BOB GEORGE Classic Christianity - Growing in Grace Miles J. Stanford 20 May 1991 Dear Dr. Thank you for sending the Bob George books, published by Harvest House: Classic Christianity, 1989, and Growing in Grace, 1991. I will be glad to briefly evaluate them for you, as you request; especially since so many others have asked about Bob George's message. Much of their content is commendable. However, Mr. George teaches eradication of the old Adamic man, and there is a lack of dispensational distinctives. Further, although it is not explicitly stated in these books, it is implied that since the believer's sins are already fully forgiven, there is no need to confess them. There is a very clear-cut answer to this harmful aberration. The primary ministry of the Holy Spirit at present is to reveal to us the Lord Jesus Christ as our new Life, and to occupy our minds and hearts with Him. When we descend into the indwelling Adamic life and consequently sin, the Spirit is grieved and must occupy us with ourselves and our sins, in order that honest confession to the Father may bring restoration of fellowship. Yes, frank and immediate confession of sins is vital. Think for a moment of someone who observes a loved one sinning against him. Wounded, but ever loving, he forgives and says nothing. Meanwhile the loved one, although knowing there is forgiveness, does not confess his sin. Forgiveness is there, love is waiting. But now, where is the fellowship and integrity of this relationship? Another error is eradication: it is taught that the old Adamic man is gone, and no longer exists. This leaves the believer vulnerable to the source of sin within, from which he has no scriptural defense. The believer's ongoing relationship to the Cross does not appear in these books, thus leaving him victimized not only by the indwelling old man, but also by the Law. The death and eradication of the old man is emphasized, rather than the judicial death of the Christian to the old man within, to sin, and to the Law. The George message limits the believer to the resurrected Lord, and His indwelling. These two books, published but two years apart, and containing much the same material, simply compound the inevitable failure Christians are thereby being subjected to. For no matter how much "classic Christianity" is advocated, and to whatever extent "growing in grace" is presented, failure will result. The indwelling old man, aided and abetted by the Law, will see to that!
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 (1 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!
GROWING IN GRACE ...because of the sin which still indwells us... (p. 69). However, even though he has become a new man spiritually, he still lives in the old man's body, indwelt by sin. He still has the old man's thinking patterns, the old memories, the old habits (p. 111). Therefore, even though the sin which indwells my flesh still pulls at me, and though my mind is still subject to error, deception, and discouragement, I can say with Paul, "In my inner being I delight in God's law" (Rom. 7:22) (p. 112). Mr. George refers to indwelling sin exclusively, in that he teaches that the old man is dead and no longer exists. But eradicationists fail to take into account that sin must have a source. Satan is the primary source of all sin. The first Adam is the source of sin in the human race. If there is sin indwelling the Christian, its source, the life of the fallen Adam, is in residence. Conversely, if righteousness is in the believer, its Source, the Life of the Last Adam, is there.
The contexts of both Hebrews 8 and 10 show conclusively that the author is quoting God as He proclaims Israel's future New Covenant in Jeremiah 31:31,33. Hebrews 8:10 in full is: "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord: I will put My laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts ...." Hebrews 10:16,17: "This is the covenant that I will make with them [the houses of Israel and Judah] after those days, saith the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them, and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more." Failure to rightly divide the Word of truth results in an attempt to merge earthly Israel with His heavenly Body, which effects a breakdown of the scriptural distinction between law and grace.
This error is caused by a lack of dispensational distinctions. The Church has nothing to do with Israel's and Judah's New Covenant, which will not be put into effect until their Millennial Kingdom is established on earth--seven long and terrible years after the Bride has been raptured to, and enraptured by, her Bridegroom in Glory. These two books seek to show the Christian who he is in Christ, but they totally fail to show him where he is in Christ. The thesis is limited to the resurrected and indwelling life of Christ--the all-important ascension truths are not presented. It is one thing for a believer to progress stage by stage in his spiritual development. It is quite another for a believer to assume a place of leadership in his first stage, and proclaim to all that it is the ultimate answer to victory. Then, of course, in due time, to have to face up to the fact that the "ultimate" stage ended in complete failure--that is an extreme disservice to the disillusioned followers. Undaunted, the next stage is presented to all by multiplied means as the real and ultimate answer to growing in grace--that of indwelling resurrection life. But this too must end in failure and frustration for both leader and led. It is too little, too low; not to mention the negating errors included. I trust our brother will progress to the truly scriptural ultimate for the believer--his ascended position and present abiding place in the Lord Jesus Christ at the Father's right hand in Glory.
Paul insists that "If [since] ye, then, be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth" (Colossians 3:1,2).
The underlying cause of all these areas of error is the lack of rightly dividing the Word. "Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers. Study to show thyself approved unto God. a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:14,15). Resting in Him,
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