Episode 214

As any believer who shares their faith will tell you, we will inevitably encounter tough questions about God, the Bible, life, and truth. Why do bad things happen to good people? Where do babies go when they die? Where did Cain get his wife? What happens to people who’ve died having never heard the gospel in life? On this episode of the Removing Barriers Podcast, we are grateful for recurring guest Pastor Todd’s willingness to tackle these tough questions with some simple answers. With wisdom, truth, and grace, Pastor Todd explains not only the answers to these tough questions, but also how they square with what we know about God and his word. We needn’t fear tough questions because God’s word is clear and true. We can trust it wholly. At the heart of every answer is a desire for lost souls to be saved and saved souls to be discipled in truth. Join us and be equipped with some answers so that whether we are questioned by a seeker or a scoffer, we can be ready to share the truth with love.

[MCG]

What is their unpardonable sin?

[Jay]

Oh, I really want to hear this one.

[Pastor Todd]

Well, that’s a great question. I would refer you to ask somebody else. No.

[Jay]

Thank you for tuning in to the Removing Barriers podcast. I’m Jay and I’m MCG. And we’re attempting to remove barriers so we can all have a clear view of the cross.

[MCG]

This is episode 214 of the Removing Barriers podcast. And in this episode, We will be sitting down with Pastor Todd to discuss some tough questions, but some simple answers. Pastor Todd, it is indeed a pleasure. Welcome to the Removing Barriers podcast.

[Pastor Todd]

Well, I’m very glad to see you guys and to be able to interact with you on this podcast.

[MCG]

All right, thank you for placing us in your busy schedule.

[Jay]

Hi, this is Jay. MCG and I would like for you to help us remove barriers by going to removingbarriers.net and subscribing to receive all things Removing Barriers. If you’d like to take your efforts a bit further and help us keep the mics on, consider donating at removingbarriers.net/donate. Removing Barriers, a clear view of the cross.

[MCG]

Alright, so past the third, let’s set the tone or the situation where you’re going to be asked these tough questions but giving simple answers. So imagine you’re at the dual soul winning or you are in an environment with an unsafe person and you only have a few minutes to answer. are tough questions by giving them some simple answers. So that’s the background of all the questions that we’re imagining that you’re at the door or even in a restaurant and only have a few minutes to answer a question. So let’s begin. Where did Cain get his wife? That’s a popular one.

[Pastor Todd]

Well, we learn in Genesis chapters 1 and 2 that God made Adam and Eve in the garden and he created them directly. And then in Genesis chapter 3, we learn that Adam and Eve sinned. before they had any children. And in their sin, God drove them out of the garden. And so we find in Genesis chapter 4 that Cain and Abel were their first two boys. And then the Bible tells us that Abel was killed by Cain. And then the Word of God goes on to detail for us in Genesis chapter 5, all of the children that came from the line of Adam. And what we would believe is that through the course of time and the length of time that Adam and Eve were alive, Adam, I think, lived 900 plus years, that he would have given birth to a girl. And at some point in time, Cain would have married his sister. And so we understand from the scriptures that all life came from Adam and Eve after God had created them. And It might sound strange to us in our current day because of what would happen if a brother and sister married each other in our day, but in the time in which we’re talking about with Adam and Eve, the sinful condition of mankind had not yet taken its toll on the genetic process for mankind. And so it was far better for Cain and his sister to have married. than it would be in today’s climate.

[MCG]

Yes, in other words, we are saying that Adam and Eve most likely had perfect genes because they were created by God directly. And then as they sin and they have offspring, that error in the genes started populating it, but it wasn’t to the point where we’ll see like mutations and stuff like we’ll see today.

[Pastor Todd]

Exactly. The sin condition has taken a toll on all of creation, as the Bible says.

[MCG]

Yeah, the whole of creation grown it.

[Pastor Todd]

Yes, but at that stage, it would have been possible for a brother and sister to get married. And you also take into account that with Adam living for 900 years, especially when you look at Genesis chapter 5 and the offspring that came from Adam, not all of Adam’s children are mentioned in Genesis chapter 5. It’s just the line of Seth. that we follow there, and each of the individuals at that time lived for such a significant length of time. Methuselah was the oldest as of the report in scripture. He lived 969 years, but there were several that are recorded that lived 200 years and then began to have children. So you can imagine that Eve could very well have had a dozen, three dozen kids. I mean, there’s no telling how many children that could have come out of her. And we, in our stage, look at a period of time, and we think this husband and wife should start having children at this stage of their marriage because it’s a short window. Traditionally, the window of birthing is probably from in their 20s to sometime in their 40s. But if someone lived to be 900 years old, what would be the birthing time that they would have? So you can imagine Eve could have had children she’s 400. She’s 500 years old. She could have still been having children.

[Jay]

Right.

[Pastor Todd]

Just a different day.

[Jay]

Yep. Okay. Next one, Pastor. What happens to those who have never heard the gospel? I imagine this question would be in particular in relation to when they die. What happens to them if they have never heard the gospel? They never had a chance to receive Christ. They don’t even know who God is. What happens to those people?

[Pastor Todd]

Well, that’s a great question. And it comes up quite a bit because people would think to themselves that if I’ve never heard, then I have an excuse. But the Bible says that because we are created beings, God has put within all of us the desire to know our Creator. So if we go to Romans chapter 1, for example, the Bible says in Romans chapter 1 that as created beings, we have the knowledge of God within us. And when we respond to that knowledge that’s been created in us, then God gives us more light. So you might say it this way, where light is given, and a person responds to the light of the gospel, more light is given. And as more light is given, what so often results in is their salvation. The other side of the coin also is at work, whereas a person rejects any light that is given to them, and they get more and more distant from the light, the less likely it is that they will ever come to the light. And so from the word of God and all the way back in Genesis, the Bible says in Genesis chapter 18 that the judge of all the earth will do right by all of mankind. And we might say, How is that a righteous God? Well, from God’s perspective, He has given everyone the opportunity to be born again. He’s not willing that any should perish, 2 Peter chapter 3, verse number 9. And so there is that great truth that as people respond to the light, God gives more light. And I’ve heard this from eyewitness testimony from missionaries and people around the world, where a missionary will show up at some remote place And when they show up there, the people that they come to say something like this, we had been praying that this would happen. We’ve been praying that someone would come and tell us the truth. I mean, that testimony has happened hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of times. It also goes to the principle of Acts chapter 10 with Cornelius. Cornelius was a religious man and he was following after what light he understood. And because he was following after that light, God’s directed him to the apostle Peter or he would hear the full length of the truth of the gospel. And so we see again and again that they’re held accountable to that light that has been put within them. And if a person dies in their sins without Jesus Christ, the Bible says that they do go to hell. And so it does behoove us as believers to be able to tell as many people as we possibly can. about Jesus Christ and to see them trust Christ before they go into eternity.

[MCG]

Yeah, definitely. That one, a lot of times is asked to this trap, especially if you’re at the door when he asks a question. It’s pretty much, I’ve never had that one ask in sincerity to me. It’s always like, oh yeah, so what about those that never heard? So.

[Pastor Todd]

Well, in Romans chapter one, the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen. So what’s interesting to me in my travels around the globe, even in some very remote places, without someone telling them that they need a god or that there is a god, they worship something. So where does that sense of worship come from? It actually comes from their creator. And even in remote jungles and remote islands, They have set up gods for themselves. Sometimes it’s the portrait of an individual. Sometimes it’s something that’s crafted out of a clay or a mud or a rock or something like this, but they begin to worship something. And that’s exactly what Romans chapter one is talking about. If I respond to the truth of the invisible things, God brings me more light. And then it goes on in Romans chapter 1 and says, if I reject that light that’s placed within me and I begin to glorify the creation more than the creator, that God says, okay, I won’t trouble you with that light anymore. You know, and so I go further into darkness.

[MCG]

The unique thing about that, Pastor, it’s not just those who have never heard or in a remote place. That is true also for those who have heard the true gospel and reject it, and then the Lord could give them over still to a reprobate mine, so.

[Pastor Todd]

Well, I mean, basically you’re talking about New York City. Is it possible for someone to be absolutely lost in darkness there? and someone in a remote South Pacific island. It has nothing to do with technology. It has nothing to do with advancements. It has nothing to do with the plenties of life. And it has everything to do with their knowledge of, you know what, there’s something out there that’s bigger than me. And I would like to know what that is. And if they respond to it, God gives more light.

[MCG]

All right, well, let’s go into the next tough question, Pastor. Could Judas have repented?

[Pastor Todd]

That’s a great question. Theologically, because I believe that we all have a will, I think theologically, from my standpoint, you’d have to say, yes, he had the chance to repent. When you take into account all of the gospel stories and what Judas would have seen as a traveler with Jesus Christ. So let’s presume that Judas is with Jesus. Let’s knock it down. And let’s just say Judas was only there 80% of the time because he was paying taxes or had to run to the grocery store. I mean, just say 80% of the time. Well, in that 80% of the time, is he gonna see Jesus heal the blind? Yes. Is he gonna see Jesus heal the deaf? Yes. Is he gonna see Jesus, make the lame to walk again is he in the house where he hears you know Jesus Christ say to the man that’s in the bed thy sins be forgiven thee and everybody murmurs and says how can this man forgive sins and he says I’ll show you the power that I have to forgive sins by my power to cause this man to rise up and walk and If we take into account that Judas saw 80% of it at any time in seeing all these things leading up to Lazarus being raised from the dead, then we would take this, that Judas had opportunity to repent and to say, I’m not going my own way. The Lord Jesus Christ has the answer. And this is the challenge for us is Did he have an opportunity to repent? Yes, he did have the opportunity to repent because he saw all the same things that the other apostles saw. I’m going to take you to one more passage, which I think is very, very interesting, because after Jesus had seen him in the upper room and said, Whatever you’re going to do, go and do it, Judas leaves him. And so far as we know, Jesus did not see him again until Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane. And he was praying. And the Bible tells us that as Judas got closer to him in the darkness of that night, probably under the light of torches, the first thing that Jesus said to Judas Iscariot was, Friend. And I believe with all of my heart that that’s the response of Jesus Christ, because Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners. And he was trying to give Judas Iscariot one more opportunity. So Jesus was not saying to him, You’re my enemy because you’ve betrayed me. You’ve turned me in. You’re my enemy now, and so I’m gonna snuff you out of this world. At that last moment, he is the friend of sinners. Amen. And he reaches out to Judas and says, and it’s in Matthew, I think it’s Matthew chapter, I think that’s one of the gospel that says it, but I think it’s Matthew chapter 26, when Jesus makes that statement and says, Matthew chapter 26, when he comes to the garden, and it is in verse 50, 26-50, Jesus said unto him, ‘Friend, wherefore art thou come?’ I absolutely believe that the Lord Jesus Christ gave him the opportunity in that moment to really inspect his motivation and his life. And Judas could have very well said, Lord, I’ve been wrong. I’m so sorry I brought these men to you. If you think about it, now that all those men were there, it’s possible that everything that happened in the crucifixion could have still gone through. So Judas has basically received the pieces of silver. Judas has shown them the place where he felt Jesus would be. Jesus is there. Let’s pretend that Judas repented of his sins right there and said, I’m not gonna go any further down this path, Lord. I’m so sorry that I brought all these guys, and he just started to have a repentant heart. The process of the crucifixion could very well have still gone through, if that makes sense. Because they had Jesus, they had his location, they had him, and Jesus was not gonna put up any kind of fight. And we see that because when Peter drew his sword, the Lord Jesus said, Put up your sword, this is not the time. So all the events that occurred in the death, burial, and resurrection could have still gone through. But I was speaking about this with a friend, and I said, you know, Judas is the perfect example of someone who expressed regret, but not repentance. So he regretted what he had done. I’ve betrayed innocent blood. I’m going to try to get rid of the money that I accepted to betray him. And he walked away with regret and took his own life, but he never exhibited repentance. I don’t get into eternal life in heaven through regret.

[MCG]

Or penitence.

[Pastor Todd]

I can get into eternal life with repentance. And so I think as I’m studying scripture, and I believe firmly that man has his own free will, that while Judas allowed himself to be filled by the devil and was wide open to the indwelling presence of the devil, even in that last moment where he interacts with the Lord Jesus Christ, the very last thing that he hears Jesus Christ say is, friend, wherefore art thou come? So I would believe that Judas had the opportunity to repent, but he didn’t.

[MCG]

Yep, definitely. Big difference between penitence and repentance.

[Jay]

Could you expound on that just a little more, Pastor? Maybe someone listening would think that regret and repentance are the same thing. I mean, you feel sorry about what you did, right? Why is that not the same as repentance? What’s the difference between regret and repentance?

[Pastor Todd]

Well, regret is, I’m sorry for the consequences that I’m facing now. Regret is, I’m sorry for the pain that I’ve caused you. Repentance, biblical repentance, is seeing the sin as God sees it. So if I don’t reach that place of confession where I call the sin what God calls it and realize that it will result in my eternal destruction. So for example, the guy who goes out and drives his car and gets drunk, and in that drunken stupor, he hits somebody and they lose their life. And he gets up the next morning and is full of regret and doesn’t remember it. And he’s just like, I can’t believe that happened. I’m so sorry it happened. He goes to the court, he goes to the trial, and then he goes back and drinks again with the attitude that, well, I know that happened, but it probably won’t happen again. So they’re sorry for the consequences. They’re sorry for the effects of it and everything like this, but they don’t see it as God sees it. And biblical repentance is sorrow over my sin and the condition that I’m in, in the eyes of my master, creator and judge. Yeah. Hmm.

[Jay]

One more question on this. I don’t think I intended to draw this out at all. This brings up another question in my mind that I hope that you can answer because this has to do with, what shall we say, self deletion is probably safe way to say it. Sure. Okay. So there are denominations out there or even religions out there that would say he went far and demonstrating how regretful he was. You know, in some accounts he tried to return the money and he ended up deleting himself. He was obviously very sorry. And I don’t think that people would say perhaps you don’t feel so sorry that you would do yourself that kind of harm. It must be a genuine sorrow. It must be real if you’re willing to go to that length. What would you say to those people that would say that that kind of penitence or that kind of what we call that? Perhaps I know in some religions it was like a self-flagellate sort of thing, where you’re doing yourself harm to show how sorry you are. Does that not count for anything either?

[Pastor Todd]

Well, I mean, it’s hard for us to answer that question in some ways because we’re trying to answer it according to an infinite God. So somehow God who sees all of man’s hearts and man’s responses, for us, it probably would take a good bit more time to discern if the person was genuinely repentant. Whereas Almighty God knows they’re standing immediately. So for us, let’s put ourselves in the garden. What would it look like if Judas was genuinely repentant? I think he would’ve bowed the knee to Jesus Christ right then. And I think he would’ve said something much like the publican said, where, Depart from me, for I’m a sinful man. If he would’ve cried out and said, Father, forgive me. or Lord, forgive me, much like the thief on the cross. If he would’ve aired any of those kinds of things, because it’s not just that you express something, it’s the person to whom you’re expressing it to. So if I did something wrong and I expressed to this one person, okay, I shouldn’t have done that, maybe it is true repentance, maybe it’s not, it will probably take some time for us from the standpoint of the human perspective to really discern if that person was repentant. Right. But if I’ve gone before a holy God and I’ve humbled myself, and I really believe that’s the key is humility. When David sinned against Bathsheba and was caught in his sin, the true sign of his repentance was his humility. And even if Judas would have thrown himself at the feet of Jesus and said, Jesus, I deserve whatever punishment you’re going to give me. I deserve whatever your response of judgment would be. If he would have thrown himself on the mercy of Jesus Christ and said, Father, Lord Jesus, depart from me, for I’m a sinful man. I’ve been so wrong all my life. I mean, if the other apostles had seen something like that in Judas, I think there would have been a great outpouring of love for him. and restoration, even if he didn’t take his own life, if he went out and, I mean, I guess the perfect example of it is the apostle Peter versus Judas. Both of them, I mean, Peter denied Christ, Judas betrayed him. Peter comes back to the Lord Jesus Christ, though, with humility. Judas, we never saw that. We never saw any signs that he was repentant to the Lord Jesus Christ. So I guess we might face a little bit of a challenge on understanding the depth of the repentance versus the regret, because we’re looking at it from a human standpoint. And so it takes us a significant amount of time sometimes to really tell where the person stands. But Jesus knew in the moment. And in that moment when Jesus said, wherefore art thou come, he could have said all manner of things, but he went through with the kiss and he went through with the betrayal. The total difference is found there in Judas and the Apostle Peter. Judas’s response was not right. Peter did respond correctly and he was used by God then later on in the Pentecost.

[Jay]

Okay. All right. Here’s the next one, Pastor. Why do bad things happen to good people? War, famine, accidents, catastrophes, murder? Name it, betrayal, all of these terrible things that make our world the painful place that it can be. Why do bad things happen to good people?

[Pastor Todd]

Well, the challenge for us is that there are none good, no, not one. So bad things happen to all of us. And the reason for that goes right back to Genesis chapter three, as we’ve already discussed. When Adam and Eve sinned, sin brought corruption into all of creation. And so mankind is a fallen person. And this is also interesting because there are some people that think we’re generally good people and we just happen to do something bad now and again. The other side is actually true. All of us are wicked people and every once in a while we might do something that is good. But if we are left to our own devices, if we were just left to our own flesh and our own devices, There’s no telling what we would look like and what we would actually do to other people. If I just started feeding my flesh whatever it wanted, I probably wouldn’t be alive in five years. But accidents happen, troubles occur, and we just recognize that all of that finds its roots back in the nature of sin and fall in mankind. And our hearts break when we get the word that someone’s been shot, someone’s been in a car accident. I mean, if you could remove all of the drunk driving accidents in the world, how many people would be alive in a given year? If you could remove all of the people that take some kind of instrument and use it to cause harm and pain to somebody else, whether it’s a firearm, whether it’s a knife, whether it’s a vehicle, if you could take all of that out, well, where is that rooted? Because all these are just instruments, there’s no difference between a hammer and a firearm. no difference between a knife and a car. It’s an instrument that someone says, I’m going to cause harm to other people, and that harm comes because we’re fallen and it traces itself back to our sinfulness.

[MCG]

Let’s throw a monkey wrench in the wheel a little bit, Pastor. What about children? They must be good.

[Pastor Todd]

What about children?

[MCG]

Yes.

[Jay]

Yeah, bad things happen to babies, to kids, to, what about them?

[Pastor Todd]

Well, I mean, and that’s true. I mean, the one difficult things I’ve been to the funeral of a three-year-old and it was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever seen but again all of it finds itself in its roots all the way back in that sin of Adam and Eve because sin affects us from conception all the way through life and so when we recognize that our sin has caused all of these things, then the dynamic of how all of the world has been affected. It’s maybe in one way impossible for us to truly comprehend the totality of how sin has affected everything.

[MCG]

Right.

[Pastor Todd]

But sin has definitely affected relationships, it’s definitely affected children. Think about that child that’s born into a home of the drunkard, again, or the drug addict, how many babies are born to the drug addict’s home and so forth. And even sometimes where a mom gives birth to the baby and the baby’s addicted to a drug because mom was addicted to the drug. Again, all of these things find its source back in the nature of sin. And we wish that that weren’t the case, but it truthfully is. It changed everything. Corruption from the fall of man changed everything in society. It changed relationships, Genesis chapter 4. It changed the nature of families. It changed how it was at the time of the flood. Now, the one shining light that does come out of this, and I don’t know if you want to go too far down this trail, but the one shining light that does come out of this is that when a child dies as a result of these actions and activities, they go directly to heaven. If they haven’t reached that state where they’re aware of the nature of their sin, and the price of their sin. So that may cause you to say to me, Well, what is that age? I don’t know if it’s a specific age number as it is just their mentality and their understanding of where they are. So, you know, in all likelihood, that three-year-old, we went to their funeral, I believe in all likelihood, that little girl went to heaven. She hadn’t reached the stage where she was understanding of the nature of her sin and the consequences of her sin.

[MCG]

Yeah, way back in episode 20 something at this point, Pastor, we did the episode on the age of accountability. I think it’s episode 24, the age of accountability. Episode 23, the origin of sin and original sin. Okay. So we did episode 22 was defining sin and personal responsibility. So 22, 23, 24, if you want to dive a little bit deeper into sin and the nature of it and the age of accountability and stuff like that.

[Pastor Todd]

Sure. Okay.

[MCG]

Yeah. All right. Well, Pastor, let’s talk about this next question here, because this one is probably the one I’ve encountered the most. Why do you only accept some of the laws in the Old Testament and reject others?

[Pastor Todd]

Well, I think in the Old Testament, I don’t know it off the top of my head, but there were hundreds of laws. And when you have all those laws in the Old Testament, and then you add to it what the Pharisees piled onto it somewhere along the lines, the nature of the laws that they followed got up over 600.

[MCG]

Yep.

[Pastor Todd]

And I think first of all, you have to separate out ceremonial laws or laws that specifically applied to the children of Israel for a specific event or time.

[MCG]

Right.

[Pastor Todd]

But then you move into, if you take away those portions, you move to what we would call moral laws. And you would say, okay, here’s this set of moral laws that I should just live my life by. And God is saying, this is a good path to live by. Okay, so just generally speaking, if you abide by these moral laws, it’s a good thing. Those are narrowed down into the Ten Commandments. And I think that’s a good thing because I think we can understand 10 better than reciting 110, for example. But How many laws did Adam and Eve have? They had one. So whether it’s one or 10, 110 or 610, what is the ultimate purpose of the law? The ultimate purpose of the law is to reveal my utter despair in my attempt to keep the law.

[MCG]

Right.

[Pastor Todd]

So if the law was given, what is the purpose of the law? It takes me to the book of Galatians and the Bible says very clearly in Galatians, the law cannot save me.

[MCG]

Right.

[Pastor Todd]

So I come and I listen to the law and it’s giving and I hear the rules and everything like that. And I say to myself, well, this is foolish, this is fruitless, I cannot keep all these rules. 1, 10, 111, 611. I can’t keep them all. I’ve offended them. The Bible tells us that if I’ve offended the law in one area, then I’ve offended the whole law.

[MCG]

Yep.

[Pastor Todd]

So Galatians says to us, the law cannot save, but then what is the purpose of the law? The Bible says the law has been given as our schoolmaster. It takes us by the hand. and it leads us to the one who does have the answer for our eternal life. Jesus summarized the law in the New Testament when he said, Here’s the whole law, love God and love your fellow man. He narrowed it down to those two things. So if I love God and I love my fellow man, am I on my way to heaven? No. Even in narrowing it down to those two things, I cannot keep that perfectly, and that is the demand. It’s perfection.

[MCG]

Right.

[Pastor Todd]

And so it just points me to this. Point out any law in the Old Testament, you say, Well, you’re keeping it or you’re not keeping it. I am never going to be able to fully abide by the law.

[MCG]

Yep.

[Pastor Todd]

It’s an utter failure, but the law cannot save me. But God gave me the law so that it would take me by the hand and lead me in my guilt to the Lord Jesus Christ, the only one who can do something about my sin. Jesus came and fulfilled the law. He was perfect. And in his perfection, he could take our place of punishment and sin and die for us.

[MCG]

Yeah, definitely. You know, the funny thing about this question. when someone would ask you, okay, why do you keep only a portion of the law, whatever the case may be, in their understanding of scripture, many times they are doing the same thing. They’re taking a certain portion of the law and try to use it against you. Like some will say, okay, well, it says, you know, you should not judge, so why are you judging me? Or it says this, or whatever the case may be. I like what Voddi Barker has to say about this in one of his response, because he says, you know what, you and I are doing the same thing, but I I know why I’m doing it. but you don’t. And then he went in to explain, of course, within the Old Testament, there are ceremonial laws, civil law, and moral laws. And only the moral law is applicable for us. And if you track between the Old Testament and the New Testament, the moral law are consistent. Those didn’t change. Those are my words. Those are not Vodbachum words. Those are my words. But if you check through the, you know, the Ten Commandments consistent throughout the Bible, the moral laws that all of us have to follow, those never change. If you look in the Old Testament, whatever moral law, what is the Old Testament, repeats itself in the New Testament. Homosexuality repeats itself in Romans and in Matthew 19, lying, stealing, all these, they repeat stuff all the way in the New Testament. So they’re the ones who are taking certain laws that try to put it up on you. And as Bogut back comes to, you know what? I at least know why I’m doing it. You don’t know why you’re doing it.

[Pastor Todd]

Agreed. I mean, another good point to bring up in this is the avenue by which Christ witnessed to the rich young ruler.

[MCG]

Yep.

[Pastor Todd]

The rich young ruler came and Jesus Christ, he said, what good thing must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus does what? He points him to the law. because he knew the law, if the man listened to the law, would point him back to Christ. Jesus said, what does the law say? They originally addressed all six things that have to do with my relationship with my fellow man. Honor your parents, thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not lie, thou shalt not covet. It was all about my relationship with my fellow man. And the man said, this is the man’s words, the man said, all these things have I kept from my youth up, what lack I yet? Well, Jesus knew. He hadn’t even addressed the top four, which deal with our relationship to Almighty God. And then Jesus says to the young man, he says, if thou wilt be perfect, right there it is, that’s the demand of heaven. If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast come and follow me. So if we knew everyone like Jesus knows everyone, and we’re out on soul-winning visitation, we could knock on the door and we would know exactly what’s hindering that person from coming to Christ. The woman at the well has four or five marriages, and the one she’s with now is not her husband. So she’s currently living in an adulterous relationship. Jesus knew that. Well, when people answer the door with us, they can say all kinds of things to us, and we don’t really know what it is that’s hindering them. But what we wanna say is, okay, you’ve got your plan worked out. Now listen to me carefully. If you want heaven, the demand of heaven is perfection, and that can only be met in one of two ways. You meet the demand of perfection, or someone meets that demand of perfection on your behalf. Because of the law’s revelation, we know we’re never gonna meet the demand of the law, and so I have to look to someone else’s, perfection. And that’s why God says he has imputed to us our redemption. He had to supernaturally apply it to us because we were on a collision course with destruction and condemnation. But the righteousness of God has been imputed unto us. And so that is a key, just an absolute key to all of this.

[MCG]

All right, but why don’t we go in the break and we come back on the side and continue asking some tough questions and getting some simple answers. You’re listening to the Removing Barriers podcast. We’re sitting on with Pastor Todd and we’re talking about tough questions with some simple answers. We’ll be right back.

[Jay]

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[MCG]

All right, Pastor, well, let’s pick up and continue with some of these questions. What is the unpardonable sin?

[Jay]

Oh, I really want to hear this one.

[Pastor Todd]

Well, that’s a great question. I would refer you to ask somebody else. No. As I’ve studied the Word of God, and I’ve read quite a few different individuals about this matter of the unpardonable sin, it’s a reference to sinning against the Holy Spirit of God. And in my understanding, if I’ve committed the unpardonable sin, I cannot be saved, okay? So, is that murder? Is that divorce? Is that theft? Is that covetousness? Is that lies? Well, The Bible says that the power of God can forgive all sin. So if the power of God can forgive all sin, and yet there’s a sin out there that cannot be forgiven, how do we reconcile those two things? My understanding is that the sin that is not pardonable is the sin in which I absolutely and unequivocally reject the convicting work of the Holy Spirit of God in my life. So God is trying to convict me of my sin, or God desires the convicting work in my life to convict me of sin. And I say, No, no, no, no. And at that point, God says, Okay, I’ll never bother you again. And so, I mean, I have heard people that have said, attributing the works of God to Satan and everything like that, and I understand that aspect of it. But ultimately it comes down to the rejection of the Holy Spirit.

[MCG]

Right.

[Pastor Todd]

And somewhere, I sit in a service and I hear the Word of God, the Holy Spirit convicts me, and I say, no, no, I’m not gonna respond, I’m not coming to Him. It is refusing that influence of the Holy Spirit of God. And in refusing that, I believe, according to Romans chapter one, that I can reach a point where God says, Okay, I’ll never trouble you with that again. And if that be the case, that would be a sin that from that standpoint on is not pardonable. And it won’t ever come to a place where they would seek the forgiveness of God again. That would be my interpretation. That would be what I think. I do know as well that in the passage and stuff, there are people that are talking about attributing the works of God to Satan, but ultimately, I think it comes back to rejecting what the Holy Spirit is trying to accomplish in your life. Right. So it’s kind of like a funnel. You know, I have all these different things that I’ve done, but as it funnels down to it, what is the bottom line? The bottom line is I’ve rejected the work that God gave the Holy Spirit for. John chapters 14, 15, 16, 17 detail for us about the Holy Spirit’s coming and that the Holy Spirit will do these things. And you’re basically saying no to all of that. And so he is not going to work in your heart and life anymore. And he just, okay, I won’t bother you with that matter ever again. Now, that being said, we don’t know from a human perspective when that has happened in another person’s life. So it’s our responsibility to give them the truth of the gospel, whether they respond to it or not. We don’t necessarily know that they’ve crossed that point and that, you know, it’s unlikely that the Holy Spirit would ever convict them again. It’s also one of the important things for us to pray for when we are praying for our lost friends. We don’t know where they are in that whole process. So I’m praying like the importunity of the woman in the Gospel of Luke, where she keeps going to the judge and begging him to act. And I think of that passage where the Bible says, When we have prayed with such earnest desire and going back to the Lord again and again, How much more shall the Heavenly Father give the Holy Ghost to them that ask of Him? So we’re praying, Lord, please don’t let them go beyond that point of response. Please don’t let that brother, that sister, that, you know, pick your words there of what relative or friend or coworker it might be, Dear Lord, be merciful. Don’t let them reach that point where they are beyond repentance. So that would be my thought. And again, That’s probably one of the areas where people would defer with me and say, no, it’s attributing the works of God to Satan. And I understand that. I’m not against that. I’m just saying that it really then funnels down to that person has rejected the purpose of the Holy Spirit coming to this earth and what he’s going to do in the life of the ungodly and what he does in the life of the believer. And so as I see it, the only thing that would not be possible in its repair is that you’ve rejected and God has just said, Okay, I’ll never trouble you again. With convicting, and this goes to the point, I can’t just choose to get saved any day that I want. The Holy Spirit has to be convicting me. He has to draw me. The Father draws me through the conviction of the Holy Spirit to the Lord Jesus Christ. So I can’t just say, Oh, I’ll do it whenever I want. There has to be that conviction, and if there’s no conviction, they’re not going to be born again.

[MCG]

Right, definitely. Would you say that it can be summarized by saying the unpardomous sin is dying in unbelief?

[Pastor Todd]

Yeah, I mean, ultimately, yeah, that’s exactly what we’re saying is that, again, I believe that the Holy Spirit has a work that he does in the life of believers, and the Holy Spirit has a work that he does in the life of unbelievers. So the only sin that we can see would take them into eternity without the possibility of forgiveness. is rejecting that aspect of the Holy Spirit’s ministry to the lost. I think that’s a very good way to describe it. Yeah. Because again, when we go down through it, do we see in Scripture where God forgave a murderer? Do we see in Scripture where God forgave an adulterer? Do we see in Scripture where God forgave a drunkard or, I mean, a drug addict. First Corinthians chapter six, verses nine through 11 gives a pretty sad laundry list of the nature of the people in the church at Corinth. And the Bible says, and such were some of you. And God could forgive all those things. So I don’t think it’s just that we can go in and we can pluck one sin out and say, okay, here’s the sin. Don’t commit that sin if you do. you’ll never be saved. So it has to be something related to the work of the Holy Spirit, and there has to be a defining moment by which you pass that opportunity with the Holy Spirit’s ministry and work, so.

[MCG]

Yeah, definitely. This is kind of a bit off topic, but what came to mind, you know, unfortunately, I don’t think King David and even maybe the Apostle Paul would be qualified to preach in many pulpits today. because the Apostle Paul was a murderer, David was a murderer and an adulterer, and name it, he has a laundry list of sins as well. And yet, God used one to write almost half of the New Testament, and another one, he’s describing as being after his own heart. So definitely, that’s what he’s saying there.

[Pastor Todd]

Very interesting. I mean, that’s, we want to strike that, striking that right balance of placing people in the pulpit that have the right mindset of humility and understanding of the nature of the forgiveness of their sins versus people that would go into the pulpit that would glorify what they’ve done and sensationalize it. And then young people walk away saying, well, look at how his life turned out. I can go ahead and sow all my wild oats and I’ll be fine. And everything’s good to go. Well, I would rather my son not go through the heartache that I went through with my sins And we would want them to learn the lessons from it, yeah.

[MCG]

Yeah, definitely.

[Jay]

Okay, Pastor, next one. Let’s go back to the garden. Why is it that the serpent was cursed to crawl on its belly when that’s what a serpent does?

[Pastor Todd]

Well, I will refer to Answers in Genesis on this one, and I’m not gonna quote Answers in Genesis, but I would say they probably have a great explanation of this. My understanding of it would be that this was either a type of serpent that we don’t have today, or it’s also possible that somehow if it was a snake-like serpent in the garden that Satan portrayed himself as, that as a result of that, that God caused that animal to then continue on its belly. And I do find it’s very interesting that, for the most part, people aren’t really excited about snakes.

[Jay]

Yes.

[Pastor Todd]

You know, again, I love to interact with snakes behind glass. I’m not a big fan of snakes that are out in the wild that come up on me, and I’m surprised by them, and that’s happened. But I think it could be one of two ways. I think if we’re going to say that it was a serpent, like a snake, that somehow it was different in the days of the garden. And if it was like what we have today in snakes, that God forced it through the process of his own design and the judgment upon that animal, then somehow its ability to stand upright and somehow talk to Eve and everything like that, everything was changed because of that sin. But I also think that it’s possible that whatever that serpent was, it’s possible that it’s something that has gone extinct and no longer exists. And I can’t say that I’ve heard Answers in Genesis ever go into detail on that. So I don’t know what they would say off the top of my head, but That’s where I’m just kind of guessing and giving my opinion on it.

[MCG]

Yeah, I don’t want to speak for them neither, but I think they believe that the snake or the separate actually had legs back then. And I think they believe also that if you look at the… bone structure of even the mother-day snakes, it looks like that they can find evidence that where appendages could have been attached.

[Pastor Todd]

Sure, sure.

[MCG]

And they believe that God removed those during the curse, which is possible because we lost a lot of things because of sin. As we quoted earlier, the Bible said the whole of creation grown it.

[Pastor Todd]

I do think it’s interesting that that is the one primary animal in the animal kingdom that really strikes fear in the hearts of the majority of people.

[MCG]

Right.

[Pastor Todd]

It’s also interesting that it’s primarily used in the occult. Again, these are not things that you base fact, you know, you don’t base your belief system on these possible coincidences, but I do find that that’s awful interesting. You know, is it possible that God put within because of the deception that was used there, is it possible that God then put within that species the natural distaste between man and the serpent? It’s also interesting too, because if it was a snake, their relationship with mankind was much different at the time because Eve didn’t run.

[MCG]

Right.

[Pastor Todd]

If it was me, I would have been, I’d have been out of there, I would have never had the conversation. I wouldn’t have waited around to see what it had to say, but there must have been something about that serpent that was intriguing to Eve at that stage of creation.

[MCG]

So yeah, I think we have to also keep in mind that it’s possible that snakes weren’t venomous, at least the ones that would be venomous weren’t venomous then. Just like the lion would have been eating vegetables and not flesh and stuff like that. So it’s possible that there were no fear of the animals because they wouldn’t be able to hurt her. It was after the fall that snakes become venomous, lions start eating flesh and all that stuff.

[Pastor Todd]

I would, again, just so that everybody that’s listening to the podcast, I really believe in Answers in Genesis and their genius. Ken ham probably has a great answer for that question.

[MCG]

If we just need get him on Pastor all right all right so this one is a oldie and a tough one so let me shoot it to you Pastor since you’re the brains here who are the sons of God in Genesis chapter 6.

[Pastor Todd]

You know I preached in Genesis chapter 6 and I I preached through that. And in reading all the commentaries, you find that there’s quite a bit of difference in their opinions as to what it is. I would, again, refer to who? Answers in Genesis, because I believe that they’d probably have a great answer on this too. As I read and studied on it, I really believe that it boils. Here’s what throws us off. The part that throws us off is when the Bible says that there were giants in the earth in those days. And so people are trying to put together some kind of superhuman ancestry through the daughters of men. And we clearly find that there were giants in the land later on. Goliath was nine foot, nine inches tall, and he had four brothers. So the giants in the land were also a part of the day after this, that there were some genes that caused that others to be giants. So I guess if I were answering it, I’m not sure that we tie together what happened between the sons of God and the daughters of men with, oh, their offspring, you know, is the only time that this has happened. Does that make sense?

[MCG]

Right.

[Pastor Todd]

So As I look at it, I really believe the sons of God would refer specifically to regular people that were indwelled by a satanic oppression or possession. And the way that Satan went about infiltrating mankind after he failed with Adam and Eve because Christ was going to come and redeem them.

[MCG]

Right.

[Pastor Todd]

So he’s got to find another Ave. The next Ave. is to go into the line of Seth and to try to corrupt the line of Seth as much as he can. We know that demonic possession cannot be held in those that are believers, but in the line of Seth, I guarantee that there were a lot of people that were not following after God. And again, we find that when we go down to verse number eight, we find that Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. So you have a significant number of people that were in the line of Seth. And yet in those lines, there were definitely unbelievers. And I believe that it is just the intermixing of humans, but I believe that it was the nature of satanic possession from all of his companions and cohorts, and they did as much as they could to muddy the waters of the line that was supposed to be following Christ. Because if you look at it in Genesis chapter five and the line that goes down through Enoch, it transfers one by one by one by one. So it’s Adam to Seth, Seth to the next one, to the next one, to the next one. Does that mean then? that they only had one offspring? Well, of course not. They had many children. In fact, someone like Enoch, the Bible says Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah 300 years, and he begat sons and daughters.

[MCG]

Right.

[Pastor Todd]

So Enoch begets a lot of children, but the Bible only references one, Methuselah. Methuselah lives 180 and seven years, and he begat one, Lamech, but after he begat Lamech, The Bible says he begat sons and daughters. That says it over and over again. So when you come to Genesis chapter six, the vast majority of people are from this line that we have in Genesis chapter five.

[MCG]

Yep.

[Pastor Todd]

Because they’re all still alive, they’re all still on the earth, but they’re wholly given over to wickedness.

[MCG]

Right.

[Pastor Todd]

And it really was, I think it goes back to Satan’s desire to for lack of a better description, muddy the waters of what God was doing. And it also points to the fact that God always has a remnant.

[MCG]

Yep.

[Pastor Todd]

So where Satan brings destruction, God always brings a remnant. Satan destroyed Abel and God brought Seth. Satan destroys all of this culture and brings it all to this mess in Genesis chapter six, because of the impact of the sons of God marrying the daughters of men. if they were demonically possessed. In other words, I don’t believe that the daughters of men could have physical intimacy with the spirit.

[MCG]

Right.

[Pastor Todd]

I think that they had to have access to a body to procreate.

[MCG]

Right.

[Pastor Todd]

And you just have to tie all the chapter five with chapter six, and you have to understand that the vast majority of people, well, everybody but eight, were from these two lines, Seth and Cain. We’re not surprised that Cain’s line chose what they chose because it’s described in Genesis chapter 4.

[MCG]

Right.

[Pastor Todd]

But we should be surprised that the line of Seth went the same way as the line of Cain and that they became so wicked. And how did all of that happen? It happened because Satan was absolutely determined to water down the line of godliness, if you would.

[MCG]

Yeah, they rose up a generation and no, not the Lord.

[Pastor Todd]

Yes, absolutely.

[MCG]

Have you ever been to Tonga, Pastor?

[Pastor Todd]

No.

[MCG]

When we were in college, we would say that when the Bible referred, and in those days there were giants in the land, we believed that all of them went to Tonga because the Tongans were huge.

[Pastor Todd]

Well, it is funny because, I mean, if I can just, if you’ll bear with me for just one moment, when I was in the South Pacific on a certain island, We hosted a camp for the kids that were scattered throughout the island, and they were all from different villages. And without knowing anything about them, names, connections, or anything like this, you could tell who was from which village. Some of them were short, and everyone in their village was of shorter nature. Some of them were tall and lanky, and everyone in that village was tall and lanky. And I mean, I don’t understand it necessarily, but you know, I’m sure search the gene pool and begin to figure out pretty quick, you know, how that happens. Some of them were super, super fast and they excelled in certain games and then other villages excelled into other games. And I mean, it is genetics. So, you know, I know that that plays a part in this, but I personally do not believe that this is some kind of demonic breeding of human beings and that resulted in just this giant race. The reason for that is you have giants in the land, in the land of the Philistines, and that was after the flood and after all these days as well. So I would not agree with someone that was thinking that way.

[MCG]

Well, I’ll stick to this, but if you want to see the land of the giants, go to Tonga.

[Pastor Todd]

Okay, all right, that sounds cool.

[Jay]

All right, Pastor, let’s talk about Job. Considering his account, how do we distinguish between the temptation of the devil and the testing of the Lord? When we go through a trial, how do we know which is which?

[Pastor Todd]

I think it boils down to one of two things. Is it a matter that’s leading me towards sin, Or is it a matter that’s leading me towards Christ’s likeness? If it’s a matter that’s tempting me towards sin, then I know that it is a satanic influence on my life or a worldly influence because the Bible says in James that God cannot be tempted and he doesn’t tempt anybody else.

[MCG]

Right.

[Pastor Todd]

And so where we find ourselves in scripture with like the story of Job in Genesis chapter 22, when God tested Abraham, In every one of those circumstances, God was trying to make Job more like the Lord Jesus Christ. God was trying to make Abraham more like the Lord Jesus Christ. In situations where I’m tempted to do something that would be in opposition to the Word of God, then I clearly know, okay, this is really from Satan and from his companions and cohorts. And it all really boils back down to the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. The same three temptations that were given to Jesus Christ are the exact same temptations that I face today. They might have different aspects, but they all flow from one of those three things. And so I would define it that way. I would say Job was tested that he might be bettered in his walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. Others were tempted. And that was not for the purpose of strengthening them spiritually. That was for the purpose of seeing them walk away from the truth of Jesus Christ. So let me just give you this one example. If I’m at Parris Island, and they set before me a test, is that test meant to improve my ability as a Marine, or is that test meant to distract me from being the best Marine I can be? Well, They’re going to throw all kinds of tests out there and they’re going to challenge me again and again, but they’re wanting to see in that test how I pass. And if I pass, you know, I’m able to get the eagle globe and anchor. If I don’t pass that test, then, you know, so again, it’s a difference between a testing to improve my walk versus a temptation that would take me away from what I ought to be doing.

[MCG]

All right, well, Pastor, let’s wrap it up in the most important question of them all. How can a person be reconciled with God?

[Pastor Todd]

Well, the Bible clearly says that there’s nothing that I can do to deserve that reconciliation. So Ephesians chapter two, verses eight and nine, for by grace you saved through faith and that not of yourselves. So there’s nothing that I can do to earn that reconciliation. in my own good works, in my own religious activity, there’s nothing that I can do to earn it. But what’s interesting is on the other side of the coin, you have Romans chapter eight, and the Bible says, Nothing can separate me from the love of God. So what is the connector then? If I can’t do anything to earn his love, and I can reach the point where nothing can separate me from his love, what’s the connector? The connector is the finished work of Jesus Christ. on the cross of Calvary. Jesus Christ came to this earth, lived the life that I cannot live, met the full demand of the law, went to the cross of Calvary, shed his blood. For three hours on the cross, he endured separation from his eternal Father and bore my sins in his own body on the tree, and now, by faith, through the grace of Almighty God, I can be born again.

[MCG]

Amen.

[Pastor Todd]

And so that is the real message that we give to all of mankind, and that is the truth for everyone, wherever they are in this world, whatever people group, whatever language group, whatever cultural group. The Bible says that Christ died for the sins of the whole world, and through his shed blood, man can be saved, and so that’s our desire for the whole world. Jesus loves each one of us, and he died that we might be redeemed from our sin. Amen. The devil has declared us guilty, but in Christ, we’ve been made free.

[MCG]

Amen, Pastor. Pastor Todd, thank you for joining us on the Removing Barriers podcast.

[Jay]

Hey, thanks so much for listening to the Removing Barriers podcast. Did you know that you could find us on Twitter, Gab, Parler, Facebook, and Reddit? Go to removingbarriers.net/contact and like and follow us on social media. Removing Barriers, a clear view of the cross.

[MCG]

Thank you for listening. To get a hold of us, to support this podcast, or to learn more about removing barriers, go to removingbarriers.net. This has been the Removing Barriers podcast. We attempted to remove barriers so that we all can have a clear view of the cross.