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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 BibleLineMinistries.org homepage. We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ and that today’s first part of this two-part message will be a blessing to you and your family.

I want you to take your Bible. Turn to the Book of John chapter 3. Title of my message today, if we’re going to have one, is called the Price is Right. You ever heard that title before? All your women probably have heard the price is right. Everything you bought, the price was right. You just had to have it. But I want to talk to you about the price is right from a different perspective as you might imagine. I want you to take your Bible and turn to the book of John chapter 3, and I want you to notice in verse 16, you probably have heard verse 16 before, but I want you to be convinced that the price is right when it came to salvation.

You and I were in debt. Jesus Christ went to the cross and he paid the debt info, so the price was right. He paid for all the sins of all the world and God the Father was pleased to bruise his son. He was satisfied. Propagiation means God was satisfied with the payment that was made. So we need to understand, yes, we are saved by grace because the price was right. Somebody already paid it and paid it in full and there’s nothing that you and I have to do to add to that.

So So you notice in verse 16, he makes his statement, for God so loved the world that he gave has only been gotten son. Now, whosoever believe it then him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. I believe God wants the whole world to hear the gospel and to believe. So they can be saved. You see, the reason for Christ making that payment all the sins of the world is because God did not want us to have to stand before God at the great white throne judgment and be cast into a literal fire burning hell.

He eliminated the wrath that would have been poured out upon us because if Christ had not done what he did, I would have had no hope and the wrath of God would have been poured out upon me. Now look what he says in verse 18. In verse 18 he said, he that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned when? Already because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten son. That’s the reason people go to hell.

You see the payment for sin has been made. They’re not going to hell because of hell sometime in their life they commit an alliah or they commit homosexuality or they committed adultery because they, no, no, no. The sins have been paid. The sin of unbelief. That’s why people are spending eternity. So they will not believe it. He that believe it is not condemned, but he that believe it’s not is condemned already because you have not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Now look in verse 36. He that believeth all the Son, half, present to attack right now, half what? Ever lasting life. When would you get it? When you believe it? He that believe it, half, present tense, half right now. And the last part of that verse is, and he that believeth not the sun shall not see life but get the last part of it. The wrath of God abideth upon him. You see, there is a price that has to be paid.

He paid the price, but it’s foolish for a person to hear this and then reject it and spend an eternity separated from the Lord. Now, I want you to turn into the Bible to the Lord Romans in chapter 5. Romans and chapter 5. Romans chapter 5 is a great chapter on justification because he just talked about how to be justified. You’re not justified by the law. You’re justified by faith and faith alone in chapter 4 and in chapter 5 and verse 1, he starts off with being justified by faith.

We have peace with God. See, we were under the wrath of God. God’s righteousness is unto all, but His righteousness is only upon. them that believe. Now the wrath of God was upon all but it’s only upon them who will not believe. So understand there is a great consequence in people not accepting the payment Christ made for them. You and I who have already trusted Christ as our Savior we know we have eternal life but you’ll notice down here in verse 9.

Look in verse 9, much more than being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. So we don’t have to worry about going to hell. We have been saved from the wrath to come. We’re not going there. You see, we have accepted the payment that Christ made on the cross force. So we’re going to heaven. So now the question is, what about God’s children? There’s another big issue that we talk about, and God says in his word that every Christian, though he saved, not by any words that he’s done.

The Bible says that every believer is going to be judged by his works. So you and I are going to be judged by our works, but the destiny has already been taken care of. You see, we’re already going to heaven. So being judged by your works is not to determine our destination, which most people get wrong. They think that how you live determines your destination. Living bad is not what sends you to hell. Trying to live good is not what sends you to heaven.

Your destination is dependent upon did you or did you not accept Christ as your Savior. You don’t do that. You don’t go to heaven. But after you trust the Christ as your Savior. What is the will of God? Here’s a statement, Christians can never sin cheaply. They pay a heavy price for iniquity. Transgressions destroy peace of mind, obscures fellowship with Christ, hinders your prayers, brings darkness over the soul, therefore be not the serf or bondman of sin. You see we often think about how terrible it was in American history when we had slaves.

And yet when you sin, you voluntarily choose to be a slave of sin. Majority of God’s children, though they have been set free, voluntarily choose to be a slave of their old sinful nature. And they rebelled against the very God who saved gave them eternal life and set them free where you can serve them because you love them. You see, if you’re ruled by sin in your life and you’re disobedient to the Lord, Christians can never sin cheaply. It means that a great price every Christian must pay.

Now the pay is not held, punishment take care. But there is a price that a person has to pay and that’s what I want to talk to you about this morning. So we’re judged by our works. Now take your Bible because I want you to see this so important and turn to the book of Hebrews in chapter 6, the book of Hebrews and chapter 6. Make sure you look in the Bible and see what the Bible has to say.

This is Colorado Community Church. We’re a Bible church. We believe the Bible. We want you to know the Bible. We want you to mark the Bible. Here’s a good verse to mark in your Bible if it’s not marked. Look there in chapter 6 and look at verse 10. Verse 10, For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love. Don’t you think that as a child of God, you ought to have some works and some labor of love.

If God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which ye have showed toward his name in that gift that you have ministered to the saints and do minister. In other words, you are to learn the word of God so that you can minister. Hold your place right there and look at verse 11 of chapter 5. Straight across the column. He said in verse 11, of home we have many things to say hard to me other than seeing your dull of hearing.

Hard of hearing. For a win for the time you ought to be teachers. You have need that one teach you again, which be the first principles of the oracles of God. And our becomes such as have need of milk and not a strong meat. For everyone that uses milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness for his ababe. But strong meat belong to them that are full age, mature. Even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

The reason you study the Bible is so that you can grow strong and become mature in the Lord. And when you have become mature in the Lord, the reason for that is so that you can minister. And you can minister and you know in the back of your mind there isn’t anything you can do for the Lord that he’ll forget. God is not unrighteous to forget your work and your labor of love. Nobody else may not see it. They don’t have to.

But if you get it from the Lord, did He see it? And that’s who you did it for? You see, it won’t bother if people don’t see it, and people don’t appreciate you, because you didn’t do it for them anyway. You may minister, and nobody appreciate it, but you did it. But God’s gonna honor you, because God is, it would be a sin for God to forget your work and labor of love. But I believe there are many of God’s children who have no labor of love and they have no works.

You see, we don’t do good works to go to heaven. We’re already going to heaven. But God wants His children to do these good works. Now take your Bible and I want you to follow me now in the book of 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians, look in chapter 3. First Corinthians chapter 3. And when you get to verse 8, I want you to have your pen out and you need to mark something here. In verse 8, he that planet, he that water, or one.

No one’s we work together. And now there’s two words mentioned here. I want you to underline those two words. Every man. Every man. Now we’re talking to God’s children. So this if you have trusted Christ to save it, this includes you. You need to know what includes you. So in this verse every man shall receive, shall receive his own what? Now salvation is the gift of God. Rewards are earned. That’s the result of your work and labor of love.

You see, labor of love is the motive of why you did the work. Did you do it because you love the Lord? God’s concerned about our motive. You see, if a man loves the Lord, he proves it by his works. You don’t have to go to prove anything to go to heaven. He can be saved and not prove it to anybody. But God says, if you love me, serve me. So any Christian who does not serve the Lord doesn’t love the Lord.

Now I don’t like the book, I’m just telling you what it says. If you don’t serve the Lord, you don’t love the Lord. You may be thankful for your salvation, but you love the world more than you love the Lord. You love maybe your job, prestige, or honor, fame, glory, whatever it is, if you don’t serve the Lord God’s way, then you don’t love the Lord. I’m just telling you what he says. In other words, don’t fool yourself. Don’t become a hypocrite.

Don’t proclaim what a great lover of God you are. When you have no time to study his word, no time to serve, when you can’t be obedient to the Lord, something’s wrong in your spiritual life. Now get what he says. Every man shall receive his own reward according to what? His own labor. Does God expect you to be able to do it? every man. man to have labor. Every man to do good work. Does God expect that? Yes. Do you have to do it?

No. No, you don’t. Look in verse 10. In verse 10, he makes a statement, according to the grace of God, which is given unto me as a wise master bear, but I have laid the foundation, which is Christ, another build it there on. Now get this and let. And here’s two words. I I want you to line those two words, every man. Every man, take heed how he built up their arms. Take heed how you live your life. Take heed what is important in your life.

And you’ll be surprised. The Bible says, the joy of the Lord is my strength. Lot of people are give out, Tony Zostin shot, have no energy, no excitement, no passion, because there’s no joy. The joy of the Lord is my strength. No strength because no joy. Keep it in mind. Now, we’ll move it on down here a little bit more. Look there in verse 12. In verse 12, he says, if, and you ought to uncline it, any man, any man.

So we talk about every man, every man, any man. Build up on this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones. That would be the good things. Hey, wouldn’t it stubble? That would be the good thing. the things on the flesh doesn’t count. And look at verse 13, see the first two words, every man’s work shall be made manifest. In other words, God knows, God sees it’s going to be revealed. You see, everything you have done and will do for the Lord when you get to heaven at the judgment to the Christ, everything you have done for God is going to be manifest.

Everybody is going to know what you did for the Lord. sins are not brought up at the judgments of the Christ. But your works are, what did you do for the Lord? How important is it? And you’re either going to be thankful and here, well done, thou good and faithful servant, or you’re going to be ashamed. Look what else he says in the last part of verse 13, and the fire shall try every man’s work, every man. See, nobody can make you do anything.

You can live your life any way you please and you’ll still go to heaven because you’re going to heaven because he loves you and he paid for your sins. And going to heaven is a gift. It’s free. The price was right. Now rewards are earned and if you get a reward, it’ll be the price is right. You earn that. You earned it. And you’re going to get exactly what you deserve. When you sit down here and you say, well, this isn’t fair.

That’s not fair. This isn’t fair. That’s not fair. You wining, potting, moaning, groaning. When you get to heaven, the price is right. God’s going to do right by you. God is not going to sin against you by not rewarding you for what you did for him. So it doesn’t matter if everybody agrees or believes, it’s you and God. Do you know it? Do you love him? Certain like you love him. Certain like you really can trust him. You know, a lot of God’s children, they have a problem with trusting the Lord.

They just don’t believe he’s going to come through. That’s because he’s maybe obeyed in Christ. You’re not mature enough in the Lord to discern right from wrong. He says, by reason of use, because you learn and you put it into practice. You’ve learned how to trust the Lord and trust the Lord and trust the Lord. See, the reason you can trust the Lord today is because you have some past successful experiences. No past successful experiences of trusting the Lord, then you’ve got a question and got them today.

But you learn and you grow and God keeps giving you bigger problems and you go over that one and bigger problem and your faith grows and strong in the Lord. That’s what God wants. Oh, look what he says in verse 14. Verse 14, if any man, if any man’s work, abide which he hath built their own, he shall receive what? Reward. So you see, where does good works come in the Christian life? Well, you don’t do good works to be saved.

That would make salvation a result of your works. And God says, it’s not a work, let’s say, Emancion, boast. So you’re not saved because of your works. But after you have trusted Christ who saved him, God wants you to know how important your work is, how important your life is. So He tells us over and over again what He wants us to do. Look there in verse 15. Verse 15, If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall go to hell.”

No, you’re going to suffer the loss, the loss of rewards that you could have had. So that’s why Christians can never sin cheaply. You don’t even know what those rewards are, but it’s equal to the pain. Court do the work. God is not going to shortchange you. You’re going to be so glad you dedicated your life to serve it. You’re going to be so glad on everything you’ve given up, everything you’ve sacrificed in this life for the constant price.

Because you win in the long run. You can’t lose. I know that God has to bless me. God doesn’t have a choice. I’ve got him bound by his word. promise I believe it. God says if I serve Him, He would bless me. If any man serve me, Him would my Father honor and my Father is going to honor me and I know that. And if I serve him faithfully, I know that God can use me. But you see, if you don’t serve the Lord, you don’t love the Lord, then God’s not obligated to use you at all.

He can put you on His shelf and let you just rot away. Well, if your life published nothing and when you get to heaven, you’re going to see what it cost you. Christians can never say it cheaply. They pay a heavy price for their disobedience. Now take your Bible looking first Corinthians chapter four and verse two Aren’t you having fun this morning? Looking verse two more over it is required in a Steward that a man be found what’s that word?

faithful Every man if a man blah blah blah blah blah blah. It’s required that a man be found faithful faithful to what? The Word of God, faithful to the Lord. You see, if you’ll be faithful, but you can’t be faithful if you don’t know what he requires. That’s why you study the Bible. We try to convince the kids why they ought to study the Bible. We want them to learn as many verses as they possibly can. How of all shall a young man cleanse his way by taking heed according to my Word?

By word if I hid in my heart that it might not sit against the entrance of Thy word, give a flight. All these things are so important because you cannot know the will of God unless you know the word of God. So it’s the will of God to know the word of God so you can know the will of God. Isn’t that simple? I have so clear. Second Timothy chapter 2. Second Timothy and chapter 2. We often use this scripture in Second Timothy chapter 2 because we want college kids to know the importance of studying the Bible.

So we often don’t second Timothy chapter 2 and verse 15. Second Timothy chapter 2. Look what he says here. Study to show off, know what it says? Study to show thyself of what? Approved unto God. In other words, a person who is fit to be used. You see, to go to heaven, you just had to qualify, you had to be a sinner. You met that qualification, didn’t you? Now, as a child of God who needs to be used by God, then you’ll have to be a vessel that’s fit, prepared under every good work.

And you see, when you’re limited in knowledge, you’re limited in ministry. Well what else he says here? Studying to show thyself approved and they got a workman, a workman. Why would you study the Bible? The B.A. What? A workman. You’re going to be judged by your work so you need to study the Bible if you’re going to do a work for the Lord. You know why a lot of people don’t need to come to Sunday school? They don’t need to come on Sunday night or when that why?

Because they don’t care about being a workman. If I’m going to be a workman, you want to learn as much as you possibly can study the Bible because this is where your power comes from. There’s power in knowledge and spiritual knowledge gives you spiritual power. Look what else he says, a workman that needed not to be what? In other words if you don’t study you can’t work and you are going to be ashamed. You’re going to be ashamed of yourself.

Now look I’m not the judge. I’m not God. I’m not the Holy Spirit. I’m just telling you, did you know this is in the Bible? You notice that I’m not twisting any of these scriptures. I’m not trying to make it say something that it doesn’t say. This is what it says, doesn’t it? So you have got to come up with an alternative to all these scriptures if you’re not going to circle or you’ve got to be getting your answer ready.

Tell God why you didn’t do it. The one thing that scares me all these years is I come so close to saying no to the Lord. I came this close, not going to Bible school, because I didn’t even know what they were. I thought I was really going to Bible school. It’s going to be a Bible. I had no clue, but I knew there has to be something more in my life than what I had. Something more worth living for.

Then getting up in the morning, going to work and coming home and going to bed and getting nothing going to work and coming home and going to bed and getting nothing going to work and coming home and going, there’s got to be more to life than that. When Christ says then that you may have life and you may have it more abundantly. I want an abundant life. I want an abundance of fruit. When I get to heaven, I want to see people that I’ve led to Christ.

I want to see people there that heard the gospel through my mouth. Maybe you have no interest to that. Get into the book, study the Word of God. And if what I’m showing you isn’t there, I’m taking that’s good. But if it’s in there, you’re going to cut them out. If you go through and you start cutting all these verses out of the Bible, you’re not going to have much left, are you? But is that verse this as important as Ephesians 2, 8, 9?

It’s in the Bible. If that verse is true, well, maybe this verse is true. Look what he says. not be saying rightly dividing the word of truth. You cannot discern error if you do not know truth, and that’s why you know truth. Now, I want you to look at verse 19. Without growing in the Lord, and becoming strong in the Lord, you’re gonna have your faith overthrown. It means that you’re not gonna be strong in your belief about trusting the Lord.

The questions and the doubts that are coming to your life. Your purpose in life. All those are things that happened and destroyed your face. See the verse right before that? Where it made the statement, who concerned the truth have aired, saying that the resurrection is past, or it overthrown the faith is something. You’re not gonna have the faith to serve God. You’ll think, well, God can use somebody else. Let God do this, get somebody else. Instead of you doing it, some people miss out on a lot of wonderful blessings because it comes to the skies, this work.

What joy can you have driving a bus? The joy of the Lord is my strength. My wife and these others that are working in the kitchen, why are they good because they know those kids are getting fed the word of God? It takes off a word and goes just so he can help and camp. And he took care of the athletes of athletic, what do you call it? All the activities. Did a wonderful job. But he came and sat right down here on this with a few, about five years ago.

Him and His wife, and they’re trusting Christ of Savior. Well, I married Him together. Jesse and his wife, well, I married Him together too. Do you think this is having impact in people’s lives? You say, well, that’s because you’re the pastor. Why am I the pastor? Because when I was 22 years old, I decided to go to Bible school and learn the word. Because I didn’t want to be just a person who sat on a church, people the rest of my life.

Wondering I wonder what I could have done. I wonder if I could have made a difference I wonder if I could have had compassion of the change God you change people’s lives Look what he says here in verse 19 nevertheless the foundation of God’s tender sure having this seal now get this The Lord knoweth them that are his does God know you Men reserve the last Saturday of the month for the iron sharpens 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 sharpens 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 muddly opportunity for fellowship and the study of God’s Word. 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.