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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 the end of the day. 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made through the Bibleline website at calbryoftampa.org. 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.

Alrighty, open up your Bible so you’re going to need it. Exercise your fingers. Got a lot of scripture to look at this morning. So turn in your Bible to the book of Ephesians in chapter 4, the book of Ephesians, chapter 4. The title of today’s message is the key to true holiness, the key, the true holiness. It deals with the two natures, but I want to explain to you why. If you understand today’s message. I believe it’ll be the key for helping you to understand the Christian life better than any message you’ll probably ever hear.

I heard it years and years and years ago and though I’ve had a lot of mountains and valleys, a lot of dead ends and dry holes and detours, this one message of understanding this has helped me more than any other single message and I believe it can help you. So some of you have heard parts of it before but I want you to listen again because nobody can make you a spiritually strong Christian. Nobody. A preacher can only teach the word.

It is you that must yield to the word in order for it to be engrafted into your soul, for it to accomplish the purpose that God had sinned. And if you yield to what God says, you can become a strong spiritual Christian. If you do not, you will be a weak Christian, saved, but you will not accomplish too much with your spiritual life. So in the book of Ephesians in chapter 4, I want you to look their inverse 17 verse 17 says this I say therefore and testify in the Lord that Yehins’ forth that means from now on from this point forward that Yehins’ forth walk not as other Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind so the Christian is supposed to be different from the world we’re not to walk as as others walk.

We’re God’s children. We’re special. We have an important job to do. Our Heavenly Father is called upon us to do great and mighty things for Him. Serving the Lord is the greatest thing that any man can ever do in his life. It’s not going to be important how much money you made, how many homes you had, or how much you got on your job, or how much the retirement is, or any of those things. Those are not important things.

It’s what kind of treasure have you laid up in heaven. That’s where we’re headed. So we made the statement here in verse 18, that those who walk in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, been alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their heart. So a man who does not serve the Lord is walking in blindness. He is ignorant. His life is darkened and is alienated from the life of God.

And so there’s a lot of difference between the goals of a Christian and the goals of a lost man. We’re not to live as lost people. We’re different. We’re God kids. We’re His children. Now get verse 19, who being past feeling have given themselves over unto less diviousness to work out uncleanness with greediness, but you have not so learned Christ. Now remember this, we are talking to God’s people, and He’s talking to them about the way the lost people live and work, but it’s also letting you know that you can do the same thing.

A Christian can live just like the lost man, still saved, but we know according to the scriptures that God is going to chasten that individual. But He says, you have not learned Christ. In other words, you didn’t learn that from the Lord. So you can tell many times whether or not you are going to do what God says do by what the Word of God says. When he says you have not learned, you didn’t learn to live in the flesh from God.

So if you are going to sure the Lord, you’re not going to behave the way the world wants. There has got to be a difference in a Christian’s life. So what do you learn from the Lord? Well it’s going to be the opposite of what we just read. Verse 21, If so be that you have heard Him and have been taught by Him. So one of the reasons that we believe that some people have been taught by the Lord is by the way they live.

Because we naturally assume that you’re going to live according to that which you know. And if you know know the Lord, and you hear His word, believe His word, why should we expect the word of God to make a difference in a difference. But you know, there’s multitudes of God’s children who live week after week, and there’s no signs, no evidence in their life that they love God. They don’t apply it in their life. Well, they can still be saved, but there’s no sign of them loving the Lord, no sign of walking with God.

So he makes the statement here in verse 21, and have been taught by him as the truth is in Jesus. You can tell if a person has spent some time with the Lord. You generally will take and pick up a lot of the traits of people that you hang around293 and you sayois things the subscay way, -> and you may not even be aware of it. I used to copy Ray a lot, and little did I understand that I was taking on a little bit of a lot of his mannerisms, even the way he, heArray talked.

A lot of things that I never thought about until 20 30 years later when I listen to him speak and I find it He does that just like me Well, he didn’t copy me. No, I copied him Look what he says now in verse 22 Verse 22 says but put ye off concerning the former conversation or behavior The old man Which is corrupt according to the deceitful lust now. Where is this old man? Where’s this old man? So y’all might look at me and says you ain’t you’re an old man, but I got news for you You got an old man inside of you too and And the old man is the old birth, the old nature, the flesh birth.

That’s the old one. And how many of God’s children have an old man? All of them. So he said, put off concerning the former behavior, the old man. According to the::::::::, in other words, we have an old sinful nature that deceives us and thinks we are all right. You know, there’s a verse in the Old Testament book of Proverbs that talks about there is a way that seems to seem it, seemeth, but the end thereof or the ways of destruction.

It seems right. So that’s why he says in the book of Proverbs, it says, lean not unto thy own understanding and all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy path. lean not unto thy own. In other words, many people think they’re wise enough to guideapestel. And yet the book of Jeremiah says it is not within man, the wisdom of the wisdom of the witness toamazon steps. So nobody is smart enough without God. That means you are deceived.

And God doesn’t want us to. Now give what he says. the difference between verse 22 of putting off the// old man and then in verse 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind. So this is why, likevironment says in the book of Romans in chapter 12 verse 1 and 2, Nauveseechelisher therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy except the blood on the Godmble which is your},” and be not conformed to this world, but you’re notrepreneing the world, you’re not.

You’re not. You’re not. You’re notzona. The man discovered was that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. So how does a man transform his life? You weren’t transformed when you trusted Christ as your Savior. You were given eternal life, but your life is formed. Everything has changed. Now, from the old birth to the new birth, yes, that’s changed. And everything from God, that’s new, that’s good. But a lot of habits and things like that may not change. But the way you transform your life is to renew your mind by the word of God so that you can think differently.

And your life will be a direct ratio to the caliber of your thoughts. So if you want to raise a caliber of your living, raise a caliber of your thinking because your life and the decisions you make out there are all the results of things that are born within the mind. So success and defeat start right up there. So God says renew the mind by the Spirit. Now look what he says in verse 24. That you put on the new man.

So there’s an old man, there’s a new man. You put off one, put on the other one. Who makes this choice? You do. It’s an individual decision. It’s not something that God takes over you and you don’t have anything to do about it and you’ve lost total control and Slain in the spirit. Oh No You make a decision a deliberate decision. You know what you’re doing No phony baloney We’re talking about as he says up there about true holy look in verse 24 And that you put on the new man which after God has created in righteousness and you are on the line these last two words true holiness.

This means it’s without hypocrisy. Where you’re real, you’re genuine. And that’s because you have put on the new man and taken off the old man. But those are choices that you make and you do that by the thinking. So between taking off the old, put it on the new, the only thing that lies between is the thinking of the individual, they’re in verse 23 you’re renewed in your mind and You renew your mind by the word of God so as you read the word you study the word and it because causes you to think differently and That changed things in your life and you yield yourself to the Lord and you have the results of a transformed life See Romans chapter 12 verse 1 and 2 is not written to the lost man It’s written to the believer and if being a say man was automatic that you’ll have a transformed life

And why do we have to have the scriptures telling us what to do to get it? So it’s not automatic and many of God’s people never live a transformed life where they learn what God’s word says and what they are supposed to do So this is important. I know you see the other verse look at in Colossians in chapter 3 this turn to you right to the book of Colossians and chapter 3. Colossians chapter 3 and notice there in verse 1 is giving us the motive.

Why should I? In verse 1 of chapter 3 Colossians says if ye then be risen with Christ remember this. When Christ died on the cross in the eyes of God he did it for me. So when Christ died on the cross. I died on the cross because he did it in my place. I get credit credit for it. So I was crucified with Christ. I was buried with Christ. I rose again with Christ. So then he says here in verse 1, if you didn’t be risen with Christ, well, where is Christ now in heaven?

And we are in Christ. So that’s why he says in the book of Ephesians chapter 1, we’re seated together in the heavenlies that God already sees us there. He says that I’m not there yet. I’m still here. But he says in verse one, if you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above where Christ said it on the right hand of God. Set your effects of things above, not on things on the earth. He says, for ye are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God.

Whenever you trusted Christ as your Savior, remember his death became your death, and God accepted that as your death. So you are a dead man. You’re a dead man. You and I are supposed to be dead to the world. And if we’re dead to the world, then we don’t have to worry about the deceitful lust getting us if we’ll just remember that we’re dead to the world, but dead to the world, but alive unto God. So we’re here and we’re supposed to live like I don’t have a sinful nature.

I’m supposed to live like I don’t have deceitful desires for the things of the world, and I’m supposed the yield of myself totally to the Lord because that’s the way God sees us. God now sees you in the Spirit. That doesn’t mean you’re naturally spiritual, but that’s how God say He no longer sees you in the flesh. He sees you in the Spirit. You have been changed, born again in the God’s family, and that’s how God sees you. That is your position in Christ.

It’s a wonderful thing to know. Now, look what he says there. He says in verse one, seek in verse two, set and in verse four, when Christ, who is our life shall appear, then shall you also appear with Him in glory. Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth. Mortify, that means a mortician, or some mortician. Somebody worse than a funeral home and I call it mortuary. Mortify. Oh, it’s mortifying. Oh, what did I mean? I scared the death.

Well, that’s where you get the word from. So we’re talking about mortify the member, talking about these, the sinful desires and consider them as dead. Don’t spend your life satisfying the desires of the flesh. Render them dead. Yield yourself unto God, and God says you can have victory in the Christian life, but most Christians never reach this level. You see, there’s a salvation, you become a child of God, lot of God’s children never reach another level, never grow where they’re stronger in the Lord.

He says this in verse 5, mortify therefore your members which are upon the year for education, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil, come keep and spend, keep and send, and covetousness which is idolatry for which things say the wrath of God come up on the children of disobedience. Now look at it, children of disobedience is also a reference in the book of Ephesians in chapter 2 to lost people when we were children of disobedience, children of unbelief, But as a child of God, can you also still be a child of unbelief and disobedient to the Lord?

Yes. And so as a child of God, we’re supposed to serve the Lord. And if we don’t, then we’re disobedient. Not to put off the old man is disobedience. Not to put on the new man is disobedience. But he says now in verse 8, but now he also put off all these anger, wrath, Malus, blasphemy, filthy communication out of you. What’s this? These are the, this is the old man. See over there in the book of Ephesians it says, put off the old man.

Well now we know what the old man is. It’s all these sinful desires. In verse 9, lie not one to another, seeing that you have put off the, there’s that word, you ought to underline it. Old man. You see I’m only 20 years old, you still got an old man. And in verse 10 and have put on the new man, put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him. Now, this is a good thing to know what to do, what not to do.

So if somebody says, you know, the Bible doesn’t tell us as Christians, there’s, you know, this negative thing about there’s things we can’t do and yes, it is, it’s in the Bible. There’s positive and there’s negative things to do, there’s things not to do. God has a list of do’s and don’ts, like it or not. Now notice, I want you just to say a few things about a couple of other scriptures and then we’ll look at some other ones, but you don’t have to look at these.

In the book of Genesis in chapter 5, it says, and this is the book of the generation of Adam in the day that God made him and how that he He lived so many years and he had the sun and blah blah blah and blah blah blah, but after about 950 years, what happened to him? He what? He died. And then he talks about another one, lived so long and he died. Another one so long and he died and he lived so long and he died.

You know what was interesting about the book of the generation of Adam? The inches check back? They all what? Died. Now there was one that didn’t die and that was Enoch. But you know who outlived Mathosla? Mathosla lived 900 and how long? 69 years? That’s a long time to live in it. You know who outlived him? His daddy? His daddy didn’t die. He didn’t. I didn’t make it up, that’s in the Bible. But anyway, but they died, but that’s the first birth.

When you go to the book of Matthew in chapter one, so then this is the book of the generation of Jesus Christ. And then it lists the genealogies there. And as you go down through all these 14 generations, there’s no deaths recorded. Why aren’t there any deaths recorded? Because this is the book of life. See, whenever you’re in the book of living, you’re gonna die. He says, rejoices your name is in the book of life. In the book of life, there’s no death.

So that’s why one day at the Great White Throne Judgment, the books will be open. But those who did not have their names written in the book of life were cast into the lake of fire. That’s why it’s so important for us to realize it. As a child of God, we know that we will never die. You’ll never be separated from God. But the first birth will be. And that’s why if you’re born once, you’ll die twice. But if you’re born twice, you’ll only die one time.

Now take your Bible and turn to John chapter 3. John in chapter 3. Remember this, nobody can walk through life holding your hands all the days of your life. You have to learn how to stand on your own. You need to learn how to walk with the Lord. And you need to learn how to deal with your sinful nature. How to cope with it? And this is the book and it’ll help you. So everybody has the same problem. Every Christian’s got the same thing to deal with.

And we are all like passion. We desire the same thing. Old sinful nature. It’s a battle unto the day you die. But in John chapter three, you’ll notice there in verse three. Jesus answered and said unto him, Nicodemus, Verily, verily, truthfully, truthfully, I say unto thee, except the man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. So you can’t see it. And down here in verse five, Jesus answered, verily, verily I say unto you, except the man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

So you can’t see it, you can’t enter it unless you’re born of God. So the Bible teaches that a man must be born of God. So if we’re talking about an old man, And that’s the one you got when you trusted the Lord and then you talk about a new man. Well, when was he born? When was this new man born? He had to have a birth Well, that’s interesting because When you trusted Christ as your Savior, you got a new birth.

That’s when the new one was born, but notice what he says in verse 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That’s the first birth That which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. That’s the second birth. So the first birth is flesh and you can be born again and again and again and again and again. But if it’s a flesh birth, it doesn’t do you any good because every flesh birth is a sinful birth born with a sinful nature.

Would it be great if we could be born the second time without a sinful nature? That’s what the second birth is. being born of God from above without a sinful nature. You see, if I could have a birth without a sinful nature, then I wouldn’t desire sin. I wouldn’t do wrong. I would never die. Wouldn’t that be great? Well, that’s what happened. But you’re still living inside of a body that has an old man living here and he doesn’t want share the body with a new man.

So guess what they do? They fight all the time. And that’s the struggle that you have in the Christian life. So in verse 17 says, marble not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again. So you must be born again. The only way you can get this new man is to have a new birth and the new birth is by trusting Christ as your Savior. Now look over there in the book of Romans in chapter 9. The Book of Romans in chapter 9.

Many people believe that there’s the Fatherhood of God. And that means that God is the Father of everybody. So that means if God is the Father of everybody, then we are the brotherhood of man and we’re all brothers. Well, it all depends on which family you’re talking about. God is the Creator, but He’s not your father until you’re born into his family. When you’re born into God’s family then you become a child of God. But look what he says in verse 8 of chapter 9.

That is, they which are the children of the flesh. These are not the children of what? They’re not the children of God. So you’re not a child of God unless you have been born into God’s family. Now this is where I like to use a simple illustration because I want you to have this so ingrained into your mind, you’ll never forget it. And I don’t care what happens and where you go, you’ll always remember how to keep yourself strong in the Lord.

How to deal with this old man. This arm right here. This represents our first birth. It’s a flesh birth. God says these are not the children of God. We have a sinful nature. We naturally do that which is wrong. So God says these are not His children. Now take your Bible and turn there to the book of 1 Corinthians in chapter 15. 1 Corinthians in chapter 15. And notice what He says in verse 50, verse 50. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and verse 50.

It says, Now this I say brethren flesh and blood cannot inherit that kingdom of God are look up here. Flesh and blood. The first birth cannot inherit the kingdom of God. He can’t see it. He can’t enter it. He can’t inherit it because he’s not a child of God. So this is the first birth. And God says, there’s none righteous. No, not one. There’s none that sinned that doesn’t sin. All have sinned and comes short of the glory. We’re all in the same boat.

This is everybody that’s born into the world of the flesh birth. This is why Christ says, yes. must be born again. God doesn’t do anything with this birth. He doesn’t change this birth, doesn’t change this man and trying to quit your sin and turning from sin and all that stuff has nothing to do with salvation. The new birth is a birth born of God. Now take your Bible and turn to the book of John chapter 1, the book of John and chapter 1.

This is why, when it says here in John chapter 1 how that Christ came into the world and he didn’t come to condemn the world because why the world is already condemned God’s already done rendered judgment every man has sinned every man is condemned and the whole world is guilty so Christ doesn’t have to come to condemn the world and he didn’t come into the world to condemn everybody because of their He came to pay for sin. He came to save man.

We’re already condemned. That’s why when we want to win people to Christ, we don’t have to spend hours and hours and are trying to get them to quit their sinning. They’re condemned. They’re guilty. They’re on the way to hell. Quit their sinning. It ain’t got nothing to do with anything. They need to know how can they get saved. How do they get the new birth? So John chapter 1, look there in verse 11. He came unto his own, but his own received him, not talking about the nation of Israel.

But as many individually as received him to them gave the power, the authority to become the sons of God, specifically to them that believe on his name. Our look up here, when you and I believe that when Christ died on the cross, paid for our sins, if we believe He did it for us, He gives us as a free gift, eternal life. we become his child born into his family. This is a new birth, born of God. If it’s born of God, then that means God is the Father.

If God is the Father of this new birth, then this new birth is as perfect and as righteous and as godly as God himself, it’s his child. God can’t father a sinful individual. He can only father a perfect son of God. This is the only reason that we can go to heaven whenever we leave this world, just because we are perfect just like God is perfect. But no sin. And that’s why he makes the statement in the book of 1 John in chapter three.

And in verse nine, that whosoever is born of God does not commit sin. For his seed remained in him and he cannot sin because he’s born of God. 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. Our 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 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 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. broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.org.

Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, and now a 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.