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Bibleline Bibleline, here 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.

If you’re still trying to get to heaven because you don’t know if you’re going to make it not because of something, Then that means you don’t know it now. You can’t be saved without being saved from something. Save from what? Save from hell. Christ cannot be my Savior if he has not saved me. So I accepted the payment he made. It’s done deal. I am saved, saved and secure. It’s done deal. So the Bible is clear on this and there’s no reason for anybody to be mixed up on it.

But But what I tell you they are, so many people do not get the simplicity that’s in these scriptures. So we have been redeemed. Look there in chapter 5. Chapter 5, it kind of gives us this idea about us being redeemed. When he makes the statement there in verse 9, much more than being now justified by his blood. By his blood is the payment that was made because the life of the flesh is in the blood. So I have been justified by his blood, that payment that was made.

That’s what the law required, a death payment. So he was able to do this for us and we have been reconciled to him. So we have been redeemed. Now look at the next word. The next word is regeneration. Regeneration. If you take off the word ree, it’s just generation. And it comes from the word genesis, or you have beginning. And so if you go all the way back to beginning, when everything began and when you trust Christ as your Savior, it is a new beginning.

It is the new birth. So the regeneration, if you want to mark it down there, would be in letter H, this word speaks of the new birth. Take your Bible and look there in Titus in chapter three, the book of Titus and chapter three. But Titus in chapter three. But while you’re right here in chapter three, just so that you see this other verse I want you to see, in chapter two in verse 14, you’ll notice where it says in verse 14, Christ, who gave himself for us.

That’s why you often refer and you’ll hear He said, Christ was the payment. He gave Himself. The price was Him. And so He says, who gave Himself for us, for us, that substitution. Get this, that He might redeem us. So He had to give the payment that was required. So He died to redeem us. And not only does He want to just save us from help, But in our Christian life, he wants to redeem us also from those things that keeps us from serving the Lord.

So I can’t say I am being redeemed, but I am to be walking in the Lord and he wants to have each one of us to be zealous, zealous of good works. I can say just about from the time I trust that Christ is my Savior, just maybe a couple of years in there, I kind of floundered, trying to figure out what’s going on. And I wasn’t always clear, but I’ve had a burning zeal to want to serve the Lord.

I’ve been zealous of good works. I desire to do whatever it takes to please the Lord. And whatever He wanted me to do, wherever we want to go, God never had to argue. He never had to fight with me. I was searching. He had trouble directing me because I didn’t know which way to go and not all the things to do. But I was desirous of doing what He’s talking about here. He wanted for Himself people that were, as He says here, a peculiar people, people that are different from the world.

Now I guess I’m about as different as they come, but different. Zealous of good works. Then He says down here in verse 5. Chapter 3, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. So every one of us, once you trust Christ as your Savior, it is a new generation, a new beginning of life. That’s why God wants us to be a tree of life.

It says in the book of Proverbs, a tree, a tree that is wise, when it’s so, he has a tree of life. In other words, when you trust the Christ as your savior, has there been any fruit from your tree, another generation, another generation? No, because see, that’s what God wants from every one of us. Now, somebody had asked me this question just today at the Tampa Bible study. And so look there at this verse in the book of Matthew 24, Matthew 24, and verse 32 about the type of the fig tree.

Now learn a parable of the fig tree. When his branch is yet tender and put it for a flea, you know that summer is nigh. Well, to me the point of the parable is that when a fig tree puts forth the tender leaves, you know that summer is nigh. That’s the point. is you know something is near because of something else. Now he says, when you see these things come to pass, then you’ll know that Christ has soon appeared because that’s in the content.

Now, it does not say here that this is definitely the fig tree is when Israel became a nation. We often refer to that. I do too. I believe that Israel is a type of a fig tree that began to blossom back in 1948. And so people think, okay, a generation could be 70 years. So a generation of 70 years, okay, from seven years from that period of time, and then take off the seven year tribulation when he comes back to the year.

So you got seven years at that close. So there is a possibility. That’s why a lot of people are, you know, saying something like it because of the generation being 70 years. But it says, when ye shall see in verse 33, all these things know that it is near even at the doors. So it’s a reference to those who see these things that are mentioned in the 24th chapter. And it’s not a reference to the nation of Israel becoming a nation as it is when ye shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel, standing in the holy place, and when does that take place in the tribulation period.

So it’s got to be a referring to the people that will be living at that period of time. There’s many people who were alive when the nation of Israel came into existence in May the 28th, 1948. But majority of those people that were born then are dead. True? A lot of them are dead. So they never saw it. Which ones get to see it? The ones that lived the longest? Well, they might. But majority of the people have already died.

So that generation, is it those that were born at that time on, that gets to 70 years, or those who was a man who was already 50 years old. If he was 50 years old in 1948, he’s an old codger now, ain’t he? But he’s dead. So he didn’t make it. So is the generation only beginning in 1948 and those who were born at that time forward? Okay, that sounds pretty good. But you see, you can’t prove it. And that’s the problem.

Take your Bible and look there in the book of Matthew chapter one, since you’re right here real close to this. Look in Matthew in chapter one. In Matthew chapter one, you’ll notice where he says in verse one, the book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, son of Abraham, and goes down through here and and it mentions all these individuals. It goes all the way through here and just keeps mentioning them time and time again. And it talks about Solomon and all these people.

And then down in verse 11 in Josiah, begat, Jack and Ia, and his brother and about the time they were carried away into Babylon. And I mean, you’re going from one end to the other. Goes all the way down to verse 16. And Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. Now looking for 17. So all the generations from Abraham to David were 14 generations. And from David onto the carrying away in the Babylon, 14 generations.

From the carrying away in the Babylon onto Christ 14 generations. Okay? How long is the generation? Now is it years or is it the person daddy and then he has a son and then he has a son and then he has a son. And so each one of these generations, is it not true that I as Yankee had a son? That’s the next generation. And Eddie, my son, he had a son. But of Jordan that’s another generation, but is there 70 years between me and my son or seven years between my son and his son?

Or if there’s 14 generations from this one to this one is there seven years in between all of these or is it just talking about the people? Now we find the generations mentioned in Matthew chapter 1 and then also there in chapter 24. So is it possible that it’s It’s the people that were born from here to here, 14 generations during that period of time. And then from here to there, 14 generations. And from there to there, 14 generations during that period of time.

Well he says there, this generation one shall not pass away. So is it possible that it could be those people that are living at that period of time? So whether or not you want to make it say, you know, it’s Israel and the date when Israel became a nation, it can be a lot of similarities and we can always apply a lot of things. But when it comes to the Scripture and being dogmatic, I have to have the absolute Scripture that says it.

But I believe that it’s a good possibility and it may be and it may be a good type and it can be thrown in there. And so I don’t have any problem with it, per se. But I do believe that here, it’s a generation of people that were living at this period of time, and this period of time hasn’t got here yet. This is a period of time that’s yet in the future. And so you see there in verse 21, for then shall be great tribulation, such as one’s not since the beginning of the world to this time, nor shall ever be.

And except those days should be short. So he’s talking about a specific period of time. And those that will be here doing this period of time, doing the tribulation period, will see all the things that God has promised. And he says, you lift up your eyes for your, that the coming is nine. And so I believe you can refer to that more so. And the other can be secondary. Now go back there. Well, we’re not to go back there to that one verse, but just to know that Regeneration is a reference.

I only use two times in the scripture and it’s talking about the new birth and when you are born again, a new generation, totally separate from the other one. Now my son is totally separate, a separate generation from me and his son is separate generation from him and the new birth is a total separation from the first birth. Now take your Bible and turn to the book of Matthew chapter 21, Matthew chapter 21, because the next word is the word repentance.

And everybody knows what repent means. It means turn or burn. Well not exactly. But I do believe it means to change your mind, to think differently, to reconsider. And there are some words translated to repent that means anguish, to regret, great sorrow. But when it’s talking about salvation, it’s always a change of mind. And just to show you a little bit, look there in Matthew chapter 21 and verse 28 verse 28. So whenever you’re talking about change of mind, you’re talking about your thoughts, the way you think.

But what thinking, you ought to underline those two words, what thinking? A certain man had two sons. He came to the first and said, son, go work today in my vineyard. answered and says, I will not. It’s not like a typical teenager don’t it? But what he said, afterwards he repented and he went. So what do you think repentment? He changed his mind. He says, no. And then he changed his mind. And then he went. But look at the next verse.

He says, and he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and says, I go, sir, but he didn’t go. whether of the two did the will of the Father. They said unto him, well the first one, Jesus said unto them, verily I send to you that the publicans, the tax collector, the down anouse, the harlots, the horse go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came unto you in the way of righteousness and ye get this believed him none.

So what were they supposed to do when John came preaching? believe what he said. And John the Baptist says, believe on him that comes after me. And here he’s talking about in this verse 32, but the publicans and the harlots and you other than line these two words, believed him. So there’s those that did not believe and those, there are those that did believe. And ye, when you had seen it, repented not afterwards that you might believe. You didn’t change your mind so that you could trust them.

So there to me is a good definition or explanation of what repent means because they’re talking about changing their mind and to believe. So if a man is an unbeliever and to become a believer, you had to change your mind to reconsider to think differently. Look there in the book of Luke chapter 13, Luke chapter 13, and look there in verse 1. 1. Who? Chapter 13 verse 1. And you’ll notice in verse 1, he says, there were present at that season, some that told him of the Galileans, whose blood-pilot had mangled with their sacrifices.

And Jesus answered and said unto them, and here’s those two words, suppose you, that means that has to do with the way you think. Suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans because they suffered such things. I tell you, nay, but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” In other words, you need to change your mind. What you’re thinking isn’t true. Change your mind. Reconsider it’s not the truth. Then he also says in verse 4, or those 18 upon whom the tower in Silungfeld and slew them, think ye has to deal with the way a man thinks that they were centers above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?

He says, I tell you, Nate, but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Change your mind, think differently. It was because of their rejection of Christ that everything they thought about them happened to them later down the road when God destroyed the whole pit and caboodle. So take your Bible and just look at one more very quickly in the book of Acts chapter 17. And notice what he says here in verse 27. Acts 17, 27 says, that they should seek the Lord.

If happy they might feel after Him and find Him, though He be not far from every one of us. For in Him we live and move and have our being. As certain also of your own poets have said we are his offspring. For as much then as we are the offspring of God we ought not to think. So you ought to underline the words to think because it deals with the subject of what are you thinking about or how do you see God.

And so he says that the Godhead is like under gold or silver stone, graven by art man’s devices. And the times of this ignorance God winked at, but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent.” Why? Well, because, verse 1, there is because he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom ye he hath ordained. Whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, and that he had raised him from the dead, and when they had heard of the resurrection of the dead, some monk, another says, we will hear the again of this matter.

But in verse 34, how be it certain men clave unto him and believed? Some believe. So whenever you’re witnessing and talking to a mixed audience, some may believe it, and some may not believe it. But it’s trying to get people to repent change your mind. So all those that are trusting in their religion to get them to heaven, they need to repent. So every man needs to repent. Anyone who’s trusting in their good works to get them to heaven has to repent of their good works.

They got to change your mind about their good works and it won’t save them. That’s why in Hebrews in chapter 6 of verse 1 and 2 when it talks about not laying again The foundation from dead works, repentance from dead works, remains change your mind, dead works can’t save. And so people that are trusting in the works of a dead man, a man separated from God, can’t deliver himself. So repent for a person who wants to be saved must change his mind about.

Nothing that a man can do can save himself, and he has to trust Christ and him alone. So repent is changing your mind about works for salvation and trusting Christ for salvation. Outside of that, it will be a wrong understanding of the word repent. Self-righteousness is pretty self-explanatory. I’m sure you understand what self-righteousness is. It’s letter B. This righteousness is man at his best before salvation. and it’s not very good even after salvation. But in the Old Testament, Isaiah 64, 6, anybody ever heard of Isaiah 64, 6?

None of the righteousness of man, it’s all filthy rags. And it says in the Old Testament, and also when he makes the statement, there’s none righteous, no not one, that’s also in the book of Psalms 14. And so you have in the Old Testament that man’s righteousness is no good. In the New Testament, when he says, it’s not of works, not of works, not of works, because man’s work is no good. And so there are people who are trusting in their works.

They are righteous in themselves. But what would be a good verse to show a person that they should not be trusting in their work? Well, of course you can use Ephesians 8 and 9 and Titus 3, 5. You can also use the scripture there in Philippians in chapter three and verse nine. 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.

So that is something that God says that we cannot trust in our own righteousness, but they’re self-righteous people. And 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 21, you ever heard of that one? For he, God, hath made him Jesus Christ, who knew no sin, to be sinned for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. So God imputes his righteousness to us. So the last one here imputed righteousness. 2 Corinthians 5 verse 21, of course that goes up there to where you have F.

This righteousness given to man at the moment of salvation, where God imputes his righteousness. Now we’ve covered this pretty much in detail before in the book of Romans in chapter 4. But remember he says, and it is also imputed unto us if we believe. If we do not believe his righteousness is not imputed or put to your account. So whenever you do believe it, it’s put to your account and you get to go to heaven on what Jesus Christ did for you.

Salvation is the gift of God. It’s not a works list. And you mentioned both. So is there any question on any of these right here? Here are any questions. You got it down. You know it now. You can teach it. No worry about that. It Any questions? You got it down. You know it now. You can teach it. No worry about that. It really does make a nice little, you know, a good little Bible study that you never know that down the road you get a chance to teach and just explain a couple of things.

You’ll find out that one of the best ways to sometimes teach when you don’t know when you’re going to do it and you always have something ready. Just get about five to ten salvation verses put it together and just go from this verse to this verse and just explain it. Just let the word tell what it says and you just explain a little bit. And I used to tell the kids when they was in college, because they had to teach all over the place, because they had to do it in all the ranches that we had.

And I had five or six ranches going at the same time. And then we had the bus ministry, and they had to give devotions, and they had to give the chapels, and just always going at them. I said, just teach them what I taught you. Just teach what I taught you. You stay out of trouble out of way. Until you get on down the road, and you’ll learn so much more, and you’ll have so much going on in your mind, and it’ll help you tremendously.

Look up here very quickly. This is you and me and this is sin. We all have sin on us. God says that He loves us, but He hates our sin. But for us to pay for this sin is eternal separation from God. So because we’re sinners and we’re guilty and we got a debt to pay, God says that you see, to go to heaven you have to be perfect and nobody’s perfect and we can’t save ourself. This is why we needed to be redeemed.

So somebody had to be able to be a kinsman, and Christ was our near kinsman. He was a man or a call the son of man, and the other part is what he had called the son of God, because he was God and man, son of God, son of man. And so Jesus Christ came into the world, and he had no sin, so he didn’t have to die. But because he was a kinsman, and he was willing to make the payment that was necessary, so he was willing to do that, paid for our sins on the cross, came back from the dead.

When we believe that he did it for us, then we are imputed with his righteousness, and we go to heaven on what Jesus Christ did for us. There’s no tricks of that to the best news in the world. Yesterday, this nice-looking gentleman came to the church office and he was in the bookstore. And Mike came over and told me, says, Pastor, there’s a guy over there that you might want to talk to. He says, he got teenagers. I says, he does, and you know, he got teenagers.

I says, I’ll finish up here in just a moment, so I was talking to Mr. Paulson, and so we finished up. He came into the office and he sat down nice looking gentlemen clean cut and So we started talking and I had a wife and three kids and there are one of them Just graduating the teenage boy and couple girls and So anyway, we talked for a little bit and I you know ask the question I bet you can’t guess what the question was I Says can I ask you a question?

And he says, sure, I says, do you know for sure where you’re going to go when you die? Hey, sure, well, I sure hope I’m going to heaven. I sure hope so. So whenever a person says, I hope I’m going, what does that tell you? It tells you that they don’t really know for sure. So then I proceeded to explain it to him. I gave part of my testimony. And then of course I pulled out my wallet and explained it.

When I got through, I looked at him and I says, does this make sense to you? He said, yes, it does. I said, will you it right now? Will you trust Jesus Christ as your Savior? He said, yes, I will. And so I asked him, well, in 10 years, if I saw you, where would you go? He said, I’m going to heaven. And I said, well, how do you know? He said, I’m trusting Christ. So I enjoyed talking to him.

And he called. And so we talked a little bit more and find out he played basketball and was on the team for the Atlanta Hawks. And he says, but I guess he didn’t get to play actually on the court, but he was on the team. But then you want to play in New York. Anyway, he’s over here and he’s got a wife and kids and he says, I’m looking for a church. And so I thought, Joe just talked to me about it.

He wished he had a guy that could coach basketball. This guy walks in. So we got a nail of this guy. If you see him, you’d be really nice and kind to this guy. I’d love to get the whole family, I really would. So you never know when somebody’s gonna come around and the impact you’re gonna make. All because Mike talked to him in the office and just kind of channeled him. I’m glad he channeled him to me because if James had got him, James would have led him to the Lord.

That’s why half the people, I can’t lead him to the Lord. I can’t even got him before I get to him. So, because he just goes after him. But anyway, he said he’s gonna try to be here this Sunday. So if you see a nice distinguished looking guy, No. Be extra friendly to him. First name is Robert. Just walk up and say, Robert, I remember you. I saw you on TV playing for the Len Hawks. No, don’t do it.

But anyway, God’s good to us. We’re gonna have a word of prayer. Okay, let’s pray. Our Father, we do thank you so much for all you’ve done for us. We are thankful for the free gift of eternal life. We ask Lord your blessings upon us. And we thank you for those that are working with the one and we just pray Lord that the kids have listened and learned. We’ve got many great, difficult truths that will help sustain them for their life.

So bless each one here in Christ and 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 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.