Transcript

American Family Radio takes your Bible questions live on American Family Radio

>> Bert Harper: The Bible. It's the word of God. Sharper than any two edged sword. This sacred book is living and active and contains all that's needed for life and godliness. Stay with American Family Radio for the next hour as we study God's word and take your Bible questions.

Exploring the Word gives hope even though you're a sinner

Welcome to Exploring the Word. Romans, chapter three, verse nine says both Jews and Greeks, they are under sin. And then it describes them a few verses later it says their throat is like an open tomb. Their tongues. They have practiced deceit. Now that's not all. It says their feet are swift to shed blood, and then the way of peace they have not known. In other words, their speech, their feet, their mind, they're all towards sin. Well, this is Burt Harper and Alex McFarland. But we want to give you hope even though you're a sinner. I want to tell you God loves you and he has a plan for your life. And it starts with a relationship with Jesus Christ. Again, this is Burd and Alex and it's good to be with you.

Alex: Romans 3 gives us hope that we're all sinners

Today on Exploring the Word, we're in the book of Romans, chapter three, which is a turning point. Alex, in chapter one two, in the first part of three, it gives you, man, we're all sinners. But then at the end it starts giving us great hope that is in Jesus Christ. That hope is real, isn't it?

>> Alex McFarland: Well, it is real. And let me say the theme of the entire Bible is, the Savior and how you can know him. Or, as one scholar said, the theme of the Bible is the kingdom of God and how to get in. Now I think this matters. We are going to be in Romans 3 and then we are going to take prayer requests. And if you would like for us to pray with you about something or just. We'll spread the prayer request around and as a big family of God, coast to coast, we'll lift each other up, in prayer. But Bert, I was looking at, the latter portion of Romans 3 and I notice in 10 and following Paul's making the argument that we're all sinners, we need salvation in the Messiah, Jesus, we works won't do it, religion won't do it. And there are, at least in my Bible, all these verses really, 10 through 18 are, the font shows you that it's a quote from the Old Testament. And you've got Psalm 14 and Psalm 5 and Psalm 140 and Psalm 10 and Proverbs 1 and Psalm 36. Bert, I did a little study. Now I think we could agree the Apostle Paul, he knows what he's talking about, doesn't he?

>> Bert Harper: He really does. He does, Alex.

>> Alex McFarland: He is steeped in, Judaism, the Hebrew religion, but he met the risen Christ on the Damascus road, and he is the apostle to the Gentiles. And think about this. 183 times in his writings. And the Apostle Paul was used by God to write half of the New Testament. 183 times. Paul quotes the Old Testament 74 times right here in the book of Romans. So I think the Apostle Paul, the idea that we're sinners, we need a savior. He makes a rather compelling argument, doesn't he?

>> Bert Harper: He does. And again, Scripture, that's the truth. It is settled in heaven. The Old and New Testament settled in heaven. So the argument using the Bible is a good, good place. It is the final place. It is settled. And here in verses 10, I would say through verse 12, it's talking about your m. Mind, your heart and your will. Listen to this. See if you get it. There is none righteous. No, not one. There is none who understands. That's the mind. Now listen to this. There are none who seeks after God. That's the heart, your passion, what you're driven by, they have all gone out of the way. They have altogether become unprofitable. Now listen to this. There is none who does good. No, not one. That's the will. So here we find man again. I think he's. What he's. In my mind. What he's doing is verifying his statement in verse nine that Jews and Greeks both are under sin. regardless of what you received in the past, regardless of where you were born, regardless of your age, we're all under sin, Alex. And then he goes on and talks about their speech, their feet for, destruction, and their mind, not knowing. So I think he's talking about total sin. Not just halfway, but partial. He really paints the picture. Using Scripture, again, what God has said to let the Romans know that they are sinners, but they could be saved, but those around them that are sinners need to be reached. So I think he does it in an effective way.

Alex: God loves you, but you've sinned

>> Alex McFarland: Have you ever heard the phrase, connect the dots? It's like, okay, you've got some things. And it's like, oh, I connected the dots. I get it. I understand. In verse 11, well, verse 10, as it is written, there is none righteous. No, not one. There is none that understands, none that seeks after God. So I looked up that word understand, and we know to comprehend or to perceive something. And it really means in the original language? It means to put something together or literally to connect the dots. Okay, what dots does the Lord want you to be able to connect and understand that, yes, God loves you, but you've sinned, and there will not be any sin in heaven. And if you want to go to heaven, when you leave this world, as we all will, then something's got to change. And that change has to be the new birth. To be, yes, forgiven, but to be made righteous. And you can't earn it, and you don't have it, and money won't buy it. So what are we going to do? Well, we need the grace and mercy of God and Bert, in that verse there, verse 11, none that understands, none that seeks after God. We're praying that you would seek after God and realize that, yes, the Lord loves you, Bert. And I simply don't have vocabulary adequate to convey how much God loves you. But you must be saved. There must be a time when you put your faith in Christ, Bert, when we understand that. And for me, it was at age 21. That is the most important, realization and belief that you'll ever exercise is to realize that you need Christ and to put your faith in him.

>> Bert Harper: Amen. Alex, I'm so thankful for you. It happened for me at 12, knowing, that I was a sinner. I couldn't save myself. Even that young, I knew that I was a sinner. And the good part about verse 11 is the opposite of that. Even though no one seeks God, God seeks us. He first loved us before we could ever love him. So God is seeking that relationship with you that are listening today. If you're in your car, in your truck, on your tractor, at your desk, in your kitchen, God desires to have this relationship with you. And he seeks after you. And you can respond, even though we go our own way, but the way of man, Alex, is always away from God. There's a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. When we do our best, when we try to say, no, I'm going to, we do the Frank Sinatra thing, and I did it my way. Hey, those of you that don't know that song, it's old song. but we did it my way. No, we got to do it God's way. And no one can come to the Father except through Jesus Christ. Are there any plans? Bs or Cs or Ds after the plan A that God presents?

>> Alex McFarland: Alex, there is no plan B. There is no Backup or contingency plan. You either have Christ or you need Christ. And, you know, I was looking, like, at verse, 17. The way of peace, they have not known. Okay, and again, this is a long. Verses 10 through 18. Paul is using the Old Testament to prove his case and his quotation of all sorts of psalms and proverbs, I think Jewish readers, would have known. Okay, this man knows the scriptures. There's none righteous. They've all gone out of the way together, become unprofitable. In other words, all the righteousness that the most righteous Pharisees, Sadducees, all the righteousness they've given got is still missing the mark. There's none who does good. No, not one. their throat is like an open grave. With their tongues they've lied. The poison of asps is under their lips. And that's a quote from Psalm 140. Mouthful, of bitterness, Feet swift to shed blood. destruction and misery are in their ways. And the way of peace, they have not known. There's no fear of God before their eyes. You know, Bert, we could, you and I could make a sermon out of all of these, you know, lying, hatred, having just so much anger in your heart, it amounts to murder, you know? but they don't know God. And I think the way of peace, they have not known. Bert, I've shared the gospel with people, and I've had people say things to me. I've had many, many people pray and accept Christ. Glory to God. But every now and then, I'll be talking to someone, and they'll say, well, you know what, Alex? If I die, and if it turns out there is a God, here's what I plan to say. Look, you're not going to debate God. I mean, like Bert said, there's no plan B. If you don't open your eyes in the presence of the Lord Jesus, read Luke 16. It will chill you to the bone. Through the rich, unbelieving man died, and in hell opened up his eyes. And it's too late. And, Bert, I don't mean to belabor this point, but because eternity is forever and because our souls are at stake, yeah, I do belabor the point. Please make sure that you've accepted Christ before you leave this world.

Paul comes down hard on Jews' speech in Romans chapter three

>> Bert Harper: Alex, one more thing. Before we leave verse 18 and continue on. Look how much space is given to their speech now, again, especially to the Jews. And this, he uses the old Testament, verse 13 all the way through 14. And their throat is like an open tomb. Their tongue, they have Practiced deceit. And you've already read these, but m. I'm, making emphasis. The poison of asp is under their lips. Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Another. Here they are. They thought they could say the right thing, they could teach. Because you remember he got into there earlier about you teaching them, but you're, you're practicing what you not teaching. So he really comes down on their speech. I know he does their ways as well. Verses 15 and 16. What they're thinking. There's no way of peace. They have not known their mind is corrupt. They cannot know peace. Male the Jew or, or the Jew. The Jew or the Greek. So here it is. There's no fear of God before their eyes. I think that's the climatic of this list. There's no fear of God. Okay, I, I'm. I'm going into this on my own. I can, I can plow my own field. I can drive my own vehicle. I can go the way. Ah, I want to go. No, the. There is no fear of God before their eyes. They are doing it the wrong way. Their way. So we don't want to fall into that trap, Alex. And I do not want anyone who is listening to fall into that trap. I want to tell you there's only peace, the real peace that God gives through a relationship with Christ. There's only real hope, real hope for eternity in Jesus Christ. And then I would say there's this relationship and he'll stick with you closer than a brother. It's a relationship that is good in the good times, the difficult times, that relationship with Christ. He says, I'll never leave you. I'll never forsake you. I am with you always to the end of the age. So, Alex, we need to have that respect, that fear, that knowledge of God in our eyes and in our life, don't we?

>> Alex McFarland: We do. We do. And you know, as Romans, chapter three, it sort of turns a corner here and Paul is going to say something that frankly would have blown their minds. You know, that righteousness before God can happen, but it's by faith, not works.

>> Bert Harper: That has to blow their mind. Alex.

>> Alex McFarland: It's by the grace of God, not the law. And 19, 20. He says that, you know, everyone that is under the law. I mean, if you're depending on the law and nobody's kept the law, then you're guilty. So how do we get straight before God? Well, he's going to tell us in the verses that follow.

>> Bert Harper: Verse 21. Can't wait to get there. Stay Tuned for more.

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>> Alex McFarland: Don't stop praying don't stop calling on Jesus name Keep on pounding on heaven's door Let your knees wear out the.

>> Bert Harper: Floor don't stop believing.

>> Alex McFarland: Oh, wow, that is a great song lyric, folks. I don't know if you heard that. It said, keep on pounding on heaven's door Let your knees wear out the floor Keep on praying Bert, you know, that's really true. There's a, I've not been there, but I've read about in London, there was a house where John Wesley occupied, and under one of the windows, he really did wear out the floor. He prayed so much. They say two kind of scalloped places in the wooden floorboards where Wesley spent so much time on his knees praying for the salvation of souls around the world.

>> Bert Harper: Amen. And it changed a nation and changed a frontier nation in America. you know, that first great awakening, that was part of that. And what they did, praise God. God can still do it. God is still on the throne. Man is still sinner. And so God can, and we pray that he does. Alex, you said it, and I think you introduced it well, you said, we're about to turn a corner when we get to 21 and through 31. All of a sudden we find this great hope. But it's not the way the Jews thought it would come. It's something about, let me say this. It sounds like someone would say he throws the law under the bus, you know? Well, not really. He says the law has a purpose, but it's not so that you can be saved. That comes a different way, doesn't it?

>> Alex McFarland: Exactly. And you know, it's worth talking about, folks. keeping the Ten Commandments is not the plan of salvation. Now, should we keep the Ten Commandments and live morally? Of course, absolutely. A thousand times yes. But the law of God, good works, moral, upright living, important as that is, that's not how we get saved. And so the last few words of verse 20 for by the law is the knowledge of sin. In other words, if we look at the perfect holiness of God that reveals how much we need a savior because we look at God and his word and we say, lord, I'm sorry I have sinned, Lord, I knew the right and I did the wrong. Lord, please have mercy on me. So let me read some of this. And by the way, God has used the book of Romans in pretty much all of history's great awakenings. So this is really significant that we're studying this at this time. And I want this, and I pray this for all of you, all that you let these words of scripture just permeate throughout your heart and your mind. verse 21. But now the righteousness of God apart from the law, is manifested being witnessed by the law and the prophets. Even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe, for there is no difference, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God being justified freely by his grace through the redemption of, that is in Christ Jesus, whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past through the forbearance of God. Now Bert, there's a library of truth in all of these words. Let's go back to verse 21. Righteousness before God achieved or experienced. Without, the law, that would have been a, mind blown. The righteousness of God apart from the law, they just wouldn't have gotten their mind around that. But Paul says, look, this is what the law and the prophets were saying. You know, if you want to understand the Old Testament, all the prophets would have agreed with what I'm telling you, says Paul, that righteousness is not by works, but by faith in Jesus.

>> Bert Harper: Alex, there are some conjunctions that have a greater impact than others. you know, it says over in the book of Acts, Peter was kept in prison, but prayers were made by the church. What a conjunction here in verse 21 again it talks about all that. But then in verse 21, but now. But now what a statement that is. The righteousness of God, apart from the law, is revealed, being witnessed by the law. You said that. Yes, all the law, all the prophets, they looked forward to that time when sin could be forgiven and I would say washed away. Until then it was a covering. We talked about that earlier, the, atonement. And here it is through faith, verse 22. Even the righteousness of God, which is through faith in Jesus Christ, it's only through him. There's not another way. Alex and I have been talking about there's only one way to God and it is through Christ. And notice on all who believe. Now listen to this last line in verse 22. For there is no difference in what Jew or Greek. You're saved by grace through faith. There's no other way for all. That word all, man, it cuts through everything. All have sinned and I love the way it goes. Fall short of the glory of God. And I think we did this yesterday. If it was a ten foot chasm, now it's a lot further than that between us and God. But if it were 10ft and you could jump 9ft, feet and 11 and a half inches, man, I've almost made it. But you do not make it. You can't make it on your own. For all have sinned. And I, I know preachers do this in the pulpit. I do it all the time. Now what does all mean in the Greek? It means all, doesn't it?

Alex: Romans 2 says man is justified by faith, not works

>> Alex McFarland: Well, Bert, is it fair to say almost saved is still completely lost?

>> Bert Harper: That's it. It is, it is. Alex, what a statement.

>> Alex McFarland: This is just amazing. Okay, verse 22 and following the righteousness, that is the standard for heaven, it's through Jesus by faith. Paul would say, you know, hey, this is what the prophets would say. Ask Habakkuk 2. 4. He'll tell you we're justified by faith. And it goes on down there and it says, all have sinned, but we can be justified freely, thoroughly by his grace through Jesus. That God sent forth Jesus to be a propitiation, in other words, the turning away of wrath through his blood on the cross. Now verse 26 and following.

>> Bert Harper: Alex, let me just stop. I want to ask you something. You're the word guy here. Look at these words. See if you don't have to say a lot, but I just got a bring your attention. Verse 24, justified. Verse 24, redemption. Verse 25, propitiation. If, if I'm not mistaken, when you look at those three words, our salvation is complete. It's not partial. You know, it is complete. So I, I just. Those words grab you. You could do a sermon just telling the whole world about what justification means, what the redemption idea is, and the propitiation by his blood. Wow. What a God. M. We serve. He took care of our. He took care of our sin on, the cross. If we would only put our faith in him, did he not?

>> Alex McFarland: Amen. M. Let me encourage all of you. I know we have listeners that teach Sunday school or, you know, pastors, and some of you work with youth. Praise God. Take your, your people through a study. The great words of salvation. Justification made right in the sight of God. Atonement. That means the payment, propitiation, the turning away of wrath, and the blood of Jesus. I mentioned Paul quotes the Old Testament 183 times. Well, Bert, I look this up 43 times. 43 times. The New Testament refers to the blood of Jesus, which is the atonement for our sins. And, you just don't hear a lot of preaching or teaching on this. But folks, this is everything. I mean, this is our salvation. these words and these truths and these scriptures are how we are made right with God. So I think the church needs to know about this. Paul says in verse 26 to declare, I say at this time, his righteousness. Now, back in Acts 17:30, you remember Paul says in times past, God winked at man's ignorance. I mean, God has shown a lot of grace, but in these last days. And by the way, if Paul on Mars Hill was part of the last days, by now we must really be in the last of the last days. But God now commands that people repent. So where is boasting? It is excluded. Nobody can brag. Wow. How did he get here? I was better and more righteous than him. No, nobody can boast. By what law of works? No, but by the law of faith. Therefore, we conclude in 2831, Paul is summarizing what really is, ah, an incredible sermon. Almost, Romans 2 through the end of 3, we conclude a man is justified by faith, apart from the deeds of the law. Now, Bert, that's, as Peter craved. He's a great apologist. he would make a good argument and he would say, you either see this or you don't. And I can almost hear Paul is saying, we're justified by faith, not works. It's belief in Jesus, not human meritorious effort to Keep the law. Some are going to believe. I fear some would have tuned him out right about here.

>> Bert Harper: I agree.

Alex: Romans 3 says all can be saved by grace through faith

Okay. I want to ask you this, Alex. I hope I get this right. In other words, what we're seeing here in verse 28 and following in Christ alone, by grace alone, through faith alone, not anything else. That's how we are born again. Christ. There is no other way. Grace. God's grace. His, you know, God's riches at Christ expense. Using that as an acrostic, somewhat unmerited favor. Through faith alone, it is activated. Listen, God's grace is ready. Christ has done his work. So grace can be demonstrated. Now, what activates that? Your faith in Him. The word faith means to. To believe upon. It means trust. when it says, believe in the. In the New Testament, it's more than head knowledge. It is a, A trust factor. it really has the word faith in. In other words, we place our faith completely in him and nothing else. We stand alone in Him. So in Christ alone, by grace alone, through faith alone. Alex, chapter three, at the end of it, it presents that as clear as you can look at it anywhere else.

>> Alex McFarland: And this is for Jew and Gentile, male, female, every ethnicity. Salvation is the same for everybody. And Paul says this. Is he the God of the Jews only? Is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, seeing it is one God which shall justify the circumcision by faith and the uncircumcision through faith. In other words, the line of Abraham and the line Isaac, Ishmael, Jew, Gentile. It's all verse 30. By faith do we then make void the law through faith, God forbid. Yea, we establish the law now. Verse 31. Bert, I'm going to cue this up and throw it to you. As if Paul hasn't dropped enough theological bombshells already. We're saved by faith, not works. And it's the same for Jew and Gentile. And just because I was born Jewish, that doesn't get me any brownie points. Somebody might have said, that's right. now here's the thing. So do you mean we've thrown the law under the bus? No, we've actually shown our affirmation of God's law. What does that mean? Because we're going to come to God the way God said, come to him through faith in His Son. The perfect righteousness of Jesus is mine by putting my belief, my trust in Christ and what he did. And I'm going to say this. I'm going to throw it to you. I read Romans 3 and I want to say this is the greatest, it's deep. I'll grant you the greatest words ever put on paper. And then along comes Romans 4. I mean, folks, I cannot overstate how beautiful, significant, monumentally important this is.

>> Bert Harper: There is no let up in the book of Romans. you go from chapter one where you find out how reprobate man on his own. And then you find out the Jews who thought they had a, you know, this perfect relationship with God. And he says, no, you don't. But here in chapter three, all is under sin. But then all can be saved by grace through faith. And the law, what does it does now? What is it? We establish the law. The law is established for the purpose for which it was given. It was never given in order to be saved. Abraham. And that's what he's going to jump into in chapter four. Abraham was saved before the law, something like 453 years or something like that before the law ever came along. And they're going to talk about circumcision. Was Abraham justified after circumcision or before? It was before. So it's in faith and faith alone. let me read chapter four, verse one. And we're coming to the close of this segment, getting ready for your prayer request, if you have them. That number is 888-589-8840. We want to hear your prayer requests, day of prayer. And we really have responded to this. You have. So it's let other people pray.

AFA Weekend with a FA coming up in October in Mississippi

But listen to verse chapter four, verse one. What then shall we say that Abraham our father was found according to the flesh? And for if Abraham was justified by works, he has something of which to boast, but not before God. I'm going to stop there. How would you boast before God, Alex? It's like me going out. and recently I dug a hole in my front yard to put a bush out, a tree out. And man, I had to dig it a lot bigger than, you know, what it was and deeper than it was so I could fill it up with dirt. It's like me, look at the hole I've built. And then going out to the Grand Canyon and look at that. if we're going to boast about our works before God, Alex, how foolish. I mean, you catch the picture I'm trying to paint.

>> Alex McFarland: Exactly, exactly. and you know, again, we are showing our respect for God's law and our reverence and our. And worship to God himself by affirming salvation through faith. I know it sounds counterintuitive, you know, believe in Jesus, but what else do I have to do? Believe in Jesus.

>> Bert Harper: That's what it says in verse three. I want to finish this one. Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. What a statement. Have you trusted Christ as your savior? Well, we're going to take your prayers. That number. 888-589-8840.

>> Alex McFarland: You could be a part of our first ever Weekend with AFA. Thursday, October 2nd through Saturday, October 4th in Tupelo, Mississippi.

>> Bert Harper: Our Weekend with AFA event in October is going to be a chance to meet AFA supporters in person.

>> Alex McFarland: We'll have tours, fellowship, special speakers and more.

>> Bert Harper: October do some stand up comedy.

>> Speaker C: Abe will do some preaching and I'm.

>> Bert Harper: Really excited about it.

>> Alex McFarland: It's a weekend with AFA Thursday, October.

>> Bert Harper: 2Nd through Saturday, October 4th in Tupelo, Mississippi. Speakers will include Abraham Hamilton III, Jenna Ellis, Tim Barton, Tim Wildmon, and more. I am thoroughly looking forward to our weekend with a FA coming up in October where we're going to be able to meet our supporters like yourself, the.

>> Speaker C: Fellowship to visit our facilities here in Tupelo and to have everyone come together.

>> Bert Harper: For a Wonderful Weekend. That's October 2nd through 4th. It's a weekend with AFA and we hope you can join us.

>> Alex McFarland: Register@AFA.net weekend that's AFA.net weekend don't stop praying don't stop calling on Jesus name Keep on pouting on heaven Heaven's door Let your knees wear out the floor don't stop believing.

Tuesday is prayer day on American Family Radio Network

Welcome back to Exploring the Word here on the American Family Radio Network. Hey, the number is 888589 8840. We would love to hear from you. You know, we usually take Bible questions, but on Tuesdays we've gotten to where we, we pray and we're going to do that. If you want to call in 888-589-8840. Also, Brent Austin looks after our very robust Facebook page. Exploring the Word is on Facebook and sometimes people post prayer requests and comments and things there. And also I haven't given this out in a while, but if you ever want to write to us, you want to submit a Bible question or just some show comments or such, we'd love to hear from you. Wordfr.net that's W O R D wordfr.net and Bert and I do see all those emails and Brent Austin get some to us. So Bert, are you ready to go to Some phone calls.

>> Bert Harper: We are ready. And again, prayer day here on Exploring the Word. Where do we go to first? Alex?

Michelle in Texas requests prayers for salvation for herself and her family

>> Alex McFarland: We're going to begin in Texas. Michelle in Texas. Thank you for holding and welcome to Exploring the Word.

>> Caroline: thanks very much. I enjoy the show. have been listening for years.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, thank you.

>> Caroline: had a crisis of faith and something happened. it was terrible. It's my fault. It made me examine myself and God tells us to. And I'm requesting prayers for salvation for myself and for my family that those who are, pending it will be more open to God's word. And I thank you for your program and your prayers and all the listeners prayers as well.

>> Alex McFarland: Michelle, listen, I feel very privileged you would call in and I guarantee we are praying for you.

When you doubt your salvation, you have a crisis of faith

May I ask you, when you say a crisis of faith, can you tell us about that a little bit?

>> Caroline: It. Well, I thought I had a. A relationship with the Lord, however, was very much, I guess maybe more of a solo Christian. Wasn't regular church attendee. And, my sister had an accident and I made some choices that weren't good for her benefit. And it made me stop to really look at, myself and examine, myself. And I have head knowledge which I believe has perhaps puffed up my ego perhaps. And I need the heart.

>> Alex McFarland: I want to say something and Michelle and stay, with us. And I want to throw it to Pastor Burt here. But I want you to know something. And I think deep in your heart maybe you know this, but I just want to say it. The Lord loves you very much and we all make mistakes. And, whatever was with your sister and her situation right now, I want you to just think about, your relationship with Jesus Christ. And there's nothing we could do to make him love us less. And if we ask and say, dear Jesus, please forgive my sins, dear Jesus, be my savior and Lord, make me your child. And just by the tone of your voice, I believe you are so sincere and you sound very humble before God. And I think you are seeking God. And I want you to know that right here today, you can resolve this. But Bert, what advice would you give to Michelle?

>> Bert Harper: Michelle, again, when you doubt your salvation, you have a crisis of faith. Do I believe you go back and you do examine what I did earlier. Was it something real? Was it. I meant, is it something you can't come m to grips with and you don't know? Again, God knows your heart. And sometimes we don't even know our hearts honestly. We can be so weak that we don't even know if the faith that we had was real. So what you do, you come to him and say, God, I know Jesus died on the cross. I know he rose again and I know he took my sin. And right now, Father, I take Jesus afresh, and anew in my life. Forgive me of my sin, my mistake. Forgive me of attitude and actions that I've had. God, I want to walk with you. Lord, I give you my life now and forever. Michelle, again, again, if you don't know for sure about the past, do that now. Would you do that now? Would you feel like you could call upon the Lord right now in that way?

>> Caroline: Yes, sir.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen. Michelle, there are a lot of people listening, and for sure there. There are people just like you, and they want to make sure. And if I lead in a prayer, would you pray? And, see, Jesus said in John 6:37, the one who comes to me, I will in no way reject. So if you come to him right now, it's going to be a clean slate. It's going to be a fresh start. And Jesus arms are open to you right now, so let's pray together. And I want you on this day, this is May 13, 2025, 12 minutes till 5:00pm Eastern Time. And Michelle, you and I think many others are going to make sure where they stand with God. Would you pray with me right now, Michelle?

>> Caroline: yes, sir.

>> Alex McFarland: sincerely, from your heart. Yeah. Say, dear Lord Jesus. Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for loving me.

>> Caroline: Thank you for loving me.

>> Alex McFarland: And thank you for hearing my prayer today.

>> Caroline: Thank you for hearing my prayer today.

>> Alex McFarland: I'm sorry for m. My sins.

>> Caroline: I am sorry for my sins.

>> Alex McFarland: But I believe you died for me.

>> Caroline: I believe you died for me.

>> Alex McFarland: I believe you are the Son of God.

>> Caroline: I believe you are the Son of God.

>> Alex McFarland: And you paid for my sins on the cross.

>> Caroline: And you paid for my sins on the cross.

>> Alex McFarland: I believe that you rose from the dead.

>> Caroline: I believe that you rose from the dead.

>> Alex McFarland: And I accept you as my Savior.

>> Caroline: And I accept you as my Savior.

>> Alex McFarland: Please forgive me.

>> Caroline: Please forgive me.

>> Alex McFarland: Save my soul.

>> Caroline: My soul.

>> Alex McFarland: And help me to follow you. And help me to follow you from this day forward.

>> Caroline: From, this day forward.

>> Alex McFarland: In Jesus name.

>> Caroline: In Jesus name.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen.

I want to encourage you to take God at his word, Michelle

Now, I want to pray for one more thing, Michelle, and I appreciate you hanging on, but listen to this. The Word of God promises that if we come to Christ in faith and you've done that, that he receives us. And so I want you to have confidence in that. And, I'm going to ask Bert to pray. To pray over you, Michelle, that you'll have joy. And I want to encourage you to take God at his word. And he's for you. He's with you. And you can have joy and complete assurance in that. And this, this crisis of faith, you're getting past it. You are past it. It's a new day. And Bert, would you any remark and then pray for her joy and her confidence in Jesus.

>> Bert Harper: Michelle, after I get through prayer, do not hang up. We're going to put you on hold. Try to get your address. We want to send you some material, okay? Yes, Father, I thank you for Michelle. God, thank you for her willingness to call and to seek you. And Father, the Bible says. We talked about it today. None seek you on our own. We don't. But because you loved Michelle so much, Father, you sought her and you've brought her into your presence, redeemed, set free from sin. Father, I pray she would walk in that victory. She's living in victory now, Father, I pray that she would understand the Holy Spirit of God is in her. He has indwelled her. And now he will empower her to receive and understand that forgiveness that she's received, that she could walk in victory. That sin no longer has, that grip on her. But, Father, she is seeking you with all her heart. Help her. Help her to stay in your word, as she said earlier. Help her to get back into that church, into that fellowship where there'd be people there that would pray with her, encourage her. And Father, I pray that you would help her. Help her keep listening to, exploring the word. And Alex and I, Father, we're going to pour out what the Bible says about walking with God means. And Father, may m she learn that in Jesus name. Amen. Michelle, we got you on hold. Will's going to get that address and we're going to get, you. And thank you, Alex. Hallelujah, brother. There's. Hey, guess what's happening in heaven right now.

>> Alex McFarland: Rejoicing in heaven. Amen.

>> Bert Harper: Amen. Hallelujah.

>> Alex McFarland: Go ahead, Jeremy, Arkansas. Jerry.

>> Speaker C: Hallelujah.

Alex: A young atheist keeps poking at my dad about God at work

well, guys, my dad's been bothered at his work for a long time now from a younger guy who's a non believer. And it just seems like he keeps poking and poking at my dad and trying to stir up, unbelief in the workplace. And my dad wants. I would like to pray for that. He had to leave early from work a week or two ago because he thought he was having a heart attack. Because of this guy. and anyways, the guy, goes around saying, how could there be a God if, talking about, I guess, second Kings, chapter two, where, Elisha, called for the bears to attack the boys who were making fun of his bald head. My dad wants to know, from an apologetic standpoint, how would he go about even debating that with this guy, who's just so gung ho about God is not real?

>> Bert Harper: Alex, you'd say, listen, God knows what he's doing even before it happens, you know, and he knows who those boys were that had attacked. Yes. that's not an argument about God. God is a holy, loving God. But also, he protects his own, doesn't he?

>> Alex McFarland: Yeah, he really does. And, you know, let me just say this. First of all, we are praying for your dad. And, really, I would hope that, PERSONNEL or HR would reprimand this young man who's just trying to, you know, prod and get somebody angry. in 2 Kings, chapter, 2 Kings 22, 23 and 24, by the way, I'm sorry, 2 Kings, chapter 2, verses 23 and 24. Bert, this has been a favorite trope of atheists because, you know, Elisha is going up. And basically, in the language now, the King James, it says, there came forth little children, m. Mocking the prophet. go up, thou bald head. In other words, get out of here, you old man. Really? And it's long been known, in the original language, this was a gang of thugs. I mean, it's an unfortunate translation that it says little children. and in the liner notes of the King James, it says youth. But really, here's Elijah, who's really getting attacked by a gang, right? And they're blaspheming God, mocking him. And he looks on them and he calls on the name of the Lord. And there came forth two female bears out of the woods and tore, up. Guess what? These 42 youth. So to that atheist, I would say, first of all, this was not the prophet Elijah, attacking children. Look, you got 42 young thugs that are going to attack, a man of God. And God allowed these bears to come out, and Elijah was safe, and the gang attacking him were hurt. it doesn't say they were killed, but it says they were torn or. Or at least scratched and scattered. But to the atheist, one last thing, and I know we've got other calls. Look, if there's no God, what's the problem? It's just that stuff happened. but Really, I, would hope your dad. Please don't let your dad get riled up. this person, just is repeating, parroting some silly argument that he read on a blog site. Not terribly impressive.

Let's get their prayer requests, then we'll finish up in prayer

>> Bert Harper: Well, let's go to the others. I know we got Ruth, Robert and Juan. Let's get their prayer requests, then we'll finish up in prayer. Go ahead, Alex. Ruth, go ahead. Yeah.

>> Alex McFarland: Yes. Ruth.

>> Caroline: Hi, gentlemen. Good afternoon. Thank you so much for taking my call. I am a longtime listener. I am a hospice worker. So I have you guys going on my radio all day long. first and foremost, I, I would like to, I have a praise report, actually a praise request, I guess you could say. you know, I have always been pretty strong in my faith. My husband as well. but he experienced very profound losses back to back, a couple years ago and has struggled greatly in his faith since then. Come, November, my mom had some very scary medical issues to where we almost lost her. And, it. Because of that, it kind of brought him back to his faith once he saw, you know, what God could do through prayer. And man, let me tell you guys, it has been an extreme life changer, him coming back to the Lord. he has, ah, stepped into the role of, a godly father and is leading our family, through Bible study and getting active in church. And, you know, we do it with the children as well. And so I just, I need to praise God for that. I have to praise him for bringing my husband back to him.

>> Bert Harper: Hey, we're going to pray for him to continue to do that. We are cutting you off a little, quicker because we want to get the other two prayer requests in as soon as we can. Robert from Tennessee, give us your prayer request as quickly as you can, brother.

>> Caroline: Okay, just to. I don't know where to begin, but I'll just start here. That, I've fallen into porn and never thought I would. I've been a Christian since 1981, and it's rougher now, for me, than it was at the beginning of my relationship. Only this time I'm wondering if I can be saved because I know better and I did it anyway.

>> Bert Harper: Robert, you can be saved. Listen, review this. If you have to trust the Lord, ask his forgiveness. Ask Him. Pull away from the sin. Whatever sin it is, pull away from it. don't make friends with it. Make friends with the Lord and follow him. Alex. We need to pray for Ruth, Robert. And we got Juan as well. We're praying for all of them. Aren't we?

>> Alex McFarland: We are. Folks, I know we didn't get to everybody in the interest of time. Listen. Jesus loves you. Jesus is for you. If we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us. So remember, Jesus is as close by as a prayer. We'll see you tomorrow on exploring the Word.

>> Speaker C: The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.