I learned that Jesus Christ had died for my sins and was raised again so that I might experience God’s forgiveness and new life in Him. At that moment, I turned my life over to Christ. I prayed, “Lord Jesus, if You can change me, come into me and do it. I sure need to be changed."
Is this, then, what Jesus had in mind when He talked of an “abundant life”? No! But if people have never experienced anything different, they will accept their predicament as normal. They will assume “that’s just the way it is."
I knew the Bible frontward and backward, but that knowledge alone didn’t change my condition. In my experience, Jesus got lost in the Bible.
Lord, I don’t care what the organization that I used to be with taught me. I don’t care what the church I’m in or the denomination to which I belong has taught me. I want You to teach me afresh, all over again. I want to know the truth that You promised would set me free. I’m tired of listening to people. I’m ready to listen to You.
More than anything else, I wanted to know more fully the Person of Jesus Christ whom the Bible reveals. I thank God with all my heart that He led me to find what I was looking for—a return to Classic Christianity.
Christianity is not a religion; it’s a relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ did not come just to get men out of hell and into heaven; He came to get Himself out of heaven and into men!
The issue in salvation is life and death. Jesus Christ, spiritually alive, laid down His life for us. Why? So that He could give His life to us!
Until you rest in the finality of the cross, you will never experience the reality of the resurrection.
There is only one way to determine your identity that cannot be shaken, one foundation that cannot be taken away from you: “I am a child of God.”
We don’t need a good self-image. We need a proper self-image—one that comes from God’s Word.
The most powerful, life-changing power in existence is the message of God’s unconditional love and acceptance in Jesus Christ.
God will never love or accept you one ounce less or one ounce more than He does right this minute. That’s a truth to build a life on!
The goal of the Christian life is not to stop sinning! It is to start trusting.
To be filled with the Spirit is to be totally filled with the knowledge of God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ laid down His life for us, so that He could give His life to us, so that He could live His life through us! That’s the entire gospel in a nutshell.
We must first receive God’s unconditional love and acceptance for us before we will ever learn to love Him in return.
You may not know what will happen to you tomorrow, but you can know that the same Christ who loves you perfectly today is already there.
Listen, open the door of your heart, and discover that Classic Christianity is a Person—the living Lord Jesus Christ.

Announcing BobGeorge.net!

A online collection of Classic Teaching from Bob George.

Excerpts

Forgiven to be Filled

PDF Print E-mail

Chapter 4 [Excerpt]

Forgiven to Be Filled

 

Several years ago in Canada I had just completed a seminar lecture on God’s forgiveness when a man approached me. He looked about 60 years old, but it was hard to be sure because of his haggard appearance. His eyes were dull and lifeless, his face was covered with deep creases leading down to his slack mouth, and his shoulders were stooped. When he spoke, his voice came forth in a low drone.

 “Mr. George,” he said, “I really want to believe that God forgives me, but I don’t seem to be able to accept it. How can you know that God forgives your sins?”

 “Edward, I just spoke for over an hour on God’s total forgiveness in Christ. Were you here for the lecture?”

 “Yes, I heard what you said, but I just can’t believe that God really forgives me.” Wondering if Edward was really a Christian, I took some time to find out. He told of how he had accepted Christ as his Savior and Lord at a very early age. Edward’s understanding and answers were all solid regarding his personal faith in Christ: He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Christ lived in him, and that he was going to spend eternity in heaven after his death. The source of his doubts had to lie elsewhere.

 “How long have you been struggling with these doubts about God’s forgiveness?” I asked him.

 “Ever since I was a child,” Edward said sadly. “When I was young, I did something very wrong. Every day since then I have begged God to forgive me, but I just can’t believe that He has.”

 I could hardly believe my ears. “Edward, how old are you?”

 “Sixty-two.”

 “Do you mean to tell me that you have been begging God to forgive you for over 50 years?”

 He looked me in the eyes with that helpless expression and nodded. “I should have been serving Him for those 50 years, but I have wasted my life. That’s why I’m asking you if you think God could ever forgive me.”

 At the time, I thought that Edward’s was a unique story. I have since come to know that many, many Christians share the same bondage. They have committed some sin that seems to be ever a part of their present, even as the years roll by. It is constantly on their minds, like an ever-present black cloud hanging over them. After a while, guilt becomes an accepted part of their lives; to lose it would be almost like parting with a precious family heirloom.

 A Christian like this will never mature. He will never, as long as he is held in the bondage of guilt over a past sin, experience all that Christ has intended for us to experience through His indwelling life. Let me express this in a straightforward manner: Until you rest in the finality of the cross, you will never experience the reality of the resurrection.


[Excerpt from Classic Christianity]

 

Purchase Classic Christianity

Purchase Classic Christianity

Bookmark and Share


Copyright © 2013 ClassicChristianity.com All Rights Reserved.