as you
know what it says, will not make heaven. And I even see people that are on TV, you know, I won't mention names that that are professing to be such good Christians, but then they're going together for many years or living together. I just ask you, Will will fornicators, if they're Christian people, will they make heaven or not?
Let's let's say this let's back up from that particular sin and we'll get back to it in just a second. But back up from that one and say, well, any sinners make it into heaven, right? Will anyone who sins make it into heaven? I think the answer is, I think the answer is we. We sin today. People speed down the highway and they break the law. They don't always tell the truth. They are not honest with their finances.
They are unfaithful in a variety of their commitments. On one level, people sin even after we've come to Christ and we fight that as hard as we can. With the power of the Holy Spirit, we try and we keep trying, and that's what we have to do, right? The believers down through the centuries have talked about ourselves as saints and sinners at the same time. And yet we see verses like this. Hey, now these kind of
people will not inherit the kingdom of God. Fornicators, nor idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, sodomites, thieves, covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners. They're not going to inherit the kingdom of God. Notice, such were some of you. You guys. Paul writing to the Corinthians. You used to be like that. Don't be like that. I think what Paul is saying there is people who have come to Christ ought not be living like people who are not
going to the kingdom. People who are called by the name of Christ, their lives should look differently. They should not be idolaters. They should not be adulterers. They should not be fornicators. So the people that you've mentioned that you know who are believers, you might look at them and say, hey, you're a Christian. Live like one. Christians don't do these things. I'm going to leave whether or
not they get into heaven up to the Lord. But I would advise them very strongly, hey, you're behaving like somebody who is not going to the kingdom. Does that make sense?
I can't talk to them because they're on television. Some of them. But, doctor, I understand what you're saying. Because I would love to. And I used to live like that, and that's why I know firsthand sexual sin is a is a very egregious sin. And I can tell you the consequences because I've done it.
I agree with you 100%. What I'm what I'm suggesting is that perhaps it's not our job to decide if they're going to make it in or not. That's a question I'm going to leave for the Lord. But your provoked conscience is right on point. I mean, I have students who live this way too, right? And I say, hey, you are you are here at school to study the Word of God. What are you doing? Living like someone who's rejecting the Word of God? Don't do that. I
think Paul's point here is don't live that way. You used to be like that. But you were washed, you were sanctified. You were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus by the Spirit of God. His point is, why are you living that way? Don't do that anymore. Does that help?
Well, they say to me, they say, well, yes it does, doctor, thank you. But they do say, well, God forgives and we're in love. It's only him so. But I say, you know, God can't bless sin. And I tell them, just like Paul, I used to.
Do it.
And I can tell you I missed a lot of blessings, but thank you. You're welcome when you're on. You're wonderful.
Thank you. You're welcome. Great to hear from you. Let's go to Alex in Wheaton, listening again on Wmbi. Alex, what's your question this morning?
Hey, Steve, I'm a big fan of the show. Um, I got a question. Just like how to interpret books of the Bible in the Old Testament. Something like The Songs of Solomon. Does that? Do you have to read that? Does it point? Does the Song of Solomon point to Jesus, or is it, um, do you have to read it just in and of itself altogether? Do you know what I mean?
I do, it's a it's a question that comes up often. How do we read the Old Testament? And I think the way we do that is to read the Old Testament in its original context, in its historical context. And we also have to read it through the lens of Jesus Christ. Why? Because we're Christians. I had a teacher at school, Eugene Merrill. I was making a point in one of my classes saying, no, we should just read
the Bible in its original context. And he says to me, well, would your exegesis be any different than a Jewish person? And of course I said, absolutely. And he said, how? And he got me. I realized that what I was trying to argue for was interpreting only in its original context, and not also through the lens of Christ. We have to,
as believers, do. What early Christians did. They read the Old Testament, they read Tanakh, and they looked backwards through the cross, through the resurrection, through the life of Christ. And they interpreted that Old Testament in light of their new Savior. So I think wherever you are in this world, America, Canada, anywhere else, you make sure that you read the Old Testament through the lens of Christ, a book like The
Song of Solomon. That's an interesting book. It really seems to have very specific application to the relationship between a man and his new bride, soon to be bride, then bride. Um, but we would be hard pressed to not say. Marriage is also a an example of the relationship between Christ and his church. We read that in the New Testament. And so I would look at Song of Solomon and say, interpret it in its original context. It's a wonderful love poem.
And then recognize that wherever marriage is recognized, wherever there's a healthy marriage on display, what you see there is a model of Christ and His church where he loves his church, and the bride looks to him the way a earthly bride looks to her new bridegroom. Does that help?
That does. Thank you Steve.
You're welcome. Great question. Thank you. Let's do another one. Let's talk to Sherry, who is driving. Be careful listening in Cleveland on Wtxf.
Good morning.
Hi.
Good morning. Um, thank you for taking my call. Um, so my question is, uh, with the election coming up, um, I'm very unsettled about both candidates. And for the first time in my life, I feel like I don't want to vote. Um, I know that the Lord has this. You know, no matter who wins or what happens in the world, that the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords reigns over us, and that he's got us, that he he is the victor. Um, and I'm really
struggling with deciding which one to vote for. Yeah, usually I vote for one party and I'm having a hard time. And I just wondered, um, a lot of people are telling me, like, it's your responsibility to vote. You have to vote. You know, um, if you don't vote, you're you're not, you know, doing what you should be doing. Um, but I'm asking you, is there anything biblical or, um, you know, that support that I should vote even. Even if I'm not sure about it. Because I'm not sure about either person.
This is this is a question all but all believers are facing, right? We're all facing it right now. And I, of course, am not going to endorse any candidate on this show today. Uh, but your, your the sense you have that your heart and your confidence and your trust in the Lord should be in the Lord above all things I think is key. Hang on to that above all else. God is sovereign and he is in control of all things. It doesn't matter who sits in that seat.
God is in control. We can have confidence and trust if our country goes one way. The Lord is in control. If it goes another way, the Lord is in control. If we don't get what we want, the Lord is in control. Don't ever let that go. Do you have to vote? Is it required? I don't think so. I don't think, I don't think the Bible says you have to do this. You can do this. I think many would argue that as people who are permitted to participate, it's a great privilege, but it's not required. It is
not required from Scripture. Instead, what is required is that we keep our confidence in the Lord himself. He's the one that is sovereign over all things. So rest in him and take confidence. He knows what's going on. Does that help?
Thank you for your expert. Yes, thank you for your expert advice. I really appreciate it. That gives me a lot of comfort knowing that, you know, I don't have to choose.
That's right, that's right. And it's a hard choice. I recognize that, I recognize it's a hard choice. And so I'm sure believers all over this country right now are thinking, Lord, what do we do? Where do we go? How do how do we make a good choice here? So thank you. Yeah. Keep your confidence in the Lord. Don't forget that he's in charge. He's never going to let you go. Let's go to share. Oh, no. That was Sherry. Let's go to Marisha in Georgia listening on Wlp.
Hi, I have a question. So I have a question regarding John 1513 where it says greater love has no one to lay down their life for one's life, for one's friends. So is that verse saying, that is Jesus saying that we should lay down our lives for our friends? Or is that like, um, a parable? Just saying that we should love other people.
What a what an amazing statement, right? For Jesus to say this is an example of what love looks like. You. There's no better way than if you sacrifice yourself for someone else. That's the best example that we can possibly have. I don't think Jesus is saying that you have to sacrifice yourself for all your friends. I think he's giving an example of the best kind of love that people can experience. If you have friends that betray you, you know what that feels like. If you have friends that are,
you know, kind of mid, they're there for you. Sometimes they're not there for you all the time. You know what that feels like to have a friend who's willing to lay down his life for you or for her to lay down her life for you. I have friends who have given kidneys, organs to other friends, and you just say, whoa, sacrificing a part of their body for
someone else. That is a great example of love. And what I think we have here is not so much a command for us, but rather coming as it is in John 15, a statement of what true love looks like from Jesus Christ. He has laid down his life for us, literally. He's done that literally for us.
But not saying that we should die for somebody.
I do not think he's making a command about that. Rather, he's talking about. Right. The chapter begins. I am the true vine. The father is the gardener. Verse five I am the vine, you're the branches. The father has loved me, so I love you. Jesus is talking about himself, his ministry, the father's ministry. It's not a command for us. Now, you might find yourself in a circumstance where you have
to lay down your life for a friend. I think of all our service members who go into conflict overseas and find themselves in situations where they're quite literally laying down their lives for us or for the people in their unit. And we have great respect for that because it's a demonstration of love. Can I suggest that when we see those sorts of things, they remind us of Christ who went into battle for us to lay down his life for us, who are his friends because we've
believed the gospel. Does that help?
Yeah, it does help. Good.
Good, good. Thank you. It's a tough one. How do we lay down our lives? In some cases, we have friends that we love, and we don't want to necessarily give everything for them. And we recognize that we are imperfect, imperfect individuals. But Christ laid down the perfect sacrifice for us. And as a result, we love him with great, great love. This is it. Let's take a break here and we'll be back. I'm doctor Steven Sanchez in for Michael. You're
listening to Open Line with doctor Michael Dolnick. Moody Radio's Bible study Across America. Do you have a question? The number to call is (877) 548-3675. Again (877) 548-3675. And when we come back Jack, we're going to take your question again. (877) 548-3675.
When autumn rolls around, people are always interested in the Jewish fall holy days. That's why Chosen People Ministries is offering a free booklet, Celebrate Israel's High Holidays. This booklet explores the fall Jewish high holidays of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot. Don't miss out, just go to the Open
Line website open Line radio.org. Scroll down and click on the link that says a free gift from Chosen People Ministries that will take you to a page where you can sign up for your very own copy of Celebrate Israel's High Holidays. Everyone has questions about God, the Bible, and living out our faith, and that's why we're here on Open Line. We take your questions and provide answers straight from Scripture. But we couldn't do this without you.
When you become a kitchen table partner, you're not only keeping this program on the air. Every weekend, you'll also receive exclusive benefits like personal audio messages from me that offer biblical encouragement. Become a kitchen table partner today by calling (888) 644-7122 or go to Open Line radio.org.
Welcome back to Open Line with Doctor Michael Radonich. I'm Doctor Steven Sanchez in for Michael. The number to call with your question is 87754836758775483675. Let's go straight to the phones Jack listening in Ohio on Wtxf. CRF. How can I help you this morning?
Yes. I have a question about the parable in Luke of the rich man and the poor man, Lazarus. It said that the poor man laid outside the gate and was wishing for crumbs, and when he died, he was ushered up into Abraham's bosom, which is heaven. And then when the rich man died, he went to Hades. What I'm wondering is why? What did the what qualified the poor man to go to heaven? And what was the sin of the rich man that he was? Went to Hades?
Yeah. So this is during Jesus ministry, right? Jesus gives this parable and he seems to be focusing on the fact that people need to listen to the revelation they have been given and behave in such a way that they are demonstrating their faith in the revelation that they have been given. And at this point, Jesus has not died yet. And so we're dealing with Jewish people living the ordinances and commands that God has given in the law. And in this case, the rich man was not doing that.
All the commandments to care for fellow Israelites, to take care of the poor, provide for widows and orphans and strangers, people in their distress, things that we're going to see repeated for us in the New Testament. But at the time, there you have Jews who are not living those things and yet claiming to be children of God. And I think what Jesus is saying here is, no, that's not fair. That's not right. God said, you should live this way,
not that way. If you're going to demonstrate true faith in the God of Israel, that means doing the things he has. And we see that at the end that rich man says, hey, listen, I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers so that he can warn them. I don't want them to come to this place. What does Abraham say in verse 29 of Luke 16? Abraham said, they have Moses
and the prophets. Let them hear them. I think Abraham is saying, if you don't, your brothers don't want to come here. Obey what God has revealed in the law and the prophets, because that demonstrates faith. It's not that obeying the law is going to save you, but obeying the law is going to demonstrate you have faith in God. He said, no, Father Abraham, if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent. And he says it again.
If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead. The rich man was not demonstrating faith in God by obeying him. And that's the, I think, the teaching point of that section. Now, of course, we know as we move into the New Testament, we also have to obey. not to be saved, right? We were always saved by grace through faith in the Old Testament. They were saved by grace through faith in the New Testament.
We're saved by grace through faith. But the terms of that salvation, that faith, are different. And so we have to trust in Jesus Christ, his work for us on the cross. And that is the demonstration of faith. And then in light of that, we go live lives that honor him, which should include taking care of the poor and the needy that God brings into our lives, uh, those who are not from here, who God brings into
our lives, those who are desperate. We have an obligation, I think, to help them as a demonstration of the faith that God has wrought in us. Does that help, Jack?
Yes. That helps. Thank you.
You're welcome. Let's go to Jermaine driving in Cleveland, Ohio, listening on Wtxf.
Hello? Can you hear me?
I can go ahead.
Um, yes. I asked you about, um, you know, when the Bible, when Jesus died on the cross and he said it is finished. Um, um, he died for our past and present sins. Correct?
When Jesus died, he died for all your sins.
All my sins. So all my sins. So if I was to sin, like right now, he's already paid for that, right?
So my question to you would be, why would you sin right now if you could avoid it?
I mean, I mean, I still I'm a sinner. I sin every day.
Welcome to the club, friend. Right. We are saints and sinners at the same time. So if if the if the spirit behind the question is. Lord, I am never perfect. I sin, are my sins forgiven? I would say to you the answer is absolutely yes. And the effect of that should be for me to work on it in the power of the spirit, allowing the spirit to change me, conform me into the image of Christ, resist sin as
much as I can. Now, if the spirit of the question I don't think this is your spirit, but I can hear someone else asking the question, well, since my sins are all forgiven because Christ has already forgiven all my sins, that means I can do whatever I want. And I think Paul answers that issue in Romans chapter six. What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may abound? He says no way.
Just because God gives grace and more grace, when there's more sin, more grace abounds does not mean we get to turn that freedom into a liberty, or a license to sin at will. Does that help?
Yeah. Um, I have one more question before you let me go.
Go ahead, go ahead.
Do I have to get. Do I have to get baptized to go to heaven?
Again, my question to you would be why wouldn't you get baptized?
I'm saying. I'm saying because some people say that that's, um, you got to get baptized.
I would say to you.
That, um.
I would say to you, the thief on the cross, the thief on the cross did not have the opportunity to be baptized. And Jesus said to him, today, you will be with me in Paradise. There are probably many throughout history who turn to Christ and were not able to get baptized. So I would say, no, it's not a requirement in that sense. But I would also say to any Christian who says, I'm a believer, I'm claiming the name of Christ. I would say to that person,
why wouldn't you be baptized? What's holding you back from getting baptized? And if the answer is, well, I don't want to identify with Jesus that way, I would say, oh, let's talk about what it means for you to follow Christ if you don't want to identify with him publicly. I can see that there are some, probably some parts of the world where actual physical baptism is very traumatic. But even in those places, we see men and women come to faith. In other countries where becoming a believer
is catastrophic for their relationships and their social standing. And you know what? Very often they take that step and they identify with Christ all the way. So I would say it is something that Christ commanded us to do, and we should do it. If you die before you're baptized, does that mean you don't go to heaven? I do not think the Bible teaches that. Okay. Thank you. That's a helpful question. Let's go to Maritza in Naples, Florida,
listening on Warsaw. Maritza, how can I help you this morning?
Hi. Good morning. Let's go to revelation chapter 20. Uh, verse seven is The um in the light after the tribulation, when the Armageddon is over, the Jews, all the nations, destroys all the nations. Who are they? Who is the devil going after? In verse seven.
Uh, so remember that this is the thousand years are over. I, and most of my colleagues, or all of my colleagues at Moody, would argue that the millennial kingdom has happened. Let's remember that during that millennial kingdom, uh, people will be born, right? People will be born in that kingdom, and they will be people who have to make a choice to follow the Lord who is ruling and reigning
or not. And so when Satan is released, he is going to, uh, work on those people and to deceive the nations who are still on the earth and turn them against Christ. And so there will be there will be people for him to deceive, and he will do his work on those people. And that's important to remember that in the Millennial Kingdom, there will be people born who will not necessarily submit to Christ, and they will leave themselves open to satanic attack. He will deceive them.
And it's a reminder that wherever we are, we have to be careful. Be open to that satanic attack. Thank you for your question this morning. Don't go anywhere. Don't go anywhere because we're going to keep taking your calls. We're going to keep going. And in a little bit we have, uh, the mailbag coming up. Some of you have sent in questions ahead of time. If you have a question to ask, the number for you to call
this morning is 87754836758775483675. Or you can go to Open Line Radio and fill out the Ask Michael a question Section and submit your question that way. We love getting questions either on the phone or in the mailbag, and we address those questions faithfully each week. So again that number 87754836758775483675. I'm Steven Sanchez. You're listening to Open Line with Doctor Michael Dolnick on Moody Radio.
We're so glad that Febc partners with Open Line with Doctor Michael Ray Dolnick bringing the Febc mailbag every week. Learn how far East Broadcasting Company is taking Christ to the world at febc. Org on their weekly podcast. Until all have heard with editor cannon, you'll hear stories of lives changed by Messiah all across the globe. Again, you can hear the podcast when you visit febc.
Dawg.
That's Phoebe dawg.
Welcome back to Open Line. I'm doctor Steven Sanchez with doctor in the studio for Doctor Michael Dolnick, and I'm like, Where's Michael? He's having a good time in Turkey and Greece. This is the mailbag segment where we answer the questions you've sent in. And joining us with those questions again is Trish McMillan, our producer. Hello, Trish. I think it's a heavy bag. Here we go.
It is a heavy bag. One thing I do want to mention quickly is coming up on November 9th is a summit on opposing anti-Semitism. This is near and dear to to Michael's heart as a Jewish follower of Jesus. And he, um, he's one of the main speakers at this, but it'll address. What does it mean to be anti-Semitic? Those attacks are on the rise. anti-Semitism is where does anti-Semitism come from? What are its origins? And then how can we, as followers of Jesus, oppose anti-Semitism and support
the Jewish people? It is Saturday, November 9th. It's a one day conference basically put on by Moody Bible Institute and Chosen People Ministries. It will be on the campus of Moody. You can find out more information at our website, which is Open Line radio.org. There's a big banner across the top that you can click on and find out all of that information. Lots of great speakers coming in. Again, open line radio.org. You can also go there and click to go to our Facebook page where you will see
lots of pictures of Michael. Um, on this Journeys of Paul trip that he is leading with other people, with doctor Mark Jobe and Doctor Joe Stoll and um, uh, as they go around kind of the Mediterranean around Greece. So they were in Athens yesterday. They're in Corinth today, and they've been posting pictures on our Facebook page, which is kind of fun. They're beautiful, amazing, beautiful pictures. And so if you want to see where he's at, he
will be back in two weeks. Next week we have Mike Favara sitting in to guest host Open Line and Steven Sanchez here today. You know.
Sometimes people ask, should I go to Israel? Should I go to Turkey? Should I go to Greece? How important is it to see those things? And I take trips and I like to tell people, listen, it's about understanding your Bible more accurately, because these things were written to a context. And sometimes seeing that context helps. It's not so much about going to walk where Paul walked, because you might get a little extra something because you stepped
on the same stones that Paul walked on. Yeah, right. I like to tell my students, we go to walk where Jesus walked to learn to walk, how Jesus walked. And that's more important. If we understand our Bibles better, that should help us. Yes, yes. Great. What do we got today?
Well, follow me, I have I have a follow up question for you. Yeah. Um, about the voting question. Sure. No, it's not a surprise. We had lots of listeners. Yeah. A little bit. Um, lots of listeners had follow ups. Um, because what some of them heard you saying was we should not vote as Christians. Oh, no. So I want you to be able to count on that. Um. Several saying. Isn't it the duty we have this privilege and this right as Americans that we can vote? Shouldn't we exercise that?
I would say I love this. Thank you for calling in or writing in, because giving someone a chance to explain themselves is super helpful. Just as Christians relating to one another, making sure we hear what was actually said and we deal with this in class, it's wonderful. It feels like I'm in class. Oh please, I did not say don't vote. We we have the opportunity, the right, the privilege to vote. If the Lord lays it on your heart that you need to exercise that opportunity to vote,
by all means do so. And for some, that's going to feel like an easy choice. For others, that might not feel like an easy choice. I don't want to judge the conscience of another believer who says, wow, this is a hard choice for me. But I'm not saying you shouldn't vote. That is an opportunity we have.
Which is what our caller had called in to say. She That said, I don't know how to vote. Is it a sin if I don't vote? Correct. That was her question, and my.
Caution would be to anyone who would listen to her and say, what is? Hey, people are individuals. We stand before God as individuals and our consciences are very individual, led by the Holy Spirit. But we all have different convictions and we have to learn to live together as believers. Some will choose to vote great and others will choose not to vote. And we have to be willing to give people the freedom to say that as well. We are one in Christ, and our identity ought to be
as believers together, and that supersedes any other identity. So if you feel strongly about voting, vote. Personally, I vote, but when I meet a believer who says, oh, I'm struggling, I want to show the love of Christ to them too, and give them the freedom to have the conscience that says, okay, I'm going to sit this one out or and then let's remember that in many cases, lower level municipal elections and all kinds of things car laws, library taxes. Vote
on those. You're a participant in the community where members of our community and we have that option to vote. Hope that helps. Yeah.
Yeah. And someone even mentioned like, Christians in politics, like, that's a good thing, that we can be part of that municipality and those communities and different areas.
God calls and trains people. I have a very good friend who has an I shouldn't say he's a very good friend. He's a very old friend, but he sits in some of the highest levels of government. And I'm so thankful that he is in that place. National government. I'm thankful he's there. We need believers in those places. Amen. But if someone says, I have a conscience, I don't want to be there. I'm not going to judge their faith or their motives or their or their their belief
in Christ. I'm going to give them the freedom to make that choice for themselves.
Okay. Thank you for that clarification. Um, our first our next question out of the mailbag is from Connie in Florida. She listens to keys. I believe spiritual warfare is real, and I have been trying to put on the full armor of God, as Paul describes in Ephesians six. Um, I usually go over these pieces of armor in my mind and kind of mentally put them on to stand firm. How often should we put on this armor?
So if if what Connie means here is I literally have a performative practice where I maybe model myself putting on armor. I don't think that's what the Bible is recommending here. Um, that we need to stand in front of a mirror and see ourselves putting on the armor of God. I think Paul's argument here in Ephesians six is to be prepared. Be prepared for the onslaughts that the spiritual world bring against us, that Satan brings against us. And someone will ask, well, how do I get prepared? Well,
I need to be thinking about God's Word. I need to be praying. I need to be taking up the sword of the spirit. I need to be doing these things. These are the acts. These are the behaviors that will keep me prepared. Pray. Read the Bible. You don't have to stand and perform prayer, meaning like acting like you're praying or pretending you're putting on the sword. No, spend time reading the word and that's getting ready. And that's putting on the armor of God.
So in doing some of our normal daily spiritual disciplines, even that is kind of the act of doing and and putting on this armor of God.
Absolutely. You know, you meet someone and they say, I have Bible verses all over my house. And as I walk from room to room, I read those verses and they remind me, you know what you're doing? You're putting on the armor of God. I have a dedicated time of prayer, whether it's before meals or before bed, or just a time of prayer, or I wear things on me that remind me to pray for this person. And when I see them, I pray you know what you're doing.
You're putting on the armor of God. You're doing the things that make for people who are prepared. Put on the breastplate of righteousness, having your feet, uh, Prepared with the readiness of given by the gospel of peace. You've, you've you're working these things into your life. You are prepared to face what the devil will send against you.
Okay, that seems much more attainable. Like sometimes when I when I read through the Armor of God, it's like it does become this almost ceremonial. Like I have to do this. Um, but if it's as simple as praying because it says pray, you know, like that, that's very it's not a simple fight that we're in. No, but the actions that we're taking to get ready, the repeated ness, the repetitiveness of it can get us ready for that. And then we are prepared when we face those temptations
or face, um, persecution from a boss or something like that. Yeah.
I spent many summers at a boys camp in upstate New York, Deerfoot Lodge, and we always had a quiet time. Time every day. Somebody would blow a whistle. Quiet time. And the whole camp would stop and you'd say, what's going on there? Well, these are young men getting ready to face the you know what the devil is going to bring. That day, we were encouraged to spend time in the word. We were encouraged to spend time to pray. You know, we don't have to do those things once
a day. Many believers do that throughout the day in various ways. And I think as we do that, we are reloading. As the kids would say today, we're powering up our armor, right? Right, right. And we're getting ready for the things that the Lord is going to bring us. And that's critical. Yeah. It's not a one time thing.
Yeah, yeah. Okay. Thank you for that question, Connie. We'll do one more. Sure. Go for it. Maggie in Illinois listens to WNBA and is looking at Isaiah 53 five. Is this which says, but he was pierced because of our transgressions, crushed because of our iniquities. Punishment for our peace was on him and we are healed by his wounds. Is this referring to physical healing?
I do not think so. I think that this is in the broader context. Of course, if you read that whole chapter in Isaiah, what's at issue is the sinfulness of God's people and the fact that this suffering servant is going to come and atone for those sins. The focus on that passage is all of the sinfulness of of God's people. One of the earliest verses I memorized as a kid. I only know this because my mom was a faithful believer, and she made us memorize early.
All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned each one to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53 six and you see the theme there is our sinfulness. Our sinfulness has consequences. Sometimes the consequences of sinfulness are our poor health or their physical infirmities. And we see that in the Old Testament. God brings judgment on his people when they sin, and those judgments are often physical. And so I think the writer here is using those things,
your infirmities, your wounds, as illustrations of their sinfulness. And so when he when they stand in for sin, the point is the suffering servant is dying to take away the consequences of your sin, which in this case is iniquity and physical ailment, things like that.
So the the healing is a spiritual healing.
Spiritual healing. Okay. That's right. And the spiritual healing when the spirit is healed, when people are doing what's right, the consequences of their wicked behavior goes away. I don't think what we're saying here is Jesus died to cure my pick. Your infirmity. Okay. Um. Remember that when job fell ill, it was not because he had sinned. His friends tried to pin that on him, and job thought maybe that was the case. But that wasn't the case.
God was doing something else. Job's sinfulness was not the cause of that illness. I think the point here is sin is in view. Spiritual healing is in view, and that has consequences in life. Okay. Yeah.
All right. Thank you so much. If you want to give in your mailbag questions for next time for next week. You can do that at our website openline. radio.org. There is a form you can fill out that says Ask Michael a question. Fill that out. Those will go right to my inbox. I will add those to the mailbag for next week.
That's Tricia McMillan, our producer, and we'll see you next week. Don't go anywhere because we have more of your calls coming up. I'm doctor Steven Sanchez. You're listening to Open Line with Doctor Michael Dolnick on Moody Radio. Hang in there a few more questions.
Sometimes we want to read the Bible but don't know how to get the most out of it. My friend, Moody Professor Doctor Jim Coakley, has written 14 Fresh Ways to Enjoy the Bible, a book that helps us understand the full riches of Scripture by giving 14 practical principles to bring them to life. Request your copy today with a gift of any amount to open line. Call (888) 644-7122 or visit openline. Radio. Org.
Welcome back to Open Line. I'm Doctor Stephen Sanchez in for Doctor Michael Radonich who's leading a trip in Greece and Turkey. Let's go straight to the phones and take your questions. Brian in Florida listening on w r m. How can we help you this morning?
Hi. Good morning sir. Good morning. Yes, I have I have a comment earlier, uh, someone called and spoke about Christ's return and the readiness, uh, for myself, I, you know, of course, I'm preparing for Christ's return. But when I look at this, statistically, chances are I'll probably die before he returns. And I'm saying that we are required to have the same readiness because we'll be in his presence.
I think that is a great attitude to have whether Christ comes back tomorrow and raptures us and then sets up his kingdom, or we die and go meet him first, the expectation is the same, right? We talk about the imminent return of Christ. He could come back at any time, and we often forget that living in our world today, we're a heartbeat away from meeting Jesus, right? We're a heartbeat away. One moment you're watching the game, and the
next minute you're with Jesus. And so there is a very serious expectation that we should be ready in all contexts, to meet our maker.
Yes.
Yes. Yes.
And I brought that comment up because, you know, I'm involved in life groups and often I need men's life group. And often I hear people talk about the readiness of Christ's return, but it seems like, you know. Oh, yeah, well, that's something I just have to be ready for that. But, you know, I could walk out and something happened to me tonight. So I always like to make sure when I hear those kinds of questions that I just, you know, kind of make it a little more imminent.
And, and this is something that everyone needs to be aware of, not just not just folks like you and me, who may be at the end of our journey a little more than others. But if you're listening to this program today and you're young and you have in your mind a thought, you know what? It doesn't matter. I can do what I want. I've got years. Well, I think, Brian, we would agree. We would look at that young person and say, actually, you don't know that you're going to
have years, right? You don't know it might be tomorrow and it might be 50 years from now. Christians are exhorted to be ready in all circumstances, and that's going to affect the way we live. Right. How does that play itself out? If you're going to be ready, it means it means spending time with the Lord and knowing him. It means time in prayer. It means reaching out with the gospel to those around us. It means being quick to be able to defend ourselves. A previous caller was
asking about the armor of God. It means being quick to defend ourselves against the attacks of Satan so that we remain faithful. These are behaviors that look like someone who is ready. What does it look like to not be ready? Well, you wonder sometimes, wow, this person doesn't know the scriptures. They don't serve. They're not involved in Christian community. They seem to be making poor choices in
their life. You say, hey, if when Christ comes back, it doesn't look like you're going to be ready for him. Let's think about what that means in living lives that honor him. Does that help, Brian?
Yes, sir. Good. Thank you very much.
You're welcome. Thank you for your question this morning. Let's go to Harry in Tampa, Florida, listening on keys. How are you doing? Good morning. How can I help you, sir?
Yes, sir. Um, I don't speak in tongues, but I watch TV a lot. And I watch everybody from your channel and sometimes some of the ministers on television stressed speaking in tongues as a, uh, almost a necessity. Or if you don't, you don't quite measure up or something. I don't know how to how to read that. I don't know what to think about that.
You know, when we look at the scriptures, we see that early believers spoke in tongues when they received the Holy Spirit, right? We see that first and foremost in the book of acts. We see that early on, believers are practicing this practice, and it seems very spontaneous. They're gathered together, they're thinking about the Lord. They're preaching the gospel. Christ told them, wait. Wait until the spirit comes. And they waited, and the spirit came on them, and they
spoke in other tongues. Number one, the Lord initiated this. I think that's really important. The Lord initiated this. This is initiated from from God. And number two, they speak in languages that other people understand. And so I look at this practice in the New Testament and I say it has a function. It has a real intelligible function. What is that function? Get the gospel out to more people so that they can hear it. And we see that in the book of acts, chapter two, where they speak.
And what do people say? They say, wow, like, I can hear this in my own language. At this sound, the multitude came together. They were bewildered. Acts chapter two, verse six. Each one was hearing them speak in his own language, and they were amazed. Astonished are not these Galileans who are speaking? How is it that we hear each of us in his own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia? Wow,
this is amazing. That's because God is doing something special and God continues to do something special with tongues in the book of acts, it seems like this practice falls out of necessity as we head into the rest of the New Testament era and into the early centuries of Christianity. And so I would say to, you know, tongues is not required. It is not required for people to speak in tongues. You can be a faithful, God honoring Christians, Christian and never speak in tongues. It is not ever
stated in the Scripture that that is required. It's true. We see the early Christians doing that. God initiated that. It is not them necessarily seeking it for a purpose that is not disclosed. Does that help Harry?
It does. Sure. And that's a great answer. I really appreciate that. The very wise answer, and I believe that that I've had four heart surgeries and several times my heart has stopped. Uh, what's your position on divine healing?
I think the Lord can heal. He can do whatever he wants, and he can heal as he does. and we pray for healing. We beg him to heal and we're love. We hope that he will heal us. And we ask. And as long as we ask, we do that in faith that he will help us. Well, that's it for today. I'm doctor Steven Sanchez. Thank you for listening and calling. Our production team makes open line possible. Trish McMillan produces the show. Amy Rios is our engineer.
Kiara Arriaga answers our phones. You can find more information about Open Line at Open Line radio.org. Next week, pastor Mike will take your call. Michael will be back in two weeks. Until then, don't stop reading your Bible. Keep asking questions. Open line with doctor Mike Zelnick is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of the Moody Bible Institute.