The American Soul
The American Soul
Would There Be Enough Evidence to Convict You of Being Christian?
What does your calendar reveal about your faith? Jesse Cope challenges listeners to examine their daily priorities and consider whether their actions align with their professed beliefs. This thought-provoking episode introduces a powerful question that every believer should contemplate: "If someone accused you of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?"
Marriage receives special attention as Jesse shares the metaphor of a three-legged stool—physical intimacy, spiritual intimacy, and emotional intimacy—all necessary for a balanced relationship. Like a stool that must be assembled daily, marriage requires consistent investment and attention. "Each morning you wake up and there's just a box of parts on the floor, and you have to put that stool together," Jesse explains, offering a vivid reminder that relationships aren't maintained through passive existence but through active, intentional work.
Diving into 1 Corinthians 1, the episode examines Paul's warnings against division in the church and emphasizes that our primary identity should be in Christ, not denominational affiliations. This scripture study transitions into powerful historical accounts, including Medal of Honor recipients' stories and a moving excerpt from Fox's Book of Martyrs about Mr. Lithgow's persecution. These narratives highlight a crucial truth: denominational membership doesn't guarantee Christ-like behavior, while those outside formal religious structures often demonstrate true Christian compassion.
The episode concludes by returning to its central question about the evidence of our faith, urging listeners to evaluate whether their daily actions would provide sufficient proof of their Christian commitment. Take this opportunity to reflect on how you're spending your time and whether your life truly reflects what you claim to believe. Are your priorities ordered according to what matters most? The answer might change how you approach tomorrow.
The American Soul Podcast
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Hey folks, this is Jesse Cope, back with another episode of the American Soul Podcast. Hope y'all are doing well, wherever y'all are, whatever part of the day you're in. I sure do appreciate y'all joining me, giving me a little bit of your time and attention, a little piece of your day and attention. A little piece of your day. I know you have other things that you could be doing, and so I'm very grateful that y'all are spending some of it here with me. I will try and use it wisely. For those of y'all who continue to share the podcast with others and tell others about it, thank you so much. Very, very grateful for that. For those of y'all who continue to pray for me and for the podcast, thank you, I'm very, very grateful for that. Grateful for that, father. Thank you for today. Thank you for you, father, and your Son Jesus Christ and your Holy Spirit. Thank you for your love and your mercy, your grace and your forgiveness of our sins, in the merit of your Son, jesus Christ. Thank you for all the many blessings you bestow upon us, father, the ones we admit and the ones we don't, for whatever reason. Forgive us when we don't, father. Forgive us our lack of gratitude. Forgive us for ignoring the blessings that are right in front of our eyes. Forgive us our greed, our lust, forgive us for not caring about the widow and the orphan, the poor and the needy, the least of these. As you told us to Help us, to help those in need, to follow the example of your son, jesus Christ, to follow his commands and love you with our whole heart, mind, soul and strength to love our neighbors as ourselves. Guide our steps. Be with our leaders, father, in the pulpit, in the state. Be with our leaders in the military. Guide them, father. Give them wisdom and courage, strong faith, insight. Guide them, father. Give them wisdom and courage, strong faith, insight and be with those listening, father, today. Be with their families, bless the marriages of those who are married and just help us to do your will. Above all else, father, guide my words here and bring us home to you, please. In your son's name, we pray, amen.
Speaker 1:Well, I had something and, of course, it went away, so it must not have been that important. Have you made time for God today? Have you made time to read his word? Have you made time to pray, to talk to him? Have you made time for your spouse? What are you making time for? What did you do yesterday, the day before, the week before?
Speaker 1:If you looked back over your life over the last six months, year, five years, 10 years, maybe 20 or 30 years, what would you have to say? Based on time and energy and effort, what would you have to say? Your priorities were? And folks, if it's not God and Jesus Christ and then your spouse, your priorities are pretty messed up. And now that doesn't mean that you have to be right. I just want to make sure I'm abundantly clear here. That doesn't mean that it's just reading Like how much time did you spend reading your Bible and praying?
Speaker 1:Because obviously there are a multitude of ways there to follow God, to grow closer in that relationship, but that has to be part of it. That's what a lot of us try and do in marriage. Honestly, we try and take the parts of marriage that we like and focus on those and ignore the parts that are important to our spouse, and that doesn't build a relationship. That doesn't build a marriage. You can't.
Speaker 1:I don't remember where I picked this up it was years ago, probably some from some marriage conference somewhere, but they said that marriage was like a three-legged stool and the three legs were physical intimacy, spiritual intimacy and emotional intimacy. And any time you can imagine with a three-legged stool, right, what happens when one of the legs is shorter than the other two Makes it hard to sit on the stool, right, you might be able to sit on there for a little while, but it's kind of bumpy. You can rock back and forth. It's not real stable, right? And then what happens if one leg is missing altogether? Then you're in a lot of trouble. Then you're like one of those old not trapeze artists, but people like them where they would go out and try and balance on this little bitty plate on this tall pole, right.
Speaker 1:And the point is it's kind of like you wake up each day and you have to rebuild your stool. Like you went to Ikea and you bought a stool and each day you're buying a new box and you come home and you dump the parts out. Every morning you wake up and you get out of bed and there's just a box of parts on the floor and you have to put that stool together each day. That's how we need to think about our marriage, and at the end of every day we've got a result, an end result, right? And that end result depends on what we put into it. Y'all get the analogy, I think. I hope so. All right, I know I was trying to think while I was talking and I just cannot for the life of me remember talking and I just cannot for the life of me remember what it was. So we will move on.
Speaker 1:Revelation no, we're done with Revelation. Where are we going next? I think we're going to go into 1 Corinthians, right. So 1 Corinthians, chapter 1. Paul if I can get my glasses to do what they're supposed to do Paul called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God and our brother Sosthenes I think I said that right To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours. Grace and peace to you from God, our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Speaker 1:Thanksgiving. I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus, for in him you have been enriched in every way, with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge, god thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. Therefore, you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his son, jesus Christ, our Lord.
Speaker 1:Okay, so I'm trying to learn from my previous little episode on the podcast today, which happens often for those of y'all that are come back time and again you can attest to this. I think of something and then we talk about some other issue and it just completely goes away. So here at verse nine, god is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his son, jesus Christ, our Lord. Something our pastor says often and it's really encouraging to me and I assume, to other members of our congregation and I assume it'll be encouraging to you is he says the fact that you're here today tells me that you want that relationship with God and Jesus Christ, that you have that relationship, that you're striving right, and it kind of goes along with what my father has told me in the past about fear. And when you're afraid, folks, if you have doubts and fears, like I do from time to time about do I really believe? Am I really saved? Not because of the lack of faith in Christ and Jesus promise, but I do.
Speaker 1:I really believe that this man lived 2000 years ago, that he was born of a virgin and that that he died and that God raised him from the dead. Cause, if somebody came up let's be honest, folks If somebody came up to you today and told you that your neighbor died and you saw the body, you went to the wake or the whatever, and they were dead. And it wasn't just kind of dead like they were pretty jacked up in a car wreck, kind of dead or something. And then three days later, this other person came up to you and they said hey, dude's alive. Yeah, they put all the blood back in and sewed him up and he's good to go you would think that person had absolutely lost their mind. You would think that they had 100% lost their marbles Right. Same thing with the virgin birth. You would think that they had 100% lost their marbles right, same thing with the virgin birth.
Speaker 1:If some this is maybe this is a little too crass, I apologize, Forgive me If you're married, or if you're dating, not when you're married, if you're dating a girl and y'all have not had sex, and the girl comes up and says, hey, I'm pregnant, but I've never been with anybody. You're going to look at her like she is. I can think of some extremely crass comments that my beloved Marine Corps would have to say about that. And yet we're told that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin and was raised from the dead. And so, if you I'm coming back full circle, I promise, if you have doubts sometimes, if you are concerned, the words of my pastor and of my father, I hope, will encourage you a great deal.
Speaker 1:If you're worried about that, it's proof in and of itself that you do believe, because if you didn't believe, you wouldn't be worried, because if you don't believe in ghosts, you're never scared of ghosts, because they don't exist. If you didn't believe in Jesus Christ, you wouldn't be worried about whether you do or not, because you wouldn't care. And, as my pastor said, if you weren't seeking, you wouldn't be here, if you weren't really striving folks Now I'm not talking about the people that know that they don't really care and they just show up at church each Sunday because they want to look good and they know that they don't really care and they just show up at church each Sunday because they want to look good, and they know that. But if you're coming because you want to be around a body of believers, you're already seeking. The fact that you're there on a Sunday morning is proof that you're seeking, and so I know that was long, but hopefully somewhere somebody out there. That's encouraging to y'all.
Speaker 1:The church divided over leaders. I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe's household, have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this One of you says I follow Paul, another I follow Apollos, another I follow Cephas and another I follow Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one can say that you were baptized in my name. Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanus. Beyond that, I don't remember if I baptized anyone else.
Speaker 1:That's always one of those little things that makes Paul a little bit more human and just a little bit more relatable. He goes yeah, yeah, actually I remember there was one more time and I can't remember anything else right now. You're missing the point. Focus, right. It's like you've got a teacher and the kid in the classroom asked that question, which is the legitimate question, but it's kind of splitting hairs, you know, and the teacher's like yeah, yeah, yeah, you're right, you're right, that's okay. Great, let's move on. Let's focus here.
Speaker 1:Right, for Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. I think for a lot of us, that's a huge point we worry about. Well, how do we sound? Are we going to be able to convince people? Are we going to be able to make the right argument? Are we going to be able to say the things that we're supposed to and here's Paul not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. God will take care of it. I need to remember that often. Right, like on this podcast. I probably messed this thing up so bad it's like a football bat. God will take care of it. He will un-mess up what I have messed up and he will reach whoever is willing to listen to him about whatever part he wants them to listen to.
Speaker 1:Christ crucified is God's power and wisdom, for the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. For it is written I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate. Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made the foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom did not know him, god was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. But to those whom God has called, both to Jews and Greeks, christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God, for the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
Speaker 1:Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards. Not many were influential, not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. Chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things and the things that are not to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast. There's a ton here, folks. Therefore, as it is written, let the one who boasts boast in the Lord. There's a ton here, folks.
Speaker 1:We could sit and talk about this a lot. A couple things, real quick. One, I think often we get so confused about we want to be smart, we want to be strong, fast, pretty, whatever, influential. God doesn't need any of that. He just needs us to come to him and to strive to do his will right. So if you're not the strongest or the fastest or the prettiest or the bravest or the whatever, that's okay. That's okay. None of us really are. We just like to think we are right. God's still going to use us. He's got more than enough strength to cover whatever gaps we have. The other thing here is well, there's a couple of things. One, the nobility. Right, not many of us are strong, not many of us are influential, not many of us were noble, but some were.
Speaker 1:I think too often today we look at the rich and the powerful and we automatically assume that they're all evil, and that's not true. You know, there were some Pharisees that came to Jesus that didn't go along with what all the other religious leaders went along with, and there were some powerful people that believed in God and Jesus Christ, and there are today. Don't make the mistake of assuming, because you know, or think you know, what somebody's bank account is, that that automatically either gives them virtue or vice, just because somebody's poor doesn't mean that they're virtuous, and just because somebody's rich doesn't mean that they're evil and vice versa. Right, and then the last thing, and I'll move on for today, where did it go? But we preach Christ crucified, and then, at the end, that was verse 23. And then, at the end, verse 31,.
Speaker 1:I can't tell you how often I see Christians starting off their conversations with not I'm Christian, not I'm a follower of Christ, but I'm Catholic, I'm Orthodox, I'm Reformed Baptist, I'm Methodist, I'm Orthodox, I'm Reformed Baptist, I'm Methodist, I'm whatever. I don't want to be identified with any of those Just because I belong to a certain denomination. I want to be identified with Christ. Folks, when somebody looks at our life, if our concern is whether they know that we're Catholic, or they know that we're Greek Orthodox, or they know that we're Baptist or Methodist or whatever else, man, we've got our priorities way out of order, and anybody within any denomination that tells you otherwise, they are not drawing you closer to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Speaker 1:Know Christ, preach Christ crucified, and not alone. And this whole first chapter started with what? Or it didn't start with, but it's talking about a church divided. The only thing that should matter to us folks is whether the person believes in Jesus Christ as the risen Son of God, who died for our sins and was raised by God. That is it. Raised by God, that is it. And if he is their top priority, then that's our brother or sister in Christ and that's the bottom line. All right, so let's see how much time we've got. Oh yeah, we're in good shape.
Speaker 1:So we're going to go to the Medal of Honor and we are going to pick up. I think we did Richard Barrett last time, so we're going to go to Jesse T Barick. So we're going to go to Jesse T Baric, ranked Corporal, highest Rank, second Lieutenant, us Civil War Hotel Company 3rd Minnesota Infantry US Army. Action date May 26 through June 2, 1863, duck River, tennessee Sea, while on a scout single-handedly captured two desperate Confederate guerrilla officers who were together and well-armed at the time. And that's it. That's the citation. Folks. Fort Snelling, st Paul County, minnesota, not awarded. Posthumously presented March 3, 1917. Born January 18, 1841, columbiana County, ohio. Died November 3, 1923, pasco, washington, I think, united States. Buried Tahoma National Cemetery MH-8, tac-108, kent, washington, united States.
Speaker 1:You know so many of us, I think, like I look back at my grandparents' generation and they lived through World War I, the Depression, world War II, korea, vietnam, all the civil rights acts, the craziness, and you think, man, they saw a lot. But isn't that kind of true of every generation? Like we look at this gentleman, jesse T Barak, who was born in 1841, right, and lived all the way past the first World War, how much did he see? Civil War, all of the political shenanigans in the late 1800s, all the progress and then the development of weapons and ships and submarines, etc. World War I. That's crazy, jesse T Baric.
Speaker 1:William H Baringer, also known as William H Baringer, private US Civil War, fox Company, 4th West Virginia Infantry, us Army, 22 May 1863, vicksburg, mississippi, gallantry, and the Charge of the Volunteer Storming Party. We haven't read those in a while. I wish I knew history enough to tell you folks exactly what storming party they were talking about at Vicksburg. But we've read a number of those that were given Medal of Honors. Number of those that were given a medal of honors. It must have been some of y'all that know Civil War history more than I, which is kind of damning you with faint praise folks. I'm sorry because I don't know very much at all, sadly, but man, that must have been a heck of a volunteer storming party Accredited to Mason City, mason County, west Virginia. Not awarded. Posthumously presented July 12, 1894, born May 27, longbottom, meigs County, ohio. Died April 7, 1917, oliver Township, ohio, united States. Buried Mount Olive Church Cemetery, longbottom, ohio, united States.
Speaker 1:William H Barringer, one more David D Barrow, david Duffy, barrow. Rank seaman, highest rank Coxway in Spanish-American War Command. Uss Nashville, us Navy Action Date 11 May 1898, cienfuegos, cuba. On board the USS Nashville during the cutting of the cable leading from Cienfuegos, cuba, 11 May 1898, facing the heavy fire of the enemy Barrow set an example of extraordinary bravery and coolness throughout the action. Accredited to Norfolk, norfolk County, virginia, not awarded. Posthumously Presented August 16, 1899, by Commander Raymond P Rogers of the USS Nashville at the Charlestown Massachusetts Navy Yard.
Speaker 1:Born July 22, 1876, rillsboro, palmaco County, north Carolina, united States. Died November 6, 1948, richmond, virginia, united States. Died November 6, 1948, richmond, virginia, united States. Buried Evergreen Memorial Cemetery. Mh. Portsmouth, virginia, united States. Again, man, what a loss. That gentleman saw all the way through World War II. David Duffy Barrow Just some names, folks, we need to remember More than a lot of the names we remember these days David D Barrow, william H Barringer and Jesse T Barick.
Speaker 1:All right, so I threatened y'all with this, I think, on the last podcast, but we're going to go through and, in addition to our other two readings that we typically do, we're going to start, for the next few weeks, to read through this sermon. It's a pretty lengthy sermon by Ezra Stiles, who was, at the time, president of Yale College, and there's a couple things I want you to remember while we're going through this. One is that he was president of Yale College and there's a couple things I want you to remember while we're going through this One is that he was president of Yale College, so this is one of the leaders of our college giving a sermon. And the other is that he's giving a sermon to political leaders, leaders in a formal capacity, not as individual members of a church, but as preached before His Excellency Jonathan Trumbull Esquire, governor and Commander-in-Chief, and the Honorable General Assembly of Connecticut, of the state of Connecticut convened at Hartford at the anniversary election, may 8, 1783. Okay, so just kind of remember that as we're going through it. He gave this, stiles gave this sermon as a president of a college. So obviously there's ties to education and we get that wrong today. Right, we, the left, has done a phenomenal propaganda, a campaign over the last 80 years and convinced us that god and education were never tied together in america. And then he's given this sermon to a political, to politicians in a political forum, as a seated body. He's not giving this at a church and there's just a couple members that happen to be members of that church. At General Assembly of the Governor and Company of the State of Connecticut Holden at Hartford on the second Thursday of May.
Speaker 1:Anno Domino 1783, right Year of Our Lord, 1783,. Ordered that Roger Sherman Esquire and Captain Henry Daggett, return the thanks of this assembly to the Reverend Dr Ezra Stiles for his sermon delivered before the assembly on the 8th instant, and desire a copy thereof that it may be printed a true copy of record, examined by George Willis' secretary, I believe. So they wanted a copy. He gave this sermon and it was good, and they offered him thanks and they wanted a copy of the sermon An election sermon. Let's put this as title, not me, sorry. There we go.
Speaker 1:Deuteronomy, chapter 26. Yes, verse 19. High above all nations, which he hath made in praise and in name and in honor, and that thou mayest be a holy people unto the Lord, thy God saw and predicted the capital events relative to Israel, through the successive changes of depression and glory until their final elevation to the first dignity and eminence among the empires of the world. These events have been so ordered as to become a display of retribution and sovereignty. For while the good and evil hitherto felt by this people have been dispensed in the way of exact national retribution, their ultimate glory and honor will be of the divine sovereignty, with a. Not for your sakes do I this saith the Lord, be it known unto you, but for mine, holy name's sake.
Speaker 1:That's one of the things I think we miss a lot with Israel. When he went into the promised land, when they went into the promised land, a lot of us look at what happened and we think man God was, he was kind of cruel. But he specifically tells israel that he's not doing it because they're so great. He's doing it because the people in canaan are so evil, and we kind of, I think, have a similar mentality here in america today. We think that all this stuff has happened because we're so great and so good. And really what it is, folks, is that God has blessed us. It's not on our part and probably and I'm just kind of spitballing here but probably a lot of it has to do with the fact that the rest of the world is so evil, not that we're so great. A little bit of a humbling thought there, I think.
Speaker 1:However, it may be doubted whether political communities are rewarded and punished in this world only, and whether the prosperity and decline of other empires have corresponded with their moral state as to virtue and vice. Yet the history of the Hebrew theocracy shows that the secular welfare of God's antinent people depended on their virtue, their religion, their observance of that holy covenant which Israel entered into with God on the plains at the foot of Nebo and the other side of Jordan. Here Moses, the man of God, assembled three million of people the number of the United States recapitulated and gave them a second publication of the sacred Jural Institute, delivered 38 years before, with the most awful solemnity, at Mount Sinai. At Mount Sinai, a law dictated with sovereign authority by the Most High to a people, a world, a universe, becomes an invincible force and obligation, without any reference to the consent of the governed. It is obligatory for three reasons Its original justice and unerring equity, the omnipotent authority by which it is enforced and the sanctions of rewards and punishments. But in the case of Israel, he condescended to a mutual covenant and, by the hand of Moses, led his people to avouch the Lord Jehovah to be their God and, in the most public and explicit manner, voluntarily to engage and covenant with God to keep and obey his law. Thereupon, this great prophet, whom God had raised up for so solemn a transaction, for so solemn a transaction, declared in the name of the Lord, that the Most High avouched, acknowledged and took them for a peculiar people to himself, promising to be their God and protector and upon their obedience, to make them prosperous and happy.
Speaker 1:Deuteronomy 29, verse 10 and 14, and 39 and 19,. I think he foresaw, indeed, their rejection of God and predicted the judicial chastisement of apostasy, a chastisement involving the righteous with the wicked. But as well to comfort and support the righteous in every age and under every calamity, as to make his power known among all nations, god determined that a remnant should be saved, whence Moses and the prophets, by divine direction, interspersed their writings with promises that, when the ends of God's moral government should be answered in a series of national punishments inflicted for a succession of ages, he would, by his irresistible power and sovereign grace, subdue the hearts of his peoples to a free, willing, joyful obedience, turn their captivity, recover and gather them from all the nations whether the Lord had scattered them in his fierce anger Bring them into the land which their fathers possessed and multiply them above their fathers and rejoice over them for good, as he rejoiced over their fathers. Deuteronomy, chapter 30, verse 3. Then the words of Moses, hitherto accomplished but in part, will be literally fulfilled when this branch of the posterity of Abraham shall be nationally collected and become a very distinguished and glorious people under the great Messiah, the Prince of Peace. He will then make them high above all nations which he hath made in praise and in name and in honor, and they shall become a key people under the Lord, their God. It's a lot there, not to mention the fact that I was outside just then and the Guineas decided that they needed to make sure that y'all knew that they were around, and I'm sure that you did.
Speaker 1:One of the things here, and we'll move on for today, is when you're reading this. He talks about the fact that he foresaw, indeed, their rejection of God and predicted the judicial chastisement of apostasy, a chastisement involving the righteous with the wicked, righteous with the wicked, but as well to comfort and support the righteous in every age and under every calamity, as to make his power known among all the nations, god determined that a remnant should be saved my father, I think, was actually talking about this recently the fact that we've done a lot of bad stuff here in America lately, lately Abortion, no-fault divorce, lgbtq relationships, feminism, sexual deviancy of every single kind the list is pretty lengthy, to our shame and those of us and I shouldn't have even included. But if those of us that are trying, striving even imperfectly to follow God, folks we're probably going to have to pay the price, just along with everybody else, the ones that openly reject and mock God. But just like Israel was exiled to Babylon, he didn't abandon them. He was still with them. He didn't abandon them, he was still with them. And even in our civil war and even in the Revolutionary War, where you see a lot of people suffering while they were fighting for good, he didn't abandon them. And I'm probably not the person to do the best job to explain that, but hopefully it makes a little bit of sense and hopefully it encourages you a little bit. Come what may, here on earth, he's not going to abandon you, even when it feels like it sometimes All right.
Speaker 1:We'll move on to Fox's Book of the Martyrs and the story with Mr Lithgow, who's an Englishman Scotsman I think who's been imprisoned by the French I mean Spanish, sorry and is now being interrogated by the Inquisition, despite the fact that, theoretically, there was a treaty between England and Spain at this point that said that Englishmen would not fall under the purview of the Roman Inquisition. In the morning, the Inquisitor, with three other ecclesiastics, returned when the former asked the prisoner what difficulties he had on his conscience that retarded his conversion, to which he answered, he had not any doubts in his mind, being confident in the promises of Christ and assuredly believing his revealed will, signified in the Gospels as professed in the Reformed Catholic Church, being confirmed by grace and having infallible assurance, thereby, of the Christian faith. These words, the inquisitor replied Thou art no Christian, but an absurd heretic and, without conversion, a member of perdition. The prisoner then told him it was not consistent with the nature and essence of religion and charity to convince by opprobrious speeches, racks and torments, but by arguments deduced from the scriptures, and that all other methods would, with him, be totally ineffectual. Then Quisdor was so enraged at the replies made by the prisoner that he struck him on the face, used many abusive speeches and attempted to stab him, which he had certainly done had he not been prevented by the Jesuits, and from this time he never again visited the prisoner. There is this speech. This little section here tells the tale. The prisoner then told him it was not consistent with the nature and essence of religion and charity to convince by opprobrious speeches, racks and torments, but by arguments deduced from the scriptures.
Speaker 1:Anytime, any denomination over the centuries has tried to use force to convert people to their particular denomination, even to Christianity as a whole. They haven't been following Christ. And if you have a denomination that claims infallibility, you see the problem. If you're infallible, then you couldn't have done anything wrong by torturing people and yet obviously you did wrong by torturing people. So you can't be infallible. You can't have it both ways. If you're infallible, then you're saying that torture is acceptable form to try and convert people to Christianity, which the scriptures obviously don't claim. It doesn't matter what else, by the way, any other issues. It's kind of like abortion today. As soon as you start talking to somebody, if they say that abortion, murdering a baby, is a right, you really don't have to have any other conversations with them because they're not going to be worthwhile with them. Because they're not going to be worthwhile, the person has some mental hangups, whatever you want to call it. The point is you really can't trust their judgment on anything more complicated. If they can't get something as simple as abortion right, you're always going to have to kind of wonder in the back of your mind about their opinions or even the statistics that they claim Certainly their motives.
Speaker 1:Lithgow wasn't being tortured and abused here because he was following Christ. He wasn't, or because he had rejected Christ. He wasn't being tortured or abused here, even because he had rejected scripture. He was being tortured and abused because he refused to fall in line with the man-made Catholic denominational doctrine. And then, you see, the inquisitor got so furious that he struck Lithgow and he was going to kill him. And that's supposed to be a representative of the church. You can't get there from here, folks. And I go back to when you have an organization that supports evil and whatever you want to call this, however much it offends your sensibilities. A church torturing people for centuries is evil. When you give an organization total power that supports evil, there's nothing good that's going to come of that. It doesn't matter whether it's communism, socialism, centuries of the Roman Catholic or the Anglican Church, where they tortured people for not following their denominational doctrine or any other denomination that did that Islam. There's no chance for peaceful coexistence there, folks.
Speaker 1:I saw a movie I wasted some of my time the other night that I talk about so often, but it was interesting it was. In the movie the main character was a government operative and they were trying to stop a terrorist blowing up a bomb or killing a bunch of people and they showed a clip. You know, the terrorist made this little video to try and garner support from the people and he made the comment he was Muslim. He made the comment that this wasn't a religious war and I think a lot of people want to buy into that. They want to make this completely sanitized, secular, unemotional, almost. However you want to phrase it.
Speaker 1:You cannot take the spiritual aspect out of what's going on in the world today. You cannot take the spiritual aspect out of what's going on in the world today, whether you're talking about communists, socialists, leftists, rejection of God in those ways, islam. You can't take the spiritual element, the fight that's there, the war that's raging, the unseen and each of us knows this to a certain degree because of our personal, individual fights that we have against sin. There's things that we know we shouldn't do and we fight against it and sometimes we're successful and sometimes we're not, more often with the grace of God than without. Thank God that we have mercy through Jesus Christ when we fail. What's going on today, whether you're talking about internal to the United States or external versus Iran, north Korea, china it's very much spiritual. It's very much a fight between good and evil. It's very much a fight between those who strive to follow Jesus Christ and his principles versus those who deny Christ, reject him.
Speaker 1:The next day, the two Jesuits returned and, putting on a very grave, super supercilious error, the superior asked him what resolution he had taken, to which Mr Lithgow replied that he was already resolved, unless he could show substantial reasons to make him alter his opinion. The superior, after a pedantic display of their seven sacraments, the intercession of the saints, trans-substantiation, etc. Boasted greatly of their church, her antiquity, universality and uniformity, all which Mr Lithgow denied. For, said he, the profession of the faith I hold hath been ever since the first days of the apostles, and Christ had ever his own church, however obscure, in the greatest time of your darkness. That's another argument, folks.
Speaker 1:Anytime a denomination tells you that they have some special path to Jesus Christ that nobody else has, they're not telling you the truth. Anytime a denomination says that you have to be part of their particular club in order to earn salvation and eternal life, you've got two problems there. One we can't earn it. It's a free gift of God, as described by Scripture, and so you being part of one denomination or the other, you can't, it's impossible to earn salvation and eternal life. So that's a non-starter to begin with. But the second thing is that nowhere in Scripture does it talk about a particular denomination that we have today and the church goes all the way back to Christ. So when somebody tries to tell you, oh well, our church is special, no, your denomination is not special. In fact you claiming that has the opposite effect. Jesus Christ is special. His church Catholic, small c, universal is special.
Speaker 1:And don't ever forget that none of the apostles had a denomination. The thief on the cross, who Christ promised would be in heaven with him that very day, had no denomination. Paul had no denomination. Mary and Joseph had no denomination. John the Baptist had no denomination. The Jesuits, finding their arguments, had not the desired effect. That torments could not shake his constancy, nor even the fear of the cruel sentence he had reason to expect would be pronounced and executed on him. After severe menaces left him On the eighth day after being the last of their inquisition, when sentence is pronounced, they returned again but quite altered both in their words and behavior. After repeating much of the same kind of arguments as before, they, with seeming tears in their eyes, pretended they were sorry from their heart. He must be obliged to undergo a terrible death, but of all for the loss of his most precious soul, and, falling on their knees, cried out convert, convert, oh dear brother, for our blessed lady's sake, convert. Which he answered. I fear neither death nor fire, being prepared for both.
Speaker 1:This is one of the things that you see, really, from this particular denomination is the concern convert, convert, o dear brother, for our blessed lady's sake. Nothing about Christ here. There's no commentary about Christ. There's no connection there. There's concern about either the saint LaRosia or LaRosia, however, or Mary, one of the two here. But when you see particular denominations that are more concerned with promoting their denomination than they are with promoting Jesus Christ, spreading the gospel of Christ, you know it's a red flag, folks. It's a huge red flag. When people are more concerned about spreading the denominational doctrine of their particular denomination, whether it's Protestant, orthodox or Roman Catholic or anything else, as opposed to spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, that's a huge red flag.
Speaker 1:The first effects Mr Lithgow felt of the determination of this bloody tribunal was a sentence to receive that night 11 different tortures and if he did not die in the execution of them, which might be reasonably expected from the maimed and disjointed condition he was in, he was after Easter holy days, to be carried to Granada and there burnt to ashes. The first part of the sentence was executed with great barbarity that night, and it pleased God to give him strength, both of body and mind, to stand fast to the truth and to survive the horrid punishments inflicted on him. After these barbarians had glutted themselves for the present with exercising on the unhappy prisoner the most distinguished cruelties, they again put irons on and conveyed him to his former dungeon. The next morning he received some little comfort from the Turkish slave before mentioned, who secretly brought him in his shirt-sleeve some raisins and figs which he licked up in the best manner his strength would permit with his tongue. It was to this slave Mr Lithgow attributed his surviving so long in such a wretched situation, for he found means to convey some of these fruits to him twice every week. It is very extraordinary and worthy of note that this poor slave, bred up from his infancy according to the maxims of his prophet and parents in the greatest destation of Christians, should be so affected at the miserable situation of Mr Lithgow that he fell ill and continued so for upward of 40 days. During this period, mr Lithgow was attended by a Negro woman, a slave who found means to furnish him with refreshments, still more amply than the Turk being conversant in the house and family, still more amply than the Turk being conversant in the house and family. So he brought him every day some victuals, and with it some wine and a bottle.
Speaker 1:What a great example, folks, of how little membership in a particular denomination is indicative of you following Jesus Christ. Because you claim to be Methodist or Baptist or Episcopalian, or Greek Orthodox or Roman Catholic or Lutheran or Church of Christ or whatever else, pick your poison, or Church of Christ or whatever else, pick your poison, that doesn't at all mean that you follow Jesus Christ. Nor does it mean that someone who isn't part of your particular denomination can't follow Jesus Christ. And this Turkish slave and this black woman, which I'm sure the inquisitors looked down on both as contemptible, stowed more of Jesus Christ than any of these people that claimed to be part of his search. What example do we set for the world, folks?
Speaker 1:If someone accused us of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict us? And your denomination is not going to be any protection, it's not going to be any defense, it's certainly not a guarantee If someone accused you of being a Christian today and they could go back and watch your whole day on video. Would there be enough evidence to convict you? Did you follow the commands of Jesus Christ? Did you love God with your whole heart, soul, mind and strength, and did you love your neighbors as yourself? I'm afraid so many days I haven't provided enough evidence for conviction of myself, which is a pretty good reason to remember Micah 6-8, right, and to walk humbly before God and to thank him every day for Jesus Christ and to strive, for me at least, to strive to do better, to follow his commands and to love those who he's put in my path the widow, the orphan, the poor, the needy, the sick, the orphan, the poor, the needy, the sick, the hungry, the thirsty.
Speaker 1:We have people. I was talking to a man that has become a friend of mine. I've talked about him on here before he does prison ministry. I've talked about him on here before he does prison ministry and he was mentioning a missionary overseas. That's in a pretty dangerous part of the world, and I've known some missionaries. Our church supports a couple that are in some pretty nasty places around the world where Christians are not very welcome, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that? Please don't misunderstand me. It's a phenomenal calling and I think it is a specific calling for those people.
Speaker 1:But I've said before on here too and I'll say it again an old church that we went to that's kind of become one of their primary, their core missions is we have so many people right here in our own backyard and our families and our churches and our communities, our schools, our towns and cities, so many people right here that need the love of Jesus Christ. The love of Jesus Christ. It's really one of the telltale signs of the insincerity of people that support illegal immigration and they try and use the Bible, which they obviously don't pay much attention to, to try and browbeat Christians into thinking that they have to support illegal immigration or they're somehow kind or cruel and uncaring, which the opposite is true. There's nothing kind or caring or loving your neighbor about supporting illegal immigration. But the point that proves the lies there's so many people right here we don't have to go looking for illegals and they hurt the people here that need our help, that have first expectation and responsibility of our help, because there are fellow brothers and sisters in this family of America. So many people right here If your concern was truly caring for the widow and the orphan, the poor and the needy. You would absolutely stand against illegal immigration and you would be working as hard as you can here inside your own community and church neighborhood to care for those people.
Speaker 1:And so I go back again to the story of Mr Lithgow, and we've spent all this woman in this house showed more of Jesus Christ by carrying her lithgow in whatever small way they could visiting him, than those men who claimed to be worried about his soul because he wasn't part of their particular little party club, about his soul because he wasn't part of the particular little party club. And I'll just leave you with a question again, folks If somebody accused you of being Christian, would there be enough evidence today, tomorrow, yesterday, last week, last month, throughout your life, to convict you? I need to ask myself that question more often. God bless y'all, god bless your families, god bless your marriages, god bless America. God bless your nation. Wherever you are around the world listening, we'll talk to y'all again real soon, folks, looking forward to it.