Call-In Classic Christianity Radio – Bob George P493 (11-21-19)
Synopsis
We struggle with grasping the depth of God’s unconditional love and acceptance. When we make bad choices, that is, we sin against God and one another, what is our response to that? Do we hide in fear? For those in Christ Jesus, God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind. He who fears is not made perfect in love. Do we think God is angry at us? Do we have this expectation of raging fire, being turned aside by God, that we have fallen away and cast aside by God? No, God has promised to never leave us or forsake us. He sealed His Holy Spirit in us. No one can snatch you out of My Father’s hands.
It seems our natural inclination is to withdraw in isolation or even make the problem worse, adding sin upon sin. Yet God says, come boldly to the throne of grace for help in time of need. We forget the wisdom of Proverbs that says that he who confesses and forsakes his sin will find compassion and mercy. Love covers over a multitude of sins.
1 Peter 4:8
8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
Is that not what God has done for us? He who knew no sin became sin for us so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. When Jesus died on the cross, the blood he shed was all sufficient to satisfy the wrath of God, the just judgment of death for sin, for the sins of the entire world, your sins and mine included, and even the sins of those yet to be born. The punishment for sin is finished.
Consider what the apostle Paul wrote, who identified himself as the worst of all sinners, who persecuted the people of God, and even said as far as the law was concerned, faultless in legalistic righteousness. What did he discover about the unconditional love and grace of God? He received the life of Christ, and now he writes to the Romans this amazing truth that there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. He is convinced of the unconditional love of God.
Romans 8:35-39
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Are you convinced of the unconditional love of God? Now consider the fact that the Spirit of God lives in you, you who are born again, and has promised to never leave you or forsake you. Even when you sin, he is still living inside you and will not leave you. He lives in you to renew your mind with truth, so you can walk in the new way of life and peace. What is your greatest time of need? When you are hurting? What causes the most hurt? Is it not when you know you have done something wrong? Or, is it when someone has wronged you, a close friend you had once trusted so much ?
So, should we confess our sins to get forgiveness? No, Jesus already did that for us. Then what do we confess? Thank you, Lord for taken my sins away over 2000 years ago. Then, we can confess that the action we did was sin. We agree with God but then move on to asking what we should do? We confess not to get forgiveness, but as a child to a Father who deeply loves you and wants to see you walk in truth. He is not dealing with you on the basis of the law of sin and death any more. You are a child of the living God.
What do you think God would tell you to do when you sin? You sinned against a brother or sister in Christ, so He would instruct you to straighten that out with your brother or sister, a member of the body of Christ? Does it make sense to hurt your own body? Your brother or sister is who you sinned against. Straighten out the matter with him. That is why scripture says to confess your sins one to another.
Proverbs 28:13
13 Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
Transcript
Robert from Bakersfield, CA
Robert: Hi Bob. I am getting to be a regular listener and a regular caller.
Bob: Well. That is good.
Robert: I have been reading Hebrews now. I was reading Hebrews 6:4-6. I have a special interest in that because I was really close to God at one point and I fell away. I was just scared to death and curious. What does that mean in that part of scripture?
Hebrews 6:4-6
4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6 and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.
Bob: You are going to get a better understanding of Hebrews 6 by going back to Hebrews 10 and reading the passage in Hebrews 10.
Hebrews 10:26-31
26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Bob: A New Covenant just went into effect, Robert. A New Covenant of grace went into effect. This is a covenant that God says He made with them. I will put my laws in theirs hearts, the law of Jesus I will write in their minds. Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more, and where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any more sacrifice for sin. It is a covenant with the announcement that the sins of the world have been put on the back of God never to see them again.
Hebrews 10:16-18
16
“This is the covenant I will make with them
after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds.”[Jeremiah 31:33]17 Then he adds:
“Their sins and lawless acts
I will remember no more.”[Jeremiah 31:34]
18 And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.
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.
2 Corinthians 5:21
21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Bob: All this is a part of the New Covenant.
Bob: Now to the passage in Hebrews you were talking about. He is speaking to the religious Jews. Here, in their day, the way to get forgiveness was to go to the day of atonement. That was not only tradition that was the only way they had of getting forgiveness and clearing their conscience. Now Jesus came along and said: “I am the final sacrifice. There is no longer any sacrifice for sin.” Then a person says: “Okay. I have been enlightened to that. I have tasted some of it. I shared it.” Judas Iscariot fits into all of this. He tasted the word of God and saw the power of the coming age.
Bob: Now in the passage in Hebrews 6:4-6, we read this.
Hebrews 6:4-6
4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6 and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.
Bob: Why is it if they fall away, it is impossible to be brought back to repentance? Why can’t you be brought back to repentance? You cannot be brought back to where you have never been. When you are falling away, you cannot be brought back to repentance because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. What are they talking about? So instead of resting in the finality of the cross, they are putting him back on the cross, seeking forgiveness by sacrificing a bull and a goat. If you continue asking God for forgiveness, and develop systems to ask God to forgive you, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins, then what are you doing?
Hebrews 9:22
22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
Bob: The only way you could get more forgiveness is if Jesus would die on the cross again. That is why it is saying to your loss, you are crucifying the Son of God all over again. When you do not accept the finality of the cross and continue to seek forgiveness, you are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace as to what he went through when he had to die on the cross and said “it is finished.”.
John 19:30
30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Bob: When you have been enlightened, you tasted, but you never swallowed, then you heard but you have never heard, never understood or grasped. There are many, many people in that boat today, Robert. They hear but they do not hear. They hear Jesus died for all of your sins but then go right back to begging him for forgiveness. You are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.
Bob: It is not the condition you were in when you fall away unless you were never there. But it is when you stop believing that Jesus took away your sins when you stop believing that Christ has taken away your sins period. If you fall away from that, it is because you have never grabbed a hold of that. You never repented and changed your mind.
Robert: So then, when you sin or when you are convicted of sin in your life, how do you rectify that? Do you just thank God he has already forgiven you? How do you deal with sin?
Bob: The issue here is this. You are saying that you are not confessing to get forgiveness. Why? You have forgiveness. You ought to be confessing you are a forgiven person and thanking God for that. That ought to be in your heart. On the same token, God is not dealing with you on the basis of sin today. If he was, he would be dealing with you on the basis of sin and death. You cannot separate the two.
Romans 8:1-2
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.
Bob: When Christ came to take away the sins of the world, he did not take away our sinning. He took our sins away from the eyes of God. In other words, our sins are blocked now from the eyes of God just like the Old Testament covered sins, but now they are taken away forever. That is what propitiation means.
1 John 2:2
2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
1 John 4:10
10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Bob: God looked on the sacrifice of His Son and said “It is finished. I am satisfied.” Propitiation means total satisfaction. God is saying: “I am satisfied with that offering. The value of the blood of My Son was of such value that it was able to take away the sins of the entire world from My sight.” So now God is dealing with you on the basis of new life. When Jesus is coming back, he is not coming back to bear sin but to bring salvation for those who are waiting for him.
Hebrews 9:28
28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
Bob: Why is he not coming back to bear sin? He has already done it. He did it once and he he did it for all. Our response to that has to be “Thank You”. When we walk by faith, and we need to walk by faith in truth, not supposition or by tradition, we walk by faith in what is true. What is true? All our sins have been taken away. The only response to that is: “Thank you, Lord.”
Bob: On the other hand, when I have sinned, who have I sinned against? I sinned against my brother. When I stole from somebody, when I committed adultery, had a homosexual activity with somebody, lied to somebody, who have I sinned against? Therefore, confess your sins one to another.
James 5:16
16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
Proverbs 28:13
13 Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
Bob: We are always wanting to clear the deck with God and leave the people alone. This is the attitude we can have: “Do not bother me with these people. I do not want to go with them telling them I was acting like a jerk.” God, in essence, is saying: “No sense in talking to me about it. I have already dealt with it. Your problem is between your brother and sister in Christ.” That is why scripture says “confess your sins one to another”. If I insult you, or whatever it is, I say: “Lord, I thank you for the fact that that sin was taken away 2000 years ago at the cross. I also thank you that you are living in me and pointing out to me stuff that hurts. Why was I angry with Robert? It was because I was prideful, or whatever it might be. What do you want me to do Lord?” He says, “Go straighten it out with Robert.” Do you see what I mean?
Robert: Yes, I do.
Bob: Does that help, brother?
Robert: Yes, it helps a lot. I appreciate it. It made me feel a lot better.
Bob: Good to talk to you, Robert. God bless you.
Paul from Bellingham, WA
Paul: I am calling on an issue I need wisdom for. I want to share the word with my friends. I have a friend going through a divorce. I want to share the Word with my neighbor and my friend. I do not want to scare him away. I do not want to throw the bible at him and say this is the way to go. Do you have any encouragement for me to share? I know my actions speak louder than my words.
Bob: The actions of man can be somewhat important until I think about the behavior of Jesus and realize that they even rejected Him. You can be around a lot of nice people. There are nice appearing Muslims out there. There are nice Mormons out there. The Word of God is what people need to hear. People are hurting inside, with hearts aching, and you can tell them that that hurt can only be solved and comforted by Christ Jesus, the one who said, “come to me all those who labor and are heavy laden, come to me and I will give you peace”.
Matthew 11:28-29
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
Bob: If you are a child of God, and you know how you are saved, then you know how to communicate that. So communicate that to them the gospel as it stands. Ask the question, “Are you in Christ Jesus, or are you in the process?”. You are not judging. You realize it is a process people go through, in processing truth little by little. You do not have to worry about where they will be turned on or turned off by the message. Some people will be turned on and others will be turned off. That is a part of life. You cannot be running for sheriff and be a Christian. You cannot be interested in the opinions of men. You be loving and gentle but help people to see their condition. One of the reasons you are in the condition of divorce is because you are dead inside. If he is a Christian and in divorce, then it is because he is not listening to Christ. Another possibility is if either spouse is a non-believer and is involved in behavior that warrants a divorce, including reasons of safety or protection of yourself and your children, if children are involved.
Paul: Should I ask, “Do you believe in heaven? Do you believe in hell?” Should we approach him that way?
Bob: No, ask them if you ever discovered knowing Christ in a personal way. Tell them a little of your own testimony. We are not talking about religion but a personal relationship with Christ. Have you ever come to know Him in a personal relationship? If they say “yes”, then ask them about their testimony. Then you will find out if they are lying to you or just confused about what you are saying. You are questioning people to help them see their condition. That is the first thing you do, to help people see their condition. If you never had something inside you called hunger, you would never go and get something to eat. You have to help them recognize there is something missing inside of them. Deal with those kinds of subjects. Find out where they are. Find out what their understanding of the gospel is. Then explain the fullness of the gospel to them. We are all born into this world dead and the reason is is because we do not have the Spirit of life living in us. Take it from there.
Paul: I will take it from there.
Bob: Let me know how it goes.
Paul: I will let you know when the good news comes.
Michelle from Washington, D.C.
Michelle: I have one simple question I want to ask. I want to know if dreams and visions are for today?
Bob: You can certainly have dreams today, but do they have any meaning? Let us look at the book of Hebrews.
Hebrews 1:1-2
1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.
Bob: He even spoke to us through a donkey one time. Now whenever you have a “but” you have a contrast. In the past God spoke to us this way, but in these last days God has spoken to us by His Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. Everything God wants you to know about Himself has been revealed in Jesus, not in dreams and not in visions. You can have dreams but they do not have any bearing as far as God is concerned.
Lynn from New Orleans, LA
Lynn: I have a question. I was wondering what the bible says about abortion?
Bob: Abortion is taking the life of a baby. So it is in the same category as murder. When a person destroys a child with potential to spring into life you took the life away God intended to live. Is that a sin that was placed on Jesus on the cross? Yes. It is a sin forgiven on the cross. Are you referring to yourself or someone else? Just like all of us, when we are ashamed of our sin, we want to hide, possibly out of fear of how others will respond to that sin.
Lynn: Sort of.
Bob: It is either yourself or someone else. There is no sort of.
Lynn: I am a college student. I am a Christian and now I am pregnant.
Bob: That baby did not get formed in there by osmosis. There was a sin of fornication that took place. Can a Christian commit fornication? Yes. Can a Christian commit adultery? Yes. Christians can be subject to any sin out there.
1 Corinthians 10:12-13
12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind.
Bob: It is so important for you to recognize that those sins you commit, and will commit, had been placed on the back of God never to see them again, from His standpoint. He came to give you life. The Gospel is not getting your sins forgiven. That is a part of the gospel, but it is only a bridge you cross over so you can have eternal life. Salvation is receiving life.
John 10:10b
10 I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
John 11:25a
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.”
1 John 5:12
12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
Bob: The whole issue of salvation is being saved from the consequences of sin, which is death, (Romans 3:23) by the gift of God, which is life (Ephesians 2:8-9). God looks at life as a gift. That is when you are saved. It is not when you just recognize and thank him for the cross and ask him for forgiveness. People stop there but it is the resurrection that saves you. He lives in you when you ask him in you as your Lord and Savior.
Romans 5:10
10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
Bob: Lynn, you are indwelt by God. So you are indwelt by the wisdom of God with the heart, love and mercy of God.
1 Corinthians 1:30
30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God – that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.
Bob: So you have to ask yourself, when Christ is your life, would the Jesus in you want you to abort this life? No. So you shouldn’t either. It will be an inconvenience and an embarrassment but all those things are short-lived. In the long run, you are going to bring a child in this world under some adverse conditions but God will cause this to work out together for your good.
Romans 8:28
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Bob: It is hard to see it at the time. But once you see the child come out of you, just as new life was produced in you at new spiritual birth, you will have a love in you that you never knew you had before.
Lynn: Okay.
Bob: I have heard people say “I will never get my college education.” Well, there are a lot more important things than getting a college education. I am 70 years old, and I have only been asked one time if I had a college education and was never asked what grades I got. You were in love with someone and these are natural impulses that people have (there is no sin except that which is common to man; sexual desires are naturally God-given but sin is when improperly exercised out of context of marriage). At your age you are full of hormones. You got in the trap of making physical love with one another and when that occurs there is a possibility of pregnancy. Do not compound the problem. Recognize this is what you have done
Romans 8:31-39
31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died – more than that, who was raised to life – is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Bob: You are a child of the living God. God will never leave you or forsake you. Nothing can separate you from the love of God. Nothing can separate you from the love of God. In all these things, you are more than conquerors. You and Jesus will get along just fine. Keep the child and you will be a phenomenal mother. Are you in love with the boy who got you pregnant?
Lynn: We have been together for about four years.
Bob: Does he know about this?
Lynn: No
Bob: He does not know about this yet?
Lynn: No
Bob: You are fearful of telling him and fear does not come from God. God did not give you a spirit of fear.
2 Timothy 1:7
7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
Bob: He needs to know about it. That way you are going to determine whether this is the boy or man you want to be married to. And he is going to determine if this is the woman he wants to be married to. He might cop out. If he is a true born again believer then he will say, you and I need to get married and have a family together.
Lynn: Okay.
Bob: And if you do not want to do that, then wait on God to bring the right man along. If you have been together that long seems that a good relationship was formed.
Lynn: Yes.
Bob: You need to confront him with this and let him know about this. That is the proper thing to do. These are some of the repercussions that not everybody gets into. There are those who are very promiscuous as can be and nothing ever happens. I have known them in college. Another person slips up one time and gets pregnant. We do not know why those things take place but they have.
Bob: You praise God for the forgiveness extended to you and accept that God took away your sins 2000 years ago. Recognize God loves you and God wants you to preserve that life that is in you. Can you do that?
Lynn: Yes
Bob: As a child of God, I am sure you can do it. I hope to meet you some day. I want to look in the face of that baby boy or girl some day. You do what God would have you do and you will be blessed.
Lynn: Okay. Well, thanks a lot.
Bob: You are so welcome, Lynn. If ever you need help, call at any time. If you need future counseling, we have got Ed Hecht to talk to. Do not go this alone. You have friends here to rely on.
