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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. and reach us toll free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made by clicking on the donations link on the BibleLineMinistries.org homepage. We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, and that today’s concluding message of this teaching will be a blessing to you and your family.

Look there in your Bible. The first Corinthians in chapter eight, just hold your place right here. First Corinthians in chapter eight. And just look at this here a little bit. 1 Corinthians 8, because this is a problem that the apostle Paul had to deal with. Because some people do that, hey, it doesn’t bother you what you eat. As long as you give thanks, you can eat it. And there’s people who did and there’s people who didn’t. So he makes the statement in verse 1, now as touching things offered unto idols, we know know that we all have knowledge.

Knowledge puffed up, but charity edifier. In the words you may know there’s absolutely nothing wrong with me eating at me. Whether you’re a Jew or whether you’re a Gentile, nothing’s wrong with it. But not everybody has that knowledge. Everybody don’t know that. He says, now is it better because of your knowledge you can know it and it’s right and puffed you up and said, I can do it because I have right to do and there’s nothing wrong with it.

But do you love the brother because what you do and take liberty to do because you have the right to do but it might be detrimental to somebody else’s faith because they don’t know what you know. So he says in verse two, if any man think, it has to do with the way a person’s thinking. Any man think that he know of anything he know nothing yet as he ought to know. But if any man loved God, the same is known of him.

So love is going to make a difference in how you treat one another. Even though you know you have the right to do certain things, does it mean that it’s expedient for you to do so? That’s mentioned in several places. First Corinthians chapter 6 it says, all things are lawful unto me, but not all things are expedient. In the word you may have the right to do it, but it may not be profitable. So he says here in verse 4, as concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world.

And that there is none other God, but we know there’s only one true in living God. So whatever they’re doing and offering some God that dares, no other God. You can eat that meat, nothing wrong with it. Okay, this is what Paul knew, and this is how Paul explained it, but he He says, not everybody has this knowledge. Not everybody knows this. Not everybody can do this with a clear conscience because maybe they’ve been doing it for how many years and it’s part of their life, part of their culture.

Now all of a sudden, it doesn’t matter. And the Jewish people were going through the very same thing. And so he says here in verse five, for though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, as there’d be God’s many, and Lord’s many, but to us, there is but one God. The Father of whom are all things, and we in Him and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him. So we know there’s only one true in living God.

There’s only one Savior, Jesus Christ. And so we know that we have the freedom, we have liberty. But what you have to watch is does your liberty become a stumbling block? Does your liberty cause other people that are weak in the faith to sin? Because their conscience is not where yours is. You may watch a program on TV and somebody says, you ungodly sinner, and it may not bother him, but it might bother you. And very easy, you can set in judgment.

watched a game of golf materialistic so and godly men out there chasing around this little bitty white ball Now they don’t care if they sit and watch the TV for five hours, but don’t you go hit a little white ball for five hours? You see anything wrong with that? And people can become critical so easy and God says hold it now. Do you love each other? Try to be patient with those that don’t see and understand everything that you know, but look what he says in verse 7.

How be it there is not in every man that not everybody knows the same thing. Not everybody has matured to the same degree. Some people don’t know what’s right and what’s wrong. Some just trust Christ as their Savior. And there’s always a church that wants to put up on you all the rules and regulations and expect you to walk to the same of 50 years and you’re not there. That’s why I’ve been a lot of times with people, but I always snap back to my original position.

I know where I’m trying to get God’s people to go, but I can’t make them. I have to win them. So I have to teach truth little by little by little by little by little and see you grow and next thing you know, hey, you can see it for yourself. It is so good when some people begin to see things and correct things in their life on their own. Wouldn’t that be great? But some people have to be nudged a little bit, but how you do it is so important.

But it’s so wonderful watching people grow in the Lord, but they don’t do it overnight. A little here, a little of that. And so that’s what is really what God is talking about. But look at this also. See there in verse 7, how bit there is not in every man that knowledge for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour, eat it as a thing offered unto an idol. And their conscience, so underlined the word conscience, because this is what we’re talking about.

Another person’s conscience, well what I do, even though I have the right to do it, it may bother somebody else’s conscience. And you have to decide whether or not now, is that me doing this or not doing this, is it that bad that I need to either curb it or stop it or especially around certain people? And though you know you have the freedom, you got the liberty. But don’t use your liberty as a cloak of maliciousness. Don’t use your liberty because other people just stumble just because well I’ve got the right I can do it if I want yes I know but it may not be wise because somebody else may do the same thing you’re doing and it caused them to fall because they’re not as strong so notice what he says here in verse 8 he says but meet commineth us not

to God for neither if we eat are we the better neither if we eat not are we the worse. Now for your body there might be certain things that you’ll find out, okay if I eat this all the time it’s not gonna be good for me. I mean we like pizza. If you eat it three times a day you may have a problem. I don’t know what it is but you might have one. I like ice cream. Betty lets me have just a little bit each night just a little bit.

But if I get too much I’m gonna have a problem. I won’t be able to walk down the aisle. But who do I love it? And she knows if I get just that little bit I crave it. It is so good and it is wonderful and I look forward to that every night. I can’t hardly wait. But there’s something, see, that you can do that’s gonna hurt you. Now you may say I got the right to eat pork if I want, you sure do.

But you may have to check and find out is he gonna give me high blood pressure, all that bacon, all have good, but how much you do, learn your body, learn what’s good for it, what’s not good for it, but don’t try to put all of your high standards upon somebody else and be mean and unkind because, well, I would never do that. Well, God bless your little pea-pig and heart, somebody else will, and just because you do or you don’t doesn’t make you better, doesn’t make you more spiritual, it doesn’t make you more godly.

So be careful and notice what else he says here in verse 9. But take heed less by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to them that are what? Now if you don’t care about the weak, do whatever you want to do, don’t worry about it. But if you care, changes everything. When you care about the teenagers, there’s the things you’re going to do and not do. You care about a adults there’s things that you do and don’t do.

And so there’s things that I have done and and limited for myself over the years that I’m not saying somebody else has to do that, but I have to find out what will help me to be strong in the Lord. Now somebody else that may not be as critical for them, but it will be for me. And so therefore the more I want to be used the more I have to watch myself and somebody else, so they’re satisfied with whatever they get and Don’t worry about it.

So, people are different. This is why even in church, you build a church or a ministry on the temporary dedication of God’s people. Wouldn’t it be neat if everybody stayed loving the Lord all the time with all their heart? Well, it would be great, but then you wouldn’t need a preacher. If people got problems, they got hang-ups. There’s a perspective that they have. But now notice, when he makes his statement in verse 10, for if any man see thee, and this is what we’re talking about, in the eyes of other people, and the men see thee, which hath knowledge said it meet in the idols temple, shall not the conscience of him, which is weak, be emboldened to eat those things, which are offered to idols and you could cause a weaker person to stumble because a stronger person did it but he doesn’t have the same meaning to him that it may have to that weaker person

and some Christians won’t be able to stand and this is why it’s so important. But understand in what God’s saying. He says, when you do so against the conscience of a weaker brother and you won’t his weak conscience, he says you sin against Christ. Look what he says in verse 11, through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish for whom Christ died. But when you sin so against the brethren wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. That’s important.

It’s important to know that and to understand. I go back here to the book of Romans. In fact, the Romans. And you’ll notice when he makes the statement here in verse two, all these things, yes, something it’s okay and some think it’s not. Verse 3, let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not. Let not him which eateth not judge him or condemn him that eateth for God hath received him. See God’s already saved him. He’s God’s child and talked about into the fellowship of a church.

If you’re going to expect only the perfect mature people to become members of a church or a body of believers, I mean you think you’ll have. And who’s going to be the judge? So we let people who trusted Christ as Savior become part of a body of Christ here. Now you’re part of the body of Christ because you trusted Christ as your Savior. But we want people to come because we want to help them grow stronger in the Lord.

So there’s nothing wrong with that. So notice what he says in verse 4, Who art thou that judges or condemns the other person, another man’s servant, to his own master he stands at their follow. See when you trust the Christ is your Savior and you decide I’m going to serve the Lord. Well the master and the servant see you’re God’s servant and I’m God’s servant and so he’s my boss and he’s your boss. We’ve got a boss and that’s the Lord that tells us what to do and believe believe it or not, over the years, not since in the breaking door she was wearing, I’m not talking about it as the fact, thousands have trusted Christ as their Savior.

I have not been able to hold every one of their hands and walk with them through life. I’ve had to lead them to the Lord and some will stay and some will go and some I never see again. Now, see, I haven’t raised these kids. I do believe that God is able to raise his kids. And I found out sometimes you can go to church if the preacher isn’t clear on the gospel or of the Christian life that they have to come 10, 15 times before they finally get, okay, now I think I get it.

And so you’ve got to sometimes visit with them all these times when they used to come to the ranch or they come to church, they got such a clear understanding of the gospel that they knew they were saved. And then they knew about the two natures. So they knew they were saved, but they knew they were having problems. So they understood why they did what they did. And that could help follow them up truth is a greater tag along follower to help the person to understand.

The best follow up program you can ever have is when people understand what God is saying. And they don’t have you there to raise them. God is able to make them stand. Look what he says here. When he makes the statement in verse four, who are thou that judges another man serving to his own master? He standeth their fallen. Yay, he shall be holding up for God is able to make him stand. That holding up means to be made to stand, made to stand.

See, God is able to work in people’s lives. I’ve always believed I’ve never tried to be a, you know, I’m not the Holy Spirit. I don’t want to play God in people’s lives. I want to teach the truth and trust it to work. I believe that when you trust Christ as your Savior, the Holy Spirit indwells you. And the Holy Spirit cares more about you than I ever will. You may lead somebody to the Lord. Can I have a greater burden for the lost man than God himself?

Can I love the lost man or the saved man more than God? So the Holy Spirit goes with them wherever they go and I don’t believe he just quits and gives up on people and there’s a lot of people along the way that they will meet and somebody will say this and somebody will say that and they will grow. I didn’t have my father law around me all the time to raised me in the Lord. He taught me a few things and next thing you know I lived in five states in a year and a half after I got saved.

Five states in a year and a half and in several places within those five states all the time. I was like a gypsy. I didn’t want anybody to tell me what I couldn’t couldn’t do. I was rebated but I didn’t know I was. I just I’m just doing the best I knew how with the knowledge that I had. And finally somebody told me, says, Janki, you need to go to Bible school. And lo and behold, I took their advice.

And I’m okay. Next thing you know, I’m going to Bible school. And I’m so glad that I did. So glad. But anyway, when you look at this year and he’s talking about these things, I want you to look at this. Look in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, 1 Corinthians chapter 10, when he says that he is able to make you stand. He is able to make you strong. Now he’s able to do all of these things, but it has to do with what do you want?

Do you want to stand? Do you want to be strong? Do you want to grow? Do you want to be mature? Look what he says in verse 12, wherefore let him that thinketh he, you see, I believe a lot of these things that you read over in the book of Romans, they’re all compatible because it’s always talking about your saved by grace and then the Christian life and how you’re going to struggle through life and some people will grow and some people won’t grow some people applied themselves some won’t some will be disciplined some won’t and so I just try to take people as they come and as they go and whatever they’re willing to give and use them if they want to grow fine if you don’t want to grow it’s between you and the Lord I can’t make you.

So I won’t force anybody to do anything. But if you voluntarily say, look, teach me, train me. Buddy, I’m going to try to do my dead level best to do just that. Now look what he says here. In the book of 1 Corinthians in chapter 10, look what he says there in verse 13. The last part of verse 12 says, he that take, he lest he fall and then in verse 13, there have no temptation taken you but such is as common to man, but God is faithful.

God faithful. Remember that? Who will not suffer or permit you to be tempted above that you’re able, but will with the temptation also make a way of escape that you get this maybe able to bear it. He is able to make you stand. He’s able to make you have a way of escape. He’s able to do all of these things if you want it. But if you don’t, you can harden yourself against the Lord. You can rebel against God.

You can fight against God, resist God, go your own way, do your own thing. Of course you can, but there’s a price to pay. Don’t go back here to Romans in chapter 14. Romans chapter 14. Remember, God can bless both people. Those who believe that I’m gonna be a vegetarian. Another one’s, I’m gonna eat meat, and God can bless both of them. I’ll hold your place right here. I want you to see this one verse. I just want you to see there in the last part of verse six.

where he says, he that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveeth God, thanks. And giveeth God, thanks. And he that eateth not to the Lord, he eateth not and giveeth God. Think both can thank the Lord. Lord, I thank you that I’m able to have these vegetables to eat. And the other guy, Lord, I’m so thankful that you let me eat some of this meat. And it’s wonderful. I will be more thankful if I had state to eat than vegetables.

But now I know that those vegetables might be better for me in the long run But now should you sit in judgment upon somebody else? That wants to eat the other Let it alone It’s not gonna make you more spiritual or unspiritual Because that affects the body doesn’t affect you spiritually now get this Down here in verse 5 one man a steameth one day above another another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.

It’s talking about you being persuaded that what you believe is the right, the truth. And therefore he says, he that regarded the day, regarded the unto the Lord, if he believes it, well I think we ought to go to church on Sunday. Somebody says, well I I think we ought to go on Saturday. Then go to church on Saturday. I believe we ought to go to church on Sunday. And I wouldn’t mind if we went to church every day of the week, cause why?

I’m here every day of the week anyway. So I don’t mind having another service every day of the week. That’d be fine with me. But now everybody wants to come to church every day of the week. But in the beginning of the church, when God founded the church, in the book of Acts, they met daily. Yes or no? Yes. know every day. So therefore we’re going to meet every day. Well you may be meeting alone, but you can if you want to.

But I think a man ought to worship God every day. But one day is not in God’s eyes more important than the other day, but we worship on the or come together upon the first day of the week. And there’s reasons why we do that. But not everybody has the same, Now did God say exactly what time we had to come to church on Sunday morning? Is it six o’clock in the morning? What about 11 o’clock? We have to be through by 12, right?

Louie, I saw that. That’s when he finishes the kid back there, he wants to be through anyway. It doesn’t say what time. It doesn’t mean that we have to come every Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, Thursday night. We can go any night we want. I mean, goes often as we want. We see, don’t think because you do, others who don’t must be very unspiritual and very ungodly. It may not be the truth. Not everybody is going to think exactly the same way, but because of love, you cut them some slag.

Is God going to reward you and use you according to your confidence in the Lord and your conscience in your mind? and God’s going to use them accordingly, then what’s the problem? Now, I want God to use everybody to the fullest extent, but it’s not my call. Lord, the last thing I want is for you to use John John. Want to God it? It may not all of that quite good. John, he might want to serve the Lord anyway.

So God’s going to use John John, not based upon my wish, but upon his desire. See, people are different and you need to be patient with people who are now where you once were. Now, this is important to get done here at the bottom when he says, is he that regarded the day regarded it unto the Lord and he that regardeth not the day to the Lord he death not regarded. He that is either to the Lord for he that he is giveth God things and he that eateth notRFC to the Lord he eateth not and giveeth God things.

For none of us liveeth to himself. No man died to himself. for whether we live, we live unto the Lord. Whether we die, we die unto the Lord. So whether we live there for or die, we are the Lord. You’re still gods and you belong to the Lord. He is your father and you are his child. So whether not you eat the meat, you may see the Lord earlier, if you eat all that meat, you’re not good for you.

But there’s decisions that you can make. If you can eat certain foods and then you can run it off. And there’s other foods you can eat and you can do all the exercise you want to seem like you never get rid of it But none of us live unto himself now get this in verse nine For to this end Christ both died and rose and revived that he might be Lord both of the dead and the living or Master over those that are dead and master over those that are living you see once you trust the Christ is your Savior And you know you have eternal life Does the Lord want to be your master, the master of your life?

Yes, not for salvation, but he is the Lord. And that’s who he is. And he wants you and I, he wants us to serve him. And the more you love him, the more you might see. The more you may want to discipline yourself. The more you want to prove to God how much you love him. And so your dedication to the Lord is going to fluctuate back and forth based upon how much do you love the Lord. And some days you might love Him more than other days.

Some days you’re more obedient than other days. Some days you’ve got better control of your mind than you do it other days. Now I get what He says here in verse 10. But why does not judge thy brother, or why does not set it not thy brother? For we shall all stand before the judgments of Christ. When you get to heaven, is God gonna reward you for what you did? He’s not gonna reward you for what the other person did.

He’s gonna reward you for what you did. You make sure you serve the Lord and try not to do anything in your Christian life that would cause somebody else to stumble or fall along the way. Have Christian liberty. Give them some freedom to mess up their lives. You see, you can’t stop everybody from making bad decisions. They’ll drive you nuts trying to. You just got to teach the Word and trust the Holy Spirit to work in their lives, but you can’t make people do right.

You can’t make people love God. You can’t make people strong in the Lord. That’s a decision they have to make. You just always be willing to help them and not to do something that would cause them to be weaker in the Lord. You want them to be strong. We’ll continue this, of course, Peter. up here. This hand represents you and me. The wall represents sin. We all have sin upon us. God loves us. H, our sin, but He loves us.

And for us to pay for sin is eternal separation from God in a literal fire burning hell. Now God wants us to go to heaven and to go to heaven we have to be perfect as righteous God, no sin. But we’ve all the sinned and we cannot save ourselves. It’s not by any good works that we do. This hand represents Jesus Christ. He’s the Lord God in the flesh. He doesn’t have any sin because he never sinned. He’s perfect.

He’s righteous. He just came into the world because he loves us, hates our sin because our sin separates us from him. So Jesus Christ took the sin, paid for it on the cross, came back from the dead. And he says, the only thing we have to do is believe that he did it for us. So when you believe he did this for you, you, then you have a payment for all of your sins. So the reason you don’t have to go to hell to pay for sin, because you already paid for them.

I have already paid for all of my sins. Christ did it for me. He was my substitute. That’s why I don’t have to pay for them. And he said that if I believed that he would give me as a free gift, eternal life, I go to heaven on what Christ did. He makes you as perfect as righteous as God, good to go. news in the world. Let’s pray, shall we? The head is bow nice, close, and no one looking around.

And if you’re watching by internet tonight, we know we have a lot of people that watch and we want to be a blessing and we hope more than anything else in the world that you don’t know Christ is your Savior. You would trust Him right now as your only hope of going to heaven. God said, He’ll never cast you out, never lose you. Would you trust Him? I pray that you will. Follow, we ask your blessings upon each person here.

We ask Father, your blessings upon those that watch by internet, that if He never trusts you, say that they do so right now, believe in that when you died, you died for them, and that you’ll give them everlasting life as a free gift. And we also prayed Lord, concerned with these things we discussed tonight, that those that are mature in the Lord are stronger, but be patient with those that are weaker. And those that are weaker, we pray Lord they would be maybe critical of those that are older.

They help us to be patient with one another and to love each other as we should. Use us for your honor and for your glory in Christ’s name you pray. Men, reserve the last Saturday of the month for the Iron Sharpen’s Iron Men’s Bible Study and Breakfast at Calvary Community Church. Join us at 730 for a home-cooked breakfast. Then, at 8 a.m., the featured speaker of the month will present a++++-hour classroom style men’s Bible study in a relaxed atmosphere where questions and dialogue are welcomed.

The scripture tells us that Iron sharpens iron, and this men’s Bible study is open to those of all levels, whether new believers or mature Christians. The Iron sharpens iron men’s Bible study and breakfast. Don’t miss this mupply opportunity for fellowship and the study of God’s Word. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline. If you are in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. And now, a closing thought from Pastor Arnold.

Friend, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound. And we will be changed. Caught up to meet the Lord in the air. So live today and every day. Believing that the Lord is coming soon, just keep looking up.