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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.

So anyway, I want you to take your Bible and turn to the book of Romans, the book of Romans. the book of Romans in chapter 3. The Bible makes a statement here in Romans chapter 3 and verse 10. You’ve seen this verse probably nine to a hundred times maybe a thousand but it says in verse 10 as it is written there is none righteous no, not one. Now if there is none righteous, then who are the righteous? Doesn’t the Bible say that there are some that are righteous and there are some that are not righteous?

You remember the illustration used back there in the Old Testament? When he was talking about Abraham and Lot, he says if there’s 50 righteous there, fifty righteous. And of course you know that he went down to forty, and then the thirty. How low did he go? He went all the way down to ten. Ten righteous. But now if he’s talking about ten righteous, righteous what? Are you talking about ten people that were living right or could it be something else?

What was it looking for? Ten righteous. You mean there weren’t ten people living right or there’s ten people that are righteous in their that they have trusted Christ as their Savior, they believed in the Lord and they trusted Him for for their salvation. When he says that Lot was just, and he says that just Lot, now we know that when they came out of Sodom and Gomorrah, it wasn’t just Lot that came out because his wife came out, the two daughters came out.

So just Lot just must mean something about him, the way he was living, but it’s a classification that determines something else. What does it mean when he says just a lot? Does it mean and refer to that lot was a justified man? Justified? And if he’s justified, then God can declare him righteous. Just as if he had never sin. Okay? Sounds good. So could it be that the righteousness is a declared position? You are righteous. And that righteousness is not a result of your obedience, but because of your faith.

So when he makes the statement here in verse 10, as it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one. Then in verse 23, for all have sinned, then how can you have anybody righteous? If there is none righteous, then there can be nobody that’s righteous. Unless we’re talking about a righteousness that is imputed to a person, and therefore then they are declared righteous and then they are righteous in God’s eyes. So take your Bible look in Isaiah chapter 61, the book of Isaiah in chapter 61.

Isaiah 61 and you’ll notice that There are several things that the Lord mentions here. And he’s talking about, I believe, the righteousness of the Lord. You see, there in Isaiah 61, look in verse 1, The spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord had the nor’ed me to preach good tidings, the good news unto the me. He had sent me to bind up the brokenhearted to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.

And then when you read in the New Testament, the book of Matthew, when the disciples of John, the Baptist came to him and he says, you go and tell them that the poor have the gospel preached unto them. So it also includes not only these things, but also the preaching of the gospel, which is the proclamation that sets people at liberty and gives them freedom. Look there in Isaiah in chapter 59, looking at Isaiah 59. And you’ll notice there in verse 2 as a declaration concerning you and I, but your iniquities have separated between you and your God.

Now you know whenever we do the little wall of illustration, look up here. This is you and me and this is sin and we all have sin. This is Christ and He has no sin. But our sin separates us from the Lord. Well, that’s this verse. Have separated between you and your God and your sins have hid his face from you that he will not hear you because we’re sinful. We are unrighteous. So what Christ did is he came into the world and he was righteous.

And that’s why in Isaiah 53 says, my righteous servant. Now he was not righteous because of he got those good deeds. No, he did those good things because he was righteous. He came righteous. God did not have to declare him, thou art now righteous. No, he was righteous. But look what he says in verse 16 of 59, now he’s at 59, verse 16. And he saw that there was no man and wondered that there was no intercessor. Therefore his arm, price, brought salvation unto him.

And his righteousness, sustained him. For he put on righteousness as a breastplate. Now it’s talking about Christ who was righteous and in the book of Romans in chapter 3 it says, and the righteousness of God hath been revealed without the law being promised. So Jesus Christ is the righteousness of God, came into the world and he, when we trust him, becomes our righteousness. Now look what he also says here in Isaiah 61 and look down in verse 10. I was at 61 verse 10, I will greatly rejoice in the Lord.

My soul shall be joyful in my God, and you ought to underline this, for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation. He had covered me with the robe of righteousness. Now in contact is talking about Christ, His righteousness, how sinful we are. We are separated from God, but He has given to us the robe of righteousness. So if I had on His robe of righteousness, God would see not me, but the righteousness of Christ. Now I know that you know that there’s a couple verses in the New Testament, it says a little bit about that.

So turn all the way over to the book of 2 Corinthians and chapter 5, 2 Corinthians and chapter 5. Chapter 5 and look there in verse 18, because once you trust Christ as your Savior. Verse 17 tells you that once you are in Christ, you are a new creation. This new creation is where God gives to you His righteousness. He declares you justified. You are righteous in the eyes of God because the payment Christ made was put to your account.

And so when you believe that, you are then just with God. And then he says here in verse 18, and all things are of God who have reconciled us to himself, now before in Isaiah, it says that our sins have separated us. Because we were enemies of God. Now he’s talking about we have been reconciled to God. Well then what happens to our sin that we’re separating us? Anybody got any clue? Christ took all our sins, paid for them on the cross, so that He might bring us to God.

In the book of 2 Corinthians and chapter 3, verse 18, that Christ was crucified that He might bring us to God, quickened by the Spirit. Now look what He says in verse 19. to wit that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them.” Now, understand that powerful part of this verse, not imputing their trespasses unto them. In other words, I have transgressed, I’ve overstepped a boundary, I have broken the law, but my sins are not imputed to me.

what happened to them? He put them to Christ’s account. And so therefore our sins were placed on Him. And then on top of that, not only saving us, giving us eternal life, we have become ambassadors for Christ. And then the last part of that verse says, and have committed unto us the ministry of reconciliation. In other words, God wants there to be peace between us in Him, but we couldn’t do anything about it because it was a sin problem.

So since we couldn’t do anything about the sin problem, He did. And that’s why Christ came, died, paid for our sins so that you and I could be joined together with the Lord for all eternity, never to be severed. And then notice what he says here. In verse 20, now we are ambassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ’s dead. Be reconciled to God. For he hath made him Christ to be sinned for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God and him.

So the righteousness of God, he gives us his righteousness and he has our sins. He paid for our sins before we ever believed it, before we ever received forgiveness or his righteousness. That’s because of what Christ did on the cross for us now. Take your Bible and turn to the book of Philippians in chapter 3. Philippians chapter 3. They’re simple verses, verses we know, but they’re verses we never forget, because this shows you who we are. We are saints in the Lord.

We have been declared righteous. We are justified just as if I had never sinned. I don’t see anything wrong with that. But here in Philippians in chapter 3, look there in verse 9, and be found in Him not having mine own righteousness. So whenever He says there is none righteous, no not one, then man’s righteousness, according Isaiah 6 to 4, 6, says filthy rags. So we’ve all come short of God’s perfection and no man can save himself. So he says, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, which means it’s by your works.

As a result of what you do, do not be found trusting in your works as a means of salvation. Then he says this, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. So God says that He has His righteousness that He will give to us by faith, faith alone. Now if that’s true, that means there is a by works righteousness and a by faith righteousness. By faith righteousness is a righteousness that God gives to us when we put our faith in Christ.

Make sense. Go back to the book of Romans in chapter 4. Romans in chapter 4. Now in many places in Scripture it says about not by works of righteousness which we have done. It’s not of works lest any man should boast. So we know that. But just like he will not impute our sins unto us. He imputed those, put those to Christ’s account. And therefore he died in our place. Now look there in the book of Romans in chapter 4.

And notice what he says here in verse 5. But to him that worketh not, but believeeth on him that justifyeth the ungodly. So the ungodly needs to be justified. His faith is counted for righteousness. In other words, God gives his righteousness to the person that has faith without words. Because if the man is trusting in his works, then he cannot have God’s righteousness put to his account. God only puts his righteousness to the person that has the faith that what Christ did was for him.

So when you believe that, then yes, you have imputed righteousness. See there in verse six, even as David also described the blessedness of the man, I’ll get this, under whom God imputed righteousness without works. So we know that man’s works will not work. We talked about this last Wednesday night on what is the work of God. The work of God is Him imputing His righteousness to mankind. God doesn’t want the work of man. God wants the work of God.

He wants us to accept what He did instead of Him trying to accept what we’ve done. Our works are no good. So a man cannot save himself and just think of how many people there are that are trusting in their own works for salvation. And they’re ignorant of what they’re doing. Some of them cannot see it, they are so blind. But just like Paul says, Brother, my heart’s desire and prayer for God is for Israel is that they might be saved.

For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they’ve been ignorant of the righteousness of Christ, going about to establish their own righteousness have not submitted themselves until the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness. He’s the end. If you have Christ, You can forget the law. You don’t have to earn it. You don’t have to work for you don’t have to buy it. But if a person is still trying to earn it and trying to buy it, they don’t get it yet.

So if you’re still trying to be righteous, that means you’re not righteous. If you’re seeking to be justified, it means you’re not yet justified. If you’re seeking to be saved, it means you are not yet saved. So I’m not seeking to be saved because I already am. I’m not seeking eternal life because I already have it. I’m not seeking to be justified or declared right. I already have been. It’s been done once and for all. Now he makes a statement here in that verse 6, unto whom God impuges righteousness without works.

And then look what he says in verse 8, Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. What man is that? the man that by faith believes on the Lord. God will not imp ingred his sins to him. That means even after you are saved, your sins that you commit after your safe cannot be imputed to you. But to Christ, I try to explain some people this way.

Because we know that, well, first John 1-9, we said, well, that’s to the believer. And so first John is talking about your walk with the Lord. And so why do I have to ask God’s forgiveness is see if he’s already forgiven me of all my sins. And as it says in the book of Acts in chapter 13, 38 and 39, but this man after, you know, once we believe on him, we have forgiveness in Christ. And so therefore, if I’m justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

Why do I have to do in my life as a Christian confess my sins? Well, I look at two ways. Now I can sin against Al, then I can sin against Peter of God. I can sin against all of you. But if I sin against Randy, I don’t have to go to Al about it. I should go to Randy and say, Randy, I wronged you. I’m sorry will you forgive me and they’ll say no I won’t. Yeah you will.

So whenever God as creator, God as judge, when I trusted Him as my Savior, He’s the one who justified me. And that’s why it says it is God who justified you. Christ who died for me, the Holy Spirit who interceded Romans chapter 8. Therefore, I’ll show you that with him also freely give us all things. So he forgave me as the judge. I’ve been declared righteous, justified. All sin forgiven. The penalty, penalty of my sin is taken care of.

As a Christian and I sin, my sins are now as a child with a father. So now I don’t look at God as the Creator. I look at Him as my Father. And as my Father, as a child of God when I sin against my Father, I confess my sin to my Father. This is not to take care of the penalty of sin. That’s already been declared righteous, done deal, it’s over. But as a child of God, I want to keep things clean between me and my heavenly Father because he’s talking about if we say that we walk in the light and we don’t, then he says you’re lying to yourself.

You’re deceiving yourself. So when you do sin, and that’s why in chapter two of 1 John, If we sin we have an advocate with a father, which means I’ve got me a perimason. He never lost a case. I got the Lord Jesus Christ, who was my lawyer, who interceded on my behalf. And I can be forgiven as the child of God, what I’ve done as a child, so that I can keep things clean between me and my Heavenly Father.

So 1 John 1, 9 is to the believer. If we, God’s children, confess our sins because he’s talking about my brethren. I write these things under you that your joy may be full. This is so that you can have peace and joy in this life. And so when you mess up you can confess that to your heavenly Father and he forgives you as your Father. But you see when you’re a lost man he’s not not your father. He is the judge.

And he says, when it’s appointed that every man wants to die and after this, what? The judgment. So you’re dealing with him as a judge. It’s the one that can cast you into hell after I’m saved. My heavenly Father can’t cast me into hell. He can never cast me out. He can never lose me. That’s some of the best things that you can never know. Now take your Bible and turn all the way over to the book of 2 Peter, 2 Peter, 2 Peter, and look there in chapter 2.

And you’ll notice these words that are used here in these verses, and they mean something. When you understand what it means to be justified, It means that you’re equal with the Father in the sense that He finds no fault in you. You’re just. How can a man be justified with God? Where God finds no fault in me? Well His Son Jesus Christ has clothed me with the cloak of righteousness. I got on His robe of righteousness. So when the Father looks at me, He sees the blood of the Son.

And therefore I’m clear. God has declared me righteous. And of course we understand the new birth and it’s perfect and all that. It just all goes together. And it’s some mighty good news. Now look what he says here in 2nd Peter chapter 2. Look what he says in verse 6. Now the world came yet upon the flood upon the ungodly. So ungodly means not like God. If a man is living a godly life, it’s living like God. Like God, not like God.

And so he says here in verse 6, and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow them, making them an example under those that after she lived ungodly. And delivered, see those words, just lot, means that lot was a justified man. He was living in a sinful place with wicked people. That’s in his, and the Bible calls it, righteous soul from day on to day. And if it’ll do that to him because of what he saw and what he heard, it can do the same thing to you if you watch Pornograph.

Material. Things that you ought not watch. Pornography, it is wrong and is wicked. And it can take and vex your righteous soul. So, can Christians hear the wrong things? Watch the wrong things? Yes, they can. And does that mean you’re not saved? No, it doesn’t mean you’re not saved. It just means that you’re going to vex your righteous soul. In other words, it’s going to put a heaviness upon you. You know that it’s wrong and you’re not going to be a blessing.

You’re not going to think as clearly as you ought to because God tells us how to think and we won’t be thinking the right way. So he makes a statement here in verse seven and delivered just a lot vexed with the filthy behavior of the wicked. And verse eight, for that righteous man. So whenever God was talking with Abraham and Abraham says, Lord, if there’s 50 righteous men. It’s not because they were living a righteous life. It was because they have a standing with God that they are righteous.

They’ve had imputed righteousness given to them. Every one of us in this room who has trusted Christ’s Savior, God has imputed his righteousness to us. Therefore in God’s eyes you are a righteous man, though you may not be living a righteous life. You are a justified man, though you may not be living as though you are justified. Because in the eyes of people, in the eyes of God, you may not be living according to the position that you have in Christ.

You are a child of God, but you may not be living as a child of God. Sometimes instead of always telling a Christian what they ought to do, it is good for them sometimes to understand how God can chasten for disobedience. It would always be nice to talk about if you obey the Lord, get this, obey the Lord, get this, obey the Lord, get this. You have it I don’t want to, But then you need to understand what it can cost you because of your disobedience.

I think children ought to know if I don’t obey my mom and daddy, they’d love her to beat the Torah out of me. Now it’s good. Honey, if you do this, I’ll let you have some ice cream and I’ll let you go out with the kids in play and I’ll let you do this. Okay, but what if they don’t? What’s the consequences? a man be a righteous man declared righteous in the eyes of God be justified just as if he’s never sent in the eyes of God and yet be totally rebellious to the Lord and still be his child still be just still going to heaven but is he going to get the chasing hand of God?

Yes. So no to what he says here in verse eight, for that righteous man dwelling among them in seeing and hearing. What he saw wasn’t good, what he heard wasn’t good. So these are two gates, the eye gate and the ear gate that convex your righteous soul and he makes this statement here. From day to day with her unlawfully the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of the temptation. So he’s still considered a lot as a Godly man in that he was like God in his righteousness, in his justification, but perhaps not in his manner of life.

You have been listening to another great message from Dr. Arnold, and we hope that Bible line is a blessing to you. In appreciation for your support of this ministry, we’d like to send to you a gift. During this month, for a gift in any amount, we’re going to send the Bible promise book. It is a book that organizes verses of the Bible by topic. For example, if you wanted to know of verses that address humility, or forgiveness, or obedience, you would simply find that topic in the table of contents, go to the chapter listed, and there you would find the verses that address that topic.

It’s a wonderful study guide and resource for your own devotions, as well as for lesson preparation, and we’ll send it to you for a gift in any amount for this month. mailing address is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634, and don’t forget to include your mailing address as well. God bless you and thank you again for supporting Bibleline. 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 4081 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. Cut up to meet the Lord in the air. So live today and every day. Believe in that the Lord is coming soon. Just keep looking up.