Search the Scriptures Daily Program #2802d:
Gary:
Please stay tuned and at the end of the program we will let you know where to send your questions for Dave and Tom to respond to in a future “Contending for the Faith.” You are listening to Search the Scriptures Daily, a radio ministry of The Berean Call. Now our final segment:
UNDERSTANDING THE SCRIPTURES
We continue our exploration of the doctrine of salvation. Here again are Dave and Tom.
Tom:
We’re continuing with the Gospel of John and right now we are going to pick up with John:9:33If this man were not of God, he could do nothing., “If this man were not of God, he could do nothing.” And of course this was the man that was blind from birth addressing the religious leaders. They were challenging him as to did this really happen and was he really blind from birth and then who did this?
Dave:
Well and then they say this man has to be a sinner and going back just a little bit, but he’s not doing the will of God because he healed on the Sabbath, so he’s got to be a bad guy and that’s when this blind man who was healed jumps in and says, “If this man were not of God, he could do nothing.” He says from the beginning of the world you never heard of anything like this that a man who was born blind was healed. Sorry Tom, I wanted to just give a little background so that people who haven’t been following us—
Tom:
And again we’re dealing with the Jewish religious leadership here. “They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out.” I don’t think they just threw him out of the temple or just told him to leave, I think they could be pretty harsh. He may have been removed from the synagogue, ex-communicated as it were.
Dave:
Bodily I think. Yes, but Tom there’s what we were talking about earlier. This is evil. Here are men who are selfish.
Tom:
In the name of religion.
Dave:
Right and a man has been healed by the power of God. Only the power of God could do that and they are not willing to admit it because it challenges their leadership over Israel. Now what excuse can they have to cut Jesus down and remove him from any influence? Well he did it on the Sabbath. Obviously he couldn’t be of God. Well but in the Old Testament you were allowed to do good on a Sabbath. You could pull your animal out of a ditch if it fell in or whatever. So Tom, I’m sorry, these are evil men and they are interested in one thing and that is promoting themselves and they are not interested in truth.
Tom:
Dave let me back us way up here. In our earlier segment your veins were popping over religious men, leaders on Islam.
Dave:
Yes.
Tom:
Now we’re addressing Jewish religious leadership. What are we, anti-Semitic, anti-Islam, anti—what’s our problem here?
Dave:
We are anti-lies. We are for the truth and we’ve mentioned it many times, but in Matthew 23 Jesus takes the rabbis to task and he says you rascals, not only don’t you enter into heaven, you stand in the way of those who would. You make the rules; they’ve got to come to you, to get to God and you are doing it for your own benefit in order to have power over them and these men see that their power would slip away if this Jesus can really heal and his teachings are so authoritative. Earlier it says that the people noticed that he taught them as one having authority, not as the scribes. Well they are defending their citadel. They are defending their position, their salaries, their status and this is evil. It’s coming right out of their hearts. They are not interested in the good of Israel; they are not interested in the truth about this man. What they want to do is try somehow to prove that something is wrong, he wasn’t really healed and when they can’t do that then well this man is a sinner, he couldn’t have done this, he is a sinner. Tom, what are the Muslim leaders interested in by coming over here? Promoting Islam really. They are going to lie about it. They are lying about it as we speak right now. They are going to lie about this. They have one end in mind and that is that Islam will find open doors and open hearts in America and they will do it by subterfuge, they will do it by pretending peace, but when they have the power then they kill people. They’ve done it down through history and they’re still doing it today. And these Jewish leaders, they have in their hearts to kill Christ and when we get to it in another couple of chapters and Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead, they are even going to kill Lazarus! Tom, it’s beyond comprehension the evil of these men’s hearts.
Tom:
Now these words that we are reading here, these were written by Jews alright?
Dave:
Of course.
Tom:
I just want somebody who maybe just tuned in not to think that we’re making this stuff up or we’re presenting something that’s Dave Hunt’s view or Tom McMahon’s view. This is the Word of God written in God’s Word, the Bible, written by Jews.
Dave:
Yes, the first followers of Christ were Jews. The church in Jerusalem—that was all Jews.
Tom:
These writers of scripture were men of God, interested in truth, as you said, inspired by the Holy Spirit, hardly anti-Semitic even though many religious leaders down through history have wanted to change, still want to change these words to sort of take the edge off.
Dave:
Well Tom, this is not—what is being said is not against Jews, but it’s against the religious leaders who had usurped the position of God and instead of bringing people to God to worship him, to know him, they wanted to bring people to themselves to their own teaching. And Tom, we have the same thing in Protestant churches, in the Catholic Church ones that have the Pope and priests. I have often said that if Catholics believed the gospel, the good news that Christ paid the penalty for their sins that they could be forgiven, they can have eternal life as a free gift as all people can simply by believing Christ, believing in Him and accepting the sacrifice that he made for their sins, well the church is out of business. You don’t need them any more, you don’t need that power of the priest supposedly to turn this wafer into the body and blood of Jesus. You don’t need to go to them to get to God. The same thing is true of these priests here, Jewish priests. They don’t want to lose their power over the people.
Tom:
Dave, let’s pick up with this, I assume, a young man, his parents are there and so on and they cast him out. Now there he is. He is outside the “religious system.”
Dave:
He’s a cast out.
Tom:
What’s he going to do? I mean where can he turn? To whom can he turn? The next verse is absolutely terrific. “Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?” Isn’t it wonderful that Jesus is coming to this young man, seeking him out? He seeks everyone.
Dave:
Exactly. Interesting the way he expresses it: “Dost thou believe on the Son of God?” That’s a pretty abrupt statement. The Old Testament had talked about the Son of God. Psalm 2: “Kiss the Son lest you be angry and you perish in the way.” Proverbs 30 speaking of the creator of the universe, “What is his name? What is his son’s name?” Isaiah:9:6For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace., “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, the eternal Son of God is given. So maybe it’s not quite out of the blue that Jesus is asking this. Do you believe in the Son of God? This is in the Old Testament. This is what the Bible teaches. Does God have a Son and is he going to be the Messiah and this man, he has tremendous confidence in Jesus because Jesus has opened his eyes. Well who is he Lord that I might believe on him?
Tom:
And the answer is so simple, “And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he said, [that is the man who was formerly blind, his eyes were opened] Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.”
Dave:
It’s very difficult sometimes to understand exactly the approach that Jesus takes. You know, the woman at the well? You drink of this water you will thirst again and the water that I will give you, you will never thirst. He was more (you might say) illuminating when he talked to Nicodemus. You must be born again because Nicodemus was a rabbi and should understand more. But here is a man who came to a simple faith in Christ. He came to know Christ personally. He has an understanding of him now not only as the miracle worker, but as the Son of God, virgin born. He would have to be to be God’s Son and he believes in him and worships him.
Tom:
Dave, just to repeat verse 38, “And he said, Lord I believe and he worshiped him.” And Jesus received his worship demonstrating that he had to be God. Because God alone, only God should be worshiped.
Gary:
Dave and Tom will resume their discussion on the topic of salvation next week; we hope you can tune in. This is Search the Scriptures Daily, a radio ministry of The Berean Call.
The Apostle John, in Revelation 17, describes in detail characteristics of a beast which comes in the last days. Virtually all attention these days is focused on the coming Antichrist but he is only half the story. Many are amazed to discover that that same passage reveals another mysterious character at the heart of prophecy, a woman who rides the beast. Who is this woman? John depicts her as a false church which will be a partner of the Antichrist. Tradition says she is connected with the Church of Rome, but isn’t such a view outdated? After all, today’s Vatican is eager to join hands with Protestants world-wide. We are told the Catholic Church is changed, or has it? In A Woman Rides the Beast , prophecy expert Dave Hunt sifts through biblical truth and global events to present a well defined portrait of this woman and her powerful place in the Antichrist future empire. Eight remarkable clues in Revelation prove the woman’s identity beyond any reasonable doubt. Was John describing the Church of Rome? To answer this question, Dave has spent years in historical research primarily from Catholic sources and provides indisputable documentation.
Video host, author, and lecturer Dave Hunt:
There are over 500 pages, about 800 footnotes, I think, of documentation that will surprise, perhaps even Catholics, as well as non-Catholics as to the official teaching and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. It’s history, what it really has stood for and stands for today. I’m not making it up; I think it is worthwhile, I think it is something you need to read.
Gary:
A Woman Rides the Beast , the book, and the video are available from The Berean Call. Information on how to order in just a moment. If you are a serious student of God’s Word, we offer many materials that you’ll find helpful. From books and tracts to video and audio tapes, CD-ROM, our internet website, and much more. And don’t forget about our special offer: A free copy of our new video “Should Christians be concerned about Harry Potter?” (no longer available) to all new subscribers to our free monthly newsletter. Just mention Search the Scriptures Daily when you call or write. If you would like a copy of this broadcast, ask for Program #0712 and please be sure to mention the call letters of this station. Next week, Dave and Tom will continue their series of programs based on Dave Hunt’s book In Defense of the Faith . And, “What proof is there that Satan exists?” In Religion in the News, “The English church pledges togetherness,” we will take a look at that story and examine the question “Is seeing believing or is believing seeing?” We hope you can join us. If you have questions or comments about this program, we urge you to contact our offices. Search the Scriptures Daily Radio Ministry is made possible by God’s grace, your prayers, and your financial support. I’m Gary Carmichael and for Dave, Tom, and everyone here at The Berean Call, I would like to thank you for tuning in and invite you to join us again next week. In the meantime, if you desire to know God’s truth, search the scriptures daily. For more information about The Berean Call and a free subscription to our monthly newsletter, contact us at PO Box 7019, Bend, Oregon 97708, call us at 800-937-6638, or visit our website at www.thebereancall.org .
