Call-In Classic Christianity Radio – Bob George P509 (02-06-20)
Synopsis
Often times people have called into the Classic Christianity radio program with questions to help them know how to apply teaching or to get clarification on teaching they have heard that seems to conflict with what the Lord is beginning to teach them. Others simply call to thank Bob for the teaching of truth that has helped them to walk free of legalistic teaching, and want to encourage Bob to continue teaching truth.
More often than not, Bob will explain more thoroughly about the New Covenant we are under. Often times people will read something out of the gospels, such as Matthew, Mark, Luke or John, or the book of Acts, and struggle understanding what it means. The starting point to understand truth is to first of all be born again, having the Spirit of God living in you. Then as you read God’s word, you allow the Holy Spirit to reveal truth to you.
The common mistakes people make are to read one scripture verse, taken out of its context, and try to explain or make up what it means. That is called leaning on your own understanding, and is the reason we have so many denominations today. Do not read the bible with a bias based on some denominational persuasion. Rely on the Holy Spirit of God to teach you by reading the bible in its full context.
Speaking of context, it is important to realize that the context of Jesus in the synoptic gospels is that he is teaching the Jews under an Old Covenant system that was still in existence until he finished the work when he died on a cross. ushering in a New Covenant of grace. If you do not understand that Jesus is a Jew himself, talking to those under a law so that they can see how hopeless they are under the law, so they will turn to Christ for life he is going to give them, then you will miss the point of what Jesus is saying. For example, in the Lord’s prayer, when he is telling the people that if you do not forgive one another their sins, neither will my Father in heaven forgive you, that is true under the Old Covenant. The point is, no man can make themselves righteous by observing the law because it is through the law you are made conscious of sin. You, if you are lost, have to be taken out of that system of law set against you, because you, being born in sin and death, cannot obey the law. You, being a Gentile, cannot obey the law any more than the Jew could. We must understand we are a sinner, spiritually dead, and in need of life.
Another common mistake is to form doctrine out of the book of Acts. It is a record of what happened in the early church. It is a recording of what people said, such as Peter or Paul. It does not mean that what they said is true. It is just a record of what they said. For example, Peter said, “Perhaps you can be forgiven of that”. That is what he said but that is not true. Jesus already had taken away the sins of the world. So do not form doctrine from the book of Acts.
So people have to grow in their understanding, and this takes time reading God’s word and allowing the Holy Spirit to teach you truth. Another problem is people tend to hold tightly onto what a denomination teaches. So often people are living in bondage under law, the law of tithing for example, but do not know it. They have been hood-winked by leaders, whether intentional or not, by those explaining scriptures out of context. How many of you have heard someone say that if you do not tithe, you are robbing God? Is that true? No. Absolutely not! God’s word instructs us to test everything man says and see if it is so. Do you do that? Where would you look to find the truth on such a topic?
First of all, when you understand the New Covenant, and there is no better book to help you understand the New Covenant than the book of Hebrews, you will more readily see where error is. Then, look into the book of Malachi for yourself, where this whole tithe subject often comes up, where you will read that it is written to the descendants of Jacob. Then, is that written to you? No. Are you a descendant of Jacob? No. Then ask yourself, how does God want me to live in grace, this New Covenant? Think about what the apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians, on this matter of this grace of giving, the attitudes of the heart. As you later read more of the Old Testament, you will read about the system that was in place, with the Levites and sacrificing of bulls and goats, that the Jews were under, and not the Gentiles, which Hebrews summarizes, but in the context of contrasting that with the New Covenant system that replaced it.
When you fully understand the grace of God you are living under, life is so much richer and free, overflowing in gratitude and thanksgiving to God. When you learn to abide in Christ, more and more letting Him produce in you and through you, the fruit of the Spirit, as listed in Galatians 5:22-23, it is really God who is doing the work, resulting in praise and glory to God. You see a picture of this in the gospel of John, in the parable of the vine and the branches, where Jesus was explaining about the New Covenant to come to his disciples, and how man is designed to live and is intended to function.
So as you read 2 Corinthians, you see the result of the Spirit at work in the lives of born again believers, as an example, for us today, in the world we live in. People will know you are His disciples when you have love for one another. We love because He first loved us. We do not love in the energy of the flesh, but by resting in Christ. That is the Sabbath rest God is speaking about in Hebrews, and as Paul urges us when he exhorts us to make our bodies a living sacrifice, our reasonable act of worship. There are no laws for fruit of the Spirit to be produced. It is born from a relationship with the living God, learning to abide in Him. It is sometimes referred to as the new law of the Spirit, Christ in you the hope of glory.
Transcript
Tina from Atlanta, Georgia
Tina: I have a child who is going to be going off to college next year. My husband has been influencing him to go to Bob Jones University as one of his choices. I have been listening to your ministry for about a month now. Now, I am not sure I want him to go there because I do not want him to become legalistic. I was wondering if you had any insight on that?
Bob: It is not my goal in life to be analyzing other ministries. I guarantee I would not send my son there for a million dollars because of the legalistic teaching that is there. They even have the six inch rule there, where you cannot sit within 6 inches of someone of the opposite sex. I am sure that cuts down lusting (sarcastically). To me, that would be the last place in the world I would want a child, or an adult, to go to learn more legalism. If I was going to go to a Christian school, I would certainly go to one that is teaching the grace of God instead of that type of very, very deep legalistic teaching.
Tina: Okay. That is kind of where I was going.
Bob: That would be my recommendation. All I can say, honestly, is I certainly would not send my son there.
Tina: I do not think he wants to go there anyway. Thank you. You have a good day.
Bob: Thank you so much, Tina. God bless you. Good bye.
James from Memphis, Tennessee
James: Hello, Bob. How are you doing?
Bob: I am doing very well. Thank you.
James: I have some friends who are Seventh Day Adventist. We have been talking back and forth about the switch from Saturday to Sunday worship, from Constantine and Catholic voodoo. I am trying to get a clearer view from Old Testament religions and the Sabbath day, new day worship and God’s day. I would like to get your point of view on that.
Colossians 2:16-17
16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
Bob: Do not let anyone judge you in regard to a Sabbath day. It is only a foreshadowing of the reality that is found in Christ. The Sabbath was given as a day of rest. What did God do? He rested from his work. He told us to rest from ours.
Hebrews 4:8-10
8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. 9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10 for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his.
Bob: Why are they talking about the Seventh day? Because that is all they talk about. That to them is everything. That is why they call themselves Seventh Day Adventist. That is their hobby horse. Where you park your body is some place in worship. Number one, there is no day of the week for worship today. As a matter of fact, the bible instructs us as to what worship is.
Romans 12:1-2
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Bob: Worship is not what day your park your body into a place. It is making your body available to the living Christ every day of the week, which He says is your reasonable act of worship. A lost person can sit in a church on Saturday. A lost person can sit in a church on Sunday. A lost person cannot sit in a church at all. You do not become a Christian sitting in church any more than you can become a chicken sitting in a hen house.
Bob: Yet that is the emphasis, on what day I park my body in church. That is the emphasis with some people. God is not real interested in what day you park your body in church. He is interested in making your body available to Christ every day, which is your reasonable act of worship. The early Christians, they began to worship on Sunday because of the resurrection. But as far as I am concerned, do not let anyone judge you by the Sabbath day or what you eat or that type of thing. Those are all foreshadows. The reality is found in Christ.
Bob: Think about it for a minute, James. If the only thing I did all week long that I thought pleased God was the day I parked my body some place then I am sick. That hour a week is, quite frankly, where you should be coming to grow in your knowledge of the word of God, not in the knowledge of what someone else has written down you are worshiping. You ought to be worshiping Jesus every day of the week. That is what is called the Sabbath rest. The Sabbath is no longer a day of the week. It is every day of the week. It is called the Sabbath rest.
James: Yes
Bob: Whatever day you park your body into an assembly is totally irrelevant to God.
James: Yes. It has been a back and forth with me, trying to get a clearer understanding of how it fit into the Old Testament and how everything changed.
Bob: That was under the law. That was what God gave to the Jews. The Gentiles were never given the law. All we have done is steal it from the Jews. We were never ever given the law. That was given to the Jews. The Old Testament is a story of God dealing with the Jews and the Jews trying in the energy of their own flesh to live a life they could not live. It is a testimony of that.
Hebrews 7:12
12 For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed also.
Bob: The law has changed, which would include the Sabbath. The law has changed. Therefore, it is not a day of the week. It is every day to make your body available to the living Christ.
James: I have one other question. The change of priesthood, where does it talk about that in the bible?
Bob: Go read the book of Hebrews. Hebrews will explain everything to you, if a person will read it with the understanding that this is a New Covenant of grace that God ushered in at the death of Jesus.
James: As a new high priest? Right?
Bob: Jesus is our high priest.
James: Yes. That is what I am saying.
Bob: Yes. There is a change in the priesthood. And he is not out of the Levitical priestly line (Hebrews 7:11-12). He was named a priest by an oath from God (Hebrews 7:19-21). He was not a Levite.
James: Exactly.
Bob: The Levites were the recipients of tithing and all of the other things that we hang onto today like it is New Covenant, but it isn’t New Covenant.
Bob: All right, my brother?
James: I appreciate that. Thank you very much.
Bob: Does that help you, James?
James: Yes. It helps a lot. I got another question for you next time.
Debbie from Silver Creek, Georgia
Debbie: Hi, Bob. How are you doing?
Bob: Hi, Debbie. Doing fine. Thanks.
Debbie: I just have a question about household salvation. I have heard a lot of teaching on that. People just saying you can believe. I know God wants everyone to be saved. He is not willing any should perish, but ultimately they do have a will. I want to know how you feel about that? Training a child in the way he should go. Is that a promise or is that in just in all likelihood?
Bob: Debbie, you hit on it. We have a will. There is no such thing as household salvation. They take it out of the book of Acts. All these people who come up with these hair-brained ideas take it out of the book of Acts. Acts is not a book of doctrine. I do not know when people will get that in their heads. The book of Acts is a book of history, of Paul and Peter, of what took place. Some things that were said were not even true. It was recorded because it was said. Peter is an example, when he said, “Perhaps you can be forgiven of that”. That is what he said but that is not true. Jesus already had taken away the sins of the world. I am sure the people that hang onto every little thing in the book of Acts, when it talks about how they devoted themselves to teachers, and had everything in common, will not be hanging onto that.
Acts 2:44
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
That is not doctrinal, meeting in temple courts, selling everything you had. It seems today, the people who are teaching this are not selling everything. They are building bigger and better houses. It is not a doctrinal book.
Acts 16:25-34
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved – you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God – he and his whole household.
Bob: All it is saying there, by Paul and Silas, is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household. How did they know that? The whole household was there. He had come to believe in God, he and his whole family.
Bob: My whole family came to Christ. They all had choices. You are right on on that, Debbie.
Bob: I think it is like people with baptism.
Acts 1:3-5
3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
Bob: Jesus said “John the Baptist baptizes you with water, but I will baptize you with fire [which is judgment], and with the Holy Spirit”. When you are talking about being baptized, you are talking about being baptized by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ, which is the baptism that saves you, or you are talking about being submerged in water.
Luke 3:16
16 John [the Baptist] answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
Bob: Again, we just assume, when we hear that word, even though what I am interested in is how does anyone get baptized in Moses, and it says they got baptized into Moses.
1 Corinthians 10:1-4
1 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ
Bob: If you are going to get into submersion, you will have difficulty with that. But if you understand baptism is to mean to be identified with and totally changed, then you can put more understanding on those things.
1 Peter 3:20-22
20 to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, 21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also – not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand – with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.
Bob: But never take doctrine out of the book of Acts.
Debbie: What about Proverbs in training up a child in the way he should go, that is not a guarantee they will not depart from me? That is in all likelihood but that is not taking it to the bank?
Proverbs 22:6
6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Bob: It was talking to Israel. It was talking about the way they trained their children in those years. The training up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it, what happens if you train him bad? Does that mean he will not depart from that?
Bob: You are right on these things. What you do is, you certainly want to train your child in accordance with the word of God, and trust Jesus with the results. That is always the case in all things. When you are dealing with the results, they are always in the hands of God.
Debbie: That is where your faith is, in Him.
Bob: Absolutely.
Debbie: I appreciate that. Thank you so much.
Bob: You are sure welcome, Debbie. You have a firm grasp on that. You keep holding onto that.
John from San Diego, California
John: I just had a quick question. I notice that I see the very same individuals that appear to be homeless, sitting on street corners or standing on the intersections, with their signs saying “Homeless. Please help.”. Often you see the words “God bless” on their signs. It troubles my heart a bit, because my first reaction is to be generous: “Pull over and give a couple of dollars”. I see these people every day and think: “Is that person going to expect what they see, with my truck that drives by? Will he stop and give me a hand?” Have you gentlemen ever thought of this, as you see those individuals? What are your thoughts as to what our Christian responsibility to our fellow man should be in that capacity?
Bob: Well John. I feel this. I cannot tell you the number of times that I stopped someone like that and said “Come in the car and I will get you a meal. But normally, but not always the case, but when you give money to these people, you are giving them money to buy cigarretes and buy booze. I am not going to contribute to their alcoholism or smoking habit.
Bob: When I was in business out in California, I would stop and offer people that if you are looking for a job, here is my number and give me a call, and I will have a job waiting for you. I never heard from any one of them. In most cases, they are in the condition they are in because they chose booze or drugs over Christ. I have seen some of the most belligerent people on the face of the earth in those categories. I will never, as long as I live, forget watching on television here in Dallas, when we had some of the worst ice and snow storms in Dallas, and there were a number of people who were sleeping under a bridge in cardboard type boxes. One of the news casters was interviewing them, and saying “Guys, what are you doing here? Why don’t you go over to the Salvation Army where you can get a hot meal and get a place to stay and a bed to sleep in?”, and this guy just belligerently said, “Are you kidding me? You have to obey those stupid rules they have. I have to live in this box”. I sat there looking saying, “How can you get that low that you would rather live in a box under a bridge in order to drink or smoke rather than go and have a fresh bed to live in and food to eat?” You just never know.
Bob: The problem is you never know what you are doing with your dollars. I guess in saying this, John, you have to follow what God is leading you to do. You cannot be put on a guilt trip with this “God bless”. The vast majority, and I know of no exception of people I have talked to, have no knowledge of God at all. It is just verbiage they can use to get some charity. So you have to be led by the Lord. If God is leading you to do something, then you do it. If he isn’t then do not sit around and feel guilty over it.
John: Alright. I understand. Thank you.
Bob: Did that help?
John: That certainly did. I will just let the Holy Spirit guide me.
Bob: There you go, pal.
John: Thank you
Bob: Thank you, John.
Jack from Gig Harbor, Washington
Jack: Hi Bob. I was reading in Matthew 18, about the parable of the unmerciful servant. The section ends up with the quote that this is my heavenly Father and this is the way I will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart. I am thinking that has to do with discipline. But in verse 34, in anger, the master turned him over to the jailers until they should pay back all they owed. It seems out of character. Am I missing something on this, as just plain discipline? That is quite specific and harsh it seems?
Matthew 18:21-35
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins.[i] He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’
30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
Bob: It is not either one of those things, Jack. It is merely a story being given as to a man who was blessed by God. It is a picture of God giving mercy to us and us refusing to extend mercy to one another. The fact that the master turned him over to the jailer to be tortured, that is just part of the story. It does not have anything to do with how God deals with us. This passage there is not any different than what we call the Lord’s prayer, to forgive one another as our Father has forgiven us.
Luke 11:1-4
1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”2 He said to them, “When you pray, say:
“‘Father,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation.’”
Bob: When it says, “If you do not forgive someone on earth, neither will I forgive you”, that was certainly true under the Old Covenant, but it is not true under the New Covenant.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19
18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.
Bob: God was in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. This kind of a passage in the gospel, Jack, becomes preparatory for salvation. It is a way of man looking at one another and saying, “I am not going to forgive this person up here”. Well, the bible says “if you don’t then neither will the Father forgive you.” Then, if that is the case, then I need salvation. It is like the apostles saying “depart from us. You are too much for us.” The works of Christ was preparing the hearts of man to see they cannot do this on your own. There is not a thing God told us to do we could do on our own. That is what prepares us for the cross.
Romans 3:20
20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.
Galatians 3:20 (TLB)
20 But now that Christ has come, we don’t need those laws any longer to guard us and lead us to him.
Bob: When Jesus was here on earth, it was preparatory for salvation. It was what prepared our hearts to see I needed a cross and I need a resurrection. I have a need that God has shown me about myself that shows me that I am dead and shows me I am a sinner. Of course, when He came into the Jewish community, you have self righteous people who did not think they were sinners. His teaching was, basically, just to bury us, which he did. That is all a part of the Old Covenant.
Jack: I see. Okay. Great. Thank you very much.
Bob: Does that help?
Jack: That helps very much. Thanks a lot, Bob.
Bob: Okay, Jack. God bless, my friend. Bye bye now.
Frank from Sacramento, California
Frank: God bless you, Bob.
Bob: Thank you, Frank.
Frank: I just want to ask one question. I am the type of Christian that I do not like to get into theology, or how it is going to be in heaven. It is good to know. I am just not interested. I just want to be with Jesus Christ. I am happy with that. My mother and I were in a conversation. She told me that when I get in heaven, I would not be able to recognize her.
Bob: With the type of face lifts that go on down here, I do not think we would be able to recognize a person. But seriously, Frank, we do not have any idea how our glorified body is going to look like. Thank God it will not look this one. We do not know how we recognize people. It says we will be recognizable in heaven.
2 Corinthians 5:1-5
1 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2 Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, 3 because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4 For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
So you can certainly tell your mom that truth. We will be recognizable, but how, I do not know. We have no idea. We do not even know what heaven looks like. The best we can do is what you said Frank, to acknowledge that it takes place, but I am not going to get into a lot of speculation on it, for we do not know. But we do know we will have a glorified body. Paul talks about what will our body look like.
1 Corinthains 15:35-44
35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” 36 How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 39 Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. 40 There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. 41 The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
Bob: Paul says, “Oh, you foolish people”. He talks about seeds sewn. It does not come back as a seed, but it grows into an ear of corn, or whatever it is to be. Our body is sewn, and from that, God forms a glorified body in some way. What is it going to look like? I do not know. All I know is it is better than this one I have right now on earth. That is about as good as we know on that, Frank.
Frank: The thing is when somebody asks Jesus if a wife marries the seven brothers, and one day marries another one. They ask Him who is he going to be with in heaven and Jesus says, “Do you not know in heaven we will not marry but be like the angels.” What does he mean by that?
Mark 12:18-27
18 Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. 19 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 20 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children. 21 The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third. 22 In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too. 23 At the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”24 Jesus replied, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? 25 When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. 26 Now about the dead rising – have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the account of the burning bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’[Exodus 3:6]? 27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”
Bob: It means we will not propagate in heaven. Some people say that is why it is heaven (laughter). But there will not be marriage in heaven. That ends that discussion.
Frank: Okay. Thanks a lot. I appreciate that very much. Thank you for your ministry?
Bob: Does that help, brother?
Frank: Yes. Yes. To be honest, I do not care, when my mom and I get to that point, and I do not want to argue with her.
Michael from Englewood, California
Michael: What I am calling about, I tried to get in yesterday, but I couldn’t. I want to tell you that you are a blessing to the body of Christ. You are telling truth where Christians are being manipulated to pay tithes. That is one thing I had to be won over because I was being persecuted for telling people tithe is not for today. I just want to give you a pat on the back. You are actually a blessing to people not to be manipulated by those who are preaching it. Keep preaching it. Keep doing what God calls you to do. They are opening people’s eyes that they do not have to be manipulated in these churches. That is all I want to say today.
Bob: I appreciate that very much, Michael. We will keep trying to teach truth as we see it. I do not approach the bible from a denominational persuasion. I do not have a denominational persuasion about the bible, period. I basically put that aside years ago and ask God to reveal the true meaning of the word of God to me, not based upon a bias. In studying the scriptures without a bias of how to give, why you come to the conclusion, obviously, that tithing is not in the New Covenant, that free will and joyful giving, as told in 2 Corinthians, is the attitude of giving.
2 Corinthians 9:6-8
6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
Bob: So, to me, that is the reason we do not teach tithing. We have a church. I could teach that, and probably raise a lot of money, but I would not be teaching truth. These people who are so adamant and so angry at us for teaching about tithing. I say, “Why do you quit being so mad at us and quit your teaching because you are teaching error and you know you are teaching error?”
Bob: It is very easy, if you have been teaching error, to say to your congregation. “Guys, I have good news and I have bad news. The bad news is I have been teaching you wrong.” Why don’t you do that except for your own pride? Pride comes before the fall. There is no way to justify giving apart from first of all as scripture says, you give first of all yourself to the Lord, and then to give in accordance with what you do have, and joyful, and to excel in giving.
2 Corinthians 81-5
1 And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2 In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. 5 And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us.
Bob: He is not telling people not to give, but the emphasis is not on how much, but it is to whom. People do not like that, a person teaching legalism. So you say you will not give a dime to a legalist church. They do not like hearing that because it effects their finances. So you say to them, “Then change your theology. Quit teaching error. If you are teaching legalism, you are not teaching truth of the New Covenant.”
2 Corinthians 3:6
6 He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant – not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
Bob: We have been called to be ministers of a new covenant not of the old covenant that kills, but of a new covenant. Start being a minister that God called you to, and that is a minister of a new covenant. Sit down and learn what the New Covenant is from start to finish and squeeze out all of this legalistic teaching out and you will be blessed beyond measure, if you do that.
Bob: In any way brother, I appreciate your encouragement. We will keep trying to do what we are doing, brother.
Michael: God bless you.
Bob: You too, my friend.
