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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 first part of this two-part message will be a blessing to you and your family.

Well anyway, I got a few things I wanted to share with you. I want you to first of all take your Bible and turn to the book of Acts 20, Acts 20. Remember we’re always presenting the gospel, but we’re also having to defend the gospel. There’s always people who want to take away the simplicity that is in the gospel. And you’ll notice what the Apostle Paul said to the church there at Ephesus. And in Ephesus, remember, that’s where you find Ephesians 2, 8, and 9.

Two of my favorite verses in the Bible. I have many favorite verses in the Bible, but those are two of them. But here in the book of Acts, it makes a statement in verse 26. We’re for in chapter 20, wherefore I take you to record this day that I am pure from the blood of all men, for I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. Take heed therefore unto yourselves and to all the flock over the which the Holy Ghost has made you overseers to one feed the church of God, which is he had purchase with his own blood.

For I know this that after mighty part and shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. So there is a feeding and warning. So you feed the people, but if you don’t warn, then you just fatten them for the kill. But if all you did was warn the people, then you starve the So you got to get a balance between feeding and warning. And so he says it’s an important thing to remember that there’s always wolves in sheep’s clothing coming after you.

Remember, they can’t storm the gate. They will infiltrate. This is why people try to get involved into a church ministry so that little by little they can sow seeds of discord seed to discord and then the devil uses them to destroy ministry. I’ve seen many places ruin because of that. This is a letter that I got not long ago, a little email, you know, a good and some bad, but this in here was fairly good. He says, we are saved by grace without works.

Heaven is by faith alone. We do good works to earn rewards in heaven and because we love Jesus for saving us sinners. We do not do good works or keep from sin to save us that was done at the cross. Our works cannot save us, but after we are saved we’ll be our reward in heaven. Some will be saved so as by fire. Some will only have wood, hay, or stubble, but all who have trusted Jesus as the only way of salvation will be saved from hell.

Now we believe this so far, right? This is what we believe. As one put it, if you have trusted Jesus as your only Savior, you are only are going to heaven whether you want to or not. I have made that statement. Jesus says, no one or thing can separate us from the love of God. Nothing can plug us out of his hand. John 637-40 said that he has not lost one who has come to him by faith alone. He will not cast us out.

We have eternal life. The minute we trust him as our only Savior. We have been bought with the price and Jesus is going to get what He paid for. Anyway, that was a guy named Jim that wrote that. I have no problem with it, and he said, right under what He had said was someone else who had made a comment a little earlier. So He was answering that question. So He came across as clear as could be. This is what this person had to say.

I’ll just say Amanda. That’s her first name. But Amanda says this about yours truly. I’ve never heard such utter foolishness in my entire Christian walk. You, sir, are sending your congregation into the pit. There are an extremely large amounts of verses that say we must obey Jesus or we will not inherit the kingdom of heaven. You are a wolf in sheep’s clothing. The Bible says Satan comes as an angel of light and boy are you an angel of light.

You tell us exactly what our flesh loves to hear. There is a reason why teachers will be judged harsher the Bible says, you are the epitome of an ear tickling false teacher who is so wrapped up in sin that he has hardened his heart to the truth. Wasn’t that a wonderful compliment? Now, I have a problem with this one. The other one was wonderful. They can write those all day long. But for somebody to make a statement like that, and we’ve never talked, We’ve never corresponded anyway, but evidently they’ve heard my message on the gospel.

And some of them have listened to that four-minute video, and you’ll be surprised how many of now it’s about almost 13,000, closer in somewhere like that. But it’s great. But it’s a, you know, you run the possibility of people not always agreeing with everything that you say. So some will use certain scriptures and as we ended last Wednesday night, the one guy was comparing the gospel of Jesus with the gospel of the Apostle Paul. And he stated Paul’s gospel very good and he stated it exactly the way we really believe it.

But the words of Jesus are more important than Paul, he says. we got to believe what Jesus said instead of what Paul said. So anyway I want to show you a couple of those verses that they use that they say Jesus was teaching works for salvation. This is what another one said, can you consider yourself saved forever by just passing through the door and having believed in confess? Well see Jesus is the doors so if you enter into the door you then down your saved.

No, no, no, no, not so fast. That’s just to get you inside the door. But you’ve got to walk that long pathway to the end of the hallway. So you haven’t got there yet. So you’ve got to keep on walking. That’s when we say keep walking, keep walking. But doesn’t reply to this. But this is what he had to say. Or to reach the destiny of true salvation besides repenting and believing in Jesus. You must persevere to the end following the Lord’s way.

Now that sounds like a very clear understanding and this is generally where many preachers are and many churches are teaching, that you have to live good enough to go to heaven. They say you have to keep the 10 commandments, you’ve got to keep the law, you’ve got to do all the right things and if you endure to the end, you just love it to make it. And so they take verses out of context that say certain things that seems to say or that you could twist it and make it mean something else.

But see the verses that are very clear and simple on how a man is saved they leave those alone. Paul taught that and we’re not under what Paul said he just a man we got to go by what Jesus said. Now that sounds good on the surface but it’s not good. Paul says everything he taught, he got it straight from the Lord. And so there’s an awful lot of these epistles in the New Testament. We’d have to just cut out of the Bible if they’re not true.

But is there a contradiction? No, there’s no contradiction in the Bible. And does a man have to live good to go to heaven? No, he doesn’t. Because if he does, now you got to get down to okay, how How good would he have to live? And when would you know if you’ve lived good enough? So you have to wait till you die to find out if you made it. Wouldn’t that be a little late? Who in the world wants to wait till the judgment day to find out am I going to make it or not?

It’s nice to know in advance. I’m glad I’ve already known for 57 years of my life that I’m going to heaven because I’ve already trusted Christ as my Savior. I have eternal life and I know I’m going to heaven. He says, people who believe like you are lost because you don’t believe you have to keep the commandments. And so whenever you mention the commandments, what commandments are they talking about? Generally, they like to refer to the 10 commandments, the law.

But then you got the sacrificial laws, you got the ceremonial laws, you got the moral law of the 10 commandments. So which laws are they keeping? Well, they pick and choose. He says, does our salvation depend solely on the grace of God? Or does it also depend on how we respond to that grace? They say, well, grace gets you inside the door, so now God’s going to help you walk the straight narrow way. But of course, if you don’t like it, you can go back out the door.

Well, if anybody does that, wouldn’t they be able to say, well, I once was in, but he kicked me out. He knew me once, but now didn’t know me anymore. And then when he says, depart from me, I never knew you. How does that fit? Well, it won’t fit. So we’ll look at that in just a second. Also, he says, who is to be believed? The one who said, 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.

He fases to eight and nine, my favorite verses. So the Bible does say, and he quotes it right there, that there are some people who believe this, and one of them. And I believe that you’re saved by grace, you don’t earn it, you don’t work for it, you can’t buy it. We have a couple of people that came this morning and by talking to them individually afterwards, they will trust Christ of Savior. I talked to one lady that was back there in the back and I explained the gospel to her and she trusted Christ as her savior.

She had already been in here and said here, but she didn’t trust the Lord. So you never know that they’re still just because nobody raised their hand. Well, everybody saved. Is that what that means? No, it means nobody raised their hand. If nobody raised their hand, that’s all it means. Now, do you believe that one or the one who said, in your endurance, you shall win your souls because iniquity shall abound the love of many shall wax cold, but he that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved and refers to that verse.

Now is that what you have to do? Do you have to endure to the end, my friend, in order to be saved? So there’s people who are rejecting salvation by grace and that God gives you eternal life. And you can know that you’re going to heaven because it’s free and putting you under the law where you’ve got to earn it. Now, if Christ came in here right now and he had this package of pure call, eternal life, you want to live forever.

And he says, now, it’s the gift. Would you say, no, I don’t want it as a gift. I want to earn it. Really? And he says, well, you’ll have to be perfect to get it. I’ll do it. Don’t that sound like a nut. In other words, if you accepted this as a gift, you could have it right now. But if you say you have to earn it and work for it, well, when would you get it? Well, once you’ve earned it.

So you can’t have it now. You have to wait until you earned it, which would be at the end of your life. And then you find out when God says, not by works which we have done, but according to His mercy, He saved us. So if God would stand in this pulpit right now with a gift of eternal life and offer it to you and says it’s free. Well if it’s free and you can have it right now, all you have to do is believe me and it’s yours.

What I used to do with some of the kids in ranch and I did this and it was so funny. I had a dollar bill. I said now I asked all the kids. I said, whose dollar bill is this? Yours. And everybody says, I says, now this dollar bill will now belong to the person that believes it’s theirs. I says, then I porn compartment, I says, whose dollar bill is this? Yours, I asked another one, I says, whose dollar bill is this?

Is yours? And finally one kid in the back says, and he got up and he ran all the way up to the front. He says, it’s mine. Now he heard what I said. The rest of them didn’t hear what I said. This dollar bill belongs to the one that believes it, that it’s theirs. Here’s the free gift of eternal life. Who does it belong to? The one that believes it’s the theirs. He that believeth of me hath what? Hath everlasting life.

That very moment, you believe it, you have it. Not you’re going to get it someday, you have eternal life and you have it right now. Take your Bible looking Matthew chapter 13. Matthew chapter 13. This is the verse that they love to use. And they go to Matthew 13 because it talks about the kingdom of heaven. And this is the statements that was made. Do you think that by having obtained the forgiveness of your past sins, by receiving the Lord?

And that by means, having been born to the kingdom of God, you are already guaranteed the final entrance into the kingdom of heaven, as Paul’s gospel implies? Even if you live in sin and don’t keep the commandments of love toward God and his neighbor, or your neighbor, or is it that finally entering into the kingdom of heaven depends not only on what the Lord did on the cross, but also on what he said, you should do to be saved.

And that if you do not practice righteousness, you will be cast into the fiery furnace as the Lord Himself, and the apostles who were personally taught by Him taught. Who is to be believed then? Hey, Chez. The kingdom of heaven is like unto a net that was cast into the sea and gathered of every kind, which when it was full, they drew it ashore and sat down and gathered a good into the vessels, but cast the bat away. So shall it be at the end of the world the angel shall come forth and sever the wicked from among the just shall cast them into the furnace of fire, and there shall be weed, pin and wail and a gnash in a teeth and so forth.

All right. Is that verse that he’s referring to really referring about how you are supposed to get saved? Well, if you will, and just look there in Matthew in chapter 13. I believe that Jesus as the king came to set up his kingdom and he picked his cabinet and then he laid out his constitution in chapter five and seven, so on, and said how he’s gonna rule his kingdom when he sets up his kingdom. Man sue you? All right.

Give him your coat, give him two coats. Man, slap you in one cheek and give him the other cheek. Why? Because Christ will be here and he’ll deal with it. He says, don’t you worry about it. But that’s not now. You slap me on my cheek. I’m liable to pop you in the mouth. I’m not in that period of time yet. You say, I don’t join the grace. I sure am. I’m gonna ask God to give me all the grace I can to hitch it just as hard as I possibly can.

Now, here in Matthew chapter 13, I want you to look there where he makes a statement. And just looking verse 24, another parable, but he forth unto them saying the kingdom of heaven. Now every time you see the word kingdom of heaven, it’s a good possibility. He’s referring to that kingdom that the king is going to set up from heaven on the earth. The king is coming and Jesus is going to set up his kingdom and what is he going to be like?

Though the thousand year reign upon the earth is described and this is how it’s going to be and so there’s many illustrations that he gives and all these parables about the the kingdom. But anyway, you see there in verse 24, the kingdom of heaven is likened to a man which soeth good seed in his field. But while men slept, his enemies came and so tears among the wheat and went his way. So there are wheat and there are tears and to many they may look alike.

So he said, let him both grow together and when he’s time for harvest, then we’ll reap the the weed and put it in the barns and the tears will burn them up, put them in the fire. He says, but when the blade was sprung up and brought forth through, then appeared the tears also. And the servants of the household came and said to him, sir, this not thou so good seed in thy field, from Winston hath the tears. He said to them, and enemy have done this, the servants said to him, well, thou then that we go and gather them up.

And he says, no, nay, lest while you gather up the tears, you root up also the wheat with them. In other words, you’re not very good at maybe discerning this. Who is a real wheat and who is a real tear? So the decision is not ours. This does away with the fruit inspectors. But anyway, then you’ll notice in verse 30, let both grow together until the harvest and in the time of harvest, I will say to the reapers, gather you together first the tear bind them in bundles to burn them but gather the wheat into my barn.

Now you say what are the tears and what is the wheat? Well the scripture will tell you what those really are. Now remember the tear doesn’t have to live a certain way to be a tear and the wheat once it’s born doesn’t have to do anything to stay a a wheat. A wheat is a wheat, a tear is a tear. And some people are just playing holy tears. But the Holy Spirit, like the wind, sows the seed into the world.

You see, once you and I trust Christ as Savior, I have become a wheat. The person who doesn’t trust Christ as Savior is a tear. You say, well, does it say that? Well, I’m glad you asked. Look what he says there in verse 36. Verse 36, then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house and his disciples came to him saying, declaring to us the parable of the tears of the field. He answered and said unto them, He that saw if the good seed is the Son of man, the field is the world.

The good seed, notice, are the children. The good seed are the children of the kingdom. The tears are the children of the wicked one. So the one is saved and one is lost. There are those that are the children of God and there’s those that are the children of the devil. And so he says in verse 13, the enemy that sold them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the the reapers are the angels. The rapture seed does not take place because angels are doing this.

When Christ comes in the air for you and I, it’s not the end of the age. It’s not the end of the world. It’s not the great judgment. It’s weird change in a moment, the twinkling of the light caught up to meet the Lord in the air. So ours is totally different. We’re not waiting for the end of it so that the angel, no, no, no, no. The saved are the children of the kingdom. And the lost are the tears, the wicked one.

Now, get this. The enemy have sown them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the world and the reapers are the angels. as therefore the tears, the children that are lost, are gathered and burned in the fire. So shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of Man shall sin forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom.” Now this is not out of the church age, out of his kingdom, all things that are fenced.

So during the kingdom, there’s gonna be saved law. Now there’s a lot of similarities, just like when one taken in one left, that seems like he’s talking about the Rapture, but it’s not in Matthew 24. But the same prince will happen because one is taken, one is left, but it doesn’t refer to the, it’s taken in scripture and making it apply to something. We do that all the time, but it’s not always the best thing to do. What happens?

Look there now in verse 47. Again, the kingdom of heaven is likened to a net that was cast into the sea and gathered of every kind. Now the kind of fish. Now there’s some fish they were allowed to eat. There were some kinds that they said not to and there’s trouble on the ground. I can’t see why God would ever outlaw shrimp and lobster. But you know in the Old Testament they weren’t supposed to eat some of that stuff.

Or even rabbit. I was raised on rabbits too. I’m not Elmer Fudd, but I mean I I like rabbits too. My mom had six rabbitWikipedia and we had to go check rabbitboxes all the time and That was wonderful trying to catch your rabbit and hold on to a rabbit until you get it back to the house And they’ll back like just the kickin. That’s wonderful. I got stories about that, but I’m not gonna tell them now but He makes a statement in verse 47 and gathered every guy which when it was full they drew to shore and sat down and gathered the good into the vessel.

So in other words, all the fish that had behaved themselves and were good little fish, they put them into the vessel. And all the fish that were bad little fish didn’t behave their mummies and they went astray. No. You see, it’s the kind of fish. It’s not according to the obedience of the fish. Are you a good fish or your fish. So he says here, see good or bad were not because of how the fish lived, but the type.

Believers, unbelievers. There’s a separation. And so he made the statement in verse 49, and shall it be at the end of the world, the angel shall come forth and sever the wicked from them among the just. Wicked always refers to the lost. Just refers to the believers. So there’s going to be a division of saved and law, but they’re not just because they lived more righteous than somebody else. And they were not wicked because they lived more wicked than somebody else.

They were wicked because they were the tears and the children of the devil and the children of God are those who trust Christ the Savior. So the division is always the saved in the lost because they either believed or did not believe in Christ. What happened to those in verse 50? And shall cast them into the furnace of fire. There shall be wailing in nationality. That’s because they are what they are. They are the children of the devil. You see, now I used to be a child of the devil.

But now I am a child of God. So it’s a different kind. And so they gathered up all kinds that they’re saved and there’s loss. So there’s no problem with these scriptures until you, if you use the simple verses to explain what seemed to be a complicated verse. So these verses are not teaching your say by your works has nothing to do with that. So you’re always saved by grace. Don’t let anybody tell you any different. Now do I get criticized because I believe this?

Yes, so what? I’ve had people say, you know there’s a lot of people don’t like what you’re saying. I said the devil doesn’t either and I don’t mind him not agreeing with me. So I don’t mind if other people don’t agree with me. Alright let me move on to another one. The question is this, is salvation really a gift? As Paul says when he wrote, the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. He says it.

He quotes it. I mean, there’s a bell. He knows our position that he doesn’t agree with. Just like when I’ve taught over the years, I’ve taught all kind of, you know, on cult evangelism. I know Mormonism like the Mormons do. And I know Jehovah’s Witnesses teaching just like they do. But I know their position, but I also know my position. and it’s not the same. Never the two shall meet and things that are different, they’re not the same. So there’s people who know our position and just like Alexander in the scriptures, Paul said, it didn’t mean much damage and they was able to withstand his words.

In other words, to be able to argue with you and you’re like, say, I get in trap, and you can’t answer it. All you can say is, this is what I believe. But difficult sometimes to explain what somebody else is saying and counteract them. This is why it’s not always good just to debate everybody. If you want to, go ahead, but you’ll come across some people that can box you and put you in the corner because I’ve been set up at times.

First time I ever had it happen, two little kids, junior high kids who came to my ranch. First night, two little junior high kids. I’ve graduated, I’m a graduate I is, and I had my first ranch meeting, we had about three or four of us, And we played the guitar with some of the songs, and the kids just sitting there looking at us. Only had two. But I opened it up for questions and answers, big mistake. After all, what can a junior high kid do to me?

So I said, you got any question you want to ask? I’m just ready for a bear. I just graduated from college. I mean, I had all this training. He says, is God big? I says, yeah, God’s big. He says, can God do anything? I says, God can do anything. He says, can God make a rock? I says, God can make a big rock. He says, can God make a rock so big he can’t lift it? Oh.

Did he set me up? He said, and at the moment, see, I came to a mental block and I could not think of how to answer his question. And he made me mad. And if I hadn’t had witnesses, they’re out of choke to kid. Not really, not really. But I’ve been looking for him ever since. Cause now when he says, can God do anything? No, there’s a lot of things God can’t do. He can’t lie, he can’t steal, he can’t cheat, and he can’t, and he’s not fool enough to try to make a rock so big he can’t lift it because it wouldn’t be any place to put it.

Nah. So anyway, I never have seen that kid again. But I was a little careful in asking for questions. There’s the next time I ran. Anybody got a question on the Bible? Well, how to go to heaven? But anyway, you’ll have some fun like that, so hopefully you will. Don’t miss out on all the fun. Join Pastor Jesse and Kyla Martinez on Thursday nights from 7 to 9 p.m. for Tampa Youth Ranch and Calvary Community Church. Tampa Youth Ranch is a great mix of live music, games, Bible study, food and fun, where teens 13 to 18 get to know God and the Bible with their friends.

Check it out online at tampayouthranch.org and see the cool pictures from past activities and all the fun you’ve been missing. No right, no problem. Call 813-334-4655 today for information on getting a ride to Tampa Youth Ranch. Thanks for joining us on Bible Eye. 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. Hot 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.