In this episode of Classic Christianity Radio, Bob George delves into the compelling topic of justification by faith, emphasizing the liberation from the law and the embrace of grace that is central to Christian living. Through engaging teachings, he explores the common misconceptions about working for salvation and highlights the transformative power of realizing our place in Christ, free from the bondage of religious laws. This journey through Scripture challenges listeners to reflect on their understanding of grace and encourages them to live a life led by the Spirit rather than the law.
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 :
We’ve got formulas, don’t we? And we say, well, if you go to church and you tithe, That’s how you get justified through Christ, because obviously Jesus is there. So there’s a lot of different ways in which we can seek to be justified by Christ. So he says, while we’re seeking to be justified in Christ, in other words, I’m there, but I’m seeking to be justified, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners. Now, how does that become evident? While you’re seeking to be justified by Christ, By faith, we’re justified in Christ. Could God reveal to you that you’re not saved? Absolutely. Say, man, you’re working at this. Are there people in the Christian world that are working their way to God? In the name of who? Christ. So what are they doing? They’re seeking to be justified through what they’re doing. Are there people like that? I mean, think it through, folks. Have you ever been that way? Yeah, well, if I go to church, I’ll make it. And then we think God may hopefully grades on the curve. I mean, there’s no such thing as one black mark is it. He’s grading on the curve. So maybe if I can do more good than bad, I’ll get there. What are you doing? Seeking to be justified in Christ. I’m no longer trying to obey the law, but I got these things that I got to do. And it becomes evident that, hold on a minute, you’re a sinner. You’ve never been saved. Well, it says, well, if that’s the case, well then, does that mean that Jesus, that Christ promotes sin? I mean, is he promoting this? Is seeking to be justified sin? In Christ, and I see that I’m a sinner, does that mean he’s promoting my sinfulness? No, he doesn’t need to promote your sinfulness. The law does that. The purpose of the law is to show you that you’re a sinner. The purpose of the law is to show you you’re dead. Jesus doesn’t do that. The law does that. And so he’s not promoting this. He said, absolutely not. But if I rebuild what I destroyed. Now, what did Paul destroy? What did Jesus destroy? What did they nail to the cross? The law. If I rebuild the law after I’ve destroyed the law, then I’m going to prove I’m a lawbreaker. Because if I bring the law back as a child of God, I’m a lawbreaker. Why? Because you can’t keep it. Am I right or wrong on this, folks? How many of you as a Christian have ever brought the law back into your life? What did it prove to you? You’re a lawbreaker. It certainly didn’t prove that you’re good. And then we say, well, you come to Christ and he’ll, as we say in Texas, hep you to obey the law. Well, you don’t need hep, you know. He didn’t come to hep you to obey the law. He came to show you you’re dead under the law. so that you’ll walk in a newness of life being led by the Spirit of God who lives in you instead of by laws written on stone. Now, folks, Paul wasn’t confused, neither is God. And God didn’t write something to confuse us. So when God says in his words, you’re no longer under the law, if that meant, well, they’re just part of the law, I think he’d have probably explained that rather than leave us in a confusion, wouldn’t you? But when the law is used, what does that mean? It means the five books of Moses called the Pentateuch, called the law, singular, law. So when he’s saying you’re no longer under the law, what does that mean? You’re no longer under the law of who? Moses. Now are the Ten Commandments included in the law? No. Are you under the law? Are you under the Ten Commandments? Not as a child of God. You’ve been freed from the demands of the law so that you could walk in a newness of life, no longer being led by the law that kills, but by the Spirit that what? Gives life. Now folks, think about it for a moment. Can you separate the law from the punishment of the law? If you do not have punishment for the law, the law is meaningless. Am I right or wrong? If there was no penalty for a violation of the law, you may as well not have the law. So if you’re under the law, you’re under the punishment of the law. Now, if you are lost, are you under the law? No. And are you under the punishment of the law? Which is what? Death. When you are saved, you are freed from the law and the punishment of the law so that you can walk alive in the newness of life, which is what? Christ Jesus. Are we together? Now, how can you walk in both of those? I’m going to walk in grace, but I’m going to pull over a little law. Now, not a lot, Bob. But I do need the law of tithing. So let’s bring tithing over here, and we’ll just have a little tithing mixed in with the grace. What did it say about that? A little leaven spoils what? The whole loaf. You bring one ounce of it in, even circumcision, Paul says, and you have devoided Jesus. Do we see the principle? You bring in an ounce, it becomes a pound. Now that’s why there was no toleration at all in the heart of the Apostle Paul, which means none in the heart of God, for the commingling of law and grace. You’re either under the law, dead, or you’re under grace, alive. That’s why it says if you’re under the law, you’re under a curse. What is the curse of the law? Death. Death. So if that’s where you want to be, by your faith be it unto you. But you’re dead as a hammer. So Paul is dealing with this. Now, if this was not important, why would he deal with it? Why would he deal with it? Why would he just say, you know, come on, a little bit of stuff doesn’t hurt you. Why? Because the power of sin is where? In the law. And it says that for sin shall no longer be your master because you’re no longer under the law, but under what? Grace. Which means when you’re under the law, who’s your master? Sin. So this is not something to mess around with. This is cut and dried stuff, black and white. You’re under the law or you’re under grace, but don’t commingle them because it’s going to kill you. Now, if I rebuild, here I’ve been freed from the law, I’m now under grace. But now I rebuild the law system in a grace system. I’m going to prove I’m a lawbreaker. How can you be a lawbreaker unless you’re under the law? If you’re under grace, can you be a lawbreaker? Not unless you’re rebuilding what you destroyed. So you’re not a lawbreaker. What are you? Are you under grace? Where are your sins? Behind the back? What? Never see them again? Is God dealing with you on the basis of sin and death anymore? No. No condemnation awaiting you who belong to Christ Jesus. The law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. Do you ever sin? Well, what do you do with that? Just ignore it? Is that what you do with it? Just ignore it? No big deal to me. I’m not under the law. No, you’re under grace, aren’t you? Now, what does grace say to you? Bob, you just acted like an idiot. That’s why I think today sin, the best definition I know of sin is stupid. You are acting totally contrary. Your thinking is off. And Bob, you let your thinking go off and you’re going to be mastered by what you’re thinking. Because as a man thinks, so is he. I live in you to renew that dumb head of yours. Because if that head had a brain in it, it wouldn’t need renewed. And so I live in you to renew your mind. Now, your mind is getting bombarded by every bit of garbage that’s in the world. Every time you turn on television, it’s bombarded. Every time you drive a sign and see a billboard, it’s bombarded. And because of the world in which you live, and especially this information age that we live in today, there’s a lot of great information out there. And you can have access like that. You need a continual dose of renewing of your mind every moment of the day. Now, that doesn’t mean you sit and read your scriptures for 24 hours. But it means when you do, absorb them so that you can meditate on what truth is. Because once you have truth in you, it’s there. So I don’t need it in front of me anymore. It’s not that I don’t need a renewal of it, but it’s there and it’s also here and here. So now I can meditate on it. And that’s what he’s saying to us. You need to learn to meditate on the word of God, on the truth of the word of God. And what the word of God is going to say, just like we’ve talked before in Ephesians, if you’ve been stealing, that’s one of the big ten. But are they under the big ten? No. So they’re not under the big ten. If they were and said they’re stealing, what would the wages of that sin be? Death. So they’re not under that. So what does he say to you? If you’ve been stealing, cut it out. Go to work. God forbid. God forbid. Work with your hands and then take what you earn and help people in need with it. Now, when have you had your mind renewed? When you go to work? Well, part of it. When have you had your mind renewed? When you quit stealing. Why? I don’t need to steal anymore. My father owns a cattle on a thousand hills, can sell one any time he wants to. He’s promised to give me everything I need for life and godliness. I don’t need to steal. Used to like to steal, but don’t need to steal. Why? I’m a child of God. I’m being cared for by my Heavenly Father. Now I’ve gone to work and made some money. Lord, see how obedient I am? Said, no, there’s something else that you forgot about. What’s that? Take some of the money you make and help people in need with it. Now when I do all of that, have I completed the deal? Has that been complete now? Have I done what God said to do? Quit stealing? Gone to work? Work and taking some of the money that I’ve earned and help people in need with it. Completed the action? You see anything in there about you are out of fellowship with God? See anything about that in there? Now, if it isn’t there, why do we have it there? You’ve sinned and you’re out of fellowship with God. You’ve got a black mark and you need to get it erased. Isn’t that what’s taught? What? And so how do you do that? Well, you’ve got to confess your sins to God. And then that erases the black mark. So you can go steal again. Go back next week, steal again. Confess your sins. Erase the black mark. You can just keep that up forever. Go to Mass. Go to whatever it might be. Do it as long as you want to. Is there anything about renewing your mind in that kind of a theology? No, it’s just being diligent to confess your sin. And that’s why everything is, you’ve got unconfessed sin in your life. It doesn’t matter if it’s your sin, that’s okay, just confess it. Just be sure you don’t have unconfessed sin in your life. It’s okay to have sin there, just not unconfessed sin. And so you’ve got the Catholics at their Catholic, at your confession booth every week, and you’ve got the Protestants at their 1 John 1, 9 every day. And God’s sitting up in heaven saying, do you people have a brain in your head? Did you not hear me say from the cross, it is finished? Do you not know that no man will ever be justified in the sight of God through obedience to the law, but only by faith in Jesus Christ? And faith in Jesus Christ is that I’m going to continue to forgive you. Faith in Jesus Christ is that I’ve forgiven you. You are a forgiven person. The moment you step out of Adam into Christ and Christ steps out of heaven into you, you’re a forgiven person. Just like you’re a saved person. And the only thing that you can do to that is say thank you. There’s only one response that I have when the Lord Jesus Christ cries out and says, Bob, I took that away at the cross. You say thank you. Now, Lord, I can enter into his presence, calling him Abba Father and receiving mercy in my time of need and to receive instruction.
SPEAKER 01 :
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 02 :
Well, let’s turn to the second chapter of the book of Galatians. You need a continual dose of renewing of your mind every moment of the day. Now, that doesn’t mean you sit and read your scriptures for 24 hours, but it means when you do, absorb them so that you can meditate on what truth is. Because once you have truth in you, it’s there. So I don’t need it in front of me anymore. It’s not that I don’t need a renewal of it, but it’s there and it’s also here and here. So now I can meditate on it. And that’s what he’s saying to us. You need to learn to meditate on the word of God, on the truth of the word of God. And what the word of God is going to say, just like we’ve talked before in Ephesians, if you’ve been stealing, that’s one of the big ten. But are they under the big ten? No. So they’re not under the big ten. If they were and said they’re stealing, what would the wages of that sin be? Death. So they’re not under that. So what does he say to you? If you’ve been stealing, cut it out. Go to work. God forbid. Work with your hands and then take what you earn and help people in need with it. Now, when have you had your mind renewed? When you go to work? Well, part of it. When have you had your mind renewed? When you quit stealing. Why? I don’t need to steal anymore. My father owns a cattle on a thousand hills, can sell one any time he wants to. He’s promised to give me everything I need for life and godliness. I don’t need to steal. Used to like to steal, but don’t need to steal. Why? I’m a child of God. I’m being cared for by my Heavenly Father. Now I’ve gone to work and made some money. Lord, see how obedient I am? He said, no, there’s something else that you forgot about. What’s that? Take some of the money you make and help people in need with it. Now when I do all of that, have I completed the deal? Has that been complete now? Have I done what God said to do? Quit stealing, gone to work, work, and taken some of the money that I’ve earned and helped people in need with it. Completed the action? You see anything in there about you are out of fellowship with God? See anything about that in there? Now, if it isn’t there, why do we have it there? You’ve sinned and you’re out of fellowship with God. You’ve got a black mark and you need to get it erased. Isn’t that what’s taught? And so how do you do that? Well, you’ve got to confess your sins to God. And then that erases the black mark. So you can go steal again. Go back next week, steal again. Confess your sins. Erase the black mark. You can just keep that up forever. Go to Mass. Go to wherever it might be. Do it as long as you want to. Is there anything about renewing your mind in that kind of a theology? No, it’s just being diligent to confess your sin. And that’s why everything is, you’ve got unconfessed sin in your life. Doesn’t matter if it’s your sin, that’s okay, just confess it. Just be sure you don’t have unconfessed sin in your life. It’s okay to have sin there, just not unconfessed sin. And so you’ve got the Catholics at their Catholic, at your confession booth every week, and you’ve got the Protestants at their 1 John 1, 9 every day. And God’s sitting up in heaven saying, do you people have a brain in your head? Did you not hear me say from the cross, it is finished? Do you not know that no man will ever be justified in the sight of God through obedience to the law, but only by faith in Jesus Christ? And faith in Jesus Christ is that I’m going to continue to forgive you. Faith in Jesus Christ is that I’ve forgiven you. You are a forgiven person. The moment you step out of Adam into Christ and Christ steps out of heaven into you, you’re a forgiven person. just like you’re a saved person. And the only thing that you can do to that is say thank you. There’s only one response that I have when the Lord Jesus Christ cries out and says, Bob, I took that away at the cross. You say thank you. Now, Lord, I can enter into his presence, calling him Abba Father and receiving mercy in my time of need and to receive instruction. So he’s in the business of instruction now. The Holy Spirit of God instructing our minds, teaching our minds the truth. So if I rebuild this law in my grace system, I’m going to prove nothing except the fact that I’m a lawbreaker. For through the law, I died to the law. Now that’s a great passage of scripture. Through the law, I died. What does that mean? When I saw that I couldn’t do it, I died. That’s what Paul said. Sin seizing the opportunity stirred up every kind of covetous desire and I died. And so he’s saying that for through the law I died. Now when I died what did I die to? The thing that killed me. The law. So through the law I died and when I died I died to the law. That’s the picture of submersion of baptism. which we again pervert by sprinkling and hosing people down and everything else. That doesn’t show the picture. Baptism is a picture. It’s not a way and means of salvation. It’s a picture of salvation. What is it a picture of? What are you born under? The law. You die. When you die, you normally get buried. So you and the law die. Then you’re raised in the newness of life. What do you leave in the water? In the grave? The law, the thing that killed you. Through the law, I died. When I died, I died to the law. Raised in the newness of life to be led now by the spirit living in me, not by the law that is dead. Are we together on this? So it is through the law that I died to the law. How come? So that I might live to God. Now what does that also tell us? Are you living to God under the law? You’re living under the law. You can’t have two masters. You’re either going to be mastered by the law or by God. But it says very clearly that I died to the law so that I might live for God. And you’ve got people who say, oh, they’re under the law, but they’re living for God. Nonsense. They’re living for themselves. To do what? Seeking to be justified by the law. And you can’t live for God under the law. You can live in fear of God under the law. Perfect love casts away all fear. Fear has to do with punishment. A man who fears cannot be perfected in love. Why? Because under the law, there’s nothing to do except fear. Because under the law, what if I missed one? What if my memory wasn’t too good that day? What if I die and I got some sins that I forgot to confess? Then people come along and say, oh, grace cover that. So it’s a memory system. There is no way to go into death without fear under the law. I hope to God I did enough. I hope to God I was good enough. I hope I went to church enough. I hope I read my Bible enough. I hope I prayed enough. I hope whatever I had to do, I did enough of it to get there. What a horrible way. To go to your deathbed. And all of us are going to go to our deathbed someday. And when we do. We’re either going to be looking forward to seeing Jesus. Or I’m not going to know where I’m going to see him or not. I just hope, hope, hope. And so what he is saying. That is through the law. I died to the thing that killed me. And I died to it. Now let’s go to the next one. I. I. in most translations say, am crucified with Christ and I no longer live. But Christ lives in me. And the life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God. I’m not going to set aside the grace of God to follow the traditions of my fathers, the law. And the reason is for if righteousness could be gained through the law, then Christ died for nothing. And you who are wanting to rebuild what we destroyed are saying, Jesus, your death didn’t mean anything to me. Now, folks, I want to deal a little bit here with verse 20. I am or have been crucified with Christ. Now, what does that mean? Well, we have some dear brothers in Christ and a lot of people who kind of attribute this type of thing to, I love in the Lord, but I just don’t think they’re right in interpretation. You have people who say that eternal life is like a circle, a non-ending circle. And in that non-ending circle, you’ve got the cross back there 2,000 years ago. You’ve got seated in the heavenlies up here someplace and we’re on that circle. So what I am crucified with Christ means that you zoom back there because God’s not limited by time and you literally were on the cross with Jesus. They call that exchange life sometimes. Well, there’s only one problem with that. Unless you’re a Mormon, that would be impossible. Because how could I have been back there when I was not here yet? Unless I was in a spirit form. Now that’s what Mormons believe, that you’re little spirit things up there, and that’s why you’ve got to have a bunch of babies so that you’ve got a body to live in. So you’re always alive, but then you get a body to live in down here. And then you can elevate yourself up to being God. So in other words, that’s pre-existence before you were here. Anybody believe that? So in essence, what you’re dealing with, if I was back there before I was here, why then I had pre-existence. I don’t believe that, do you? So to say that I was crucified with Christ means I was hanging on the cross with him. If I was hanging on the cross, what was he doing there? Because if I was hanging on the cross, I was getting what I deserved. And so you’ve got a lot of that teaching that goes on. And There’s no substance to it, in my opinion, at all. Out of this one verse, I am, or I have been. So, when did you come into existence? When you were born physically. The breath of God was breathed into you, and you became alive spiritually. You had a human spirit, a body, and a soul. But you were separated from the life of God. You were born that way, in Adam. separated from the life of God. Was I in existence prior to that time? No, not at all. So some people say, well, what do you do with this thing about then you’re seated in the heavenlies with Christ Jesus? Well, I’m here. So if he wants to see me seated there in the future, that’s fine. But he didn’t see anything about me prior to the time I was here. So you have to bring some sense to this whole thing that I was not in existence before And I was not preexistent in all ways. I came into existence physically and spiritually at the time of my physical birth. Are we together on that? And from that point on, it’s all in the mind of God.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you so much for tuning in to Classic Christianity with Bob George. We hope you’ve enjoyed today’s program. We truly hope that today’s message has inspired you to walk a life of faith in the Lord. Find more information online at bobgeorge.net. There you’ll also find available CDs, DVDs and Bible studies available for purchase. It’s through your help that we are able to spread the good word of Jesus Christ. Until next time, walk in faith, be good to one another and praise the Lord. Amen.
