Week 10 (Days 337-343): What if I don’t feel like a new creation?

Hey, Bible readers! Welcome to TBR Deep Dive. I'm Kirsten McCloskey. I'm Emma Daughter. And today we have a very special guest for those of you who don't know who this is. Terri Lee, do you want to introduce yourself? You bet! I think they probably need to know. She needs no introduction and we're all here because of... Listen, we're here because of... They're very people who pay attention to TBR Deep Dive who aren't on the main feed. Or maybe they hear from TBR kids and they see Miss Emily and they don't... That's true. ...they've never seen my face before. Okay, well, who are you then? I'm Terri Lee, cobble. I'm friends call me TLC. We're Terri Lee and I host TBR, like the original, the Bible recap. Love it. Yeah. It's the real deal. This is the real deal, too. We're all the real deal. I'm excited. Yeah. Thanks for having me, ladies. We're glad you're here. Thanks for coming. Thanks for coming. Okay. Our first question. Are you getting started? Yes. I was ready. I was getting started. She's going. Our first question comes from two days, day 323 and day 340. But the verse that was referenced is 2 Corinthians 11, 21, which I'll read for us. It says, To my shame, I must say, we were too weak for that. But whatever anyone else dares to boast of, I am speaking as a fool. I also dare to boast of that. And the question is, I think they're pointing to Paul's daring to boast. What if I'm struggling to like or respect Paul? He seems so arrogant, this person submitted. And sometimes it seems like he's listing out all of his hardships like a badge of honor. Is he trying to prove something? Help! I'm guessing this question came from our recaptains group. Yes. I think it's a great one. I do too. And I love that it's an honest question. I'm going to be struggling. And this is not the first time I have heard this. I find that a lot of times my friends who are new to Christianity and are sort of like reading Paul for the first time without knowing a little more context of him. Yeah. They can wrestle with that. And so I love knowing Paul's stories. I think it's really helpful. And Paul, when we read all of his writings, we see that this guy regularly admits he does not have it all together. Mm-hmm. Kirsten and I were just talking about this last night. We were talking about Philippians. We were reading through Philippians 3 together. And Philippians 3, 12, the 14, he talks about like, I have not, I've not attained to everything. Like I'm not there yet. And then Roman 7, 15 through 20, he has that very famous passage where he's like, why do I do the things I don't want to do? Why do I not do what I want to do? Which is super relatable. And I think it's important for us to know what he's faced both internally with those internal wrestling of sins, struggles and things like that. And also externally with all the beatings and the shipwrecks and the imprisonments and all that. Not only does it set us up to understand his story better, but it also gives him credibility to us as readers, but especially to the original audience, where he had people who were opposing him. And we're saying he was a false teacher. He was establishing his credibility there. And he wrote, there was a reason that he wrote all of these things. He wasn't just like, I'm going to write a little letter and I'll just put down a bunch of cool things I've done. Like that's not what was in his mind. It's not his memoir. Yeah. Exactly. I think it's also worth noting, like this was not an arrogant man. With the Bible recap, we read through chronologically through Scripture. And one of the things you may have heard me say is as you watch Paul in his sanctification journey from from the beginning through that near the end of his life, the way that he self identifies, the way that he describes himself to his readers, you see it evolve. And so he starts out by saying like Paul an apostle. And then it's Paul, the least of the apostles. And then it's like Paul, a sinner and then it's Paul, the chief of sinners. And you see this trajectory of humility. And that is just not the talk of an arrogant man. That's not something that we see. And then finally, the thing that I like to think of with Paul and his. Just that's super encouraging to me. Another real indicator of his humility. And this for the person who wrote this, you're struggling to like Paul. Maybe this is the thing that's going to track with you. When I am praying a prayer that God is answering with a no. And I'm not getting a yes. If I'm getting a wait or a no. Paul is one of the people who comforts me most in Scripture. In Acts 1911 through 12, people literally are seeking out Paul's handkerchiefs and aprons as a means to heal the sick and to cast out demons. Like that is how they esteemed Paul in that way. And literally if this man can, if that can be possible, that his handkerchiefs and his aprons can heal the sick and cast out demons. And yet one of the things he tells us is that he had this own thorn in the flesh. And he prayed three times that God would take it away. And three times his prayers were answered with a no. And the fact that he includes this story in Scripture, like he doesn't polish up his resume. He doesn't polish like man, look God told me no. And I just think, you know, the question ends with like, is Paul trying to prove something? And I think if Paul is trying to prove anything, it's the sufficiency of Christ in all things. In external circumstances and internal circumstances in prayers answered no. Paul proves the sufficiency of Christ. So on the like complete opposite end of the spectrum, you've heard this question asked a lot. I struggle with this question because I've never once in my personal study thought like I don't like Paul or I don't like Paul here. Yeah, but I recently got a text from a good friend who's actually been a believer for a long time, strong believer, who said, I don't think Paul was perfect. LOL, the text reads some of the stuff he said was a bit crazy. And my first reaction was like, why are you judging Paul like that? Like I was like defensive on Paul's behalf. And I share that because I don't think my response to this friend who texted me that was the response of Jesus. Because I almost, I don't know, almost I did look down on that person for wrestling through their understanding of Paul's character. And so to those listening, I would just encourage you, whether you're the person, terribly speaking to who is asking this question himself, or you're maybe in my seat where you've never personally asked this question. It's an okay question to ask. Yeah, yes, that's such a good point. Yeah, it's funny because I actually feel like I'm in the middle of both. Okay, I think back in the day, I was kind of like, man, Paul, you know, like, what are you saying this stuff? Especially with some of the things like about women and just things that I think what helped me is that some of those things are so cultural. And if we just read them like this is what Paul said, and however I'm interpreting it is exactly what Paul meant without really having an understanding of some of the context and the fact that we're about 2000 years removed from a lot of the things that he's writing about. And it can be easy to kind of like make these different judgments or jump to conclusions. But I think the more that I've read and studied the Bible and asked some of those hard questions, the more I realize, no, I get what Paul's trying to do here and it helps not hinders because he's a human just like the rest of us. So Ian, you said you brought up the context here, Stan and I think that's so great because second Corinthians, most scholars are going to list defense as the primary theme for this book. Paul's addressing the claims of false teachers claims they were making against him. So he had to set the record straight in the verse that I just read. He wasn't bragging. He was testifying to his experience as an apostle. He was trying to say, hey, Corinthians, you're getting you're getting confused. Hardships don't mark the false teachers. They they validate my ministry. Yes, look at these hardships. I've lived through this shows you that I'm teaching you truth. I'm not leading you astray. So he was trying to do something very specific. Definitely wasn't bragging. Yeah. Good point. Very good point. All right. Let's move on to our next question. So this question comes from day 339 in second Corinthians 517. So let me turn there 517. Okay. The verse. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold the new has come. So the very honest question that this verse prompted is I don't feel like a new creation. Am I doing something wrong? I love this question. The great question because you give your life to Jesus. And then you fast forward the clock a month, two months, two years, ten years, twenty years. And you look at your life and you say, well, I still sin. I still struggle. I mess up. I fall short. I still feel that pull of the old me. What gives? Like did something go wrong? Am I not really a new creation? And the short answer is no, you aren't doing something wrong. I mean, sinning yes is wrong. But you're just living in the tension of what theologians refer to as the already, but not yet. You are securing Christ, but you're living as a sinner in a broken world. And so it's very normal to feel like I'm not a new creation because I still fall. So when scripture says you're a new creation, that is the truth. You are at the moment of your salvation. Something very radical happens. Your old self that the part of you enslaved to sin was crucified with Christ, Roman 6.6, which means sin doesn't own you. You're no longer your master, but that doesn't mean that the battle is over. You're not sinless, but you're no longer powerless against sin. And one day you will be made completely new. Yes. Which I think is so encouraging and hopeful. And in some of the ways that we recognize, especially over time walking with the Lord, when you recognize like, man, I just messed up big time. I wish that I wasn't so jealous or I wish that I didn't tell that lie. What was that? That is evidence actually of your new creation. Yes. But that you're not seeing in the complete fullness at this time. So even asking the question, I feel like demonstrates. No, that is true. You're concerned. I like that. Yeah. Well Paul talks about this in Roman 7. He says, why do I do the things that I don't want to do and the things that I do want to do, I don't do. And that's our reality too, as believers. We want to do the right thing, but that's not always going to be what actually happens. Yeah. And that's, I mean, that passage with Paul from Roman 7, which that is all over this episode. Yeah. We have questions deep and we've already referenced it twice. The early church fathers recognize that we are both saints and sinners. And being declared a saint doesn't mean we're whisked into perfection. We never sin again. And being a person who sins doesn't mean that we aren't declared righteous. Right. And when Paul wrote his letter to the Corinthians, he called them saints. Like if you know anything about the book of Corinthians, you know, they were really off the right. They were a mess. A mess. And there is so much acknowledgement of their sin. He's calling them saints and acknowledging their sin. Yeah. And I mean, I think Paul probably finds this question relatable to you know based on what he said in Roman 7, 15 through 20. Paul, Paul is like, yeah, sometimes I don't feel like a new creation either. So like you're in good company, a person who asked this question. Right. And I would say keep fighting the good fight. Keep leaning in. Keep your eyes on Jesus. He is your perfection. He is your righteousness. Even when you're flesh is warring against you. Keep leaning into the power of the spirit. Yeah. Well, and another, another kind of thing that I wanted to mention is that with the question of second part of the question, am I doing something wrong? I will say if you're unwilling to repent, if you're living an unrepentant sin, then yes, you are doing something wrong. And something is off. Something is off. So if you're willfully disobeying God, then yeah, get your act together. Okay. But if you're walking by the spirit and you're stumbling and you're falling and you're getting back up again and you're going for it again, like, keep pressing on like you were saying, Terrily, then you're doing great. Like you're just living the life of faith. That's what it looks like. I'm following this account on social media of a man who is documenting his journey of walking with Jesus, like from day one of being a Christian. And it's just so he has a specific sin struggle that he's been wrestling against. And he, like, on day, I think it was day 39. He's like, I'm not sure I'm going to make it to day 40. And on day 40, he shows up and he's like, I, I fell yesterday. Like, I really, I fell back into my old, my old sin pattern. Then back here again on day 40, I'm believing the truth of scripture that I'm not defined by my sin. And like, I'm here moving forward in my journey with Christ. And it's been so encouraging and inspiring to just watch a new believer who knew nothing about scripture beforehand. Cling to the truth of scripture and cling to this efficiency of Christ and Christ finished work on the cross. And to be reminded that that when we stand before the Father, the righteousness of Christ has been assigned to us. And we have been granted that through no effort of our own. And so all of those, those failings and those sin struggles that all that old life is nailed to the cross. So you don't bring any of that into the kingdom. Yeah. Yeah. Amen. Amen. Good news. Ready for the next question. Feeling good? Kirsten, I'm looking at you. I feel great. Okay. A new creation. Amen. All right. This next question comes from day 339 in the specific verse stems from 2 Corinthians 521, which says, for our sake, he made him to be sin who knew no sin so that in him, we might become the righteousness of God. So the question is, how did God make Jesus to quote unquote, be sin? Yeah. This is a great question. And I really enjoyed learning about this more because I feel like I haven't really dug into this one specifically before. So and one funny thing is when I was working overseas with the Bible school, actually one of the, my staff members with me mentioned this in conversation, basically just saying, we're talking about some other passage. And he's like, well, God made Jesus to be sin. And I kind of looked at him and I was like, yikes. And I said, just a Bible, really say that. And I'm teaching in the Bible school. I'm so see, you know, but it was one of those things where I'm like flip, flip, flip. Oh, yeah. Oh, this is in here. So yeah, so this is good. This is a good question. Good to know. Good to know. So this might also have been kind of jarring or confusing for some of you. So let's bring some clarity to it. So some scholars have suggested that Paul was actually talking about Christ being a sin off of the Bible. And that Paul just used sin as a shorthand for that. So this fits with Christ being a sacrifice or a sin offering for us that we see in other places. But the interesting thing about this position is that Paul never refers to sin as a sin offering anywhere else. So he doesn't really switch with that shorthand other places. So most likely what this is probably referring to is that Christ is a sin offering for us. So what we're going to do is that Christ experienced the consequences of sin. So in the same way Paul says later in the verse, in Christ we become the righteousness of God. So Jesus experienced the consequences of sin. We experienced the righteousness of God. So we have the positive consequences. Jesus has the negative consequences. And so it points to Christ being treated as a sinner in his death, taking on the penalty of all our sin and guilt. And that's like what theologians call the great exchange. The great exchange being he has all the righteousness we have all sin and he gives us his righteousness and he takes our sin. And it's just no other world religion offers anything like that. Nothing close. Like that is not it is it is the unique offer of Jesus Christ to his followers. So some important clarifications. Jesus has not and will not ever commit sin. Yes, very good. He is holy, blameless and pure. And if Jesus were to actually literally become sin, he could not still be God, which would be incredibly problematic because Hebrews tells us he's the same yesterday today and forever. He does not change. So if he's changing too literally become sin, we've got a huge biological problem. Yeah, and it doesn't say he became a sinner. Right, right, right. Yes, exactly. Yeah, one commentator put it this way, God provided Jesus to stand in for sinful humanity. Even though Jesus was sinless, God deals with him as though he were a sinner by letting him die in a cursed death. So that might be a helpful way to think about it as well. Very powerful. Yeah, it's the difference between bearing guilt and being guilty. Yes, we are guilty. Jesus is not. Right. Huge. This is so much better of a question than I even thought it was. I already thought it was a great question. And I'm like, wow, this is so good. You can eat you. Yeah, you can even get into. We've been talking a lot about what would be called imputed righteousness in theological terms. And that's just a fancy way of saying imputation is the process by which you were something credit is transferred. Yeah. So on the cross, our sin was credited to Jesus. He paid the bill. But we received because he paid the bill his righteousness. That is imputed righteousness. So even when we fall short, it doesn't go away. So once I've placed my faith in Jesus, that is my reality because Jesus became sent on our behalf. Good stuff. Good. All right. Let's move on to the next question. Okay. So another question from day 339. This is a heavy hitter day. I know. Heavy hitter. Get ready. Buckle up. So this time we are looking at second Corinthians 6 verse 14. What verse says? Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness or what fellowship has light with darkness. And I like the NET translation also says, do not become partners. So instead of the unequally yoked, do not become partners with those who do not believe. For what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness or what fellowship does light have with darkness. So the question, is this command to not be unequally yoked only talking about marriage or other relationships? Well, I think clearly this is one of those verses that is just outdated and doesn't apply today. Oh my goodness. It wasn't divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit. Do anybody close somebody clips this? Oh man. My words. You have to take it. You have to take it. Yeah. Exactly. Oh man. Right. So, Tara Lee thinks it's outdated, but Emma, do you think there's a great question? No. Still applicable. Still applicable. Okay, so how should we think about this Emma? So most people who've been around church for a while probably hear this in automatically think marriage. And it is a good marriage principle. It applies. Paul talks about the marriage specifics of this a lot more in first Corinthians where he talks about who you should marry, you know, relationship. If one spouse is married and not married, that's first Corinthians. And yes, in marriage, it's not wise or biblical for a believer to marry someone who doesn't share their faith. Paul makes that clear in first Corinthians. Marriage is a partnership where you want to be pulling in the same direction. And if one person's living for Jesus and the other isn't, there's going to be all kinds of tension, spiritual drift problems. When you're making that initial commitment. Yep. That's what we're talking about. But here the context actually doesn't seem to be really about marriage. Right. Yeah. All right. Exactly. The bigger idea is don't tie yourself closely like in business. You're with your best friend or really any partnership that requires shared values with someone who's not following Jesus. Why? Because your core motivations, your goals, your worldviews, they're going to be pulling in opposite directions. Yep. It's like if there's a rope tying the two of us together and you want to go right and I want to go left, either you're going to trip, we're going to be playing tug of war or someone's going to get hurt. Yep. It doesn't work if we're going in different directions. Yeah. And one commentator had an interesting thing to say about exactly what a business relationship would be like in the ancient world, which I think is helpful. Because it does seem like this is really more about those kinds of partnerships, not not necessarily marriage, although marriage can be an application. No, that's certainly. But so business relationships in the ancient world, in the ancient world, a business association was not divorced from other aspects of life. Rather, the partners were expected to share the ups and downs together, belonging to each other in a close relationship. And so that's, I think in many ways, that's why it becomes so easy to kind of pin this as a don't be unequally yoked in marriage. Because in reading that, it's like, sure, the ups and downs. I mean, those sound like marriage vows. But in the ancient world, that's how people would have seen a business partnership. Yes. It would have been in some ways like being a part of somebody's family. And you've got to think, I mean, context, context, context, context. Paul saying, do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. And he's writing to a church that struggled with spiritual compromise. In all areas. Right. That's such a point. Yes, sexuality, but in every area, and these people were surrounded by idol worship, they are tempted to mix their devotion to Jesus with the values of the culture. And he's, he's in this part of the letter. It's just a larger section where he's urging them to live set apart holy lives because they belong to God and not to compromise. It's the context, which really then applies to every part of our lives. Right. Would you say a great disagree? I'm thinking so much of, as you're saying this, I'm thinking about a conversation that we had at my home group this week. And just, because I just pulled up second Corinthians six and Paul is talking about the very things you're talking about, just how they compromised all these things. And how he's saying to them, like, we've opened our hearts to you. And yet your affections toward us are restricted, like widen your hearts toward us as well. Don't be, don't give your heart to the things of the world. Give your heart to the things of the kingdom. And we had this conversation at home group about how easy it is to have our music, our social media, our, the places we give our free time to be things of the world. And to be things that are in some ways, maybe they're not bad, but they're not holy, but in some ways, maybe they are actually very bad. Yeah. Maybe they are actually unholy, ungodly things. And so we give our time and our energy and our emotion to those spaces. And like I read this and it is, it's convicting to me, because it is, I think it's really important to think of this, not just as a marriage passage. That's because that is, again, like you said, not even the context of the passage. It's far more encompassing than just, it's of course, inclusive. Yes. But it's far more encompassing than just that. Yes. And my notes I'd summarized this is if it's, Paul's basically saying, you belong to God now. Don't link your life too closely with people or systems or things that pull you away from him. And I instantly thought of my phone because though I may not have a social media addiction or a scrolling addiction, I can just fill moments of silence where I could be praying or reading scripture or working on scripture memory or looking at who's around me is there is there someone I should be engaging with. And instead, I'll check out. And scrolling on Instagram is inherently inherently bad, but it's definitely a system or a thing that's pulling me away from what I could be experiencing with God if I looked up and looked at what was going on around me. Yeah, that's interesting. Another commentator said, there's an absolute contrast between the moral uprightness required of the believer and the wickedness which characterizes the pagan world. So I think that it's because I was trying to think like, what's the application? And I think it's be aware that there's a distinction between us and people that don't believe in Christ, not as a way to, we always want to be careful when we're having conversations like this that we don't become completely isolated and separated from people that are not aware of this. Yes. That's not what Paul's talking about. Paul went out to people that didn't believe in Jesus. That was his whole thing. So it's not about that, but it's about understanding that we are living by completely different values. We are in a story that other people don't even recognize as being true. And so we need, we need to know that that's who we are. And then we need to be discerning and wise about what kind of relationships we participate in because we are living for a completely different. Yeah, this instruction isn't negating the call to share the gospel. Oh, yeah. It's about who you're walking most closely with. Yeah. Always the chief evangelist of the New Testament is not going to be saying, like, don't go near sinners. Yeah. But don't like, like, it's clear this is talking about right before he's talking about your affections. And that I think we've talked about people, but I think that's even true of things as well. That the things of the world that represent the unbelieving, the things of the world that represent an opposition to God and his kingdom aren't things I want to be attached to. Yeah, whether it's a book or a musical artist or like, you know, a movie or whatever. I don't want to be attached to those things. That's no thank you. Yeah. I want to play the other side for a second because we did all three just represent the most common view. There are people who think scholars who think when you explore the context that Paul was specifically addressing joining nonbelievers in worship or false religious systems, not just every relationship. Yeah. So though we presented the most common view that is an option. But the concern if you take that view is the same. It'd be spiritual compromise that you share an idolatrous worship practices, temple rituals, religious agreements, and even marriage underneath other religious systems. So whether or not you hold the conviction this is specifically about worship or any general relationship or practice, the underlying heart behind Paul's instruction is consistent. Yeah. Yeah. That's great. Thank you for bringing that. I think it is would be we would be wise to that we live in a world where a lot of people claim the name of Jesus. And there are denominations and groups that claim the name of Jesus, but the gospel that they preach is not the gospel. And I wouldn't even say it's a different gospel. I would say it's a false gospel. Yeah. And so just because they claim the name of Jesus, I'm not going to link arms with them because it would be that same thing. Right. It would be so. And even more of a believable counterfeit because it's like well they read the Bible to you know they believe the Bible to right. Or they believe in Jesus. Well, which Jesus do they believe in? What do they believe he accomplished? Do they believe he paid fully for their sins and that they don't have to contribute to their own righteousness? Or do they think they contribute to their righteousness? Because Paul and Galatians would say you are severed from Christ. You would be justified by works. And so I think there's a danger for us not in just things that look worldly like, oh, I don't want to marry a Buddhist. But even those who claim the name of Jesus, there has to be a level of discernment. Yeah. And what do you believe about Jesus? Yes. That's, I mean, even just that question, what do you believe about Jesus? It's really, really helpful. Yeah. Good. All right. Our final question is from day 337. And it's coming from first Corinthians 151 to 2. So let me read that. Now, I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received in which you stand, and by which you are being saved. If you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. So here's a question prompted from this text. What does it mean that the gospel continues to save us as we hold on to it, not just at the start? Such a good question. Yeah. So good. If you've been around for a while, even if you were here earlier in the episode, you heard a truck. Welcome. If you're just joining us, Jim didn't stream. The already, but not yet Emma reference that earlier. It's what theologians refer to this wide window of time between Christ's ascension and Christ's return. And then even within that, those of us who are alive currently are in this other specific niche area of time that's still in the already, but not yet where we are living in these bodies of flesh. Like we talked about in a previous question, we have, we're in this flesh. We're saints and sinners. And we live in that additional sort of in between space. But when someone becomes a believer in Jesus, they immediately experience his complete salvation. So immediately, but they experience it in part. And they are fully saved, but it's merely the beginning of that story. And here, like this is kind of a flawed comparison, but when you get married, like on your wedding day, you get married and you are married for the whole rest of your marriage relationship, you are being married. And so it's this continuation. You continue being married. You're existing as a married person. You got married and you are married and you are being married and you continue to be married. Again, it's an imperfect illustration. But when you get saved, so to speak, you're sin no longer separates you from God. And he will continue to keep you saved, to keep saving. Until the day when you're united with him in eternity. And Paul in Philippians 1 6 says it like this, he says, he who began a good work in you will carry it on to the day of completion. And he begins it, he carries it on, he completes it. And the way we usually like to say that in the TBR world is what God initiates. He will sustain and he will fulfill. And so that is that you have been saved and you are being saved. Yeah. And you will be saved. Yes. I feel like the phrase you were saved, you are being saved and you will be saved points to all three of those pieces that you're talking about. And yeah, I think that what's interesting about maybe our present kind of cultural context is I feel like there's a lot of emphasis on like the moment you were saved. And then sometimes we as a church, I think, cannot, we don't do maybe as good of a job as talking about like the, the fullness of our sanctification. And the fact that yes, we are saved, but it's not like we're saved one time and then we just go off to do whatever we want. Right. Like this is a journey. Exactly. It's not a box you check. And so I think that's where that's where I think there's more of a full Paul paints a bigger picture than that because it's he's not just talking to people like, hey, the day you were saved and then go off and you know, enjoy your life. It's like, no, no, there was a radical change that happened to you and that transformation isn't done. It will continue day by day. And so there is this reality of us participating in that daily walk of, yeah, I am saved today. You got the new heart. You got the new spirit and the journey begins. Right. Exactly. Do you guys have people in your life who I do who they're they feel frustrated because they don't know what day they got saved? Yes. Yes. I don't like any Christian. They came to Christ for a young. Yeah. Super young. Right. Or they just, I mean, and people tend to say things like I've always been a Christian, which we know isn't, um, theologically accurate. Right. But I think what they mean is I don't remember a time when I did not, right. So, um, at some point they did quote unquote get saved. Yes. That process was initiated in them. But I've met people who really wrestle like, am I Christian? Because I can't name the date. And I don't remember the moment. And, but if we look at it the way you've, you've just described it, which I think is really beautiful and true. You are saved. You're being saved. You will be saved. It is this storyline. It's this trajectory. And if you see, if you see that you have a new heart, if you see that the fruit of the spirit is developing and you, it's the kind of thing you can trust. Like, oh, I am a new creation. Even I don't feel like it. Right. I talked about earlier. Yeah. When I look at the context of second grand, the instance for a moment. So again, I probably sound like a broken record at this point. I feel like I said this in every episode. We are not sure about a verse. Great place to start is look at what comes before, what comes after, what else does the Bible say about it. And I look at verse one, which says, now I would remind you, brothers of the gospel. I preached to you, which you received in which you stand. So Paul makes it clear. The Corinthians heard the gospel. Romans 10, 9 through 10, because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. So they, they got that. They received it in faith. And then what comes after it, verse two, so verse two is the verse in question. What comes after is a detailed account of what Paul had already shared with the Corinthians. And with a specific emphasis on the resurrection. So I'm looking at this, I'm like, this is like a gospel sandwich. He's like, you guys knew the gospel and you're being saved. And here's the gospel again. That's awesome. Sandwich. Yeah. And so I think about second Corinthians, their context. They were getting a lot wrong. And second Corinthians, or this is first, but in the Corinthians setting, there's this context where Paul is having to defend himself against false teachers. And there were false teachers who were rejecting the resurrection. So Paul in this moment is like, hang on. Remember, remember what the gospel is. Because if you reject the resurrection, you're not believing the gospel. You can't be saved. Now Paul wasn't saying that they'd lose their salvation. If they were to reject the resurrection, I wouldn't mean they were never safe to begin with. Right. But in this context, he's assuring them, hey, you don't need these false teachers. You know the gospel. You're secure in it presently. And let me remind you with great specificity, the truths that we believe in can rest in. Yeah. And it's not a passage that should instill doubt. It's a passage in which Paul is trying to affirm and encourage the Corinthians that they don't have to doubt. They know truth. Yes. That's such a good, helpful nuance. Thank you. I, uh, I really love talking about the context. I think you should never not talk about the context. Okay. That is built into you. I think it's so great. Thank you. Thank you. I think it's a good thing to learn a lot from you. So keep it up. Thanks. Thanks. I learned from you guys. We need each other. We need each other. Well, that's what's fun about doing something like this. Is that when we're talking to each other, you're like, oh, I didn't really think about it that way. Okay. I'm getting a new perspective. So, yeah. All right. I'm ending us, aren't I? I think that we're done for the day. Oh, man. It's been fun. Well, favorite thing you studied for this episode. Let's see. Well, I actually, I do feel pretty passionate about the kind of this last question that we just talked about in the sense that it is your whole faith journey is important. Yes, the day of your salvation matters and yes, how you live with Christ every day matters. And so I like bringing maybe a little bit more, um, just a little bit more understanding of the way that Paul uses a term like saved, where sometimes he's wrapping a bunch of stuff up in there. You know, he's talking about justification, he's talking about glorification, he's talking about sanctification. And we want to kind of like pick it apart and we want to make it this one specific thing. But sometimes he's he's talking about all of it or he maybe just talking about one. So I think it's just helpful for people, especially like thinking of your friend who is like, I don't know when I was or wish your friend or was it. Yeah. Someone kind of being like, I'm supposed to fill this out on my church membership web, you know, and I'm on my application and I don't know if I'm saved because I don't know the date. It's like, you're good. No fear. You don't need to fear that. So I think it's helpful to kind of bring a little bit more context to something like that. So that was interesting. My favorite thing was I just love as I'm, you know, looking at the kinds of questions that the recaptains are asking, we've seen some really honest humble questions. We've seen some really nuanced theological questions like, I'm so encouraged. I really liked specifically, I really liked the one about Jesus became said. I really like studying that one. But more, more over, I appreciated just the recaptains questions that came to our group and the kinds of things they're looking for in scripture, I think it's just so beautiful. Yeah. A lot of humility. I loved the context. We know. But I think, but I think some of what I love about looking at is the way that I'm going to love about looking at the context, specifically, of first and second Corinthians, is that it can be relatable. So even though sometimes we say, hey, we got to look at the context because their world is different than our world, there are people today who deny the resurrection. And so what do we do when we encounter those messages? Well, Paul Models for us remind yourself of the gospel. Don't forget, don't forget, don't forget. And we need that just as much as the Corinthians need that. So that's, that challenged me. But that's all we've got time for. Thanks for having me. Yeah. Of course. Thanks for taking a deep dive with us. We'll see you next week as we continue to read, understand, and love the Bible and the God who wrote it.