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This is Dr. Ralph Arnold, pastor of Calvary Community Church. We will be continuing our tradition of a candlelight service again this year on New Year’s Eve. You are warmly invited to come and worship with us this New Year’s Eve at 7 p.m. Please join us at 4811 George Road here in Tampa. This will be a special time to reflect upon the blessings of God in your life from 2010. A message from the Word of God for the New Year, music from the Firehouse 5 and end with a candlelight dedication.

Refreshments will be served afterwards in the fellowship hall. So make plans now to join us this Friday for our candlelight service at 7 p.m. Stand or to fall you have to admit the Bible does say that we can fall from grace Says so in the book of Galatians in chapter 5 In verse 4 where it says Christ has become of no effect unto you Whosoever of you are justified by the law ye are fallen from grace But does that mean you can fall from salvation?

I believe that you’ll see in just a moment that it does not refer to losing your salvation. No man, once he has saved, can ever lose his salvation. One of the best ways to study the Bible and to understand what the Scriptures are teaching is always use the lens of the gospel to discern the rest of the Scriptures. So if you really understand the gospel, really believe it, you have a greater potential of understanding deeper truths than anyone else will ever come close to.

Look there to first verse. To stand or to fall, it is my choice. Now once you trust Christ as your Savior, you are on the foundation. The foundation is Christ. And Christ is a foundation that never changes. Now you may tremble on the foundation, but the foundation will never tremble unto you. You’re on the foundation. There is no other. Romans 5 and verse 2, by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

And not only so, but we glory in tribulation also, knowing that tribulation works at patience. But in the first part of this verse, when it talks about this grace, wherein we stand. You see, when you trusted Christ as your Savior, you were saying, I believe that Jesus Christ, died on the cross, paid for my sins, and that I’m saved by grace. God gives me eternal life. I am His child, and that is a definition of salvation by grace. It’s not of words.

You stand right there. That’s my position. That’s my position. So God saves you based upon your belief of what he promised because that’s what faith is. Faith is not staggering at the promise of God, but believing it. Now whenever you believe that God wants you and I to stand on that truth all our life. Now if you quit believing that and standing for that then you’ll have questions and doubts in your mind, but it doesn’t change the fact that God has saved you and that God has given you eternal life, God cannot change that at all.

But you will not have the confidence, you will not have the assurance that you need and so therefore it’s going to cost you and your Christian life because you won’t serve the way you should, because you doubt your salvation. 1 Corinthians chapter 2 and verse 5, that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Now faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God so that your faith should stand in what God says, not in what man says about God.

In other words, if your only hope of salvation is based upon what Yankee told you, or what you just believe what I say, instead of you verifying with what the book says, what if I’m wrong? What if I’m wrong? Now what you’re going to do? So you should believe what you believe because the Bible teaches that and you’re convinced of that so that your faith is not in the pastor. It’s not in the church. It’s not in your good works.

It’s only in what the Lord says and you understand what his word said and you believe what he said. Remember even the people that came out that day to see the woman at the well says, And we believe. Not because of a woman, but because we heard him ourselves and we believe that thou art the Christ the son of a living God. So you are to believe what you believe because it is the truth and you see it and you understand it and you believe that.

But not to stand in the wisdom of man regardless of how wise the man might seem to be. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and verse 1. This is where we usually get a definition of the gospel. 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 1 says, Moreover brethren, I declare unto you the gospel, which I preached unto you, which also ye have received and wherein ye stand. So where is our position? We stand upon the gospel. That is our foundation. That’s what gets us into the family of God, into the kingdom of God, so that we know what we believe.

We know why it’s true because of what Christ has done and what He said. Only by Christ coming back from the dead do we understand that God accepted the payment. That’s why Jesus Christ didn’t be the propitiation or the satisfaction for our sins. We’re in ye stand in 1 Corinthians 16, 13. Look at this. Says watch ye stand fast in the faith. Quit ye like men. Be strong. Now here he’s changing it just a little bit because now we’re talking about standing as a result of our choice after we have been saved.

It’s a statement that warns us because he says here, watch ye stand fast in the faith. Now if he has to tell us and to warn us to stand fast in the faith, it means that it might be possible and must be possible that a man may not stand fast in the faith. So you may know Christ is your Savior and you have become grounded in the Word of God, But is it possible that you could not stand for the faith but fall in the faith?

Can you fall? Can you not believe in what you now believe? Yes you can. But if you did, would you still be saved? Yes you are. Because God cannot deny Himself. But notice what He says in 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 12. If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. Now here He’s talking about us reigning with Christ. So there is a price to pay for your disobedience. For my disobedience, there is a price that will pay in eternity.

Not just maybe in the kingdom reign, but for how long I do not know, it might be forever. In verse 13, if we believe not, in other words, I don’t believe it anymore. Look at the last part of the verse, yet he abided faithful. He cannot deny himself. He can’t deny himself because he made a promise and his promise was that if you trusted him one time like drinking that water, one time he has to guarantee you that you’ll never thirst again.

And if you eat that bread one time, then he guaranteed that you wouldn’t have to eat that bread again. in other means you don’t need to get saved again. So God cannot deny himself. So when he says up there in verse 17, look in verse 17, and their word will eat as death a canker or in some translation they put it cancer, but it’s just like that. Of whom is Hymenius and Phileedus, who concerning the truth have erred. So they did know the truth, but now they have erred concerning the truth.

But not only have they aired concerning the truth, it says here saying that the resurrection is passed already and you are to underline the next statement over throw the faith of some. So some Christians have their faith overthrown. In other words, they don’t believe it anymore. They get so confused, they get mixed up because of what somebody else has told them. But now notice what he says, overthrow the faith of some. Nevertheless, the foundation of God’s stand of sure.

this seal and you are on the line this the Lord knoweth them that are his so the Lord knows you even though you may get to where you don’t know the Lord so once you trusted Christ the Savior you have eternal life and God said that he would never test you out I want you to look there in 1st Timothy 1st Timothy chapter 1 and look there in verse 18 first Timothy chapter 1 and verse 18 says this charge, I commit unto the Son Timothy.

According to the prophecies which went before on the that thou by them might as were a good warfare. Now the Christian life It is a war. In other words, you’re fighting against the devil and he wants to win. You’re fighting against the lust of the flesh and it wants to win. You’re fighting against the temptations of the world and they want to win. And the trials of the earth, you’re in a battle. A battle for your soul, that means your life upon the earth, the effectiveness that you can have.

Because see, there’s a God in heaven that wants to reward his children in the kingdom and many of God’s children are forfeiting every last thing that you want. could have had. This life is the best days of our life because it’s such a great opportunity that God has given to every one of us to be found faithful. Now He can’t eliminate the war and then you expect to wear the medals. You’ve got to fight the battles. Fight the battles.

And this is why the Bible says endure to the end. You and I are supposed to endure to the end, not for salvation, but for the Christian life, endure for how long? Just this day to mark no the end all your life serve the Lord with everything that you got don’t stop now look what he says in verse 19 holding faith and a good conscience because you can lose your faith some people have their faith overthrown they were saved but no longer believe but they’re still saved they’ll still go to heaven I think a lot of people who afterwards think they’re gonna go to hell are gonna be very surprised to wake up when they die and find out they’re in heaven.

And then won’t it be just a surprise and that people who think they’re going to heaven will wake up and they find themselves in hell? And that’s the case too. I think it’s going to be a lot of surprises on both sides. I would rather a child of God go to heaven and diapers than not go at all. If we believe salvation was something else, we would say, well, they have to prove that they’re saved now. Or they got to do all these good things.

A man can do the most wicked of things. But if But if he’s trusty, Christ is Savior, that is the crux of the matter where God is so good that he would give us as a free gift eternal life. See, there’s sometimes, I think, people who really don’t believe that say they believe it but don’t really believe it. Well, I believe they ought to do something. There ought to be some proof. No, they don’t have to be any proof.

Any time you think a person has to have some proof, you’re going to become a fruit inspector. You’re going to be starting looking for results in a person’s life to see whether or not they’re really saved. You only have one thing to go by. Does that person put their faith in Christ and that alone is their only hope of going to heaven. That’s all you can look at. Now as a person who’s supposed to love the Lord, yes we can look at their lives and see whether or not they love the Lord by the way they live.

And the best we can do is to try to look at him and see whether or not he said if you love me then serve me. So if a person, because you can be a Christian and not love the Lord, not serve the Lord at all. But should you? Yes. But look what he said in the last part of this verse holding faith in a good concert which some having put away Concerning faith a bait shipwreck so they were in the ship, but they have had shipwrecked they were saved but their As far as their life goes their lives are a wreck and they have fell up on the rocks of this belief No longer understand no longer solid no longer strong a Christian can fall Can you fall?

Yes, you can. Can I fall? Yes, I can now look at the next verse 2nd Corinthians 1 24 says not For that we have dominion over your faith But our helpers of your joy for by faith you stand See the only way that you can stand in the Lord is by your faith and if your faith is overthrown and you’re not gonna stand for the Lord It won’t matter what church you go to it won’t matter how you live It won’t matter if you give you don’t give it won’t matter if you witness it don’t it nothing matters Because your faith can be overthrown And it is a fight it is a battle and the thing that you and I are supposed to be concerned is that we want people to stand Fast in the faith so that their joy is full like he says

But our helpers of your joy we want people to have full assurance and to have joy in the Christian life And so they can be strong enough that whenever the trials come and testing come they can be strong enough to weather it See many Christians can’t take the trials and tribulations. They fall completely apart and that’s a sign they’re not strong in the Lord. They’re weak Christians but still a Christian. Look at the next verse. In Galatians in chapter 5 verse 1 says stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free.

So if it’s a command for us to stand fast it also means that you may not stand fast, that you could lose your footing, that you could fall away and you can. Remember, you never fall away from salvation, but you may stop believing in salvation by grace. And if you don’t believe in salvation by grace, then you’re going to question your own salvation. And then if you don’t really understand whether you’re really saved and you start teaching worse for salvation, then you’re going to confuse a lot of other people.

And you can begin to teach and preach a curse message. So he says, here, stand fast therefore in the liberty where with crisis made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. So is it possible for a person to become entangled again? Yes, with the law. Yes. In the words of lost man believes you got to be good to go to heaven. He finds out it’s only by grace. Well, if he don’t stay strong in that and keep believing what he’s supposed to by getting into the word so he can begin to believe what he used to believe and become entangled again.

Think just like he did before he ever trusts the Lord. Look at the next verse in the Ephesians chapter 6 verse 11 to 14 put on the whole armor of God Why? That you may be able to what stand? Well, if you don’t put on the whole armor of God, it means that you probably won’t stand What do you think a preacher wants people to come to church? So that he can teach them the Bible how to Understand what God says why for his benefit?

No, it’s for the people it’s for them so they can stay strong in the Lord. People who stop coming to church don’t last long. They don’t last. They’ll be getting into all kinds of things that they never thought they would ever do and believe in things they thought they’d never believe because see this is a step of obedience to meet together with God’s people so that you can stay strong if you don’t do that you’re not going to be there.

You will fall verse put on the whole arm of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Now that means that the devil is able to trick you. We talk about the wiles of the devil, the tricks of the devil because that’s what he does. He lies, he deceives. And so this is why a lot of Christians are not very strong in the Lord. Now look in Philippians chapter 1 verse 27. Only let your behavior, your conversation, your manner of life, Be as it become the gospel of Christ that whether I come and see you or else be absent I may hear of your affairs that you stand fast in one spirit So it may be possible and it is possible that a person doesn’t stand fast in the Lord He said that you stand fast in one spirit with one mind striving together for the faith of the godful see it’s not automatic

Well, if you really saved your servant or no, you won’t otherwise why we got this it’d be automatic It is an automatic. Not everybody serves God. Not everybody walks with the Lord. Many of God’s children are in the world. He says, you’re in the world, but you’re not of the world. Be not conformed to the world. But many of them do. That whether I come and see you or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs that you stand fast in one spirit with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.

Now that’s what God wants his people to do. believe in the same thing because you only got one Bible. You don’t have two Bibles. That’s why you shouldn’t have two or three different kinds of churches. Let alone a thousand different kinds of churches. If everybody approached this book and believed this book and the Holy Spirit taught us all this, do you think the Holy Spirit in this book would teach me to believe one thing and teach you to believe something else?

Is it Holy contrary? No. It’s because people are not believing what the book says. They use the Bible and twist the Bible, put a span upon the Scriptures because they can’t believe it means what it says. Philippians chapter 4 verse 1, Therefore my brethren dearly beloved and long for my joy and crown and get to so stand fast in the Lord My dearly beloved so if he has to tell you to stand fast in the Lord is it possible then that you might not stand fast in the Lord Yes, because that’s why he’s warning us Challenging us be sieging us that we stand fast Colossians chapter 4 verse 12 a papyrus who is one of you a servant of Christ saluted you always laboring fervently for you in prayers that ye may stand.

Get this perfect and complete in all the will of God. See, God saving you and saving me is just the beginning of our Christian life. It’s not the end of it. It’s not that, you know, that was all that God wanted to do is just to save your little soul so you don’t go to hell. That’s just the beginning. There’s your whole life. Everything involves you. God wants you to do what He wants you to do, and that’s what we’re after.

We’re trying to get God’s people to serve the Lord and to be found faithful. Do you find out it’s difficult? Isn’t it difficult to get people to be faithful? How difficult is it just to get people to go to church? Think well, could be done with God’s work if all of God’s people believe the same thing, and we’re as dedicated as they ought to be. Could turn the world upside down. Now look what he says there in this next verse.

First Thessalonians chapter 3 verse 8 says, For now we live if ye stand fast in the Lord. For what thank can we render to God again for you? For all the joy where we enjoy for your sakes before our God. Did you notice that standing fast in the Lord and the joy of the Lord go together? There’s a lot of people who want to be happy in the Lord. I just want to be happy. They want to have joy.

But joy comes because of your stand that you have in the Lord. Not that you’re saved. I mean, say it. I’m conjoined that I’m saying I’m not going to hell. I know, but I mean, I’m not in heaven yet. I still got a life to live. So your strength in the Lord is what’s going to give you joy. God, joy of the Lord is my strength and a lot of Christians are weak. They don’t have any strength and you don’t have the strength.

You don’t have the joy. Because you see you focus upon your problems and all everybody’s got them But if that’s all you focus upon that becomes so big and it can just drain you dry and they say you’re not a happy camper You’re not happy with anything But joy of the Lord that doesn’t matter what happens You know, it’s just temporary you’re gonna be passing through it and God will give you the strength and grace you need to bear it Regardless of the temptation, you know that your heavenly father is not gonna allow anything greater than what you can stand and you can stand it You say I just didn’t take anymore.

Yes, you can You can take anything God gives you. You never have to fall. We fall because it’s a choice. Failure in the Christian life is our choices. It’s not the will of God, it’s what we do because we take our eyes off the Lord because we’re weak in the Lord. Look at the next one. In 2 Thessalonians in chapter two and verse 15, therefore brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you have been taught, whether by word or our epistle.

If he has to tell you this, it means that it’s possible that you may not stand. And when he says here, stand fast, hold the traditions which you have been taught, in other words, keep believing that, continue in the faith. You’ll find that mentioned throughout the book of Hebrews about continuing the faith and enduring to the end and in the book of Matthew, all these scriptures that are, but they mean something. But everybody wants to take that in dirty and that’s talked about you got to hang in there if you want to get saved finally, eventually.

It’s not talking about that. Now look at the next one. all fall, fall, fall, fall, fall, fall, fall, fall. Can a Christian who refuses to stand fall? Now look there in Romans chapter 13 and verse 14. Says, let us not therefore judge one another anymore, but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling rock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s weight. Does that mean that it’s possible? If God has to tell us not to do it, it means that maybe some Christians will do it.

not only will they fall themselves, but they become a stumbling block to other Christians. And you put a stumbling block in a brother’s way and cause him to fall. Can a Christian fall in the servant or yes? I see it all the time. And yet I cannot allow all the people that fall so discouraged and disappoint me and give me and give me such despair that it ain’t worth doing it at all. Then just let them all. Just do whatever they want to do.

I don’t care anymore. And just develop an I don’t care attitude. You can’t do that. You still strive. You always have, because you’ll have a few people that will serve the Lord and it makes it worth it. But whether they do or whether they don’t, you still have a responsibility to challenge and exhort one another to do right. Look at the next verse. First Corinthians chapter 10 verse 12 says, Wherefore let him that thinketh he stand, that take he lest he do what?

lest he fall. And who is the one that can fall? The one that thinks that I ain’t going to happen to me. You don’t ever happen to me. Boy, I’ll never fall. You can fall at any time. You know how long it takes to yield to a temptation? All thought like that. Don’t take long at all. You can fall very quickly. All you got to do is take your eyes off the Lord. They can happen to anybody at any given time.

I don’t care who you are. I don’t care if whether it’s the preacher, the deacons, or anybody else. The layman in the church. Everybody’s acceptable because we all have a sinful nature and the devil knows how to lure. He knows how to trap and get us to fall. Remember, the devil is after one thing, to get a Christian to fall from standing in the faith. 1 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 6 says, not anomous, lest being lifted up with pride, he fall into the condemnation of the devil.

Look at 1 Timothy chapter 3 verse 7, Moreover, he must have a good report of them which are without lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. So is it possible for a Christian to fall into the snare of the devil? All these are warnings to us because it’s possible. If it wasn’t, then there’s been no sense in putting it into the book. And if it was all less automatic, you know, that if you’re really saved, you’re really going to serve a Lord, if you’re really saved, then why are what’s the who’s these verses to?

Because there’s people who fall and they don’t serve a Lord. And some of them will never amount to the hell of beings. They’ll never be strong. And that’s why he made the statement in the book of Corinthians in chapter 11 where he talked about, he said, in summer, sick and summer, weak and summer, what? Dead. Why are they dead? Because they fell. Why are they weak? Because they fell. Why are they sick? Because they fell. Christians fall. Fall into temptation.

Fall because of the devil. Fall because they get lifted up with pride. You name it. Christians can fall. And they fall away from the truth of God’s Word. They can fall to every wind of doctrine that comes along. In 1 Timothy chapter 6, verse 9 says, but they, that will be rich. to temptation and a snare and do many foolish and hurtful lust which drowned men in destruction and predation. Isn’t that a warning about being rich? And yet you’d be surprised how many people want to be.

I want to be a millionaire by the time I’m 30. It’s better just to serve the Lord with what you got, where you are and if God blesses you praise the Lord and if He doesn’t, that’s fine too. If some people never learn, money is not the purpose of the Christian life. The possessions of of this world is not where it’s at. That’s not what makes happiness. That doesn’t bring peace and joy and all that doesn’t bring the purpose.

God can use everything we have and we ought to use it for the Lord when He says here, they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare and the meaning foolish and hurtful lust. In other words, it’s a result of choices that we make. Look in 2 Peter in chapter 1 and verse 10, wherefore the rather brethren, we talk in the Christians brethren give diligence to make your calling and election sure for if you do these things you shall never do what you won’t fall these see are verses in the Bible that warns us so we can choose to stand or to fall but it’s all because of decisions that we make so he says here if you do these things you won’t fall but look in 2nd Peter chapter 3 verse 7 he says Yee, therefore, be levered.

Senior note these things before. Beware, lest ye also get this being led away with the era of the wicked. So can a be levered a brethren be led away with the era of the wicked? Look at it. I didn’t write this verse. This is the Bible. He says, Paul, Paul from your own steadfastness is that the will of God that all of his people people stay steadfast in the gospel and to stay strong in the Lord. Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might because if you don’t then you’re going to be falsely acceptable to the wiles of the devil.

Then when He makes a statement there in Galatians chapter 5 and verse 4, Christ has become of no effect unto you whosoever of you are justified by the long ye are fallen from grace. Can a Christian fall from grace? Yes. It means falling from When grace is failing to keep believing that you’re still saved by grace. You see, when you were saved, you were saved because you believed you were saved by grace. Later on, you no longer believed you’re saved by grace.

So you have fell from what you used to believe. But did you fall from salvation? No, you can’t fall from salvation. 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. If you have enjoyed our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, you can reach Bibleline 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. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to Bibleline. LiveAlignMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our homepage. If you’re in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 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 going to our church website, calvary of Tampa dot org.

Thanks for joining us on Bibleline. And now we’ll closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friend, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound. 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. Just keep looking up.