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Bibleline Bibleline, here got toured on Bibleline, everywhere, every time. Here got’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. 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.

If a person believes that when you really say it, you will live it. you will in all your life, you will live it. Can’t know for sure that they are really a Christian until they have lived it and know for sure that when they died they finally made it. Because if they end their life ever go back on what they started out on this Christian walk, if they fail in the future they’re supposed to believe by their own testimony, they never really were saved.

So how do they know that tomorrow or the next week or the next year, they won’t really mess up? And if they really do mess up, they’re supposed to believe, well, I will never really saved in the first place. Because if you’re really saved, you’re not going to do that. And yet many of them do just that. So they have reasons to question their salvation. So they don’t really know they’re going to make it because they believe in the perseverance of the saints.

The saints will persevere. I don’t believe the saints have to persevere. I believe that I’m saved and that God saves me and it’s his job to keep me saved. I was saved by his power and I am kept saved by his power. I am not kept saved by my good deeds. Therefore I know today I have eternal life and I do not believe in the perseverance of the saints because I know that in me dwelt no good thing in my flesh.

I know that I still sin. I still do things that are wrong. I don’t have to worry about what happens if you really mess up? Well, really messing up or telling a lie or having a dirty thought. Still sin. But I don’t have to worry about any sin condemning me to hell because I can’t go there. I’m saved by grace. Now, on the other hand, here’s the others who teach that you can lose your salvation. And they believe that if you do something bad enough, long enough that you’re eventually going to lose your salvation, but they don’t know how many sins they have to commit and they don’t know exactly what point you really lost it.

So if they don’t nearly know when they lost it, they don’t know when to get it back again. And then they don’t know for sure if they’re going to really hang on until they die, to know for sure that they made it. You see, that’s not the Bible. Neither one has assurance, but But can you be sure of going to heaven? Yes, she can. So I’m not an Armenian because you see, I don’t believe you can lose it. I don’t believe in the perseverance of the saints.

I believe in the perseverance of God. That he saves me and he keeps me safe. So see, I’m neither one of those. Their eternal security depends upon them living it. And if they don’t live it, they didn’t have it. And I believe that people can trust Christ as Savior and be disobedient to God, and still be God’s child. And God will have to chase him. Eternal security, eternally being secure, means that one who has genuinely saved by God’s grace through faith alone and Christ alone shall never, in the future, never be in danger of God’s condemnation or loss of his salvation, but are kept, saved, and secure by God’s grace and power.

So that when I trusted Christ 41 years ago, he saved me, and I’m going to heaven based upon his word, his promise. He is going to keep me saved. I am saved by his power and kept saved by his power. If I didn’t have the power to save myself, I don’t have the power to keep myself saved. If I can believe that I’m saved by grace without my good works, Why can’t I believe I can stay saved without my good works?

Because grace would still be grace. Number one, I want you to understand these important points. Eternal security does not mean that all who profess to trust Christ actually possess eternal life. You say, what do you mean? That sounds contradictory. Can you profess something and it not be true? Could you stand up here today and profess that you have a million dollars in the bank? Yes, you can. Does that mean you got a million dollars in the bank? Not necessarily.

Some of you all have already professed that when I married this girl, I’m going to be faithful to her till death to us part. And then not keep the word. You professed something but you didn’t perform it. A person can profess that they know God and not know Him. Now you say, where does it say that? I’m glad you asked. Look in the book of Matthew chapter 7. Matthew chapter 7, look in verse 21. Notice what he said, and Jesus Christ is the one that’s doing the talking.

He’s the one that said this. So Jesus Christ has got, this is what God said. I had a person one time tell me, say, well, I don’t think you ought to be the judge. I said, I’m not the judge. I’m just telling you what the judge said. Can I do that? He’s the judge. I can tell you what he said, because he wrote it down and told us to study. This is what he said. Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.

But he that doeth the will of my Father, which is in heaven. So is it possible somebody to profess the name of the Lord? Look what else he says in verse 22, many shall say to me in that many. Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name cast out them, and in thy name done many wonderful works, they did it all in his name and did it for him. And yet he says, depart from me, I never knew you.

And so it doesn’t mean that just because they profess something that they really are saved. And so there’s people who say, well, I’m a Christian, that doesn’t mean they are. I meet people all the time. I asked them, I said, have you trusted Christ as you say, oh yes, where are you going to die? I don’t know, then they don’t understand it. They don’t understand. Like the other week, I mentioned this statement to you. Are you married? Well, I don’t know.

What do you mean you don’t know? If Angelo and Cathy get married, and somebody asks us, Cathy, Are you married? He says, I don’t know. If she gets married, you would assume she has a what? A husband, who in the world wants to get married not have a husband when you got through? Or are you saved? Oh yes, do you have eternal life? Well, I don’t know. Well, don’t you understand getting saved means you got this. And if you didn’t get this, you didn’t get that.

To get saved means you got eternal life. To get saved means you don’t go to hell. to get saved means that you’re going to heaven. That’s what being saved mean. It can’t mean anything else. Being saved, him saving you means he saved you from what? From hell. So I can’t go there. He says that I’ll go to heaven whenever I die. He’ll never cast me out, he’ll never lose me so I can rest assured. But a lot of people see they can say something but it doesn’t mean that it’s real.

It’s not true. He said, many of y’all say to me, Lord, or have we not? Look what we did. And they’re professing themselves to be believers in God. They follow His principles and His teaching, but they just haven’t trusted Him, depending upon Him to get Him to heaven. Look at the next statement. Number two, eternal security does not mean that all who trust Christ plus their good works are eternally secure. The Bible doesn’t say that God saves those who are trusting in their works and in Christ to get them to heaven or really going to heaven.

Let me show you a normal situation. I’ve used this before but just very quickly. The Lord says that you’re either saved by grace or you say by works. Now this without my code that’s grace. This is works and this is grace. This is work. See how simple that is. If God says that if it’s by grace, it can’t be by works, otherwise, grace is in grace. But if it is by works, it can’t be by grace, otherwise work isn’t work.

It’s how simple that is. It means you either are saved by grace or you say by work, but you can’t be saved by both. Now look during the book of Galatians in chapter 5, chapter 5, the book of Galatians and chapter 5. Many people are trusting in a combination of Christ plus their works. Eternally secured does not refer to those people. Eternal security cannot refer to anybody that professes it but don’t possess it. Eternal security cannot refer to anybody who is trusting in Christ and their works to get them to heaven.

It doesn’t refer to those people. You say, how do you know that? Well, the Bible teaches. Look in Galatians in chapter 5, and you need to write down this in your notes there. Galatians chapter 5. Look there in verse two, because there’s people who think you have to keep the law to be saved. Today is the same thing as saying you’ve got to go to church, you’ve got to live right, you McAuliffe money, you got to join and pay and all these good things.

No, no, no, that’s not true. That’s works for salvation. That means you’re trying to earn it. And if you’re not good enough, long enough, then you’re not going to have it. Well, that’s not the Bible. So he says in verse two, Behold, I Paul send to you that if you be circumcised, that means to keep the law Christ shall profit you how much? Nothing Christ profits you nothing Those that are seeking to save themselves by the law or by being circumcised which it was under the law He says then Christ profits you nothing.

He’s what I’m trusting Christ, but I’m gonna do this also Well, then you’re not trusting him Trusting Him means I’m taking Him at His Word and depending upon Him. But if you try to earn it, say you’re depending upon yourself, so you’re not really trusting Christ. You say, what’s the difference? Hell, that’s the difference. Heaven or Hell? Is it critical? Yes it is. Otherwise, how do you know you’re not one of those that simply says, Lord, Lord, I went to church, and I sent them to choir.

And I followed your teachings and I even prayed and I did all these wonderful things And God says I’m sorry. I don’t even know who you are. I never knew you you never were saved It’s got to refer to somebody because he says many are going to say this So there’s many people that are sitting in a lot of churches all over the world that are guilty of this yes or no And how do you know it ain’t you?

You say I’ve heard this all my life But do you really understand? Are you really dependent upon Him to take you to heaven when you die? Here it makes the statement. There in verse four. He says, Christ has become of, and here’s those two words, no effect unto you. Whosoever of you are justified by the Lord, you’re following from grace. See, if you’re trying to save yourself by the law, by your good deeds, then you have rejected salvation by grace.

You wanna get salvation by earning it, by your works. And God says, you can’t have it. He says, Christ has become of no effect unto you. In the words of it’s no effect, no salvation. You can know the right language. You can go to the right church. You can hear the right things. But personally, nobody can do this for you. Only you. Only you. can trust Christ as Savior for you. And if you never do that, you will not be saved.

You will not go to heaven when you die. Now inemetery 5 we won’t take the time to look at it, but it simply makes a statement. He says, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, not by works of righteousness which we have done. So no-one would be saved or saved by their works. So you can’t say, I’m trusting Christ, but I’m gonna do this other just in case. Well, you’re just in case just cost you.

Then this doesn’t count. You either have to depend upon Him and Him alone as you’re only hope to get them or you are not trusting Him. You’re not totally leaning and relying upon Him as your savior. You believe somehow that you have to live a certain way and perform in order to help save you to help keep you saved NBN to prove that you SolidGoldMagikarp all that stuff. You don’t get it. You don’t get it. Church is a full of people who don’t get it.

Two of my favorite verses of the Bible is Ephesians 2 8 9. How many in here can quote Ephesians 2 8 9? Quota with it. For by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God not of works lest any man should boast. It’s a gift of God, it’s not of works. And people can’t believe that it could be so simple. Or look number three, number three in your notes. Eternal security does not mean that knowing for sure that you are saved forever should be a licensed to sin, but rather grant you liberty to serve Christ.

A lot of people think, well, if you believe in that, and they call it that, hey, that damned-a-ball doctrine, And that means you just gotta license, go out here and live like the devil and still go to heaven when you die. In other words, think that you don’t deserve to go now. If you know the words, if that’s just a teaching that was damn your soul to hell and you believe that, you’re just giving people a license to go out here and sin and then think that you’re going to go to heaven whenever they die.

What if they did? Would that be grace? You’re saved by what? And people don’t believe that you ought to be able to go to heaven and believe something like that. And that’s too easy. That’s too simple. It’s got to be complicated. Do I advocate? Christians living in sin. Anybody who listens to me knows that’s not true. I want you to live as Godly as you can every day of your life, all of your life, but not to get to heaven.

Because if you’re dependent upon that to get you to heaven, as I’ve said before, you’re lost as a hound dog in the end of a soup bone. You don’t get it. I should serve the Lord. I should live right because I’m going to heaven because I am God’s child, but not to be a child of God. I want you to turn in your Bible to Romans chapter 6. I want you to see this verse Romans and chapter 6. The Bible tells us that God’s grace is greater than our sin.

Grace that is greater than our sins. Look at very first of all in Romans chapter 5 and verse 20. More over the law entered that the offense might abound, but where sin abounded, graced it much more abound. So grace is greater than our… Have you ever heard of a song like that? Grace greater than our sin? You see, there are people who believe you can lose your salvation because you’ve committed some sin. Well, aren’t you supposed to believe that God’s grace is greater than my sin.

So if grace is greater than any of my sins, what sin can condemn me to hell? They can’t. So the question comes, well, then shall I live in sin that grace may more abound? So we have more grace, commit more sins. No, look in chapter 6 and verse 1, what shall we say to? In other words, because what I’m saying is true, shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? And the next words are God forbid. No, that’s not the will of God.

Just because I know I’m God’s child and know I have eternal life and know that I can’t go to hell in the future, doesn’t mean that that’s a licensed permission from God to live like you please, like it doesn’t matter. No, it is permission from God that now I can live. for the Lord. God wants me to voluntarily choose because I love him because of what he’s done for me, that I will serve him, that I will honor him.

Not because I have to, but because I want to. Nobody, nobody in the last 40 years has tried to get me to serve God. They don’t try it. They don’t have to try to get me to serve the Lord. Nobody is constantly every week trying to yank it. You know you really need to serve the Lord. You really need to do this and you need to go to church and you need to pray and you need to what? Because I do it because I want to.

That’s better than done because I have to. I can’t make you serve God. I can’t make you right with God. But if you love God then you’ll want to do those things. And you’ll love God when you really understand what He did for you. When you know He really paid for my sins, He really did give me He really will never cast me out. He’ll never lose me. He really did all that for me. Now I serve the Lord because knowing that I have eternal security brings such wonderful peace, enjoy, and happiness that I know I’m going to heaven whenever I die.

And because of that, I want to serve the Lord. Therefore it works that way. It’s not a license to sin. The Lord tells us in His Word, do not let your liberty become stumbling block. But to use this as an occasion to serve the Lord, but not an occasion for the flesh,” says Aaron a book of Galatians. Is grace greater than our sin or is sin greater than grace? Grace is greater than our sin. And even though you do things wrong from this point on, God’s grace is greater than your sin and you’re saved by grace.

And love covers a multitude of understand, but he didn’t just cover it, he washed them all away. The next point I want you to see there in verse 4, number 4, eternal security does not mean that a Christian can live as he pleases and get away without chastisement. You cannot live like you want and expect everything to be okay and you to escape God’s chaste. Take your Bible looking Hebrews chapter 12. This is a very, very important verse that you need to see.

Hebrews chapter 12, you need to underline this verse in your Bible. As a child of God, you need to understand that though your heavenly Father loves you, you can’t live as you please and get away with it, but you can live as you please. I was reading a book while ago before church today. A man wrote in there, you cannot live as you please. I thought, yes, you can. You can live to please God and you can please not the please God.

There still be a child, but you’re going to suffer the consequences. If you will live the please God, God’s going to bless you. Rewards you when you get to heaven. And you’ll have an inner peace and joy knowing that you’re obeying your heavenly father. But if you choose not to obey God, yeah, you still is child. And you’ll forfeit many of God’s blessings and life that He could have done for you. You’re gonna forfeit a lot of rewards that you could have had.

You could have been used by God, but you weren’t. You may be set on the shelf and not used. Not fit for the master’s use. And God says that He may do something else. He says many are sick and some are weak and some are dead. He’s taken home before their time. So you see, you can’t live as you please and get away with him. But God says, be not deceived, he is not mocked. For whatsoever man’s soeth, that shall he also reap.

And you can sow to the flesh, and you can sow to the Spirit. Means you can obey God and you don’t have to obey God. But if you don’t obey God, God says, because you are his child, he will chase in you. Look at in verse six, For whom the Lord loved it, he chasteen it. Now why would God chasten his children because he loves them? And he says, and scourgeeth every son, every son whom he receive it. If you have trusted Christ as your Savior and you won’t serve God, you won’t obey Him, God your heavenly Father says, He is going to chaste in you.

I know that if I don’t serve the Lord, I already know the consequences. I know he’s going to chase in me and he may not tell me exactly how he’s going to do it, but I can rest assured in the fact that he will. He may cut my life short or many things happen in my life that would not have happened had I served the Lord. So it’s better for a child of God to put God first and serve him because he is your heavenly Father.

And when you do something wrong, you’re still his child, but he is going to chase in you. Look there in the last part of verse five, verse five. My son despised not thou the chasing of the Lord nor faint when thou art rebuked of him. You see, my son despised not the chasing of the Lord. That means that when you’re a child of God, that means you still can do things wrong and you’re still his child. Because if you weren’t, then God wouldn’t be chasing you as his child If you were no longer his child because you did something wrong and that’s the only way that shows you’re not his child.

No, that means God’s children still do a lot of things they shouldn’t do. We do a lot of things wrong. But when God has to chasteness, the Bible says, says now no chastening for the present seems to be joyous. How many of y’all have ever enjoyed a good whooping? No chastening for the present seems to be joyous, but you’re hoping that the chastening you give to that little son or daughter will benefit them in their life. And so you inflict a little temporary pain hoping that’s going to save them from a lot of hurts down the road.

That’s what the Lord does. Look at in verse 11. Now, now, present tense, now, no chasing for the present, seem it to be joyous but grievous. Nevertheless, afterwards, it yielded the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised there by them. In other In other words, God says because you’re my child, you can’t live as you please and get away with it. I’m your father. I’m going to have to chasten you. And because I chasten you means I love you.

Otherwise God would just let you do whatever you want and get away with it. But He doesn’t. He will give you personalized attention. Now He’s long-suffering, but He is a good father. Look at the next statement. In the little box, the absolute assurance of eternal salvation is based on the unfailing and sure promises of God. I want you to look in Romans chapter 4 very quickly. The book of Romans in chapter 4. I refer to these verses quite often.

And notice the contrast, as I stated here in the notes, in order to show the contrast between grace and works, Paul and Roman states, now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of death. In other words if you had to earn your salvation. Then God says that he would be in debt to you and going to heaven would be your reward. In the words, you live in such a good way that God is in debt to let you go to heaven.

And that’s why a lot of people think it is. But that means that you have to work. It means that God’s in debt to you and it means that heaven would be a reward, something you earned and you had a right to it. God says that’s not the way it’s going to be. He says, it’s by grace. But to him that work, if not doesn’t work, but simply believes on him that justifies the ungulli, his faith is counted for what?

God gives you his righteousness without your works. God doesn’t want you to try to earn it, work for it, buy it, pay for it. And heaven is not your reward for you living a good life. You live good enough and I’ll let you go. That’s not what it is. don’t understand the Bible. God says you cannot earn eternal life, you cannot work for it. The other verse I want you to see there in chapter 4, look in verse 16.

There’s three words in verse 16. This is the verse that we read at the beginning of the service. Three words, faith, grace, and sure. I wrote them right down there in your notes, but look in verse 16. Therefore, it, being saved, have an eternal life, becoming God’s child. Go into heaven when you die. Eternal security. All of it. It is a faith that’s yours. That’s yours. Your faith. That it might be by grace. That’s God’s grace. You see, I’m supposed to take my faith, my confidence and put it into what he did for me.

Believe it, he did that for me. And God says he would save me by grace, unmerited. I don’t merit it. I don’t work for it. I don’t deserve it. He says, to the end, or for this purpose, it might be, what’s the word? That it might be sure, sure, to all the seed to everybody believes. In other words, the only way you can be positive of going to heaven when you die is that it must simply be by faith, not your work, because if you have to do it by your works, well, You won’t know it until you die.

And then that means you’ve got to live a certain way. And then you would never be sure. So God says it’s by faith. You trust Him and He’ll give you eternal life by grace. Grace means you didn’t deserve it. But I’ll save you by grace. Are you saved? That it might be sure. Positive. You can know it. Isn’t that simple? That’s awesome. 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. 771. 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 6 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 and just keep looking up.