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Series Code: IIWC
Program Code: IIWC201708A
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01:37 >> The great question of time is, "Who is God? 01:44 Is there a God? And what is God all about?" We've been exploring that 01:50 question over the last several weeks, asking about the very character of God, the very 01:55 essence of God. Society, education has painted a picture. 02:01 Is it possible that that picture is not the correct picture? We've gone to the Bible to see 02:09 that the Bible paints a vastly different picture than many people understand about God's 02:16 love. I'm thrilled to have with me again Dr. John Peckham to talk 02:21 about God's love. Thank you so much, Dr. Peckham, for being here again. 02:25 >> Thank you for having me. >> Dr. Peckham is a professor of Christian theology and 02:32 philosophy at the seminary at Andrews University. We are thrilled that he has 02:38 opened the Bible and helped us understand this love of God. Now, Dr. Peckham, we have had 02:44 two shows together where we've been really exploring this idea of the love of God. 02:51 And the two real major themes that have come out of our study thus far first -- God freely 03:00 chooses to love. He doesn't have to. He chooses to. 03:05 And, in turn, then, gives us the choice to respond to that love. But, you know, I've been 03:12 thinking a little bit. You know, that passage that says, "I will have compassion 03:17 on whom I will have compassion. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious." 03:22 And, Dr. Peckham, when I think about that, that sounds a little predetermined, like God is 03:29 kind of, again, picking and choosing, really, and that while there are texts that say He 03:35 loves everyone, there seems to be some of these texts that say He picks and chooses. 03:41 What can we say about that? How do we deal with that? 03:45 >> Yeah, to deal with that question well, we need to back 03:47 up in Romans 9... >> Okay. 03:49 >> ...and look at a few texts there. 03:50 In Romans 9, we're going to begin right with verse 1. And I just want to put a couple 03:55 of principles on the table. I believe that the Bible is God's word. 03:58 It's revealed and inspired by God, and, therefore, Biblical authors are not contradicting 04:03 themselves and are not contradicting other texts in the Bible. 04:07 So, when Paul is speaking -- first of all, I'm assuming he is not contradicting himself. 04:12 So, if he says something somewhere else that helps clarify what he meant, I'm going 04:16 to use that to understand. And if he's drawing on an Old Testament passage, I want to 04:20 understand what that Old Testament passage was really about because his listeners are 04:25 going to know he's alluding to that, he's referring to that and assuming that context in what 04:30 he's saying. So, he can't be saying something in Romans 9 that is 04:33 contradicting what the Old Testament passage he's drawing from says. 04:37 So, we're going to see some of those examples together. First, I want to see in Romans 9 04:41 what Paul is actually talking about. You can quote text out of 04:45 context and get the wrong idea. But Romans 9:1-3 shows us what Paul's concern really is. 04:51 Romans 9 through 11, they really all go together. >> Romans chapter 9, 10, 11 kind 04:56 of all go together to help this. And one of the things I've said, as we begin here in Romans 9 05:01 that I think it's an important principle, it's a principle that we've instilled on this show, 05:05 and that is when we're studying Scripture, we begin with those Scriptures that are clear. 05:09 >> Yes. >> And when we understand clear, and those passages that we have 05:15 read in 1 Peter 3, in 1 Timothy 2, that clearly say, "God loves everyone." 05:21 John 3:16 -- "God loves everyone." >> Yes. 05:24 >> Then we move to those texts where we say, "That doesn't sound like it's the same," and 05:29 we unpack them. And what you're saying here is what we're going to do is not 05:33 unpack this based on the opinion of others, but we're going to unpack this in the word because 05:39 the best resource to explain the word of God well, is the word of God itself. 05:45 So, let's go right to Romans 9, and I believe you said we're going to go to verses 1 to 3. 05:50 >> That's right. >> Beginning in verse 1, Paul writes, "I tell the truth in 05:54 Christ. I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the 05:58 Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. 06:03 For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen 06:10 according to the flesh." And then verse 4, "Who are Israelites." 06:14 So, what is Paul talking about? His concern for his fellow Jews. And the context is, the message 06:20 of the Gospel going to the Gentiles, as well. And part of the question is, 06:25 "Has God abandoned his people, Israel?" Is it fair of God to extend the 06:30 Gospel to the Gentiles when apparently some Jewish people have rejected it? 06:35 By no means, all -- I mean, Jesus' disciples were Jews. Jesus himself was a Jew. 06:39 But some of the people who were the chosen people have rejected the Messiah, and now the Gospel 06:43 is going to Gentiles. Someone could raise the question -- that's what Paul is 06:47 getting at in this entire passage -- is God being unfair? Has he given up those who He 06:51 elected? That's the context. Not is God choosing some to save 06:55 and not to save, but is God being fair to Israel in what he's doing here? 06:58 >> Okay. And so, this is the question that Paul -- Paul, who is and 07:03 was brought up a devout Jew, a Pharisee among Pharisees. >> That's right. 07:08 >> As a Pharisee, he would have memorized the Torah. This is someone who's coming 07:14 from that context saying, "Okay." So, God is who He says He is, 07:19 yet there's this struggle of is God arbitrarily leaving some behind? 07:24 And so, let's get into this and see what Paul is trying to help us understand in this depth of 07:32 the love of God. >> Right. So, we're going to go to 07:34 Romans 9:10. And before we read that text, we need to see that Paul already 07:39 uses another example. He uses the example of Abraham and Isaac being a child of the 07:44 promise. And you might say, as you continue reading, "Why is he 07:48 bringing this up?" Because if we know Genesis, Isaac wasn't Abraham's only son. 07:52 >> That's right. >> Before Isaac, there was Ishmael with Hagar. 07:57 And so, he's pointing out to the Israelites, "Hey, look. You were already chosen. 08:01 You don't have a special status just because you're Abraham's descendant. 08:04 It's because of God's covenant promise to you," which is setting the stage for him to 08:08 say, "If I chose you when you didn't deserve it, how can you say I'm being unfair when I am 08:13 also choosing the Gentiles and expanding the Gospel?" Right? 08:17 And this is the consistent theme through these next verses we're going to see. 08:21 So, from the Isaac/Ishmael parallel, he then goes to the Jacob/Esau parallel, which is 08:26 the same thing. You have Jacob and Esau, but only one is child of the 08:29 promise. And that's what happens in verse 10. 08:32 So, beginning in verse 10, Paul writes, "And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived 08:37 by one man, even by our father Isaac (for the children not yet being born, not having done any 08:43 good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of 08:47 Him who calls)." So, He's elected Israel not because they deserved it, but 08:50 because He called them according to his purpose. >> Yes. 08:52 >> "It was said to her, 'The older shall serve the younger.' 08:55 As it is written, 'Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.'" Now, this verse is very 09:03 troubling to a lot of people. The question is, What does it mean? 09:08 We need to distinguish two things here. Actually, the quotation in 09:12 verse 13 is not from Genesis. >> Okay. >> It's not something that God 09:17 declared at the time that He chose Jacob or at the time that he even said that was His 09:22 decision. >> Okay. >> This is something that was 09:25 declared at the very tail end of Judah's history, long after 515 BC, sometime after that, 09:33 when Malachi was written. By this time, the descendants of Esau, the Edomites, have already 09:40 perished. They don't exist anymore. But the people of Judah, they 09:45 still do exist. And that's the context of what he says here. 09:50 So, "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated" is quoting from Malachi 1:2-3. 09:56 So, let's go that together. >> Malachi 1:2-3. >> Malachi 1:2-3. 10:07 So, we need to remember now that Malachi is written. It's at the end of the 10:10 Old Testament canon because chronologically it's also towards the end of this history. 10:13 The Edomites, who were Esau's descendants, don't exist anymore. 10:16 The descendants of Jacob still do. And they're still children of 10:19 the promise. >> Yes. >> Which is the context. 10:21 So, verse 2. "'I have loved you,' says the Lord. 10:25 'Yet you say, "In what way have You loved us?" Was not Esau Jacob's brother?' 10:31 says the Lord. 'Yet Jacob I have loved; But Esau I have hated, and laid 10:36 waste his mountains and his heritage for the jackals of the wilderness.'" 10:40 In other words, Esau is Jacob's brother. His descendants don't exist 10:44 anymore. You still exist, and you're complaining to me about "I 10:47 haven't loved you." Now, some people would say, "Well, is God being arbitrary? 10:51 Why is He choosing Israel and not the Edomites?" Well, in context, the Edomites 10:55 had done a lot of very wicked things, and they had actually also persecuted the people of 11:00 Israel. But Israel also had done things that it was deserving to be cut 11:06 off from the covenant. But God sustains them, anyway, and He does so not only for 11:11 their own sake but for the sake of all people because Israel was the covenant lineage through 11:15 whom the Messiah would come. >> Yes. >> When the promise is given to 11:19 Abraham in Genesis, it was that they would be a blessing to all nations. 11:22 So, the special privileges He affords Israel is not because He only wants to save them. 11:27 It's because through them, He can save everyone, including the Gentiles, okay? 11:31 But here we have a statement that's not saying that God is unilaterally choosing the 11:37 Israelites to be saved. What the point is, is that God is bearing along with Israel, 11:41 even though they don't deserve it. Right? 11:43 Which is why when He gives the promise of the Gentiles, how can you say God is being unfair... 11:47 >> Yes. >> ...when the only reason you're still here is because of 11:50 God's grace. And now you want to say He shouldn't give grace to others. 11:54 >> And I don't want to overstate what you have just said, but what is very clear, as we read 11:59 Romans here, is that this statement, "Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated," God 12:05 actually loved Jacob and Esau. >> That's right. >> This statement comes after 12:11 the fact, where Esau has made the choice to not respond to that love that God freely gives, 12:18 and Esau's response was, "I really don't want to have anything to do with you." 12:25 The descendants of Esau, the Edomites, also make that same response, rebel against God, 12:32 turn away from God, and in that matter, it is after the fact, where God is then saying... 12:37 >> Yes, these are statements of judgment. The love is the continuance of 12:41 the covenant with Israel, and the hatred is a statement of the rejection of them. 12:46 And so, this is a statement of judgment after the fact. The part that comes before is 12:50 the part before -- "The older shall serve the younger." That's a quotation from Genesis. 12:54 >> Yes. >> And that's the part where God made a choice of who would be 12:56 His covenant people for His purposes in His infinite wisdom. But not who would be saved -- 13:00 who would be the covenant line through whom all would be saved. >> Right. 13:03 >> So, that's the context here. >> And I just want to be clear. And we need to be careful. 13:08 I don't want to get into speculative theology, but in the understanding of the entirety of 13:12 the things that we have been studying about the love of God, had the Edomites responded in a 13:17 positive fashion to this love of God, then it is a different statement then that Paul would 13:23 have written here. And, again, I'm being a little bit speculative, but what we are 13:28 saying is, is that the statement of "Esau I have hated" is a statement of judgment after the 13:34 fact, not a statement of predestination before Esau actually made the decisions, and 13:39 the Edomites made those decisions. >> That's right. 13:41 And there are many other texts that talk about the fact that God loves the Edomites, as well, 13:46 and they can be saved, and some will be saved. So, even this statement isn't a 13:50 judgment against them as descendants of Esau. It's a statement about the 13:54 lineage. They're not there anymore, but Israel still is. 13:57 >> Yes. >> And the point is, "Well, how can you say I haven't loved 13:59 you?" >> Yes. >> "Look at the love I've shown 14:01 you." And this is what Paul is reminding his audience of. 14:04 "First of all, there's Isaac and Ishmael, and you're descendants of Isaac. 14:08 He chose you. You're descendants of Jacob. You're still here. 14:11 Now the Gospel is going to the Gentiles, but God hasn't abandoned you." 14:13 >> Yes. Absolutely. So, let's continue on in this 14:16 text because I think there are some other examples that Paul gives us to help us understand 14:22 the nature of God's love. >> That's right. So, verse 14. 14:25 "What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God?" 14:29 Certainly not! You see, that's the question that Paul's asking throughout. 14:33 Is God being unrighteous in the way He's dealing with Israel and the Gentiles? 14:36 "For he says to Moses," verse 15, "I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and 14:40 I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion. 14:44 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy." 14:49 Now, we saw in an earlier program that this is quoting from Exodus 33. 14:53 >> Yes. >> So, this serves to remind Israel of perhaps the lowest 14:56 moment in their history, very early in their history, one of the lowest moments, certainly, 15:00 after the golden-calf rebellion. The covenant has been shattered. When Moses says, "Is God still 15:06 going to be the covenant God?" and Moses asks God to show him His glory, this is what God 15:11 says. >> That's right. >> "I will show you my goodness. 15:14 I am the one that grants compassion. I am the God who shows mercy on 15:17 whom I will." Not arbitrarily. He's saying, "You've forfeited 15:21 the right to this. I'm going to have grace and compassion on my people, Israel, 15:26 anyway." And that's what Paul's reminding them of here. 15:29 >> Yes. >> So, it's not of works. They didn't deserve it. 15:32 >> That's right. >> It's of God's mercy. >> Yes. 15:34 Yes. And so, that is just phenomenal. So, it's again emphasizing this 15:39 point. God chooses us. So, what else does Romans unpack 15:43 for us as we try to understand this love of God and the depth of that love? 15:48 >> That's right. So, the very next section goes into this idea of the hardening 15:53 of Pharaoh's heart. >> Okay. >> And this, again, also can be 15:56 confusing if you don't look at it in the Old Testament context. So, beginning verse 17. 16:01 "For the scripture says to the Pharaoh, 'For this very purpose I raised you up, that I may show 16:07 my power in you, and that my name may be declared in all the earth.' 16:11 Therefore he has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens." 16:15 So, this is the question -- the hardening of Pharaoh's heart. >> Yes. 16:19 >> Is God actually being unfair to Pharaoh? Is He determining Pharaoh's 16:23 will? Two things we need to understand. 16:25 If we were to look -- and we won't look at all of the passages -- but if we were to go 16:30 to the Old Testament Exodus, you would see that there are a number of different kinds of 16:34 statements. First, God predicts to Moses, I think in Exodus 4 and 16:38 thereafter, when He's telling Moses about going to Pharaoh and telling him to release his 16:45 people, He tells Moses, "I will harden Pharaoh's heart." So, that's a prediction, not a 16:50 statement of what has happened. >> Yes. >> Then, if you keep reading the 16:53 narrative, the next thing that comes up is Pharaoh's heart "was hardened." 16:57 >> Yes. >> Doesn't say who hardened it. >> Yes. 16:59 >> Then, the next text that comes up is Pharaoh hardened his heart, and it says that many 17:05 times. >> Yes. >> And only after that, later 17:08 does it say God hardened Pharaoh's heart. >> Yes. 17:12 >> Now, if we're going to be consistent in reading the Bible, whatever way we interpret these 17:16 texts, we cannot say Pharaoh hardened his own heart and God didn't, or God hardened 17:22 Pharaoh's heart and Pharaoh didn't harden his own heart because the text says both of 17:25 them. >> Yes. >> The sequence is important. 17:28 >> Yes. >> Pharaoh is presented with a choice. 17:30 Pharaoh can make one of two choices. The analogy that's sometimes 17:34 used in this regard is the shining of the sun. >> Yes. 17:37 >> If you put a block of ice, and you put mud there, and the sun shines on both of them, what 17:44 happens? >> The ice will melt, but the mud will harden. 17:48 >> The mud is going to harden into clay, right? >> That's right. 17:51 >> And it's not the action of the sun. It's the response of the 17:54 material. Now, it's a bad analogy because these are inanimate objects. 17:58 But when it comes to what God is doing, Pharaoh could have melted, as it were. 18:03 He could have responded in faith. He could have said, "Okay, I 18:07 realize you're really the God of the entire world, and I'm going to let Israel go." 18:12 >> Yes. >> But he digs his heels in, and in digging his heels in, he 18:16 makes a choice. Now, God also can be said properly to harden Pharaoh's 18:19 heart, not because he's controlling Pharaoh's will, but because he's bringing about 18:24 circumstances that brings Pharaoh to a point of decision, not unlike with my 6-year-old 18:28 son. I can present a choice to him, and he may dig in his heels, or 18:33 he might melt. And so, that's the kind of hardening. 18:36 God is doing something, but He's not determining Pharaoh's will. But He's doing something that 18:40 contributes to the result of Pharaoh's heart being hardened, but Pharaoh hardens his own 18:44 heart in the context. So, this is working together in a complex way, but in a way that 18:48 doesn't take away Pharaoh's freedom. >> And so, what we can summarize 18:53 that by saying is the hardening of Pharaoh's heart was not a predetermined destiny for 18:59 Pharaoh, but rather it was the response that Pharaoh had to God's love, and, in essence, 19:07 speaks to us as an individual that we really have one of two choices. 19:11 We can either melt in the presence of God's love and respond to him in free love, or 19:16 we can harden our hearts by making decisions to reject that love and, in essence, reject 19:22 God. >> That's right. >> Now, what else do we have 19:26 here in the book of Romans, as we're unpacking and trying to understand this love of God? 19:32 >> Yeah, so, right after that, in verse 19 of Romans 9, Paul says, "'You will say to me then, 19:37 "Why does he still find fault? For who has resisted his will?" But indeed, O, man, who are you 19:42 to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, "Why have you 19:46 made me like this?" Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same 19:50 lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?'" 19:55 Well, stop right there. First, we need to be clear that Paul writes sometimes in a way 20:00 that is presenting an objection to his view that he then answers. 20:04 >> Yes. >> Okay. And here, many people quote 20:06 verse 19 and say, "Well, no one has resisted God's will because Paul just said that." 20:11 But Paul didn't assert that in verse 19. What does he say? 20:14 "You will say to me then." >> Yes. >> So, it's like you and I are 20:17 having a conversation. I say to you, "Chris, you're going to say to me now this." 20:21 >> Right. >> That's not what I'm endorsing. 20:23 That's what I'm about to respond to. >> Yes. 20:25 >> If Paul was endorsing that statement, he would contradict earlier verses we've seen, like 20:29 Luke 7:30, where the Pharisees rejected God's will. >> Absolutely. 20:31 >> Who has resisted His will? The Pharisees, for one. And the text just says that. 20:35 He's saying, "You will say to me who has resisted His will?" So, Paul's going to respond to 20:38 this objection. And then he says, "What about the potter and the clay? 20:42 When God deals differently with people, is God being unfair?" Are you all wise that you can 20:46 say God should deal with this people this way and that people that way? 20:50 Then you come to the potter-and-the-clay analogy. And people read that sometimes, 20:54 and they think, "Well, clay is an object, and the potter completely forms it, and 20:58 whatever the potter does with it, that's what happens, right?" And they think, "Well, this is 21:02 predestination." >> Yes. >> But where is this imagery 21:05 coming from? Once again, Paul is drawing from the Old Testament. 21:07 >> Yes. >> Many places, but we'll go to Jeremiah 18 together. 21:10 >> All right. >> Jeremiah 18. >> The great weeping prophet, 21:18 Jeremiah. >> That's right. That's right. The weeping prophet that is 21:23 actually also in many ways reflecting the compassion of God, who's also lamenting over 21:28 his people... >> Yes. >> ...all throughout Jeremiah. 21:31 Jeremiah 18, we're going to begin in verses 1 through 4 because that's where the 21:35 potter-and-the-clay imagery comes from. >> Sounds good. 21:38 >> But we need to keep reading. Jeremiah 18:1. "The word which came to Jeremiah 21:42 from the Lord, saying, 'Arise and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause 21:46 you to hear My words.' Then I went down to the potter's house, and there he was, making 21:50 something at the wheel. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of 21:54 the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to 21:59 make." That's the potter-and-the-clay imagery. 22:01 We see that there is a mar in the clay, but it's not caused by the potter, and the potter 22:06 reworks it into something else. >> Absolutely. >> But if we keep reading, we 22:10 see that there is not any determinism here, because if we keep reading, verse 5 says, 22:15 "Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 'O house of Israel, can I not do with you as 22:18 this potter?' says the Lord. 'Look, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in My 22:24 hand, O house of Israel!'" If you stop reading right there, you might think predestination. 22:28 >> Yes. >> But keep reading just a little more. 22:30 >> Yes. >> Verse 7 -- "The instant I speak concerning a nation and 22:33 concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, if that nation against whom 22:38 I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to 22:43 bring upon it. And the instant I speak concerning a nation and 22:46 concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, if it does evil in My sight so that it does not 22:51 obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit 22:57 it." "If you repent, My action will change," which shows you this is 23:02 a give-and-take relationship. God is the sovereign potter, but he's also relating to the free 23:07 decisions of humans. >> Yes. And that is something we're 23:11 going to dive into more deeply as we continue on. As we are kind of coming down to 23:17 our conclusion from this reading of Romans 9, what else can we draw that's going to really help 23:25 crystallize? That passage is very clear, but what's going to kind of bring us 23:29 into the conclusion and crystallize what God is getting at? 23:33 >> Very clear that we need to see to avoid any confusion is if we keep going in Romans 9, you 23:38 would see there, where it says in verse 22, "What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to 23:44 make His power known, endured with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath prepared for 23:48 destruction, and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, 23:53 which He had prepared beforehand for glory?" There again people think that 23:56 he's talking about predestination -- vessels for honor and vessels for dishonor. 24:01 But you see that Paul talks about this somewhere else -- in fact, more than one place. 24:04 But we'll just go to one. 2 Timothy 2:20-21. And you'll see that unless Paul 24:09 is contradicting himself, this language is not language of God determining exactly what happens 24:14 but actually language of the way God relates to the decisions of humans. 24:19 2 Timothy 2, beginning in verse 20. "But in a great house there are 24:24 not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some 24:29 for dishonor." That sound familiar? >> Yes. 24:31 >> That's the same language from Romans 9, and Paul wrote this letter, too. 24:34 "Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, 24:40 sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. 24:45 You see the condition there. >> Absolutely. >> So, you can be a vessel 24:47 for honor if you respond appropriately. >> And it is about that love 24:52 response, and so we're seeing Romans 9 is crystallizing absolutely God is a God who 24:59 freely loves everyone and gives each of us the opportunity for a response to Him. 25:07 >> That's right. >> As we head into the last minute that we have together 25:11 here with our program today, what are some final thoughts or a final verse that will really 25:16 bring this all together and help it settle in, that God is one who freely chooses to love us 25:22 and we are free to choose our response to Him? >> Romans 10:8-9, and I would 25:26 encourage anyone watching to also look at Romans 11:22-23, which shows this conditionality 25:32 that God is working with. But for our purposes now, Romans 10:8-9. 25:37 Again, Paul says, "But what does it say? The word is near you, in your 25:42 mouth and in your heart (that is, the word of faith which we preach) that if you confess 25:48 with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the 25:53 dead, you will be saved." Now, there's no break between Romans 9 and 10. 26:00 Romans 9 through 11 is all together. >> Yes. 26:03 >> And here Paul tells you the condition. It's not if God arbitrarily 26:08 chooses to save you or not. God is calling you. If you believe, if you confess 26:13 with your mouth and believe that Jesus is Lord, you will be saved. 26:17 That is the Gospel of God's love. >> And what's so powerful about 26:21 that, because I know of many people who hearing things on TV, reading things on the Internet, 26:28 reading things in social media have kind of thrown up their hands and said, "What does it 26:34 matter? God has already made the choice. What does it even matter?" 26:38 >> Yeah. >> But Romans 10:8-9 clearly articulate that it does matter 26:49 because each of us, every last person on the Earth has the opportunity to choose to accept 26:58 and receive the love of God. >> That's right. >> That is an amazing thing. 27:02 Dr. Peckham, thank you for helping us understand that. Let's pray together as we 27:07 conclude this program. Heavenly father, we are awed by the love that You have for us. 27:15 It is not a love that is arbitrary, but it is a love that is direct to each and every 27:25 heart. And today it is my prayer that not only would Dr. Peckham and I 27:31 respond to that love but that everyone viewing, everyone hearing this would respond to 27:37 that amazing love that you have and choose today to be in a relationship with You. 27:47 Lord, help us. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. 27:51 >> Amen. >> Dear friends, Romans 10:9 is a phenomenal promise given to 28:00 everyone. If you believe, if you confess, you will be saved -- no question 28:07 about it. God, out of His free will to choose, is now giving you the 28:13 opportunity to respond. Today, I want to offer you the book "The Passion of Love." 28:20 It delves into that love that God has for you. It will help you in your journey 28:25 in following Him. Here's the information you need to receive today's offer. 28:31 >> To request today's offer, just log on to 28:34 www.ItIsWrittenCanada.ca. If you prefer, you may call 28:39 toll free at 1-888-CALL-IIW. And thank you for your prayer 28:45 requests and your generous financial support. >> I want to thank 28:50 Dr. John Peckham so much for joining me this week. Thank you for helping us to dive 28:55 deep into the word of God. >> Thank you, Chris. >> Dear friend, Dr. Peckham will 29:02 be with us again next week, as we probe that question, "What is the love of God?" 29:08 It's clear that He loves everyone. And He invites everyone to 29:14 respond. But what does that love mean? What is the characteristic of 29:19 that love? I hope you were blessed by the program today. 29:23 I invite you to join us again next week. Until then, remember, 29:27 it is written: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from 29:35 the mouth of God." ♪♪ 29:42 ♪♪ ♪♪ 30:01 ♪♪ ♪♪ |
Revised 2018-03-26