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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 first part of this two-part message will be a blessing to you and your family.

Everybody needs to have a good conscience. You know, the Bible talks about a defiled conscience conscience and the evil conscience, but a good conscience. Oh, everybody ought to have a good conscience. And that’s where you’re not convicting yourself of something that you’re doing. You shouldn’t do. It’s clean. It’s the way it’s supposed to be. A pure conscience. So anyway, it’s gonna be around the world before I get to that part, but I’ll get there. You just stick with me.

So take your Bible and turn to the book of John in chapter three, John chapter three. There are those that believe in the subject of baptismal regeneration, baptismal regeneration I should say. What they mean by that is that you must be water baptized in order to be saved, in order to have your sins forgiven, in order to be sure you’re going to heaven. So they say you got to be baptized in water. even if you were to ask the question, where does it say that you have to be baptized and what are to be saved?

Well, they usually go to John chapter 3 a lot of times because right here in the book of John chapter 3, the book that tells us how to go to heaven, it’s kind of like God’s heaven track. It’s a pretty good book. So here in John chapter 3, there in verse 1, there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, the ruler of the Jews. The same came to Jesus by night, said to him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God, for no man can do the miracles that thou doest except God be with him.

Jesus answered, said unto him, Verily, verily I said unto thee, accept a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. So you see, right there it says you have to be water baptized. Oh, you know, I missed that all together. I did not see the word water when I owed him, but evidently it’s there and I just didn’t say it. In verse four he said, Nicodemus sits under him, how can a man be born when he is old?

Can he end with a second time into his mother’s womb and be born? Jesus answered very, very easily, except a man be born of water and of the spirit. He cannot enter into the kingdom of God. There it is. You’ve got to be born of the water. And therefore you cannot enter into the kingdom of God. So you see the Bible teaches that you have to be water baptized. Now you don’t see the word water baptized in there, but you know it’s supposed to be there because if it’s, well it’s hinted at, it was hinted.

It’s got the word water. So automatically you know when you see the word water, it automatically means baptized, right? Well if you have to be water baptized in order to be born again, so you could take the word born and well let’s leave the word born out, but the word baptized in there. Well, then it says in verse 3, Jesus answered instead of the hand, very, very, I say unto you, except a man be baptized again. He cannot see the kingdom of God.

So that means you’ve got to be baptized again. If been born, mean to be baptized, because if you’ve got to be baptized to be born, well, then you’ll be able to switch the words. Well, Nicodemus says unto him in verse 4, how can a man be baptized when he’s old. Well, how old is old? I mean, I’m 70s. One, can I be baptized? I’m old. I mean, we got somebody over. I don’t see him. Yeah, he’s teaching Sunday school and that’s um, he’s 85.

Well, can he be baptized at his age? Well, then it doesn’t refer to that. So, can’t refer to what being what about ties just by the power of deduction. So he says in verse 5, Verily by saying to you, except a man be baptized of water and of the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. He that is baptized of the flesh is flesh and he that is baptized in in the spirit of spirit. It may no sense at all.

Of course, it doesn’t make any sense. So, let’s know what it’s talking about. Now, a lot of people like to use John because it seems like it’s referring to water baptism in one place there when it has the word water. But refers to the first birth he’s talking about that which is flesh is flesh. And you need to have another birth, the second birth, which is the spiritual birth is the being born by the spirit of God and the word of God.

The word of God is the water. And in the very next chapter, he was talking to her about the living water. And he says, if thou knewest the gift of God and who it is that sent and they give me to drink, thou would have for the ask of him and he would have given the living water. So it’s a different water. It’s not the water you get baptized in. Water will not wash the dirt off your neck if you don’t use soap with it.

It’s a sin just not going to wash away any sins. So I guess we could save a lot of people, just get ahold of them and hold them down, scrub them onto the end of the water and say, YAH has been baptized. Hey, we let them do the Lord. We have them saved. No, that’s not what he’s talking about. But the second birth is so important. It’s a spiritual birth means to be born from above. See if they’re in verse 3, verily, verily I say unto thee, accept a man be born again.

word again mean born from above. Water is below. The word came from above, the spirit came from up above, but the water down here didn’t come from up above. He have to be born again, born from above. And that is not a water baptism. You see, If you look there in John chapter 1 and verse 12, but as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, specifically to them that believe on his name, which were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man.

In other words, the new birth has nothing to do with the will of the flesh, the will of man is totally of God. Now if you have to go out here and you get water baptized, somebody had to baptize you. Well whoever baptized you would be your savior. If I have to do this to be saved, then whoever baptizes me saved me. And that ain’t going to fly. The new birth is of God and it’s from above and it’s not by water baptism.

So take your Bible and look in the book of Mark, Mark chapter 15. Mark chapter 15 and verse 27, you’ve heard when Christ was crucified, He was placed between two thieves and they didn’t always say and do the right thing. So He says here in verse 27 and with Him, They crucified two thieves, one on his right and the other on his left. And the scripture was fulfilled which said, and he was numbered with the transgressors. And they that passed by railed on him wagging their heads and saying, ah, thou, that destroyed the temple and built it in three days, save thyself.

Come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests, mocking, sit among themselves with describes, he saved others himself, he cannot save. He does something, is that mocking or not? He saved him, he talked about saving the world and you’re the Savior. All right, save yourself. So he says there in verse 32, let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross that we may see and believe. If we see it, we’ll believe it. Well, and they that were crucified with Him reviled Him.

They that were crucified with Him. Both of them mocked. Both made fun. But then the world went dark. Now how would you like to be on the cross and it gets pitched black in the middle of the day? What would that do to you? After He had said, I am the light of the world and they said, you’re not the light of the world. He says, when you put me on the cross, my Father will show you who I am.

So God took off all the main lights of heaven through the main switch. Got dark. So God is going to testify that Jesus was who He claimed to be and that He was the life. And that he was the resurrection. And there was a resurrection that took place right afterwards. So the word of God tells us now take your Bible look in the book of Luke in chapter 23. Luke chapter 23. And Luke chapter 23 in verse 39. Here in the book of Luke in chapter 23.

In verse 39 and one of the male factors, the thieves, the criminals, which were hanged, railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ save thyself in us, but the other answering rebuked him, saying, does thou not fear God? Seeing thou art in the same condemnation, and we indeed justly for we receive the dewy word of our deeds, but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto him, Lord, remember me, when thou comeest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, verily I say unto thee, Today, shout out, be with me in paradise if you get baptized.”

You saw that, didn’t you? If you get baptized in water, you will be with me in paradise. Now, if a man has to be water baptized, thief on the cross wasn’t. And so, how can this man be required to just simply believe, but he told Nicodemus, you’ve got to be water baptized? Now which way is it? Well some people say well it was in a different dispensation. John 3 took place before this took place and it was both under the law.

So if Nicodemus is where they want to go to prove that you got to be water baptized and this took place afterwards when Christ was on the cross. John 3 was at the beginning of his ministry then is there a contradiction in the Bible? Why doesn’t God just make it the same for everybody? Well, He did. He did. So you see, at the beginning of His ministry, He’s talking to Nicodemus. Later on He’s on the cross. And both of these is before He died, before the end of the dispensation of law.

So they I like to run to this one over here and say, see there you got to be water baptized to be saved. But the thief on the cross, uh-oh, he was on the cross. Well, there’s got to be a reason why the thief on the cross didn’t have to be baptized. One, and he couldn’t get down. He was nailed. He couldn’t get down. But we know that if he could have, he would have. So therefore, he’s excused. God knew his heart.

God knew that he wanted to, but that he couldn’t because he was nailed to the cross. So God saved him because of his good intentions. So where does all that come into play? That’s read into the Scriptures. You didn’t see all of that. That’s in the deeper Greek in the deeper Hebrew, you know. But it doesn’t say stuff like that. He didn’t have to be baptized because He didn’t have to be baptized. No man has to be baptized in water in order to be saved.

Never happen. Now, take a Bible and turn to the book of 1 Corinthians, 1 Corinthians and chapter 1. 1 Corinthians chapter 1, and notice there in chapter 1 verse 14. Now we know and believe that the apostle Paul was sent into all the world that preached the gospel. And he went everywhere, established churches and wrote letters, greatly used of God. In verse 14 he makes this statement. He says, I thank God that I baptized none of you. No, wait a minute, wait a minute.

If being baptized is part of the gospel and you have to be baptized to be saved, why wouldn’t Paul say, I’m so glad I baptized y’all because I led you to Lord. Because over there in verse, in another chapter there in chapter 4, I I want you to see this. In chapter four, see there in verse 15, for though ye have 10,000 instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers. For in Christ Jesus, I have begotten you through the gospel.

You were born again because of my message. But I’m so glad I didn’t baptize any of you. He says, because God didn’t send me to baptize but to preach the gospel. So the gospel is one thing, baptism is something else. They were saved, they were born again because of Paul, but Paul didn’t baptize. How can they explain that? They can’t. They can’t. Now in 1 Corinthians 1, look again, where it makes the statement, he says, less I or any should say that I had baptized in my own name.

The reason I didn’t do it because I didn’t want somebody to say I baptized in my own name. He didn’t want anything that would hinder the power of the gospel. So he didn’t do it. But he does say this, less any should say I baptized my own name and I baptized also the household of Staphonos besides I know not whether I baptized any other. For Christ sent me not to baptize but to preach the gospel. Now He says, going to all the world and preach the gospel.

What’s the gospel? The good news and how you can have eternal life and be saved and not go to hell and go to heaven. Well if baptism was a part of your salvation then wouldn’t you have to preach that too? But evidently it’s not. And that’s why He says Christ called me to preach the gospel and he made the statement in verse 18 for the preaching of the cross is to them that perish fullness but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

But baptism was something that somebody else did. Look there in the Bible through the book of John chapter 3, the gospel of John in chapter 3. John chapter 3 and you’ll notice there verse 22. After these things came Jesus and His disciples into the land of Judea. There He carried with them and baptized. And John also was baptizing in Anon near to Salem because there was much water there but because we just sprinkle we only needed a bucket. They didn’t say that, did it?

And they came and were baptized. So John was baptizing. Now look there in chapter 4, look in verse 1. Now therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, though Jesus himself baptized not but his disciples. So if you had to be baptized in order to be saved then Jesus didn’t save anybody. because he didn’t baptize anybody. His disciples saved him because they baptized him. So, evidently, maybe being baptized has nothing to do with being saved.

It doesn’t save you. So, there’s another reason for being baptized and that is the truth. Definitely, there is something else that it means. Water baptism doesn’t get you to heaven doesn’t wash away your sins, so it doesn’t save you in any way. Whether you’re a little infant baby and somebody wants to baptize you or sprinkle you or whatever it is, water baptism cannot save anybody or preserve anybody, confirm anybody, had nothing to do with it. So did Jesus save anybody?

Of course, He’s the only Savior there is, who are saved because of Him. water baptism has nothing to do with saving you. It is a picture of your salvation. It’s not for your salvation. Me and Betty got married. We hate to say it, but we didn’t even have a picture when we got married. Twenty-five years later, we had another mock wedding and we had pictures galore. I was dressing in a tuxedo. Oh, I look sharp. She had on a white dress and she come walking down the aisle.

My daughter did this for us for a surprise but it would be surprised. And I picked her up and I carried her out and you know they threw the rice. We used to have so many weddings out there we had to go to Minute Rice. So you have people taking pictures and it was a picture of the wedding but none of those pictures saved us or married us. It was just a picture of our, that’s what water baptism is.

So understand this, when you believe that Jesus died and paid for your sins, was buried and rose again, then you’re supposed to be baptized because of what you believe. Christ died for me. Water baptism is a picture of your death, your burial, and your resurrection. So you do that for a good conscience. Why? Because your heavenly Father wants you to do it. It was a command, the last command ever given in the Bible by Jesus Christ before He left.

When He said in Matthew 28, going to all nations and teach all nations and baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son of the Holy Ghost. So is it the will of God that we be water baptized? Well, yes it is. That command has never been rescinded. It’s still there. Going to all the world? Well, if you don’t have to be baptized, then you don’t have to go into the world either. Preach the gospel, you don’t have to do that either.

So if we’re going to pick and choose, let’s just don’t do anything. But if you’re going to do it, do all of it. And that’s why it is God’s will that his children water baptized not to be saved but because they are saved. It’s a picture of what you believe. It’s your way of saying, I believe Christ did this for me and you suppose to really understand it. Because today see most people don’t have a clue what the gospel is, what it’s about.

You see Christ was alive but He took our Our sense and died was buried came back from the dead. For me Christ died for me. So therefore when I believed that his death, his burial and resurrection was put to my account as though I did it. So when I am baptized, I am recognizing the fact I was once alive. I died, I paid for my sins. I was buried, came back again from the dead. I didn’t really do it.

Christ did it for me. And he says, now, if you believe that I did that for you, being baptized is your way of really having a good clear concept. I understand what he did. Because you have a lot of people, they have no clue. They get water baptized. They have a clue why they did it. They think it helped save them. Or they hear about the gospel, and they hear the death bill resurrection of Christ and they haven’t got a clue where they go on when they die.

Their words without meaning and those are acts without meaning and when it boils down to it doesn’t mean anything. So God wants us to know and to understand. So take your Bible and look in the book of Acts. Acts in chapter 2, if in Acts chapter 2 and verse 38, if it really does mean to turn from your sins and to be water baptized in order to be saved and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit it contradicts all the other verses it says you don’t have to do that.

Is there a verse in the Bible that simply says something along the lines of for by grace are you say through faith that not of yourself it is the gift of God it’s not of works lest any man should boast. Now if that verse is in the Bible and this verse means that you’ve got to turn from your sins and you’ve got to be water baptized, it contradicts Ephesians 2, 8, and 9, and John 3, 16, and John 6, 47, and a whole host of other scriptures.

So, evidently, Acts 2, 38 doesn’t necessarily mean what people like to say it means. Now, look at it. And then Peter said unto them, repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sin. Now, if you took the word baptize, you’d understand that baptized is not a translation, it’s a transliteration, and it comes from the word baptismal and baptismal. And they’re two different words, to cling to wash to will. In the book of Mark it explains that and shows you that the same word is used to wash pots and pans in the book of Mark.

And it was for the purpose of cleansing. So he said, be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, that’s what cleans you. Water doesn’t clean you. So if you took the meaning of the word, you’re all right, but you have most people see the word baptized. I mean, that means you got to be baptized in water. No, there’s a lot of different baptisms in the scripture and their baptism of fire. You want that one? You can have it. The baptism of fire, people say, I want to get the baptism of fire.

It means hell. That’s hell fire. not talking about you and I, you ought to desire that. But anyway, there’s different ones and that’s another sermon at another time. But what I want you to know is this. You see, they didn’t believe that when Jesus came, he was who he claimed to be. And yet it was, it’s scripture said he was delivered by the determinant counsel of God. See there chapter 2, look there in verse 22. The men of Israel, here are these words, Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by signs and miracles, which did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know him been delivered by the determinant council and foreknowledge of God.

You have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain. This is what you did that man that you just crucified put on the cross. God showed that he was the one by all the miracles and so forth that he did. And you have by wicked hands have taken. and slaying him. And then he says their hearts were pricked. What shall we do? And so they’re in verse 36, know therefore assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus whom you have crucified both Lord and Christ.

Now when they heard this they were pricked in their hearts and they said Peter and John to the rest of the apostle, Miniver, what shall we do? And Peter said to them, Repent, change your mind about who he was. He was the Lord. He is God in the flesh. He was the Messiah that was to come and explaining to him the purpose of him coming, the purpose of him dying and it says and repeat change your mind think different reconsider and see that he is who he claimed to be and be cleansed in the name of the only begotten Son of God and as you go through the book of Acts you’ll say that this man was healed in his name and had had power in in his name and he was saved in his name and he is cleansed in his name.

So when I believed on Jesus Christ fifty-two years ago in a little old living room, I was clean made white as snow. From all the sins I’ve ever done or ever will do, all because I believed in Jesus Christ. I trusted him as my Savior and I was able to receive that very moment the gift of the Holy Spirit. You say, have you ever spoken tongues? I’ve been speaking with the only one that I’ve got for 52 years. And I don’t know what I’d do if I could speak in all the other languages, but I wouldn’t mind it.

But no, I’ve never had the gift of so-called the fire stuff they wanna talk about. No, I’ve never done that. I have no desire for it. I don’t believe it’s of God. Nobody has ever spoke in some gibberish like that. That’s not what this is. This is a literal language that people were able to speak. A known language, not unknown. So no, I don’t believe all that. I believe that when you trust Christ as your Savior God gives you the Holy Spirit and you’re baptized by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ once and for all, never happens again.

That’s why there’s no commands and scriptures to be baptized by the Holy Spirit. Being baptized by the Holy Spirit is something that Christ does. You’ve been listening to another great message from Pastor Arnold and we at Bibleline thank you for tuning in. In appreciation to those who support this ministry financially, we would like to send to you a copy of the Jim Tingen story. The Jim Tingen story is a true story about a young man that just couldn’t explain the gospel clearly.

He wasn’t the type of kid that most people made friends with, but he knew that people needed to hear the gospel to be saved. Believe me, you’ll be affected by this story in a profound way, in this book is offered to you as a gift for your donation in any amount. Our mailing address is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634, and don’t forget to include your mailing address as well. So for this month, receive a free copy of the Jim Tingen story with your donation of any amount.

It’s a small token of our appreciation for your support of Bibleline because without your thoughtful gifts and prayers from listeners like you, we would not be able to remain on the air. Thank you once again for your continued support. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline. 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. 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, just keep looking up.