CLASSIC CHRISTIANITY
But there is a way that leads to life. This way is founded on the work of Jesus Christ, beginning with the crucifixion and continuing through His resurrection (p. 40).A life under grace is exemplified by the resurrected Christ living in and through you (p. 152).
"Classic Christianity" to Bob George concludes with the resurrection--the resurrected Lord Jesus indwelling the Christian as his life.
Man's spirit was created to be united with God's Spirit and was the means through which he originally enjoyed perfect fellowship with God (p. 47).
Wrong Adam! Referring the member of the Body of Christ back to the unfallen Adam is far below the Christian level of life in fellowship with the Father and the Son.
How can you see an invisible God? The best advice he could receive would be, "Man is created in God's image. Go observe Adam and Eve, and you'll see what God is like."
If he would do so, our imaginary space creature would go home with true knowledge of the nature and character of God--by observing man, who is created in His image! (p. 49).
Still the wrong Adam, even in his innocent state. The Father can neither be known for who He is by His Law, nor by the unfallen Adam. He reveals Himself to the Christian in and through His Beloved Son, who is the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person (Hebrews 1:2,3). "For God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shone in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6).
God said in the New Covenant, "I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts" (Hebrews 8:10). If salvation was only forgiveness of sins without a change of heart... (p. 66).
This is the common undivided-Word, non-dispensational error being made by most evangelical leaders today--something of earthly kingdom Israel foisted upon the heavenly Church.
As long as a half-gospel continues to be taught, we are going to continue producing Christians who are very thankful that they will not be judged for their sins, but who have no significant self-motivation to change their behavior (p. 78).
A lack of understanding in either of these two areas--love as our motivation, or dependence as our source of power... (p. 89).
Both "self-motivation" and "love-motivation" fall hopelessly short of scriptural Life-motivation. The latter is the spiritual flow of Christ our Life, manifested by the fruit of the Spirit.
Being made into a new creation is like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly (p. 78).
A butterfly is not a new creation, but the same creature changed in form.
"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light" (Ephesians 5:8). A good paraphrase would be, "You once were a worm; now you are a butterfly. Fly like a butterfly!" (p. 80).
The Christian is a totally new creation--taken from the first Adam by the death of the Cross, and recreated in the new-creation Last Adam. "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation; old [Adamic] things are passed away [positionally]; behold, all things are become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17).
We are born into this world in Adam, spiritually dead, and sinners by nature. Then we hear of the good news of Jesus Christ and trust Him as our Savior and Lord.
At that instant the Holy Spirit of God baptizes us into Christ! "For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body" (1 Corinthians 12:13). This is something that happens instantaneously to every Christian at the moment of spiritual birth: he is totally identified with Jesus Christ (p. 89).
At our new birth we are brought into that which was positionally true of us long before. The one baptism of the Spirit is our entrance into the Body of Christ, which is the Church.
But much had first to be accomplished and completed before that Body could be formed. "He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world." "Called us with an holy calling ... which was given us in Christ before the world began" (Ephesians 1:4; 2 Timothy 1:9).
Chosen in Christ, we were subsequently identified with Him on the Cross, sharing His death unto sin (Romans 6:6; Galatians 2:20), buried and resurrected with Him (Romans 6:4,5), re-created in Him (2 Corinthians 5:17), ascended and seated together with Him (Ephesians 2:5,6), and made complete in Him (Colossians 2:10).
All of this, and much more, was positionally completed prior to Pentecost. Then, as such, we were baptized into His Body on that promised day (2 Corinthians 12:13)--all was possessed at our new birth, and will be actualized at the blessed Rapture.
Since Christianity was founded upon and spawned from the finished work of the Cross, all had to be accomplished positionally before a single Christian, hence the Church, could be brought into being. The Spirit's baptism at Pentecost did not accomplish any of the work of the Cross. Calvary was the cause, Pentecost the effect.
Who was I before? Bob George in Adam, without God's Spirit, spiritually dead, a guilty sinner. That man is dead and gone; he will never exist again (p. 90)."That old Jean is dead and gone. She died on the Cross with Jesus" (P. 105).
Here the author qualifies as an eradicationist, in company with many others such as Lloyd-Jones, MacArthur, Needham, Gillham, Stanley, and Solomon.
When there is no indwelling Adamic old man to be dealt with, the Cross is not seen as a necessity in the life of the believer--and Mr. George has a Cross-less message. Growth in grace is based upon the believer's ongoing relationship to the Cross.
The way to break a habit or preoccupation is by developing a new habit or preoccupation. The new will push out the old... (p. 203).
This is a common conception among eradicationists--habits held over from the non-existent old man, to be replaced by forming new and better habits. The Covenant theologian, Jay Adams, has introduced much of this aberrational teaching. Imagine the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our Christian Life, developing habits!
