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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 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.

I want you to take your Bible and follow along with me. Got some interesting things that I want you to know to know and it’s so important because if you don’t get this down you’re gonna have a lot of problems in your Christian life. If you don’t understand what I’m gonna talk to you about today. But I want you to turn in your Bible with me to the book of 2 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians in chapter 5. 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and notice here in verse 17 there’s an interesting verse Verse 17 where it says, therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation, new creature, old things are passed away behold, all things are become new.

Now this verse says quite a bit. If any man is in Christ, he is new. Any man. Now many people read this verse and they say, well okay, old things are passed away, it means what you used to do, you don’t do those anymore. Now you live a different life and it’s automatic because if you’re in Christ old things are passed away, the extings are gone, now it’s Christ and you’re gonna live for Him and there’s going to be these evidences in your life that it’s all true.

But of course if the evidence in your life doesn’t match to be a new creature in Christ then evidently you’re not really in Christ and you are misled and you must still be lost so you’ve got to get saved again or you never were saved or you lost it it just opens up a whole can of worms. So how would you explain this? Well it’s very simple. Now look up here now this is our first birth this is when we’re born into the world we have a flesh birth.

This flesh birth has a sinful nature. The sinful nature sins, has sinful desires. So all of us born into the world were born with a sinful nature and that’s why we’re naturally rebellious. That’s why we naturally do things that are wrong. It’s our nature that is our problem. So the Bible says the wages of sin is death so every person born, sins and every person who sins dies. So we’re all subject to death. That’s this one. God says flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.

There is none right, just no not one. No one has ever lived good enough to go to heaven because all have sin and come short of God’s perfection. So when God saves the man, He doesn’t change this one. He gives you a new birth. Now when you trusted Christ as your Savior, what the Lord did is give you a new birth, a spiritual birth, born of the Spirit of God. This one here, my second birth, is born of God, God’s the Father.

God doesn’t have a sinful nature. Therefore, His Son, the child born of God, doesn’t have a sinful nature. If it has no sinful nature, it doesn’t sin. If it doesn’t sin, it doesn’t die. That’s why once you become a child of God, you have eternal life and you will live with the Lord forever. None of God’s children can ever go to hell. It’s impossible why because they can’t sin. They can’t sin today, can’t sin tomorrow, can never sin because it’s born of God.

That’s why he says in the book of 1 John chapter 3 verse 9 that, whosoever is born of God, doth not commit sin because his seed remained it in him and he cannot sin because he’s born of God. You see, this one wasn’t born of God. When you trusted Christ as your Savior, God didn’t do away with this one, He gave you a new birth. If I was to walk in the Spirit and live for God, well because I’m so holy now, that doesn’t mean this one doesn’t exist.

If I was to walk in the flesh and brought forth all the works of the flesh, it doesn’t mean this one doesn’t exist. It’s just that, see, I’ve got a choice. I can walk in the flesh. I can walk in the Spirit. I can be godly or ungodly. I have sinful nature with sinful desires that God never changed and He did not take away. That’s why every Christian, every believer is capable of committing every sin in the book.

And at the same time, you are capable of loving God and doing right and wanting to please Him and witness and read His Word and go to church. And as soon as church is over with, you may get in a knockdown drag at with your wife before you ever get to the first restaurant. And you may want to strength while half the kids. that’s how you still got no sinful nature. So if you understand it, when he says, any man in Christ is a new creation.

Old things are passed away. This one here is not how God sees many more. See, I was a child of the flesh going to hell. Now I’m a child of God going to heaven. So God has given me a new position. I am now seen by God as in the spirit, my spiritual birth. He doesn’t see me here anymore, but I still have an ocean for nature. Now, I want you to look at this because years ago I influenced a man by the name of Jack Weaver.

I was a student at Florida Bible College and I needed a job. He was an exterminator. He at his own company. He was head of the Republican Party in South Florida. So he was pretty involved, but he had just trusted the Lord, and I go to work for him. And he had to defend me on the job or fire me. And so because he knew what I was doing was right, he went ahead and let me stay on the job and he just decided to go to Baba College.

So he went to Florida of the Bible college because he was trying to figure out how to help me, of course, but anyway. And later on he became a pastor. He was on the board of trustees at Florida Bible college and he started a church there in Pariah and Florida. Well, he’s seen some of the things that I have written that have been pylized on the websites and discussion boards. So he also did the same thing, but he got some flack and he wrote something, But it was a little longer than what I would like to have and said more things than what I thought I’d needed.

So I kind of edited some of the stuff that he had. And so it was written by Jack Weaver, but I edited it and put in some things that I thought would be appropriate. So I want you to look at the first page there. In a recent internet conversation with a gentleman, he insisted that a person who believes in Christ will have a change of behavior. And see, they get that from this verse. But if you have trusted Christ as Savior, there will be, definitely, there will be a change in your life.

So of course, if there will be, then of course you should look for it. And of course, if there isn’t, you should doubt that the person is in Christ. But see, they don’t understand the two natures and what it’s truly talking about. So they begin to look for evidences in a person’s life. And so you have people today that get out their magnifying glass and they become fruit inspectors, you know, trying to find some fruit in your life. And you say, well, I know she saved because, you know, blah, blah, blah.

Well somebody else saw them yesterday. Well, if there’s anybody I know that’s not saved a tight person, well, you don’t know them like I do. How would you like your eternal destination to depend upon somebody else’s opinion of whether you’re saved or not? I wouldn’t. He insisted that a believer, being indwelt with the Holy Spirit in their life, there will be change. Now either there will be or that doesn’t have to be. What should be doesn’t mean it must be.

See there’s a lot of scripts that’s talked about what we should do, but not that we must do them because God did not make us robots. He gave us a free will. If you believe there must be a change in people’s lives, if there’s anybody’s lives that you will question, usually it’s going to be the kids and the teenagers. Because you say, I took that little brat to school, all the church every day, that church was open, and you ought to see them now good night.

There is rebellious and into everything, and there’s no way they could be saved. Not so. That’s not true. Because, you see, you can trust Christ as your Savior. In some little kid in Sunday school encount or I want to trust Christ as their Savior. And you would never, by the way they act, think that they’re saved. But you see, just because they walk in the flesh and do all the works of the flesh doesn’t mean the new birth does not exist.

And just because somebody is living so right now, and holy and we took the most godliest person in this whole room. It doesn’t mean they don’t have a sinful nature, does it? Does living in the Spirit prove that this one doesn’t exist? No? Then why would living in this one prove? This one doesn’t exist. It doesn’t. It’s called this is a spiritual birth. You can’t see a spiritual birth. The only ones who knows who is really saved is God and you, if you believed.

Not even your wife, not even your husband, not even your kids can prove that you’re saved. Isn’t that true? You don’t really know if I am. We said, well, we know you’re saved because you’re the preacher. Yes, all preachers are saved. All preachers are so holy and godly. Why are you laughing? Because you don’t believe it. And you know I could be as lost as a hound dog on the end of a soup bone. And just because, well, I know the Bible.

I’m so holy. You know I’m saved. Or like some people say, well, you just don’t know my aunt Susie. If anybody’s going to heaven, she is because nobody lives like a Christian like she does. Well, I got news for you. Aunt Susie isn’t going to heaven because of how she lives. No one does. You either believe or you don’t believe. Now, look back here. I got a hunt just going to be very hard for me to get through this sermon today.

I’ve already taken longer on the opening statement. But I want you to look at this here at the next paragraph down, the third paragraph. Too often folks give their experience as a validation of their salvation. Let’s not get bogged down in experiences of change. But look, good Bible doctrine, experience will beg the question, how much change would satisfy God? If there has to be a change, how much change? See, then you open up a whole can of worms. So if my security has to come because of the evidence and the changes that I’ve had in my life, okay, how much change validates something.

for how long? Well, see, I used to smoke. Well, I gave it all up when now. So I know I’m saved now because I just quit my smoking. I know I’m saved because I just quit cussing. And that’s how you know? Why can’t I know that I’m saved because John 3 16 says for whosoever believeth? Well, I believe that. Well, how come I can’t know that I have eternal life because of that. Why can’t that be evidence that’s sufficient?

And still thinking it’s got to be something else and got to be more. I get approved by my life. Most Christians by their life do not prove that they’re saved but just the opposite if you had to go by their actions or attitudes. Don’t you think that Christians ought to be filled with joy? Are most Christians happy? Most ones I know are miserable. They’re always complaining about something down in the mouth about this. Never satisfied, never content. Wine and pine, mown and grown.

Now look at the next statement. Every Christian upon the first moment of believing is instantly indwelled, sealed and regenerated by God’s Holy Spirit. It happens all at one time. The very moment you believe you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise Ephesians chapter 1 verse 13, believers do not become robots by faith, but have the choice to obey or dissipate. Look up here. I have been born twice. Flesh, spirit. I am me. I am one person. I have two births.

Sinful, divine. I can obey this one. I can obey this one. I can be obedient. I can be disobedient. Are your child, can they be obedient or disobedient? Are you saying because they are obedient they’re never disobedient? And if they are disobedient that means they’re never obedient. No, they come and go, and sometimes they’re pleasing something. A man marries a woman, she’s perfect. She doesn’t do anything wrong. That’s because they’re not married yet. Then they get married. Then they know all the faults and the flaws, and that little angel has become a witch.

And you know what I’m telling you is the truth. So you had these two verses. If I, a man, obey God, He will bless my life. I’m not a robot. I can make the wrong decision. I can walk into flesh and perform and do all the things that are wrong and wicked because I see I have an old sinful nature. God didn’t do it with this one. It’s in my flesh. It’s in my body. When I got saved, God didn’t do it with my body.

I still got it. I told the person one time says, if you got out of the bed this morning and you looked in the mirror and you were ugly, and then you get saved, go back and look in the mirror. You’re still ugly. Not even a little worse. You’re a Christian now. I told somebody one time I said, why that smile off your face. You’re a Christian. Look at the next paragraph. Most churches to whom Paul wrote had some often many believers, addresses, brothers in Christ, brethren, who chose not to change and chose to be disobedient, the squintion, the Holy Spirit.

There’s a lot of scriptures talking to the churches about them doing the things that are wrong instead of doing the things that were right. Well, if it’s automatic, then why would you have to encourage anybody to do right? It’d be automatic. If when you got saved and the old man was eradicated, he’s no longer there. Now you you guys just knew birth, then why doesn’t every Christian just love the Lord and walk with God? They would all do all the right automatically.

Is that how you see it? Is that the way it’s being done? Then you wouldn’t have to have any of those letters written to the believers not to do this if this is no longer in existence. And yet you have a lot of preacher say, well, when you really get saved, you’re not going to want to do those bad things anymore. Oh, really? So every person in this room that trusts a Christ of Savior, you don’t have any bad desires anymore.

You never lose your cool. You never get upset, angry, filled with bitterness or jealousy or… Oh, really? And if a good looking blond bomb shall walk by, huh? What would you do? What would you You think, I don’t have any bad thoughts anymore. You’re lying as we’re moving right along. Look down here in the bowl where it has 1 Corinthians chapter 3, and I brethren could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal. Brethren means they’re saved, but I could not speak unto you as unto spiritual because they weren’t spiritual.

But as unto carnal means you were fleshly minded. In other words, Christians walking after the flesh. And the reason he says this is because you have envy and strife and divisions, are you not carnal and walk like a lost man? You mean a Christian can walk like a lost man? Look up here, a Christian can walk in the flesh. And if he walks in the flesh, means he will fulfill the desires of the flesh and therefore he’s living like a lost man.”

Well, wait a minute. That’s not supposed to be possible if, well, if you’re really saved, you’re not going to want to do that. But God’s Word says just the opposite. You can be saved and still desire the works of the flesh. God did not make you and I a robot. He didn’t take over our wills. He allows us to make choices. So as we read the Word of God, we see the folly, the vanity of the flesh. We see the purpose, the truth, the eternal values of walking with God, the peace, the joy, the happiness that we can have.

So I can make a choice. And so he says, be not deceived, God is not mocked. That whatsoever man soeth flesh. shall he also reap? So if you don’t want to reap the works of the flesh, don’t sow to the desires of the flesh. So you see, it’s because you have a choice. When the Bible says, be not deceived, God is not mocked. It means that you can’t walk in the flesh, commit the sin, and expect to get away with your heavenly Father beating a tar out of you.

And many of God’s children aren’t smart enough to figure this out. Have you ever had children? that seem like they never learn. Have you ever spanked them? And instead of this, yes, moment, I won’t do that anymore. See, I might be sitting down on the outside, but I’m still standing up on the inside. And some kids, it don’t matter what you do. There are rebellious as rebellion can be. Some of you are sitting right here today. that if I could talk to your mother and father, they would verify that I have just described your life.

Look at the next statement. Next paragraph down, among the believers in Corinth, there were contentions and strife. They were popped up. There was born occasion with one’s own father’s wife. Covedist, I dollar, they were wicked. Christians live in wicked lives. Paul didn’t say, hey, you’re lost. It’s a sign you’re not saved. it’s signed you’re walking in the flesh. If you produce the works of the flesh, that means that’s a sign that you’re walking in the flesh. That’s the evidence of it.

A lost man can walk in the flesh and a Christian can walk in the flesh so it doesn’t prove you’re saved or lost. It just proves you’re walking in the flesh. Look at the next statement, believers were constantly admonished by the apostle to walk in the spirit, be filled or controlled with the spirit, walk in good works, put on the new man, put on the whole armagorn. Those are choices that you make. Those are things God tells us to do because that’s what He wants us to do, but He also allows you to go the other way.

But understanding that there’s consequences to your bad decisions. If you will obey the Lord, God is under the authority of the Word because He’s lifted up His Word above His name and in God has to obey the Word. God has to fulfill his promises that he wrote. Therefore, I know that if I do what God says to God has to bless me. When I get to heaven, God has to reward me because he promised, he has to do it.

He gave his Word and God can’t lie. Therefore, if you’ll serve God, he says that the sufferings of this person’s time are not worthy to be compare with the glory which shall be revealed, it will be worth it all.” Look at the next statement. I put it in bold. They were guilty of such despicable behavior that Paul found it necessary to instruct them in how to behave. It was not automatic. There are 14 major problems in the Corinthian church and he had a deal with the problems and he says, you are yet carnal.

He’s fleshly minded. Brethren, you’re saved, but you’re not spiritual minded. I have fed you with milk and not with meat because you can’t understand it. You haven’t grown in, he says in Hebrews in chapter 5, for when the time you ought to be teachers, you have need that one teacher again which be the first principles of the oracles of God. In other words, what you ought to be doing, you’re not doing, so it wasn’t guaranteed. And you walk in the flesh which is not the will of God.

So it is the will of God, according to Ephesians 2, 8, 9, and 2, 10, when he says that you are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus in which God has before ordained that you should walk in them, ordained to walk in good works. But just because that is the will of God for my life to walk in good works, does that mean that I automatically am going to walk in good works because that’s the will of God? No, I can defy the will of God.

It is the will of God that every man believe on Jesus Christ. That doesn’t mean every man is going to do it because people defy God. They will not believe it. So God may want to bless your life, reward you when you get to heaven, but you defy God. You resist God. You don’t walk with him. You won’t serve him. Therefore when the day comes, when you’ll stand at the Judgement City of Christ, you may not get rewarded for things you could have been greatly rewarded.

And yet it be for all eternity. These are eternal rewards, not temporary rewards. So it will be eternally worth it. Look at the next statement. If you ever get a chance to, we don’t have time to go to Galatians in chapter 5 and verse 16, walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. So walking in the flesh is possible. You mean a Christian can walk into flesh? Yes. And if he walks into flesh, he produced the works of the flesh.

You mean like adultery and fornication? You mean like murder and witchcraft and hatred and variance and emulations and strife and seditions and heresies and all that. You can be guilty of all of those things and still be a believer. Should a believer walk into flesh though? No. Is that the will of God? It’s not the will of God that you do that. But God didn’t make us robots. Even after He saved us, He wants us to voluntarily choose to serve Him.

I made up my mind years ago. Yeah, I got no sinful nature. My sinful nature is just as bad as yours. Yours is just as bad as everybody else’s. Yours isn’t worse than somebody else’s. Everybody’s sinful nature is bad. But everyone’s desire of the new nature is all the same too. My new birth is just like your new birth. It’s just as holy and God as yours. But you and I have choices to make. I decided that if I walk with God, then I know God’s gonna bless me.

And I’d rather have a peaceful, happy life than one that’s all torn up all the time. I had somebody tell me one time says, I don’t see anything wrong with just taking a sociable drink once in a while. Is that ain’t going to hurt anybody? Yeah, go and skid row. I’ve been in the rescue missions. A lot of them. I mean, I wasn’t there because I had to be there. It’s just I went to reach other people that were already there.

I want to make sure you understood that. But I’ve seen some people take a social drink and the more they drink, the more sociable they got. And I came to the conclusion, I’ll never be a drunk. If I never take a drink. You’ll never run the risk of being a drunk. You say, what’s a drunk? The day they call it alcohol. It’s a drunkard in the Bible. You will never be a drunk if you never take a drink. And you’ll never set a bad example in front of anybody if you don’t take a drink.

You may say, well, it can drink and it don’t bother me. You might bother those kids that follow your example and don’t stop. My daddy was a bootleg. If you don’t think I know anything about alcohol and drinking and white lightning, I know just a little bit. My momma used to haul the stuff. She used to take the corn mash off the top of it and feed it to us kids. It was a long time before I could walk straight.

Look, I have never yet had to wake up with a hangover. You say, you missed out. You ain’t got to have missed out. Oh, an embalment all over the place. Yeah, I’ve never done that. Boy, have I really missed out. 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, and this book is offered to you as a gift for your donation 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.