Unashamed with the Robertson Family - Ep 520 | Jase Takes On False Christian Beliefs & the Great Irony of False Gospels

Episode Date: July 29, 2022

Jase addresses the false belief that people must achieve a certain level of spiritual behavior before they can earn God's love. Larry Bowles discusses how we must have a childlike faith in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. Phil points out where the epicurean and stoic philosophers of Greece really got it wrong. And Al talks about the irony of the false gospels. Watch the Unashamed overtime show, only on BlazeTV: https://BlazeTV.com/Unashamed - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I am unashamed. What about you? So we're back in the house with our podcast contributor, the unashamed podcast contributor, the great Larry Bowles, who has become one of our favorite people. You know, it's amazing. What I love about Christianity, Larry, is that, you know, you're always open to who God's going to put into your life or maybe where you go and travel. Because, you know, you just never know that one of your favorite people in the world, you haven't met yet. And so through some relationship, through some mission, through some ministry together, you meet that. So I feel like God has brought you and Kathy into our one kingdom and WFR sphere. And by the way, if you want to learn more about Larry's work, the Accro Center, you can check that out. Give them the website, Larry.

I always like so they can check out your work. That's just Accrocenter.org, A-C-R-O. And what is Acro? What does acro stand for? Athens Christian refugee organization. It's an acronym. So you had the Acropolis Acropolis. I thought, well, that would work.

I'm not that smart, but when you're standing in front of it like that, that would be pretty good. Has it hit you yet that me and this guy, we're talking about a fireman from Oklahoma and a duck call maker from Louisiana. We were in Athens roaming to and fro. Free ranging. Yeah. Actually, Missy and Kathy turned us loose. Let us out of a car and walk down the street. Yeah. And Jason's like, are you sure this is the right way? And I'm like, So what's modern day Greece to sum it up? What would you say? What does it look like? What does it feel like modern day Greece? Crowded. Well, Athens is 156 square miles with about 6 million people sitting out.

I would say it's in need of a deep cleaning. Because a couple thousand years ago, it's recorded, and I was not real impressed when I read about them. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. When I read about them.

Other words, let's see, they had the Greeks of 2,000 years ago. The mic only worked if you're in front of them. There you go. The first thing they heard, when the apostle Paul, he was writing them out. He was greatly distressed when he saw he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews, the God-fearing Greeks. Well, it's a marketplace.

He's going around here. A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosopher began a dispute with him. Some of them said, what's this babbler trying to say? Yeah. Two thousand years ago in that Greece, others remarked, he seems to be advocating foreign gods. I mean, they said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.

So they were labeling him outlandish things. You're like, some idiot come up here babbling on all this. Well, he ends up his sermon, you know. Oh, man. Give him proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead. Y'all go around and bowing down to all these statues. Yeah, there's one. Yeah, to an unknown God.

Yeah, I bet. So you look at that, how's Greece changed, you think? What's happened since this message was pre, this was the best minds in Greece. We're listening there. A few of them believed. Some of them sneered. Others said, we'll listen to you again. We want to hear more about this.

So what would you say about modern day Greece? Is it on the rebound? Is it having a matter? What do you think, Larry? That's a hilarious question there. It's a fill with refugees, you know, through the years. Has the mass repentance started? yet because from these few Christianity was implanted to the Greeks.

It started upon that Mars Hill, that's beach he gave. But you got to remember, in 1970 in the 70s, how many people were in Athens? Well, it was starting to grow. And it's, I mean, it's just what the advent of the office job changed everything. And then all of the Greek government, I mean, you know, about half the jobs in the country, It became government positions. And half the populace of Greece, which is about 11,000, I mean 11 million, now half the entire country lives in 156 square miles. Yeah, in Athens.

Yeah. That's what you said in the 70s. What was the population? It was less than a million. Less than a million. Now there's six million. Six million. Yeah.

So I mean, a lot of people. But they came from all. over, right? And that was, you know, we planted the seed. I mean, I think it's the same thing, Larry. You probably, we could say the same thing about big cities in America. Because when I, when we went to, we were just recently in Greece. Most of our time was spent on the island of Crete. And we went to Santorini. And it's beautiful. I mean, they're, there's olive. Most of them are olive farmers. And, you know, the people are great. You go to little mom and pop shops and you go to the restaurants and the food is amazing. And

You're sitting on the ocean and everything's relaxed. I mean, it is beautiful. So it's like anything else. You get away from the big city, you know. That's exactly the same. I mean, you know, New York City is completely different than West Monroe, you know. So, I mean, it's just, it's an environment. But when you think about his sermon here, when he said from one man, he made every nation of men that they should inhabit or live on the whole earth.

and he determined the time set for him in the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him. So, I mean, my point is this old deal, you know, where people either believe were thrown here or sent here. Yeah. You know, thrown out of nothing or sent by an intelligent design. When you go over there, I mean, I think Larry, was right once I saw it to see okay there's people from all over this region coming here yeah if

they hear Jesus and become a disciple and go back we we could we could uh you know get God's plan yeah yeah yeah well that's this goes back to exactly what you said you know coming in is that is that we we met each other and now we're like we're yoked together you know by the Lord and doing his work. And we're to a point now. It's like, I can't make it without you guys. And, you know, I mean, it's how did we ever get along before? And we call them divine appointments, you know.

And so this relates back to what's happening in Athens. I don't believe anybody's there by accident. Yeah, that's the point. And the people that the Lord brings, we adopt this phrase that we're looking for those that are looking for Jesus. And I've never led anybody to Christ. It wasn't looking for him because he'd already found him. He came to seek and to save, and he's still seeking.

He's still saving. And all we're faithful to do is go, that's the one you're looking for right there. And so you see Andrew doing that in Scripture. It's like, let me take you to Jesus. Take you to Jesus. Well, I wanted to ask you about this because since you know the history of it, I was listening to a sermon because it said, what is the gospel? So I just wanted to listen to it. But it was really a discussion.

It was a class on the use of the word gospel. Because y'all were talking before we started the podcast on Phil said whenever I read a book that sent to me, I looked for a phrase. You know, Jesus is death, burial and resurrection. Yeah, you said that. But within this lesson, they were talking about, you know, gospel means good news. So if you define gospel, you say, well, it means good news. But other people outside of Jesus, they used the word gospel. And they had some quotes.

One of them I wrote down, it was like, you know, Caesar Augustus, when he ascended to the throne, when he made the announcement, it started off the gospel of Caesar Augustus. Right. So he was saying, well, well, but he's saying because now that I'm emperor, that, because you think about what the word means is some kind of historical event. that's going to affect. Yeah, every person. Because whether you acknowledged him as the emperor or not, it was going to have an effect on you, especially when taxes come up.

But within that sermon or class that I listened to, a story came up, I was going to ask you about it. So this is 490. We're going back a while. And there was a war between the, Athenian army, the Greeks, and the Persians. Yeah.

And it was called the Battle of Marathon. Are you familiar with this? Absolutely. You bet. So evidently, what happened was the Persians who, and the reason I bring this up is because that was the audience that when I was with you in Athens that I'm now, what, how many years later from this? 1700 years.

1700 years later. Yeah, I'm through an interpreter talking to some Persians. But anyway, the Persians were thought to be the favorite in this battle. But the Athenian Army won, but it wasn't just to win. And he used this analogy because just back then, they didn't have social media, so they didn't come out, oh, we won. So they sent a messenger with the gospel, is what the phrase he was reading out of this, book that the Athenian army had won because it wasn't just one thing to win you had to go

announce and they were used he was using that phrase yet the gospel had to be announced so they picked one man right so he runs 22 and a half miles to announce 26 uh 26. 26.2. 26.2. I'm here to help. So he, and he gets back to town and says, rejoice. We have triumphed. Yep. And he fell over dead because of the exhaustion from the 26. Point two. That's why a modern marathon is 26.2 miles.

So that was the story I was going to see if that's true. Absolutely true. It is absolutely. That's why you'll never see me run a marathon. You drop dead. But now here's the thing. It's this word Eongelian. as Mark used it, the beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ.

This is his first line was a shocking use of the word because this is not a Bible word. What he did is he ripped a political and military word out of the headlines of the day, and he applied them in saying that the reign of the king had changed. Okay, and so if you had a kingdom and I had a kingdom and we were at war with one another and you were a good king and I was an evil king and I was oppressing people and holding them in bondage and keeping them in slavery and working them to death but you were a good and benevolent king and you and I went to war and you beat me and took my kingdom out and then now what was? was my kingdom is now your kingdom. So you had your people, I had my people, but now all of these people are your people, and that kingdom has expanded the borders of your kingdom.

Your sovereign rule and authority is now over my people. But Phil is going to be an evangelist. He is a bringer of the good news, and he works for you, and he runs down to tell my people, believe the good news because mean King Larry is dead and you're no longer under his authority and you're no longer under his oppression. The good and benevolent King, Jase, is now loving you and inviting you into his kingdom.

That's what a gospel messenger did. And so you would have been the first evangelist to present this Eongelion, this good, news. And they had the ability to accept the truth because I'm dead. I offer them no more threat to them. But they don't have to believe it. They can still live under fear and oppression. Exactly. And that's exactly what Mark is doing using this word Eugenelian. Hang on, Jase. Well, that's the point I was getting to. Let's take a break. And that story, Larry, by the way, that story would be way way more believable if Jace was the bad king. I'm just saying

when you tell, use that illustration in the future. He was trying to be nice, Al. It reminds me of 2nd Corinthians 5 where the Apostle Paul said we are the runner was an ambassador

which is a messenger and he was doing his he was making his appeal to the other king or to the people of that king of that kingdom that's what God does with us. It's though God we're making his appeal through

us, just messengers that are out and about, spreading the message. Well, that's the point I was getting to is that everybody has a gospel. Everybody has something that's important. When you read the book of Hebrews but you read any book in the

Bible, because it has one hub, one central theme, which is, you know, Jesus' Jesus' gospel is better. and that's what the whole book of Hebrews is about why is it better i mean he's indestructible i mean whatever your gospel i mean if it is changing the world because of you know your political view and you think we're going to change the world make it a better place based on people politically lining up so they spread that good news every time there's a victory on their political

side what they do they announce it this is and that everybody has some and if not, they're either in prison or they're in some rehab center or they're in a closet fixing to die. I mean, if they don't have some good news that's fallen. So I think it kind of hit me listening to that. It really wasn't about, I thought it was just going to be a declaration of who Jesus is, but it was basically about everybody has some gospel, some message. that is the hub of their life. Absolutely. And if it's not Jesus, it's all going to end.

Yeah. Terribly. It's all temporary. It's all empty. That's why the new green deal, they're just servants for the created matter of the earth itself. Oh, exactly. Oh, I saw they had two. It's a religion that they firmly believe in, and they have the good news of the green new deal.

Oh, I saw, they ran a clip, and I don't watch TV much, but I just happened to see this. It was two of Hollywood's finest. I should know who they are, but I can't remember. But I've seen them many times. And the woman, she, it was a, I think the guy was, what's that guy's name, Leonardo? Yeah, Decafrio or whatever. And it was a girl, but, yeah, they were, they were. talking about the climate and uh the girl i think it was the one that oh it is a wonder woman

the hunger game girl gal gaddoe was not her no not wonder woman no it was the oh you're talking about uh the hunger game you're talking about the um yeah jennifer warrens yeah whoever that is oh although we may not be at all i mean you're talking passion look well it may not have been her because i'm but it looked like her but i mean it was like the Let it is dying, and tears were coming. It was a news interview. Oh, yeah. Just like, this place is crumbling when it's an emergency.

And I thought, oh, my goodness. This is what happens when you've put all your hopes and dreams, when your gospel is about this planet. Yeah, some of them is running around the day and said, we're down to the last hour. We had one hour left. What's that hour? This is the very thing.

The hour came, and then they hate that. they're all looked around, then all of a sudden it's the way, if not. This is the various thing that I was preaching Sunday in 2 Corinthians 11 in verse 4. It says that if someone comes to you and they're proclaiming another Jesus, or if they are giving you a different gospel than the one, there are different gospels, or if you receive a different spirit than what you received, I have the ability to invite a way into me that is not the way.

And I have the ability to give my allegiance to a gospel that is not the gospel. And then I have the ability to try to create Jesus in my image. You know, it's like Cal Notton Jr. on Talladega Nights, you know, and I like my Jesus to do this. So, you know, because I like to do that. I like to think of Jesus this way because that's how I want to be. Exactly. Well, no. You can't proclaim another Jesus.

Yeah. But I think that's what we do. I mean, I thought about that same verse. I mean, and you understand the Jewish situation in that God chose Israel to be this shadow and to give this law. And now all of a sudden they're introduced to something new, which is himself, Jesus. I mean, all that was a shadow to point to him. And they're like, well, but we. but we like this.

We like this old. This is what we want to go back to. So he's making all these arguments in Hebrews about why Jesus is better. And I mean, I don't know how long the list is. Just we're in chapter 8 and 9, but I mean, everything we've read, you would seem like somebody would say,

no, Jesus is better. Right. Jesus is better. But when it's based on your human performance, and your status and how you do things, it's almost like some kind of drug there that we as humans want to be in that type of system. Yeah, because we feel like we hold the check and balance to that. We are masters of our own destiny.

And I think the book of Hebrews is so clear is that this idea that Jesus is better, He's superior to anything that you could possibly come up with. Have you ever had a two-year-old take your television remote and you're trying to get it back? You ever try to take it out of their hand? They are so fast, man, they have got it, and you're trying to grab it. You're a grown man, and you cannot grab this kid as faster than you are. And he will not drop it, and he's running down the hall, and, you know, I got bad news. I can't chase my grandkids.

How do you get that TV remote back? You show them something better. You pull out your cell phone and go, look at that. Yeah. Then they just drop it. Yeah. And this is exactly what the gospel is. And the point that the Hebrew writers trying to make is that we're just like two-year-olds hanging on to some stupid religious system that was never intended to save anybody.

It was built and designed. The law was added so the trespass might increase, Paul says, in Romans. So things would get worse. Why did God allow it? this to go on to prove to us that we can't save ourselves to bring us to the end of ourselves. And so he shows us something better. And those that have eyes to see and ears to hear, drop it. Yeah.

See, I'd learn that to Harrow Well, my oldest, when I said, give me the remote. Well, at two and three, they don't understand. Give me the remote. They took that to mean throw it as hard as you can because they haven't been trained on depth perception. So after I took the remote between the eyes, I thought maybe I should have just came up with something better. Yeah. There's a lot of concepts that those kids, they don't understand that sound travels.

It's like, I can hear you in the kitchen. I know what you're doing. Stop it. Yeah. Yeah. So, well, I thought about this. I've been hanging out in Luke 9 and 10 just because, you know, I'm thinking about this that we're messaging. and maybe it's because I heard that class and God is calling us to be disciples not

disciples of Jesus when you read the Gospels and see who Jesus is I mean he's he's a better high priest he's our Savior he's our Lord he's our example he's you know the secret of godliness is that he's in us well when you watch him him operate and and how he you know lived and you know he's he's asking people to follow him to in the way they live their life not some kind of ritualistic type type setting what you know what uh amazed me is when you know first he in in luke nine he's talking to his apostles and so you could make a case where like oh he's wanting the leaders to be uh you know with any kingdom or any kind of movement he's He's getting the leaders.

But then when he gets to chapter 10, all of a sudden, he appoints 72 or 70, depending on your translations, which a lot of people view this as some reference to the, you know, the table of nations. I think it's in Genesis 10 or 11 where it's like we're going to, we're going to go to all people. And because he was setting that shadow that that was the problem with God just being in Israel. was, well, what about everybody else? Right. And that's why, you know, Jesus comes because God wants to save everyone.

He created all people back to our Acts 17 reference. But I'm saying all this to, you know, as a messenger, he sends them out and he gives them this power. And we all know the, you know, the basic premise of his ministry and the message. They were to, you know, heal. They were to preach. They were, you know, to cast out demons, which, you know, you see what all these things represent to, you know, to give people freedom and to bridge communities and have healing and preach good news, all these good things.

And so when the 72... Let's take a break. So I'm going to make a point here in verse 17 of Luke 10. So the 72 return with joy and said, Lord, even the demon submit to us in your name. Well, this is what Jesus's response is to this is why he's better because he says, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Now look, no matter what gospel you have in your life without Jesus, you're never going to have this kind of sound bite from the leader who goes back before the creation began and said,

well, hey, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven, which, you know, he's putting himself on a quality with, I've always been here. I'm, I'm a human, but I'm going back in time where, you know, humans are having trouble even relating to what he's talking about. And then he says, I've given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions that are overcome all the power of the enemy, nothing will harm you. Then he says, however, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you. So you say, what was the problem with that statement that they said, Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.

It's just like anything else. All of a sudden, they were like, look how great we are. It wasn't that, oh, these people have been liberated. It wasn't about the people. it was about all of a sudden the power they had, and he makes this statement, but you rejoice that your names are written in heaven. And so I just thought, man, what a, what a savior.

Here he is, because he's foreshadowing his death on a cross, which would allow our names to be written in heaven, because it was nothing we did. Right. I mean, you think about what Hebrews is all about. That's why our names are written in heaven, because Jesus died for our sins and he came out of the team

so that we could be resurrected. So when you go back in time and see some of the statements that he made, that here's this creator of the universe who saw this happen and why did Satan even fall? He didn't even get into that, but pride. Pride. Right.

About how good he is. And now he sees this little spirit of, man, look at what we can do. Right. Look at the power we have. And so he uses this illustration. Yeah, that reminds me of someone I saw fall from heaven. Yeah.

Because of how great they were and what kind of power they had. And so I just think as you look at why Jesus is better, these little statements that you look in that ministry. So to us, as messages, even today, when something's based on your performance, even in your ministry, when you're looking around saying, And well, look how great we're doing, because that's what we tend today. We give the numbers or we give this. And we're like, well, what did this happen?

And it takes you back to what gives us courage and gentleness at the same time about ministry is that our names are written in the book a lot. Yeah. I mean, that's not going to change. And it's not based on anything we've done. How did they get there? That's my moment. When Jesus appeared back to Luke all the way

back to Luke 2 and 1. Al mentioned this in the notes there. Don't be afraid to bring you good news of great joy that will be for all of David. A savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord. So glory to God and the highest, verse 14, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rest. Check this out. Let's go to Bethlehem and see, here's here's the angels. The angels that left him and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, the shepherd said, let's go to Bethlehem and let's see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about. Now watch, how did these shepherds get the information? Just below there, it's 17, and Acts 2, when they heard, when they had seen him, they looked

at Jesus, spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child. That's twice. Right out at the bottom, the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. Now, that's three times that people get word. You say, well, how in the world was God getting the message to these shepherds in the middle of nowhere? There's a baby being born, born in a barn. Look, on the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus before he was even conceived. The angel had given him before he had been conceived.

His name was already there, before he ever even showed up. Down below there, verse 20. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen. This is Simeon. He moved by the Spirit. He went to the temple courts when the parents brought in the child, Jesus, as the custom of the law was, to circumcise him. He took him in his arm, Simian did. Sovereign Lord, as you have promised.

you now dismiss your servant in peace for my eyes have seen your salvation. He goes on to say, and you look up, he gets to be 12 years old, verse 41, Luke chapter 2. He is 12. He's a kid. He was 12 years old. They went up to the feast, according to the custom. After the feast was over while his parents were returning home, the boy, Jesus, 12, stayed behind in Jerusalem. them. But they weren't aware of it.

Well, thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. They've lost Jesus. He'd back there at the temple. When they did not find him, they went back, and after three days, they looked around and they asked him a question. Everyone

who heard him, the 12-year-old, was amazed at his understanding and his answers. You got a 12-year-old boy talking to the most religious people on planet earth, and he's the one in charge of the conversation. Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.

What have you been, boy? Why are you searching for me? He asked. This is a 12-year-old talking. Didn't you know I had to be in my father's house? The word became flesh and that's the voice of authority. You're like, what in the world? I mean, it was more of an event than most people when we're talking.

Yeah. And I love that. is that his name shall be Jesus. And the word Jesus literally means, in Hebrew, salvation. And then Simeon picks up this boy and says, my eyes have seen your salvation. It's just amazing. In the heart of the law over in the book of Hebrew,

in the heart with all of that and the rules and the regulations and the old covenant, here comes a 12-year-old and pulls it off. Yeah. By his death on the cross, his burial. I mean, that was my point. How can men have dreamed this up? Hang on, Jayes. My point is, if you read.

Before we make that point, let's take a break. I've been trying to make this point for 10 minutes. My point is... I just thought I thought that's... I urge you and to help you along, Jace. My point is if you put yourself under a system, which God did to reveal our weakness and our need for him. But even in our modern day churches, we have these same ritualistic systems going on today.

I mean, whatever... however you want to shake it. That's just the honest truth. And my point is, what is your message then? I mean, what's your gospel? What are you, because we've all been in churches where you walk in and it's miserable. It's filled with fear and it's all just down to what happens, you know, there once a week and the political side of that. when you look at what Jesus was after, he was after messengers and disciples.

Yeah. So what is your message? Right. What are we supposed to be out and about? So a lot of people say, well, Christianity's fine as long as you don't share it. Which is what a lot of people think, even in the church. They're like, especially in a culture, they're like, you can believe, just don't speak about it. But what they don't realize is, well, that's in common.

contrast, that won't work. Because if you believe, therefore, you speak. Yeah. If Jesus died for me publicly, why then would I live for him privately? Well, right. And why is he sending people out? What was the shadow of that to, to, why was, though, that was the point I was getting at was sending out his followers, then sending out the 72. Well, what is the purpose of that? Why are we sending people out? I think. This is how we know we are in him, Jesus. Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. There's a day to day walk.

I love it. As a messenger and as a... Well, how are you going to walk as Jesus did without being a messenger? Exactly. Yeah, and how can you be an ambassador when you go down there? You're not, but you come back here. You are like, wait a minute. You're an ambassador wherever you go.

Can I take a shot at relating this back to Hebrews 9? And I'm about to walk out on the wire here. I don't know how this is going to go. I don't think there's a net at the bottom of this. Well, there's a resurrection. So we're talking about salvation. And so the thing you just brought up, Phil, is that my eyes have seen the salvation. What salvation is is an established fact.

This is God has done this. This is Colossians 1. God has reconciled all things in heaven on earth to himself. Yep. Making peace by the blood. And this is where we're at in Hebrews 9, starting in verse 11, is about the blood of Christ. And, you know, the blood of bulls and goats doesn't take away sin, but it had to be this once-for-all sacrifice. Okay.

And here's where I'm stepping out onto the wire. Step out on it. Okay. We have to have a shift in our thinking because we have to understand that people are not going to hell because of sin. Yeah. And that's why I'm saying that. Because sin has been dealt with. This is what the cross was about.

That's why good news is good news. It's an established fact. That's why you cannot earn salvation. Yeah. Nobody is going to hell because of sin. They are going to hell because of pride and arrogance and unbelief. Yeah, I agree with that. Okay. Yeah, that's an excellent point. But that is, that's what religion is built on. And so you look at Buddhism, Taoism, or what I call the Christian religion, you did bad, now you have to do good. There's a penance. There's a, there's a, you know, you did this and now you have to do that. That's all religion is based on that idea that I try to work my way into a position of salvation. Instead of understanding that I accept the fact, the good news, the Eugenelium, that Christ died for me and that you guys are running to me as evangelist proclaiming the good news.

That's the gospel. And all I have to do is accept it or reject it. I cannot earn my salvation. Sounds like grace. Exactly. And so here you made the point about Satan falling like lightning. And this is, again, this is another step on the wire, is that here's Satan. And so, you know, how did, where did Satan come from?

He was created. Created by God. One day God is thinking, I'm going to make an angel, boom. He makes an angel. God thinks important because a lot of people give him the same qualities as they do God, which is. Okay. And so Satan looks at himself and he says, wow, look at me. What did God say?

I will not share my glory with another. But he looks at himself and he makes another angel and the other angel. And he's like, have you looked at us? What do we have? We have glory. Yeah. Where did he get that glory? God.

Exactly. He just stole God's glory. And then he decided he was going to be something and it was pride and arrogance before. God and then heaven turned into hell and there was a great war in heaven and here goes Satan and falling like lightning and everybody that wants to go with him. And this pride and arrogance before God is the whole point. And so and we come into this life. God has roughly, you know, if he's going to work all things together for good for those that love him and are called according to his purpose, those that have eyes to see and ears to hear anyone who would believe,

for God so loved the world, he gave his one and only son, that anybody. This is available to anybody who will believe. This is right before that, two verses before that, in 314, John, Chapter 314, he's talking to Nicodemus, and he says, just as that bronze snake was lifted up in the desert, you know, this is Numbers 21. And that whole thing is that everybody has been snake bit. Yeah. We're all dying. Sin is not the issue.

And sin has been dealt with. Right. But he pushes us into a position where the only way out is to look at that son of man being lifted up. And that is the choice. I believe in him. That's the only way out. That's why. Hang on down.

Y'all can call that a wire. I'd call it a wall of great. That's why the writer of Hebrews. Hang on down. Let's take a break. Go ahead. Yeah, the writer of Hebrews said this in Galatian. The scripture declares that the whole world, to your point, is a prisoner of sin.

Yeah. Because it hasn't been dealt with yet. Right. Until so that what was promised being given through faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. Right. Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in charge. lead us to Christ, the Hebrews were having a difficult time, and they were at Galatia too,

that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law. Right. They should have been jumping up and down about this instead of saying, what in the world, you know, that's why it's impossible for the blood of bulls. Exactly. And so back to Hebrews 9 in verse 15, for this reason, Christ is the mediator. of a new covenant.

Yep. Okay? And so this is way back. Back to our kingship thing. The rain has changed. Rain changed. Law of sin and death was under authority. What we couldn't do.

It was the authority. He did first. And he came and he put it to death on a cross, nailed it, that written code to the cross, shed his blood, and now there's a new king in town. You bet. That's the good news. And so nobody's going to hell because of it. sin that go into hell because of pride and arrogance before God. That is correct.

And so I have. It's good news, but you have to surrender your will. His entire ministry to me is to work, I have pride, I have arrogance, I have my own kingdom, I've got my own strength. His whole goal is for me to lose my pride, my kingdom, my strength, my will, my religion, and to die to him to be raised in a new life where his life becomes my life. And he's got about 70 years to work that out in a person. Yep.

And that's the desire of my heart. If the desire of my heart is Jesus Christ, you know, life inside of me, he's going to make it happen. But hey, Larry, don't she's got to honor my choice to throw him away? Don't you think it's ironic that all the other gospels out there, whatever the cause, or seem to be so enamored with bad news. I mean, we talked about climate earlier. It's the sky is falling as terrible. Or if your thing is politics, just turn on cable news.

All bad. It's all about power of one side or the other. So it's interesting that truly only in the good news of Jesus do you find good news consistently right down the line. Yeah. And eternal hope. There is no, I mean, we have. hopes and dreams for the future. But if they're, you know, everything is so temporal and we put so much things stock in temporal situational happiness. Well, happiness, man, I'm telling you, it can

turn on a dime in a worldly way. So I want to read this in 923. I want to read that down to the end of the chapter so we can discuss that a little bit. We've said this the whole podcast, but I want to actually read what the Hebrew writer says. And we can also talk about. a little bit in overtime. It was necessary then, verse 23, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices. It was talking about the old sacrifices wouldn't work, but Jesus would. But the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. That, of course, was Jesus. For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary. That was only a copy of the true one. He entered heaven itself, which I thought was interesting, Jay's, based on that text you read in

Luke that Jesus said Satan's not in heaven, but your name is there because I'm there, which is interesting. Now to appear for us in God's presence, nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again the way the high priest enters the most holy place every year with blood that is not his own. Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages. And we talked about kind of what that phrase means in contrast to, you know, to the end of this era that was there for them.

To do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once and after that to face judgment. So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people. And he will appear a second time not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. So with that said, I don't think people have given the thought that when Jesus, back to my Luke 10 reference said, however, don't rejoice that the Spirit submit to you or rejoice that the names, that your names are written in heaven. Well, that goes in contrast to everything we believe that Jesus is speaking to these men. And he said they are written.

because we as humans say if I'm if I work hard enough and I do good and I perform that maybe when I get up there I can get in heaven but he said your names are already written there well it wasn't based on he was planting that seed it wasn't based on their performance he wasn't trying to give them some joy I mean it's it's perfectly understandable that they were excited because of the power that Jesus had imparted to them. It's perfectly understandable for us to be excited when someone gives their life to Christ or whatever. But when they made the phrase of, Lord, even the demons submit to us, when it became, look at us. When it became about us, all of a sudden he came up with this illustration of what that reminded him of, which was Satan falling from heaven because he was like, look at me. Yeah. And then he made that reference. Your names are written in heaven. Well, that's what you just read Al. Yeah.

He was looking in the future from their perspective to that. Everything is a shadow that points to Christ. Exactly. Well, then he said this in the next couple of verses. I want to read it because it seems to fit together. At that time, Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, I praise you, Father, the Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to little children.

Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. All things have been committed to me by my father. No one knows who the son is except the Father. No one who knows the Father is except the Son and those to whom the son chooses to reveal him. Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it didn't hear what you hear but didn't hear it.

So I love how he goes back to this little children and this relationship and this family type attitude. And, you know, it's not about you. Your names are written in heaven and then the sons and daughters see it. And so then he goes on to tell them that, you know, your disciples, your messengers. And then he's like, tells the illustration that your neighbors. and he tells the story about, you know, the Good Samaritan, which kind of goes in with what we're talking about in Hebrews,

because you remember the people that walked along the other side? One of them was a priest. The next guy was a Levite. And then here's a guy who shouldn't even be associated. And he's like, you tell me, who's the one who was a neighbor? And they were like, well, it's the one that stopped and helped him. So my point is it wasn't about this ritualistic performance and who you are and your excitement on what kind of power you have. It was about what he did on a cross and your response to it.

So, I mean, he kind of gave them the mission. He gave them the message. And he kind of gave him the motivation that it was going to be his grace and not their performance. And you're going to live that out in love. like you said Phil from 1st John 2 walking as Jesus did which is contrary to what they were He never sent them out with their own abilities didn't do their own knowledge with their own strength with their own power and he was actually chastising them here for feeling that way yeah and I love the way that you know he says that that you have shown this to these little children you've hidden it from the wise and the

learned and Jesus says unless you change and become like a little child, you can't enter the kingdom of heaven. Man, what a statement. Who would come up with something? You'd say, what, no? Exactly. And so, I mean, I've often thought about this, you know, being a fireman, you know, we taught a lot of, you know, fire safety to kids and schools and stuff like that.

But it always, if I went, when my kids are little, if I went into their room in the middle of the night and I said, hey, kids, the house is on fire, you need to get out, they're going to jump up because they believe they don't they're not thinking through they just hear their voice of their dad and and it's like but if you come in and wake me up i'm like what are you talking about how do you know the house is on fire and i'm going to question everything about it and i've lost that childlike faith yeah because there's one way out everybody is on that desert floor snake bit dying and the only way out is to look upon that hole on that snake and say I believe. That's the only way of salvation.

Yeah. I like it. Well, we're out of time again. It seems to go fast when Larry's on, which is why we'd love having Larry on. Well, you should never let me sit in Jason's chair because I talk too much. Well, that is true. It's the chair. And it's not in. It's the chair. That's exactly right. So we're going to have a little bit more overtime with Larry. I got a couple of thoughts out of that last bit of the conversation.

I want to tug on just a little bit. at blazedtv.com slash unashamed if you want to follow us over and catch a few more minutes with our good friend Larry Bowles. Thanks for listening to the Unashamed podcast. Help us out by rating us on iTunes. And don't miss

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