Matt Slick Live: July 11, 2024

The following program is recorded content created by The Truth Network. 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. Everybody, welcome to the show. It's me, Matt Slick. You're listening to Matt Slick Live.

And if you want to give me a call, as usual, on this beautiful day, it's July 11th, 2024.

If you want to call me, it's just 877 -207 -2276.

And you can also email me. Emailing me is really easy to do. That's easy. All you got to do is, okay, we'll check the audio in here for a sec.

Just email me at info at karm .org. Info at karm .org. And we'll be able to get to it.

Just put in the subject line, radio comment, radio question, and everything should be fine.

No big deal. Okay? It's easy peasy. Easy to do. Why don't you just give that a try if you want. All right.

So, I think that's it. We got nobody waiting right now. And I'm checking this.

I'm checking different things. And if you like, and if you want to watch the show, watch me sitting here in the office, and doing the radio, and participate in the chat room, all you have to do is go to rumble .com

forward slash Matt Slick Live. And you can there. You can join in with the chat.

There's a lot of good people there. A lot of good people. That's good. All right. All right. Now, let's see.

So, okay. I'm not sure what's going on. Let me check on this right here.

Make sure I did my settings right. Yeah, everything's right. Yep. Don't know what it is. Work on it later.

All right. So, there we go. And there we go. Okay. So, last night, last night

I was in a discussion with some people on a social chat thing where it's voice.

And it was an interesting conversation because I was talking to a guy who was saying that baptism is necessary, or normatively speaking, necessary for salvation.

And I'm trying to misrepresent him. And he's a Mormon. And we got talking about various things.

And I said, well, when you're baptized, is that when your sins are forgiven? Yes. All right.

Then are we justified by faith? And that was the problem. So, we ended up going to Romans 4, 5.

And it was really interesting because Romans 4, 5 says to the one who does not work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credit, his righteousness.

And I said, that's faith alone. And he said, no, it's not.

And I said, well, there you have two things. I said, look, if you have an apple and an orange in a bag, and you take the apple out, is the orange by itself?

Is it alone? It doesn't fit. The analogy doesn't fit. It was ridiculous.

Because, you know, what the Bible says to the one who does not work, but believes. So, this went on for a while, right?

This stubborn Mormon would not grant that the logic is sound.

You know, if you have two things, one's removed. Because you have to have faith that works, you know? And just like Catholics, right?

And so, then I got to this point. I asked a question. I wrote it down.

Because sometimes the question comes out just right for the context. I'm like, oh.

So, I wrote it down, too. I put it in my notes. And I asked this question. Now, I don't know if he was leaving at this point, or it was too difficult to question, and he had to go.

But all of a sudden, he wasn't there. And here's the question. This is in the context of Romans 4, 5.

And here's the interesting thing about this. When it says, but to the one who does not work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.

So, I asked him, is Paul negating the involvement of works in justification by faith? In that verse.

Crickets. Crickets. So, anyway, it's an interesting thing when people want to add their own works to the work of Christ.

And just like the Catholics, you have to have a faith that works. Well, yeah, that's what James is talking about.

True faith. But true faith is given to us by God. Romans, excuse me, Philippians 1, 29. And Jesus says the work of God is that you believe in him whom he has sent.

And I said, is the faith that God grants us that's in Christ, is it sufficient in and of itself to justify us?

That's the question, you see. And a lot of times, they don't want to answer those kind of questions. But it's a good question.

Is the faith that God grants to us, that's Philippians 1, 29, right?

And hold on a second, I'm going to get drunk. And is in Jesus, okay, is that faith sufficient in and of itself?

I'm writing it down, I'm saying it, of itself to justify us? And the answer is yes.

And so if that's the case, why do you have to get baptized to get saved? Yeah, see, there you go.

All right. Hey, let's get to Alex from Florida. And let's see what this guy's got to say.

Hey, buddy, you're on. Oh, hey, how's it going? Are they still let you have a radio show?

Yeah, because dumb people keep calling in and we need I need to have someone to answer. So you know, and then we're talking about this.

There you are. Let's correct this friend to feel bad because you don't get a lot of calls during the summer.

So they call it. Oh, that's what it is. All right. Yeah, that's

Oh, I forgot. That's right. We're supposed to be friends. That's right. I forgot about that part. I mean, if I got some time,

I know it's slow during the summer is what good friends do. Even even though you insult me all the time,

I still call him to the show. Yeah, but you like it. Yeah, I find it funny.

I know it's a form of flattery with you. So see if I if I don't like you, then

I insult you by not insulting you. There you go. Yeah, you're going cold.

That's right. Yeah. Okay. So what do you got, big guy? What's up? Yeah. So I'm teaching once a week for probably the next seven or eight weeks.

I'm teaching some a pastor in Pakistan and his church on evangelism. So I started today.

And so I was wondering some tips. Because, you know, they're in a highly persecuted area, you know, like six months ago, they had some churches that were burned down,

Christians were killed, and they're very a little squeamish about sharing the gospel in public.

So I was wondering if you had any suggestions about how to navigate the command to share the gospel while living in a highly persecuted country.

Any tips regarding? I don't know. What I would do is if I were them in all seriousness, is

I would have everybody be praying and fasting for wisdom and ability.

Because I think of those kind of situations. And this is where the cessationists are going to have a conniption fit.

But I think that in those situations, I think that's where the movement of the charismatic gifts is warranted.

And it's very, very useful. Because you can imagine, you know, a Christian who's in Pakistan, and he wants to witness or whatever, and there's some situations.

The situations can be infinite in variety. And God gives a person a prophecy, a word of knowledge or wisdom, a healing of somebody.

Maybe he heals or he or she heals a person and says, this is in the name of Jesus, this is done.

So I don't know. But that's one of the options

I would think would be taken seriously or should be. Yeah. Yeah. No, no, that's not bad.

Yeah. I mean, they have some opportunities to witness to like co workers and friends, but it's more like in the public sphere, like if they're on the bus, or, you know, out in the restaurant or something, they have to be very, very careful.

But I know we're commanded of Christ to do that, even if we're in a highly persecuted area.

So I mentioned, you know, the cost of doing it to them. And I also mentioned about prayer. I said, you know, the

Lord can protect you in those witness encounters, even in a public space where maybe others aren't hearing you.

You know what I'm saying? Right. Mm hmm. It's true. It's true.

But then what do we do? You know, and, you know, it's just so difficult.

But it's like Iran. I know Iran has, if not the one of the but if not the largest underground

Christian church in the Middle East. All right. Well, I think

I've heard I've heard things like it's you get caught with a Bible in Iran, you go to jail, you know, things like that.

It's so bad. And yet God has his way of communicating the gospel and stuff to people.

I would think that another thing to be done is that the Christians there would be fasting and praying over the

Muslims, having dreams and visions to increase that, because you could have a situation where a

Muslim has a dream of an individual on a bus and he's in his season.

God can do this in a supernatural way. God can work. I don't have any problem with that.

And praying for those things, as well as just regular opportunities to be able to witness. So, you know, just ask

God about maybe having you come in eventually and teach on it, because I know that's that's going to help them in the long run if they get that down, you know, especially with dealing with Islam, you know.

But, yeah, it's kind of a I mean, even for me, it's a little challenging because I know we're commanded to evangelize, but I have to be sympathetic and sensitive to their situation, you know, so.

Yes. It reminds me, I think it was in Pakistan that I spoke to a woman who English is pretty good.

We had a meeting over the phone and she was a pastor. And, you know,

I'm definitely against women pastors. And we got talking about that. And she said that she's against women pastors.

And she said, but the thing was that if a man steps up in that culture to be a pastor, they kill him, kill him quickly.

And so one could do it. And I'm like, wow. You know, and she says she knows men are supposed to be there. And that's just a situation.

So what do we do? And I said, well, I'm not there. I can't say don't do it. I'd rather someone's preaching the gospel and not.

But, you know, it's man, you know. Yeah.

Yeah. No, no. That's some good things to think about. Any other scriptures you can recommend as I continue teaching them on evangelism?

I really do believe in Acts chapter two with the movement of the Holy Spirit. I do.

I think that's I think that's what needs to be focused on is I think in situations like this, the people need to really rely on God and look for God to to open up those doors.

I really think that's what needs to be done. Instead of finding someone on a bus, you have to pass a track out to.

I would think such people might just want to just be praying and praying and praying and asking

God to open the door at the right time. And it also could be that such a

Christian could accidentally say something without even knowing it, that a person overhearing it might be very affected by.

So this is what I really do believe. I really do believe that praying is really where you should be doing it.

Yeah, that's good. I emphasize that. I mean, that was one of my prayers for them today before we closed the lesson was

I prayed for people to come to them. I prayed that the Lord would bring people to them and open up their hearts to hear the gospel.

Right. Yeah, I agree. I agree. Yeah. But that's good.

Yeah, that's good. No. And then, yeah, we'll touch base. Maybe you can come in and teach him eternity at some point while I do these lessons.

I think it would be helpful for him. Well, sure. I could, you know, better teach. And you know, the thing is,

I feel completely inadequate because here in America we are we're enabled to, you know, preach and teach.

And I sit here in the comfort of my my office and you've been here. I got four twenty seven inch monitors.

I've got a desk fan, a coffee heater. I've got a USB wireless microphone.

I can walk around the house and I've got a really comfy chair. And I witness. It's not the same thing as those guys.

Yeah. All right, buddy, we got a break. All right, man. Well, God bless. I see you, brother. Yeah, God bless.

Hey, folks, you want to give me a call? Eight seven seven two zero seven two two seven six.

We'll be right back. It's Matt Slick live.

Taking your calls at eight seven seven two zero seven two two seven six. Here's Matt Slick.

All right, buddy. Welcome back to the show. You want to give me a call? All you have to do is dial eight seven seven two zero seven two two seven six.

I want to hear from you. Give me a call now. We also if you're interested, you can give me an email.

And if you want to send an email to info at Karm .org, info at Karm .org.

And just put in the the topic radio question or radio comment.

I'm looking at a couple of things right now. Oh, wow. OK, there we go.

So we have nobody waiting. What I think I'm going to do is get to some of the questions.

Yeah, I'm just looking at someone like that. So here we go. All right. Oh, that was a good question from yesterday and Philippians 129 and dealt with that.

So enjoy that question. Now, let's see. When are you going to debate Chris Fisher again?

Well, that's right. We already talked about that, but probably not ever. Probably not.

I think if I remember correctly, he's the guy who couldn't argue his way to have a wet paper bag if it was pointed down and was chain pulling him out.

He didn't know what he was doing and it was pretty embarrassing on his part. And it was almost a waste of time.

Let's see. So he's reformed. I believe in predestination. God chose us for the foundation of the world.

God grants we come to him. Did God see our free will choosing him in these two areas? Okay. Now, this is an important question because we want to understand a concept.

This is biblical theology. Ladies and gentlemen, you have to understand something that God's choices aren't dependent on your goodness.

You see, if you want to think or say that God will save you based and want on what he sees you choose in the future, like you're going to choose him under a certain circumstance, but not another one.

And then he chooses you and saves you because of your choice. Then what you're saying is your choice is good.

And therefore, God is saving you based on the goodness in you. And the

Bible says no one is good. No one does good. No one seeks for God.

Now, people may not like that, but that's the case. Romans 3, 10, 11, and 12. And Jesus said, no one can come to me unless it's granted to him from the father.

John 6, 65. So when people think there's a possibility of God looking into the future, so to speak, or the different conditions that might exist, and he knows what you're going to choose based on that.

And then what he does is he arranges circumstances, creation, whatever it is, in order to get you to make that choice at that time.

Then God is not the sovereign king. You are. And that is a dangerous doctrine to hold to.

And the reason it's so dangerous is because it can lead, not that it will, but it certainly can lead to spiritual pride, where you might inadvertently think when you're talking to an unbeliever and the other believer doesn't receive

Christ, that you somehow are smarter or wiser or more humble than him or her because you made the right choice.

And that's the kind of thing we just got to be careful of. Now, remember, we fall on our strengths as well as our weaknesses.

So God does not look down the corridor of time to say what you're going to do, and then he chooses you based on that.

That would be a false doctrine. And it is taught, unfortunately, by a lot of pastors in Protestant churches.

Again, it's a false teaching. God's choice does not depend on your choice.

Now, people will say, well, that's just not right. It's not fair. God can choose whom he wants. Well, yes, he can. For this is the word of promise, at this time

I will come and Sarah shall have a son. This is Romans 9, verse 10. And now only this, but there was not only this, but there was

Rebecca also when she conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac, for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad.

Nothing good or bad. Nothing. So that God's will, God's purpose according to his choice would stand not because of works, but because of him who calls.

You see, people want to say that God will choose them based upon the good choice they make, that that's essentially a good work.

It's a good thing you're doing. And God says, no, it's not based on that. And it's right there.

Romans 9, 11. We're talking about the twins, Jacob and Esau. You were not yet born, had not done anything good or bad, not because of works, but because of him who calls.

It was said to her, the older will serve the younger, just as it is written. Jacob, I loved, but Esau, I hated.

So when I present this to people, a lot of times what happens is they get very upset. They say, that's not fair because people need to have the free will choice to be able to choose

God. It should be up to them and their free will, because they're responsible. And that's their complaint.

And I say, well, no, it's not. It's God's choice. And they object. They go, no, that's not fair.

Then I continue reading Romans chapter 9, the very next verse. What shall we say then?

There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be. For he says to Moses, I'll have mercy on whom

I have mercy. I'll have compassion on whom I will have compassion. You see what people will do.

And I did this too. When I first heard about all this, I did the same thing. That's not fair. It's not right.

And then I read this. Oh my goodness. I'm saying the same thing. I'm objecting the same way

Paul objects. Not exact same words and exact same sentence structure, but I'm complaining.

Well, that's not right. I mean, come on. God is the one who ordains it. It's not up to me and my wisdom and my ability.

That's not how it works. It means up to God who chooses. No, no, God would never do that. At this point sometimes what

I'll do is I'll say, well, I think he would. And I even believe that he would make the wicked, even the wicked for the day of evil.

And they say he would never do that. And I say, I just quoted Proverbs 16 .4. And they don't realize that so many people have been taught unbiblical theology.

And I confront it just as I was confronted with the word of truth. So let's go on because I'm right here.

We've got no callers waiting. It says, what shall we say then? There's no injustice with God. No injustice in what?

That Jacob I loved, the niece I hated, not because of works, but because of God's choice. That's what the issue is.

And if you're listening to my words out there and you don't agree with what I'm saying, go to Romans 9 and I'll tell you what you can do.

What you can do, it's very easy. Go to Romans 9, start at verse 9, and take a pen or a highlighter, a black highlighter.

And then I can tell you what verses to just remove and get rid of because they don't fit your preferences.

I'm just reading scripture. I have to tell people a lot of times, are you submitting to God's word?

Are you submitting God's word to your heart? Because it says, God says,

I'll have mercy on whom I have mercy. I'll have compassion on whom I have compassion. So it does not depend upon the man who wills or the man who runs, but upon God who has mercy.

And I read that to people. That's what it says. But so many people want to say, no, it's up to us and the wisdom of our hearts.

But the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 2 .14, the natural man cannot receive the things of God for their foolishness to him.

He cannot do this. Well, they say he can. And the

Bible says he can't. Because so many people have a humanistic philosophy.

Humanism is man -centeredness. Humanist philosophy in Christianity is such things as my free will, my ability.

God won't violate my choice. God waits for me to make a choice. That's humanist philosophy as it was.

Well, hey, look, there's a break. If you want to give me a call, 877 -207 -2276.

We'll be right back. Please stay tuned. It's Matt Slick Live!

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

Alright, everyone. Welcome to the show. Welcome back. Often when

I teach through Romans 9, it's like kicking a hornet's nest. Sometimes people call in, that can't be right.

And then we have a discussion. It's really an important part of Scripture. But nevertheless, let's see what Lynn has to say for North Carolina.

Welcome, you're on the air. Hi there, Matt. This is my second time calling you.

I'm from Greensboro, North Carolina. And I have a question. You know, I was listening. I hate to admit,

I'm with a little bit of distraction. So I'm sorry. I kind of missed your Proverbs reference.

And I'd like to hear the Proverbs reference again. 16 .4? Yes, Proverbs 16 .4.

The Lord has made everything for its own purpose, even the wicked for the day of evil.

Wow. You know, that's hard to hear. It is. Yes, it is.

It's hard to hear. You know what's even worse? You know what's even harder? Tell me. This is

Romans 9 .22 and 23. What if God, although willing to demonstrate

His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?

And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy which He prepared beforehand for glory.

What's that verse? Romans 9 .22 and 23. And then there's another verse.

And this one isn't as solid in that, are you kidding me category.

But in 1 Peter 2 .8, now what it talks about is, it says this, a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.

That's Jesus. For they stumbled because they are disobedient to the word and to this doom they were also appointed.

Now does it mean that they're appointed because they stumbled? Or were they appointed and that's why they stumbled?

That's the question. It's tough stuff.

Can I read, can I, um, This show, I can, if I knew what show it was

I could hear it again, right? Yeah, it's Matt Slick Live. Yeah, Matt Slick Live.

But I mean, do I do a date or on the web? How do I get it? Well, what

I would do is go to, let's see if I can find it quickly here. You go to, I think it's just, is it the

Truth Network? Let's see. The Truth Network. More? .com.

No, not that one. Let's see. I'm trying to remember. I never go there. Let's see.

Maybe it's just Truth Network. Let's see. Truth Network .com. Yeah, I'm familiar with Truth Network. Okay.

Yeah. And just look for my name. In fact, I'm on the top page right now because it's my time to,

I'm on and you can just go there and look and do a search for Matt Slick Live and you can find my day -to -day show. And I've taught on this before many times over the years.

It's one of the sections of scripture that had a strong influence on me, along with Romans 5 .18.

There are certain areas of scripture that when I tackled them, I was stymied. And then

I had to change my theology to make it agree with scripture. Yeah. So you had a hard time with it, too?

Absolutely. Of course. Because what I was taught when I grew up was, you know, when

I got saved, actually I got saved at 17, that Jesus is the blonde -haired, blue -eyed,

Caucasian surfer dude. And he's really gentle and really nice. And he's asking for permission.

And he wants all to be saved and it's just up to you. It's just your thing. All you have to do is just give people the right information.

That's all it is. And then I started reading scripture. And I'm like, it's not what it says.

It's not what it teaches. Because Jesus says in John 6 .65, he says,

You cannot come to me unless it's granted to you from the Father. So if it's just up to people's free will, that's all it is.

Then why does Jesus say you can't come to me unless it's granted to you from the

Father? And then there's another verse. I'll just reminisce.

These are some of the verses that threw me for a loop when I started researching this stuff. Acts 13 .48,

when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord.

And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. And I went, what?

They were appointed to eternal life? Well, people say, well, that's because God knew their choices. Well, wait, it never says that.

It never says that. And then here's something else, too. I was like, what is this?

This is Romans 8 .29. I read this so many times before.

I remember the moment when it hit me. And it was Actwell.

Remember the moment when it hit me, what it did to me. I was reading this. For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to become conformed to the image of his

Son, so that we would be the firstborn among many brethren. And as I read it, and I went, those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to become.

I went, what? Those whom he foreknew, he also predestined. Also. The foreknown ones are also the predestined ones.

That's what the text was saying. I remember me looking at it and saying, oh, my goodness. I always thought it was that God foreknows those who will pick him, and then he predestines them.

That's what has always been taught about that verse, but that's not what it says. Those whom he foreknew, he also predestined.

They're the same group. Oh, yeah. And I can give you more if you want.

Keep on. I mean, this has been a real struggle for me. A real struggle.

Yep. For a lot of people. So keep on. Give me all the verses you will. Okay. Well, here's something also.

Understand, I've been studying this. That doesn't mean I'm right. But I've been studying pretty hard since 1980.

I got this bug. It was the work of the Lord. And I started studying, reading the Bible five, six hours a day.

Studying, writing. It's a thing from God. And I'm not saying, oh, therefore I'm right because I'm smart and I studied.

No. But I'm just saying, it really caused me to look. And I really had to think.

And I came across all kinds of stuff. For example, this is Ephesians 1 .3.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.

Verse four. Just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before him.

In love he predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the kind intention of his will.

That's Ephesians 1 .4 and 5. Well, I'll tell you some doctrine. If you want to hold on,

I can teach you stuff attached to this that few Christians ever get exposed to.

There's a doctrine called federal headship. It's a really important doctrine.

It's as important as the hypostatic union that Jesus has two natures. It's as important as justification by faith.

It's as important as the doctrine of the Trinity. Federal headship is the teaching that the male, not the female, represents descendants.

So Adam and Eve were in the garden. She sinned first. She gave the fruit to Adam. But Romans 5 .12

says that sin entered the world through one man. That's because he was the federal head.

In fact, when they hid themselves in the garden, the pre -incarnate Christ came to them and said,

To the man, where are you? He didn't say, Eve, what have you done?

He didn't say, Adam and Eve. He said, To the man, where are you? And Jesus in Matthew 15 .45

is called the last Adam. In 1 Corinthians 15 .22

it says, In Adam all die. In Christ all shall be made alive.

The phrase, In Adam, is federal headship. The phrase, In Christ, is federal headship.

Adam and Christ, the first and last Adam. They're the ones who represented their people.

That's what's going on. The phrase, In Him, is a phrase of federal headship.

Just as He, that's the Father, chose us, that's the elect, the chosen ones.

In Him, that's Jesus, pre -incarnate Christ, before the foundation of the world.

The choosing of the Father can only be done in the federal headship of Christ.

Because He's our representative. And the federal headship representativeness of Christ only works if God the

Father elects and chooses. This is why Jesus says in John 6 .37,

He says, All that the Father gives me will come to me. And the ones who come to me,

I certainly will not cast out. Furthermore, we've got a break coming up here. I'll show you after the break.

Some other stuff attached to federal headship. And the teaching of representation of what's going on after the break.

Okay, we'll go to Romans chapter 6 and I'll show you. Alright, so hold on, okay? Okay, thank you. 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.

Alright everybody, welcome back to the show. Let's get back on with Lynn. Are you still there?

I am. Alright. You ready for some more? I'm ready.

Alright, now. Here's a couple of scriptures I go to regularly with people when

I teach them this. And I ask them a question after I read it to them.

Like the first one. Knowing this, this is Romans 6. Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with him in order that our body of sin might be done away with.

So that we would no longer be slaves to sin. So I ask the question. When were you crucified with Christ?

What would you say? What do you think the right answer is? Are you there?

Hello? I'm muting the phone because I've got somebody with me.

And I just didn't want her to interrupt the radio show. She thinks that you've muted me.

But do you mute me? I mean, there's a group of people. Well, I can.

But it's okay. When it says you were crucified with him.

When were you crucified with him? That's the question. What do you say? The day you first received him as a

Savior and Lord. Repent and so forth. That's what generally people say.

But I'm going to show you a concept here that people need to understand. This is verse 8, Romans 6. We have died with Christ.

If we've died with Christ, we'll live with him also. So when did you die with Christ? Well, you would say when you believed in him, right?

That's the standard answer. Here's the problem with that. I'll show you by going to another verse for a concept

I want you to see in Scripture. This is what Colossians 2 .14 says. It says,

Jesus, having canceled out the certificate of debt. Now, in the previous verse, he forgave us all of our transgressions, all of our sins.

And it says, having canceled out the certificate of debt. That's the sin debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us.

He took it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. So the Scriptures teach that the sin debt is canceled when

Jesus died on the cross. It's not canceled when you believe. This is a difficult concept for a lot of people.

Because they want to say, no, it's canceled when you believe. But that's not what the

Scripture says. It contradicts what the Scripture says. See, Colossians 2 .14,

having canceled out the certificate of debt, consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us.

He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. That's when it was taken care of.

And here's what's so important, a concept to understand. Jesus accomplished what he accomplished on the cross when he did it.

It's not made real when we believe it. The work of Christ is finished, finite, and complete when he did it.

Not when we accept it. Not when we do something. The truthfulness, the power of the sacrifice is in the person of Christ and what he did on the cross.

It does not rest in our faith. It does not rest in our choice.

It rests in his work. This is a concept that people need to adopt in Christian theology and their thinking.

So when it comes back, we come back to Romans 6 .6. It says that our old self was crucified with him.

Well, when was he crucified? 2 ,000 years ago. We're crucified with him.

That's when we're crucified. This is hard, people, because it says in verse 8, we have died with Christ.

Well, when did we die with Christ? When he died. Because he was our representative, which is why he canceled the sin debt, having nailed it to the cross.

It was done when he was there. Federal headship. This is what's going on.

Federal headship. So now I'll take you to another verse, 1 Corinthians 15 .22.

As in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.

Now, some people use this to support the idea that everybody goes to heaven, and that's a false teaching.

People go to hell. Mark 3 .29, Matthew 25 .41 and 46.

But this is talking about federal headship. In Adam is a term of federal headship.

In Christ is a term of federal headship. So in Adam all die.

In Christ all shall be made alive. So there's two federal heads here.

One is Adam. One is Christ. Adam represented his people.

Christ represented his people. People are blown away by this.

Let's go take a look at this verse. This is in the NASB, which I believe is the best translation.

And I could spend ten minutes on why that's the case in this verse. But I won't do that right now.

This is what it says in Romans 5 .18. So then as through one transgression, that's Adam's sin, there resulted condemnation to all men.

So also through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.

But justification means you're saved. And it says it resulted to all men. Well, that all can't be the same all as the first all.

That there's resulted condemnation to all men and then resulted in justification to all men.

Paul uses the same word in the same verse with two different meanings.

He does it. Check this out, the very next verse of Romans 5 .19. For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one, the many will be made righteous.

He uses the same terms, one word or two words, in the same verse for two different things.

And you'd never know that if you didn't understand federal headship. It wouldn't make any sense.

What we're seeing here is that the work of Christ accomplished what it accomplished on the cross.

It's not dependent on your faithfulness and your wisdom and your goodness. You're not forgiven.

Or let me put it this way. Your sin debt is not canceled when you believe. It's canceled at the cross.

You're justified when you believe. Justification is the legal declaration of righteousness by God upon the sinner.

And Romans chapter 4 verses 1 through 5 talks about this. That we receive this justification by faith.

By faith only. In fact, in Philippians 3 .9, I'll read that to you. It's really interesting.

Philippians 3 .9. That we may be found in him. There we go again. In him.

Another phrase of federal headship. Not having a righteousness of my own derived from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ.

Now that's objective. That's object faith. Okay. The righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.

So what he's saying is that the righteousness that we have is not derived by anything we do in the law.

And the law commands us to believe in him. If we believe or if we repent or if we are honest, we're keeping the law.

But that's not what justifies us. What justifies us is the faith that God grants to us.

That's Philippians 1 .29. To you it has been granted not only to believe in him but also to suffer.

And Jesus says in John 6 .29, this is the work of God that you believe on him whom he has sent.

So God grants that we have faith. And when we have faith, we're justified. That's Romans 3 .28.

We maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. Romans 4 .5

says to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.

Romans 5 .1 says, having therefore been justified by faith. Jesus canceled the sin that at the cross.

But when we believe, that's when we're justified. Between that time when the unbeliever, who is not yet a believer, he is functionally under condemnation.

But God has chosen him, Ephesians 1 .4. He chose us in him before the foundation of the world.

That we would be holy and blameless. God chose us in Christ.

In him is in Christ federal headship. He is our representative.

So God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, before the foundation of the world,

God elected and chose in Christ and gave them to the

Son for redemptive work. So that we would be holy and blameless.

And he predestined us because of his elective work. So do we believe?

Absolutely. Do we trust in Christ? Absolutely. So for the believer, you were justified when you believe.

Your sin debt was canceled at the cross with Christ. Furthermore, you're crucified with Christ.

And you died with Christ. Because God has called you from the foundation of the world. In fact, it says in 2

Thessalonians 2 .13, I'll read it to you. But we should always give thanks to God for you.

Brethren, beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation.

Through sanctification by the Spirit and in the faith of the truth. There we have

God, brethren, by the Lord Jesus, and the Spirit by the Trinity. It all works together.

God the Father chooses, the Son redeems, and the Holy Spirit applies the redemptive work.

The chosen ones died with Christ. And we're saved. I mean, we're justified when we believe.

Because he grants that we have that faith. So in this, we're secure. And in this, we can bow to the sovereignty of God.

In this, we can say, He's the King, not me. And that's why

Romans 9 exists. When it says, It does not depend upon the man who wills or the man who runs, but upon God who has mercy.

That's Romans 9 .16. He says to Pharaoh, For this purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate my power in you, that my name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth.

So he has mercy on whom he desires, and he hardens whom he desires. And you'll say to me, well, why does he still find fault?

For who resists his will? On the contrary, Who are you, O man, who answers back to God?

The thing molded will not say to the molder, Why did you make me like this, will it? Or does not the potter have a right over the clay?

To make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use, and another for common use.

What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath, prepared for destruction, and He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which

He prepared before Him for glory, even us, whom He also called.

That's what's going on. All right? Wow. Wow.

I will be listening to this at least several more times. Because you answered a lot of...

I mean, I'll have to study it myself when I get these verses. You know, I'm in a car, and I don't have an easy way to write all of them down.

But I am going to be studying this one over and over again until it really...

It sinks in. I'll see if I can get this transcribed, because I think it's a good teaching time, and it was even put up on the site.

Okay? There's the music. We've got to go. Check it out and call back. Okay? We've got to go. All right.

Well, God bless, Lynn. God bless. You too. Hey, folks, we're out of time. May the

Lord bless you by His grace. Back on air tomorrow, we'll talk to you then. Have a good evening. Another program powered by The Truth Network.