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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 concluding message of this teaching will be a blessing to you and your family.

But here in Galatians in chapter 4, look in verse 4, four, but when the fullness of time was come. In other words, God says the time is coming and the time came right on schedule. Now get this. In the Old Testament, the last book is Malachi. Four hundred years later, all these four hundred years God never spoke, Israel, no prophets. And the Bible says in the book of Malachi, and it says, suddenly he shall come to his temple. 400 years past, nothing.

Rome has now conquered Israel and they’re from servient to them. And you have John the Baptist comes on the scene and he was the forerunner of Christ and he went around telling, hey, he’s coming, he’s coming, he’s coming, get ready, he’s coming, he’s coming.” And Jesus was coming. So he was born right after John the Baptist. And next thing you know, Jesus lived for 30 years and he was a carpenter’s son. But Joseph was not his real father. And then next thing you know, Jesus comes on the scene.

He goes to see John and John’s baptized in telling people about the baptism of repentance, that if they believed the message that he preached about the one that was coming Christ, they were to be baptized in water because they believed that he was coming to pay for their sins. And that’s why when Jesus did show up, he says, behold, the Lamb of God, which take it the way the sin of the world, that part of his message. That was at the beginning of Christ’s ministry, not the end of it.

So John the Baptist, that was baptizing. Water baptism does not wash away He’s sinned. It doesn’t even wash away dirt if you don’t use soap with it. So it doesn’t wash away your sins, but if they believe the message that He preached, and that was, you must believe on Jesus Christ. You must trust Him. Because in Acts chapter 19, that is explained. But look what he says here. God sent forth His Son. That means His Son existed before this.

he was born in a manger, the Son already exists. He sent forth his Son that was with him. How can God the Father be an everlasting Father without an everlasting Son? Most people never think about that. So that means that the Son had to be in existence from the very beginning of time or eternity. And that means no beginning. This is why in the book of Micah chapter 5 and verse 2 it says, but thou Bethlehem Ephraeth thou thou be little among the thousands of Judea, yet out of thee shall he come forth, that is to be ruler in Israel, who’s going forth have been from old from everlasting.

The one that’s going to be born in Bethlehem has always been and will always be. So God sent forth His Son and His Son came right on schedule. And notice what the next part says. It was His Son made of a woman. So here’s a woman that God had used to bring His Son into the world. And that child, the Bible says in the book, the look was a holy thing. He didn’t have a sinful nature like we do.

Remember last Sunday we had all the children sitting down here? And they were so precious, but I mentioned this I said, when Jesus coming to the world, he was prophesied, he was promised. He was precious, but he was perfect. Now these children are precious but not a one of them is perfect except my grandkids. But only one was perfect and that was Jesus Christ the Son of God. Now turning to Bible to the book of Romans in chapter 1.

Romans chapter 1, just to kind of give you this idea because it’s so important we talk about the resurrection of Christ. Christ, and Christ was God. All right, well, He couldn’t be resurrected if He hadn’t been buried. And He wouldn’t have been buried if He hadn’t died. And He wouldn’t have died if He hadn’t taken our sins. But He did. And the only reason He could take our sins is because He was perfect and had none of His own.

So He had to be as prophesied in Scripture, born of the flesh, of the line of David prophesied because he’s to be the king in Israel he has to be of the line of David. So look there in verse 3. Let’s just look in verse 2, which he had promised to form by his prophets in the holy scriptures. In verse 3 concerning his Son, Jesus Christ, concerning his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead.

So we’re not talking about just some body’s little baby was born. Now this was a unique child. This was the son of God, prophesied in the Old Testament that he would come, and that according to the scriptures, all the types of the lambs and the sheep and the goats and the bulls, the calves that were all sacrificed throughout those 1500 years. Well, they were only a type of the Lamb that God was going to sin. They were sacrifices that were made for the sins of the people.

So instead of God killing the people because of their disobedient, God killed an innocent animal and they were a covering, a torment, but it was a covering. didn’t please God, but it appeased his anger so that whenever this lamb took all the sins of all the world, God was able to pour out all of his anger, all of his wrath upon his son. And you wonder why did he do that? Well, because God wanted to demonstrate to us that He really does love us.

How much does God love you? Enough that He would die for you. That’s love. He would die for me. Now let’s say for example, I’ve been alive now for over 72 years. Now, if I was 20 years old, and let’s say for example, we take Lynn back there. And Lynn got caught stealing, so they were going to head him up in front of a firing squad and just shoot him. Now let’s say Lynn was a pretty good guy, and here I am.

And I don’t even know this man, but he was a pretty good guy. That’s what they tell me, except he just messed up. Would I be willing to take his place and die in his place? I mean just to let myself die and all that I’ve done since then and all my endurance I’m gonna give all of that up. So that Lynn could live, and he doesn’t deserve it. I do. Why should I give up my life for Lynn?

You see, because you love him. No, I don’t. Am I gonna die in his place? No, I won’t. Now, when people go into battle to serve their country, they volunteer as a, you know, go to boot camp and get some training, and then they ship them off to some country, and he has to. to be willing to die for his country. That means I want my country to live and I’m going to sacrifice my life. That means that I may not get married, I won’t have any kids, I won’t give or get rich, I’ll never have any dreams fulfilled, I’m really give all of that up so that y’all can live.

Now, when those young guys go into battle or go into the service, they probably never really think about that. They think about, well, I get three meals a day. I’ll make a little money when I get out, I get a GI bill. And then if I stay long enough, I can retire. No, whatever. You’re not coming home. You’re going to die. I want out. And you stop and think how many people have given up their lives so other people can Now, if you gave up your life, wouldn’t you want people to at least do something that made it worthwhile?

If you threw away your life because somebody else gave up their life so that you could live, wouldn’t it be a shame for you to mess up your life and somebody that could have done something, lost his, gave it up so that you could live your life? All We were not good people. God says there’s none good. We weren’t righteous. God says there’s none right. We’re sinners. We deserve to die and He died for us. Now, what should be our manner of thought when He says this, for the love of Christ constraineth us means to motivate us.

For the love of Christ constraineth us because we thus judge that if one died for all, and that he died for all, and that they which live out of all that he died for, then we should live for the one who died for them and rose again. So now that I have got my life given to me, should I live my life for the one who died for me? you can’t make me serve God. Nobody can. Nobody can make you serve God.

They can’t make you do right. They can make you suffer consequences, but they can’t make you do right. So what is that in your being that’s going to compel you to serve God when you don’t have to? See, I’m going to heaven because of what he did for me. I’m not going to heaven because of what I do for him. There’s nothing that I can do for him that will get me to heaven. All I had to do was believe that when he died, he did that for me and he gave me that death payment as though now in eyes of God I paid for all of my sins and I’m going to heaven because of what he did for me.

That’s why this is such a good thing. I want you to look there in the book of Acts. Look in the book of Acts chapter 2. The book of Acts in chapter 2. After the resurrection of Christ from the dead, Peter is preaching on the day of Pentecost. You mean you know the one that denied him three times. Now he is very vocal, not afraid. So he says in verse 22, he says, He men of Israel hear these words.

Jesus of Nazareth, a man, a man. Jesus literally lived. They saw him, they walked with him, they talked with him, they saw him crucified. They saw him after his resurrection. They were convinced. You men of Israel, here these words, Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs which God did by Him in the midst of you all, as ye yourselves also know in other words, you knew this. You knew this. Verse 23, Him, been delivered by the determinant counsel and foreknowledge of God, God delivered His Son to the world.

God delivered him. And he delivered him over to the people that did all the wrong to him. But it still did not eliminate what they did to him. What they did to Christ was still wrong. It was still sin. Because he says, by wicked hands you have taken and slain him. See what he says? Him being delivered by the determinant counsel and foreknowledge of God. Yee have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and And he was saying, you did that.

He presented his son a perfect lamb who did no wrong to nobody. He did not deserve to die, but you had him crucified. And God took all the sins of the world and placed it upon his son. Now, this is also important to see. You see there in verse 29, men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David that he is both dead and buried and his seperica is with us unto this day. David died thousand years before ahead of this and his seperica is here.

His body is still there, therefore being a prophet, David was a prophet, knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh,” Yerah, on the line, according to the flesh. David lived a thousand years before, and God swore that David, you’re going to have a son from your loins of the flesh. That’s going to be the Son of God. He says, he would raise up the Messiah to sit on his throne.

God promised David that. So did David know about Christ? He says so. Did he know he was going to be the Messiah? He knew that. Now he didn’t know exactly when, how far down the road. God didn’t tell everything but it’s revealed that God told him that through your line a child will be born. And he says in verse 30, he would raise up Christ who said on his throne, as he even verse 31, he seen this before, spake of the resurrection of Christ that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh, his body, did seek corruption.

So his body was raised from the dead on the third day. They say corruption steps on the fourth day. I don’t know, I really don’t wanna find out. I don’t even wanna experience it. It’s all right. So the Bible tells us about the Christmas story, about Christ coming into the world and a number of other places than just Matthew and the book of Luke. Take your Bible and look there in the book of Acts in chapter 26. Chapter 26, chapter 26, the Apostle Paul is talking to King Agrippa, King Agrippa.

He’s telling him about the vision that he had, how that God appeared to him and says, I’ve got some things that I want you to do and I’m going to show you what great things you’re going to have to suffer for my namesake. And so he says, I have not been disobedient unto this heavenly vision. That’s up there in verse 19. So he says, Oh, King of grip, I have not been disobedient to this heavenly vision. God from heaven told me something, told me what to do.

And so that’s what I’m doing and that’s why I’m here today. And I’ll notice what he says there in verse 22. Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great. You know what I like about that? Where he says, I continue unto this day, By the help of God, I continue until this day. After I trusted Christ as my Savior, only by the grace of God and by the help of God, I can say I have continued until this day.

Now this may be my last day, but this is my day. I’m still here so far and so are you. We don’t know how much time God’s given us, but to continue, to continue doing what? Look what he says. Continue unto this day, building big churches, being famous, making a lot of money, running for the presidency. What did he say he’s doing all this time God’s giving him to him? Witnessing. Both to the small and to the great. Sometimes people say, well, you know, if God ever lets me witness to somebody great, man, I’ll do it.

Now, if you can’t witness to a little child that you’ve never met before, a little snotty-nosed kid, rebellious, you can’t witness to a little child or some teenager that you don’t know, you’re not going to witness somebody great. Because aren’t they just as important as the big shot? Every person is important in the eyes of God, small and great in the eyes of the world, witness to all kinds. This is a tremendous salvation verse. Why does he do this?

So he says here in middle part of verse 22 saying none other thing than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come. What I’m talking about, Paul says is what the prophets, what Moses talked about. They talked about Christ. So then he says in verse 23 that get this what he’s talking about. That Christ should suffer. Who said that? The Old Testament prophets. In the Old Testament you can go back and you can find these scriptures and it says he is coming and when he comes he’s gonna suffer.

And then he says here that should rise from the dead should show light unto the people and to the Gentiles. This is why all that happened. Jesus wasn’t born just so everybody can just swap presents at Christmas time and talk about his birth. Did you know somebody asked me not long ago if I you know why I didn’t mention anything about you know the day when Pearl harbor was bombed. I really don’t care to celebrate when Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.

That’s not a happy day to me. I think you ought to think more about, you know, when it declared, I celebrate when they dropped the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and ended the war. But there’s nothing in the Bible that says to celebrate Christmas, the day when Jesus was born. But I don’t mind having a day that set aside to honor him who came into the world and I really don’t care when he came. I don’t care if it was October, December, or maybe when the little lambs are born in the springtime and he was a little lamb.

I really don’t care when he was born. I am just concerned he was born and that he did live and that he died. Now we know more about his resurrection because we even know the month and we know pretty much the day. We know he came back again from the dead and the first day of the week. So here we are. I think we are on, not just think about the babe that was born, but the one that died on that cross came back from the dead.

It’s the same person. Look at me, people talk about Christmas and there is no Christ in their Christmas. My whole life is built around Christ. He is my life. I know Him and I love Him. And that in verse 27, King O’Grippa said, believe us, thou the prophets. I know thou believe us that you knew He was coming. You knew the Messiah was coming. Now, rather He knew and believed this was the Messiah. I don’t know. And he says, almost thou persuade us me to be a Christian.

Almost you persuaded me. Paul says in verse 29, I would to God that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day were both almost and altogether such as I am except these bonds. I’m a prisoner. He was a prisoner for the Lord. And all he wanted to do was go hither and dither and witness to small and great because he had received from the Lord a heavenly vision. This is Christmas. This is understanding what Christ coming into the world is all about.

At Christmas time, yes, we love to get gifts and give gifts, but it’s really about God given to the world the greatest gift of all, the gift of His Son. Now would it be a shame for you to reject the gift of eternal life, which is the desire of all nations to live forever in a perfect place, perfect joy, perfect peace, and yet to reject that. What if you spend a lot of money on a special gift for your wife or your husband or your kids or grandkids and they don’t want it?

They don’t want it. But sometimes people don’t understand when they reject Christ. They’re rejecting the gift of eternal life, because you can only get it through Him. No one else. That’s why it’s such a wonderful thing to know. It’s such a wonderful thing to share. Look up here. This hand represents you and me and this wall that represents sin, we all have sin on us. God loves us. Now he hates what we do wrong, call sins, and we’re all guilty, and we’re all going to have to pay the penalty of death.

eternal separation from God. But see, God loves us. He wants us to live with Him in heaven for all eternity. But to go to heaven, say we have to be perfect, and none of us are perfect. We’re not good to go. Because we are sinners, sinners can’t get in. So I got a debt to pay. And the only payment is eternal separation from God, which will never be paid. It’s eternal separation. Some people think they have to do all these good works.

If they do these good works, they’ll cover their sins. If they’re good, outways are bad, they’ll get in. But if they’re bad, outways are good, then they go down. You ever heard that? But see, that’s not what the Bible teaches. The Bible says you cannot save yourself. You can’t even help. This hand represents Jesus Christ. He’s the Lord God in the flesh. Came into the world because He loves us. Hates our sin because our sin separates us from God.

So God sent his son into the world, not just to stay a baby. Some people still worship the babe in the manger and they forget about the man on the cross. He’s not even there anymore. You see, he was taken off the cross, placed into the tomb and came back again from the dead. He had paid for our sins. All we have to do is believe that he did it for us and God would put this payment to our account and we go to heaven on what Jesus Christ did for us.

That’s the best news in the world. No tricks to that. Let’s pray, shall we? With every head bowed and every eye closed and no one looking around. If you’ve never trusted Christ as your Savior, why don’t you trust Him right now? So maybe you didn’t understand it all. But friend, you don’t have to understand everything, but you do understand that we’re sinners. We’ve done things wrong. We can’t save ourselves. Will you believe that when Christ came into the world, will you believe that He died to pay for your sins?

And if you’ll believe that, and trust Him to take you to heaven, God will give you the free gift of everlasting life. Would you trust Him? If you’re making that decision right now, and you’ve never done it before, so yes, that makes sense to me. And right now, I will trust Christ as my Savior and preach, I’d like you to pray for me. Would you just slip your hand very quickly and put it right back down? anywhere at all.

Just slip it up real quickly and put it right back down. Do anywhere at all. If you have trust in Christ as your Savior, your God’s child, you have eternal life, you’ll get to go to heaven whenever you die. But there’s a lot of people who’ve never heard this. Explain it to others. Make sure your family knows and understands this. You know, your grandkids, your kids, your aunts and uncles. And you know, if everybody just reached their family, we’d reach the world.

Father, we thank you so much for this time together. Bless each one. And we are thankful for the story of Christmas of God sending his son into the world so that we can have the free gift of everlasting life. We thank you for the Christ’s name. Well it’s almost Christmas and we’d like to give every listener a Christmas gift. Just for listening we’d like to send Dr. Arnold CD on understanding difficult passages of the Bible. No donation is required.

compiled on CD, Dr. Arnold’s teachings on difficult passages. For example, does James chapter 2 teach that true faith will produce works? Does 2 Corinthians 5 17 mean that a true believer will no longer desire to sin? These and many other verses are explained in their biblical context so that you can have confidence in the agreement of all the Word of God. Call us today toll free at 1-800-576-3771 or you can write us at 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634.

Again, no donation is necessary, just your address, so that we can send to you this important teaching. God bless you and Merry Christmas, and thank you for listening to 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.

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.