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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 to be able to help you. continue on the air. You can reach us toll-free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made by clicking on the donations link on the BibleLineMinistries.org homepage. 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.

Most of this you know it know it well. But I have always found out that all the problems that Christian have is because of an old, sinful nature. So evidently, even though we know we have one, we haven’t learned how to control it. It must be one bad dude. And so we all have one. And so the question is, does a true believer still possess an old, sinful nature? You will hear many people make this statement. Well, if you’re really saved, you’re not going to want to go out here and do all those bad things.

The person who makes the statement, if they really think about what they just said, has to doubt their own salvation, you’re not going to want to go out here and do those bad things. Everybody has a desire within them to sin. Otherwise, you wouldn’t do it. But we do. So in order to cause every person to question the doubt, Why would they say something like that? So anyway, I hope that this will be a help to you. Look at the very first statement, the problem, the problem.

You always have to have a problem. That’s why you go to the Lord sometime because you want the Lord to help you solve a problem. That’s why we read the Bible. Reading the Bible is looking for the solutions to a problem. And sometimes we are trying to find a particular solution to a particular problem. What would help is if you studied the Bible and learned all the solutions before you had the problem, then you wouldn’t have as many problems because you already had the solution.

You see, if my car is not running good, I got a problem, and the reason is because I don’t know how to fix it. I take it to a mechanic and it’s no problem for him because he knows how to fix it. You see, a real serious problem is something that you can’t really solve. You don’t know the answer to. And that’s why God allows us to have problems to let us see the frailty of man and to show us whether or not we’ll fill with pride or do we have a humble spirit and ask for help.

Have you ever been lost and you just hate to ask somebody directions? I hate it because I don’t trust their directions. I’ve had people say, well, you just go right down here about a mile and a half turn to the right and then I decided on your left. And man, they’ll have me out in the boonies. And they ain’t nothing. Totally leave me astray. But I don’t know if they did it on purpose. I’d like to ring your neck.

But then I would have a problem. But the problem, if a preacher understood the truth of the gospel, they would never preach that a saved man had to persevere to be saved. Or to stay saved or to prove one is saved. They wouldn’t say, if you’re really say you’re not going to want to live in sin or you can’t tell me that you live as you please and still go to heaven or I know that I’m saved but I don’t know for sure if I’m going to heaven.

How many times I’ve heard people say that? I know I’m saved but I don’t know if I’m going to heaven. Okay there’s heaven and there’s hell. Being saved means I’m not going to hell so it ought to mean that I’m going to the only other place there is heaven but they can’t figure that out And a lot of people in a lot of independent fundamental Bible believe in mission and reminded Baptist churches believe that. And it’s the truth. It’s a shame, but it’s the truth.

A lot of people just don’t understand it. Now what I’ve done is I’ve wrote this book called the Dora Lake story. The whole book deals with this subject. Because people do not believe that you have an old sinful nature after you get saved. And they cannot explain why people still do these bad things because you’re not supposed to. You’re not supposed to want to do them because you’ve been saved. And of course they think that you automatically got to live the life.

You got to live that life. And if you don’t live the life, well then you’re not really saved. And so there’s people that are quit their smoking and drinking and so forth. Yet saved and three or four days later, they’re back at it again. I can’t live the life. So they just quit and just give up. Well, who told them those lies? Some preacher in the pulpit told them to stop all your sins, quit and give them all up.

And we sometimes think that that’s not a critical issue. It is a critical issue. I have a letter where a man from the Christian Missionary Alliance Church made this statement. We have Armenians in our church and we have Calvinists in our church and we get along fine. And we don’t try to hit either side. We just hit down the middle so that we don’t offend either side. Isn’t it a wonderful view? Eliminate the problem. They just let the people believe whatever they want.

No. So anyway, I have a document in this book, and I hope that a lot of people will read it, especially preachers, because they don’t see the damage that they’re doing to individuals. Now the requirement for heaven you’ve heard me say this over and over again, but look at it one more time here. Does making Christ the Lord of my life does that make me perfect? If I was to say today, here I am a lost man, I’m going to make Christ the Lord and the master of my life.

that make me perfect? No, it won’t make me perfect because it won’t matter how much I want him to lead and guide me will not make my performance perfect. It won’t make me perfect. And people forget to go to heaven you have to be perfect. You have to be perfect as God. No sin. So whatever this gospel is, if it doesn’t make us perfect, it’s insufficient. If I have to be perfect to go to heaven, then whatever my gospel is must meet the requirements.

It has to make me perfect. Because if it doesn’t make me perfect, it’s no good. So if Lordship Salvation was true, then making Christ the Lord master of my life, if that would make me perfect, so be it. But it doesn’t make me perfect. Because no man can make Christ the perfect Lord master of his life. So that won’t work. Well what about if I was to make, well look at the next one, turning from my sin, well that make me perfect.

If I start my smoking, lying, dipping in chewing, and all that, if I do that, well now I’m perfect. Well if that won’t make me perfect, then I don’t need do that. Why can’t waste my time doing something that will not solve the problem? Are y’all with me yet? You understand in my logic? So if that will not make me perfect then that is not necessary to save me. Only what’s necessary to make me perfect is what I need.

Look at the next statement, any gospel that teaches a man can either earn his way to heaven or can lose it after he has been saved is an admission that their gospel is not perfect and therefore cannot save at all for anything to last for eternity it must be perfect. So the gospel that I preach, will it make a man perfect because if it doesn’t it’s no good, might as well stop now. And yet you go to a lot of churches and they do not have a perfect gospel, they don’t have a perfect message.

And so if a man has to be perfect to get there, well after you supposedly trust Christ as your Savior, at that very moment you should be perfect. Oh boy, because if you died right then and you have to be perfect to get them, well, would you be? We see, when you understand the two natures, it’s clear as a bell. The new birth born of God, that moment is perfect. It’s the new birth that’s going to heaven, not the over, only the new one.

So in that little old living room in Athens, Georgia, 1960, 52 years ago, I trusted Christ as my Savior. I was made perfect. Perfect as righteous as holy as God. Nothing less than what God is as far as my righteousness, my perfection, just like God’s, born of God, born by the incorruptible word of God. So at that moment, I am as perfect in righteous and I’m good to go, because the message that was preached to me was perfect. Christ’s salvation is a perfect salvation and He is the author of a perfect salvation.

That’s in Hebrews chapter 5. So we have a perfect salvation in Christ. Look at the next statement, Salvation is making a center perfect. If this is not accomplished, there is no salvation. Salvation is not a gradual process. You know, gradually you proceed and you keep doing all these things. And finally one day you might become a Christian. No, salvation is instantaneous. That very moment, the day, the moment you believed. You were declared righteous, born in the God’s family, you have eternal life.

Now, look at the number one statement I got here. eternal salvation must be a perfect salvation and being made perfect Christ. He became the author of eternal salvation under all them that obey Him, that where obey means to believe on Him. It’s mentioned in several of the verses and I put the scripture down there as a reference so you can know this. We see when you trusted Christ as your Savior and He is the author of what kind of salvation?

Eternal salvation if it’s eternal has to be perfect and therefore He made you perfect. Look at number two, the law made nothing, noah, nothing perfect, but it’s evident that something else did. And this is the scripture reference, for the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did by the which we draw nigh unto God. Why? Because there was something that would make us perfect. The law could not make you perfect. And that’s the problem.

That’s what you have to be to go to heaven. You have to be perfect. So the law was given by God to show us that we are not perfect. We are not righteous, not in God’s eyes. We may be pretty good in everybody else’s eyes, but in God’s eyes no man qualifies. And by his good works he never will be. So you can quit all of your sins and it won’t make you perfect. You can make Christ a learned Matthew of your life, but it will not make you perfect.

Only one thing makes you perfect good to go. And that’s when you trust Christ and Him alone is your only hope to get to heaven because you believe He died and paid for all of your sins. There is no other way. There is not option two, no plan two. So there’s not a plan B. Number three, the law failed to make the commerce perfect, but the gospel does. In Hebrews chapter 10 verse 1, it says, for the law can never make the commerce there unto perfect.

So that means that no man in the Old Testament was ever saved by the law because the law cannot make any man perfect. It’s a tremendous verse to use to show that the law cannot qualify a man for salvation or to heaven. Look at the next verse, number four. The perfect payment by the perfect Son of God makes those who are sanctified, pure and holy and set apart, perfect for ever. So when you trust the Christ as your Savior, your new birth born of God was perfect and it lasts forever.

And because it’s perfect, it has no sinful nature. Has no sinful nature. You cannot sin. If it cannot sin, you cannot die. That’s why your new birth is secure. You never have to worry about where you’re going when you’re dying. Look at the verse down here. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ. Notice it does not say it. which will we are sanctified because I turn from my sin and make Christ the Lord and the Master of my life.

So it doesn’t say that. It’s only because of what Christ did. Has nothing to do with what we do or promise to do. See turning from your sins is what you do but making Christ the Lord and Master of your life is what you are going to do. That’s one’s past, one’s future. One’s because of what I’ve done. I stop all of bad things. Two, I’m going to live a certain way. That’s my future. So it depends upon what I turn from and what I turn to.

And that’s not salvation. It’s the one you trust Christ and Him alone. Now it’s different if you use the word repent meaning to change your mind think differently or to reconsider and you don’t trust in your works to get you to heaven. It’s only that you’re trusting in Christ as your Savior. Look what He says the last part of this verse. But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice, four sins, forever set down on the right hand of God, for by one offering he had perfected forever them that are sanctified.

So they had been sanct for ever. Now turn your page and you notice on the backside there the old nature and the one on the right is all about the new nature. So you can always look at those two pages and do a good comparison. I mentioned this before because I think it’s great to know. The first book in the Old Testament, Genesis, the first book in the New Testament,EDITC, and they both start off with something and it’s very interesting.

And if you look there on page two where it says, the old nature. Genesis 5 and verse 1 says, this is the book of the generation of Adam. And this is all talking about those that were of the line of Adam and it says they all die. Even though they lived to be eight, nine hundred years, that’s a long time to live, but still die. They must have had a lot better air to breathe, a lot better fruit to eat.

They sure lived a long time. So I guess that was a pretty good idea. environment that they had or they had some mighty good bodies right before this, that they lived so long. You know, I would hate to have had, you know, I lost a leg, I lost an arm and then I got a limb nine hundred years. How would you like to get crippled and you got to be in a wheelchair? I got seven hundred years to go.

You know, God may have blessed us by not letting us have to suffer so long. I’m glad it’s the way it is. You know, I’m getting to the place where, you know, I’d have thought of bed the other day and they say, you’re only as old as you feel. I feel like I must be older than Al Marshall over there. You know, we just celebrated his birthday and are you doing all right, Al? To a riff. I hated that when you say that.

Probably haven’t got an acre of pain in his body and he just, you know, but anyway, most people have aches and pain to shut power. And as you get older, you know, the old body is going to take its toll and you’ll be checking out of here. But look at the first statement apparently, the condition of the flesh, the old man. And if you understand this, what God says about this is your first birth. None are righteous as it is written.hou None right, just know not one.

That’s talking about every person born into the world. And then the next verse, Romans 3, 11, where it says, none understands. See, none can discern God. None understands all the things of life. God knows. But without the revelation of God, you’ll never know the purpose of where you came from, what you’re doing, where you’re going. None that understands it. that seeketh after God. You see, those people that seek in God is because God was drawing you. It draws us with truth.

And there’s people who rebel against truth. I’ll have to admit, I wanted to know God. And the man was trying to explain it to me. You don’t make a better name. I’m not interested. Could care less. And yet I wanted to know, but I know that that’s what I wanted to know. I didn’t know that was through the Bible. I didn’t know it was through Christ. But when I finally saw it, man, it broke me down. Now some people are just rebellious and they never get broken, but I mean I bow like a baby because I saw this is something that’s beyond me.

But anyway, the next verse, none that doeth good, they are all gone out of the way. They are together become unprofitable, there is none that doeth good, no not one. That’s talking about God’s viewpoint of every person born into the world. There is no one born into this world perfect. There’s no one who lives a perfect life. No one is righteous before God. So he says, all have sinned the next statement, all have sinned. You know these words, all, all, none, none.

All have sin and come short of the glory of God. He’s short of God’s perfection. See, God is perfect. And like we say, heaven is perfect, but man is not perfect. Man is a sinner. He’s come short of perfection. Way short. He said, well, I was almost there. Pelicans weren’t not even close. The next verse that are wages of sin is death. So you know and understand a little bit about It’s not just that old sinful nature that you are.

That’s the good God calls in his word the old man the old man The wages of sin is death the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord So yes, we’re all going to die, but the gift of God is eternal life. It’s free We earned the right to die, but we did not do anything to earn the right to have eternal life So we earn the right to die but not to have eternal life. We’ve done nothing for that because eternal life has to be a gift and if it’sarnaev the gift of God then it could not be something we deserve.

Wages is what you earned. You deserve it. We all die. We deserve the die. Look at the next statement. Romans chapter 9 and verse 8, everyone born into the world, we are not the children of God. And that’s why he says that is they which are the children of the flesh. These are not the children of God. So everyone born of the flesh, God is not your father. And we’re not all brothers and sisters in the world. the Lord.

You may wish you were, but it’s not true. You’re not a child of God until you’re born into his family. Look at the next statement. God says, cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Say, you don’t have a right to eternal life. You don’t have a right to inherit the kingdom of God. To inherit means that you’re in the line. It means that you are his child. No, we are his creation. Once we’ve trusted Christ as our Savior and our His children, the Bible says that we are heirs of God and join heirs with Christ.

So we inherit but not until we have the new birth, not until we’re born into God’s family. So he says here you cannot inherit the things of God. And he makes this statement in letter H, salvation is not of the flesh. For by grace so you say through faith that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of words lest any man should boast. Children of the flesh cannot see or enter the kingdom of God without being born again.

Needs born from above. And of course as you read and study the gospel of John it keeps it clear that you must be born again. And it says that which is born of the flesh is flesh, that which is born of the spirit is spirit. So marvel not that I said of thee you must be. Now there’s things that the Christian God says that we should do this or we should do that. We’re a lot than we should do.

This is something you must do or you will not see the kingdom of God and you will not enter into the kingdom of God. So you must be born again. There is no exceptions. So So if everyone who trusts Christ is Savior, they’re born in the God’s family, they will enter it and they will see it. So look at the next page. The new nature. This is the one you received when you trusted Christ as your Savior. Remember, God did not change the old man.

And this is why there’s some people who don’t understand the new birth is they think that you’re still the old man who are making corrections. And that’s why they like to use the word convert. Now you can use the word convert. And I’ve had people say that, you know, I’m Yankee’s convert. I mean, I’d rather you be the Lord’s. But if you’re a convert, you can take a garage and convert it into a living room. But when you did that, the garage is no longer there.

It’s into something else. So it’s totally changed. So people believe that when you trusted Christ as your Savior, any man who is in Christ is a new creation. Old things are passed away and behold, all things have become new. So therefore, if you say, I’ve trusted Christ, I’ll give you a new creation. Old things are passed away. Everything now is new. So there’s evidently all these new changes are going to be in your life. And then when they don’t see them, then evidently you’re not a very good convert because your life wasn’t converted.

You supposedly have a converted life. It’s changed. There’s no change. So evidently you’re not saved because people look for that change and difference in your person’s life. Well, what God is saying is something totally different. You see, there’s this old man. Many preachers believe that when you get saved, God changes this old man. And so takes away his sinful desires and gives him this new spirit. So he don’t want to do all those bad things anymore. So therefore all these chains are going to take place because you see God took away his own sinful nature.

They were eradicated. He’s done away with it. So now he’s going to be totally different. And when they don’t see that, then he didn’t mean business. And so that’s why a lot of these people say, well, they can’t live the life. They can’t make these changes. And therefore they would rather just die and go to hell and try to live a life of been a hypocrite. And that’s because some preacher, because they don’t understand it, they get them all messed up.

Your old man, God never touches. He doesn’t change it. What he does is he gives you something new. This new birth comes with new desires and all that. And if you satisfy these desires, they will grow. And if you don’t… These will grow. You see, you’re just making decisions about who controls the body. You’ve got one body, and both of these are living inside of this one body. So there’s where your struggle goes. So that’s why you can have the desire you want to serve a Lord do right at the same time you don’t.

And so it’s a battle. And many Christians never get victory in the Christian life. So look there at the next page. If the gospel we preach does not make one perfect image, immediately upon the new birth from above is it is totally ineffective in getting us to heaven. Why? Because if it doesn’t make me perfect immediately, then I can’t go to heaven yet. I’d have to wait until I have some progression in my life and I clean up my life and I stop something or join something.

But if I trust Christ as my Savior and if it’s good enough, and if it makes me perfect and qualifies me as well, I can get into heaven, it has to do immediately. Because I’m not going to keep on trying to get saved and get saved and get saying, no, I got saved one time. Save me, I’m saved from hell. I ain’t going there. I’m going to heaven when I die. That’s a new birth. So in the book of Matthew in chapter one, you’ll see where it says, and this is the book of the generation of Jesus Christ, and he goes, don’t need to list all these people, but there’s no deaths recorded there.

But in this statement here, I want you to see, in Christ we all inherit a divine nature and live forever. Being born again has nothing to do with changing or improving the old man, but the birth of a new man. That’s what salvation is. Salvation is the birth of a new man. This new birth is born of God. It’s a spiritual birth. You cannot see a spiritual birth. You can see your flesh birth, but the flesh birth isn’t the one that’s going to heaven.

It’s the spiritual birth that you have. Now look what he says here. Letter A, Jesus says you must be born again. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the spirit is spirit. Is he saying there’s two different things here? I have been in Italy. Nicodemus says, Lord, how can a man you know, get back inside of his mom and be born again? Everything that he didn’t get it. He says, how can you be a ruler in Israel and you don’t understand these things.

Because it’s taught in the Word of God, and even though you only had the Old Testament, evidently there’s things that were taught in the Old Testament to help you understand this. I won’t get into that right now. But it says, Marvel not that I said in thee, you must be born again. There is no other way. See, this is the answer that Jesus gave at the beginning of his ministry under the law. Jesus was made of a woman under the law, so he was under the dispensation of law.

And when Jesus was here, how did he say a man was to be saved? Did he say you had to keep the 10 commandments? No. He says you must be born again. The law cannot save anybody, never did. Law never made anybody perfect, doesn’t qualify. Just let you know you’re a sinner. The law only reveals all the weaknesses of the flesh. It lets you know you are a sinner. Big time. You can’t even keep the first commandment, let alone the other ones.

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. Part 2 of this teaching will conclude with tomorrow’s broadcast. If you have enjoyed our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, 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. To listen to today’s message again or to obtain a free download of any of our Bibleline programs, just go to our homepage at BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the radio broadcast link.

If you are 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 10-30 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.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, and 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.