Thru the Bible - Questions & Answers

Steve Schwetz: The sermon on the mount is probably one of the most recognized passages of scripture by Christians and non-Christians alike. Many attempt to live by this sermon, yet some Bible teachers say that the sermon is intended for those living during the coming millennial reign of Christ. Find out why on this broadcast of the question and answer program.

Steve Schwetz: This is Steve Schwetz welcoming you to another edition of the question and answer program with our Bible teacher Dr. J. Vernon McGee, who for over 30 years answered the many questions of his listeners. So pull up a chair and open your Bible and prepare yourself for the wit and wisdom Dr. McGee brings to the understanding of God's word. Our first question comes to us from North Carolina. It says the book of Leviticus seems to be dominated by the sin and trespass offerings. Do these sacrifices apply to us in a different way?

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Now they are pictures for us. I have a little book entitled The Tabernacle God's Portrait of Christ. That's God's picture of the Lord Jesus and all those offerings, not just the sin and the trespass offering, but there was the burnt offering, that was the peace offering, that was the meal offering. And all of these offerings depicted the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ and their picture book for you and I to look at to learn something about what Christ actually did for us when he died upon the cross and what God requires of us as sinners.

We are to come and accept Christ as Savior. And this is a picture book. All of these things happen under them for examples for us. That's an example, something for us to look at, you see.

Steve Schwetz: If you'd like to know more about the book of Leviticus, then you'll want to get Dr. McGee's edited messages on Leviticus in two volumes. These edited messages will provide you with a greater understanding of the person and work of Christ as you study this rich book of worship. Or if you prefer, we have Dr. McGee's studies in Leviticus on CDs. I'll provide you with information on how you can order any of these items at the end of this broadcast. Now having listened to Dr. McGee's studies through Leviticus, this listener in Portland, Oregon has more questions than ever before.

He says, did the Israelites have other books which clarified many issues not discussed in Leviticus?

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: No, the only books they had were these. But you must understand that the priests, the Levites were the interpreters of the scripture and the Holy Spirit gave to them the interpretation. Difficult passages of scripture were brought to them and they gave the interpretation of it. Then the writer to the Proverbs talks about it's God that gives the word of God and it's the pleasure of a king to search out the matter. And we're told search the scriptures and study to show yourself approved under God. The the great sin of the church today is ignorance of the word of God.

That's the reason that the church is open for psychological religion. They think it's Bible. They don't know the difference. In fact, I think some of the teachers don't really know the difference. There's an ignorance of the word of God and I believe it's due to the fact we do not study the Bible. It's not that we need more books on the Bible to interpret it. We need to study what's written and learn to understand it. That is the important thing.

Steve Schwetz: Genesis 1 verse 26 says, then God said, let us make man in our image according to our likeness. A listener in Grapevine, Texas has read that being made in God's image refers to man's sharing of three components in common with God, free will, emotion, and intellect. She said, would you please provide your opinion on this matter?

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: May I say to you that is something that has been advanced by several theologians. In fact, they intend to add three other than the three that you have here. Most of them include free will, but emotions would take in what would be known as the psychological part of man, the soulish part of man. And the other would be not necessarily intellect, but the spiritual part of man. Man was created with these different parts and then there is another one. Some man, actually some friends of mine and men that I respect a great deal have taken the position that self-consciousness.

God is conscious that he is God. We are conscious that we are man. Now I have a notion that a buffalo is never self-conscious. That is that he's a buffalo. If he is, he's pretty unhappy. And then a hippopotamus. I can't imagine a hippopotamus being self-conscious. If he is and he gets a look in the mirror, he is going to be an unhappy boy. So I don't think that is something that needs to be overemphasized, but it's something to consider. Man is a creature that's conscious of who he is. However, I know that there are great many books being written today on who am I?

Well, I think with the word of God we won't have any difficulty determining who we are. Man is self-conscious. So if you are going to pick out three factors like that, I'd like to include self-consciousness and probably leave out the emotions. But this is something that certainly bears investigation and it's worthy of consideration.

Steve Schwetz: Many who read through the scriptures come across passages that make them ask the question, does that apply to me? Such is the case with a listener in Macon, Georgia. She says, does Matthew 18:18 through 19 apply to Christians today?

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: And I'll turn to Matthew 18 verse 18 and read, Verily I say unto you, whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. And whatsoever that you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. And again I say unto you that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them my father which is in heaven. May I say to you that I think it's for us today. In fact, I know it's for us today. You see, you and I have been given the gospel.

Paul went west with the gospel. And our ancestors were heathen in the forests of Germany and Europe and in Scotland, England, they were in a frightful mess. And the gospel is brought to them and not thank God that Paul went that direction and the gospel went that direction that I got saved. Now I have a responsibility. They've been given therefore to me the keys of the kingdom of heaven. How is anyone going to be saved today unless they hear the gospel? We think we have a responsibility and I wish I could get you and other Christians to believe you got a responsibility because it's for us today.

You bet it's for us today. And then I believe that if people will agree down here on certain things that God is more apt to hear and answer your prayers. I think it's rather amusing. I know that when I played in athletics at school, I went to a so-called Christian college and we prayed to win and the other team we played, they prayed to win too. And the Lord had a problem on his hand side. Whose prayer is going to answer? I discovered that he generally answered the prayer of the one that had the best team.

But if we'd all agreed, you see, on the best team winning, I think that would have certainly been the correct way to pray. Certainly that's the way God moves. And I think that we ought to get people in agreement on anything that we pray about. That's the reason I ask and always do. When I got cancer, I practically cried and asked people to pray for me. And people all over the world did, I found out. God heard and answered prayer. That was way back in 1965, long time ago. God was good. And I believe that, friends.

I think it's for today.

Steve Schwetz: Now this listener in Peoria, Illinois heard Dr. McGee say that the sermon on the mount was intended for those living in the millennium. He says, would you provide scriptural support for this view?

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: May I say to you this is an example of something I've been saying for a long time now that this is a question that you can answer with just a few scripture references. The gospel of Matthew is the gospel of the kingdom and there's a great movement in the gospel of Matthew. It quotes the Old Testament more than any other gospel does. It's an extension in one sense of the Old Testament. There's a kingdom mentioned in the Old Testament. That's the kingdom that is mentioned, the kingdom of heaven. It means the reign of the heaven here upon this earth.

And therefore the Lord Jesus Christ when he came, Matthew presents him as a king. He's born a king. Everything he did at the beginning, he did as a king. He went to the top of the mountain and in nunce he aided a platform, the ethic of the kingdom. And that's the sermon on the mount. And that sermon is on the mount. And I think we only have an abridged edition of it. I think that that will all be enforced when he reigns here upon this earth. That was his platform. And he's offering himself as the king to the nation Israel.

Now a great many Christians, at least they say they're Christians, they say that well, the sermon on the mount's my religion. Well, if it is, you don't have a religion at all and you're not living up to it. The highest that the sermon on the mount gives is whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them. That's a high plane, golden rule. Who lives by that today? But a Christian's called to live on a higher plane. Be ye tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you.

Now that's the standard for Christians today. Now I've only partially answered your question. Don't you see that you can't give just a verse of scripture or a little passage of scripture? This is the reason that I insist that you must study the entire Bible. This idea the day of lifting out a verse, lifting out a chapter, even lifting out a book of the Bible and try to make it separate from the Bible and study it, you're entirely wrong, friend. The Bible is a tremendous unity and you need to know all of it. Thank you for asking this question.

It gave me an opportunity to say something on this today that needs to be said, that you need to study the word of God. You cannot pull out a little statement or the sermon on the mount and make a statement like I've made. Well, it's for the millennium. And then to be able to answer somebody with just two or three verses of scripture. There's a tremendous movement in the gospel of Matthew. All of that comes out of the Old Testament. You need a knowledge of the Old Testament. I hope you see that and that you understand that the sermon on the mount is going to be the law of the kingdom when Christ reigns on this earth someday.

But the child of God today has been called to a higher plane. We're to live by the power of the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit's not even mentioned in the sermon on the mount. So there's so many things that are left unsaid that need to be said about this. In fact, you need to preach a whole series of sermons on this. I've been teaching Matthew in several conferences. And even at the end of the conference, I've had people come to me and say, well, I never heard this before. And I'll have to study it. But it does seem that the sermon on the mount is something we all live by.

We all live above it, higher than that. You see, a great many people feel like if they could get that far and many of us feel that way too by the way. If we could get that high, we'd be high levers. But we're called high in that by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Steve Schwetz: Now here's an interesting question from a listener in McKeesport, Pennsylvania. He says, I know that at the rapture those who are dead in Christ will rise first followed by those who are alive in Christ. I also understand that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord and that all the Old Testament saints have already gone to be with the Lord. Who then are the dead who are raised at the rapture if all the saints are with the Lord?

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Oh, by the way, we left our bodies down here when we left and was caught up to meet the Lord in the air. Why it's our bodies that are going to be raised. The dead in Christ shall be raised. And we're told that our bodies are sown, natural body going to be raised supernatural body. It's sown in weakness is going to be raised in strength. It's sown in corruption. It's going to be raised in newness of life. We're going to have a new body and we're leaving the old one down here until the rapture of the church, by the way.

And that is what is raised after all. That is what actually died, didn't it? Is the old body because we left and went to be with the Lord there. And so here I think that you forgot about your body. You're going to need that by the way in eternity. So you'll have to come back for that.

Steve Schwetz: Finally a listener in Mount Clemens, Michigan read a pamphlet outlining the Armenian view of the salvation of Judas. He says, would you please provide your response to this viewpoint?

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: The people that are Pentecostal generally for the most part are Armenian in their theology. Actually that was the theology of the Methodist Church and then the Nazarene Church that came out of the Methodist Church has that same theology. And it means that you can be saved today and lost tomorrow, that you can lose your salvation. And some of them are very very strict. However, they follow the Armenian viewpoint, but they make it very clear that it's rather difficult to lose your salvation. Now some of them have gone so far to say that Judas was he ever really saved?

And they mean by that that he was saved and then he got lost. May I say to you that the scripture makes it very clear that this man I think never was a saved man. You remember that at the very beginning the Lord made it clear that there was one that would be a traitor, one that would not be true. Judas was never genuine all the way through. He was a cosmetic follower of the Lord Jesus Christ and probably was the most eloquent one in his protestations of fidelity and of loyalty to the Lord Jesus Christ.

And I always suspect these people who are constantly telling me how much they love Jesus. Well, you don't have to say that so many times. If you demonstrate it and if it's manifested in your life, you don't have to run around and say that I love Jesus. I feel it's something that is rather personal and doesn't need to be scattered to the four winds. This part is presented here some answers. And one is, yes, Judas was once saved. Please note the following. Scripture says he was a familiar friend of Christ. Psalm 41:9. The Hebrew term for familiar friend is beta, which means to confide in.

Yes, Judas was with the 12. He was in the inner circle. He actually could perform miracles and did perform miracles. But Judas was never saved. The scripture is so clear all the way through that this man was not a saved man. Then the second reason this man gives, the Lord Jesus Christ trusted Judas at one time because he said, in whom I trusted. May I say to you? Yes, but he knew who he was. It is believed that Judas carried the bag. That is he was treasurer for the outfit. And he was certainly the wrong man to be treasured would seem to me, but the Lord Jesus knew about him.

He needed not that any should testify of man. He knew what was in man and he knew Judas from the very beginning. And when it says that he trusted him, he trusted him with whatever monies they had. And don't imagine they had too much of that. Judas was one that Lord Jesus knew that I that he betrayed him. He told him says whatever you do now, do quickly. And Judas went out. The Lord Jesus knew exactly what he was going to do. It says Judas ate of Christ's bread. May I say to you? Even today we feel like when someone invites us for a meal that there is a close relationship and that there exchanges made over the table that probably would not be made otherwise.

And so it's something that you'd expect in this group. But that doesn't prove anything, you see, because many a man has gotten up from a table and gone out and betrayed the very person that took him to lunch. Now he says he had his name written in the book of life with the righteous compare Acts 1:20. And by the way, I'd like to read this section in here in the book of Acts. I'm reading now Acts 1:15. In those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples and said, the number of names together were about 120.

Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spoke concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus where he was numbered with us. And he had obtained part of this ministry. Now notice how far you could go. Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity. Falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst and all his bowels gushed out. It was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem in so much as that field is called in the proper tongue a that is to say the field of blood.

For it's written in the book of Psalms, let his habitation be desolate, that no man dwell therein. And his bishopric let another take. And so we are told here very definitely when they elected another apostle that he might make part of this ministry and apostle from which Judas by transgression fell that he might go to his own place. He went to his own place. That place wasn't something that was just recently prepared for him by the way. And they gave forth their lots and so forth. Now may I say to you? This man is mentioned something here.

He says he was a bishop of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. He never was a bishop of the church. He died before the church came into existence. Judas was not a member of the church. And that's something that this man here definitely does not recognize in the objections that he puts up for saying Judas once was saved but lost his salvation. He never was in the church. The church began on the day of Pentecost. And he was not there at that time. And it says he had part of the apostolic ministry. He sure did.

He went out and performed miracles just as the others did. The Lord gave him power over unclean spirits. All that is true. And then he says he was sent forth as one of the 12 to represent Christ among Israel. That is true. He was called to preach. And I cannot conceive of the Lord through the power of the Holy Spirit calling a man filled with the devil to preach the gospel. He never preached the gospel. He preached about the kingdom, the kingdom of heaven. And may I say this man says he had eternal life at one time.

This is proved by John 17:2 where we read of Christ giving eternal life to as many as thou has given him. And may I say to you? Judas was not given to him. And to begin with, why not look at this rather sensibly? If he had eternal life and lost it, then that wasn't eternal life, was it, that he had? He had something else. It wasn't eternal life. Eternal life is a life you can't lose. That's the significance of it. That's the importance of it. May I say all these arguments there's not a valid one in the lot.

And he says, those that thou gavest me I have kept. And none of them though thou gavest me I have given eternal life is lost but the son of perdition. And he never was saved, you see. He never was saved. May I say to you this is the weakest list I've ever seen. There's a better argument that can be put up for the Armenian viewpoint than this by the way. And I would consider this a very weak sort of an argument.

Steve Schwetz: Although the controversy of eternal security will continue on through the ages, Dr. McGee provides some very clear, concise, and careful insights into this problem. To find out more on this issue, we'd like to suggest a few of our resources that you'll find very helpful. The first item is Dr. McGee's booklet, Is it possible for a saved person ever to be lost? In this booklet he deals with Hebrews 6 verses 4 through 6, which is one of the most difficult passages of scripture to understand on the issue of the security of the believer. And then we have Dr.

McGee's booklet, How you can have the assurance of salvation, which will provide you with three evidences in life to give you assurance of your eternal salvation in Christ. We'd like to remind you to join us this week on the Through the Bible radio program that's heard Monday through Friday on this station. You won't want to miss Dr. McGee's Through the Earth and yet no nonsense method of teaching. And to help you follow along with us, we have notes and outlines and we can send them to you when you ask to be on our mailing list or download a PDF version from our website.

For ordering information on the two booklets, the studies in Leviticus mentioned earlier or to request to be on our mailing list for the notes and outlines, just call one of our service operators at 1-800-65-BIBLE Monday through Thursday from 6:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Pacific time. You'll find all of these products in our online bookstore at ttb.org where we also have our free downloads. Now to place an order by mail, just send your letter to questions and answers in the US Box 7100 Pasadena, California 91109. In Canada Box 25325 London, Ontario N6C 6B1. We continue to pray that our God will answer all your questions and solve all your problems.

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