In this episode of Classic Christianity Radio, Bob George addresses real-life questions from listeners with a scriptural perspective. With calls coming in from across the country, Bob delves into deeply personal issues such as divorce and its implications on one’s faith, the nature of temptation in Christ, and the often misunderstood practice of prayer. Aligning his insights with biblical teachings, Bob emphasizes the importance of trusting God’s grace over the constraints of the law. Listeners also get a chance to hear Bob’s unique take on living a Christian life, described through vivid analogies that clarify the struggles of walking
00:00:01 Introduction to Classic Christianity Radio
Welcome to Classic Christianity Radio with Bob George. Today we are pleased to present a special radio show featuring call-in listeners from Bob’s original people-to-people daily radio program that was on the air for over 30 years, offering real answers for real-life problems as he addresses common questions as well as the tough issues of today, directing callers to the centrality of Christ in you, your only hope of glory. We want to remind our listeners that Bob George Ministries needs your financial support to continue to have Classic Christianity Radio on the air. Please visit BobGeorge.net to find out how you can help support us financially. Let’s now join Bob as he presents practical biblical insights as he helps people experience a life of faith, hope, and love in Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER 02 :
We’re going to go to Laredo, Texas, listening on KCTA. Dario, is that the way you pronounce that?
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, Dario.
SPEAKER 02 :
Dario. Well, you’re on the air, Dario.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, thank you. I hope I can get this out right. I’ve been listening to you all for years, never had a disagreement with anything that you all have ever said. Concerning Matthew, I don’t have my, I’m in the car, but 531-32, Christ, if we say we’re born-again Christians, claimed to be in the body of Christ, can we keep going back to the church and remarrying and remarrying, you know, two or three times say both individuals, you know, both the man and the woman, and still claim to be in the body of Christ and still remarrying all these times?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, again, I got a bigger sin for you than divorce, and that is denying what Jesus did at the cross. Did Jesus take away the sins of the world at the cross, and did he take away divorce at the cross? Yes. So isn’t that kind of the answer to your question?
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, I’m just curious. Well, yes, but I’m just, you know, referencing that.
SPEAKER 02 :
I’m not talking about church attendance. I’m talking about your relationship with God. Again, you have to understand, Dario, that it’s not that God did not condemn or condone divorce. Neither did he condone sin, did he? But it all took place and it took place. And that’s why Jesus had to come and die for us. If any of us were worthy of salvation through anything that we have ever done, why then Jesus could have stayed home. So Jesus died for sinners. He didn’t die for good people. And none of us are good people. All of our hearts are wicked and deceitful above all things. And who can know them? So it manifests itself in many different ways. But it still is true that our hearts are wicked and they had to be We had to be regenerated. We had to receive a new heart and a new spirit that lives within us, which is what took place. Now, the Old Testament, we’re back again to understanding the difference between the old and the new. Jesus taught under the law, didn’t he? Correct. And under the law, the teaching of marriage was death. Sin is death. Correct. Now, that has been replaced. The law has been replaced by grace. And under grace, you’re going to have to go into the epistles for your information. And in regard to marriage, you have to go to 1 Corinthians. And 1 Corinthians deals with marriage in the 7th chapter. And where it says, beginning in verse 8, to the unmarried and to the widows. Those are two people who have been married and now are unmarried. And to the widows who were married and now unmarried due to death, it’s good for them to stay unmarried as I am. But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry. For it’s better to marry than to burn with passion.
SPEAKER 07 :
Passion, right?
SPEAKER 02 :
Okay. So in other words, if you have been married and enjoyed the sexual intercourse that takes place in marriage and enjoyed that in that context, which God gave us to enjoy, and then all of a sudden you have lost your mate due to either death or divorce, there is certainly a chance that a person can sit and burn with passion. And some people sit all of their lives like that, thinking they’re doing this noble thing by staying single because God, it said, don’t divorce. And where the Bible is saying, if that’s going to take place, you are better off to marry than to sit and burn with passion. There’s nothing spiritual about sitting around and burning with passion. And so this is Paul’s instruction that he says he got directly from God. And that is what you need to go with in regard to those instructions. To the married, he instructs what to take place. If you’re married and you’re married to someone that is not a Christian, but they don’t mind your being one, it says hang in there with them. Don’t get divorced. It also says that if you’re married… Yeah, and if you’re married to someone that you are equal to, but they don’t mind, it says stay in there. Your life might lead them to Christ. If you’re married to an unbeliever… And he doesn’t want to be married to a believer. It says let him go. Let him go. It is better to live in peace. He said, I called you to live in peace. Those are all instructions from God. To the virgin, that’s somebody who’s never been married. So they’re not an unmarried person or a widow. They’re a virgin. He tells to them, if you can, stay single. You’ll save yourself a lot of problems. If I didn’t believe the Bible for one other statement than that one, that would be enough to make me believe it. Stay single. It’ll save you a lot of problems.
SPEAKER 07 :
Right. I was just curious if we could just keep going. I mean, if we’re married, divorced, we redo that covenant. We go in front of God or in a church. And I know it’s a church, a true church. But can we just keep going, but, you know, say we’re born again Christians?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, again, Dario, you’re not thinking properly.
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 02 :
Can you keep going back to God and worrying? Right now you’re worrying about something. And is worry a sin? No. Yeah. Of course. Can you keep going back and worrying, worrying, worrying, worrying? Well, of course you can. Well, it’s not that I’m worried.
SPEAKER 07 :
I’m fine. You know, and I believe I’m in the body of Christ. Right. I was just curious, you know, that so many of my friends and some Christians, and they keep, you know, going, you know, back and making that covenant again and remarrying and remarrying and claiming to be and then divorcing and remarrying and then still claim to be in the body of Christ. That’s pretty much all.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, how are you going to get out of the body of Christ?
SPEAKER 07 :
You don’t. Well, I mean, by sin.
SPEAKER 02 :
No, how is sin going to get you out of the body of Christ when Jesus took away your sin?
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, no, I see what you’re saying. But, no, once you’re in the body of Christ, well, if we live in the body of Christ, we wouldn’t go about, well. You could. She was divorced three times, and we claim to be in the body of Christ.
SPEAKER 02 :
What about if they were just divorced once? You see what I’m getting at? Those questions should not be brought up. That’s between them and God. It’s not for you to be determined whether they’re in the body of Christ or not. They’re in the body of Christ if they’ve been born again, not by how many times they’ve been married. I am not for divorce. God didn’t honor divorce. He doesn’t want divorce. Neither did he want sin. He doesn’t want depression. He doesn’t want worry. He doesn’t want gossip. And how many times is a Christian who’s in a body of Christ nothing but a gossip?
SPEAKER 07 :
Exactly.
SPEAKER 02 :
So, again, you cannot put numerical value on sin. So we don’t know whether they’re in Christ or not. That’s not for us to determine. That’s for them to determine. If they are and they are married, they should try to stay married just like the instructions say. Yeah.
SPEAKER 07 :
Got it.
SPEAKER 02 :
Okay, brother. Appreciate it.
SPEAKER 07 :
Really appreciate it. Now I’ll get off of that. I will. I don’t want to worry about that anymore.
SPEAKER 02 :
There you go. You’re free now. Exactly. Okay. Thanks, Dario. Thank you so much. Okay. God bless. Bye-bye. Let’s go to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, listening on WWNL. Drew, you’re on the air.
SPEAKER 05 :
Hey, Bob. How are you doing?
SPEAKER 02 :
Doing good, Drew. Thank you.
SPEAKER 05 :
Christ is God in the flesh. How could he have truly ever even have been tempted to sin? We’re told many times, time in the desert. I’ll just listen to your answer. I’ll hang up.
SPEAKER 02 :
Drew, the temptations were there. I give this illustration because it’s about the only one I can think of as I am concerned. You could fill me into a room full of drugs, and it would be no temptation at all because I’ve never taken drugs. I have no desire to take drugs. I think people who take drugs are stupid, and I’m probably stupid enough without laying that on me. So I have no temptation at all. But if I was in a room full of drugs, it would be the temptation would be there. In other words, it’s the temptation is there, but I’m not tempted by it. And that would have been the case with everything with Christ Jesus, that he was in a world full of temptations. All of the temptations that you and I are involved in and see in our lives today were there confronting Jesus. Was he contempted by them? No, he was God. So that’s one of the beauties of having a high priest who is holy and pure and without sin. And thank God that he is who he is. Okay, well, I hope that helps, my brother. Newport Beach, California, listening on KBRIGHT. Lewis, you’re on the air.
SPEAKER 06 :
Hi, thank you very much for taking my call. My question is on prayer.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 06 :
I’m sorry, my question is on prayer. My name is Lewis. And on the one hand, I’m being told that when asked anything in Christ’s name, and God will answer your prayers. On the other hand, people have said, well, the reason you don’t have is because you’re asking upon the lust of your heart. Can you address that for me?
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, Lewis, I think probably prayer is one of the most misunderstood things in the Christian experience. And here’s the reason I say that. The Lord Jesus Christ, while he was here, and he was God, so he never has been anything less than God. He always was God, always is God, always will be God. But when he came to earth, he laid that prerogative aside and behaved as a man. so that he could teach me how to live. If he was there behaving as God, he couldn’t teach me anything because I’m not God and never will be God, and I can’t behave like God. I have a tough enough time behaving like a man, let alone God. So he came to teach me how to live as a man. And the way he taught me was this. I do not do anything unless the Father tells me to do it. And I don’t say anything unless the Father tells me to say it and how to say it. And as the Father sent me, Lewis, so send I you. Jesus Christ taught me and you how to live as a man here on this earth, following his example of walking in total dependency upon his Father, doing nothing unless the Father tells you to do it, saying nothing unless the Father tells you to say it, And I would be foolish not to assume and praying nothing unless the Father told me to pray it. And I believe that with all my heart, that true biblical praying in the Spirit is listening to the Spirit telling you what to pray for. I have never found an exception to this, that whenever I have had the Spirit of God And sometimes you can misread that. But whenever I have had the Spirit of God putting on my heart to pray for somebody, salvation as an example, I’ve never seen an exception yet that that salvation did not occur. It might not have occurred through my doing, but it occurred. Now, was my prayer the reason? No. God just said, I want you to pray for this man because I’ve got the answer on the way. In other words, I’m letting you in on the action as to what’s going to take place. And so your prayer is, Lord Jesus, it’s not my will be done. It’s your will to be done. I ask people sometimes, do you want your prayers answered or do you want God’s will for your life? Because it says anything we ask according to his will, he’ll hear us. Now, how are we going to know his will unless he tells us? And that’s why I believe that true biblical prayer is listening to what God tells us and then praying. Now, that eliminates going and getting together on Wednesday and praying for Aunt Nellie’s toenail. And let’s all get together. Boy, because God may not listen to one, but if he gets 20, 30 of us together, well, he’s got to hear us. That’s nonsense. Number one, I don’t know Aunt Nellie, and I don’t know anything about her toenail. And so for me to be praying for something I don’t know anything about, to me, is ludicrous. I think God will put on my heart, in my sphere of influence, what he wants me to pray for. And when he does, I’m going to pray and ask him for it, knowing full well that he’s going to answer that prayer. Does that help, Lewis?
SPEAKER 06 :
That sure does. Thank you very much.
SPEAKER 02 :
You’re sure welcome, brother.
SPEAKER 01 :
God bless. Bye-bye. Classic Christianity Radio is a listener-funded program, and because of your generous donations, we are able to be on the air. Go to bobgeorge.net to order the life-changing audio CD series, The New Covenant, Law and Grace, and How to Have a Proper Self-Image. These series are essential to understanding our inheritance in Christ, what it means to experience freedom and the abundant life in Christ, living under grace, not under the law, and to see ourselves as God sees us, as a completely forgiven person, loved perfectly and righteous in his sight. Please visit bobgeorge.net for additional information on how you can join us financially and help support the radio ministry. With your prayers and support, we can continue to share the good news of Jesus Christ. Let’s continue now with our classic Christianity radio program.
SPEAKER 02 :
Let’s go to Detroit, Michigan now. Let’s go on WRDT. Niles, you’re on the air.
SPEAKER 04 :
Hello, Bob. How are you doing today?
SPEAKER 02 :
Doing good, Niles. Thank you.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, unfortunately, I can’t say too much of that for myself. I get so frustrated in my Christian walk trying, well, like you said, wanting, having the desire to be kind and helpful and be diligent. And I think I’m burned out, like you have explained. I’m reading your book, Growing in Grace.
SPEAKER 05 :
Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER 04 :
I just, in my mind, I always just come to conclusions where I just forget it. You know, I’m tired of trying to help people and be this gentleman, but inside I’m raging, you know, and I feel like I’m two different people sometimes. And I think I just need to come to a place or find a place where I can get some peace because I don’t have any peace at all. Because from one day to the next, I feel good, and then the next day, I believe what you’re saying about the Word and about Christ, but it just has no, it seems to have no effect on me at all. Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER 1 :
And…
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, now you have come to a fullness of understanding, have you not, of what the gospel is. You understand that the gospel is more than getting your sins forgiven, don’t you? You understand that the gospel is where Jesus took away the sins of the world, and that means all of your sins that you will ever commit in your life, even the ones you’re going through right now, have already been taken away at the cross. But that is not salvation. That salvation is being saved from the consequence of sin, which is death, spiritual death. And spiritual death can only be eradicated by spiritual life. And spiritual life can only come from the spiritual one, and that is Christ Jesus, not you and me. And that’s the meaning of his resurrection is that life that raised Jesus from the dead is now available to us to raise us from our condition of spiritual death, which all men are born into. We have no choice in that. We are born into this world spiritually dead. And but we do have an option when we hear the truth of the meaning of the gospel and the meaning of the resurrection to turn to him for life. And when we do, we’re born again. Now, are you sure that you have come to Christ for the fullness of the gospel?
SPEAKER 04 :
I believe I’ve come to Christ for life.
SPEAKER 02 :
For his resurrected life to come and live in you.
SPEAKER 04 :
Come and live in me.
SPEAKER 02 :
All right. Now, let me stop you there. If that’s the case, then why do you suppose that he came to live in you unless he wants to live his life through you? In other words, Christ gave his life for you so that he could give his life to you so that he could live his life through you. You can’t live the Christian life. That’s why he had to come to live in us. He could have saved us any way he wanted to. He could have just said, well, you’re saved by getting your sins forgiven, but you would still be on your own. You’d still be out there struggling, trying to live the Christian life and the energy of your own flesh, which people even do when they have Christ living in them because they don’t know he’s there. But the reason that Christ came to come to live in you is to live his life through you. That’s why he said, Niles, you are a branch and I’m the vine. Or excuse me, you’re a branch and I’m the vine. And a vine produces fruit through the branch, not vice versa. And so you cannot live the Christian life any more than a branch can produce fruit. A branch can only abide in the life of the vine and let the life of the vine produce fruit in and through the branch. But you can’t produce it. Now, when you’re out trying or you don’t know that and all you’re doing is trying, then you’re coming to the point where you are frustrated out of your socks in trying to do what Jesus said is impossible to do. So you’ve kind of hit the right solution when you said give up because that’s what he wants you to do. He wants you to give up. And to give up trying and start learning how to trust in him to do in and through you what you’ve been unable to produce. So you’ve had a lot of experience trying to do what you found out you can’t do. And that’s good. That’s beneficial to know. Because a lot of people never come to understand the truth of that. They never try hard enough. But only sincere people burn out. Because only sincere people are trying to live the Christian life. Otherwise, if they weren’t sincere, they wouldn’t be trying to do so. But they ultimately have to burn out in order to come alive to Christ Jesus. So what you’re to the point of just saying, I’m through, Lord, trying. And from this day forth, I’m going to trust you and abide in you and allow you to live your life in and through me. I do not want to do one thing that you don’t tell me to do. I’m through going out in the energy of my own flesh and trying to be popular and win popularity contests. I’m tired of trying to make people think that I’m a dandy Christian. And I’m going to walk by faith in you and allow you to have reign in my life.
SPEAKER 04 :
And you say it doesn’t. And a lot of times our mistake is we’re looking for results. We’re looking for results of that.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, the results are in his hands, so you get your eyes totally off the results. They’re in his hands. You may get down and say, it doesn’t seem like you’re doing much. Fine, keep abiding. When I’m ready to do something, I’ll do something. In the meantime, I’m going to teach you what it means to abide in the vine. So trust him to do what he promised to do. You’re not very faithful in doing what you promised to do, but he is. And so what you’re saying is, Lord, give me the strength and the will and the desire to abide in you, because I know when I do, you’re going to do what you said you would. And so the problem is not with you. It’s with me. And so I want to learn how to abide into you, how to listen to your voice and to be led internally by the spirit of God who is alive, living in me and is my hope of glory.
SPEAKER 04 :
So I need to spend the rest of my time. about living in him, letting him and surrendering to him.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, give up.
SPEAKER 04 :
Let him have it.
SPEAKER 02 :
Let him have it. Let him have it. I say many times now, it’s like a driver’s ed car. It has two steering wheels in it. And you’re the student, and you get in the car, and you’ve got a steering wheel in front of you, and then you look over, and there’s a driver, and he’s got one in front of him, and that’s Jesus sitting there. And he says, Niles, I know you’ve got a steering wheel sitting in front of you. You have a capability of driving this car. But when you do, I’m going to take my hands off of the wheel. And I’ll bump down the road with you and run into trees with you. But I’m going to teach you that you cannot complete this trip. And so you can either learn by experience or by faith. And I hope you just take it by faith. Get your hands off the wheel. Enjoy the trip. Leave the driving to me. And I’ll take you on a trip that you know not of. And that’s basically what the Christian life is, is enjoying the vacation that you and I take, sitting in the front seat and allowing Jesus to drive us where he wants us to go.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, then, not to keep the line, but doesn’t that give you a fleshly mind of, well, I don’t have to do anything then?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, you don’t not only have to do anything, he doesn’t want you to do anything. He wants to do it through you. Now, if you think Jesus is dead and dead sitting inside of you, well, then your idea is, well, if I give up, nothing will happen. But if you realize it, no, he’s alive, and he knows a lot more what he wants to accomplish than I do. So I think I’ll quit putting my faith in me and put it in him. Now, I should give that a try if you have any difficulty and stuff as you go along, but that’s where you have to begin, and that’s where it ends, and I can’t say anything additional to that. You’re going to have to take that information and surrender and get out of the way so that Christ Jesus can get an action on your behalf.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay, thank you, Bob.
SPEAKER 02 :
Okay, brother. You’re sure welcome, my friend. Bye-bye. All right. Well, let’s go to Rancho Palos Verde, California. Let’s go on Kaybright. Margaret, you’re on the air.
SPEAKER 03 :
Hi, Mr. George.
SPEAKER 02 :
I appreciate your patience, Margaret.
SPEAKER 03 :
I was just going to hang up.
SPEAKER 02 :
I don’t blame you.
SPEAKER 03 :
The only Mr. George I knew was my boss in Wales.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, is that right? Yeah. That’s where we all came from, that part of the country, that’s for sure.
SPEAKER 03 :
That’s the only time I’ve heard the name. Anyhow, Luke 13… Verse 31 to 33, having a little problem with that, the Pharisees told Jesus to get away because Herod wanted to kill them. And then, dropping down to verse 33, Nevertheless, I must go on my way today, tomorrow, and the day. I can’t quite clear my mind whether Jesus was staying. Now, I heard a pastor, and I almost fell off the pew, say, Well, Jesus lied. Because he didn’t want Herod to know that he was actually staying in Jerusalem and that he wasn’t leaving. So I don’t… Well… That Jesus was alive for one day.
SPEAKER 02 :
No, I don’t think so.
SPEAKER 03 :
And I don’t know what…
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, let’s just take it again in context there. It said the Pharisees, at that time some Pharisees came to Jesus. Now, what in the world would the Pharisees be coming to him for? They didn’t like him. No. And they’re saying, and they said, leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you. Now, I don’t know whether the Pharisees were saying to him, hey, get out of here because Herod wants to kill you, or using Herod because they wanted to get rid of him. And in essence, they wanted to kill him, didn’t they? Yeah. So we don’t know which one that is, but it’s my feeling that they were the one that was kind of pulling off a little bit of a scam there and saying, leave this place and Herod wants to kill you. But… Jesus answered it as if Herod, you know, this was what the deal was. But he said, go tell that fox. I love that word. I’ll drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow. And on the third day, I’ll reach my goal. Now, obviously, he’s talking about the third day of resurrection. In any case, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day, for surely no prophet can die outside of Jerusalem. And so he’s saying, in essence, I’m going to stay doing what I’ve been doing right here, because no prophet can die outside of Jerusalem.
SPEAKER 03 :
I don’t know where that pastor got the fact that he was telling him,
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, I don’t know where most pastors get a lot of stuff.
SPEAKER 03 :
He’s no longer pastor there back in Ontario.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, I think that’s something to be grateful for.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, I didn’t get a chance to ask him afterwards, you know, because I just was stunned. I mean, that doesn’t, to say that. But thank you anyway for the translation. Thank you very much.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, I hope that helps. And again, I appreciate your patience. That’s one of the fruit of the Spirit, Margaret.
SPEAKER 03 :
Thank you and blessings to you all.
SPEAKER 02 :
Thank you. Same to you.
SPEAKER 01 :
Bye-bye. Until next time, walk in faith, be good to one another, and praise the Lord. Amen.
