Call-In Classic Christianity Radio – Bob George P619 (03-25-21)
Synopsis
All of us have a past, and we did things we are not proud of, some more than others, as far as the types of sins we did, that are particularly sensitive. Take the example of the apostle Paul, for example. He formerly persecuted Christians prior to his conversion, dragging mothers and fathers apart, putting them in prison, being quite a violent man. You also have men like Nikki Cruz of the true story documented, in The Cross and the Switchblade, with such a horrible past in gang-related crimes as a New York city gang leader, yet he responded to the gospel message and became a changed man. In both cases, they both now share their testimony, not in great detail, but enough for people to know he is not who he used to be. That could be true if you were a former lesbian or a child molester with prison time. That is what you used to be or do, but God got a hold of your heart and you are changed.
In regard to Saul of Tarsus, now identified as the apostle Paul, the people just said that the man is now preaching what he once tried to destroy, and praised God because of Him. So, it is best to explain something of your past, if you, in your heart know that you are not that same person any more, and therefore, prevent any sort of situation where you are thought to be hiding something and having to defend yourself. It would be good to let people know your new heart, for you were once feared and not trusted.
There are a lot of questions that come up, such as “What about a child who died? Does he go to heaven?” The answer to that is there is not a whole lot of scripture on that. There is no scripture that talks about an age of accountability. What we do know is this, that we do not have to make that decision. That baby has gone into the hands of a perfectly loving and perfectly just God and I think we can trust Him to make the right decision on that. We do know from scripture, that when David sinned with Bathsheba, and the child they had died, David knew that he would go to be with him one day. That is really the only scripture that I know of that makes mention of a child that died who is going to be with the Lord. Certainly, knowing God to be perfectly loving, He can be trusted to make the right decision on that.
One person asked a question about how to honor a parent who is contrary to the gospel. At some point a parent may not agree or understand you, and if they are adamant against what you are saying, there is not a whole lot you can do. You have shared what you could and they do not want to hear it. You simply move on, as far as the gospel is concerned, and share with someone who wants to listen and is more responsive. Certainly you can continue visiting or calling your parents to the degree they are willing and desire to still see you, but the talk of Jesus may be limited or none at all. You cannot force anything on anyone. They have to see their spiritual need for life and want it. Essentially, as far as it depends on you, make peace with everyone, but that does not mean everyone wants to make peace with you.
Another person asked about how to deal with a critical spirit, or “What is a critical spirit?” Certainly we can be critical of error, so that truth can be received, and truth is what sets people free. The apostle Paul certainly confronted error, as to the Galatian church, and even asked, “Who bewitched you? Are you now trying to make yourself acceptable to God by observing the law? Were you not made righteous by what you heard and believed?” They were mixing law and grace, so he told them the truth, a loving thing to do. But a critical spirit would be something like saying, ““I know what good food to eat and you must do it my way”. There is pride with a critical spirit, a condescending and know-it-all attitude, of trying to coerce or force people to do it your way, on disputable matters that are not based on truth versus error.
Questions that come up quite frequently are about the tithe, if tithing is for today, or questions related to the New Covenant we live under today in contrast to the Old Covenant. Hebrews is an excellent book of the bible that addresses this quite thoroughly. As far as tithing, reading scripture in its context, such as Malachi, and reading 2 Corinthians, where Paul talks about the form of giving today under a New Covenant, provides understanding. In essence, today we give cheerfully, generously, not under compulsion, in accordance with what we have, not what we don’t have, as we are led internally by the Holy Spirit who lives in us. We are not led by the letter of the law that tells you to tithe ten percent. Tithe was Old Covenant where ten percent was food stuff to a Levitical priest so he could do the work of animal sacrifices. There are no more sacrifices today. Jesus’ sacrifice on a cross was once and for all. Jesus is our new priest, and the Levitical priesthood is no longer in existence any more, the New Covenant replaced the Old one, with better promises, and as Gentiles, we were never under that law to begin with.
And as we are all growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, we restrict our liberty in Christ out of love for a weaker brother, as in the example in Romans 14 of a person who faith only only him to eat vegetables, or who takes offense as someone eating meat sacrificed to idols, for he sees that as a sin from prior association in the lost world before coming to Christ. We act in love so as to not cause a brother to stumble or be weakened in faith because of what he sees you do, even though you know that God approves. He has not acquired the same knowledge you have, or vice versa in other cases, but both of you are honoring God by what you choose to do or not do, in accordance with your present knowledge, for both of you are giving thanks to the Lord. Until such a time when proper instruction from the word of God, and through revelation by the Spirit of God living in you, we are sensitive in such matters for their sakes. Let no one look down on you because you observe a certain religious day and your brother does not, or vice versa, for God knows in your heart what you are doing in praise to Him. Who are we to judge our brother in such disputable matters?
Then a person asks for further understanding of the function of man in a body, a soul and a spirit as God created us. Both animals and humans have a body and a soul, with a mind, a will and emotions, but a human has a spirit that can communicate with the living God. Man’s spirit enables us to plan, to seek God, to plan our days, to believe things animals do not believe. So his human spirit is alive to the world, and has some notion of being empty with a longing to be filled, and so humans are incurably religious. But without the Spirit of God living in him, he just cannot draw upon the wisdom of God.
In essence, the first man Adam was created with the Spirit of God living in him. But due to his sin, the Holy Spirit vacated him. So he became dead to who vacated him, that being the Spirit of God. He is still very much alive to this world. Just as sin entered the world through one man, so all have sinned and are born without the Spirit of God living in them, being born in the image not of God, but as fallen Adam. That is often referred to as being born spiritually dead. He has a human spirit that God can still communicate to, but the Spirit is not living in Him, so He is dead to the things of God, for they sound foolish to him. But there is a time in a person’s life where he can be born again, believing the message of the gospel, the meaning of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. So he accepts the life called eternal life that God offers him. At that point, he is born again, having the Holy Spirit placed in him, but with the difference that, due to the eternal consequences of the cross, the Holy Spirit will never leave due to sin. But now he can discern spiritual things, for he has God living in Him leading and instructing him and guiding him into all truth.
Transcript
Roger from Oakland, CA
Roger: Thank you for your show. I came to Christ late in life. Listening to your show helped me a lot.
Roger: I am wondering about an age of accountability. As far as I know, Jesus started ministering in the temple when he was twelve. I heard it discussed, but no one has ever given me a number or a biblical reference to pin that down.
Bob: Well, Roger, that is because there isn’t any. There is no such thing as an age of accountability in scripture. It is because other people do not believe what God says. God says there is no other name under heaven by which you might be saved.
Acts 4:12
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.
Bob: For anyone who is so young that they never had a chance to hear, then what do you do with them? So what you do with those types of things is if there is any other way of salvation then that is going to have to go into the hands of God, into the decision of a perfectly loving and perfectly just God. If I have a God, and you and I do, who is perfectly loving and perfectly just, then I can put that baby into his hands and trust God to make the decision that He makes on that.
Bob: It would be the same decision for somebody in a remote place who has never heard. I have no ideas. The issue is there is no other name under heaven by which you must be saved. If that is the case, then you put those people into the hands of a perfectly loving and perfectly just God and let Him make that decision.
Bob: Our role is to tell people who are hearing about the good news of the gospel. So, because we do not want to trust God with that, we come up with baby baptism and baby christening. We are sprinkling and dunking that and everything else under the sun because we think that will secure their salvation but that has nothing to do with salvation or anything. It is not biblical. What is biblical is to trust God with all your heart, mind and soul. That is what you do with those kinds of questions.
Roger: Trust the Lord with all your heart, mind and soul. So whether twelve years or whatever age you still have to come to Christ with all your heart, mind and soul.
Bob: Absolutely. Again, a baby who is three months or six months or a year old, and then dies, where is that baby going to go? In the hands of God. That baby has gone into the hands of a perfectly loving and perfectly just God and I think we can trust Him to make the right decision on that.
Roger: Thank you.
Bob: Does that help you?
Roger: Yes it does. Hopefully my girls are listening on the radio. One is going to turn twelve in a couple of weeks from now. That twelve year cut off does not sound right to me.
Bob: It isn’t. It should have never been there.
Roger: They always tie to Jesus at twelve years old in the temple. Thank you, brother. We are praying for you. Financially, we will try to get you back on track.
Bob: Thank you, my friend. Bye bye now.
Mary from Atlanta, GA
Mary: I have a critical spirit. I want to know if there is anything that I could read to help me to control this thing. Can you give me any advice on that?
Bob: Well, I am an authority on a critical spirit. You called the right guy.
(Laughter, as he was engaging Mary to put her at ease, and his way of being friendly.)
Bob: There is a difference between discerning right and wrong. The knowledge of scripture is what enables you to know what is good and bad and what is truth and error. Outside of that we are on our own. If we did not have a plumbline of the word of God in our lives, how would we ever know for sure what is right and what is wrong, for it is so easy to rationalize. Today, the reason we know what is right and wrong is by whether it is in line with what the bible says is right and wrong. Outside of that we are on our own.
Hebrews 5:14
14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
Bob: Now about being critical. You can have people who are critical of everything that someone does. It comes from the idea that I really know what is best. I am really smarter than most people. Therefore, I am in a position to criticize everybody. What I believe. It is like people you hear, like the voice of Barbara Streishand, who starts talking about the president. What does she know about the president? She has knowledge like a peacock as to what is going on in the world today, yet they can express their opinions. That is the best you can do, but what is your opinion based upon? That is the whole issue. What is the basis of your opinion, because most of us have opinions on everything. So you can be critical on those kinds of things. There is really not a right or a wrong. I am critical about the way you eat. That is saying, “Look, I know the best way to eat and you are not doing it my way”. That is a critical spirit. The only solution to that is to recognize there is a degree of pride in the thinking that you know how to do things better than anyone else and, therefore, you become critical of it.
Bob: I do not consider it critical, for Paul and all those who wrote the scriptures. They were critical of error. So when you are dealing with error, as it relates to truth in the bible, that is not a critical spirit to me. That is just identifying error and replacing it with truth.
Mary: Alright. Now I see the difference. Okay.
Bob: Okay?
Mary: Okay. Thank you very much.
Bob: You are welcome. Thanks for calling. Bye. Bye now.
Bob: You came to the right guy.
(Laughter again)
Brian from San Diego, CA
Brian: I had a question about two callers ago. A gentleman was talking about tithing to you. You were saying that in order to declare that giving one tenth of your first fruit to God, do you declare that as you are following the Old Testament law and it no longer exists for us?
Bob: Tithing is not mentioned in the New Testament. What is mentioned, almost two chapters in Corinthians, is free will giving, to excel in the grace of giving, to give joyfully, to give generously, to give without compulsion, to give in accordance with what you do have, not in accordance with what you do not have.
2 Corinthians 9:7
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.
Bob: Tithing in the Old Testament was for the purpose of supporting the Levitical priesthood. It was not giving money but food stuff. So they gave and counted down to the very blade to make sure it was right on the ten percent. In the Old Testament, tithing was more like 30 percent. So tithing is the Old Testament. It has nothing to do at all with the New Testament form of giving. What we have done is to drag that over when we have a building program, this type of thing, instead of teaching people to give joyfully and to give as the Lord leads.
Bob: We think we have to put them under the law of ten percent tithing giving. That is the law. We are not under the law.
Hebrews 7:12
12 For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed also.
Bob: Unless the Levite is your priest, and then if the Levite is your priest, then you ought to be tithing to him. But if Jesus is your priest, then you give freely and joyfully.
Brian: That is a really good point. Thanks a lot.
Bob: Alright, Brian. Good talking to you. Bye. Bye now.
Tim from Peachtree, GA
Tim: I listened to what you are saying about the Old and the New Testament. People do go back to figure out and try to bring people back from Judaic to Christian dispensation. I wanted to hear you mention about musical instruments a bit. Instrumental music is Old Testament and not in the New Testament. What is your thinking on that?
Bob: It certainly was not canceled in the New Testament. When I stop to think about it, why would people be contrary or be in any way objectionable to a beautiful musical instrument expressing a thought to God in music? I do not understand why anyone would ever get into that to begin with. You say it is not used in the New Testament, how do you know that? I do not think that was banned, and all of a sudden the shofar was not played any more or the harp was not played any more. Thou shall not play the harp. I do not remember hearing that. That is an assumption that was not used in the New Testament by somebody but it is a pure assumption because I guarantee instruments were used in the New Testament.
Ephesians 5:18-20
18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Bob: Again, when I look at that type of thing, Tim, is this. In Colossians, we read to not let anyone judge you by those kinds of things. A person feels that he does not want, as an example, musical instruments in their assembly. That is fine, but do not look down on people who do use musical instruments. If you do use musical instruments, do not look down on those who do not. If you do not have musical instruments and you are singing as to the Lord, then rejoice in that. If you do use musical instruments, you are also singing to the Lord. Apply those principles in Colossians in talking about being judgmental on those things.
Colossians 2:16-23
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. 18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. 19 They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.20 Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: 21 “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? 22 These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. 23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.
Tim: Okay.
Bob: Okay, brother?
Tim: I am still not getting it because you say tithing is not in the New Testament and that is right. But musical instruments, as in Revelation 12:18 says…
Bob: Was there anything placed in the New Testament where it says only sing acapella is acceptable now. The New Testament, the way God wants us to live, is spelled out in almost two chapters. The thing is there is nothing in the New Testament that says do not use musical instruments. That, to me, is such a minor point. I think someone is nutty to get involved in that kind of thing, to be honest with you. I think that is a nit-picking kind of deal. I know the Church of Christ is involved in that. They also get into baptismal regeneration. They also get into the law. On those kinds of things, it is not even worth debating.
Romans 14:1-3
1 Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. 2 One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them.
Bob: It is a disputable matter that does not even need to be discussed. If you do not want to use them, do not use them. If you want to go to a place that does not have them, then go to a place and rejoice in the fact that they do not have them. But do not look down on those who do use them and vice versa.
Tim: Okay. Thanks for your opinion.
Bob: It is not an opinion. It is truth. There is nothing in the New Testament for chastising those who use instruments. It is not an opinion. It is truth. Okay, Tim. Bye.
Shannon from Madonna, GA
Shannon: I really want to understand the difference between man’s body, soul and spirit, and the function and purpose of those things. In studying myself, the body I understand God formed that. He breathed into Adam the breath of life. Is that breath of life, is that man’s spirit? And the union of the two. It says man became a living soul. I have been taught the soul is man’s mind, will and emotions. But if man died spiritually when Adam fell, how did God commune with man in the Old Testament to lead the fathers until Jesus came to have a new birth where we receive His Spirit? I do not understand spiritual death. If we died spiritual, how did God lead man prior to them receiving His Spirit?
Romans 5:12
12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man [Adam], and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned
Bob: Shannon, that is a good question you are asking. Death is the absence of life. When Adam died, the life of God departed from his human spirit. Now the human spirit is different from the soul. The human spirit is the human spirit. That is the spiritual part of man. The soul is the soul part of man. The body is the body part of man. A dog has a soul. A dog has a soul, with a mind, a body and a will. Our human spirit is what differentiates us from the animal kingdom, so when Adam died, the life of God departed from Adam leaving his human spirit dead to God. That is who departed from him but Adam was very much alive to the world. The human spirit did not die. What died was the fact that God left him, leaving him dead to God but alive to the world. So that is what spiritual death is. It is like asking what is darkness? It is the absence of life, isn’;t it?
Shannon: Yes.
Bob: The world is in darkness. The sun comes up and dispels the darkness. It comes down and we are back in our natural state. So what is darkness? The absence of light. What is death? The absence of life. The life of God departed from Adam. Does that mean that God cannot communicate with man’s human spirit? No. It just means God is not living in it.
Bob: There is still the means of communicating. In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit came upon the Old Testament people for divine service. You hear that with David and Saul. David prayed, “Please do not take the Holy Spirit from me”. We would not pray that today because the Spirit has come to permanently indwell us because of the cross. God is still able to communicate with the spirit of man.
Bob: As a matter of fact, on that Shannon, we have to think of all people as being incurably religious. You can go into the most dense population, places like New Guinea, places where people live like animals practically yet they are seeking God. That is the human spirit crying out for what vacated it. So you and I are born in Adam. We are not born in the image of God. Adam was created in the image of God. We were born in the image of Adam, dead spiritually.
Genesis 5:1-3
When God created mankind, he made them in the likeness of God. 2 He created them male and female and blessed them. And he named them “Mankind”[adam] when they were created.3 When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth.
So when we were born into this world, what it means to be dead spiritually is that God does not live in us. He can communicate with us, but He does not live in us until the time you accept by faith the life of Jesus, the resurrected life of Jesus and His cross and you accept that by faith and you are born again, indwelt now by God and made alive spiritually, as God created you, as Adam, to be.
Shannon: I have always been taught about eternal security and always believed it until I was with some people who questioned it. You can see people who debate over an issue like that. It can get confusing at times, if you only have doctrine to fall back on but not true knowledge and understanding yourself. I recall sitting at my desk, saying “Lord, I do not care if everything I was taught is wrong. I just want to know what truth is. At that point He showed me sin is in and of the flesh. Our flesh never goes to heaven until the rapture.
Bob: Our flesh never goes to heaven.
1 Corinthians 15:50
50 I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
Shannon: I was talking like the resurrected body, like until it was glorified.
Bob: The body will not be glorified and protected. It will be made brand new. I will not have one ounce content of what we have right now. This body is going back to the dust, back to worm food.
Shannon: Okay.
Bob: We came from dust and are going back to dust. Our glorified body will be a creation by God. It will not be anything given to us by mom and dad.
Shannon: Okay. Thank you very much.
Bob: Does that help now?
Shannon: I think so.
Bob: The issue is that when we fell and man decided that we do not need God to determine right from wrong and good from evil and God said, “Fine. You are on your own”. He departed from Adam and we are born in Adam as he became. We are born in Adam dead. When we come alive, we are a new creation.
2 Corinthians 5:17
17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
Bob: Who created him anew? God did. That is new birth.
Shannon: One quick question. What is the purpose? What is the function of man’s spirit?
Bob: Man’s spirit separates us from the animal kingdom. Man’;s spirit enables us to plan, to seek God, to plan our days, to believe things animals do not believe. It separates us from the animal kingdom. An animal has a body and a soul like you and I but it does not have a spirit.
Shannon: Does the soul not have a portion of it that thinks?
Bob: Absolutely. The soul is what thinks, but it is man’s spirit that enables him to differentiate himself from the animal kingdom. The dog thinks as well, but is debatable. But we are a different creature altogether. When we are without the Spirit of God, we have no ability to draw upon the true wisdom of God. The minute you are born again, you have the ability to participate in the divine nature that lives within us. That is the ability to participate in the wisdom and knowledge of God. That is what separates you from the world. The world does not understand God. It is foolish to him.
1 Corinthians 2:14
14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.
Shannon: Okay. Thank you.
Bob: You are sure welcome. Thanks for your call.
Shannon: Okay.
Bob: Okay. Bye. Bye now.
Rene from Pittsburg, PA
Rene: I was wondering how I can show honor to a parent that is abusive. I recently shared the gospel with my dad, who is not saved, but he goes to church. He has not talked to me in a few months since then. How do I respond to him as a believer despite our relationship that is not ideal?
Romans 12:18
18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
Bob: Well, Renee, I think it is like any relationship. God wants us to be reconciled to all people but He says as far as you are concerned to be reconciled but it does not mean all people will want to be reconciled to you. It was certainly God’s will to reconcile the world unto Himself but the whole world did not want to be reconciled to Jesus.
2 Corinthians 5:19-21
19 God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 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: We have no way to control those things. Our role is to be willing to be reconciled to all people and be willing to love people but that does not mean they will love you back. If they do not, that is their decision. If they do not, then you move on with your life. You trust God to work something out to bring them to the point of reconciliation to you then he will do so. But we leave that into His hands, not yours. You and I cannot force reconciliation to people. All we can do is make it known of our desire to be reconciled and to forgive one another as Jesus forgave us.
Colossians 3:13
13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Bob: Again, I just emphasize that does not mean that all people will want to be reconciled to you. So you leave that into the hands of God. You have done what He has asked you to do. So wait for Him to work in their hearts until they do what He wants them to do.
Rene: Thank you.
Bob: Does that help?
Rene: That really helps. Thank you.
Bob: You are sure welcome.
Rene: Thank you so much.
Bob: Okay. Bye. Bye.
Dale from Austin, TX
Dale: Yes, I wanted to ask a question that I have been reluctant to ask for many years. So maybe now is the day. Over 13 years ago, I pleaded guilty to indecency with a child. It was prior to my walk with Christ. About a year later, I came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. I served my 10 years of probation clean without any incident. I did all my counseling that I was required to do, plus some. I have been off probation for three years and still doing my counseling. My pastor knows and is fully aware from about six months after I got saved. I have been preaching the gospel since 1997, going into churches, preaching. Most of the pastors I go to are aware of my past. Although my pastor says it is something you need to tell people, especially if you are not dealing with their children. If you are pastoring and speaking to adults, it is not necessary. I was calling to expand my ministry a little more in the area of pastorship. I was wondering how to do that. Do I pastor with the full knowledge of everyone knowing of my past or do I just allow that to be out there? I am obviously on a website. I am registered.
Bob: Again, Dale, I think like the apostle Paul, the apostle Paul never hesitated to give his testimony that he persecuted Christians. He watched people taking the cloak of those who stoned Stephen to death (Acts 7:58).
1 Timothy 1:12-14
12 I [Paul] thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. 13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
Most of us have a past. We certainly do not have to go into the intricate details of our past. None of us want to hide our past. Yours is a particular situation, for you are dealing with people who have children. And they certainly do not want them molested. If I was in your shoes, I think I would make that an open book to all people. Let them know, just like you did with me now, that this is something you did. I do not understand why you did that, but again the answer to that is you were lost. When you are lost, you did things and today you look back on it and say, “I don’t even know who that was doing it”. I think I would be open about it because of the sensitivity of it. If you did not let it be known, and any accusations came along, then you will be sitting there trying to defend yourself.
Dale: You will be looking like you are trying to hide something.
Bob: Exactly. I would do it like you did it on the radio. I was touched by that. You are open with it. If you know in your own heart that that type of thing is totally out of your life, then I would not be afraid to mention it and just talk about how Jesus prevailed in your life. I think that is the direction I would go.
1 Timothy 3:1-3
1 Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task. 2 Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.
Dale: Okay. God bless you. Thank you for your time.
Bob: Okay, Dale. Bye. Bye.
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