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Adriel Sanchez and Bill Maier answer caller questions. Key questions answered in today's show: 1. Can we be filled with the Holy Spirit by asking to be filled with him? How do I receive the Holy Spirit like on Pentecost?  2. I have often heard people say after the death of a loved one, "I really miss my dad, but I know that he is now looking out for me." They often point to rainbows, white feathers, or other "signs" of evidence of their loved one's continuing presence in their lives. As a pastor, I have struggled with how to respond to this idea. I know that for them it is sentimentally comforting and helpful, but I also know that it is a false comfort. A believer who dies is in the presence of God, not floating about over us. And a non-believer has his attention quite occupied in other ways. Even though I have taught about our hope in Christ and the reality for a believer that being absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, members of my own congregation would say things like this. Any thoughts on what one can say to popular but misguided thoughts about death?  3. Do Satanists and witches blaspheme the Holy Spirit? Is that true? Can anyone be forgiven? 4. Thanks for your radio program. What you’re doing is important because I don’t see that most believers have a basic knowledge of what the Bible teaches.  I listen to you while I work in my engineering office. Here is my question:  can the believers who have already gone to heaven pray for us still on earth? Resources: "The Message of Acts in the History of Redemption" by Dennis Johnson, "Devoted to God: Blueprints for Sanctification" by Sinclair B. Ferguson. Request our latest special offers call 1-833-THE-CORE (833-843-2673) to request them by phone.

Adriel Sanchez and Bill Maier answer caller questions. Key questions answered in today's show: 1. I've been taking the time to study the Bible, and your show has been very helpful. My question is, in Romans 3:31, Paul asks if faith nullifies the law. He answers, “Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.” Does this mean that when our faith is sincere and we start to have victory over sin or do good works, that our works somehow uphold the law?  2. How should I react to a preacher’s teaching that I do not agree with?  3. In 1 Kings 19:11–13 God spoke to Elijah through a still small voice. A friend of mine recently indicated that she wanted to hear from God more and that she needs to quiet her mind and wait for His still small voice. Is the way God spoke to Elijah for all believers today? How does God communicate to His children today? 4. When Jesus returns, it says the dead will rise first. But relatives say that when someone has died they have gone to be with the Lord. Can you shed light on that?   5. I have not been born again very long. I was living with my boyfriend when Jesus came to me. We immediately ceased fornication as we are not married, but we continue to live together. I am currently on a break from work, and I have a daughter from a previous relationship. As I am not working due to a mental health injury I sustained at work, I can not afford to move out. There is absolutely no fornication or anything of that nature. Am I still saved?  Resources: "What to Look for When Choosing A Church." Request our latest special offers call 1-833-THE-CORE (833-843-2673) to request them by phone.

Adriel Sanchez and Bill Maier answer caller questions. Key questions answered in today's show: 1. Does 1 Corinthians 11 mean a married woman needs to wear a head covering anytime she is in public? I have read where someone said that the Greek wording indicates that the women were to keep the head covering on when praying or prophesying as if it was something they were expected to wear in public but were pulling it off in the church when doing these activities. Are women to wear this all of the time? I have also read quotes from church leaders from early in the church requiring this. Were they requiring it all of the time?  2. I've had an on-again, off-again relationship with my mother, who struggles with mental illness. When things are good, they're great. When they aren't, she can be really abusive, and I always end up being the enemy. A few people have told me that it is time to let it go. Unfortunately, I've never received an apology from her, it just goes back to the way things were until she goes through another cycle. I mean, I love my mom and I forgive her, but I guess my question is, when it comes to forgiveness, does there come a time when, for self-preservation, there is a time to let that relationship go? Or is that being selfish? Am I being a bad son for letting her go, if that cycle keeps going without any sign of letting up? 3. Mark 1:15 states that Jesus began his ministry by proclaiming that "the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the gospel". My understanding of the gospel is that, at its core, it is about how Jesus justifies us through his finished work on the cross. Without the crucifixion, there would be no gospel. But it is clear from the Gospels that Jesus did not reveal how he would die until later in his ministry, and even when he did, his disciples did not fully understand what he was saying. So what was the content of the gospel that Jesus was proclaiming compared with the gospel that, for example, Paul proclaims in Romans? It seems that Jesus' message is linked to the kingdom of God. If so, does that mean that our proclamation of the gospel is deficient if it does not include "the kingdom of God" and how this ties in with the message of justification?  4. If one feels that they are demonically possessed, how do they get the demons out of the body? I know in the bible, swine were filled with demons that were possessing a man. How can we do it in modern-day culture?  Resources: "Core Christianity: Finding Yourself in God's Story" by Michael Horton. Request our latest special offers call 1-833-THE-CORE (833-843-2673) to request them by phone.

Adriel Sanchez and Bill Maier answer caller questions. Key questions answered in today's show: 1. Hello, my name is Lou from Vincenza, Italy. I trust this note finds you and your families all well and safe from the virus. My question is regarding 2 Samuel 21:1–14, this passage has always perplexed me. It appears that David allows seven of Saul's heirs to be put to death by the Gibeonites for revenge and in order to answer prayer on behalf of the land (v. 14). Am I reading this correctly? Is there a deeper meaning that I'm missing?  2. When you are attacked by demons, how does that affect your salvation?  3. How should we interpret the psalms? I heard someone say that all the psalms are about Jesus and not just the messianic ones. Isn't that overdoing it? Some of the Psalms speak of sin and envy and fleshly problems. This seems to be some kind of overly Christological Hermeneutic? I heard Martin Luther had interpreted Psalm 1 as thinking of Christ as the Blessed Man in 1513, but then when he came back to the book decades later he changed his mind and interpreted it literally.  4. I am on several different medications to battle some odd anxiety issues that I have, for really no apparent reason. I know that pharmacy comes from the Greek word pharmakeia, which means witchcraft. I know that we are forbidden in God’s word to associate with witchcraft, and so I’ve had this burden on my spirit about being on medications, but without them I physically cannot function. What are your thoughts on that? Resources: "Core Christianity: Finding Yourself in God's Story" by Michael Horton, "Walking with Jesus Through His Word: Discovering Christ in All the Scriptures" by Dennis Johnson. Request our latest special offers call 1-833-THE-CORE (833-843-2673) to request them by phone.