On this episode of Classic Christianity Radio, Bob George walks through John chapter 16 and unpacks some of the most foundational truths of the Christian faith. From the role of the Holy Spirit to the meaning of salvation, Bob explains why forgiveness alone does not save a person, why unbelief is the world’s greatest sin, and what it truly means to place faith in Jesus Christ. The broadcast also explores the Trinity, dependence on God, and the life-changing promise of Christ’s resurrection.
00:00:12 Introduction to Classic Christianity Radio
00:00:28 Understanding the Role of the Holy Spirit
00:04:10 Understanding Salvation and the Resurrected Life
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 01 :
Well, let’s all turn to the 16th chapter of the Gospel of John. You remember that just a few days prior to that, that’s what they call the triumphal entry, was where Jesus had come from the feast and was on his way to Jerusalem. And they took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, Hosanna, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. And before the week was over, we’re yelling, crucify him, crucify him. And it really shows us how fickle humanity can be and how one day we can be one way and the next day we can be the other. And so what we want to do is to acknowledge this day when people did recognize Jesus as who he was, but to also understand that Christ had a lot of teaching to do to us before he left this earth. And so we’re going to turn over to the 16th chapter of the Gospel of John, and beginning in verse 5, he says, “…now I’m going to him who sent me, and yet none of you ask, where are you going?” Because I’ve said these things, you are filled with grief. But I tell you the truth, it is for your good that I’m going away. Unless I go away, the counselor will not come to you. Now again, who is the counselor? It’s the Holy Spirit. So he’s saying, unless I go away, I cannot send the counselor to you. But if I go, I’ll send him to you. That’s a promise from God. And when he comes, he will, number one, convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment, in regard to sin because men do not believe in me, and in regard to righteousness because I am going to the Father where you can see me no longer, and regard to judgment because the prince of this world now stands condemned.” three things that the Holy Spirit was going to do. First of all, he was going to convict the world wrong about sin. The world looks at sin as the nasty dine, the dirty dozen. It looks as any violation of the law. All of those things are true definitions. But Jesus came down to the root of all of those and said the world’s sin is unbelief in me. He identified the fact that the only sin attributable to man is the sin of the rejection of the Son of God. All of the sins of the world. have been placed on Christ Jesus at the cross 2,000 years ago, and there he who knew no sin became sin for us so that in him we could become the righteousness of God. Is that right or wrong? So how many of the sins of the world were placed upon Jesus 2,000 years ago? All of them. For how long? throughout all eternity back to Adam and forward to eternity all of the sins of the world were placed upon Christ Jesus do we all understand that now if we believed that salvation was getting your sins forgiven what is the only thing you could conclude about that truth that he died for the sins of the whole world what’s the only thing you could conclude That everyone’s saved. The whole world’s saved. Doesn’t make any difference what happened. The whole world’s saved. Is that true? No, that is not true. Because it is not true that you’re saved by getting your sins forgiven. You’re saved by the resurrected life of Christ Jesus that we’ll be celebrating next Sunday. You’re saved from the consequence of sin, which is death… by the gift of God, which is life, and the only life available to us is the one who claimed to be the way and the truth and the life. But in order to give us life eternal, he had to eternally take away the cause of death. And what was the cause of death? Sin. And that’s why Jesus says, the world’s sin, singular, is unbelief in me, because the sins of the world have all been placed on the cross of Christ Jesus, where, again, he took them away eternally. Do you believe that? How many of you believe that there’s no sin that you have ever committed… that was not placed at the cross of Christ. How many of you believe the truth of that? That you could not commit enough sins that Jesus would have forgotten one. Now that should be good news to most of us. To some who think they’ve never sinned, that’s not good news because who needs it? I’ve never sinned. If you find one of those people, let me know. All of us have sinned, have we not? And we’ve all fallen short of the glory of God. And all of those sins were placed on Jesus at the cross 2,000 years ago, never to see them again. So no man will ever go to hell because of his sins. How many of you believe that? How many of you believe that Hitler will not go to hell because of his sins? let’s see that again how many believe it hit okay now how many believe that you wouldn’t the only sin attributable to man is the sin of the rejection of the one who provided this for us that’s why it doesn’t make any difference how bad you are it’s how dead you are the wages of sin is what death in case we haven’t figured it out that’s a problem That’s a problem. And death had to be corrected. And who corrected it? Jesus. And how did he correct that? Through his resurrected life that we’re headed toward the celebration of next week. So about sin, the world does not believe in me. That’s the only sin acceptable to man. Now, guys, this word believe, You know, you can acknowledge Jesus. I certainly acknowledge Jesus for 36 years of my life. If someone would have said to me, do you believe in Jesus? Absolutely. If they had asked, do you believe you’re a Christian? I probably wouldn’t have thought through it very much, but said, well, yeah, I’m not a Buddhist. You know, I’m not a Muslim. So sure, I’m a Christian. If anyone would ask me what it meant to be saved, I wouldn’t even know what they were talking about. It was a historical acknowledgement of a man who lived on this earth. Did I know he was God? Did not have a clue he was God. I knew he was a son of God. Didn’t know what that meant. But I knew he was a son of God. But all of that is intellectual. Just an intellectual acknowledgement like I would say I believe in Abe Lincoln. And I believe where Abe Lincoln was born. And I believe he died in the Ford Theater. And I believe John Wilkes Booth killed him. And I believe all those things. And I believe Jesus died over there someplace over there in the east and went into a grave and was raised from the dead. I believed all those things intellectually. But there’s a world of difference between believing and putting faith in something, isn’t there? i can believe that chair will hold me and never sit in it and therefore i’ve just given lip service to what i say i believe you’re not saved by believing you’re saved by putting faith in what you say you believe in and when you put faith in it that’s a whole change of attitude That is saying with every ounce of my being, I am putting my faith in this person called Christ Jesus of Nazareth, that if he is not who he claims to be, and if indeed he did not go to the cross to take away my sins for eternity, and if indeed was not raised from the dead, as it is written that he was, I am going to go to hell because my entire faith is in him and him alone. I’m putting no faith at all in anything I do. I’ve already given up on me. And I’m not going to put any faith in my church because they’re as bad a shape as I am. I am putting my faith in a man called Jesus of Nazareth who went to a cross and took away my sins and was raised from the dead to save me from the consequence of sin, which is death by his resurrected life. I’m putting my faith in that. If that doesn’t work, I’m going to hell. That is faith, isn’t it? That’s not just a belief system. That’s saying that one of these days, every person in this room is going to die. Do anybody have any problem with that? I mean, you might have a problem with the fact that you’re going to die, but do you have a problem with the fact that you are going to die? We’re all going to die. And it says after that comes the judgment. And each and every person in this room, as well as on listening to my voice, as well as all over the world, that’s the Muslim world, that’s the Buddhist world, that’s the world, all of it, is going to be asked one question. What did you do with my son? What did you do with him? Did you make a mockery of him? Did you deny him? Did you say, who needs him? I like Mohammed, or I like Buddha, or I like the Pope. Or I like anything else that’s come down the pike. I like Luther. Or I like Calvin. I don’t care whether you like them or not. What I’m asking you is what did you do with my son? Did you accept him by faith as your only, only means of salvation? Or did you just give lip service to it? What did you do with my son? The only question God will ever ask you and me. What did you do with my son? Did you just give an intellectual assent to him? Or did you put your faith totally in the fact that he took away my sins and he was raised from the dead so that I could be raised from the dead? That’s where my faith is. And if that doesn’t work, I’m going to hell. Period. That’s faith. Now that’s what he says that when the Holy Spirit comes, he’s going to convict the world of that. Why do people hate Jesus? Why do people ignore Jesus? Well, because he claimed to be the way and the truth and the life. And I don’t like that. I think there’s other ways. I think God’s narrow-minded. He should have opened up more avenues for us. This is ridiculous to just have one way. Well, he said, that’s your thoughts, but it wasn’t mine. And so he says, I’m going to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. About righteousness, he says, because I’m going to the Father, you’ll see me no more. Folks, the only true righteousness you and I have ever seen on the face of this earth was in Christ Jesus. Have you ever seen pure righteousness in any human being that you know? He is one righteous dude. We have been imputed his righteousness. But the only righteousness that was ever observed was him. So he said, you have seen righteousness. Now I’m going to the father. You’ve seen it. The example was given to you. Now I’m going to the father where you can see me no more. And about judgment, because the prince of this world has already been judged. Satan’s already been judged.
SPEAKER 03 :
Classic Christianity Radio thanks you for your support of our online and radio ministry. Make sure to visit bobgeorge.net to order a copy of the Closer Look Bible Study Series. A Closer Look Bible Studies features eight in-depth study guides that detail hundreds of Bible verses to help you deepen your understanding of the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. A Closer Look Bible Study Guides are an excellent tool for both individuals and larger Bible study groups. Please visit bobgeorge.net to order your copy of A Closer Look Bible Studies, as well as many other wonderful books, CDs, and study guides. With your support, we can continue to share the good news of Jesus Christ. Let’s continue now with our Classic Christianity radio program.
SPEAKER 01 :
I have so much more to say to you, he said, but you can’t bear it. But when the spirit of truth comes… He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak only what he hears, and that’s from me, Jesus. And he’ll tell you what is yet to come. You see here, my friends, the Trinity in action. Remember last week we talked about how Jesus said that I do not do anything unless the Father tells me to do it. Okay? Are we together? He did not do one thing unless the Father told him what to do. So Jesus lived in total dependency upon the Father. Now Jesus says to the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit, when he comes, is not going to do anything except what I tell him to do. So you got the Father who told Jesus what to do, and now you got Jesus who told the Holy Spirit what to do, and now you got the Holy Spirit telling you what to do. It’s the entirety of the Trinity. We’re in total harmony with one another. There’s no difference between what the Holy Spirit is going to teach and what Jesus taught and what the Father taught. And he said, if you want to get to know the Father, you’re going to have to get to know me. And if you got to know me, you’re going to have to get to know the Holy Spirit who revealed me. You get to know now the Godhead. Do you think anybody in the Old Testament understood the Trinity? Not a soul. Not a soul understood the Trinity until Christ came to reveal it to us. And when Christ came, he revealed how God was and who God was, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Nobody knew that before Jesus. And so that is one of the things that differentiates the Christian world from others, is that it is that Christ has revealed to us who God is. If you would ask a Jew who God is or who your God is, he would have had to have said, my God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But I don’t know who he is. I don’t know that he exists in the form of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That’s what’s called the Trinity. So he’ll not speak on his own, he said. The Holy Spirit isn’t going to speak on his own. Jesus said, when I was here, I didn’t speak on my own. I only spoke what the Father told me. When the Holy Spirit is here, he isn’t going to speak on his own. He’s only going to speak what I tell him. And that is interesting, guys, how all of this works. He said he’s going to tell you what is yet to come. In other words, the prophecies that are going to come. He said, also the Holy Spirit is going to bring glory to me, Jesus, by taking from what is mine, Jesus, and making it known to you. So he’s going to take all of the things of Christ and make it known to us. All, he said, that belongs to the Father is mine. And that’s why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine, that I have received from the Father, and I will make it known unto you. In a little while, he said, you’ll see me no more. And then after a little while, you will see me. What is a conclusion to this, guys? Conclusions to all of this. First of all, as I said, Jesus did not speak or act unless the father told him to. Are we together on that? Guys, he didn’t pray unless the father told him to pray. He didn’t speak unless the Father told him to speak and how to say it. He said, not only do I not say anything unless the Father tells me to say it, but he also tells me how to say it. I live in total dependency upon the Father. And guys, if we would ever get a hold of that, you wouldn’t have any more altar calls to come down and to confess your little petty sin that you did this week. And come down and go Lord I did this. And then come down next week. Oh Lord I did this again. And then I did this. You would teach total capitulation to God. The little issues are not the issue. The issue is you’re not depending totally upon Christ for your life. And that is the goal of God for each and every one of us. Is to come to a point where we realize I can’t and he does. And to live in total dependency… upon your father who is in heaven and to live in total dependency on that everything that is said in this book is truth and that truth will set me free so quit arguing with it and just accept it for what it is and live by it that’s living in total dependency upon the revealed will of god so jesus didn’t speak or act unless the father told him to The Holy Spirit, therefore, speaks and acts toward us as Jesus tells him to. And that is how we live the Christian life. How are we to live the Christian life? In total dependency upon the Holy Spirit’s revelation as to what Christ has said, who learned what to say through the Father. So is there any differentiation at all between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in regard to the message? Is there? Not announced. Everything that Jesus revealed, the Father revealed it to him. Everything the Holy Spirit reveals, Jesus revealed to him. They’re all in harmony. And that’s what is called truth. And he says that truth will set you free. And when you’ve been set free, you’re free indeed. When you’ve been set free by the Son of God, you are free indeed. Are we together on this, guys? It is not trying to imitate Jesus. You know this, what would Jesus do is nonsense. He walked on the water. He raised the dead. And so coming up with, well, what would Jesus do, is kind of like, well, you know, what would Giuliani do? Or what would Clinton do? Don’t ask. That was a very bad illustration. The issue that we’re dealing here is Jesus didn’t say to imitate my actions. Because what Jesus did was everything his father told him to do. And that’s what we imitate as his dependency upon the father. The father hasn’t told me to go out and raise someone from the dead. He hadn’t told you to walk on water. He hasn’t told you to do these things. So what would Jesus do? What would Jesus do? What the father told him to do. When Peter raised the man at the gate in Jerusalem, raised this guy, healed him. How many times do you suppose Jesus walked by that man? Probably hundreds. Why didn’t he heal him? Father didn’t tell him to. Why did Peter? Father told him to. Do we get it, guys? In other words, get rid of this group mentality that he’s here to tell you all. Get rid of y’all. He’s speaking to you. Remember what he said to Peter. What does it matter what I do with John if he lives forever? You follow me. Get your eyes on what he’s doing to somebody else. You follow me. You are a branch. I’m the vine. And you don’t sit there as a branch looking up at the smaller branch up there and saying, look how much fruit I got hanging off of me, but he only got a couple little beads over there. Or if you’re the little guy up there looking down on the other one and saying, boy, he’s got a lot more fruit than I do. I need to oom, grunt, and groan some fruit at. Recognize that God deals with you and me on an individual basis. It’s a personal relationship between you and him. And he came to live in you. And every person sitting in this room who knows Christ Jesus has the same spirit living in him. And he’s dealing with you individually. You have individual heartaches, don’t you? You have individual problems. You have individual idiosyncrasies, don’t you? They’re different than mine, different than somebody else’s. And yet he can deal with each and every one of them in his own way. Our weaknesses. Every person in this room has a different weakness. Might match up a little bit with some other, but basically different. It’s a different thing that you’re plagued with. And he’s dealing with you individually. Get that through our minds, my friends. This is what the meaning of Easter is going to ultimately be. Is I was raised from the dead so I can live in you and guide you individually into all truth. the disciples grief turned to joy he said some of his disciples said to one another what does he mean by saying in a little while you’ll see me no more and then after a little while why you will see me and because i’m going to the father they kept asking what does he mean by a little while we don’t understand what he’s saying is that unusual How many times have you ever read the Word of God and said, I don’t understand what this means? I read that. I say it every time I look in Revelation. I don’t have a clue what this means. Talking about nine heads and all these horns going on. Somebody else can figure that out. Don’t tell me to figure it out. It sounds weird to me. But some people think they got it. And maybe they do. Maybe God just hadn’t called me to preach Revelation. I’m glad. I’m glad. I have enough trouble nightmares okay now they didn’t understand what it meant Jesus saw that they wanted to ask you about this so he said to them are you asking one another what I meant when I said in a little while you’ll see me no more and then after a little while you will see me I tell you the truth you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices the world rejoiced over the death of Christ Isn’t it crazy? You say, how could that be? Well, how could people rejoice over the fact that some idiots ran airplanes into New York City at 9-11 and killed over 3,000 people and have people out in the streets rejoicing over it? How could that be? Can you figure it out how that could be? What kind of a human being That you would have to be to be rejoicing over kids and innocent civilians that you had just blown up and killed and praise Allah? Things haven’t changed, folks. Jesus, he really prophesied that. He said people are going to kill you in the name of God and be happy with it. Is that going on today? Absolutely. Absolutely. And so he says, are you asking one another what I meant when I said in a little while you’ll see me no more and then after a little while you will? He said, I’ll tell you the truth. You will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has not yet come. The delivery hasn’t come. But when her baby is born, she forgets the anguish. because of her joy that a child is born into the world. Now, guys, that’s some memory to forget, from my understanding, that is not a real pleasant experience that you ladies have when you’re giving birth. I’ve always said before, if God would have worked it out where we guys had to deliver the babies, we’d only have one. There’d never be two, for sure. But you gals have something that we don’t have. But because of the joy of the delivery of that child, you will go through it again gladly because of the joy of birth. And so with you, he said, now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice and no one will take away your joy. To this very day, my friends, we’re still rejoicing, are we not, in the fact that Jesus was raised from the dead. In that day, he says, you will no longer ask me anything. In other words, we have direct access to the Father. That’s why we pray to the Father. We have direct access to the Father. He said, so you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. In other words, in my authority. Until now, you’ve not asked for anything in my name. You haven’t gone direct to the Father. Ask and you’ll receive, and your joy will be complete. Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language, he said, but will tell you plainly about who? About my Father. In that day, you will ask the Father in my name, and I’m not saying that I’ll ask the Father on your behalf. So in other words, we need to get rid of the idea that Jesus is asking the Father in our behalf. Is that true? No, he said, if you’re born again, you’ll ask the Father. You don’t have to ask me. You ask in my name and my authority, but you go direct to the Father. Does this tell us a little something about prayer? Who do we go to? The Father. The Father.
SPEAKER 03 :
Until next time, walk in faith, be good to one another and praise the Lord. Amen.
