Dive into the practices of the early church as we address listeners’ inquiries about 1 Corinthians, exploring the distinction between the Agape feast and the Lord’s Supper. As the modern church mixes secular and spiritual practices, Dr. McGee shares his candid thoughts on spirituality, illuminating the difference between what is right in the eyes of God versus cultural practices. Concluding with a robust dialogue on free will and divine foreknowledge, this episode underscores the importance of faith as a journey toward understanding.
Jesus told a parable of an unjust steward who, in order to gain favor, acted shrewdly. So did Jesus condone the actions of this steward, or did he have another point to make? Well, stay with us as we deal with this question and more.
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How firm a foundation, ye saints, of the Lord is laid for your faith.
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This is Steve Schwetz, and I welcome you to another edition of the Question and Answer program with our Bible teacher, Dr. J. Vernon McGee. I hope that you’ll be able to pull up a chair as we listen to his answers to the questions of his many listeners. And of course, this program is a ministry of the Through the Bible Radio Network. Now, from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, comes our first question. The listener writes that he has consulted Unger’s Bible Dictionary concerning words from Matthew 5.22. He says, Would you please elaborate on your understanding of this passage and the difference between raka and fool?
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Well, the Lord Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount says in Matthew 5, 22, “‘But I say unto you that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment, and whosoever shall say to his brother, Racka, shall be in danger of the council. But whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.'” Now, this party calls attention to the fact that what about the difference between raka and fool and ask us to discuss it more fully. Candidly, I do not think that I could throw any more light on this passage than you’ll find in Unger’s Bible dictionary. And the reason for that is that there is a disagreement as to the meaning of the word Raqqa. That is, what is it derived from? And there are those that find in it that it’s derived from the Aramaic. Others trace it back to the Septuagint. In other words, there is a great question about it. Frankly, it is not as strong a word as to call a person a fool. So that is obvious here because the Lord Jesus gives these different stages of judgment here, that if you hate your brother without a cause, you’re in danger of judgment for that. But if you say to your brother, Raka, call him Raka, you shall be in danger of the council. That is, you’d be brought up for judgment, and I take it even in that day. But whosoever shall say thou fool… shall be in danger of hell fire. So obviously the word fool is stronger. And my problem would be not with rakob, but with the word fool, just what all is implied in that. Now let me take up the word rakob, not maybe any more thoroughly than you’ve already had it. But call attention to the fact that on one hand it seems to mean concerning a person you’re calling them godless. You are saying that they are godless and calling them that. On the other hand, you are questioning the fact of their intelligence. And that seems to be the thought that’s in our word fool, but actually it’s much stronger than that. It is one of the worst things that you could say about a person. I think that rakah is a mild way of saying a person is not worth considering to destroy the self-respect that an individual has for that integrity of character, when you destroy that, you’ve destroyed everything. You see, that was the thing that Job did, or rather the devil did to Job. He tried everything in the world, but he was breaking down that man and trying to get through to him, absolutely to get him to the place where he had no respect for himself at all. He was totally devoid of character. And I would say that the first stage of that you’d find in the word raka. And when it reaches its limit, then a person would be a fool. And the Lord Jesus, you remember, was able to call a certain man a fool for building bigger barns here and making no arrangement for eternity. so that God is able to call a man that. We are not in a position to do that. And it’s an attempt to tear down a person’s character, to let them reach the place where they have no respect for themselves any longer. And may I say to you that the minute a person does that, I know immediately that they’re definitely wrong, and it’s possibly that the very belief that they’re hugging so tightly is responsible for them coming to such an outbreak as that. I think that that is just about all that we can say about that word, to come down and give you a meaning of it and a meaning of the word fool. My point is that it’s a matter of degree. that it’s a matter of one being worse than the other one is bad one is worse and one is the worst and i think you have the steps that the lord made there a los angeles listener has a question about matthew 21 22. she says does the word all mentioned in this verse include forgiveness matthew 21 and verse 22 and all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer believing ye shall receive and forgiveness is included in the word all that’s the question the party has may i say this to you and again this may sound very strange You do not have to ask God for forgiveness, my friends. There is forgiveness with him. All you’ve got to do is accept it. A great many people think that you’ve got to ask God to be merciful and God to be forgiving. Why, you don’t have to ask him to. He is merciful. He is forgiving. You and I have to accept it. He’s begging us to accept it so that there is. Now, when a child of God sins, we’re to confess our sins. And then we’re told that he’s faithful and just and that he will forgive us our sin. We’re to confess them. And it’s not a question of asking. God wants to forgive. That is something that he rejoices in doing is to forgive sins.
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Now, this listener in Downey, California, has two questions which relate to one another. She writes, Does not 1 Corinthians 11.21 prove that the early church used wine during the Lord’s Supper because they couldn’t get drunk on grape juice? Likewise, does not 1 Corinthians 11.22 say that we should not have meals in church? Yet a number of churches have meals. Can’t Christians just go to church to hear the Word of God?
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Well now, I want to turn to your passage of Scripture that you are so dogmatic about and see what is troubling you. And I, of course, don’t know what is troubling this individual. And I’m delighted to have the question, though, because today I’m getting more and more letters from folk across this country where they’ve been shocked to find out that the leaders in their church serve wine in their homes. And some actually serve intoxicating drinks. And will you hear me now very clearly? Because this is a passage of Scripture that’s used a great deal. And it’s 1 Corinthians 11, 21, 22. For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper, and one is hungry, and another is drunken. What, have ye not houses to eat and drink in? Or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I praise you not. Now, I want you to notice something that you need to know to understand the passage, and it’s the background of that day and of the practice of the early church. Now, when you say that the early church did not serve dinners, you’re entirely wrong. They did. The early church was made up of so many folk that were very poor, many of them actually slaves, and then there were others that were people of means, more or less of a cross-section of the society of that day. However, the early church was largely made up, and certainly in many places, of slaves and ex-slaves. And the early church would meet together before they celebrated the Lord’s Supper for a feast that was known as the Agape, the Agape, a love feast. It was not the Lord’s Supper. And it was sort of like a covered dinner today at the church, only it was different in this aspect. Each person brought their own dinner. Now, here is a family of affluence in that day, and they bring in a great big dinner of an evening. And the idea originally was that they would share it with others, you see. But right next to them, a poor fellow, he only has a crust of bread for him and his wife and children. And this person of affluence, instead of sharing with the man that did not, He kept it all for himself. And so after the agape, one man’s hungry and another man, well, I guess you’d call him a glutton. He had overeaten. He had had too much and had not shared with his brother. And that became a disgrace. Then on the other hand, there were some that brought wine and got drunk. And then in that condition they celebrate the Lord’s Supper. And here is one man, he brought wine in for his dinner, And he got drunk. He had a little too much. And I’ve never yet quite figured out how much is just enough. Most people that I’ve seen that drank and I was saved, I was with that crowd, I never met a person in my life that knew when to quit. They always stepped over just a little. They became a little tipsy, both men and women. And so that was what was happening here in the early church. And Paul lowers the boom on it. He says, what have you not houses to eat and drink in? In other words, he says that the love feast has become a mockery. So eat in your houses if you are wrong in your heart. And don’t come to the Lord’s table, some of you that have eaten too much and some of you that have drunk too much. And that is the thing that he’s condemning. Now, do you want to put that down on today? And may I say this very candidly? We’re living in a day when the ways of the world have intruded into the church. Now, I have never been a strict separationist. I’ve been criticized because of that. I’ve never felt that to preach against things I’ve never felt that whether a man does this or goes there determines really his spirituality. And I would actually go so far as to say drinking wine. But my friend, we are living today in a culture where drunkenness is going to wreck our nation. And for a Christian today, especially a Christian leader, To have intoxicating drink in his home is a mockery of the Christian faith. That’s my firm conviction. Somebody says, now you’re a legalist. No, I’m not. If you want to have it, you go ahead. But I wouldn’t give five cents for your testimony as a Christian. And I’m of the opinion that you’re not leading very many people to Christ these days by that method. But you are leading a very selfish life indeed. And that’s the very thing that Paul was condemning. Now, I have been great, more or less, not ridiculing, but making light of church banquets. But I’ve never said that they were positively wrong. I’ve always objected to calling them places of fellowship. They ought to be. And I have found them not very good places of fellowship. I found out that they draw the eating and drinking crowd today more than they draw the spiritually minded folk. But there’s nothing wrong, friends. And if you think that Paul’s condemning church banquets, he’s not. It’s the way that you carry them on. And it’s not these things that are wrong today. It’s the people that participate in them. And that is the thing that is wrong today. They’re trying to control liquor, and they better control it, with half of the traffic deaths today being caused by drunken drivers. And today they certainly need to control guns, But it’s not guns that need to be controlled. Somebody said, well, they’re killing people. No gun ever killed a person. It has to be in the heart of some individual. And it’s the heart of man that’s desperately wicked. And who can know it? No one knows how bad it is. And therefore, there are times that it would be nice if we could take the gun out of the criminal’s hands. But all they’re doing is taking it out of the hands of good people. and putting it in the hands of the criminal today and disarming people so that they can’t carry out the thing the Lord Jesus said, a strong man’s arm keepeth his house. That’s about the only way you’re going to keep it today. So that what we have here is an emphasis on if we do certain things that makes us spiritual. They have nothing to do with it, friends. Spirituality has to do with the relationship to God Knowledge of the Word of God and an obedience to Him and a love for the person of Christ, those are things that have to do with spirituality. These things, whether you do this or don’t do that, hasn’t anything in the world to do with your spirituality. Now, if you are right in your heart, there are certain things you don’t do. And there are certain things that you do do. You could not do a whole lot of things and still not be spiritual. We’ve got a city. Actually, it’s a city in a city here in Southern California. And it’s a famous place. It’s a place where, as far as I know, they do not have a police on duty. And every night it would be perfectly safe to walk the streets. There’s not a person there that’s getting drunk today. There’s no one there today that’s carrying a gun. There’s no one there that is engaged in sex. No one there is engaged in drugs. You couldn’t buy liquor and drugs in that city. They call it, I think they call it Forest Hill Cemetery. A lot of people there, and they don’t do things that are wrong, but they don’t do anything that’s right either. It’s what you do determines your spirituality, not what you don’t do. And if your heart is right and you’re doing the right things, then I’m of the opinion you’re not serving wine in your home. And I’m of the opinion that you’re one that would share with your brother. These are things that are important. I hope I’ve made a point today because this is the crux of the whole matter today that’s got this present generation involved in doing things and not doing other things. And we feel like we’re very spiritual if we don’t do certain things.
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This listener in Linwood, California wrote asking, Did Jesus condone the actions of the unjust steward in Luke chapter 16?
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No, he does not. What he’s actually doing is this, is saying that according to the standards of the world, according to the world, the children of this world, he says, that is out in the world, they are wiser than the children of light. In other words, according to their methods, which are absolutely questionable and crooked, they are always thinking of the future. That’s what they’re attempting to do. That’s what the average businessman is attempting to do today that’s in the world. And the one that’s even a crook is thinking of the future and of making investments that are going to yield dividends. That’s the important thing as far as the business of the world is concerned, whether it’s honest or crooked. They’re thinking of returns. Now, he says that the children of light are not smart, that they do not invest their money as they should. that they’re not thinking of the dividend that can come to them. And may I say to you that I think that’s one of the most pertinent parables for the present hour. Just think of the people today that give because of some sentimental emotion. They’re moved to give and they give. And how many people today, right on the radio, they give to something they do not really know anything about. That’s one of the reasons that we always urge people to come in, visit us, get acquainted, see what we’re doing, see where the money’s going, and that sort of thing. For the very simple reason, friends, and I tell it to you very candidly, there’s a lot of religious racketeering going on in Southern California. And a great deal of it’s on radio today. When a man is operating without a board and you do not have reliable Christian folks that are well-known, that are looking in on this work, why, it’ll pay you to investigate. And yet a great many Christians, they do not know really what’s being done. And somebody says, well, they give you some facts and figures on the radio. They tell you about what’s been… Yeah, but how do you know that’s true? Have you investigated? Have you found out that’s true? I think that a Christian ought to be as smart as that hard-headed businessman down here that’s playing the market this morning. And they’re down there doing it. So the point is that right down here, these businessmen that are down at these brokerage places watching that stock market, they’re sharp, you see. They’re thinking of an investment. Do you think they just want to give because the name of some company appeals to them? the fella that runs it’s a nice fella and he looks well and they like him and he makes a good appeal and they met him at a banquet? No, sir. That’s not the way businessmen invest. They want to know whether that concern is a liable concern, whether it’s going to give a good return on the investment, whether the men that are running it are good sound men. They’re thinking, you see, of a return. Now, the Lord Jesus says that Christians ought to be smart too, that you ought to investigate. And honestly, friends, I think God’s going to hold you responsible for what you give, not only the amount you give, but where you give it. And if you’re supporting something’s wrong, I think honestly you’re gonna hear him someday condemn you for that sort of thing. That you weren’t even as smart as the children of this world. The children of light are not. And I’m afraid that he really knew a great deal about Southern California. Honestly, when I hear of where some people today, good Christian people, are giving their money. It makes me sick. It absolutely just makes me sick because I do know that what I know about some of these organizations is that they are not worthy of the support of Christian people at all. And yet these folk don’t seem to be disturbed about it.
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A La Mesa, California listener would like to receive clarification on an issue he’s struggling with. He says, I know that scripture teaches that God has a foreknowledge of all things and that man was given free will. I struggle with the thought, how can Adam be responsible if God foreknew his sin? But I also understand the greatness of Christ and where sin abounds, grace abounds much more. This leads me to believe that there is no excuse that sin should have dominion over us. Is that the answer to this problem?
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Well, may I say that that is partially the answer. You see that in this tremendous question of why God did this at the beginning and if God knew that Adam was going to sin, then that means that Adam’s not responsible. That kind of thinking is due to our limitation. In other words, we do not have all the facts. We do not know all of the situation. And that’s one of the reasons that we come up with some very peculiar answers relative to this. But since God made Adam a free moral agent, and that, by the way, is in the foreknowledge of God, so that a man’s freedom in there It will not affect God’s foreknowledge one way at all. Yet man is a free moral agent, and since he is, it’s a legitimate, sincere, real thing. He is responsible for the decisions that he’s going to make. But God is infinite, and therefore his knowledge of a thing like that would not affect the decision that man would make at all. God is so far above man, you see. So that we’re trying, when we try to bring that down, and because God foreknew it, he’s forcing man. That’s just where our thinking breaks down, and we’re not clear at that particular point. These are matters where I feel, actually, that we have to walk by faith more than by sight.
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As Dr. McGee has indicated, there are some issues on which Scripture doesn’t provide us with all the information we need to fully understand the mysteries of God. So we must accept the truth presented in Scripture by faith. Yet, this is not blind faith, but as one theologian has said, it’s faith seeking understanding. The only way that we can understand our faith is by careful, deliberate, and consistent study of God’s Word. As we study, the light of God’s Word fills our lives, forcing out the darkness of doubts and misunderstandings. And to help you in your understanding of the Word of God, we have a number of excellent books, booklets, CDs, and more. So for a listing of many of our products, ask for our resource catalog or shop our online bookstore anytime at www.ttb.org. Another way that you can study your Bible is to join us during the Through the Bible radio program heard on this station Monday through Friday. The Bible Bus, as Dr. McGee called it, takes a journey through the whole Word of God book by book and chapter by chapter. Now, notes and outlines are available online as a free PDF download. or you can be added to our mailing list to receive them by mail. If you’d like to receive our resource catalog, ask to be on our mailing list for the monthly newsletter and the notes and outlines, then give us a call at 1-800-65BIBLE anytime, leaving a voicemail message including your name, address, and the call letters of this station. And if you’d prefer to speak to one of our staff, then please give us a call Monday through Thursday from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Pacific Time. And don’t forget that we offer plenty of resources online at ttb.org. So why don’t you check it out? For those of you who prefer to write, send your letter to Questions and Answers. For those in the U.S., Box 7100, Pasadena, California, 91109. In Canada, Box 25325, London, Ontario, N6C 6B1. Until the same time next week, we pray that our great and good God will answer all your questions and solve all your problems.
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Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe. Sin had left the crimson stain, he washed it white as snow.
