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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. 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 message will be a blessing to you and your family.

I want you to take your Bible and turn to the book of Romans, a book of Romans, And chapter 4, Romans chapter 4, I want to talk to you a little bit about this thing of putting that on my account. Put that on my bill. And there’s a wonderful story in the Bible about. Put that on my account. And you may never have seen it before, but I want to show it to you today. But anyway, here in the book of Romans and chapter 4 and verse 5, it’s talking about what David had to say.

And in verse 5, boy, this is a tremendous verse. You ought to learn this verse. If you ever go witnessing, you’ll need it. If you don’t witness, you don’t need it. But if you do witness, you do need it. But here in verse 5, but to him, that worketh not but believeeth on him that justifyeth the ungodly. His faith is counted for righteousness. In other words, by faith alone, God will take His righteousness and impute it, put it to your account as though you did it.

It’s like if I didn’t have any money in my account and Peter Amato would go down there and put $10,000 in my account, wouldn’t that be wonderful? Now he would do that only because he loved me and he liked me and I would, I have $10,000 in my account. Well see God has all the money and he’s willing to make that deposit all he wants you to do is believe that he will do it. And he’s already made the payment.

He’s already got the money in the escrow account and you’ll put it into your account whenever you believe it. But what I want you to see is this. In verse six, it tells you what David said in the Old Testament. And if you was to read that verse in the Old Testament, you might not know, that’s what that means. There’s a lot of scriptures like that. And sometimes I wonder whether or not those people who have translated the Old Testament, Did they use all the clear words they could have used?

I imagine they did. And so I believe that at the time when it was done, they used the word, the best word, precise word that makes it as clear as possible. But there were times when they were translating into the King James that they didn’t have a word. There was no word in our language that would tell you what that word means. It was just not a word. And so sometimes they wouldn’t translate a word. would just put that word in there.

And one of those words is like baptism. They’d put just put the word baptism in there. And sometimes they wouldn’t use the right meaning, but like the word Passover, Passover was a word that was made up. It’s not a word. There was no word for it, but we’ve come to know that that’s what the word mean Passover. And it’s a precious word to us today. And so as time goes on, there’s words that sometimes we don’t use in the last 400 years, and so people don’t know what those words means.

But I do believe it’s easier to find out what the word meant at the time of the translation of the King James than to try to come up with new meanings of new words and so forth. It’s a lot easier. Just trust this book. It is very good. It is very accurate and we have all that we need. But look what he says in verse 6. He says, even as David also described the blessedness of the man unto whom God and see that imputed righteousness without works.

So David knew in the Old Testament that man evidently He needed the righteousness of God and that the man’s righteousness wasn’t good enough. So evidently they knew that. But now whenever you read in the Psalms where it talks about, you know, you think you’re reading in the book of Romans chapter three when it talks about there’s none righteous, no not one, there’s none that doeth good, no not one, and that they’re tongue and their mouth and all that. All that’s in the Psalms.

And so they knew that, that man had no righteousness of his own. There is none that doeth good, no not one. So they understood a lot of things that we don’t think they knew. But look what he says. In verse 7, saying, blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Now that statement is supposed to mean verse 6. And you say, well, I read verse seven, but I’d have never got that in verse six. That’s why the Holy Spirit can take those words and explain them to us and do a pretty good job.

And we’ll understand more of the Old Testament because the indwelling Holy Spirit is the author of the Word of God. And as you study the Word of God, the Holy Spirit can reveal things to you that on the surface you may not see or the natural man doesn’t understand. Did you know that you have the key that unlocks the scriptures? The Holy Spirit living within you, the author of this book lives inside of you. And he’s just waiting to teach you his word.

And he says here in verse eight, blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not imputes in. Now that’s in the Old Testament, but isn’t it wonderful to know that here’s David who lived a thousand years before Jesus Christ. And yet in the Old Testament, David wrote on the clarity of the gospel and says that a man is not made righteous by his works, but God would impute his righteousness to you and that God would not put his sins to him.

So evidently there’s substitution in here somewhere. Somebody else paying for our sins. And when you read the 53rd chapter of the book of Isaiah, that’ll knock you off your feet. It’s a tremendous book. But now so that you understand a little bit more about this, put it to my account. I’ll take care of that. Take your Bible and turn to the book of, well right before the book of Hebrews, a little old beady book called Philemon. It’s a very small book in the New Testament.

But the apostle Paul had been in, well, he was in prison. While he was in prison, he meets this guy on Essimus. And while he’s in there, he finds out that this guy was a slave and he had run away. He was in Rome and run away. So I guess if he was a a slave? Would you try to run away? Well, he ran away. And now he’s in, he’s there with Paul in prison. And Paul talks to him about the Lord.

This slave, this runaway slave, he trusts the Lord. So now he has eternal life and he’s God’s child. But evidently he gets out. And Paul has a mission for him. And so it’s a pretty good little story. Look there in verse 4. Now, so Paul is writing this letter to Philemon and Philemon is in Rome and he makes a statement here. And it’s called this guy, he has a church in his house. So he’s somebody of reputation. And so it must have been a pretty good guy.

But right off the bat, see, Paul wants to take this guy that that he had led to the Lord and send him back. But he wants the guy that owned him to receive him and to treat him like a brother. He was a slave. And so he’d run away from home. So I imagine he was probably very upset. And I don’t know how much slave costs those days. I’ve had one lately myself, but he begins to brag on this guy, really compliments him.

You’ve ever heard of the sandwich technique? Anytime you have to take and lay any criticism on somebody, you always compliment criticism, compliment. And people take it a lot better when it’s in a sandwich. if you just hit criticism without compliments, they don’t like it too well. So that way you compliment them twice as much as you had to talk to them about something. I shouldn’t have told you that, now you know what I do. So when I brag on you, you know, oh, here it comes.

But anyway, he starts bragging to this guy on how great he is and how he’s heard such wonderful things about him. And verse four, I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers. I’m praying for you all the time. I make mention of you all the time. Wouldn’t you like to have somebody like the Apostle Paul say that about you? What about him? In verse 5 he said, hearing of thy love and faith which thou have toward the Lord Jesus and toward, and you ought to underline these two words.

All saints, he’s setting them up. He’s setting them up because he’s got a request. But he’s letting them know, hey, I’ve heard such wonderful things about you. And I pray for you all the time. And I’ve heard of your love for all the saints. See, whenever you read, you have to see all that stuff in it. It’s hidden, but it’s in there, yeah. Verse six, that the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of Enchorel Andaland, this is where every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus, boy, is he buttering him up, ain’t he?

I mean, he just really complimented in this guy. He must be a super-duper individual. For we have great joy and consolation in thy love. In other words, boy, my joy, my consolation, my comfort, what I’ve heard about you is so encouraging. After all, I’m in jail. It’s the prison thing. He’s writing a wonderful letter to an individual who has great authority and he wants him to take this slave back. Now Paul has a mission, a job, and he knows how to deal with individuals.

I guess after a while you got time to think, you know, sitting in a jail, you know, in the reminisce. But then, did you know it’s so amazing how that God the Holy Spirit can take an and individual, utilizing their talents, their abilities, their way they are about them, their character, and take and put his perfect word in them and so that it comes through. And yet it’s the word of God, and yet it has the characteristics of the man.

Now, how God can do that is amazing to me. But remember our statement I made before, and I didn’t originate it, I heard it 46 years ago. The gold is His, the mold is ours. The gold is His, the mold is ours. And if I had ten different kinds of vessels up here, it wouldn’t matter the shapes of the vessel. If you poured gold into it, the gold is still all gold. But the vessels is all different. You and I are simply vessels that God has put perfect gold into the vessels.

These are the writers that God used to put together His Word. You see, the gold is His, the mold is theirs. And it takes upon itself the form of the man. And as you read David in the Psalms, you can, this is David after a while, it’s a characteristic of it. It’s just like when I read the book of Hebrews. Now it doesn’t say that Paul wrote Hebrews. But after reading all these other books, It looks like Paul had to write this.

God had to use Paul. This has to be Paul. Now I may get to heaven and find out I’m wrong, but this has to be Paul. But just because of the things that it talks about and the way that it does it, you can see that there’s shapes to the gold, to the way the word of God is. And God can do this. That’s why even with you and I, you see God gives us the gold and the mold is ours.

and God can use different individuals in different ways to accomplish His purpose. That’s all a wonderful thing. But look what he says. He makes a statement in verse seven. He says, for we have great joy and consolation in thy love because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by the brother. Verse eight, wherefore though I might be much bold in Christ to enjoin thee that which is convenient. In other words, it would betaboola so easy for me just to tell you what to do.

Called after all I am an apostle, you know. But he said, I don’t want to do that. I want to beseech you. I want to plead with you. I want you to do something willingly, not by constraint. So he says there in verse 9, yet for love’s sake, I rather, you ought to underline that word rather, I rather beseech thee. Be in such and one as Paul the aged. Hey, I’m an old man now. And you know you’re supposed to respect your elders.

Now why would you have to put that in there? You talking about psychology? The Bible has psychology in it on how to deal with things, how to word things. That’s why sometimes I don’t have all the right ways on how to write nice little letters. And I think, nah, I wish I could word this the right way. Mike, I don’t know if Mike’s in here, I don’t see him. But Mike, he really writes good. And I said, Mike, write this for me and he’ll write that thing.

And that’s great. Let me sign it. And I sign it. My right to them, I sign it. But anyway, he says here, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ. I’m an old man, I’m in prison, and I got a request for you. In verse 10, I beseech thee for my son, Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds. In other words, I led this guy to the Lord, Onesimus, and he was a slave. He was your slave. He ran away.

And he says, though he ran away, it was only for a while that he might come back and be with you forever. Isn’t that better? So he says in verse 11, which in time pass was to the unprofitable, but now profitable to the end of me. In other words, he’s richer now than he was before. That slave that ran away. He says, He’s now, He’s my son in the Lord. And He’s richer now. And He can be a prophet to you and to me.

So He has a request. He says in verse 12, whom I have sent again, thou therefore receive him. I want you to receive him. That is my own bowels and my own tender mercy. In the words, I want you to receive him as though he was me. receive him as though he was me with the same love and care and concern that I had for him. I want you to receive him that away because if he came back, you might have put him in change and or execute him.

I don’t know, but he makes the statement in verse 13, home, I would have retained with me. In other words, he’s so valuable. I’d love to keep him here with me that in thy stead, in other words, in place of you, he might have ministered unto me in the bonds of the gospel. Now, I’d love to keep this man here with me because he’s profitable to me. Now, he left you and you lost a great value. He wasn’t profitable anymore.

You lost something, but I gained something. Now, I’m going to send him back to you and I want you to receive him as though he was mean. So he makes a statement in verse 14, but without thy mind, without thy mind. Oh, without your permission, what I do nothing, that thy benefit should not be as it were of necessity, but willingly. You notice how you said, thy benefit, thy mind. I wouldn’t do this without your permission. I wouldn’t keep this guy and use him in a ministry without your permission Boy, you can’t butter anybody up better than this This this is art this is Christian life at its best and How to?

Challenge and encourage somebody to do the right thing now Paul wants him to do the right thing But he’s talked about how that you know Now, your love has been heard and your faith, our joy, our consolation, all this, and it really pours it on pretty thick. And then he says here in verse 15, for perhaps he therefore departed for a season that thou should have received him forever. only back as a servant, but as a son, and he will be a son of God forever.

That’s a long time. And then he says in verse 16, not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved, especially to me. But how much more unto thee, both in the flesh and in the Lord? you can receive him back. So evidently Paul convinced this slave to go back to his owner. Now if that had been me I might have went the other way. I probably got on that another ship and went another way. I might have been like Jonah but he sent him back.

And so notice what he says in verse 17. I’m if you ought to underline this word if. If thou count me therefore a partner. Receive him as myself. In other words, if I am worthy of financial support from you, because you have communicated to me, maybe that church helped. I don’t know. But when you’re serving the Lord together, we’re labors together, we’re partners together. We’re in the same work for the same reason, the same love for the gospel’s sake.

He says, I want you to receive him as myself. And then look what he says in verse 18. 18, you ought to underline that whole verse. That is a tremendous verse. If he had wronged thee or owe thee ought, put that on mine account. Put it on mine account. Imputed to me, this is Romans chapter 4. This is substitution. I will take whatever he owes you, I will pay it.” And then he makes the statement in verse 19, he really kind of nails it in verse 19, where he says, I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it.

I’ll be it. I do not say to the how thou owe us unto me, even thine own self beside. So the age to Paul is not going to say anything how much he owes him. I’m not going to say anything about that Paul says. How much you owe me. I’m not even going to make that an issue. But look what he says in this verse again in verse 19. I Paul have written it with mine on him. I will repay it.

O, I do not say to thee how thou Oest unto me, even thine own self beside. Verse 20, Yea, brother, let me have joy of the in the Lord. Refresh my bowels in the Lord. Having confidence in thy obedience, I wrote unto thee, knowing that thou will also do more than I say. And then, I wonder what Philemon did with the nestman. You think he received him, he wouldn’t have a choice. He would be a bum not to do it.

But it’s a simple little story and illustration how that you can lead somebody to the Lord and they’re now more valuable than they were before and encourage them to do the right thing. And it says to Philemon, And if he owes you anything, you put that on my account. You know, that’s love. When Christ went to the cross, well, what did He do? He said, put that on my account. I will pay it. And how much do you think He paid?

All of it. He paid our whole debt, paid it in full. That’s what the Lord did for us. Now, take your Bible and why you’re right here. Well, just look over there in Psalms, chapter 32. Psalms 32 in the Old Testament. And look in verse one, verse one. It says in verse one, this is on page 613. It says, blessed is he, whose transgression is forgiven.

If his transgression is forgiven, That means it’s something or somebody else had to make the payment for it. To forgive you of a debt somebody else had to pay it. So God is talking here in the Old Testament by David that to be forgiven means that you are forgiven what? A debt. You owed a debt you could not pay and he paid a debt he did not owe. There’s a song like that. And then he says in verse 2, blessed is the man unto whom the Lord impudeth not, he doesn’t put it to your account.

Now is this in the Old Testament or not? It’s right here in the Psalm. And in the New Testament, in the book of Romans in chapter four, in verse five, down to verse seven and eight, talking about this, talking about this, how that it means that he puts his righteousness to your account, but he doesn’t impute his sins to your account. That’s why when you read throughout the Old Testament, forgiven, forgiven, forgiven, forgiven. Forgiven means debt paid, debt paid, debt paid, debt paid, debt paid.

It means that you owed debt, but somebody else paid for it. in Psalms chapter 2. Psalms chapter 2 and look there in verse 7, real quick. Psalms chapter 2 and verse 7 says, I will declare the decree the Lord had said unto me, Thou art my son. This day have I begotten thee. And then He makes a statement down in verse 12, kiss the sun. That means to accept the sun to believe on the sun. Lest you be angry and you perish from the way.

When His wrath is kindled, but a little. And look at the light. last part of that verse, blessed are all they that put their trust in who? Him. To be blessed is to have His righteousness put to your account. To be blessed is not to have your sins put to your account. That’s salvation. It’s right here in the second Psalm. It’s not hidden, it’s right there. And David understood that. Do you think if you understood the gospel, do you think they’d ever tell anybody about it.

Oh, this is a darn secret. I know how to go to heaven and have eternal life and I’m not going to tell nobody. Ha ha! I can’t believe the Old Testament saints did that. I believe they explained it. Look very quickly in Isaiah 64. There’s a verse here you probably have never heard before in your whole life and look there in verse 6. In verse 6. And verse 6 says, but we are all righteous because we keep the law and we make our sacrifices.

Is that what he said? Look what he said. But we are all as an unclean thing and all our righteousness or as filthy rags. Now he didn’t say all of our wickedness is our right and the best we have to offer. So they didn’t claim to have all this righteousness by their works. It’s by grace and grace alone. Men’s always saved that away, but it’s substitution. Put to your account. And we all do fade as a leaf means we all die.

All our iniquities like the wind have taken us away. So we’re all in debt. So Christ went to the cross and He made a debt payment. And when you and I believe that He did it for us, that debt payment He made put to our account. And that’s why He put that on my account. Our sins, His righteousness to me. I think it’s a great accept. And whenever you do accept Christ as your Savior, well, He gives us His right.

Well, look at Isaiah 61. Look at Isaiah 61. down in verse 10. Look in verse 10. Here, Isaiah 61. Now you know the verse first there. Christ spoke that when they went into the temple in the book of Luke. But verse 10, I will greatly rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall be joyful in my God, for he hath closed me with the garments of salvation. He had covered me with the robe of what? Righteousness. So you see, he made a payment for all of my sins and gives to me the robe of righteousness.

So when God looks at me, he says, the robe of righteousness, the righteousness of Christ. We go to heaven on his righteousness. That is what he has done for us. You’ve been listening to Bibleline, A Teaching Ministry of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida with Dr. Ralph Arnold. We pray that you are blessed by today’s message. If you have enjoyed our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, you can reach by the line and pledge your support to keep us on the air in your area by dialing toll free, 1-800-576-3771.

That’s 1-800-576-3771. To listen to today’s message again or to obtain a free download of any of our Bibleline programs, just go to our homepage at BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the Radio Broadcast link. 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. Our Sunday morning services begin at 10-30 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. broadcast of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org.

Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, 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, and just keep looking up.