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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.

See, God doesn’t make us certain. He may make you wish you had. He can’t cause you to be sick and weak and many are dead because of their rebellion to the Lord. In other words, yes, we’re all going to die, but some have just hastened the process because of their rebellion. See you and I as a child of God, we cannot live as we please and get away with it. There’s a price to pay. And because we are His children and He is our Father, our Father, well, chasing his children.

And he says, he chases every son whom he received it. So not one of God’s children can live as a place and get away with it. Price to pay. So now if it’s true, what should a child of God do? Serve the Lord or not serve the Lord? You know, serving the Lord makes more sense to me. So for 52 years after I trust the Lord, I’m going to serve the Lord. My dad used to beat the tar to me every time I turned around.

I don’t need no more of those. I don’t need any more of those. You didn’t know I knew perfect English did you? I may know right and I can read right and I can write right but I can’t talk right. But anyway here in the book of James it talks about you and I as a child of God serving the Lord. And I want you to see this. So verse 12 of chapter 2, so speaky and so do as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.

The law of liberty is the word of God, as it mentions over there in verse 25 of chapter 1. So you and I as a child of God cannot live as we please and get away with it. There is going to be the chasteen hand of God upon us. So in verse 13, he says, for he shall have judgment without mercy that have showed no mercy and mercy rejoices against judgment. What death that profit my brethren? So we’re talking about the brethren, those who know the Lord, and we’re talking about profit and loss in his life.

If you go back to your notes, I want to read this to you. Down at the bottom of the page where it has, yes, Abraham was justified by works, but not for salvation. Romans 4 is talking about salvation. James 2 is talking about service. James 2, 1, we just read, my brethren have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory with respect of person. James 2 is talking to believers, the brethren. verses 12 and 13 says, so speak ye and so do as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty, for he shall have judgment without mercy.

And then in the bowl there, yes, every believer shall be judged, not for salvation, but for the rewards. See, God is gonna reward you when you get to heaven and he’s gonna reward you based upon your works. So for you just to say, well, I got faith in God, Yeah, but you didn’t go to church. I got faith in God, but you didn’t trust Him. I got faith in God. Okay, you’ve got faith in God. Nobody can see your faith.

One thing they can see is what you do because of your faith. If I tell people, I love the Lord, but then I live like the devil, what would you believe? You would not believe me, and I would not be justified because my works or my life doesn’t back up what I say. You see, you’ve heard parents say, you do what I say not as I do. You hypocrite. You’re supposed to live the way you want your children to live because I’m supposed to be an example to my children.

I’ve tried to discipline my life because I want to be a blessing here and I want to be rewarded when I get to heaven. Whatever those rewards are, God says it must be worth it. If he makes the statement, I have not seen ear, have not heard, neither has entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his spirit. You need the Spirit, Church of all things, you need the deep things of God.

But what man know of the things of another man, except the spirit of man which is within him? And how can you know the things of God unless the Spirit of God dwell in you and teach you? And then you can know the things that are given to you of God, but the natural man cannot discern the things of God because they’re spiritually discerned or understood. And he doesn’t have the Holy Spirit, but you and I do. There’s things that we can know and it ought to make a difference in our life.

And if it makes a difference in your life here, it’ll make a difference in eternity. God says so. The problem is can you believe him? Can you trust him? Enough that you will turn your life over and surrender your life to the Lord. Not to get to heaven, but because you’re going to heaven. Look up here at the top of that age, on page two. He will be judged for what he has said and done. But we must all appear before the judgments of Christ that everyone may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done.

Whether it be good or bad. 2 Corinthians 5 and 10. If any man’s work abide which he hath built there on, he shall receive a reward. James 2 is speaking to believers about what they say and do with their life now that he is saved. So that’s why whenever we look at that verse and he made the statement down there in verse 12 of chapter 2, so speaky and so do as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.

You and I are going to be judged one day for what we’ve said and what we’ve done. Can you live as you please, share? Can you get away with it? No. You have children. Can your children do like they please? Yes, they can. Can they get away with it? Shouldn’t. But because you love them, you may want to discipline them just a tad. Maybe a whole bunch. I got disciplined when I didn’t do anything wrong. Look at this face.

innocent as can be. You know I wouldn’t do anything wrong. Man, I got whooped all the time. Every time I turned around, I was getting whooped. Even when I went to school, I got in trouble. And it wasn’t my fault. You laughed like you don’t believe me. I had finally got to this manor high school down from Wagley, Pennsylvania, where I was. And I’d heard the stories about my two sisters that when they went down there, they’d always come home and they’d tell me stories about Mr.

Pellegrine. Pellegrine was one of the was one of the meanest teachers they said in the world and he would just beat the tar out of you. He’d take you down to the boiler room and he’d take a rubber hose and whoop you with it. Man, I was scared to death to go to school. But I wind up going to junior high. You didn’t think I meant to junior high. I went to junior high. And I had determined this boy is not going to get whooped by that man.

This boy isn’t going to know boiler room. So I’m sitting there in class minding my own business like I always did. The teacher walked out of the room, he just gave us a test. And I’m busy doing my thing. Nick Orange sitting in the back, old farmer boy. Nick Orange, I remember his name. I’ve tried to forget him, but I can’t. Nick Orange sitting in the back and he decided to make himself a beautiful airplane. Do you ever make an airplane out of a sheet of paper?

and I looked back and I saw him making that airplane. And the teacher walked out of the room. It says, I’ll be back in a minute. Nick Orange took that airplane and he sailed that thing, whew, from the back of the room. It went up on this side of the room and it got up there by the door and Mr. Pellegrine opened the door and here comes this flying airplane. And it went over there and landed on his desk.

He walked in and looked at the class and said, who did that? Nobody said a word. He said, I said, who did that? Nobody said a word. He says, everyone of you are going to the boiler room. The whole class to the boiler room. I’m sitting there and I know who did it. I remember the stories my sisters told me, they come home and I see the welps on them. And I says, I’m not going to a boiler room because of what he did.

So I raised my hand. And Mr. Pellegrine says, all right Arnold, to the boiler room. I said, I didn’t do it. Nick Orange did. Nick Orange said, I did not. You did. He said, all right, both of you come with me. And he’d kill me. I died. He’d kill me. He had you drop your drawers and he had you bend over and grab a hold of your ankles and he took a paddle and he had holes in that paddle.

And when he came back buddy and he picked you up, he got Nick Orange first. I enjoyed that part. He lifted him clean up off the floor. Lift him up. I mean, he didn’t just come close. He come. Oh! And knock you clean across the room. You say you can’t do that. They did that and He hit him one time and Nick Orange was crying but he hit him again anyway And I said he ain’t gonna make me cry Second time I was burning hot and I was squalling and I went back to that room.

I could have killed Nick Orange I’ll never forget that kid But listen, sometimes you get chasing for things that you say, I didn’t do that. There’s a God in heaven who sees everything and you don’t get away with anything. You might think you’re getting away with things right now, but it’s cost and you just don’t know what it costs you yet. Unfaithfulness always costs. A lack of discipline in your life is always paying a price. It’s costing you from something that you could have done, you could have gotten rewarded for and it affects eternity.

Sometimes we just don’t do what God wants us to do. Look back at your notes. So Romans 4 speaks of God’s righteousness received as a gift. James 2 speaks of rewards that are earned by works. James 2 goes on to say in verse 14 through 16, what did the prophet, my brother, though a man say he hath faith and have not works? Can faith save him if a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food? And one of you saying to them, depart in peace, but you’re warmed and feel, notwithstanding you give them not those things that are needful for the body.

What does it profit? Your whole life revolves around profit and loss. And James 2 is talking about the Christian life. What profit? What reward will you gain from your Christian life if you have faith and no works? None. Can your faith save you? Save you from what? Loss of rewards at the judgment seat? cannot save you from losing what you could have had. The rewards that you could have read when you got to heaven. Is she not talking about heaven and hell?

So can faith along save you? No, not from the chasin’ing hand of God. Not from the judgment where you and I gonna have to give account of what we say and do. Now your sins have been paid for. The penalty has been done. It’ll never be brought up again. But God’s talking about your works, the fruit in your life, the time when you walk in the flesh and then when you walk in the Spirit, when you were faithful and when you were unfaithful and God’s going to reward you for all that which you did for Him.

You’re going to suffer the loss of what you could have had, but there’s no sense to pay for. Christ did all of that for us. But God wants to reward you for what you did. So now that you know Christ is your Savior and your God’s child, don’t you want to serve the Lord to do something with your life? Don’t you want more than what this life has to offer? Haven’t you lived long enough to see that nothing here lasts?

Nothing here totally satisfies. You’re just passing through. We’re pilgrims and we’re strangers up on this earth. Look there in James chapter 2, verse 14. 14, what did that profit my brother? Though a man say he hath faith and no works. What about you? You say, I have faith in the Lord, but you don’t trust him. You have faith in the Lord that you do what he says do. Obedient, he says, why call ye me Lord Lord and do not the things that I say.

You see, you and I as a child of God are supposed to be obedient children to our heavenly Father. So he says, if somebody comes to you and they don’t have anything and they’re destituting, and you say, be warmed and feel, God bless you, but you didn’t do anything for them. It didn’t profit them and it doesn’t profit you. People in this world are nothing more than opportunities for you and I to prove our love and loyalty to him.

So he brings people into our lives. So he says in verse 17, even so faith, if it had not worked, it’s dead. It’s alone. You can have a car battery, you ever have a dead car battery? I’ve had a lot of them. I still got a battery, it’s just dead. You can have your faith in the Lord, but you don’t trust them. You don’t serve them. You don’t obey them. You know you’re going to heaven, but your faith is dead.

It’s fruitless. It’s barren. Produces nothing. So he says in verse 18, Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith and I have works. Show me thy faith without thy works and I will show thee my faith by my works. Show me your faith in the Lord without your works. Can’t do it. The only way I can show people my faith in the Lord is by what I do for the Lord.

So winning, giving my money to the church that God wants me to give. Those are works. Those are things that I’m supposed to do. Maybe you don’t believe that you ought to. Maybe you don’t believe a lot of things. It’s going to make a difference in how you live your life. And then he says in verse 19, Thou believe us that there is one God, Thou doest dwell. The devil also believes in tremble. In other words, his trembling is the result of what he believes.

What do you believe? What do you do? What does it produce in your life? So he says, but will Thou know O vain man? You’ll notice there in verse 18, a man may say, Thou sayeth, Thou believe us. Verse 20, Thou know us O vain man. Just tell my in the eyes of man. I’m supposed to be justified in the eyes of man by my works of what I do. You see, there’s a God in heaven that’s gonna reward you for the way you lived.

And the way you live is in the lives to be seen by others. Let men see your good works that they may glorify your Father, which is in heaven. Your life, your good works is letting your light shine. We often sing it on this little light of mine. I’m going to let it shine. What light? It’s your life. It’s the things you say. It’s the things you do. It’s where you go. It’s your attitude. It’s everything about you. So he says in verse 21, was not Abraham, our Father justified by works when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar.

This is 13, 15 years later. But see, when he justified by his works, he’s talked about when he took his son on the Mount Moriah and offered him up as a sacrifice. That was years later. He was justified by his works because he told those two people that went with him. He says, y’all stand here. We’re going there. And he’s pointed to where he was going. So they could see. He says, and me and the child will return. He actually believed that if he took the life of his son that God would raise him from the dead because it was his only son.

And Abraham was willing to offer his only son that God had promised would be the heir of a great nation. So he believed that in Hebrew chapter 11 that God would raise him from the dead. So you see Abraham believed in the death of the burial and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. So he makes a statement here in verse when it came, see us thou, see us thou, come out in the eyes of people, this is what you see.

See us thou how faith wrought with his work and by works was faith made perfect, complete. The scripture, the Old Testament was fulfilled which said Abraham believed God and it was imputed unto him for righteousness. See when you talk about how he was justified by faith alone without work, then it refers to when he simply believed. But when he refers to him about the service, he refers to his works that he did. One about his faith, one about his works.

So you trusted Christ as your savior, but it’s because you have a righteousness of God imputed to you because of your faith and what Christ did for you. You go to heaven on that. But now that you have trusted Christ as your savior and you’re going to heaven when you die. So God says, now be justified By your works, by your works. The things that you say and the things that you do, God’s gonna reward you for. He’s gonna bless you here, but there’s a day coming, he’s gonna reward you when you get to heaven.

And then he also says this, he was called the friend of God. That’s important because over here a little bit later, he talks about in chapter four, look at very quickly, see there in verse four, adulterers and adultresses, No, you not, that the friendship of the world is enmity with God. Whosoever, therefore, will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” And he says that Abraham was his friend. It means that he didn’t love the world.

Hebrews 11 talks about how he looked for a city whose builder and maker was God. Totally different. He also refers here in verse 24. In chapter 2, ye see… Then how that by works a man is justified not by faith only. But you see we’re not talking about salvation, we’re talking about service. We’re not talking about how to get to heaven, we’re talking about when you trusted Christ is your Savior, you become a child of God. Now as a child of God, God has given us a certain amount of time in which to live on the side of the grave.

And we’re going to have to answer to the Lord for that time that He gave to us. What do we do with it? And that’s why He says, if I’m If a man lose his life or my sake in the gospel, he shall find it. But if you live for yourself, you will lose your life. What does it profit my brother? And if a man gains the whole world and loses his own soul, that’s in the book of Mark and then also in the book of Luke.

And it’s also right here in the book of James in chapter 2, talking about the profit and the loss in a person’s life. You see, there’s a balance sheet. Everyone that’s in this room has assets and liabilities. Everybody has something to offer and everybody has a problem. You got an old sinful nature. There’s things about you that are no good. There’s things about me that are no good. And they’re a hazard to my Christian life. I got an old sinful nature.

You got one of them? You got a bad attitude sometimes? Say and do things you shouldn’t say. And then on the other hand, there’s parts of you at times in your life like you’re just like a little angel. You wouldn’t hurt a flea. You just love the whole world. You and your wife get along just like that. And the next day it might be war. Everybody has assets and everybody has liabilities. The longer we stay together as a church, the more people you will get to know.

And you’ll find that after a while, they’re not so great after all. See, if you don’t get to know us too well, you might think some of us are really wonderful individuals. And then maybe somebody you think that person thinks to heaven and you get to know them, they ain’t so bad. Why? That did just like you. So he says, you see then how that by works a man is justified, not by faith only. Likewise also was not Ray had the harlot justified by works when she had received the messengers and had sent them out another way for as the body without the spirit is dead.

So faith without works is dead also. And in chapter 3, my brethren, he tells them down about what they say. And then in chapter 4 about what they do, because that’s what he told them in chapter 1. And then he shows them the importance of that in chapter 2, that a man is justified by his works for service. God in heaven is going to reward you not according to your faith, but according to your work. What did you do?

How many here know, don’t raise your hand, that you should tell people how to have eternal life. You may know that it’s the will of God. You may know that you’ve been commanded, but if you’ve done it, if God is going to reward you when you get to heaven for fulfilling his desires, follow me and I’ll make you fishers of men. You say, well, I’m following the Lord. If you’re not fishing for men, you’re not following. And you can go to church all your life.

When God says not to forsake the assembling of yourselves together, do you? Do you go to church when you feel like it and when you don’t go? You judge only when you want to. You know, easy come easy go. Or do you take God seriously? Are you faithful? Are you faithful? Moreover it is required and assured that a man be found what? Faithful. You don’t have to be great, popular, rich, faithful. God is going to reward you for your faithfulness to him.

You’re the one that decides how faithful you’re going to be, how dedicated you’re going to be, how much of your life you surrender to him. But in the back of your mind, I want you to be so long this one fact. God’s going to reward you when you get to heaven, and it’ll be worth it. It will be worth it all. Look up here. Remember, you’re saved by grace, not by your works. This hand represents you and me. The wallet represents all the things we do that’s wrong.

God loves us. Now, He hates our sin, but He loves us. And the Bible says for us to pay for sin is eternal separation from God in hell. We see God doesn’t want us to go to hell, wants us to go to heaven. To go to heaven you have to be perfect as righteous has got none of us are perfect. None of us are righteous. So Bible says that you cannot earn eternal life, you cannot work your way to heaven.

Your good works won’t get you to heaven. That’s why you can’t save yourself, not by works of righteousness which we have done. This end 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 what Christ did is take all the sin of all the world, pay for it on the cross. Came back from the dead, ascended into heaven and says that whosoever anybody, if you will believe that what he did was for you, he’ll put this payment to your account, you get to go to heaven on what he did.

That is the gift of God, eternal life. And he said he’ll never cast you out and never lose you. That’s how you can know that you’re going to heaven when you die because of what he did, paid in full. After you trust Christ is Savior and you have eternal life? Yes, it’s the will of God that we serve Him, but we don’t serve Him to go to heaven. Let’s pray, shall we? With every head bowed and every eye closed, no one looking around.

Would you write down the quietness of this moment? Just talk to the Lord and say something simple like this. Lord, I don’t understand it all, but I believe that when Christ died, He died for me. And I’m going to trust Him right now is my Savior. And friend, God said, if you would trust Him, He would save you and give eternal life. Would you believe it? I’m not going to have you forward, not going to embarrass you, but right where you’re sitting.

I’m going to ask you in just a moment to raise your hand. Raising your hand doesn’t save you. It just lets me know that what I said made sense to you. And you say, preach that that made sense to me. I want to be certain I’m going to heaven and I’ll trust Christ as my Savior by faith alone, not by any of my words, not because I promise to stop anything or I’m not gonna promise to start anything, I’m just gonna receive the free gift of eternal life and bring the people do just that much.

God said he would save you and give eternal life, would you believe it? If you will make a decision, would you just slip your hand very quickly and put it right back down? Yes, God bless you, sir. Anyone else? Just very quickly slip up your hand. Yes, God bless you. Anyone else? There’s no tricks to it, no gimmicks, But once you trust Christ as your Savior, He gives you eternal life. And if it’s eternal life, it lasts forever. If it lasts forever, then friend, where would you go when you die?

It’s good to heaven. That’s why it’s the best news in all the world. Our Father, we thank You so much for this time together. And for the one indicating that they would trust You as Savior by doing so they become Your child for all eternity. We ask Father, Your blessings upon each person here understand the importance of serving you because we know the day will come when they will be rewarded for the work they are arted. Bless each one.

Christ in the Christ. 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 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. Hot up can meet the Lord in the air. So live today and every day. Believing that the Lord is coming soon, just keep looking up.