Speaker 1: From the Christian Research Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina. You
are listening to the best of the Bible answer Man
Broadcast with Hank Cantagraph. We're on the air because life
and truth matter. The mission of the Christian Research Institute
is to equip believers to answer life's essential questions soundly
and persuasively, and to give the reason for the hope
that you have with gentleness and respect. For more information,
go online to equip dot org. The following program was
pre recorded and now here's Bible answer Man host Hank Canagraph.
Speaker 2: Thank you so much, Randy, and I want to begin
today's broadcast by simply talking about something that is of
great concern to me as we end our fiscal year.
Many of you who have been following the ministry of
the Christian Research Institute four years know that we have
the ending of our calendar year, but we also have
the ending of our fiscal year, which comes up June thirty.
So before we take your calls, want to say just
a few words about that. Let me start by saying this.
Omar Bradley, who was one of the most famous American
generals of World War Two, reflected on the horrendous war
that had concluded only three years earlier. And in his
reflection he said, we know that unless free people stand
boldly and united against the forces of aggression, they may
fall wretchedly, one by one into the web of oppression.
And although aggression is blatantly physical in the sense that
Bradley was talking about it, the aggression that most concerns
me is of a far more subtle nature. It is
the relentless assault on life and truth, and even the
assault on common decency right here in our own backyards.
It's an assault we're called to resist with every fiber
of our being. The assault on life through abortion claims
millions of unborn babies per year. These are chilling numbers
that should cause us to weep and wail in anguish.
And yet the silent holocaust continues twenty four to seven.
And what about the assault on truth? Well, in some sectors,
the combined ravages of postmodern deconstructionism as well as secularism
have so disemboweled traditional notions of truth that even the
concept of objective truth or moral absolutes now sounds well
curiously quaint. Consider, for example, the appalling state of biblical illiteracy.
Fewer than half of all adults today can name all
four of the Gospels. Almost none of them can name
the Twelve Disciples. Bradley was right. We have men as science,
but far too few men of God. We have grasped
the mystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon on
the Mount. The world has achieved brilliance without conscience. Ours
is a world of nuclear giants, but ethical infants. And
that's my reason to speak to you today. It's not
to whine, but on the contrary, it's to blow a
clarion trumpet and mobilize serious Christians to join the Christian
Research Institute and the Bible answer Man Broadcast in a
fight for the very future of life and truth as
we know it. Throughout history, there have been three stages
in the demise of civilizations. You go from spiritual apostasy
to moral depravity, and from moral depravity to political anarchy.
And while thankfully we have yet to reach the stage
a political anarchy, no thinking person can doubt that we
are well beyond the initial stage of apostasy, and we're
gaining momentum on moral depravity, just as a sheer material
might of North America played a pivotal role in crushing
the tyranny that threatened free peoples during World War Two.
So too the Christian research institutes. Financial resources play a
pivotal role in our ability to stand daily for life
and truth. The brutal fact is that without the resources
to continue standing for life and truth, we are as
inconsequential as soldiers who have run out of AMMO. And again,
because our financial year closes June thirty, I'll ask you
to please do what you can today. If for some
reason that's not possible, please be sure to mark your
gift postmarked by June thirty again, all of this month,
the ending of our fiscal year, and we ask you
to stand with us prayer fully and financially. You can
do that in a say secure fashion on the web
equiped dot org, or you can write me at box
eighty five hundred, Charlotte, North Carolina, zip code two eight
two seven to one. Resource Consultants is always standing by
a triple eight seven thousand and the letters see al right,
a lot of you hanging on. We'll go right to
the phone. Calls sell first in Pennsylvania.
Speaker 3: I sal hik, I have two real quick questions children,
of the Old Testament, like David was told to go
out and kill the women children, and you know, and
they do, the children go to heaven of non believers.
Speaker 2: Well, first of all, what we have to do is
say that where the Bible is largely silent, we don't
want to scream. But the theological deduction from my perspective is, yes,
David had a child with Bathsheba. Bethsheba was the former
wife of Uriah the Hittite, and when the child died,
David had a certainty that that child would one day
be reunited with him in eternity. And so while we
don't have clear indications of scripture, I think that we
can base a certain answer on the reality that God
is both the God of love as well as a
God of justice. So I leave those children in the
hands of an infinitely just and infinitely merciful God. In
the prologue to the question, however, you mentioned the genocide
of women and children, and I think you have to
contextualize that statement by what the scriptures are really saying.
The command to destroy them totally, and this comes in
Deuteronomy chapter seven, is contextualized by the words do not
inter marry with them, for they will turn your sons
and your daughters away from following me to serve other gods.
So the aim of God's command was not the obliteration
of the wicked, but the obliteration of wickedness. And we
have ample reason to believe that not everyone was killed.
Those who turn from their evil ways, evil ways like
offering their sons and daughters to idols, putting their children
in infanticide in the arms of an idol like ball,
where they would literally be burnt to death. Those who
refrained and turned from their wicked ways after God had
warned them for over four hundred years, were spared on
account of their faith rehab, of course, and her family
the quintessential example. On account of her face, she was
allowed to live among the Israelites and become true israel herself,
such that she is in the lineage of our Lord
and Savior, Jesus Christ. So it's always important to qualify
the whole idea that people bring up a nauseum on
infinitum of genocide on the part of the God of
the Old Testament. It's important to recognize that blessings for
those who follow in cursings for those who rebel is
still a maxim that applies in that context as it
does today.
Speaker 3: Okay, I got one other real quick question. When a
non believer dies, do they go directly to Hell and
then after that they come back in their bodies and
they go to the judgment and in their casts into
the lake of fire Again?
Speaker 2: Well, No, The way that you have to look at
this is to recognize the story of Jesus in Luke
chapter sixteen. Now there's a rich man who dies and
ends up in torment. That torment is an earnest of
that which is to come, because the rich man, just
like anyone who dies today, is absent the body, and
either in torment or in the presence of the Lord. Lazarus,
the beggar lying at his gait is in the presence
of the Lord. The Biblical text tells us the angels
carried him to Abraham's bosom or paradise, a way of
saying that he is being comforted by being in the
presence of the Lord. What happens when Jesus appears a
second time. Jesus explains himself. He says, do not be
amazed at this. The time is coming when all who
in the grace will come out. Someone rise to live,
and some will rise to be eternally condemned. And so
when Jesus appears the second time, the soul of the
rich man will return to his body, the soul of
Lazarus will return to his body. Those bodies will be resurrected.
They will be judged, and then the rich man will
not only experience an earnest or a foretaste of hell,
but hell itself, which is separation from the goodness and
grace of God for all eternity. The same thing for Lazarus,
except in reverse. Lazarus will be resurrected to eternal life.
He will forever experience the resurrected Christ. He will experience
restored universe, and forever explore the gloriate goodness of the
God who saved him.
Speaker 3: I thank you for answering my questions, taking the time
to do that. I appreciate it.
Speaker 2: Absolutely welcome. We'll be right back in just a few moments.
With more.
Speaker 1: Every CRII outreach, our broadcast, podcast, website, resources, the Christian
Research Journal, and more is made possible only because of
friends like you. Your partnership matters. What kind of impact
has your partnership had an impact for time and for eternity.
Stand with Hank Hanagraph and the Christian Research Institute during
the key month of June to ensure that we end
the financial year in a position of strength. To make
a gift to support Crii's life changing outreaches, simply call
eight eight eight seven thousand CROI. That's eight eight eight
seven thousand CRII, or visit us at equip dot org.
God bless you. We'll be back in just a moment
with more from Hank Hannagraph. Doctor Evan Alexandra's wildly popular
near death experience book Proof of Heaven assures us that
no matter what we do in this life, only unconditional
love and joy await us in the world to come.
But our Lord warned that while the gate to Hell
is wide, the road to it broad, and those who
enter through it are many, the gate is narrow and
the way is hard that leads to life, and those
who find it are few. Your generous support, let's Hank
Hanograph and see URI speak out against the lies that
lead to Hell. In appreciation for your gift, today, we'll
rush you Hank's book After Life. What you need to
know about heaven, the hereafter, and near death experiences filled
with answers to your questions about life after death. Call
eight eight eight seven thousand CROI or visit equip dot org.
Now again, that's equip dot org. Winston Churchill once declared,
you may have to fight when there is no hope
of victory, because it is better to perish than to
live as slaves. Churchill sought to awaken those who were
reluctant to fight against the advancing Nazi war machine. Today,
a spiritual battle is taking place. Atheism advances in the West,
and slavery to secularity is imprisoning more and more hearts
and minds in the United States. For this reason, CRI's
ministry is critical, but we need people willing to stand
for truth along with the financial provisions to accomplish its mission.
Stand with Hank Hanigraph and the Christian Research Institute during
the month of June to end the fiscal year in
a position of strength. Call eight eight eight seven thousand
CreI and make a gift to support CRI's life changing
outreaches eight eight eight seven thousand CreI or visit equip
dot org. Equip dot org.
Speaker 4: Hank Hanigraph has dedicated his life to defending truth. Because
Truth Matters. Yet, an encounter with Christians in the underground
Church of China left Hanograph contemplating his Christian experience. They
were experiencing something beyond truth. They were experiencing life. Truth Matters,
Life Matters More. By Hank Hanigraph is two books in one.
Because Truth Matters, Part one equips Christians to defend the
essential truths of the historic Christian faith. In Part two,
Hank explains why life matters More and how we can
experience the height of human existence union with God. Prepare
to move past intellectually knowing about God to experientially knowing
God in Christ. To receive your copy of Truth Matters,
Life Matters More, the unexpected beauty of an authentic Christian
life called eight eight eight seven thousand CRI, and make
a gift to support the Christian Research Institutes Life Changing
Outreaches eight eight eight seven thousand CRI or visit us
at equipped dot org.
Speaker 1: Now back to the Bible answer Man Broadcast and your
host and Canagraph.
Speaker 2: Thank you so much, Randy, and back to the phone lines.
We'll talk to John and New Albany, Indiana.
Speaker 5: Hi, John, Hey, good afternoon, Hank. Thank you so much
for your considered answers to our questions. I hope God
continues to strengthen you.
Speaker 1: Brother.
Speaker 2: Thank you.
Speaker 5: I have a oh this is not a very weighting question,
but it's found in Acts eleven. That's the prophet Agbs
when he prophesies about a worldwide famine to the saints.
The considered decision among the apostles was to take up
a collection from the outskirts of Judea and send money
to I guess to Jerusalem. And it just seems a
strange request. One, what would giving money do in restraining
worldwife famine or severe famine? And two it just seems
that in some sense that either they if there was
going to be a worldwide famine, it would affect the
people to whom Agabus was speaking just as much as
the people in Jerusalem.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's an interesting passage. And one of the things
I would say as a prologue to answering that question
is we know for a certainty that Luke was a
meticulous historian. That's pretty much universally acknowledged even today by
people who oftentimes doubt the credibility of the Bible. But
in context, what we have is during this time, a
particular time, a particular epic in the first century, some
prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch, and some of
them were making a prophecy in the vein that you
are talking about, including Agabus, who stood up and through
the spirit of God, predicted that a severe famine would
spread over the entire Roman world. And we are told
that this happened during the reign of Claudius. And if
you go to outside sources there is cooperation for this.
For example, Josephus, I think in Antiquities twenty refers to
a famine that corresponds to this time period. So the
import of this being communicated in the Acts is that
the disciples and you alluded to this, each, according to
his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living
in Judea. And this they did, sending their gifts to
the elders by Barnabas and Saul. So this great famine,
it took place somewhere around I think forty four through
fifty if I recall, it begins in Judea and then
it spreads to Greece and to Italy. And the point
of the passage is that the principle of giving each
according to his ability is a principle that was applied
in the Church there, and it continues to be a
principle that we ought to apply in the Church in
this epic of time as well.
Speaker 5: I agree. It just seems strange to me that money
would be the remedy for a famine, and too that
if it were going to eventually work its way through
the whole of the Roman world, that the money would
be just as useful there where it was being collected.
And Antioch.
Speaker 2: Well, yes, but here is a text in which we
don't know all of the situations in the church. I mean,
we simply don't have the details in terms of exactly
what's going on. So there are people who have resources
that can be used to help other Christians, and within
that mill you, they would have known about it in
a way that I couldn't, off the tip of my
tongue tell you about. I simply wouldn't know. I mean,
I'm not saying it couldn't be known, I simply don't know.
Speaker 5: I think it's interesting the emotional component to our giving,
and not to denigrate emotional appeals necessarily, but sometimes that's
all we have to go by. I think one of
the broader points there in the scripture is that there
was such compassion that was exercise throughout the church, that
everybody was willing to consider their brother's burden and give
a hand where they could. And yet in this particular instance,
you know, there was nothing but the word of a
prophecy that directed the saints to give in such a manner.
Speaker 2: Yeah, but remember that the text itself says that the disciples,
each according to his ability, decided to provide help for
the brothers. So as they were able, as the Lord
enabled them, they decided purposed in their hearts to provide help.
And this was for those living in Judea, and they
did that. And so this is a historical narrative talking
about something that actually happened, and there is an application
for us in the present day world as well.
Speaker 3: Great.
Speaker 5: Yeah, well, not to give an improper plug, but giving
the CRI is a very tangible means of disseminating truth
to our country and people overseas, and it's something that
my wife and I are going to consider doing as
soon as I get off this phone.
Speaker 2: Thank you so much, John, I appreciate your call. I
wanted to mention an answer to a question that I
think is important, and that is a question I got
on Facebook, which is about whether or not the Bible
states that a Christian must go to church in order
to go to Heaven. And this is a question that
I desire very much to answer on today's edition of
the Bible answer Man Broadcast, because when someone becomes a
follower of Jesus Christ, they're baptized into Christ and they
become members of His body. Now, it is within the
body of Christ that we receive the graces by which
we become by grace what God is by nature. We
become Gods by grace. We become God's by participation. This
is not to say that we become God's in the
sense of the Word of Faith movement, where God looks
like us and we look like God. We are again
not God's by no nature. We are God's by participation,
participating in the divine nature. As Peter puts it, it
is within the body of Christ again that we receive
the graces by which we become by grace what God
is by nature. We emulate the early Christians who devoted
themselves to the apostles, teaching to fellowship to the breaking
of bread, to prayer within the community, the fellowship of
the saints, and far from being born again. Therefore, as
rugged individualists, we are born into a body of believers,
of which Christ is the head. And therefore, therefore, as
Hebrews commends us, let us not give up meeting together
as some are in the habit of I took the
time a number of years ago to memorize Romans Chapter twelve,
and the reason I did is this whole chapter is
focused on how we are to use our gifts within
the community of faith. Christ is building his church, He
is perfecting his bride. He is perfecting the full complement
of God's people expressed within a community of faith. Again,
the church is the spiritual gymnasium. It is the place
where we have the great privilege every single week to
partake of the body and blood of our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ, his broken body, his shed blood, his pure body,
his precious blood, and that gives us an energy to
live our lives, not by might nor by power, but
by His spirit. When we partake of Christ, we partake
of uncreated energy, for only God is uncreated, and in
that circumstance we experience something that's far beyond the biological
not by us, but we experience zoetic energy. This is
the kind of energy that rewired the circuits of the apostles.
Peter James John on the Mount of Transfiguration saw the
resurrected Christ transformed, and when they saw the transformation of Christ,
they themselves were transformed. Suddenly they recognized that there was
a realm and a reality far beyond the biological sphere,
and that they could partake in that reality. And ultimately,
this is the power, the power alone that allows us
to be reproducing disciple makers, because on our own energy
we are going to eventually simply well just run out.
But his energy, it's like plugging your laptop into a
source that is inexhaustible. When we tap in to the
spiritual graces available within the Church. Now we live not
by might nor by power, but by His spirit. Out
of time for this edition of the Bible ins Man Broadcast,
look forward to seeing it next time with more of
the show.
Speaker 1: Thank you for joining us today. June is one of
the most important months for the Bible answer Man Broadcast.
That's because we close out another financial year, and we
can do so successfully only If listening friends like you
stand with us prayerfully and financially with your gift, you'll
help see our I impact even more lives with God's
truth and equip Christians as authentic Disciples of Christ. Please
call eight eight eight seven thousand CRI and make a
gift to support CRI's life changing outreaches eight eight eight
seven thousand CRII. You can also write CURI at Post
Office Box eighty five hundred, Charlotte, North Carolina, two eight
two seven one, or simply visit online at equip dot org.
The Bible Answerman Broadcast is funded by listeners like you.
We are on the air because life and truth matter.
Doctor Evan Alexandra's wildly popular near death experience book Proof
of Heaven assures us that no matter what we do
in this life, only unconditional love and joy await us
in the world to come. But our Lord warned that
while the gate to Hell is wide, the road to
it broad, and those who enter through it are many,
the gate is narrow and the way is hard that
leads to life, and those who find it are few.
Your generous support, let's hank hanograph and see URI speak
out against the lies that lead to hell. In appreciation
for your gift, today, we'll rush you Hank's book After
Life What you need to Know about Heaven, the Hereafter,
and Near death Experiences, filled with answers to your questions
about life after death. Call eight eight eight seven thousand
CROI or visit equip dot org. Now again, that's equip
dot org