Celebrate the essence of freedom in Christ with Bob George on Classic Christianity Radio. In this thought-provoking episode, Bob guides us through the intricate relationship between the law and grace, encouraging listeners to explore how believers can live in the freedom of Christ’s love. As Bob navigates through scripture, he reassures believers of their eternal security and the incredible inheritance received through faith in Jesus. Reflecting on the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, Bob reminds us of the undeniable privilege of being part of God’s family, free from the bondage of sin. He challenges us to serve one another with love
Welcome to Classic Christianity Radio with Bob George. Bob’s clear, timeless teachings on the complete forgiveness and unconditional love of Jesus Christ will transform your life as you learn about God’s amazing grace. Let’s join Bob as he teaches us from God’s Word.
SPEAKER 02 :
You remember we’re coming close to New Year’s. Do you remember New Year’s parties when you were lost? How many of you remember New Year’s parties when you were lost? Have you ever been a dumber thing in the world? You sit around and blow these dumb things out and twirl your little deals and get drunk and say, oh boy, did I have fun. I got such a headache I can’t walk today, but was that fun? Fun. The most boring thing you ever go to in your life. Boring. But we make it look good. You see all this stuff on television. You see these young ladies dressed up in these scantily clothed girls and saying, oh, it’s fun to be bad. And I think, have you ever been in that realm? Giving your bodies up like a piece of chattel? Like a toilet seat? And turning your bodies over to any Tom, Dick, and Harry that wants to come along? And use you? Make you feel good? You feel like a tramp. Don’t tell me you feel good. We know better. The sexual stuff that is going on today with teenagers is unbelievable to me. It’s what’s going on. And yet we sit back and say, oh, well, just boys will be boys and girls will be boys. Nonsense. You had better discipline your kids and teach them that this stuff will drive you to destruction. A girl many times, or a guy, especially girls, have to live with that all their lives. The guilt of it. And instead of men having respect for women… And having a respect to treat a girl decently, it’s not the thing to do anymore. That’s law land. That’s over there where you don’t even know right from wrong. You know, the purpose of the law is to define what sin is. And we sit down and say, oh no, we rename it. If you rename it, you can redefine it. But it’s there to teach you what sin is and what the consequence of sin is. And so guys, you now live in a new realm. You live in a new location. This is called Graceland. Under Graceland, there’s no condemnation awaiting you who belong to Christ Jesus. Under Graceland, you are not people who get forgiven. You are forgiven people. You’re not people who ask if you’re going to walk by faith because this is Graceland and it’s faith land. Over there is law land. Over here, you’re living in a new realm altogether. To ask for what you already have would be ludicrous, wouldn’t it? You have eternal life. You have been given an eternal inheritance in Christ Jesus. You have all of the promises. Everything that belongs to Christ belongs to you because what he’s saying here is you have been identified now with Christ. It says you have been baptized. And what is interesting, folks, is when it talks in verse 3 in chapter 6 of Romans, don’t you know that all of you who are baptized into Christ were baptized into his death? And instead of glorying in the fact of you’re in Christ now, we start paying attention on baptism and put emphasis on baptism. Well, guys, there’s a physical baptism and there is a spiritual baptism. Remember John the Baptist said that I baptize with water, but in a few days the one coming after me whose sandals I’m not worthy of untying will baptize you with who? The Holy Spirit. So when you come to Christ Jesus, the Spirit of God comes to live in you, to indwell you. And the Bible says if the Spirit does not live in you, you do not belong to Him. You cannot be saved apart from the life of Christ. The Spirit of God who now comes to live in you baptizes or places you into His body. He is now the head, you are the body. You’re not the body of Christ over here. There’s only two of you there. You’re not the body of Christ. There’s the body of Christ. There’s the graveyard. Here’s the body of Christ. There’s the dead. Here’s the living. And so he says to us that you were baptized into Christ, were baptized into his death. We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death and And again, we get all hung up on the baptism instead of the fact that this is an act of God. This is not an act of man. This is an act of God where He places you into His body. So that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. In other words, I’m identified with the one who died to take away my sins. I’m identified the one who was buried in order to prove his death, and I’m identified with the one who was raised from the dead so that I could be raised from the dead. I’m in Christ. All that belongs to Christ belongs to me. He’s seated in the heavenly, so am I. You say, well, no, you’re here. Well, spiritually, I’m there. I’m already there. That’s what negates to me this idea that you could lose your salvation. To me, it’s nonsense. It’s nonsense. We had somebody try to stop our program when we were out in California. Was going to picket the church for sponsoring us there because we teach you have eternal security. Say, dumb and dumber. Anybody thinks that you can lose salvation does not know what salvation is. Period. You just don’t know what it is. Because if you can lose it, it’s all tied up in sin. But you can out sin the grace of God. Well, I tell you, you can’t out sin the grace of God. As a matter of fact, if you’re in Christ, your sins have been wiped away never to see him again. So how are you going to walk away? If you’re in the light as he’s in the light, how are you ever going to get in darkness? So at any rate, everything that belongs to Christ is yours. He’s your inheritance. Do you believe that, guys? I mean, is that good news or is it just ho-hum? It seems to me it should be good news. We’ve been united with Him. In His death, we certainly will also be united with Him in His resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be done away with. And that we should no longer be a slave to sin. Because anyone who has died has been what, guys? What does it say? That’s in verse what? Six? Seven. What’s it say? Because anyone who has died has been what? Freed from the law. Again, back to the law. You’re not under it. Do you understand that? If you’re saved, you’re not under the law. You may be saved and be stupid in your teaching and get yourself back under the law or keep yourself under the law. But if you’re saved, you’re not under it from God’s standpoint. You’re just fooling around. You’re just pretending you’re over there. But you’re not from God’s standpoint. That’s not where you are. You’re over here. So you say, what are you hanging on to that over here for? That killed you. Don’t you know that the wages of sin under the law is death? That killed you. What do you want to hang on to that for? And there are people who tenaciously want to hang on to that. Why? They’re either lost or they’ve never known their identity in Christ. Never known it. Sad. The dynamic, my friends, of evangelism is not just you get your sins forgiven. It’s the fact that you have been placed into Christ. That’s the dynamic of evangelism. God has placed you into his son. You’re in the son. I’m crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. Yet not I, but Christ lives in me. And the life that I live, in this flesh of mine, I live by faith in the son of God, the one who loved me and gave himself for me. That’s who you are. Transferred. No longer over there. Look, that’s empty. No longer there. Don’t belong to that over there. Stay away from it. Rejoice in what you have. Now, if we died to Christ, we believe that we’ll also live with him. Verse 8, chapter 6. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he can’t die again. Death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once and for all. But the life that he lives, he lives for God, to God. In the same way, King James says reckon. Reckon yourself death. I reckon so. We say I reckon so. Count yourself. Count on it, guys. In other words, believe it. That’s what he’s saying. Put your faith in it. Quit talking like you’re one way over here when in essence you’re still over here. Is there anything the law can do to you today as a born again believer? No. Not really. Can you make it appear as if he’s doing something to you? Yeah, you can imagine it. But it’s all imagination. It’s not real. We believe that we live with him. He can’t die again. He died to sin once and for all. Not going to die again? Is there any more forgiveness to be executed on your behalf by God? Is there? And if there was, what would he have to do? Die again. Is he going to do it? No. How many of you believe Jesus is coming back? What do you say is going to happen when he came back? Going to come back to bear sin? No, he said, I’m going to come back to bear sin, but to bring salvation for those who are waiting for me. Why isn’t he coming back to bear sin? Seems like there’s sure been a lot of it since he was here. Before he’d done it. The quality of the life of God, the life is in the blood. It’s not just a liquid that you’re talking about when you’re talking about the blood of Christ. You’re talking about the life of Christ. He laid his life down for you and me. the shedding of his forfeiture of his life, was of such quality, being God, that it was capable of reaching back to Adam and forward to this very day and on. And so, he says, reckon yourself dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore, don’t let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Is there sin in our mortal bodies? He says it’s there, but don’t let it rain. You don’t need to let it rain. Because how does it rain? By the law. What is the rain of sin under the law? What’s the rain? What control does that have over you? The wages of sin is what? Death. Not under that anymore. So offer your parts of your body as instruments, don’t offer as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life. And offer parts of your body to Him as instruments of righteousness. Why? Look in your Bibles, folks, that’s where you’re going to find this. Verse 14. For sin shall not be your master, because you’re not under law, but under grace. Meaning, that if you’re under the law, sin is your master. Where you say, well, I know a lot of people that are under the law, but they sure are nice acting people. I don’t care how nice they act. That’s not the issue. The issue, the Bible says, that if you’re under the law, sin is your master. You’re being mastered by someone other than who came to master you. And that’s God.
SPEAKER 01 :
Go to BobGeorge.net to find the best-selling book, Classic Christianity by Bob George. This book will change your life as you read about God’s unconditional love and His forgiveness. Let’s rejoin Bob now as he continues with today’s lesson.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, the next question that is asked is, what then shall we sin because we’re not under the law but under grace? In other words, if we’re no longer under the law, should I just live it up? I mean, should I just go do everything that I used to do when I was under the law? And he’s saying, hold on a minute. It appears to me that the reason you’re over here is because when you were over there, you were so darn miserable that you couldn’t stand it. And you were crying out, if I remember correctly, you were crying out for help. So why would you want to go back to where you were crying out from hell? Why do you want to go back to live a lifestyle that makes you so miserable that you wanted to be saved to begin with? See, to a degree, it’s almost a thing of insanity, where you know what you’re doing doesn’t work, but you do it anyway. There’s a case in which a little bit of temporary insanity is going on there. But you’re not under the law. What shall we say? Because we’re not under the law, but under grace, that we should go on sinning? By no means. Now here’s what he’s saying. Don’t you know that when you offer yourself to someone to obey him as slaves, you’re slaves to the one whom you obeyed? Whether you’re a slave to sin, which leads to death, or obedience, which leads to righteousness. But thanks be to God, though you used to be slaves to sin. Now what made you a slave to sin? That you were without the Spirit of God living in you? Who was the old man? Me. Who was the old man? Bob George, without the Spirit of God living in me. What makes me different than I was? God lives in me. I live in Him. That’s what makes me different. So over here I was a slave to sin. You wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. But you’ve been set free from sin. You’ve moved. You’ve moved. You’re no longer over there. You’re over here. You’ve moved. And you have become slaves to righteousness. Now he said, I put this in human terms because you’re weak in your natural selves. Now guys, he’s talking here to people who… are Christians. And he’s saying you’re weak in your natural self. So just what good do you think it does for you and me to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and get ourself all nicely cleansed up? He says that ain’t going to get it because you’re weak. So guys, do you think we’re ever going to grow in our knowledge of Christ to the point where we are sinless? Does anyone think that they will ultimately get to a point? That’s what people who teach what progressive sanctification. That’s where if you just keep setting yourself apart, you’ll get to the point where you don’t even need Jesus anymore. How many of you in here are over 60? How many of you have been in the Lord say over 30 years? Over 60 to 30 years. How much better are you in your flesh? Well, I don’t cuss quite as much as I used to. And that’s about as good as you can do. Because I’m a little better than I used to be, but I sure am not what I ought to be. Do you think that shocks God? Do you think God looks down and says, man, what you did, that just shocked me. I didn’t know you were capable of that. Guys, do you realize that I don’t care whether you’ve been a Christian for a year or a hundred years, that you’re never going to get perfect except in his sight. Quit beating yourself up. Each and every one of us will have frailties until the day that we die. I tell people, if you really want to get rid of this sin that you’re so concerned about, pray for death. Amen. Because that’s when it will happen. In the meantime, we live under what? The grace and the mercy of God. Wonderful grace of Jesus. Greater than all my sin. That’s where we live. Always being grateful for the fact that God delivered me from there over to here. That’s where I live. All people live a little differently. All people still have weaknesses. Your weakness is different than his. Yours is different. Different weaknesses, different things, but we’re all alive in Christ. Is that good news, guys? So he says, when you were a slave to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. Over here, you were absolutely free from righteousness. You were free, free from righteousness. And what benefit did you reap at that time from the things you’re now ashamed of? Guys, so many times we fail to realize there’s repercussion. There’s repercussion to sin. You go out and you say, why would you teach a child that you’re better off just not to start drinking? Why? Because you could become an alcoholic. That’s why. And there’s one way to ensure in life that you’re never going to fall off of the ladder. You know what it is? Never get up on the ladder. You could turn into being controlled by something other than Jesus. You forfeit your body. And there’s guilt connected with that. And don’t tell me otherwise. There’s guilt connected with it. And so there’s repercussion with these. What benefit did you reap at that time of these things except the things you’re ashamed of? If you weren’t ashamed of them, you’d just, hey, I just did this last night and I did this and I did this. You wouldn’t be ashamed of it. Those things result in death. But now that you have been freed from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness and the result is eternal life. Four, now look at this, guys, and then we’ll close. The wages of sin is what? Death. But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Again, transferred from the law and its demands upon us, held prisoner by it, under the control of it, and God lifted you up and delivered you over into grace land. You leave behind what killed you. Remember what Paul said, it’s through the law that I died to the law. Now, if you’re lost, you belong over here because the law hasn’t done its work yet. The law is not for the righteous. The law is for the unrighteous to show you your need for righteousness. Now if you’re over here, then you’re free, but if you’re over here, you’re under. So don’t, God didn’t abolish the law. Not for the lost. It’s as applicable today as it’s ever been. That’s why we have a, supposedly, why it used to be able to have them at the courthouse. Every law that we have in this land comes from those ten. It’s for the lost. It’s to show you you’re a sinner. so that you’ll turn to Christ for your salvation. But guys, you’ve got to go free. You cannot be free commingling these two. You cannot be free visiting over here, getting as close to that realm as possible. And the more legalistic that you are as a Christian, the more closer you are to that highway. Can’t get over there, but you may as well be there. because you’re dominated by it. Dead to the law, alive to Christ. Anything wrong with the law, guys? No, Paul said nothing wrong with the law. It’s holy and good. What’s the problem with the law? When it flows through me, it does what? Kills you. Doesn’t get you out of fellowship. Doesn’t get you out of relationship. Doesn’t mean that God’s turned his back on you. We get all that stuff. God spins around up there like he’s on a top. It’s death. And in your own mind, if you hang into that law long enough, you will forget all about the fact that you’re living over here in Graceland. And law, again, will dominate your life if you let it. Can’t. I mean, you’re not under it. But in your mind, it could dominate you. So go free. Go free. And let Jesus Christ lead you and guide you and direct you. This Thursday we’re going to be celebrating Thanksgiving. And guys I hope that as we celebrate this season of Thanksgiving that our minds go further than just the freedom that we have in America. Thank God for the freedom but it’s being threatened Thank God we’ve got freedom, but that’s not the freedom that you and I are rejoicing in. I am rejoicing in the fact that I’ve been made free in Christ. You’ve been set free, my brothers. And it says, don’t use your freedom to indulge the flesh, but use your freedom to serve one another in love, to serve one another, to be thankful. So when Thanksgiving dinner is served, I trust that you’re not going to gobble up all the food before the rest of the people get there. You’re going to serve one another in love. And that’s what that season is all about, thanking God for this provision of grace that some will never take advantage of. But those of us that have, do you realize how privileged we are? How unbelievably privileged we are. We sometimes forget it. But guys, don’t forget it. It’s the privilege that God has given us of being able to say, God is my daddy. He’s the one I crawl up in his lap and call him daddy father. Let’s pray together. Father, you’ve told us to give thanks in all things. For this truly is the will of God concerning you in Christ Jesus. to thank him in all things, to be anxious for nothing, but in all things with prayer and supplication and thanksgiving, let your requests be known unto God. And then the peace of God that passes all understanding will quieten your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. So many times we have that tendency to worry. In fact, we feel guilty if we’re not worrying. But God says worry is not faith. Worry about your kids. That’s rightfully so. We have a role to protect them. But in a final analysis, we have to turn them over to the Lord. They’re His, not mine. I’m giving them a short period of time to try to teach them and discipline them. But in the final analysis, they belong to you. And it’s the same with all people. Maybe that’s why you said in your word to lead a quiet life and tend to your own business. It’s because it really isn’t our business, it’s yours. So, Father, as we enter into this Thanksgiving season, let us be aware of these truths, to be grateful for the marvelous grace of Jesus that took away our sins and raised us from our state of death into life, eternal life, crucified with Christ, nevertheless alive. And we pray these things and thank you for them in Christ Jesus’ name.
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Amen. Until next time, walk in faith, be good to one another, and praise the Lord. Amen.
SPEAKER 03 :
Put Jesus first in your life and turn your life around.
