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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 You can reach us toll free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made by clicking on the donations link on the BibleInemistries.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’m going to cover a few things with you that deals with the real main purpose of Christmas. You see, if there was no child being born, there was no man to die on the cross. And if no one died on the cross and came back from the dead, no sins were paid for, there wouldn’t be a good message. There wouldn’t be no good news. But because it did happen, wouldn’t it be a shame to slap the son of God the Son of God in the face by trying to annul what He did.

That’s what happens whenever you add to the gospel. If I was to tell you, I want you to go to the gymnasium and you say, well where’s the gymnasium? I say it’s that away. Why would I have to say it’s not that away? If I told you it is that away, you should automatically know it’s not that way. And if you understood anything that I said, you should know that it’s not that way or that way or that way because I told you it’s that way.

So which way is it? How many of you got it right? Which way is it? There’s a him over there, he’s pointing that away. The reason when you study Ephesians 2, 8, 9, 4, by grace are you saved through faith that not of yourselves. Well if you’re saved by grace, then it can’t be of yourself because that means you’d have to earn it. You can’t will it to be done. Not of works. Well, why would you have to say not of works?

And if it is by grace, because some people just don’t get it. And you’ve got to spell it out for them. So I want you to see the notes that I told the past out to you. Believe it or not, this is a sermon I was going to do later, but I thought I share it with you tonight because it really deals with the truth of the gospel. And the other night I spoke on the truth of the Christmas story.

Because the story and the gospel have to agree. And one is not to mess up the other one. Whatever our method of giving the gospel and our presentation of giving the gospel should not compromise the truth of the gospel. So anyway, if you look at the top of it, when you know what the gospel is, grace, then you know what the gospel is not. It’s not by works. So God spells that out very, very clearly in His Word. In spite of knowing this and how many preachers can quote these verses, not of works of righteousness which we have done, according to his mercy he saved us.

Be found in him not having my own righteousness, which is the law, but that which is to the faith of Christ, the righteousness, which is of God by faith. And they can quote all those verses and turn it right around and tell people to turn from their sin, make Christ the Lord and master their life, and it’s all that bunch of add-ons. That’s like going into McDonald’s and getting a cup of coffee. You want fries with that? Well, this is free.

Well, You want fries with that? The gospel is a gift. You want fries with that? You want to add something to it? There’s nothing you can add to the gospel. So now look at that little paragraph there. This list is not the gospel of salvation. However, to understand the gospel one needs to understand what the gospel is not. None of these things will save you yet religion and man teach and preach. This is how one gets saved. Again, this is not the gospel.

None of these things will save you. You and I already know this. I probably after the first of the year I will probably have on a Sunday morning. I’m going to do this sermon or not, sermon all over again, because I believe there’s probably people who don’t sign anymore that need to hear this Christmas message. Though it doesn’t look like a Christmas message, it just looks like the message we preach every day, and every week, and every year, it ought to be, because the story doesn’t change, the gospel doesn’t change.

First statement, their religion, teach one must confess sins to get saved. Do You know there’s people, independent fundamental Bible, missionary minded Baptist churches that teach, you’ve got to confess Christ to be saved. And so they’ll have people stand up and sing 15 verses of just as I am, then tell you get down here because you can’t come the way you are. Cause you’ve got to get clean up your life and be worthy of being saved by promising the quit something.

Now it all sounds spiritual, it all sounds holy because some of this is true. It’s just that they’ve taken parts that belong to service and put it into salvation. Should a person make Christ the Lord and the Master of their life and all that? Well, yes, to be saved, no. So you see, those things can be good in themselves if you are saved and you understand, yes, as a Christian, I should confess Christ with my mouth. That’s how people hear the gospel.

But the man that’s lost doesn’t have to do that. That’s teaching works for salvation. So a lost person confesses, he’s a sinner. Christian confesses his sins to walk honestly with the Lord. Because if you want to walk with the Lord, you’ve got to be honest between you and God. You’re not honest between you and the Lord and own up to it. See, God knows everything you do wrong. All God wants you to do is admit it, admit it. You see, the sin’s already been paid, but you want to walk on it, you want God’s blessing, you’ve got to be honest with God.

You can’t live a lie. So yes, a Christian should confess his sins. It’s a lost man just confesses. I’m an apple tree, but the Christian has to confess the apples on the tree one is for salvation I’m a center and Christian confesses look what I did look what I did and Lord forgive me of my apples No, God’s name that apple. I lied. I was filled with pride. I stole I did this I did this name the particular Lord just forgive me of all my sins God says, confess it means name it, own up to it.

Be honest, be honest between you and the Lord. Look at the next one. Religion teaches one must say a sinner’s prayer to get saved. Now you can say a sinner’s prayer. I said the sinner’s prayer. But if you trust in the sinner’s prayer, it can’t save you. You still have to trust Christ as your Savior. You can’t trust the prayer. Because the prayer is not what saves anybody. People all over the world are praying. True? You take it by the end religion, they all pray.

Okay, they’re all saved. So prayer’s not saving you. But if you can, you pray and you still don’t trust Christ as you’re saved, you’re still not saved just because you prayed a prayer. Well, I prayed a prayer. I didn’t save you. And you say, what is the center’s prayer? Lord be merciful for me as a center and save me for Jesus’ sake. That’s the center’s prayer. I said that years ago, but my Father in law, He looked at me And he showed me a verse in Romans.

Then he showed me John 3, 16. He says, you believe that? I said, yes. He says, are you saved? I says, I don’t know. I hope so, I guess. I didn’t just like everybody else did. He said, well, what does it say? I said, if I believe it, I’m saved. He said, well, do you believe it? Yes. Are you saved? Well, I guess I am. He said, yes, you are. Do you know who you are? He went over that name with me.

I don’t know how many times. Now he wasn’t as clear as what we are today, but he didn’t go to Florida Bible College, but he led me to the Lord. Look at the next statement. Religion teaches one must ask Jesus into your heart to get saved. Understand this. You can ask Jesus to come into your heart, your liver, your lungs, your eye, your toe. He doesn’t end well you because you ask Him. He endwells you as a result of you trusting Him as your Savior.

You trust Him as your Savior, He will end well. But you can ask Him all day long to come in your heart. Where is that same thing about you trusting and believing that He died on that cross paid for your sins and you’re trusting what He did on the cross for you? It has nothing to do with that. And so a lot of times teachers, Sunday school teachers are teaching little kids just ask Jesus to come in the heart.

I’ve made that mistake. I’ve done some of that. I asked these two little girls, I said, well, do you want to get saved. You want to ask Jesus to come into your heart? I said, go ahead. I didn’t know what else to do with them. They bowed their head and says, something, I don’t know what they said. They said, hey man, and they looked up at me. I said, well, did you ask them? I said, did he come in?

I said, how do you know? I feel it right here. I thought I never felt it right here. I’m not clear. But I didn’t know. I just got to Florida Bible College. And I went out with Hank Lindstrom to a migrant camp in Belgrade, Florida, 1965. whole, I had a lot to learn. Even though I was concerned and fervent, you know, I was on fire, I wanted to do something. It’s just that, you know, I was ready to run, but I didn’t know what the message was.

You got to get the message clear. And there’s a lot of people running, but they don’t have the message right. Get the message clear first. Look at the next statement. Religion teaches one must surrender your life to Jesus to get saved. But that’s not the gospel. It’s not like, well, there’s a war going on and I give up. I surrender. I’m not going to fight God anymore. I give in. Whatever He wants me to do, I’m not going to fight Him anymore.

That’s not salvation. It might sound good and you might show a sign of humility, but that has nothing to do with trusting Christ as your Savior. Should a Christian person who’s trusted Christ is Savior. Should a Christian surrender his life to the Lord? Yes. Should he run from God or surrender and do whatever God wants him to do? Lord, I don’t want to fight with you no more. I don’t want to be against you. I don’t want to resist your will and submit yourself.

There’s nothing wrong with that. For the Christian, but for the lost man, it’s not the gospel and that’s not how a man is saved. But after, yes. Religion teaches one must stop sinning to get saved. That’s not the gospel. This means you stop being bad. You’ve heard me say this over and over again. This produces confusion as to which sin to stop and for how long? Because if you tell a man he’s got a turn from his sins. Okay, which ones?

Now you got to answer the question. All of them are just some of them or just a big one to not the little ones. what if you’re wrong? What if you tell somebody wrong? What if you told them that they got to turn from all their sins and you only told them they had to only turn from the bad ones? Then how long do you have to turn from? So that means that I have to live a clean perfect life from here on out not sending anymore.

But what if I do send again? You’ve opened up a can of worms. That’s confusion. That’s not the gospel. The gospel is clear to cut. It’s free. No add-ons. No add-ons are needed, but people can’t believe that. I have preached around this country. I’ve been in a lot of meetings with preachers getting up there preaching sermons and I sat there and cringing. I think don’t they understand the gospel? I mentioned this in a couple of the college class but I just mentioned one more time.

I was up there speaking for Dr. Greg Dixon and in after his Baptist Temple years ago. He’d asked me if I would speak in their unregistered church by the fellowship meeting. I said, sure, I’ll speak. And I knew that whenever I got there, there’s people that don’t believe like I do. But Dr. Dixon always liked me to speak because, well, he liked the gospel that I preached and he told me He says, I’ve never heard anybody give the gospel as clear as you do.

And I thanked him for that. But he had all these other guys that were not clear. But he’s, I guess he wanted to balance. So when I got there to speak and I looked and there’s several hundred of these Baptist preachers in there. And I thought, if I die, I die. But I may never get another chance. I might have just, you know, dunked the whole load. So I decided I’m just going to let it rip. And I’m going to say what the gospel is.

And I’m going to say what the gospel is not. And I’m going to hit on Lordship Salvation. I’m going to hit as hard as I can on Repentance. Of course, some of the people they got up and spoke before I did was telling them how we got to get back to all-time repentance. We got to get people right with God. And oh, man, they really pound a pulpit and they holler and yell and scream and all that right. And I thought, where’s the beef?

Where’s the beef? A lot of fluff. No substance. And the way you want to get Baptist on your side, you just say, I believe in the King James Amen. Amen, amen, amen. All the way, amen. I believe in having high standards. Amen. There were a little of that one. And you just name it and you know that the fundamentals of the faith and then all that. And you can spend up 20 minutes, 30 minutes just doing all of that and getting all their on their side.

Well, I thought I ain’t got time to waste all that kind of time. And I’m going to hit it right off the bat. And I did. But I knew that there was one man there that was very, very strong and I had heard him preach and he was, he was mean. He was rough. And I knew that if I get through, this may be my last day on Earth. I mean, the guy, he was huge. He was big. I shook hands with him one time and he just swallowed my hand.

And I thought, where’s my wife? My wife might have been there, but I’m not real sure now. Yeah, yeah, you were there. She goes to these meetings, she said, sharing cringes. And so I knew that this one guy back in the back corner, there was a bunch of men there. And so I told about repent and how that there’s preachers that are adding to the gospel. That is not the gospel, not a one of y’all have ever turned from your sins and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

I went on to him and I told him that the lordship salvation, how wrong it is and it’s just making the gospel of none effect and so I hit that as good as I did. He couldn’t and I says, no, there’s no such thing as having evidences of salvation. There are no evidences that you’re saved. You can’t see a spiritual birth and there’s nothing a man can do to convince you that he’s really saved. I can’t convince you I am really saved.

There is no way I can convince you I’m really saved. All you know in what you believe is what I tell you, but I can lie to you, I can deceive you, true? Now, I’m not, but I mean I could. So after I got through, I went down. I was going back to my little table I had and then a chart that I had over there And I waited for the onslaught. And when I was walking this way, I saw that man get up same time I did.

And I walked down the steps and I walked on him. He has a big church up there. This was a long time ago. That guy got up and he started walking across. And I know where he’d come into my table. And he got right over to my table. He walked up to me and I’m talking about, he looked like, you know, we’re in the Saturday night live wrestling match and he walked right up to me and he put that big old hand out.

He says, I want to shake your hand. That’s the best message I’ve ever heard on the gospel. I agree with everything you said. He says, would you come to Texas and speak in my meeting to have diner? I said, yes sir, would dinner spoken? Let me do it. And you know, they’ll get right up and preach the next sermon. You got to repent and do the same thing all over again, like they didn’t hear a word I said. You see, people ain’t like it.

Yes, they are. Yes, they are. Look at the next statement, religion teaches one must feel sorry for your sin to get saved. Understand, is salvation is not based on feelings. It doesn’t matter how you feel about anything. Feeling has nothing to do with salvation. You may get saved and you’re crying a bunch of tears. And somebody else, trust the Christ, is a smile on their face. Now which one was genuine? Well the tears, he was on a conviction. You mean that medicine can’t get saved if they’re a lot on the conviction of the tears?

Well that’s because they were sorry for their sins. There’s no verse in the Bible says you have to be sorry for your sin. Should you be sorry for your sin? Yeah, but there’s no scripture to demand. You’ve got to be sorry for whatever you’ve done wrong. Oh, which wrong? How many of them? Can you remember all of your sins? You got to confess all of your sins. How many sins can you remember? It’s the last week I think I did something.

You didn’t already forgot them and moved on. Now God knows all of them, but it’s not based upon your feelings. How you feel about your sins has nothing to do with salvation. He that believeth, hath everlasting life, is based upon the fact Christ died on that cross, paid for my sin to the fact, trust in my heavy, turn of life. The next statement, religion teaches one must turn away from sin to get saved. This is not the gospel. This means to stop being bad.

This produces confusion. Next one religion teaches one must walk to the front of the church and get saved. This is not the gospel. You don’t have to walk to the front of the church, the back of the church, side of the church. You can trust Christ and savior right where you said. Yes or no, you can. Now, there’s nothing wrong in going to the front of the church. if they are going to take the Bible and show you how to be saved.

But if that’s the only way they know to do it, whatever they tell you down here, ‘,” Why can’t they just go ahead and tell you where you’re sitting? What difference does that make? Because you get to see the decisions, and these decisions reveal how effective I am. So the more people I can get to make decisions, the more, well, I get paid, the more I get opportunities to go to other churches and more other preachers want because he gets decisions.

If I have a hundred people, I preach. I expect at least the minimum of a hundred decisions every time. Because some of you are going to decide, yes, and some will decide, no, some of you say, I’m not going to decide at all. That’s the decision. But I believe everybody makes a decision every time I preach on something that I say. You may sit here in here one sermon and make ten decisions about what you’re going to do with your life.

Is it possible? But these are the only ones we count. No. People can do it, but I’m just saying that it’s not the gospel. It’s not required in the gospel that you have to walk forward and confess it in church to be saved. If people want to do that, go ahead, but don’t say that’s what you have to do. The next statement. Religion teaches one must get water baptized to get saved. This is not the gospel. Now look at my little statement that I have here.

If true, then salvation is by works. And the one who baptizes is the Savior, not Christ. The thief on the cross was not baptized, and Christ told him that he would be in paradise. Isn’t that true? Did the thief get off the cross? Get baptized and get back up. Well, he got down and joined the church and then got back up.

Well, he said, I promise I’m not doing anything bad anymore. Well, he can keep his word there. He’s going to commit his life to Christ how much while he only had to commit about two minutes Because he was dying though Now is it fair for one man to have to commit his life to only two or three minutes or five at the most and Me I’ve had to commit 57 years. That’s not fair. I had 57 years to lose my salvation.

He only had two Not right So you don’t have to look at the next statement Religion teaches one must get infants baptized to get saved. Do you know there’s people who actually believe you embry have to baptize a child in order to get them saved safe and secure? There’s religions that teach that. But baptism is for believers only, only believers. See all these things is like taking Jesus Christ. You know that little baby that was born in the manger?

He grew up and went to a cross to die for all the world. And what we’ve done is we’ve slapped him in the face and that’s not enough. Everything he went through, all the shame, all the punishment that he went through, the death that he died, all that, that’s good. But it wasn’t enough. I still get water baptized. That’s like John, John, having a muzzer rotting, he wants to give it to me. It’s only cost about say $200,000. He wants to give it to me.”

I said, John, John, I really appreciate it. You know, buddy, I can’t take that for nothing. I mean, I got to have a part in this year. Here’s a quarter. Now, if I gave him this quarter, remember, I cannot cheapen that car, or the value of that car, unless he takes it. If he don’t take it, that car is still valuable. He won’t let me have because I can’t buy it. Salvation is free. If Jesus Christ accepted a little payment, I’ll turn for my sins.

I’ll commit my life. I’ll get water baptized. He cheapens what he did. He can only one can cheapen it. He’s the one that has to make it of not effect. But the Bible says it’s by grace and it’s not by works. And I don’t believe that Jesus Christ is going to cheapen what He did for me. He says this is the way it is. It’s free or not at all. Free or not at all. That’s why you’ll find in certain places that Christ become a none effect.

And if a man could deliver himself His own righteousness in Christ is dead, hmm, and vain. Look at the next statement. Dante bought up the page, religion teach one must give enough money to get saved. He must give money. Now, if you had to give money, okay, what if you didn’t have any? And if you had to give money, How much? Who told you how much money to give? Well, if you got to buy it, shouldn’t it be the same price for everybody?

Everybody have to play the same mile? But you see, there’s people that are saying you’ve got to make a payment. Did you know just by promising to be good that means you got to make a payment? You’re making payments. Do you ever get a car and have to make payments? What happens if you don’t make the payments? Well, a lot of it. You see why people can lose their salvation? payments on it. I’ve got it as long as I’m good, but if I miss a payment by being bad, then I’ll lose my car.

And so that’s, I mean, God says when He died on the cross, it is finished, paid in full. There’s no payments for me to make. But look how many people are mutilating the gospel of Jesus Christ by adding to what He did. page two. Religion teaches one must make Jesus king and Lord of your life to be saved. That’s not the gospel. This would be a commitment to serve. Remember salvation is a decision to trust. Service is a commitment to serve.

Salvation is a decision to trust. I’m trusting Christ to save me. Should a person who knows the Lord should a person commit himself to serve in the Lord. There’s nothing wrong with that. But you’ll notice that Romans chapter 12 and verse one and two comes after salvation. Notice when he says, I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God. That means in view of what God’s done for you. That you present your bodies. When, as you do this before your Savior, you’re doing this after your saved.

It’s the will of God that you do this after your saved, present your body as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable what? What’s the next word? Service. So that’s talking about service. So when you ask a lost man that he has to do this, then that service and that means salvation is not by grace, it is by your works. So this verse in Romans chapter 12 verse 2 also says in verse 2, and Be not conformed to this world.

Is he talking to you after your saved or before your saved? After your saved. Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may discover what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. You see, the way you discover the perfect will of God is you have to present your body as a living sacrifice. That’s why some people will never know the will of God because they’ll never present themselves and commit themselves to serve.

After you commit yourself to do it, then you study, renew your mind so that you can transform your life and you discover that perfect will of God. God doesn’t tell you everything up front, unless you’re willing to do it. See, most people think, God, you tell me everything that you want me to do and where you want me to go and how you want me to serve and what’s gonna happen down the road? And then I’ll decide. He not says, you can forget all of that.

That’s why he says in the book of Luke in chapter 14, you’ll read that whole chapter. It’s excellent on discipleship. If a man doesn’t love the Lord, more than mother and father and brother and sister and hate, he’s, you can’t be my disciple. You can’t be my disciple. You can play the game, but you can’t be my disciple.

Lord’s pretty serious about that. Men reserved the last Saturday of the month for the Iron Sharpen’s Iron Men’s Bible Study and Breakfast at Calvary Community Church. Join us at 730 for a home cooked breakfast. Then, at 8am, the featured speaker of the month will present a one-hour classroom style Men’s Bible Study in a relaxed atmosphere where questions and dialogue are welcomed. The scripture tells us that Iron Sharpen’s Iron and this Men’s Bible Study is open to those of all levels, whether new believers or mature Christians.

The Iron sharpens Iron men’s Bible study and breakfast. Don’t miss this monthly opportunity for fellowship and the study of God’s work. 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, and just keep looking up.