Join Bob George as he tackles some of the toughest questions callers have about real-life challenges. In this insightful episode, Bob highlights the essence of love as not what we can give but what we have already received from Christ. Delve into this thought-provoking discussion about how God’s initiation of love transforms us from within and how we are called to respond with faith. Listeners also hear from Randy, who is struggling with a mix of personal issues, including financial hardship and separation from his spouse. Bob offers compassionate advice on maintaining trust in God even when circumstances seem
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 :
Mike, you’re on the air.
SPEAKER 06 :
It’s really difficult for me to love in Christ. Every time I pray to God that he would step in, intervene for me, and make me love, that dream comes back. And I believe that’s God telling me that I’m the one that, I don’t know if I’m the one that has to instigate it or he does it or what it is, but I would like to love others more than have all the money in the world, really, is the way that I feel.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, Mike, it says in the scripture, it’s not that we love God, but that he loved us first. In other words, it’s back to what we were talking about at the beginning of the program. We have to understand that truth. God is the initiator of all things. And whenever, you know, we live on this level of the world under what’s called a law of causality. I don’t know whether you’re familiar with that or not, but we studied it in school. And that’s that the effect of something is never greater than the cause of something. In other words, the warmth of the sun is not greater than the sun. My salvation is not greater than my Savior. And so we know that we live by that law of causality. Well, the same thing is true with God. is that if the effect of something is greater than the cause of something, that you become greater than the cause. In other words, you’re greater than God. If I can cause God to respond to me, why, then I’m greater than God.
SPEAKER 06 :
Kind of like Satan’s philosophy when he turns against God.
SPEAKER 02 :
Absolutely. So God is the initiator of all things, and we are responders. That’s what’s called faith. That’s how we enter into God. that relationship with God’s initiation to us is by faith. And so you have people who will respond to him by faith and to see that he’s the initiator of all things and I’m the responder. And I think that you have to realize that that love that you’re talking about, The perfect love of God has been initiated to you through Christ Jesus. And you respond to that. And the more you respond to that, the deeper it becomes. And you become, sooner or later, like the Apostle Paul of saying, I’m convinced of something. And that’s what God wants us to be, is convinced of something. We just kind of, you know, well, yeah, maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. He wants us to be just doggedly convinced of something, that nothing can separate you from the love of God. Trials can’t, tribulation can’t, persecution can’t, nakedness can’t, the sword can’t. Knowing all these things, he said, we’re more than conquerors through Christ. Absolutely, of Christ Jesus. So you get to know these things after a while, and you realize that there isn’t anything in the world that can separate me from God’s love. I don’t deserve that. I can’t earn it. But nothing, nothing can separate me from the love of God. Well, if I understand that’s how much God loves me, how can I not respond any other way except to love him? Right.
SPEAKER 06 :
And others, it flows out of you.
SPEAKER 02 :
Absolutely, and that completes the process. God loves me. I love him. God loves the world, so go let me love through you to them. And that’s what we have to do is to allow the agape love of God to flow in and through us because we cannot conjure it up and initiate it on our own.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, it’s impossible.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 06 :
Thank you for answering my questions.
SPEAKER 02 :
You’re sure welcome, Mike. Thanks, Mike. God bless you.
SPEAKER 04 :
All right, bye-bye.
SPEAKER 02 :
Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Randy, you’re on the air.
SPEAKER 04 :
You have to excuse me. I’m kind of falling apart. I’m trying to find out if it’s okay to question my beliefs sometimes because it doesn’t seem like he hears me. And I’m suicidal, so it’s not a real happy time.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, Randy, what kicked this off?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, a lot of things. I’m… separated from my wife, and she’s very ill, and she’s pushed away from me.
SPEAKER 02 :
How long ago was that, Randy?
SPEAKER 04 :
This is going… Excuse me. We’ve been having troubles for over a year, and she doesn’t work.
SPEAKER 02 :
And when did the final separation take place?
SPEAKER 04 :
About 10 months ago.
SPEAKER 02 :
Okay. All right.
SPEAKER 04 :
And she doesn’t work, and I’ve been trying to take care of the house and all the bills and everything, and… The house is getting close to losing it, and I don’t want that to happen. I don’t know about trying to find financial help and stuff. Once you’ve fallen behind, it’s real difficult. And the last thing I want her to do is face losing her home if she passes on as well. She’s got cancer in that house.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, let me ask you this, Randy. It sounds to me like you’re a pretty nice guy, that you’re wanting to take care of your wife, even though you’re separated and everything else, which is very honorable. Have you given any thought or discussion about moving back in and in the remaining time that your wife, has left of the two of you getting back together as man and wife and finishing out her life together with you? Have you considered that?
SPEAKER 04 :
I’ve talked to her some about it and things, and she’s not receptive because she says she doesn’t want pity, and that’s not what it is. I mean, she even gets angry. Like I said, I’ve lived… Pretty much a pauper because it cost me about $3,500 to $4,000 a month to keep her house with all the bills and the payments and all. So, you know, it would be advantageous to some degree, yeah. But she thinks it would be for pity, and that’s not the case.
SPEAKER 02 :
Does she know the Lord, Randy?
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes, she does. Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, it would seem to me that it sounds to me like, you know, I hate to say that when someone is sick like that, but it seems to me like it’s kind of a pride deal of where her pride is getting in the way there of what would be the most, I would say the most godly advice would be that, look, you two get back to where you need to be and work out your problems. It’s a case that we’re married and you’re my wife and I have an obligation to take care of you and I want to take care of you. I married you for good times and bad times, for in sickness and in health. And that’s God’s way of doing things. But it seems to me that some kind of a conversation along that line would certainly be beneficial, that would enable you to move back into the house and to be able to watch over her and save some of your expenses as well.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah. I guess what I was wondering, too, is, I’ve questioned God in my prayers to him, wondering why things have to be falling apart, why I’m losing the home, and why so many things are happening. And is that wrong?
SPEAKER 02 :
No, it’s the situation there that circumstances come upon yourself as a result normally of decisions. And now when sickness comes like that, there’s no decision connected with that, but the things leading up to that were decisions that people were making. And God gets all the blame for that where it’s really Satan is the one who comes in and does the damage and puts in the fears and all the things that ultimately cause people to want to get separated and divorced. It’s getting back to trusting the Lord with this type of thing, regardless of what happens. God is not going to forsake you, and he’s going to carry you through. Many times when we are in our weakest moments are when Christ is able to move in our lives. And it’s not unusual for you to walk through questioning. It just doesn’t make any sense. God loves you perfectly. He said, I will provide everything that you need for life and godliness. And he says, trust me with that. But I think that when you’re into financial situations, many people have gotten into financial situations and they owe money and everything else, but there’s ways out of that. And there’s ways many times of consolidation of bills and all kinds of things that can take place. And so those kind of things can be corrected. What is the sad thing in your life is the deal between you and your wife. And that to me is sad, especially with her finding out the news in regard to her health. And she knows she doesn’t want to go through that by herself. She knows that. But there’s a pride situation, I’m sure, there. I would focus on trying to get that done, Randy. I’m glad you’ve got another job that’s bringing in some income. And, you know, you never know what’s going to happen. God could open up another avenue or could start getting some raises. But you’re going to have to get out of that depression. The reason you’re depressed is because you’re thinking very, very negative, depressing thoughts. You’re built that way by God. Whereby, as a man thinks, so is he. And what you have to do, Randy, is to replace those depressing thoughts with truth. If God be for you, who can be against you? Grab a hold of that verse and hang on to it. If God is for me, who can be against me? Nothing can separate me from the love of God. I can be separated from my money. I can be separated from my wife. I can be separated from my children, be separated from a job. But nothing can separate me from the love of God that I have in Christ Jesus. And hang on to that love, Randy, the fact that God loves you perfectly. And get your eyes off of your circumstances and get them on to Christ Jesus, who is the solution to your circumstances. And that depression will go away as you quit thinking depressing thoughts.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay. I appreciate your time, sir.
SPEAKER 02 :
You’re welcome, Randy. If we can be of any further help, you call and let us know, okay? I sure will. Steve, you’re on the air.
SPEAKER 03 :
I have a problem. I’m in a church, and I’m an alcoholic, and I keep backsliding, and I don’t go to the church, and I lose contact and faith and everything else like that. I don’t know. I have this anger in me for some reason. I don’t know what it is.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, Steve, I can tell you where your anger comes from. Anger comes from fear. Anger is a secondary response to fear. Men don’t like to admit they’re fearful, so they just take it out in anger. They don’t mind saying, I’m angry. Anger is just a sign of the fears that are within you. It could be the fear of, again, of not being able to stay sober, fear of not being able to live the kind of life you want to live. Fear of people finding out what’s really going on under the skin. There’s a lot of things that we live in fear, and there’s only one solution, and I say that very emphatically, and that’s the perfect love of God. Perfect love casts away all fear, not some fear, but all of it. Fear has to do with punishment, it says, and a man who fears cannot be perfected in love. And so in as much as God’s goal for you is to be perfected in his love, in other words, come to a point where you are convinced, as the Apostle Paul, of saying, I’m convinced that nothing can separate me from the love of God. Nothing can. Trials can. Tribulation can. Drunkenness can. It doesn’t make any difference what you’re talking about. It cannot separate me from the love of God that’s in Christ Jesus my Lord.
SPEAKER 03 :
Right.
SPEAKER 02 :
And so if that’s God’s goal for you and perfect love is what casts away all fear, well, then fear is what casts away perfect love. So guess where Satan lives? He lives in fear. So you can never rest in the fact that God loves you. And if you’re saved, God has saved you. And you are now a child of the living God. Steve, that’s your identity. You’re not an alcoholic if you’re a child of God. You’ve got to make up your mind which one you want to be. If you’re an alcoholic and you’re not a child of God, well, that’s as good an identity as any. Now, if I’m a child of God, what’s the most natural thing for me to do? Well, the most natural thing to do, if indeed you’re a child of God, is to stay sober. You’ve got to get a hold of your identity, Steve, your true identity in Christ Jesus, who God has made you into a brand-new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. If you’re truly a believer, Steve, then God has given you the ability to understand the meaning of the word of God by his spirit. And by his spirit alone, he’ll reveal the meaning of it to you. But he can’t reveal anything to you if you’re not studying. You have got to get into the word of God. You’ve got to listen to truth, and you have to know what truth is and what truth isn’t because it’s all over the place out there in Christendom. It’s all over the place. Right, right. And so what you have to do, and the only way you’re going to know whether I’m teaching you truth or not is to go into the Word of God and check it out. And so you get a hold of the fact that this is a new identity. I’m a new creature, and I don’t need this because I have Jesus, you see. Okay.
SPEAKER 03 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 02 :
Those fears can only be taken away by the perfect love of God, Steve. And so bury yourself in the grace of God that’s been given to you in Christ Jesus.
SPEAKER 03 :
Okay, I follow you.
SPEAKER 02 :
Come to that point of the Apostle Paul, nothing can separate Steve from the love of God. Right. Nothing. You understand? And keep that in paramount in your mind. Regardless, nothing can separate me from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. And that perfect love will cast away that fear. And when fear is cast away, your depression will be cast away. And quite frankly, if you hang on to that, there will be no need for you to alter your mind when God says, I want to renew you. Wow.
SPEAKER 03 :
Thank you so much for that.
SPEAKER 02 :
God bless you, my friend. Yeah, you too. Bye-bye.
SPEAKER 01 :
Are you looking for encouragement and deeper understanding of God’s Word? Head over to BobGeorge.net where you’ll find books, CDs, and study guides created to help you grow in your faith. And when you order or donate, you’re also helping Bob George Ministries continue sharing the good news with listeners across the country. Your donation, large or small, makes a lasting impact. Visit BobGeorge.net today to explore helpful resources and partner with us in spreading God’s truth. That’s BobGeorge.net. Together, let’s keep this ministry moving forward.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, let’s go to Uri, listening on Cave Ride in Los Angeles. Uri, you’re on the air, brother.
SPEAKER 05 :
Thank you for taking my call, and Merry Christmas to you.
SPEAKER 02 :
Thank you, Deary. The same to you.
SPEAKER 05 :
My question that bothers me for a long, long time is, in Matthew 28, 19, Jesus said, Go to all the world, make disciples, teach them, baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. But when we read the Acts of the Apostles, when the Church was born… No baptism was performed in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but in the name of Jesus. So what is your view on this? I’ll listen to you on the radio.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, Yuri, the reason of the Matthew saying to baptize people in the name of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit is to identify people with the triune God, to let people know that’s who the triune God is. If people already know who the triune God is, you could baptize them in the name of Jesus. Everything that God wants us to know about himself has been revealed in Christ Jesus. That’s why Jesus said, if you’re looking at me, you see the Father. I and the Father are one. But Jesus himself commanded us, the last words that he said, commanding us was to go and to see people are baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Now, it also says in the book of Acts that John the Baptist baptized with water, but the one coming after me will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. And then shortly after that was the day of Pentecost where they were baptized not in water, but with the Holy Spirit. If we believe that the passage said that John baptized with water, but Jesus will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. So we don’t then go and say everybody was baptized with John’s baptism. When you’re born again, the Holy Spirit of God comes to live within you, and you’re baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ. So you say that everybody was baptized in the name of Jesus. We don’t know that. We just know the ones that they recorded stated that they were baptized in Jesus’ name. But if you remember, there was another place where it said that they weren’t saved because they were baptized only in Jesus’ name. So the book of Acts is not a doctrinal book. It’s a book recording what actually took place. And what took place was how the apostles perceived a situation at that time and carried forth with it. And then it was recorded. It wasn’t normative necessarily, but it was recorded that way. And it’s wonderful the way that we do have our Bible. So there’s nothing confusing about that. If Jesus said to go out and identify people with the triune God, well, I think we’d be on good grounds to follow his teaching and go out and do likewise. And I think I’m going to go with that one, quite frankly, rather than the recordation of what took place in the book of Acts, especially.
SPEAKER 07 :
What is the process of being born again?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, Betty, to be born again, obviously, it’s a what’s the process of being born physically the first time. And we can go through that, but we don’t need to. But everyone has to be born again physically. And then what Jesus said is there’s a second birth, which is a spiritual birth. And that comes about as a result of our walking or coming by faith to the two things that Jesus had to do for us that we could not do for ourselves. We have to understand that we are sinners. All of us have sinned and all have fallen short of the glory of God. And those sins had to be forgiven. And with Christ forgiven, it means taken away from the sight of God. In other words, Jesus came, Benny, to almost like put a blanket over the world in regard to sin so that God has dealt with the sin issue toward mankind once and for all. He came to take away the sins of the world from us. the eyes of God. He certainly hasn’t taken away the sins of the world from us down here, but he took it away from the eyes of God. And the way he did that was through the sacrifice of his son, the blood of his own son, Christ Jesus, that was of such value that it could literally take away the sins of the entire world. When that occurred, a thing called propitiation took place. God looked at the sacrifice and said, I’m satisfied. Then we have to recognize that there’s a consequence, however, to sin. It’s called spiritual death. And the only solution to spiritual death is spiritual life. And the only life available to us is the resurrected life of Christ Jesus. And that’s why Paul was able to say without the resurrection, we’re to be pitied of all people and are still in our sins. And so the resurrection is what gives life to the dead. You and I were born alive physically but dead spiritually. And Jesus came and said, I came that you might have life and have it abundantly. And so when we recognize what God says about our condition, that I was a sinner, I am a sinner, and that I’m dead. Then I need to look to the provision of God. What did God do with the fact that I’m a sinner? He took away my sins at the cross, never to see them again. What did He do to correct the solution of being dead spiritually? He came to offer you life. And so, Betty, when you and I come to the point of recognizing our condition and recognizing His provision through His Son, Christ Jesus, and we accept that by faith, we are born again of the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God comes to give life to our spirit, to restore in us what we had lost in Adam, that being the Spirit of God living in us. And we’re now complete for the first time. Without Jesus living in us, we’re like a light bulb without electricity. We’re like a car without gasoline. We’re like an oil lamp without oil. We’re there, but we can’t function as God made us to function. But once we accept that by faith, we’re born again by the Spirit of God, and he begins a brand new relationship with you and with Jesus.
SPEAKER 07 :
And how can we be certain that Jesus lives in us?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, I’ll tell you, it starts with a point in time in history, Betty. It’s like a physical birth. It doesn’t happen over a process. It happens at a point in time in history. And if you’re not sure of that, Betty, you can absolutely be sure today because I can tell your heart is open. And if you want to settle that issue today, drive the stake, so to speak, and so that you’ll never have to question that again, I would love to do that with you. And I would love to pray with you and for you by faith to merely accept what Jesus has done for you at the cross, thanking him for taking away your sins. and then thanking him that he’s offering you life and accepting that life to be yours. And if you’d like to do that today and to drive that stake and never worry about it again, I’d love to pray with you right now.
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 02 :
All right, let’s do that, Betty. And Betty, what you’re doing is this. Prayer is not what saves you. Faith is what saves you. Prayer is an expression of that faith. Your willingness to pray right now is a sign that literally by faith you have entered into this relationship because your willingness to do this is a sign that you’ve already exercised faith. What you’re going to do now is to express to God the truth of that faith. And so why don’t I pray and you just repeat after me and we’ll just drive that stake, okay?
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 02 :
Lord Jesus, I need you.
SPEAKER 07 :
Lord Jesus, I need you.
SPEAKER 02 :
I thank you that you took away my sins at the cross.
SPEAKER 07 :
I thank you that you took away my sins at the cross.
SPEAKER 02 :
Never to see them again.
SPEAKER 07 :
Never to see them again.
SPEAKER 02 :
Having done this.
SPEAKER 07 :
Having done this.
SPEAKER 02 :
You were raised from the dead.
SPEAKER 07 :
You were raised from the dead.
SPEAKER 02 :
So that that life that raised me from the dead.
SPEAKER 07 :
So that life that raised me from the dead.
SPEAKER 02 :
Can raise me into the newness of life.
SPEAKER 07 :
Can raise me into the newness of life.
SPEAKER 02 :
I now ask you to come into my heart.
SPEAKER 07 :
I ask you to come into my heart.
SPEAKER 02 :
And to be my Lord and my Savior.
SPEAKER 07 :
And be my Lord and my Savior.
SPEAKER 02 :
And my very best friend.
SPEAKER 07 :
And my very best friend.
SPEAKER 02 :
In Jesus’ name.
SPEAKER 07 :
In Jesus’ name.
SPEAKER 02 :
Now, Betty, the Bible says that to as many as received him… To them he gave the right to become a child of God. Now, you just received him, didn’t you?
SPEAKER 07 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 02 :
So what did you become?
SPEAKER 07 :
A child of God.
SPEAKER 02 :
Absolutely. And I, too, am a child of God. So what’s that make us?
SPEAKER 07 :
Brother and sister.
SPEAKER 02 :
Absolutely. A brother and sister in Christ. We’ve got a new family out there.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 02 :
It says in heaven, all the angels in heaven rejoicing over that child. In fact, if you’re coming to him by faith, I rejoice in with you. And what I’d like to do, Betty, is this. We have a little study guide that we send out to people who have accepted Christ on the phone or either on the phone or maybe just prayed along with you. And we offer that free of charge to anyone that would like to pick that up. And we’d like to send that to you. And you go through that study guide and it will point out all of the scriptures that tie in to what you just did today. And that will solidify in your life exactly what Christ Jesus just did. I would also advise that you go to your Bible and open it up and in the front cover or wherever you want to put it, put this date down. you put down today, which is the 31st of January in 2005, is the day that I solidified my relationship with Christ. And therefore, anytime Satan ever puts a question in your mind, you can just point him to that passage and tell him to get lost and go talk to somebody else because that’s the day that you solidified your relationship with God.
SPEAKER 07 :
Very good.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, Betty, God bless you. I couldn’t be more thrilled.
SPEAKER 07 :
I know. I can feel it.
SPEAKER 02 :
Absolutely. It’s great. It’s when Christ Jesus says, Behold, I stand at the door, and that’s the door of your heart and not. And if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come into you, and I’ll never leave you nor forsake you. That did it.
SPEAKER 07 :
That did it. That did it, what you just said.
SPEAKER 02 :
Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, Betty, God bless you. And I’m tickled to death to have a new sister in Christ and everybody here as well. And I know all of our listeners are rejoicing with you.
SPEAKER 01 :
Until next time, walk in faith, be good to one another, and praise the Lord. Amen.
SPEAKER 05 :
Put Jesus first in your life and turn your life around.
