Keep sharing good news without ads.
No description available
What does it mean to repent? Well, to repent means to turn around and go the other direction. So we're no longer pursuing sin, we're pursuing the righteousness of God. But this is something we do not just because we decide, but because God has granted us to repent when we understand the text.
Many of the Bible stories and verses we think we know, we don't. When we understand the text, promote sound doctrine while exposing the faulty. Here's your host, Pastor Gabe.
Thank you, Becky. You know, this is episode number 200 of this broadcast. I didn't even realize that until yesterday as I'm uploading 199 that I'm getting to 200 here. If I had given this more thought, I probably would have done something more monumental.
But it's Friday. We typically take questions from listeners or viewers on Friday. And so that's what I'm going to be doing today. But let me just say this. I have appreciated so much every single listener to this broadcast.
When we started this back in August, I had a goal of 150 people, because that's the size of my congregation. So if I could maintain 150 listens per day, this would be worth doing every day. And we have well exceeded that number, over 600 listens per day.
And some of these episodes even get listened 1 ,000 or 2 ,000 times. That is phenomenal and way beyond what I thought we would be doing with this when I started out on this. My first ministry priority is my family.
Then it is the church congregation that I have been called to shepherd. But this program is not in any way something that's just been shoved off to the side, and I'll get to it whenever I can. Every single listen that I see tick up on that counter, I am praying for you.
I don't pray 600 prayers, but I'm praying that the word of God that is being presented here would continue to grow and flourish in your mind and in your heart. And let me also say this, I have never curbed or softened the message of God's word to gain a single listener to this program or a single viewer to our videos.
And by His strength that is able to sustain me, I will never curb or soften this message in any way. One of my favorite doxologies in all of scripture is in Jude. He closes his letter this way, Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, to the only God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority before all time and now and forever.
Amen. God is the one who keeps us from stumbling and presents us blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy. So I pray that God would keep me faithful to His word to preach it according to what it says.
Not what I wanted to say, not to gain a single listener or a viewer, but to be faithful to this and the teaching of His word accurately with passion, with great zeal. May God continue to work that in my heart as this word is continuing to work in yours.
So that's what I have to say in appreciation to your listenership to this broadcast. And please share. Share this program with others. Let others know about the Bible teaching that is presented here every single day.
I appreciate your emails very much. I don't know what I was trying to say there. I just stumbled on my words. I appreciate your emails very much. I'm not able to respond to every single one of them like I used to.
When we first started out, you know, they trickled in and I was able to respond to everyone. Now we're getting so many emails that I can't respond to every single one of them. But know that they are being read.
And when I get the chance, I try to respond to as many as we can. Some of the emails get passed among listeners or members of our congregation because I want them to see the work that's being done here and they're excited to read them.
We get emails from all over the world. We've even received donations from all over the place. I talked earlier this week about having met our roof fund. So now we've got the money that we're able to repair the roof on our building.
And some of the donations came from people who listen to this broadcast. I appreciate you so much for that. I've reached out to some of those that I've noticed that we've received from different parts of the world.
And I know that's not a member of our congregation. It came from somebody who listens to when we understand the text and extended to them an appreciation and a thanks for the gift that they gave. I do not profit off of this in any way.
And as much as I can help it, this will always be free. I don't think there should be any charge for receiving God's word. My church congregation takes good care of me and my family. I don't need anything beyond the salary that the church gives me.
So there's no attempt to profit off of the what videos or this broadcast. This will always be free. So please continue to come back. Listen as God's word is presented on this program five days a week.
All right.
Now I said I was going to list. I was going to respond to some emails here. And so that's what I am going to do. This first one comes from Talitha. I hope I'm pronouncing your name correctly. Talitha says, hi, I know you probably get a billion emails a day.
Not that many, but we do get quite a few. But I'll send my question anyway, and hopefully it won't get lost. I'm wondering if you've already done something, a blog post or a video, on Christians sharing goofy memes that rip scripture out of context and do little or nothing for the furtherance of the gospel.
I like the way you put that.
It seems like every week, sometimes every day, another goofy meme is being shared or liked by my Christian friends on Facebook, and I'd love to know how better to respond to it. I know that I'll likely be accused of being judgmental no matter what I say about it, so I might as well share with them something that is full of truth and love, right?
I just wish that my friends could see that the impact these types of memes are having is not a positive or a gospel-centric one. And then she gives an example of a meme. I won't go into describing it.
But anyway, thank you for your time and for all that you do for the gospel. We have very much enjoyed your What videos on YouTube and have been greatly blessed by them. In Christ, Talitha. Well, I appreciate so much your email.
You know, Talitha, I'll tell you, the whole reason that When We Understand the Text even started was in response to some of these goofy memes and videos that you see on Facebook. I was over at a friend's house one time, a friend that I just talked to yesterday, as a matter of fact.
He lives in another state now, but we still keep in touch. He was a member of my church at the time we were over. My family was at his house, and we were all sitting around in the living room and talking, and I started complaining about how members of my own congregation were sharing goofy memes that went— like sometimes they would share stuff that went against something that I had even preached that day.
So we're kind of ranting about it. And I said, why are they latching on to such goofy memes and videos? And my friend said to me, well, make your own. And so then we started brainstorming about what we can do.
We went through several different ideas, and ultimately what we settled on was When We Understand the Text. So these things were made and meant to be short and sweet and kind of funny and pithy so that people would share them on social media like Twitter and Facebook.
So you are certainly welcome to take those videos and plug them under any sort of goofy meme that you see, because that's why we created them. Now, we can't respond to every single meme. Sometimes some of them will get popular, and so we'll make a response to it.
But anyway, that's why they exist, to be able to share on social media and be short enough and to the point that somebody will be likely to click on the video and receive a gospel truth in 90 seconds.
So please use them for that purpose, Talitha, and thank you so much for watching and sending in your email. This next one comes from Jake Bueller. It's not spelled like Ferris Bueller, but he was sure to point out it's pronounced that way.
So thanks, Jake. Thanks for the pronunciation guide. He sent me what he called a smorgasbord of questions. I won't be able to get to all of them, but I can at least address the first two here, because they kind of go together.
So Jake asks his first question, where do we get the phrase, repent of your sins? I have heard some pastors on YouTube say, repent of your sins is not in the Bible, so it is a heresy and therefore not part of salvation.
While I disagree with the salvation part, I can't find a verse that says, well, basically, to say repent of your sins is redundant, because repent automatically implies turning from your sin. I think of Acts 3 .19, where Peter is preaching in Solomon's portico, and he says, repent, therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out.
And there he even explains what repentance is. It's turning around and going the other direction. So before repentance, we're heading in a direction that is according to our sin nature. We're following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is at work, and the sons of disobedience, as Paul explains in Ephesians 2, verses 1 through 3.
So then the spirit changes our hearts and directs us the other way. And so then because of the power of God having transformed us to the knowledge of his truth, we are then walking in a direction that is contrary to our sin nature, and this is granted by God.
2 Timothy 2 .25, where it says that God grants repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth. So before repentance, we're heading in Satan's direction. After repentance, we're heading in God's direction.
And that automatically implies turning from sin. So to say, repent of your sins is redundant. Okay, so then the follow-up question that goes with that, you asked a second question, is why are there some passages of Scripture that say repent and believe, and others just say believe?
Many of the pastors will quote Acts 16 .31 and say that we just need to believe on the Lord Jesus to be saved. I'm thinking it's a context issue, but I'm not totally sure. Okay, so in the story that's taking place there in Acts 16, this is the story of the conversion of the Philippian jailer.
Paul and Silas are in prison. There was an earthquake, the jail doors flew open, the jailer rushes in, he sees the jail doors are open, so he pulls his sword out and is going to kill himself, but Paul cries out, don't harm yourself, we're all here.
And so the Philippian jailer calls for lights, he rushes in, he brings out Paul and Silas, he says, sirs, what must I do to be saved? And then Acts 16 .31, their response is, believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household.
But don't miss verse 32, that's important to the story. And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. So they didn't just say, believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, and then leave it at that.
They then explained what that meant. Who is the Lord Jesus Christ? What does it mean to be saved? What do I need to be saved from? Your sins, because in your sin you are under the wrath of God. And so it is Christ who has paid the debt for our sins, so that in Christ Jesus we now have peace with God.
This is just part of the message that Paul would have shared with the Philippian jailer and his household. So the statement is not just merely believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household.
It's then an explanation as to what that means. And so sometimes the initial statement includes the word repent, and sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes the subject of repentance comes about in the explanation that is then given to the statement that was made.
So does that kind of make sense, Jake? I hope that kind of gives you a little bit more clarification there. All right, if I have the chance, I'm going to go back to that email and respond to some of the other questions that you asked.
Before we wrap up here, though, I wanted to take a moment and respond to something that had popped up on the Internet yesterday. Thabiti Anuobuile, do you know who I'm talking about? I love saying his name.
He has a wonderful name. He blogs through the Gospel Coalition. He pastors a church in Washington, D .C. He's a Southern Baptist minister, so I have a particular interest in him in that sense because I also am a Southern Baptist pastor.
On his blog through the Gospel Coalition website, he featured a guest post yesterday from Nick Rodriguez, a fellow church member. And in that blog, Rodriguez gives five reasons why evangelical leaders should tell Christians to vote for Hillary Clinton.
Now, I've had much respect in the past for Thabiti. His Nine Marks book, What is a Healthy Church Member? sits on my shelf. In fact, I can see it from where I'm sitting here. I've shared his articles and videos.
I've quoted him in sermons. As much as I've appreciated some of the things that he's said and written, his recent turn on social issues has been pretty concerning. Thabiti has drawn criticism for encouraging others to vote for Bernie Sanders, most recently Hillary Clinton.
To say I'm voting for Hillary, that's one thing. But to say that every evangelical leader should be encouraging the rest of the Christian community to vote for Hillary? That's something else entirely.
One of the reasons that Rodriguez gives, and having read many of Thabiti's recent statements, I knew that this would be in the blog. But one of the reasons that Rodriguez gives for voting for Hillary and telling other evangelical leaders to tell everybody else to vote for Hillary, one of the reasons Rodriguez gives is because of Trump's racist and misogynistic comments.
It's a very generalized criticism when he makes it in the blog. He gives no examples. And I'm not going to argue. Trump is a bigot. And he has a horrible track record in the comments that he's made about women and the way that he treats them.
But here's the thing. I cannot fathom the idea that voting for Hillary Clinton is some kind of morally justifiable alternative to Trump's brashness, bigotry, and misogyny. Think about what you're saying.
Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton is not brash, bigoted, or a misogynist? Where have you been the last two dozen years? Look, Hillary may not wear it on her sleeve. It may not come out of her mouth and spill out on her attire like it does Donald Trump's.
But both of them are strategic in their own ways. Trump is drawing from his side of the aisle in his way. And she's drawing from her side of the aisle in her way. Though her words are not the same, she is every bit as brash, bigoted, and misogynistic as Donald Trump.
The thing she said about the women who have accused her husband Bill of sexual harassment, Hillary called those women trailer park trash and all kinds of other names and said, no one's ever going to believe them.
Do you remember that she dismissed their accusations as being a right wing conspiracy? Of one of those women, Hillary said, she is the war on women. She says that women who speak up about harassment should be listened to unless, apparently, they're speaking up about her husband.
Hillary has received millions in campaign donations from Saudi Arabia and Algeria and the United Arab Emirates. You know, countries with horrid track records concerning women's rights. She's made fun of stay-at-home moms.
I don't know if you remember this comment. I suppose I could have stayed home and baked cookies and had teas, but what I decided to do was to fulfill my profession, which I entered before my husband was in public life.
Hillary is radically pro-choice, which is about as anti-woman as any issue in our era. Look, I don't believe Donald Trump when he says that he's pro-life. That's a discussion for another day. But Hillary says she's not pro-life.
She openly and unapologetically advocates for and defends abortion. From her own mouth, she has said, the unborn person doesn't have constitutional rights. Get that. Person. How is that not worse than saying that we're going to build a wall to keep people out or we're going to ban all Muslim travel to the U .S. or talking about deportations and the like?
Donald Trump makes prejudiced statements, to be sure, but he's not advocating for genocide. Hillary will defend the murder of 3 ,000 babies per day with every breath that she has, a million children per year, through the barbaric practice of abortion.
If half those babies were girls, she's killing 1 ,500 girls per day. Weak women are being duped under the guise of women's rights just for their vote. That's misogyny. Hillary is the recipient of the Margaret Sanger Award from Planned Parenthood.
Margaret Sanger, the killer angel, as she's been dubbed, the woman who said birth control must lead ultimately to a cleaner race, who created the Negro Project for the purpose of exterminating blacks in America.
She said, colored people are like human weeds and are to be exterminated. And this is not a thing of the past. Blacks make up 12 of the U .S. population, but 35 of all abortions. Margaret Sanger's dream is still alive and well.
Roughly 80 of her Planned Parenthood clinics are located within walking distance of an African-American or Hispanic neighborhood in America. When Hillary received the Margaret Sanger Award, she says that she was in awe of Margaret Sanger.
And this woman is the least racist between her and Donald Trump? Are you out of your mind? Now, let me give this one. I gotta get this one out. Here's one last comment from Hillary, okay? I have to confess that it's crossed my mind that you could not be a Republican and a Christian, unquote.
Now, I'm not advocating for Donald Trump. I've said in the past, and I still stand by this statement, a vote for Donald Trump is a vote for adultery, porn, misogyny, divorce, fatherlessness, abortion, bankruptcy, gambling, racism, bullying, arrogance, obscenity, and overall godlessness.
Do you know what you would get if you voted for Hillary Clinton? Pretty much the same thing. It's not as obvious, but come on. Use your head. A vote for Hillary Clinton is a vote for everything that Margaret Sanger stood for, and then some.
Thabiti once wrote an article called The Importance of Your Gag Reflex When Discussing Homosexuality and Gay Marriage. It's a great article. Thabiti rightly pointed out that we've forgotten what we're talking about when we use the words gay or homosexual.
I'm not going to get descriptive because I know I've got kids listening, but in the spirit of that article, I want to appeal to Thabiti this way. Do not forget your gag reflex when you are reminded how synonymous the Democratic Party is with abortion, eugenics, genocide, Planned Parenthood, and slavery.
The Democratic Party does not care about black people, only using them for their vote. And I believe you're smarter than that, Thabiti. Don't fall for it. Now, I'm still holding out hope that a third-party candidate is going to emerge.
We've still got a long way to go until November, but if who we're stuck with is Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and Bernie Sanders, I won't be voting for either of the three. Now, I do think Bernie's going to end up running as an independent, so we can expect at least a three-person race in 2016.
I still want to encourage you to go to the polls in November. The office of the president is not the only thing on the ballot. There are other local matters that need to be decided. It's still your duty to vote, and I encourage you to find out who some of those local people and offices are that will be represented on the ballot.
I firmly believe it is our responsibility to get to the polls and vote. But I defy anybody to tell me that I need to use my pastoral position and encourage others to vote for an admirer of the killer angel.
Such a thing definitely doesn't belong on a gospel blog. Thank you for listening to the broadcast today, and for listening to this every day. If you would like to send an email, the address is whenweunderstandthetext at gmail .com.
God bless.
We'll be back at our study in Romans on Monday.
You've been listening to When We Understand the Text with Pastor Gabe Hughes. We hope you are a part of a church family committed to gospel teaching, and we thank you for including us in your Bible learning.
If you would consider a gift to this ministry, please visit www .utt .com and click on the Give tab in the top right corner of the page. Give online or send a check in the mail. Join us again tomorrow as we grow together in God's Word when we understand the text.