Call-In Classic Christianity Radio – Bob George P697 (01-06-22)
What is the True Gospel?
Many topics of conversation came up in today’s program. These topics of conversation are extremely relevant for today. There are so many pastors that have huge church followings for prosperity gospel teachings. This is not the gospel! And that is where we begin today.
The first caller, Ken called from Frisco Texas. He had a question about searching for a church in their area. Also, he noticed that a lot of the pastors taught the prosperity gospel. In addition to that he wanted to know Bob’s opinion on the husband and wife team being lead pastors at a church.
Bob explains out of the Book of 1 Timothy chapter 6 in regards to these false teachers that preach a prosperity gospel is of a corrupt mind.
1 Timothy 6:3-5
3 If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, 4 they are conceited and understand nothing. They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions 5 and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.
So anyone that teaches about godliness being a means to financial gain is teaching a prosperity gospel. These people are conceited and they understand nothing. They are people that have been robbed of Truth.
Bob clarifies the fact that he had been called into the pastoral role not his wife. A wife is to be a help mate, and it is not the role of a woman to be a pastor. Furthermore, Bob also clarifies that he doesn’t even like to be called a pastor. That is not his identity. He is a child of God who happens to be a pastor. If he was no longer a pastor, then he would be in a position to lose his identity (not that he would as a child of God). But many times pastors have their identity as pastors instead of being a child of God.
Stay away from the prosperity gospel teachers.
Furthermore, if you want to go to visit any church assembly, there is no membership required in the True body of Christ. If a church requires membership to be there, that is not someplace you want to stay. Church membership is a type of control factor over people.
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The second caller was Andrea from Brighton Michigan. She had a call in regards to death bed conversions and wanted to know if there was any validity to this occurring and if there was anything in scripture regarding that.
Bob mentions to her that it doesn’t matter when a person becomes born again. Then the hypothetical question comes into play, and we want to know if someone at the last moment of life can become born again. The answer is still the same. We are given an opportunity to chose life (His life) and we don’t know who makes a decision and who doesn’t in the very last moments of their life. If a person accepts Jesus Christ, they go to heaven. If a person refuses to accept Jesus then they go to hell. A person doesn’t go to hell because they are a bad person, a person goes to hell because they refuse to accept Jesus as the way, the truth and the life. They refuse to place faith in Him as God in the flesh. They refuse to place faith in Him for His total provision on the cross and for His resurrected Life.
John 14:6
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
It’s between God and the person themselves. God is not going to force a person to be saved. A person chooses to go where they want to go.
Then Andrea asked another hypothetical question what happens to a person if a person never heard the gospel to begin with?
Bob mentions that he doesn’t believe anyone is like that, for if someone really wants to know God, God would put that message out to them. For there are people that earnestly seek him and God will revel Himself to them. But if there were a person like that, that was ignorant of the gospel, then we have to trust in God to make a just decision for that type of person.
Hebrews 11:6
6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
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Another caller, Lenny called from Warren Michigan. He mentioned that he had attended the Classic Christianity Conferences that Bob had. He had a question in regards to a verse of scripture that always bugged him and he has had trouble explaining it to others. Some tend to use the statement, “if you continue in your faith” as saying, “see, you can lose your salvation.” Though Lenny does not believe that to be the case, he needed to understand it better and was hoping Bob could explain it to him.
Colossians 1:21-23
21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
Bob points out that so many times we see a word “if” in scripture and want to think like it is a conditional if. The if here isn’t a conditional if, but in-as-much-as, in light of the fact that you are in the faith. For as you continue in your faith, you are established and firm. They are free of accusation and not moved. They are being commended for this!
Take a look at in the Greek, where the word “if” is cleared up to be what the meaning is in the context of the verse.
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John from Manhattan Beach California called with a question about when we are to receive our resurrected, glorified bodies. He wanted to know if it happens when we die and we are absent from the body and present with the Lord. Or does it happen at the Bema Seat (Judgment Seat) of Christ?
Bob mentions that has been a debated issue. But we sure could all use one as soon as possible. What Bob believes is that when we physically die our current bodies go back to the dust. For flesh and blood can not inherit the Kingdom of God. We will get a glorified body when we die physically.
The rapture verse shows that the saints are already with God and come with God. The question would have been to Paul, what about our loved ones that have already died in Christ Jesus? What happens to anyone that dies before Jesus comes back again? And Paul answers this saying that the dead in Christ rise first (statement of fact). Then those of us that remain till the time of the the Lord descending from heaven are caught up with the saints that have proceeded us and we are joined together at that moment in time with them in the clouds.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
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Gary called from Hemet California. He wanted Bob to clarify Luke 16:8-12 for him.
Luke 16:8-12
8 “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. 9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. 10 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?
These types of parables are told by Jesus in order to get a person to think what am I doing with the things that God has given me. What do I do with the information God has provided to me? Do I squander it, or do I put it to use with others? Jesus tells us that no one can serve two masters. You can not serve both God and money.
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Another caller, Glen called from Oceanside California. He had a question in regards to Seventh Day Adventist and worshiping on the seventh day.
Bob points out that we are not to allow anyone to judge us. These people are living in a shadow of things. They need to get into the word of God themselves and see what is being said.
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.
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Order Born Free today.
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