Bibleline Radio Show – 2011-02-02 – Dying In Sin Or In Christ


Transcription:

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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 air. You can reach us toll free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made through the Bibleline website at calvaryoftampa.org. We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ and that today’s message will be a blessing to you and your family.

your Bible and turn to the book of Psalms. This is the 51st Psalm. Even though this was written by David who had sinned with Bathsheba and this is his confession to the Lord, there are some things in these several verses that would help us. He makes the statement here in verse 4. Verse 4, against thee and thee only have I sinned. Now he’s praying, talking to the Lord and done this evil in thy sight that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest and be clear when thou judges.”

In other words, when God judges a man, it will be right and it will be clear cut. It won’t be shady. It won’t be gray. No gray areas. It’s right or wrong. And God is perfect and righteous and just and he makes no mistakes. So the Bible does tell us that it is appointed under every man wants to die and after this the judgment. So every man is going to die and every man is going to be judged and God is going to be justified in whatever he says.

When the Lord says to some, into thy one to the joys of the Lord, it’ll be right. When the Lord says you can’t come, it’ll be right. But wouldn’t that be a devastating thing for so many people who have gone to church all their lives? Gave money support of the Lord’s work saying in the choir did all kind of things saying specials Maybe a deacon who knows whatever they’ve done Missionaries evangelist and yet the Lord tells them you can’t come We think that’s going to do to them who thought they were on their way all those years But one of the reasons as he says here in verse five now Behold, I was shaping in iniquity and in sin.

Did my mother concede me now you and I were born in sin sin is a state of condition. It’s a way that you are you were born in sin and because you were born in sin, you have a sinful nature and we all do according to this verse. It doesn’t mean that the parents sinned and having you. That’s not what he’s saying. He says, you are born in sin, you meaning that you were born with a sinful condition. It’s like some babies that are born that have a defect, something’s wrong.

Some are born like that. All of us were born with a sin defect. We have a sinful nature. And because of the sinful nature, that’s why we do what we do. Take your Bible and turn to the book of Romans in chapter 3, the book of Romans and chapter three. But see you and I were born in sin and we live in sin. You and I live in sin. We often think of individuals who live in sin as living in some great grievous gross sin, not necessarily that that is the only kind of living in sin there is.

Here he says in the book of Romans in chapter 3, look in verse 23. Verse 23 says, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. It’s not that all of us have sinned one time. We’ve only sinned once. No. We lived in sin. You see, when you have a sinful nature and you are separated from God, we all live in sin. We live in this state of being, this condition that we are in. We live as a sinner.

Even though we try to do a lot of things that are right, we still have a sinful nature. We’re in a sinful condition and that’s why we’re in rebellion to God. A man that doesn’t even commit adultery, maybe he doesn’t rob banks, hasn’t murdered anybody, but if you live without God. You’re still living in sin. You’re living in rebellion to God. Because if you’re not right with God, then you’re in air against God. And the Bible says all have sin and comes short of the perfection of God.

What does sin mean? Comes from a Greek word, harmatano means to miss the mark. Miss the mark of what? The mark of perfection. You see, it’s like taking a bow and arrow and you shoot the arrow and you missed it by an inch. Somebody else might shoot, miss it by 10 feet. Somebody else, 10 yards. You see, we sometimes say, well, I’m not as bad as so-and-so because they missed it by 10 yards. I only missed it by two inches.

But if you miss the mark of perfection, you still miss the mark. And to go to heaven, you have to be perfect and none of us are. So all of us, with all of our decisions and all of our action, we never produce any any acts or works of perfection, everything is flawed. So we live with a sinful nature and we live in sin as the Bible tells us. All of us do. And because of that, things have to be changed, but you need to understand what he’s saying.

Now take your Bible and turn to the book of Ephesians in chapter 2, the book of Ephesians and chapter 2. When the Lord says, You have to be quickened in verse 1, who were dead in trespasses and sins. It means because of you have trespassed. God says, thou shalt not, you did. You trespass, you overstep the law. You want to crawl over the boundary. So you trespass and the wages of trespassing is eternal separation from God. So you’re considered to be spiritually dead.

You’re physically alive, but spiritually you’re dead. because you’re spiritually dead. And the Lord says, you’re separated from God and you live in sin. That’s why He makes the statement in verse two. He says, where in time pass ye walked? When he says you walk means you lived according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air. Now you may not have known it, but you still did. You He made it in planet, but you did.

Because you see, a lost man can’t serve God. A lost man might be used of God, but he is not serving God. God can use anybody for his honor and glory. And so a lost man can’t please God, because he’s in the flesh. And as long as you’re in the flesh, you’re in your sinful nature. And when you’re in your sinful nature, you’ve got additional problems that God says, you can’t come. cannot go where he’s going. So he makes the statement here.

In verse 3, among whom also we all had our conversation, that means your manner of life or the way we lived. He says, in time passed in the lust of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind. And we’re by nature, by nature. Those two words are very important. It is your nature to live after the flesh after the desires of the mind. You know, it’s whatever I want, whatever I want to be, where I wanna go, how I wanna live, who I like and who I don’t like.

And what I think, it’s all I, I, I, I, I, I, I, has nothing to do with God. And so many people govern their lives about what they want to do in life has nothing to do and what does God want me to do. And so many people do what makes them feel good. And that’s why they have a little slogan, if it feels good, do it. Whatever you want. Live the way you want to live your life. That’s living in sin.

It means you’ve missed the mark for your life. And so the Lord tells us this in His word, but God has done some things for us. Now, why don’t you take your Bible and turn to the book of John chapter eight, the Gospel of John and chapter eight? Look there in verse 19. He said, then said they unto him, where is thy father? Jesus answered, you neither know me nor my Father. Now Jesus is talking about His heavenly Father, that there’s a lot of people today, a lot of religions that talks about God, and they have various names for God.

And so a lot of times people think that it really doesn’t matter what His name is or what people call Him, as long as we’re all talking about the same God. But you see, the way you find out if they’re talking about the same God, is it, are you talking about the one that is the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because the true and living God had a son and his name was Jesus. That’s why over and over again it says Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God.

The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. So he’s not just any God by any name. You can’t just attach a name to him and call him, well, this is God. No? No, it has a name. The real God, true God, has a son. And his name is Jesus, and he says, if you know my Father, then you know me. He said, but if you don’t know me, then you don’t know my Father. He said, but if you do know me, you know my Father.

And if you know my Father, you know me. He said, but you don’t know me. And because you don’t know me, you don’t know my father. Because, you see, Jesus and the Father are the same one. He says, I and the Father are one. And that’s why he told Tommy, he said, that have seen me have seen the Father. I and the Father are one and the same. That’s why they were going to take up stones to stone him because of blasphemy.

He said, for what good work are you going going to stone me for it. They said not for a good work, but for blasphemy because that without being a man, you make yourself God. They understood what he was claiming. They knew what he was saying. Jesus claimed to be God. But there were people who did not believe that. And he says, who is your father? He makes the same here in verse 19. You neither know me nor my father.

If you hadn’t know me, you should have known my father also. These words spake Jesus in the treasure as he taught in the temple. And no man laid hands on him for his hour was not yet come. In other words, they could not in their own power bring Jesus to a premature death, though at times they wanted to kill him. They wanted to push him off a cliff. They wanted to stone him. But God would not allow that because he was under the protection of God the Father.

And he trusted the Lord to take care of him as the Father. So he makes the statement here in verse 21, then said, Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins. Whether I go, ye cannot come. Now the reason they cannot come is because he says, ye shall die in your sin. If you die in your sins, you cannot go. So the key of course is not to die in your sins.

It’s kind of like this. What if God says all those who live in Athens will die and go to hell? What would you wanna do? Get out of Athens. Well, this is what the Lord has done for us. The Lord has made a way, a possibility for you and I to do this. Now look there in verse 21, again where he says, ye shall die in your sins, whether I go, ye cannot come. Remember this, anyone who dies in their sin cannot come.

If you knew that everybody who died in Athens would go to hell, you’d wanna get out of Athens as quickly as possible because you knew that you didn’t have a clue as when you would die. Every lost man needs to know. You are born in sin, you live in sin, and if you don’t get out of there, before you die, you will die in your sins, and if you die in your sin, you cannot go to heaven. This is what Jesus Christ said.

So he made a statement down there in verse 22. They didn’t understand what he said. Can you understand what I’m saying? The people he told this to, they didn’t understand that. So they said there in verse 22, then said that Jews, will he kill himself? Because he said, where I go, you cannot come? They figured the only way you can get anywhere that we can’t go is you gotta have to kill yourself. And we ain’t going there. But if he died, where does he go?

He goes to heaven. If they died, where do they go? They can’t go. So we made this statement here. Verse 23, he said unto them, ye are from beneath, I am from above. Ye are of this world, I am not of this world. Now remember this, you can be born on the earth, but he says you’re born from below, I am from above. You are of this world, I am not of this world. all those who are born in this world or of this world and live in this world and will die in this world.

But God sent His Son who came from another world into this world and tells us that if we would believe that He died on the cross, the paper hour said, we would be born from above. The word born again, and John chapter 3 means born from above. So we would be born from that world. Though we’re in this world, we’re not of this world. And so one day God’s gonna take us out of this world. So you and I as a child of God cannot die in our sins.

Remember this on the cross, there were three. Two thieves, one on each side of Jesus Christ. One died to sin. One died in sin. . . . . . . . . . And one died for sin. Jesus died for sin. One died to sin, which was the thief on the cross that said, remember me when thou comeest into thy kingdom. The one that didn’t believe it died in his sins. So when Jesus died, one could go with him and one could not go with him.

If you die in your sins, you cannot go. That’s why you need to be born from above. By accepting the payment Jesus Christ was. made on the cross for you. Now look at verse 24, I said there for unto you that ye shall die in your sins for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. So if the reason you die in your sin is not because of all the bad things you’ve done.

It’s because you don’t believe that he is who he claimed to be. He said if you don’t believe on me, you will die in your sins. In other words, you were born in sin, you’ve lived in sin, you’ll die in sin and be eternally separated from God for all eternity. Now it doesn’t have to be that way. The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ came into the world and died on the cross to make a payment for our sins.

Let’s say for example, you have sinned against God and the wages of sin is death, the wages of sin is death. So when you sinned, you’re supposed to receive wages, what you earned for what you did. And the wages that you’ve earned is eternal separation from God in hell. You deserve to go there. You have to pay for that. That’s what you did. This is what you received. That is just. And the judgment It’s clear, there’s no doubt about it.

So you are in debt, you have a debt to pay. You were born with a sinful nature, you have lived and committed sins through your life. And if you die in your sins with this debt over your head, you’re in a heap of trouble, boy, and you need help. Jesus Christ came into the world and He took the sins that we have all done, In the words the debt we owe, the payment we’re supposed to pay. Christ took him upon him and he made a payment he died in our place.

And it’s kind of like if the Lord had all this money in here. All this money is put into an escrow account. People who buy and sell houses know what an escrow account is. Most lawyers know what an escrow account is. That you can put money into an account and it can be taken out. And it’s part of a payment that is set up to make sure that the money there. Well, Jesus made a payment for the sins of the whole world and the money is sitting in an escrow account.

And so the payment, there’s enough money in this offering plate right here to pay for all the sins of all the world, but it’s not automatically paid. Everybody’s sins are not automatically paid and automatically forgiven. You as an individual, you must believe that He did that for you, that there is an escrow account and that when you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, He takes the payment that’s necessary and makes a payment to your account. See the payments not put to your account till you believe He did it for you.

When you believe it, He saves you and gives you eternal life. Therefore you do not die in your sin because your sins are paid you’re free from your sins. It’s like you live in Athens and you know you need to get out because you were born here. You lived here, but if you died here, you’d go to hell, only in the illustration, but you couldn’t afford to move. What if somebody was to put a bunch of money into an account and all you had to do is draw on it and you would have enough to get a mansion out of the town and it’s totally paid for by somebody else?

Wouldn’t that be a wonderful thing? Well, that’s what Jesus Christ has done for us. Now take your Bible and turn to the book of 1 John and chapter two. And notice there in verse two, the Bible says in verse two and he Christ is the propitiation for our sins. Now that’s a big word, it means the satisfaction, the mercy seat, he is the payment for our sin. That’s why you hear me often make the statement, Jesus Christ made a payment for our sins.

So he says he is the payment for our sins and look at him, not for ours only, but also for the sins of the who? Whole world. Jesus made a payment for the sins of the whole world, but the payment is not put to your account to you believe. That’s why he could tell those people that he had talked to there in John chapter eight, unless you believe that I am healed, you will die in your sins. They’re not having to die for them, but they’re dying in their sins.

They refuse to accept the payment that was made for them. That’s a shame. That’s a disgrace for the judgment of individual who considered themselves to be so smart and intellectual. A payment has been made and everybody can have this free gift of eternal life. Take your Bible look here in the book of Philippians and chapter 3 Philippians chapter 3 and verse 9. You see, if the Lord says, do not die being found in your sins, then you need to be saved from your sins.

You need to be looked at as an individual who is no longer in that state of condition. When you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are taken from a flesh birth and you are put into a new birth. This one is born of God, born from above. See that’s been placed in Christ. For example, when Jesus Christ was on the cross, He was in your place. He died for your sins. So in God’s eyes when you believe He did that for you, that substitution, He did it in my place.

So in God’s eyes, it’s like you went to the cross. died on the cross and paid for your sins and you come back from the dead and you go to heaven because see it’s like you paid for your sins. You did it. But see somebody did it for you though and it’s put to your account as though you did it. So you see there’s nothing that he can charge you with. See there isn’t anything that can send me to hell.

I don’t have anything to go to hell for because I’ve already paid for my sins. I paid for all of my sins when I died. I died in Christ because He did it for me in my place. I didn’t really do it, but in God’s eyes He considers the payment that He made the propitiation for my sin, the payment for my sin. God was satisfied with that payment and I go scot free. So when believe that I am delivered from my sins.

I am now a child of God and I’m going to heaven whenever I die. When you die, keep this in mind. And be found in sin. Is that what your Bible says? No. You are born in sin, you’ve lived in sin, but don’t you die being found in sin. He says and be found in Him not having my own righteousness which is of the law but that which is through the faith of Christ the righteousness which is of God by faith be found where in him.

Now you will die in this world you will either die in sin or you will die in Christ. You’ll die in sin or you’ll die in Christ. That’s why Paul says for me to live is Christ and to die is gain because I was born in Christ I live in Christ I die in Christ when you’re a child of God. You see, that’s why it’s so important for you to understand that it’s not based upon our good works. It is based only upon Christ and He says, unless you believe you shall die in your sin.

The only way you can get out of this condition is to believe that He did this payment for you. So when you believe on it, this payment that He made is put to your account as though you did it and you go scot-free. You do not deserve that. I don’t deserve that. That’s why it says for by grace or you say through faith that not of yourself, it is the gift of God, not at works lest any man should boast.

Tremendous. Take your Bible out there in the book of John in chapter 3. And here in the book of John, it makes the statement. In verse 36, he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. He that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.” Now look up here. Here is the lost man and his bowl is full and all these sins that he’s committed, the wrath of God abides on him.

And you never know when the day of execution will be. But it’s a point in that every man wants to die because of sin, every man wants to die after this, the judgment. And so the Bible says the wrath of God’s abides upon every person that’s lost. See what he says? He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. He that believeth not the Son shall not see life cannot come. Will never see eternal life, never see heaven, never get to go.

He says, you cannot come because you will not believe. We need to understand that there’s a lot of religions in this world. A lot of religions talk about God. But Christ says, if you don’t know me, you don’t know God. So every religion in this world is wrong if they think they can get to God without Christ. There is no other name given among men whereby we must be saved. And that’s through Jesus Christ and Him alone. In John chapter 14 and verse 6, he says, I am the way, the truth and the life.

No man comes unto the Father except through Me. You don’t go through Christ. You do not go. And Christ is the one that knows whether you have or you have not believed in Him. It’s not important for everybody else to think that you are a believer. God’s the one that made heaven. He’s the one that made hell. And He’s the one that made heaven. whether you have or you have not believed or trusted him and him alone is your only hope to get to heaven.

Won’t it be a shame and a shock for a lot of people one day to find out they died in their sins and did not die in Christ? When I trusted Christ as my Savior, I was placed in Christ, I am in Christ, and I will die in Christ. You said, do you still do anything wrong? Oh, ever once in a while. But those sins have been paid for once and for all, all the sins of the world, all of mine, because I believe he did it for me.

And you say, well, you don’t deserve that. You got that right? That’s what salvation is, and that’s what grace is. So when the Bible tells us this, Jesus Christ took my wrath. I am free from this condition, but every person that’s still lost is still in their sins. The wrath of God abides on them because they have not believed. Now look at one of the verse before we close. Look there in verse 18. Verse 18 of John chapter three.

He that believeth on him is not condemned. Get that. He was condemned. But when he believed on Christ, now he is not condemned and can never go to hell. He is not condemned. There’s no condemnation to those that are in Christ, that are in him. And he found in him not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. So he says here, but he that believeth not is condemned when.

Alright, here’s the man born in sin, lives in sin, and he will die in sin. When is he condemned? He’s always been condemned. Youapeste you don’t wait till you die to find out where you’re going. You don’t have to wait. lost man who is in his sins, who has not trusted Christ, is going to hell. They’re all going to hell unless somebody reaches them, explains it to them, and get them to get in Christ before they die. They will go to hell.

You will never be a good servant of the Lord. You will never be a good soul winner for the Lord if you don’t believe this. There has to be something that you see and you understand that motivates you all the days of your life to keep given the gospel. They keep trying to get people to trust the Lord as their Savior. 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. 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 BibleLineMinistries.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. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryuptampa.org. Thanks for joining us on Bible Live, and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friend, one day it will happen, the trumpet will sound, and we will be changed.

Hot 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.