Welcome to the For the Gospel Podcast, where we are all about sound doctrine for everyday people. My name is Kasti Hinn, and I am your host. And on this episode, I am answering your questions. We have been blitzed with dozens upon dozens of questions over the last couple of weeks. And I'm thankful. We really appreciate it. As a team, we love it, and it gives us the excuse to do episodes like this. If you keep asking questions, we'll add in more listener question episodes. And I guarantee if we are answering questions like the ones you all have been asking, we're all going to learn. And we're all going to get sharpened in our understanding of doctrine. So let's jump in. I'll answer as many as I can in about, oh, 20 to 25 minutes here. So if you're commuting somewhere, or if you only got about a 30-minute slot, we're your podcast, and we'll get to the point and get you biblical answers. Here's the first question. How do you explain the difference between men and women's roles? And how are they different but equal? Well, one of my favorite passages on this particular topic is 1 Peter chapter 3, verses 1 through 7. It refers to both the roles of men and women as husbands and wives. And in that section, we see the woman being the weaker vessel. It's a phrase that sometimes triggers feminists and some women who even are in conservative circles, but have heard that phrase misused and abused. But here's the deal: a woman being the weaker vessel just means that women are physically weaker than men. That's pretty typical, unless a woman is on steroids and a man is a very small and weak individual. And so men are called to protect, love, and care for women, and they're to show honor, Peter says. Understanding that a woman is more vulnerable in some ways, and most certainly that is physical. Therefore, we see a woman is to be honored. Well, you don't honor someone by making them a doormat or telling them they're just your cook and a cleaning lady who needs to be quiet and do her job, like some chauvinists will claim. No, complementarianism, which is the view that a man and a woman, husband and wife particularly have distinct roles, but they're equal spiritually, does not condone doormat theology at all. In fact, Peter says in verse 7 of chapter three in first Peter that if a husband doesn't live with his wife in an understanding way, God doesn't even hear his prayers. He also says in that section that a wife is a co-heir of grace. This means that a woman may submit to a husband as part of her role here on earth, but she is an equal heiress to the king of heaven, if you will. God gives us roles to fulfill a purpose. Our mission is to raise godly families, love each other, be sanctified, bring them glory, enjoy one another, relish in our unique differences, and even be attracted to one another. And we have roles to play in marriage. If you think of a baseball team, whenever you think of marriage roles, it makes a lot of sense. If the center fielder refuses to play his position because he wants to pitch, you're going to have a problem. Just like a team, marriage requires roles. All of life has positions and roles. We are all in the team, we're all wearing the jersey, we're all special and equal, co-heirs of grace to our great God, and we work together in those roles to win, not to dominate one another and abdicate our role that God has given. Question number two: how do you reconcile relationships when the other person doesn't want to apologize? This one's pretty simple, even though I know your relationship issue is probably complex. They always are when there's conflict. You do what is right in God's sight and you leave it alone. Plain and simple. Romans 12 18 says, so long as it depends on you, live peaceably with all men or everyone. That's what Paul's referring to. So you do what's right in God's eyes and you leave it alone, unless doors open for conflict resolution and more conversation. And then, hey, if you can, talk about it and resolve it. Next question. How do I graciously leave a church? I'm leaving because of doctrinal issues I can't resolve. Here are my thoughts on that using the Bible as our guide. First, talk to your pastors privately. Nothing is helped by airing this stuff out on social media or publicly. You want to go to them if there's sin or primary doctrinal issues, not secondary, well, you definitely got to talk to them privately and go and show them that sin and that error. I would recommend practically write out your talking points because usually emotions get in the way of these sort of conversations if we don't lay out objective thoughts. Take responsibility for whatever may be your fault, or if it's non-essential, just say, hey, I'm leaving over a doctrinal issue that I know is secondary and not salvific, but my conscience is bound on this one, my conscience. And James 4.17 says that, you know, if this is an issue for me and my conscience and it's sin for me, I've got to really go with how my convictions are shaping up here. We're transferring our membership to such and such a church where we align more doctrinally, and we can be free to worship without thinking about those issues or confusing our children and our home. That'd be an example of how to talk to a pastor privately. They may not like it. You already know that if that's the trunk of your talking point, they are going to run you to the branches often. Well, you're making a big mistake. Well, you better be careful. Well, if you leave this anointed covering, I can't promise that nothing bad's gonna happen to you. If that happens in the conversation, you are doing the right thing and you need to not just walk out of that church, you need to run. But other times, pastors will offer wisdom. Hey, at your next church, be sure to this, this, this. Or, hey, we totally understand, we love you, and if we see you out in the grocery stores or at a sports field somewhere, it's good to know we're still family in Christ. You need to remember no church is perfect. Some churches are just a better fit. Next question: Can I appreciate and respect Reformed theology and Calvinism without being reformed or a Calvinist? Simple answer, yes. Perhaps you appreciate and you respect a reformed or Calvinist love for doctrine. Um, but you're just not there yet doctrinally. Or maybe you appreciate the doctrine of what Calvin taught, which is basically the doctrines of grace, or you appreciate Reformed theology, but you don't like how uh some Calvinists seem so angry online. And some people will say, ah, that's just a caricature, Costi. Come on. But seriously, there's a reason some people call it cage stage, because some of y'all need to be locked up for a little bit till you can calm down about your doctrinal views. And I'm with you on the passion and the truth and bringing it and letting it fly, absolutely for the sake of the gospel and winning souls. But sometimes people can appreciate passion for truth while still not agreeing with the way that we hold our doctrine. Next question. What is the best way to share the gospel with strangers? Here's a few. Number one, preaching in various settings will allow you to do that. Evangelistic events, uh, rescue mission chapels, local church outreach events, all of those are great forums for us as a body to practically be sharing the gospel, but even more specifically for you. If you form relationships with strangers, it makes it easier to share the gospel with them. Not that you need to be scared or you shouldn't share the gospel with a stranger having no prior relationship. People do that all the time, but because you get the opportunity for follow-up and more conversations. And you can make a beeline for the gospel more often in that relationship, and they can ask you more questions. Maybe on a sports field or a grocery checkout line or a parking lot or even engaging people online regularly. Um, you know, I think people are pretty familiar with the Mormon kid rolling up on his bike to come and you know tell you how to go to heaven. And so people are a little skittish of the cold call approach, but I would still look for open doors. Someone who's anxious, they're sick of COVID and isolation, they're feeling the strain of society. All of those situations give you an opportunity to affirm, which would be hey, I totally understand. Man, I couldn't agree more. Oh, sometimes I feel the same way, and then move from affirmation to proclamation. Share why you have hope, share why you have peace, share how you deal with your anxiety. And finally, you know, tracks are great, though I would put these last on the list because I want people to use personal relationship and their own voice to proclaim the gospel as often as possible and not use tracks as an excuse to do what I call drive-by evangelism. You throw a piece of paper at someone and then you bolt. And maybe if you've broken the ice with a gospel conversation, but the person isn't open, giving a track is a great way to say, here, here's something to read. Would you consider it? Would you read through this? See if God prompts your heart to desire him. Maybe you might understand what I've been telling you after you take some time to read this. You know, that's all great. Or it's good if you can't have a conversation and you're leaving it for someone who's not home. Tracks are great, but you are the gospel witness. Do that in person as often as you can. Um here's another question. How woke can a pastor go before they are considered a false teacher? Here's my thought on that. When repentance isn't enough to them, they're a false teacher. When the gospel needs works and social works to be good enough, they're a false teacher. When they're heaping guilt and shame on our children for being white and calling them racist, but claiming, you know, you just don't know it. You're a racist and you don't know it. You got whiteness in your DNA, and I'm here to tell you. Yeah, you're a false teacher. You're falsely teaching things. When the body of Christ can't be unified without critical race theory being a useful tool, you've crossed into false, erroneous teaching. I hope that's helpful. Is universalism heresy? It's another question. Totally it is. Universalism teaches that everyone will eventually be saved, and then you turn over to Mark chapter 8, 36 to 38, and you see Jesus say you can gain the whole world and you can still lose your soul. Um, I think of Matthew 7, 22 and 23. Jesus saying one day he's going to look at people who are calling him Lord, Lord, saying they did all these things in his name. He's going to say, Depart from me, I never knew you. So no, everyone is not going to heaven. Universalism is heresy. Here's another one. This is a fun question and an important one. Thanks for asking this one. Can you explain Mark 16, verses 17 to 18? This is a scripture prosperity preachers turn to. Yeah, totally. I can explain that. Here's the deal. That particular text is the one many of you listening are like, which one is that? Where at the end of Mark's gospel, Jesus is commissioning the disciples, and he says all these big statements that charismatic preachers and prosperity preachers love to quote. You're gonna lay hands on the sick, you're gonna cast out devils, the snakes are gonna bite you, and nothing's gonna hurt you. Yeah, that one. Well, most scholars are in agreement that this section of Mark was not in the earliest and most reliable manuscripts, but let's do this, let's say it was. Okay. There are many moments in the gospels like that where Jesus is speaking specifically to his apostles and about apostles. The apostles would go out and with a word command devils to flee. With a word, they would heal instantly. They didn't need stadiums. Nobody pulled out, you know, uh piano and started playing background music like today's false teachers and supposed faith healers. They didn't pull legs like Todd White, you know, pulling the back of the shoe heel to make it look even. My dad, I remember showing him a YouTube video of that once a couple years ago when he was being more honest about what he used to teach, and he said, Oh, yeah, the old shoe trick. I used to do that one too. This is old tricks, just new guys are pulling it off and getting rich from it. No, that's not what Jesus was talking about. He was talking about real, bona fide, powerful, instantaneous miracles. For example, Paul was bitten by a viper and he shook it off in Acts 28, verse 3. One of my favorite examples of how if Mark 16 and 17 and 18 is truly inspired scripture, well then Paul fulfilled that for sure. It fits. When prosperity preachers use that passage to kind of puff up their chests and act like they have power, in my opinion, coming out of that world, this one is easy. Anybody can talk. I would say, give me a King Cobra, give me a Western Diamondback, and let's see if you are who Jesus was talking about. You may say, yo, Costi, that sounds a little harsh. No, it's just honest. Clear a hospital while you're at it. Or just heal the staff at one of the seven-star hotels you always stay at. Walk up to the front desk and say, silver and gold have I none, but apparently I have a lot because I'm staying in this hotel. But what I really have, the real riches, is the ability to heal you. Everybody who's sick, come here. Come here right now in this hotel and heal them all. Here's why I bring that up. When it comes to theory, prosperity preachers, new apostolic leaders, supposed faith healers, TD Jakes, Steven Furtick, some of these players that are real good at making noise, they're real loud. But when it comes to practice, they're exposed. When's the last time one of the most famous, well-known prosperity preachers and supposed faith healers got bit by a rattlesnake? When's the last time that they prophesied with perfect accuracy for their entire ministry? We just came out of an era where they couldn't cast COVID out. We just came out of an era where there were more false prophecies about Trump getting a second term than people could keep up with on their discernment YouTube channels. These charlatans are exposed. Don't quote Mark 16 to me or anyone else. You can't even live Mark 16. Next question. How did Jesus survive 40 days in the desert without any food or water? Okay, so first and probably easiest, he was God. Right? How did he multiply loaves and fish? How did he walk on water? How did he read people's minds? He was deity, so he could survive for a hundred days, two hundred days, an entire year if he wanted to. But let's go deeper. Luke chapter four, verse two is the passage that references this fast. And I've got to correct your question, my precious listener, whoever you are, we love you. Thankful for you. No guilt and shame here. Not trying to make you feel bad, but you got it wrong. Read Luke 4, verse 2 again. You're gonna see something. It doesn't say he didn't drink water. It says he ate nothing. So if he fasted without food, but he drank water, he actually wouldn't be the first to go weeks on end without eating in human history. Did a little research on this one. Did you know that at over 70 years old, Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi, went twenty-one days without food, and he only drank small amounts of water. So here's my question. If Gandhi could pull off twenty-one days just drinking small sips of water, I got no problem with Jesus nailing forty. Obviously, again, the easy answer is he was God. But you gotta remember, he ate nothing. It doesn't mean that he didn't drink water. But I want you to notice something else too, really quick. Read just before you see that he ate nothing. When the Spirit is upon him and empowering him and leads him to the wilderness, how did he survive those forty days? Well, the Spirit of God's empowerment helping him to go and be tempted in his greatest moment of need and weakness to showcase his power and his perfection, even as the devil himself would tempt him. Next question At what age should I start to pursue marriage? Here's a simple answer. It's not about age, it's about stage. Some eighteen year olds are ready and mature, some twenty-eight-year-olds shouldn't be allowed near the opposite sex. It's about maturity. Your family support and your accountability matters. Is there a person you're pursuing? I think is another question to ask. Is it steeped in godliness and sexual purity? Or are you playing house? My recommendation on this is watch DTR when it comes out. The Defining the Relationship series we did and put together, the conference for uh singles, college students, next gen, high schoolers, all of you guys, we did this series, put it together, and it is about to come out in just a few weeks, and those are going to be available for free on our YouTube channel. You can watch them with your friends, your small group. We take you through the Song of Solomon, and we'll get into what a good age is to start pursuing marriage. Next question: What was the Holy Spirit's role before Jesus was taken up to heaven? Great question. Here is a quick list that I put together of the Holy Spirit operating actively as God in a number of passages and instances in the Old Testament. So this is all pre-Pentecost, even before Jesus comes, although I just explained in Luke 4.1, Jesus is filled with the Spirit, led by the Spirit. But let's just say Old Testament, go back before the Gospels. Genesis 1 2, the Spirit's hovering over the waters before creation. Exodus 35, verses 30 to 35, he's filling certain men who are under Moses. Numbers 27, 18, he's empowering Joshua to lead Israel. Judges 6, 34, he's coming upon Gideon. Judges 13 25, coming on Samson. He's rushing upon David when David was anointed as king in 1 Samuel 16 13. He's departing from Saul in 1 Samuel 16 14. In 2 Peter 1 21, we see a description of him carrying along the word of the prophets. Ezekiel 2.2, he's enabling Ezekiel to prophesy. And then Isaiah 61:1, he is prophesied to one day come and rest upon the Messiah. So here's what I would say: He is the empowerer. He is coming upon individuals. And rather than like in the New Testament, when he's entering in or he's filling or indwelling, coming into a believer, in the Old Testament, we see a lot of him coming upon someone who is anointed. Gideon, Samson, so judges, David is a king, the prophets who are God's spokesmen, Moses, God's leader, Joshua, God's leader. So that is where and what the Holy Spirit is doing in the Old Testament. Okay, a couple more, and then we'll wrap up. These have to do with eschatology. I've got a bunch more on spiritual gifts, on spiritual warfare, on the Bible, God speaking, the canon being closed. What else do we have here? Gossip, reputation, uh, the word of faith, Hebrew Israelites, marriage, children. Man, there's a lot of good ones. I promise you I'll do another one of these in the coming weeks. So stay tuned. But let's tackle two more. What are your eschatological views? Okay, first, we're sound doctrine for everyday people. We define big words, we bring the cookies down from the top shelf. So, eschatological, root word of eschatology, or another way to say eschatology or the eschaton, you have last things is basically what that means. The end times, eschatology. Here's what I believe I believe that Jesus Christ will rapture the church, first Thessalonians 4 13 to 18, which is his body, unto himself, and then return with his church in glory following seven years. Years of tribulation, at which time he will establish his kingdom on earth. He's going to rule and reign for a thousand years. Go read Revelation chapter 19 and Revelation chapter 20. He's going to do that and fulfill numerous remaining prophecies from the Old Testament. And what I genuinely believe is if there were literal prophecies in the Old Testament about Christ's coming and they were fulfilled literally, why would there not be literal prophetic fulfillment of the prophecies that have also been foretold about his second coming? I know some people will say, well, all the promises are wrapped up in Christ now, and all the promises of God are yes and amen in Christ. And I would respectfully disagree in thinking that, well, that means there's no more literal fulfillment of those prophecies. Everything's just wrapped up in Christ. And so that would make me maybe more premillennial, what people will call it. It would also make me less covenantal and more along the lines of those who see a distinction between Israel and the church. I would say my hermeneutic, which is my way of interpreting the Bible or approaching scripture, is literal, historical, grammatical. And so I'm going to see a distinction between Israel and the church. I don't think God's done with Israel. I think it's going to still unfold ahead of us, and that the church has not replaced Israel in any way, shape, or form, which would mean I don't agree with replacement theology, it's called as well. But after the thousand-year reign and rule of Christ, we see the final condemnation of Satan. He's cast in the lake of fire, Revelation 20, verses 7 to 10. And then after that comes the great white throne judgment in which all unbelievers, those who are not found in the book of life, are sent into eternal damnation, Revelation 20, 11 to 15. And we enter the new heavens, the new earth, the new Jerusalem, and the eternal state. That is what I believe as far as my eschatology. I know there are so many wonderful people out there who don't agree. I know many of you are going to be more a millennial, some of you are post-millennial. And I love you. We'll worship around the throne, and one of us will look at each other and say, hey, told you. But it'll all work out in the end. I'll tell you what I'm not. I'm not big on joking around about eschatology because I do believe, while I would say with a bit of humor, hey, I know we might differ. But we're all going to see each other around the throne and it's all going to work out. I say that because unity is important on essentials, but I would say I'm not one of those guys that likes to joke around and say, yeah, I'm a pan millennial. It's all going to pan out in the end. Who cares what you believe? Here's the deal. I got really good friends that are A mil guys, and they preach their guts out from an a-millennial view, and I respect that. In their churches, there's clarity. And at Shepherd's House, we're a more of a premillennial church. I'm going to preach clear. I'm going to lay it out clear. I'm going to respect those that don't agree with my position and they respect me. And we got a deep love for one another. But what I always encourage is be clear. Be clear and unified as an elder team. Be clear and unified as a staff and as a church and respect one another, but give clarity. Well, you can, because I don't want to stand in a pulpit and say, well, here's the four views. I'm not sure, you know, which one is right, but whatever, and move on. Pastors do need to rightly divide the word. So we want to do the work, but we also want to be humble and say, hey, I could be wrong on this one day, but I've done the work, I've prayed, I have rightly divided the word, my conscience is clear before the Lord, and the Lord may say one day, yep, good job, you tried, you were wrong. So that's kind of my spiel on eschatology. Last one, and this is going to feed out of my eschatological view. So if you don't agree, I love you, you can end the episode or listen. What is the Bima seat of Christ and what happens? Second Corinthians 5.10 is a passage that lays out this truth. We are all going to appear before the judgment seat of Christ to give an account for the deeds done in the body, whether good or bad. The argument for a believer's judgment comes from a passage like that. Another one I'll break down for you is 1 Corinthians 3 11 to 15. The word bima simply means platform or elevated step, and so we view this as the Bima seat, the judgment Christ on his throne, Christ above, elevated, and judging believers. Why would we say it's a believer's judgment and different than the great white throne judgment? Well, this judgment laid out in 2 Corinthians 5.10 and 1 Corinthians 3 11 to 15 identifies people who are saved, the deeds done in the body. And in 1 Corinthians 3 11 to 15, Paul says that there are people who don't get a reward, their works were burned up, but they're saved as only through fire. So it's a believer's judgment. I would see that as well as many other people who hold this view as different than the Revelation 20 great great white throne judgment, which in that passage, the names of those who are not found in the book of life are thrown in the lake of fire. So they're not saved, but you know, as only through fire in that sense, they're not judged on their deeds in the body. They're just not in the book of life. They're those who rejected Christ, they're out. With that in mind, let me briefly explain 1 Corinthians 3, 11 to 15. It's one of my favorite passages. Paul says, For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now, if any man builds on that foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work will become evident for the day, I believe that is the day of judgment, the bima seat judgment before Christ, the believer's judgment, will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will first test the quality of each man's work. Clearly that's not going to be the lake of fire. Why? Well, if any man's work which he has built upon remains, he gets a reward. Oh, so let's see what happens if the work doesn't remain. Verse 15, if any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire. Look at that. Paul is speaking to believers at Corinth. He's talking about apostolic foundations for ministry, the way we serve the Lord, the way he and Apollo serve the Lord. He's told Corinth to cut it out with all the camp mentality. You know, I'm of Apollo, some of Paul, I'm of Cephas, I'm of this, I'm of that in chapter one. And then he reminds them here in chapter three that we're all just servants. One day we're going to be judged according to our works in the body. Not works to be saved, but works because we're saved. This is Jesus essentially saying, What did you do in my name? And if your work remains, meaning it was faithful, the motives were pure, it was for the glory of God and for Christ, well, you receive a reward. But some of us, and this is humbling, are going to be exposed for our works having impure motives. Maybe we were like Philippians 1 preachers, it was pretense and not truth. Well, our works are going to burn up, but we're still saved. We're not going to be rewarded, but we are still counted as righteous in his sight. That's my view of the Bima Seat Judgment. That wraps up this section on eschatology. And hey, that wraps up this episode. Thanks for sticking with me almost 30 minutes and thank you for all of your questions. We love you. We're grateful for your partnership with us here at For the Gospel. Thank you for listening. If you're looking for more videos to share, to learn from, and to grow with, go to Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter. We got them all there as well as YouTube. And be sure to drop us a review if this podcast has been a blessing to you. I'll be back on next Monday with another episode. Keep on living for the gospel.