Call-In Classic Christianity Radio – Bob George P585 (11-05-20)
Synopsis
As people grow in Christ, you will have questions. Someone might ask, “I thought you would stop sinning once you are saved. Am I not saved then, since I am still sinning?” I think if you thought that, you will find out very quickly that that cannot be true, that you stop sinning. You will begin to sin less, but none of us will ever walk in complete faith in God, and that is the essence of sin. Anything that does not come from faith is sin.
So it goes back to understanding what Jesus accomplished at the cross, when he shed his blood once and for all, and about our fallen nature we inherited in Adam, and coming alive in Christ Jesus. When Jesus died on the cross, he took away forever our sins, and the sins of the entire world, from the eyes of God. He took the full weight of death required for all sin. That is why when we are in Christ, there is no longer any condemnation for sin. If you are not in Christ, that means you remain dead in your sins because you failed to come to Christ to receive life. Jesus reconciled you to God by taking away what kept you from coming to God to receive life, your sins, which caused your death. Now, if you sin again, and we all will, there is no more sacrifice for sin. It is finished. It is over.
So, why do we still sin? God never took away sin-indwelling flesh. We received the Holy Spirit of God into our being, and are now freely given a choice, a privilege, to participate in the divine nature. He never took away our free will, but He took away the consequence of sin, which is death and He gave us eternal life as a gift. Oh, the marvelous grace of God! That is being made complete, having His life living in us.
We have the Holy Spirit there to renew our minds, so we can walk in the new way of the Spirit. We are made into a new creation, with new desires for the one who loves us perfectly. So our focus is no longer about not doing this sin, or making sure we obey this or that law. Now our focus is on the Spirit, a relationship with the living God, who loves and accepts me unconditionally.
I am a child of God. That means I sometimes stumble and fall. Who is there to help me learn to walk in the new life He has given me? The Spirit of Jesus living in me. How does He do that? By speaking to us and allowing us to respond in faith, in complete trust in the one who loved me and gave Himself for me. It is learning about all that has been freely given me.
See, it is our faith that pleases God. We trust what He says. When He says that I am a forgiven person, then I do not ask for something I already have, the redemption and forgiveness of sins. That would not be walking in faith. And when He says He has given me everything I need for life and godliness, then I access what He has given me, Himself, living in me, the mind of Christ to internally lead me in that new way of the Spirit, full of grace and truth.
Transcript
Mark from Torrence, CA
Mark: I have a problem with trusting God while I am still sinning. I am listening to your program today and that’s kind of how it works. I am still to trust God while I am still a sinner. I am still a sinner sinning. Acknowledging to Christ that I am sinning and that I, just as you said, those days that I repent, and I go strong, and here comes the enemy and mind full of pollution. Then you dust yourself off and get yourself back up.
Bob: Mark, let me take you through some thinking processes here.
Mark: Thank you.
Bob: According to scripture, that which is not of faith is sin.
Romans 14:23
23 everything that does not come from faith is sin.
Bob: Do you know many people, or do you know anybody that knew anybody who walked on the face of this earth, as a born again person, who trusted Jesus with every detail of his life every minute of the day?
Mark: No.
Bob: And I do not either. There has never been anyone.
Bob: If you want to pray that you will never sin again, then pray for death. For that is the only time it will happen, as long as Jesus left us with a body containing indwelling sin. Why did He do that? He could have just taken all of this out of our bodies, couldn’t he? Yes. You see, Adam was not created by God with indwelling sin living in him. He sinned without indwelling sin living in him. Because Satan is there to be sure that we do that.
Bob: Jesus, the only man ever born alive spiritually, lived a sinless life. He is the only person born alive spiritually and the only person who lived a sinless life. We start looking at sin as one of the nasty nine and the dirty dozen instead of looking at the root of sin, which is unbelief in Jesus. That is not only belief in Him in regard to salvation but even after we are saved. We still have to learn how to trust in Him. That is the way we are going to be until we die. The issue is, if I am going to walk by faith, then first of all, I am a born again believer. When I do sin, through unbelief, not trusting Jesus, that maybe manifests itself in numerous different ways, then I have to get back to the root of that, and say, “Thank you for the fact that you took that sin away over 2000 years ago, at the cross, from the eyes of God, never to see it again. I am no longer under condemnation because I am no longer under sin and death.”
Romans 8:1-2
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.
“I thank you for that Lord. I thank you for the fact that when you look down on me, you do not see me in my sins. You see me as a new creature in Christ, clothed in the righteousness of your Son. Thank God I am not clothed in my clothes but clothed in His clothes.” With that we learn to walk in a truth relationship with God.
John 4:24
24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.
Romans 6:4
4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
Bob: When we read the scriptures, we say that is my desire to do so, to walk in the newness of life, to be honest. To cut out the coarse jesting and the different things He says. Quit depending on those things rather than on Christ Jesus. You are not getting to get it apart from getting in the word of God.
2 Timothy 2:15
15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
Bob: That is where you are going to learn what God wants you to do as far as a child of God. As far as the sin issue, it is settled. There is nothing else to settle in regard to your sins. He took care of that 2000 years ago at the cross and he took it away from the eyes of God never to see it again. You have to walk by faith in that.
Mark: I absolutely agree with you. What do I do, Bob, with the guilt I walk around with?
Bob: Who is putting guilt in your heart? There is no condemnation from God, so who is putting it in your mind?
Bob: If you are talking about being guilty because you ran out on your wife, what did God do with that sin? The issue is, your wife is not going to appreciate this. You are guilty as far as marriage is concerned but as far as God is concerned, He took that sin away, never to see it again. If you are guilty because you are doing something that is inconsistent with who you are as a child of God and hurting those you love, then that is real guilt for them but not for God. To a degree, settle the issue that God has taken away your sin, never to see it again. That is your relationship with God.
Bob: Now as a result of that, I should be walking in the newness of life in regard to relationships with wife or family or whoever, against the one I sinned against.
Mark: It is God I sinned against.
Bob: How can you sin against God when He has taken away your sins?
Mark: It is my relationship with Him.
Bob: You do not have a relationship with God in the way you are talking. You cannot have a relationship with God unless you are walking by faith. You are not walking by faith but walking by feelings.
Mark: Very true.
Bob: So again, you do not have a relationship. If you had a true relationship then you would be walking by faith in the one you have a relationship with. Can you have a true relationship with your wife if you do not trust her?
Mark: No.
Bob: Of course not. And you cannot have a true relationship with God unless you realize that you trust Him and He trusts you. Mark, you have to get rid of this feeling stuff you are going through and realize you do not live by feelings. You live by faith. You got to settle the issue that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Your sins have been taken away from the eyes of God never to see them again. He already dealt with your sins, and He will never deal with them again. Unless you want to put him back on a tree, nail his hands, put a crown of thorns on his head, and let him sit there again. That is what he would have to do. You would not want him to do that again, would you?
Mark: No.
Bob: Then walk by faith in what He did?
Mark: So is that the key to it?
Bob: That is the key to it. That is where it has to start.
Mark: I get so caught up in my own feelings and my own guilt trip and emotion that I lose sight of what you just explained to me, that He took my sins, paid them in full, He dealt with them and I am a child in Christ. Yes, the faith walk is probably one of the hardest obstacles I am going through right now in my life.
Bob: It is because you are making it an issue. That is because of your fault. Not His. That is because you are preoccupied with you instead of being preoccupied with Him.
Mark: That means that is what I need to understand. Preoccupied with my own ambitions in what I want to do.
Bob: Do you think there is anything you can do to please God but by walking by faith in His Son? People say, “I built a big church. I got a radio program.” God is saying, “Big deal. I gave my life to you.” There is nothing impressing God but what His Son did. He is not impressed at all in the things we are impressed with. Walk by faith in what His Son accomplished for you, then you will find yourself miraculously not doing some of the things you are doing that you are probably so over-concerned with.
Mark: Yes.
Bob: If you are growing grass, are you going to be preoccupied with pulling weeds?
Mark: No.
Bob: Then grow grass.
Mark: I got you. I really understand that. Thank you so much. God bless.
Chad from New Orleans, LA
Chad: I don ’ t even know if there is a cut and dry answer. In my everyday living many things are happening to me, because of my choosing or someone else’s choice. How do I determine God’s will in my life versus these natural consequences?
Bob: God’s will in your life is different than natural consequences. It is God’s will that you be saved, which you are. It is God’s will that you give thanks in all things for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus.
2 Peter 3:9
9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Bob: So it is God’s will that you have a thankful spirit. You cannot be thankful when you think you are doing something and causing God to respond. You can only be thankful when you realize God has initiated everything that belongs to men. And I thank Him by faith. And you walk in life. There are natural consequences to things that has nothing to do with God’s will.
Genesis 2:15-17
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
Bob: God says to you the same thing as He said in the garden of Eden. There are all kinds of trees in the garden of Eden, and you can eat any one of them except the one in the middle. We make choices, some good, some bad, some have consequences and some don’t. If something that we do seems to produce a consequence that is not of God, we have to realize He will cause it to work out together for good, so thank Him and move on. We cannot sit around preoccupied with those things. Just get up and enjoy life.
Chad: I understand that. I was thinking about it. One question leads to another question, and before long you are in circles and not sure where you are at. I will do that then. Thank you.
Bob: Okay brother.
Tommy from McDae, TX
Tommy: My wife just became a Christian seven months ago in Vietnam. They are small. There are not many churches in Vietnam, and you have to be careful with Communists over there. You cannot say what you want to say. She received Christ as Savior and right way they ran over to her house with a middle aged couple and told her she has to get baptized. There are a lot of good preachers. I respect men like Charles Stanley. He is a great preacher. He teaches that according to the Great Commission, Jesus says go and baptize in the name of the Father, in the name of the Son and in the name of the Holy Spirit. He called out twelve men, but Paul was not there. And Paul said that he was not sent to baptize. There is one Lord, one faith and one Baptism. I happen to go to a Baptist church also. I do call myself a Baptist but there is good teaching there. My pastor teaches that the Great Commission was written to us and that we should be water baptized. I disagree with that because scripture does not teach that. And if he did teach that then why did Paul say God did not send him to baptize? He only baptized Crispus, Gaius and someone else. “I do not know if I baptized anyone else.” Jesus was very explicit. There was a command to baptize. John said to be baptized for remission of sins. Then Paul comes along not to baptize. The Great Commission cannot be written to us. I like the pastor at the Vietnamese church. He is an older man. I believe he is a Christian.
Bob: Tommy, let me interrupt you a minute. Think about this for a moment. John the Baptist said he baptized with water but one after me will baptize with the Holy Spirit.
Luke 3:16
16 John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Bob: Jesus reiterated that saying the same thing.
Acts 11:16
16 Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’
Bob: If Jesus said John’s baptism is of water and His is a baptism of the Spirit and Jesus is the one who gave the Great Commission to all people to make disciples and baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, then why would we think He meant water baptism when Jesus said John baptized with water but I baptize with the Holy Spirit. So that baptism Jesus was talking about was not dunking people in water. He was talking about identifying people with the Triune God, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. So he is talking about spiritual baptism not water baptism.
Tommy: Right. Do you know what I did? I do not know if it is irreverent, but I squid water on her head. When he comes over, I will say, “I baptized her.”
Bob: I do not think we should make fun of baptism. It is an outward expression of an inward reality. There is nothing wrong with baptizing people but telling them they have to be baptized is not telling them truth. It is not going to kill that person one way or another. If a person is truly born again, they know that being dunked in water is not going to make them born again, for they are already born again.
Bob: Many times we are making a mountain out of a molehill with those kinds of things. The issue is, what we have to stick with is this. The most important words a person will ever say before he knows they are dying or before ascending into heaven would be some of the most important words he would ever communicate. In his final minutes, Jesus said.
Matthew 28:19-20
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Bob: He did not say just the dynamics to go. The dynamics is to make disciples. “I have been given all authority on heaven and earth. Therefore, go make disciples.” Make followers of Christ Jesus, identifying them with the Triune God. That does not mean dunking them in water when Jesus is the one Himself who said, “John baptized with water but I baptize with the Holy Spirit.” It is crazy how we equate those two rather than paying attention to what Jesus said and putting our own spin on what that means/
1 Timothy 1:16
16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.
Tommy: Paul speaks of the fact that Jesus is the pattern for salvation. I am going to follow what Paul says about Jesus Christ.
Romans 2:16
16 This will take place on the day when God judges people’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.
Tommy: Paul tells us that we are going to be judged according to the gospel that was given to Paul by Jesus Christ. I visited one of these so-called Spirit-filled churches, where they raise hands and mutter. I do not want to say the name, because you do not want to say denominations. They were talking about the early origins of the Pentecostal movement. I did research on this in 1981, in Amarillo, TX and went to a library and found an old book called The Origin of the Pentecostal Movement. It turns out that a man named Charles Fox Parham in 1901, in Topeka, Kansas, started this movement. This guy was caught in the act of sodomizing a ten year old boy. This guy started this movement and then it is called the holiness movement. Every one of these churches. I have been in these churches and they do not talk about salvation, but healings and a lot of emotional baloney. About three-fourths through the meeting, it was sickening. All it was talking about was healing.
Bob: I think we are understanding where we are coming on this thing. If we stick with the scriptures and realize the whole bible was written. I have great difficulty with people who just think Paul’s writings are the only ones in scripture.
Tommy: I agree.
Bob: The issue is gospel. Paul said he was given to be the administer of the New Covenant to show people how to administrate that, but revelation was given to the disciples and the prophets.
Ephesians 3:4-6
4 In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. 6 This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.
Romans 15:15-16
15 Yet I have written you quite boldly on some points to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
Tommy: I read the whole bible. The whole bible is for us. When I read the Old Testament, I realize it is the Jewish male. It was written to the twelve tribes scattered abroad. I am not a Jew. I am a Gentile. Paul says to follow me three times. Paul says my gospel three times. He says to be followers of me.
1 Corinthians 11:1
1 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
Romans 16:25-26
25 Now to him who is able to establish you in accordance with my gospel, the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ, in keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, 26 but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from faith
Bob: Tommy, come on. You are a nice guy. And you called. But I want to tell you something. To be real honest with you, and I do not know if you mean it or not, but the sound of your voice is very much of a pride problem. Please do not tell me that when Paul says it is “my gospel” that means he is saying it is his gospel. It is not his gospel. It is Christ’s gospel. We have to go on with that, but I appreciate your call on that.
Ron from Phoenix, AZ
Ron: I have been listening to you for twenty years. This is the first time I called you.
Bob: Thanks for your call. Sorry it took you so long to call, but I am so glad you called.
Ron: As a born again believer, as someone who has the Spirit of Christ living in me, when thoughts come into my mind, I cannot assume they are all from Him, can I?
Bob: No.
Ron: How do I distinguish mine versus His versus demonic thoughts, even?
Bob: I think it is very easy, Ron. You have the word of God and you know the word of God and the counsel of God living inside of you is going to identify whether you are thinking in the flesh or whether you are thinking in the Spirit. You know that as well as anybody.
John 8:32
32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Bob: You find a lot of people and they will kid themselves. I have had a lot of people who have done that. A person says, “I am counseling this person because I love them so much” but what they really want to do is get a relationship with someone. They know that but they still do it. So you have to be very careful and be honest with yourself. When you know the truth, you know when God is putting truth in your mind, and who is putting that there. When you have thoughts, those lustful thoughts, you know full well who the is doing that, the enemy of your soul is trying to throw you off.
Ron: Alright. Okay.
Ron: In situations where I have a family member or loved one who is ill, maybe the thoughts come into my mind saying something like, “Ron, you have nothing to worry about. This person will be okay. Or this person will be healed.” Those are the thoughts that I so badly want to hear. But Jesus does not tell us specifics of the future does He? He just tells us to trust him, right?
Bob: I will look at those types of things as what God is trying to lead you to do, and Satan is trying to pull you off, which is to get you to believe a lie. The truth is that decision of whether a person is going to be healed or not is in the hands of God. You have to leave it there, Ron. “Lord, you know what my will is. My will is for this person to be healed and restored. But it is not my will, but yours be done. I do not want my prayers answered. I want your will in my life to be done. So I am leaving that in your hands and trusting you with it.” That is what truth is.
Ron: So when thoughts come into my mind saying, “Trust me, Ron, I am working out all things for your good to conform you to My image.”, then I should I assume those are coming from the Spirit of God?
Bob: Absolutely. It is truth, isn’t it?
Romans 8:28
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Philippians 2:13
13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
Bob: So when those thoughts come in they are just confirming those truths to you.
Ron: Okay. Can I ask another question?
Bob: Sure.
Ron: As far as thoughts, I heard another pastor or preacher say that when the Spirit talks to me, He is not carrying on a conversation. “Hey, Ron.”, then His thoughts would be coming in as my thoughts. Is that true? Or, is that unknown?
Bob: Ron, we have our thoughts and we have his thoughts. We have the privilege of participating in the divine nature that lives in us. We have the privilege of participating in God’s very nature.
2 Peter 1:3-4
3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
Bob: So God is there with His truth. The Holy Spirit is truth. He is going to lead you into all truth.
John 16:13
13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.
Bob: That is why it is so important for you to know what the word of God is, because if you do not know the word of God, you will not know truth, and you will be struggling all the time in regard to who is talking to me. But if I know the word of God, then I am not wondering.
Romans 8:28
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Ephesians 6:17
17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
1 Thessalonians 2:13
13 And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.
Bob: Who is speaking to me? I do not have to wonder. I know who is speaking to me. That is why it is vitally important we know what the word of God says. The reason you have so many people confused is by keeping people away from the word of God and instead have them depend on feelings and experiences, which do not necessarily coordinate with the word of God. A person will be a double-minded man, unstable in all ways, who lives for feelings instead of living by faith in truth that is revealed to us by Christ Jesus.
James 1:6-8
6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.
Bob: Continue to know what truth is, Ron. Again, walk in it.
3 John 1:3-4
3 It gave me great joy when some believers came and testified about your faithfulness to the truth, telling how you continue to walk in it. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
2 John 1:6
6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.
Bob: I think you are working at it too hard, personally. It sounds to me that you are working at it too hard. Relax. God does not want us grunting and groaning this life out. He wants us to relax. If there is a thought that is not of Him, He will point that out to you in due time. When He does, acknowledge it and get your mind where it belongs, on Him.
John 15:5
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing
Ron: Yes, I think I have been working on it too hard instead of relaxing and abiding in Him.
Bob: Take a vacation in Jesus.
Ron: Thank you very much, Bob. I really appreciate it like I do always.
Bob: You are welcome, Ron. Call again. Do not wait so long. Do not wait another twenty years. I may not be here.
Ron: It was not as tough as I thought. I may just call again.
