Bibleline Radio Show – 2018-07-12 – How I Know God Really Loves Me Pt.2
Transcription:
This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.
Bibleline Bibleline, here God’s word, Bibleline, here God’s truth, 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 will admit 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.
The plan of salvation is God’s way of showing His great love. By doing something for you and me, we could not do for ourselves. What can’t we do? We cannot save ourselves. We’re already separated. The whole human race separated from God because we have all sinned. righteous, no not one. None good, not one. We needed a Savior. This was God’s great opportunity to show us how much He loved us. By doing something for us, we could not do for ourselves.
That’s why man cannot save himself. God’s way of proving that He really loved us was to send His Son. Jesus tries into the world to pay for all the sin of all people. Now this is a verse that you need to see in the Word of God. You need to see this verse. So look here in 1 John chapter 2 and. 1 John chapter 2″:””},{“. You will see that there are many people in this world that do not believe that Jesus Christ died for everybody Mulcair.
That God really loves everybody. There’s people that teach their date with God is coming. In 1 John chapter 2, look what he says here in verse 2, and he referring to Christ in the previous verse, is the propitiation for our sins. The propitiation means the satisfaction, the payment that Christ made. God was satisfied with that payment. In other words, that’ll be good enough for God to accept. Now God will not accept any of our good works, but He will accept the good work that Christ did.
And he says here, and not for hours only, but also for the sins of the, what’s the next two words? Whole world. Remember that verses in the Bible when you hear somebody like John MacArthur and R.C. Sproul and Piper, when you hear some of those guys and they quote you the Hebrew and the Greek and all that. Just think for a moment. They don’t know the Bible. They don’t know the simplest things in the Bible. They don’t know how to get to heaven.
It’s by grace and grace alone that God gives us eternal life and will never cast you out. And your works have nothing to do with earning it, keeping it or proving it. And if you ever talk to them and you tell them and they don’t agree with you, come see me. You tell them, I know your name Yankee. And he don’t believe this. And it’s also taught in the Bible. That is the authority right there. God chose to save strictly by grace alone.
No one has ever lived good enough to earn eternal life. Do you know of anybody? If they’ve ever committed one sin, no man has ever lived long enough or good enough to pay for his own sins. They earn his way to heaven. It’s impossible. The Bible says 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. Not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us, not according to our works.
No man has ever been saved. And yet, look how many people. Or been told they have to earn their way to heaven. I got a few words to say about that in just a minute. God chose to say by grace alone, no one’s ever been good enough to save himself. If God was not going to save man by grace alone, there was no reason to pay for his sins. If a man could earn his way to heaven, then a man should earn his way to heaven.
But God hath concluded all understand the whole world guilty and that’s why he says therefore a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. We are justified freely by his grace. Get these three points. I believe they’re important. If God loves some but not all, how do we We know we are the ones that He loves. Think. There’s people who teach this. The Bible doesn’t teach this. If God loves some but not all, how do we know we are the ones that He loves?
How would you know? If Christ only died for the sins of some but not all, how would you know you were included? Christ died on the cross. He paid for somebody’s sins. Whose? Well, it must have been mine. Well, how do I prove that if he only paid for somebody’s? Not everybody’s. Well, how do you know he paid for yours? Could have been mine. I could have been included. You excluded. It’s a can of worms. If God chooses to save certain individuals and not others, how do you prove you were the one that he chose?
I’m one of the elect. I’m one of the chosen. Okay, how do you know? Well, because I trust the Christ by saving, well, everybody else did too. Well, those people that trust the Christ, everybody saved, that trusted the Lord, and then they’ll tell you that, no, you have to prove it by your works. And if you don’t have the evidence in your life, then that’s a sign you really weren’t chosen, and you really weren’t saved, and you’re doing all that work and labor in vain, because God never chose you, because if He had, you would.
So anyone in here, if you’re not living the way you’re supposed to live, That’s a sign you’re not one of the elect. How do you feel now? And then if you think you are, what about tomorrow? You don’t. Well then you’re not. Well what about the next day? Well you are. Next day, well maybe you’re not. So you have to wait till you die to find out if you are. That means you can’t know today you’re going to heaven because you haven’t finished living yet.
That’s junk. That is trash. And that mutilates the love of God. That’s lying about what God says. This is why this is so important. I, the preacher, I lack the wisdom to put into words my feeble attempt at expressing God’s great love for me. The first glimmer of God’s love toward me was when I heard the gospel. I didn’t understand at all, but I got a little glenced. glenced. God loves me. I didn’t know how much. I didn’t understand it all.
All I know is that I’m lost and I’m going to go to hell and if I don’t trust Christ as my Savior, I’m going to bust it wide open. So I trust that Christ is my Savior. Then as I begin to grow in the Lord, I begin to learn some things more about the Lord and as I begin to grow in my knowledge, I find out he loved me an awful lot. I’m worth more than I ever thought I was worth.
I begin to understand a little bit more. Let me give you this thought. Was I simply part of a group that God loved or was there a real true personal God out there somewhere that truly loved me? Now I know he loves you but I’m talking about me. How do I know God loves me? Why would God pay so much for so little? When you really think about who you are and what you are, why would he make such a big payment to buy a little small object like you and me?
How great is God. What is man that thou art mindful of him? Look at the world. The world like little ants down here, small. And look what he was willing to pay for me. Have you ever gone someplace like a flea market? And you go running and you’re looking at all these items that people got up there and you’re always looking for a bargain, right? You want a deal? Have you ever got something and walked away and said, man, I really ripped them off?
Well, if that was the only thing they were asking and you got it for a good deal, you think I got something that was worth what I paid for. And it’s worth more than what I paid. But have you ever got home and found out it didn’t work at all? And then you think, he ripped me off. He ripped me off. This ain’t nothing but a piece of junk. Have you ever bought that car? You know, when you were young.
And you didn’t worry about the motor, the transmission, the drive train. All you know is it sure is party. And party will make that thing run. And then you find out it’s got all kinds of problems. And you think I got ripped off. Man, what I dumb super thing that I did. Have you ever thought about God and God made this payment in order to buy me? To buy me? Of course he did it to buy you. Did God get ripped off?
I think he got ripped off. Lord, you really blew it. I’m not worth what you paid. I’m cheap. I’m no good. I don’t have any value. Can you love me? How can you love me so greatly? Do you realize you are worth what he was willing to pay? You are worth what he was willing to pay? Now you’ve had him that for a while. Figure it all out. Have fun. I go nuts. since I am either worth a lot or God overpaid.
Am I worth more than I thought I was? Who has lied to me and deceived me in thinking that I’ll have no value and I can’t do anything and I have no real value or worth? Wait a minute. I’m worth whatever he was willing to pay for me. Have you ever seen somebody that has a $10,000 horse? And they try to sell it. If all you can get is $10, that was a $10 horse. Did God pay more than you were worth?
Think about it. Since you trusted Christ as your Savior, think about this. Did God get ripped off paying so much for you, and then you didn’t produce like He wanted you to? You see, it’s not just the value that you had, that you had, it’s also the value of your life, the impact. What, your worth in this life? You realize that God has left you alive on this planet after you trusted Christ’s Savior, because God says you have value and you have worth for me here.
And you failed to be utilized for what God intended. Did you rip him off? Did he invest in you and then not get anything back? Do you believe that God wants to use you and me for his honor and for his glory and we rob him of that? Just think about it. Remember, I enjoyed thinking about this. I wrote this down yesterday. The value of the payment reveals the quality of the love and the worth of the object. You realize here’s this O-Center.
You’ve noticed even a guy that’s gone the streets, don’t have anything. You realize the value of this guy, that he is worth more to God than all the value in all the world. But man can gain the whole world and lose his own soul. It means that the man is worth more than the value of all the wealth in the world to God. So you’re worth something. You are of great value. And the reason I know is because what he was willing to pay to get us.
And sometimes yes, we can’t understand it. We can’t explain it. when we get to heaven God will give us a clue. But you and I cannot say we are not loved. You are greatly loved. There’s three little marvels I put up here. One is the marvel of it all was that God loved me at all. The second marvel was that God loved no one more than me. I can’t believe God don’t love somebody more than me. realize how great some people are in this world.
I’ve never made a billion dollars. I’m not the president of the United States. I’m just a Georgia Hill Billy. I mean, I am way down there, but you know what? The love of God can reach down solo and lift a man clean to the heights of heaven. You are loved. I am loved. Explain it. I can’t go no more than that. But the marvel of it all is that God loves me at all, and then that there’s no one in this whole world he loves more than he loves me.
You ought to think in your mind, there’s no one in this whole world. God loves me. more than me. I’m not saying it’ll lift you up in pride because of it. I’m talking about the facts. It’s the truth. God loves you. And then the third miracle of all love it, or marvel I should say, is that God doesn’t love anybody less than you. I would think to say because there is no difference. And God is not a respecter of persons that God must love us all.
Love us all. You may not believe this, but I have actually heard preachers say that God doesn’t love the whole world and that Christ really didn’t pay for the sins of all the people. Anybody here ever heard that? There’s preachers say this on radio all the time because they say, well, God chose certain ones for salvation. Those are the late ones that He chose. And the rest of the people can’t be saved. Can’t be saved because God didn’t choose you.
So Christ doesn’t have to pay for the sins of the people that he’s not going to save. So God already knows who he’s going to save and he’s going to save them regardless. And the rest of you really, they’re going to have a choice anyway. You don’t even have a chance. And I don’t believe that in Jeremiah 23 and verse 30, he says, therefore, behold, I am against them that steal my words. I want you to look at this scripture.
There’s a few verses there that are very, very important that you need to see. Jeremiah, chapter 23. Jeremiah 23. Look at verse 30 where he says, therefore, behold, I am against the prophet, Seth the Lord, that steal my words, every one from his neighbor. Behold, I am against the prophet, Seth the Lord, that use their tongues and say, he saith. Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, Seth the Lord, and do tell them and caused my people to err by their lies and by their lightness.
I sent them not nor commanded them, therefore they shall not profit this people at all, sayeth the Lord.” So he goes to and he makes these things simple and clear for us to understand. No man has a right to add to what God says. If God says he so loved the world, then we’re supposed to believe God so loved the world. When we hear the Christ went up to the cross and paid for all the sins of everybody, then we’re supposed to believe He paid for all the sins of everybody.
Did He or did He? I believe He did. Would it not be the epitome of dishonesty? The teleperson that God loves them made of payment for their sins, but if God didn’t choose to save them, this offer of eternal life is null and void. What if every Sunday morning I was to say that? God so loved the world and paid for everybody’s sins. And if you’ll believe it, you can have eternal life. But if God didn’t choose you, that offer is null and void.
That’s what people are saying and doing. When they are limiting this message, wouldn’t it be a shame to tell a person that God does not love you, did not pay for your sins? God did not choose you and you have no choice. Wouldn’t that be a shame to do something like that to somebody? What if they told you this and this is what’s going on and it’s on your radios, it’s on TV, it’s in books that are written. You ought to see some of the emails that I get and I mean there are a lot of them.
Woe to the man that shrinks the sacrifice of Christ’s death for all people. To be limited to only a few, that is the height of blasphemy. God forbid that a man would turn the love of God into a religion of hate. You see, if you represented the world and God chose to save these people, would that make you love God or hate God if he didn’t choose you? God said, I didn’t choose you, I chose them. You really have no choice in the matter.
it needed because I gave them irresistible grace where they would believe but I didn’t give it to you. And faith doesn’t come by here and faith came because I gave them the faith to believe but I didn’t give it to you. You see you can’t be saved because I didn’t choose to save you. I chose to save them. So my son when he came to die he didn’t die for you. He died for these the chosen ones and there’s people that teach this.
Will that cause you when you go to hell to love God or hate God? You see, that’s a religion of hate. And yet it was done in order to prove to the whole world that God loves the whole world, to limit the number of people God loves to only a few is hateful. And no man has the right to limit the love of God. The state that God chose to save only those whom he loved would only mean there are many that he does not love.
Because he says, broad is the way that lead to destruction. and many will find it. But few, because the way is narrow. So that means that God must only love a few. And many he doesn’t care about. But why would they become religious? Because many people are simply seeking God, wanting to know the Lord. They go to church and they pray, they give, they do all these things, but nobody’s to guide them. They don’t guide them into the truth.
If there was no greater love than the death of God’s Son, then there can be no greater evidence of God’s love. Think about it. You want God to prove to you He loves you. It’s because He provides you a job. This is because He gave you a million dollars. It’s because He got your child well in the hospital. It’s because you’ve got a car to drive. Because what’s the reason? God proved to you that He really loved you by sending His Son to pay for your sins.
This life is short. It’s going to be over soon. And you can know that God really loves you because He did something for you that you could not do for yourself. You see, you don’t have to have a car to go to heaven. You don’t have to have good health to go to heaven. Just the opposite. Bad health will get you there faster. You don’t have to have money to go to heaven. But you do need a Savior. He’s already given you the greatest thing you ever have needed.
And once you trust Christ as Savior, you have eternal life and you’re going to heaven whenever you die. And every year I live I realize I’ve only got just a little short time left. If He did not love everyone, how could I know He really loves me? If Christ did not pay for sins of everyone, how do I know He paid for mine? But if he really did pay for everybody’s sins, then I know I’m included, right? If he loves everybody, then I know I’m included, right?
But if he only loves some, I would wonder how do I know I’m included? If Christ didn’t pay for everybody’s sin, well how do I know he paid for mine? You see, it’s a it’s a damnable teaching and I despise it. One of my greatest joys in serving the Lord is being able to look straight into the eyes of a man, woman, boy, a girl, and with sincerity and honesty, be able to look and square in the eyes and say, God loves you and mean it.
But if you don’t really know and believe that, you can’t sincerely do that because you don’t know if God really loves him or not. And that’s a terrible thing to go through life thinking maybe God doesn’t love me. I’ve sat with people who have been broken hearted because they wonder whether God loved me. God does He love me. And one of the greatest things you have going for you is that knowledge that you can share with somebody and everybody needs to know this.
God loves you. He loves you. And say it and believe it and mean it. It’s one of the greatest things you’ll ever do for anybody. You’re giving them something that’s better than all the money in the world. Better than getting out of the hospital and getting the job and getting this and solving this problem. All the problems of life, they’ll come and they’ll go. But there’s nothing like knowing God loves me. I don’t care how bad it gets, but I know God loves me.
All the things that go wrong, people say, God loves me. That is so powerful. is to me anyway. When you say it, do you say it like you really believe it? Without any doubts or reservations. One cannot honestly demonstrate this type of love unless they believe that all can be saved. Friend rest assured, you were included. Why did he pay for your sins? It’s because he didn’t want you to pay for them. Why? Because he loves you on. When he came back from the dead, the only thing God wanted you to do is believe he did it for you.
You can believe that. If you trust Jesus Christ right now as your Savior, you can know that you have eternal life. You are greatly loved. When you leave this morning, you ought not say at any time for the rest of your life. I wouldn’t have God loves me. Because, see, that’s the foundation for building a Christian testimony. What will help you to be strong in the Lord is not questioning that. Because you question the love of God, it’s hard to trust someone you don’t believe really loves you and cares about you.
It wants the best for you. But when you know he loves you, you’d be surprised at the difference they can make in your life. It may not solve all these other problems, but it can bring peace and joy to your heart. And these things, these problems in life are going to come and they’re going to go. You know the title of this whole sermon was, How I Know God Really Loves Me. How do I know the Lord really loves me?
Because I know He really loves you. Don’t you believe that? You believe God really loves you. I believe it. That’s how I know He loves me. than the thing. Didn’t Christ die on the cross? Okay, let’s think. He died. Okay. It must have been for somebody. Well, who was it for? Who did he die for? If it wasn’t me, it wasn’t you, why did he die? Who did he die for? He died for me and he died for you.
In Psalms 22, which is a crucifix in chapter. This is where in chapter 22 in verse 1, my God, my God, why has thou forsaken me? And in a couple verses over they pierced my hands and my feet. And by the time you get to the last verse it makes a statement, they shall come and shall declare His righteousness unto a people that shall be born. Have you been born? I’ve been born. And to declare His righteousness to those who have been born, I’ve been born.
So evidently, in the 22nd Psalm, when Christ died on the cross, He died for me, because He was dying and paying for sins of the people, still had not yet been born. And to declare His righteousness. And it’s not clarified there that it just took a couple people or just to a certain remnant. You know, it’s whole world. Those that shall be born. God, so love the world. Does He love you? I believe He does. I know He loves me because I know that He loves you.
You should never doubt for the rest of your life. I don’t care how many things happen in your life, how many things go bad, how much sorrow and grief you’ll go through. Never doubt that God loves you because he does. Our Father, we thank you so much for loving us so much. And Father, we also pray your blessings upon each one here. Those who have already trusted your Savior, but sometimes it’s so easy to question and out your love for us because of the things that happens in our lives.
That you promise us in your word that all things work together for good to those who love you. Do those recall according to your purpose? And Father, we know that we as your children should cast all of our cares upon you because you care about us. You love us. You said you’d never leave us and never forsake us. That you’ll walk with us to your heart. We thank you for that. with a lot of nice and spicy. And we pray.
Amen. This is your invitation to join us for our third Sunday dinner held in the Florida Bible College of Tampa building on the Calvary Community Church Campus. The dinner is a family-style, covered dish dinner and a great way to showcase your favorite dish and pick up new recipes. Each month you have the opportunity to invite your family and friends to join us for our Sunday morning service at 1030. Amen. Stay for our third Sunday dinner immediately following noon. Third Sundays at Calvary Community Church, where you’ll be fed spiritually and physically.
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. Just keep looking up.
