1 00:00:00,360 --> 00:00:03,320 In the name of the glorious Trinity, Father and Son and Holy 2 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:07,000 Spirit, forever Amen. Glory be to the everlasting 3 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:10,920 mercies which sent you to us, O Christ, the Light of the world 4 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:14,640 and the life of all. Give us wisdom by your law and 5 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:16,680 enlighten our impulses by Your knowledge. 6 00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:20,720 Sanctify our souls by Your truth and grant that we may be 7 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:24,200 obedient to Your words and may fulfil Your commandments at 8 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:27,520 every hour. O You who enlightens the 9 00:00:27,520 --> 00:00:31,680 rational with the knowledge of Your greatness, do enlight, O my 10 00:00:31,680 --> 00:00:35,520 Lord, our thoughts, that we may meditate upon Your holy and 11 00:00:35,520 --> 00:00:39,880 divine Scriptures at all times. O Lord of all, Father and Son 12 00:00:40,040 --> 00:01:02,160 and Holy Spirit, forever. Of the holy apostles of our Lord 13 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:06,640 and our Savior Jesus Christ. Chapter 15 Last episode The 14 00:01:06,640 --> 00:01:10,560 church in Antioch was met with a dilemma over circumcision of the 15 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:14,840 Gentiles who were converting and receiving the Holy Spirit and 16 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:18,520 receiving the Holy Spirit even before being baptized. 17 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:23,960 Now some men, both Gentiles and Jews, Jews and Gentiles who had 18 00:01:23,960 --> 00:01:28,320 believed and those Gentiles who were more closer to the Jewish 19 00:01:28,320 --> 00:01:33,440 faith and acceptance of the Jewish faith, held on the that 20 00:01:33,440 --> 00:01:38,040 circumcision had to be adhered to. 21 00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:42,880 So some of these men who held on the circumcision, who came from 22 00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:46,200 Judea, by the way, in Syria to Antioch, they were teaching that 23 00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:49,280 if you're not circumcised, you don't have salvation or you 24 00:01:49,280 --> 00:01:52,080 don't have the life in our Lord and our Savior Jesus Christ. 25 00:01:52,080 --> 00:01:56,000 And Saint Paul And Barnabas knew that that was not the case, that 26 00:01:56,320 --> 00:02:01,280 all that was required was faith and the fulfillment of the 27 00:02:01,280 --> 00:02:04,480 commandments of Jesus Christ. Now we're reviewing this just 28 00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:07,520 for those people who are listening to these podcasts for 29 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:11,480 the first time or this episode. So they along so that that is 30 00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:15,960 Paul and Barnabas along with the church, those who are for and 31 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:18,920 against. So a group of those who are for 32 00:02:18,920 --> 00:02:22,360 circumcision, against the circumcision of the Gentiles, 33 00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:26,440 along with Saint Paul and Barnabas decreed to travel to 34 00:02:26,440 --> 00:02:29,920 Jerusalem and to meet with the apostles, that is Saint Peter 35 00:02:30,040 --> 00:02:33,480 and Saint James and the elders. That is the precipitous, oh, the 36 00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:38,000 priest, the elders, so that they can come to an agreement. 37 00:02:39,640 --> 00:02:43,160 And while they were there, some of the believing Pharisees now 38 00:02:43,560 --> 00:02:46,960 who had believed stood up saying that it is necessary for the 39 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:51,480 Gentiles to be circumcised and to command them to keep the law 40 00:02:51,480 --> 00:02:53,400 of Moses. So they need to keep the law of 41 00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:57,040 the Moses and be circumcised according to God's covenant with 42 00:02:57,160 --> 00:02:59,160 Abraham. And we know that they were 43 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:02,320 referring to such Scripture as Scripture. 44 00:03:02,320 --> 00:03:04,920 And I'm going to read it again. I know I read it last episode, 45 00:03:04,920 --> 00:03:09,920 but again Genesis chapter 17 verses 10 to 13, God said to 46 00:03:09,920 --> 00:03:14,080 Abraham and you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin and 47 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:16,840 it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. 48 00:03:17,920 --> 00:03:21,920 And a son of eight days shall be circumcised among you. 49 00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:27,240 Every male of your for your generations born in the house 50 00:03:27,640 --> 00:03:32,120 and bought with money from any son of a foreigner that is a 51 00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:36,080 Gentile that was not from your seed to curse the circumcise. 52 00:03:36,080 --> 00:03:37,400 They just need to be circumcised. 53 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:42,000 Let the one born in your house and brought with your silver be 54 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:45,160 circumcised. And my covenant, this covenant, 55 00:03:45,320 --> 00:03:51,320 this law, this decree will be in your flesh among you for an 56 00:03:51,320 --> 00:03:53,720 eternal covenant. It's an eternal covenant. 57 00:03:54,240 --> 00:03:58,760 It's an eternal fleshly covenant and the uncircumcised male whose 58 00:03:58,760 --> 00:04:03,320 flesh of his foreskin will not be circumcised, that soul will 59 00:04:03,320 --> 00:04:06,880 be destroyed from his people. He has withdrawn from my 60 00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:10,880 covenant. Genesis again, chapter 17, 61 00:04:10,880 --> 00:04:14,920 verses 10 to 13. So being an eternal covenant, we 62 00:04:14,920 --> 00:04:18,920 discussed that it was simple enough to solve the problem and 63 00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:21,200 move on according to the Old Testament scriptures. 64 00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:25,520 Sol Scriptura and God's law given to Abraham. 65 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:32,160 But we will now learn that wasn't the case and there was an 66 00:04:32,160 --> 00:04:36,040 appeal by the apostles not only to the Scriptures. 67 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:40,040 Obviously that already referred to the Scriptures, the apostles, 68 00:04:40,040 --> 00:04:42,960 maybe some of the apostles and some of the elders and the, the, 69 00:04:43,040 --> 00:04:45,960 the Pharisees have already appealed to the Scriptures, but 70 00:04:45,960 --> 00:04:49,480 they not only appeal to the Scriptures, but to something or 71 00:04:49,480 --> 00:04:52,360 someone greater than the Scriptures. 72 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:54,960 What can be greater than the Word of God? 73 00:04:54,960 --> 00:04:58,120 Well, we'll discuss that. And now who steps in? 74 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:02,600 We're going to read in this time no other than Simon the Rock to 75 00:05:02,600 --> 00:05:06,960 whom Jesus entrusted the keys of the Kingdom of heaven, not the 76 00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:09,520 keys of the Old Testament and the New Testament and the 77 00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:12,440 Pauline letters and Revelation and the Psalms. 78 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:14,840 No, no, no, the Kingdom of heaven, which is the Gospels 79 00:05:14,840 --> 00:05:17,440 themselves, which is Jesus Christ, which is the church and 80 00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:20,840 the Kingdom of heaven. Matthew 10, Matthew 1619. 81 00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:25,520 Now before we continue, there are many other important factors 82 00:05:25,520 --> 00:05:30,520 in this chapter. I don't want to do it injustice. 83 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:33,800 There are many other factors in this chapter that we can learn, 84 00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:38,600 but we're focusing on what the apostles appeal to so that they 85 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:41,640 can overcome this issue and solve it. 86 00:05:42,160 --> 00:05:47,520 And we are trying to see if sola scriptura really played a vital 87 00:05:47,520 --> 00:05:49,600 role. Was it just the scriptures? 88 00:05:50,680 --> 00:05:54,520 There's a lot of other factors were according to the Protestant 89 00:05:54,520 --> 00:05:57,520 Reformation, for example, the moral teaching of the Old 90 00:05:57,520 --> 00:06:00,040 Testament don't apply to Christians. 91 00:06:00,040 --> 00:06:03,040 That's what they say. They use this chapter to say 92 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:04,720 that's it. It's done, abolished. 93 00:06:04,920 --> 00:06:07,800 No, beloved, we're going to read that and we're going to learn 94 00:06:07,800 --> 00:06:11,080 that. We'll also touch up on that when 95 00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:17,240 we come to the verse. When we come to the verse, we 96 00:06:17,240 --> 00:06:21,240 will see that the primacy of Peter also is in question here 97 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:25,200 and the primacy of Pope is also going to be in question here. 98 00:06:26,280 --> 00:06:27,800 Let's continue reading the Scriptures. 99 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:32,440 Acts chapter 15, verses 6:00 and 7:00. 100 00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:36,840 Then the apostles and elders assemble to consider this 101 00:06:36,840 --> 00:06:39,400 matter. Notice, notice very carefully 102 00:06:39,560 --> 00:06:44,640 the apostles and elders, not the entire church, not the 103 00:06:44,640 --> 00:06:47,880 laypeople, not the faithful who had believed in Jesus Christ and 104 00:06:47,880 --> 00:06:51,640 were baptized. No, it was the apostles and the 105 00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:54,760 elders. Hence we call it the holy 106 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:59,720 Apostolic and Universal Church. Then the apostles and elders 107 00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:03,160 assemble to consider this matter, to discuss this matter. 108 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:07,880 And after much controversy, there must have been a lot of 109 00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:11,320 argument. And no, but you know, Genesis 110 00:07:11,320 --> 00:07:15,320 17, Isaiah and, and Ezekiel, and you know, they were reading all 111 00:07:15,320 --> 00:07:17,880 these Old Testament scriptures and there was a lot of 112 00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:22,000 controversy. Simon Peter rose up and said to 113 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:26,080 the men and brethren, You know that from the early days God 114 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:31,440 chose that from my mouth. The Gentiles should hear the 115 00:07:31,440 --> 00:07:36,760 word of the gospel and believe God did it through His Holy 116 00:07:36,760 --> 00:07:38,760 Spirit. What is he referring to? 117 00:07:40,360 --> 00:07:45,360 If we go to Acts chapter 10, we read about one person. 118 00:07:46,760 --> 00:07:51,120 His name is Cornelius, a centurion of the regiment which 119 00:07:51,120 --> 00:07:55,400 is called the Italian. He was a devout, righteous 120 00:07:55,400 --> 00:08:00,640 person, but he was a Gentile and God received his arms, his 121 00:08:00,640 --> 00:08:04,520 prayers, his faith in the one true God. 122 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:08,040 And what happens then? Simon goes. 123 00:08:08,040 --> 00:08:11,520 Now Simon, remember Simon was reluctant. 124 00:08:12,280 --> 00:08:16,560 In that chapter 10, we see that Simon sees a vision when God 125 00:08:16,560 --> 00:08:18,680 says to him, Simon, get up and eat. 126 00:08:18,680 --> 00:08:21,760 There was all these creepy and crawling things in a in a in a 127 00:08:21,760 --> 00:08:24,320 plate, let's say, or in a, in a sheet. 128 00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:27,120 And Simon Says, Oh Lord, no, nothing. 129 00:08:27,120 --> 00:08:29,120 The father's come into gone into me. 130 00:08:29,120 --> 00:08:32,360 He said eat what I have purified. 131 00:08:32,480 --> 00:08:38,440 You cannot defile. So Simon listen appeals to a 132 00:08:38,440 --> 00:08:43,400 vision. Simon appeals to an experience. 133 00:08:44,080 --> 00:08:48,280 Simon not only appealed to the Old Testament and the Scriptures 134 00:08:48,400 --> 00:08:52,440 because they did this, they would have gone back to the 135 00:08:52,440 --> 00:08:57,040 Scriptures and said that this is the covenant with God. 136 00:08:57,360 --> 00:09:01,400 OK, but now Simon is also appealing to something else. 137 00:09:02,680 --> 00:09:07,320 Let's read on. And God, which is the Father, 138 00:09:07,320 --> 00:09:13,800 the Son, and the Holy Spirit? Really, praise be to the name of 139 00:09:13,800 --> 00:09:16,760 the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit, one God. 140 00:09:17,280 --> 00:09:23,280 And God who knows what is in the heart has testified according to 141 00:09:23,280 --> 00:09:27,960 them, the Gentiles, and has given them the Holy Spirit, just 142 00:09:27,960 --> 00:09:31,760 as He did to us. And He did not discriminate 143 00:09:31,760 --> 00:09:36,920 between us and them because the purify, because He purified 144 00:09:36,920 --> 00:09:41,840 their hearts by faith. God, who knows everything has 145 00:09:41,960 --> 00:09:45,760 already done this. This is grace, beloved, this is 146 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:47,800 grace. God has already done it. 147 00:09:47,800 --> 00:09:53,040 God has accepted them. So why are we now arguing about 148 00:09:53,440 --> 00:09:57,680 what was written in the Holy Scriptures and only adhering to 149 00:09:57,680 --> 00:09:59,200 that? God has done it. 150 00:09:59,520 --> 00:10:04,920 So are we going to now dare to say, Oh Lord, your words are not 151 00:10:04,920 --> 00:10:10,720 everlasting because you said something in Genesis 17. 152 00:10:12,240 --> 00:10:14,480 You said something in Genesis 17. 153 00:10:14,520 --> 00:10:18,640 Now you've changed your mind. Can the apostle have said this? 154 00:10:19,280 --> 00:10:21,920 Can they have argued with Simon and said no? 155 00:10:21,920 --> 00:10:26,840 But why did God do this? Why did God perform this? 156 00:10:26,840 --> 00:10:30,760 Why did God bestow the Holy Spirit upon these Gentiles who 157 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:34,040 are not circumcised? And it is God who said my 158 00:10:34,040 --> 00:10:39,680 covenant is eternal because at that time that needed to be the 159 00:10:39,680 --> 00:10:43,440 case. Beloved, God was working with 160 00:10:43,440 --> 00:10:46,200 men. God came down and took flesh. 161 00:10:46,400 --> 00:10:51,560 God became man. You know, God could took on body 162 00:10:52,280 --> 00:10:57,000 through this this people God took on flesh. 163 00:10:58,280 --> 00:11:01,120 You know, I was I was mentioning in the Assyrian section that we 164 00:11:01,120 --> 00:11:05,120 need to talk about this God in the Old Testament whom we say so 165 00:11:05,120 --> 00:11:08,040 loving this God that we see in Jesus Christ. 166 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:13,240 The God that Jesus portrayed in the holy Gospels is different to 167 00:11:13,240 --> 00:11:16,640 the God of the Old Testament. He is telling people to smite 168 00:11:16,640 --> 00:11:21,200 and to obliterate children even right. 169 00:11:21,360 --> 00:11:22,800 We need to talk about that one day. 170 00:11:23,560 --> 00:11:26,520 It's the same God, but it's not God who's doing that. 171 00:11:26,720 --> 00:11:28,880 We'll talk about that one day, I promise you. 172 00:11:29,440 --> 00:11:32,720 So God has already done this. What are we worried about? 173 00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:36,080 What can we can we go against God? 174 00:11:36,200 --> 00:11:39,480 You know, I think he's, he's remembering his own 175 00:11:39,480 --> 00:11:42,520 admonishment. Now, you know, we say in a 176 00:11:42,520 --> 00:11:47,760 Syrian Cresam and Perdesa, the, the rod from paradise. 177 00:11:48,960 --> 00:11:53,560 I think it, it refers to the, the, the spear that the Angel 178 00:11:53,560 --> 00:11:56,560 held in any case, right? There's some Perdesa, right? 179 00:11:57,280 --> 00:12:00,480 He's remembering, listen, I went against God. 180 00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:03,960 God told me that he's going to do this. 181 00:12:04,160 --> 00:12:08,240 And I said, Oh no, Lord, I can't be defiled. 182 00:12:09,640 --> 00:12:13,240 And he's referring to Acts chapter 10, verse 15, those 183 00:12:13,240 --> 00:12:18,800 things which God has purified. Simon, God tells him you shall 184 00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:22,520 not make impure. And it's the same message that 185 00:12:22,520 --> 00:12:27,800 he is relying or relaying. So where's our Scripture here? 186 00:12:29,440 --> 00:12:33,640 So did they? Did they? 187 00:12:35,600 --> 00:12:40,360 Is there a problem here that the apostles are not adhering to the 188 00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:44,080 perfect word of God that is eternal and everlasting? 189 00:12:44,240 --> 00:12:49,920 Let's keep going. So Saint Paul is saying, listen, 190 00:12:50,320 --> 00:12:53,000 we circumcised St. Peter, I'm sorry. 191 00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:56,400 We have circumcised and received the Holy Spirit. 192 00:12:56,600 --> 00:12:59,760 These people have also received the Holy Spirit. 193 00:12:59,880 --> 00:13:04,800 Now you can't now argue and say, well, no, that was not the Holy 194 00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:07,800 Spirit. No, Simon witnessed that himself 195 00:13:07,800 --> 00:13:11,640 while he was preaching. He saw the Holy Spirit descend 196 00:13:11,640 --> 00:13:14,000 on those Gentiles who were listening. 197 00:13:14,160 --> 00:13:17,960 And he said, can we we withhold water baptism, which is very 198 00:13:17,960 --> 00:13:19,640 important. You talk about that one day 199 00:13:19,960 --> 00:13:22,520 water baptism, which is very important. 200 00:13:22,600 --> 00:13:25,920 Can we withhold the water baptism from these people? 201 00:13:25,920 --> 00:13:27,880 No, they've received the Holy Spirit. 202 00:13:27,880 --> 00:13:30,440 So the Holy Spirit was being received before even being 203 00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:33,600 baptized. So do you see the argument? 204 00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:38,280 Do you see the argument? So, you know, let's sort of not 205 00:13:38,280 --> 00:13:40,320 wrap it up, but just let's let's talk about this. 206 00:13:40,320 --> 00:13:45,040 You know, when when we come to discuss the church, the life of 207 00:13:45,040 --> 00:13:49,120 the church, the traditions of the church, the oral traditions 208 00:13:49,120 --> 00:13:53,000 of the church, the written traditions of the church, we 209 00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:57,000 can't just base our appeal on the Holy Scriptures and say, 210 00:13:57,120 --> 00:14:00,640 what is it in the Scriptures? WWJD. 211 00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:11,520 No, it's actually WH TCD. What has the church been doing? 212 00:14:11,520 --> 00:14:16,240 I forgot the BWWJD. No, Jesus has done it. 213 00:14:16,800 --> 00:14:19,560 He's established it. He's laid the foundation, 214 00:14:19,760 --> 00:14:23,800 entrusted it to the Church. How has the Church been 215 00:14:23,800 --> 00:14:27,840 practicing this? Circumcision, Baptism, the 216 00:14:27,840 --> 00:14:31,080 reception of the Holy Spirit? Right. 217 00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:35,960 So we always go back to and say, well, how has the church for the 218 00:14:35,960 --> 00:14:40,400 past 2025 years being LED? Was it only the Scriptures? 219 00:14:40,400 --> 00:14:43,160 No, because there are a lot of things in that not written in 220 00:14:43,160 --> 00:14:46,600 the Scriptures, but they were passed down by the word of 221 00:14:46,600 --> 00:14:54,960 mouth, oral tradition and a verse should be now echoing in 222 00:14:54,960 --> 00:14:58,360 our minds because if we're still thinking, well, I don't feel it 223 00:14:58,760 --> 00:15:02,000 out of I've always said it, it, you know, it doesn't matter what 224 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:05,800 you feel and what you think. It's what the Scriptures say. 225 00:15:06,560 --> 00:15:08,960 They rely on the scriptures. They appeal to the Scriptures 226 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:12,280 and what the Holy Spirit had led the Church, how the Holy Spirit 227 00:15:12,280 --> 00:15:15,880 has been leading the Church, and there should be a averse echoing 228 00:15:15,880 --> 00:15:20,080 in your minds now. Exodus 3320 I shall take pity on 229 00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:24,200 him on whom I shall take pity, and I shall love him whom I 230 00:15:24,200 --> 00:15:27,840 shall love. Romans 915 So, Lord, how can it 231 00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:30,080 be? Lord, You commanded that there 232 00:15:30,080 --> 00:15:32,920 has to be circumcision. You even said to Abraham the 233 00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:35,040 foreigners, but now you're changing your mind. 234 00:15:35,040 --> 00:15:36,920 No, God does not change his mind. 235 00:15:36,920 --> 00:15:41,040 No, it is in his nature, the goodness of God that is now 236 00:15:41,280 --> 00:15:46,320 being, the grace of God that is now being, being present and 237 00:15:46,320 --> 00:15:51,360 evident. Verse 10 Now therefore, why do 238 00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:55,880 you tempt God by putting a yoke upon the necks of the disciples, 239 00:15:56,400 --> 00:16:00,520 which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 240 00:16:00,720 --> 00:16:03,720 Amen to that. Amen to that. 241 00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:08,200 Listen, we had the law, we had the Mosaic law, we had 242 00:16:08,200 --> 00:16:12,840 circumcision, we circumcised, we were received into God's people 243 00:16:12,840 --> 00:16:15,080 and we were called God's people, but we sinned. 244 00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:19,600 We continued to sin. They sinned without the law. 245 00:16:19,760 --> 00:16:23,880 We sinned with the law. They sinned with the law of the 246 00:16:23,880 --> 00:16:25,960 nature, the law being written on their hearts. 247 00:16:26,080 --> 00:16:28,840 We had the written law. You know, that's what Paul talks 248 00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:31,080 about in Romans. But we all sinned. 249 00:16:31,200 --> 00:16:36,840 We received the Holy Spirit. They have also received the Holy 250 00:16:36,840 --> 00:16:39,040 Spirit. So let's not burden them. 251 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:42,800 It was even unbearable on their fathers. 252 00:16:42,800 --> 00:16:44,840 Paul goes on to say, sorry, I keep saying Paul. 253 00:16:44,840 --> 00:16:48,640 Peter goes on to say, but we believe that through the grace 254 00:16:48,640 --> 00:16:52,120 of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved even as they let 255 00:16:56,400 --> 00:16:59,640 me read that again Now therefore, why do you tempt God 256 00:16:59,640 --> 00:17:02,840 by putting a yoke upon the necks of the disciples which neither 257 00:17:02,920 --> 00:17:09,440 our fathers, which neither our fathers nor we were able to 258 00:17:09,560 --> 00:17:10,599 bear. Why? 259 00:17:10,599 --> 00:17:13,760 Because they continued to sin. Why St. 260 00:17:13,760 --> 00:17:17,800 Marisudat writes it and comments because they were continually 261 00:17:17,800 --> 00:17:22,040 subdued under the weight of curse and the multitude of sins. 262 00:17:22,160 --> 00:17:25,640 This is history. This historical beloved verse 11 263 00:17:25,720 --> 00:17:29,680 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ 264 00:17:29,920 --> 00:17:35,880 we shall be saved even as they have, we shall be saved. 265 00:17:35,880 --> 00:17:40,280 Why? Because Romans 223 Because we 266 00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:44,320 have all transgressed the Jews and the Gentiles. 267 00:17:44,560 --> 00:17:47,520 We have all transgressed against the law. 268 00:17:47,720 --> 00:17:51,600 God Himself we have despised and disgraced. 269 00:17:51,760 --> 00:17:55,640 Romans 223 shut the version Beautiful. 270 00:17:57,120 --> 00:17:59,400 We have all fallen short of grace of God. 271 00:17:59,400 --> 00:18:04,040 No, no, actually it says we have all transgressed against the law 272 00:18:04,400 --> 00:18:08,600 and God himself we have despised and disgraced. 273 00:18:09,400 --> 00:18:12,840 We are all fallen short. Grace. 274 00:18:13,120 --> 00:18:16,680 The word grace, that's the first time it appears in the book of 275 00:18:16,680 --> 00:18:18,000 Acts. What does it mean? 276 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:19,440 It means that God has already done it. 277 00:18:20,360 --> 00:18:23,040 God has done this. We don't need to do anything. 278 00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:27,280 We don't need to go back and now argue whether it is right or 279 00:18:27,280 --> 00:18:30,840 wrong. You know, when we, when we, when 280 00:18:30,840 --> 00:18:34,200 we do that, it's though as though Jesus has failed. 281 00:18:34,200 --> 00:18:37,800 It's as though we don't accept what Christ has already done for 282 00:18:37,800 --> 00:18:39,000 us. No. 283 00:18:41,240 --> 00:18:43,800 God sent the Holy Spirit upon these people. 284 00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:48,280 God saw their heart. When Cornelius was praying and 285 00:18:48,280 --> 00:18:52,600 offering his arms his his charitable work, God saw the 286 00:18:52,600 --> 00:19:00,080 heart that is a a contrite spirit, a pure heart, truly 287 00:19:00,080 --> 00:19:04,000 searching for the true God or worshipping the true God through 288 00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:05,560 the law that is written on the heart. 289 00:19:05,720 --> 00:19:10,680 And God accepted that. Hence God sends Simon for him to 290 00:19:10,680 --> 00:19:14,440 go and preach in order for him to receive the Holy Spirit and 291 00:19:14,600 --> 00:19:17,280 for in order for him to be baptized. 292 00:19:17,680 --> 00:19:26,200 So now we see that the appeal to the Scriptures wasn't the only 293 00:19:26,200 --> 00:19:31,720 appeal by the apostles. The appeal to the Scriptures was 294 00:19:31,720 --> 00:19:38,000 not the basis of Simon's argument and support of the 295 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:44,680 Gentiles, no, but rather the experience he had with the Holy 296 00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:47,760 Spirit. That's why I mentioned God, the 297 00:19:47,760 --> 00:19:51,040 Triune, God the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 298 00:19:51,880 --> 00:19:54,720 Simon was moved by the Holy Spirit. 299 00:19:54,800 --> 00:19:59,480 Simon experienced something which pertained to the Gentiles 300 00:19:59,480 --> 00:20:02,880 to be, to come into Christianity, to believe and to 301 00:20:02,880 --> 00:20:05,400 be baptized and to receive the Holy Spirit. 302 00:20:05,800 --> 00:20:12,320 Simon saw this, God told him, and he relied and appealed to 303 00:20:12,320 --> 00:20:15,800 the guidance and the work of the Holy Spirit. 304 00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:20,080 That Holy Spirit that Jesus promised in John chapter 14 305 00:20:20,080 --> 00:20:26,160 verse 26 but he, the paraclate, the Spirit of holiness, whom the 306 00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:31,240 Father sends in my name, He shall teach you everything and 307 00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:35,560 He shall remind you of all that I have said to you. 308 00:20:35,800 --> 00:20:41,320 The church today relies on the Scriptures, relies on the 309 00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:45,160 appeals to the Scriptures, but also relies on the 310 00:20:45,160 --> 00:20:51,520 interpretation, the guidance of the Holy Spirit according to the 311 00:20:51,520 --> 00:20:56,680 Scriptures, beloved. So if we argue solar Scriptura, 312 00:20:56,760 --> 00:21:00,760 if it is only the Scriptures, there is nothing that is 313 00:21:00,760 --> 00:21:05,200 required more and above and outside of the Scriptures. 314 00:21:05,520 --> 00:21:09,560 Well, we go back again to this early church. 315 00:21:09,680 --> 00:21:16,120 These are Simon and James and Paul and and the the believers 316 00:21:16,120 --> 00:21:21,120 and the the presbyters. These people did not only appeal 317 00:21:21,120 --> 00:21:24,920 to these scriptures, they had the authority we love. 318 00:21:24,920 --> 00:21:27,240 They were being led by the Holy Spirit. 319 00:21:28,760 --> 00:21:34,240 You know that authority that was vested in the the apostles, what 320 00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:36,960 you bound on earth is bound in heaven. 321 00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:40,840 Now it was all according to the will, the direction, the 322 00:21:40,840 --> 00:21:44,960 appeasing of the Holy Spirit. And as I said, there's other 323 00:21:44,960 --> 00:21:48,400 lessons we can learn and we will learn, beloved, as we come. 324 00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:53,360 You know, as I said, Chapter 15 of the book of Acts is known to, 325 00:21:53,560 --> 00:21:59,040 to, to totally separate the old and the new, the old covenant 326 00:21:59,040 --> 00:22:03,440 and the new covalent and, and totally annihilate the old 327 00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:05,880 covenant and abolish. But no, we'll see that that's 328 00:22:05,880 --> 00:22:09,800 not the case. They still, they still appeal to 329 00:22:09,800 --> 00:22:12,840 appeal to the, to the circumcision of the Old 330 00:22:12,840 --> 00:22:16,880 Testament, but it was now a new covenant that Jesus had given 331 00:22:16,880 --> 00:22:19,160 through his commandments and his life. 332 00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:27,720 So when we want to be living the life that is appeasing to God, 333 00:22:29,200 --> 00:22:34,080 when we're confused because we hear all these different 334 00:22:34,080 --> 00:22:42,040 messages, why don't we pray to the Holy Spirit, beseech the 335 00:22:42,040 --> 00:22:47,120 Holy Spirit, the third Kanuma of the Holy Trinity, the third 336 00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:51,800 hypotheses, the third persona of the Holy Trinity. 337 00:22:53,480 --> 00:22:56,800 Oh Spirit, you lead me, you guide me. 338 00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:01,440 And if at times and and how do we ask the Spirit to lead and 339 00:23:01,440 --> 00:23:04,040 guide through the Scriptures? Amen. 340 00:23:05,440 --> 00:23:08,560 Through the life of the church, the framework of the church, 341 00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:12,920 through our conscience, our minds, our hearts, our thoughts, 342 00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:16,600 our intents. And when the Holy Spirit is 343 00:23:16,600 --> 00:23:19,680 speaking through us through the conscience and maybe hearing his 344 00:23:19,680 --> 00:23:24,200 voice at times, and even if it may be contradicting the Holy 345 00:23:24,200 --> 00:23:27,520 Spirit now, not contradicting in a way that to prove the 346 00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:32,600 scriptures are wrong, no. But if it is not adhering to the 347 00:23:32,600 --> 00:23:35,640 scriptures, well, are you going to argue? 348 00:23:35,640 --> 00:23:37,840 But hang on, Holy Spirit, you said this. 349 00:23:37,840 --> 00:23:41,000 But now, yes, I said that there's a purpose why I said 350 00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:43,240 that. There is a reason why I was 351 00:23:43,240 --> 00:23:46,080 commanding the slaughter of nations. 352 00:23:47,040 --> 00:23:51,360 That wasn't me. God is unchangeable. 353 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:56,840 God is love, beloved, love. But there is reasons why 354 00:23:56,840 --> 00:23:58,960 sometimes we see the harshness of God. 355 00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:03,240 We see some harsh words in the Holy Scriptures and not only 356 00:24:03,240 --> 00:24:07,360 that harsh deeds, the flood, Sodom and Gomorrah. 357 00:24:08,080 --> 00:24:13,200 So going back again, plead with the Holy Spirit to lead and to 358 00:24:13,200 --> 00:24:16,680 guide. Because of that is what Jesus 359 00:24:16,680 --> 00:24:21,400 left his church. Beloved, Jesus didn't leave his 360 00:24:21,400 --> 00:24:25,160 church with the New Testament. The Old Testament was there, the 361 00:24:25,160 --> 00:24:30,000 Pentateuch was there, but Jesus left his church, entrusted his 362 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:34,400 church to the Holy Spirit, and that Holy Spirit led the 363 00:24:34,400 --> 00:24:39,320 apostles that we today adhere to their teachings and their 364 00:24:39,320 --> 00:24:42,520 understanding and their interpretation of the 365 00:24:42,520 --> 00:24:44,840 Scriptures. Praise and glory be to Christ's 366 00:24:44,840 --> 00:24:46,640 name now and at all times and forever. 367 00:24:47,560 --> 00:25:17,390 Amen. We hope you enjoyed this week's 368 00:25:17,390 --> 00:25:19,710 message. Please don't forget to rate and 369 00:25:19,710 --> 00:25:22,430 review this podcast and share with your friends and family. 370 00:25:22,710 --> 00:25:26,190 For any future topic suggestions or to give us detailed feedback, 371 00:25:26,430 --> 00:25:29,430 please visit our link in the Show notes link. 372 00:25:29,430 --> 00:25:33,440 TR EE forward slash double edged sword. 373 00:25:33,920 --> 00:25:35,680 Until next time, God bless you all.