- Unless you're one of
those overly confident people
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who tends to
leap before you look,
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I'm guessing you've struggled
with doubt from time to time.
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Today we're gonna look
at some unhealthy doubt
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that can cost you a
lot in the long run.
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[gentle upbeat country music]
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Today we're gonna go back
to the temptations of Christ,
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the way you find them recorded
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in the Gospel
according to Matthew,
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so if you didn't catch part one,
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you might wanna go
back and watch that.
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I mean, today's study
will stand on its own,
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but I will be referring
back to some of the concepts
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we've already
covered, and I guess the reason
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we're spending so much
time on this story is because,
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well, I personally
find it so compelling.
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I mean in a few short verses,
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it gives us a
detailed study of human nature
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and it shows us the way
that people tend to think,
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and it highlights how
our present state of mind
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is really bound to
rub up against the way
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that God looks at our universe.
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What we find in this account
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is a
surprisingly detailed analysis
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of some of our
biggest blind spots,
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especially when
you read this story
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in the context of
the rest of the Bible
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and that's a
really important concept.
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Very little of what
you read in the Bible
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actually stands alone.
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If you're gonna grasp what
this ancient book is saying,
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you've got no choice, really,
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except to read the whole thing.
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People love to
critique the scriptures
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and point out what they
assume are contradictions
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or even moral
flaws, but I can assure you
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that most of
those apparent problems
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begin to evaporate when
you just read the whole book.
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The real problem is that
most people never take the time
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to do that, and a lot of
them venture into the Bible
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looking for problems anyway.
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They have that
mindset when they start.
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But now let's get back to
the temptations of Christ.
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In the last episode, we
covered the first temptation
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where we find
Jesus fasting for 40 days
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and the devil tempts
him to use his divine power
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to change stones into bread.
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It was a really pivotal moment
because what needs to happen
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is that Christ has to overcome
temptation as a human being.
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The Apostle Paul
describes him as the Last Adam,
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and one of the key
reasons Jesus became human
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was to become the new
head of the human race.
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It's a critical part
of his plan to save us.
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What has to happen
in that first temptation
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is that Jesus needs
to overcome a temptation
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driven by appetite because
that's where our first parents
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failed when faced
with the serpent in Eden.
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What we really have in
the stories of the temptations
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is God finally
winding up up the moral yarn
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we foolishly
unraveled way back when.
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In Mark's incredibly brief
account of the temptations,
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the Bible says that
immediately after his baptism,
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the Spirit drove
him into the wilderness.
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And last time we saw
in Matthew's account,
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it tells us that Jesus went
to the wilderness on purpose,
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specifically for this encounter.
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This is the story
of a very human Jesus,
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something that
Christians easily forget
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when they're
talking about Christ.
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I mean, we like to
emphasize his deity,
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the fact that he
really was God in human flesh,
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and that's a good thing to do,
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but most of us don't
spend nearly as much time
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contemplating his full humanity.
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These were real temptations,
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as in Jesus actually had
the potential to cave in.
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This is God living as
an authentic human being
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and he's living in the
same world that we inhabit.
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He gets tired, he
gets sad, he gets hungry.
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He experiences rejection.
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This is a bonafide human life.
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But of course, that
realization can lead
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to some very bad
thinking if we're not careful
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because it's easy for
our imaginations to leap
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to conclusions that
might not be warranted.
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For example, there's the
temptation to think that Jesus
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must have been exactly
like us in every last detail,
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which would mean that
we can be exactly like him
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in every last detail, and I
guess that's a dangerous thought
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because, well, it's mostly true.
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Jesus is the model human being.
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A key part of his
mission was to demonstrate
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what humanity was supposed
to be and there's no doubt
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that Christians are
supposed to emulate him,
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but at the same time, he
was also God and we are not.
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The other day I was
reading some correspondence
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between Christians
in the late 19th century
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and I found a statement from
one lady that really summarized
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what I'm driving at,
and it also demonstrates
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that Christians have
always struggled to understand
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the precise nature of Christ.
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"Brother Baker," she writes,
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"Avoid every question in
relation to the humanity of
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Christ, which is
liable to be misunderstood.
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Truth lies close to
the track of presumption.
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In treating upon
the humanity of Christ,
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you need to guard
strenuously every assertion,
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lest your words be taken
to mean more than they imply,
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and thus you lose or
dim the clear perceptions
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of his humanity as
combined with divinity."
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Then she goes on to
give her friend the example
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of the birth of Christ.
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Jesus was a real flesh and
blood baby, a real human being,
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but at the same time, it'd
be hard to say that his birth
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was exactly like ours unless
you can somehow also prove
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that yours was
also a virgin birth.
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A little later she says this.
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"It is a mystery that is
left unexplained to mortals
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that Christ could be tempted
in all points like as we are,
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and yet be without sin.
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The incarnation of
Christ has ever been
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and will ever remain a mystery.
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That which is revealed is
for us and for our children,
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but let every human
being be warned from the ground
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of making Christ
altogether human,
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such as in one as
ourselves, for it cannot be.
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The exact time when
humanity blended with divinity,
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it is not
necessary for us to know.
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We are to keep our feet
on the Rock, Christ Jesus,
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as God revealed in humanity."
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I think that's
really good advice,
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so thank you to
the 19th century.
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And with that proviso in place,
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let's get back to
the temptations of Christ
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and I wanna move
on to the second one
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as presented in the
Gospel according to Matthew.
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Now that would be the third
temptation in Luke's account
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because Luke appears
to be ordering the story
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to parallel the
temptations in Eden,
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but Matthew puts this second.
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He writes, "Then the devil
took him up into the holy city,
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set him on the pinnacle of
the temple and said to him,
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'If you are the Son of
God, throw yourself down.
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For it is written, 'He shall
give his angels charge over you
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and in their hands
they shall bear you up,
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lest you dash your
foot against a stone.'"
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So here's a passage with
an awful lot of information
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that we really
need to unpack carefully
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if we're gonna
figure out how in the world
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this might apply to us.
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First of all, notice
the devil's repeated efforts
00:07:19.80\00:07:22.94
to cause Jesus to doubt.
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If you are the son of God.
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It's a deliberate
attempt to make him doubt
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the public
announcement at his baptism
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where a voice from heaven said,
00:07:31.91\00:07:33.42
"This is my beloved Son
in whom I am well pleased."
00:07:33.42\00:07:37.39
God the Father had just
told him that he was God the Son
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and so what the devil's
question is designed to do
00:07:41.49\00:07:44.26
is not so much make
Jesus want to doubt himself,
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although that's
obviously part of it.
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The question is designed to
make him doubt the Word of God,
00:07:49.80\00:07:52.43
to doubt the things
that God has clearly said.
00:07:52.43\00:07:55.10
It's a replay of
the Garden of Eden
00:07:55.10\00:07:57.77
where the serpent
doesn't outright contradict God,
00:07:57.77\00:08:00.84
but raises a question.
00:08:00.84\00:08:01.88
Did God really say that?
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You'll notice it's an approach
that continues all the way
00:08:04.45\00:08:07.28
through Jesus' ministry right
up to the moment he's hanging
00:08:07.28\00:08:09.85
on a cross and the crowd
that gathered there mocks him
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and uses the very same language.
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I mean, just listen to the
language of the chief priests,
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the scribes and the elders.
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They said, "He saved
others, himself he cannot save.
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If he's the King of
Israel, let him come now down
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from that cross and
we will believe him."
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I'll be right back after this.
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- [Announcer] Here at
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00:08:35.24\00:08:36.71
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00:08:58.87\00:09:02.14
- One of the really
important things we find
00:09:04.87\00:09:06.81
in the temptations
is the subject of doubt.
00:09:06.81\00:09:10.48
Of course, it's
natural for human beings
00:09:10.48\00:09:12.41
to doubt themselves,
and if I'm perfectly honest,
00:09:12.41\00:09:15.15
I'd have to
tell you that my life
00:09:15.15\00:09:16.48
is constantly plagued by doubt.
00:09:16.48\00:09:19.02
How do I know if this
is the right thing to do?
00:09:19.02\00:09:21.36
I know what God
requires from me,
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but what if it
doesn't work in my case?
00:09:23.02\00:09:25.83
It's a universal problem,
and while doubt is sometimes
00:09:25.83\00:09:28.53
a useful tool that
can keep you humble,
00:09:28.53\00:09:31.70
it can also really
throw a monkey wrench
00:09:31.70\00:09:33.60
into your spiritual life.
00:09:33.60\00:09:35.70
Perhaps the number one
question that I hear from people
00:09:35.70\00:09:38.17
all the time runs a
little bit like this.
00:09:38.17\00:09:41.31
"I know what the Bible
says about the love of God
00:09:41.31\00:09:44.05
and I see that
the offer of Christ
00:09:44.05\00:09:45.81
is available to
everybody, at least in print,
00:09:45.81\00:09:48.98
but Pastor, what
if I'm the exception?
00:09:50.09\00:09:52.32
What if God means
all these promises
00:09:52.32\00:09:54.19
for everybody except me?
00:09:54.19\00:09:56.22
I mean, if you only knew
how terrible my sins were."
00:09:56.22\00:10:00.03
The problem of
doubt is not insignificant
00:10:01.13\00:10:03.47
and if you analyze most
of your spiritual doubts,
00:10:03.47\00:10:06.13
you're gonna find
that the underlying problem
00:10:06.13\00:10:08.14
concerns the reliability of God.
00:10:08.14\00:10:11.31
Listen carefully and you'll
hear the whisper of a serpent
00:10:11.31\00:10:13.78
who loves to ask,
"Did God really say that?"
00:10:13.78\00:10:17.61
This is why the Bible describes
our relationship with God
00:10:18.91\00:10:21.08
as a matter of faith.
00:10:21.08\00:10:22.98
I'm sure you've
heard that famous passage
00:10:22.98\00:10:25.12
from the Book of Ephesians,
00:10:25.12\00:10:26.62
which understandably
became one of the key assertions
00:10:26.62\00:10:29.06
of the Protestant Reformation.
00:10:29.06\00:10:31.06
Paul wrote, "For by grace you
have been saved through faith,
00:10:31.06\00:10:35.36
and that not of yourselves,
it is the gift of God,
00:10:35.36\00:10:38.23
not of works, lest
anyone should boast."
00:10:38.23\00:10:41.47
A big part of what went
wrong at the fall of humanity
00:10:41.47\00:10:44.31
was the demolition of our trust.
00:10:44.31\00:10:46.98
According to the Bible,
we used to take God's Word
00:10:46.98\00:10:49.41
at face value
because we trusted him,
00:10:49.41\00:10:52.18
but after listening
to the lies of a serpent,
00:10:52.18\00:10:54.32
our faith began to waiver and
we found ourselves questioning
00:10:54.32\00:10:57.79
the very one who made us.
00:10:57.79\00:11:00.12
So what God does in
the process of restoring us
00:11:00.12\00:11:02.92
is to retrain
our sense of trust.
00:11:02.92\00:11:05.66
I mean, suppose that
God could send an angel
00:11:05.66\00:11:07.86
to your house
tonight to tell you,
00:11:07.86\00:11:09.06
"Listen, you've got
nothing to worry about
00:11:09.06\00:11:11.73
because I have a document
here with your name on it
00:11:11.73\00:11:14.67
that you can put in your safe
00:11:14.67\00:11:16.37
and this document specifically
says that God loves you,
00:11:16.37\00:11:20.01
it mentions you by name, and
it lists the precise location
00:11:20.01\00:11:24.31
of your residence in
the coming Kingdom of God."
00:11:24.31\00:11:27.58
That's the kind of
precise documentation
00:11:28.65\00:11:30.75
we want in this world.
00:11:30.75\00:11:32.19
We want it signed and notarized.
00:11:32.19\00:11:34.96
The very reason we
have courtrooms and lawyers
00:11:34.96\00:11:37.43
is because we
can't trust each other,
00:11:37.43\00:11:40.06
and so you'd think that
God would want to give us
00:11:40.06\00:11:42.66
a signed contract
with our name at the top
00:11:42.66\00:11:45.57
to put our minds at
ease, but he doesn't.
00:11:45.57\00:11:48.90
What he wants
from us is the opposite
00:11:48.90\00:11:50.81
of what we did in Eden.
00:11:50.81\00:11:52.57
He wants us to trust
him, to take his Word for it,
00:11:52.57\00:11:55.51
even on the days when
the evidence of our senses
00:11:55.51\00:11:58.11
might suggest otherwise.
00:11:58.11\00:12:01.08
That's really the meaning
of faith-based justification.
00:12:01.08\00:12:04.35
We choose to accept
that we are forgiven
00:12:04.35\00:12:06.45
and accepted by God. Why?
00:12:06.45\00:12:08.96
Because he says so.
00:12:08.96\00:12:10.69
And of course, it's an
exercise often plagued by doubt
00:12:10.69\00:12:13.53
and our fallen hearts want
to keep asking, "But what if?"
00:12:13.53\00:12:18.03
And you'll notice
that's a key part of this story
00:12:18.03\00:12:20.77
where Jesus, as
a man, is tempted.
00:12:20.77\00:12:23.91
"What if that announcement
from Heaven was wrong?"
00:12:23.91\00:12:26.07
the devil asks.
00:12:26.07\00:12:27.31
"What if you're not
really the Son of God?
00:12:27.31\00:12:28.71
Maybe you should
prove it just to be sure."
00:12:28.71\00:12:32.21
And that's where the
story takes an unusual twist.
00:12:32.21\00:12:35.25
It seems that the
enemy of God's purpose
00:12:35.25\00:12:37.32
has the ability to
actually quote the scriptures.
00:12:37.32\00:12:41.02
Now, in some ways, I don't
find that entirely surprising
00:12:41.02\00:12:43.89
because just about
every time I take a few hours
00:12:43.89\00:12:46.59
to watch religious
TV here in America,
00:12:46.59\00:12:49.10
I find all kinds of
people making a shipwreck
00:12:49.10\00:12:51.67
of the content of the Bible,
00:12:51.67\00:12:53.57
so I know full well that
a lot of the wrong people
00:12:53.57\00:12:56.47
know how to quote scripture,
00:12:56.47\00:12:59.67
but let's unpack
what's actually happening here
00:12:59.67\00:13:02.28
and pay careful
attention to detail.
00:13:02.28\00:13:05.21
After asking Jesus to question
a statement from his Father,
00:13:05.21\00:13:08.52
the devil is using the Bible
00:13:08.52\00:13:10.05
to make that
doubt seem plausible.
00:13:10.05\00:13:12.72
I mean, maybe you
are the Son of God,
00:13:12.72\00:13:14.42
and if that's the case,
00:13:14.42\00:13:15.96
you could actually prove
it by putting God to the test.
00:13:15.96\00:13:18.79
Just look at
what the Bible says.
00:13:18.79\00:13:20.56
"The angels are there to save
you, and if they did save you,
00:13:20.56\00:13:23.60
you would know for sure
that God was telling the truth."
00:13:23.60\00:13:27.04
Now, to be fair, there
are situations where God
00:13:28.14\00:13:31.34
encourages us to test
or prove his promises.
00:13:31.34\00:13:34.78
For example, there's a
passage in the Old Testament
00:13:34.78\00:13:37.25
Book of Malachi where God
encourages people to test him
00:13:37.25\00:13:41.42
in the matter of
financial stewardship.
00:13:41.42\00:13:44.19
The priesthood was supported
by tithes and offerings,
00:13:44.19\00:13:46.99
and human nature
being what it is,
00:13:46.99\00:13:48.82
most people are a
little tight-fisted
00:13:48.82\00:13:50.79
when it comes to
giving money away.
00:13:50.79\00:13:52.93
It's another case where
some people are doubting
00:13:52.93\00:13:55.00
the Word of God, so
this is what God says.
00:13:55.00\00:13:59.03
"Bring all the
tithes into the storehouse,"
00:13:59.03\00:14:01.74
it says in Malachi 3, "That
there may be food in my house,
00:14:01.74\00:14:05.77
'And try me now in
this,' says the Lord of hosts,
00:14:05.77\00:14:08.21
'If I will not open for
you the windows of Heaven
00:14:08.21\00:14:10.75
and pour out for
you such a blessing
00:14:10.75\00:14:13.01
that there will not be
room enough to receive it.'"
00:14:13.01\00:14:16.62
So we really do have these
cases where God encourages us
00:14:16.62\00:14:20.12
to prove his promises, and
on a little bit of a sidebar,
00:14:20.12\00:14:23.83
I'll tell you that I've
tried this particular challenge
00:14:23.83\00:14:26.49
myself and it proved to be true.
00:14:26.49\00:14:29.60
But what's the
difference between this
00:14:29.60\00:14:32.67
and what Jesus
was being asked to do?
00:14:32.67\00:14:34.90
Well, let's take a
look at his response
00:14:34.90\00:14:36.40
to the challenge in verse seven.
00:14:36.40\00:14:38.51
"Jesus said to him,
'It is written again,
00:14:38.51\00:14:41.08
you shall not tempt
the Lord your God.'"
00:14:41.08\00:14:44.58
What Jesus does when
the devil quotes scripture
00:14:44.58\00:14:46.88
is exactly what we
mentioned a few moments ago.
00:14:46.88\00:14:50.02
Jesus reads the entire book.
00:14:50.02\00:14:53.39
What the devil was
suggesting was true.
00:14:53.39\00:14:55.06
There are passages that
state that sometimes angels
00:14:55.06\00:14:58.59
serve in a protective role.
00:14:58.59\00:15:00.53
He wasn't exactly
misquoting scripture,
00:15:00.53\00:15:03.13
except that he kind of was
because he was only presenting
00:15:03.13\00:15:06.57
part of the picture.
00:15:06.57\00:15:07.77
And that's where
the biggest difference
00:15:08.87\00:15:10.34
between the
stewardship challenge of Malachi
00:15:10.34\00:15:12.84
and the challenge for Jesus
to leap from the temple is.
00:15:12.84\00:15:16.21
In one case, God specifically
invites us to challenge him,
00:15:16.21\00:15:21.18
but in the other, he doesn't.
00:15:21.18\00:15:23.65
At that moment
when the heavens parted
00:15:23.65\00:15:25.39
and God declared
Jesus to be his Son,
00:15:25.39\00:15:27.42
there wasn't a
follow-up statement saying,
00:15:27.42\00:15:29.32
"So why don't you
go out and test that?"
00:15:29.32\00:15:32.73
Sometimes God dares us
to believe by telling us
00:15:32.73\00:15:35.60
that he's opening the
door for an experiment,
00:15:35.60\00:15:38.10
but other times he doesn't.
00:15:38.10\00:15:39.80
He just dares us to
accept what he's saying.
00:15:39.80\00:15:42.94
What we have in this temptation
is something that we find
00:15:44.24\00:15:46.57
in some of the interactions
the religious leaders
00:15:46.57\00:15:48.74
had with Jesus back
in the first century.
00:15:48.74\00:15:52.08
On one occasion, the
Sadducees presented Jesus
00:15:52.08\00:15:54.45
with a hypothetical question.
00:15:54.45\00:15:56.45
"Listen," they said.
00:15:56.45\00:15:57.69
"We know this
woman whose husband died
00:15:57.69\00:15:59.79
and the laws of
levirate marriage say
00:15:59.79\00:16:02.09
that his brother needs
to marry her, so he did,
00:16:02.09\00:16:05.76
but then he died and so
the next brother married her
00:16:05.76\00:16:08.60
and wouldn't you know it,
00:16:08.60\00:16:09.80
she managed to burn
through seven brothers."
00:16:09.80\00:16:12.43
And honestly, that
seems highly unlikely.
00:16:12.43\00:16:15.24
"So here's what
we wanna know, Jesus.
00:16:15.24\00:16:17.37
In the resurrection,
who's she gonna be married to?"
00:16:17.37\00:16:20.51
Now, that was a trick question,
00:16:20.51\00:16:22.01
and what they were doing
was trying to demonstrate
00:16:22.01\00:16:23.71
that a clear requirement
mentioned in the Bible
00:16:23.71\00:16:26.25
contradicted this
notion of a resurrection.
00:16:26.25\00:16:30.02
The Sadducees were a
sect that didn't believe
00:16:30.02\00:16:32.25
in the afterlife,
and of course, Jesus did.
00:16:32.25\00:16:35.56
The question was
designed to prove that Jesus
00:16:35.56\00:16:37.89
wasn't being
faithful to scripture,
00:16:37.89\00:16:40.20
and as soon as I
take a quick break,
00:16:40.20\00:16:42.46
I'll show you
how Jesus responded.
00:16:42.46\00:16:44.67
- [Announcer] Life
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00:16:50.74\00:16:54.14
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00:16:54.14\00:16:56.58
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00:16:56.58\00:16:59.65
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00:16:59.65\00:17:01.18
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- Right before the break, I
left you hanging with the story
00:17:18.43\00:17:20.44
of the Sadducees and Jesus,
00:17:20.44\00:17:22.40
the incident where
they tried to befuddle him
00:17:22.40\00:17:24.81
with a quandary about
the resurrection of the dead.
00:17:24.81\00:17:27.91
Now, here's how Jesus
responded in Matthew 22.
00:17:27.91\00:17:30.81
It says, "Jesus
answered and said to them,
00:17:31.95\00:17:35.38
'You are mistaken,
00:17:35.38\00:17:36.85
not knowing the
scriptures nor the power of God,
00:17:36.85\00:17:39.95
for in the
resurrection they neither marry
00:17:39.95\00:17:42.29
nor are given in marriage,
00:17:42.29\00:17:43.99
but are like the
angels of God in Heaven.'"
00:17:43.99\00:17:47.40
In other words, he's saying,
00:17:47.40\00:17:48.80
"You guys have no idea
what you're talking about."
00:17:48.80\00:17:50.47
And he underlined all the
scriptural data they had failed
00:17:50.47\00:17:53.97
to mention when they
formulated their question.
00:17:53.97\00:17:57.17
It's the same
thing the devil does
00:17:57.17\00:17:58.61
in the second
temptation of Christ.
00:17:58.61\00:18:00.31
He used the Bible, but
he used it incompletely,
00:18:00.31\00:18:04.48
leaving out a bunch
of critical information.
00:18:04.48\00:18:07.52
And so Jesus responds to
the devil in the very same way
00:18:07.52\00:18:11.02
by pointing to the
rest of the scriptures.
00:18:11.02\00:18:14.29
And I suppose that's
really one of the reasons
00:18:14.29\00:18:16.73
I spend so much time on
this show encouraging people
00:18:16.73\00:18:19.36
to just read the whole book.
00:18:19.36\00:18:22.33
It's easy to make the
Bible say whatever you want
00:18:22.33\00:18:24.90
because, well, it's a big
book with a lot of information,
00:18:24.90\00:18:28.37
and if you rip parts out and
remove them from their context,
00:18:28.37\00:18:31.74
you end up with, well, you
end up with a lot of the garbage
00:18:31.74\00:18:35.61
you hear on religious TV,
00:18:35.61\00:18:37.75
and you end up with the
kind of poorly-informed nonsense
00:18:37.75\00:18:40.58
that so many skeptics
present in the books they write
00:18:40.58\00:18:43.75
when they're trying
to discredit the Bible.
00:18:43.75\00:18:46.02
And I suppose
there's a sense here
00:18:46.02\00:18:47.76
in which Christian
believers can apply this story
00:18:47.76\00:18:50.43
to their everyday lives.
00:18:50.43\00:18:52.73
I can't tell you how many
times I've had skeptics tell me,
00:18:52.73\00:18:55.76
"Prove it," and
sometimes I'm willing to accept
00:18:55.76\00:18:58.77
that challenge because
they appear to be honest people
00:18:58.77\00:19:01.77
who were honestly
hoping to understand.
00:19:01.77\00:19:04.81
But unfortunately, it's
all too common to find people
00:19:04.81\00:19:07.41
who are just playing
some kind of game of gotcha,
00:19:07.41\00:19:09.91
hoping to back you
into a logical corner.
00:19:09.91\00:19:13.11
Those
discussions, I've discovered,
00:19:13.11\00:19:15.45
are usually a waste
of everybody's time.
00:19:15.45\00:19:18.12
This is exactly what the
devil is doing in this story.
00:19:19.42\00:19:21.89
He's saying, "Prove it," and
he's actually using scripture
00:19:21.89\00:19:25.43
to construct a snare.
00:19:25.43\00:19:27.56
If the power of God is
real and you're really his Son,
00:19:27.56\00:19:30.23
if you're really the
long-awaited Messiah, then prove
00:19:30.23\00:19:34.80
it. Later on in his ministry,
00:19:34.80\00:19:36.30
there were other critics
who approached Jesus and said,
00:19:36.30\00:19:38.61
"Show us a sign."
00:19:38.61\00:19:40.74
And listen to what
Jesus said to them.
00:19:40.74\00:19:43.21
"But he answered
and said to them,
00:19:43.21\00:19:44.91
'An evil and adulterers
generation seeks after a sign
00:19:44.91\00:19:48.48
and no sign will be given to it
00:19:48.48\00:19:50.39
except the sign of
the prophet Jonah.'"
00:19:50.39\00:19:53.82
Look, there's just no question
that the proof for Jesus
00:19:53.82\00:19:56.59
is there, but again,
you're going to have to read
00:19:56.59\00:19:59.06
the whole book.
00:19:59.06\00:20:00.80
These guys weren't
the least bit interested
00:20:00.80\00:20:03.16
in discovering truth.
00:20:03.16\00:20:04.60
They were simply
trying to hang Jesus
00:20:04.60\00:20:06.50
with some of his own teachings,
00:20:06.50\00:20:08.10
and what he told them was this.
00:20:08.10\00:20:10.41
"At the end of my ministry,
when I rise from the dead,
00:20:10.41\00:20:14.24
you'll have all
the proof you need."
00:20:14.24\00:20:16.78
Now, I'll be the first to
admit that it's really tempting
00:20:16.78\00:20:19.25
when somebody
demands immediate proof
00:20:19.25\00:20:21.45
to try and oblige them,
but I've got to tell you,
00:20:21.45\00:20:24.12
after 30 years of doing that,
00:20:24.12\00:20:25.65
I have never found it effective.
00:20:25.65\00:20:28.32
You know what is effective?
00:20:28.32\00:20:30.13
The Bible.
00:20:30.13\00:20:31.39
This book has a way
of persuading people
00:20:31.39\00:20:33.09
when my own modest
and flawed sense of logic
00:20:33.09\00:20:36.16
can't do the trick.
00:20:36.16\00:20:37.97
You know, as I've thought
back over the last 2,000 years
00:20:39.40\00:20:41.30
of Christian apologetics,
00:20:41.30\00:20:42.60
I've noticed
something really fascinating.
00:20:42.60\00:20:45.47
There have been
two key approaches
00:20:45.47\00:20:47.11
to the art and
science of apologetics:
00:20:47.11\00:20:49.81
the empirical approach
and the logical approach.
00:20:49.81\00:20:53.85
On the one hand, you've
got a guy like Augustine
00:20:53.85\00:20:56.25
who more or less used a
rational approach to prove
00:20:56.25\00:20:59.12
the existence of God.
00:20:59.12\00:21:00.79
He went to great lengths
to prove that absolute truth
00:21:00.79\00:21:04.16
is a real thing and that God
must be the highest expression
00:21:04.16\00:21:08.00
of that absolute truth.
00:21:08.00\00:21:10.13
His arguments were
really the flip side
00:21:10.13\00:21:12.27
of a guy like Spinoza
who used rational arguments
00:21:12.27\00:21:15.04
to bring his readers
in an opposite direction.
00:21:15.04\00:21:17.91
Then you've got a
guy like Thomas Aquinas
00:21:19.01\00:21:20.71
who borrowed very
heavily from Aristotle,
00:21:20.71\00:21:23.35
and he attempted to
make an empirical argument
00:21:23.35\00:21:26.05
for the existence of God,
00:21:26.05\00:21:27.58
an argument that was based
on the evidence of your senses.
00:21:27.58\00:21:31.62
He appeals to the
phenomenon of motion
00:21:31.62\00:21:34.06
and the laws of physics,
00:21:34.06\00:21:35.86
which imply that somebody
had to start all that motion
00:21:35.86\00:21:39.56
out there in the universe
going in the first place.
00:21:39.56\00:21:42.73
It's an empirical
argument, which again,
00:21:42.73\00:21:44.97
is an appeal to the
evidence of your senses.
00:21:44.97\00:21:47.97
Now, to be honest, I find
these guys very compelling.
00:21:49.44\00:21:51.31
I love to read their work
because they're incredibly
00:21:51.31\00:21:55.34
lucid. These guys
were smarter than me
00:21:55.34\00:21:58.01
and it gives me a
lot to think about.
00:21:58.01\00:22:00.48
But over the centuries,
00:22:00.48\00:22:02.15
I would argue that the results
have been mediocre at best.
00:22:02.15\00:22:06.52
I mean, how many people
have really become converts
00:22:06.52\00:22:09.22
to Christianity because of
empirical or rational arguments?
00:22:09.22\00:22:13.96
To be sure, there are some,
00:22:13.96\00:22:16.33
but not as many
as you would hope.
00:22:16.33\00:22:18.17
There's a third approach
to Christian apologetics
00:22:19.30\00:22:21.07
that has been
far more effective,
00:22:21.07\00:22:22.94
and it's one that
experienced a profound revival
00:22:22.94\00:22:25.57
in the wake of the
Protestant Reformation,
00:22:25.57\00:22:27.74
and that's the
scriptural method.
00:22:27.74\00:22:30.38
Guys like Luther and
Calvin used this method a lot,
00:22:30.38\00:22:33.72
and what they
did was simply appeal
00:22:33.72\00:22:35.38
to the internal
evidence of the Bible.
00:22:35.38\00:22:37.59
They pointed people
to the words of scripture
00:22:37.59\00:22:40.72
and it works because if
this book is telling the truth,
00:22:42.09\00:22:45.26
and this book really
was inspired by God himself,
00:22:45.26\00:22:48.90
well, you'd have
to expect it to work.
00:22:48.90\00:22:51.23
I'll be right back after
this to explain what I mean.
00:22:51.23\00:22:54.14
- [Announcer] Dragons,
beasts, cryptic statues.
00:22:57.64\00:23:01.81
Bible prophecy can be
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00:23:01.81\00:23:06.45
If you've ever read
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00:23:06.45\00:23:08.62
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00:23:08.62\00:23:11.65
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00:23:11.65\00:23:15.12
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00:23:15.12\00:23:16.83
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00:23:16.83\00:23:19.29
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- Really, there are
three main approaches
00:23:26.77\00:23:29.10
that Christian apologists
have used over the centuries.
00:23:29.10\00:23:32.54
The empirical approach,
00:23:32.54\00:23:33.91
which appeals to the
evidence of our senses,
00:23:33.91\00:23:36.95
the rational approach,
00:23:36.95\00:23:38.58
which attempts to reason
its way to believing in God,
00:23:38.58\00:23:42.08
and the scriptural approach,
00:23:42.08\00:23:43.85
which simply
highlights what God has said
00:23:43.85\00:23:46.45
in the pages of his book.
00:23:46.45\00:23:48.62
And I guess there's
actually a fourth method
00:23:48.62\00:23:51.19
if I think about it, that
came around in the 20th century,
00:23:51.19\00:23:53.63
but it's been such
an abysmal failure,
00:23:53.63\00:23:56.00
I'm not gonna waste
any time looking at it.
00:23:56.00\00:23:57.80
It's the irrational approach.
00:23:57.80\00:24:00.64
What you'll notice
in the New Testament
00:24:00.64\00:24:02.64
is just how often the authors
appeal to the Old Testament
00:24:02.64\00:24:06.71
as proof that Jesus is Messiah.
00:24:06.71\00:24:09.98
The Bible claims to
be the voice of God,
00:24:09.98\00:24:12.55
a written communication from
the supreme being who made us,
00:24:12.55\00:24:16.45
and in a remarkable
way, it claims that this book
00:24:16.45\00:24:19.85
has been infused with
the very presence of God.
00:24:19.85\00:24:23.39
It might be the
work of human authors,
00:24:23.39\00:24:25.73
and you can see their
distinctive personalities
00:24:25.73\00:24:27.96
in the ways that they wrote,
00:24:27.96\00:24:29.96
but they were
inspired by the Spirit of God.
00:24:29.96\00:24:33.50
What we have is a work
that is both human and divine
00:24:33.50\00:24:37.24
at the very same moment,
not unlike the way that Jesus
00:24:37.24\00:24:41.51
is fully human and fully
God all at the same time.
00:24:41.51\00:24:45.41
In the Book of
Jeremiah, God says,
00:24:46.45\00:24:48.55
"Is not my word like a fire
00:24:48.55\00:24:50.75
and like a hammer that
breaks the rock in pieces?"
00:24:50.75\00:24:53.82
A few chapters earlier in
Jeremiah 20, the prophet says,
00:24:53.82\00:24:57.79
"But his Word was in my
heart like a burning fire
00:24:57.79\00:25:00.73
shut up in my bones."
00:25:00.73\00:25:03.00
There's something substantially
different about this book.
00:25:03.00\00:25:07.04
There's a really
good reason the human race
00:25:07.04\00:25:09.17
has never been
able to let go of it.
00:25:09.17\00:25:11.64
Paul writes to
Timothy that all scripture
00:25:11.64\00:25:14.38
is given by inspiration of God,
00:25:14.38\00:25:16.64
and the Greek expression
he uses is theos pneuma,
00:25:16.64\00:25:20.78
which literally
means God-breathed.
00:25:20.78\00:25:24.09
There's a really
good reason that this book
00:25:24.09\00:25:25.95
has towered above all the
rest for so many centuries.
00:25:25.95\00:25:29.49
Again, that's why I
always encourage you
00:25:29.49\00:25:32.43
to just read the whole book.
00:25:32.43\00:25:35.13
If you approach this honestly,
00:25:35.13\00:25:37.37
it doesn't take long to realize
00:25:37.37\00:25:39.20
there's something really,
really different in here.
00:25:39.20\00:25:42.14
I mean, yeah, there are
parts that will make you squirm
00:25:42.14\00:25:44.94
because they step on a nerve.
00:25:44.94\00:25:47.04
There are parts that
you're gonna find difficult
00:25:47.04\00:25:49.48
to wrap your mind around.
00:25:49.48\00:25:51.35
And there are even
parts that'll make you angry.
00:25:51.35\00:25:53.75
Trust me, I know, I've
been through all of that,
00:25:53.75\00:25:57.65
but there's also this nagging
sense that behind it all,
00:25:57.65\00:26:01.46
somehow this book
is telling the truth.
00:26:01.46\00:26:05.63
Of course, that idea that
this book is telling the truth
00:26:05.63\00:26:08.83
comes with implications
because it might also mean
00:26:08.83\00:26:12.47
that we need to face the lies
we've been telling ourselves,
00:26:12.47\00:26:15.60
and it might mean that we are
faced with, well, with change,
00:26:15.60\00:26:20.68
but still
there's this quiet peace,
00:26:21.81\00:26:23.38
this reassuring voice
that appeals to the deepest,
00:26:23.38\00:26:27.05
most authentic
parts of ourselves.
00:26:27.05\00:26:29.35
"Why don't you prove this is
real?" the devil asked Jesus.
00:26:30.72\00:26:33.96
And of course, Jesus
did go out and prove it,
00:26:33.96\00:26:36.69
but not the way
that everybody demanded.
00:26:36.69\00:26:39.56
He proved it by living
an authentic human life,
00:26:39.56\00:26:43.40
by perfectly
mirroring the image of God
00:26:43.40\00:26:45.77
as a real life human being
in a way that makes his name
00:26:45.77\00:26:50.01
tower above all
the rest of humanity
00:26:50.01\00:26:53.04
for the next 20 centuries.
00:26:53.04\00:26:55.88
And I guess what I
want to encourage you to do
00:26:55.88\00:26:59.15
is look at the whole
answer to the devil's question.
00:26:59.15\00:27:02.55
Read the whole book
because it's impossible
00:27:02.55\00:27:05.69
to be confronted with
Jesus and not respond somehow.
00:27:05.69\00:27:10.76
Look, at the end of the day,
00:27:11.56\00:27:12.79
you might still
not believe this,
00:27:12.79\00:27:14.93
but I think you owe it
to yourself to know for sure
00:27:14.93\00:27:18.50
what you're choosing
to accept or not accept.
00:27:18.50\00:27:22.14
And if you head on
over to BibleStudies.com,
00:27:22.14\00:27:24.84
you'll find all
kinds of free resources
00:27:24.84\00:27:27.34
to help you get started.
00:27:27.34\00:27:28.88
That's BibleStudies.com.
00:27:28.88\00:27:32.25
Well, that's it for this week,
00:27:32.25\00:27:33.52
so thanks for joining me again.
00:27:33.52\00:27:35.02
We'll see you next week.
00:27:35.02\00:27:36.52
I'm Shawn Boonstra, and
this has been "Authentic."
00:27:36.52\00:27:40.72
[gentle upbeat country music]
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country music continues]
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country music continues]
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