327 that's 185556843278555684327. reason and I'm your host Perseus Koku 1st $3.00 to $315.00 to sanctify the Lord God in our hearts be always ready to give each man or woman an answer or a reason for the hope is within you and we are to do it with gentleness and respect we're living in a society where the teachings of Christianity is being attacked on a brief but. God is mean attack Jesus being attacked teaching is dealing with the Bible internal and external evidence under attack and one of the things that skeptics you. Often in terms of attacked in our Christian faith deals with the synoptic gospels and so today I want to. Talk about the differences the obvious differences that we see in the Synoptics and we want to unpack it chain give us all some ammunition so we can respond to those that ask us questions about the Bible especially the synoptic gospels and so I'm so thrilled that we have a guest with us today his name is Mike Lee Kona and brotherly Kona is associate professor of theology at Houston Baptist University and he saw also the president of the risen Jesus incorporate it with his background a Ph d. In New Testament studies and you also find him in numerous other publications the case for the real Jesus for example the resurrection of Jesus and a book that I read which is the resurrection of Jesus knew his history graphical approach palm East Mohamad what without further do less welcome guest today Mike Lee calling on Brother Mike how are you. Thanks for having me on thank you now my 1st question deals with the present presentation that I witnessed which you talked about the gospel of differences and you state that the style of writing found in Matthew Mark and Luke was not unique to that to themselves but was in accordance to similar writings found during the Greek old Roman period can you please. Explain that to was saying and how that relates to the synoptic gospels in terms of the writing from the Greek or Roman period. Sure. Well all of the biblical literature is written in Asia or literary type that was contemporary with the authors of that day so for example Psalms songs is poetry Ecclesiastes these and proverbs is what was called wisdom literature so there was other wisdom literature from Jews from the Gyptian from from other cultures that is not at all to suggest that. The literature we have in the Bible is not divinely inspired it doesn't say anything one way or another to identify the genre of that particular biblical literature I'm just saying that they were writing according to a literature that was contemporary with the authors. You come of course you've got the prophetic literature. Of the Jewish prophets you come to the New Testament you have the book of Acts which virtually all scholars would say that that is historiography right written as a history of the 'd church but it's not to say the historians all of them would say that it's accurate history but it is written in the genre of history you had the letters of Paul the letters of Peter and the letter of James etc These are letters therapist you have the book of Hebrews which most now agree is a homily it's a sermon you come to the Book of Revelation that is what is called apocalyptic with it you're the result or a pocket pocalypse acquited sure that they. Talk about the end times things such as the book of 1st the knock which is interestingly quoted by Jude in his letter which is the next to last piece of literature in the New Testament and there is also a 4th as for that was also considered apocalyptic where the church he's read a whole lot like Revelation so these. That all the books of the Bible read the cording to a John that was contemporary with them when we come to the gospels therefore we would expect that they're not going to be unique in that God wrote all the literature had all the literature in the New Testament hand according to John or contemporary with the authors until you come to the gospels and they stand unique there's no reason to think that So then would say What are they written well most scholars believe that the Gospels in the New Testament are regular Roman biographies. There is some question over Luke some would say that Luke is historiography just like it's a history just like it was written the things on earth so and that's possible. But most scholars do believe that gospels are biographies and for some reason that is known to us today the Jews of that period did not write biographies of their stages of their teachers so if the gospel authors were going to write a biography of Jesus then Greco-Roman biography was the only game in town. And when we look at the characteristics of Greco-Roman biography we find there's also impossible things such as the written continuous prose narrative they contain stories t. Teens anecdotes and speeches that are combined to form a narrative. If you have the life of the main character. Is not always covered in a chronological sense when we're talking about into biographies you have an. Attention that is focused on the main character rather than on an event or an arrow or a government as we would find in history. In ancient biographies we find little to no attention given to the psychological analysis of the main character you learn something about the main characters ancestry and then you move rapidly along to the inauguration of their public life and that's why you know a lot of people said well why don't we find anything about Jesus childhood in the Gospels and the reason being is because they are greco roman biographies. They which talk about the ancestry you've got to genealogies of course in Matthew and Luke in Mark it talks about Jesus being that starts by saying Jesus is the fulfillment of prophecy in John. In the beginning was the word in the Word was God The Word became flesh with among us so you've got how they're introduced. And their ancestry is the Son of God. And then it moves rapidly to go boom right there public life right exactly what we have with the coffee right there or the right lane of reco Roman biography something that would typically be read in one sitting. So I mean I could go on and on with these things there are many different qualities of Greco-Roman biography and we find them all in the Gospels so that the believe me to my next question then if. They fit the John row of Greco remote Greco-Roman right in the end who was where the disciples Matthew Mark and Luke in influence in Bob that period in terms of trying to reconcile the fact that the Bible says that these were learned men so please commit that does for us. Yeah they could have easily used a scribe. Called Secretary of academic term is the man us just someone who on their behalf what of written down these things at their direction. And this would have been commonplace even if a person was lettered even if they were literate could read and write and were highly educated Cicero very highly educated. And yet he had to read all his secretary his scribe. Would write most of his letters for him now in some cases Tiro might have just taken taken dictation from Cicero or Cicero might have given him certain ideas and hero would have added to the 'd 'd and put it in a nice order we find Paul doing that. In his greatest theological work his letter to the Church of Rome right when you come to Chapter 16 verse 22. Says I Tertius who write this letter send you my greetings so it would be to and Paul was very educated person highly educated so it could be typical even of an educated person to have a scribe to write things down much more than an educated person like probably most of the disciples were thank you for that explanation so my next question deals with . And I was exposed to this through you so thank you for the illumination in terms of the history study of this question you talked about the composition bookstore and there are used by students of literature as well as students the rhetoric in the 1st century and how are those books. Connected to the discussion there we're having now about the John of the gospel writers please please connect those dots for us. Well these compositional textbooks what they were and we have a few of them from around the 1st century one a Greek writer named Ffion and a. Latin writer a Roman named quintillion who wrote at the end toward the end of the 1st century and they would talk about various techniques that exercise is called pro do not. Who should be taught to usually young males in their mid teens during a secondary or tertiary part of their education process. When they're learning rhetoric so they're learning how to speak to give speeches to put together arguments to write them compose letters and various things. They have these exercises in order to teach them how to write and how to give speeches and these exercises project not spend top top them one of the things they did was taught them how to paraphrase so they would teach Ok one way of paraphrasing is to change the syntax or the grammatical structure. Of theone gives a lot of these what he would do is he would in one case he took a 'd paragraph from the Greek historian of the 4th century b.c. Named 2 cities who is writing on the tele condition more and take a paragraph and he said All right let's go ahead and paraphrase so he would change the syntax so that her medical structure that just for example let's say one of your listeners or let's say you Percy as you say today I interviewed Michael McCullough on my show if you wanted to paraphrase by changing the syntax you might say. I interviewed today Michael Cohen out on my shelf or on my show today Michael O'Connor I interviewed Now that sounds a little bit awkward in English but in in Greek there are so many different ways that you could say something so they would paraphrase by just altering the grammar another thing they could do is by adding to the thoughts and that would be for purposes of like clarification or expounding in the order to get the point across we find Matthew doing this on occasion or you could do for subtraction you abbreviated for you know just for purposes of economy in your writing you could substitute by putting in synonyms. So instead of saying today I interviewed Mike McConnell on my show you could say today I interviewed a professor from Houston Baptist University on my show so you just substitute in there that be a way to paraphrase right so there are different things you could do another thing it gets kind of interesting Perseus at times like for example say on says hey you can change a statement to look question. Or you can change a statement or a question to an exclamation or a command or you could create a dialogue we find the gospel authors doing this especially Matthew we find him doing that at times where he just takes the teaching of Jesus and to. Make the narrative perhaps more entertaining or to get the increased drama get the point across more clearly he changes the teaching and creates a dialogue out of it with his opponents so that's kind of interesting to see these are all the kinds of things. Plus more that are taught in these compositional textbooks. In order to promote paraphrasing. A narrative and you were taught you were supposed to do this this was the proper way of writing and we find the gospel authors doing this it gets really real Once you understand how they were taught to write and you understand what this involves. And then when you notice in the Gospels it's like wow this is pretty neat they write a proper history of biographical writing as they would have been taught to do thank you if you're just joining us we are in error with Brother Mike Leigh Cowen a. Name he's sharing with us information about the differences in the Gospels and why there are differences and I find this subject in information just so men like men and. I'm a history buff so I really appreciate him sharing with us the background 1st century Greco-Roman Roman period writing and so by the way Conan would you say this is the main reason for the differences in terms of the way that the narrative is written and less is the same narrative in all 2 or 3 Synoptics is that the main reason why they're written differently or laid out differently well Perseus I would say is certainly one of the main reasons for it there would be some others compositional devices. Aren't necessarily mentioned in the compositional textbooks but nevertheless into historians use them frequently. That would also account for many of the differences in fact those compositional devices would account for the larger difference that we find in the Gospels. Actually So now less. Attempt to dive into eggs a few examples of what you're talking about in terms of differences of the same narrative and in a different God sent us an IP synoptic gospels So for example you talked about the differences in the recording of Jesus on the topic of divorce Martin one through 12 in Matthew 191 through 12 Please walk us through those apparent differences. The main difference is you have it in let's say when Jesus is talking about divorce and Mark. The Jewish leaders come up and they say hey is it Ok Moses said it's Ok to divorce is what do you think about that. And so these are his response to them and I mean there's a lot of different in here a lot of them have to do with the compositional text books where. You know who asks the question or who brings up. Things like that it's changing the statement to a question that's going on here. One of the main differences however would be in Mark Jesus basically says that if a man divorces his wife and marries another he commits adultery. Must scholars believe that Mark was the 1st gospel the 1st of the 4 gospels of the written so if you are one of the readers or hearers of Mark's gospel in the 1st century. What on what basis can a person get a divorce while there are none there are no bases. So but you say well wait a minute is there something that Jesus taught about the Bourse you know marital infidelity is involved yes that's in Matthew Matthew takes the same teach and he says of a man the bourses his wife except for the calls of immorality he commits adultery and marries another he commits adultery. So what Matthew does is he adds in the count. And he does so to clarify would Jesus meant the symbol wait a minute Mark Jesus doesn't give the rider there the caviar to say well wait a minute you're allowed with sexual immorality if your spouse is sexually unfaithful to you right but Matthew has Jesus is speaking in hyperbolic language as many ancient teachers did to make a point and he did this on multiple occasions. So like on one occasion he says unless you hate your father mother brother sister you care about him until then you can't be my disciple one of what is the reason I want to write. Well he's using hyperbolic language there and what Matthew does is he recast that he power phrases it but recasts it getting rid of the hyperbolic language and says unless you love me more than father mother brother sister wife and children you can't be my disciple on another occasion Jesus hey if you're right I called sample terrible throw it away right your right hand called Jesus and cut it off and throw out what the did he really mean for us to do that using an idiom a bit talking in hyperbolic language right we certainly hope he's using that right and just so happens because later on Seneca says hey if your heart evil rip it out you know I mean this is an idiom of the day that kind of hyperbolic language that is used to get a person tension so readily come and let's pause right there and then we'll continue on the next segment in terms of this information that you're sharing with us truly being edified and I know our listeners are so we'll pause right here and then we'll continue on the other side for the next segment and if you're just joining us we are basically getting information on the background on the 1st century write ins and how that influenced the disciples and the scribes that they may have used in writing the synoptic gospels in the synoptic by the way refers to Matthew Mark and Luke and so if you are a Bible read in a student we x.t.h. You pay closely at the close attention to this episode and again thank you for joining us on sound reason and we are praying that you continue to be edified by this program and we also encourage you to become a sponsor in a partner as we endeavor to train Christians in sound doctrine and also to the hilt. Probably gate the gospel as God has given us so continue to pray for us and we pray that you are willing to stand for the truth of what others also do for law and thank you for listening to reason and and we pray that you are able to be blessed in your home in your community and in those people whose lives that you come in contact with don't forget to share the gospel Spirit share in the Gospel please be ready to answer each man and woman the questions they may have about our faith may God bless you and please contact us if you have questions a y z c dot org. a y c c dot org. 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Welcome to equipping the Saints with Pastor Vincent Bradshaw at Grace Church of Sacramento we adore Christ renew our minds in Scripture function in service of body and evangelize our community have the world we want the Bible to transform your heart and mind did produce a holy life surrendered to God because mentoring in training is key to growing in God and serving Him we come alongside to train you is a saint one who is called to serve and sacrifice for Christ Now here's pastor Vincent with today's message on equipping the saints if anyone's isn't price he is a. Crude sure that word now there's a couple different words for new in Greek one is new in time like I got the latest version of something there's another word this is this word which is a new in category which means that if I got something completely off the scale something completely that has never been dreamed of when he says that you're a new creature it doesn't mean that you're an updated version of the old man you are completely and totally radically different there is absolutely no over all of us have something that needs to be crucified the problem with. For Paul it's a living sacrifices is they have a 10 tendency to crawl off the altar we we see that we dedicate things to Christ and we put them on the altar and then we kind of take them back but they crawl off we put ourselves on the altar and we tend to crawl off all of us have something to be crucified as we become more and more like Christ could be a time could be your money it could be your vanity it could be what you think about your body maybe you're really really into how you work or or this or this in this the idea is to give everything that price and let him Grace you fully healed you amazing things with you if you give everything you are to Him This is the transformation that we're talking about on Friday night we were talking about James chapter 2 where James is talking about the 120 year old Abraham who offered up Isaac or was willing to offer a bicycle on the altar and the idea there is that at over 100 years or even at $100.00 he didn't even think that he could get a son like Isaac he didn't care about his life everything he had at that age was invested in this one precious son that he had and he was willing to kill him if God said so no he didn't have to do that God was testing but the kind of wife you want to live is like Abraham that is completely sold out to God willing to give the most precious things for the person who gave himself up for you that's what living like a Christian as anything less than that is something less than living for Christ he's totally integrations chapter 2 I mean and James Chapter 2 if you ever read that we're talking about this on Friday night right after Abraham James uses the example of Rahab the harlot and it's a great example because for all of us who think that all of this face stuff faith stuff is for these great people like Abraham and David and Paul Well I think you can match Rahab the Harlot. I don't think any of you are going to say Well Rand the harlot such a spiritual Superstar No no no no it's for you and when she took on the spies she knew that God had planned to put all of her old friends and city to death and as a Canaanite harlot joining the nation Israel she could expect nothing for herself what were the what was the Jewish nation going to do with the turncoat traitor Canaanite harlot who sheltered the spies gave them reconnaissance so that they could kill all of her city and all their people for a had was willing to give up everything she considered precious to love and obey God you know what God gave to her she became the mother of Boaz and then the royal line of David I cannot prostitute through a lot in what God said you know what I'd love to try to save these people these Canaanite sometimes you wonder did you do the other those Canaanites want to repent well for 6 days the Jewish army circled the city kind of giving everyone a chance to repent you know what we did to the Egyptians we know what you we did what we did to see Honan og Does anyone want to repent none of them can for great have the right to have the candidate prostitute through a lot and with Israel and became a famous mother in Israel it's amazing transformation how we talking about going to church and singing in the choir yes we are but we're talking about something much more than that giving your life in service to Christ with joy and it is joyful anyone here doubt that if you gave yourself 1000000 percent to Christ and you'd be a lot happier than you are now is anyone think that God's going to shortchange Does anyone think that if you weren't 100 percent a 1000000 percent sacrifice and in and thrown into Christ that you wouldn't be the happiest person in the world that means if you're holding out you're strangling your own happiness think about it think about what needs to be crucified and take a tangible step a small step now. A stall step this year to be more in love of Christ now there is something else because there is a new person in a new power this talks about presence and power right the 1st 2 eyes are all I've been crucified with Christ and is no longer I but us a period of power a supreme person lives in you Christ lives in you it's not that you have ceased to exist but your spiritual orientation has been completely 180 percent turned around because Christ makes all the difference man if you are living like a pagan or a non-Christian What are you saying about your faith and what are you saying about Christ Christ really be in you and to be no change does blasphemous Christ face all the difference is soon as he is inside of you everything starts doing a one ating going in the wrong direction $100.00 in the right direction 100 percent what he's talking about the rest of the transformation is the presence but Christ lives in me and the life which I now live I live by faith in his power what does that mean if you're struggling with anything the day Christ can overcome it if you believe he's in you if you live by faith and you're willing to trust him for whatever he commands he provides by his power do you remember what Paul said later on when he was in jail I can do all things if you commands you to be holy You can be all that he commands you to stop lying the simple commands are the south looking at the Internet to be commands you to stop being gossiping he stands or he wants you to stop being lazy and he does then you can do it that is why he's in you to bless you to make you more like him to make you more beautiful to make you more butterfly like even right you probably know that the only thing that God loves is price he loves anything that's like drugs and the more you become like Christ the more you're going to sense his power and the more you're going to change there is nothing. That is that is beyond your power on his power and so what you brought up arguing with you're dissatisfied with this or that dissatisfied with your job Christ can overcome it he may not change your job he definite will not change your wife but he'll make you more holy he'll make you a more of a better servant and he'll make you joyful in the situation where you are you're lusting after something once something dissatisfied look to Christ he can make you happy ever wondered why people who get martyred their crucified on the cross how they can do it because of. Christ especially with people when they're going through things like theirs he specially when people when they're getting their backs in their faces rearrange their eye or their life is used Have you wondered why they could do things like that because of the power of the satisfaction that Christ can bring and in that situation the Galatians needed to know this why because they were trading in the Gospel for a lot of things he see how damaging it is when people start trying to get you to do things on your own power instead of trusting Paul is saying this for the gracious and he's doing it for Ok And then there is a relationship right faith now eternal love he says that the life which I now live in fashion I live by faith in the Son of God because you haven't seen him face to face you can see him working it's a little bit like gravity or something you can see gravity working you can't maybe see it directly but if you're a Christian and you've seen how Christ has delivered you from a 1000000 things a 1000000 hateful thoughts a 1000000 things that you would have said to ruin relationships the 1000000 things that you would have done in your ignorance and your fleshly is already in your fear or your anger and your loss and he saves you from that and he's built you up and he's giving you a taste for things that are holy and he's given you a shame and a guilt and a repentance for things that are nasty then you understand a little bit what is live like to live by. And price and that faith will $1.00 day be site that's what all of this is in one verse transformation presence and relationship all in one verse this is an amazing now we can get a little bit more into this because some of these are in the past right to life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son Who Loved Me When did Christ love you guys the Bible said Christ love you before the foundation of the earth you were created as an object of His love it didn't come afterward fusions one for Romans $82029.00 says he loved you before you even existed your own love object he created you to be an object of his love because He loves the love for Shaun for 19 says we love him because he loved us 1st this is stretching back all the way before you existed Sometimes I say to my children you know you are just agree even the gleam in your father's eyes you know I was loving not you and I didn't even know who you were yet you were there and somehow in my right there just a gleam in your father's eyes you didn't even exist for some there in the love that he had with the man has for the woman who loved me he gave himself up for for me we used to sing this old Baptist him were you there when they crucified my Lord in this were you there were you there spiritually you were there I You didn't exist yet he knew who you were he was dying for your sons were you there well you weren't there physically but you were there in the love of Christ yes you were there he was doing that for you 2000 news God was bearing your send an impi your sin was imputed to him in his word righteousness was being imputed to you and you were just waiting to be called and. What this really means is that when the old you is gone the love relationship that you have with yourself should be history. When we talk about a new relationship and a new love you have been delivered from that nasty love of self which characterize your old life and still creeps in a little bit now and your life should be dominated by the love that's just kind of interesting about this verse because if you're using talk to people who don't know crisis I am the bad sense now it's. In the kids used to have a love affair with yourself any time if you don't look back at your old life and realize how many relationships you thrashed I remember I was 30 when I got saved and it was going to the point right couldn't get along with any group of roommates we'd always part haggling over something or you know I wasn't getting along with I think back on my life and has felt like marriages I have is just a bunch of broken relationships and sort of so I was there because we were all out for a self set of being objective up things we always argued from our own point of view we always did things were on point of view all the wars all the murders all the whatever is out there is all because people are consumed with self that should be. It should be all about Christ not peace at any price love of Christ at all costs just in case you think that this may bring you on the short end of the stick I mean this region John Collins The only way to get what Christ has to offer is to be united to him by I think we must understand the only way to get what Christ has to offer is to be united to him by faith we must understand that as long as Christ remains outside of us and we are separated from him and you know the difference by transformation all that he has suffered in turn for the salvation of the human race race remains useless and of no value for us but once we get in the Christ then we get everything he has to offer especially his righteousness when we are in Christ God considers us as righteous as his own son now because we are righteous . But because we are in the cross when Paul says for me to read his cries and to die is mean why is dying game because he's going to be with Christ I mean right now to live is Christ is greatest by faith but how can that be better because I'm going to see him face to face dying is gain in that sense I'm totally sold out to cry some transformed by cries I have his presence I was bar I have this relationship I know he loved me before I love him I know he died for me but I still don't get a chance to be with him face to face and that sense to die is gain Now how many of you think that way face it none of those men were stored away to attach to our basketball games on earth I what ever it is we're fleshly fleshly creatures how many of you can say Man I can't wait to just serve like crazy and then you know even get better than I was Paul's attitude what does that mean that we give up no Christ is real and if you really start seeing what your mentality in your heart is supposed to look like we'll get there more and more to give up and say well you know no one can do that that's for Abraham No it's for a are the harlot is for you to read the canon I prostitute who became the mother of Boaz and became in the royal line and it's really if you have the faith and you increase in your above for Christ's voice that delicious or that let's just kind of go back now and see what Paul is talking about because Paul is talking about the gospel of verse 16 you can go and look at you can go ahead and you can go and look at you he's talking about the gospel that you can never be right with God by your own works because you're a worm you just can't do anything at all you can do. And I'm 17 now as we go through the passage if while seeking to be justified in Christ we ourselves have also been found sinners as Christ a minister of sin we have never been what is he saying sometimes people are afraid of grace. They say boy if you're not under the law then you can do anything you want right now because you're a new creature you love Christ you should hate sin and if you're not then you're really in trouble but the law is based on threatening and beating the old man you better do this you better do this you better do this you better do this and that's what some people in the church that's all they know all they know is to sit around and beat you and threaten you and and motivate you by fear and when you take away those rules sometimes people get really really uncomfortable like we just can't live by faith in Christ that's not enough oh is that right as if the law ever did anything for you to make you right oh it can mold you plastically by fear in a stick Christ doesn't want that if you really love him and he's in you he'll give you the power and they're a little bit of afraid of the Gospel here the Jews were a little bit of afraid because they were so used to their threatening and classically conforming rules that they that if we have the gospel that we just kind of let people free as new creatures they were a little bit scared of that and they said you know your new gospel Paul might make Christ a manner of minister of sin you're going to set these sinners free because they're butterflies in the making you can give them a little bit of or they're still children you still have to maul them a little bit we all are that way but they don't need a lot of beat them and threaten him anymore because there's new people there my sons that they're not slaves living by fear and paused to say but if was going to be justified all Paul has to say in verse 18 for if I read what I want to destroy the law is for people who have never died to themselves they need to threaten then neither of the fear but if you're a new person in Christ and you throw in that old person in the garbage can and you don't rebuild it and you never thought he was worth anything anymore you just going to go for it in Christ then you're in and the Gospels for you in the Gospel in 1000 he says for through the law died to the law that I might live to God you're right the law killed me the law condemned me. But I reached out to Christ and now I have the promise of something I have the actuality of something better now on the promise of something and then he gets into our viewers in verse 21 when he says that do you I do not know if I the grace of God Some people would say that Paul this new gospel you're going against God's plan he gave us the law for so many years why are you going against God's plan Paul explain in the next chapter that this is God's plan the law was meant to crush your pride and get you to come to Christ for us this is God The Law was always supposed to lead to grace it never was a thing that could stand by us this is God's plan to die under the law and say I give up I don't want to be myself anymore I want to be a new creature in Christ I want to live completely to God and God bless that way this is God's plan the law was never though the finest This is really where pause going to go in the next chapter and verse 2 and 324 he says Therefore the law has become our tutor to lead us this is God's plan the law supposed to crush and show your helplessness so that you come in Christ get your sin and you get this right through that's going to deal with one thing is because sometimes it can be confusing because other sects and cults can look really good by the law I don't there's a person here who hasn't at one point said you know what but the Mormons they live really good locks and they can be confusing to you sometimes sometimes a kind of dance your faith in the Gospel little bit by saying you know here I am struggling you know just to you know talk to my brother or whatever and he the want to look that they do look good or the Jehovah's Witnesses have a squeaky clean testimony they're so good and we have to admit that we all wonder that sometimes that sorry but where is it coming from is it coming from software is it coming from. Let me give an example if I talked to one of you guys and said you know your testimony is so good you're such an encouragement to me you would immediately deny the I would say you know it's just God in me I'm a worm I look a little bit like a butterfly now praise God The difference is you go to a squeaky clean Mormon and you go to a squeaky clean Jehovah's Witness and say you know what you're actually a dirty rotten sinner I know you lust after other people's wives and. You would immediately get what my God per cent. Asked why so we're getting what I'm saying yes squeaky clean but as soon as you put a finger on your pride you'll see exactly where it's coming from the double Stoli behind those people they have a fantastic fantastic outward testimony just to make Christians from but if you start saying go to one of those guys those really heavy you know church men where they had practically follow the rules and say you know you're actually a dirty rotten Center and you're in need of grace and you're actually down deep in your heart just like me you're a rotten person you start to see what comes out really quick tons of pride and the type of work that comes out of that is the thing that Paul says is condemn them all before God Those people are nothing more than modern Ferris's I am not saying that their testimony doesn't make them good citizens it does but that squeaky clean is that you often see that comes from monumental pride is the exact thing that Paul says is totally smelly before and look 18 there was is I love what we read of the offering today about this this woman who put in 2 pennies but in looking at team there's this guy who thinks he's great he's praying to God you know I'm glad you did make me like this person here because I'm so very and there's a sinner going Lord I'm warm Would you please accept me he's in and the other guys don't get mistake some people have of squeaky clean squeaky clean exterior but you start putting a finger on your pride you'll start to see really quickly work better be broken. The By faith in Christ he no we sing hymns like this various Lord Jesus ruler of all nature oh you have God and man the son you will I cherish you will I honor you my soul's glory join it's great that you are my Jesus I love you I know you are mine for you all the follies of sin I resign I better start was not my gracious Redeemer my Savior are you I if ever I loved you my Jesus I love your life I love you and death and praise you as long as the lender's me breath and say when the deaf the lies call my bro for I loved you my Jesus will help you what I hope you see the blessings of living this way it's for Abraham it's for David it's for Paul it's for Rahab the harlot and it's for us. We pray that the Holy Spirit has used equipping the Saints to transform your thoughts affections and motivations so that you may further love and obey God Vincent Bradshaw's the pastor here of Grace Church of Sacramento and a professor of biblical languages at the Cornerstone seminary in Vallejo California at Grace Church of Sacramento we offer ministries for Children Youth couples singles in individual and group counseling get equipped in the areas of Christian living private devotions theology evangelism preaching in teaching and the biblical languages of Hebrew Aramaic can great Join us for worship on Sundays at 10 45 am and 6 pm Grace Church of Sacramento located 8071 old Auburn road in Citrus Heights California zip code 95610 contact us at 916-705-9929 or on line at Grace Sacramento dot org That's 916-705-9929 or on line at Grace Sacramento dot org. With pastor. Priest church of Sacramento. The future. Should be. So many and if you're going to wait until you're. Because you. 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