: Matt Slick Live: January 17, 2025

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It's Matt Slick Live! Matt is the founder and president of the Christian Apologetics Research Ministry, found online at karm .org. When you have questions about Bible doctrines, turn to Matt Slick Live for answers.

Taking your calls and responding to your questions at 877 -207 -2276. Here's Matt Slick.

All right. Welcome to the show. It's me, Matt Slick. You're listening to Matt Slick Live. Today's date is January 17th, 2025. If you want to give me a call, all you have to do is dial 877 -207 -2276. We have nobody waiting right now.

And you can also email me at info at karm .org. Info at karm, C-A-R-M, dot O-R-G. Put in a subject line, radio comment, radio question. We can get to it. Probably end up doing that today because it's usually slow on Fridays.

Also, if you want, you can watch the show on Rumble. Just go to rumble .com forward slash Matt Slick Live. We're on Twitter. We're on Facebook. We're on YouTube. So there's a lot of places. And maybe they will point me to in the chat, which the private chat there, the URL to the thing with all the social stuff.

I want to make sure I get the URL right. All right. And having said all of that, wow. I can also listen on Clubhouse, too. That's another voice. Boy, a lot going on. A lot going on. All right. So tonight, 10 o 'clock Eastern time, I'll be kind of like being interviewed on a podcast.

I'm going to be going over the issue of Marian doctrines, Marian dogmas. And we'll be going through that. I've been saying for quite a while now that the Marian issues of the Roman Catholic Church basically is just idolatry.

And I'm serious. It's idolatry. It's not me just saying it in hyperbole. It's idolatry. They're idolaters. And that they have turned Mary into a functioning goddess. And we'll be discussing that tonight as well.

So if you're interested in that, there is a link. I put it on the debates thing. I put it on karm .org forward slash debates. Now, it's not a debate, but just an upcoming event. And so we can use that.

I think it might be a good idea to change that from debates to events or something like that.

I don't know.

We'll figure it out. And you can watch that. I'll be going through stuff and documenting it from the official teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. And let me just say this again, that the Roman Catholic Church promotes idolatry in its statements about Mary.

It is idolatrous, and it teaches idolatry. In fact, last night, we have at my house, we have once a month on the third Thursday at my house, a bunch of people come over, and it was last night. And we just had a discussion about all kinds of things.

And one of those discussions moved into the issue of Mary. And we went into the apparitions of Mary, which every now and then I mention here on the radio. If you guys are interested, if you want me to do that, let me know.

I'll do it again. But to me, this is absolute proof, absolute proof that the Roman Catholic Church is false, is their official approval of these apparitions that they say are actually Mary. And the only way I can conclude is that they are actually demonic manifestations, and that the Catholics have been deceived by demons.

So when you read, you hear these apparitions, what they say, it's just blasphemy. And the Catholic Church just approves of them. In fact, a few days ago, I was talking on an online thing. I go to Discord a lot, Clubhouse, various areas.

Oculus, sometimes in the virtual world on big screen. I'll go into various places with my headset, which I need a new one. But I'll go in and just do what I can to witness and teach. And so I bring these things up in varying contexts.

And I'm going to tell you the Catholics don't like it at all. And what's really interesting is how the Catholics justify the idea of these statements. And they say, well, ultimately it points to Jesus when it doesn't.

Anyway, it's not a big deal, but I'm just saying it's really interesting. All right, now, if you want, you give me a call, like I said, 877 -207 -2276. We don't have anybody waiting right now. And what I'm going to do is just get to the radio questions, radio comments, radio questions that we get from people so that I can just address them.

And sometimes I go into little teaching moments and people like that. Apparently people like it when I don't take calls sometimes and just start teaching on a topic. Now, one of the topics I'm interested in researching again, renewed, is the issue of baptism.

And so I've been studying baptism a little bit more. And I'm going to present some information in a while, some really interesting stuff. Anyway, I really like to study various topics. All right, now, here's an e-mail.

This is from Ashley. I don't know if I've already gotten to this or not. Hey, Matt, my question is about idolatry. I have been told that an idol is anything that takes priority in your life or thoughts.

Yeah, we went over this a day or two ago. I don't think we finished the e-mail, though. And I was wondering if that would include hyperfixations and autistic special interests. Well, that's interesting.

I'm autistic. I've been diagnosed with Asperger's. Now, they don't really call it that anymore. But I have a sensitivity to touch, sound, and light, and certain things. My friends pick it up. They know.

And we all work around it. We're in a car with them. They can't play the radio. I can't focus. I can't hear them. I get overloaded. They know that. They just turn the radio off. That's simple stuff like that.

Even with my wife, we go in. I'm going to a room she's in. If she's got her phone playing something, music or something, I can't talk to her. I say, Hon, could you please turn it down? Because it's competing information and sound.

Because I have 80-decibel ringing in both ears and this stuff. At any rate, it's not a big deal. It's just what it is. And so would this include hyperfixations and autistic special interests? No, it would not.

Well, it could, depending on how you do it and what you do with it and how far you go. But the idea is that you're an idol and idolatry is when you give to a created thing the adoration, worship, praise, whatever, that belongs to God alone.

And that's what idolatry is. The email goes on. These obsessions are often so extreme that nearly nothing can be above them. But would God fault someone for a symptom of their disorder that they cannot help?

Well, that's between God and you and what levels and how it's done. I can't answer that one universally. But I can say that if you have something like this, there are ways. And I know I'm speaking from the inside.

There are ways to deal with them and to retrain yourself. One of the things I recommend people do is to, in your mind, rehearse proper reactions in various situations. Just rehearse them in your mind.

A certain stimulus comes in in what you do. It takes a while, but you can change your behavior that way. It's kind of a Skinnerian way of doing it, they say, but we won't get into all that. So I hope that helps a little bit.

Let's try another one. In the current Biblical Archaeology Review, it says that the oldest manuscript of John 11 have Mary in them, but not Mary and Martha. That Mary was added later. Are you familiar with this?

No, I'm not. The writer points out that the papyrus, 66, discovered in 52, had a scribal change. The scribe wrote, a certain sick man, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and Mary, his sister. Oddly, Mary's name appears twice here, but the scribe then corrected the text, making small adjustments so that now we read the village of Mary and Martha, her sister.

This would be a question for someone who studies manuscripts, and that's not my forte, but it's worth kind of looking into. It's worth looking into to see. It would be an interesting topic as well. All right.

Having said that, let's get to the next one. This is back in November. I'll be having Thanksgiving at my grandma's house this year, and I'm not sure how to behave toward a family member that will be attending.

He has mental illness, paranoid schizophrenia. What you do when you're all eating is you look behind him and say,.

What is that?

And you're just stuff like this, you know. And then when you're talking to him, you keep looking, you know, tilt your head and look behind him all the time, you know, and flinch a little bit. You just have fun.

No, I'm kidding, folks. I'm just kidding. But he was recently caught doing some prescription stuff he shouldn't be. My runner isn't. Okay. This question is, how much grace should we show to family members who have mental illnesses but commit serious sins?

See, these kind of questions, you know, how much grace? It's not like it's measured in quantities. How often? It's just not measured in numbers. What I tell people generally is if someone has an illness, you need to adapt to that as much as possible, whether it's mental or physical.

But you want to draw the line when it becomes sinful, and then you have to stand your ground as much as you can politely and lovingly and just say, no, I can't participate in it. Don't approve of that.

Just because you have an issue doesn't justify bad behavior. And that line needs to be established and then as politely and lovingly and patiently it needs to be stated and defended. So that's just how you do that.

That's what you do. All right. All right. Let's see. Here's another one. I would love to hear your wife on the radio. I hope my wife's listening to that. People want to hear my wife on the radio. She's good on the radio, too.

But she is super terrified of speaking in public. Even when we had, was it the 25th anniversary of CARM or the 20th anniversary, I had to have her come up with me on the stage, and she didn't want to do that.

And I said, do you have to say anything? Just stand there. And so I held her hand. We walked up. And we, you know, 20th anniversary, had a great time. And she stood there and I just said, my wife, my favorite wife, and et cetera, et cetera.

And they applauded for her because she just got to put up with me. And so it's a full-time job. And so that was it. Anyway, so if I can ever get her on the radio, I'm trying, you know. I want her to talk about the illness that she is under and how she deals with it with the Lord.

I think it would be very, very helpful for people. And so I keep telling her this, and it's just simple. All she's got to do is call me on the cell phone. Just call in like this and we just talk. Not a big deal.

So thanks for saying that. All right, let's see. I've got a long-time question I have or a few feel that is very important. I want to be able to respond as a Christian. My husband and I think our dog is seeing a spirit or something.

A large dog, not afraid even of a mountain lion that they saw. She has no fear. Every now and then she's terrified at a certain spot of the house. She'll hide behind the couch before morning but be like she's scared for her life.

There could be a sound coming from that area and dogs can hear certain sounds. It could be something like that. It could be a spiritual thing as well. So it got weird and asked if I believe in aliens and said no.

It's a long paragraph here so it's hard to know what the direct questions are. But you know what we should do? We should have a way to if you have a question go here and it limits what you can say. One question, a limit of 30 words or something like that.

We should do something like that. So that way people can give me direct, succinct answers. Let's get Alberto from Georgia. Alberto, welcome. You're on the air.

Good evening, Matt Slick. I've got a question. Is this thing in the Bible that teaches a carnal Christian?

Okay, let's talk about that after the break. Sorry about that, bad timing on my part. So hold on, buddy. We'll be right back after these messages. We'll talk about carnal Christians. Please stay tuned.

It's Matt Slick Live! Taking your calls at 877 -207 -2276. Here's Matt Slick.

Welcome back to the show. If you want to give me a call, the number is 877 -2276. 877 -2276. All right, Alberto, you're back on the air.

Yeah, my question is if there is such thing in the Bible that teaches a carnal Christian.

Well, yes and no. Yes and no. 1 Corinthians 3, and the first few verses it says, And I, brethren, could not speak to you as a spiritual man, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food.

For you were not able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not able. For you are still fleshly, for since there is jealousy and strife among you. Are you not fleshly? Are you not walking like mere men?

So this is a place in Scripture where it talks about the flesh, the carnal self. And that how people can behave in bad ways. Now, when people talk about carnal Christianity today, they generally mean someone who says they're a Christian.

He or she says he's a Christian and doesn't live like it at all. Lives in carnality, lives in the deeds of the flesh. Strife and envy, maybe watching porn, maybe fornicating, maybe using foul language, using the Lord's name in vain.

So many Christians do all the time now. So stuff like that. So there's different degrees and levels of it.

Okay.

Okay, because you mentioned that about Christians watching porn and all that. Before I answer that, I saw a video of the R .C. Sproul talking about carnal Christians. He said that concept was never taught before.

He said he never heard that before. People came up with that idea of teaching carnal Christians.

Interesting.

So how do you balance also, you just mentioned a Christian watching porn. So how do you balance that being a person practicing sin and a person who is watching porn? Well, I'm not sure.

I don't understand your question very much. But Christians shouldn't do that. And if they do, they need to be very careful because the judgment of God could be upon them for this kind of thing. Okay, so it's important.

So are they bored again, really, even though they watch porn? You know, watch porn on a virtual basis?

There might be children watching and listening, so I don't want to talk about this too much, okay?

Oh, okay. All right. Okay.

So I'm just saying that such things of sexual immorality among Christians should not be mentioned. It should not be occurring. And that we want to make sure that we as Christians live a Christian life.

And there needs to be counseling and accountability in varying areas, okay?

Okay, and I've got another question for you real quick. Remember the last time you mentioned that we don't invite Christ into our lives, but Christ is the one who decides to, you know, come. So how do you balance Revelation 3, verse 20?

Yeah, I say that door and knock, and he's talking about the church there at Revelation, not individuals where this unbiblical idea of people say, ask Jesus into your heart. That's not what you do. It's not in the Bible.

No.

You receive Christ and you trust in Christ as the Savior, the one who atoned for your sins. And this false teaching, ask Jesus into your life and you'll be fine. You'll be saved.

No, no, no.

That's not what the Bible says to do. That doesn't mean that people can't be saved in that mistake, but they need to trust in Christ, put their faith in what Christ did on the cross, and not just ask him into their heart.

No, they receive Christ, John 1, 12. Receive what he has done. Trust in what he has done. That's what you're supposed to be doing.

Okay.

So in other words, we don't give him permission to come into our hearts. Is that what you're saying?

Right.

We don't give God permission for things. It's another stupid thing taught in a lot of churches. God, I give you permission to blah, blah, blah. You know, it's just this idiocy of this, the stupidity of you have to give God permission.

You have to give him permission to work in your life. Give him a break. It's just, you know, the arrogance that's there.

Okay.

But don't people say that Christ is a gentleman. He won't break down the door. No, no, no.

Who says so?

Well, wait, wait, wait. Where does it say, wait, hold on. Where does it say anywhere in the Bible he's a gentleman, won't break down the door? Where does it say that?

It's just a stupid philosophy. Uh-huh.

It is a philosophy.

Yeah. Okay.

So you've seen that picture where Jesus would have knocked on the door. He has no handle. Got this flat, flat door, right?

Yeah, I know. It's just humanist philosophy in the church. People aren't studying the Bible. They're going to church and listening to mediocre, milquetoast sermons. Okay. This needs to stop. And Christians need to be dedicated to the Word of God and not preach denominational necessities but biblical truth.

And I don't have to say that all people are doing things wrong. There's a lot of good pastors out there. But, you know, we do receive Christ, John 1, 12. But he grants that we have faith, Philippians 1, 29.

And we really do believe in God. And we do choose to believe in him. But this idea that God is a gentleman, won't knock down the door of your heart, is ridiculous. Who says he's a gentleman? He causes us to be born again, 1 Peter 1, 3.

Jesus says, you cannot come to me unless it's granted to you from the Father, John 6, 65. So it has to be granted by God. So there's just a lot of humanist philosophy in churches all over the place. And because they serve the blond-haired, blue-eyed, Caucasian surfer view of Jesus, you know, and they want him to be polite and gentle.

But remember, he's the one who went into the temple and overturned the temple tables and drove people out with a whip made of cords, you know, of animal ropes that they were leading animals with. And he drove them out.

And he's there for righteousness. Now, I'm not saying that's the view of Jesus. He's not a UFC fighter. No, no, no. But in righteousness, he stands strong. And we need to do the same thing in the Christian church and preach the truth.

And so that's what we need to do. This idea of asking Jesus in your heart is not there. You receive Christ. That is there. And the idea that he's a gentleman won't break down the door of your heart, you know, it's just like a chart of stuff that people make up and then they put in a fortune cookie and say, See, this is how God works.

And that's just not how it works. Because, look, in Proverbs 21, the Bible says, God moves the heart of the king where he wishes it to go. He's the guy who regenerates us. He's the one. God is the one who regenerates us.

He's the one who redeems us. He's the one who grants us repentance. 2 Timothy 2 .25 grants that we come to Christ. John 6 .65. This is what we have to understand. And we need to ask God to intervene in other people's lives.

And he does it in varying ways. Conviction of sin, movement of people into certain circumstances, having people preach and teach to them, or having a neighbor just be a loving Christian for a long time.

And it gradually works in someone's heart to the point that they receive Christ. All of it works together in the sovereign will of God. Ephesians 1 .11. And it doesn't mean we can be mean to anybody. We're not supposed to be that.

We're supposed to be gentle as 2 Timothy 3 .4 .5 talks about. Colossians 4 .5 and 6. And so we're supposed to be like that. But I just get irritated when I hear this ask Jesus into your heart thing. It's very misleading.

Okay, so how do you, what is the Greek meaning for the word? Like you said, you just draw. I heard some people say, well, he's like forcing, like he draws, as a mean, as a guy. It's John 6 .44.

The word, yeah, he draws.

And the word can also be used to mean drag.

Okay.

All right, we've got a break. We've got to go, buddy, okay? God bless, man.

Okay.

It's a break.

All right.

Talk to you later. Hey, folks, be right back after these messages, please. Stay tuned.

It's Matt Slick Live! Taking your calls at 877 -207 -2276. Here's Matt Slick.

All right, and welcome back to the show. It's me, Matt Slick. Listen to Matt Slick Live! Just to let you know, we will not be on the air live Monday. Martin Luther King's holiday, so we'll be off the air Monday.

So that's just an FYI. Let's get on the air with Chuck from Greensboro, North Carolina. Chuck, welcome. You're on the air.

Good evening.

My question comes from Revelation 7, where they named 12 ,000 witnesses from each of the tribes. And I'd like to know if you know why the tribe of Dan was omitted, and instead the elder son of Joseph was included, Manasseh.

I think it's because the tribe of Dan introduced idolatry. I think that's what it was, if I remember correctly.

That's kind of what I remembered. Okay, that's good enough for that. I have a comment about the carnal Christian. I believe the verses you cited correctly identify carnal Christians. But in the letters of John, he says clearly that, essentially, if you're a follower of Christ, you don't continue in sin.

Now, if you, for example, are an alcoholic, you might continue to struggle. Or if you have any of these other addictions, you might continue to struggle. But you don't just continue on as though no change has been made in your life.

Right.

There should be some change, a struggle. Now, perfection is not what we can attain, and we don't judge ourselves by perfection. God will do that. But we are to definitely work against that sin. And if there's no struggle, then it's an indication you're not saved, if there's no struggle against your sin.

It doesn't mean you're not, but it's just an indication.

Well, thank you very much, and keep up the good work, and God bless you.

Okay, no problem. God bless.

All right.

Now let's get to Fred from North Carolina. Fred, welcome. You are on the air.

Well, good evening, sir. I really enjoy your show.

Oh, good. Thank you.

I have a situation more than a question. I would like to know what your biblical take is on this situation. I was telling the screener that my wife and I have been married. This June will be 40 years for us, and I'm 60.

We're both 60. I am still very much interested in... I want to keep this G-rated.

Intimacy. Intimacy.

There you go. That'll work.

All right.

Intimacy. And she, on the other hand, has turned the switch off and don't have anything to do with it and haven't for years.

Okay.

And it's getting to the point of, you know, it's just very difficult.

All right.

You're a Christian, right?

Yes, sir. We both are. Yes, very much so.

Okay. So what you need to do is go to the church you're going to, and you need to talk to the elders about this. This is definitely an issue of discipline. Now, normally speaking, unless there is a medical reason, a specific reason that that intimacy is not possible, which does occur, then if that's not the case, then she is in sin.

1 Corinthians 7 .5. So that's 1 Corinthians 7 .5. So you need to go to the elders of the church. You just lay it out, and they need to bring her in to have a discussion. And she needs to be asked what's the reason for this.

And if there's, again, G-rated, physical issues, that very generic issue, a very generic label, if there is nothing there that prevents normal stuff, all right, there's no real reason, then she needs to be told that, and this is hard, sorry, but that's not the right thing to do with your husband, and you need to be there for your husband.

She needs to be there for you. And if she says things like, well, I don't want to, I don't care to, well, that's irrelevant. So this is what the scriptures command. And you could say, well, I don't want to work and provide for you, so you do what you've got to do anyway.

And so if I was a pastor, and this came up, and let's say, in this case, the woman did not want to, and there was no good reason to it, there was none, I would then say that this needs to be taken care of, you're in violation of scripture, and if you do not repent of this, we will have to bar you from taking communion.

Is that serious?

Oh.

Oh, yeah, absolutely.

Yeah, okay.

Because the command is stop depriving one another. Okay, now, if she's got both of her legs broken from an accident and she's in a coma, it doesn't apply.

Yeah. Yeah.

Exactly. There's issues. And let's just say that I'm aware of varying people and issues and medical this and that, and so that whole area of their life is drastically altered. And when there's necessity like that, that's okay.

We just deal with it. But if there is none, that's a different topic. And she needs to be brought before the elders of the church. They need to politely, lovingly tell her what her obligation is as a faithful wife, and then if she does not conform to that, she needs to come under church discipline.

Okay.

Now, would you suggest that I try to talk to her before or no?

Yes.

Yeah, it depends. You could say to her, hon, look, I'm trying to be as polite as possible. And if you mention you talked to a guy named Slick on the radio, it might not add any credibility.

Yeah.

No, I won't bring that up. Yeah.

So, you know, but aside from that humor there, you can just say this is what the scriptures teach. It's 1 Corinthians 7, verse 5. All right. And this is it. And, hon, look, there's nothing in scripture, or if there's no physical problems, et cetera, there's nothing to justify this abstinence, forced abstinence upon you, then you just say, if this doesn't change, I will be required to go to the elders of the church and talk to them about this.

Now, she will probably react emotionally, feel threatened, and it won't help.

Yeah.

Yeah, I'm sure she would.

Yeah, I'm sure she would, too. And so this is why you've got to be very careful with it. And then if she doesn't comply for a week or two or whatever it is, then you say, okay, I'm going to the elders.

And that might embarrass the bejeebers out of her. She might not want to go to church anymore.

Well, yeah, I don't want that. I mean, I don't want that at all. I'm the type of person that needs love and affection and attention and, you know, but anyway. Well, I'll definitely thank you for your time.

Sure. Sure.

And this is a very touchy topic, particularly when it comes to intimacy and a woman's emotions. They are tied together, and the slightest wrong raised eyebrow can set you back days. That's how it often is.

That's what I definitely want to stay away from. But thank you again. I really appreciate it.

All right, brother.

God bless.

Okay.

You too. All right.

So this is a tough issue. And, you know, like I said, if your spouse has physical, medical, whatever they call it, conditions that restrict certain things like that, being very, very generic here, then the other spouse needs to accommodate as much as possible.

And sometimes a counselor who deals with this can have suggestions. Boy, am I being so vague. I've had to discuss this with married couples before. And only in that context when both are present and I have the permission of both of them, particularly the husband, that I then broach the topic a little bit more precisely.

And only if they agree and things like that. It's a very touchy subject. I want to make sure that people understand that and not be casual about it at all. But women have got to understand something about men that just because you don't feel something doesn't mean he isn't.

Just because you are fine doesn't mean he is. We are different. We are different. And we have this thing called testosterone. And testosterone makes you see things, think things differently. It's very strong.

And if a woman then for no good reason just says no, the wife that is, then she does not understand the difficulty she's placing her husband in. And she's causing him suffering and harm in that. That's something to consider.

We can get into more of that some other time. But it's true. All right, folks. We'll be right back after these messages. Please stay tuned.

We'll be right back.

It's Matt Slick Live! Taking your calls at 877 -207 -2276. Here's Matt Slick.

Hey, everybody. Welcome back to the show. I just want to let you know, give you a reminder that in November this year, I, myself, and some others are going to be going to Jordan, a Bible tour to the country of Jordan.

It's safe, not a problem. And we'll be going to Petra. It takes a bit of walking to get there. I've heard 12 miles round trip. So it's a bit of walking. You're going to be in shape for that. That's one thing.

And we're going to be going to the place of Sodom and Gomorrah, which I'm really interested in seeing. And apparently you can pick up sulfur balls there, that are there. And so I want to take one back.

So if you're interested in something like that, all you have to do is check out 2025jordan .com, 2025jordan, J-O-R-D-A-N, .com, and you can go check out all the information.

All right.

All right. Now let's go to Dr. Kaye from Wisconsin.

Welcome.

You're on the air.

Hi, Mr. Matt Slick. I've only listened to your show once, and I'm not sure if my question is in the correct format, but I was wondering what would be your either definition or instruction on how a person can honor their mother and father if they're, as a Christian, if their mother and father do not follow the same religion, or your parents actually define honor by insisting that you follow their specific religion?

That's not what it means to honor. No, you honor your mother and your father up to the point where they request you to violate Scripture. You do not honor anybody to the point of violation. And so you can't do that if there's a false religion.

Now, if there's Christian denomination, eh, you can talk about stuff.

Well, my parents are actually Greek Orthodox, and if I don't take the Eucharist or even enter a Greek Orthodox church, I'm kind of probably a word I shouldn't say on live TV. I'm not a good person.

So Eastern Orthodoxy is not Christian. It's a false religion. It's an apostate Christian-ish religion that teaches a false gospel, a false priesthood, and a false marriage. So I know quite a bit about it.

And so your parents may not be even true believers and may be destined to hell.

And I'm not judging them.

I'm not saying that is the case, because they may be true believers inside of that mess. But I'm just saying this is something that you already seem to be aware of. So one of the things you can do is you can say to them, you have different options.

One is to go to their church to do research. And then they will then ask you questions. What did you think? And they say, well, I don't understand why you would want to kiss statues and icons and pray to Mary.