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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 air. We just 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.

Forgiveness is complete. It’s perfect. You see, if you have to be perfect to go to heaven, then forgiveness of sin has to be done perfectly. It means nothing can be left to be paid for. Either he pays for all of my debt or it doesn’t help me at all. So I believe that he paid for all of it. Now in Colossians 2 and verse 13, 13 and also verse 14, very good. very good. But here, and you have been dead in your sins separated from God because of sins.

And the uncircumcision of your flesh hath he quickened or made alive together with him. And look at this, having forgiven you most of your transfer classes. You look in your Bible and check out that verse. You ought to be writing down every one of these verses on a piece of paper and you’re going to double check and make sure the preacher told you right. Don’t you just trust the preacher. You go about what that book says and that Bible, these are Bible verses.

I did not add one letter to it or change one thing. This is the book. All you’re saying is Bible, Bible, Bible. Have forgiven you all trespasses. Having forgiven you, it’s already done. He’s already forgiven me and that I like. Now get this. If he’s in chapter one verse seven says, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to your good works, because you went to church, because you kept the Ten Commandments and obeyed the golden rule, and you gave 10% to Calvary Community Church.

Hey, it all helps, didn’t it? No, it doesn’t help. It’s according to the riches of his grace. You see, God has a lot more grace than we got sins, and his grace covers our sins. You read that in the book of Romans in chapter 5 and the last part of it. Important verses. Get this, the art of divine forgiveness. Forgiveness is by grace. For by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast.

This is the only reason and God can give us eternal life is that He paid for all of our sins. Well, if He paid for all of my sins and God was propitiated, satisfied with that payment. So when we accept the payment, God satisfied with, God satisfied with me. I am accepted because I am in His Son. I believe He did it for me. So God accepts me on that basis. Not because of what I’ve done, but because of what Jesus did.

The only reason I’m going to heaven is because God loved me so much. He sent his son to pay for my sins and came back from the dead. Homs said, if I would accept what he did, he’d give me eternal life and I’d get to go to heaven. That made sense to me, 57 years ago when I was a little low teenager. Well, maybe I wasn’t so little. I was 18 years old. All I knew was it was free and it was forever.

So I accepted Christ as my savior. And so I have been saved ever since. And I’ve only been saved from here on. and there’s nothing that can ever change that. It’s not of works. It wasn’t back then and it isn’t today. So I didn’t have to do any works to get it. I don’t have to do any works to keep it because his payment is infinite. It means it’s forever. The purpose of redemption through his blood is so we can receive the forgiveness of sin because see if there’s no payment, there can be no forgiveness because God is a holy God.

In the Old Testament, there were prophets that prophesied of this payment that Christ was going to make. They were saved looking forward to the day. And we’re saved looking back to what he did. But he says to him, give all the prophets witness that through his name, whosoever keeps the 10 commandments and obey the golden rule or whosoever does what? Whosoever believe it, that through his name, whosoever believe it shall receive. That’s the promise guaranteed, remission of sins. The only thing you and I have to do is believe that He did that for us.

And we would receive remission of sin. In other words, they’re taken away. Forgiveness is a present certainty. In other words, I can know it now. I don’t have to wait some day in the future. Maybe my sins will be forgiven. I don’t have to go to a priest or some father and have him pray over me or say anything, Try to, you know, bless me. I’ve already been blessed by God Himself. He’s the one I sinned against, and He’s the one that forgives me.

My salvation doesn’t depend upon some other man forgiving me of my sins. That is blasphemy when you study the Bible and find out what it says. First John chapter two verse 12 says, I write unto you little children because your sins are forgiven for His namesake. This is all for His honor. It’s for His glory. This is why He did it. You see, if He didn’t do it that way and make it eternal, then none of us would make it.

He didn’t do that so we can get a fresh start and see if we can make it now. Well, Y’all, I’ll just forget all about all those you’ve already done. Now, try your best. Now, come here or not, do your best. No, that’s not it. It’s forever. It gets us eternal life. Colossians 2.13 again, and you being dead in your sins in the uncircumcision of your flesh, hat, past tense, hat he quickened together with him. He had quickened together with him, having forgiven you how many trespasses?

All trespasses, all forgiven. All because of what he said, because of what he did. That’s how we can know him. Forgiveness is infinite separation from sins. You see, what does that mean? Well, once my sins are forgiven, they are so far removed that we can never be in contact again. I will never meet them again. There is a verse that is fantastic. I’m going to show it to you in just a second. It is awesome. But never to be seen, heard of or brought up again.

Now I’m talking about from God’s viewpoint. Now from our viewpoint we don’t do that with each other, do we? But God says He hath not dealt with us after our sins nor rewarded us according to our iniquities because there’s something that we do and they’re not put to our account. You see, Jesus, when He died on the cross, it’s like an estuco account. It goes into that account as pain. He put enough money in there to cover it. Enough grace in there to cover it.

A grace that covers a multitude of sins. We don’t deserve that. That God can save you and keep you saved by His power, not by your power. He says this in verse 12 of Psalms 103. And this is a great verse. As far as the east is from the west. Now how far is that? Never measure it. How far is the east from the west? Oh, you know it goes in different directions, right? As far as the east is from the west, so far happy removed our transgressions from us.

It’s important to know. But here’s a great verse also. See, forgiveness reveals God’s love for our souls. So I didn’t know that. just look at the verse. He says, in Isaiah 38 and verse 17, Behold, for peace I had great bitterness, but thou hath and yawra on the line this, in love to my soul, delivered it from the pit of corruption. For thou have cast all my sins behind my back. You see, if all of my sins were cast behind my back, all I had to do was, hello.

But where did he cast my sins? Behind his back, behind his. And so Christ, the Lord God, Jehovah, stands between me and my sins. And they are remembered no more. For thou have cast all my sins behind thy back. You know those things that you’ve done that you’re so ashamed of? Why don’t you glad God has forgiven you? cast those behind and he’ll never bring them up again. What if we could get to heaven? How would you like this?

God pulls down this great big old screen and he’s gonna put up there all of the things you’ve done wrong so everybody can see them. Would you like that? You know all those things you’ve done that nobody else knows about? Would you like for him to put a list of all of your sins up there? Probably even got it on video. And would you like to see all of that? Or do you live in holy terror that… Oh, God, does it really need to be able to help?

My wife doesn’t know. My husband doesn’t know. And you live in holy fear that… Wait, God says He has forgiven us. They are removed. They’ll never be brought up again. We’re the most happiest things in your life. It’d not be that million dollars you went from the lottery, not from all things that you have in a car, in your house, in your money. I have been forgiven. I am a forgiven man. And he’s cast all my sins behind his back.

That’s awesome. Forgiveness is only through Jesus Christ. We read this verse while I go. but give what he says. To him give all the prophets witness that through his name, whosoever believeth in him, and him shall receive as the promise, remission of sins, taken away, and as though you had never done them. Forgiveness is only through faith, that none in you therefore may be breaded through his name is preaching the forgiveness of sins, and by him all that believe are justified from all things from which you cannot be justified by the of the law of Moses.

God forgiven you of everything just by you believe in that He did this for you. And He’s the one in heaven that knows whether or not do you believe His Word? Do you believe that Christ died for your sins? You ought to say those words in your mind. Christ died for my sins. Christ died for my sins. He died for my sins. I believe He died for my sins. He paid for my sins and I believe He did it for me and He forgives me of all my sins because I believe He did it for me and He’ll never bring them up again.

Now people are not so good because we don’t do all the things because we don’t have that element of divinity where sinners, we’re still a corrupt individuals. Now get this. The art of Christian forgiveness. You see, once we trust Christ as Savior, now we know the art of divine forgiveness. But what about Christians among ourselves? Forgiveness clearing the record of those who have wronged us and removed all offenses against them. People can wrong you. I had a man in Colorado.

He went into my son’s room and he took a hammer and brutally murdered my son. He was 28 years old. He had given him a place to spend the night. I’d warned my son about doing stuff like that, but he would just do it because they did it. And the guy killed him. Through the hammer on the top of the apartment building and nobody knew what was there, they caught him. But they forgot to read him his rights. So he got four years.

And it took two years for it came to court. The judge asked me if I wanted to say a word, the lawyers. So I made a video of about 20 minutes and I talked to the court, talked to the lawyers, And I talked to the man who killed my son. And I said, I believe in a court of divine justice. Therefore, I surrender all of my anger and all of my wrath, all of my vengeance. And I surrender that to the Lord.

And I said, I forgive you. And then I went and talked about how I wanted him to trust Christ to save and how you could have eternal life. And I have no feelings of any kind against that guy. But I told him, I said, I want the court to a level whatever it’s supposed to, I committed that to the government. That they should bring justice upon you, do whatever it has to be done. I should, but me personally, I’ll take no vengeance of any kind.

There was no time in my life, I could not have done that. I would have taken a gun or any way that I could have, and I’d have even the score. And I wouldn’t have cared the consequences when I owed him. But for some reason or other, because I know God has forgiven me, I’m to forgive others. And that’s not always the easiest thing to do. Since we do not always know the genuineness of a person who says, will you forgive me?

And you don’t know if they’re serious or not. You don’t know if they’re gonna do the act all over again. As Peter says, how many times shall I forgive? Jesus says 70 times seven. What? That takes a lot of grace. But understand this, we may find it difficult allowing them an opportunity to rebuild the trust once they destroyed. People can destroy their trust and you can forgive them for whatever wrong they do but then they have to rebuild that trust.

It’s even the same with teenagers. Teenagers want to trust me ma, trust me ma, trust me ma, No, earn the right to be trusted. To be trustworthy means you’re worthy of trust. Be worthy of being trusted. Earn the right to be trusted. Earn the right to be believed. I know that’s a very difficult thing in our life. Forgiveness of our sin should produce great love toward God, gracious forgiveness toward others. In Ephesians chapter 4 verse 32 says, and be a kind one to another.

Tenderhearted. Forgiving one another. Even as God for Christ’s sake. have forgiven you. Why should I forgive? Because God, for Christ’s sake, forgave me. And look how bad I was. My sins against God are a lot worse than any person’s sins can be against me. And God forgave me. And because He forgave me, look what I get. I’m His child, I have eternal life, and He saved me and gave me eternal life. And then I didn’t have to promise how I was going to live.

I didn’t have to promise got anything. No strings attached. And so for 56 years, I could have lived like the devil, and all of this still is true, and I’m still going to heaven because I have been forgiven. But because of such great love, it challenged and motivated me. I wanted to serve somebody that loved me so much. You know, you’ll get more out of serving God if you love Him than you do if you, well I have to do this.

I’ve got to, no I don’t have to do that at all. I’m going to heaven because of what Christ did for me. I serve him not to get to heaven, but because I love him because of what he did for me. When you understand this more and more, it can overwhelm you. That you don’t want anything to come between you and the Lord. Now get this. Result or not for giving others will result in great hurt and bitterness and a very critical spirit.

Hebrews chapter 12, where God deals with his children in chastisement says looking diligently less any man fail of the grace of God less any root of bitterness springing up trouble you and thereby many be defiled. You see we get filled with bitterness because somebody hurt us hurt that’s not resolved leads to bitterness and bitterness is what springs up inside of you and many become defiled and you’ll call the lot a lot of other people to be bitter because you’re bitter.

And it eats that you like cancer. It’s what’s eating you. That’s the problem. And this is why it’s so important that the art of learning how to forgive, not retaliatory, just learn, and I’ve told the college kids this, I don’t know if they’re living to listen to it or learn it, but I can tell them. You may have to learn how to serve God as though you’ve never been hurt. Because you’re going to be hurt. But if you don’t commit that to the Lord, that bitterness is going to eat at you and it’ll destroy you.

Bitterness is poison that a person takes to kill himself. So if you’re a bitter person, you’re drinking poison. And it’s all because you will not forgive. I know to people who will not forgive their parents. They won’t forgive their teenagers. They won’t forgive their grandkids. They won’t forgive their aunt, my goals. You’d be surprised at the people who will not and never speak to them again because they won’t forgive. They become a bitter mean person and it destroys. And the Old Testament, it makes this statement.

Because it’s an Old Testament example of a New Testament command where we’re supposed to, forgive one another. But in Genesis, it tells us about the story of Joseph and how his brothers turned against him and lied about him and tried to kill him and then sold him. And so he went from the pit, he went to the prison, he went to Potiphar’s house, and then became, came to the Pharaoh. So he had a, a while ride, and Joseph had done no wrong to anybody.

And so his brothers came down in, and told me, oh, they saw him, and they thought he was gonna kill him. And they confessed to him. And he says, I pray thee now. the trespass of thy brethren and their sin. For they did unto the evil. And now I pray thee, forgive me the trespass. Forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph went when they spake unto him or wept. He wept because he was broken because the people who had wronged them so many years before knew they were wrong and has been eaten at them all these years.

And then they lied to their dad to Jacob And the bitterness that was there and the hurt, the lies that they told, none of it was true. Joseph, who’s now in power, could have had every one of them killed. And his brother also went and fell down before his face and they said, “‘Behold, we be thy servants.” Remember he had had a dream where they was all bound before him and he told him that. And they said, here comes the dreamer.

He’s the dreamer. And Joseph said to them, if you’re not for am I in the place of God? And they let him know in your eyes. Do you realize that God put me here? God put me here for a reason to save many people alive. So he says, but as for you, you thought evil against me, but God meant it under good. God used what you have and meant for evil. God used it for good. Now, as an individual, do you realize people who wrong?

you and hurt you, say things again. God can use that for good. Because sometimes people who hurt you could be because they love you. And some people who will say things to you might be because God is rebuking you and you need to listen. Not all criticism is destructive criticism. It can be corrective criticism. It could be because they could be right and you may have a problem with pride and want admit it. And so the best way to show that you’re not guilty is blame.

Somebody else’s fault, the old blame game. But now therefore, fear you not. I will nourish you and your little ones and be he comforted them and spake kindly unto them. Under the law, you are to forgive if you wanted to be forgiven. But under grace, you are to forgive because you have been forgiven. And be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiven one another, and so far because God has for Christ they forgiven this is what God wants. Today, we’re going to have communion service.

What is communion service about? Well, it’s about remembering. Remembering this, one of the greatest things of all, is that Christ came into the world and He was given a body. And the bread that we take is a representative of the body. His was without sin, and ours is without leaven. Means no sin, no yeast. And so therefore the body is a picture of Jesus Christ taking our sins upon his body and paying for our sins on the cross. And we do that in remembrance of what he did, because without the body there can be no death.

He took our sins, died for it. And so then when we take of the juice of what we’re saying is he not only was prepared a body, but he gave his life. life. So he says, the life of the flesh is in the blood. And I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your soul, Leviticus 1711. So he shed his blood because he gave his life. So his life for your life, he died for you.

He bought you. He paid for you. And all he wants us to do, he says, down, whenever you do this, do this in remembrance of me. Remember, you see in the big bowl letters up there? You have been forgiven. You have been forgiven. Can you remember this? Every time we take communion, you should be remembering. I have been forgiven. I have been forgiven. Let me show you something just to make it maybe a little bit understandable. Everything that I’ve said, I watch.

This is not a trick. no time with his hand ever leave my wrist.” I want you to watch and make sure it doesn’t happen. This hand represents you and me. The wallet represents sin. We all have sin on us. God loves us. Now, he hates our sin, but he loves us. But we’ve all sinned against God. And the wage of the sin is death, eternal separation from the Lord. But God wants us to go to heaven, but to go to heaven we have to be perfect as righteous as God.

But we’ve missed the mark of perfection because we’ve all sinned. all come short of God’s righteousness. So the Bible says we are in debt, we got a debt to pay. So how are we going to pay for this debt? God says there’s only one way and that’s the wages of sin is death. So Jesus Christ, this hand represents Jesus Christ, came into this world because He loves us, hates our sin because our sin separates us from Him. So Jesus Christ who had no sin didn’t have to die.

But because He loved us, He took all the sin of all the world, paid for it on the cross, came back from the dead. He said, now the only thing we have to do, and it’s the same for all of us, He died for all of us, paid for all of our sins, came back from the dead, all He wants you to do is, well, you believe He did that for you. Where’s the hard part? It’s just so hard.

No, no, no, no. Listen, all he wants you to do is believe he did it for you. When you believe he did it for you, you have a payment for all of your sins. He was the payment, you have Christ, he died for you, paid for all of your sins, and all of your sins are forgiven, washed away, washed into blood, you all hear those songs? Made wider than snow, that’s what it’s all talking about. So whenever you believe he did it for you, when you get up to leave today, You can say, I have been washed as white as snow.

I have been washed in the blood of the lamb. I am as clean as snow. Forgiven, eternally forgiven. And that’s the best news in the world. That’s worth telling people about. You see, you don’t have to join this church to go to heaven. You don’t have to give money to go to heaven. Good heaven is free. That’s the gift. I think that the best news you ever heard. As Freddy Cole would say, ain’t that good? Ain’t that good? Let’s pray, shall we?

With heads bowed nice and closed and no one looking around. If you’ve never trusted Christ as your Savior, maybe you’ve heard about this all your life. But have you really accepted what He did for you? Do you believe He died and paid for your sins? Or are you trying to earn your way to heaven by your good works? Don’t put no confidence in any of your works because you cannot earn it. You see, this is a gift, this is free.

God loves you that much. I’m gonna 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 I’m not gonna embarrass you. I’m not going to have against the wall or do anything to you. I just want to know with his bow nice clothes, if what I said made sense to you, and that you will trust Jesus Christ as your Savior this morning.

So preach it, I believe that he did it for me. And I’ve never done it before, but this morning I will. I will accept Jesus Christ as my Savior. Would you just slip your hand very quickly and put it right back down, say one at all. Yes, God bless you, sir. Anyone else, just very quickly slip it up. Yes, God bless you. Anyone else? Just real quick, just slip it up and wrap it down. Once you trust Christ as your Savior, God gives you eternal life.

When you walk out the door, you can say, I am been forgiven. I’m going to heaven because of what Christ did for me. The other thing I want you to consider is this. Are there people that you know right now, you’re bitter toward, you’re carrying a grudge, some resentment? Don’t you think you all would take care of that? Talk to the Lord and forgive them. Have the spirit of forgiveness live with that. And leave things with the Lord. God, take care of things.

Our Father, we ask your blessings upon the one that indicated that they would trust your Savior. By doing so, they become your child, your child forever. And that you’ll never cast us out, never lose us. That the payment you made was for all the sins of all the world. And by accepting that payment, we become your children. And help us as your children to learn to forgive others. And follow me asking your blessings upon the remaining service. Were those that have already trusted you, Savior, no one understand that as we partake of the Lord’s Supper, it doesn’t save us.

It’s because we are saved. It’s because they help us to remember why you came and what you did that you made a payment for our sins and came back from the dead. That we can sit here or stand here today and say, I am forgiven. I have eternal life. We thank you all for all you’ve done for us in Christ’s name. 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.

God up to meet the Lord in the air. So live today and every day. Believe in that the Lord is coming soon. Just keep looking up.