00:00 Introduction and Greetings

00:44 The Importance of Local Church Fellowship

04:15 Clarifying the Concept of Fellowship

04:55 Balancing Church and Parachurch Activities

07:10 Understanding Sin and Its Consequences

09:39 Leviticus and Sin Offerings

15:41 New Testament Insights: Parables and Preparedness

18:12 Closing Prayer and Final Thoughts

18:54 Outro and Podcast Information

Find out more about Compass Bible Church.

Learn more about our Bible Reading Plan.

Questions or Comments? Email us podcast@compassntx.org

Hey everybody.

2

Welcome back to another edition

of the Daily Bible Podcast.

3

Hello and happy Sunday.

4

We hope to see you at church this morning.

5

We hope you're having a super Sunday,

in fact, because it is, and we hope

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to see you at church this morning,

super Bowl Sunday, and we do hope

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to see you at church this morning.

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Oh, that's what you were,

I totally over my head.

9

Yep.

10

That's why.

11

Yeah.

12

I mean, we always hope

you're having a super day.

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I thought it was super because

it's Jesus Resurrection Day that we

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traditionally celebrate on Sunday.

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Well, it's that too.

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Yes.

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And all the things that we do on Sunday.

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I thought that's what was making it super.

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But I It's where you're going.

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And I will get you next time.

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Okay.

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And we'll score the touchdown.

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Okay.

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Together.

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Well, next sun next year.

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It'll be on a Sunday again.

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So we'll have another opportunity.

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It's, it's on Sunday every, every year.

29

Right?

30

It's okay.

31

Yeah.

32

I'm gonna do it next time.

33

Yep.

34

I will catch what you're throwing.

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Okay.

36

I will receive it.

37

Awesome.

38

Yeah.

39

Hey, speaking of church in gathering

together, I made an argument

40

on last Sunday, and it wasn't an

argument, it was an assertion.

41

People have been clamoring, have not

been clamoring a response to this.

42

And by people, I mean myself.

43

Okay.

44

I was thinking about it since Sunday.

45

Yes.

46

And I keep on saying, well,

I gotta tell 'em about this.

47

It's been a burn your saddle.

48

It has been.

49

'cause I thought it's such an

interesting and compelling point.

50

Okay.

51

That it warrants your defense of it.

52

Here's essentially what you said.

53

I can't recall exactly the quotation,

but it was something to the effect of.

54

Your primary fellowship

should be in the local church.

55

And then you just kind of went on

and you started seeing other things

56

and I said, what are you doing?

57

Yeah, tell me more.

58

Yeah, so I'm willing to guess and

bet if I were a betting man, that

59

there's several people who listen.

60

Who would say, I suppose

that might be true.

61

But prove it.

62

Is that a biblical principle to stand on?

63

Is that just your pastoral preference?

64

Because you do have every

reason to want that, right?

65

You want your people to be tight and

connected and all those things, so, right.

66

Is this a preference that you have

or is this a biblical principle

67

that you've derived from the text?

68

Yeah, so biblical principle and I

said a little bit more than that.

69

On Sunday, I think I said I forgot it.

70

You gather under the same ecclesial

authority under the same pastors.

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You hear the same sermon each week.

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Okay.

73

And so it's, it's helpful

to have those components.

74

Now granted, those

aren't chapter in verse.

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So biblically, I still

think this is defensible.

76

The first thing I would

77

In Acts 2028, Paul is speaking to the

Ephesian elders and he encourages the

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elders to keep watch over the flock of

God which he purchased with his blood,

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which Christ purchased with his blood.

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Paul's understanding of that.

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They're in the book of Acts as well as

the early church's understanding of that.

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In the book of Acts, the

church is the local church.

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That is what the makeup of the local

church is, or the universal church is.

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It's local bodies of believers.

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And so when Paul's saying that, he's

referring to the fact that man Christ

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purchased the local church with his

blood, it's not to say that these other.

87

Offshoot, these parachurch ministries,

be it BSF or Young Life or something like

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that, that you may be involved in are not

valid, but those are modern development.

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What the church was from the very outset

was the lifeline of the community, the

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lifeline of the body there, and then you

get into God's design for the spiritual

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wellbeing and shepherding of the flock.

92

You get the fact that God has

installed pastors to be those that

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care for and shepherd the flock.

94

Elders and pastors, we

referenced Hebrews 13.

95

We go to this passage quite a bit

and I think it applies here as well.

96

In Hebrews 1317, it says, obey your

leaders and submit to them for they are

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keeping watch over your souls as those

who will have to give an account for you.

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This is specifically for those

that are the elders and the

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pastors of the local church.

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This does not apply to your BSF leader.

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This does not apply to your

young life leader or to your

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local Bible study leader.

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The Lord has given pastors and elders to

shepherd the flock and to care for the

104

flock and to be accountable for them.

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So when I'm making the argument,

your primary fellowship needs

106

to be within the local church.

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These are the reasons why this is.

108

The design that God had for the

local church is to be the community.

109

And I would even go so far as to argue.

110

I think our Parachurch ministries

exist because of the neglect and

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failure of the church to begin with.

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To be what the church should be.

113

The need for people to go outside

the church, to find more, to find

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fellowship, to find Bible study,

I think is so like young life.

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Yeah.

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FCA.

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Yes.

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I, I'm not saying.

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They need to go away.

120

I'm saying I think their origin was in

a lack where the church wasn't doing

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enough or wasn't doing the right things.

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Interesting.

123

And so those things emerged as a result.

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You bring up several interesting

points, but let me help clarify.

125

Can you talk to then about the word

fellowship when you say that word?

126

Yes.

127

It means a lot of things

to a lot of people, right?

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Primary fellowship, I

understand the word primary.

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Explain fellowship.

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Yeah, fellowship.

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Meaning not just relationships, not

just friendship, but where you're doing

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the one another's of scripture where

you're being encouraged by each other,

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where you're gathering together, where

you have accountability, where you have

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discipleship relationships taking place.

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That within the body of Christ, I think

is the design that this needs to be

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the primary place where you're finding

those things and seeking those things.

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Okay, so like more than friendship?

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Yes, friendship is included, but the

whole, the whole, if you're doing the

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Christian life right, with people, it's.

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Mostly are primarily the

people of the local church.

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Right.

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Okay.

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So is there anything wrong in your

mind then, if I have a close friend

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from the trails and another close

friend at Providence and all these,

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you know, I keep up with them and

I still got friends from California

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or New York, wherever I came from.

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Is that okay?

148

Yeah, that's totally fine.

149

I mean, the body of Christ is broad.

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There's nothing wrong with that,

but I think you are gonna be.

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You are gonna be better off if your

primary circle of those that know

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you and who you are known by are

those within your local church.

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'cause you see them most consistently.

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You're with them again, you're sitting

under the same instruction from the word.

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You're gonna have the greatest

opportunity to mutually encourage and

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edify each other through applying the

word of God together within the context

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of the immediate local church there.

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So it's not wrong to

have those relationships.

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It's not wrong to go to BSF or to

go to Young Life or to go to FCA.

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It's not wrong to be

involved in those things.

161

But I think if you're choosing to.

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Abstain from or opt out a fellowship in

your church or that level of engagement

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in your church because you say, I

have these other things over here.

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I don't think you're doing it

the way that Christ designed it.

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Well, that raises another point then.

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If I have 168 hours in the week if

I invest two or four or whatever

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hours into this other thing, and

necessarily that means I have

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less free time elsewhere for sure.

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If I, if it inhibits or contracts the

time that I would spend doing something

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else that Compass is doing, does

that mean that I shouldn't do that?

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Probably it depends.

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It does depend.

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And now I would say if it's consistent

enough that you find yourself, Hey,

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you know, the pastors have said they

really want me in community group

175

with the church, but I don't have

a night because I've got, BSF on

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Tuesday nights and I've got this thing

on Thursday nights and I've got this

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thing on Friday nights and mm-hmm.

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You know, I've got all this spiritual

stuff in my life and so I'm too

179

spiritual elsewhere to be able

to be spiritual with the church.

180

I'd say that you need to

reprioritize and re-engage.

181

Is it sin?

182

Would you go so far as to say,

Hey, if you do this as a rule,

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this is not only, just not ideal.

184

This is, I would have to go so

far as to say yes, because I think

185

we're neglecting what it is to

be a part of the local church.

186

I don't think you can effectively

be as involved in the local

187

church as you're called to be.

188

If you're not, I mean, yeah, if you're

just showing up and checking a box.

189

Okay.

190

I have another question

from an email listener.

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Okay.

192

They don't listen via email.

193

They're a listener who has emailed.

194

That's helpful.

195

Helpful clarification.

196

Just so that you know,

here's the question they ask.

197

They want to know if they're

understanding us right?

198

When someone said or that we intimated

the idea that God does not look

199

at all sin equally, is that true?

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I would say yes.

201

I would say yes.

202

All sin is condemnable as far

as being that which renders

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us guilty before the Lord.

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In fact, our sin nature is that right?

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We are born at odds with the Lord.

206

We are born as those that are.

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Sinners in, in represented by the

sin of Adam from the very beginning.

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But our sin, whether it's a white lie

or it's a, taking the life of someone

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our sin is that which divides us from

God, separates us from God, and yet

210

the gravity of our sin can be weighed

differently than one sin from another.

211

For example, I don't think the noble.

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If I can put it that way, the noble

atheist, who is a kind person and a

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generous person and a loving person,

and yet rejects the existence of God

214

for their whole life they're gonna go

to hell, there's no doubt about that.

215

And they're gonna go

to hell for their sin.

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But is their existence and torment in hell

going to be on par with some of the more.

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Horrific and notable, evil

people in the world.

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And I would say we even see some evidence

of that in the New Testament with

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the variance of woe to you Capernaum,

for if the work's done in you had

220

been done in Sodom and Gomorrah, they

would've repented and in sackcloth

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and ash, it's gonna be more tolerable

for them than it will be for you.

222

Well, that's telling us there's

a variance in the gravity of sin.

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So when we say all sin

is sin in God's eyes.

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As far as how it severs us from

our standing before God, yes.

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But as far as the nature of the sin,

is all sin equal in the eyes of God?

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I would say no.

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Right.

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And we get a sense of that when

Jesus says, it'll be more tolerable

229

for you than for these other guys.

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Right?

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Because there's greater sin.

232

Rejecting greater light.

233

So yes, we would say, and it's a really

good principle to consider that all

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sin is equally condemnable, but not

all sin is equally grievous to God.

235

There are assumptions that are gonna

cause greater offense and less, and you

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understand this at the normal family

level, there's things that your kids

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can say or do to you that would be.

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Maybe just annoying.

239

Yeah.

240

And there's other things that they

can say or do to you that are just

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really upsetting and frustrating.

242

In a similar sense, in our relationship

with God, there are degrees of offense

243

to him just as there are degrees of

condemnation or degrees of reward.

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God is not a simpleton in the

way that he thinks about us.

245

He's complex, he's varied, and

he considers the harsh motive.

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He considers the action, he

considers the whole thing.

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And so if we can do this at a human

level, albeit imperfectly, God

248

certainly does it at the divine level.

249

So that's a great question

and a clarification.

250

Thanks for sending that in.

251

I know you have another one.

252

Actually have a couple more if

I am not mistaken, and we'll

253

cover those as we're able to.

254

Yeah, well, it's a good tee up

also for Levi case, chapter four.

255

Because in Leviticus chapter four,

what we're dealing with is we're

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dealing with the different sin

offerings and the prescribed

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responses to sin in different people.

258

And so you'll notice there are directions

for a congregational sin where the

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elders are gonna bring the bull.

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Before the Lord and

represent the congregation.

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Then there are instructions

for when a priest sins.

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There are instructions

for when a leader sins.

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There are instructions for when a

common person sins here and there are

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variances within these instructions.

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And I think part of that goes back

to what we were just talking about.

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When a priest, sins the

priest had to offer atonement.

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And also the sanctuary was

considered defiled as well.

268

And so the sanctuary

needed to be cleansed.

269

The leader's sin was weighed

differently than the sin of

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just your average Joe in Israel.

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So all sin needed to be atoned for.

272

What was involved in making

Atonement was different in each

273

of these different categories.

274

That's right and I think part of what

we're meant to see by these distinctions

275

is that God does hold different people

to different levels of responsibility.

276

Yeah, that makes perfect sense.

277

We see that all over the place

in the New Testament as well.

278

God does hold pastors

to a higher standard.

279

He does expect them to

live differently than.

280

What everyone else around them is doing.

281

And that's not to shame anybody

or to cast aspersions on anyone.

282

It is to recognize that with greater

responsibility or greater privilege

283

comes greater responsibility.

284

I said that backward, but

you get the idea here.

285

And so God is acknowledging that

therefore, when a certain member of

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the priestly clan sins, there's a

greater responsibility and therefore

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a greater sacrifice that's necessary.

288

Leaders one notch down and people

the notch furthest, but still

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notice all sin requires a sacrifice

to make us right with God.

290

And again, the whole goal behind

this, this bloody ordeal is to unite

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us back with God in relationship.

292

This is meant to reconcile us

by the sacrificer, offering to

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remove the sin debt between them.

294

Now, this is just pointing to the future

where Christ would be sacrificed, but this

295

is what they were doing at that point.

296

In chapter five and it's worth

noting that we're dealing with

297

what's known as unintentional sins.

298

So these are gonna be sins

that are committed that then

299

somebody comes to realize.

300

And we notice that even in some of

the phraseology here that we find in

301

these verses, we read it, I believe in

verse three of chapter five, realizes

302

his guilt, again, when he comes

to know it and realizes his guilt.

303

This is repeated time and time.

304

Again, verse four, same thing.

305

This is a sin that's

committed, not willfully.

306

This is not a high handed sin.

307

This is not an intentional sin.

308

Rather, this is something that somebody

commits and it comes to their knowledge.

309

Here's what they need to do.

310

And so more things are given,

more different examples.

311

If somebody remains silent and doesn't

give witness when they should if there's

312

unknown defilement they come into contact

with an animal, they don't realize they're

313

defiled, then they come to know it.

314

There's an offering for

that, making a rash oath.

315

And there's different things that

are prescribed in different situ.

316

In chapter five, we also get the

Gil offerings, which takes us

317

through part of chapter six as well.

318

The Gil offerings are involving the

Rams and the sacrifice of the Rams

319

versus the SIN offerings being the

bowl there and to cleanse the Gil.

320

So, to your point, all of these

things, there's all kinds of different

321

offerings and all of it was meant to.

322

Make atonement to reconcile,

to restore the relationship

323

between the sinner and God.

324

And all of these things, according to

the law of Hebrews or the book of Hebrews

325

were meant to appoint us to Christ.

326

I think one special point of interest

here is the fact that not being

327

aware of our sin, not being aware

of our offense, doesn't negate

328

the fact that we are still guilty.

329

For sure.

330

And some of the implications

for this are pretty vast.

331

There are people that will

never hear the name of Christ.

332

And that's a scary reality for

us, and that ought to urge us

333

and motivate us to get busy.

334

But that doesn't change the fact

that, and in God's eyes, we are still

335

guilty and we are still in need of

a sacrifice to atone for our sins.

336

Now, you might ask them, how is it

sin if we're not aware that it's sin?

337

Well, God has revealed it.

338

In fact, this is an argument that Paul's

going to anticipate in the New Testament.

339

In the book of Romans, he says, you

may not have the law of God, but

340

you have conscience and you have

creation which testify against you.

341

And so there is some kind of revelation

that God shows us in those two things

342

that still make us culpable, morally

culpable enough to say, okay, I'm guilty.

343

Now can someone get saved by

simply looking at Revelation

344

that is creation and conscience?

345

Well, of course not.

346

They need the name of Christ.

347

But this ought to remind you that when

we talk about sin, debt, and guilt before

348

God, it's not just when you realize it,

it's also when you don't realize it.

349

Yeah.

350

Rest of chapter six, we get into some

of the instructions to the priest, how

351

they were to go about doing these things,

including right off the bat there.

352

Notice the burnt offering.

353

They were supposed to have the fire

going on the hearth at all times.

354

They were supposed to tend to it so

that it was ready to go at any moment.

355

Priest, part of the priest's job was

making sure the fire was burning.

356

They talk about the laws for the grain

offerings, the laws for the sin offerings.

357

And so again, this is, we're

setting out here, why is Leviticus

358

dealing with so much detail?

359

Because this is all still

new to the people of Israel.

360

And they needed a written record

for what it was to be and how they

361

were to go about doing these things.

362

And so Moses is giving these

instructions from the Lord to the

363

priests, to the people saying,

this is what it's gonna look like.

364

This is how we're gonna do this.

365

What God is doing here is forming

the conscience of his people.

366

He's training their spiritual

sensibilities so that they

367

feel appropriate responses

when they sin against God.

368

Their job was to know this word.

369

Now this is particular,

particularly for the Levites.

370

This was their instruction manual

for how to conduct worship and how

371

to go through the sacrificial system.

372

But for you and for I, this also

plays a role of helping us understand

373

how God shaped their conscience.

374

I talked about earlier, the conscience

is not an infallible guide to God.

375

It can be.

376

Unaware that it's

sinning against the Lord.

377

And it's our job to take what God

has revealed to us through the

378

scriptures and have our conscience

formed such that it bothers us at

379

the right time for the right things.

380

Our conscience can also be

misdirected and go off when

381

there's something that's not there.

382

We call that scrupulosity, someone who

thinks that they've sinned against

383

God or that there's something.

384

Between them and God that isn't there.

385

But God is forming and shaping their

conscience, and this is a gift of God.

386

He has to reveal to us what makes

him happy and what makes him sad.

387

And that's part of what

Leviticus is doing.

388

It's showing us the character of God,

and our job is to know it, to study

389

it, and to respond to it appropriately,

especially in light of the New Testament.

390

Yeah.

391

Speaking of the New Testament, let's

flip over to Matthew Chapter 25.

392

Matthew chapter 25.

393

We've been talking about

the end times quite a bit.

394

End of chapter 24, we even talked about,

Hey, be ready for you don't know the hour.

395

Jesus is gonna seize upon that idea.

396

And in chapter 25, with the parable of

the 10 Virgins and the Parable of the

397

Talents, which is our text for today.

398

He's going to give a story that would

convey the idea to his readers that

399

they need to be prepared for the return.

400

That they can't sit back and think

that he's delayed, he's not coming,

401

or they can't be so lazy as to be

found wanting when he does return.

402

The 10 virgins, half of them don't take

enough oil to be ready for the whole

403

night, to be able to last the whole night.

404

And so when the Lord returns, when

the bride groom comes back, half are

405

ready for him, the other half are not.

406

They ask.

407

The others to borrow some oil and they're

rejected there, which tells us that

408

there's a time when it is too late, when

you can't get a second chance or you can't

409

that expect to, to receive the mercy of

extended time or the grace of more time.

410

That you will have enough time, have

had enough time at that point and

411

need to be ready when he returns.

412

And then similarly, the

parable, the talents.

413

This is more about what are you doing

with what the Lord has invested in you.

414

If he is coming back, which we believe

he is, are you taking what he's

415

invested in you and are you using it

to see a return on that investment?

416

And two out of the three of the

servants do, and the one buries it

417

because he's afraid that the master

would be angry with him if he lost it.

418

And he's condemned for not doing what he

should have done with it to begin with.

419

One of the scariest parts of this

passage is the fact that God expects

420

to get a return on investment.

421

In fact, he assumes it.

422

If you're a Christian, you will respond

to the master and say, I want to do

423

what you please and I want to be put to

work, and there's going to be an ROI.

424

He expects it.

425

He plans for it.

426

And I think that this passage gives us

every confidence that a true Christian

427

will be productive to some measure, and

not everybody will be equally productive.

428

No one can.

429

Be John MacArthur.

430

There's only one not all of us

are gonna be, as, you know, Johnny

431

Erickson or someone like that.

432

Though our job is to be faithful

of what we have and to multiply it.

433

Here's why I say it's scary.

434

Verse 30 says, and cast the

worthless servant into the outer

435

darkness, and that place there will

be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

436

This, of course, is language for hell.

437

And this tells me that for the one

servant who said, I'm not gonna do

438

anything, I'm just gonna be here

and call myself a servant, but not.

439

Get to work.

440

That servant was punished and

not just a slap on the wrist.

441

This is Jesus saying,

you're not even my people.

442

So this scares us because it

tells us that for those who are

443

in Christ, we're gonna get busy.

444

And for those who are not in Christ, they

may not be busy, and this is going to cost

445

them not just temporally, but eternally.

446

That's a really scary passage.

447

It is for sure.

448

Well, let's pray and then

we'll be done with this episode

449

of the Daily Bible Podcast.

450

God, make us a church that

is both ready and productive.

451

We want to be ready for your return,

but not just sitting here looking

452

to the skies and waiting, but we

wanna be busy while we're waiting.

453

We wanna be doing the work that we're

called to do, and I thank you that

454

as believers, as followers of Christ,

through the Spirit, you've given each

455

of us something you've entrusted us

a gift, something to be used for the

456

building up of the body of Christ,

the edification of the church.

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Pray that we'd be busy about.

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Doing something with that,

that we wouldn't waste it.

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That when you return, you would

get your return on investment,

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so to speak through the life of

obedience we've offered to you.

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And so we pray this all in Jesus' name.

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Amen.

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Keep reading those bibles y'all, and

tune in again tomorrow for another

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edition of the Daily Bible Podcast.

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See you guys.

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Bye bye.

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Edward: Thank you for listening to another

episode of the Daily Bible Podcast.

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We’re grateful you chose to

spend time with us today.

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This podcast is a ministry of

Compass Bible Church in North Texas.

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You can learn more about our

church at compassntx.org.

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If this podcast has been helpful,

we’d appreciate it if you’d consider

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leaving a review, rating the show,

or sharing it with someone else.

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We hope you’ll join us again

tomorrow for another episode

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of the Daily Bible Podcast.