It's very apparent to us now that we who are in the invisible kingdom are living in the middle of another kingdom.

When Jesus prayed to the Father, He didn't say, take them out of the world, He said, keep them from the evil one.

We have to be in the world.

Otherwise, we can't preach the gospel.

Welcome to Grace to You with John MacArthur. I'm your host, Phil Johnson.

A Christian student in a large public university taking a science course taught by an atheist speaks up in class to challenge his professor's views on evolution.

That's a recipe for public humiliation if there ever was one. And let's be fair, it has never been easy to stand up for biblical truth and a Christian worldview.

In fact, now it's harder than ever. So for encouragement for those situations, stay here as John MacArthur continues his brand new study, the world versus the kingdom of God.

First though, John, a personal question for you has being a pastor brought special challenges in terms of making friendships with unbelievers.

And especially in today's adversarial environment that we're looking at in your current series.

I don't think being a Christian necessarily makes you a threat, but I think being a pastor tends to do that and being a well-known pastor and having everything you've ever said for the last half a century,

maybe available on the internet. That is tough. I've been with you overseas. We got into an elevator and somebody recognized you just from your voice.

Yeah. Yeah. Yesterday I was walking with Patricia a little bit and in a very brief walk, and this is the other side of your question.

We ran into three people who stopped me and said, oh, you're John MacArthur. I just want to say thank you so much for everything your ministry has meant in my life.

That was the first person. And this was a lady and she said, I can't imagine that you're even real. So I grabbed her hand. I'm real.

And three people in one short hour of time. So for me, the opposite really happens. I'm more likely to be stopped somewhere to be thanked than I am to be ridiculed.

But I do think you can mitigate that by having a gracious spirit. You don't have to be harsh. I think you want to speak the truth in love.

And I think if you do that, I think you can break down some of those barriers.

That's right. Well, thank you, John. And it's a good reminder that we should always be gracious even as we stand firmly for biblical truth in an unbelieving age.

And on that note, here is John MacArthur again to continue his thought-provoking study, the world versus the kingdom of God.

I want to take you to Luke 17. And I want to say things that will be definitive and helpful to you.

Because it's very apparent to us now that we who are in the invisible kingdom are living in the middle of another kingdom.

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