Luke 18 is Deluxe

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry coming to you from Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston.

No Compromise Radio is a program dedicated to the ongoing proclamation of Jesus Christ, based on the theme in Galatians 2, verse 5, where the

Apostle Paul said, But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

In short, if you like smooth, watered -down words to make you simply feel good, this show isn't for you.

By purpose, we are first biblical, but we can also be controversial. Stay tuned for the next 25 minutes, as we're called by the divine trumpet to summon the troops for the honor and glory of her

King. Here's our host, Pastor Mike Abendroth. Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry.

My name is Mike Abendroth. I think, Steve, I've forgotten how to give the intro. What intro's that?

Welcome to No Compromise Radio. Welcome to No Compromise Radio. Steve, it's been a couple months since we sat down, maybe even longer, because I don't know what was going on before I left.

Who knows with the knee and COVID and everything else. By the way, by the way, Kim hates it when

I call it the COVID. Well, you know what? I hate it when my wife calls it the COVID. Because you know what?

We're on COVID -19, or maybe is it COVID -20 by now? And you know, then we'll have

COVID -21 and COVID -22, and that COVID doesn't cut it. COVID -20 will be released in time for the 2022 election cycle for the senators and all that.

Are there going to be any like surprise cuts, you know, secret tracks on the album? It'll be released, it sounds like.

Any pop culture update, anything you're listening to these days, music wise? Pop culture?

Well, I've always got, you know, new things that I'm listening to, of course, naturally. Yeah, I discovered a couple of guys that I really like from Austin, Texas, while you've been gone.

They're kind of mini stars in their own right, but together they're really good, Randy Rogers and Wade Bowen.

And you're like, who are they? Just a couple of country guys. And John Pardee, my wife's like, man,

John Pardee has taken over our... He's actually from Northern California, I think, big country star.

I did not know that. The last country star I knew from California was Dwight. Dwight Yoakam.

Yeah. He's still doing his thing, man. Is he? Yeah. Same hat and everything? Is he bald now? And that's why he doesn't want to take the hat off?

Yeah. I think he is bald, but he's a big radio star too. I mean, he does a

Bakersfield Sound show, interviews a lot of people on Sirius XM.

Well, I get stuck in some YouTube world, and then it shows the next link and the next link.

And I was watching something about New Order and I watched something about the Style Council and it was that kind of thing.

Old stuff. Yeah, old stuff. But in light of your country stuff, I believe most people are good. Oh boy.

I think moms should be nominated for sainthood, but I don't believe most people are good. See, that's hardly even country.

I mean, we're going down the Luke Bryan road or something. I know.

So that's not country? Well. Technically? Yeah. I mean, theoretically, yes, but not in my mind, no.

I was listening to the Ken Burns soundtrack on country music and Jimmy Rogers and stuff like that,

Yodel No. 8 or whatever they call it. That wasn't too bad. Well, I mean, a lot of that stuff,

I mean, we're kind of going far. But I mean, it's interesting because it really is kind of the soul,

I would say, of America as a country. There you go. S -O -L -E?

S -O -U -L? S -O -U -L. Okay. Yeah. So, Steve, at the moment, I'm going to preach this

Sunday. The contrast between Jesus receiving the children and having childlike faith and then the rich young ruler that says, what do

I do? It's kind of interesting that they're right there next to each other, almost like Judas and his greedy, wanting all the money compared to the lady with the ointment who just pours it out on Jesus.

There's a reason why those are next to each other. Anyway, I thought I'd start the show off today by reading from the message,

Transmigration, and it's not a translation, it's a transmigration.

The message transfiguration, because what it's supposed to be and what it is are transfiguration.

What was on the really on the inside came out of the outside. How about the transubstantiation, the message transubstantiation?

Transglomeration. But anyway, I think you'd like this language because even though you're not from the

Midwest, I know your wife is, and it kind of has got this Midwest feel to it. All right. It ties into country music.

Sling it on me, bro. Yeah. Luke 18, people brought babies to Jesus, hoping he might touch them, right?

He's going to bless them. When the disciples saw it, they shooed them off. Now, git, git.

But you know the way it sounds, that Jesus shooed off the children, the babies. Yeah. Well.

Hey, get away from here, kid. That's what I was saying. You know, the disciples were saying, git, git. You just git.

Get on out of here. Okay. Now this is interesting. See, you didn't know this. Jesus called them back.

So I guess what the writer is trying to say here is that, you know, the parents wanted to have the kids blessed.

They brought the little tiny infants. That's the word there for the Greek, by the way. The little tykes. Little tiny babies.

And the disciples said, you know, leave the master alone and off they went, right? They received the rebuke, the parents did, and they left, but then

Jesus was like, hey, come back here. Curtain call. Come on back. Let these children alone.

Don't get between them and me. These children are the kingdom's pride and joy.

They're my pride and joy. Charlie pride. Mark this,

Jesus said, unless you accept God's kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you'll never get in.

So a couple of points here that I just want to make. I don't know about the shoo them off thing.

Although it's interesting. Matthew. You may as well take off your shoes. Take the dust off your sandals.

Matthew 14 and Matthew 15, the disciples like, hey, get rid of these people, right? They all are hungry.

It's kind of a common thing. But I find it interesting that it says, unless you accept God's kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you'll never get in.

And of course, the real translation is, it's not simplicity of a child is it's with a matter of fact,

I'll read it to make sure I don't mess it up. But when you think of children, do you think of helplessness, dependency?

They can't offer anything. As we're talking about saving faith, that the contribution that they give is nil, right?

And everything is who God is. Do you think it's that? Or do you think it's simplicity? That's a tough call.

Well, you know, I mean, we were talking about parenting a few hours ago, and I'm like, one of the things

I tell parents is, if your kids didn't need you, if they didn't need your input, they wouldn't have parents, right?

God designed things for a reason. So kids are incapable of doing certain things, right?

They don't have the capacity for doing it. So go ahead. Yeah, well, the text says, truly,

I say to you, quoting Jesus, this is the ESV, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God, like a child shall not enter in.

So you don't have to be a child to enter in. And it's not that children go in, per se. That's not the point.

But childlike faith and trust and humility. And what do they offer?

I mean, when you're kids, you have three kids, when they were little and in the house at two, three years old, I'm sure they contributed to the light bill, right?

Well, grocery shopping. Our kids did, because we'd tell them, you know, you need to go up and down the neighborhood and offer to mow people's lawns.

Or don't come home till it's done. But I'm only three. No excuse.

You got to pull your weight here, son. In one sense, I guess we could give a benefit of the doubt to Eugene, because simple, it's not this complex thing.

A child could believe somebody that was mentally handicapped could believe people that don't have a high

IQ could believe in terms of it's a simple message in terms of Jesus dying for sinners and being raised from the dead.

And you just take God at his word. Yes. I guess that could be it. Yeah. But while you're even saying that,

I'm like, you know, there are people who just make that an excuse, right? All I need is a simple, like faith, therefore, well, yeah, no creed, but the

Bible, right? Jesus is all I need. No creed, but Jesus. I don't need to know anything.

I don't need to learn anything. I don't need to grow. I don't need to do anything at all, because I've got childlike faith.

And then, by the way, when my life falls apart and I call the pastor, you're really calling the person who does then try to study and know.

So couldn't have that told you that you should have studied and knew that for yourself early on? Yeah, well,

I mean, I think we learn things not only, I mean, talking about you and I, you and me, not only by just by virtue of study and all that, and by getting older, but people who,

I mean, it amazes me sometimes how people could have lived so long and have learned so little, you know, you almost intentionally have to run around with your eyes closed, ears stopped to learn as little as some people do.

Speaking of which, in pop culture, I watched like the behind the scenes, Planet of the Apes, the original movie with Charlton Heston, and like little special, like behind the scenes things you wouldn't normally see.

And they had the council, I think, of the orangutans or something, and they were the highbrow people, the clergy or whatever, the higher ups, and they had them seated in such a way where it was like hands over mouth, hands over ears, hands over eyes at one scene.

You know, my favorite part of that whole movie is, I mean, I really want to go back and watch him. Janet and I watched the newer ones like a couple of years ago.

I want to go back and watch the really old, old ones. One of my favorite scenes though, is when

Charlton Heston, I mean, he really, he thought he was on another planet or whatever.

But I think this is even before he finds out he's on earth and he's in a cage and all the human beings don't speak and the apes do and everything else.

And he just screams at the top of his lungs. It's a madhouse. It's a madhouse. I love that scene because it applies almost daily in this world that we live in.

I thought it applies in the church we pastor, starts at the top down. Oh, but some things are just so crazy, you know, that,

I mean, we live in a world where all the time they're calling good evil and evil good.

So it is a madhouse. It's an Isaiah five world. You'll also find it interesting, Steve, that the planet of the apes was a book written in French and then they needed some screenplays adapted.

And so they changed up a few things. And the first person I think to try to do the screenplay was

Rod Serling, Twilight Zone. And they didn't like a lot of stuff and there were some contract disputes.

And so they moved the script to someone else, the screenplay, but they kept the ending of Rod Serling.

Really? That was his ending, Statue of Liberty. And I thought, oh, that's interesting. And they have another

YouTube where you can, it shows you all the places where they filmed it. And they kind of transpose, transubstantiate the old show and the new show.

It's funny how we're, you know, that's becoming the theme of the show. You know what? We just loop things. It's a

Hebrew way of thinking and you just go back and loop. I don't think

I've ever told you the story and I know he'll listen one day. I have a friend named Troy and Troy listens to No Compromise Radio.

And I just had, we went on a little sailing boat cruise with he and his wife, Kim and I did.

And they'd been to Germany with the NoCo group. Anyway, Troy was told by his wife,

Kathy, oh, you've got to listen to this show called No Compromise Radio. They speak directly about Jesus from the word.

You don't have to wonder what they believe. And I think you'd really like it. And it's right up your alley,

Troy. And so they got in the car, they were driving, and it was one of our shows. And he said, they should not call that No Compromise Radio.

They should call that No Content Radio. That was his first response because we were talking about all this stuff like this.

I said, even on Tuesdays, we have points. We have theological points. Sometimes we have a lot of them. Sometimes they're even good.

I know. So how about this? We continue with Luke 18 in the message, um, trans, transmogrification, transubstantiation.

Why did Snowpiercer just go into my mind? Transcorporation. All right. Tell me what you think of this,

Steve. One day, one of the local officials asked him, good teacher, what must

I do to deserve eternal life? Yeah.

Well, I mean, Jesus should have said, there's nothing you can do to deserve eternal, right? I mean, nothing.

I know. Well, this whole deserving thing, I mean, I think we're in agreement. We have one scenario where you have childlike of faith, childlike faith.

And even before that, Steve, as you know, you have the tax collector and the Pharisees and they're, they're praying right.

And, and exalting and humility and everything else. And now we have, uh, an illustration really of one is the prideful one here.

The other one was the humble one, the child. So it's like an expansion of that. Well, the deserving part

I don't get, but if I were to say to you, what must I do to inherit eternal life? I think everybody would go, oh, there's a lot of do language in scripture.

Do this and live. Even going back to Joseph's words to his brothers, do this and live. I start connecting the dots in a biblical theology way with do language, but not deserve language.

Yeah. Deserve is just completely, it's foreign. Foreign to, I mean, what,

I mean, God never talks to Adam like that. He never talks to Moses like that, right? If my people will do this, they deserve.

Let's think about that. That's a good point. So Adam in the garden before the fall. He had some things that he was supposed to do, things that he wasn't supposed to do.

And you think, okay, Adam was to obey God and he was to do what

God said or do not do what God told him not to do. And so he,

I think he's living in an obedience world. Is he not? Right. He's a creature. God's a creator.

Obey me. He's under law. Right. Is there anything wrong with that? No, no. And if he breaks the law, then we know what happened because that's what, what did happen and sin entered, et cetera.

But if he would have kept the law, then what would have happened? Well, he would have been rewarded.

Yeah. And, and, and we don't know at what point he would have been glorified, but a lot of the commentators and men and theologians that would speculate on this, and which

I agree, he would have been granted eternal life. He would have been granted a glorified body. It's almost kind of like that Romans eight.

I think Voss talks about that in Romans eight language. You go from justified to glorified, right?

There's not even this little sanctification section of growing in grace anyway to obey. There's nothing wrong with that.

And Steve, I think sometimes as Christians push back on me, uh, if you disagree,

I think we automatically think as Christians that obeying and doing and working is intrinsically wrong.

It's intrinsically wrong. It's explicitly wrong. If I'm going to work to get my own salvation, but just the idea to do and to obey,

I think as creatures that's built into us, the falls, what torques it.

Yes. But, but I think there are a lot of, I mean, I think there are two separate tracks because I think the other one is, you know, we, and we've talked about this fairly frequently, uh, people, people like lists of things to do.

And they think that by doing them, they are, um, I don't want to say making themselves more savable, but that, but you know, there's a right track, wrong track, kind of implicit in us.

And I think Christians like to know that they're on the right track. And I think sometimes it's just like, tell me, give me a list of things to do, pastor.

Enough of this Jesus talk. Can you just give me like four or five things that I can do this week or, you know, change about my life.

And then I'll know that I'm on the right track. Okay. I'm with you. Here's what

I think I meant though. Um, Jesus is talking to this unbeliever. And so when the guy says, what do

I do? He tells him what to do. He doesn't say, Hey, doing's wrong. Uh, doing's all tainted, uh, doing something you should never know or think about.

And it's not found in Deuteronomy. It's not found in Leviticus. The do part's not wrong.

If in fact you can do it perfectly, right? So what you're talking about, I think is for the

Christian and the Christian's view of the law and doing and stuff like that. Right? So it's interesting.

Jesus says, why are you calling me good? No one is good. Only God. Okay. Not bad. You know, the commandments, don't you?

So these are the commandments according to Eugene. No illicit sex. Now, why would you write that?

How about thou shalt not commit what? Yeah. Adultery. I mean,

I mean, that's really odd. That will elicit sex or fornication or whatever, you know, so, well, that, that strikes me as the same thing as trying to leave wiggle room, right?

I don't think we want to leave any, certainly Jesus wasn't leaving that man any wiggle room.

And when you read things like first Corinthians six, does he not do the same thing with that list there?

That vice list? I think he does. What does the text say? I know the problem here is, oh, unjust people who don't care about God will not be joining in his kingdom.

Those who use and abuse each other, use and abuse sex, use and abuse the earth and everything in it.

See, I mean, that's 12 step language. I'm sorry, but you know, not that I spent a ton of time, but I probably spent about six months or a year of my unbelieving life, you know, kind of submerged.

12 months, 12 steps. Yeah, not exactly. But that is that, that's that language, you know, and so, yeah,

I hate to see that imported into the text. I have a dear friend and he was in college and he was an unbeliever and he was told that sleeping with his girlfriend was wrong and, you know, adultery was wrong and all that stuff and fornicators would not inherit the kingdom.

So he didn't know what that word fornicate meant. So he went to the library in Nebraska, it's called

Love Library, and he got one of the Oxford dictionaries and looked up - There's some irony there. Uh -huh. Oh, yeah.

Well, it was phileo, not eros. And he looked up the word fornicators and he's like,

I do that. And the Bible says fornicators will not inherit the kingdom. And here we have 1

Corinthians 6 in the real text, fornicators, adulterers, and then you've got the two different words for homosexual, the active and the passive.

And of course, ESV even combines those, sadly. But I want people,

I want those words to be there. So if somebody read the message and they go, I'm sleeping with my girlfriend, it says fornicators won't inherit the kingdom.

I fornicate. I need a savior. Therefore I'll go to the library and find out what it's for. I mean, that's not even a word that you hear, right?

No, unless it's the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Californication. Yeah, yeah. But even that was kind of, you know, camouflage.

Right, right. Yeah. Fornication. I wonder what the root for that is. I mean, pornea, of course, and we would get that, but I don't know the etymology of fornication.

I have no idea. Yeah. Okay. I'm sure all readers will send that in, but this show will have played two months before -

And we'll have no idea why they're sending that to us. What is that? Some kind of warning? You know? He said,

I've kept them all from as long as I can remember. When Jesus heard that, he said, then there's only one thing left to do.

Well, interesting, even with Peterson, he says to do. He didn't say, well, then I guess you don't deserve it.

Sell everything you own, give it away to the poor. You will have riches in heaven. Then come follow me. This was the last thing an official expected to hear.

He was very rich and became terribly sad. He was holding on tight to a lot of things and not about to let them go.

And that kind of like makes the ultimate sin, you know, holding on to stuff. If he just sold everything he had, then he would have deserved,

I mean, that's a major category here, right? I know. That's why you don't have one person translating the

Bible. That's terrible. I would have reviewed that and just said to Eugene, hey, huge, let's talk about this, bro.

So you're saying if he would have sold everything, he would have deserved heaven. We're talking about practice.

Oh, so anyway, Mike Gabendra, Steve Cooley, No Compromise Radio. We hope you're making it through your, you know, difficulties with now we have fires as of today, a bunch of fires in Northern California.

It's crazy. Well, I mean, let's see, what do they have going on out there? Heat wave, fires, blackouts, earthquakes,

COVID. Other than that, I think things are pretty good. You love California, don't you?

Oh man. Speaking of Californication. I mean, if I could just get everybody to move out, I'd go right back.

Way too many people, but that's going to change. I don't think it's the amount of people necessarily.

I think it's who's in charge of the people. I think it's we the people. It's going to change out there.

I'll tell you that. Steve, I remember when I was living in Orange County in 1982, 83,

I probably moved there and it was Reagan country. I remember riding the bicycle to Miles Square Park in Fountain Valley when

Reagan was speaking and it was, you know, Reagan banners, Reagan, was it

Reagan Bush stuff everywhere? You mean when you could walk the streets without fear of repercussion?

Boy, seriously, what does that tell us? Whether you're pro -Trump, anti -Trump, what does that tell us when, if you wear a red hat down the street or a pro -Trump bumper sticker, your person or your car is going to get whacked?

I don't know, but I did see something the other day, you know, just not to get political, but there was a poll.

It was 86 to 13 people who view this election as existential.

You know what the numbers were during the Bush v. Gore election? 54 -46.

And so what that tells me is that people are so, they're so polarized that you can't even talk to, you know, your fellow

Americans about such things these days. Well, it's interesting. I didn't get much pushback last Sunday when I preached, when I just did the whole thing about Republicans and Green Party and liberals and Democrats and all that seemed to go pretty well.

Yeah. Well, yeah. I mean, when you're exegeting the Republican platform, you know, things go, things go. I always complain, you know, people hand out the sermon notes because it's, it's really, you know, impugning the intelligence of the people.

But that voter guide that I handed out seemed to really be accepted generally and warmly. Hint, he's kidding.

The IRS, such a thing has never happened. Every single year, somehow I walk in the back by the tracks and the book table and all that stuff.

And there's people putting some kind of vote, vote this way. And it just seems to be everything

Republican, just vote. I've never seen that. Oh yeah. You must intercept them. I throw those away as often as I throw

Jehovah's Witnesses tracks away in a hospital lobbies. All the time. Mike Abendroth, Steve Cooley, God bless you.

No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Abendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston.

Bethlehem Bible Church is a Bible teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life transforming power of God's word through verse by verse exposition of the sacred text.

Please come and join us. Our service times are Sunday morning at 1015 and in the evening at 6. We're right on route 110 in West Boylston.

You can check us out online at bbchurch .org or by phone at 508 -835 -3400.