January 19, 2026 • 28 mins
On today’s Bible Answer Man broadcast (01/19/26), Hank shares on how to find a good church.
Hank also answers the following questions:
I started attending a new church with my son. The pastor supports the ordination of homosexuals. Should we leave? James - Pittsburgh, PA (3:21)
I have been to many churches, and I am frustrated, since I cannot find one that looks like the New Testament. Can you help me? Bob - Spokane, WA (15:12)
How to discuss faith with Mormon family members who say we all worship the same Christ? Janette - Salt Lake City, UT (17:49)
I don’t say that I am a Christian, because I do not think I am living up to what the faith calls for. What are your thoughts? Maria - Calgary, AB (22:31)
Hank also answers the following questions:
I started attending a new church with my son. The pastor supports the ordination of homosexuals. Should we leave? James - Pittsburgh, PA (3:21)
I have been to many churches, and I am frustrated, since I cannot find one that looks like the New Testament. Can you help me? Bob - Spokane, WA (15:12)
How to discuss faith with Mormon family members who say we all worship the same Christ? Janette - Salt Lake City, UT (17:49)
I don’t say that I am a Christian, because I do not think I am living up to what the faith calls for. What are your thoughts? Maria - Calgary, AB (22:31)
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
From Charlotte, North Carolina. You're listening to the Bible answer
Man Broadcast with Hank Hanagraph, president of the Christian Research Institute.
The reason the Bible answer Man is on the air
is to defend the Christian faith, proclaim the gospel of
our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and to teach discipleship
to his followers because life and truth matter. For more
(00:30):
information or to order equipping resources, call eight eight eight
seven thousand CRII, which translates to eight eight eight seven
thousand two seven four, or go online to equip dot org.
That's equip dot org. The following program was pre recorded
(00:50):
and now here's your host, Hank Anagraph.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Thank you very much, Randy, and we'll go to your
questions in just a moment. Want to say just a
few words about finding a good truth. It's a question
that I'm frequently asked on the Bible Answerment Broadcast, and
so I feel very strongly that we must know what
we're aiming at in order to hit the target. And
the first sign of a healthy, well balanced church is
(01:17):
a pastor who has committed to leading the community of
faith in the worship of God through prayer, praise, and
the proclamation of the word. Any church focused on that,
while they might be lay led or pastor led, is
a church that is aiming at the right target. Secondly,
(01:39):
I think it's critical that a church exercises the full
extent of what it means to demonstrate to a watching
world the oneness we have in Jesus Christ. We're never
called to be lone ranger Christians. We are called to
a community of faith which we aim enter through faith
(02:01):
in Jesus Christ, which we solidify in obedience by baptism,
by which we say, I am no longer willing to
say Caesar's Lord, I am now saying Christ is Lord.
And Thirdly, I think that it is critical that in
(02:21):
a healthy, well balanced church, people are being equipped to
communicate what they believe and why they believe it, so
that we might impact a lost and searching world. So
we must be members of a church that corporately worships
God through prayer, praise, and the proclamation of the word.
(02:46):
A church in which we experience community, a common confession
of faith, a church in which we experience oneness through
the contribution of our time or talent and our treasure.
And a church in which we are being equipped not
to be microcosms of the world, but rather change agents
(03:10):
in the world. For more information on all of that,
I've written about this in the Complete Bible answer Book
Collector's edition, available through the Ministry other Christian Research Institute.
We'll go right to the phone lines now talk to
James listening in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
Hi, James, how I appreciate your program.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
I moved into this neighborhood and I left my church,
you know, because it was quite a distance away, and
it was a corner church that me and my son
started going to. My granddaughter and my son has kind
of embraced his church. He doesn't do that too often,
but he has. He goes every Tuesday and Thursday for
the after school program to help young kids with their homework.
(03:50):
But this Sunday, the pastor had announced to the church
that he voted for this change in their language of
a pastor being a man of one wife or being celibate,
and the language has now created a gray area that
where like in fact, if a homosexual would like to
become a pastor, that they would ordain him or he
(04:12):
would support that. And so me knowing that that is
not what God want for us. I'm faced with the
decision now, you know, do I pull my son away
from this church? Do I pull out I like the congregation.
It's a nice small church, and I kind of feel like,
you know, that's what I need. But with that being said,
(04:33):
I want to be in a church that upholds God's word.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
And that's the critical point. You have to either decide
that you're going to follow a shepherd or be involved
in a flock in which people take seriously the word
of God. Because once political correctness trumps the word of God,
there is no Christian faith. You not only blur, but
you obliterate the line of demarcation between the Kingdom of
(04:58):
Christ and the kingdom of the cults. The Bible is
explicit in regards to same sex sexuality. It is not
something that we should embrace. Just like pastor standing up
in a church and saying, you know what, there's nothing
wrong with a man cheating on his wife. That may
(05:20):
be something that the Bible talks about, but I happen
to disagree with it. Now we have to follow and
take seriously the admonitions of scripture. Because the Bible does
not condemn sexual sins in an arbitrary and capricious fashion.
It carefully defines the borders of human sexuality so that
(05:41):
our joy may be complete. And as a pastor, we
should communicate clearly, because if we do not, we are
allowing our sheep to experience the havoc that comes with sin.
And I should also add that the commons suggestion that
Jesus was or might have been personally neutral or even
(06:06):
affirming of homosexual conduct is revisionist history at its worst.
All available evidence speaks to the contrary. While Jesus did
not directly address incestuous, intergenerational interspecies same sex sexuality, he
(06:28):
clearly reaffirmed every jot and tittle of enduring moral law.
And Paul in the same way, derived his prescriptions against
same sex sexuality from the creation order of Genesis, as
well as the prohibitions that we find in Leviticus, and
(06:48):
he contended that even gentiles without access to direct revelation
of scripture have enough evidence in the natural realm to
discover God's aversion to homosexual behavior. I want to make
one more point. For a male to have same sex
intercourse with another male, as though the latter were not
(07:13):
a male but a female is distinctly forbidden by scripture,
and the scripture is grounded in trans cultural creation structures,
and the closest analogies appear to be prescriptions with respect
to incest, adultery, and bestiality. These are forms sexual behavior
(07:38):
that continue to be rejected by the contemporary communities of faith,
and I think rightly so. So when a person says
I don't agree with this, they're certainly welcomed to their opinion,
but they are doing harm to their parishioners because once
again they're saying I know better than God. So you
(07:59):
have to, at the end of the days, say is
the Bible divine as opposed to merely human in origin
or is it singly human. If it's singly human, well
then our opinions may trump the opinions of the Bible.
But if you can demonstrate that these are the words
of God, that this is the infallible repository of redemptive revelation,
then we have to bow our knee to what God says,
(08:22):
rather than redefining under the pretext of political correctness, what
we want our churches to look like.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
What he said was is that we will not judge
these people, will let the Holy Spirit. So my question is, okay,
will you let a murderer be a pastor? Would you
let a known thief be a pastor? Would you let
a man in an Adultsi's relationship? Will you allow him
to be a pastor? What he talks about is like,
sin is sin, I mean, and homosexuality is no worse
sin than any other.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Well, it's true that sin is sin. But if you
are saying, as a pastor, look, we're going to ordain
someone who is involved a continual life of incest, or
we're going to ordain a man that is involved in
a continual life of adulthood. Would we ordain that man?
Probably not. The same thing is true with a man
(09:15):
who's involved in bestiality. All of these are grounded in
the same prescriptions that homosexuality is grounded in. They're not
the same, but they're grounded in the same prescriptions, which
is to say, God lays down parameters for our lives.
He says this is the way it should be. If
you violate this, you do so by doing violence to yourself.
(09:39):
So the real issue, the core issue, is something that
you already underscored, and that is the foundational thing that
we should be discussing do you believe the Bible. If
you believe the Bible is the infallible repository of redemptive revelation,
then you bow your need to its instructions because you
say God knows best. If you don't believe the Bible,
(10:03):
well then anything becomes permissible because now political correctness, popular
sentiment becomes the determining factor. So now it is the
greatest majority that defines what is true and what is right,
as opposed to having a north star to guide our behavior.
(10:26):
So you can eliminate all the other talk about the
difference forms of sexuality, and so the real issue is
do you trust the Bible. If you trust the Bible,
then there's a very clear imperative in terms of how
we are to conduct ourselves sexually. Now all of us fall,
all of us are imperfect and thought word indeed, but
(10:47):
we don't take people who say the Bible is not
a standard or a guide for faith and practice and
make them the leader. If you take the Bible serrusly
at all, that just stands to recents. Common sense written
about this in a lot of different places has got
spoken as well as the Complete Bible answer Book Collector's Edition.
(11:10):
We'll be right back with more of your calls.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
To find out more about the materials mentioned on the show,
call a CRII resource consultant toll free at eight eight
eight seven thousand cri that's eight eight eight seven thousand CRII.
Our website is also an excellent reference destination to help you.
Just go to equip dot org and find articles by Hank, books,
(11:37):
CDs and DVDs. Again, that's equip dot org or write
CRII PO Box eighty five hundred, Charlotte, North Carolina, Zip
two eight two seven one. The Bible answer Man will
continue in just a moment. The Complete Bible answer Book
(12:02):
Collector's Edition is the comprehensive collection of the most often
asked questions Hank Hannigraph has received throughout his four decades
as host of The Bible answer Man broadcast. With more
than half a million copies already in print, this newly
revised and expanded Collector's Edition helped seekers and skeptics alike
sort through the truth on topics such as reliability of
(12:25):
the Bible, religions and cults, the resurrection and afterlife, and
many more issues 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, Revised
and expanded, call eight eight eight seven thousand CRII and
(12:46):
make a gift to support the Christian Research Institute's life
changing outreaches eight eight eight seven thousand CRII or visit
us at equip dot org. The number of wolves surrounding
the Christian flock is growing, and they relish nothing more
than docile's sheep, utterly incapable of defending themselves from militant
(13:11):
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Biblical Christianity are growing dangerously, but Christian Research Institutes Support
Team members aren't in favor of feeding these wolves. Instead,
each day they're making possible an array of outreaches that
defang these wolfpacks with solid arguments and evidence that have
(13:32):
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are equipping themselves with CRIIS equipping Essentials, a handpicked collection
of the best apologetics tools around. Your selection of resources
are just our way of saying thanks. To learn more
about the benefits of membership, simply visit equip dot org.
(13:52):
Once again, that's equip dot org. Has God Spoken? Are
the words of Scripture merely human in origin? Or are they,
in fact the very words of God himself? Three years
(14:15):
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? Memorable proofs of the Bible's Divine inspiration,
Hank counters the contentions of the Bible attackers and clearly
(14:36):
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 go online to equip dot org. Equip
(14:56):
dot org. Now back to the Bible answer Man broadcast
and your host and Canagraph.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
Let's go back the phone lines. Now, talk to Bob
listening in spoke Ken Washington.
Speaker 4 (15:16):
Hi, Bob, Hi, how you doing.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
I'm doing good? Hey.
Speaker 5 (15:22):
I called because I figured, you know, I could ask
an experts, and I am just a novice, but I've
been to so many churches in thirty five years, and
I'm frustrated they haven't been able to find one that
it looks like the Bible. I'm not expecting necessarily that
(15:44):
they should all wear you know, shepherd's outfits and look like,
you know, the Old Testament. Oh, even a New Testament.
But the New Testament church, I have not seen one
that looks like the New Testament. So I'm I'm frustrated
that I've got some pastors have looked to me like
I'm divisive, or you know, I'm trying to be argumentative,
(16:05):
or i don't like their church. And there's been good
things in every church I've been at, but it's like
it's pieces. It's almost like I would have to put
it together. I'd have to go to this church and
this church and this church, and I wouldn't have time
for every personal slice of the pie, so to speak.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
Right, Well, you're never going to find a perfect church,
and if you do, you're going to ruin it by joining.
But here's the point. I think that you again want
to look for the very items that I'm talking about
a lot of people will look at New Testament Christianity
and say there's no pastor lady dichotomy. And therefore every
(16:48):
pastor is in fact a parishioner who is operating with
their gifts within the context of the church. And therefore
a parishioner is in fact a pastor. All of us
should prophesy, not in the sense of for telling the future,
but in terms of forth telling. The body should be
(17:09):
involved in prayer, praise, and the proclamation of the word.
We ought to be involved in one another's lives. That's
delineated as clearly as we could possibly find it anywhere
in Romans chapter twelve. That, by the way, is a
chapter of the Bible worth memorizing. And thirdly, again as
I mentioned at the opening of the broadcast, and it's
fortuitous that you would call we need to have a
(17:31):
church that is equipping people to make an impact on
the world. But there are no perfect churches. We do
want to make sure that any church that we adhere
to and support adheres to essential Christian doctrine, the essentials
of the historic Christian faith. Let's go back to the
phone lines. Talk to Jeanette. She's listening in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Speaker 4 (17:53):
Hygienet I, I can't believe in mind.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
Well, let's just talk to you.
Speaker 4 (18:00):
Former Mormon. My family is very strong Mormons, and it's
very difficult for me to discuss things with them, mostly
because they just kind of look at me as you know,
I'm the one with the lesser knowledge. But my biggest
(18:24):
issue is that they believe that they worship the same Christ,
the same Jesus that I do. And it's that I
think that the issue, or the critical point is the
fact that they believe that Jesus took on our sins
in the garden of guest Semite as opposed to the cross.
(18:48):
They say the work was completed on the cross, but
they really believe that He took on the sins in
the garden of Guessemite. That's why they don't have crosses.
And I just want to know if you had any
kind of help available, answers available. My mother is eighty
(19:10):
two and running out of time.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
Yeah, a couple of things I could suggest, Jeannette. One
is a booklet that I put together called The Mormon Mirage,
Seeing through the Illusion of Mainstream Mormonism. I think that's
a very helpful book because what I do is use
the acronym doctrine as a template doctrine codifies the essential
doctrines of the historic Christian faith, and by virtue of
(19:36):
this you can see in a very simple way where
Mormonism deviates from a central Christian doctrine, and then you
can use those deviations as springboards or opportunities for sharing
the truth and love and grace that only the real
Jesus brings to the human heart. And I think you
are wise to recognize exactly what you communicate in the
product to your question, and that is that the Jesus
(19:59):
of mormon Is is not the same in Jesus as
the Jesus of the Bible. They have a completely flawed
view of God, and therefore they are going to say
that God himself was once as we are now is
an exalted man. He sits enthroned in yonder heavens. And
(20:20):
they will hold to a plurality of God's as a
result of that, and contend that as man is God
once was, as God is, man may become. And therein
lies the problem. And I think, ultimately too, when you've
touched on this in the prolog to your question, they
have a flawed view of what heaven is. So as
(20:41):
a Christian we believe that we're going to stand before
God dressed in the spotless robes of Christ righteousness. As
a Mormon, there is the contention that they will appear
before Heavenly Father dressed in fig leaf aprons, and they
will hold their good works in their hands.
Speaker 4 (21:00):
They're buried in Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
And according to the Letter day Saints, virtually everybody qualifies
for heaven. It's just a matter of which heaven you
go to. You can go to the telestial heaven on
the lowest part of the totem pol or you can
go to the terelestrial heaven, which is a little higher up.
Or if you are a Mormon who is sealed in
secret temple rituals, then you can make it to the
third level, the celestial Kingdom, and become a God of
(21:25):
your own planet. But this is a completely different idea
than the biblical idea, and in oftentimes what you have
to do is recognize that it isn't your words, it
is your love. It is your prayers that will allow
God to bring people in circumstances into the life of
your family members, particularly you're eighty to your old mother,
so that they might come to a true valuation of
(21:46):
things and the reason I say that is is very
difficult oftentimes for a daughter to witness to a mother.
And so I would really equip yourself, as I'm sure
you're pretty equipped already, but I would really continue to
equip yourself on the one hand, but on the other hand,
commit yourself to humble prayer because, as I said many times,
it's someone else that God chooses and uses to reach
(22:09):
our family members.
Speaker 4 (22:12):
Yes, I agree, I'm just hoping that my mother will
run into somebody. But now if I become a month
of torch there, could I get that book?
Speaker 2 (22:22):
Yeah? In fact, hang on and I will send the
Mormon Mirage to you.
Speaker 4 (22:27):
Okay, that's what I'd like to do.
Speaker 2 (22:29):
Thank you so much, Jinnett. Let's go back to the
phone lines. Doctor Maria listening in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Hi Maria, Hi.
Speaker 6 (22:37):
Hank, how are you.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
I'm good.
Speaker 6 (22:39):
My question is regarding dreams. Yeah, there's people at the
church that I attend. I'm not Christian. I never say
I'm Christian only because I feel I'm not living like
a sanctified life right Like I believe in the Bible.
I believe that it's truly the Word of God and
(23:00):
I believe in him, and I try to instruct my
children into believing the faith as well. But I personally
just don't think myself as a Christian just because I
know I'm not doing everything right as I should be.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
But Maria, let me stop you there for just a moment.
I think there's a fault in your thinking. Here. The
entrance requirement into the body of Christ is recognizing just
what you said, that you're imperfect, that you can't ever
attain to the standard of righteousness that God demands, and
(23:37):
therefore well, therefore we appeal not to our own self righteousness,
but rather to the righteousness of Jesus Christ. And when
we embrace him, recognizing that we're sinners, repenting of our
sins and receiving Jesus Christ, then he covers us with
his righteousness, and not only does that, but begins to
(23:59):
say sanctify us, which means the one who saves us
also changes us. He's the one who conforms us to
his image. So being a follower of Christ means that
you say, I want Christ to change me. I want
to repent and do it his way. I want him
(24:20):
to be Lord and savior of my life. And when
you do. He will change you, but you'll never attain
You're always going to I understand that.
Speaker 6 (24:28):
I totally believe what you're saying. It's just that I
think I'm just I'm one of those people that want
to be in the world and as well be part
of God, you know what I mean. Like I'm easily
distracted to, you know, go to the movies or go
to certain places where I know I shouldn't be, do
(24:48):
you know what I mean?
Speaker 5 (24:49):
So, to me, a.
Speaker 6 (24:50):
Christian is someone that does admit that we are sinners,
but we are trying to sanctify just to reflect Jesus
or God.
Speaker 4 (25:01):
In our lives.
Speaker 6 (25:02):
Right. Yeah, but again, we one that keeps falling back
and forth cannot be a Christian. That's why I believe
I'm not right.
Speaker 2 (25:09):
Yeah. But the point I'm trying to make to you,
Maria is that if you genuinely realize you're a sinner,
if you're willing to repent of your sinner to receive
Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, he's the one who's
going to change you. He's going to change your willer
from one that follows the world to one who follows
the world changer. So the big issue is to receive
(25:32):
Jesus Christ to be willing He changes you. And there's
nothing wrong with being involved in things like movies. I mean,
there are bad movies and there are good movies. I
remember watching a movie not long ago, Jerriot's a Fire,
which I haven't probably seen in over a decade, and
I was watching it and I was in tears because
(25:53):
the Christian principles imbued in that movie are powerful in
our life. Is there transformational? I'm gonna have to leave
it at that, because unfortunately we are at a time
for this edition of the Bible Instmen Broadcast. Thanks again
for tuning in to this edition of the Bible Intmen Broadcast.
I should look forward to seeing you again on the
next edition.
Speaker 1 (26:14):
Thanks for tuning into the Bible answer Man Broadcast. Our
website equip dot org has an abundance of resources to
sharpen your discernment skills and help you grow in life
and truth. We provide books, videos, and informative articles. You
can also listen to the broadcast, download archived programs, get
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(26:38):
social media. All this and more at equip dot org. Again,
the address is equip dot org. The Bible answer Man
Broadcast is supported by listeners like you. We're on the
air because life and truth matter. The Complete Bible answer
(27:02):
Book Collector's Edition is the comprehensive collection of the most
often asked questions Hank Hannigraph has received throughout his four
decades as host of The Bible answer Man Broadcast. With
more than half a million copies already in print, this
newly revised and expanded Collector's Edition helped seekers and skeptics
alike sort through the truth on topics such as reliability
(27:25):
of the Bible, religions and cults, the resurrection and afterlife,
and many more issues 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
Revised and Expanded, call eight eight eight seven thousand CRII
(27:46):
and make a gift to support the Christian Research Institute's
life changing outreaches eight eight eight seven thousand CRII or
visit us at equip dot org.
From Charlotte, North Carolina. You're listening to the Bible answer
Man Broadcast with Hank Hanagraph, president of the Christian Research Institute.
The reason the Bible answer Man is on the air
is to defend the Christian faith, proclaim the gospel of
our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and to teach discipleship
to his followers because life and truth matter. For more
(00:30):
information or to order equipping resources, call eight eight eight
seven thousand CRII, which translates to eight eight eight seven
thousand two seven four, or go online to equip dot org.
That's equip dot org. The following program was pre recorded
(00:50):
and now here's your host, Hank Anagraph.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Thank you very much, Randy, and we'll go to your
questions in just a moment. Want to say just a
few words about finding a good truth. It's a question
that I'm frequently asked on the Bible Answerment Broadcast, and
so I feel very strongly that we must know what
we're aiming at in order to hit the target. And
the first sign of a healthy, well balanced church is
(01:17):
a pastor who has committed to leading the community of
faith in the worship of God through prayer, praise, and
the proclamation of the word. Any church focused on that,
while they might be lay led or pastor led, is
a church that is aiming at the right target. Secondly,
(01:39):
I think it's critical that a church exercises the full
extent of what it means to demonstrate to a watching
world the oneness we have in Jesus Christ. We're never
called to be lone ranger Christians. We are called to
a community of faith which we aim enter through faith
(02:01):
in Jesus Christ, which we solidify in obedience by baptism,
by which we say, I am no longer willing to
say Caesar's Lord, I am now saying Christ is Lord.
And Thirdly, I think that it is critical that in
(02:21):
a healthy, well balanced church, people are being equipped to
communicate what they believe and why they believe it, so
that we might impact a lost and searching world. So
we must be members of a church that corporately worships
God through prayer, praise, and the proclamation of the word.
(02:46):
A church in which we experience community, a common confession
of faith, a church in which we experience oneness through
the contribution of our time or talent and our treasure.
And a church in which we are being equipped not
to be microcosms of the world, but rather change agents
(03:10):
in the world. For more information on all of that,
I've written about this in the Complete Bible answer Book
Collector's edition, available through the Ministry other Christian Research Institute.
We'll go right to the phone lines now talk to
James listening in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
Hi, James, how I appreciate your program.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
I moved into this neighborhood and I left my church,
you know, because it was quite a distance away, and
it was a corner church that me and my son
started going to. My granddaughter and my son has kind
of embraced his church. He doesn't do that too often,
but he has. He goes every Tuesday and Thursday for
the after school program to help young kids with their homework.
(03:50):
But this Sunday, the pastor had announced to the church
that he voted for this change in their language of
a pastor being a man of one wife or being celibate,
and the language has now created a gray area that
where like in fact, if a homosexual would like to
become a pastor, that they would ordain him or he
(04:12):
would support that. And so me knowing that that is
not what God want for us. I'm faced with the
decision now, you know, do I pull my son away
from this church? Do I pull out I like the congregation.
It's a nice small church, and I kind of feel like,
you know, that's what I need. But with that being said,
(04:33):
I want to be in a church that upholds God's word.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
And that's the critical point. You have to either decide
that you're going to follow a shepherd or be involved
in a flock in which people take seriously the word
of God. Because once political correctness trumps the word of God,
there is no Christian faith. You not only blur, but
you obliterate the line of demarcation between the Kingdom of
(04:58):
Christ and the kingdom of the cults. The Bible is
explicit in regards to same sex sexuality. It is not
something that we should embrace. Just like pastor standing up
in a church and saying, you know what, there's nothing
wrong with a man cheating on his wife. That may
(05:20):
be something that the Bible talks about, but I happen
to disagree with it. Now we have to follow and
take seriously the admonitions of scripture. Because the Bible does
not condemn sexual sins in an arbitrary and capricious fashion.
It carefully defines the borders of human sexuality so that
(05:41):
our joy may be complete. And as a pastor, we
should communicate clearly, because if we do not, we are
allowing our sheep to experience the havoc that comes with sin.
And I should also add that the commons suggestion that
Jesus was or might have been personally neutral or even
(06:06):
affirming of homosexual conduct is revisionist history at its worst.
All available evidence speaks to the contrary. While Jesus did
not directly address incestuous, intergenerational interspecies same sex sexuality, he
(06:28):
clearly reaffirmed every jot and tittle of enduring moral law.
And Paul in the same way, derived his prescriptions against
same sex sexuality from the creation order of Genesis, as
well as the prohibitions that we find in Leviticus, and
(06:48):
he contended that even gentiles without access to direct revelation
of scripture have enough evidence in the natural realm to
discover God's aversion to homosexual behavior. I want to make
one more point. For a male to have same sex
intercourse with another male, as though the latter were not
(07:13):
a male but a female is distinctly forbidden by scripture,
and the scripture is grounded in trans cultural creation structures,
and the closest analogies appear to be prescriptions with respect
to incest, adultery, and bestiality. These are forms sexual behavior
(07:38):
that continue to be rejected by the contemporary communities of faith,
and I think rightly so. So when a person says
I don't agree with this, they're certainly welcomed to their opinion,
but they are doing harm to their parishioners because once
again they're saying I know better than God. So you
(07:59):
have to, at the end of the days, say is
the Bible divine as opposed to merely human in origin
or is it singly human. If it's singly human, well
then our opinions may trump the opinions of the Bible.
But if you can demonstrate that these are the words
of God, that this is the infallible repository of redemptive revelation,
then we have to bow our knee to what God says,
(08:22):
rather than redefining under the pretext of political correctness, what
we want our churches to look like.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
What he said was is that we will not judge
these people, will let the Holy Spirit. So my question is, okay,
will you let a murderer be a pastor? Would you
let a known thief be a pastor? Would you let
a man in an Adultsi's relationship? Will you allow him
to be a pastor? What he talks about is like,
sin is sin, I mean, and homosexuality is no worse
sin than any other.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Well, it's true that sin is sin. But if you
are saying, as a pastor, look, we're going to ordain
someone who is involved a continual life of incest, or
we're going to ordain a man that is involved in
a continual life of adulthood. Would we ordain that man?
Probably not. The same thing is true with a man
(09:15):
who's involved in bestiality. All of these are grounded in
the same prescriptions that homosexuality is grounded in. They're not
the same, but they're grounded in the same prescriptions, which
is to say, God lays down parameters for our lives.
He says this is the way it should be. If
you violate this, you do so by doing violence to yourself.
(09:39):
So the real issue, the core issue, is something that
you already underscored, and that is the foundational thing that
we should be discussing do you believe the Bible. If
you believe the Bible is the infallible repository of redemptive revelation,
then you bow your need to its instructions because you
say God knows best. If you don't believe the Bible,
(10:03):
well then anything becomes permissible because now political correctness, popular
sentiment becomes the determining factor. So now it is the
greatest majority that defines what is true and what is right,
as opposed to having a north star to guide our behavior.
(10:26):
So you can eliminate all the other talk about the
difference forms of sexuality, and so the real issue is
do you trust the Bible. If you trust the Bible,
then there's a very clear imperative in terms of how
we are to conduct ourselves sexually. Now all of us fall,
all of us are imperfect and thought word indeed, but
(10:47):
we don't take people who say the Bible is not
a standard or a guide for faith and practice and
make them the leader. If you take the Bible serrusly
at all, that just stands to recents. Common sense written
about this in a lot of different places has got
spoken as well as the Complete Bible answer Book Collector's Edition.
(11:10):
We'll be right back with more of your calls.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
To find out more about the materials mentioned on the show,
call a CRII resource consultant toll free at eight eight
eight seven thousand cri that's eight eight eight seven thousand CRII.
Our website is also an excellent reference destination to help you.
Just go to equip dot org and find articles by Hank, books,
(11:37):
CDs and DVDs. Again, that's equip dot org or write
CRII PO Box eighty five hundred, Charlotte, North Carolina, Zip
two eight two seven one. The Bible answer Man will
continue in just a moment. The Complete Bible answer Book
(12:02):
Collector's Edition is the comprehensive collection of the most often
asked questions Hank Hannigraph has received throughout his four decades
as host of The Bible answer Man broadcast. With more
than half a million copies already in print, this newly
revised and expanded Collector's Edition helped seekers and skeptics alike
sort through the truth on topics such as reliability of
(12:25):
the Bible, religions and cults, the resurrection and afterlife, and
many more issues 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, Revised
and expanded, call eight eight eight seven thousand CRII and
(12:46):
make a gift to support the Christian Research Institute's life
changing outreaches eight eight eight seven thousand CRII or visit
us at equip dot org. The number of wolves surrounding
the Christian flock is growing, and they relish nothing more
than docile's sheep, utterly incapable of defending themselves from militant
(13:11):
secularists at home to militant Islamists abroad. The assaults on
Biblical Christianity are growing dangerously, but Christian Research Institutes Support
Team members aren't in favor of feeding these wolves. Instead,
each day they're making possible an array of outreaches that
defang these wolfpacks with solid arguments and evidence that have
(13:32):
stood the test of time. What's more, Support Team members
are equipping themselves with CRIIS equipping Essentials, a handpicked collection
of the best apologetics tools around. Your selection of resources
are just our way of saying thanks. To learn more
about the benefits of membership, simply visit equip dot org.
(13:52):
Once again, that's equip dot org. Has God Spoken? Are
the words of Scripture merely human in origin? Or are they,
in fact the very words of God himself? Three years
(14:15):
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? Memorable proofs of the Bible's Divine inspiration,
Hank counters the contentions of the Bible attackers and clearly
(14:36):
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 go online to equip dot org. Equip
(14:56):
dot org. Now back to the Bible answer Man broadcast
and your host and Canagraph.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
Let's go back the phone lines. Now, talk to Bob
listening in spoke Ken Washington.
Speaker 4 (15:16):
Hi, Bob, Hi, how you doing.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
I'm doing good? Hey.
Speaker 5 (15:22):
I called because I figured, you know, I could ask
an experts, and I am just a novice, but I've
been to so many churches in thirty five years, and
I'm frustrated they haven't been able to find one that
it looks like the Bible. I'm not expecting necessarily that
(15:44):
they should all wear you know, shepherd's outfits and look like,
you know, the Old Testament. Oh, even a New Testament.
But the New Testament church, I have not seen one
that looks like the New Testament. So I'm I'm frustrated
that I've got some pastors have looked to me like
I'm divisive, or you know, I'm trying to be argumentative,
(16:05):
or i don't like their church. And there's been good
things in every church I've been at, but it's like
it's pieces. It's almost like I would have to put
it together. I'd have to go to this church and
this church and this church, and I wouldn't have time
for every personal slice of the pie, so to speak.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
Right, Well, you're never going to find a perfect church,
and if you do, you're going to ruin it by joining.
But here's the point. I think that you again want
to look for the very items that I'm talking about
a lot of people will look at New Testament Christianity
and say there's no pastor lady dichotomy. And therefore every
(16:48):
pastor is in fact a parishioner who is operating with
their gifts within the context of the church. And therefore
a parishioner is in fact a pastor. All of us
should prophesy, not in the sense of for telling the future,
but in terms of forth telling. The body should be
(17:09):
involved in prayer, praise, and the proclamation of the word.
We ought to be involved in one another's lives. That's
delineated as clearly as we could possibly find it anywhere
in Romans chapter twelve. That, by the way, is a
chapter of the Bible worth memorizing. And thirdly, again as
I mentioned at the opening of the broadcast, and it's
fortuitous that you would call we need to have a
(17:31):
church that is equipping people to make an impact on
the world. But there are no perfect churches. We do
want to make sure that any church that we adhere
to and support adheres to essential Christian doctrine, the essentials
of the historic Christian faith. Let's go back to the
phone lines. Talk to Jeanette. She's listening in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Speaker 4 (17:53):
Hygienet I, I can't believe in mind.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
Well, let's just talk to you.
Speaker 4 (18:00):
Former Mormon. My family is very strong Mormons, and it's
very difficult for me to discuss things with them, mostly
because they just kind of look at me as you know,
I'm the one with the lesser knowledge. But my biggest
(18:24):
issue is that they believe that they worship the same Christ,
the same Jesus that I do. And it's that I
think that the issue, or the critical point is the
fact that they believe that Jesus took on our sins
in the garden of guest Semite as opposed to the cross.
(18:48):
They say the work was completed on the cross, but
they really believe that He took on the sins in
the garden of Guessemite. That's why they don't have crosses.
And I just want to know if you had any
kind of help available, answers available. My mother is eighty
(19:10):
two and running out of time.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
Yeah, a couple of things I could suggest, Jeannette. One
is a booklet that I put together called The Mormon Mirage,
Seeing through the Illusion of Mainstream Mormonism. I think that's
a very helpful book because what I do is use
the acronym doctrine as a template doctrine codifies the essential
doctrines of the historic Christian faith, and by virtue of
(19:36):
this you can see in a very simple way where
Mormonism deviates from a central Christian doctrine, and then you
can use those deviations as springboards or opportunities for sharing
the truth and love and grace that only the real
Jesus brings to the human heart. And I think you
are wise to recognize exactly what you communicate in the
product to your question, and that is that the Jesus
(19:59):
of mormon Is is not the same in Jesus as
the Jesus of the Bible. They have a completely flawed
view of God, and therefore they are going to say
that God himself was once as we are now is
an exalted man. He sits enthroned in yonder heavens. And
(20:20):
they will hold to a plurality of God's as a
result of that, and contend that as man is God
once was, as God is, man may become. And therein
lies the problem. And I think, ultimately too, when you've
touched on this in the prolog to your question, they
have a flawed view of what heaven is. So as
(20:41):
a Christian we believe that we're going to stand before
God dressed in the spotless robes of Christ righteousness. As
a Mormon, there is the contention that they will appear
before Heavenly Father dressed in fig leaf aprons, and they
will hold their good works in their hands.
Speaker 4 (21:00):
They're buried in Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
And according to the Letter day Saints, virtually everybody qualifies
for heaven. It's just a matter of which heaven you
go to. You can go to the telestial heaven on
the lowest part of the totem pol or you can
go to the terelestrial heaven, which is a little higher up.
Or if you are a Mormon who is sealed in
secret temple rituals, then you can make it to the
third level, the celestial Kingdom, and become a God of
(21:25):
your own planet. But this is a completely different idea
than the biblical idea, and in oftentimes what you have
to do is recognize that it isn't your words, it
is your love. It is your prayers that will allow
God to bring people in circumstances into the life of
your family members, particularly you're eighty to your old mother,
so that they might come to a true valuation of
(21:46):
things and the reason I say that is is very
difficult oftentimes for a daughter to witness to a mother.
And so I would really equip yourself, as I'm sure
you're pretty equipped already, but I would really continue to
equip yourself on the one hand, but on the other hand,
commit yourself to humble prayer because, as I said many times,
it's someone else that God chooses and uses to reach
(22:09):
our family members.
Speaker 4 (22:12):
Yes, I agree, I'm just hoping that my mother will
run into somebody. But now if I become a month
of torch there, could I get that book?
Speaker 2 (22:22):
Yeah? In fact, hang on and I will send the
Mormon Mirage to you.
Speaker 4 (22:27):
Okay, that's what I'd like to do.
Speaker 2 (22:29):
Thank you so much, Jinnett. Let's go back to the
phone lines. Doctor Maria listening in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Hi Maria, Hi.
Speaker 6 (22:37):
Hank, how are you.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
I'm good.
Speaker 6 (22:39):
My question is regarding dreams. Yeah, there's people at the
church that I attend. I'm not Christian. I never say
I'm Christian only because I feel I'm not living like
a sanctified life right Like I believe in the Bible.
I believe that it's truly the Word of God and
(23:00):
I believe in him, and I try to instruct my
children into believing the faith as well. But I personally
just don't think myself as a Christian just because I
know I'm not doing everything right as I should be.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
But Maria, let me stop you there for just a moment.
I think there's a fault in your thinking. Here. The
entrance requirement into the body of Christ is recognizing just
what you said, that you're imperfect, that you can't ever
attain to the standard of righteousness that God demands, and
(23:37):
therefore well, therefore we appeal not to our own self righteousness,
but rather to the righteousness of Jesus Christ. And when
we embrace him, recognizing that we're sinners, repenting of our
sins and receiving Jesus Christ, then he covers us with
his righteousness, and not only does that, but begins to
(23:59):
say sanctify us, which means the one who saves us
also changes us. He's the one who conforms us to
his image. So being a follower of Christ means that
you say, I want Christ to change me. I want
to repent and do it his way. I want him
(24:20):
to be Lord and savior of my life. And when
you do. He will change you, but you'll never attain
You're always going to I understand that.
Speaker 6 (24:28):
I totally believe what you're saying. It's just that I
think I'm just I'm one of those people that want
to be in the world and as well be part
of God, you know what I mean. Like I'm easily
distracted to, you know, go to the movies or go
to certain places where I know I shouldn't be, do
(24:48):
you know what I mean?
Speaker 5 (24:49):
So, to me, a.
Speaker 6 (24:50):
Christian is someone that does admit that we are sinners,
but we are trying to sanctify just to reflect Jesus
or God.
Speaker 4 (25:01):
In our lives.
Speaker 6 (25:02):
Right. Yeah, but again, we one that keeps falling back
and forth cannot be a Christian. That's why I believe
I'm not right.
Speaker 2 (25:09):
Yeah. But the point I'm trying to make to you,
Maria is that if you genuinely realize you're a sinner,
if you're willing to repent of your sinner to receive
Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, he's the one who's
going to change you. He's going to change your willer
from one that follows the world to one who follows
the world changer. So the big issue is to receive
(25:32):
Jesus Christ to be willing He changes you. And there's
nothing wrong with being involved in things like movies. I mean,
there are bad movies and there are good movies. I
remember watching a movie not long ago, Jerriot's a Fire,
which I haven't probably seen in over a decade, and
I was watching it and I was in tears because
(25:53):
the Christian principles imbued in that movie are powerful in
our life. Is there transformational? I'm gonna have to leave
it at that, because unfortunately we are at a time
for this edition of the Bible Instmen Broadcast. Thanks again
for tuning in to this edition of the Bible Intmen Broadcast.
I should look forward to seeing you again on the
next edition.
Speaker 1 (26:14):
Thanks for tuning into the Bible answer Man Broadcast. Our
website equip dot org has an abundance of resources to
sharpen your discernment skills and help you grow in life
and truth. We provide books, videos, and informative articles. You
can also listen to the broadcast, download archived programs, get
answers to pressing Bible questions, or connect with us via
(26:38):
social media. All this and more at equip dot org. Again,
the address is equip dot org. The Bible answer Man
Broadcast is supported by listeners like you. We're on the
air because life and truth matter. The Complete Bible answer
(27:02):
Book Collector's Edition is the comprehensive collection of the most
often asked questions Hank Hannigraph has received throughout his four
decades as host of The Bible answer Man Broadcast. With
more than half a million copies already in print, this
newly revised and expanded Collector's Edition helped seekers and skeptics
alike sort through the truth on topics such as reliability
(27:25):
of the Bible, religions and cults, the resurrection and afterlife,
and many more issues 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
Revised and Expanded, call eight eight eight seven thousand CRII
(27:46):
and make a gift to support the Christian Research Institute's
life changing outreaches eight eight eight seven thousand CRII or
visit us at equip dot org.
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