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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 internetShar 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 concluding message of this teaching will be a blessing to you and your family.

You get what he says here. For by grace are you saved. Now grace is not a girl. You might name your daughter Grace, but grace is unmerited. You don’t deserve it. For by grace are you saved. I can be saved, but I don’t deserve it. Means you did not earn it. You’re not worthy of it. But think for a moment, isn’t it true that most people think you have to be good to go to heaven and bad people go to hell?

Okay, if you had to be good to go to heaven, how good would you have to be? How long? Who determines how good you had? So that means you have to wait till you die. That’s why most people, they don’t know where they’re going when they die because they don’t know if they’re good enough. And some people think, well, if I’m gonna go to hell, I might as well have me a ball before I get there. That makes sense.

Don’t it make sense? If I’m going to hell, this is the only good time I’m gonna have. Whoo-hoo! Well, who lied to them? Well, you can’t know you’re going to heaven. Nobody knows that. Yes, they do. I know I have eternal life. How many of you in this room know beyond a shepherd? If you died right now, you’re good to have him. Let me see you hand. Okay, put it down. Raise your arm, you lose your charm. Now, for by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.

If it’s the gift of God, it cannot be by works. Otherwise, it could not be free. It couldn’t be a gift. When he makes a statement through faith, It means just by believing. It means I’m trusting something else other than me. To trust me is to trust my works. But if I trust somebody else, it’s got to be by faith. Put part of that kind of person to understand. And look at the next verse. Ephesians 2, 9 says, not of words.

Well, you know, when the Greek get really means not of works. I mean, because well, it all depends on how you interpret it. would you interpret not of works? I would interpret it not of works. Well it doesn’t really mean that. And then they try to explain what God really meant. Now God said what He meant. It’s not of works. Why? Unless any man should boast. See the reason I’m going to heaven? Well it’s because I’m such a good preacher.

It’s because I love my wife and I go to church. You see I’ve been a pretty good guy all my life. So I deserve to go. If I said that, would I be bragging? Would I be bragging? He says in the Bible, it says, not it works. Last, any man should boast. So that can’t be the reason I’m going to heaven. But if I say I’m going to heaven and come to what he did for me, then he gets the credit, he gets the honor, he gets the glory.

And that’s what Peter was singing about while I go. To whom gets all this glory? Now get this. James chapter 2, because you know if you could lose your salvation that means it would have to depend on you. If your salvation depends on you you can lose it. If your salvation depended on you yes you can lose salvation but you never got it if it depends on you. Because if your salvation depends on you can you lose it? Well you would.

Well but look at the Bible. Whosoever shall keep the whole law and offend in one point, he’s guilty of how much? One point. So if you want to save yourself byanguage good works, have fun. But if you do one thing wrong,Whe blew it. So since you’ve been alive, have you ever done one thing wrong? You’re done. You’re cooked. I should have said that. it’s going to be hot. He must keep the law perfectly. Can you do that? So if somebody wants to earn their way to heaven by, okay, go ahead be good.

And you can lose because you see you can’t save yourself. The next thing I wanted to show you is this. For as as many as are of the works of the law. Or under the blessing. See if you had to earn your way to heaven by your works. Why does God say you’re under a curse? You see if you’re by faith, it’s a blessing. Isn’t it a blessing to be saved by grace? Free. But if he told you you had to save yourself by your good deeds, you’re under a curse.

Why? Because curse it is everyone that can continue if not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do this. You have to continue in everything perfectly and you can’t mess up one time. How you doing? Got a problem? Aren’t you glad that salvation is by grace and grace alone? That’s what the Bible says. Galatians 3 and 11 makes it statement, but that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God.

It is ever just shall live by faith. So if a man cannot be justified by his works to get saved, how can he do good works to stay saved? Well, you’re saved by grace. Why? Because you can’t save yourself. But after you’re saved, you got to do good works to stay saved. What’s the difference? What’s the difference? There’s no difference in it. So you can’t do good works to get saved and your good works can’t keep you saved because you’d have to continue in all things which are written in the book of the Law to do them.

and he says, no man is justified by the law in the sight of God. No man, no man. I don’t know what that means. Justified. I don’t know what that means. You’re not saved or made righteous by your works. Look at this verse, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I committed unto him against that day. You see, I committed myself to his keeping and I am persuaded that he is able to keep what I committed to him.

I committed the saving of my soul to the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, do you think he can do the job? Are you trusting that and that alone? That’s how I know I’m going to him because he is able. And I wrote down a little question. The real Question is not can I lose my salvation? Can God lose me? See, if salvation was in my hands, then I can lose it. But my salvation is in his hands. And he promised he’ll never cast me out.

He will never lose me. And no man can ever take it from me. And I cannot lose it because it’s not in my hands. I was not saved by my works because God says, lest any man should boast. You’re saved by the grace of God and you’re kept saved by the very same power. Now, Galatians 2, 21 says this, I do not frustrate the grace of God for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is what? Dead in vain?

I didn’t write that, but look at that verse. If a man can save himself by his words, why did Christ die? He died in vain. Why? Because you can save yourself. If you could save yourself, do it, but you can’t. That’s why he died for every man, everyone. The next statement I have here, if a man could earn his salvation by his good works, then lose it by his bad works, then Christ died in vain. He died in vain if I could gain it, and he died in vain if I could lose it.

He died in vain. Are you following me? You follow me? This means yes. This means no. And if you don’t get it and use this sit there and just look at me, I might start all over again. Now, is there anything else that can cause me to lose my salvation? Anything else. Remember this, if you feed your faith, your doubts will starve to death. But if you feed your doubts, your faith will starve to death. So if you want to be strong in the Lord, after you trust in Christ as your Savior, this is why desire that sends in your milk of the word that you may grow there by.

God wants you to grow strong in the word of God so that you’ll know what you believe and why you believe it. And then you can listen to anybody on anything and you know what you believe. But some people are only as strong as the last person they listen to. You need to get into the Word of God and know this is what the book says and I believe it because I saw it, I read it and I believe it.

So important. You read Romans chapter 8 and I want you to see this. Take your Bible and read Romans chapter 8 verse 33. Romans chapter 8, I love these verses in Romans chapter 8. And notice what he says here. Let’s just start there in verse 32 first of all. Because we’re talking about what God said and we’re talking about what Christ did. He says here in verse 32, He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us.

What’s the next word? All. He did it for all. He delivered up his son. Now why did he do that? If there was another way for a person to be saved, then it should have been that way. Christ did not die on the cross to give us a chance so he could be like a trailblazer, no like Daniel Boon or David Crockett, and be a trailblader and show us how to live. So we’ll learn to live good enough that we’ll finally make it someday.

No, then he’s not my savior. He’s my savior because he saved me and he gets all the credit for it. But now notice, he says in verse 33, who shall lay anything to the charge of God? He’s like, how are you gonna be able to charge me with the sin that could keep me out of heaven? Is God who justified me? If He justified me, who are you? To say, I can’t go and I’m not going. I’m going because of my faith in what Christ did for me and nobody can alter that, nobody can change that.

I have a payment for all of my sins. The reason I can’t go to hell today or in the future, I don’t have any sins to pay for. They’re all paid. You know what else she says here? He says in verse 33, it is God that justifies. If He justified me, He declared me righteous. Who did God? And in, remember, in John 5, 24 when he says, and shall not be condemned in the future. In the future, there’s no condemnation to those that are in Christ.

I can never be condemned again. Why? I got to pay them for all my sins. So I don’t have to pay for my sins. Somebody did it for me. Now is that good or? That’s good. Look in the next verse. Verse 34, who is he that condemns? It is Christ that dies. So if I got God on my side I got the Christ on my side and the Holy Spirit up there in verse 26 and 26 and entered seated on my behalf.

Wait a minute, what have I got to worry about? I have the security of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Now, is there a word any good? Is there a word any good? Can I trust then? What else she says here? Who is he that condiment? It is Christ that died. Yea, rather, that is risen again, even of the right hand of God, who also make an intercession for us, who shall separate us from the love of Christ.

Shall tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword, as it is written, for thy sake are we all killed all the day long. We are counted as sheep for the slaughter. And all these things we are more than conquer through him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angel, nor principalities or powers nor things present or things to come nor high. It’s not death. There are any other creatures shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus.

How much did he love you? He loved you so much that when he saved you, he says, now nothing can separate you from me. You’ll never be separated from me. And then he missed all the things that can’t intervene. Now look at this, because I think it’s good just to refresh your mind and go over it again. You see, for I am persuaded, I’m convinced, persuaded that death, am I gonna die physically one of these days? I’m gonna die.

Be one of the happiest days of my life to drop dead. Cause the accent from the body is to be what? present with the Lord. And I don’t mind it one eye odor. Now, some of y’all, if I was to drop dead right now, you’d cry, you know, five, 10 minutes maybe. And then you’ll get on with life. But you’ll be surprised where I’m going to be. When Betty’s dad, when he was going to die, he says, don’t have no funeral dirge at my funeral.

He says, I want you to sing when the saints go marching in or a whole happy day. I don’t remember we did, but it was a happy day. I had a whole bunch of nurses that came to his, because he was in the hospital and came to the funeral and I did the funeral and they had lunch on the trust of Christ to save you. So it was a happy day, it was a great day. So remember God can get glory out of your life by life or death.

So he may have to take your life in order to get glory from your life because some of God’s people were not going to serve him. But when you die, did you realize God may have people come to your funeral? Just to verify that this is you. And they may hear the gospel and trust the Lord as their Savior. Wouldn’t you like it for people to trust the Lord because God took you on home? Well, amazing how it works, but death, you can’t lose it when you die.

Because see, my eternal life doesn’t start when I died. Do you realize that when I trusted Christ as vice-cameraman I was 18 years old, you know when my eternal life started? That day, that very moment. You see, I’ve already been living eternal life for 56 and a half years. So it doesn’t start when I die. already began the day I trusted Christ, but he didn’t believe it to me, had presentence right now, that day, that moment I had eternal life and I still got it now and death doesn’t stop that.

I don’t have to wait till I die to find out I wonder where I’m gonna go. I’ve already settled that. I know where I’m gonna spend eternity. Life, you can’t lose it while you’re alive. No, if I can’t lose it, to die. And I can’t lose it while I’m alive. Does that sound pretty secure? Angels can’t take it from you. They can’t take it away from you. You see, this message that we have that God’s given to us is really some mighty good news.

Now, principalities, the government lo and behold, they may pass a lot of laws, but they can’t pass legislation. Satan, Yankee, Arnold, his eternal life, been revoked. They can’t pass along. Nobody can. Taking it and stripping it away from me. Now we do have legislators that are trying to strip away our rights, don’t they? But this is the right they have no power over. And the devil can’t cause you to lose it. There’s a devil in these real, just as real as God is.

If the devil can’t get you, government can’t get you. And things present. There’s nothing right now happening that can take it away from you. This is what he says in the book of Romans in chapter 8 and verse 33 all the way through the end of that chapter. Nothing shall separate you from Him that wherever He is that’s where I’m going to be. I have everlasting life. And I have eternal security. Now tomorrow I may have some questions and doubts because of what goes on and I may not believe everything that I once believed, but it doesn’t change the fact I am just as secure.

You can lose assurance because that depends on you and you’re weak mind and maybe not studying the Word of God and growing in grace like you should and you can have all these questions and doubts but it doesn’t change the fact if God has ever saved you, you’re still saved. But as His child, and you might as all know because you are his child, you cannot live as you please and get away with it. Can you live as you please?

Yes. Can you get away with it? No. Your heavenly Father will beat that tar out of you and maybe even take you home before your time because the Word of God is true. And God tells us how he deals with us on a father and son relationship. Read Hebrews chapter 12, it will give you the whole story right there. So there’s nothing present that can take it away. There’s nothing that can come in the future. Nothing in the future can make you lose it.

Hype. There’s nothing above me that can take my salvation away. There’s nothing below me that can take away my salvation. I love it. Nor any other creature shall be able, not possible, to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. according to the Bible, if you trust Christ as your Savior, are you secure? If you are dependent upon your works, no you’re not secure and you ought not be. Why? Because you’re not. But if you trust in Christ as your Savior, you have eternal security.

Because if it’s not eternal, there is no security. See when And your salvation depends upon you. It’s a mess. It doesn’t work. It’s not clear. It’s hypocritical. I am not going to heaven because of any good deeds that I’ve done. I’m going to heaven because Christ died for my sins. And He gets all the credit and all the honor and all the glory. That’s why I know I’m going to heaven. Now, I thought I’d just throw that out there for you.

That if people don’t believe in eternal security, they don’t believe the gospel. The gospel is what I’m telling you. It’s this good news. How that you can be saved and know that you’re going to heaven whenever you die and you can’t be stopped. That’s what makes it so good. It’s what makes it worth telling people about because it’s the truth. God loves us that much. And there’s people who can’t believe you. God loves you that much. Well, your salvation that is once secured is eternally secured.

And it can only be secured by the fact that did you or did you not put your confidence, your trust in what Christ did on the cross for you. And once you trust Him as your Savior, God gives you that eternal life. Now as time goes on, if you don’t get into the Word of God and you don’t grow and mature, then you can have a lot of questions and doubts in your life. Well, I don’t know if I’m really saved.

And you think, well, I got to get saved again. Well, just in case and all that, that comes because of a lack of assurance. So now that you have eternal life and you are trusting Him that gets you to heaven, He says, you can know that you have eternal life. 1 John 5, 13, your lack of confidence or assurance may produce the doubts from time to time due to a lack of spiritual growth. But this is why you come to church so that you can learn a little bit more and a little bit more and a little bit more.

And the more you learn the more solid you’ll become. And you don’t have to spend the rest of your life wondering and question, well, I hope I’m going, I think I am. Well, I started smoking so I guess I lost my salvation. Well, I looked at this girl I don’t know how to bad thought, I guess I’m going to hell now. No, it doesn’t change the fact that once you trust Christ as your Savior, He gives to you as a free gift ever, lasting life.

Now, look up here, I wanna show you something. You’ve never seen this before. But the reason that I do it, and I do it the way that I do it because I want people to know the most important thing in all the world. The only reason we’re going to heaven is because Christ died for my sins. And all he wanted me to do is believe he did it for me. Now this hand represent you and me. And the wallet represents sin.

Now we all have sin on us. But God loves us. He hates our sin, but he loves us. And since we have all sin, we’re all in the same boat. And God says the wages of sin is death. So we have to die to pay for sin. Some people say, well, you got to turn from your sin. Turn me, no, no, no, you got to die. You got to die. You got to pay for your sins. Wages in is what?

Death. So we’re all guilty. And God says that He loves us and wants us to go to heaven. To go to heaven, you have to be perfect, no sin. Because heaven’s a perfect place. And if you’re not perfect, you can’t go. So God says, you cannot save yourself. And the Bible teaches that it’s not of works of righteousness which we have done. Now, this hand represents Jesus Christ. He’s the Lord, God into flesh. He came into the world because he loves us.

He hates our sin. Now remember that. He loves you. It’s the sin he hates, but he loves you. He didn’t come to pay for sin because he just loves sin so much. loved you. He came to make a death payment and this requires a death payment. So the Bible says our sins separates us. So all the good works you could ever do will not help you get closer to God. So all these good works you can do them will get you one inch closer to the Lord.

Sin separates. Good works don’t bring you closer to Him. So Jesus Christ who had no sin, he didn’t have to die. So because he loved us, he took all the sin of all the world and paid for them on the cross and came back from the dead. And when he came back from the dead, he says, the only thing you have to do to go to heaven is where you believe I did that for you. So 56 and a half years ago in Little Oliver of New Manathas, Georgia, I believe he did this for me.

So he gave me as a free gift everlasting life. God justified me, declared me righteous. Why? Because I have no sins to pay for. I’m not guilty anymore. Because see that debt pay would put to my God. I’m not guilty. And in the future, I’ll never be guilty. I’ll never be condemned. Why? Because I’m never going to be guilty. He paid for how many of my sins? All of them. I’ve been declared righteous and I get to go to heaven because now I am perfect as righteous as God himself.

Not because of anything that I’ve done, but because of what he did for me. I accepted and he gave me his righteousness. Now, if he came in this room right now and gave you his righteousness, that would make you as righteous as God. And you get to go to heaven. to heaven on His righteousness, not yours. You can’t earn it. You’ll never be good enough. Don’t waste your time trying to earn something that’s free because trying to earn it is impossible.

Christ came back from the dead and all He wanted you to do is believe that He did that for you. It’s so simple. It’s so easy. I couldn’t believe it at first. There’s got to be more to this than that. And that was all there was. Not of works lest any man should boast. So that’s why at 18 years of age I accepted Christ as my Savior. And I know that I’m going to heaven whenever I die. I have eternal security.

He promised that when I trusted Him, He would never cast me out. He’d never lose me. Nobody can take me out of His hand. I have eternal life. It last forever. Let’s pray, shall we? With every head bowed and every eye closed, no one looking around. If you’re here this morning, then you’ve never trusted Christ as your Savior. Would you trust Him right now? Would you just say something to the Lord like, Lord, I don’t understand it all. Maybe I’ve got questions and maybe you’ve got doubts.

But Lord, I understand I’m a sinner. And I believe that when Christ died, I believe He died and paid for my sin. And I’m going to believe He did it for me. And if you’ll trust Him as your Savior right now, He said He would save you, give you eternal life. And when you get up to leave you, because I know I’m going to heaven because today I accepted Jesus Christ and Him alone as my only hope of going to heaven.

Friend, would you do that? I’m going to ask you in just a moment to raise your hand raise and your hand doesn’t save you. And I’m not going to have you down the aisle and I’m going to embarrass you. I just want to know that what I said made sense to you and I like to pray for you in closing. So in the quietness of this moment, is there anyone at all say, preacher, that made sense to me. And right now I will accept Jesus Christ as my Savior.

I want to know I have eternal life and know that I’m going to heaven. I realize I cannot earn it. That is a gift and I accept it. Would you just slip you in it very quickly but rub back down and see them with all. Then I want to just slip it up but rub back down. And by that you say yes, I will accept Christ as my Savior and with it all. It’s the most important decision you’ll ever make in your life.

You’re not trusting me, you’re not trusting the church, you’re not trusting yourself, you’re trusting the Lord. If you’ve never done it before, would you do it right now? If you have trust in Christ as your Savior, do you have assurance that you’re saved? Your assurance comes because of the confidence you have in what God promised that what He said. Don’t question Him. Believe what He said is true. Our Father, we thank you again and for your blessings, thank you for all you do for us.

And we’re thankful for the free gift of everlasting life. And I pray Lord, your blessed each one here and help them to share this wonderful gospel message to those that they’ve been made in their journey in this world and throughout the day, throughout the week, to the rest of their life, to help us become faithful in Christ’s name and pray. 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 4081 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. Cada can meet the Lord in the air. So live today and every day.

Believe in that the Lord is coming soon, just keep looking up.