This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

Bibleline Bibleline, here God’s word on Bibleline, 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 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 message will be a blessing to you and your family.

I had something I saw on Facebook not long ago, And this was the statement that was made. The issue is not believing in the payment for sin, but believing in Jesus Christ for the free gift of everlasting life. Now, I do believe that you believe in Jesus Christ to be saved, but the question is, is what do I believe? And so the question kind of bothered me, but I wanted to make sure you understand why Christ dying for our sins is the main issue.

And I want to explain a couple things to you. So if you have a Bible, follow me kind of quickly and turn to 2 Timothy chapter 2, 2 Timothy and chapter 2. And if you’ll look there in verse 8, Jesus is the name of the child that was born into this world. Well, then the Old Testament Jehovah, Yeshua, Joshua, but it means he shall save his people from their sins. The word Christ, Old Testament Messiah, New Testament Christ is the anointed one.

I mean, this is the one that is the Supper. This is the one that is to make the payment for our sins. This is the Lamb of God. So we talk about believing in Christ. His name means something. It’s not like Ralph Arnold in Jesus Christ. Jesus was Jehovah, God in the flesh. He came into the world and Christ is the suffering one, the one that died on the cross, paid for our sins and came back again from the dead.

So here in 2 Timothy and chapter 2 and verse 80 says, remember that Jesus Christ of the significant of David was raised from the dead and then he says according to my gospel. So Paul says my gospel includes this part of the message and that is that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. So he must have explained that he had to die and be buried and rose from the dead. So I believe that this verse tells me there’s more than just believing that trust Jesus for eternal life and you can bypass the payment.

Now I believe you have to know what He paid for. See every one of us have sinned against God and because we’ve all sinned against God we have a payment to make. We’re in debt and so therefore we have a sin debt to pay and that’s the purpose of Christ coming to pay our sins. Pay for our sins. So take your Bible looking to book of Luke Luke chapter 24. Luke chapter 24. And I know that some of this says repetitious.

You’ve heard this before, but it doesn’t hurt to hear it again. Here in Luke chapter 24, I want you to look there in verse 25. This is after his resurrection. He’s talking to several fellows as they walk on the road and he makes his statement in verse 25, and then he’s said unto them, oh, fold and slow of heart to believe. All that the prophets have spoken ought not. And you see this, the word Christ is not just Jesus, it’s Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory.

Christ in the Old Testament was prophesied, he would come and he would suffer, he would die and be buried and come back again from the dead. So I believe that it’s a very important issue. So when we give the gospel, we always explain it was because of the death, burial, and resurrection that you can have the free gift of everlasting life. It’s not just believing in any Jesus, it’s the one that was the Son of God. It was the one who came into the world and died on the cross and came back from the dead.

That’s the one you have to trust. You have to know what did he say about what he did. So, it’s not just believe in George for eternal life. That won’t work. We can say believe in Brian Anderson. And that’s not going to get you there either. What did he do? Why should I trust him? Why shouldn’t I believe? They said you don’t have to understand who he is or what he’s done. But you do. You have to know who is Jesus.

And God says he hath made the same Jesus Lord Christ. That’s who he is. And that’s why it’s not. such an important thing. Look there in verse 44 of the same scripture. He says in verse 44, and He said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses and in the prophets and in the Psalms concerning me. Then He opened up their understanding that they might understand the scriptures and in verse 44, and He said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it be who Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day.

So it was prophesied. He came and he did it. So when we talk about you must believe in Christ, it means you believe that Christ was the one who came into the world as the Son of God for the purpose of dying on the cross to pay for our sins so he came back from the dead. And if we would believe this message, he died for my sins. He would get to me the free gift of everlasting life. If you don’t believe that He’s the one that died in the cross and paid for your sins, you can’t get eternal life.

For example, you may believe and hurt all your life, asking Jesus to come into your heart. Ask Jesus to come into your heart. Well, you don’t find the verse that says, ask Jesus to come into your heart. And you can ask Him to come into your heart a thousand times. Doesn’t mean that Jesus is gonna come into your heart. But when you trust Christ as your Savior believe in that when he died he died for you Christ indwells you you see that’s a result of you trust in him But if you never trust them you don’t get the result If you will believe that Jesus Christ was the one who died to pay for your sins and you accept that payment He made for you then yes God will give you the free gift of everlasting life you can ask for everlasting life and not get it

You can even ask to be saved not be saved Be enslaved is a result of you believing who he is and what he’s done for you. So it’s just not anybody. It’s got to be a particular Jesus, the one that came into the world and took upon himself the sins of the whole world. And as Christ the anointed one, he died for our sins. Now, me, I don’t have any trouble with this. I see it right there. This is plain as day.

It’s clear. So take your Bible and turn to the book of 1 Peter in chapter 1. 1 Peter chapter 1. And you notice there’s another verse that comes close to saying pretty much the same thing. But in the Old Testament, see the prophets, they didn’t always understand or discern the difference between the times of the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow. But he says in 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 11, searching what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ, which was in them, did signify when it testified beforehand and get the sufferings of Christ.

So whenever we go to the New Testament and we look there in the book of John in chapter 20 verse 31 when he talks about these things have been written that you might believe that Jesus was the Christ. And that by believing in His name you should have eternal life. So as you read the gospel of John you might just just believe, just believe, just believe, just believe. But it was written that you might believe that this Jesus who you say you believe in is the Christ, the one who died, suffered for you.

So here in the book of 1 Peter when he makes this simple statement, they didn’t always understand the difference between the times of these sufferings and the glory that should follow. Of course, this side of the grave of us to save the cross, we can clearly see and understand it. We have a better understanding of that. So it is an important thing. Now take your Bible and turn to John chapter 20, John chapter 20. And look what he says here.

I mentioned it to you, but I want you to see it. Seeing it is so much better and so very important. But in John chapter 20 and verse 30 looked there where he says, and many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples. Now the reason he did the signs is so that they would believe he was the Christ. Not just Jesus. See, a lot of people know there’s a Jesus that was born. Even the Pharisees, they knew him.

But was this Jesus? Was he Christ? Christ is the one that was prophesied to come and to die for the sins of the whole world. So he says in verse 31, but these are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you. might have life through his name. So you don’t get life unless you believe this is the one who died and paid for my sins. You see, when we give the gospel and the good news of how a man can have eternal life, you know, we often use that phrase, you know, Christ died for my sins.

But some people are afraid to go any further than that and say, you know, the reason I don’t have to go to hell is because I don’t have any sins to pay for. He died for my sins and you don’t pay for something twice. All I have to do to go to heaven is believe he did it for me. He died for me and if I believe that then I don’t have any sins to pay for. I can’t go to hell today.

I can’t go tomorrow. I can never go to hell. Ever. Christ died for my sins and that knowledge is why I know I I have eternal security. You take that all out of there and simply believe in Jesus for eternal life and what assurance do you have? What Jesus? You see the guarantee that you and I know that we can trust this is because the one that died came back from the dead. And anyone who can come back from the dead, you better listen to.

Y’all haven’t done it lately, have you? But he came back from the dead and said, if we would believe that he did it for us, he would give us as a free gift ever lasting life. He gives eternal life to those who have believed that he’s the one that died for me. He suffered for me. He was the Jesus that became the Christ, the one that made that death payment for my sins upon the cross. So he says, these things are written that believe in you may have life through his name.

Yes, could have life through his name and he that believeth on him, hat of her life. But what do you believe? He’s the one, see this is here toward the end of the book, but all of these scriptures is to help you to understand what he’s talking about. That’s the key to this whole book. But take your Bible and look there in John in chapter 3. Look in John chapter 1, 1 John chapter 1 verse 29, John 1 29, when John saw him at the beginning of his ministry, this is what he said.

In verse 29 the next day John seeeth Jesus coming unto him and he saith, this is just any Jesus, it doesn’t matter who he is and what he’s done or what he’s going to do, just believe on him you have eternal life. No, no, no. He said this is the Jesus, the Lamb of God. The Lamb of God was understood by all the sacrifices that was ever made. It was a picture of one day a lamb would come. And all those sacrifices that they made never took away.

Anyone’s sins. It was only covered until this Lamb who came that was spotless. No blemish. And He was the Son of God. He came into this world and down that cross to pay for our sins. So He’s the Lamb of God that take it the way what? The sin of the world. And He did that by His death payment. He died for me. Some people say, well, that’s not the issue. It is the issue. Christ died for me. I don’t have to pay for my sins.

Why? He paid for mine. I’m going to heaven in the bid and forgiven of everything of every, why? Because He paid for my sins. You take that out of there. You have no gospel. You have no message. There’s no content. There’s nothing to trust. There’s nothing to believe. Therefore I believe that some people are going to have to give an account to God for trying to strip away the power of the gospel. Here in John chapter 3, look in the verse, you’ve never heard of this verse before, I said John 3 16.

John 3 16, now I want you to notice this verse. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. Gave His only begotten Son. Now we’re not talking about His birth here. This is when he gave his son that who so ever believed in him, the one that he gave as a payment for our sins. This one that came, that was the Lamb of God. This was the Christ that should suffer. All right, God says, if we believe in him, not anybody, in the Palm Dick and Harry, it’s Jesus, the Christ.

He was the one who came to die for you and to die for me. The church can’t save you. No religion can save you. No one can save you, but Jesus Christ and Him alone. That’s why if you trust Jesus Christ as your Savior, you’re meaning I believe He’s the one who died for my sins. He paid for my sins. What I owed, He died for it. He paid and therefore I’m trusting Him, the one that came back from the dead as the only hope I have.

He was the payment for sin. Jesus is my payment. So when I accept Christ as the payment for my sin, and then some people say, well, that’s not the issue. It is the issue. And therefore I believe it’s very, very important. But when he says here in John 3 16 that, whosoever believe it in him. So there’s something about him you and I have to believe. Not just, I believe in a Jesus for eternal life, Jesus, okay, who? What if it is said George?

What if it is said Bob? Well, it doesn’t matter who Bob is. It doesn’t matter who, what he’s done. It does matter and it’s not just anybody. So you and I will have greater confidence and assurance of our salvation if we understand the content of that message that is so very important for us to understand and to believe. I want you to look in chapter four. In chapter four, you’ll notice in verse 10, where he says in verse 10, as he talked to the woman at the well, Jesus answered and said unto her, if thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that safe to thee, give me to drink thou would have avast of him, and he would have given me live in water.

But you notice it says, if you knew who he was, so it’s not that you can just have a name. Who is he? And as they go through the conversation, as you know, he told her, says, you’ve been married five times and you’re living with a man that’s not your husband now. She goes and tells the men, he told me everything I’ve ever done. He did not, that’s a woman exaggerating for you. He just said, you had been married five times, you got another one.

But women always do that. I shouldn’t have said that. I don’t know. That’s right. Look what he said. In verse 24, looking verse 24, God is the Spirit and they that worship Him, must worship Him in Spirit and in truth. The woman said unto Him, I know that Messiah, Kenneth, which is called Christ. So they knew about the Messiah that was coming, he’s called the Christ. And as Christ, he’s the one that is the Supper. And if you read Isaiah 53, there you have the suffering Savior, the one who came into the world to die for the sins of the whole world.

She had heard and she knew that Christ the Messiah that’s what he’s supposed to do. So it’s not just believing in just anybody called Jesus. This Jesus has to be the Son of God and being the Son of God. Well you don’t have to say I believe in the virgin birth and I believe that he’s going to come back on it. But whenever you understand that this is the Son of God then he has to be perfect. If he’s a perfect Lamb of God He has to be totally holy.

No flaws, no sinful nature. But see, all you and I need to understand is, who is he, and what did he do for me? And look what he says. He says in that last part of verse 25, which is called Christ, which is to come. He will tell us all things. And verse 26, Jesus, Jesus said in her, I that speak unto thee, I am he. I’m the Christ. I’m the one that’s to pay for your sins. I’m that Lamb of God.

I’m the one the Scriptures talked about and you heard taught in the Senate God. I’m that one. That’s me. So look what he says in verse 42. And said unto the woman, now we believe not because of I sayin’ for we have heard Him ourselves and know that this, this man, this Jesus is indeed the Christ. The Savior. So did they have to know that Christ was a Savior and how He was going to pay for sin? He was the Lamb of God?

And we’re supposed to do something. That’s not important. That is the crux of the matter. And that’s why Paul says later on that He was to preach the cross. The preaching of the crosses to them that perish, it’s foolishness. But under those that are saved, it is the power of God. No power in a message that does not include the death, the peril and resurrection of Jesus Christ. If that is not there, there is no power. There is no gospel.

There’s no good news. The good news is Christ died for me. And if I believe that, God will give me the free gift of everlasting life. You take this other out of there and you won’t get the gospel and you won’t get the free gift of everlasting life. Just my humble opinions, I just know they leak out every once in a while. But let me give you another verse. Look there in John chapter 6. John chapter 6, look in verse 68.

Verse 68, it makes this statement, then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. In verse 69, and we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ. It’s not just anybody. We believe you are that Christ, the Son of God. They get important or not important. The book says it’s important. And anyone who talks to the woman, Mary and Martha, because of Lazarus, he says, I am the resurrection and the life.

And he that believeth in me shall never die. They leave us down this. So there’s something that she had to believe. He has the power of life. He can come back from the dead so it’s not just anybody. So all people don’t think this is important. This is very, very important. It’s the gospel message. And the gospel is the power of God. Look in chapter 7. Chapter 7 and look in verse 31 where he says in verse 31, and many of the people believed on him and said, when Christ cometh, so they knew that this Jesus, if he can have the power to give you eternal life, he has to be the Christ.

Not just anybody, he has to be the Christ. It nails it. And believe on him and said, when Christ cometh, will He do more miracles? And then there’s another verse, look in verse 41, others said, this is the Christ, but some says, shall Christ come out of Galilee? So see, there was a big decision about who is it because they knew Christ is the one that was to come and to suffer and to die and to pay for the sins of the world.

He was the Lamb of God. So yes, I believe that you have to understand who he is. Well what did he do? He died from me. Look up here. I got to show you one more verse. One more verse. It’s so important. Acts 26. Looking at Acts 26. Acts 26. And looking at verse 22. Verse 22. Very important. Paul gives us testimony. He says there in verse 22, having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing bow to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come.

Here’s the man going around preaching the gospel, all over the world, all should suffer, that he should be the first that should rise from the dead? Wait a minute. He said, this is what he’s been doing. He’s been preaching this kind of a message. And it was the gospel that talked about Christ dying and been buried in coming back from the dead. And if you’ll look right there to the left, it talks about some of these, but we don’t have time to get in all that.

But I want you to look up here for a minute. Look up here. I’ll wrap all of it up like this. this is you and me. We’re all sinners. You see, we all sin is because we have a sinful nature. This does not make us a sinner. We do all these bad things because we are sinners. We have an old sinful nature. Now, God says that He loves us println always remember this. I don’t care how bad you are.

I don’t care what you’ve done. God loves you. Now you don’t like what you do wrong, just like you love your kid, but you don’t like what they do wrong, but God loves you. And the pay for this sin is eternal separation from God. So because we’ve all sinned, we’re all guilty and therefore we have a debt to pay. To go to heaven, you have to be perfect. It’s righteous as God. None of us are perfect. Heaven’s perfect, God’s perfect, but we’re not.

So because of sin, we can’t get in. So the Bible says that we cannot save ourselves. You said, you have to turn from sin. No, you got to die for your sins. Not turn from them. You got to die for them. The way to sin is death. Not turn the turn them. This is Jesus Christ. He’s God in653 flesh. He came into the world. He was perfect. He had no sin. He did not have to die. But he came to die.

And the Bible says because He loves us and He hates our sin because our sin separates us from Him. So Jesus Christ who had no sin didn’t have to die, but He took all the sin of all the world upon Himself, paid for it on the cross, came back from the dead. And He says, who so ever would believe this? To believe in Jesus is to believe that He was the Christ that made the payment from my sins. And He came back from the dead, and if I would believe He did it for me, He would put that payment to my account and I go to heaven on what he did.

You don’t earn it, you don’t work for it. It’s the gift of God. It’s the clearest, the best message in all the world of what God has done for us. He loves us, paid for our sins, came back from the dead, says, now, will you believe I did it for you? If you believe I did this for you, this payment is put to your account. Christ is my payment for my sin. So whenever you reject this payment, you’re rejecting Christ because He is the propitiation, the satisfaction.

And we were redeemed. He paid the price. Let’s pray, shall we? Every head bowed and every eye closed, no one looking around. Would you right now in the quietness of this moment, just between you and the Lord? Just talk to the Lord and say, something like this, Lord, I know I’m a sinner. And I believe that Jesus Christ, I believe He died for me, and He paid for my sins. And right now I will accept Him and Him alone as my only hope of going to heaven.

And for in God said, if you’ll believe it, He would save you and give you the free gift of everlasting life. Would you believe that? Would you believe that when He died, He paid for your sins? God said, if you’ll believe it, He’ll save you and give eternal life. There’s no tricks to it, no gimmicks. If you trust Christ right now, He saves you right now, gives you right now eternal life. So when you get up to leave, you can say, I’m going to heaven, because today I believe Christ died for me.

If I saw you ten years from now and I say, where are you going when you die? It’d say, I’m going to heaven. And if I asked you, how do you know all that you have to say is Christ died for me? Father, we thank You so much for this time together. And Father, we pray especially for those that indicated they would trust You as Savior today. they become your child. You’re never cast them out, never lose them. Christ, name we pray.

Amen. You’ve been listening to Bibleline, a teaching ministry of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida with Dr. Ralph Arnold. We pray that you are 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 Dye-Ling 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 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 six 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.