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Bibleline Bibleline, here God’s word on Bibleline, here God’s truth on Bibleline. Welcome to Bibleline with Dr. Ralph Yankee Arnold, pastor of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida. Clearly declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ through the radio and the internet. Your regular prayers and monthly support make it possible for Bibleline to continue on the You can reach us toll-free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made by clicking on the donations link on the BibleLineMinistries.org homepage. We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ and that today’s first part of this two-part message will be a blessing to you and your family.

I have some things that I think is very important that I want to share with you today today because sooner or later you’re going to hear this and you might get a little confusion messed up and I can mess them up and save them the trouble of reading out of the books or listening to some other preacher. So hopefully you will put in your hearing aids if you have to but I want you to hear and write some things down if you have to but I believe it’s very, very important.

I want you to take your Bible and turn to the book of Luke, the Gospel of Luke chapter Luke 24. Let me tell you what the problem is and then we’ll see if we solve it by the time we get through. The question comes down as this, must I repent to be saved? We automatically and Dr. Hank Linson says yes. I say yes. Dr. Stanford says yes and we believe the Bible says yes and the question comes down is well it all depends.

What does it mean? And so then there’s a discrepancy among theologians about what the word really does mean. Now some believe that it means to turn from your sins. Repent, turn from your sins. So there’s some that believe that. There’s others that simply believe that it means a change of mind. Just change your mind. And you can change your mind about a lot of things. The wife of the man thinks that the girl said, yes, I’ll marry you. And she changes her mind.

That happened a lot. You can change your mind about anything. So there’s those who believe that it just means that. But when it comes to salvation, if you have to turn from your sins, so it should be repent and believe or repent and be saved repent and be born again, repent, and whatever for eternal life. So then that should go together. If you have to do this to get this, then it should be all together. Well it’s not always that way in the Bible because sometimes you find that in the Gospel of John.

It just says believe and you don’t find the word repent. Anywhere mentioned. So people say well okay well you don’t have to repent. So now is a new school of thought that yes it does mean turn from your sin and because it does mean turn from your sin and they believe that salvation is by grace and grace alone without works and that you don’t have to turn from your sins to be saved therefore repent does not have anything to do with salvation it’s just an extension of your life so repent they say only means so you can have an extension of lifetime because God will kill you if you don’t stop your sin.

So therefore we want people to stop doing their bad so that they can live longer. Okay. So if that’s true then you never take the word repent and apply it to having eternal life. They’ll be saved. So those two should always be separate. Okay. That means when you read the Bible, repent and have an eternal life should never be together because it means turn from sin and we don’t believe you have to stop your sin in order to be saved because we believe you’re saved by grace without works.

Are you confused yet? Good. Just a little bit maybe this is going to be fun. But there are those who are clear on the gospel that you’re only all you have to do is trust Christ as your Savior and your saved. So since they believe that the where repent means turn from your sin, then it doesn’t apply to the Christian. About getting salvation. It just applies to their life or to the lost man’s life about the shortness of your life.

In other words, if I, as a Christian, if I don’t do right, I should repent of my sin so that God doesn’t have to take my life. And that sounds pretty good, okay? And that it also applies to the lost man. And so therefore when God says that he commands all men everywhere to repent, it’s just so that he could extend his physical life. So if he doesn’t do as much bad, he can extend his life, he gets to live longer.

Okay, let’s say for example, here’s a man and he’s living in sin. He’s just having himself a blast. Doing everything wrong he can think of. Really enjoying having a good time. And so somebody come along and said, now you know, you need to cut out this, living like this. And if you’ll stop it, God will let you live longer. My question would be how much longer? How much more time am I going to get by giving up all of these things that I’m doing that is so bad?

Because it might be worth it to just run the risk. It all depends on how old am I. I mean if I’ve only got a short time to live anyway, you know, what differences are you going to make? So it produces a few problems. So as you look here in the book of Luke in chapter 24, look in verse 46, and said unto them, thus it is written, and thus it be hoof Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations beginning at Jerusalem and year witnesses of these things.

This is a quote right out of the book that was written by an individual that is highly respected in Christian circles and this is what he says. Luke 24, 47, emphasis added. He says, as should be obvious to anyone reading the Great Commission in Matthew, the Great Commission was primarily a charge to make disciples not to evangelize. Then it says, if the count in Luke of the great commission is viewed narrowly as evangelistic, then one will lightly conclude that repentance is a condition for everlasting life.

However, that is not what the Lord says, nor is it what it means. In other words, the great commission that we read over in the book of Matthew chapter 28 says, going to all the world and preach the gospel. What he’s saying is that is not about evangelism. That’s about discipleship because he says, and baptizing them and then teaching them whatsoever, I have commanded you. So the goal is not evangelism, it’s discipleship. So therefore, the repentance doesn’t mean what we think it means.

So if you look there in verse 47, and that repentance and remission of sin should be preached in his name among all nations beginning at Jerusalem. If this is about fellowship, and you’re to go into all the world and preach about fellowship, discipleship. Referring to those that have already trusted Christ and saved. So sin, the whole world has already saved. We’re just going it go and teach them how to have fellowship with God. I don’t think that’s what Luke is talking about.

I think when he makes the statement there that Christ died and was buried and he rose again, therefore he says in verse 47, repentance and remission of sin should be preached in all the world. Beginning at Jerusalem. Well, if that isn’t about the gospel than I don’t know what is. But it does refer to the gospel because of the death, barren resurrection of Christ, the good news of why Christ died. And the reason you preach it is so that people can have their sins forgiven.

But he makes a statement. He says this, what the repentant person gets according to the Lord in Luke 47 is not everlasting life but remission of sins. While many people equate these two, they are not at all the same. So he can have their sins forgiven, but it has nothing to do with having eternal life. And yet going all were embraced the gospel so that people can believe it and have everlasting life. That’s the purpose of it. And yet to take that and change it because they come out with the better definition of repent, it means turn from your sins, but knowing that a Christian can’t…

A woman can’t turn from his sins to be saved because that would put work for salvation, then wherever we find where repent must be referring to the believer then. about having fellowship or the extension of his life and has nothing to do with going to heaven. That is not the truth. That’s why it’s so important to understand this because this is really racking havoc with many of the people that went even to Florida Bible college years ago that are now adopting this new philosophy.

It is devastating, it is wicked, it is wrong. And it is not what the Bible says. We shouldn’t have to go back into these simple verses and re-educate everybody as though it doesn’t really mean that. Now it says this, but it doesn’t mean this. Repentance and remission of sin. See, I believe that repent means to change your mind. that could lead to a change of action, which many people believe. But when it comes to the gospel, I should change my mind and realize I can’t save myself by my works.

And the change of action is I trust crisis by savior. There’s no problem. It doesn’t mean that I have to turn from my sin and stop being a sinner so that God will save me. No, it is a change of mind. Bible even talks about God who repented that he made man. God didn’t turn from sin. He didn’t have any sin. So it doesn’t mean that he’d turn from sin. Now there are scriptures that talk about a person turning from sin.

But to go to heaven, no. But a Christian should, with things in his life, give up things, stop things, cut out things that are sinful in his life. But there we’re not talking about how to go to heaven. We’re talking about because he is saved and he is going to heaven and a Christian shouldn’t live right. God may not take him home before his time. God might just let you live. I know some people that lived up to their 90s and didn’t live a good clean life.

And I know other people lived Godly lives and they didn’t make it till 60. So you don’t know how long you’re going to live. So this is important. Also, there’s a statement was made. He said, if we compare this passage with Acts 2.38 and discuss next, he said, there is a reason to believe that the Lord wanted the disciples beginning at Jerusalem to call Jews and Gentiles to repent that they might have fellowship forgiveness. That’s not what it’s about, but that’s what is being taught.

And so, no, that is not the truth. I want you to take your Bible and turn to the book of Acts. The book of Acts in chapter 10, Acts chapter 10, because they say that forgiveness of sins and repentance has nothing to do with receiving eternal life. And yet that was the last command that he gave to the disciples to go into all the world and to preach the gospel. And they said, no, that’s just for fellowship. No, it’s not.

You may have fellowship after you trust the Lord, but the reason you preach the forgiveness of sins is because God has sent his son to pay the penalty so that you can be forgiven. See, he couldn’t forgive you until the payment was made. Now the payment’s been made. Tell everybody their sins can be forgiven. They can go to heaven now because the payment for their sins has been made. So everybody is to repent. Change your mind and see that you can’t save yourself by your works and you trust Christ and Him alone.

That is a change of mind, that is repentance. They say, well, in the Gospel of John, you never find the word repent. Well, that’s true. But you don’t find the word Bible in the Bible either. And you don’t find the word Millennium in the Bible either, but it talks about the 1000 year reign, but it’s there. You don’t find the word Rapture in the Bible, but the teacher is there. And just because you don’t find the word repent mentioned in the Gospel of John, the meaning is there all over the place.

If a man is an unbeliever, he that believeth not, he that believeth not, he that believeth not, it’s all way through it. But he that believeth. So if you’re an unbeliever and you believe, what did you do? You repented, you changed your mind. If you’re an unbeliever and now you believe, what did you do? You changed your mind, you believe. It doesn’t say you got to stop all of your sins in order to qualify to be saved. No, that’s works for salvation.

So they say you never see those two two words together repent and have an eternal life or go into heaven when you die. Well, look what he says here in verse 43 of Acts chapter 10. To him give all the prophets witness that through his name, whosoever believe it in him. And that’s what we usually tell anybody in order to be saved, believe it in him, trust him, shall receive what? Remation of sin. Isn’t that what they were supposed to go in praise?

Different goodness of sins. And it has to do with salvation. This right here. Cornelius was a Gentile and he wanted to know how to be saved. And if you look there in chapter 11, look in verse 14 where he rehearses this situation about what had happened and he says in verse 14, who shall tell the words whereby thou and all thy house shall have fellowship with God. No, it ain’t talking about fellowship. It’s on how you can be saved.

And so when he went there and he preached, they heard, they believed, and they were saved. And he’s talking about the remission of sins, which was the command to go into all the world and preach that. And they say, well, you don’t find repent. And so they changed the thing and say, hey, for Forgiveness of sins has nothing to do with going to heaven. Somebody’s lying. That’s not the truth. And these are individuals that’s got all kind of degrees after their name.

Gone to the best colleges and universities and cemeteries, cemeteries. But they don’t get it. The Word of God is clear and it’s simple. All that you have to do to go to heaven is if you’ll believe that when Christ died, He died for you and you can have eternal life. So God has commanded every man everywhere to repent. If it only meant that you repent and turn from your sins so that you can have more time to live, why?

Everybody’s going to die anyway. You just don’t know when. So I quit all my sins. I live another week. You don’t know how much time you’re going to have. Yes, God can cut your life short. you don’t know how much time you’re going to have. And as a chasing, God may take your life. Yes, I do believe that a child of God shouldn’t live a godly holy life. And yes, I believe that God can chase in him while he’s here, but God may not take him home.

God may let him live and suffer, but him on his shelf and not use him and waste his life. Why do you think the Bible talks about if a man gains a whole world and loses his own soul and loses his life? That means that you can live and waste your life. So you’re living and wasting your life is a part of the chastisement. It’s not always death. And to think that that’s what it’s referring to, I believe it’s error in teaching.

In Acts chapter 11 and verse 18, you notice there in verse 18, it makes this statement. When they heard these things, they held their peace and glorified God saying, then have God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life, that word life is talking about eternal life. But the word repentance, they say, now this doesn’t refer to have an eternal life. What they’re just talking about, somebody just got saved. Of in verse 14, I just read that to you.

And looking verse 17, for as much then as God gave them the light gift as he did unto us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. What did you get when you believed in the Lord Jesus Christ? Eternal life. So it says that they got the eternal life, but how did they get this eternal life? Repentance on the life. They repented, they changed their mind and trusted Christ as their Savior, but you never find that in the same verse.

So they take this very verse and take the word repent and give it the meaning of turning from your sins. And when they give the meaning turning from your sins, well, then they gotta change this word, having life to refer to just your physical life. Now these people were able to enjoy the physical life, fellowship with God. Well, that may be true, but that’s not what this verse is saying. You see, they gave a new definition to the word repent, and then go back and emulate the scriptures.

Now you’ve got to change everything because they can’t mean that then. See, either a man is saved by grace or he’s saved by his works. So when you say that the word repent means to turn from your sins, But you believe a man is really saved by grace, then you can’t put these two things together because they contradict each other. So then this means this is talking about just your physical life. And this has nothing to do with getting to heaven because this is just by grace.

It’s your saved by grace, but repent is to change your mind in order to believe. If I am an unbeliever and I believe, I have repented, I’ve changed my mind. If I don’t find that word mentioned in the whole Gospel of John, the meaning is still there. Because I went from unbelief to belief. Metinio, metanoia, repent, change your mind, reconsider, think differently. So it’s here and it’s clear. Let me read this to you. This is what they said. If we compare this passage, there is a reason to believe that the Lord wanted the disciples and called the Jews and the Gentiles to repent that they might have fellowship forgiveness.

goodness. This is a part of the discipleship message, not any evangelistic one. This verse in no way contradicts John 3 16. They’re not talking about the same subject. Well, if John 3 16, for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believe it, and they preached the gospel here to Cornelius and his household, and they believed it, and they were saved, and the Bible says they were granted repentance on the life. They changed their mind they believe and they’re saved the same way.

Sounds simple to me. Just hold your place right there, but look over there in chapter 15. Chapter 15, chapter 15, and look in verse 7. Acts 15 verse 7 says, and when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up and said unto him, Men and brethren, you know how that a good while ago God made choice among us that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel and believe. Peter says they heard the gospel through my mouth and they believe.

So when you go there in chapter 10 and chapter 11 is he talking about the gospel and being saved? Yes. How can they say it doesn’t talk about that? Something’s missing. All because you change a word and then you got to go back and mutilate those scriptures. Didn’t nobody else, he says. He says in verse 9 and put no difference between us and them purifying their hearts by faith. It’s not talking about, now we can have fellowship with God because you stopped your sins.

That’s not the issue, it’s not what it’s talking about. But notice what he says in verse 11. But we believe that through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, we shall have fellowship just like they do. No, we shall be saved even as they. So this is why it’s important to study the Bible and know what God says because there’s a lot of different philosophies out there. And when it’s designed by man, it’ll cause you to lose confidence in what God really does say.

Like there’s some people that believe that God has already chosen who He wants to go to heaven. And only those are going to go to heaven because that’s all He chose. So if that’s all He chose, then Christ didn’t have to die for everybody. He just had to die for those that He chose to be saved. So that you can’t say that God so loved the world because God doesn’t love the world. He only loves those he’s gonna save What preachers has the gall to stand them tell people there’s some some of y’all God doesn’t love some of you Christ didn’t die for all of you Some of y’all can’t be saved because God didn’t love you enough to save you, but he’s not a respecter person Well, wait a minute.

Why didn’t he put me in that bunch? It goes to heaven You see it’s it’s air and they’re teaching I I can’t go on the radio and tell me, look, I want you to listen to me real close now. God doesn’t love all of you. God doesn’t love some of you. And He doesn’t love you for any particular reason. He just chose to save you from the foundations of the world because, well, we don’t know what it is, but there was just something about you.

And then later on, God says in His Word, He’s not a respecter of persons. Then I want to know what did you use to discern why this person should go to heaven and not this person. Why did you choose this one and not choose this one? You see, that’s air and teaching. And everybody can say, oh, how wonderful. Oh, he’s so good. No, he’s not. You say, you’re gonna make people mad. So be it. It’s not because I want to, but either I take and put this above every man, even me, this is more important.

This book, if a person can scriptually show me where I teach it’s wrong, you have the right to come to see me. just chapter and verse, chapter and verse. Also, they say they’re in Acts chapter two, that they were not being saved. That was for fellowship. Acts chapter two, very quickly, look at this. I want you to see this. It said that Acts chapter two is not teaching that repentance and baptism are necessary, a condition for everlasting life. It is teaching that for the new Jewish believers who had personally participated in the death of Jesus, They must repent and be baptized.

You have fellowship forgiveness and to receive the indwelling Holy Spirit. Since when do you have to be baptized in water to get the Holy Spirit when Jesus has already said that he that believeth on him would receive the Holy Spirit? And then he said this is not talking about how to be saved. So if that’s not the reason… Why would you have there in verse 41? Then they that gladly received his word were baptized and the same day they were added under them about 3,000 souls.

The verse 47, praise and God and have in favor with all the people and the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. is talking about salvation. But when you change the word, you change the context of the whole point of scripture and you got to give it another meaning now. And this is being propagated very wide, very strongly among free-grace individuals that this is the new philosophy. It’s a new vision of what repent means. It’s heresy.

It’s not what the book says. It’s changing what the Bible says. And if I make a few enemies along the way, then so be it. Take your Bible, I want you to look at this. Look in Romans in chapter 2. The Book of Romans in chapter 2. There’s a verse here in Romans chapter 2 that has the word repent in it. And it’s mentioned there in verse four. So Romans chapter two verse four, are despised out the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long-suffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth the pure repentance.

But they say this repentance is not talking about heaven and hell are going to heaven. It’s only talking about so that you will realize that you ought to not do these bad things and God won’t have to take your life. Regardless of how you live, sooner or later, you’re going to die. And you don’t know whether or not because of, yes, because some people, they’ve done this and they die early and they maybe alcohol and they ruin their liver and somebody else’s smoking to get emphysement.

So, sometimes when we abuse the body, you might die early. So you can confess the sin and stop your drinking, stop your smoking, but I can guarantee you, it doesn’t necessarily heal the body. body. It can still take your life. My mother stopped her smoking about 20 years before it finally took her. But she had already got the emphysema. I already had this damage done. My sister came to me one day. I was preaching in a little old white church, little old Methodist church.

And after I got through, I went back to the back and I was shaking hands with people And my sister, Liz, she came up and she says, Yankee, yeah, she says, I quit drinking. Okay, when did you quit Liz? Now, and as I know, if she never took another drop for almost 15, 20 years, she had her own liquor store. She drank until she could, she could sink this building. But she drank, but even though she quit, she still had liver problems.

She had health problems and it could have contributed to her dying early. But you see, when you say that, okay, here you are and you’re all these wicked people and you do all these wicked things, if you will turn from your sins, you’ll buy you a little time. It may be true, but you don’t take that and apply it to the Word of God in the wrong spot. You’ve been listening to Bibleline, a teaching ministry of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida with Dr.

Ralph Arnold. We pray that you were blessed by today’s message. Part two of this teaching will conclude with tomorrow’s broadcast. If you have enjoyed our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, you can reach by the line and pledge your support to keep us on the air in your area by dialing toll-free 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. To listen to today’s message again or to obtain a free download of any of our Bible line programs, just go to our homepage at BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the Radio Broadcast link.

If you are in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4011 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Our Sunday morning services begin at 1030 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. broadcast of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friends, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound, and we will be changed.

Caught up to meet the Lord in the air. So live today and every day, believing that the Lord is coming soon, and just keep looking up.