Watch our June 19, 2022 adult Sunday school class taught by Tom Cantor (Matthew 23:14).
Widows
Tom Cantor started by reading Matthew 23:14. Then Tom covered three main points. First, he spoke of the prayers and promises to widows in the Bible. Tom reference passages like psalm 68:5, Luke 7:11, Deuteronomy 14:28, and the widows mite.
Prayer
Next, he spoke of pretense in prayer. He noted that there are good and bad ways of praying. We shouldn’t pray to show off or use vain reputations. He gave the rosary as an example of vain repetitions. Tom compared prayers like the way his wife would write letters. She would take great care in what she said. He gave three points from her letter writing that might help prayer. First, be clear. Second, be to the point. Third, use the best words. He referenced passages of people who believed what they would receive (Matthew 20:29–34; Matthew 9:27–30) and those who struggled with belief (Mark 9: 20–24).
Judgement
Finally, Tom addressed the last part of the verse about the “greater damnation.” He gave some biblical descriptions of hell, and pointed out no one needed to go there. He critiqued “fatalistic predestination” (Calvinism) as being not true and that everyone has a chance to go to heaven. Tom pointed out that hell was not created for us but for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). Next, he stressed how Christ died for everyone and there is provision for everyone. He used to do an Old Testament passages including those about Jesus being “the Lamb of God” for the world (John 1:29) and the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:21). Why hell? They choose to hold onto their sins. He critiqued Calvinism and TULIP using passages like Isaiah 53:4 and Romans 5:8, talking on “the unbelievable love of God.”
Tom closed referring to the Gopsel, “A person has to fight his way into Hell”, and God‘s will that all be saved.
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