This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

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 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.

Take your Bible and turn to the book of Galatians, the book of Galatians. The book of Galatians. I want you to see a verse here. Verse 11 of chapter 5 of the book of Galatians. There’s an interesting little statement made, one that we need to remember. And that is in verse 11, and I brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? Circumcision was a element of the law. So it’s like saying, if I was preaching the law or works for salvation, why would I be persecuted?

He says, why do I yet suffer? What am I being persecuted for? He says, there’s some people telling you that that’s my message, and that’s not my message. And I’m getting persecuted because I am not preaching that. So he had to straighten out some of the these Galatians that had believed some of the lies that were told by legalistic Judaizers that they come down trying to put them under the law. But he says this in this verse, then is the offense of the cross ceased.

In other words, the gospel itself is grace alone, faith alone, in Christ alone. No works whatsoever. And so there is why you get persecuted because you make a stand and you say it simply by grace. Now a lot of people say, yeah, you’re saved by grace, but you always look at the works to see whether or not they were really saved by grace. So they say, well, if you’re really saved by grace, you’re going to want to work. And that’s not true.

It’s just not true. You’re saved by grace, you’re kept by grace, no works that all prove you’re saved. And that’s hard for people to understand. And so you’re going to be challenged on that all the time. And you have to take a strong stand for the gospel. This is why Paul made this statement, I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God and the salvation. There is no other message that can save. It’s the only one that can save.

It’s the only one that Satan needs to attack. Why should he have to attack a message that doesn’t save? He has to attack the message that does. So he has to attack the people that believe that. Because if I was the devil and you had the truth, you’re the one that I would fight. And the more you want to serve the Lord, the more of the devil is going to fight you in order to keep you from accomplishing just that thing.

Take your Bible and turn to the book of John, the gospel of John in chapter 6. John chapter 6, and you’d think that these doozy-isers were fairly smart, but you know, they really weren’t. There were so many things that they should have seen, but they didn’t see it. And I think, well, why in the world But what can’t they see? What they’re saying. It just doesn’t seem like it comes across. They can’t see. But what I want you to do is look there in John chapter 6 and verse 22.

There’s an interesting thing that happens here. Because they were looking for a miracle, looking for a sign. And they even told the Lord says, why don’t you give us a sign? She up in verse 30, then said therefore unto him, what signs should I show us now, then that we may see and believe them? What does that word show us? Well, they had just come because they had seen something they could not understand. So here in verse 22, the day following, when the people which stood on the other side of the sea, saw that there was none other boat there, save that one, where in his disciples were entered, and that Jesus went not with his disciples into the boat, but that his disciples were gone away alone.

I wonder why I would make these statements like this, unless there’s something for us to understand. So in verse 23, how be it, there came other boats from Tiberius nigh unto the place where they did eat bread. After that the Lord had given things. When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping. They came to Capernaum looking for Jesus. And when they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him Rabbi, how did you get here?

The disciples left in the only ship that they had from where they were. Jesus had gone into the mountain evidently to pray, but he didn’t leave with them. So they questioned, how did you get here if you didn’t have a ship? And then they said, sure it’s a sign that we might believe you. I don’t want to slap their jaws. Why don’t you figure out how I did this so he could cross the body of water without a boat.

Scriptures even tell us about him walking on the water. What if he said, well, I’d just walked over. So he says there in verse 26, Jesus answered them and said, very, very, I say unto you, you seek me not because you saw the miracles, but because you did eat of the loaves and were filled and you, your hungry in. You just followed me for the food, for the fish sandwich. They didn’t probably care who he was or how he did it.

So he says, labored not for the meat which perishes, for that meat which endures unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man shall give unto you, for him hath God the Father sealed. Then said they unto him, what shall we do? We got to do the work of God. What is the work of God? He says, you can labor and labor and labor and it doesn’t satisfy. But I’ve got something that will satisfy and it’ll last forever. So he says in verse 29, Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God that ye believe on Him, whom he hath sent.

Isn’t that a simple little statement? This is the work of God. God. This is the only thing that God requires of you is that you believe on Him whom He hath sent. Take your Bible and turn over there to the book of Matthew in chapter 7. Matthew and chapter 7. I want to see there in verse 24. Therefore, whosoever hear at the sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock.”

I guess you could say this is a reference to your life and built upon the rock which is the foundation which is Christ and you can apply it to that but it’s written as though it refers to what was written before this. See the word there therefore? So when he finishes saying in verse 23 Then will I profess unto them I never knew you, depart from me ye that work iniquity, therefore, whosoever hear these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him into a wise man, in a foolish man.”

So I believe that these verses following verse 24 down to verse 27 is in connection to the verses that went before this. So if that’s true then it could change the meaning of this illustration because it gave a beautiful illustration. It ought to mean something. So we try to find out what is the basic teaching of this and it talks about their do it then, do it then. And verse 26Solution, doeth them not. But you look up here in verse 21 where it says, not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my father.

So now you need to find out, well, what is the will of the Father? And if you will do that, you’re going to have something that if you don’t do that, you’re not going to have something. And that’s why he made this statement in verse 23, then, while I profess unto them those that did not do the will of the Father, I never knew you, not that I used to know you, but then I don’t know you anymore. You used to be saved, but then you know you didn’t live upright.

So therefore, I don’t know you anymore. I didn’t say they said I never knew you. The part from me ye that work iniquity, in other words, they were trusting in things made of sand. And that is the false teaching. You see, in this portion of Scripture it talks about two different things. One is he talks about what God said and the other thing, he’s talking about what the false prophets said. Now there’s many more false prophets than God. God’s only one, but there’s many false teachers and false prophets.

So a false prophet has a false message and a false message will produce false results. People believing something that is not true. So here you’ll notice in verse 13 when he says, enter ye in at the straight gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that lead up to destruction. That’s because there’s false teachers that have a false message and a false message produces people that believe the wrong thing. And because they believe the wrong thing, they’re devastating consequences to it.

So he says there’s a narrow gate and few there be that find it. Many on the broad road view on the narrow road. The narrow road is only one way and that’s Christ. And there’s many religions, but all religions add works to the gospel. And because they add works to the gospel, it makes it false. The gospel of grace offends all those people that believe that you have to have good works. Either for salvation or supposedly to keep your salvation or to prove your salvation.

It’s all wrong. So therefore, the cross grace alone, Christ alone, my faith alone is an offensive message because stop and think of how many religions there are and they all refer to their words in one way or the other. True Christianity says forget the works has nothing to do with your salvation. You’re saved by grace and grace alone so you trust Christ as your Savior. You notice here in verse 14, because straight is the gate, narrow is the way which leadeth unto life.

And this is talking about eternal life and get to few there be that find it. Not everybody sees this. Not everybody’s going to understand this. And that’s why he says in verse 22, Christ speaking, many will say to me in that day. So they’re going to say something. This to me is one of the most, I guess you could say, shocking thing that’s going to happen to people when they die, because they’ve lived their lives thinking, believing that they are going to heaven, and to find themselves in total shock.

I never knew you. Depart from ye that work iniquity. And And can you imagine what they go through at that moment? After all of us this time of thinking and believing and living their lives, trying to earn something they can’t have, believing a lie that some preacher told them and the damage is done and it affects their eternal destination. So Christ says, many will say to me, the many goes over there to the many which be that go in there at because why in verse 15 because false prophets, false prophets have a false message.

And he utilizes a simple illustration that I’ve used many times. He tells them the story about two trees. And I don’t know if people really understand the importance of these two trees. See there in verse 17. Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit. Corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. Good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit. Neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is viewed down, cashing to the fire.

Wherefore by their fruits you shall know them.” Now you can know them by the, as he says up there, you shall know them by their fruit. If a man teaches something that’s not true, that makes him a liar. He’s a bad tree because he got bad fruit. You see there is a bad tree and a bad tree cannot bring forth one good fruit. And a good tree cannot bring forth one bad fruit. So the bad tree can’t bring forth one good fruit and the good tree cannot bring forth one bad fruit, impossible.

So the Bible is simply using an illustration that, as he says in chapter three, he’s going to lay the axe to the root of the tree and cut down all the trees that do not bear forth the fruits of righteousness. And that’s the whole human race because nobody is perfect. If you examined your life and if you wanted to, everybody else’s. Everybody has bad fruit. That means you’re a bad tree. The only ones who gets to go to heaven and not cut down is the good tree.

That’s the new birth. The bad tree is the old birth. So you’ve got two of them. So the religions of the world are trying to get the bad tree to become a good tree. And it won’t work. Pold a waste of time. And so false teachers only have a lost man with which to work. And he’s trying to get him to change his life, conform his life, convert his life, live differently or better, stop this, stop that, and they all have different rules and regulations, but the same poison on the inside of the bottle.

The gospel of grace is you need a new birth, a totally new birth, born of God. So when you trust Christ as your Savior, not trusting in the works of the flesh because the works of the flesh cannot bring forth good works. Not one. The new birth is by grace and grace alone by you trusting Christ and Him alone to take you to heaven when you die. And it will surprise you that there’s a good possibility that there’s people who have attended church probably for years and still don’t get it and still may not understand because you believe that, yeah, Yeah, you’re saved by grace, but you still believe that you deserve to go to heaven if you live right.

Make sure how you live. Or whether you’re really saved because of how you live. It’s false. Do you really believe it’s totally by grace? I mean, really believe that. So look what he says here. When he makes a statement, wherefore by their fruits in verse 20, ye shall know them, the false teachers who taught the false things and tried to get people that are bad trees to try to become a good tree, to bring forth good fruit on this bad tree.

That’s why Jesus up in verse 23 says, and then while I profess unto them, I never knew you, depart from me ye that work, iniquity, your fruit from your bad tree is sinful, it’s wickedness, all of your righteousness or as filthy rags, but it’s people that are trusting in their good deeds, their changed life. I know I’m saved because my life was changed. That’s not how you know. What if it changes back the other way? How do you know if it was changed enough?

What was your motive? Can an atheist change his life? Can a drunker change his life? Can a woman neither change his life? change your life. Changing your life doesn’t prove that you’re saved. And just because I used to be on drugs, I was on alcohol, I was on this, I did everything in the book. And I changed all of that. That doesn’t mean you’re saved. Lost people can do that and do. You’re looking at the wrong thing, trusting the wrong thing.

Your hope must be, only be in Jesus Christ. And him alone. Now look at that in verse 21. Not everyone that’s saved unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. Now in another scripture chapter five it talks about unless your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees he shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven. Well you had the law keepers. You had the Pharisees and your Sad of the scribes and the Pharisees, he shall and know wise enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Well, you had the law keepers, you had the Pharisees and you said, he’s in trying to live this so-called righteous life. And yet he says, except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees, you shall and know wise enter into the kingdom of heaven. And so even though they taught the law, thou shalt not lie. Jesus is always coming here and says, yes, but I say unto you, thou shall not commit adultery, but I say unto you.

That shall not even think about it, lust in your own heart. So the law says, but I say unto you, see, he went not only to the actions of man, but to the thoughts of man, the motive of man, that which lies beyond the visible evidence of anybody else. So Christ says your righteousness will have to exceed theirs. In other words, you need a new birth. You need to be made righteous, declared righteous by a judicial act of God, which takes place only because of the payment Christ may have been placed to your account.

There is no other way. So in verse 21, not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but in contrast, he that doeth the will of my Father, which is in heaven. Then he says, many shall say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied. Now notice this is what we have done. Look what we did. We have prophesied in thy name, and in thy name cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful work.

Look what we we did for you. Many wonderful works. Wonderful works cannot come from a bad tree, only from a good tree. They come from a bad tree. And so you have people that we’re referring to look what we have done. Now don’t you think there’s a lot of people who are still to this day. Even a lot of good independent fundamental Bible-emissioner minded Baptist churches even that believe that I’m going to heaven because look what I’ve done. I sing in the choir.

I go to church three times a week. I pay my ties. I sing. I support missionaries. I know I’m saved. Look Look what I’ve done. Look what I’m doing. Look how I live. And if that’s what you’re dependent on and trusting in, and that is your evidence that you’re saved, that’s not how you know you’re saved. And unless a person understands it, they’re going to be one of these as, well, you know, there’s many on the road to destruction.

Many believe in false things that the Bible does not say. You either believe that it is by grace or you don’t believe it’s by grace. It is by faith alone or it’s not by faith alone. So He makes the statement in verse 23, then, then, will I profess unto them, that time when they stand and they say, Lord, Lord, have we not then? I will say to them, I never knew you. You never were saved. You never trusted Me.

She did not deny their good works, that they did all of that. They didn’t say, no, you didn’t do that. Maybe they did. But that’s not what saves you. It’s not what you do for the Lord that gets you to heaven. How you live has absolutely nothing to do with you going to heaven. Going to heaven is a gift. It’s§ totally free. Free means free. Grace means without works. not deserving it in any way, shape or form. So may I ask one time, you say, you mean to tell me that this man can be a drunk on drugs in the worst guy in the world?

And if he trusts Christ as Savior and he doesn’t change his life, he still gets to go to heaven. Absolutely. Absolutely. And they told me, he says, I never believed that damnable heresy of eternal security. Did you know that’s the most wonderful, precious news in the world is eternal security. It’s not good news to be saved for a day. It’s not good news to be saved for a week. It’s not good news to be saved for a year unless you die within that year.

It’s good news to know that you’re saved forever and that God will never cast you out and never lose you because of what Christ did for you. Now, look very quickly down in verse 24. Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his own house upon a rock. The rain descended, the floods came, the winds blew, beat upon that house, but it fell not because it had eternal security.

It wasn’t destroyed. Now you can apply that in a lot of different ways, but I believe in its context it could be referring back to those verses before. That’s the wise man. The wise man hears what Christ said. The foolish man listened to the philosophers, the foolish man, the false prophets believed the false things had false hope, a false peace, a false joy. It was all false and it will not be a blessing to him. This is why I looked there in verse 28 and it came to pass when Jesus had ended these sayings the people were astonished at his doctrine.

Wouldn’t you be? This is totally contrary to what the law keepers, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, this is opposite of what they taught. That’s why Jesus was a controversial individual. All truth is controversial in this world. And if you stand for truth and stand for the gospel, you’re going to be offensive. You’re going to offend people. So there’s a lot of so-called megachurches of different religions even. But you check to see what is the message? What is the gospel?

Or does it make everybody just feel good and acceptable? And everybody just loves everything because the preacher doesn’t say anything that offends anybody. I would love to be the most unoffensive person in the world. I would love for everybody just to love me to death, but it isn’t reality. It’s not going to happen because when you stand for what it says, you’re going to offend every person who believes in works for salvation or works as a proof of your salvation, and therefore you’re not going to have agreement, especially if they keep the pulpit hot on these issues because it is so very important.

This is heaven and hell issues. This is reality. This is important. Let’s pray, shall we? Our Father, we thank You so much for this opportunity to come together, to read the study of Your Word. And Father, that’s why even whether you’re a broadcast or a wana, it’s a form of unanimous to ranch. Whether Sunday school, church, Wednesday night, we seek to give the gospel because it alone is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believe it. That’s all we have to do.

It’s all we can do. We thank you so much for loving us, for giving us the forgive of eternal life and the privilege to serve you and for giving us such a wonderful message. We pray that we’ll be found faithful and Christ named God. Are you a new listener to Bibleline? Do you enjoy the teachings of Dr. Arnold? Well if you’ve never contacted us before, we want to give you Dr. Arnold’s book, the gospel-driven man. Every day we receive many emails from folks who have questions about repentance and salvation, about faith in works, and about how to share the gospel with friends and loved ones.

This book, The Gospel-Driven Man, covers all those topics, and we want all new listeners of Bibleline to receive a free copy. There’s no obligation, no donation necessary, simply call us at 1-800-576-3771 or write to us and request your free copy of the Gospel-Driven Mail. The mailing address is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Again don’t forget to include your mailing address and God bless you and thank you for listening to Bibleline.

Thanks for joining us on Bibleline. If you are in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. And now, a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friend, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound, and we will be changed. Caught up to meet the Lord in the air. So live today and every day. Believe in that the Lord is coming soon, just keep looking up.