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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.

Turn in your Bible to the book of 1st Corinthians, Chapter 15. Corinthians in chapter 15. There’s a little bit of insight here on explaining what we call the two natures. As you know, I try to at least once every year, sometimes twice, of covering the two natures because I believe it is something that every child of God needs to know that it is true, that it’s in the Bible, and that it’s something that will help you in your Christian life, to know why you do what you do.

It helps you to be able to explain to people how to explain it. Now I want you to pitch over here, we have a man standing here and his name is Adam. And over here we have a man, and his name is Adam. But this is the first Adam, and this is the second Adam. So there’s two Adams. But look what Christ says here in the first Corinthians in chapter 15. I want you to look there in verse 21.

For since by man the first Adam came death by man, the 2nd Adam, Christ, came also the resurrection of the dead. Verse 22, for as in Adam all die the first Adam. Even so in Christ the 2nd Adam shall all be made alive, two men. Believe it or not these are the two federal heads. There’s only, if you look up on it, as two people that’s ever come into the world. If you understand how it breaks down, it will help you to understand what’s going on in the world, what goes on in your own individual life.

In the beginning God took the dust of the earth and formed it into a body, breathed into his nastles the breath of life and man became a living soul. Well the Bible says the first atom was a living soul but the second atom was a quickening spirit. Now we have a body that God made, but in this body God put a soul and a spirit. But because of sin, man was spiritually dead, I mean he was severed from the spiritual life of God.

Though man still has the body, he has a soul, he has a spirit, but he’s spiritually separated from God. So the first Adam, it need to understand just a little bit. So look in verse 45, same chapter. And so it is written, the first man Adam was made a living soul. The last Adam, which is Christ, was made a quickening spirit. One we die, the one makes alive. So over here we have Adam. So when we were born into the world, we bore the image of the first Adam.

We have a physical birth, we had a soul, and we have a broken down spirit severed from God, spiritually dead, but that’s where we are. So because this was Adam, every person who comes from Adam, the whole human race, are no better, no worse than Adam. They got the sinful nature because of Adam. We’re all in Adam and because we’re all in Adam, We all sin and we all die. That is our position. That’s how God sees us. So all of mankind, all of humanity is seen in Adam.

Now over here we have the second Adam. The second Adam is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was born into this world. He had a body just like he had a body. He has a soul just like he has a soul. But he has a perfect spirit spiritually alive. and he is a quickening spirit. He gives life, but he gives eternal life. So all of those individuals in the whole world that were born of this first Adam, whosoever they may be, if they will believe that Jesus Christ pay for all of their sins, he gives them a new birth.

And now they are found in Christ, in the second Adam. They are made spiritually alive because He has no sinful nature. We have no sinful nature, those who are born again in Christ. That’s the new birth. So what happens is this. You have a lot of times preachers who do not understand the two births, the two natures, the two men. And so what they do is figure out, here over here, this atom. They want you over here to convert, change, alter, improve, do whatever it takes.

It changes this first atom, changing this man. So therefore when people say, okay, I’ve trusted Christ as my Savior. They don’t recognize that there is two natures, two births they’ve considered. There’s only one. And now if you don’t live like there has been a new birth, evidently you really didn’t get saved. So there’s questions and doubts about their salvation because all they see is their old sinful nature and there’s nothing changed. If you try to stop a few things and you go back to doing it again, then you question whether or not you were really saved at all.

Producers a lot of questions, a lot of problems. Look in verse 46. How be it that which was not first which is spiritual? That was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural, the flesh. And afterwards that which is spiritual. Alright, look up here. When you and I were born into the world, we had a flesh birth. birth. The flesh birth is born of the first Adam because we have a sinful nature from our first Adam we sin because we sin we’re all going to die.

So therefore we have taken upon ourselves we have the image of the first man. He is of the earth and we’re of the earth. we have His image. And it says here in verse 40, How be it that which was not first, which is spiritual. In other words, my spiritual birth did not come first. My flesh birth came first. Everyone born into the world must have a flesh birth. First, you can’t get the second one until you had the first one.

So when you’re born into this world, you have a flesh birth, you have a little body, that little pretty little baby has a little physical body. And inside of that body, there’s an old sinful nature. He was born corrupt, whether you like it or not. I don’t get how beautiful that little kid is, that precious little girl. They have a sinful nature. And they’re going to learn how to lie and deceive and cheat and all the rest of it.

Yes, that little precious little darling. I don’t care they may be, precious they may be. Looks just like the little mommy, yes, I know. That little child can turn out to be as wicked as you’ve ever seen in your life and give you a lot of headaches and a lot of problems. That’s the first birth. That’s the flesh. But I notice what he says in verse 47, the first man is of the earth, earthy. Second man is the Lord from heaven.

So we have two people, the first man, Adam, the second man, Christ, the first Adam, second Adam. So when we trust Christ as our Savior, we are made spiritual. We’re a spiritual individual. So that’s why the Bible says when Christ was here, He told the person Nicodemus that which is born of the flesh is flesh, that which is born of the Spirit, Spirit. The flesh cannot Flesh and blood cannot inherit in corruption. There’s nothing that the first birth can do to produce the second birth.

They have no power. That’s why you have to have a second birth born into God’s family by trust in Christ and Him alone. Now look what he says here. In verse 48, as is the earthy such are they also that are earthy and as is the earthy. As is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. As we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now, you may not bear it right now, but eventually you will, I guarantee that.

But maybe not in this lifetime. So in this lifetime, when you trusted Christ as your savior, because you recognize I am a sinner. I’m going to die. I’m going to be eternally separated from God. So the Bible says that God gives us a new birth. It’s not the old one reconverted, like trying to convert a garage room into a living room. When you do that, the garage no longer exists. God did not change your first birth. birth that didn’t alter it, didn’t convert it, didn’t do anything with your first birth.

When you trusted Christ, He gave you a new birth, born of God. This one still exists. Many people think when you got this one, this one went away. No, He didn’t go away. He was not eradicated. You still have an old sinful nature just like you did before you were saved. And this is why whenever you see what these verses are saying, remember, he’s talking to believers in the book of Corinthians that walked as lost men, envying jealousy, adultery, you name it, drunkenness, they were doing it all.

And then he also says, call saints. They were saints. And he also says, I could not speak unto you as under spiritual, but carnal means that you are walking like a lost man, a believer living like a lost man, living like you were still nothing more than just a soul sinful nature. Yet should there be a difference? Yes, there should be. So look what he has here. In verse 49, and as we have born the image of the earth, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly, verse 50.

Now this I say, brethren, flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Neither death corruption inherit in corruption. Over here, the first birth cannot produce the second birth. The first birth cannot inherit in corruption. That’s why he says that flesh and blood, these are not the children of God. That’s why you can inherit what God has because you’re not his child. But the day you trusted Christ as your Savior, you were born into God’s family. In the family of God, you’re now his child.

Let me just show you very quickly. This is our first birth. Flesh, no good, none righteous, no not one. All sinned, all condemned, we’re all going to die. So God says, you cannot save yourself, you need a savior. You need someone to give you a new birth. What if you could be born the second time without a sinful nature? See, the first time we had a sinful nature, that’s because we were born of Adam. But now the next time you can choose to be born of the Son of God.

If you will choose to be born of God, your choice, then this new birth you’ll be born without a sinful nature. You see, in heaven it’s perfect. God is perfect. We have to be perfect to go to heaven. And none of us are perfect. But if you trust Christ as your Savior, Christ paid for all of your sins and will give you a new birth. This new birth means you’re born of God without a sinful nature and without a sinful nature it can’t sin and if it can’t sin it can’t die and that’s why once you’re his child you’re always his child and that’s why when you go to heaven you’re going to be perfect in heaven.

And if you’ve never trusted Christ as your Savior it doesn’t matter if you send this guy to church and if you try to get him to obey the golden rule and stop this and stop that and join this and join that you can clean them up all you want to. to, but he’s not changed. You have to have a new birth. Now, you’ve heard this before. You can take a pig out of the mud hole and you can take him into your house.

Put him in your bathtub. You can wash that little old pig up and you can spray him with art piggy. Canal number nine, Lily of the Alley. You can even use a racetrack deodorant called pit stop. You can even spray him with what they call a sturdy odiodrant. Doesn’t kill the smell, you just can’t tell where it’s coming from. And you can even curl the little tail on that pig and call it a sheep. But I guarantee if you let that pig outside, he’s going to ride back to the mud.

Why? He’s still a pig. You didn’t change the pig. It’s still a pig. Now, if If you really want to mess up that pig, leave that pig like he is and just insert a new nature called sheep. Now that pig won’t know what to do. He loves the mud, but sheep don’t love the mud. And there’s one confused pig. Now this is what happens to you. This is why you get so confused. You want to do right and you don’t want to do right.

You want to go to church, you don’t want to go to church. You want to read and you want to pray and you don’t. You want to live in sin and you don’t want to live in sin. You say, why do people choose to live in sin? Because it’s fun. If it wasn’t fun and enjoyable and pleasurable, nobody would do it. You say, well, I just don’t believe that. Yes, you do. You just are honest. If you could get away with sin, you’d be surprised what you’d do.

You just don’t want to get caught. get me so sidetracked. But see, the Word of God lays all this stuff out for us and makes it simple, makes it clear. Now, why don’t you take your Bible looking to book Romans in chapter 7? Romans chapter 7, when you understand your sinful nature, that God has not changed it, altered it, eradicated it, but He just simply gave you a new birth. Now Now look in Romans, written by the apostle Paul, God used to reveal some great things.

And you’ll notice in verse 15, for that which I do, I allow not. For what I would, that do I not. But what I hate, that do I. Describing you, huh? If then I do that which I would not, I can send into the law that it is good. Now then, there’s no more either do it, but send that dweller than me. For I know that in me, that is in my flesh, dweller of no good thing for how to will.

The will is present with me, but how to perform that, which is good if I am not. For the good that I would, I do not, but the evil which I would not that I do. Now if I do that, I would not, there’s no more either do it, but send that dweller than me. So how clear that is? Isn’t it clear? All he’s saying, all he’s saying is that when I want to do good, evil is present. still there.

And just because you do the good doesn’t mean this one doesn’t exist. And if you walk in the flesh to fill the lust of the flesh doesn’t mean this one isn’t there. You grieve the Holy Spirit. You grieve God, but you’re not strong in the Lord. And as we’ve said before, some people are so spiritually skinny they could use a cheerio for a hula hoop. You need to learn the word of God so that you can grow to be a strong Christian.

And that’s going to the right places with the right people doing the right things. Obey in what God’s word says and become strong in your Christian life. So when this old flesh over here says, I think I’m going to have a curse. No you’re not. You’ve got to be strong enough to say, no you’re not. But if you don’t do the things that you’re supposed to do and he gets strong, you say, I’m going to go to church today.

Now you’re not. You’re going to stay home and watch Batman. You stay home and watch Batman. Well, that means you must not really be safe. No, it doesn’t. It means your flesh is really doing you in. Remember the illustration I gave here years ago when I first came. I Had a little black doll and I said this is Mike Tyson. Anybody remember Mike Tyson? I use it as an illustration. Some of y’all got a remembrance. Some of you can…

I say, here’s Mike Tyson. Over here in this ring we’ve got Mike Tyson in this corner. And then you trust that Christ is your Savior. A little brand new little baby. And I had a little baby doll and this is you. Over here’s Mike Tyson. Over here’s a new birth, a Christian. And they’re in the same ring. How would you like to get a little baby in the ring with with Mike Tyson. And the Lord says, fear not, I will be with you.

Be not afraid. I will not leave you and I will not forsake you. And you say, yeah, right. I’m out of here. How is a little baby going to be able to stand in the ring with a Mike Tyson? See that’s the old sinful nature. And here’s this little Christian, but understand God also put in you the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit can take care of Mike Tyson. You can. But if you will lean upon the Lord and you’ll let the Lord tell you how to fight Mike Tyson, you can win.

But you have to yield to the Holy Spirit. You have to yield to what the Word of God says. So in Romans in chapter six, it talks consistently about yielding members of your instruments of righteousness unto the Lord. Know you not that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey His servants you are, to whom you obey, whether sin and death are obedience unto righteousness. That’s somewhere in the book of Romans chapter six. And there’s scripture that tells us there is going to be a battle back and forth in your Christian life.

And so you can be strong or you can be weak. And some of you will find out that this little old Mike Tyson, yeah, he’s going to beat the living daylights out of you because you don’t trust God. You don’t trust his word. You don’t think I don’t need church. I don’t need to study the Bible. I don’t need, I don’t need God. He says, yes, you do. Yes, you do. Yes, you do. And you would become filled with pride and we think we are smarter than God and you’re not smarter than God.

And you’re going to lose. And a lot of God’s children are living a defeated life. Oh, they’re saved. They’re going to heaven when they die. But they’re defeated in the Christian life because of the flesh. And it doesn’t have to be that way. But that’s the way it is. Take your Bible and look in the book Galatians in chapter 5. The book of regulations in chapter 5. These are not new to you. These verses are something you’ve heard over and over again, but I want to always certain message that I’ll preach over and over and over again.

Sometimes just a little bit of a different angle, but pretty much the same thing because the Word of God doesn’t change. If all I was going to do is teach something new from the Bible all the time, I’d never teach the old stuff. Look what he says. In In verse 16, Galatians chapter 5, this I say then, walk in the spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Look up here. Walk in the spirit. How do you walk in the spirit?

Why don’t you float through the air like a hand? You know, hmm. You walk in the spirit simply by walking in obedience to the word of God. The Holy Spirit teaches you the Bible. Now obey it. walking in the Spirit according to the word of God. And if you’ll do what God says to do, you won’t have time to get in trouble. Keep your life so filled and so busy doing what God says to do and you won’t have to worry about all the things you’re not supposed to do.

You know why I didn’t go get drunk last night? I ain’t got time. I didn’t have time. I was doing something else. I always thought to do something else, do what I am supposed to be doing. The Christian life is not a life of being negative. It’s a life of being positive Do what God wants you to do and if you want to get in trouble you’d have to schedule it But notice Walk in the Spirit. That’s the spiritual birth, the new birth.

Obey the Word of God and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Do you still have the lust of the flesh? Yes. See, there’s some people tell you, well, if you’re really saved, you’re not going to want to go out here and do those bad things. Well, that contradicts this verse. This verse says you still have the lust of the flesh and the lust of the flesh you won’t do. The only cure for this old sinful nature is a new birth with a new power, stronger desires where your desire to love God, to please God, to want more for your life is a stronger power than what this guy could ever offer you.

And therefore you can have victory in your Christian life. This is Shane that so many of God’s children have never learned the peace, love, the joy that comes from obedience of doing what God wants them to do with their life. So notice what he says here. Verse 17, for the flesh lusts against the spirit, spirit against the flesh. Look up here, the spirit against the flesh, the flesh against the spirit. And they are contrary to each other. See this one has no sin for nature.

Can’t sin. Love’s righteousness. This one over here Hate’s righteousness, love’s sin, is rebellious. They’re too different. And that’s why they don’t get along. But they only got one body to use. My old sinful nature only has one body that it can use to express itself. My new birth only has one body to use to express itself. They’re both fighting over this one body, this piece of land, this piece of dirt because it needs my body. Like his person died and on his way up, I ain’t got no body.

But anyway, some of y’all will get that. You know what, there’s just, sure. You see, where do they come from? No, I don’t know. Now look in verse 19, verse 19. Now the works of the flesh are manifest. In other words, if I was to fulfill the desires of my flesh, my old sinful nature, what is going to be manifested? Well, he says, the works of the flesh are manifest. They’re going to be revealed because it wants to use my body to fulfill these desires.

And that’s why you have adultery must use my body. For in occasion uncleanness, less seriousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variants, emulations, and the staff’s strife, seditions, heresies, envious murders, drunken revelings, such life, of which I’d tell you before, as I told you in time past that they would shoot the things, and not inherit the kingdom of God. Look up here. This one is not going to inherit the kingdom of God. The flesh and blood isn’t going to heaven. This birth isn’t going to arrive.

It’s my new birth that’s going to heaven. 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 C.D. understanding difficult passages of the Bible. No donation is required. We’ve 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 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.