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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. He just told 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 if God justifies man, then God has to be right in doing so. He can’t just say, you know, that Yankee fella. He is so special. I just got to let him, I’m just going to give him a pass. He is just so good, and I just love him more than everybody else. I’m going to let him in. He can’t do that. God has to be just when he justifies the unjust. He cannot just justify you. That’s why he could not just save you.

Why couldn’t he have just forgiven everybody? Because his law demands a death payment. God is just, he must have laws. There is right and there is wrong. Sin must be punished. So in order for him to justify us, he has to satisfy his law. And so the law demands the death. So that’s why God had to send his son in order he would take upon himself The sins of the world and make that death payment come back from the dead and God could apply that death to you and me and be just in doing so.

He can justify us and be just in doing so. God has to be right in everything he does. So you can never say, well, that wasn’t right. God didn’t do that right. I don’t see how God can send all those people to hell. Maybe you can’t, but God can. And then people become judges upon God. Is there any verse in the Bible that says that? I think so. Look there in Hold Your Place in Romans. We’ll get back to it in a minute.

But look in the book of James. The book of James and chapter four. Look in the book of James, chapter four. When he’s telling you and I to humble ourselves unto the Lord. Did you know that when a person does not humble themselves before the Lord, they exalt themselves? To do so is setting in judgment on God. Is it possible that Christians can believe they can do what they want or live how they please and get away with it?

Or it won’t be that bad? Oh, it might be, but it won’t be that bad. Where God doesn’t see or God doesn’t know, it’s not going to make any difference. And God says, all these things, it does matter. And a Christian says, it doesn’t matter. And it does matter. Then a Christian can even set in judgment on God. And so I’m not going to serve the Lord. And God says, we ought to come together, not forsaken the assembly of ourselves together as some is.

And some people will do it anyway. God will tell us how to live and how holy we ought to live. And some people won’t do it anyway because they know more than God. Because this will make me happier. I’ll have more peace. I’ll have more love. I’ll have more joy. I’ll have more things. I’ll have more whatever.” And they said, in judgment of God, that God’s way isn’t the best. So I’ll go my own way. So is it possible even for a little sheep of the Lord to go astray?

And many of God’s children go astray. So he says down here in verse 6, but he giveth more grace, wherefore he says, God resists the proud but giveth grace unto the humble. Those who submit themselves to the Lord, God gives them greater grace. Then he says here in verse 7, submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. Drowned night to God, Now this is to the Christian. This is to the lost man. This is to the believers.

And he will draw 90 you. Cleanse your hands. He centers and purify your hearts. He double minded. Remember in the first chapter of the book of James when he says you’re double minded? Let not that man think he shall receive anything on the Lord. And if you ask of God, don’t ask a mess, but be leaving and not be like a ship on the sea or tossed to and fro by every wind that comes along. That’s a double minded man.

I won’t, I will, I won’t, I will, I won’t. Make up your mind, set your face like a flint, and I’m gonna serve the Lord and do it. So then he says here in verse 10, Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and he shall lift you up. Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother and judgeeth his brother speaketh evil of the law and judges the law. So a person set an judgment on the law.

But if thou judged the law, thou art not a door of the law, but a judge, a judge of God. Why? Because in verse 12, there’s one law giver. So there’s people who said in judgment of what God’s word says and decide for themselves, what they think is the best. And so they’re said in judgment of God, shall we continue to live in sin that grace may abound? No, that’s not the will of God. That’s not what God wants.

Now God can save you by grace. That’s why it’s called grace. And the payment he may yes for all the sins of the world. But listen, God has a lot more for you than just that. He says one thing to get you a little pinkies inside the pearly gates, but then what? Did you realize that every day, all your decisions, every decision, good and bad, is affecting your eternity? It’s important. Serving God is important. Now go back to the book of Romans in chapter 3 where he says, the people are going to set in judgment of God.

They said in judgment of the Word of God is probably and could be somebody said in here tonight. You’re setting in judgment on God’s will for your life. You can read the Word of God and God will tell you this is what I want you to do and you said in judgment said, I don’t think so and that’s not for me. And I don’t think that’s what I should do. And you just throw out how many times you’ll talk your way up because well, you just don’t agree with what God says.

You’re saying this isn’t for me though. That doesn’t mean me. That means everybody, let me. So some people look for the dog through the Bible like they’re looking for a loophole. Fine, is there an escape clause in here sometimes? Like people get married and they, later on they, what are you looking for honey? Oh, look at that escape clause. Let’s try and look where we’re out. No. Look back here now in chapter three of the book of Romans. And he says here in verse five, but if our unrighteousness commended the righteousness of God, in other words, if our unrighteousness, things we do wrong sheds light upon the righteousness of God.

Isn’t that good? Well, if that’s so good, then why, excuse me, it’s been so bad. Because I did something good. Some people’s minds can truly get twisted. Doesn’t my sin reveal how righteous God is? Because look how righteous God is. You wouldn’t know God was so good if you didn’t know I was so bad. So therefore some people get mixed up. You’re supposed to, as a channel God, mimic God. Be an imitator of your father. In the book of Ephesians in chapter 5, in verse 1 and talking about in verse one and talk about be there for imitators of your heavenly Father.

And your heavenly Father is not the devil. It’s the Lord. And we are His children. We should live like His children. So we should not continue in rebellion to God. God wants His children to serve Him. Now notice what He says here. In verse five, when He makes the statement, is God unrighteous who take his vengeance? And He says, I speak as a man. He’s got unrighteous who take vengeance. Let’s say for example, who you got the whole world, how then shall God judge the world?

And that is the question that is asked just like that. How shall God look in chapter 2 of the book of Romans and look what he says there in verse 3 where he says, and thinkest thou this, oh man, that judgeth them which do such things and doeth the same, that thou shall escape the judgment of God. You’re going to escape the judgment of God. Dawa, and he’s understanding that God is going to judge the world, but then the question is, is God unrighteous to bring wrath upon unbelievers?

Well he put the wrath upon his son so that nobody would have to experience the wrath. But what if the individual rejects the son? Then they accept the wrath. So he that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already. And he that believeth on the son hath everlasting life, but he that believeth not the wrath of God abindeth upon him. Yes, this is all important. But now here in the book of Romans, notice what it says in verse 6, how then shall God judge the world?

He’s got a judge of the world. some way. So he judged it this way. It’s not like God’s going to in the future. He’s already done it. And what he came to the conclusion was, everybody has sinned. All the people without the law, with the law, there’s none good, no not one. See that’s why he says down in verse 9, what then? Are we better than they? Are the Jews better than the Gentiles? No. For we have before proved of Jews and Gentiles that they’re all under sin.

As it is written, there’s none righteous, no not one. There’s none that understand it. There’s none that seeketh after God. They’re all gone out of the way. They are together becoming probable. There’s none that doeth good, no not one. So we see that God’s conclusion is, is nobody’s good. There is none good. There’s not one person in God’s that better than the other. He can’t let one person in the whole world go to heaven till all have sinned. And so verse 13 down to verse 18 tells you just how bad people are.

And God’s not asking us to live in sin so we can show how good and righteous God is. We know how bad sin is because it was revealed on the cross. Look there in chapter 1 and verse 17 where he says, for therein is the righteousness of God revealed. revealed. In verse 18, for the wrath of God revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness, God already knows how bad it is. And man should know it’s pretty bad. And since man cannot meet the righteous standards of the law, he needs a Savior.

So God has to be just if he justifies any man. So he has declared there is no difference all have sinned and so look there in verse 19 of chapter 3. Now we know that what things so of the law said it’s safe to them who are under the law that every mouth may be stopped. In other words nobody can declare that they’re righteous not a person because the God has all the facts in every case about every individual and there is none righteous no not one and so So then he says, and all the world may become guilty before God.

If all the world is guilty before God, then everybody is held accountable. They’re all in the same boat. They’re all guilty. Therefore by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in this site. By the law is the knowledge of sin. The law lets us know how sinful we really are. So that’s why we need a Savior. this is why he says the righteousness which is of God. Man doesn’t have any. Now he’s going to talk about his righteousness.

So how can God give us his righteousness and be justified in doing so? He said, but now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, been witnessed by the law in the prophets. In other words, they told about this that the Messiah was going to come and he was the righteous one and he was going to make a payment for the world. And it was talked about. And verse 22 says, even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ.

Now get these two verses, this verse, or this phrase, it is so important. His righteousness is unto all, but it’s only upon them that believe. It’s unto all. Now who is condemned? All the world. None good, none. But his righteousness is unto those that he chose. No, it’s unto all. Who is this all? All those that were guilty. All the world may become guilty. There’s no separation there. But he says his salvation is unto all and upon all them that do what?

That’s all they had to do. God had to make it where anybody can have it. So it can’t apply to any man’s works. That’s why the next verse talks about in verse 23, all have sinned and come short of God’s perfection, short of God’s glory. So whatever believing does, it’s to meet that need. Cause if believing in Christ, getting his righteousness doesn’t make me good to go to heaven, then I don’t need it. It’s not sufficient. It’s not enough.

Or it’s more than enough. So he says here in verse 24, now get this, being justified, just as if you had never sinned, been declared righteous. The judge of all the earth can declare you righteous, giving you his righteousness, and anything else you want to say about it. He says you’re justified really, and look at the next three words, buy his what? grace through the redemption because of this payment Christ made. So everybody can be saved. And then he says this, verse 25, whom God have set forth to be the propitiation, the satisfaction.

God was satisfied with the payment Christ made. It satisfied the rightistic demands of the law. The law was satisfied. So God is just unjustifying you and I because of Christ. No man has ever been justified by his works. That’s why he makes that statement there in verse 20. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight. So no man can claim his righteousness for justification. You can only accept the righteousness of Christ.

God is not asking for the righteousness of man to be sent up. He’s asking for you and I to accept the righteousness he sent down. And then he says this, whom God have set forth to be the propitiation through faith in his blood to declare. Get to his righteousness for the remission of sins that are passed through the forbearance of God. People sinned in the Old Testament, but their sins had not been paid. Sacrifices covered and God was appeased, but he wasn’t pleased.

They’d never satisfied the anger of God or the wrath of God. It was like they were put on a layaway plan until the payment was made. So when Christ stood on that cross, He paid for the sins that were passed and get this for those people who were before the cross. Now we’re reading this 30 years after the cross And he says in verse 26, to declare I say at this time, at this time his righteousness. It was declared before the cross and it was declared after the cross.

So the payment Christ made on the cross was for the sins before him and after him. That he might be just, see those words? He might be just God. Cannot just forgive you of your sins. He has to be just when he does so. So when he justifies you, he has the right to do so, and you and I should not question it. If God declared me saved, righteous, justified his child, then who in this world has the right to condemn me?

Well, the people like it or not. I’m a child of God and I’m going to heaven. And nothing that anybody can ever say or do can ever change what God did for me. God was right in doing so. He was right in justifying me. Not because of my work, but because of the work that Christ did. God was satisfied with that. God was satisfied with that payment Christ made and He would give to you and I the free gift of everlasting life.

Verse 27, Where is boasting? If it’s not by your works, there isn’t any. It’s excluded by what law of works? No. By the law of faith, all I had to do was believe. I didn’t have to do any works. All I had to do was believe. That’s why in verse 28 when he says, therefore, being justified, as we can say to you, Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. And then he says, is he the God of the Jews only, or is he not also of the Gentiles?

Yes, of the Gentiles also. Seeing it is one God which shall justify the Jews circumcision by faith and the uncircumcision the Gentiles through faith. Both are saved by faith. Do we then make void the law through faith? Doesn’t the law demands works? No. The law is the knowledge of sin. Let’s just know that we cannot save ourselves by the law, by our works. Therefore we know we need a Savior. And the last part of this is God for big we establish the law.

Huh? Because according to the law, we admit we are sinners, we cannot save ourselves. And we have sinned due to the law, and that knowledge lets us know we cannot save ourselves. So God is just when He justifies the unjust. Now just look at this before we close. Look at He says they’re in chapter 4, chapter 4 and in verse 5. But to Him, I love those two words that work it not. But believe it on him that justify it the ungodly.

His faith is counted for righteousness. God can make it possible for all these people that are condemned regardless of how bad they are. So when you read in the book of Romans in chapter one about men with men, women with women, of the debauchery and how wicked and so forth and forth, I’ve had preach say, well, see, that’s because God, those people that God then wrote them off, they can’t be saved. Then you didn’t listen to anything the whole thing says.

They most certainly can be saved. It doesn’t matter how bad they are. And it didn’t matter how so-called righteous those lawkeepers were. They didn’t keep the law perfectly. They sinned. So whether they were with the law or without the law, God says he concludes all understand so that when Christ died, He died for all people’s sins. God can be just when He justifies you. And if God declares you justified, are you justified? If He declares you righteous, are you righteous?

As far as God is concerned? Yes. You’re going to heaven because of what He did for you, not what you did for Him. Now because of that, because of all that He’s done for us, shouldn’t we want to tell other people this wonderful news? Because there’s so many people that’s never heard this. They don’t have a clue what the Bible is talking about. I’m so thankful that I remember when I was about the second grade, some lady came to our school in Oglethort County and got a little old school in Lexington, Georgia.

And I was going to school there and they passed out little New Testament, say everybody there. They could do that back then. And somebody there showed me a verse, and I only remember the first two words, verily, verily. But it wasn’t a big verse, it was a simple verse, a little short verse. I know now is John 647. Somebody showed me that verse in the Bible. And I remember that. And that’s all I remember. I don’t remember what happened to that little New Testament.

I don’t remember what we did again. My mom and dad, I never saw my mom and dad in church. never had a Bible in our home. We never had prayer in our home. And then we went to Pennsylvania. And we went to Pennsylvania and the years begin to roll by. And I often would take and see a Bible and I’d get a Bible. You know what I was looking for? Barely, barely, barely. I don’t know why I kept looking for it, barely, barely.

And I could never find it. I thought this, those two were, they kept sticking in my mind. And now I know somebody planted a seed in my mind. And so I kept looking for that and I thought, man, I wished I wish I could have found that verse in the Bible. I might have understood it because I remember those two words and it lies into my mind. I’m so glad that somebody came along all those years later, I was 18 years old and the man explained the gospel to me and I trusted Christ as my Now, when I trust that Christ is my Savior, God didn’t do anything wrong in saving me.

Now some people have questioned that, I know, but God didn’t do anything wrong in saving me. God didn’t do anything wrong in saving you. He didn’t save you because you deserved it. He saved you because it was just. God can do this. You see, he made a promise that he would justify the heathen through faith. And you and I are heathens. We were without God, without hope in this world. And somebody brings us to the gospel, that good news, and we trusted Christ of Savior, and we get to go to heaven.

That’s the best news in all the world. And there’s just so many people that’s never understood this, and that’s why we’ve got to keep on telling them. It was interesting the day after I finished speaking. Bob Gilbert came up to me and he says, you know those five things you were talking about? He says, you should add one more. He says, what’s that? He says that we should be gospel driven on the way on my thought about that. That is the one of the things that puts all those things together, just because you believe all of that.

It’s not just for you. It’s so that we become gospel-driven. This message that we have, you know what? Without understanding the clarity of the gospel, you can’t even understand the book of Romans. It’s the lens by which you study Scripture. The clearest of the gospel is how you focus in. You can understand Romans chapter 3 and 4 and 5 and 6 because of the gospel. being clear. You take the clear gospel away and you be surprised how you can get so messed up in Scripture.

The gospel is the lens by which we study the rest of Scripture. Look over here, this hand represents you and me. The wall represents sin. We all have sin on us. Now God, He loves us. He hates our sin, but He loves us. But for us to pay for the sin that we committed is eternal separation from God, in hell. And if we go to hell, God would be just. We can’t blame him. But God loves us, wasn’t to go to heaven.

So he wants to have mercy upon us. But he just can’t show mercy. He has to have a way of justifying us to let us get out of this. So he says, you can’t get yourself out. You’re condemned. There’s no hope. You can’t save yourself. So he sent his son, Jesus Christ, into the world. hand represents Jesus Christ. He had no sin. He didn’t have to die. But because He loves us, He took all of our sins, paid for it on the cross.

And God poured out His wrath upon His Son, and He was separated. That’s why He cried out, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And He paid for our sins and come back from the dead. And He says the only thing we have to do concerning His righteousness, as He says, is unto all but it’s upon them that believe. So if you and I believe it, then He puts His righteousness to our account and that makes me as righteous as God.

He took my sins and gives me His righteousness. If God gave you His righteousness, wouldn’t that be good enough to go to heaven on? That’s how you can know that you’re going to heaven when you die. God has declared you righteous, as though you had never committed a sin. That’s the best news in all the world. Let’s pray shout to him. With his bow nice clothes and no one looking around, if you’ve never trusted Christ as your Savior, why not just talk to the Lord right now and say something simple like this, Lord, I know I’m a sinner.

I believe Christ died, pay for my sins, I want to trust Him to take me to heaven. And if you’ll believe that, He’ll save you, give eternal life. If you’re watching by internet, that’s all you have to do. It’s only thing you can do. You cannot save yourself. But right on the screen it says, yes, I’ll trust Christ as my Savior, if you will. Would you just click it on? Let us know that someone trusts the Lord. We don’t know who you are, but we know that someone did.

Our Father, we thank again for your blessings. Thank for giving us a free gift of everlasting life. And Father, how that you can be just, and justifying us good for nothing sinners. You did it because Christ paid for our sins, and you were satisfied with that. We’re so thankful that you were. Bless each one here. Lord, a lot of things coming up this week. We just pray your hand to be upon us and get everything done. Lord, we know that you’ll walk us through all these things.

We commit it to you and ask your blessings upon us. In Christ’s name 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 Mail. 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. Caught up to meet the Lord in the air. So live today and every day, believe in that the Lord is coming soon and just keep looking up.