Radio Broadcast Wednesday 10/02/2024

Classic Christianity – Book of Romans P03 (10-02-24)

We Who Are In Christ Jesus Are Called Saints, NOT Sinners!

“To all in Rome who are loved by God and called SAINTS: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 1:7

~ Having a proper identity is paramount to understanding who we are in Christ Jesus. Once a person is in Christ, they are called a Saint. No one is a saint based on what they do or don’t do, but is exclusively based on who is inside them, God the Holy Spirit. Don’t let people throw you on a guilt trip telling you that you are a sinner if the Holy Spirit lives inside of you. You became a Saint of God on the very day you placed faith in Jesus, God in the flesh, for having taken away ALL your sins at the cross. So that when God looks upon you, He sees you as one with His Son, God. Nothing can separate that identity away from you. However Satan and his transformed masqueraders of righteousness would have you believe that you are still a sinner and that more forgiveness is required by God. And people will promote these false teachers of self righteousness, of getting more holy, of “overcoming sinning,” or being more holy, or whatever they want to subtly call it based on human effort, but they are spreading a false gospel which is no gospel at all. And it doesn’t matter whether it is a Catholic or a Protestant setting, they are both guilty of grossly misrepresenting Saints and Sinners. Don’t stand for it! Paul never stood for it, neither should we. And that means if you have been sitting in a dead church setting for all these years, it is time to declare TRUTH. “God was in Christ Jesus reconciling the world to himself and is no longer counting anyone’s sins against them.” If you are in Christ, you are now called a SAINT! It is time to wise up with the Holy Spirit by asking the Holy Spirit for wisdom and understanding in ALL matters today. Become a Truth teller, NOT a wishy-washy quiet as a mouse, sitting in the pews type person, listening to Satan’s liars without saying a word. Start with the proper foundation. Without that proper foundation, people will listen to every wind of doctrine that comes their way, because these other teachers that if they do not have that foundation proper, are nothing more than spokespeople for Satan.

And you can check out ALL things for yourself, with the Holy Spirit teaching you what things mean. Everything is at your fingertips today, and there is no reason not to verify what is being said today:

~ Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called an apostle, and set apart for the gospel of God— the gospel He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, regarding His Son, who was a descendant of David according to the flesh, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.

Through Him and on behalf of His name, we received grace and apostleship to call all those among the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

To all in Rome who are loved by God and called saints:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being proclaimed all over the world. God, whom I serve with my spirit in preaching the gospel of His Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times, asking that now at last by God’s will I may succeed in coming to you. For I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you, that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.

I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, how often I planned to come to you (but have been prevented from visiting until now), in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles. I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Judaean [Ἰουδαίῳ (Ioudaiō)], then to the Greek. For the gospel reveals the righteousness of God that comes by faith from start to finish, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” Romans 1:1-17

Pray to God:

Do you really want to know the WHOLE Truth of what is going on today?

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7

Lord Jesus, teach me the truth of the world today and give me the wisdom to know the truth and identify the lies of the devil. Thank you God.”

~ “Now that is a summary, folks of what Paul is going to deal with in the whole book of Romans. Now he says, I’m going to address this to Rome who are loved by God and called to be what? Saints. Saints. When you come to Christ, what does God call you? You have a designation. What are you called? A saint. He did not you notice. Address his books to all the old sinners saved by grace and Colossae and to all the old sinners saved by grace in First Corinthians, to all the sinners saved by grace in Philippians, or Philippi. Why didn’t he say that? Well, because that’s not who you are. You’re called a saint. How’d you get to be a saint? I was an old sinner that was saved by grace, but now I’m a new creature. It’s just like the butterfly. He is now a butterfly. What it used to be? A worm, a caterpillar. What is it now? A butterfly. Well, you don’t call it an old sinner saved by grace, an old worm saved by grace. You call it who it is. It’s a butterfly. It’s got a new designation. How’d it get to be one? I was an old worm saved by grace with a new designation.

That’s what God calls us now we sit around and say, Oh, I’m just an old sinner, saved by grace. No, you’re not. That’s how you got to be a saint, but God’s called you a saint. You were an old sinner. You were saved by grace, and now you have a new designation, called a saint. Now is that good news? So we can quit walking around calling ourselves old sinners saved by grace, unless you’re lost, and if you’re lost, you can’t say you’ve been saved by grace. Just call yourself an old sinner.” ~ Bob George

Bible Study Booklets

Join Bob George in this chapter by chapter exposition of the letter to the Romans. Available for download the complete series on the Book of Romans. Romans has been described as the most dynamic, life changing document ever penned. It is a study in systematic theology, a defense of the Gospel, and a practical guide to Christian living all in one.

Announcer 0:12
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Bob George 0:29
In our translation, it’s called to be an apostle, but again, in the original language, is it is that is called an apostle. So it’s a designation by God. I called you not to be something. I called you as an apostle. I called you as an ambassador, not to be one, that the next day you might not be one. But this is your new identity. So an apostle became an identity, not something that I am for a period of time. That’s who I am. That’s a designation I am, an apostle. Now it says I am set apart. And the designation there is permanently set apart. Now when you’re dealing with separated, and that’s what that means, separated, set apart. We would also use words like sanctified and holy. Those are all tied into the same concept that you and I have been set apart for the divine purpose for which God created us. And Paul is saying that I have been permanently set apart permanently. And that is a perfect participle in the in the Greek language. And what that means is that is a past act that is done. It’s done forever, and it has eternal consequence to it. It’s the same thing as forgiveness. It’s a past participle. It means it’s done, it’s over. It doesn’t mean we get forgiven. It means you are a forgiven person. It’s done once. I’m not going to do it again. It has eternal consequence to it, and that’s why translation sometimes we miss the dynamic of the meaning of the word of God, because when we do not translate those things in that fashion, it looks like it’s something that if I do, than God will do instead of the fact no God has already done it, and as a result of what he did, you are a part of what he did. He forgave your sins, therefore today I am a forgiven person. He was set apart forever, permanently for the gospel of God.

Now what’s the word gospel mean? Well, it’s God’s good news. The word gospel means the good news of Christ, Jesus. Again, there was an inscription that has been found in regard to Augustus, during that period of time, who was one of the rulers there in Rome. And it was talking about that, that word good news was used in a celebration of his birthday, that we celebrate his birthday and the good news of it, and that word was gospel. So the meaning of it is good news, God’s good news. So Paul was set apart for the good news of Christ, Jesus. And he talks about that this good news is gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures. Now, folks there again, what Paul was trying to say to the readers in Rome is this gospel is not new. The understanding of it is new. But the gospel was proclaimed in the prophets. It was proclaimed back in the Old Testament. David proclaimed it, Moses proclaimed it, the prophets, the minor prophets and the major prophets. It was all proclaimed. It’s nothing new. So he’s not saying that this is something that there’s the old here and then there’s a new here. It was proclaimed in the old and it was fulfilled in the new. And so he’s saying that he promised this beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures. And again, that’s an identification as to what Scriptures are they too are holy. They too are set apart. That holiness doesn’t mean what we think it means, it means set apart. What’s it set apart from? All the rest of the garbage that we have in the world today. I mean this book, if you believe this book, your thinking is set apart from the thinking of the entire world. Is it not? The whole world. This is totally different.

We and everybody comes along says, Oh, well, that was back in those days they were old fashioned. You know, homosexuality is okay today as old fashioned to think that way folks want to tell you something, truth is truth. And for truth to be truth, it has to be truth universally. If for truth to be truth, it has to be as truthful in New Guinea as it is in New York, for it to be truth. Can you go to New York or to New Guinea as an example, in those impoverished areas, and preach a prosperity gospel? Do you think you could, folks, just name it and claim it. Do you think you could? Are we alive? Do we think we could? No. How are you going to preach that in an impoverished nation? So if you can’t preach it there, don’t preach it in New York. And if you can’t preach it in both New Guinea and New York, it’s not true. One way you know something that’s true is it’s universally true? Can you go to New Guinea and tell people God was in Christ reconciling you unto Himself, not counting your sins against you? Absolutely, can you do it in New York? Absolutely, can you do it 2000 years from now if the Lord tarries? Absolutely, could you have done it 2000 years ago? Absolutely. Why? Because truth is universal. It’s forever, and it’s not for one place and then another.

And so when you’re talking about the scriptures, they are set apart as a unique document, folks, the most unique document you and I will ever hold in our hands. And you can read all of the literature, and you can become all intellectual with reading of all the literature of the world. But I want to tell you something, if the writer of that literature isn’t born again, you’re going to be hearing something. You’re going to be reading something contrary to this book, this book is truth, and truth sets you free from the error that binds you. If you want to be bound up, believe error. If you want to be set free, believe truth.

And so he’s saying that this gospel was promised, was promised to us by the prophets and the Holy Scriptures regarding his son. And now he’s going to identify who, as to his human nature, was a descendant of David, and that is the meaning of the of going into the genealogy through Joseph that was enabled him to become in the bloodline of David, who, through the Spirit of holiness, was declared with power to be the Son of God by the resurrection from the dead. Now, folks, was Jesus the Son of God before the resurrection, was he? He’s always been the Son of God. But folks, the Son of God isn’t just the designation here. Isn’t just saying who he is. He’s saying what he is. Do you see the difference? What is that? It’s a bug. What’s its name? Caterpillar. You see the difference in what it is and who it is. The designation of the Son of God through the resurrection, declared what he is. He is God. Who’s his name? What’s his name? Jesus, the Son of God. So it is a declaration that the apostle Paul makes, that by His resurrection, was the final thing that anyone needed to declare him what he is and who he is. He is God. He is God who took upon himself the nature of man, and there, He who knew no sin became sin for us at a cross, and through His resurrection, was able to give us eternal life in him, the good news of the gospel, God has appeared to us. God has shown us what perfect righteousness is in him, and in so doing, showing us our unrighteousness, so that we’ll be prepared to come to him and get his righteousness.

Through the resurrection of the dead, Jesus, Christ, our Lord, through him and for his name’s sake, we that’s all of us received grace and apostleship, in other words, an ambassadorship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes through faith. Where does obedience come from? Faith, it’s your love of God that results in dependency upon God that then results in obedience to God. Obedience without love is nothing but legalistic obedience. It’s your love of God that not that we loved him, but he what? Loved us first, that results in dependency, and I have someone who loves me perfectly. I can learn to depend upon him, and if I can learn to depend upon him, I can learn to obey Him. Now religion says, Forget that other garbage. Just get into the obedience, and let’s get to obedience and obedience. I don’t care whether you love him. I don’t care whether you’re dependent upon him or not. Just do what I tell you to do, and do it here. What you do at home’s your own business. Do it here. Look good here. That’s what religion does. Look good in the group. Oh, he’s saying that’s not true. We’re talking about we’re talking about obedience that comes from faith. Now, again, faith in who? Faith in Jesus. Again, when Jesus was here on this earth, he walked in total dependency. Did he not upon his Father? I don’t do anything unless the Father tells me to do it, I don’t say anything unless the Father tells me to say it and how to say it. That was Jesus, the Son of God. Not too bad of a Christian. How did he walk? In total dependence upon his Father. How does he want you and me to walk? In total dependence upon the father? What did that dependence upon the father do? What created obedience? Well, if I don’t do anything unless the Father tells me to do it, that’s my mindset. I’m not going to do anything unless God tells me to do it. So when God tells you to do something, and you already have a policy, then I’m not going to do anything unless he tells me to do it. Then when he tells you to do it, what do you do? You do it. It’s called obedience. Where does it come from? Faith. Faith in him. And so he says, obedience comes from faith.

And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. So now he’s identifying this is my mission. This is a mission that God gave me to take this good news to the Gentiles. I’m a slave to this. I am set apart from the entire world, and I’m set apart to do nothing except take the good news of the gospel to people. That’s what I’m set apart for, the world has no meaning to me. I am set apart from it, and I’m here for one purpose and one purpose only. I’m not here to politic. I’m not here to change the world. I’m here to give out the gospel of Jesus Christ. That’s how he saw himself, and that was his mission. And he says, Now you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. So he’s talking to the Gentile world, also applicable to the Hebrew world.

Now that is a summary, folks of what Paul is going to deal with in the whole book of Romans. Now he says, I’m going to address this to Rome who are loved by God and called to be what? Saints. Saints. When you come to Christ, what does God call you? You have a designation. What are you called? A saint. He did not you notice. Address his books to all the old sinners saved by grace and Colossae and to all the old sinners saved by grace in First Corinthians, to all the sinners saved by grace in Philippians, or Philippi. Why didn’t he say that? Well, because that’s not who you are. You’re called a saint. How’d you get to be a saint? I was an old sinner that was saved by grace, but now I’m a new creature. It’s just like the butterfly. He is now a butterfly. What it used to be? A worm, a caterpillar. What is it now? A butterfly. Well, you don’t call it an old sinner saved by grace, an old worm saved by grace. You call it who it is. It’s a butterfly. It’s got a new designation. How’d it get to be one? I was an old worm saved by grace with a new designation.

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Bob George 14:13
That’s what God calls us now we sit around and say, Oh, I’m just an old sinner, saved by grace. No, you’re not. That’s how you got to be a saint, but God’s called you a saint. You were an old sinner. You were saved by grace, and now you have a new designation, called a saint. Now is that good news? So we can quit walking around calling ourselves old sinners saved by grace, unless you’re lost, and if you’re lost, you can’t say you’ve been saved by grace. Just call yourself an old sinner.

Now he says Grace and peace to you from God, our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, again, it’s interesting, because the Jewish salutation is always shalom, peace. That’s if you go over there today. That’s how. They’ll greet you shalom, peace. But Paul never just said Shalom. That was the normal greeting. But he always said Grace and peace be unto you. Why? Well, Paul knew that there was no peace apart from grace, and his designation was always there for Grace and peace be unto you. Grace and peace be unto you all of his writings, the same grace and peace be unto you from God, our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. First he said, I want to thank my God through Jesus Christ, for all of you, because your faith, your faith in Christ, is being reported all over the world, and God, whom I serve with my whole heart, in preaching the gospel of his Son. And folks, that’s the only that’s all the gospel is it’s the gospel of his Son. It’s not the gospel of do this and do that. It’s the gospel of Jesus, the good news of what Jesus did for you, not the good news of what you are doing for Jesus. You see, in religion, all we talk about, somebody comes to Christ. What do you do? Hand them a tithing box of tithing envelopes and see now go sic them for Jesus. Never do learn what he did for you, just learn what you’re supposed to be doing for him. And after a while, you know, then the bar keeps getting lifted. It’s basically the bigger the congregation, because more people keep doing more. And you got some people, if that’s all they do is just do things for God and thank God, but if that’s the bar, well, then what are you doing for Jesus? And it’s great for guilt trips.

Folks, the emphasis of Christianity is not what you’re doing for God. The emphasis of Christianity is what God has done for you. This is a gospel of Jesus, not of you. It’s a gospel of what God has accomplished for you that you could never have accomplished for yourself. It’s not come to Jesus and go work yourself to death. Burned out for Jesus. Some people take pride in that. I burn out for Jesus, you look like someone who burn out for Jesus. I want to tell you something, folks, Spirit doesn’t burn out, only flesh burns out. And if you’re burnt out, it’s supposed you’ve been functioning for Jesus in the flesh. And so we have to understand here that that he’s talking to us about, I’m grateful for your faith that’s being reported all over the world because and I serve with my whole heart God and this message that he gave me to preach the gospel of who? His Son. It’s My witness. How I constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times, and I pray that now, at last, by God’s will, the way may be open for me to come to you. And that was one of the things that Paul was praying for. I’m praying for these believers in Rome, and I’m praying that in due time, I’ll be able to come to be with them. He had been detained from that, but he said, I’m praying, and I’ll be able to come to see you. I long to see you. And he said, here’s why I long to see you, so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong. So what is he saying here? I want to impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong. That is that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s what? Faith. What is the encouraging factor to us? What is it that encourages us more than anything else in another believer? Watching them walk by faith, watching people go through death experiences with joy in their heart, watching people like Bill Bright that recently went to be with Jesus and seeing a memorial service of people just joyfully celebrating the fact that Bill had gone into the presence of Christ, to see sin, no more to see death, no more not to have to worry about raising support anymore, just joyfully being in the presence of Christ. Is that something to rejoice about? Absolutely. What’s it do for your heart when you see a Christian walking that way? Does something for your heart, doesn’t it? And when you see someone moping around singing, I got the joy, joy, joy in my heart. Is that encouraging?

God called us to joy. He called us to be people who walk by faith instead of by feeling. That’s why he tells us, many times to forget the past. Why? Because a past ruins your joy today. I mean, if I sit around and thought about all the stuff I’ve ever done in my past, I’d probably commit suicide. How about you? He says, forget it and press on to the high calling of Christ, Jesus. You can’t change what happened yesterday. Why are you dwelling on it? Why are you thinking about it? Why are you bringing it up? You’re not bringing it up. Satan’s bringing it up. Because there’s one way that he can destroy your today, and that’s through a preoccupation with your failures of yesterday. So he says, Forget it. We say, No, I’m going to keep it in there. I want to, I want to think about it. It makes me feel miserable, I just like that miserable feeling, and that’s the way we are. And you say, what’s wrong with us? Why would we want to be sitting around miserable? But that’s what makes you miserable, thinking about the failures of the past. Said you can’t change the past, live a day at a time and get out of tomorrow. That’s God’s country. And so we’re sitting there fantasizing about what’s going to happen tomorrow, and that ruins today. So you want to ruin today, think about yesterday and think about tomorrow. He said, live a day at a time. One day at a time, Sweet Jesus. That’s all I’m asking from you. That’s the only way that you’re going to experience happiness is to just live a day at a time. Well, how do you live a day at a time? By faith, thanking Jesus for the gifts that He’s given us, thanking Jesus for the goodness to us, thanking Jesus for the fact that he took away our sins never to see them again. Thank Jesus for the fact that he was raised from the dead to give me life that I didn’t have until the day I was regenerated in Christ Jesus. Thank Jesus for the fact that one of these days you and I are going to be absent from this body and present with the Lord never to see sin and death again. Thank Jesus for what you have today and forget about what you didn’t have yesterday or what you don’t think you’re going to have tomorrow. And he said, that’s going to bring joy and happiness to your heart, and when you stop doing that, you’re going to be miserable. Am I right or wrong?

So he says, I long to be with you so that we could be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. And I don’t want you to be unaware, brothers that I plan many times to come to you, but I’ve been prevented from doing so until now. In order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles, I’m obligated both to Greeks, to the Gentiles and to the non Greeks. I’m obligated both to the wise and to the foolish, and this is why I’m so eager to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome. I wonder if he meant that I’ve obligated to preach the gospel to both the wise and the foolish, and that’s why I’m coming to Rome? I And now he caps this off with the theme of the book of Romans. I’m not ashamed of the gospel. It’s the power of God for the salvation of everyone, Hebrew or Gentile alike, who believes first for the Hebrew and then for the Gentile. For in this gospel, a righteousness from God is revealed. Now again, what do you do in religion? Try to show people how righteous we are, how righteous deeds we are, and how good we are. He said, No, I believe in a gospel of righteousness from God because, quite frankly, we don’t have any righteousness of our own. Bible says there’s none righteous. No, not one. So I don’t know why we’re sitting around saying we’re righteous, except that we’re indwelt by the righteousness of Jesus. So he says, I’ve got this is the gospel, and I’m not ashamed of it’s a gospel of righteousness. I’m not ashamed to say that there’s no righteousness in Bob George, I’m not ashamed to say that. That’s truth. And the only righteousness that I have in me is the righteousness that came from God. And so we don’t have to walk around bragging about how good we are, do we? or how wonderful we are, because we’re not like I said, I’m going to write a book. I’m not okay. You’re not okay, but that’s okay. He said, I’m not ashamed of that fact. You know, most of people say, Oh, I’m ashamed of that. No I’m not ashamed of the fact I don’t have any righteousness. I’m That’s truth, not ashamed. Named of it. I’m glad to proclaim it. It’s only way you’re going to go free. But I do possess the righteousness that came from God, the Righteous One revealed by righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written, The righteous will live by what? Faith, faith in, what faith that I don’t have any righteousness. I got faith in that don’t need a lot of faith for that, but I got faith in that. But I have faith that the righteousness that I do possess comes from Jesus, and it is because of him that we are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us our righteousness, right standing before God. Now you see, religion is trying to give you right standing before God through what you’re doing for God. God said, No right standing before God is going to come through your accepting what God has done for you. And so folks, we stand today clothed, it says, In the righteousness of Christ, and what clothing is is a covering. And when God looks at you, he sees the righteousness of His Son, Jesus. Aren’t you glad? He sees Jesus. When you’re in Jesus, he sees Jesus, he looks at you, and he sees the righteousness of his Son that has been imputed to you, imparted to you by grace. That’s why he says, I’m not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It’s the power of God and the salvation, first to the Hebrew then the Gentile. It’s a righteousness that doesn’t come from me. It’s a righteousness that comes from God.

Announcer 27:11
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 BobGeorge.net. There you will 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.