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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.

I want you to take your Bible and turn to the book of Galatians, the book of Galatians. Now I don’t know about you. Have you ever watched some of those old cowboy movies where you know the bad guys out there and here comes the posse and everybody in the posse, even though they’re all behind each other are just shoot. Now would you like to be in front of the posse with all those guys behind you shooting lead? If they got anything they would have killed half of their own posse because they were shooting right through their own guys that are in front of them.

That’s almost the way it is with Christians. It’s called friendly fire, but sometimes the fire isn’t so friendly. They often talk about that in war times when somebody was shot by one of their own soldiers. But you know, it’s an accident, but I believe that when it comes to Christians, sometimes that’s a little bit on purpose. Christians try to hurt one another and they despise each other and sometimes they’re just plain jealous. Is it possible for Christians to be mean to other Christians?

No. No such thing. Well they never do a thing like that. Well I want you to notice this in the book of Galatians in chapter 5 and you’ll notice in verse 19. Galatians chapter 5 and verse 19, now the works of the flesh, this is written to believers, not written to lost people, but it lets you know what the works of the flesh are. It means that if you allow the desires of the flesh that you have within you control your life, you’re going to bring forth the works of the flesh.

Remember this, the law was designed to restrain a person from fulfilling the desires of the flesh because even in society, and especially with the nation of Israel, when God gave the law, it’s because God knows every man has a sinful nature. And he is at times compelled by that old sinful desire to kill somebody, even to commit adultery. You name the sin in their capable. So God says there’s laws, laws that condemn certain things. Now even though you have an old sinful nature, God does not excuse the wrong that we choose to do.

Well, it ain’t my fault. I mean I didn’t ask for this all sinful nature But God does expect us to refrain from doing certain things to control ourselves so the law was to render a punishment in order to Make you think twice about what you’re wanting to do or suffer the consequences So there were consequences So you know that you cannot be serious, and this is the way I look at it even concerned in government. You cannot be serious about crime unless you’re serious about righteousness.

See, the more righteousness you want, the more you are on alert for that which is not right. But when you don’t care about what is right and who does what, and you don’t really care about controlling your own flesh desires, then what’s to keep you from doing so. And if you don’t want to control yours, why should somebody else control theirs? So people wrong each other, hurt each other, shoot each other, kill each other, they do all this stuff.

But there is in this portion of Scripture something I believe that many times is just limited to, well this is the flesh and this is the Spirit and then that’s true. But there’s a reason why I believe this is written here in these words. So you see there in verse 19, now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these, adultery, fornication, andLt. in in in in in in in in in in in in The flesh doesn’t inherit anything from God.

But now the new birth, the Bible says you can see the kingdom of God, enter to the kingdom of God, but that’s the new birth. So this is why he says, in verse 16, this I say then, walk in the spirit and he shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. But many times when we read verse 16, we forget one little word that’s mentioned in the first part of that sentence. this I say then. Why is he saying this now?

Well, because of what went before it. Well, what went before it? Well, something that’s very interesting, where Paul is telling the Galatian Christians about the effect that they have upon one another. So he’s told them in verse 1, stand fast therefore, and the liberty where with Christ has made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. The yoke of bondage is the law, but the law can’t touch you unless you live or walk in the flesh.

So it’s don’t become entangled again with the flesh. Don’t let that flesh nature control your life. It will tangle you up. It will mess you up. It will wrap you up. It will ruin you. It will destroy your testimony. But then Paul is not leaving it just with what it does to you. Well, it’s my life and I can live it in the way I want. Well, that sounds good. But that’s not how God leaves it. And so he says, a little 11, 11, it’s the whole lump, not just with one individual that if I allow sin in my life in any area and I tolerated, then you’re tempted to do something else, and then something else, and then something else, until your whole life is ruined.

But if it can happen to a person, it can happen to a person in a church where a little 11 can live in the whole lump. In other words, it can happen to all of God’s children. He says, you did run well. Who did hinder you that you should not obey the truth? So walking in the flesh means you’re not obeying the truth. Walking in the spirit means you are obeying the truth. And he says, you started off, you were fine.

But then Paul left some legalistic Judaizers come in and started sowing false seeds, wrong things, wrong teaching. And that’s why he says in the book of GalCEOTextures in chapter five, he said, I marvel that you’re so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ, which is not the gospel, but there’s another message you’re trying to preach. And he says, there’s not another gospel of the different kind, there’s not another gospel of the same kind, there’s only one gospel.

And he says, though we are an angel from heaven preaching to you, any other gospel, then let him be a curse. So it’s an accursed message. The message does notxxxx save when you add works to the message. It’s an accursed message. So Paul loves these people. And so he has something that he wants them to do, but they don’t seem to get it at first. So look there in chapter 3 of the book of Galatians. So he says there in verse 1, oh foolish Galatians who hath bewitched you, that you should not, and here’s those words, obey the truth.

You want what happened to you? That now you don’t want to obey the truth. So we let them know that what you now believe because of those legalistic Judaizers is you are not obeying the truth. What they told you isn’t the truth. So he He says you could not save yourself by the flesh, by the works. And you know that was by the hearing of faith, you believed in the Lord, so he says there in verse 2, this only what I learned, you received you the Spirit.

Was it by the works of the law because you did all these good works and that’s how you received it? Or was it because of the hearing of faith? Because you simply believed. You simply believed and God saved you, gave you the Holy Spirit. And your God’s child, you know you’re going to heaven. And so what they’re teaching will cause you to doubt your salvation. You won’t have the joy that you should have. So he says, don’t you get what’s going on, they’re ruining you.

So he makes a statement there in chapter four. Look at chapter four. Chapter four, he makes a statement up there in verse 11, I am afraid of you. I have bestowed upon you labor in vain. I don’t believe he’s talking about necessarily salvation, but they’re now don’t have the joy. He says, when I first came among you, you would have plucked out your own eyes and have given to me. And this is why many believe that maybe Paul had bad eye trouble.

And he says about the large character that he wrote with. So there’s things that they thought about Paul as though he was like an angel from God. He says, now they’re turning against what Paul taught him. See, Paul would lead him to the Lord. There’s always somebody trying to steal somebody else’s fruit. Somebody always trying to steal somebody else’s sheep. And a lot of churches grow on it because they try to steal some goldfish out of somebody else’s goldfish bowl.

In other words, the cabinets usually don’t win people as much as they try to steal people because if they’re not sold on soul, then they got to get them from some place or they got to get somebody else’s fruit. Let me wear that. So he says in verse 15, where is then the blessedness of this happiness you speak of? For I bear you record that if it had been possible, you would have plucked out your own eyes and give them to me.

And my therefore now your enemy because I tell you the truth, isn’t it a shame that the apostle Paul goes to these places, lead them to the Lord, challenge them to serve the Lord, and then train them in the Word of God, and then leaves and somebody has come down and well, you know, Paul was all right, but. And then there you go, start buttoning it all over the place. And so he says, they affect you, but not well.

Now look in verse 19. Verse 19, you ought to underline in your Bible. When he says, my little children, he says, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you. See what hurts every person is not to have children grow strong in the Lord. You want the children to grow strong. Want Christ to be formed in them. Now you may have trusted Christ as your savior, but most Christians, they have not yet taken on the image of Christ.

They’re not made in his likeness yet. Now your new birth, yeah, we got that taken care of. We know that. But I’m talking about as a child of God, and it will turn Christians against each other. It will split churches. It does a lot of damage. So as you go down through here, he lays something on pretty heavy. Look there in Galatians in chapter five. Galatians chapter five. And look what he says here in verse 12. I would, they were even cut off which trouble you for brethren.

Now he’s gonna tell you what this word then is for in these following verses from verse 16. But now look here in verse 13. For brethren, ye have been called unto liberty. Only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. You see, the law is to put fear upon the flesh, the sinful nature of things not to do. The spirit is to put love to motivate, to do. You see, God uses two things, love and fear, two great motivations.

God wants us to serve him because of love, and not necessarily because of fear. Now, fear has its place, But wouldn’t it be great if God’s people loved the Lord so much that it caused them to love one another? When we are hateful and mean and unkind, does that come from the new birth of the old birth? Can you figure this out? Look what he says there in verse 14, for all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

But if you bite and devour one another, well, let fear really save. You’re not going to want to do that. You ever heard that? Well, if you’re really saved, you’re not going to want to do those bad things. Did you know when he talks about the flesh, all these things that are listed here are things that Christians are capable of doing so you need to understand. Your old sinful nature is just as bad and wicked as it’s ever been.

So he’s talking to the believers of what he wants them to know and to do and to be. So he says here in verse 15, but if you bite and devour one another, take heed that you be not consumed one of another. Christians against Christians. And what causes Christians to be against Christians because Christians walk in the flesh. If you walk in the Spirit… You won’t do that if you’re not, then you’re walking in the flesh. So this is why he makes his statement.

Now look there in verse 26. Let us not be the zyrus of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another, envying. Is that one of those words over here? Is hatred in there? Verse 21 says envying, that’s flesh. So he’s talking to believers, to his children, about watching, about the impact they make in other believers’ lives. You see, if you love God, then it’s easy to love people. But if you don’t love God, it’s very difficult. But your love for other people is revealed by whether or not you’re walking in the Spirit or walking in the flesh.

If you’re walking in the flesh, you don’t love one another. Now I’m making this up. I’m just telling you what the book says. This is how you can tell them, do I really care about one another? Do I care whether or not they served God or not? Now look at the attitude that we’re supposed to have about God’s children. So now look in verse 1 of chapter 6. Brethren, if a man, I don’t believe he’s talking about a lost man.

talking about a child of God. If a man be overtaken in a fault, how do you know if they’re overtaken in a fault? Well, they got the lust of the flesh in their life. And if you see that, he says, ye which are, what? Spiritual. That means you’re walking in the spirit and you see some of God’s children that are walking in the flesh. What does he want you to do? Step on the back of their head when they fall on the mud and push them down as far as you can.

This is where a lot of God’s children, you know, are guilty of friendly fire. I didn’t see you there. And we shoot our own people in the back. Did you realize that we’ll get more done for the Lord if you help keep in God’s children strong in the Lord? Right? If we can motivate more of God’s children to serve the Lord, isn’t it possible that more people might trust Christ as Savior in the long would it be better if nobody would serve the Lord but me?

Or would it be better if all of us did? So if I want to serve the Lord, then I should want to try to get you to serve the Lord. And so therefore, because I want you to serve the Lord, I shouldn’t want to do anything in your life that would keep you from serving the Lord. That means I need to watch my testimony because I don’t want to say or do something that would cause you to say, you know, if that’s the way Yankee is, I’m out of here.

And it’s possible because the Yankees not perfect. Neither are you. But we try to watch what we say and do because of our care and love. Not only for the Lord. Not only for the lost. Wouldn’t you want every person in this ministry when they get to heaven to be rich, or really rewarded by the Lord? Wouldn’t it be joy when you get there and see I help that person. I encourage that person. And that person stayed faithful and kept similar because I prayed for them and I helped them.

I set the good example. I did what I was supposed to do. Now look what he says here in verse 1, brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fall ye which are spiritual, what’s that word? Restore such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself lest I also be tempted to do what he was doing, because you can be lifted up with pride. I believe pride might be under that work so the flesh in there somewhere. And so he says, now, if you that are right with the Lord, see someone who is stumbling, fallen, look there in the last chapter, chapter five, look what he says in verse seven, you did run well.

All right, if you see somebody who’s not running well anymore, they’re slowing down. They’re going so slow, they’re stumbling. Maybe some have already fell. But do you care? Do you care what happens to other children of God? So he writes this and he says, this is why it’s so important. The reason for the works of the flesh who mentioned here is so that you and I can discern not only when we are messing up, But when somebody else is messing up, so that if you are walking in the spirit and you do know the Lord and love the Lord and you wanna walk with the Lord, the more you wanna walk with the Lord, the more you want everybody else to walk with the Lord.

But if you get further from the Lord and you don’t care, then you don’t care about them either. So it’s very revealing. So he says here in this verse, considering thyself lest I also be tempted. So an arrogant attitude may lead to a ideal temptation, one that will trap you. See, God knows that He may allow some Christian to cross your path that you can help challenge and motivate to serve a Lord. This is why you have to always watch your own personal testimony.

Now look what he says in verse two. Bear ye one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. The law of Christ. I wonder what the law of Christ is. The law of Christ is the law of love. Now hold your place right here and just look over there in the book of James. Some of you already know where I’m going. You already got the Bible committed to memory. I know that, but look at it with me anyway, just humor me a little bit.

In James and chapter one, looking verse 22. Verse 22, “‘But be ye doers of the word, not heirs only, deceiving your own selves.” Now, you can come to church, open up the Bible, preach it, can tell you and say, look at this, look at this, look at this, and you look at it and you saw it, and you know you’re not right with it, But then you close your Bible, go home, and so you never saw it. Now you wouldn’t do that, would you?

Because you always approach the word of God with this attitude. Whatever God reveals to me that I need to correct, I’m willing to do that. Now if you’re not willing to do that, you’ll be surprised how much you will not understand. Why should God continue to give you more light when you won’t obey the light you already have? In the book of Philippians in chapter three, says walk according to that which you already know. See what is the will of God?

Walk according to the truth you already have and you’d be surprised that truth will lead to more truth that leads to more truth that leads to more truth. But why should God keep giving you more truth when you are not obeying the truth you already have? Sometimes I’ve had people come in and say, yank I got this here big decision I gotta make and I just don’t know what to do. I says yes you do. You just want me to tell you what to do.

So if you don’t work out you can blame me. says, you already know what to do. And I already know that I know that they know. And they know. Look in verse 23, for if any be a here of the word and not a doer, he is likened to a man beholden, his natural face and the glass, for he beholdeth himself, goeth his way and straight where he immediately forgeteth what manner of man he was. But who so looketh into the perfect law of liberty and continue therein.

He’d be not a forgetful here, but a doer of the worth. This man shall really be saved. No, this man shall be blessed in his needs. So the Word of God liked the perfect law of liberty because you see whenever we see this and understand this, we now have the freedom, the freedom to serve the Lord. I I wrote this statement down. The law of liberty is the law of love. We’re now free to love. Before you, you were not free to love because you were a lost man with the flesh and the flesh will never let you love God’s kind of love.

But now that you have trusted Christ as your savior, the Lord said, I want you to love one another. And it’s a divine type of love that because the whole law is fulfilled in one word, love. So you’re now free to love as God wants you to love. Stand fast in that Liberty because when you’re God wants you to love. Stand fast in that liberty. Because when you fall under the old sinful nature and you don’t control yourself and you bring forth the lust of the flesh by yielding to him, Well then it becomes a snare, a trap, and you will not be free to love because it destroys your testimony.

And people will question and doubt your honesty and your sincerity. Just understand that because it’s right there in the book. But now look there in the book of James again. And verse 25, but who’s so looking into the perfect law of liberty? Continuous therein, he be not a forgetful here, but a doer of the worth. man shall be blessed in his deeds. And the more blessed you are because you’re doing what’s right, he that is spiritual, that means you can discern when somebody else is not right with the Lord.

A spiritual man wants to help that person, not expose the person. You may have to pray for that person, encourage the person, do whatever they, but if all of God’s children were determined, not only just to be a great sole winner. You can be a great sinner and still not have the kind of a testimony you ought to have to God’s own people. Isn’t it a shame if God’s people at church wear one way and we love each other and we can put on that Christian smile and everything is just great until you get home?

Who knows you better than anybody, the person you have to live with, huh? They know what doesn’t that hurt? They know what you’re really like. And do you ever think they think I’m a hypocrite? And the last thing you want is to have that feeling that I’m not being truthful or trustworthy. Serving the Lord should also affect at home and at church and on the job. You see, you shouldn’t be one way at home and another way at school or college or, no, no.

However you are at home is the way you’re supposed church and the way you’re supposed to be at work. Don’t that make sense? Just be the way you really are. That’s the way you really are. So then it’s not a show. It’s real. It’s genuine. And that’s what you want. Now look what it says in verse 12 of chapter 2. Verse 12 of chapter 2. So speaky and so do as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.

This law of love. What did you do because you love the Lord. What did you do because you love the Lord? What did you do because you loved God’s children? What did you do? Remember going to heaven is free. That’s grace. We didn’t earn it, don’t deserve it. But when we stand at the judgments of the Christ and God’s going to reward us for what we’ve done, every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. there is no mercy there, no mercy there, because God is going to reward a Christian for what they did.

That’s why he says there in verse 12, so speak ye and so do as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty, for he shall have judgment without mercy. There is no mercy at the judgment of the Christ. You’re going to get exactly what you work for, exactly what you deserve. And And remember this, somewhere in the Bible, maybe Hebrews chapter 6, God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love. Your work and labor of love is the motive of why you do what you do important.

I think it’s in the Bible. You read Corinthians in chapter 13, and though I speak with the tongues of men and the angels and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, and have not what? I don’t have love. I’m just like a sounding brass and tinkling cymbals. Or if I give my body to be burned and have not love, it profit me nothing. So is the motive of why you do what you do very important?

I believe that it is. 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 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. Tada can meet the Lord in the air. So live today and every day, believing that the Lord is coming soon, just keep looking up.