Radio Broadcast Wednesday 07/27/2022

Classic Christianity – A Closer Look at Your Identity in Christ P60 (07-27-22)

In Christ Jesus, We Have Eternal Life

Eternal life begins the very moment a person places faith in Jesus, and He sends His Spirit to come live in them forever. Now we do have this body of flesh that we are temporarily housed in, but some day we will be absent from this body of flesh we live in and be present with the Lord Jesus Christ with a brand new body. Bob explains this and other things in greater detail. Understanding our justification in Him is so important today, because without having a proper perspective on Life, we will continue to try and do what Christ Jesus has already done. Let us go on to maturity and learn what it means to live by faith moment by moment in our lives today.

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

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

Bob George
Now, let’s start with our study. And what I’m going to do, folks is because we’ve varied from the lesson plan over these last couple of weeks, which is not unusual for me, but I’m gonna go back and see if we can just kind of pull this whole chapter nine together. So beginning in page 58 in our studies, let’s go ahead after that introduction and just take a look at what the Scriptures are saying in Romans 5:18. Consequently, just as the result of one trespass, now that was Adam folks, was condemnation for all men, what is condemnation? Death. What is the wage is a sin? Death. Was condemnation for all men. So how many people were born into this world dead? All of us. So the result of one act of righteousness, now who was that? that was Jesus Christ, was justification that brings life for all men. All men are born dead. The act of righteousness will bring justification for all men, all men who what? come to Him by faith believing I’m not going to accept life if I think I’m already alive. Don’t need it. No. It’s like, you know, that book is somebody wrote, why do bad things happen to good people? Well, because I’ve never been a good person. To Jesus. Did he say that? Don’t call me God, unless you’re going to call me good. If you’re not going to call me good. No, call me God. Only God is good. Now Jesus said that. So and we’re walking around saying, I’m such a good person, when why bad things happen to me? I said, I’m surprised worse things aren’t happening. Because there aren’t any good people. Oh, you can find some people who are more moral into behavior than others. But what is that to God? Filthy rags. Folks, that’s an insult to us. Because we think that’s wonderful. We work for those kinds of things. But God says it’s filthy rags. All of your acts are is filthy rags. All your righteousness is filthy rags. We don’t have any. Self righteousness that is sickening and detestable into the sight of God. Because what it is, is a slap in the face of the only one who is righteous, and that’s Christ Jesus. So that one act of righteousness on the part of Christ Jesus is what brought justification and will bring justification any man boy and girl on the face of this earth who will come to Him by faith.

Now, Titus 3:7 tells us so that having been justified by His grace, now that that has occurred, we might become heirs, having the hope, of eternal life. Now, when it says the hope of eternal life, it didn’t sit in there, as your fingers crossed, saying, I hope, I hope, I hope it’s that it’s, it’s that a hope. It’s the anticipation, that great anticipation of my eternal life that I have today, being spelled out in all of its glory, at the very moment that I’m absent from the body and present with the Lord. That’s why we have a hope in death that takes the sting of death away, is because I will be complete, on the day that I die in this body, on the day that this body goes into the grave, I will be promoted into the very arms of the Lord Jesus Christ, absent from the body, immediately present with the Lord, not in some holding pattern like somebody’s teacher, immediately present with the Lord, spiritual being. And Bob, I will, at that moment, see my eternal life in all of its fullness. Right now we see it it says everything is kind of like in a dimly lit room or looking through a faded glass. But there I will see Him face to face. And the work will be completed that he said that, Bob, I’m going to complete the work I began in you. And it’s my job to complete that work that I began in you. And at that moment, it will be completed. Yes. Now that’s a great hope to look forward to. So death for us is not something to sit down and mourn over. It’s not something to say ooh, gee, gotta hate for that to occur. Man when we understand what’s at the other side of that, that we just go to sleep and Jesus and wake up in his arms, it takes the sting out of death and realize that this down here is totally temporary. We got to figure that out by now this is temporary stuff down here. And we’re going to step into something called eternal life. Is there any doubt of that? No, when you’re in Christ, you’re in Christ forever. What does that mean? You have been given life. Now, folks, think about it for just a moment. When you were given the life of Christ, if you’re born again, that’s what born again, is not coming to Jesus, just to get your sins forgiven. That’s not salvation, you’re only halfway there. Good, good start. But that is not salvation. You’re recognizing that Jesus died for your sins, but He did something else. He was raised again, what did it say? for our justification that we were raised to life, for our justification, He was raised to life for our justification. So we, we minimize the gospel. So what I’m talking about, folks, if you’ve been born again, that means life has come to enter in you, whose life? His life living in you your only hope of glory. So that means you’ve seen the full deal. I’ve accepted by faith, his death for me, and I’ve received his life in me. In other words, I believed it, I’ve accepted it, I want it, I realized my death. And I realized his offer of life and I say, Brother, I want your life. And and it’s an act of our will. It’s it’s, it’s a time when we come to Spirit enables us to understand something. And we come to that understanding, and we want it it’s like a gift, Bob, you could be handing me things for with you till your arms are falling off something and just sit here and never accepted. I don’t want it. But when I accept it, what have I done? Well, I’ve received it right. Is there any work connected to that? No, I didn’t they work, just receive it, just receiving it. Now, folks, when when that occurs in our life, and we are truly born again, of the Spirit, the only thing that could ever cause that Spirit to depart from you, which is the only way you could ever be dead again, would be sin. Sins would cause death. And where are your sins? Well there on the cross? Have they been taken away? Yes. For how long forever? ever gonna see him again? No. Is God ever got to deal with them again? He says, I’ve dealt with him once. That’s it. So there’s nothing that can cause that life to depart from you. So what kind of life do you have? Eternal life. How come I know I have eternal life? Because the cross was finished. Now you see, Bob, when we keep messing around with this forgiveness of the cross, how could you ever rest in assurance of that if I’m still getting myself forgiven? Because I might forget something. It’s only when I come to realize it’s finished, that I will enjoy my justification by faith.

We’re going to pick up in Galatians 2:16. It says know that a man is not justified by observing the law. Now the law that you’re talking about there is the 10 commandments. It was also included the ceremonial laws that were given to the Hebrews, but were never given to the Gentiles. Now it’s saying, no one’s going to be justified by that. Now, if you’re not going to be justified by obeying God’s laws, why would we think that we’re being justified by obeying man’s laws? Now the problem of it is when we are spiritually illiterate, and we do not know what’s in the Bible, man can come and say, here are the laws of God, when it doesn’t have anything to do with God at all. There’s no laws like that even in the scriptures. But we make up our own and man doesn’t know the difference. It’s kind of like the famous verse, God helps them we will help themselves. Right… And we take that as gospel. Well, it didn’t in the Bible. So and I know that’s gonna shock to people listening to that. I remember we’re saying that the first one time their eyes got as big as saucers, you may as well have said an atom bomb just went off.

Now, no man is justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So in other words, justification is by faith in Jesus Christ, period, folks, period. I repeat again, you are never going to be justified in the sight of God. You can be justified in the sight of man, you see, if I tell you that Bob, the way you’re justified in the sight of God is by being a Georgian, or a Catholic, or a Baptist or Presbyterian doesn’t make any difference. What that what those names are. That’s how you’re justified and you believe that, are you going to be justified in the sight of God? Well, no, because God didn’t say that. I said that and you believed it. And you say Bob, where’d you get your information? All right out of this Bible. Well, which one do you, which Bible do you read? Well, I read the one in Swahili. Well, I can’t read Swahili. I know. That’s why I’m telling you what it says. And if I just keep keep you thinking that I understand Swahili, and you can’t understand Swahili, and therefore, you don’t have a clue what this book means, you’re gonna have to take my word for it. Now, that’s why I’ve said, ever since we’ve been on the air, folks, do not listen to me. And don’t believe what I’m telling you because I’m telling you, I could be lying out my teeth to you. Just because I’m right on radio does not make me honorable. And just because somebody’s on television, believe me, does it make it honorable. I’ll guarantee that. And just because I’m standing in a pulpit, whether I got a robe on and look holy, or whether I’m in a suit can look ridiculous. It doesn’t make any difference, what I have on, or whether I’ve got gold robes and hats, and all kinds of stuff on. All that kind of stuff might make you look holy, but you’re not holy by what you put on. You’re only been made set apart by God through spiritual birth. And you don’t join any manmade organization to be born again. That’s like saying, I’m gonna join the hospital and have a baby. No, you’re not. Ridiculous. It is. And it’s no more ridiculous and sound, gotta join a church and be born again. You’re you’re not going that is not true. You can be born again, in a church, you know, some if they’re preaching the gospel, but join the church doesn’t make anything except a member of a church, a local body of people. Right. So folks, I’m saying this, but again, don’t take my word for it. Buy a Bible, if you don’t have one, and go look it up. And read it yourself and let God convince you of this truth.

Now it says that, no man will be justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ, we too, have put our faith in Jesus Christ, it says this is Galatians 2:16. So that we may be justified by faith in Christ, and not by observing the law. Because by observing the law, no one will be justified. I don’t know how more clear it could be stated.

Now turn to Galatians 5:4 just a couple chapters back, you who are trying to be justified by law, in other words, by observing the law, have been alienated from Christ, you have fallen away from grace. Now, what does that mean? It means it means this, that the grace of God has been offered to you. And you hear about grace, it’s talked about the word is talked about a lot. And we have acts of grace. And you talk about elements of grace and all of that type of thing. Grace is thrown out all over the place. Now, folks, let me tell you what the grace of God is. The grace of God is the love and mercy of God that looked down upon you, in your total inability to observe the law, to be holy in and of yourself, to ever make yourself righteous, to ever make yourself acceptable in the side of God, to ever make yourself worthy of being loved by God. I could go on and on and on, folks, it’s hard for a corpse to make himself acceptable. Have you ever noticed that? And we are dead and God looked down upon us in His mercy and love and kindness and saw his creation in the pitiful state that we became as a result of that one act of disobedience by Adam, all of us born out of the loins of Adam, as he became we are born dead spiritually. And his love and mercy and grace said I’m gonna go and provide salvation for those people.

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Bob George
And that is why God, the Son, God, the Son, the second person of the Trinity, came to this earth, clothed himself in our humanity, walked on this earth showing us what total righteousness was. He walked in love and love is the fulfillment of the law, he fulfilled it in its entirety, went to a cross to pay the debt for those who could not. Paying a debt that he did not owe for us who owed a debt that we could not pay, was raised from the dead for our justification. And then sent the Holy Spirit to every person on the face of this earth, man and woman, boy of girl of every nation and creed and color, saying, Come Alive, I came, That You Might Have Life, come alive, come alive, come alive. And we have the choice to either come alive, or to remain dead. When we choose to remain dead, the wrath of God does not come upon you, it remains upon you, you’re already dead, and you don’t get deader. You just refuse life. That’s the stupidity of it. And that’s why there’s going to be gnashing of teeth someday, when people realize that all I had to do for salvation was to accept the offer of the gift of life. And I like an idiot was down here trying to make myself acceptable in the sight of God through my obedience and my hypocrisy, when all I had to do is to reach out by faith. But you see, there’s something inside of the core of man that says, I want to earn I want to earn I want to earn I, I want God to think I’m somebody, somebody. We’re not satisfied just being one of the kids I want to be the spatial kids want to be one of God’s favorites. And so we work and work and work, to make ourselves a favorite of God, instead of just accepting the truth that was given to us in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Now, no one will be justified, then, folks, I’m going to read it again, we too, have put our faith in Jesus Christ, that we may be justified by faith in Christ, and not by observing the law, because by observing the law, no one will be justified, you who are trying to be justified by the law had been alienated from Christ, and you fallen away from grace. So instead of accepting the grace of God, I fall away from the grace of God and either remain, trying to find my acceptance in my own efforts. Or I’ve fallen away from the grace of God by never even accepting the grace of God to begin with, I say, I’ll accept Grace over here, I’ll accept a little grace over here, but I’m not going to accept the fullness of it. He says, You can’t have a little grace, no way to have a little grace, you either take it all, or you take none of it, because I didn’t dish it out in segments. It’s not like a bowl of ice cream that you have a spoonful at a time. It’s the whole deal or none. And so by falling away from grace doesn’t mean you’ve lost your salvation. It either means you’ve never had that you’ve heard about it and just fall back away from it, which which, in other words, you had enlightened to soul, but an unregenerate spirit. Or in some cases, there are people who have come to Christ by the grace of God, and then allow themselves to get back under the law. And when you are under the law, what are you falling away from? The grace of God. That was called Galatian ism. And in the in the book of Galatians, you foolish, idiotic Galatians, Paul said, suttle as a meat cleaver, who has hypnotized and cast an evil spell upon you said, you used to know the meaning of Christ’s death, as clearly as though I’d wave to placecard in front of you. And he said, Have you gotten mad? And he said, I want to ask you a question. Did you receive the Spirit of God by believing what you heard or by your works? And if starting with by faith, believe in what you heard, why are you now trying to perfect yourself by human effort? In other words, Paul is saying, You’re falling away from the grace that you now stand in, see. And Bob, many Christians are in that boat where I’ve accepted His death and His resurrection for me by faith, but now I gotta go work under the law to try to keep my acceptance. What kind of love is that, folks? What kind of a love is it, to get married to somebody and say, I’m married enough to love you enough to marry you. But now we’re married. Now you got to earn it. That is not our God, folks. You cannot earn his love. He cannot love you more, and he will not love you less.

It’s time for therefore. And when you come to the fifth chapter of Romans, you see it starting off with there for whomever you see there for why you ask what’s it there for? And this is what it’s there for. In other words, by what Paul has been stating to us in the Book of Romans in regard to justification by faith, righteousness cannot be earned. It has to be received. It’s a gift of God. That credits us His righteousness. It’s credited to us it’s something that is added to our ledger that we had nothing to do with except receiving it. It’s a part of the life of Christ. When I have him, I have his righteousness, when I have him that I possess his holiness I’ve been set apart. When I have him, I possess his justification, all of those things are a part of being wrapped up in his life, under what’s called the New Covenant that we live in today. It’s it wraps all of those things, and envelops all of these things. And if you’re in the New Covenant, you have all of them, it isn’t something to argue about these little issues. They’re not little issues, but these individual issues. You just have it all.

Now, therefore it says, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. And my friends, you’re never going to experience the peace of God until you experience peace with God. And one of the things that people are constantly looking for in life is peace, to be able to have peace, and where do we look for it? Well look for it in the world. And you see the United Nations and you see Israel over there trying to have peace treaties with, with their with their neighbors, enemy neighbors, incidentally, they’ll never be peace in Israel until the Prince of Peace returns, until every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord only then, when the Prince of Peace returns, will we have peace in this world. How can you have peace in the world, when you don’t have peace in your country? And how do you have peace in your country if you don’t have peace in your city? And how are you going to have peace in your city if you don’t have peace in your home? And how you’re going to have peace in your home if you don’t have peace in your own heart? And that’s where the Lord Jesus Christ is totally irrelevant to international peace. And so the same solution that is the solution to my problem is the solution to the world’s problem. But just as individuals will not accept that justification by faith. And as long as we are in retaliation and rebellion to God in regard to being born again, not joining a Christian religion, being born again, born of the Spirit, as long as we reject that, then we’re going to be walking around two thirds whole, devoid of the Spirit of God that makes you human. And so into a situation where you’re not a true man, because a true man from God’s vantage point as man was created was a man alive, bodily soullessly and spiritually, so when you’re born into this world, dead spiritually, you’re not a true man from God’s vantage point. So you really can’t call yourself a true man. You’re not an animal. So you can’t behave like an animal. You’re not a true man. So you can’t behave like a man. So you behave like an idiot. And that’s what the world is in behaving like an idiot. And wondering what’s wrong? What’s wrong is something is missing. And what’s missing is Christ’s life living in you. That’s what’s missing.

Now, when we accept that by faith, quit working for it and accept it, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, why shouldn’t you have peace? You don’t have to work for it anymore. It’s been given to you. It’s a gift. He’s given you new life. And so it says, we have peace with the Lord Jesus Christ through whom we have gained access. Look at this, Bob, by faith, what? into this grace in which we now stand. Folks, when you get an idea of standing, you get an idea of a fortress, I’m just standing there, Borgia, Darren, somebody budge me. You and I stand in the grace of God. We don’t sit in it, we stand in it, we’re standing in it. It means it’s ours. Now stand in it. This is who you are. Don’t let anyone sway you Don’t be swayed back and forth. As the Scripture says, by every wave of doctrine. Stand in that truth. I have entered into the grace of God by faith, I’m justified by faith. I’m a new creature in Christ. That’s my new identity. I’m a child of God. And no one will ever get me off that again.

Now, Romans 8:31 and 34 says, well, What then shall we say in response to this have all of this has been done for you? Well, here’s Paul’s response, if God’s for us, who can pick against us? He did not spear His own Son, but gave him up for us all. Listen, how will he not also along with him graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? Well, the answer to that is man will, man will bring all kinds of charges against those people that God has chosen. They’ll just go out and slander the daylights out of you if they can, print articles about you do all kinds of things if they want to. But will God? Is it God it says who justifies? Is it he that condemns? Jesus Christ who died more than that, who was raised for life is that the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. So folks in this world in which we live, which is temporary, are you going to have people bringing charges against you? Yes. Is God bringing charges against you? No. Is he bringing charges against those who are bringing charges against you? No, no, all of those things have been put behind the back of God never to see it again. That’s why it tells us man quit judging one another, quit judging one another, I am the judge. And I’ve already judged your sins. And they’re over with, it’s been done. So quit judging one another. I cannot love somebody and judge them at the same time, that’s just all there is to that. Romans 3:23 and 24 tells us all have sinned, all have fallen short of the glory of God, and are justified freely, by His grace, through the redemption that’s been bought back that came by Jesus Christ our Lord. All of us have sinned. All of us have fallen short of the glory of God, there is none righteous, there is no not one.

You know, sometimes people take Scripture, and we take it for our own sinfulness. In other words, our own vindictive sinful hearts causes us to look for loopholes and to find scriptures. And I not too long ago, was in a situation where some men that I thought understood the grace of God would have thought so, but grabbed a hold of a passage of scripture where it talks about that, these that the sins should be exposed. And instead of reading that in context, where sins should be exposed, they take it as men should be exposed. And my friends, if we ever went around as Christians, as an example, following anybody around long enough, and then said, I’m going to expose them I’m going to let the world know about this. Why the tabloids would wouldn’t be tabloids, it just be common stuff there’d be so much of it. If all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, who would be free from exploitation? Anybody? No, I don’t think so. No. And in many instances, those that are the most anxious to crucify another person are the ones who in their own secret life are struggling the most with sin.

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