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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 Bibleignmenistries.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.

I want to discuss a very interesting subject today, but it’s a little difficult because Because you’d be surprised how many times I have people who will try to correct my theology by preacher, don’t you know you can tell them by their fruit. You shall know them by their fruit. And if you do any witness in whatsoever or talk to people, you find out that there’s people who are genuine authorized fruit inspectors. And they must work for the federal government.

I don’t know who they work for. they go around and they are the fruit inspectors to make sure you are a genuine fruit. In other words, a real Christian. And the way you tell a real Christian is by their fruit. So you look at the fruit to see what’s the case. But then I also wanted to explain to you the two natures that we teach in the book of John and other scriptures about the old man, the new man, the new birth, the old birth, you know, and did Jesus teach that even in the book of Matthew?

I think you’ll see that. There’s also a thing about, you know, this was to be the Sunday set aside for a national day of prayer, and if this country ever needed prayer, it is now, and they do need it bad. But I want to explain a few things to you. So if you got your little notes that I passed that for you, we’re going to read from chapter 7, verses 13 through 23. So look there in verse 13.

And if you look in verse 13 says, enter ye in at the straight gate for why does the gate broad is the way that lead of two destruction and many there be which go in there at. So many people are on the wrong road going into the wrong direction and they’re going to have some wrong conclusions. But these many believe they’re right. That’s why they’re on that road. That’s why they’re doing what they’re doing. And then you’ll explain that in just a minute.

Then you’re looking in verse 14 because straight is the gate, narrow is the way which on the life, talk about eternal life. Few there be that find them. Many believe they’re right, but they’re wrong. Many must be doing something contrary to the few that’s on the straight narrow way. So I’ve had people say, well, no, that’s straight and narrow way. You really gotta watch your pees and cues in the rest of the alphabet. It’s like cattle and alfins with bark and dogs on both sides.

You gotta watch your step. And so you’ve got to really be careful and you’re gonna walk and you can’t go astray. And so therefore you have to wait until you finish your course, you know, this race, whatever we’re running our life to see whether or not did you make it or not. And so you can’t know now you have to wait till, you know, life is over because everybody knows if you’re good you go to heaven, bad you go to hell.

Well, everybody knows that. But the only problem is it’s not been good. It’s been perfect. If you’re perfect, you go to heaven. If you’re not perfect, you go to hell. And that’s the truth. So how do you explain this? Well, they say they’re in verse 15. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but invariably they are ravening wolves. False prophet has a false message. And so many people are listening to false prophets and believing a false message.

Therefore they come up with a wrong conclusion. They don’t get to go in. It’s a road to destruction. So says here in verse 16, you shall know them by their fruit. Do men gather grapes of thorns? No such thing. Or figs of thistle? Doesn’t exist. Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit and the corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A 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 you downcast into the fire whereby, of where forth by their fruit you shall know them.

So this phrase is found in the Bible. It’s right there. We just read it. He shall know them by their fruit. And then he gives you this illustration. And Jesus is speaking here. This is the Lord. He says in verse 21, not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. So evidently they are saying, Lord, Lord. Evidently these are people who have committed themselves to Christ, they’ve committed their life to Christ. They determined to serve the Lord.

They believe evidently in Lord’s ship salvation, Making Him the Lord of their life. Look what He says. He says, not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter to the kingdom of heaven. But, he that doth the will of my Father, which is in heaven. So you have to know what is the will of the Father in heaven on how to get into heaven. Well, nowhere in the Bible does God say in His Word that you have to earn eternal life.

You have to work for it. You see, heaven is not a reward that God gives to people who earned it. That’s not what it is. So he says this in verse 22, many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in that name? That’s a good thing. And thy name cast out devils, that’s good. Thy name done many wonderful works. What’s wrong with that? And then he says, I will profess unto them, I never knew you.

Not that you were saved at one time, but you didn’t maintain it. Now I don’t know you anymore. No, he said I never knew you. He said never were saved. So here’s people who are on the broad road listening to false prophets, teach a false message, and they’re going in the wrong direction. And they’re not going to like the results when Jesus says, I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work iniquity. All those good things he did was works of iniquity.

Now, for example, we know there’s a lot of people that are doing a tremendous job, say down in the flood area. Alright let’s say they’re down there and they’re working hard in this sacrificing but you know if they’re depending on their good works to get them to heaven how much does it count? Zero. It doesn’t help them one eye odor. I don’t care if they say 1,000 lives it will not help get their little pinkies one inch closer to the pearly gates.

Not of works means not of works anyway you cut it. It’s good if we can do good things for people and there’s nothing wrong with that. That’s a good thing. That’s a great thing. But when you trust in those good things to get you to heaven then you’re not gonna like the end results. So I want you to look there in your notes there because in verse 17 he says there’s two kinds of trees. There’s a good tree and a good tree has good fruit And there is a bad tree, and a bad tree has bad fruit.

It’s so simple, everybody knows that. Yeah, but there’s something else that you don’t wanna miss. There’s two impossibilities here. Two impossibilities, get this. In verse 18, good tree cannot bring forth bad fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth bad fruit. And a bad tree cannot bring forth good fruit. In other words, it’s either a good tree or a bad tree. This gotta be one way or the other. Look there in verse 18. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

In verse 19, every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewed down cast into the fire, whereby by their fruit ye shall know them. So if you wanna get out your magnifying glass, if you find any body that has any bad fruit, It’s a bad tree, right? Right, this means yes. That means no. There’s two trees. Good tree cannot bring forth bad fruit and a bad tree cannot bring forth good fruit. Impossible cannot means in the Greek, cannot.

Now so how do you explain this? So if you were to examine everybody, you’ll find out everybody has some bad fruit. How would you classify yourself right now? If you don’t know the word here you are, and have you ever told a lie? Have you ever been envious? Jealous. Never stole anything. I wouldn’t want to raise your hand. But everybody does wrong. In other words, you have to be perfect. Nobody qualifies. So the fruit reveals the root. So we have to come to the conclusion that if everybody here is a tree, everybody here, everybody born in the world is a tree.

And God is looking for a fruits of righteousness. So every tree that doesn’t bring forth these fruits of righteousness, and you can’t have one bad fruit, then that tree is to be cut down. So this is why the Bible says, all have sinned, right? We’re all a bad tree. And the wages of sin is, yeah, we’re all going to die. We’re all going to be cut down. So you see, it’s worded in such a way that unless you know what the Elder Scripture said, I don’t understand that, but it’s simple.

It really is when you get right down to it. Now, let’s take our Bible and look there in the book of Matthew, the book of Matthew in chapter 12. Matthew chapter 12, just a few pages over. And we have here in Matthew chapter 12, verses that will let you see the problem is not the fruit, the problem is the root. What’s the root of the problem? You see just for example we have a lot of people that come to see me from time to time and they got, well I got this problem and they tell me this problem, they describe this problem.

Well I know that that’s the surface problem, but see they put it over here over here and I know that there’s a long root that goes over here and they don’t want to get to the root of the problem. They just want to solve this little problem but I say you have a root problem and we got to take care of this root problem because this is just the byproduct of the real problem. So I try to use people’s problems to get them to the Lord because the Lord uses people’s problems they get them to come to Him.

You’d be surprised how many people have probably been praying lately. And if you saw a hurricane coming right to our door you might just all of a sudden want to call upon the Lord. Here in Matthew chapter 12, looking verse 33, either make the tree good and his fruit good or else make the tree corrupt and his fruit corrupt. But the tree is known by its fruit. In other words, is either good fruit or bad fruit. It’s either corrupt or it’s not.

So if you’re looking for this, you know, you can know them by their fruit. Well, every person that you examine has some bad fruit. Every Christian in here has some bad fruit. No, it maybe shouldn’t be that away, but that’s the way it is, the next reality. So if you look at a person’s works, the way they live, the decisions they make, you’ll find every person has some sin in their life. Wouldn’t agree to that? And because of that, you’re a bad tree.

And so that tree has to be cut down. And you cannot change that because you have a root problem. So there’s people who are trying to tell people and the false preachers are telling them you need to change the fruit. Pick off all that bad fruit. And manufacture some good fruit. Therefore, you get to go to heaven. So here’s all the religious people going to church, trying to do all these good deeds, taking off these bad fruit. I don’t steal anymore and I don’t run around on my wife and I’m not using drugs and I’m not in alcohol and I’m not on this and that and the other and I’m cleaning myself, I’m going to church and I’m trying to produce this good fruit.

You can’t change the fruit. the fruit doesn’t change the direction that you’re going. The broad way is there’s all this bad fruit and false prophets, false teachers cannot deal with the root problem. They can only try to deal with the surface problem. They can’t change the root of the problem. So now notice what he says here in verse 34, old generation of vipers, how can ye be an evil, speak good things? For out of abundance of the heart, the mouth speaker.

Good man out of the good traces of the heart, bring the forth good things and out of the evil heart out of the evil treasures, bring the forth evil things. But I send you that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall givefect count thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shall be justified in by thy words thou shall be condemned. So if we’re going to go by the fruit, it’s going to be the fruit of the lips.

The whether or not you’re saved or lost. It’s the message that you believe. It’s the words. What are you dependent upon to get you to heaven? If you depend upon your works, it ain’t going to work. So whenever you listen to somebody, the only reason you should believe that I’m saved is because what I tell you by my words of what I’m dependent upon to get me to heaven. If I say I’m dependent upon my good days, I’m a pastor and I give the missions and days.

for if anybody ought to go, I ought to go. Well, I’d be good enough. Well, I’d give money every week. They’re good enough. See, my good work still did I, or did I not trust Christ as my Savior? Now, if I do that one thing, that one deed, that’ll get me into heaven. And all the works that somebody else does for their whole life for 75 years say they lived a good life and did all the good things. And all I did is I live like the devil, and but I trust that Christ as my Savior, I get in.

So that’s not fair. Has nothing been fair. It’s the way it is. You’re saved by grace. You’re not saved by your worth. That’s why God says it’s a broad way and many people are going in the wrong direction. Now, I want you to, while we’re right here, look at a verse over there in the book of Matthew. Matthew chapter three. But in Matthew chapter three, look there in verse 10. But Matthew chapter three in verse 10. Now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees.

Therefore every tree, get this, every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewed down, cast into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but he that come up after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear. He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and fire. Two things. You say have you you ever had the baptism of the Holy Ghost? I’ve been baptized by the Holy Spirit, yes. Do I want the baptism of fire?

I’m not going down that road. The baptism of fire, you can have it. Because there’s two kinds here. Once when you trust Christ as Savior, you receive the Holy Spirit. If you don’t trust Christ as Savior, you get the baptism of fire. Now which one you want? Now get this. He says in verse 12, Wherefore whose fan is in his hand and he will thoroughly purge his floor, gather his wheat into the goner, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

See the two different things there? The one is held. I don’t want to go there. So I don’t want the baptism of fire. But the Bible says every tree that doesn’t bring forth this good fruit, he’s going to have to cut it down. Well, this is the whole world. Everyone born into this world has a sinful nature. That’s our root problem. We sin because we have a sin problem. The next scripture I have down for you to look at is in the book of Jeremiah.

Go back here to the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah chapter 17. Jeremiah chapter 17. You see, the scriptures teach the scriptures. The Bible teaches itself. Here in the book of Jeremiah in chapter 17, it lets us know that in verse 9, The heart is deceitful above all things. In other words, your root problem. The source of all of your sinful desires comes from the sinful nature that you have. You were born with it. This is why you don’t have to teach children how to be ungodly.

You don’t have to teach them to be rebellious. You don’t have to teach them to go astray Him. You don’t have to teach Him anything bad. Why? It’s natural. It’s their nature. That’s why we all want to do our own thing and go our own way. So he says here, in verse 10, I, the Lord, searched the heart, I tried the reins even to give every man according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doing. So when you bring forth bad fruit from this bad root there’s consequences.

And so God says you’re all going to die. And your only hope is not trying to change the fruit by going to church and making a due declaration. I’m not going to do that anymore. And you do because you can’t change your nature. You are a sinner. Whenever you take off some of that bad sins and just say, I did, now you’re going to be filled with pride and envy and jealousy and so forth and comparing, look how much better I am than you.

And there you go, it would pride. And pride comes before and then fall. So you have got to learn there is a root problem to all of this. Now take your Bible and turn to the book of Mark, the book of Mark. In the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, but Mark chapter 10. Jesus Christ is going to describe what this root is like, the characteristics of this root. You know why we do what we do. chapter 10, you will find that there are some things mentioned here that let us know we have a serious problem.

In this Mark chapter 10 and verse 17, let me see if I got the right scripture that I want. Mark chapter 7, it’s the first mistake I’ve made today. This moment is lying to sin. That was a fib. What if it was white? A little white lie. Is a white lie as bad as a black lie? I don’t know. In chapter 7, chapter 7, now look there in this verse, verse 14, and when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, harking unto me, every one of you, and understand.

Now he’s talking to these people. This is Jesus himself. There is nothing from without a man that entering into him can defile him. Now there’s things you can do to file your body but the man, the soul of man is not defiled by the things you either don’t eat. You see you mean I can have all the pork I want? Pizza? I didn’t say it wasn’t going to defile the bodies. Anyway we’ll move right along. He says here in verse 15 there is nothing from without a man that entered into him can defile him.

But the things which come out of him, those are that which defile the man. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. In other words, if you have, listen to what he says, he said, I want you to understand. The reason he tells you, I want you to understand. Most people don’t understand. They don’t know why they do what they do. So he says there in verse 17, and when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him to turn into the parable.

And he said to them, are you so without understanding also. He said, do you not perceive that whatsoever thing from without entering into a man, it cannot defile him because it entered not into his heart but into the belly and go out into the drop purge in all meats. And he said, that which cometh out of the man, that defiled of the man. In other words, there’s something on the inside of you that defiles the man. What is this root problem that you have?

It’s the soul wicked heart that we have. Now it’s not this one that up here pumps blood. It’s that old sinful nature that you and I were born with. So he says this and he describes it. So he makes a statement in verse 20 and he said that which cometh out of the man that defile of the man for from within out of the heart of men. Now he’s describing what comes from this root problem, this old sinful nature that every man is born with.

And he says, for from within out of a heart of man proceed evil thoughts, adultries, fornication, murders, theft, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, less seriousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. Now verse 23, you ought to online in your Bible. All these things come from within. And that’s what defiles the man. This is why we do corruptible things. This is why sometimes you can be so nice and sweet one moment and you can turn so mean and ugly and unkind and vicious and filled with hatred, just like that.

Because not something on the outside of you that’s bothering you, it’s what’s on the inside of you that’s bothering you. You say, I just hate it when you make me so mad. Nobody can make you mad without your permission. You choose to get bad. You choose to get angry. You can choose to explode or you don’t have to explode. You wanna blame somebody, that’s what we do. This is what causes all the wars in the home. With the kids, with the adults.

You have a sinful nature inside of you. Now, I know that we ought to pray for our nation and we ought to pray for our nation. And it’s amazing how lately I’ve heard because of the problems that America faces with fires in one place and dryness in another place and storms in another place, that this is all the result of climate change. Now you probably haven’t heard any of that. It’s climate change. Therefore, if we would stop ruining our environment, we wouldn’t have these problems.

I think if you checked our history, you might find that we’ve had a little problem before. But if those on the left, these, now if I offend you, I don’t care. If these Democrats on the left would understand in America, we believe in capitalism, republican form of government, And they are moving toward communism in this country, and I don’t like that. This is why Trump is having all this problem is because there’s communists working against our country. It don’t matter if it’s him or somebody else.

They’re wanting to take over our country. Now, this attitude that they have and this antifa, they’ve got a new title. And you see them clubbing people and beating them up and hitting them over the heads and trying to destroy and all this damage and doing Destroying building again. Do you think that comes from the the Lord or the devil? You see these things are part of a person’s nature when it’s not controlled Every person in this room if you did not control that old root problem that you have You’ll do the same thing You said never do that.

Yes, you would. You just need the right opportunity and to lose control. And you can lose control that quick. For example, think of the multitude of people that have gone down to help this flood. All these good deeds that so many have gone. But you let it go on for a couple more weeks and people don’t get the water or they don’t get their food. And people start disease, this problem, that problem, do you realize all those people can turn just as mean and ugly against each other, as they have been so busy helping and caring for one another, which is a good thing to have.

But we cannot overlook the sinful nature that we have. You could see, you can be good and kind one minute, and mean as the devil the next minute. And you know that’s true. But see, most people are not trying to figure how to solve this problem. But I wanted to bring this point to you. Let’s just pretend that if everybody in America came to the conclusion, it’s not climate change, it’s our problem, but it’s sin. Could it be sin that is our problem?

And if it was sin, if it was, would they be willing to fight it like they would be willing to fight climate change at all cost? What if there’s a God in heaven that says, you didn’t made me angry with you? And I’m gonna chase in you because of your sin. If we knew it was because of sin, would we be willing to correct the problem? If it wasn’t climate change and it was sin. We have gone a long ways in helping to destroy this great country.

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 Man. 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. Believing that the Lord is coming soon, just keep looking up.