Radio Broadcast Monday 06/27/2022

Classic Christianity – A Closer Look at Your Identity in Christ P46 (06-27-22)

Christ Jesus Redeemed You in Order to Set You Free

We continue focusing on redemption, freedom and forgiveness. We want to remind our listeners that many times we review a portion of the last program at the beginning of the next.

Galatians 5:1
¹ It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Listen in to today’s lesson, from the Bible study booklet, A Closer Look at Your Identity in Christ, available for purchase from our online Bob George Ministries ecommerce store

Just as a person’s physical growth is based on proper diet and exercise, so is the Christians’s spiritual growth dependent on regular feeding upon the word of God and application of its principles. With more false teaching, shifting opinions and general confusion in the world than ever before, Christians need a solid foundation upon which to base their beliefs and build their lives. The word of God declares that Jesus Christ is that foundation of truth. With that in mind, let’s now take A Closer Look at Your Identity in Christ.

We don’t have to worry whether that is God or whether that’s Satan. If you are thinking properly, I’m not thinking about getting stuff from the world. He says that when I’m preoccupied with the world, the love of the Father is not in me. So, why would I be asking God continually for worldly things, when he said, he who loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him and love, not the things of the world? And so here we are thinking that our faith is growing by asking God for worldly things that he said, get your mind off of. And when you get them saying, praise God, well, I don’t think you’re praising the right God. But what I am going to praise him for is being who I am totally loved by the Lord Jesus Christ, a person in whom nothing can separate me from His love, a person who has eternal life. A person whose citizenship is in heaven. A person that has been made a part of the body of Christ. A person who’s been justified by His resurrected life, reconciled by His physical death, redeemed, righteous, forgiven, new creature, those are things I already have. And those are the things that I need to walk by faith in me. And we’re always looking for our faith to increase. And my faith will only increase when the awareness of Him increases. And so we’re always, instead of faith being resting by faith in what we already have, we keep looking at faith as something that we get that we don’t have yet that interests us.

So today in chapter 7, we’re going to talk about what we already have and that is our redemption. We have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. And we’ll start on page 46 in our book, a Closer Look at the Believers Identity.

Now when we see this word redeemed, when we look at it from our standpoint from a worldly standpoint, let’s put it that way. How many of you remember the days when we had Green Stamps? And I think maybe there were gold stamps and there are all kinds of stamps that you used to get whenever you bought something. And after you accumulated enough books of those stamps, what did you do? You went to a redemption, you went to a Redemption Center. And a Redemption Center as a person, was a place that had all kinds of things that you could get with, depending on how many stamps you got. So, if you brought in 2000 books of stamps, why you got a toaster. So what do you do? What is a redemption? I turn in some stamps, worthless things. You couldn’t buy anything with those stamps. Yeah, they were worthless. But to the Redemption Center they had value. So you turned in a bunch of worthless, Green Stamps, and received a toaster. That’s a Redemption Center, used to be called a Redemption Center. Well, when you’re talking about the things of Christ, what took place? Well, we turned in our worthless stamps to God. We turned in all that, we were absolutely quite frankly, worthless to the world when you stop to think about it. Something that’s dying and decaying. We think we’re big deals but it really doesn’t amount to very much. And when you die and all that stuff goes down, you can put it in a little jar. So we’re not really that big a deal, but we think we are. But at any rate, we turn in something that in essence is not worth that much, but the God who made us precious in His sight, so we turn in ourselves to Him and we receive Him. I get something about you. I turn in some Green Stamps, I get something of value, a toaster. I turn in myself and I get Jesus. That’s called an exchange. I have exchanged my stamps for a toaster, I have exchanged my life for His life so that it’s no longer I who live now, it’s Christ who lives. Those Green Stamps cannot make toast, so the toaster makes toast. So I’m saying I need toast. So I’m going in. Get a toaster, so I turn in Green Stamps. I get a toaster.

I cannot, Bob George could not live a Christian Life. I could not change myself. I could not forgive myself and I could not bring life to myself. So what do I do? I turn in that total inadequacy and receive the fullness of Christ Jesus who gave me life and redeemed me out of my sin. Now, I hope that helps a little bit in explaining this word redemption, to buy back and then to set free, Now what we’re we bought from? We were born into this world in bondage to the law of sin and death and God purchased this out of this bondage through the death of his own Son and that was the price that the law demanded. The wages of sin is death and it demanded that death and He took it for us. Now he didn’t purchase us to make us slaves. Again, he purchased us so that we could receive full rights as sons of God.

We’ve given this illustration before but it is worthy of giving again in this country at one time, we had slavery and people brought slaves over from Africa and put people in bondage and chains, and literally kidnap them out of a country and brought the black man over to this country as slaves. And they would have slave markets. And at those markets, they would put a big strong black, man, or black woman, or a black child on that slave block and they would auction them off like a piece of merchandise. And let’s say this one day that this very strong, large, black man was put on tThe auction block and the auctioneer started his routine and the price went up, and it went up, and it went up and it went up. And finally, it got to a point where nobody else could afford it. And the one man made the offer and the man said going going gone sold.

The black man comes off of the of the of the slave block and the man who bought him reaches down, takes the chains off of his legs takes the chains off of his hands, shakes the man’s hand and says, sir go free. Black man looks and says sir what are you talking about? You just bought me. You just redeemed me. You just bought me out of the slave market. In order to put, make me your slave. He said, no, no, no. I bought you out of the slave market in order to set you free. It is for freedom, Paul said, that we have been set free. So when Christ bought us out of the slavery and that’s what the law is. It’s slavery. Whenever you’re under something that you can’t do and yet there’s a punishment for not doing it, you’re a slave to that, and the wages of sin is death. And there was no escape from that, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. So all are under the death sentence. He bought us out of that in order to set us free in a new relationship with Christ Jesus. That’s redemption. Going back to our story, the slave has been bought off of the slave market out of the slave market, set free from the law of slavery in order, not to go to another law of slavery, but to go to, but to be set free. The man says to the fellow who bought him out, sir, you bought me out of this hell that I was living in in order to set me free? Yeah, yes I did. Why did you do that? Because I love you and because I do not believe that any man should be a slave, I believe a man should be free. I believe we were created by God to be free and so I bought you in order to set you free.

Now, and again, and you did that because you love me? Yes, I do. Well you don’t even know me at all. Yes, I do. I’ve known you since the foundation of the world and I’ve known you and I loved you. And so I bought you. And the man says, sir, I really, I mean, I can go do anything I want to, but what I would really like to do, because I’ve never met a man like this, I’ve never met someone who loved me like this, I’ve never been around anyone who would be willing to pay the price that you paid for me to set me free. I could understand someone paying that price for me to put me on their farm and to work for them because I’m, and I can, I can do a lot for them, but to pay that price to set me free, I’ve never known that kind of love.

And, would you have any objection if I go home with you?

And the man says, no, I would love for you to be with me for the rest of your life if you would like to. And incidentally, I have set you free, but I’ve prepared a place for you at my home, and if you would like to come, and to be my son, I’d like to have you.

And the man again stands in awe and said, I don’t understand this kind of love and I almost want to run from it because I’m not used to it. I don’t know how to handle it. And he says, I’ll teach you how to handle it. Because Bob, we have to learn how to live in freedom. Man has to learn that, we’re used to living under the law. We have to learn how to live free. And so the man says, I want to come and be your volitional slave. In other words, I’m not a slave, I’m your son, but what I mean is, I want to serve you for the rest of my life. And the man says come on, let’s go home. Now, folks, that’s a physical picture of what Jesus Christ did for each and every one of us. He bought us out of slavery, so that we could be set free to make a decision. Am I gonna go my own way, or to follow the one who bought me?

And now in Colossians 1:13 and 14. He said, for He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son, He loves. In other words, He took us home and in that kingdom that we are now in, in whom, what do we have? We have Redemption, the Forgiveness of sins. So let’s again, take a look at the circle. We talked about earlier you’ve been transferred out of this darkness, dangling around out there in darkness into this circle of light, Christ Jesus, New Covenant, redemption, sanctification, justification, all of those things. And in that kingdom, that’s a new kingdom you’re in you have redemption, you’ve been redeemed, the Forgiveness of sins. Now Bob I’ve asked many times. Now, to take a look at this passage again, we’ve been rescued out of the dominion of darkness. So, what does that mean? When we were born into this world, we were born in darkness. That is called spiritual death. It’s dark when you’re dead, and we were brought, delivered into a new kingdom of the Son into Christ Jesus. Who is Light, and in Him, is no darkness at all. So, when I’ve been transferred, out of darkness into the kingdom of the Son, I’m transferred out of darkness into Light into Him, into the light of the New Covenant, and in that new kingdom that I’m now in forever, I have Redemption. That’s possession, and I have forgiveness of sins. So I ask people sometimes, how many of you ask God to redeem you everyday? Get down on your knees at night and say, oh God, please redeem me today. And just in the event that you might not have paid everything that you should have. Please pay it for me. And everybody would say, well, of course not. What I say, you don’t do that? No, of course not. Well, why not? Well, because I’ve already been redeemed.

Click to Donate to Bob George Ministries

Classic Christianity Radio thanks you for your support of our online and radio ministry. Bob, George Ministries offers nine in-depth Bible study guides, please visit shop.BobGeorge.net to find the Bible study books, along with many helpful materials to help you grow in your relationship with Jesus Christ. Let’s continue now, with our Classic Christianity Radio program.

Well, isn’t it strange that In this passage, it says that when we were delivered out of the kingdom of darkness and brought into the kingdom of the Son, it doesn’t stop there. It says, in whom, in other words, if you’re in His kingdom in whom, in Him, what do we have? Redemption. What else do we have? The forgiveness of sins. So if in Him, I have redemption and I also have forgiveness of sins. And I think it’s stupid to ask him to redeem me everyday. Why are we asking God to forgive us every day? I know there’s people out there just grinding their teeth. But I want you to think that’s what God gave us these heads for, was to think. Are you in Christ? Yes. Have you been delivered from the dominion of darkness into the kingdom of the Son? Yes. And what do you have? Redemption. What else do you have? The forgiveness of sins. Well, if those are things that I have, does it make sense to ask, to be asking God, for something you already have or to rejoice in the fact that you already have it and spend your life thanking him for that truth rather than insulting him by asking him for what you already have? And I want you to think about that. If you are in Christ, you will spend the rest of your life, hopefully thanking Him for your redemption. I thank God. Lord, thank you for transferring me, out of that darkness into light. How many times do we thank God for our salvation? And I also thank you, that in this circle in which I live, I live in your forgiveness. I live in it. I don’t get it. I live in it. I don’t get redeemed again. I’ve already been redeemed. I don’t don’t get forgiven again, I live in forgiveness. Do we understand that? Folks in Him, you have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Now, again under the law and when did that New Covenant go into effect whereby we were bought? On the day that Christ Jesus died at the cross is where He paid the sins. At the cross is where the New Covenant was ushered into existence. We talked about in Hebrews extensively not too long ago. At the cross Jesus, while he was here, physically on earth, taught under the old Covenant under the law. What did He say in regard to what we call, misinformed, but we call it the Lord’s Prayer? It’s the pre-suggested prayer that the Lord gave to the apostles was his prayer. It was something he said, here along these lines. It says, forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us, we put a period there, keep reading. For if we do not forgive our brother here on earth, your Father in heaven will not forgive you. Did He when He was here on earth, teach under the law, or did he teach after the cross and the Grace? He taught under the law. What would be the stringent requirements of the law? If you don’t forgive your brother, He (God) won’t forgive you. Could that be possible after the cross, if at the cross, He took away all of our sins? Well, not unless he didn’t take away all our sins. Suppose, so you see, we have an old Covenant, and you have a New Covenant and the New Covenant did not begin at Christ’s birth, it began at His death. And so, we have that passage that has been memorized and confused people for years in regard to forgiveness. So that we never realize that we are in Christ. And in Him, we have redemption and we have forgiveness. We don’t get it. We have it.

You have 1st John 1:9, that everybody camps on in regard to forgiveness. If we confess our sins, he’s faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness. And again, what do we do? Don’t read the context. 1st John 1:9 answers, 1st John 1:8, surprisingly enough. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. Who is the truth? Christ Jesus. Who is not in us? Christ Jesus. What Christian could claim to be without sin? Or, to say, I never had sinned? But that’s what the gnostics said that was totally contrary to what Christ came to do. They claim we don’t have a sin nature. So if I don’t have a sin nature, what do I need Christ for? If I’m not dead, what do I need life for? If I don’t have a sin nature and I don’t sin what I need forgiveness for? So if I claim to be without sin, I’m a deceived human being. I’m not saved, I’m deceived, I’m lost. And the truth about Christ Jesus and His redemptive work for me is not in me. I don’t know about it. On the other hand, if I agree with God concerning my sins which is evident that I do have a sin nature, He is faithful and He is just and the literal translation is to have forgiven my sins, that’s a past action, and have cleansed me of all unrighteousness, that’s a past action. There’s only one time that I was cleansed of all unrighteousness. I was never anything except unrighteous, and my friends, neither were you. I don’t care whether you are the most religious dude, walking around. You were never anything except unrighteous in the sight of God. There is none righteous. It says, no not one. So, in as much as all of us are unrighteous, I had to be cleansed of all of my unrighteousness in order to be indwelt by Him and His righteousness. Now, once I have been cleansed of my unrighteousness and indwelt with Him and His righteousness, whose righteousness do I stand in mine or His? I stand in His and that happened once and it happened for all. Once I was translated out of darkness into light, I never get back in darkness again. It’s impossible because I am in Christ and Christ is in me. And in Him, there is no darkness. So unless he’s going to get back in darkness, I can’t get back in darkness. So I am always in the light not because of being a neat guy, but because of Him being a neat God.

As we were discussing, the thing of it is, is when I understand that I am forgiven, I am a forgiven person. I’m a redeemed person. I’m a set apart person. That’s already occurred. God has already done all that for me. I couldn’t do any of those things on my own. He did every one of those for me. Now, the fact that I am forgiven is what frees me to agree with God concerning my sins. I don’t need to hide them from God anymore. Or necessarily from man, I shouldn’t, but because we don’t trust each other, we do. But the fact is you see the law doesn’t free you to keep confessing your sins. The law prohibits you from doing that because if I confess my sins I’m going to get zapped, and we’re so dumb that we even try to hide our sins from God. Is that unusual? No, Adam even tried to hide his sins from God. So you’re going to have them try to do that and so but the fact is that when I realized no, there is nothing that I can do to separate me from the love of God. That’s what frees a person to experience love and frees a person to openly communicate with one another.

On a human level, I’ve seen people who had such a relationship with each other, that they would confess things to each other that they did that. I sit back in amazement, say brother, I don’t know how they do that. I think, you know, I’d want to crush somebody, if they said that, or they’d want to crush me if I said that, but, their relationship is so strong and so understanding that there’s nothing that they cannot say among one another. So when we know that we have been freed from the law and we have been freed from that condemnation, it’s what frees us now to be openly confessing, agreeing with God concerning our sins concerning our behavior that is inconsistent. It doesn’t thwart it, it frees you to do it. And of course that’s the big objection that people have the grace of God. Oh well, you’re just going to go out and live a kind of life you want to. They don’t understand what love does. Love is what frees you to be able to be open and honest with God. Now, why can I do that? Well, because we’re sons of God.

In Galatians 4:4 through 5 it says, when the time had fully come, in other words just in time, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, so that we might receive full rights as what? Son’s. Now, in other words, Jesus Christ came born of a woman under the law. So when Jesus was here in his physical humanity, He was under the law. He fulfilled it, He walked in perfect love and fulfilled the law. Now He went to a cross to redeem all of us who were also under the law. Born under the law, we had to be bought out of that in other words freed from the law so that we could receive full rights as sons, not as slaves under the law, but as sons under the direction of the Holy Spirit of God.

Now there’s a phenomenal parable in the scriptures that we’re all familiar with called The Prodigal Son. And we all know that this son, along with his brother, had received their inheritance in advance. The one son asked that inheritance to be given to him in advance and his father complied. And he went out and he squandered all of that money on all kinds of evil living and prostitutes and found himself living with the pigs, totally broke, in other words. It said, in that state, he came to his senses. That’s the first step to salvation, come to your senses. But as a child of God, do you know that as a child of God, being a full child, I mean, you’re a child, and you’ve gotten your inheritance in advance? Our inheritance was in advance, we’ve already got it I’m not going to get it. We already got it. And just like that prodigal son, that has already been given everything that he needs for life and godliness. He takes that inheritance and takes it for granted. And uses that inheritance as a justification to go out and to live like the devil. Now, is he still a son? He’s a son out livin like the devil but he is still a son. He’s taken his inheritance for granted, kind of like Esau, selling his inheritance for a pot of soup. Do we have a tendency to take good things that we have for granted? Yes, we do. We’ll take our wives for granted, we’ll take our kids for granted, we’ll take our jobs for granted. We will take our relationship with the Lord for granted. We’ll take our friends for granted. We’re just ungrateful people.

When I find myself being miserable, it’s because I’m ungrateful. That’s the cause, I’m ungrateful. And I have to sit back and say, what do you have to be grumpy about? Like I said before, I’ve never been so amazed in my life is going to Hawaii, and seeing grumpy Hawaiians, as how could they be grumpy living in Hawaii? But believe me folks, they are really bad, some of them. My goodness we’re ungrateful. But just look around, you’re living in a paradise. What do you do when you got your eyes off of some things? You’ve forgotten, God says, we don’t have any rights or privileges that we have, but I ruin what I’ve got with a preoccupation with what I don’t have.

Thank you so much for tuning in to Classic Christianity, with Bob George. We hope you’ve enjoyed today’s program. We truly hope that today’s message has inspired you to walk a life of faith in the Lord, find more information online at shop.BobGeorge.net. There you’ll also find available CDs, DVDs, and bible studies available for purchase. It’s through your help that we are able to spread the good word of Jesus Christ. Until next time, walk in faith, be good to one another and praise the Lord. Amen.