Join us on Classic Christianity Radio as Bob George delves into real-life questions from listeners across the nation. In today’s episode, a caller from Toronto explores the nature of sin, discipline, and salvation with Bob, uncovering the profound truth that forgiveness is complete in Christ and that true salvation is about receiving life in Jesus. Dive deep into biblical insights as Bob explains the difference between chastisement and punishment, emphasizing the importance of believing in the resurrection.
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 :
Let’s go to Toronto, Canada, listening on Joy. Michael, you’re on the air.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yes. Oh, can you hear me?
SPEAKER 02 :
Sure.
SPEAKER 09 :
Oh, okay. Yeah, I wasn’t sure that I was on the air. But anyway, follow-up. I’m not sure I heard you partly answering my question a couple of minutes ago, so I’ll ask it again. When you become a Christian, you know, your sins are forgiven and everything like that, but is there not… For instance, you may lose your rewards if you don’t obey God’s calling, or maybe that if you do sin that you face a discipline as opposed to punishment, you know, your chastisement.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, the purpose, Michael, of discipline is not punishment. And you have to look at those things that you mentioned, which is good, to see the difference between the two. Punishment is a retaliation for an act done. There is no more punishment for your sins. There is no condemnation awaiting those who belong to Christ Jesus because the law of the spirit of life has set you free from the law of sin and death. And you can check that out in Scripture. So punishment is – there’s no punishment for your sins. Discipline is not punishment. Discipline is preparatory. Discipline is what your coach used to do for you if you ever played high school athletics, that if you played football and he ran you up and down the field until you thought your tongue was going to hang out of your body – uh our run up and down the bleachers he was not punishing and it felt like punishment but it was preparing you for the game ahead so discipline isn’t a retaliation it’s a preparation and so uh when you and i today as a born-again believer sin we must look to god first and say what did you do with that sin and the answer is i took it away i i don’t even know what you’re talking about i took it away And from the eyes of God. And you say, Lord, thank you for that. Now, I also taught you, Michael, that the root of all sin, which Jesus said, is unbelief in me. In fact, the unforgivable sin is unbelief in Jesus. And every sin that we commit as a born-again believer is the root of it is we’re just not trusting God. And so instead of dealing with the fruit, God wants us to deal with the root. And we’re dealing with the root is, Lord Jesus, teach me to trust you in all things. I’m hanging on to this other deal. I’m leaning on my own understanding like an idiot. Teach me not to do that.
SPEAKER 09 :
Go ahead. What I’ve been hearing from many Christians, and I’m not sure, you know, predominant Christian leaders, is that if there’s a specific sin that you’re dealing with in your life, while as a Christian and the Holy Spirit convicts you that you confess that sin.
SPEAKER 02 :
Let me ask you a question. Did Jesus take away the sins of the world, including all of yours, from the eyes of God at the cross?
SPEAKER 09 :
I think so.
SPEAKER 02 :
You see, that ain’t going to do it, Michael. That ain’t going to do it. I think so ain’t going to do it. You’ve got to know that. You believe the Scripture is true, don’t you?
SPEAKER 09 :
I believe the scripture is true.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, then what does it… Hold on a minute. Follow my reasoning. Follow the reasoning and I’m going because that’s what you need to follow. First of all, the new covenant that went into effect on the day of Jesus’ death is a covenant that said there’s sins and lawless acts. I will remember no more. And where these have, not will be, have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sins. In other words, there is no sacrifice for sins. To the Jew, you can put aside your sacrificial system. To the Catholic, I don’t know why you ever started confessing for forgiveness to your priest to begin with, but if you’ve got a brain in your head, you need to forget it. And to the… And to the evangelical, you need to quit 1 John 1, 9 and yourself to death and quit asking for what in Christ you already have. And in the book of Hebrews, there is an unbelievable passage of Scripture, Michael, that says if you continually keep on sinning against the knowledge of truth. What’s the knowledge of truth he’s talking about? Just wait a minute. There’s sins and lawless acts. I’ll remember no more. And where these have been forgiven, there’s no more sacrifice. And you keep on going back to your sacrificial system or going back to your confession booth or going back to think that you’re going to do something to keep yourself forgiven, it says you’re going to go to hell. Michael, why would that passage of Scripture be so unbelievably hard on a person? for not believing in jesus and the answer to that is because of not believing in jesus if i had sent my son to take away your sins and i had to send him to be beaten and ultimately nailed to a tree and beaten to death and ultimately crucified so that you could be free and you ignore that and come up with your own systems for keeping you forgiven Do you think I would be angered?
SPEAKER 09 :
I’m failing to understand, though. Okay, a drug addict or alcoholic becomes a Christian, and he’s dealing with a problem that he’s probably struggling with sin for years. What should I do? What should I do?
SPEAKER 02 :
What about you who became a Christian and keeps on worrying? Do you know that worry is a sin?
SPEAKER 1 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, then what’s the difference between you worrying and them taking drugs?
SPEAKER 08 :
Well… Except the effect on their body. I don’t know.
SPEAKER 02 :
I mean… Well, Michael, you need to know. You see, you’re not sure of your salvation, in my opinion, because you say, I think so. You have got to come to a point where you’re saying, Lord Jesus… And I’m not saying you’ve got to. I’m saying you’re not there yet. You have never come to Christ and said, Lord Jesus, I am a sinner, and you took away my sins, all of them that I will ever even think of committing, from the eyes of God eternally when you went to a cross 2,000 years ago, and there you who knew no sin became sin for me. so that I, Michael, might become the righteousness of God. And Lord Jesus, I thank you for that act, because if you hadn’t done it, there’s no way in the world that I got brains enough, first of all, to ever keep up with all my sins, let alone to have a memory on them. And so thank you for the fact that you took them away, never to be seen again. If you can’t put your faith in that, how are you going to put your faith in what saves you? And that’s in his resurrection. You could have seen him die on the cross for your sins. The resurrection, you can’t see. He came out of a grave so that that life that raised him from the dead could raise you from your state of spiritual death. There’s a consequence to sin, Michael. It’s called death. It’s not beaten up. It’s not discipline. It’s not punishment. It’s death. That is the punishment, is the wages of sin is death. And you and I were born under the wages of sin, dead spiritually.
SPEAKER 09 :
I get the impression that most Christians don’t. don’t teach that.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, you’re exactly right. They don’t teach it. That’s why you’ve got a bunch of lost people claiming to be Christians.
SPEAKER 09 :
I will reassess what I’m doing. I believe I have accepted Jesus years ago, but at the same time, you know, there are issues in my life I’m dealing with. I will reassess what you’re saying then in that sense.
SPEAKER 02 :
That’s very honest. And here’s the deal, Michael, because I’ve dealt with this for years. There’s many, many people that say, I came to Christ, but my life is just a mess. And I ask them this question, and I’m going to ask you the question, what was your understanding of the gospel when you were saved? And the answer will come back nine times out of ten, Jesus died for my sins. Is that it? That’s it. That’s not the gospel. That’s only half of the gospel. He died and he was buried and he was raised from the dead. Do you know the meaning of the cross? Yeah, that’s where he took away my sins. But you don’t believe it. What about the meaning of the resurrection? What’s the meaning of the resurrection? Well, that’s where Jesus offered me life, his resurrected life. I never came to him for life. I just came to him to get forgiven. And so you’re not saved on that event. You’re not saved with a half gospel. And so even with my own son, I had to ask this question. And after he prayed with me when he was nine years old and sitting in my office when he was 20, was with his life a mess. Why? He had a half gospel. I certainly couldn’t blame the presentation. I’m the one who gave it to him. But I did not give him an understanding at that time. That salvation is not getting your sins forgiven. Salvation is receiving life, resurrected life. And that life is what Christ came to give you. I came that you might have life. And that’s what saves you. Absolutely. The cross is what prepared you for salvation. It was preparatory. But the salvation end of it comes through his resurrection. There’s a life that you need that you do not have. It’s called spiritual life. Also, it’s called eternal life. But you cannot have eternal life until you have his spiritual life because that’s what his spiritual life is, is eternal. So what you’re getting is a life living in you that you did not have when you were born. It wasn’t your fault. You’re born in Adam in your mom and dad. You were born dead. And as a dead spiritually person, a person who is spiritually dead, they need spiritual life. And so there’s where the resurrection comes in. So analyze those two, Michael. And if you feel like that you have not come to him at this point in life for his resurrected life, that’s merely as clear as saying, Lord, I thank you for revealing this to me. And I want to thank you right now. I’m going to take care of this sin issue once and for all. You’re never going to hear me asking for what I already have. I thank you for that forgiveness. And I now ask you to come into my heart and to be my Lord and my Savior and to give me that life, your life, so that Christ will live in me and be my hope of glory.
SPEAKER 09 :
Okay, well, can we think it over?
SPEAKER 02 :
Okay, you think it over and you call us back, will you, brother?
SPEAKER 09 :
All right, then.
SPEAKER 02 :
All right, Michael. Let’s go to San Diego, California, listening on KBRIGHT. Evan, you’re on the air.
SPEAKER 06 :
Hey, gentlemen, how you doing?
SPEAKER 02 :
Doing fine, Evan. Thank you.
SPEAKER 06 :
Good. I hope you can hear me. I have no air conditioner, so I had my window open there real quick. I had to close it.
SPEAKER 02 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 06 :
I have a strong desire my entire adult life to be in ministry, and in fact was some 20 years ago, but had some earthquakes in my life that separated it, and I’d like to return to full-time ministry after having, in my mind, better reconciled my life with the guidelines Paul gave for leadership in the church. And I’m just looking for direction or what have you so that I can return to the full-time ministry again. That’s why I called.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah. Well, Evan, let me say this. In my personal experience, when I was a layman, I was in an owner of a floor covering distributorship in California, and I came to Christ. I had one of the most dynamic ministries as a minister than any so-called layman could have. I taught Bible studies. I shared Christ with people. I had a ministry. Now, I have to admit, a lot of it was in the flesh, I’m sure. I did not teach what I’m teaching today that I know today is true. But what I taught, I taught and I had a ministry in people’s lives and led literally hundreds of people to Christ. And so that can be done as a layman. As a matter of fact, for my first three years or so in full-time work, as you mentioned, full-time work, I was thinking to myself, what am I doing here? I had more of a ministry in people’s lives as a layman than I am in this full-time work because as a layman, I’m out in the marketplace where there’s lost people, and right now I’m kind of in this Christian cocoon. And so I don’t think you have to desire full-time ministry. I think that I, with God ultimately, what he had in store for me was what I’m doing today I couldn’t have done, remaining as a layman, remaining in ministry. the wholesale business or any other business. So he knew what he was doing. But I’m saying let that call be sure that that call is from God because otherwise you’d say, how do I turn to the ministry? I’d say to Basie, lose your mind. That would be one way to return to it because if God hadn’t called you, it’s not a fun place to be. If God has called you, it’s the most wonderful place in the world to be. But if I really felt that God was calling me to a ministry, not full-time or part-time, I would start Bible studies and I would start having a ministry. I don’t need to be called to the ministry. Start having one and start teaching people the Bible. See how that responds. See how it grows. If that grows into a full-time status, praise the Lord. If it doesn’t, praise the Lord. But you’re already, either way, you’re having a ministry.
SPEAKER 06 :
I accept that. That’s been my focus. I’ve been doing stuff around here and there as best I can, but the desire hasn’t gone away.
SPEAKER 02 :
If you can start a Bible study, that’s what I would recommend you do, my friend. Start a home Bible study and teach the Scripture to even two people or three, however many, and see how God grows it.
SPEAKER 01 :
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SPEAKER 02 :
Brian, you’re on the air.
SPEAKER 04 :
Hello, Bob. You know, I recognize that I have an unloving attitude towards God. or other people. I mean, I see in the scripture where it says that if I just love those that love me, what credit is that to me? But, you know, it’s something that very concerns me. I live in a Christian sober living environment. There’s like several other gentlemen there. And just some of them, I just, I mean, I’m going to be very frank with you. Just looking at them, I almost want to pull them at the mouth. And I pray about it. And at some moments I find myself, like I think it’s a genuine prayer. I say, Lord, please remove this from me. And then there’s other moments, Bob, where I just don’t want anything to do with these people. And that concerns me up to the point where I called into a radio show and I really want help with this.
SPEAKER 02 :
Brian, you’re a human being and so am I. There are some people that you are attracted to and some people that you are not. So when you’re looking at love from God’s standpoint, you’re looking at 1 Corinthians 13 love. And you can start, well, that’s patience. You see, I don’t have to like you necessarily, but I, if God’s love says to be patient with you, and I may not particularly like you, but I can be kind to you. And I may not particularly like to be around you, but I don’t want to be keeping records of your wrongs. So all of those things are actions toward another person that God has to produce in and through us. Our flesh is, never going to be patient with people, never going to be kind to people. The flesh doesn’t want to be kind to them. They want to get your own way. And so what you have to realize is I cannot do that any more than a branch can produce fruit. Uh, you could go say now branch, you’re a Christian branch now. So you go out and do good for, for the, for the world. And you produce all kinds of fruit and you be loving and kind and all that. And the branch is saying, well, I’ll give it a try. Well, in about a day, he says, I can’t do this. And I said, I know you never intended you to do it. Your role as a branch is to abide in the vine and let the vine produce in you what you cannot produce in and of yourself. And you will bear the fruit of the vine, but you cannot produce the fruit of the vine. And so you and I cannot do it in the energy of our own flesh. And normally our reactions to things, Brian, it says first comes the natural and then the spiritual. So you’re not unusual. You’re just being very natural. But the fact is that you’re wanting to be loving, but you cannot produce that kind of love in people. You have to allow Jesus to produce that in and through you.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay. Well, thank you very much, Bob. Thank you.
SPEAKER 02 :
Does that help, Brian?
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes, it does. Yes, it does.
SPEAKER 02 :
Okay, pal.
SPEAKER 04 :
God bless you.
SPEAKER 02 :
All right, my friend. Bye-bye now.
SPEAKER 04 :
Bye-bye.
SPEAKER 02 :
Let’s go to, looks like Gallatin, Tennessee. Let’s go on WNQM. Willie, you’re on the air.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yes, sir. Can you tell me the difference in being baptized and being saved?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, there isn’t even any comparison in the two. You’re not saved by baptized. You’re saved by putting your faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ Jesus. precisely what the Apostle Paul says in Corinthians, that this is the gospel that saves. It talks about Jesus’ death, Jesus’ burial, and Jesus’ resurrection. There’s nothing in there about baptism. There isn’t anything in there about tongues. There isn’t anything in there about church attendance. There isn’t anything in there about tithing. It’s death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. You and I don’t have anything to do with salvation except receive it or deny it. baptism isn’t even included in salvation and so baptism is something that paul said later on after in the same book that he that he said that this is the gospel it saves death burial and resurrection is the book where he explained that he’s glad he didn’t baptize anyone because God didn’t call him to baptize, but to proclaim the gospel. And again, Wally, no one could make that statement if baptism was in the gospel. It’s not in the gospel. So we need to leave it where it is. It is not obligatory for anything, any more than any act that we do is obligatory for salvation. It’s all Jesus and none of us. And we need to keep that in mind and anything subsequent to that has nothing to do with salvation. It’s an act subsequent to salvation that a person can be engaged in or not. I don’t see any restriction on it, and I certainly don’t see a need for it, although I do believe that baptism is a marvelous visual aid of what took place spiritually. It’s a physical example of a spiritual truth, and there’s some benefit to that. but it’s not a necessity for salvation.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right. Thank you, sir.
SPEAKER 02 :
Okay, Wally. I appreciate your call, my brother. I hope that helps.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right. You should do it. Thank you.
SPEAKER 02 :
Thank you, my friend. Bye-bye. Let’s go to Orlando, Florida. Let’s go on WEUS. Jerry, you’re on the air.
SPEAKER 05 :
Hi. It’s not a question so much, and I thank you for taking my call here. It’s more of a comment that I find it hard disturbing that there’s so many of the body of Christ that their hearts are failing from the economic that’s taking place when they should be realizing that this is just an end-time event, that’s the beginning of earth pains that’s coming in, that it has to happen for the Antichrist to show up on the scene to put this all right, and for the one-money system and the one-world system, and their fear should not be at all, because God says he’ll never leave us or forsake us. And to just kind of roll with this, like when Jesus was in the storm of the boat, he was sleeping and everybody was nervous. But he said we were going to the other side and take it as the faith.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, I agree with Jerry that whether it’s the economy or whether you’re worried about – your health or whether you’re worried about getting old or whatever you’re worried about, all of that is sin. People don’t realize that worry is sin. And the opposite of walking by faith is worrying. And so I don’t think God called us to worry. He called us to walk by faith. And so I agree with you. I’m not concerned about the economy at all. I think that whatever happens, happens. But it’s nothing for me to sit around and moan over. So I agree with you, my brother.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah. There’s a lot of ministers out there that need to send that more of a message than just… other type of messages that are not faith messages because that’s what we need to hear at these points of time.
SPEAKER 02 :
Whether we are in end times or not, we shouldn’t be sitting around worrying. It doesn’t make any difference whether this is all a part of the ultimate plan of God or not. We should not be worrying about anything. He said, be anxious for nothing. That means nothing. And that’s where we go to not be anxious about it. But in all things, with prayer and supplication and thanksgiving, we let a request be known unto God. And then he says, the peace of God that passes all understanding will quieten our hearts and hearts. Christ Jesus, that’s how God wants us to live.
SPEAKER 05 :
Point well taken, Jerry. We appreciate your input on that. Yes, thank you very much.
SPEAKER 02 :
Thanks for your call, Jerry. God bless you.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, thank you. Okay, thank you. Bye. Take care now.
SPEAKER 02 :
Bye-bye. Thank you, Jerry. Bye-bye. Let’s go to San Francisco, California. Let’s go on KDIA. Mark, you’re on the air.
SPEAKER 03 :
Hey, Bobs and Bobs. I truly enjoy your guys’ show. It makes my afternoon go by really well. Thank you. You know, you switch to AM, you listen to some better stuff instead of the other stations. I went back today to page 1 in Genesis 1, and for some reason I’m getting hung up on 127 Genesis. So God created man in his own image. In the image of God, he created him. Male and female, he created them. And for some reason I started catching all the thems there. And it’s not until later on in chapter 2 that he talks about putting the breath of life into Adams. Was that just for the order of what happened the first seven days, or was Adam just sitting there until he breathed the breath of life in him?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, obviously, he would have breathed the breath of light into Eve as well. They were both created beings. It just isn’t recorded that way, but it’s not because it didn’t happen.
SPEAKER 03 :
Right.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah. So it’s just the fact that with a created being, that there was no op there. They would have had no life at all had God not breathed it into us. I think he still does, Mark.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 02 :
I think when a baby is born, their life is breathed into them. They’re not coming out of the womb breathing.
SPEAKER 03 :
No, no. That’s another great thought for me to keep in my brain.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
It’s kind of the order there that, you know, first he explains the first seven days, and then it seems like he goes back and retells the story of how it actually happened since then.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah. That’s a great book. It’s very fascinating, too. contemplate how God created the earth and everything was created for you and me. Isn’t that amazing, Mark, that everything that he created, he created it for me. I just marvel at it.
SPEAKER 03 :
That’s why we get to enjoy life every day.
SPEAKER 02 :
I’ll say it’s for sure. Let’s talk to you, my friend. Bye-bye.
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.
SPEAKER 08 :
Put Jesus first in your life and turn your life around.
