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Bibleline Bibleline, dear God’s word on Bibleline, everywhere, every time. 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 air. You can reach us toll free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made through the Bible-lined 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.

So turn in your Bible to the book of Galatians. Now, the book of Galatians at chapter three. in the regulations chapter 3. And so he says here in verse 17, this I say that the covenant that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was 430 years after, and you ought to underline these two little words, cannot this annull, it can’t change it. It doesn’t add to it and say, now I gotta keep the law in order to be saved, it can’t annull the promise.

And the promise was that a man would be saved by faith, by faith and faith alone. And get this, cannot disenile that it should make the promise of none effect. It can’t change the promise that God preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, in these shall all families of the earth be blessed. And also that statement that the heathen shall be justified by faith. That’s the best news in all the world. And we today, if we believe that, then we are children by faith.

Well Abraham was a child by faith. So it says that we’re the children of Abraham by faith. By faith. See there in verse, look at this verse here, looking verse 26. He says, for a year all the sons of God or the children of God by what? Faith in Christ Jesus. And then looking verse 29. And if ye be Christ, then are ye Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise? So, I am a child of God, just like Abraham’s a child of God.

But see, God promised them the Kingdom upon the earth. He didn’t promise us the Kingdom upon the earth. He promised us to be His bride. We’re going to rule and reign with Christ over the earth, yes, because we’re the, but we, See, we get something better. We get the holy city. Often when I’m not, I used to love going down to a creek and getting my toes in the mud and squishing mud between my toes. Now, I don’t know how I’m going to like squishing gold dust between my toes.

I just don’t know because I’m so ruined. And I went elk hunting in Colorado for 18 out of 20 years. For a week to two weeks, I’d go up into the mountain. I just love going through the woods and singing. And I son, but with me several times he says, Dad, you might as well forget about hunting. You’re singing there, you know, elk within 10 miles.

And I would just forget about it. And I’d be just a hunk and a saying and a walking and breaking every stick that I could see. And, you know, just carrying on. And I got one elk one time. One time I got one elk. I got a lot of deer, but only one elk. There was a little truth for that. They didn’t like my singing either.

Oh well. But we’re gonna go to heaven one of these days. And you know what? Don’t use your understanding now of what you think you’re gonna like and not like. When you get to heaven, it is gonna be so out of this world, no pun intended, that we’re going to love whatever it is. It won’t compare to what we have here. If you can enjoy anything in this life, this thing, when you get to heaven, this don’t even compare.

Your best day, your best moment can’t compare to what God’s got for us. But anyway, the day’s coming. Some of us are getting closer. You realize this week I did two memorial services. It had people trust the Lord at both of them. I love doing memorial services or funerals because you see it’s just another way of on fishing. See, this is one of the advantages that me and Betty has had over the years that’s really helped us and I married all the years is that we work together on the same thing.

We’ve had the same goal in life. See, when you don’t know what you really want to do, you just kind of flounder, you’ll wonder here and there and nothing seems to work. emptiness and Israel had its problems when Israel pitched camp. As long as they was on the move, they were doing all right. It’s always when they pitch camp, when they’re not doing nothing, when you’re not going anywhere. But look what he says. He says here that the law cannot annul the promise that it should make it of none effect.

Look what he says in verse 18, for if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more a promise, but God gave it to Abraham by promise. In other words, if a man had to work for his salvation, then it wouldn’t be free. But God says it is free. Hold your place right here and look there in the book about Romans, the book of Romans in chapter 4. You need to see this because it’s dealing with Abraham and what was said to him about the promise.

Looking Romans chapter 4, and look in verse 13. Verse 13, he says, for the promise that he should be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. Or Abraham did not have to keep the law in order to have eternal life, to be blessed by God, to be justified by faith. He says in verse for him. For if they, which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of none effect.

What he’s shown is over there in the book of Galatians that the law did not cause the promise to be of none effect. The law did not annul the promise. The promise is still good. A man is saved by faith and faith alone. So anyone who teaches, well they were saved different way under the law. These verses contradict that. These verses are letting us know that it didn’t change. It wasn’t a no. Man was saved the same way. So then he says here in verse 15, because the law worketh wrath.

But where no law is, there’s no Transcration. In other words, if you go out of here and there’s a you pull up here to the red light Well, if there’s no red light no stop sign you can keep going You don’t have to stop But if they put a stop sign up there now what are you gonna do? You got to stop now if you don’t stop you break a lot. They’re gonna find you You said I didn’t see no cop.

Oh, now they got a little camera might be watching you No, there’s an eye upon watching you and it’s not the Lord But get what he says. In verse 16, you ought to underline verse 16. Therefore it is a faith that it might be by what? Grace to the end, the promise might be sure to all of us. The only way you can be sure of going to heaven is that it’s free. If you have to work for it, can never be sure.

Can’t be free. And you have to wait till you die. And then he says, for those who want to keep the law, curse it as everyone that continue it, continue it. Not in all things which are written in the book of the law. Most people don’t even know the law. Is it just keep the 10 commandments? 10 commandments. What about the civil law, the moral law, and the ceremonial law? All the law, about 500. Don’t even know what they are.

Let them keep them. I know them. I shall not lie. I shall not steal. I shall not play marbles. Says marble not. You stick around. You’ll learn a few things. Now looking for 16 again. Therefore it is of faith that it might be by grace to the end. And for this end result, the promise might be sure to all the seed, not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, father of us all.

So you’re blessed with Abraham. And then what is the definition of faith? You’re saved by faith. Well, he gets down here and explains it. Let me show you this. Look there in verse 18. He says, who against hope, talking about Abraham, believe it in hope, he says that he might become the father of many nations. According to that which was spoken, so shall thy seed be singular Christ. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead when he was about 100 years old.

Neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb to all folks. He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully persuaded. Here’s a definition of faith, fully persuaded that what he had promised, he was able also to what? To perform. When you buy faith, trust Jesus Christ, you’re trusting Him who is able to perform. He is able to save you and you rest upon him doing that. Not upon you performing.

He will do it. And that’s faith. That’s trusting Christ as your Savior. Now go back to the book of Galatians in chapter 3 and look there in verse 19. Verse 19, wherefore, then serveth the law. And that’s the good question. Why did God give the law? Well, he gave the law to show you what sin is. You see, some people think they’re good enough to earn their way to heaven.

There’s actual people who think that. Think they’re good enough? So God gives the law to show you that you’re not so good after all. Oh, you think you’re good? Yeah, I’m very good. Thou shalt not lie. Oops. Thou shalt not covet. Mmm. And you find out, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy hard mind, body, soul, and strength, and you haven’t. You love you. But most people don’t love God. So he uses the law to show us that we’re sinners so that you’ll be saved by faith.

So it was added only to show you why you need to be saved by faith alone. It didn’t involve the promise. Look what it says here. It was added because of sin, transgression. Till the seed should come to whom the promise was made. And it was ordained by angels in the hands of a mediator. Now, mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. And get this question, is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid that means no.

For if there had been a law given, which could have given life, fairly righteousness should have been by the law, if a man can save himself, if he can, then that’s the way you ought to be. And it make sense? But man can’t say to himself, what do it? If you can keep the law to be safe, do it. All you gotta do is be perfect. Don’t mess up one time, because then you wouldn’t be perfect. Then you can’t go.

Well, wouldn’t you have to start? Well, when it was you born? Well, the Bible says that I was born with a sinful nature and my mother’s womb. Who? You really got to go back to when you was a one-celled amoeba. We’ll just look at it a little bit right now. Now look what he says. And this is very good in verse 22. Verse 22 says, but the scripture, the Old Testament, half concluded. And you’re all on line these three, we’re all understanding.

All have sinned and come short of the perfection of God. All have sinned and broken God’s law. All are under the curse. Now if you want a blessing, you’ve got to get after none of the curse. you can’t get out from one of the curse because the curse is that you have to die. So Christ was born, kept the law, wasn’t under the curse. So he took our sins, our curse, it was placed upon him and he died in our plate for us.

So here in verse 22, but the scripture hath concluded all understand that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ and you ought to underline this statement might be given to them that keep the 10 commandments to them that believe. That it might, that means it’s not given to you until you believe. No man is saved because Christ died. It’s whenever he believes on Christ that he did it for him. Then Christ puts that payment that he made to his account and then he gets to go to heaven because of it.

Look what says now in verse 23. But before faith came… We were kept under the law, shut up to the faith which should afterward be revealed. In other words, you can look at the nation of Israel as a child being born and picture Israel as a person, a person. And as this person was born and then it grows up and there’s a promise made and then shows that this child wasn’t so obedient. The parents then lay down the law to the child, and this child was told, now you can be happy or you can be sad, you can be blessed or you can be beat the tar out of.

And so the child goes through these various stages. And so the truth is revealed, just like when children are born into our family. We don’t tell them everything the day they’re born. You got to teach them how to walk and how to talk. And then they learn a little bit more and a little bit more. you tell them what to do and you don’t tell them no more than just because your mommy said so, because your daddy said so.

You don’t try to use logic with a two or three year old kid. Now when that kid gets a little bit older you try to show why you do what you do so that they know the consequences of what they do. Now when you and I were born into this world, This is the way we’ve gone through some stages and the Bible says we’re under the law of condemnation because we were born in a sinful world and the law of God never been removed.

Christ did not come to destroy the law. He came to fulfill the law and so we’re under the law. We’re under the curse and so we’re under this curse until somebody brings to us the the gospel of Jesus Christ. And once you trust Christ as your Savior, you accept Him as your Savior, you have eternal life, your God’s child. Now, you’re no longer under the law. The law only condemned all of us until we put our faith in Jesus Christ.

Like that verse 23. But before faith came, we were kept under the law shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Therefore, the law was our school master, like a school bus, to bring us to the school that we might be justified by faith. So the law that lets us know that we can’t save ourselves points us to Christ so that we can be justified by faith. But once I trust Christ as my Savior, and the law has served its purpose.

And now see as a child of God, I’m no longer under the curse. I’m no longer under the law. I am under grace. So God wants me to live where he has placed me. Some Christians, and they were doing his here in the Galatia, they were going back underneath the law. Thinking they had to do all of this and keep the law in order to be saved and stay safe. And he says, no. That’s why he says in chapter 5.

Verse one, stand fast therefore in the liberty. You’ve been free from this, from the law. He says, stand fast in the liberty where with Christ has made us what? Free and don’t become entangled again, they’re with it. I don’t go to church because what I have to, if I don’t, I’m gonna go to hell. I don’t read the Bible because well, if I don’t, I’m gonna go to hell. I can’t go to hell.

And there’s a lot of religions that teach you, that you will. They have put people, if they’ve never got half a hundred, they’re under the law. Anyone who is trying to save themselves by their work are under the law. They have placed themselves here in order to try to save themselves by something God says can’t save you. He made a promise before the law was ever given that this law will not all this promise that he made so that whether it was Abraham or whether it was King David, everybody has saved the same way by faith and faith alone in what Jesus Christ did on the crossforth.

Now look there in relations in chapter three and look there in the last part of verse 24. The law was our school master to bring us unto Christ and underline the last part of this especially. Why? Why? That we might be what? Justified by what? Say it. So the law serves as purpose. That’s why he says in the book of Romans in chapter 3, by the law is the knowledge of sin. That’s how we know we’re sinners. Why? Because of the law.

You see, a man is not going to trust Christ as his Savior if he thinks he can save himself. So God gave the law the show that he can’t. Oh, I see. I need a Savior. See how easy that it is? The law was never given the Savior, man. Then where’s, for example, you get up in the morning? And you’re looking in the mirror. You’re looking in the mirror and you see that you’ve got cobwebs in your hair. And you’ve got turtleneck sweaters on your teeth.

You’ve got matter in your eyes. I could go further than I want. That you need a shave! The men. You don’t take the mirror off the wall and wash your face with it. The mirror just reveals the problem. It doesn’t solve the problem. It leads you to the soap and the water, to the comb, to the two patients, to the brain. But the mirror only lets you see what is the problem. The law lets you see the problem. Now if you’re hanging over a cliff, pin links in a chain.

How many links in the chain has to break before you fall? Oh, that’s too easy. It’s got to be five or six at least, right? Just one. Does it matter which one? It doesn’t matter which one. Why? Mashed potatoes. I mean, it’s all over. So it doesn’t matter which of the commandments you break, if you just break one. That’s why he says you must continue in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

Not just pick and choose a few of them that you like. I like this one. I’ll keep this one. You have to keep all of it. And that’s why he says, do you not hear the law? Don’t you understand in Book of 1 Timothy and chapterternity 1, he says, don’t you understand you that desire to be teachers of the law? Do you not understand what you’re saying? You have unplaced people under a blessing. You put them under a curse.

And think of how many people are being cursed this morning, trying to earn their salvation by what they do and it won’t work. Now look in verse 25, but after that faith has come we’re no longer under the scope, you’re no longer under the law because Christ has redeemed you from the curse of the law. The law can’t condemn you why? Because the law can’t condemn or touch a dead man. When Christ’s death was put to you and your death, but then you died.

So the law can’t condemn me to hell. Why? Because I’m dead. We have laws today, but they don’t affect the dead person. They don’t have to keep them. Dead men don’t have to pay taxes. Now, if you’re alive, you may have to. Verse 20, say, for we are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many as you have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither bond or free, there’s neither male nor female, you’re all one in Christ Jesus and if you be Christ then are you Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.

Now think about baptism, we’ll get into that at a different time. But it just boils down to show you that we have a wonderful message, a gospel that’s very consistent, Old Testament, New Testament, same gospel. That’s why it says at the beginning of chapter 1 and verse 6, I marvel that you’re so soon removed from him that they called into the grace of Christ into another gospel which is not another, but there be some that would trouble you and try to pervert the gospel of Jesus Christ.

But though we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel under you let him be a curse. In other words, that’s a cursed message because they put you under a curse. It’s a curse mess. It won’t save. And that’s what a lot of people are doing. So you see, not all churches preach the same thing. And you don’t go to a church because the people are so nice there. Or the pews are so comfortable. The choir is so good.

The preacher is so cute. that has nothing to do with anything. You want to find out what is the message on how to get a person to heaven? Are they teaching a blessed message or a cursed message? If it’s adding the works to the gospel of grace, it’s a cursed message. It cannot save and there’s a multitude of them and you You have to sometimes be very careful of how they present the gospel, how they tell the men to be saved.

You people here at Calvary have been blessed because for years you had a guy like Hank Lindstrom that always was hitting the clarity of the gospel. It was always an issue, wasn’t it? Always an issue. That’s strange. It is with me too. And that’s why we want to hang on to this, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. All right, we’ll just go ahead and quit right there. So glad to have you here. I realize you may never come again.

But I love you. I love America. I love the Lord. I love His Word. But whether we ever change anything in this nation, I want you to know how to go to heaven. So let me tell you real quickly the best news in the world. Letting this hand represent you and me, the wallet represents sin. We all have sin on us. God says that He loves us. Now He hates our sin, but He loves us. But because we’ve all sinned, we have to pay for it.

And that payment is eternal separation from God in hell. God’s He doesn’t want us to go to hell. He wants us to go to heaven. In the go to heaven you have to be perfect as righteous as God. None of us are perfect. None of us are good enough. We’re all sinners. We’ve all come short of God’s perfection. But God says you can’t earn eternal life. You can’t work the way to heaven. So how you live doesn’t determine where you go, because you’ll never live good enough to go to heaven.

That’s why you need a Savior. This hand represents Jesus Christ. He’s the Lord God in the flesh. He came into the world because He loves us, but He hates what we do wrong. And he says, our sin separates us from the Lord. So Jesus Christ, who had no sin, didn’t have to die. But because he loved us, he took our sins, paid for them on the cause, came back from the dead. God said that if we would believe that he did it for us, he would put the payment he made to our account, and we get to go to heaven on what he did.

No, we don’t deserve that, we didn’t earn it. He says, by grace are you saved through faith that not of yourself, it is the gift of God. not a works list any man should boast. So salvation, it’s free. You don’t have to stop something or join anything. All you have to do is trust Christ as your savior. So right where you’re sitting, right now, the quietness of your mind, the Lord knows who you are, knows what you’ve done, knows what you’re gonna do, still loves you.

And He said He would give you as a free gift eternal life if you simply trusted Him. So I’m gonna ask you in just a moment Will you trust Jesus Christ right now as your Savior? Would you trust Him to take you to heaven when you die? God said if you believe that He did it for you, He would save you right now. I do it this way because I wanna know what I said made sense to you. I’m just being honest with you.

And the only way I know to do it is to ask you. And it would be forever if I went down each person and asked, did you trust Him or did you trust Him? It’s a lot easier if you just say, And by that, I know you trust in Christ as your Savior this moment. Let’s pray, Shao-man. If what I said this morning made sense to you about how to have eternal life and go to heaven, would you trust Him right now?

I want you to trust the Lord. I really do. I want you to go to heaven when you die. But right where you’re sitting, that yet makes sense to me and I want to be certain. There’s anyone at all before we come. Our Father, we thank You so much for all that You’ve done for us, for the free gift of eternal life. And I pray Your blessings upon each person here and each family. We ask Your blessings upon our country to help us to do right.

In Christ’s name we pray. Amen. 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 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 six o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.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. 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.