November 15, 2025 • 28 mins
On today’s Bible Answer Man broadcast, Hank shares the seven points of identification that point to Jesus Christ as the only one who can enter through the doorway of Old Testament prophecy.
Hank also answers the following questions:
How do I share with my Muslim friend about the true Jesus, who is the Son of God? Noel - Memphis, TN (3:43)
How do I deepen my prayer life? Chad - Salem, VA (15:13)
Why did you say that Jesus is the creator of all things, when that is the Father? Kris - MO (18:20)
Where do we find the concept of free will in the Bible? Mary - Greensboro, NC (20:45)
Hank also answers the following questions:
How do I share with my Muslim friend about the true Jesus, who is the Son of God? Noel - Memphis, TN (3:43)
How do I deepen my prayer life? Chad - Salem, VA (15:13)
Why did you say that Jesus is the creator of all things, when that is the Father? Kris - MO (18:20)
Where do we find the concept of free will in the Bible? Mary - Greensboro, NC (20:45)
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Welcome to the best of the Bible answer Man Broadcast
with Christian Research Institute President Hank Hanigraph. Our mission at
CRII is not only to equip you with Christian doctrine,
apologetic accuracy, and discernment, but to help you become a
faithful apprentice of Jesus Christ, because life and truth matter.
(00:28):
If you'd like to know more about CRII and the
Bible answer Man broadcast called eight eight eight seven thousand
CRII eight eight eight seven thousand CRII, or go to
our website at equip dot org. That's equip dot org.
The following program was prerecorded and now here's Hank Canigraph.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
My birthplace was Lighten in the Netherlands. That was something
I did not, something I could not plan or pre
yourign And as you might well imagine, I still have
lots of friends and family members in Holland, and every year,
especially during the Christmas season, lots of packages originating in
(01:13):
Holland find their way to my doorstep in the United States.
But were it not for seven points of identification, they
might well end up somewhere else. They could end up
in a factory in China or a hotel in Jakarta
or a home in Taiwan. But there are seven points
(01:36):
of identification that ensure that the packages leave Holland and
arrive on my doorstep. Seven points separate me from six
billion options my name, my number, my street, my city,
my state, my zip code, and my country. And just
(02:03):
as there are points of identification that allow a package
to arrive on my doorstep, so too there are prophecies
that identify Jesus Christ as the only one who could
emerge through the doorway of Old Testament prophecy. And to
make those points memorable, I've associated them with the first
(02:26):
seven letters of the alphabet, beginning with the ancestry of
Jesus Christ. The ancestry of Jesus from Eve to Mary
in and of itself, marks a very narrow doorway through
whom only the offspring of David could emerge, and add
to that his birthplace, and all possibility of an impostor
(02:49):
is eliminated. But anyway in my book has God spoken,
I give you those seven points of identification, which prove,
beyond the shadow of a doubt, that only Jesus Christ
could emerge from that doorway. And again I give it
to you in a memorable format so you can not
(03:10):
only read, but you can remember. And if you can remember,
you can use this to be an effective witness. All
part of Has God Spoken now available through the Ministry
of the Christian Research Institute for your gift to our
ongoing work. You can check it out on the worldwide
webbity guipp dot org. You can write me at Post
Office Box eighty five hundred, Charlotte, North Carolina, ZIP god
(03:32):
two eight two seven to one, and also pick up
the telephone talk to our resource consultants triple eight seven thousand,
and the letters CRI A lot of you hanging on
will go right to our phone callers. First up is
Noel listening in Memphis, Tennessee.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
Hi, Hey, thanks for taking me called.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
You're welcome.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
I have a very dear friend that is termly ill
with cancer and we're still praying for a miracle, so
hopefully the Lord will will give a stab. But I
was talking to him today about his faith that he's
a Muslim, or he says he's a Muslim. Here's where
it gets a little confusing, is that you know he said,
he made it clear, I'm not like the radical Muslims
(04:13):
that you care about. On TV in the Middle East.
Those guys don't know what you're talking about. And as
we were talking, it's like, well, you know, he says,
he's been praying a lot, and so we've been praying
for him, and of course he knows I'm a Christian
and that he thanked me for that, for I was
praying for him in all And anyway, I started asking
him about, well, you know, if you I said, we're
(04:35):
all going to, you know, leave eventually, but of course
we're praying that you're going to stay here with us
for a lot longer. But I said, you know, if
when whenever, whenever you leave, what what what do you
say to the Father when he stands before him and
he asks you, why should I let you into my kingdom?
And you know, he didn't have a quote Christian answer
(04:58):
for that, but I use that to go over the
essentials of the Christian faith with him, and he said.
Speaker 4 (05:06):
He agrees with all that.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
And you know, Jesus was lived a perfect life, that
God's holdiness the mands.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
And that.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
He was offered us a purpose sacrifice in our place
to pay the price for us, and that guy raised
him from the dead on the third Day and anyway,
he agreed with all these things. And so then I
want to make sure I wasn't talking past him somehow,
ask him that you know that Jesus is the Son
(05:38):
and God, you know, And he agreed with that. And
I'm saying in Jesus is God. And I went over
God the Father got the son gullapholy spirit. And he
didn't accuse me of the sin of shark or anything
like that. He agreed with me. And so he says
he's a Muslim, but he agrees with the essentials of
(05:59):
Christian dic So I don't know what to say. I mean,
are we on the same page here or are we talking
past each other.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Well, it doesn't sound like you're talking past one another.
It sounds like you're communicating very clearly. And he's saying,
in essence, I don't believe what Muslims believe, as you
point out. I mean, a regular Muslim will tell you
that if you believe that Jesus Christ is begotten of
the Father, that you have committed the unforgivable sin of shirk.
(06:30):
But again it takes defining your terms. If he believes
that Jesus Christ is God, if he believes that Jesus
Christ was the only one to satisfy the justice, righteousness,
and holiness of God, something that we could not do.
If he's placing his trust in Jesus Christ so that
(06:51):
he can be reconciled to God for time and for eternity,
then whatever words he uses, he's expressing the Christian belief.
And I don't think ultimately it is the absence of
truth that damns. It is the despising of truth the damns.
If you want to look at it in a very
(07:13):
cursory fashion, everyone has the light of creation. He's not
denying that. He believes that there is a God. To
that light, you can also have the inner light, which
is to say, we know from the universe in which
we live there has to be a God. But God
has placed a knowledge of himself on the tablet of
(07:33):
our hearts as well. And if we respond to the
light from without and the light within, then we can also,
as Paul points out in Romans chapter three, we can
receive the light of Jesus Christ. And again the issue
is not the word, it's the meaning poured into the word. Obviously,
(07:54):
the Muslim view of Christ is far different from the
Christianristian view of Christ. And if you're clearly articulating that,
as it certainly seems you are, and he's agreeing with that,
then he's disagreeing with the Muslim belief. And I would
point this out. There are a lot of Muslims that
(08:15):
I have encountered over the years that I've had rich
dialogues with who really don't embrace Islam in the truest
sense of the word. First of all, many of them
are not that steeped in their own religion, just like
there are many Christians that misunderstand the Christian faith. Are
they really Christians? Well, we make a difference between cultural
(08:37):
Christians and those who are bought by the blood of
Jesus Christ, and I think we could say the same
thing about Islam. There are cultural Muslims. So I think
that you are doing the right thing. You're communicating ultimately,
if he's asking questions and you can continue the conversation,
you can fill in the blanks and give him more
(08:59):
and more detail and proof of all these kinds of things.
But if he believes that Jesus Christ is the only
way of reconciliation, that's what we believe. So he disbelieves
Islam and believes Christianity, regardless of what label he uses.
Speaker 3 (09:12):
Yeah, So, like you were saying, a cultural Muslim perhaps
because he was grew up in that society and he
wants to play himself as that, But it seems as
if he agrees with our faith. So well, his wife
is a Christian and they've only been married a few years,
but she got him a Bible and he's been reading
(09:35):
that recently. And he was quoting to me so scripture
in Arabic and trying to, you know, translate it into English,
and basically he's, you know, it's about Jesus being you know,
sent from God, from the soul of God and raised
from the dead and you know, died for our punishment
(09:56):
and race from the dead. And and that's when I
kind of I want to make sure something out the
same thing about Jesus being the son of God but
being God, and kind of quoted him John one, you
know and in the beginning What's word and explained that
to him over that, and I recommended that he start
reading in John.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Well, there's no accident that God has brought you into
his life, and you are there for a purpose. He
is a Christian wife, and he is not believing what
Muslims believe in general, because Muslims in general believe that
Jesus Christ wasn't even crucified, that God made someone look
like Jesus and lookalike was crucified in place of Jesus.
And not only that, because they don't believe that he
(10:37):
was crucified, they don't believe he was resurrected. So again,
what you are doing is phenomenal. God has you at
the right place at the right time, and the God
continue to bless your witness, will be right back with
more answers to questions. So please don't touch that dial.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
Has Jesus Christ returned to earth as a woman? Eastern Lightning,
also called the Church of All Mighty God, claims a
Chinese woman is the reincarnated Christ, Almighty God and the
fulfillment of Jesus's olivet discourse. This cult is doctrinally deviant
and socially subversive. It masquerades as a persecuted Christian movement
(11:16):
while exploiting Western sympathy to spread its destructive dogmas. Don't
miss the special issue of the Christian Research Journal exposing
the treacherous teachings and practices of Eastern Lightning. To receive
your copy, call eight eight eight seven thousand CRII and
make a gift to support the Christian Research Institute's Mind shaping,
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life changing outreaches. That's eight eight eight seven thousand CRII,
or go online to equip dot org. That's equip dot org.
The Bible answer Man Broadcast will return in just a
few moments.
Speaker 5 (12:02):
To fully grasp the significance of Christ's Messianic rule, you
must drink deeply from the wellspring of Old Testament prophecy
in Hebrews as in the rest of the New Testament,
the Old Testament history of Israel is interpreted as a
(12:23):
succession of types that find ultimate fulfillment in the birth, death, resurrection,
and ascension of the Christ we celebrate at Christmas.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Hank Hanagraph has penned The Heart of Christmas, a devotional
for the season, to ensure that just as you prepare
your home for Christmas, you likewise prepare your heart. Order
the Heart of Christmas, a devotional for the season by
calling eight eight eight seven thousand and two seven four
or by going online to www. Dot equip dot org.
(13:01):
Anyone who's been paying attention knows there's a war going
on not just on traditional morality, civility, and decency, but
even more fundamentally on historic notions of truth. And the
enemy isn't just the onslaught of fake news, facilitated by
a post truth culture and turbocharged by growing legions of
ideological spinductors. Note the real enemies of truth range from
(13:24):
postmodernist convictions that there is no objective truth to militant
scientism that claims that only science can determine truth and
religion is little more than primitive superstitions. But CRI Support
Team members are not waving a white flag of surrender.
They're holding the fort by undergirding everyone of Christian Research
(13:44):
Institute's mind shaping and life changing outreaches twenty four to seven.
To learn how you can make a difference and enjoy
all the benefits of Support Team membership, simply visit equip
dot org. Has God Spoken? Are the words of Scripture
(14:09):
merely human in origin? Or are they in fact the
very words of God himself? Three years in the making
and based on two decades of research and reflection, Hank
Henagraph's monumental book Has God Spoken answers what is surely
the most important question facing our world in has God Spoken?
(14:29):
Memorable proofs of the Bible's divine inspiration. Hank counters the
contentions of the Bible attackers and clearly shows that belief
in the Holy Scriptures is not a guess or wishful thinking.
It is the only logical conclusion after an honest examination
of overwhelming evidence. Order Has God Spoken? From the Christian
Research Institute by calling eighty eight seven thousand CRII, or
(14:53):
go online to equip dot org. Equip dot org. Now
back to the Bible answer Man broadcast and your host
and canagraph.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
Thank you very much, Randy, and let's go right back
to our phone callers. Next up is Chad listening in Salem, Virginia.
Hi Chad, Hi Hank, Hi, how are you. I'm well,
Thank you, nice talking to you, Yeah, sir.
Speaker 4 (15:26):
My question is I'm a Christian and I've you know,
I've been at the foot of the cross and I've
repented on my sin and I've home with myself, and
you know, I just want to grow closer to God.
And my prayer life is not what it should be,
and I just kind of want to know what I
can do to deepen my prayer life.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
Well, let me give you three points in particular, very quickly.
The first is to make a paradigm shift, to shift
from seeing prayer as a means of getting things from
God to seeing prayer as an opportunity to build a
relationship with the lover of your soul. Because most of
us learn to pray backwards. But you know, we rush
into God's presence before our kniece ever hit the ground.
(16:10):
We're thinking about rushing back into our frenzy lifestyle, and
so we treat God no better than we treat our
most cherished relationships. We want intimacy without the investment of
quality time. So make a paradigm shift to seeing prayer
not just as a means of getting something from God,
but as a way through which to develop a relationship
with the lover of your soul. The second point I
(16:32):
would make is this develop the discipline of listening to
the voice of God. Our prayers are so often characterized
by constant babbling, and it could be that our chatter
is mind deafening. So we need to learn how to
listen and recognize that meditation on the word of God
(16:56):
is the missing link between the intake of scripture and
effective prayer life. And thirdly, find a secret place, a
place where you can drownd out the static of the
world and hear the voice of your heavenly Father. I've
written all of this out in a lot more detail
in a book called The Prayer of Jesus, which becomes
the model prayer by which you can learn to develop
intimacy with the lover of your soul. So it is
(17:17):
a book designed for the very purpose that you're talking about.
It's a book designed for you to directly understand the
secrets of real intimacy with God.
Speaker 4 (17:27):
Okay, Well, thank you very much. And you know, I
just wanted to say, I mean, I pray. I'm interested
in getting to know the Lord more personally. You know,
I don't want anything in this world because you know,
my my hope is in heaven and I don't want
nothing that this world can give me. My heart is
with God, and I'd be willing to give everything up.
(17:49):
I'm willing to go to the end of the earth
and even unto death.
Speaker 6 (17:52):
For the Lord.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
Oh, bless your her.
Speaker 4 (17:54):
I love the Lord with all my heart and I
just you know, I'm so grateful that the Lord is
in my life.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
Well, bless you, my friend. I want you to develop
this prayer life so that it's meaningful, deep and rich.
So you're not snorkeling, but scuba diving, going deep, getting
away from the shallow, trashy surface of the ocean, going
deep with God. And that is why I wrote the
book The Prayer of Jesus. I want to go back
to the phone lines and talk to Chris listening in Missouri.
Speaker 4 (18:25):
Hi, Chris, Hi, thank you for taking my call.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Oh my pleasure.
Speaker 6 (18:30):
Yes, I got a.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
Very big question here in as a scripture.
Speaker 4 (18:33):
Here I'm looking in Isaiah forty four twenty four, and
I want to clarify that because you said that Jesus
Christ is the creator of all.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
The Father is well.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
Remember God created all things we believe in. No, we
believe in one God revealed in three persons who are
eternally distinct. Let me tell you what Paul says about this.
He says, Jesus is the image of the invisible God,
the first born over all creation. For by him, by
Jesus Christ, all things were created, things in heaven and
(19:09):
on earth, visible and invisible, Whether thrones or powers, or
rulers or authorities, all things were created by him, and
for him. He is before all things, and in him
all things hold together. So I think that Paul's words
are not implicit. They are explicit in teaching us that
(19:33):
Jesus Christ created all things.
Speaker 6 (19:37):
But I don't say it anymore.
Speaker 3 (19:38):
Where Jesus Christ created all things?
Speaker 2 (19:41):
Yes, it does. I'm just I am reading you scripture,
and not only.
Speaker 4 (19:45):
That it at sorry, where was it at?
Speaker 2 (19:47):
It's Colossius, chapter one, verse fifteen. You're right, and it
says explicitly by him all things were created things in
heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers,
or rulers or authorities, all things were created by him,
(20:08):
and for him He is before all things, and in
him all things hold together. Also, look at John one three.
Through him Jesus the word all things were made that
have been made. So the argument that you have is
not with me. It's with the Bible, and that ultimately
is the final court of arbitration. Test all things in
light of scripture. Hold fast that which is good. That's
(20:30):
not my opinion. It's not your opinion. Is what does
the Bible say? If the Bible says Jesus Christ created
all things, that's good enough for me. This is not
a text that is obscure subject to interpretation. It's plain,
old pros, easy to understand. Welcome back to the phone lines.
We'll talk next to Mary in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Speaker 6 (20:50):
Hi Mary, good evening, mister Hanagrath. I'm very pleased to
be able to speak with you. I have a question.
It's a done deal on mama, okay, but I would
like your input on it. I really love reading my Bible,
and I think I've got a pretty good handle on
(21:10):
the question, which is free will. Somebody was asking me about, well,
where do you see it in scripture? You know those
two words together. Well, there's free will offering and we
don't need to go into that because that's a part
of the Hebrew offering to God.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
Right.
Speaker 6 (21:35):
And then then there's people, you know, you hear pastors
and ministers or whatever talking about men having free will.
And I told this person, I said, and I look
put this up in an exhaustive concordance, if you will,
(21:57):
and didn't find anything about that term the two words
free will. But I did tell them, have you ever
thought about reading the Book of Judges again? The question
is free will?
Speaker 2 (22:11):
Uh?
Speaker 6 (22:11):
Is not really in the Bible. But the Bible is
about God's will for man and what happens to man
when they decide to use their free will. In other words,
they break away from God's will for them.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
Yeah, well, there are basically two different ideas that people have.
One is theistic fatalism. A fatalist, of course, believes the future,
especially regarding the destiny of an individual, is fixed, and
a theistic fatalist believes that a personal God unconditionally determines
(22:47):
where individuals will go when they die, whether that be
to heaven or hell. And there are those who say
precisely that that God arranged, which is all things, by
his sovereign counsel, in such a way that individuals are
born who are doomed from the womb to certain death.
(23:10):
In fact, that is precisely what John Calvin said and
what he believed. That God not only foresaw the fall
of the first man, and in him the ruin of
his posterity, but also at his own pleasure arranged it.
And that all are not created equal, but some are
(23:31):
preordained to eternal life, others are preordained to eternal damnation.
And accordingly, he said, as each has been created for
one or the other of those ends. We say that
he has been predestined to life or to death. Not
only that, but John Calvin said that Paul teaches us
(23:51):
that the ruin of the wicked is not only foreseen
by the Lord, but also ordained by his counsel and
his will. Not only the destruction of the wicked is foreknown,
but that the wicked themselves have been created for this
very end, that they may perish. Now, in my view,
the Bible does teach that we have will, which is
(24:17):
to say, while our will is not morally neutral, we
have the ability to act or to act otherwise. You
see this delineated throughout scripture. I think of what Jesus
said in the all of a discourse when he said,
oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone
those sent to you, How often I have longed to
(24:39):
gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks
under her wings. But you were not willing. Or in
Acts chapter seven, you stiff necked people with uncircumcised hearts
and ears. You're just like your father's You always resist
(25:02):
the Holy spirit, which requires will or I think it's
Luke chapter seven where the Pharisees and the experts in
the law rejected God's purpose for themselves because they had
not been baptized by John. They rejected God's purpose for themselves.
(25:23):
Or jonah iiO, that famous passage where those who cling
to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could have been theirs,
for many other passages like that. If you were blind,
said Jesus, you would not be guilty of sin. But
now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.
Speaker 5 (25:47):
So.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
I think that there are many passages that explicate the
notion that we have the ability to act or to
act otherwise. Thank you for tuning in to today's broadcast.
We look forward to seeing eight back here next time
with more of the show.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
We appreciate you tuning in to the Bible answer Man broadcast.
Before we sign off today, here's our contact information by
phone dial eight eight eight seven thousand CRII, which translates
to eight eight eight seven thousand two seven four On
the Internet, go to equip dot org. That's equip dot org.
(26:26):
You can also write CRII at Post Office Box eighty
five hundred, Charlotte, North Carolina. The ZIP code is two
eight two seven one. Our prayer is that today's broadcast
has equipped you to better defend your faith and encouraged
you to pursue sound doctrine and godly living. Thank you
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(26:48):
listeners like you. We're on the air because life and
truth matter. What the Angel said to them, do not
be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy
that will be for all the people today in the
(27:11):
town of David. A savior has been born to you.
He is Christ, the Lord. This will be a signed
to you. You will find a baby wrapped in cloths
and lying in a manger Luke Chapter two, verses ten
through twelve. While many of you will soon enter the
hustle and bustle of the holiday season. Hank Hannagraph has
(27:32):
penned The Heart of Christmas, a devotional for the season,
to ensure that just as you prepare your home for Christmas,
you likewise prepare your heart. Order The Heart of Christmas,
a devotional for the season, by calling eight eight eight
seven thousand and two seven four, or by going online
to www. Dot equip dot org. Also available is The
(27:54):
Heart of Christmas audiobook, dramatically read by hank hannigraph
Welcome to the best of the Bible answer Man Broadcast
with Christian Research Institute President Hank Hanigraph. Our mission at
CRII is not only to equip you with Christian doctrine,
apologetic accuracy, and discernment, but to help you become a
faithful apprentice of Jesus Christ, because life and truth matter.
(00:28):
If you'd like to know more about CRII and the
Bible answer Man broadcast called eight eight eight seven thousand
CRII eight eight eight seven thousand CRII, or go to
our website at equip dot org. That's equip dot org.
The following program was prerecorded and now here's Hank Canigraph.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
My birthplace was Lighten in the Netherlands. That was something
I did not, something I could not plan or pre
yourign And as you might well imagine, I still have
lots of friends and family members in Holland, and every year,
especially during the Christmas season, lots of packages originating in
(01:13):
Holland find their way to my doorstep in the United States.
But were it not for seven points of identification, they
might well end up somewhere else. They could end up
in a factory in China or a hotel in Jakarta
or a home in Taiwan. But there are seven points
(01:36):
of identification that ensure that the packages leave Holland and
arrive on my doorstep. Seven points separate me from six
billion options my name, my number, my street, my city,
my state, my zip code, and my country. And just
(02:03):
as there are points of identification that allow a package
to arrive on my doorstep, so too there are prophecies
that identify Jesus Christ as the only one who could
emerge through the doorway of Old Testament prophecy. And to
make those points memorable, I've associated them with the first
(02:26):
seven letters of the alphabet, beginning with the ancestry of
Jesus Christ. The ancestry of Jesus from Eve to Mary
in and of itself, marks a very narrow doorway through
whom only the offspring of David could emerge, and add
to that his birthplace, and all possibility of an impostor
(02:49):
is eliminated. But anyway in my book has God spoken,
I give you those seven points of identification, which prove,
beyond the shadow of a doubt, that only Jesus Christ
could emerge from that doorway. And again I give it
to you in a memorable format so you can not
(03:10):
only read, but you can remember. And if you can remember,
you can use this to be an effective witness. All
part of Has God Spoken now available through the Ministry
of the Christian Research Institute for your gift to our
ongoing work. You can check it out on the worldwide
webbity guipp dot org. You can write me at Post
Office Box eighty five hundred, Charlotte, North Carolina, ZIP god
(03:32):
two eight two seven to one, and also pick up
the telephone talk to our resource consultants triple eight seven thousand,
and the letters CRI A lot of you hanging on
will go right to our phone callers. First up is
Noel listening in Memphis, Tennessee.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
Hi, Hey, thanks for taking me called.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
You're welcome.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
I have a very dear friend that is termly ill
with cancer and we're still praying for a miracle, so
hopefully the Lord will will give a stab. But I
was talking to him today about his faith that he's
a Muslim, or he says he's a Muslim. Here's where
it gets a little confusing, is that you know he said,
he made it clear, I'm not like the radical Muslims
(04:13):
that you care about. On TV in the Middle East.
Those guys don't know what you're talking about. And as
we were talking, it's like, well, you know, he says,
he's been praying a lot, and so we've been praying
for him, and of course he knows I'm a Christian
and that he thanked me for that, for I was
praying for him in all And anyway, I started asking
him about, well, you know, if you I said, we're
(04:35):
all going to, you know, leave eventually, but of course
we're praying that you're going to stay here with us
for a lot longer. But I said, you know, if
when whenever, whenever you leave, what what what do you
say to the Father when he stands before him and
he asks you, why should I let you into my kingdom?
And you know, he didn't have a quote Christian answer
(04:58):
for that, but I use that to go over the
essentials of the Christian faith with him, and he said.
Speaker 4 (05:06):
He agrees with all that.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
And you know, Jesus was lived a perfect life, that
God's holdiness the mands.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
And that.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
He was offered us a purpose sacrifice in our place
to pay the price for us, and that guy raised
him from the dead on the third Day and anyway,
he agreed with all these things. And so then I
want to make sure I wasn't talking past him somehow,
ask him that you know that Jesus is the Son
(05:38):
and God, you know, And he agreed with that. And
I'm saying in Jesus is God. And I went over
God the Father got the son gullapholy spirit. And he
didn't accuse me of the sin of shark or anything
like that. He agreed with me. And so he says
he's a Muslim, but he agrees with the essentials of
(05:59):
Christian dic So I don't know what to say. I mean,
are we on the same page here or are we talking
past each other.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Well, it doesn't sound like you're talking past one another.
It sounds like you're communicating very clearly. And he's saying,
in essence, I don't believe what Muslims believe, as you
point out. I mean, a regular Muslim will tell you
that if you believe that Jesus Christ is begotten of
the Father, that you have committed the unforgivable sin of shirk.
(06:30):
But again it takes defining your terms. If he believes
that Jesus Christ is God, if he believes that Jesus
Christ was the only one to satisfy the justice, righteousness,
and holiness of God, something that we could not do.
If he's placing his trust in Jesus Christ so that
(06:51):
he can be reconciled to God for time and for eternity,
then whatever words he uses, he's expressing the Christian belief.
And I don't think ultimately it is the absence of
truth that damns. It is the despising of truth the damns.
If you want to look at it in a very
(07:13):
cursory fashion, everyone has the light of creation. He's not
denying that. He believes that there is a God. To
that light, you can also have the inner light, which
is to say, we know from the universe in which
we live there has to be a God. But God
has placed a knowledge of himself on the tablet of
(07:33):
our hearts as well. And if we respond to the
light from without and the light within, then we can also,
as Paul points out in Romans chapter three, we can
receive the light of Jesus Christ. And again the issue
is not the word, it's the meaning poured into the word. Obviously,
(07:54):
the Muslim view of Christ is far different from the
Christianristian view of Christ. And if you're clearly articulating that,
as it certainly seems you are, and he's agreeing with that,
then he's disagreeing with the Muslim belief. And I would
point this out. There are a lot of Muslims that
(08:15):
I have encountered over the years that I've had rich
dialogues with who really don't embrace Islam in the truest
sense of the word. First of all, many of them
are not that steeped in their own religion, just like
there are many Christians that misunderstand the Christian faith. Are
they really Christians? Well, we make a difference between cultural
(08:37):
Christians and those who are bought by the blood of
Jesus Christ, and I think we could say the same
thing about Islam. There are cultural Muslims. So I think
that you are doing the right thing. You're communicating ultimately,
if he's asking questions and you can continue the conversation,
you can fill in the blanks and give him more
(08:59):
and more detail and proof of all these kinds of things.
But if he believes that Jesus Christ is the only
way of reconciliation, that's what we believe. So he disbelieves
Islam and believes Christianity, regardless of what label he uses.
Speaker 3 (09:12):
Yeah, So, like you were saying, a cultural Muslim perhaps
because he was grew up in that society and he
wants to play himself as that, But it seems as
if he agrees with our faith. So well, his wife
is a Christian and they've only been married a few years,
but she got him a Bible and he's been reading
(09:35):
that recently. And he was quoting to me so scripture
in Arabic and trying to, you know, translate it into English,
and basically he's, you know, it's about Jesus being you know,
sent from God, from the soul of God and raised
from the dead and you know, died for our punishment
(09:56):
and race from the dead. And and that's when I
kind of I want to make sure something out the
same thing about Jesus being the son of God but
being God, and kind of quoted him John one, you
know and in the beginning What's word and explained that
to him over that, and I recommended that he start
reading in John.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Well, there's no accident that God has brought you into
his life, and you are there for a purpose. He
is a Christian wife, and he is not believing what
Muslims believe in general, because Muslims in general believe that
Jesus Christ wasn't even crucified, that God made someone look
like Jesus and lookalike was crucified in place of Jesus.
And not only that, because they don't believe that he
(10:37):
was crucified, they don't believe he was resurrected. So again,
what you are doing is phenomenal. God has you at
the right place at the right time, and the God
continue to bless your witness, will be right back with
more answers to questions. So please don't touch that dial.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
Has Jesus Christ returned to earth as a woman? Eastern Lightning,
also called the Church of All Mighty God, claims a
Chinese woman is the reincarnated Christ, Almighty God and the
fulfillment of Jesus's olivet discourse. This cult is doctrinally deviant
and socially subversive. It masquerades as a persecuted Christian movement
(11:16):
while exploiting Western sympathy to spread its destructive dogmas. Don't
miss the special issue of the Christian Research Journal exposing
the treacherous teachings and practices of Eastern Lightning. To receive
your copy, call eight eight eight seven thousand CRII and
make a gift to support the Christian Research Institute's Mind shaping,
(11:38):
life changing outreaches. That's eight eight eight seven thousand CRII,
or go online to equip dot org. That's equip dot org.
The Bible answer Man Broadcast will return in just a
few moments.
Speaker 5 (12:02):
To fully grasp the significance of Christ's Messianic rule, you
must drink deeply from the wellspring of Old Testament prophecy
in Hebrews as in the rest of the New Testament,
the Old Testament history of Israel is interpreted as a
(12:23):
succession of types that find ultimate fulfillment in the birth, death, resurrection,
and ascension of the Christ we celebrate at Christmas.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Hank Hanagraph has penned The Heart of Christmas, a devotional
for the season, to ensure that just as you prepare
your home for Christmas, you likewise prepare your heart. Order
the Heart of Christmas, a devotional for the season by
calling eight eight eight seven thousand and two seven four
or by going online to www. Dot equip dot org.
(13:01):
Anyone who's been paying attention knows there's a war going
on not just on traditional morality, civility, and decency, but
even more fundamentally on historic notions of truth. And the
enemy isn't just the onslaught of fake news, facilitated by
a post truth culture and turbocharged by growing legions of
ideological spinductors. Note the real enemies of truth range from
(13:24):
postmodernist convictions that there is no objective truth to militant
scientism that claims that only science can determine truth and
religion is little more than primitive superstitions. But CRI Support
Team members are not waving a white flag of surrender.
They're holding the fort by undergirding everyone of Christian Research
(13:44):
Institute's mind shaping and life changing outreaches twenty four to seven.
To learn how you can make a difference and enjoy
all the benefits of Support Team membership, simply visit equip
dot org. Has God Spoken? Are the words of Scripture
(14:09):
merely human in origin? Or are they in fact the
very words of God himself? Three years in the making
and based on two decades of research and reflection, Hank
Henagraph's monumental book Has God Spoken answers what is surely
the most important question facing our world in has God Spoken?
(14:29):
Memorable proofs of the Bible's divine inspiration. Hank counters the
contentions of the Bible attackers and clearly shows that belief
in the Holy Scriptures is not a guess or wishful thinking.
It is the only logical conclusion after an honest examination
of overwhelming evidence. Order Has God Spoken? From the Christian
Research Institute by calling eighty eight seven thousand CRII, or
(14:53):
go online to equip dot org. Equip dot org. Now
back to the Bible answer Man broadcast and your host
and canagraph.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
Thank you very much, Randy, and let's go right back
to our phone callers. Next up is Chad listening in Salem, Virginia.
Hi Chad, Hi Hank, Hi, how are you. I'm well,
Thank you, nice talking to you, Yeah, sir.
Speaker 4 (15:26):
My question is I'm a Christian and I've you know,
I've been at the foot of the cross and I've
repented on my sin and I've home with myself, and
you know, I just want to grow closer to God.
And my prayer life is not what it should be,
and I just kind of want to know what I
can do to deepen my prayer life.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
Well, let me give you three points in particular, very quickly.
The first is to make a paradigm shift, to shift
from seeing prayer as a means of getting things from
God to seeing prayer as an opportunity to build a
relationship with the lover of your soul. Because most of
us learn to pray backwards. But you know, we rush
into God's presence before our kniece ever hit the ground.
(16:10):
We're thinking about rushing back into our frenzy lifestyle, and
so we treat God no better than we treat our
most cherished relationships. We want intimacy without the investment of
quality time. So make a paradigm shift to seeing prayer
not just as a means of getting something from God,
but as a way through which to develop a relationship
with the lover of your soul. The second point I
(16:32):
would make is this develop the discipline of listening to
the voice of God. Our prayers are so often characterized
by constant babbling, and it could be that our chatter
is mind deafening. So we need to learn how to
listen and recognize that meditation on the word of God
(16:56):
is the missing link between the intake of scripture and
effective prayer life. And thirdly, find a secret place, a
place where you can drownd out the static of the
world and hear the voice of your heavenly Father. I've
written all of this out in a lot more detail
in a book called The Prayer of Jesus, which becomes
the model prayer by which you can learn to develop
intimacy with the lover of your soul. So it is
(17:17):
a book designed for the very purpose that you're talking about.
It's a book designed for you to directly understand the
secrets of real intimacy with God.
Speaker 4 (17:27):
Okay, Well, thank you very much. And you know, I
just wanted to say, I mean, I pray. I'm interested
in getting to know the Lord more personally. You know,
I don't want anything in this world because you know,
my my hope is in heaven and I don't want
nothing that this world can give me. My heart is
with God, and I'd be willing to give everything up.
(17:49):
I'm willing to go to the end of the earth
and even unto death.
Speaker 6 (17:52):
For the Lord.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
Oh, bless your her.
Speaker 4 (17:54):
I love the Lord with all my heart and I
just you know, I'm so grateful that the Lord is
in my life.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
Well, bless you, my friend. I want you to develop
this prayer life so that it's meaningful, deep and rich.
So you're not snorkeling, but scuba diving, going deep, getting
away from the shallow, trashy surface of the ocean, going
deep with God. And that is why I wrote the
book The Prayer of Jesus. I want to go back
to the phone lines and talk to Chris listening in Missouri.
Speaker 4 (18:25):
Hi, Chris, Hi, thank you for taking my call.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Oh my pleasure.
Speaker 6 (18:30):
Yes, I got a.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
Very big question here in as a scripture.
Speaker 4 (18:33):
Here I'm looking in Isaiah forty four twenty four, and
I want to clarify that because you said that Jesus
Christ is the creator of all.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
The Father is well.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
Remember God created all things we believe in. No, we
believe in one God revealed in three persons who are
eternally distinct. Let me tell you what Paul says about this.
He says, Jesus is the image of the invisible God,
the first born over all creation. For by him, by
Jesus Christ, all things were created, things in heaven and
(19:09):
on earth, visible and invisible, Whether thrones or powers, or
rulers or authorities, all things were created by him, and
for him. He is before all things, and in him
all things hold together. So I think that Paul's words
are not implicit. They are explicit in teaching us that
(19:33):
Jesus Christ created all things.
Speaker 6 (19:37):
But I don't say it anymore.
Speaker 3 (19:38):
Where Jesus Christ created all things?
Speaker 2 (19:41):
Yes, it does. I'm just I am reading you scripture,
and not only.
Speaker 4 (19:45):
That it at sorry, where was it at?
Speaker 2 (19:47):
It's Colossius, chapter one, verse fifteen. You're right, and it
says explicitly by him all things were created things in
heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers,
or rulers or authorities, all things were created by him,
(20:08):
and for him He is before all things, and in
him all things hold together. Also, look at John one three.
Through him Jesus the word all things were made that
have been made. So the argument that you have is
not with me. It's with the Bible, and that ultimately
is the final court of arbitration. Test all things in
light of scripture. Hold fast that which is good. That's
(20:30):
not my opinion. It's not your opinion. Is what does
the Bible say? If the Bible says Jesus Christ created
all things, that's good enough for me. This is not
a text that is obscure subject to interpretation. It's plain,
old pros, easy to understand. Welcome back to the phone lines.
We'll talk next to Mary in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Speaker 6 (20:50):
Hi Mary, good evening, mister Hanagrath. I'm very pleased to
be able to speak with you. I have a question.
It's a done deal on mama, okay, but I would
like your input on it. I really love reading my Bible,
and I think I've got a pretty good handle on
(21:10):
the question, which is free will. Somebody was asking me about, well,
where do you see it in scripture? You know those
two words together. Well, there's free will offering and we
don't need to go into that because that's a part
of the Hebrew offering to God.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
Right.
Speaker 6 (21:35):
And then then there's people, you know, you hear pastors
and ministers or whatever talking about men having free will.
And I told this person, I said, and I look
put this up in an exhaustive concordance, if you will,
(21:57):
and didn't find anything about that term the two words
free will. But I did tell them, have you ever
thought about reading the Book of Judges again? The question
is free will?
Speaker 2 (22:11):
Uh?
Speaker 6 (22:11):
Is not really in the Bible. But the Bible is
about God's will for man and what happens to man
when they decide to use their free will. In other words,
they break away from God's will for them.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
Yeah, well, there are basically two different ideas that people have.
One is theistic fatalism. A fatalist, of course, believes the future,
especially regarding the destiny of an individual, is fixed, and
a theistic fatalist believes that a personal God unconditionally determines
(22:47):
where individuals will go when they die, whether that be
to heaven or hell. And there are those who say
precisely that that God arranged, which is all things, by
his sovereign counsel, in such a way that individuals are
born who are doomed from the womb to certain death.
(23:10):
In fact, that is precisely what John Calvin said and
what he believed. That God not only foresaw the fall
of the first man, and in him the ruin of
his posterity, but also at his own pleasure arranged it.
And that all are not created equal, but some are
(23:31):
preordained to eternal life, others are preordained to eternal damnation.
And accordingly, he said, as each has been created for
one or the other of those ends. We say that
he has been predestined to life or to death. Not
only that, but John Calvin said that Paul teaches us
(23:51):
that the ruin of the wicked is not only foreseen
by the Lord, but also ordained by his counsel and
his will. Not only the destruction of the wicked is foreknown,
but that the wicked themselves have been created for this
very end, that they may perish. Now, in my view,
the Bible does teach that we have will, which is
(24:17):
to say, while our will is not morally neutral, we
have the ability to act or to act otherwise. You
see this delineated throughout scripture. I think of what Jesus
said in the all of a discourse when he said,
oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone
those sent to you, How often I have longed to
(24:39):
gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks
under her wings. But you were not willing. Or in
Acts chapter seven, you stiff necked people with uncircumcised hearts
and ears. You're just like your father's You always resist
(25:02):
the Holy spirit, which requires will or I think it's
Luke chapter seven where the Pharisees and the experts in
the law rejected God's purpose for themselves because they had
not been baptized by John. They rejected God's purpose for themselves.
(25:23):
Or jonah iiO, that famous passage where those who cling
to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could have been theirs,
for many other passages like that. If you were blind,
said Jesus, you would not be guilty of sin. But
now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.
Speaker 5 (25:47):
So.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
I think that there are many passages that explicate the
notion that we have the ability to act or to
act otherwise. Thank you for tuning in to today's broadcast.
We look forward to seeing eight back here next time
with more of the show.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
We appreciate you tuning in to the Bible answer Man broadcast.
Before we sign off today, here's our contact information by
phone dial eight eight eight seven thousand CRII, which translates
to eight eight eight seven thousand two seven four On
the Internet, go to equip dot org. That's equip dot org.
(26:26):
You can also write CRII at Post Office Box eighty
five hundred, Charlotte, North Carolina. The ZIP code is two
eight two seven one. Our prayer is that today's broadcast
has equipped you to better defend your faith and encouraged
you to pursue sound doctrine and godly living. Thank you
for listening. The Bible answer Man Broadcast is supported by
(26:48):
listeners like you. We're on the air because life and
truth matter. What the Angel said to them, do not
be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy
that will be for all the people today in the
(27:11):
town of David. A savior has been born to you.
He is Christ, the Lord. This will be a signed
to you. You will find a baby wrapped in cloths
and lying in a manger Luke Chapter two, verses ten
through twelve. While many of you will soon enter the
hustle and bustle of the holiday season. Hank Hannagraph has
(27:32):
penned The Heart of Christmas, a devotional for the season,
to ensure that just as you prepare your home for Christmas,
you likewise prepare your heart. Order The Heart of Christmas,
a devotional for the season, by calling eight eight eight
seven thousand and two seven four, or by going online
to www. Dot equip dot org. Also available is The
(27:54):
Heart of Christmas audiobook, dramatically read by hank hannigraph
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