July 6, 2024 • 28 mins
On today’s Bible Answer Man broadcast, Hank answers the following questions:
How could Jesus be tempted by Satan? Tommy - SD (0:57)
Can we truly love God with all our heart, soul, and strength? Dan - Sioux City, IA (4:43)
Who are the “sons of God” in Genesis chapter 6? Did fallen angels procreate and produce giants? Dwayne - Watervliet, MI (8:13)
Do we have complete free will or does God determine our actions? Max - Fresno, CA (15:15)
Why is bodily resurrection necessary? Is our relationship with Christ different as a spirit? Jack - Omaha, NE (17:55)
Why did Jesus come in the incarnation at the particular moment in history that He did? Bill - WV (20:37)
Part of my job requires me to take clients out to bars. Is this something I should be involved in, or should I quit? Stephen - Tulsa, OK (22:41)
How could Jesus be tempted by Satan? Tommy - SD (0:57)
Can we truly love God with all our heart, soul, and strength? Dan - Sioux City, IA (4:43)
Who are the “sons of God” in Genesis chapter 6? Did fallen angels procreate and produce giants? Dwayne - Watervliet, MI (8:13)
Do we have complete free will or does God determine our actions? Max - Fresno, CA (15:15)
Why is bodily resurrection necessary? Is our relationship with Christ different as a spirit? Jack - Omaha, NE (17:55)
Why did Jesus come in the incarnation at the particular moment in history that He did? Bill - WV (20:37)
Part of my job requires me to take clients out to bars. Is this something I should be involved in, or should I quit? Stephen - Tulsa, OK (22:41)
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:07):
You're just in time for the bestof the Bible answer Man broadcast with Hank
Canagraph, the radio outreach of theChristian Research Institute. Our purpose here at
CROI is to equip Christians to provideBiblical answers to life's most important questions,
to read the Bible for all it'sworth, and counter the teachings of cults
(00:28):
and world religions that deviate from theplumb line of God's word, because life
and truth matter. For more information, to order resources or donate, call
eight eight eight seven thousand CRII,or go online to equip dot org.
That's equip dot org. The followingprogram was pre recorded. Now here's the
(00:51):
President of the Christian Research Institute,Hank Canagraph. Thank you very much for
Andy. We'll go right at thephone lines FIRS step today is Tommy listing
in South Dakota. Hi Tommy,Hi Henks. Thanks for having me.
You're welcome, you know, andalso just to say, I hope God
continues to bless your program because itglorifies His name every day. My question
(01:17):
I guess is I was I wasreading through the Book of Matthew a couple
of nights ago, and I wasreading about when Jesus was tempted. And
I've heard that story so many times, I've read it. But then I
saw a clip too, because Iwas trying to study this. Sometimes I
look on online for other things regardingthe scripture, and then I came across
the History Channel's version of the Bible, and and it kind of dawned on
(01:42):
me that Jesus was really kind ofas if he almost took made the stone
bread, or he almost was readyto take the kingdom and take all that
the devil one to give him,as if he was really really tempted.
I never really thought of it thatway. How is it that g Is
as God could actually be tempted bySatan in any way? I mean,
(02:05):
was he even close to agree withSatan at all? No, not at
all. In fact, if theHistory Channel is right, we don't have
a savior because if Christ had mulledover Satan's suggestion, even for a moment,
that would have constituted sin, andhad Jesus sinned, he could not
have been our savior. But youhave to realize that for sin to take
(02:29):
place, there has to be asinful inner response to a subeductive suggestion to
sin and Satan appealed to Jesus ashuman or natural desires. But our Lord,
of course didn't fantasize over Satan's suggestioneven for a moment. And again,
had he, we couldn't have calledhim the sinless sacrifice, and we
(02:52):
would not have a savior. Ohyeah, that really clarifies it, because
I just had an issue with that, I guess when I saw that,
how could he possibly even come closeto doing something Satan wants to do?
So that really helps a lot.Yeah, you're welcome. And I should
add that although Christ did not haveany sinful proclivities that inclined him towards evil,
(03:15):
Satan's temptations were nonetheless as real asthe very flesh upon his bones.
And of course, even those whowere born into sin can identify with being
tempted to do something that they areutterly disinclined to do. For example,
a mother would never consider, atleast most mothers would never consider killing their
children, even if offered a lifefree from suffering. But nonetheless, the
(03:38):
natural desire to avoid suffering would renderthe temptation genuine. Nonetheless, And one
other point that I'd make in thisregard is the off tempted contradiction proclivity that
people have by saying, well,God cannot be tempted by evil. Well,
(03:59):
when James says that, James focuseson God as the self sufficient sovereign
of the universe and therefore he hasno unmet needs. But when we talk
about the accounts of temptation in theBible, they focus on God incarnate or
God in flesh, who experienced allthe essential physical and psychological needs commensurate with
(04:20):
humanity, including of course hunger andfatigue and the desire for self preservation.
And therefore the biblical truths that Godcannot be tempted, and yet Christ was
tempted our complementary, not contradictory assome who would say. I've written about
this in the Complete Bible answer BookCollector's Edition, available through the Ministry of
(04:40):
the Christian Research Institute. I wantto go back to the phone lines.
We'll talk next to Dan. He'slistening in Sioux City, Iowa. Hi,
Dan, Hi, HENK, howare you today? Good? Thank
you, God, bless you.Kind of the silly question that I'm going
to ask it any do you believein your opinion and it's possible for a
human being to love us. TheLord God put all their hearts, but
(05:02):
all their soul, and with allof their strength I struggle without sometimes.
Is that typical thanks for everybody tohave a moment of doubt every now and
then that come out of it.Well, it certainly is typical for me,
and I would say that it istypical for all those who still struggle
with the world, the flesh andthe devil. And that is why in
(05:25):
moments of doubt we need to goback to God's promises. God has given
us enough information about himself so thatwe can know, beyond the peradventure of
a doubt, that he is trustworthy. And this is the very lesson ultimately
that Job learned. It wasn't thatGod was going to explain the reason why,
(05:48):
but that God gave Job enough informationso that he could trust him in
the midst of some of the mosthorrendous trials that can possibly be brought to
the mind of humanity. And andso that's the lesson. Ultimately, Job
wanted to know why, and Godthundered back through the storm towards the end
(06:08):
of Job and said, look,you can't even understand how I make a
drop of do how can you understandwhat's going on in the heavenlys, The
basic message being you may not understand, but you can trust me. You
have enough information to trust me andthus have peace in the midst of the
storm. Yeah. Hey, that'sa good answer. I appreciate that I
(06:30):
had a man kind of rebuke datebecause I he asked me if I struggled,
if I were that there's a God, and I said, well that
sometimes in my life, throughout mylife, I have doubted. And wow,
did I ever get a rebuke?He said? He in the atheists
believe if they're honest. Park quitea discussion, and right, it is
true that we have all the evidence. We have the evidence of creation.
(06:56):
The heavens declare the glory of God. We have the inner knowledge of God
imprinted upon the tablet of our consciousness, and if we respond to that knowledge,
we can have the knowledge of Christ, God in human flesh. But
that does not mean that, asthose who are frail and weak and beset
by sin, that we cannot momentarilydoubt. And that is why I often
(07:20):
say that apologetics is not only preevangelism. God using our well reasoned to
answer as a springboard or opportunity toshare the good news of the Gospel.
But beyond that, it is postevangelism, and I like to make a
little play on words their post evangelismin the sense of the pillars and posts
that we cling to when the windsand waves of doubt beat upon our house.
(07:45):
We can go back to the assurancethat God created the universe, that
Jesus Christ is God, demonstrated theseGod to the immutable fact of the resurrection,
and that the Bible's divine as opposedto merely human in origin. That's
right. I agree with that playto the promises of God rather than my
feelings. That's no Lord with withdon't don't come, don't trust in your
feeling. I'm based on feeling,as beautifully said Dan. Thank you for
(08:09):
your answer. Hey, you gotit man. Thank you for your contribution
as well. Back to the phonelines, we'll talk to Dwayne in Waterville,
Michigan. Hid Wayne, Hi,Hey, I'm traveling. Last Sunday
and Sunday school class, we weretalking about the I believe it's chapter five
and Noah was in Genesis where they'retalking about Noah and they were talking about
how the heavenly beings found the womenbeautiful, and they made giants and men
(08:35):
of renown in ancient days. Whatdoes that all mean? Somebody was saying
that they thought that was different linesof lineage from from Adam and Eve,
like Cayne's family versus Seth's family,or not Seth and not Able's family either.
How do you make that work?Yeah, I mean, I think
(08:58):
you said it absolutely correctly. TheSons of God in context, and it
happens to be Genesis chapter six.This is the great chapter on the flood.
But the Sons of God there simplyrefers to the godly descendants of Seth
and the daughters of Men to theungodly descendants of Cain, and their cohabitation
(09:18):
causes humanity to fall into such utterdepravity that God said, I will wipe
humankind, whom I have created fromthe face of the earth, men and
animals and creatures that move along theground, and birds of the air,
for I am grieved that I havemade them. And then the text goes
on to say that Noah found favorin the eyes of the Lord, Yes
(09:39):
he did. How does giants fitinto that, well, I mean,
that's what the Nephelim are communicated asbeing men of renown, men of old,
and so forth. But there's nothingin the text that suggests that this
is a function as some would suggestof demons having sex with women. That,
of course is an interjection of paganmythology or Greek mythology, even on
(10:01):
the scripture. Yeah, because Herculescame up in that discussion and I was
like, I don't think so,but I didn't have the right answer.
Well, remember that the basic Biblicalworldview teaches that kinds reproduce after their own
kinds, so demons cannot have sexwith women. Beyond that, demons are
(10:22):
non physical and they don't have creativeprowess, so they can't take on physical
form. Now, God, byhis own creative prowess, can cause an
angel to take on physical form,but fallen angels or demons cannot take on
physical form. Of getting written aboutthis in the Complete Bible answer Book Collector's
Edition, available through the Ministry ofthe Christian Research Institute. All of the
(10:43):
resources that I talked about on thebroadcast. You can find it equipped dot
org. We'll we're back in justa few moments with more answers to your
questions. If you were going intocombat, what would be more important the
number of those who were for youor the number of those who were with
you? Now apply that question totoday's battle for the hearts and minds of
(11:03):
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thanks, Hank Canagraph will personalize toyou a copy of his Complete Bible answer
Book Collector's Edition, revised and updated. Call eight eight eight seven thousand CRII
(11:46):
or visit our website at equipp dotorg. Hank will be back right after
this. Hank Hannagraph has dedicated hislife to defending truth because truth matters.
However, his life and ministry wereradically transformed by another three word phrase,
(12:11):
life matters more. Truth matters becauseChristianity is rooted in history and evidence Life
Matters More because it is the experienceof union with God. The goal of
Christian life is union with God.All attempts to understand Christianity from a solely
rational perspective put us in danger ofdevolving into a transactional rather than transformational relationship
(12:33):
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and make a gift to support theChristian Research Institute's life changing outreaches eight eight
eight seven thousand CRI, or visitus online at equipp dot org. The
(13:00):
Complete Bible answer Book Collector's Edition isthe comprehensive collection of the most often asked
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newly revised and expanded Collector's Edition helpedseekers and skeptics alike sort through the truth
(13:22):
on topics such as reliability of theBible, religions, and cults. The
Resurrection and afterlife, and many moreissues vital to a better understanding of God
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Bible answer Book Collector's Edition, Revisedand expanded, call eight eight eight seven
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who's been paying attention knows there's awar going on, not just on traditional
(14:05):
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a post truth culture and turbocharged bygrowing legions of ideological spinductors. Note the
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(14:28):
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(14:48):
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equip dot org. Now back tothe Bible answer Man broadcast and your host
(15:11):
and canagraph. Thanks very much,Brandy, and right back to our phone
caller is Next up is Max listeningin Fresno, California. Hi Max,
Hey, how you doing good?Thank you. I just wanted to let
you know I appreciate your knowledge ofthe Bible and all things godly. My
wife and I Amy, we arelistening to you, and we've been discussing
(15:35):
some things in the Bible that kindof stumped us, I guess. And
I was wondering if you could elaborateon free will and let us know what
the Bible says about free will andif we have complete free will, if
we are able to make our owndecisions on our own, or if that's
(15:58):
something that God controls. Yeah.Well, I think it's important to recognize
that the Christian worldview stands over againstphilosophical naturalism, in which there is no
free will, in which everything isfatalistically determined by brain chemistry and genetics.
In the Christian worldview, when wecome to faith in Christ, we respond
(16:22):
to the grace that is freely offeredto us. We either respond to that
grace or we rebel against the gracethat God so freely offers to us,
and that choice really does matter.We can become those who are vessels made
(16:42):
for ignoble purposes when we rebel againstthe grace that is so freely given to
us, or vessels made for noblepurposes when we respond to the wooing of
the Holy Spirit. So yes,our will all matters in a biblical worldview.
Now, our will is not morallyneutral. As unbelievers, our wills
(17:07):
are skewed against God. When webecome believers, our wills are turned in
a different direction. But we arestill morally culpable for what we do,
because even as believers, we canbuild on the foundation, which is Jesus
Christ, and we can do sobuilding with gold or silver or costly stones,
or on the other hand, withinferior materials. In the day of
(17:30):
the Lord will bring to light whatwe did. So what we do has
consequences and does make a difference,both in terms of responding to the wooing
of the Holy Spirit and then buildingupon the foundation of Jesus Christ. Okay,
thank you, Hank. Well,we love you and we appreciate your
ministry and the knowledge of the Bible. And thank you for answering our question.
(17:52):
You got it. Thank you somuch for your call. We'll go
back to the phone lines. Talkto Jack nixt Jack is listening in Omaha,
Nebraska. Hi, Jack, Hello. As I understand it, when
we die, our soul is freeto go to Heaven to live with God.
And then we also believe that inthe resurrection of the body, if
(18:14):
my soul is free living with God, why would I want my body back?
Why would I want to be trappedback in my body? At some
point? Well, think about howGod created her to begin with. He
didn't create you as a soul.He created you as a body soul unity.
In fact, when a woman givesbirth, that's what she gives birth
to, a body soul unity,and that's who Christ came to redeem.
(18:34):
So when Adam and Eve were created, they were created as body soul unities.
And in the redemption, God isgoing to restore what he created.
He's not going to somehow or otherchange it. God doesn't scrap things.
He redeems things. So he's goingto redeem us as human beings. And
that's why we're going to be redeemedas resurrected, physical human beings who have
(19:02):
an earnest. That earnest is inJesus Christ, who himself was resurrected physically.
So the Christian faith has never beenplatonic. It's always been physical,
and the earnest and the hope ofour own resurrection is found in Jesus Christ.
So is the relationship with God differentas a spirit versus as a body.
(19:26):
Well, of course we are incompleteas merely those who have the non
corporeal aspect of humanity. So yeah, it's certainly a way in which we
will experience God more fully than wedo in the present, because now the
soul is absent, the body presentwith the Lord. So there is a
community or a knowledge or an experiencethat is heightened beyond what we're experiencing right
(19:52):
now. But that is not theend all. The end all is when
we are totally fully restored as humanbeings with the imago day, the image
of God resplendently perfected. So welook forward to being fully human with a
fully human Christ and doing things.In other words, we are created to
(20:15):
do and explore and to grow anddevelop. So that's what we're going to
be doing for all eternity, andwe're going to be doing that as human
beings, partaking of all the physicalas well as metaphysical faculties that God has
endowed on humanity. Okay, thankyou, you got it. Thank you
(20:36):
so much for your call back tothe phone lines. We'll talk to Bill
next. He's listening in West Virginia. Hi, Bill, Hello, how
are you today? Good? Thankyou. My question is why did Jesus
come down at that particular moment inhistory. Why didn't he come down five
hundred years earlier, or a thousandyears later or two thousand years later,
(20:57):
maybe we could have documented his wordsbetter. Why was that time so important?
Well, it was very important fora lot of reasons. Remember that
there is an entire scope of propheciesthat had to be fulfilled. His ancestry
was marked, his birthplace was foretold. Circumstances surrounding his death were prophesied before
(21:21):
his death was ever invented. Interms of the mode of his death crucifixion,
the date of his visitation was predictedwithin historically narrow time parameters, and
he would be a worker of extraordinarymiracles who fulfilled the law and the prophets,
and it would be too small forhim to bring back only those of
Israel. And therefore he would bea light to the gentile, so that
(21:42):
salvation could go out to the endsof the earth. So God etched a
prophetic portrait of the Christ in theOld Testament, and in the fullness of
time that Christ came and took onflesh in the New and so only g
Jesus Christ of Nazareth, a superstarin a unique sense, could emerge through
(22:06):
the doorway of Old Testament prophecies.So you had to have the prophecies that
progress over time. There's a historicallineage, there's a place that he's going
to be. All these prophecies aremade, and he is going to be
through a particular lineage. Abram IsaacJacob ultimately David Israel's quintessential king, and
(22:26):
so we can look back and knowthat this is indeed the Christ. Thank
you very much. I appreciate thatyou got it. And I've written about
this in various places, including mybook Has God Spoken, which is available
through the Ministry of the Christian ResearchInstitute. Back to the phone line,
Stephen, Tulsa, Oklahoma. Hi, Stephen, hey brother, Hey,
thank you so much for taking mycall. It's going to be a lengthy
(22:48):
setup and I'll try to be articulateand quick with it. I pray for
quite a while for a career orientedprofessional job, for about five years,
and thankfully the Lord answered my prayer. Once I got the position, I
(23:11):
was approached by my manager and askedif I had a problem taking clients out
to have the hour, and reallywas kind of face with that dilemma,
went out to an establishment that Iwould typically not darken the door too,
and then faced with another situation thatI was kind of mortified by the amount
(23:33):
of alcohol these quote unquote adults weredrinking, and I just wanted to get
your take on that. I knowthat my particular denomination does not believe in
drinking. My wife and I donot drink, and I just wanted to
sort of get your take on it, because I feel like there's a couple
of situations that I could look atthe Bible and say, you know,
(23:56):
this person was put in the situationDaniel. Daniel was in the situation where
he was around ungodly people, butalso sort of we're supposed to be separated
in so I just wanted to getyour take on if my spiritual company should
(24:17):
be gone at water the way thatI feel like it has been, and
if it is, does that meanthat I should evacuate this job or my
eight dren Right. Yeah, Nowit's a matter of conscience, Stephen,
and I think that what you wantto do is be sensitive to the inner
(24:38):
voice, the indwelling Christ, theindwelling spirit, if you will in this
matter, because it really is amatter of conscience. Remember, however,
as you've correctly said, you're inthe world, you're not of the world.
I have no problem going to arestaurant close to our office and sitting
in the bar and reading a book. The biblical admonition is that we shouldn't
(25:00):
get drunk and buy that you canset an example. But if your job
is to get the other person drunkso that they buy more equipment, obviously
our conscience wouldn't allow you to dothat. But to take someone somewhere and
then to be a model or tomodel the Christian worldview is perfectly commensurate with
the fact that Jesus hung out withprostitutes and sinners. We are not trying
(25:25):
to repel the world. We're tryingto reach the world. Pagans are going
to do what pagans do. They'regoing to exercise a job description. The
real question now becomes, are yougoing to exercise your job description? Be
salt and light. Be a lamp, not hidden under a bushel, but
plainly manifest for all to see,so you become the light of the world.
So again, we're not to bemicrocosms of the world. We're not
(25:47):
to be cultural imitators, but weare called to be cultural initiators. We
need your support. If you canpray for us, please do that,
and if you can support us tangibly, it would make a world the difference
in the lives of people around theworld. Thanks for tuning in. We
appreciate you tuning in to the Bibleanswer Man broadcast. Before we sign off
(26:08):
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(26:32):
The zip code is two eight twoseven one. Our prayer is that
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(26:52):
truth matter. Truth matters, Lifematters More details Hank Hanigraf's personal pilgrimage from
his long defensive truth to his discoverythat life matters more. Essentially, two
books in one. Part one equipsChristians to defend the essential truths of the
(27:15):
historic Christian faith. Part two explainswhy truth is necessary but hardly sufficient.
That the map is not the territory, the menu is not the meal.
We are created to experience life tothe full through union with God in Christ.
Is there more to the Christian lifethan what you are experiencing? Truth
matters, Life matters More unveils theunexpected beauty of an authentic Christian life.
(27:40):
To receive truth matters, Life mattersmore for yourself or as a terrific gift
to a friend or loved one calledeight eight eight seven thousand CRI and make
a gift to support the Christian ResearchInstitute's life changing outreaches eight eight eight seven
thousand CRI, or visit us onlineat EQUIPP dot org.
You're just in time for the bestof the Bible answer Man broadcast with Hank
Canagraph, the radio outreach of theChristian Research Institute. Our purpose here at
CROI is to equip Christians to provideBiblical answers to life's most important questions,
to read the Bible for all it'sworth, and counter the teachings of cults
(00:28):
and world religions that deviate from theplumb line of God's word, because life
and truth matter. For more information, to order resources or donate, call
eight eight eight seven thousand CRII,or go online to equip dot org.
That's equip dot org. The followingprogram was pre recorded. Now here's the
(00:51):
President of the Christian Research Institute,Hank Canagraph. Thank you very much for
Andy. We'll go right at thephone lines FIRS step today is Tommy listing
in South Dakota. Hi Tommy,Hi Henks. Thanks for having me.
You're welcome, you know, andalso just to say, I hope God
continues to bless your program because itglorifies His name every day. My question
(01:17):
I guess is I was I wasreading through the Book of Matthew a couple
of nights ago, and I wasreading about when Jesus was tempted. And
I've heard that story so many times, I've read it. But then I
saw a clip too, because Iwas trying to study this. Sometimes I
look on online for other things regardingthe scripture, and then I came across
the History Channel's version of the Bible, and and it kind of dawned on
(01:42):
me that Jesus was really kind ofas if he almost took made the stone
bread, or he almost was readyto take the kingdom and take all that
the devil one to give him,as if he was really really tempted.
I never really thought of it thatway. How is it that g Is
as God could actually be tempted bySatan in any way? I mean,
(02:05):
was he even close to agree withSatan at all? No, not at
all. In fact, if theHistory Channel is right, we don't have
a savior because if Christ had mulledover Satan's suggestion, even for a moment,
that would have constituted sin, andhad Jesus sinned, he could not
have been our savior. But youhave to realize that for sin to take
(02:29):
place, there has to be asinful inner response to a subeductive suggestion to
sin and Satan appealed to Jesus ashuman or natural desires. But our Lord,
of course didn't fantasize over Satan's suggestioneven for a moment. And again,
had he, we couldn't have calledhim the sinless sacrifice, and we
(02:52):
would not have a savior. Ohyeah, that really clarifies it, because
I just had an issue with that, I guess when I saw that,
how could he possibly even come closeto doing something Satan wants to do?
So that really helps a lot.Yeah, you're welcome. And I should
add that although Christ did not haveany sinful proclivities that inclined him towards evil,
(03:15):
Satan's temptations were nonetheless as real asthe very flesh upon his bones.
And of course, even those whowere born into sin can identify with being
tempted to do something that they areutterly disinclined to do. For example,
a mother would never consider, atleast most mothers would never consider killing their
children, even if offered a lifefree from suffering. But nonetheless, the
(03:38):
natural desire to avoid suffering would renderthe temptation genuine. Nonetheless, And one
other point that I'd make in thisregard is the off tempted contradiction proclivity that
people have by saying, well,God cannot be tempted by evil. Well,
(03:59):
when James says that, James focuseson God as the self sufficient sovereign
of the universe and therefore he hasno unmet needs. But when we talk
about the accounts of temptation in theBible, they focus on God incarnate or
God in flesh, who experienced allthe essential physical and psychological needs commensurate with
(04:20):
humanity, including of course hunger andfatigue and the desire for self preservation.
And therefore the biblical truths that Godcannot be tempted, and yet Christ was
tempted our complementary, not contradictory assome who would say. I've written about
this in the Complete Bible answer BookCollector's Edition, available through the Ministry of
(04:40):
the Christian Research Institute. I wantto go back to the phone lines.
We'll talk next to Dan. He'slistening in Sioux City, Iowa. Hi,
Dan, Hi, HENK, howare you today? Good? Thank
you, God, bless you.Kind of the silly question that I'm going
to ask it any do you believein your opinion and it's possible for a
human being to love us. TheLord God put all their hearts, but
(05:02):
all their soul, and with allof their strength I struggle without sometimes.
Is that typical thanks for everybody tohave a moment of doubt every now and
then that come out of it.Well, it certainly is typical for me,
and I would say that it istypical for all those who still struggle
with the world, the flesh andthe devil. And that is why in
(05:25):
moments of doubt we need to goback to God's promises. God has given
us enough information about himself so thatwe can know, beyond the peradventure of
a doubt, that he is trustworthy. And this is the very lesson ultimately
that Job learned. It wasn't thatGod was going to explain the reason why,
(05:48):
but that God gave Job enough informationso that he could trust him in
the midst of some of the mosthorrendous trials that can possibly be brought to
the mind of humanity. And andso that's the lesson. Ultimately, Job
wanted to know why, and Godthundered back through the storm towards the end
(06:08):
of Job and said, look,you can't even understand how I make a
drop of do how can you understandwhat's going on in the heavenlys, The
basic message being you may not understand, but you can trust me. You
have enough information to trust me andthus have peace in the midst of the
storm. Yeah. Hey, that'sa good answer. I appreciate that I
(06:30):
had a man kind of rebuke datebecause I he asked me if I struggled,
if I were that there's a God, and I said, well that
sometimes in my life, throughout mylife, I have doubted. And wow,
did I ever get a rebuke?He said? He in the atheists
believe if they're honest. Park quitea discussion, and right, it is
true that we have all the evidence. We have the evidence of creation.
(06:56):
The heavens declare the glory of God. We have the inner knowledge of God
imprinted upon the tablet of our consciousness, and if we respond to that knowledge,
we can have the knowledge of Christ, God in human flesh. But
that does not mean that, asthose who are frail and weak and beset
by sin, that we cannot momentarilydoubt. And that is why I often
(07:20):
say that apologetics is not only preevangelism. God using our well reasoned to
answer as a springboard or opportunity toshare the good news of the Gospel.
But beyond that, it is postevangelism, and I like to make a
little play on words their post evangelismin the sense of the pillars and posts
that we cling to when the windsand waves of doubt beat upon our house.
(07:45):
We can go back to the assurancethat God created the universe, that
Jesus Christ is God, demonstrated theseGod to the immutable fact of the resurrection,
and that the Bible's divine as opposedto merely human in origin. That's
right. I agree with that playto the promises of God rather than my
feelings. That's no Lord with withdon't don't come, don't trust in your
feeling. I'm based on feeling,as beautifully said Dan. Thank you for
(08:09):
your answer. Hey, you gotit man. Thank you for your contribution
as well. Back to the phonelines, we'll talk to Dwayne in Waterville,
Michigan. Hid Wayne, Hi,Hey, I'm traveling. Last Sunday
and Sunday school class, we weretalking about the I believe it's chapter five
and Noah was in Genesis where they'retalking about Noah and they were talking about
how the heavenly beings found the womenbeautiful, and they made giants and men
(08:35):
of renown in ancient days. Whatdoes that all mean? Somebody was saying
that they thought that was different linesof lineage from from Adam and Eve,
like Cayne's family versus Seth's family,or not Seth and not Able's family either.
How do you make that work?Yeah, I mean, I think
(08:58):
you said it absolutely correctly. TheSons of God in context, and it
happens to be Genesis chapter six.This is the great chapter on the flood.
But the Sons of God there simplyrefers to the godly descendants of Seth
and the daughters of Men to theungodly descendants of Cain, and their cohabitation
(09:18):
causes humanity to fall into such utterdepravity that God said, I will wipe
humankind, whom I have created fromthe face of the earth, men and
animals and creatures that move along theground, and birds of the air,
for I am grieved that I havemade them. And then the text goes
on to say that Noah found favorin the eyes of the Lord, Yes
(09:39):
he did. How does giants fitinto that, well, I mean,
that's what the Nephelim are communicated asbeing men of renown, men of old,
and so forth. But there's nothingin the text that suggests that this
is a function as some would suggestof demons having sex with women. That,
of course is an interjection of paganmythology or Greek mythology, even on
(10:01):
the scripture. Yeah, because Herculescame up in that discussion and I was
like, I don't think so,but I didn't have the right answer.
Well, remember that the basic Biblicalworldview teaches that kinds reproduce after their own
kinds, so demons cannot have sexwith women. Beyond that, demons are
(10:22):
non physical and they don't have creativeprowess, so they can't take on physical
form. Now, God, byhis own creative prowess, can cause an
angel to take on physical form,but fallen angels or demons cannot take on
physical form. Of getting written aboutthis in the Complete Bible answer Book Collector's
Edition, available through the Ministry ofthe Christian Research Institute. All of the
(10:43):
resources that I talked about on thebroadcast. You can find it equipped dot
org. We'll we're back in justa few moments with more answers to your
questions. If you were going intocombat, what would be more important the
number of those who were for youor the number of those who were with
you? Now apply that question totoday's battle for the hearts and minds of
(11:03):
literally millions of people at home andabroad. That's what makes members of CRI's
support teams so vital. They're notsimply for CRI's critical mission. They're standing
with CRI each and every day.If you want your voice and your values
to be heard through the outreaches ofthe Christian Research Institute, become a member
(11:24):
of CRI's support team today. Justcall eight eight eight seven thousand CRII to
stand with CRI daily in the battlefor life and truth. And as our
thanks, Hank Canagraph will personalize toyou a copy of his Complete Bible answer
Book Collector's Edition, revised and updated. Call eight eight eight seven thousand CRII
(11:46):
or visit our website at equipp dotorg. Hank will be back right after
this. Hank Hannagraph has dedicated hislife to defending truth because truth matters.
However, his life and ministry wereradically transformed by another three word phrase,
(12:11):
life matters more. Truth matters becauseChristianity is rooted in history and evidence Life
Matters More because it is the experienceof union with God. The goal of
Christian life is union with God.All attempts to understand Christianity from a solely
rational perspective put us in danger ofdevolving into a transactional rather than transformational relationship
(12:33):
with God. Truth Matters, LifeMatters More will equip you to move beyond
intellectually knowing about God to experientially knowingHim in Christ. To receive your copy
of Truth Matters, Life Matters Morecalled eight eight eight seven thousand CRI,
and make a gift to support theChristian Research Institute's life changing outreaches eight eight
eight seven thousand CRI, or visitus online at equipp dot org. The
(13:00):
Complete Bible answer Book Collector's Edition isthe comprehensive collection of the most often asked
questions Hank Hannigraph has received throughout hisfour decades as host of the Bible answer
Man broadcast. With more than halfa million copies already in print, this
newly revised and expanded Collector's Edition helpedseekers and skeptics alike sort through the truth
(13:22):
on topics such as reliability of theBible, religions, and cults. The
Resurrection and afterlife, and many moreissues vital to a better understanding of God
in Christ and our relationship to Him. To receive your copy of the Complete
Bible answer Book Collector's Edition, Revisedand expanded, call eight eight eight seven
(13:43):
thousand CROI and make a gift tosupport the Christian Research Institute's life changing outreaches
eight eight eight seven thousand CROI orvisit us at equip dot org. Anyone
who's been paying attention knows there's awar going on, not just on traditional
(14:05):
morality, civility, and decency,but even more fundamentally on historic notions of
truth. And the enemy isn't justthe onslaught of fake news, facilitated by
a post truth culture and turbocharged bygrowing legions of ideological spinductors. Note the
real enemies of truth range from postmodernistconvictions that there is no objective truth to
(14:28):
militant scientism that claims that only sciencecan determine truth and religion is little more
than primitive superstitions. But CRI SupportTeam members are not waving a white flag
of surrender. They're holding the fortby undergirding everyone of Christian Research Institute's mind
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(14:48):
make a difference and enjoy all thebenefits of support team membership, simply visit
equip dot org. Now back tothe Bible answer Man broadcast and your host
(15:11):
and canagraph. Thanks very much,Brandy, and right back to our phone
caller is Next up is Max listeningin Fresno, California. Hi Max,
Hey, how you doing good?Thank you. I just wanted to let
you know I appreciate your knowledge ofthe Bible and all things godly. My
wife and I Amy, we arelistening to you, and we've been discussing
(15:35):
some things in the Bible that kindof stumped us, I guess. And
I was wondering if you could elaborateon free will and let us know what
the Bible says about free will andif we have complete free will, if
we are able to make our owndecisions on our own, or if that's
(15:58):
something that God controls. Yeah.Well, I think it's important to recognize
that the Christian worldview stands over againstphilosophical naturalism, in which there is no
free will, in which everything isfatalistically determined by brain chemistry and genetics.
In the Christian worldview, when wecome to faith in Christ, we respond
(16:22):
to the grace that is freely offeredto us. We either respond to that
grace or we rebel against the gracethat God so freely offers to us,
and that choice really does matter.We can become those who are vessels made
(16:42):
for ignoble purposes when we rebel againstthe grace that is so freely given to
us, or vessels made for noblepurposes when we respond to the wooing of
the Holy Spirit. So yes,our will all matters in a biblical worldview.
Now, our will is not morallyneutral. As unbelievers, our wills
(17:07):
are skewed against God. When webecome believers, our wills are turned in
a different direction. But we arestill morally culpable for what we do,
because even as believers, we canbuild on the foundation, which is Jesus
Christ, and we can do sobuilding with gold or silver or costly stones,
or on the other hand, withinferior materials. In the day of
(17:30):
the Lord will bring to light whatwe did. So what we do has
consequences and does make a difference,both in terms of responding to the wooing
of the Holy Spirit and then buildingupon the foundation of Jesus Christ. Okay,
thank you, Hank. Well,we love you and we appreciate your
ministry and the knowledge of the Bible. And thank you for answering our question.
(17:52):
You got it. Thank you somuch for your call. We'll go
back to the phone lines. Talkto Jack nixt Jack is listening in Omaha,
Nebraska. Hi, Jack, Hello. As I understand it, when
we die, our soul is freeto go to Heaven to live with God.
And then we also believe that inthe resurrection of the body, if
(18:14):
my soul is free living with God, why would I want my body back?
Why would I want to be trappedback in my body? At some
point? Well, think about howGod created her to begin with. He
didn't create you as a soul.He created you as a body soul unity.
In fact, when a woman givesbirth, that's what she gives birth
to, a body soul unity,and that's who Christ came to redeem.
(18:34):
So when Adam and Eve were created, they were created as body soul unities.
And in the redemption, God isgoing to restore what he created.
He's not going to somehow or otherchange it. God doesn't scrap things.
He redeems things. So he's goingto redeem us as human beings. And
that's why we're going to be redeemedas resurrected, physical human beings who have
(19:02):
an earnest. That earnest is inJesus Christ, who himself was resurrected physically.
So the Christian faith has never beenplatonic. It's always been physical,
and the earnest and the hope ofour own resurrection is found in Jesus Christ.
So is the relationship with God differentas a spirit versus as a body.
(19:26):
Well, of course we are incompleteas merely those who have the non
corporeal aspect of humanity. So yeah, it's certainly a way in which we
will experience God more fully than wedo in the present, because now the
soul is absent, the body presentwith the Lord. So there is a
community or a knowledge or an experiencethat is heightened beyond what we're experiencing right
(19:52):
now. But that is not theend all. The end all is when
we are totally fully restored as humanbeings with the imago day, the image
of God resplendently perfected. So welook forward to being fully human with a
fully human Christ and doing things.In other words, we are created to
(20:15):
do and explore and to grow anddevelop. So that's what we're going to
be doing for all eternity, andwe're going to be doing that as human
beings, partaking of all the physicalas well as metaphysical faculties that God has
endowed on humanity. Okay, thankyou, you got it. Thank you
(20:36):
so much for your call back tothe phone lines. We'll talk to Bill
next. He's listening in West Virginia. Hi, Bill, Hello, how
are you today? Good? Thankyou. My question is why did Jesus
come down at that particular moment inhistory. Why didn't he come down five
hundred years earlier, or a thousandyears later or two thousand years later,
(20:57):
maybe we could have documented his wordsbetter. Why was that time so important?
Well, it was very important fora lot of reasons. Remember that
there is an entire scope of propheciesthat had to be fulfilled. His ancestry
was marked, his birthplace was foretold. Circumstances surrounding his death were prophesied before
(21:21):
his death was ever invented. Interms of the mode of his death crucifixion,
the date of his visitation was predictedwithin historically narrow time parameters, and
he would be a worker of extraordinarymiracles who fulfilled the law and the prophets,
and it would be too small forhim to bring back only those of
Israel. And therefore he would bea light to the gentile, so that
(21:42):
salvation could go out to the endsof the earth. So God etched a
prophetic portrait of the Christ in theOld Testament, and in the fullness of
time that Christ came and took onflesh in the New and so only g
Jesus Christ of Nazareth, a superstarin a unique sense, could emerge through
(22:06):
the doorway of Old Testament prophecies.So you had to have the prophecies that
progress over time. There's a historicallineage, there's a place that he's going
to be. All these prophecies aremade, and he is going to be
through a particular lineage. Abram IsaacJacob ultimately David Israel's quintessential king, and
(22:26):
so we can look back and knowthat this is indeed the Christ. Thank
you very much. I appreciate thatyou got it. And I've written about
this in various places, including mybook Has God Spoken, which is available
through the Ministry of the Christian ResearchInstitute. Back to the phone line,
Stephen, Tulsa, Oklahoma. Hi, Stephen, hey brother, Hey,
thank you so much for taking mycall. It's going to be a lengthy
(22:48):
setup and I'll try to be articulateand quick with it. I pray for
quite a while for a career orientedprofessional job, for about five years,
and thankfully the Lord answered my prayer. Once I got the position, I
(23:11):
was approached by my manager and askedif I had a problem taking clients out
to have the hour, and reallywas kind of face with that dilemma,
went out to an establishment that Iwould typically not darken the door too,
and then faced with another situation thatI was kind of mortified by the amount
(23:33):
of alcohol these quote unquote adults weredrinking, and I just wanted to get
your take on that. I knowthat my particular denomination does not believe in
drinking. My wife and I donot drink, and I just wanted to
sort of get your take on it, because I feel like there's a couple
of situations that I could look atthe Bible and say, you know,
(23:56):
this person was put in the situationDaniel. Daniel was in the situation where
he was around ungodly people, butalso sort of we're supposed to be separated
in so I just wanted to getyour take on if my spiritual company should
(24:17):
be gone at water the way thatI feel like it has been, and
if it is, does that meanthat I should evacuate this job or my
eight dren Right. Yeah, Nowit's a matter of conscience, Stephen,
and I think that what you wantto do is be sensitive to the inner
(24:38):
voice, the indwelling Christ, theindwelling spirit, if you will in this
matter, because it really is amatter of conscience. Remember, however,
as you've correctly said, you're inthe world, you're not of the world.
I have no problem going to arestaurant close to our office and sitting
in the bar and reading a book. The biblical admonition is that we shouldn't
(25:00):
get drunk and buy that you canset an example. But if your job
is to get the other person drunkso that they buy more equipment, obviously
our conscience wouldn't allow you to dothat. But to take someone somewhere and
then to be a model or tomodel the Christian worldview is perfectly commensurate with
the fact that Jesus hung out withprostitutes and sinners. We are not trying
(25:25):
to repel the world. We're tryingto reach the world. Pagans are going
to do what pagans do. They'regoing to exercise a job description. The
real question now becomes, are yougoing to exercise your job description? Be
salt and light. Be a lamp, not hidden under a bushel, but
plainly manifest for all to see,so you become the light of the world.
So again, we're not to bemicrocosms of the world. We're not
(25:47):
to be cultural imitators, but weare called to be cultural initiators. We
need your support. If you canpray for us, please do that,
and if you can support us tangibly, it would make a world the difference
in the lives of people around theworld. Thanks for tuning in. We
appreciate you tuning in to the Bibleanswer Man broadcast. Before we sign off
(26:08):
today, here's our contact information byphone dial eight eight eight seven thousand CRII,
which translates to eight eight eight seventhousand two seven four. On the
internet, go to equip dot org. That's equip dot org. You can
also write CRII at post Office Boxeighty five hundred, Charlotte, North Carolina.
(26:32):
The zip code is two eight twoseven one. Our prayer is that
today's broadcast has equipped you to betterdefend your faith and encouraged you to pursue
sound doctrine and godly living. Thankyou for listening. The Bible answer Man
broadcast is supported by listeners like you. We're on the air because life and
(26:52):
truth matter. Truth matters, Lifematters More details Hank Hanigraf's personal pilgrimage from
his long defensive truth to his discoverythat life matters more. Essentially, two
books in one. Part one equipsChristians to defend the essential truths of the
(27:15):
historic Christian faith. Part two explainswhy truth is necessary but hardly sufficient.
That the map is not the territory, the menu is not the meal.
We are created to experience life tothe full through union with God in Christ.
Is there more to the Christian lifethan what you are experiencing? Truth
matters, Life matters More unveils theunexpected beauty of an authentic Christian life.
(27:40):
To receive truth matters, Life mattersmore for yourself or as a terrific gift
to a friend or loved one calledeight eight eight seven thousand CRI and make
a gift to support the Christian ResearchInstitute's life changing outreaches eight eight eight seven
thousand CRI, or visit us onlineat EQUIPP dot org.
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