This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

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 air. And 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.

So can a Christian fall? Yes, can a Christian be blind? A Christian can be blind. When a Christian be asleep, the Bible talks about the Christians wake up out of sleep. So Christian can be asleep, Christian can be blind because of the purpose that God has for their life. They don’t understand how God works, why God does what He does. So because they don’t understand, they perceive things wrong and they don’t look at it from a divine perspective, but only from a human perspective.

They don’t see. When they don’t see, they’re blind. Now isn’t there a verse somewhere in the Bible that says, I would thou work hot or cold, but because you’re lukewarm, you make me sick. And he says, for thou sayeth, I am rich and have need of nothing. And he says, you’re blind. You’re naked. You’re poor. And you need some counseling. He says, repent or be chastened. You either change your mind or I’m going to have to whoop you. I’m going to have to discipline you.

Now where’s that found? Revelation where? Chapter 3. Very good. Now notice what he says here in verse 9. And cannot see a far off and half forgotten that he was purged from his old sin of that old sinful nature. You’ve been suffering from the old sinful nature. Don’t let the old sinful nature control your life. You’ll never be strong enough and He’s going to blind you and he wants to keep you blinded just like he wants to keep the lost man blinded to the gospel He want to keep you blinded to the purpose that God has for your life, but he says in verse 10 Wherefore the rather brethren give diligence to make your calling and election sure for if you do these things, if you do these things, you shall what?

You will not fall. You see, you don’t have to fall and serve in the Lord. It’s because we take our eyes off the Lord and we don’t remember the things that we should. So Peter now is, well, he’s not going to be long before he’s going to be leaving this old body and he says, I’m I’m gonna be departing here very soon, but I wanna put you in remembrance. Remember, remember, remember. You see, you can’t really serve the Lord if you can’t remember.

You have to remember scripture. You have to remember the goodness of the Lord. You have to remember how God has blessed you. You gotta focus upon the things, and you gotta remember. That’s why it’s so important for God’s children. Remember in the Old Testament, even how the whole chapter in the book of Psalms where it says they forgot, they forgot, they forgot, and they rebelled against the Lord because they forgot, they just forgot. And it’s so easy to forget the things that we’re supposed to remember.

I go back to the book of James, back to the book of James. And so he’s talking to them about having profit in their life. And so he says there in verse 14 of James chapter 2, to the believer, God did that profit my brethren. It’s like having a profit and loss statement in a business. How are you doing? Well this is how much came in and this is how much came out. What do you have left? So we’re expending time and energy.

What did we get for it? We’re spending our life. We should be laying up treasures in heaven. God wants every child of God to be profitable. Remember in the book of Titus he talks about, be careful to maintain good works. These are good and profitable. They’re profitable under men, but they’re also profitable for the child of God because God’s going to reward you for what you do for him. That’s why he says in chapter 10 of verse 35 in a book of Hebrews, cast not away before you’re confident which has great recompense of reward.

So remember that. So in James here, he’s talking to the believer and that they are to be careful because he could fall. do not err my brethren and faith without works is dead. And so part of the goal of a Christian is challenging other Christians not to be dead. If you’re not serving God and living by faith and doing the works that God wants you to do it’s like you are dead. You have your faith in the Lord for salvation, but faith in the Lord for service is greatly lacking.

So God says He will have to chase in you. Now, He gets in early talks in chapter 3 about the tongue, the things that you say. He talks about the things that you do, chapter 2. And then He warns us in chapter four of some things that can happen about being exalted in your own mind. And sometimes this is where temptations come. Because there is the temptation to exalt oneself, God will send things to humble you. So you look there in James chapter four, and you’ll notice what he says here in verse six, but he give us more grace, wherefore he said, God resist the proud.

God resist the proud. So when you are trying to serve the Lord your way, I used to have people tell me, well, a lot, a yank, you just serve the Lord your way and I’ll serve God my way. Well, we both have to serve God God’s way. It’s not that we’re just free to choose. No, you serve God God’s way. And when you don’t, and you say, I’ll do whatever I want and call it serving God. Or do whatever you want and say, well, I prayed about it.

A lot of sin has been committed by that. Just because you pray about something, did you get the right answer? Just because you prayed about it. Well, I know I should do this because I prayed about it. Well, maybe, maybe God told you to do that and maybe God doesn’t. But you got to check things a little bit closer and you can do a lot of sin and a lot of rebellion without being close to the Lord. But you you can use spiritual phrases.

Here he says, God resisted the prob but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. To lift yourself up in pride comes from the devil and doesn’t come from the Lord. And remember this, in your Christian life you’re always battling this little idea of my wisdom, will versus God’s wisdom, God’s will. So he says there in the last part of chapter 3, something very interesting. And so he says here in verse 13 of chapter 3, who is a wise man, and in dude with knowledge among you, let him show out of a good behavior, manner of life, his works with the maintenance of wisdom.

Let him show by his works how wise he is. Do you consider yourself to be a wise man. It will be revealed by the wisdom you have and the decisions that you make. Or it can also reveal whether you’re a whole or whether you’re wise. But notice what he says here in the last part of verse 13, let him show out of a good conversation his works with maintenance of wisdom. But if, if, see that word, if, if you have bitter envening and strife in your hearts, glory not and lie not against the truth.

So we’re talking about Christians, Christians that don’t say the right things, don’t do the right things, and they’re dead as far as productivity is concerned. So there’s a warning in the scriptures. And he says here, bitter, envying. This goes along with what I’ve been speaking on the last two services and strife in your heart. This comes from human wisdom. You see in verse 15, this wisdom descended not from above, but is earthly, Central and Devilish. For where inveen and strife is, there’s confusion and every evil work.

But then verse 17 kind of gives you a different picture. The wisdom that comes from God, that is from above is far pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be intrigued. So if you have the wisdom of God, this is what you’re going to manifest. If you have the wisdom of the world, then in being and bitterness and strife is going to reveal the wisdom of man. So you will reveal it, and this is why he’s talking about when you turn on the spigot, can caught and cold water come out of the same spigot?

Well, he didn’t know about today. Today we can turn the water on and turn the other one on there, and we got hot and cold water coming out of the same spigot. But at one time that wasn’t true. See, but that’s found there in verse 11. And so you’ve got these things mentioned in the Word of God about this wisdom that comes from above. Look there in James in chapter 1. And notice what he says here again when he says, do not err my brethren in verse 16, every good gift and every perfect gift from above.

Comeeth down from the Father of light, with whom is no veribleness, and neither shadow up turning. And so this is what God says. See the right things, the perfect things, the good that comes from God. And he says, God has so many good things he wants to give you. So you don’t know about those things. You don’t know that you’re not smart enough. So there’s a human wisdom that I can do it. I can do it. And God allows you to have the pressures of life, the storms, the tribulations and trials, and yes, even temptations to reveal that you don’t know it all.

And you can’t do it all. So when you realize that, when it says, count it all joy, when you fall in the divers temptation, What are you supposed to do about it? Well, look there in chapter one, where he makes a statement in verse three, knowing this, that the trying of your faith work is patience. But let patient have a perfect work that you may be complete, perfect and entire, lacking nothing. In other words, God wants every one of his children to grow to full maturity, to be strong in the faith, that you know what you believe, You know why you believe in and you’re not moved about by every wind of doctrine that comes along.

And so he says in verse 5, if any man lack wisdom, now do you think he’s talking about human wisdom or divine wisdom? Any man lack divine wisdom. So that’s why you have a problem that you need divine wisdom. So God wants you to come to Him so that you can get this divine wisdom. The wisdom that comes from God, the wisdom that comes from the word of God. And this is why it’s so important, but he says in verse six, let him ask in faith.

And what’s God going to give him? Divine wisdom. The wisdom to understand what God wants him to do with his life, how he’s supposed to use the tongue correctly in chapter three. Understanding that people will judge you by the things that you do. So you have a testimony that’s honoring to the Lord. Not one that’s null and void that God can’t use because there’s no power there and it doesn’t represent God. Wouldn’t it be a shame for God to look at his children and say, you know, you’re not representing me.

You’re representing that other guy, the devil. You represent him. You live more like the devil than you do like me. And so I believe that there’s something here. Now, what I want you to do is take your Bible, look there in James chapter five once again. So he tells us a little bit about somebody in the Old Testament who demonstrated what patience was all about. So in chapter five, you’ll notice they’re down in verse seven, in verse eight, three times in these two verses, it uses the word patience.

But remember in chapter one, that’s what he’s after, teaching you to depend upon the Lord. That’s why God doesn’t give us everything we want when we want it, teaches us to wait. Not to jump the gun, some things you cannot make happen. You have to wait and trust the Lord. And that’s the hard part, but maturing the Lord is where you, I’m just gonna trust the Lord. Not I’m gonna trust the Lord and worry. Well, I just worry. But notice what he says here.

In verse 7, be patient, therefore brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Now, until the Lord comes, or until you go to meet Him by way of the grave, how long He’s supposed to be patient? Till He comes. Behold, the husbandment waited for the precious fruit of the earth and hath long patience for it until he received the early and the latter reign. In verse 8, Be also patient, establish your heart and the coming of the Lord draweth nine.

Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned, behold the judge stand at that door. In other words, you haven’t got time for a lot of the things that you’ll spend your time doing and it’ll be wasting your time. It’s not productive and it’s not living and walking by faith. So then in chapter 5 and verse 10 he uses a great illustration of somebody that suffered affliction and a patience. And who was this? Well, look in in verse 11, Behold we count them happy which endure.

You have heard of the patience of Job and have seen the end of the Lord that the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy. Now you’re supposed to know that and believe that. God loves you but God allows you to be tested. You know you’re going to suffer but the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed. So that’s why he says on in verse 12, be patient, don’t fall into condemnation.

See the last part of that verse? Let ye fall into condemnation. And there’s another verse that talks about in verse 9 where we just read, lest ye be condemned. In other words, keeping you from doing the wrong thing, lest ye go into air lest you fall, lest you fall into condemnation. Well you don’t want that to happen. Be patient, be patient. Don’t sit in judgment upon God. He’s the judge and he’ll take care of things. You don’t have to take vengeance because that’s what God’s job is.

So He teaches us this. So let’s just pretend for a moment. These verses can be used in a physical sense because people get physically sick and he says if you’re happy sing. He says and if you’re sick, well pray. And you don’t always have all the answers in the prayer of faith to really believe this is what God’s will is. Now, when Elijah prayed, God had already told him to pray this. He had already told him that I’m going to make it rain and I’m not going to have it rain.

God already told him and he prayed according to the will of God, but he knew the will of God. And the prayer of a fervent righteous man availeth much, but not everything. No prayer overrides the sovereign will of God. But now, what if somebody as a child of God is saved but he has no works? Faith without works is dead. So here’s a Christian who is living a dead life like he’s dead and you come along and you can challenge and motivate that person to serve the Lord.

Why do we want to get not just new kids to go to camp? We want to get old kids to go to camp. Kids that have been there and dedicated their lives ten times. Get them one more time because you never know at what point in their life. Let me say I finally see it. I finally see it. Did you see it the first time? The first time you went to camp? The first time you went to rank? The first time you came to church?

No, we used to have to hear it and hear it over and over over again and we begin to grow a little bit in our Lord. And so He’s telling these believers, I want you to be strong, but some of you are dead. And if you pray for those people and they’re not right with the Lord and they get right with the Lord, can you help them spiritually? will God raise them up? Every person who is spiritually sick and spiritually dead in the sense of their productivity for the Lord.

Now we know every person who trusts the Lord is spiritually alive because they’re alive in Christ. But I’m not talking about that right now, so don’t twist my words. But I’m talking about when he makes the statement in verse 15, the prayer of faith shall save the sick and the Lord shall raise them up. And if you have committed sins, they shall be forgiven them. Are we talking about people? Receiving warnings from the Lord that are not right with the Lord.

People who have, they’re not counting it all joy when they fall in the divers temptation and people that are double minded. And he says, think not that person shall receive anything of the Lord because of the double minded man. And so there’s a verse there that talks about be doers of the word and not here’s only. So if they’re not doing what God says do, but they hear. but they’re not doing it. And you’re able to let God use you to help those people and they see the era of their ways, can they then correct the problem?

And I believe when you look there in these verses, in verse 19, brethren, if any of you do air from the truth and one whoever that one may be, convert him. The one who has gone astray, the one who fell, the one that didn’t say right, the one that didn’t do right, and then you help them, the one that converts him, the one that helps him to see, that one, that one, may not be a mall to do to the people that there’s one, I want to be that one.

Let him know that he which converted the sinner, the person who helps him from the era of his way, shall save a soul from death, then it could be physical death. But maybe possible in a spiritual sense from James chapter 2, that he’s dead concerning walking with the Lord, dead concerning his works. And God promised that he’ll raise him up. Now that’s more from my point of view as an application than it is a primary interpretation or understanding of these verses.

But I believe when he says here shall save a soul from death. Is it physical death only or is it possible that because he’s dead there in James 2. So the question that I had asked, faith without prayer is dead. You have faith in God? Prove it. Ask God for something. Pray to the Lord. God probably has a lot of things He wants to do for us. Do you know I believe that God wants to do great things through this church?

And if we will do what we’re supposed to do and we’ll agree with God, I believe God will do great things for us, but He knows what He can do. He knows what He wants to have done. But do we agree with God and will we ask God for it and believe God for it? And if we will and we’re in agreement, I believe God will raise us up and do great things. But yet God may want to do great things but because we do not ask in faith and we do not believe we’re rather just sometime just piddle, just play along, play church-y entity, little Christianity.

And we may miss out on a lot of things that God could have used us for. Me, I always want the most. I want the best. I wanna serve God with everything that I have and I want you to do the same thing. And so prayer without faith. Can you pray without really believing? And if you really believe it, we ought to pray. And faith without works is dead, true. So maybe we ought to have faith and a little work.

And if you looked around in this place and seen how many people work around this place, it’s honoring to the Lord. And I thank the Lord for it. Anyway, those are just my humble thoughts on James chapter two. Look up here, this hand represents you and me. and the wall of represents sin. We all have sin on us. Now God says that He loves us. Now He hates our sin, but He loves us. And for us to pay for sin is eternal separation from God.

Since we’ve all sinned, we’re all condemned. And God loves us. Wants us to go to heaven. And to go to heaven, we have to be perfect as righteous as God. And none of us are perfect. None of us are righteous. We cannot save ourselves. The only payment for sin is death. separation from God. So that’s why giving money doesn’t pay that debt. When the church doesn’t pay this debt. That’s why God says you cannot save yourself. This hen represents Jesus Christ.

He’s the Lord God in the flesh. He came into the world because he loves us, hates our sin, because it separates us from him. So Jesus Christ who had no sin didn’t have to die, he took all of our sins, paid for them to cross. And came back from the dead and said that if we would believe that he did it for us, he would give us as a free gift everlasting life. I had to privilege this afternoon. I was done at the hospital and I’m sitting there in the waiting room.

And there’s a couple people there that come down from up north and they were just sitting there. And I had a little boy sitting across from me. So I asked a little boy, I says, have you ever heard a Yankee doodle? He says, yeah, I said, that was my dad. I said, my name is Yankee Arnold. And a couple of people laughed at sitting there. So I looked over at this couple that was sitting there. I said, do you know how I got my name Yankee?

Well, of course they want to know. So I said, there, and I told them how it’s going to always lead. You know where it’s going. And it wasn’t long before I was explaining the gospel. So I asked the lady, I said, where are you going to go? And you said, well, I hope I’m going to heaven. I asked the man. He said, well, I know I’m going. How come you know? And she hopes. He says, oh. I says, don’t you know?

But yeah, yeah. I said, he said, you hope. So I said, now if I see you later, and I asked you, are you going to go to heaven? I said, I hope I’m going to heaven. See there? And you got to get in. Anyway, after I explained it, I said, now, where are you going to go? And I said, I’m going to heaven. I said, how do you know? She says, Christ died and paid for my sins. It was fun.

It really was. This is the best message in all the world. And sometimes you just got to wait for the right opportunity, sometimes just to talk to people. But it’s the best news. It’s the greatest thing. And that’s what he’s talking about. Not being unfruitful. You don’t want to be unfruitful. So sometimes you have to be a little outgoing. You’ve got to talk to somebody. Even in fear and trembling. Because you never know how it’s going to go over.

And sometimes I’ll try something and it’s a flop. I never tell you about those. Because that would not encourage you, would it? If I told you of all my failures, so I just tell you about all my successes. Well, maybe not all of them. Let’s pray, shall we? With every head bowed and every eye closed, no one looking around. If you’re here tonight and you’ve never trusted Christ as your Savior, that is the most important thing you can ever do.

and I pray that you already have. But if you’re watching by internet tonight and you’ve never trusted Christ, God loves you, paid for your sins, and if you’ll believe He did it for you, He’ll put that payment to your account and you get to go to heaven on what Christ did for you. He loves you that much. Will you trust Him? I pray that you will. Father, we thank you again for your blessings. Thank you for all you do for us.

It helps us understand that, yes, it’s possible for God’s children to air, to go astray, and yes, even to fall. But we can’t lose our salvation. We’re still your children. And you still love us and help us, Lord, to reach out to those that may not be walking in the spirit, may be walking in the flesh, and help us to challenge and encourage them to serve you in Christ and we pray.

Are you a new listener to Bibleline? Do you enjoy the teachings of Dr. Arnold? Well, if you’ve never contacted us before, We want to give you Dr. Arnold’s book, The Gospel Driven Man. Every day we receive many emails from folks who have questions about repentance and salvation, about faith in works, and about how to share the gospel with friends and loved ones. This book, The Gospel Driven Man, covers all those topics. And we want all new listeners of Bibleline to receive a free copy.

There’s no obligation, no donation necessary, simply call us at 1-800-576-3771 or write to us and request your free copy of the gospel-driven man. The mailing address is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Again, don’t forget to include your mailing address, and God bless you and thank you for listening to Bible ine. 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.