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Responding to questions from listeners about Christian Nationalism, civil laws that are based on the Bible, and where the "God Shaped Hole" concept comes from. Visit wwutt.com for all our videos!
This is When We Understand the Text, a daily Bible study in the Word of God, that we may know the things freely given to us by God. Tell your friends about our ministry at www .tt .com. And once again, it's Pastor Gabe.
Thank you, Becky. You're welcome. You got to make it. Maybe. A little congested. I'm a little bit. Becky's a little stuffy today. Yes. I had to reschedule my dentist appointment because I'm too stuffy.
I was like, that's not going to be fun for anybody.
I don't think the dentist wants to be around there. Even if it is just allergies. Yeah. It's just not going to be fun. Hey, something happened this week. Oh yeah? Yes. What? I'm not supposed to tell you.
Oh. But I'm going to anyway. Okay. Yeah. Well, good. We hit over 3 million downloads. Nevermind. The What Podcast hit over 3 million. I changed my mind. 1 ,000 ,000. 3 ,000 ,000 downloads. Yay. 3 ,000 ,000.
Okay, well. I mean, that's it. That's a good number. Yeah, it's exciting.
Ignoring the rest and that's that's only what I'm able to see that's all you know. You don't even know if there's even more than that right on numbers that I can't see just the numbers. I'm able to track.
There's been over 3 million downloads of this podcast. Right we can we can rightly say of course I could I could have said this when we hit 2 million downloads. But we can say it's been downloaded millions of times.
Yeah. Yes, so thank you so much everybody for listening to when we understand the text. This is the Friday edition of our broadcast when we take questions from the list. Speaking in tongues all of a sudden I got the tides all tongued up.
You can send your questions to when we understand the text at gmail .com. This will be a little shorter episode this week because we had to record in the middle of the week. Mm-hmm little earlier in the day than usual yeah was when I'm stuffy and when Becky had the time.
And I still had to get her stuffy. You still had to get me stuffy. Oh like me. I got I got you here stuffy. Yes, okay? I I'm not the cause of your stuffiness nor did I go buy you cheesecake and stuff you so.
So a couple of polls just like we did last week. We're gonna start with a couple more polls this time the first one was on I think this was done Monday on Twitter the question was well. It was it was a true or false statement, okay, so it had to do with Christian nationalism.
We've heard all about Christian nationalism, and you know it's getting thrown around in the news mostly used in very negative Context or connotations. Anybody who's a Christian nationalist they're dangerous, okay?
And apparently Christian nationalism is a greater threat to this nation than the LGBTQ movement. Oh, I mean, that's really that's the way people are approaching it even among Evangelicalism people like Russell Moore David French Phil Fisher who we're gonna talk about here a little bit later in the program.
All right, they're all a watch out for the dastardly Christian nationalists the scariest people in the country right now. They're gonna ruin everything hmm so the anyway. I did a. So I did a what video on that let me go ahead and play that actually because that might clear the air a little bit.
On sure people know what we're talking about Christian nationalism, then I'll give you our poll. Yeah poll numbers here. We go. What is Christian nationalism. The term is often used derisively to discourage mixing Christianity and politics.
But defining it has mixed results. Christianity today critical of Christian nationalism said it's the belief that the American nation is defined by Christianity and that the government should take active steps to keep it that way.
But wouldn't that be a good thing pastor Grant Gaines said it's imposing distinctly Christian morals on society. And what's wrong with that? Have you not read that God's law is good and to be laid down for the lawless and disobedient.
Does the Bible not say that? The governing authorities have been appointed by God for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do good. So which evil do you hope they punish what the world calls evil or what God calls evil if you believe?
Marriage should be between a man and a woman and life begins at conception and the law should protect those values and punish Opposition and we should elect leaders who believe the same the world calls that evil and they will call you a Christian nationalist.
If by Christian nationalism, you mean the American izing of Christianity we can agree that should be opposed. But if by Christian nationalism, you mean the Christian izing of America? That's something we all should want and not just America but Christ to every nation.
Jesus said to make disciples of all the nations. Baptizing and teaching them to observe all that he has commanded if you are a follower of Jesus. You're part of a holy nation and our true citizenship is in heaven when we understand the text.
So now are you more educated on Christian nationalism? Yes I mean basically the people who hate Christians are gonna call you a Christian nationalist. I don't want to sound bigoted against Christianity because that would make their argument.
You know, they could get their argument shut right down right without that opportunity to try to subvert Christianity. Yeah, so we're gonna call you something more scandalous.
Yeah, you're a Christian nationalist and completely confuse the other person so they can't fight back. Yeah, right. What are you talking about? He doesn't have a clear definition.
Yeah, and that's that's the way a lot of the political arguments and things like that is social arguments moral. A lot of those arguments are going on that way right now. We're gonna make it into something that you really don't even know the definition of.
That way I have the strategic Intellectual upper hand because I know what I'm talking about and you don't right? Yeah, it's it's it's totally a. It's a scam. It's a scam game. Anyway, so I asked this question this was the poll question that was put out on Twitter a person who's Christian nationalist is Likely for God and country hates abortion and LGBTQ ism and thinks man's laws should be based on the Bible.
A person whose anti-christian nationalism is likely libertarian or progressive and is for abortion and LGBTQ or prefers nuance. Agree or disagree? That was kind of the way I put it. Did I rightly categorize those, you know, you're getting opinions.
Just because a person might be categorized as Christian nationalist doesn't necessarily mean they're Christian. But they would oppose abortion and LGBTQ ism. Sure, and they think that man's laws should be based on the Bible they might have like a What would you say a civic religion?
Folk religion, that's that's the term for it. So it's kind of like they're folk Christians. It's it's the religion or the dominant religion of my locale or circle in America or something like that. So I call myself a Christian though.
They may not actually be got it. But at least they have the certain moral standards that would fit into a category that we might call Christian nationalism. So is is that the way that you would stick that is is that how you would rightly?
Define Christian nationalism and anti-christian nationalists. All right, 77 agreed. Wow. 20 disagreed and Then another 3 said other and The here were some of the comments that I got so Pauly Said if you're Christian nationalist, you're thinking too small.
Christ owns everything. Sure, I don't disagree with that. But the thing is if this is the way you're voting If you're voting for conservative what you might call conservative Christian causes or moral ethics.
Then the world is gonna call you a Christian nationalist. It's it's not a label you get to pick right. I Don't go around calling myself a Christian nationalist but I'm just kind of trying to categorize the terms a person who's Christian nationalist is probably gonna look like this a Person who's anti-christian nationalists will probably look like this and it seemed like 77 agreed.
By the way, that was over a hundred and sixty-one votes. That's pretty good. Greg said I say other only because I am still researching what is meant by the term Christian nationalism. Good luck to you.
That's fair this one from Jeff there's a different Jeff. I guess did I say a Jeff earlier? No, Jeff said I strongly disagree. This is a false dichotomy David said before anyone comments note the word likely it is a general statement people.
Yeah and Toby a pastor friend of mine. He said I strongly disagree since by that definition most Mormons could be classified as Christian nationalists. Maybe except for the laws part, but federal visionists would also fit into that definition.
Sure. I don't disagree. I was actually trying to go very broad with that definition. Yeah, so I wasn't trying to say that the Christian nationalist is actually Christian, right? But that they somebody who might get stuck in that category.
Would fit that particular descriptor. Mm-hmm. Anyway, I don't know how helpful that is a poll to anybody just thought I would share. Here's the other poll this one is this one was done on Tuesday the 25th.
All of America's laws should be based on God's moral and civil laws in the Bible. All of America's laws Should be based on God's moral and civil laws in the Bible. Ideally, yeah. Yeah. So the options were totally agree mostly agree mostly disagree or totally disagree.
293 votes. Okay, so just about had 300 votes on there a little more popular. 78 totally agree. Awesome. 17 mostly agree. Mm-hmm about 2 mostly disagree and about 2 totally disagree. Now here were some of the comments on that particular poll.
No, maybe not because I change windows. Of course, I would do something like that. Ha ha. Hang on. Our friend John from North Carolina. I've actually got an email to read from him here in just a little bit.
So John you get two mentions on the podcast today. He says just as biblical Christianity is the best and safest religion for women and children. The Bible's civil and moral laws are the best and safest for national law and a thriving society.
Well said John this one from J. Wouldn't it be great to reduce the penal code to pages? Versus the volumes we now have I'm not really sure. I know what that means.
J says Bible cuts it down like straight. Oh, that could be yeah like oh, well this that makes sense.
And this of course J. That's a great idea. Yes, that makes a lot of sense if I interpreted. Yeah, this right here. Look I'm holding our entire law in my hand. Yeah. What was it the. I remember reading one year the IRS laws by themselves.
Were it was like the thickness of eight Bibles or something like that. Wow. It's way more words than the actual Bible. Huh? Because the Bible is something like seven hundred and twenty five thousand words.
So anyway, I'd have to look that up. I can't remember how long the Looking this up here. It says US tax code starts with the internal revenue code, which is currently six thousand eight hundred and seventy one pages.
Whoo, that doesn't tell me how many words. Yeah, that doesn't tell me how many words it is. I mean my Bible right here. This is thirteen hundred and twenty two pages a little more than that. Yeah, how many so how many words is that the myth of the 70 ,000 page federal tax code, okay.
Well, it's only six thousand pages, yeah, that's that's better. 6 ,800 pages that's not nearly as bad. I would hate to have to know all of that man. What kind of test you got to take to get all of that, right?
All right, this one from under pastor somebody named under pastor laws should be based on God's morality true morality sustainable morality, yes absolutely and cage stage Calvinist. Which has to be a joke name because he's got an avatar that's that's Nicolas Cage.
If Nicolas Cage ever became a Calvinist he would be your quintessential cage stage Calvinist. That would that guy is crazy anyway. Cage stage Calvinist said to say otherwise is like saying man knows how to do things better than God.
Yeah, I mean that's that's where I come from. If we're not basing our laws on God's law. What are you gonna base it on? Yeah, I Mean, how can whatever you make laws from be better? Yeah than what we have in God's Word now making our laws based on God's law doesn't mean we're just copying Deuteronomy on to American law, although that would be great if we did there are certain laws in Deuteronomy that are ceremonial.
Right, but then there are also other things like somebody made up made the comment that we're like, you know. There's no bicycles in the Bible. So how would you make bicycle laws? Based on what's in the Bible and I said, well the key words based it's based on God's law, right?
It doesn't mean you're copying and pasting God's law so you can make bicycle laws that are just Based on the standards that we have in Deuteronomy. Yeah right now. Our laws are extremely unjust. Mmm showing all kinds of partiality.
Oh, yeah in Various different ways. Thanks to wokeness, which is which is kind of messed all kinds of things up. But anyway, there you go. That's. That was my couple of polls from this week meat. Let's get to some questions here.
Like I said John sent us a question. So he says greetings pastor Gabe and Becky ever since God revealed reformed theology to me back in 2012. Oh, wow, hey happy 10-year anniversary. Yeah. On your reformed theology.
He says I'm noticing more and more just how unorthodox a lot of Arminianism is even in some reformed circles I'm hearing people say things about the lost that they just have a god-shaped hole that can only be filled by Christ.
But they keep trying to fill it with everything else in the world. I believe that you have taught on this before and have said that since only the elect will be saved. It would be illogical or worse sentimental to think that the non-elect have this god-shaped hole that will never be filled.
Do you think this might be a good topic for a what video? I would love your thoughts on this. God bless you and your family and your church and your ministry. Thank you. Thanks, John. Yeah, I have talked about this before doing a what video on a god-shaped hole.
That would be a great 90-second video. I think yeah good suggestion because it comes from CS Lewis. That's who popularized it. Really there was a song back in the 90s late 90s that was done by a Christian artist named plum.
That was called a god-shaped hole. It was even played in the movie Bruce Almighty. Okay, Jim Carrey film don't recommend it. But yeah, you know it was in that movie. But that's where it comes from the the idea that every man has this god-shaped hole and we're all trying to fill it with something That only God can fill.
But the reason why a person goes after sexual immorality is because they're actually looking for God and. So instead of finding God though, they find there. They find they find or they make sexual immorality their God.
Okay, that's the concept. There's another quote that goes along with this is pretty similar. It's like everybody everybody's knocking on a door. But the door they knock on they think that they're gonna find God on the other side, but they actually find something.
I can't remember how the quote goes. I'm gonna mess it up. But it all comes back to that whole concept of the God-shaped whole thing. Huh? But what does Scripture say? Romans 3 10. No one seeks for God, right?
So the fact that a person falls into sexual immorality or anything addiction of some kind. Anger and malice toward others. It's not because they're looking for God. Finding anything and everything to fill it.
Yeah, like mistakenly putting it in the wrong place. Yeah, I thought this was God, but oh I was wrong. I mean cuz then you're justifying the worship of the Sun and the moon, right? We're just looking for God, but they looked in the wrong spot.
They worship the Sun because that was the best thing that they had. And then I've heard that argument like people doing the best with what they have. Yeah, and God will forgive that. No scripture is clear.
The reason why people worship the Sun and the moon is because they rebel against God. Yeah, it's not cuz they're looking for God Romans 3 10 as it is written. There is none righteous. Not even one. There is none who understands.
There is none who seeks for God. All have turned us together. They have become worthless. There is none who does good. There is not even one person and after going through these things quoting from the Old Testament Paul summarizes it this way in Romans 3 23 for all have sinned.
And fall short of the glory of God. Being justified as a gift by his grace through the redemption. That is in Christ Jesus Whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in his blood through faith for a demonstration of his righteousness.
Because in the forbearance of God he passed over the sins previously committed for the demonstration of his righteousness at the present time so that he would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus as Romans 3 23 through 26 we've all sinned and fallen short of God's glory.
It is only by his grace through Christ Jesus That we are forgiven those sins and have fellowship with God not because of any searching that we did. But because God knew us and placed his affections on us before the foundation of the world.
Mm-hmm. But yeah, the God-shaped whole thing that's that's a misplaced like you said John it's Arminian. Yeah, you know, so it's the idea that we're we're all kind of searching for something. The seeker sensitive movement plays into that.
Yeah the idea that everybody's searching for something so we're gonna bring them in of our church and try to give them something they're searching for and Help them to recognize what you're actually looking for is God.
No, that would be a neat video. Okay, I'll work on that. Thanks, babe the Gabe and babe show. This next one from Alex dear pastor Gabe great job on the most recent Phil Vischer video. Oh, yeah. So I said that we were gonna mention this we're gonna say something about this.
Okay, so let me go ahead and let me go ahead and play it. Okay, eat up some more of our short time sure I have here today. But this was the video that I just did on Phil Vischer that posted on Wednesday, I believe the what video on Phil Vischer's opinion about abortion.
Hmm William Wolfe former White House official had an exchange with Phil Vischer creator of veggie tales. Vischer said can you tell me exactly when the Bible allows abortion? William replied never easy.
What's your answer? Vischer said and what scripture leads you to that conclusion. Have you not read you shall not murder in God's law. Justice for the death of a child in the womb is the same as justice for an adult.
You shall pay life for life in the Gospels when the Virgin Mary became pregnant and Joseph planned to not marry her an angel appeared to him in a dream and said Joseph son of David do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife for the one who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her she would be with child. He said and behold your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son by the testimony of angels life begins at Conception but Phil has lamented on his show about the downsides of making the murder of preborn children illegal.
He claims to be pro-life. But only wants abortion minimized and he believes it's okay to murder a preborn child if daddy is a rapist. He makes Bible shows for children, but he does not understand something as basic as when a child's life matters.
The Bible warns about those wanting to be teachers of the law. Even though they do not understand what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions as. For you keep faith and a good conscience when we understand the text.
Wow.
That's awful I know I.
You know when Phil was going on his rants a couple of weeks ago where he was kind of exposing all of this. Yeah views about abortion. I saw comments from people saying folks never meet your heroes. Yeah.
That's sad it is really sad what that's really said. What what do you can find out about somebody that you just would have been better off not knowing? Mmm, but Alex said anyway a great job on the recent Phil Vischer video.
I've seen a few exchanges with Phil posted some other places online. The guy has really gone off the deep end or maybe he always was and we're just now noticing it. Yeah. Anyway, I had a question about the video you just did and the one before it the one about the he gets us website.
We ought to talk about that on one of the Friday Q &A's. He gets us. Did you see that video when I did that one? I don't think so. Okay, that's that's a big Great yeah, if you've been watching if you've been watching football or the World Series or the baseball playoffs I guess and it will be in the World Series too.
I bet the he gets us campaign is a series of commercials That are trying to direct people to learn about Jesus and they're trying to put Jesus on like a human level. So that you can relate to him as a yeah, we talked about that.
Okay, you know what I'm talking about. Yeah, okay but instead of Understanding his divinity and his humanity together. Mm-hmm. It's entirely. Just it's entirely his humanity, but it's not even the biblical understanding of his humanity, right?
It's reading our experiences into Christ exactly and say everything that we experience. Well, Jesus went through that so he can relate to us. Even to the point of saying Jesus was a thug too. Yeah, you know crazy stuff.
He broke the law also. If you're a lawbreaker, you can relate to Jesus. Anyway, that'd be a whole other tangent. I'm just saying we ought to do a Q &A. Somebody ask a question about it so we can do a Q &A on it.
He's looking forward to that one. So anyway, Alex says is that you in those videos? Are we now seeing the face of the what guy in the what videos? Why haven't you done that until now? Just curious. You don't have to read my question on the podcast.
Too late. Anyway, yeah, actually the reason for it. I always wanted to do it. Okay, but I mean you have to know that very professional grade photographs you do. Yeah in order to do that, and I just I didn't have the time.
But now I mean, it's so easy to come into a really high quality camera. Yes, back at the time that I was I started what videos which was 2013 2014. Yeah. You know cell phones were yeah. Right, it's like a three megapixel.
2 .2. And that was a big deal. Yeah, right. Look, I can take fuzzy images on my phone. You take five photos and you like your your. Yeah.
But now Becky has a good camera and and I've got a good camera on my phone. And so I found some actually actually some lighting that's used for videography here at the church. Yeah, I was like wow all I needs a white background and I can make photos of myself.
Yeah for the what videos the only reason I would want to do it. I'm actually better at you know. Keeping my face off things. I'm totally uncomfortable with that. But the main reason for doing it is because I cannot find stock photos.
Yeah, good stock photos of people holding Bibles. Yeah I've I've actually paid quite a bit of money for Some of the stock photos that I use of people holding and pointing to the Bible. So it's better to just do them myself and now even I've got the little bubble, you know.
Whenever I would do the quote bubbles. Now it's even me saying it and not just attributing the quote to whatever stock photo of a person that I found and yeah. They're on there. So yeah, that's that's part of the reason for doing it.
I really don't have an interest in wanting to have my face on everything. But Becky and I had this idea of the next g3 maybe which is next year September of next year. Yeah is when it's gonna be in Atlanta the next g3 our booth.
We would have a white backdrop. Yeah, and we'd take her nice camera yeah, and anybody who comes and visits us at our booth who wants to who wants to will hand you a Bible and do a Pose holding the Bible like looking like you're reading it and you might end up in a what video.
Yeah, that'd be awesome. We're thinking about it thinking about it. It might be a good idea. Could be it could be a disaster too.
At the same time I really am fond of this idea. I think it'd be awesome.
It wasn't our idea though. Credit. Where credit is due, you know who it came from. No, it was my dad. Oh, yeah. Yeah, my dad was the one that it was when he came and joined us at one of those few years back.
Yeah, and he's just standing there, you know at our booth and handing out our pins. He does better with handing out our merch than we do. Oh my goodness.
But he takes about five minutes per person. Yeah, right. It's awesome.
But he's looking at our looking at our booth and looking at the videos that are rotating on the you know. The monitor that we've got yeah, and he's the one that came up with why don't you just put a white backdrop right here?
You're not using this space for anything else. It's just your table and you're talking to people. So have people come on in here and you take their picture and you could end up in a what video I like it.
It's a good idea dad. Thanks dad. We'll see about that. All right, that's all I got. You got anything else you want to plug in here? Nope. Okay, not really. Thanks for listening. Yeah, this guys are awesome this next week.
I start a study in Hebrews. So I just finished up Galatians. The reason why I wouldn't jump right into Ephesians is because I'd like to do something a little long and then come back to Ephesians. So I've been successively going through books of the Bible since John.
I've done John Acts Romans first and second Corinthians Galatians. Particularly you think I'd do Ephesians, but there is an Ephesians series on the podcast already. I haven't taught through Hebrews yet.
So I'm thinking about going ahead and doing Hebrews and then maybe coming back to Ephesians a little bit later. And then I can grab my sermon series again on Ephesians if I want to do that. Take a break like I just did with Galatians.
Fair enough. Let myself teach from old teachings. Having to come up with something new. Yeah, great. Yep next week is Hebrews Monday Tuesday and Wednesday, and then we're still in song of songs Thursday and having heard from the listeners.
When I finish song of songs, I'm gonna go on to Isaiah. Ooh. Nice, so thank you for your input on that. Episode 1800 is in the books. Let's pray yes, let's Heavenly Father. We thank you for this time together.
Thank you that we can come to your word and learn from what you say. Thank you for the grace of God that has been given to us. While we were yet sinners Christ died for us and you have demonstrated your love for us in this way.
All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. But we are justified by your grace as a gift and in Romans 6 23 The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ.
Our Lord may your gospel continue to be proclaimed. May Christ be proclaimed to the nations so that all who believe in him will turn from sin to Jesus Christ. And have everlasting life. It's in Jesus name that we pray.
Amen. Amen. Now we don't have an outtake for you today. No, but we wanted to do a little tag here on the end. Yeah. And say happy 8th birthday to. To our daughter Aria, let's sing. Happy birthday. Yes, let's happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Aria. Happy birthday to you and many more. Now Aria, here's a fun little fact a fun little what trivia fact. Oh, yeah, Aria was the first of our children to be featured in what videos?
Twice in fact before any of our other kids were ever in a what video? Oh, yeah. The first one was she was in your tummy. Oh, that was her. I thought I was yeah, that's right. That's right. I was thinking that was each.
No, that was Aria what videos were not around when I was hiding behind you. Yeah. That's right. So there was that one and then there was another video where I had some it was one on if I remember, right?
The sanctity of human life so when life begins talking about how life it's it's mentioned 50 times in the Bible a child in the womb and Every time the Bible mentions a child in the womb it speaks of them with the same humanity.
That the Bible talks about anybody who's outside of the womb, right and so in that particular stat or that statistic I had various sonogram pictures up 3d sonogram pictures. Uh-huh. One of them was Aria, so her first two appearances on the what video were on what videos were both in the womb.
One from the outside and one from the inside. All of our children have in some way all five of our kids have been featured in what videos that's true. But today October the 28th is Aria's eighth for episode 1800 October 28th her eighth birthday episode 1800.
It's an eight got an eight eight theme going on. It's great. Yeah. Well, I'm gonna get it. I'm gonna go eat my food.