Call-ins Radio Broadcast Thursday 06/10/2021

Call-In Classic Christianity Radio – Bob George P641 (06-10-21)

Synopsis

A very common question asked is, “What about 1 John 1:9?” People ask this because they are often taught that this passage is written to believers, telling believers to confess their sins to God when they sin. What they mean by that is that when you sin, to stay in fellowship with God, you keep short accounts of sins with God by asking God to forgive you when you sin. But is that true? Have you read all of 1 John to discern its context? And if that is true, what people teach about 1 John 1:9, then Jesus did not take away all our sins, and, if that is so, then He would have to come back again to shed His blood again, every time we sinned, because according to Hebrews 9:22 that is what He would have to do for sins to be forgiven? And that would also make Jesus out to be a liar who cried out at the cross, “It is finished” (John 19:30), which in Greek, is the word, Tetelestai, meaning “Paid in full”, which is really saying that God took away the sins of the entire world, all the way back to Adam and forward to eternity, by eternally paying the price of death for sin, once and for all, for sins that we committed and earned the penalty of death for sin (Romans 6:23).

So listen as Bob George goes into great detail explaining how this passage is a poor translation of Greek into English, what the proper meaning of the word “if” as used in this passage, and that this is written to non-believers, and specifically to the Gnostics in the midst of a pastor speaking to a congregation of both believers and non-believers. He points out the phrase, “the truth is not in you“ to emphasize how we know this is written to non-believers, and by reading 2 John 1-2, you see that the truth must be in you and, if so, lives in you forever if you are a believer, otherwise the truth is not in you. And from the context of the apostle John instructing a pastor, reemphasizing that this Jesus we have seen with our eyes, heard with our ears and touched him, and He is the word of life, we know he is talking to non-believers, the Gnostics in particular, in 1 John 1:9. He turns his attention to just believers later on, as in 1 John 2, addressing them as little children. But here, at this point, the pastor was reading the apostle John’s instructions to counter the Gnostic heresy, that Jesus is not God in the flesh, who believed that only spirit matters and that they are without sin.

So if a passage of scripture contradicts the clear message of the gospel as explained and made clear by numerous passages of scripture, then it means that you need to dig deeper to discern the intended meaning of such a passage. Yet, why is it that so many religious denominations will pull out one passage of its context and make an erroneous doctrine out of it? For a passage like 1 John 1:9, we must realize that the original manuscripts are all written in Greek for the New Testament and Hebrew for the Old Covenant, and with any translation, there is the possible loss of clarity in a translation, and sometimes the bias of the translator can be conveyed in the translation. So in this case, it would be wise to go to a person who knows Greek, because he is born in Greek, and to ask him the meaning of the Greek words. If you did so, you would find that the verse uses an aorist past tense, a past act done with a continual effect, and the verse would more properly be rendered like this.

1 John 1:9 (literal translation, amplified)
⁹“I do not know if you people will ever come to your senses or not, but if you do, this year or next year, but if you do, whenever it might be, confess your sins, agree with God concerning your sin. He is faithful and just, not to forgive, but to have forgiven our sins, and to have cleansed us of all unrighteousness.”

So, do not use 1 John 1:9 like a Christian bar of soap to cleanse you of sin, asking God to forgive you whenever you sin, because under the New Covenant we are under today, as explained in Hebrews, He says that He will remember our sins no more and where these have been forgiven there is no more sacrifice for sin.

Transcript

Marsha from Argentine, MI

Marsha: I spoke to a pastor yesterday. He had a broadcast saying that they were going to talk about you and what you teach. I was fine after speaking to you, setting me free in regard to 1 John 1:9. He brought that up. I debated with him in a nice way, but then I would not shut up. I kept going. He said, “Marsha, Marsha, Marsha”. He said that 1 John 1:9 was written to born again believers because he said that if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to cleanse us of all unrighteousness. Then, in the next verse, and in the next chapter, he said “My little children”. Now I am really confused.

1 John 1:8-10 (NASB)
⁸ If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.

1 John 2:1-2 (NASB)
¹ My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; ² and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Bob: First of all, a pastor should know better than that, Marsha. Anybody that knows anything about literature, that is called an editorial “we”. In other words, instead of putting an accusatory “you”, we put it as an editorial “we”. It is “we” throughout scripture. It is better to say, “Look, Marsha, if we, or I, or an angel, or we said something and we claimed to be this, then it means that we do not have the truth living in us.” That is a lot better than saying if you say that you do not have truth living in you. Any pastor should have known that. He certainly should have known that.

Bob: The issue is in chapter 2. That is a contradiction of terms unless you understand he is talking to a different audience now. The first audience he was using to correct the Gnostic heresy. The Gnostics taught that all matter was evil and only the spirit is good and Jesus’ body would have been matter so then he could not have been here. Therefore, he was an illusion. That is why it starts out with what we have seen with our eyes, heard with our ears, and touched that life who appeared. What did he say that for? He did not need to say that for you and me, but to those claiming that Jesus did not come in the flesh. Later on it says that anyone who claims Jesus did not come in the flesh is the antichrist and let him be accursed.

1 John 1:1-3
¹ What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life – ² and the life was revealed, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was revealed to us – ³ what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also

Marsha: I even asked the pastor if it is possible that the people he was speaking to may have been people who are not born again. He said, “Of course not.“

Bob: He is incorrect in his interpretation of scripture. It is easy to realize what it is. If I or you are claiming to be without sin, you are deceived and the truth is not in us. Who in the world does this pastor think he is and who does he think the truth is? If truth is not in you, then Christ is not in you. Christ is truth.

Marsha: He does agree with you except what you say about 1 John 1:9.

Bob: No, he does not agree with everything because in fact he could not agree with anything if he is still accepting that 1 John 1:9 is written to a believer. He is denying the cross is complete and Jesus did not mean what He said when He said “it is finished.” If there is more forgiveness to be executed on our behalf, which is what you are teaching when you are teaching your 1 John 1:9, then he is not agreeing with anything I am teaching.

Marsha: I am teaching it and doing the best I could with what I know from listening to you. I thank God I listen to you because if I didn’t I would be all mixed up.

Bob: Again Marsha, I give you an indicator. If a man claims to be without sin, then he is not in Christ Jesus. The truth is not in you.

Marsha: He was not claiming that. That is not what he was doing. He is saying that he disagreed with you on that teaching on 1 John 1:9. But in everything else he is agreeing with you on.

Bob: Let me go back to what I just said. 1 John 1:8-9 is about someone claiming to be without sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. It makes no difference if I, you or he or the apostle John claimed that. If he claimed that it would be an indicator that he does not have truth living in you. If you do not have truth in you, you do not have Christ living in you. Christ is truth. Are we together on that? How could that be a believer, claiming to be without sin? He just said that anyone claiming that, it is evidence of the fact you do not have truth living in you.

Marsha: Okay. I see.

Bob: Yes, how can that passage be to a believer when a believer is not going to be proclaiming to be without sin. That is one of the indicators that you are lost when you do not have truth living in you.

Bob: Let me show you the clicker to that. You go to 2 John:1.

2 John 1-2
¹ The elder, To the lady chosen by God and to her children, whom I love in the truth – and not I only, but also all who know the truth – ² because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever:

Bob: What does he tell us about the truth? If truth lives in you, the truth will be in you forever. Do not have to be a brain scientist to figure that out, do you?

Marsha: No.

Bob: Again, read it again. One thing we know about the truth, if the truth has come to live in us, it will be with us forever. You go back to 1 John 1:8 now.

1 John 1:8
⁸ If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

Bob: If the truth was ever in us, what does it say? It will be with you forever. So if the truth is not in us, it means it has never been in us. Again, I do not think you have to be real smart to figure that out, do you?

Marsha: No.

Bob: So it is not a passage to a believer, but to an unbeliever.

Marsha: That is what I said to him.

Bob: Think about the word “if”. I think sometimes there is an assumption out there. I am reading out of the bible. What do you think I am studying, the Quran? I think people get the idea that I am just like they are, just gloss over it. I am not. I have studied the scriptures. When I study a passage like this, I make a detailed study, not only of light and darkness, which is always lost and saved, but what it means to confess. I have checked with Greek professors because I do not want to teach wrong. If I am wrong in what I am teaching, I want somebody to point it out to me. I have not gone over this lightly. In and out of fellowship is never in the bible.

Marsha: He mentioned that the reason we confess our sins is to stay in fellowship with God.

Bob: Where do you find that in the bible?

Marsha: You are either in the ship or out of the ship.

Bob: Absolutely. You did good there, girl.

Marsha: I hope so.

Marsha: He listens to you, Bob. I want to let you know that.

Bob: Well, I hope he does. But I hope he comes to grips with these things. Tell him to do what I did. Find someone from Greece where you do not have to go to cemetary to learn what Greek is all about. Study the Greek language in regard to what that “if” is, when claiming to be without sin and if we confess, what it means. The passage is dealing with lost Gnostics. Later on it says that is of the antichrist, anyone claiming Jesus has not come in the flesh. Who is he talking about? These people who are claiming to be without sin? Why did they claim to be without sin? Because they are in the spirit and have this special knowledge that no one else has and flesh does not count for anything. They denied you have a sin nature. This claiming to be without sin really means to be without sin nature. It is not claiming to be without sinning but to be without a sin nature. Why? Because it does not make any difference. All of that is dealt with. If we are claiming to be without sin, then we make God out to be a liar, and the word of God, God’s ministry, has no place in our lives. How can that be written to anybody except a non-Christian. Then the whole issue changes in chapter 2.

Bob: Now, “to my dear children.” I am writing this to you in comparison to who I wrote to in the first chapter.

1 John 2:1-2 (NASB)
¹ My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; ² and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Bob: The literal translation of that is He is the one who turns away God’s wrath, taking away our sins, and not only ours, but the sins of the entire world.

Marsha: I also mentioned to him that when Christ died on a cross, He took away the sins of the world and put them on the back of God, never to be seen again. I guess he is just teaching the old way of teaching. Perhaps he is listening and learning something new.

Bob: Again, I am just saying one thing. If you believe that, then you deny the cross, and sometimes deny Jesus of the cross. There is no Jesus who went to a cross and died for some sins. He went to a cross to take away the sins of the entire world and He died once, died for all, and He is not coming back to bear sin because He already did so. If there is any further forgiveness to be executed on our behalf for God, then Jesus forgot one.

Marsha: What I do not understand is, if we sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. If I sin, then do I go to the Lord Jesus and ask, “Do you, God, forgive me?”

Bob: Of course not. Are you forgiven or not?

Marsha: I am forgiven.

Bob: That is what you walk in, is the fact that God took away your sins. If you go to God, saying, “Forgive me of my sins?” God replies, “What sin? I took that away 2000 years ago. I do not know what you are talking about.”

Marsha: So that verse is saying that if we sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, the righteous one. It has been taken care of.

Bob: But if anyone does sin. Don’t want to sin but if you do, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense. He is the one who did what? He turned aside God’s wrath, taking away our sins. Again, we try to bring God down to our level and get Him functioning on our level. We need to get our heads elevated to God. The reason we have this confusion is due to what we do. If we knew what He did, we would not need to be told all the time what not to do.

Marsha: That is very true. Thank you, Bob. Thank you very much. God bless you.

Bob: You are welcome, Marsha. You did a good job. I am proud of you.

Marsha: Thank you.

Luke from CA

Luke: I have a question about Kingdom Now theology, also called Dominion Theology. A friend of mine got caught up in it. They are teaching it in his college bible study. I was wondering if you can explain it to me?

Bob: Basically it is just teaching that the 1000 millennial reign is already in existence. That is utter nonsense! How do you not know how someone can call themselves a theologian and come to that conclusion? That makes no sense. We are certainly not in the millennial reign with Christ in charge! That is so contrary to everything Jesus stands for. It would be difficult if Jesus is reigning as king in his kingdom right now. There is nothing to it that makes an ounce of sense. It is a tragedy people get caught up in that type of thing. No. It is not true.

Luke: I do not know if he was teaching or whether the church he is going to is teaching that, but it would be cultish?

Bob: You do not call that cultish, but it is just a misapplication of scripture, very much so. I would continue interacting with him and talking to him and see if you can bring him to his senses.

Luke: Alright. I appreciate it. Thank you very much.

Bob: Okay, Luke. God bless you, pal.

Peter from Toronto, Ontario

Peter: I am an attorney and I do various amounts of preaching on the street level. People come in all the time. Invariably you have to go beyond the legal advice. They are really down and out in lies. I try to introduce them to Christ. I listen to your program at night, one right after another. I introduced him to Romans and Corinthians. Sometimes it is really hard to just get into it. I give him a real life example, the thief on the cross, when he just asked Christ to just remember him when He entered into His kingdom. I wonder if I am going about it the wrong way.

Luke 23:38-43
³⁸ There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews.
³⁹ One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
⁴⁰ But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
⁴² Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
⁴³ Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Peter: The thief on the cross, the way I tried to explain it. He just asked Christ to just remember him when He enters His kingdom. There he is, the thief has been crucified because of the law of the land, and his actions are wrong, and then looks at Christ as if he has done nothing wrong. Here is the thief now becoming made right in the spiritual element, the spiritual laws of Christ, simply just believing in Him. Just remember me. He did not ask for forgiveness, did not go to church. He did not do anything, but just remember him. Then the other thief on the other side, went along with the crowd again and mocked Christ. “If you are the Son of God, why don’t you take yourself down?” That kind of explanation. I will go into a little bit more. Am I on the wrong track with using the thief on the cross as inline with what Paul was saying?

Bob: Well, Peter, I do not think there is a right track or a wrong track, but I do think that what has happened is that you can short-circuit the meaning of salvation when you are talking just about remembering me. That can mean so many things to different people. That would never bring about a true born again experience. You have to explain what Christ came to do for you. You just do not put your faith in the name of Jesus but what did Jesus come to accomplish and what does it mean to you. His death on a cross certainly has to be mentioned or this is the gospel that saves, the death, burial and resurrection. That is what the apostle Paul did.

1 Corinthians 15:1-4
¹ Now I make known to you, brothers and sisters, the gospel which I preached to you, which you also received, in which you also stand, ² by which you also are saved, if you hold firmly to the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
³ For I handed down to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures

(And, of course, Paul went into great detail explaining the gospel, as in Romans and in Corinthians, to the people there and to whoever group of people whom He encountered, as the Lord led him to do. For a succinct summary of the gospel, read Be Born Free, an online slide presentation, guiding the reader through key scripture verses.)

Bob: On the other hand, the response of the thief, there is nothing wrong with that but amplify that with the salvation message. But with just sharing about the thief on a cross, I would not use that as a means of getting someone to be saved. I think you have to stick with why the death of Christ and what that meant to you that He took away your sins from the eyes of God, never to see them again. He not only died for your sins but the sins of the whole world. There is, therefore, no more forgiveness to be executed on your behalf but the wages of sin is death and that death has to be corrected by life and the only life available to us is the resurrected life of Christ Jesus. That is why when we come to Christ, we thank Him for His forgiveness and we ask Him to give us life that we do not have. We are not born with spiritual life. I think that message has to be explained to people, in my opinion, in detail. We have neglected that through the years. But that has to be done over and above. That is a supplement to that thief on a cross.

Peter: I explained that in my life, his forgiveness and He has given me life.

Bob: Otherwise you never get that concept that Christ is alive living in you. Peter, there are literally thousands of people who claim to be Christians who have no clue that Jesus lives in you. In the minds of many, He is still on the cross. How can Jesus be living in me if He is still on a cross. They have no concept of what the resurrection meant and especially what it meant to me. We said “I am a sinner” and I am glad He forgave me, but that is not salvation. There is a consequence to sin called death and the only solution to that consequence is the resurrected life of Christ. Until we come to grips with that, we do not have a gospel really.

Peter: It is a horrible thing. I see that. In my office, I do have a bible on my desk. Many times I spend an hour or two explaining the gospel as I learned through your radio program and through my own experience of what the Spirit has given me. I do a lot of divorces. Here in Canada, it is troubling. It seems as though Canada, and the United States, is moving toward a Sodom and Gomorrah type of government.

Bob: Yes. Exactly. It is that literal aspect where we have forgotten that man is sinful. If man is sinful, then nations need laws. If man is basically okay, then any law will do. But if man is sinful, then you better have law to curtail that sin nature or your nation is going to end up the way we are ending up and the way Canada is ending up.

Peter: Yes. It is what man has put together, man can put asunder. It is really the opposite of what God puts together. I am struggling with how to deal with clients who come and who want a divorce. I remember a fellow on the show and you just told him, “If you want a divorce, read the papers and I will sign them.” That is where some people are in the Christian walk. The marriage certificate is where man in this country is what man is putting together. I wonder now whether a marriage certificate is really something required where two people come together under God. God blesses it. Rather, skip the whole certificate. If you guys get married through your fear of God and exchange vows and if you want a divorce, go to God to talk about it. Most likely God will not give a response anyway.

1 Timothy 2:1-4
¹ I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people – ² for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. ³ This is good, and pleases God our Savior, ⁴ who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

Bob: Peter, I appreciate the fact you are there and using your profession to reach out to people with the good news of the gospel. I appreciate your call and your encouragement to us in doing so. Keep in touch, my brother. Keep in touch and keep listening and we hope to be able to meet you one of these days.

Peter: Thank you. I am going to amplify the idea and make sure it comes across.

Bob: Yes. Use it as a supplement, not a substitute for.

Peter: Thank you.

Bob: Okay, my brother. Good to talk to you, Peter. Bye. Bye now.

Bill from San Anna, CA

Bill: I have been studying a commentary through one of Calvary Chapel, through one of the well known teachers. I got stuck in Acts where he talks about the Holy Spirit in regard to the Holy Spirit in you and the Holy Spirit upon you. I never heard that before. When you got Him, you got Him.

Bob: The Holy Spirit prior to the day of Pentecost came upon people for divine service, such as David and with Saul. But it would also depart. On the day of Pentecost was the day because Jesus had now cleared out the cause of spiritual death at the cross, Bill.

(In the Old Testament, the Spirit can leave a person because of sin because Jesus had not yet gone to the cross.)

1 Samuel 16:4
⁴ Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him.

(This is David’s prayer after committing adultery with Bathsheba, murdering her husband, Uriah the Hittite, and then being confronted by the prophet Nathan concerning his sin. Under a New Covenant, we would not pray such prayers, but they did back then.)

Psalm 51:10-11 )
¹⁰ Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. ¹¹ Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.

(Under a New Covenant, this is the promise from God.)

Hebrews 13:5
⁵ Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

2 John 1-2
¹ To the lady chosen by God and to her children, whom I love in the truth – and not I only, but also all who know the truth – ² because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever

Bill: Yes.

Bob: The cross is where He took away the cause of spiritual death. Now He can offer spiritual life that is eternal. That is why I have eternal life is because of the eternal consequence of the cross.

Bill: Oh.

Bob: Where He took away eternally the cause of spiritual death. Now I can give you life that cannot be lost.

Bill: Ah, okay. As I am reading this, you have to have three things.

Bob: No. You are secured. When you are born again, the Holy Spirit of God is the deposit guaranteeing the inheritance that you have.

Ephesians 1:13-14
¹³ And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴ who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession – to the praise of his glory.

John 10:27-29
²⁷ My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.

Bill: Okay. Thank you, Bob.

Bob: You are as solid as a rock.

(Laughter together.)

Bill: Bless you.

Bob: Same to you, Bill. I hope that helps, pal.

Bill: It did.

Bob: Okay. Bye.

John from Pittsburg, PA

John: I listen to you every day. The lady that just called in about 1 John 1:9. I was just thinking about that all day. I do not want to be judgmental of anything or anybody because I am not one to judge. I think a lot of people are worried about that scripture because they are sinning. If we are new creatures in Christ we supposedly refrain from those things that would cause us to sin.

Bob: We are never going to stop sinning, John.

Ecclesiastes 7:20
²⁰ Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins.

John: I know. That is what I was thinking about all morning, Bob. In Ecclesiastes 7:20, here Solomon said there is not a just man on earth that doeth good and sinneth not. I understand that. What I was saying is that I think that people are worried about that because maybe they are sinning willfully.

Bob: Well, I do not think so, John. I have been dealing with this problem for over 25 years or more. I do not think that is it at all. People have grabbed a hold of a Christian bar of soap. That is what 1 John 1:8-9 is laughingly called. That is how you keep yourself clean. If I can keep myself clean, what do I need Jesus for. He should have stayed at home if I could make myself clean. You do not go to Jesus to confess your sins to get forgiveness. Jesus could have stayed at home and you could have done that and kept yourself clean. Christ had to do something far greater than our little confessions, far greater than going to the day of atonement, far greater than going to a confessional booth and far greater than keeping short accounts with God. He had to take away our sins. Our problem is, John, we will not rest in the truth. We will not rest in the fact that He has taken them away. Whether I am sinning is not the issue. The issue is the fact I am not trusting Him in what He did in the midst of my sinning. None of us will ever stop sinning until we die in one form or another. If we ever worried, worry is sin.

John: If any man does sin, we have an Advocate.

1 John 2:1-2 (NASB)
¹ My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; ² and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Bob: Absolutely.