¤[Music]¤ 00:00:09.87\00:00:19.41 >>John Bradshaw: This is It Is Written. 00:00:19.45\00:00:21.32 I'm John Bradshaw. 00:00:21.35\00:00:22.55 Thanks for joining me. 00:00:22.58\00:00:24.62 It's a slice of paradise, really. 00:00:24.65\00:00:27.02 Just 35 minutes by plane from Miami, Florida, 00:00:27.06\00:00:31.13 is Nassau, the capital city of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. 00:00:31.16\00:00:36.16 The Bahamas is made up of more than 700 islands and islets, 00:00:36.20\00:00:41.04 starting east of Florida and stretching down 00:00:41.07\00:00:44.07 to north of Cuba, 00:00:44.11\00:00:45.74 and along almost to Turks and Caicos, north of Haiti. 00:00:45.77\00:00:50.15 Tourism rules in the Bahamas, and it's easy to see why. 00:00:50.18\00:00:55.15 What's not to love? 00:00:55.18\00:00:57.42 The weather here is as close to perfect 00:00:57.45\00:00:58.95 as you could possibly want. 00:00:58.99\00:01:00.59 Average annual high temperature: 84 Fahrenheit. 00:01:00.62\00:01:03.26 That's 29 Celsius. 00:01:03.29\00:01:05.03 Average annual low: 21 Celsius, 70 Fahrenheit. 00:01:05.06\00:01:09.50 There are 30 or so inhabited islands in the Bahamas, 00:01:09.53\00:01:13.13 a number of privately held islands in addition. 00:01:13.17\00:01:17.41 Nassau is on New Providence Island, 00:01:17.44\00:01:19.74 which would fit inside Rhode Island 15 times. 00:01:19.77\00:01:23.31 ¤[Music]¤ 00:01:23.35\00:01:24.58 It was here in the Bahamas in 1492 that Christopher Columbus 00:01:24.61\00:01:29.25 first landed in the free world. 00:01:29.28\00:01:31.52 He landed at an island that became known as San Salvador. 00:01:31.55\00:01:35.22 Some believe it's the same San Salvador that exists today. 00:01:35.26\00:01:39.59 Others believe otherwise. 00:01:39.63\00:01:42.50 Four hundred thousand people live in the Bahamas, 00:01:42.53\00:01:45.90 70 percent of them in Nassau. 00:01:45.93\00:01:48.84 And as beautiful as it is, it's a place with a colorful past. 00:01:48.87\00:01:54.08 Three hundred or so years ago, in the early 1700s, 00:01:54.11\00:01:57.85 the Bahamas was a haven for pirates. 00:01:57.88\00:02:02.78 Men like John Rackham operated out of New Providence Island. 00:02:02.82\00:02:07.26 They called him Calico Jack 00:02:07.29\00:02:09.36 owing to the colorful clothing that he wore. 00:02:09.39\00:02:12.53 He ended up being hanged. 00:02:12.56\00:02:14.20 He was associated with a couple of female pirates. 00:02:14.20\00:02:16.97 Female pirates were rare in the Caribbean. 00:02:17.00\00:02:19.80 And Bonnie and Mary Reed were ruthless. 00:02:19.83\00:02:24.87 The pirate Henry Jennings was based in the Bahamas. 00:02:24.91\00:02:28.74 In 1715, 11 of the 12 ships that made up a Spanish treasure fleet 00:02:28.78\00:02:34.98 were lost in a hurricane near what's known today 00:02:35.02\00:02:37.42 as Vero Beach, Florida. 00:02:37.45\00:02:39.75 Jennings had been a privateer, essentially a legal pirate, 00:02:39.79\00:02:44.26 and he attacked the salvage ships 00:02:44.29\00:02:46.19 and made off with a lot of wealth. 00:02:46.23\00:02:50.33 Jennings based himself here in Nassau. 00:02:50.37\00:02:53.27 He teamed up with another private, 00:02:53.30\00:02:54.90 another former privateer, a man named Benjamin Hornigold. 00:02:54.94\00:02:59.44 Hornigold actually retired from piracy, 00:02:59.47\00:03:02.21 which is something not every pirate did. 00:03:02.24\00:03:05.01 But before he retired, 00:03:05.05\00:03:06.58 he took an aspiring young pirate under his wing, 00:03:06.61\00:03:09.58 a man named Edward Teach. 00:03:09.62\00:03:12.95 Teach was born in England, maybe in Bristol. 00:03:12.99\00:03:16.96 He worked on ships, and eventually became a privateer. 00:03:16.99\00:03:21.13 Teach, if that was his actual name, 00:03:21.16\00:03:23.97 became a pirate during what was known 00:03:24.00\00:03:25.80 as the Golden Age of Piracy. 00:03:25.83\00:03:29.14 And he was known as Blackbeard. 00:03:29.17\00:03:33.41 The Bahamas was perfect for pirates, 00:03:33.44\00:03:35.54 owing to its proximity to the shipping lanes of the Atlantic. 00:03:35.58\00:03:38.85 And it was here that Blackbeard created a legend. 00:03:38.88\00:03:43.99 It's not that Blackbeard was the deadliest 00:03:44.02\00:03:46.19 or the most prolific pirate that ever sailed. 00:03:46.22\00:03:48.99 But he knew how to strike fear into men. 00:03:49.02\00:03:51.89 He called himself Blackbeard after his big, black beard, 00:03:51.93\00:03:54.96 which he braided with ribbons and then somehow 00:03:55.00\00:03:57.23 set matches or cloth or fuses in that he would set alight, 00:03:57.27\00:04:01.60 making it look like his beard was on fire. 00:04:01.64\00:04:04.71 Blackbeard terrorized people. 00:04:04.74\00:04:07.84 Some sailors said they believed 00:04:07.88\00:04:09.48 Blackbeard was the devil himself. 00:04:09.51\00:04:13.45 Near Martinique in the eastern Caribbean, 00:04:13.48\00:04:16.42 Blackbeard seized a French ship, La Concorde, 00:04:16.45\00:04:20.36 which he renamed Queen Anne's Revenge. 00:04:20.39\00:04:24.13 Now, as long as his victims didn't put up a fight, 00:04:24.16\00:04:26.76 Blackbeard didn't kill or maim them. 00:04:26.80\00:04:29.23 But if they resisted... [cannons firing] 00:04:29.26\00:04:32.07 not good. 00:04:32.10\00:04:33.40 He even defeated a royal naval vessel. 00:04:33.44\00:04:36.17 He was quite a sailor. 00:04:36.20\00:04:38.07 A pirate ship's flag would often contain a depiction 00:04:38.11\00:04:41.38 of an hourglass, 00:04:41.41\00:04:43.14 the inference being that a pirate's life was short. 00:04:43.18\00:04:47.12 Blackbeard died while still a young man, 00:04:47.15\00:04:49.38 aged somewhere between 35 and 40. 00:04:49.42\00:04:52.22 He was killed by authorities in North Carolina. 00:04:52.25\00:04:55.52 His severed head was placed on a pike and publically displayed 00:04:55.56\00:05:01.33 as a warning to other would-be pirates. 00:05:01.36\00:05:05.33 In 1996, the remains of Blackbeard's ship, 00:05:05.37\00:05:08.07 the Queen Anne's Revenge, 00:05:08.10\00:05:09.24 were found just off the Carolina coast. 00:05:09.27\00:05:12.37 So what does it take to be a pirate? 00:05:12.41\00:05:14.54 You know, today pirates are kind of romanticized. 00:05:14.58\00:05:16.81 And the fact is, they were thieves, 00:05:16.85\00:05:19.01 murderers. 00:05:19.05\00:05:20.58 Pirates were terrorists. 00:05:20.62\00:05:22.62 Fourteen of the 16 men apprehended 00:05:22.65\00:05:24.65 when Blackbeard was taken were transported 00:05:24.69\00:05:27.62 to Williamsburg, Virginia, and hanged. 00:05:27.66\00:05:30.66 They were tough times. 00:05:30.69\00:05:33.09 Modern piracy is still a major maritime problem that costs 00:05:33.13\00:05:36.67 lives as well as billions of dollars a year in losses. 00:05:36.70\00:05:40.54 The waters off the coast of Somalia have seen 00:05:40.57\00:05:43.27 a lot of piracy in modern times. 00:05:43.30\00:05:45.74 The Strait of Malacca, 00:05:45.77\00:05:47.08 dividing Singapore and Malaysia from Indonesia, 00:05:47.11\00:05:49.81 continues to be a piracy hotspot. 00:05:49.84\00:05:52.98 ¤[Island music]¤ 00:05:53.01\00:05:54.18 Although it happens less than it did a few years ago, 00:05:54.22\00:05:57.15 people are still killed or taken hostage by pirates. 00:05:57.19\00:06:00.99 Some hostages are held for years. 00:06:01.02\00:06:03.89 Ships are still seized. 00:06:03.93\00:06:06.70 This isn't a game. 00:06:06.73\00:06:08.80 Pirates were a law unto themselves, 00:06:08.83\00:06:11.50 had no regard for the rights 00:06:11.53\00:06:12.80 or the safety or the welfare of others. 00:06:12.83\00:06:14.64 They took what they wanted, when they wanted, 00:06:14.67\00:06:17.81 and how they wanted. 00:06:17.84\00:06:19.01 You know, we still see lawlessness today. 00:06:19.04\00:06:21.18 We see it in the streets, 00:06:21.21\00:06:22.58 where people rob and assault and murder. 00:06:22.61\00:06:26.55 Do we see lawlessness in business? 00:06:26.58\00:06:28.72 Sure we do. 00:06:28.75\00:06:29.68 There are unscrupulous business people who, 00:06:29.72\00:06:31.35 through one means or another, take advantage of others. 00:06:31.39\00:06:35.69 You don't need to go too far to find unscrupulous doctors 00:06:35.72\00:06:39.46 or lawyers or athletes. 00:06:39.49\00:06:42.13 We still see lawlessness today. 00:06:42.16\00:06:46.23 But lawlessness in the church: does that happen? 00:06:46.27\00:06:51.04 Yes, it does. 00:06:51.07\00:06:52.07 I'll tell you more in just a moment. 00:06:52.11\00:06:54.41 ¤[Music]¤ 00:06:54.44\00:07:01.78 >>John: It may seem that integrity is in short supply. 00:07:03.45\00:07:06.32 But it does not need to be in short supply in your life. 00:07:06.35\00:07:10.03 I'd like you to get today's free offer, 00:07:10.06\00:07:11.73 “Challenged,” 00:07:11.76\00:07:12.69 written by Dr. Michael Cafferky and myself. 00:07:12.73\00:07:15.56 How you can maintain and demonstrate integrity 00:07:15.60\00:07:18.53 in your personal life or in your business life. 00:07:18.57\00:07:21.37 Call us: 800-253-3000. 00:07:21.40\00:07:24.37 800-253-3000. 00:07:24.41\00:07:26.74 Visit us at iiwoffer.com. 00:07:26.78\00:07:29.51 Or write to the address on your screen for 00:07:29.54\00:07:31.68 “Challenged.” 00:07:31.71\00:07:33.28 >>John: Thursday, August the 5th, 2010m 00:07:34.12\00:07:37.02 was not a happy day for 33 men, 00:07:37.05\00:07:40.99 when a collapse in a mine in Chile 00:07:41.02\00:07:43.99 buried them 2,300 feet below ground. 00:07:44.03\00:07:49.03 No matter how much they tried to escape, 00:07:49.06\00:07:51.43 there was no way out. 00:07:51.47\00:07:53.03 Rescue would have to come from above. 00:07:53.07\00:07:57.27 ¤[Music]¤ 00:07:57.31\00:07:58.17 On the outskirts of the San Jose Mine, 00:07:58.21\00:08:00.44 over two-and-a-half thousand people gathered, 00:08:00.48\00:08:03.68 and with each failed rescue attempt, 00:08:03.71\00:08:05.98 despair increased, 00:08:06.01\00:08:08.25 and families gathered together to pray for a miracle. 00:08:08.28\00:08:13.56 From the Atacama Desert comes a story of tragedy, 00:08:13.59\00:08:17.36 a story of uncertainty, yet a story of courage, 00:08:17.39\00:08:20.90 hope, and ultimately, a story of salvation. 00:08:20.93\00:08:25.10 Wait on the Lord, and the miracle will come. 00:08:25.13\00:08:29.30 “Trapped.” 00:08:29.34\00:08:30.47 Watch now on It Is Written TV. 00:08:30.51\00:08:33.51 >>John Bradshaw: Nassau, on New Providence Island 00:08:34.51\00:08:36.88 in the Bahamas, 00:08:36.91\00:08:38.15 was home to a lot of pirates in the early 1700s, 00:08:38.18\00:08:41.55 during what's now referred to as the Golden Age of Piracy. 00:08:41.58\00:08:45.89 At that same time, Ben Franklin was just a boy. 00:08:45.92\00:08:49.42 Johann Sebastian Bach was composing 00:08:49.46\00:08:51.46 beautiful music in Europe, 00:08:51.49\00:08:53.80 and George Washington wouldn't be born for about 15 more years. 00:08:53.83\00:08:58.50 Blackbeard sailed these waters. 00:08:58.53\00:09:01.40 This pirate of the Caribbean and of the Atlantic 00:09:01.44\00:09:04.37 called this place home for about two years, 00:09:04.41\00:09:07.54 and during that time, he terrorized a lot of people. 00:09:07.58\00:09:12.35 Pirates lived, or live, outside the law. 00:09:13.35\00:09:17.35 They are lawless. 00:09:17.39\00:09:19.65 You have to be lawless to pursue an ocean vessel, 00:09:19.69\00:09:22.82 forcibly board it, take what you want, 00:09:22.86\00:09:25.53 and then take hostages or simply kill people. 00:09:25.56\00:09:28.70 Lawlessness. 00:09:28.73\00:09:30.83 But what's really astonishing is that 00:09:30.87\00:09:33.40 we find lawlessness in the church. 00:09:33.44\00:09:37.47 Let me explain. 00:09:37.51\00:09:40.08 Britain's Telegraph newspaper reported that just six of the 00:09:40.11\00:09:44.08 Ten Commandments are important to British Christians today. 00:09:44.11\00:09:48.92 The paper said, "Most Christians in Britain believe that four 00:09:48.95\00:09:52.52 of the commandments 00:09:52.55\00:09:53.76 are not 'important principles to live by.'" 00:09:53.79\00:09:57.06 So which ones made the grade? 00:09:57.09\00:09:59.63 "Honor thy father and thy mother"? 00:09:59.66\00:10:01.80 That commandment is one the people want to keep. 00:10:01.83\00:10:05.47 Murder? 00:10:05.50\00:10:06.57 Still wrong. 00:10:06.60\00:10:07.70 Adultery? 00:10:07.74\00:10:08.90 Still morally unacceptable. 00:10:08.94\00:10:11.41 Stealing? 00:10:11.44\00:10:12.47 Let's keep that commandment. 00:10:12.51\00:10:14.21 Lying? 00:10:14.24\00:10:15.44 People don't want lying. 00:10:15.48\00:10:16.81 That commandment remains. 00:10:16.85\00:10:18.75 And interestingly enough, coveting still considered taboo. 00:10:18.78\00:10:24.69 But the majority of British Christians who responded to this 00:10:24.72\00:10:28.56 poll said that the first four commandments are principles 00:10:28.59\00:10:32.66 that we can do without, 00:10:32.69\00:10:34.20 principles that we don't need to live by today. 00:10:34.23\00:10:37.43 So what are these four old-hat commandments 00:10:37.47\00:10:40.97 that just don't relate to life anymore? 00:10:41.00\00:10:43.41 Well, let's look at them. 00:10:43.44\00:10:44.61 The first one, Exodus 20, verse 3, where the Bible says, 00:10:44.64\00:10:48.74 “You shall have no other gods before me.” 00:10:48.78\00:10:51.48 Apparently, not relevant today. 00:10:51.51\00:10:54.15 Now, keep in mind, this is in the land of George Whitefield, 00:10:54.18\00:10:56.99 John Wesley, William Tyndale. 00:10:57.02\00:11:00.72 Believers saying, “We don't need this anymore.” 00:11:00.76\00:11:03.26 Second commandment, Exodus 20 and verse 4: 00:11:03.29\00:11:06.43 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image- 00:11:06.46\00:11:09.66 any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, 00:11:09.70\00:11:12.60 or that is in the earth beneath, 00:11:12.63\00:11:14.24 or that is in the water under the earth; 00:11:14.27\00:11:16.74 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them...” 00:11:16.77\00:11:20.41 Apparently, that's something that we can live without, 00:11:20.44\00:11:22.81 along with the third commandment. 00:11:22.84\00:11:24.28 Look at that with me, Exodus 20 and verse 7: 00:11:24.31\00:11:27.62 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, 00:11:27.65\00:11:31.65 for the Lord will not hold him guiltless 00:11:31.69\00:11:34.56 who takes His name in vain.” 00:11:34.59\00:11:36.76 Apparently, that's something that we can do without. 00:11:36.79\00:11:40.06 Now, there's one more. 00:11:40.10\00:11:41.60 Remember? 00:11:41.63\00:11:42.76 Believers in Britain have said that this is something 00:11:42.80\00:11:45.97 we don't need to live by today. 00:11:46.00\00:11:49.34 Look at it with me, Exodus 20, verses 8 through 11: 00:11:49.37\00:11:53.04 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 00:11:53.07\00:11:55.68 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 00:11:55.71\00:11:58.65 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. 00:11:58.68\00:12:02.38 In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, 00:12:02.42\00:12:06.62 nor your daughter, nor your male servant, 00:12:06.65\00:12:09.09 nor your female servant, nor your cattle, 00:12:09.12\00:12:12.16 nor your stranger who is within your gates. 00:12:12.19\00:12:15.33 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, 00:12:15.36\00:12:19.90 the sea, and all that is in them, 00:12:19.93\00:12:22.77 and rested the seventh day. 00:12:22.80\00:12:25.04 Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day 00:12:25.07\00:12:27.94 and hallowed it.” 00:12:27.98\00:12:30.25 [sounds of crowd] So how would that look, 00:12:30.28\00:12:31.91 having other gods before God? 00:12:31.95\00:12:34.05 Well, it makes the Bible a nonsense. 00:12:34.08\00:12:35.42 You can not love God with your whole heart, 00:12:35.45\00:12:38.92 soul, mind and strength, and have another god before God. 00:12:38.95\00:12:43.96 Okay for believers to bow down and worship graven images. 00:12:43.99\00:12:48.03 That doesn't even make sense. 00:12:48.06\00:12:50.07 This is where you need a rolling-your-eyes emoji. 00:12:50.10\00:12:53.84 Don't take the name of the Lord in vain. 00:12:53.87\00:12:56.44 Evidently, that doesn't matter anymore. 00:12:56.47\00:12:58.41 You know, what's interesting about this is that 00:12:58.44\00:13:00.91 the commandments that are still important are the ones 00:13:00.94\00:13:03.65 that deal with what other people do to you. 00:13:03.68\00:13:06.35 But when it comes to disrespecting God, 00:13:06.38\00:13:09.38 evidently that just doesn't matter so much. 00:13:09.42\00:13:12.62 Fourth one: “Remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy.” 00:13:12.65\00:13:16.12 You'd really let that go in today's pressure-cooker world? 00:13:16.16\00:13:19.66 Jesus said in Mark 2:27, 00:13:19.69\00:13:22.03 “The Sabbath was made for man.” 00:13:22.06\00:13:24.37 Isaiah said don't trample on God's holy day in Isaiah 58. 00:13:24.40\00:13:29.44 And over and above all of that, Jesus said in John 14:15, 00:13:29.47\00:13:33.41 “If you love me, keep my commandments.” 00:13:33.44\00:13:36.41 First John 3, verse 4, says that 00:13:36.44\00:13:38.45 “sin is the transgression of the law.” 00:13:38.48\00:13:41.35 Many translations express that as, “Sin is lawlessness.” 00:13:41.38\00:13:47.69 Now, let's not make the mistake of thinking 00:13:47.72\00:13:49.96 that this is just a British thing. 00:13:49.99\00:13:52.03 Some years ago, Reuters reported that Americans 00:13:52.06\00:13:56.70 were more familiar with the ingredients of a Big Mac 00:13:56.73\00:14:01.90 than they were with the Ten Commandments. 00:14:01.94\00:14:04.44 For example, more people could recall that a Big Mac 00:14:04.47\00:14:08.51 contained two all-beef patties than knew there was 00:14:08.54\00:14:12.78 a commandment that said, “Thou shalt not kill.” 00:14:12.81\00:14:15.78 Fewer people were able to recall 00:14:15.82\00:14:18.09 “Honor thy father and thy mother” 00:14:18.12\00:14:20.69 than knew that a Big Mac contained a pickle. 00:14:20.72\00:14:24.56 More people could remember Bobby and Peter from the Brady Bunch 00:14:24.59\00:14:29.66 than knew that there was a 00:14:29.70\00:14:31.57 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” 00:14:31.60\00:14:34.30 Now, admittedly, this was not a survey of just Christians. 00:14:34.34\00:14:39.67 But still. 00:14:39.71\00:14:42.04 Years before he became known 00:14:42.08\00:14:43.48 for his run for the U.S. Senate, 00:14:43.51\00:14:45.38 Roy Moore was a circuit court judge in the state of Alabama. 00:14:45.41\00:14:49.72 He hung the Ten Commandments on the wall of his courthouse. 00:14:49.75\00:14:53.42 It sparked controversy. 00:14:53.46\00:14:55.56 Later, as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court 00:14:55.59\00:14:58.96 in the State of Alabama, 00:14:58.99\00:15:00.56 Moore had a 5,000-pound granite monument 00:15:00.60\00:15:04.33 of the Ten Commandments moved into the Supreme Court building. 00:15:04.37\00:15:07.64 Now, that was controversial as well. 00:15:07.67\00:15:09.30 It was eventually ruled that that monument had to go. 00:15:09.34\00:15:12.71 Moore went as well, 00:15:12.74\00:15:14.61 but not before thousands of people demonstrated 00:15:14.64\00:15:17.65 in support of that monument of the Ten Commandments. 00:15:17.68\00:15:21.05 At that demonstration, one man shouted at the top of his voice, 00:15:21.08\00:15:24.55 “Get your hands off our God.” 00:15:24.59\00:15:29.42 So it's interesting. 00:15:29.46\00:15:30.89 We seem to have this very two-faced relationship 00:15:30.93\00:15:34.30 with the Ten Commandments. 00:15:34.36\00:15:35.76 On the one hand, we acknowledge they were given by God, 00:15:35.80\00:15:39.07 but on the other hand, 00:15:39.10\00:15:40.64 masses of people, including many Christians, 00:15:40.67\00:15:44.21 aren't sure they really need to be kept. 00:15:44.24\00:15:47.01 So which is it? 00:15:47.04\00:15:48.44 Now, if the answer is that the Ten Commandments 00:15:48.48\00:15:50.88 ought to be kept, 00:15:50.91\00:15:52.45 then that gives rise to another really important question. 00:15:52.48\00:15:56.22 I'll have that in just a moment. 00:15:56.25\00:15:58.69 ¤[Music]¤ 00:15:58.72\00:16:04.73 >>John: It may seem that integrity is in short supply. 00:16:07.76\00:16:10.30 But it does not need to be in short supply in your life. 00:16:10.33\00:16:14.10 I'd like you to get today's free offer, 00:16:14.14\00:16:15.90 “Challenged,” 00:16:15.94\00:16:16.87 written by Dr. Michael Cafferky and myself. 00:16:16.91\00:16:19.74 How you can maintain and demonstrate integrity 00:16:19.77\00:16:22.38 in your personal life or in your business life. 00:16:22.41\00:16:25.55 Call us: 800-253-3000. 00:16:25.58\00:16:28.42 800-253-3000. 00:16:28.45\00:16:30.85 Visit us at iiwoffer.com. 00:16:30.89\00:16:34.06 Or write to the address on your screen for 00:16:34.09\00:16:35.76 “Challenged.” 00:16:35.79\00:16:37.13 >>John: Thank you for remembering that It Is Written 00:16:38.03\00:16:39.83 exists because of the kindness of people just like you. 00:16:39.86\00:16:43.23 To support this international life-changing ministry, 00:16:43.26\00:16:46.50 please call us now at 800-253-3000. 00:16:46.53\00:16:50.74 You can send your tax-deductible gift 00:16:50.77\00:16:52.21 to the address on your screen, 00:16:52.24\00:16:53.68 or you can visit us online at itiswritten.com. 00:16:53.71\00:16:57.45 Thank you for your prayers and for your financial support. 00:16:57.48\00:17:00.35 Our number again is 800-253-3000. 00:17:00.38\00:17:04.69 Or you can visit us online at itiswritten.com. 00:17:04.72\00:17:07.46 >>John Bradshaw: Thanks for joining me on It Is Written. 00:17:08.72\00:17:11.06 I'm in the Bahamas, once upon a time a haven for pirates. 00:17:11.09\00:17:17.43 Not good people, pirates. 00:17:17.47\00:17:19.67 They were thieves, killers, mercenaries. 00:17:19.70\00:17:24.17 They were outlaws, not cartoon characters, 00:17:24.21\00:17:27.38 not caricatures. 00:17:27.41\00:17:29.78 They were lawless. 00:17:29.81\00:17:31.81 In the 1900s, the Bahamas was a haven for freed slaves. 00:17:37.15\00:17:42.26 The royal navy resettled here thousands of slaves 00:17:42.29\00:17:45.66 who'd been liberated from slave ships. 00:17:45.69\00:17:48.20 American slaves and black Seminoles 00:17:48.23\00:17:50.63 escaped here from Florida. 00:17:50.67\00:17:53.47 And slaves on board U.S. domestic ships, 00:17:53.50\00:17:56.27 which had sheltered here in the Bahamas 00:17:56.30\00:17:58.14 owing to bad weather, were freed here as well. 00:17:58.17\00:18:02.64 These are actual ruins of homes of former slaves. 00:18:02.68\00:18:08.82 Slavery was lawlessness. 00:18:08.85\00:18:11.45 ¤[Music]¤ 00:18:11.49\00:18:12.69 And lawlessness challenges the church. 00:18:12.72\00:18:16.22 Antinomianism teaches that, because of grace, 00:18:16.26\00:18:19.59 because we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, 00:18:19.63\00:18:23.90 we then therefore do not need to obey the law of God. 00:18:23.93\00:18:29.24 Which is madness, of course. 00:18:29.27\00:18:32.24 There's a world of difference between what happens 00:18:32.27\00:18:34.31 in a person's life in coming to salvation 00:18:34.34\00:18:37.55 and then what takes place in a person's life 00:18:37.58\00:18:39.65 once that person has received salvation. 00:18:39.68\00:18:42.45 Now, it is true, we are saved one way: by grace alone, 00:18:42.48\00:18:46.99 through faith alone, in Christ alone. 00:18:47.02\00:18:50.76 That's right. 00:18:50.79\00:18:51.46 And that is a wonderful truth. 00:18:51.49\00:18:52.96 There is nothing that you can do to earn salvation. 00:18:52.99\00:18:55.83 It is a gift given you from God. 00:18:55.86\00:19:00.07 You accept it; you rejoice in it; 00:19:00.10\00:19:02.77 you believe that Jesus died for you and 00:19:02.80\00:19:04.94 that through the death of Jesus Christ your sins are forgiven. 00:19:04.97\00:19:09.84 But once a person comes to faith in God, 00:19:09.88\00:19:12.05 once God enters a person's life 00:19:12.08\00:19:14.58 and that faith journey continues, 00:19:14.62\00:19:17.79 well, what does that look like? 00:19:17.82\00:19:19.05 David told us in Psalm 40 and verse 8, when he said, 00:19:19.09\00:19:24.09 “I delight to do Your will, O my God, 00:19:24.13\00:19:27.10 Your law is in my heart.” 00:19:27.13\00:19:31.00 The question isn't, should we live with 00:19:31.03\00:19:34.17 or without reference to the Ten Commandments. 00:19:34.20\00:19:37.31 The answer to that question is obvious. 00:19:37.34\00:19:40.44 The bigger question is, how do you keep the Ten Commandments? 00:19:40.48\00:19:44.65 You know, when Jesus said, 00:19:44.68\00:19:45.65 “If you love me, keep my commandments,” 00:19:45.68\00:19:47.65 He was not saying, 00:19:47.68\00:19:49.42 if you love me, then prove it by going ahead 00:19:49.45\00:19:52.72 and keeping the Ten Commandments. 00:19:52.75\00:19:54.26 No, what Jesus was saying was, 00:19:54.29\00:19:55.66 “If you love me, 00:19:55.69\00:19:57.53 then you will keep the Ten Commandments 00:19:57.56\00:19:59.23 because that's what happens when I dwell in you.” 00:19:59.26\00:20:03.00 When your heart is given to God, 00:20:03.03\00:20:05.23 obedience becomes an inevitability. 00:20:05.27\00:20:09.17 Now, I recognize that statements like that, 00:20:09.20\00:20:11.84 obedience being an inevitability, 00:20:11.87\00:20:14.54 can be cold comfort to some people. 00:20:14.58\00:20:16.54 If you're stuck in sin, 00:20:16.58\00:20:18.55 if you're going backwards instead of forwards, 00:20:18.58\00:20:20.78 if you're not progressing spiritually, 00:20:20.82\00:20:23.59 those are difficult words. 00:20:23.62\00:20:25.92 The battle is real. 00:20:25.95\00:20:27.79 Undoubtedly you've experienced it. 00:20:27.82\00:20:29.79 You might be caught in the middle of it now. 00:20:29.82\00:20:32.63 So, let's consider what Paul wrote to the Romans, 00:20:32.66\00:20:35.16 chapter 7, verse 14: 00:20:35.20\00:20:37.27 “For we know that the law is spiritual, 00:20:37.30\00:20:39.87 but I am carnal, sold under sin.” 00:20:39.90\00:20:44.27 Carnal. 00:20:44.31\00:20:45.27 Fleshly. 00:20:45.31\00:20:46.47 Like the Spanish word for meat, “carne.” 00:20:46.51\00:20:49.24 Paul says, “I am carnal.” So why is that a problem? 00:20:49.28\00:20:53.88 He explains in Romans 8, verse 7: 00:20:53.92\00:20:56.12 “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: 00:20:56.15\00:20:59.19 for it is not subject to the law of God, 00:20:59.22\00:21:01.52 neither indeed can be.” 00:21:01.56\00:21:03.56 You notice that? 00:21:03.59\00:21:04.26 Paul says, “I am carnal.” 00:21:04.29\00:21:07.23 Like Blackbeard. 00:21:07.30\00:21:08.60 Or Calico Jack. 00:21:08.63\00:21:10.57 Lawless. 00:21:10.60\00:21:11.97 Paul goes on: “For what I am doing, 00:21:12.00\00:21:14.74 I do not understand. 00:21:14.77\00:21:16.57 For what I will to do, that I do not practice; 00:21:16.60\00:21:19.97 but what I hate, that I do. 00:21:20.01\00:21:23.28 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) 00:21:23.31\00:21:26.45 nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, 00:21:26.48\00:21:30.95 but how to perform what is good I do not find. 00:21:30.99\00:21:34.89 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; 00:21:34.92\00:21:38.43 but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 00:21:38.46\00:21:43.40 O wretched man that I am! 00:21:43.43\00:21:45.57 Who will deliver me from this body of death?” 00:21:45.60\00:21:49.94 Can you see yourself in that picture, 00:21:49.97\00:21:52.27 unable to do the things that you really want to do, 00:21:52.31\00:21:55.84 doing the things that you know you should not? 00:21:55.88\00:21:58.48 See yourself in that picture? 00:21:58.51\00:22:00.45 Somebody upsets you. 00:22:00.48\00:22:02.32 You know you shouldn't retaliate in a negative way, 00:22:02.35\00:22:04.52 but you do it anyway. 00:22:04.55\00:22:06.22 You know you shouldn't claim that deduction on your taxes, 00:22:06.25\00:22:10.16 but you claim it anyway. 00:22:10.19\00:22:12.59 You're in a relationship that you know you shouldn't be in. 00:22:12.63\00:22:15.56 Seems like it's impossible for you to get out. 00:22:15.60\00:22:18.23 You feel hatred toward somebody 00:22:18.27\00:22:20.34 and you know you should feel otherwise, 00:22:20.37\00:22:22.40 but it's like you're stuck there, 00:22:22.44\00:22:24.74 and there's nothing you can do 00:22:24.77\00:22:26.24 to shake off these things that you don't even want to be doing. 00:22:26.27\00:22:31.05 So what do you do? 00:22:31.08\00:22:32.08 Wouldn't it be something if Romans chapter 7 00:22:32.11\00:22:35.68 ended with Paul's desperate cry, 00:22:35.72\00:22:38.09 “Who shall deliver me from this body of death?” 00:22:38.12\00:22:41.12 I am extremely glad that it does not, 00:22:41.16\00:22:44.53 that Paul answers that question in the next verse, 00:22:44.56\00:22:47.86 Romans 7:25, where he says, 00:22:47.86\00:22:50.27 “I thank God-- through Jesus Christ my Lord!” 00:22:50.30\00:22:54.54 You want a way out of lawlessness? 00:22:54.57\00:22:56.97 Jesus is that way out. 00:22:57.01\00:22:58.57 You want a way out of slavery to the old life? 00:22:58.61\00:23:02.14 Jesus is that way. 00:23:02.18\00:23:03.95 ¤[Music]¤ 00:23:03.98\00:23:05.11 And when He comes into your life, 00:23:05.15\00:23:07.05 gives you a new heart, new impulses, 00:23:07.08\00:23:10.72 new desires, then you can say with Paul, 00:23:10.75\00:23:13.86 in the very next verse, Romans 8 and verse 1, 00:23:13.89\00:23:17.33 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them 00:23:17.36\00:23:20.03 who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, 00:23:20.06\00:23:23.67 but after the Spirit.” 00:23:23.70\00:23:26.67 Moments ago, Paul is saying there is no good thing in him, 00:23:26.70\00:23:30.77 that he is carnal, that he's not subject to the law of God. 00:23:30.81\00:23:34.54 Moments later, there is now no condemnation. 00:23:34.58\00:23:38.95 Now, here's how you can have that experience. 00:23:38.98\00:23:41.18 ¤[Music]¤ 00:23:41.22\00:23:43.05 Accept Jesus Christ into your life. 00:23:43.08\00:23:46.05 Tell God you want to live for Him, 00:23:46.09\00:23:48.32 and that you need Him to do it in your life 00:23:48.36\00:23:50.76 because you can't do it yourself. 00:23:50.79\00:23:52.99 It'll change your life. 00:23:53.03\00:23:54.36 And if you're already a believer, 00:23:54.40\00:23:55.70 but you're not experiencing God's power, 00:23:55.73\00:23:58.03 this is for you as well. 00:23:58.07\00:23:59.17 Get God's Word into your mind, 00:23:59.20\00:24:02.67 and it'll mold you, and it will shape you. 00:24:02.70\00:24:05.67 You'll have a new mind. 00:24:05.71\00:24:08.11 Spend a little less time with Netflix, 00:24:08.14\00:24:09.94 a little less time on the internet, 00:24:09.98\00:24:11.51 and more time with God. 00:24:11.55\00:24:13.11 ¤[Piano music]¤ 00:24:13.15\00:24:14.28 You can't possibly love a God that you don't know, 00:24:14.32\00:24:16.82 and the more you know God, 00:24:16.85\00:24:18.82 the more you're gonna want to know God. 00:24:18.85\00:24:21.66 Take time to pray. 00:24:21.69\00:24:24.29 Talk to God. 00:24:24.33\00:24:25.96 That's where the power is. 00:24:25.99\00:24:28.23 You want to connect with God. 00:24:28.26\00:24:29.76 It's so important that you do. 00:24:29.80\00:24:32.23 Take time to talk with God every day, 00:24:32.27\00:24:35.10 morning and evening, and as you go about your day. 00:24:35.14\00:24:39.37 You know how a doctor is going to advise a patient that 00:24:39.41\00:24:42.74 he or she needs to make changes, stop smoking, 00:24:42.78\00:24:46.38 stop drinking, cut down sugar, 00:24:46.41\00:24:48.35 cut down fat, cut red meat. 00:24:48.38\00:24:50.65 You know how that goes. 00:24:50.69\00:24:52.95 God does the same to us in our personal 00:24:52.99\00:24:55.49 and in our spiritual lives. 00:24:55.52\00:24:56.96 He says, there might be some people you need to cut 00:24:56.99\00:24:59.96 out of your life, stop associating with, 00:25:00.06\00:25:01.73 because they're dragging you down. 00:25:01.76\00:25:03.47 There might be some places 00:25:03.50\00:25:05.00 that you just don't want to go anymore. 00:25:05.03\00:25:06.70 Stop frequenting the bars and the clubs. 00:25:06.74\00:25:09.80 There might be some channels that you need to change 00:25:09.84\00:25:12.54 or some websites that you don't want to visit any longer. 00:25:12.57\00:25:15.04 There might be changes that need to be made. 00:25:15.08\00:25:17.51 And when you make those changes, 00:25:17.55\00:25:20.02 you prevent Satan from taking your heart off 00:25:20.05\00:25:22.52 in another direction, 00:25:22.55\00:25:23.52 and you reserve your heart for God 00:25:23.55\00:25:25.79 and for the influences of God. 00:25:25.82\00:25:29.46 Now, where's the power for that going to come from? 00:25:29.49\00:25:31.73 It's going to come from God. 00:25:31.76\00:25:33.16 Philippians 4 and verse 13 says, 00:25:33.19\00:25:35.20 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” 00:25:35.23\00:25:39.67 And that's the truth. 00:25:39.70\00:25:41.64 You see, there is a battle raging, 00:25:41.67\00:25:45.17 and it's a battle against self. 00:25:45.21\00:25:47.88 God calls you, but your selfish self demands expression. 00:25:47.91\00:25:53.78 God calls you but your selfish self wants to do its own thing. 00:25:53.82\00:25:58.22 God calls you, and you chafe against that. 00:25:58.25\00:26:00.56 You say, “No, but I want to go my own direction.” 00:26:00.59\00:26:04.13 But when you surrender to God, 00:26:04.16\00:26:06.46 when you allow God to take your heart, 00:26:06.49\00:26:08.33 you allow God to make you a new person. 00:26:08.36\00:26:10.50 Paul said, “If anyone is in Christ, 00:26:10.53\00:26:12.80 that person is a new creature.” 00:26:12.83\00:26:14.77 A new creature! 00:26:14.80\00:26:16.37 “Old things are passed away, all things are become new.” 00:26:16.40\00:26:21.58 So how is it with you? 00:26:21.61\00:26:23.51 Would you let God make you new? 00:26:23.55\00:26:27.75 All new. 00:26:27.78\00:26:29.28 When God has your heart, He'll change you. 00:26:29.32\00:26:33.09 You'll start to love the things God loves. 00:26:33.12\00:26:36.93 You'll look at life a whole new way. 00:26:36.96\00:26:40.03 You'll begin to live as a child of God. 00:26:40.06\00:26:44.63 Our Father in heaven, 00:26:44.67\00:26:45.73 we thank You that there is a power 00:26:45.77\00:26:47.74 greater than the power of our selfish selves. 00:26:47.77\00:26:50.74 There is a pirate within each one of us; 00:26:50.77\00:26:52.97 we are lawless outside of the power of God. 00:26:53.01\00:26:57.11 So I pray that You would take our hearts and make them Yours. 00:26:57.15\00:27:00.98 Let Jesus, through Your Holy Spirit, 00:27:01.02\00:27:02.85 dwell in us. 00:27:02.88\00:27:03.99 I pray that You would subdue that selfish self 00:27:04.02\00:27:07.46 that wants to go its own way, 00:27:07.49\00:27:09.66 and guide us in the way that leads to the cross 00:27:09.69\00:27:13.26 and that leads to eternal life. 00:27:13.29\00:27:15.13 We thank You today that You love us so much 00:27:15.16\00:27:17.20 that You gave Jesus to die for us, 00:27:17.23\00:27:19.40 that through faith in Him we might be made new. 00:27:19.43\00:27:23.07 That we might love what You love, 00:27:23.10\00:27:24.87 and that our lives would merely be the outworking of Your will. 00:27:24.91\00:27:28.58 And that Your principles, even Your commandments, 00:27:28.61\00:27:31.45 would be carried out in our lives. 00:27:31.48\00:27:33.68 Change our hearts. Make us Yours. 00:27:33.72\00:27:35.28 We thank You today, for we claim You and we praise You. 00:27:35.32\00:27:38.42 In Jesus' name. 00:27:38.45\00:27:40.86 Amen. 00:27:40.89\00:27:42.42 Thank you so much for joining me today in the Bahamas. 00:27:42.46\00:27:45.26 I'm looking forward to seeing you again next time. 00:27:45.29\00:27:47.76 Until then, remember: 00:27:47.76\00:27:49.73 "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, 00:27:49.76\00:27:54.00 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" 00:27:54.04\00:27:58.11 ¤[Music]¤ 00:27:58.14\00:28:07.82