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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 by clicking on the donations link on the Bibleignmenistries.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.

your Bible, turn to the book of Colossians, the book of Colossians. So wonderful book, we’re moving right along, wanting to explain some of the so-called deeper things of God. Sometimes they’re not just right on the surface, but a little digging in, you can see that. that. Our life should be determined by our walk with the Lord. If you was to evaluate your life, what would you use? Well, you ought to see all the problems I’ve had in my life.

Would you concentrate on all your struggles that you’ve had in your life? Would you concentrate on all your afflictions you’ve had in your life? All the people that stabbed you in the back or would it be, you know, I had the most wonderful walk with the Lord you could have ever experienced. And your life is positive because you’re filled with the joy that you know that God has used you and you have a different perspective. You ever heard about people who keep their nose to the grindstone, keep your nose to the grindstone?

Kind of goes like this. If you put your nose to the grindstone rough and hold it down there long enough, you soon will say there is no such thing as a brook that babbles or a bird that sings. These three will all your world compose, just you, the stone, and your ground down nose. Some people it’s all they see is stuck with their focus upon that works in the death and never really enjoy life at all. And they don’t hear the the hablin of the brook, and they don’t hear the birds singing, all they think about is their nose to the grindstone.

There’s so much more to live for, but there’s always somebody that wants to take your freedom or your liberty and put you under the law. This is what the Jewish people wanted to do. You see, they’ve been under the law all their life, but they didn’t understand that the law was the shadow of the real thing. See, the law was the written word and Christ was the living word. So as they walked in the shadow of the law, it pointed to Christ.

But when you come to Christ, you no longer need the shadow. It was just the shadow of better things to come, better things to come. The sacrifices in the Old Testament, the feast days, the holy days, those were all shadows of something better to come. Christ is the fulfillment of those holy days, the feast days. It was all about Him. So when Christ is here, those… Festivals, those feast days, the moon and the…all the worship days, those holy days, those Sabbath days were a shadow of the real thing.

But whenever you see Christ, he is the real thing. So once you’ve come to Christ, you’re no longer under the shadow of the law. But there’s Jewish people that had a different kind of a shadow. But there’s Jewish people that had a difficult time because they had such well, such deep tradition, rituals, they had been involved in it all their life. And it was difficult for them to give up those things. So along comes the Gentiles, and the Gentiles, well, they had never been under the law.

But there were some of these Jewish people that gave the appearance that they were so spiritual, so humble. And they wanted to try to take these Gentiles and put them underneath the law and live according to the law. But the point of this whole lesson here in chapter 2 of the book of Colossians, when And he says that the Lord took all of the ordinances that was against us because of the law and nailed them to his cross and triumphed openly from those things to give us eternal life.

So our salvation has been completed. We are, as he says up there in verse nine, we are complete in him in verse 10. We are complete in him. We don’t need the law. So he says, I want you to be aware of anyone. He says, let no man put you under the law. The law could never save and it can’t keep you saved. So he says, that which Christ died to deliver us from, don’t let somebody put you under the legalism of the law and saying you’ve got to keep the works of the law for spirituality.

Now hold your place right here and look there in the book of Romans in chapter eight. Romans in chapter eight. Something I want to show you right quick. Romans chapter eight, you’ll notice that he talks about these two things. See there in verse two, for the law of the spirit of life. See the Holy Spirit is the spirit of life. He gives life. That’s why your birth is called a spiritual birth. You were born by the spirit of God, given new life.

The law didn’t give life. The law gave death because it killed everybody that couldn’t keep the law. So it condemned everyone because we could not fulfill the righteousness of the law regardless of how hard we try. So he makes a statement here in verse 2, for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law. So if I’m free from the law, don’t let somebody try to put you back under the law.

We call that legalism. When somebody tries to force you, or if you try to force somebody else, if they have to live according to the law to be saved, they become legalistic. Now it can happen for salvation, it can also happen for service. A Christian, one who knows Christ as Savior, many times they fall under the spell of legalism, which means that they, if I do this, I do this, I do this, I do all these rules and regulations, the so-called standards of Christianity.

If I do that, that may not be spiritual. So you judge whether you’re spiritual or not, by do you keep those rules and regulations? That’s standard. If you kept those according to the law and you’re doing it for salvation, you would say, that can’t save you. Neither can the same rules and regulations. Though they’re a little bit different, it can’t make you spiritual. Look what he says here. In verse 3, for what the law could not do, in that it was weak to the flesh.

In the words, you did not have the ability, potential, of keeping the law. We’ve all sinned and come short of the glory of God. God sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh, not in sinful flesh, but in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin condemned sin in the flesh. that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, but you ought to write down beside it, not by us. So God is able to produce the righteousness that He wants, but it’s going to be the righteousness that’s performed by the Holy Spirit that lives within you.

Now get what He says, He makes a statement in verse 5, that are after the flesh, mind the things of the flesh. They that are after the spirit, things of the spirit. So you have two minds. You’ve got one of the Holy Spirit that lives within you, a mind of God you can have, or you can have the mind of man. To have the mind of God, you’re gonna have to have the Holy Spirit that lives within you transfer his word into your mind.

That’s why he says in chapter 12 that we are not to be conformed to this world but be yet transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and accept of a perfect will of God. So to walk in the flesh is to be fleshly minded. To walk in the spirit is to be spiritually minded means you mind spirit. Don’t think that you are going to be spiritually minded just because you obey certain rules and regulations because it goes deep of a man.

It’s about you and your personal walk with the Lord. And just because you came to church tonight doesn’t mean that you’re automatically you’re right with God. You may be in the right spot. You can even have the Bible in your hand. But you could be lifted up with pride. Look how spiritual I am. Look at all those ungodly, carnal-minded, fleshly-minded Christians who didn’t come to church, not just because of a little rain. What I did, I did, I made it.

You can exalt yourself because of the great sacrifice that you have made. And you can be lifted up with pride. And you are doing a right thing, but the motive may be totally wrong. You may have done it to be seen of men instead of to be seen by God or an obedience to God. Don’t think that doing certain things makes you love God. If you love God, then you should do certain things. But you can do, can you obey your parents and not love them?

Can you obey your husband and not love him? Can you obey your wife and not love her? But look in verse six where it says, for to be carnally minded is dead, spiritually minded, life and peace. So it’s talking about what kind of a mind do you have? Now go back there to the book of Colossians in chapter two. We’re talking to the believers, those who know the Lord. And hopefully to those that love the Lord, who want to grow in the Lord.

And he says, as you have received Christ, Jesus the Lord, and so walk ye in him. And that Paul had prayed for these Christians that they would be filled with all the knowledge and the wisdom of God so that they might walk worthy of that which God has for them, unto all pleasing, founder in chapter one. But here in chapter two, I want you to look down there in verse 16. Verse 16, and the following verses, is because of what Christ did on the cross.

You see, the law brought us to death, demanded death. The law is why Christ had to die. So Christ took our sins, nailed them to the cross, and Christ died for us, because there was no other way, because we could not keep the law, and he died to deliver us from the curse of the law. So if I’m delivered from the curse of the law, I don’t wanna place myself back under the law. Then he says there in verse 16.

And you’re on the line, these three words, let no man, let no man. Don’t let any teacher, regardless of how smooth they may talk, how holy they may seem to be, how godly they may seem to be. But as he says there in chapter two and in verse eight, if you’ll look there, beware less any man. So he says, don’t let any man. Teach you this. Don’t let a man put you under the law that Christ died to redeem you from.

Let no man in verse 8 chapter 2 spoil you through philosophy, vain deceit after the turn to the rudiments of the world and not after Christ. If it’s not from the book, if it’s not what Christ taught in his word, then don’t you do it. And don’t let somebody rob you of your joy in the Lord. Serve the Lord and be as dedicated, as disciplined, as strict on yourself as you choose to be, because it’s your personal walk with God.

Now, here in verse 16, let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holy day. See, in view of the cross, The feast or the festival? You have No obligation to those things the Jewish people were under those things until Christ But like Paul says not to let somebody else judge you now You can read this in the book of Romans in chapter 14 verse 3 and several of the verses there, but It’s very simple very clear that God said he does not want us to be put under the law of man because he says man is going to make up a bunch of rules and regulations.

I want you to see this. I’m kind of jumping ahead, but it’s okay. I do this every once in a while. Look there in the book of Mark in chapter 7. Mark and chapter 7. This is a tremendous scripture that you need to keep in mind. This has happened before. Christ had really come down hard on these Pharisees and certain of the scribes. See there in verse 1, page 1054, Mark chapter 7 verse 1 says, then came together unto him the Pharisees, certain of the scribes which came from Jerusalem.

And when they saw some of his disciples, Jesus’s disciples, eat bread with defiled, that is to say with unwashed hands they found thought, you didn’t wash your hands. Therefore you are defiled. So Christ has to let them know it’s not unwashed hands that defiles the man. It’s what comes out of the man that defiles the man from the old sinful nature. See there in verse 20 and he said that which cometh out of the man that defile of the man.

For from within, out of the heart of man, proceed evil thoughts, adultery, fornication, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, left-sibiousness, and evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness, all these evil things come from where. Within, that’s what defiles man. That’s your old sinful nature. That’s why a man is filed, not because his hands are dirty. But you see, the Pharisees had made up a whole bunch of new laws that Christ never made up, never got it from God. There’s people who make up rules and regulations.

They never get them from God. But notice what he says, over there in verse 3, for the Pharisees and all the Jews, except they washed their hands up, eat not, in the tradition of the elder, because later on the same church, don’t touch this, don’t eat this, you can’t do this. All of these lost, they were trying to put them up on the Gentile church. What God never said all these things to do, they’re man-made. Did you realize if there’s only one truth about how to get to heaven, where do all these religions come from?

of how many different kinds of churches there are, I mean, in different rules and regulations there are, you would think everybody should be on the same page. Everybody should believe exactly the same thing. There’s only one Bible, but some people have preconceived ideas about what they think is right and wrong and how to get to heaven and how to live. So look what says, now in verse four, he said, and when they come from the market except they wash, they eat not.

Many other things there be which they have received to hold as the washing of cups and pots and braids and vessels and of tables. Then the Pharisees and the scribes ask him, why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hand. You ought to be ashamed of yourself. Why aren’t you doing like everybody else does? Because Jesus knows he don’t have to obey the stupid, silly little laws that man makes up.

So he says in verse 6, I mean, I love this stuff. I love watching and reading all this year. Then in verse 6, then he said, Well hath Isaiah prophesied unto you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. So just because you do certain things for the Lord don’t make you right. It won’t make you spiritual just because you go to church. It won’t make you spiritual just because you try to believe or not even witness.

It can be a good thing. It can be a right thing, but there’s something between you and God witnessing. Don’t change that. If there’s something between you and your heart, between you and God, come on the church, doesn’t change that. There’s a first John one nine that can take care of things. See, God wants the heart of man more than he wants the service. Cause if he gets the heart of man, he gets everything else. But sometimes we try to buy God off with the things that we do, the sacrifices we make, then he’ll leave me alone and then I can dabble over here and whatever I want to do and he won’t bother me.

It won’t work that way. Look what he says here in verse 7. How, be it in vain? In vain do they worship me? Are they trying to worship? Yes, in vain. Coppice is nothing. All those right things they do, accomplice is zero. in verse seven, teaching for doctrine the commandments of men. Not the commandment of God, they’re teaching their own traditions. They make it up. And he said into them in verse nine, full well you reject the commandment of God.

Get this, that you may keep your own tradition. So they looked like they were so holy. They dressed like they were holy. They had them, they fought lactories in their long gowns, and they had all the stuff. But they weren’t holy. He says, you are a hypo-crit. Now, most people would never see that. Most people would not be able to discern that. But we’re talking about Jesus who knows the heart of man. True? He can see through anything. He knows if you and I are real.

We can fool each other and deceive each other, but you can’t fool God. And so he says here in verse nine, he said to them, full well you reject the commandment of God that you may keep your own tradition. For Moses said, honor thy father and thy mother, whosoever curse father and mother, let him die the death. But ye say, if a man shall say to his father and mother, it is Corbin, that is to say a gift by whatsoever, thou mightest be profited by me.

He shall be free.” In other words, instead of them condemning the person to death, if they gave us some money. If you gave us some money, we’ll forget about the wrong you did. So the Pharisees got the money. The guy could treat his mom and dad any way he wanted to and get away with him. So he says in verse 12, “…and ye suffer him or permit him no more to do ought for his father or his mother because as they got old see they was supposed to look after their own time.

Looking verse 13 we’ll close with this verse, making the word of God of none effect through your tradition which ye have delivered and many such like things do ye. So go back over there to the book of Colossians. So this is what has been done. Now they’re trying to take those same things that they try to do upon Jesus’ disciples and put them on a church. So he says, let no man. Now over in the book of Galatians in chapter 1, he says, if an angel from heaven preached unto you, any other gospel, let him be a car.

So it didn’t matter if it was a man, or if it was an angel. So they were worshiping angels as though angels was over Christ. So you only worship the true and living God. You don’t worship any man. So if they were worshiping angels, it’s like these angels are superior to Christ And nobody is superior. And so they want to seem like they’re more spiritual and godly they can see into things and they know the spiritual realm and all this.

And they know other things that you don’t know and it’s mysterious. And so you got to look up to them as though they’re so much more intelligent and spiritually minded. And so you got to walk in awe of them. I don’t know one man in this world that I feel intimidated by. I can read and study the same book he can. And there’s no man that’s wiser unless he gets it out of here. You don’t get it from here.

You’re not wise. This is the book of wisdom, the treasure, everything in Christ. Now get to it. So he makes a statement here in verse 17, which are a shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ. So all these Old Testament things with this shadow look there in the book of Hebrews in chapter 10 Don’t just see this Hebrews and chapter 10 And look in verse 1 the shadow Was of good things to come But when it comes you no longer need to follow the shadow Follow the real thing See the inverse one for the law having a getth a shadow of good things to come and Not the very image of the things can never with those sacrifices Which they offered year by year continually make the comers they’re into perfect Because if it could they wouldn’t had to do it every year, but it didn’t

But notice what he does say and not the very image of the things Christ is, as you see, the very image of the Father. He is the crystal clear image, the express image. Hebrews chapter 1 and verse 3 of God Himself. So we have the Supreme. He has the right to be preeminent in everybody’s life. There is no other being angel or man or any other God anywhere. He is it. Now look what he says there in verse 18.

Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshiping of angels. You see never worship anyone under God. You only worship God, the true and living God. He says, if you voluntarily submit yourselves, you did it to appease the flesh, but it was not a commandment of God to do so. You see, you can submit yourself to some angel, some man, some role, some law. It doesn’t mean God gave it, or that was a command of God.

And you’ll find yourself thinking, well, I’m right because I did that. I’m right because I did this. I’m right because of, no, you want to be right with the Lord. And therefore I did this and this and this because I am right with God. You see, when the Bible makes a statement, make no provision for the flesh. There’s a lot of things you will not find in the Bible about what to do and what not to do. You’ve been listening to Bibleline, a teaching ministry of Calvary Community Church in Tappa, 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, you can reach Bibleline and pledge your support to keep us on the air in your area by dialing tool 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 Bible line 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.