Bibleline Radio Show – 2019-07-08 – Why You Cannot Know You Are Going To Heaven Pt.1


Transcription:

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

Bibleline Bibleline, here Trotsky’s Word on Bibleline, here God’s truth on Bibleline complainant. 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.

If there is no eternal security, there can be no security. If it’s not eternal security, there is no security. And I believe that once a man trusts Christ as Savior, he has eternal life. So I wrote a little statement on the top of your notes that I gave to you why you cannot know you are going to heaven. Now if I stopped it right there, Wouldn’t that be terrible? I’m going to preach this sermon on why you cannot know you’re going to heaven.

How many of you in this room know you’re going to heaven? Let me see your hand. All right, put it down. Now I didn’t see everybody raise their hand. Of course, I didn’t take a picture of everybody. OK, turn those cameras off there now. No, we didn’t do that. You cannot know you’re going to heaven until you know you are not going to hell. not only know that you’re not going, but you can’t go. The only reason I know I’m going to heaven is because I know there is absolutely no way, positively I can ever in the future ever go to hell.

And if you don’t believe that, you don’t know you’re going to heaven. If there’s a possibility you can go to hell, you don’t know you won’t. Think about it. If there’s a possibility in the future, has anything to do with how you live or don’t live, What you say or don’t say, good batter in difference, it won’t matter if there’s any possibility that you could go to hell in the future, you don’t know you won’t go to hell. Now I’m talking about can you really know for sure you’re going to heaven?

Well, since you asked such a good question, I think I ought to tell you. Turn in your Bible to the book of 1 John, chapter 5. 1 John, chapter 5. Now you’ve got the 1 John, it’s right before 2 John. And 2nd John is right before 3rd John. Then you had the book of Judd and then Revolution. 1st John chapter 5 and look in verse 13. Verse 13. So in 1st John chapter 5 verse 13 says, these things have I ridden unto you.

They keep the 10 commandments and go to Calvary Community Church, pays 50%. It ought to. It doesn’t say that, does it? doesn’t say that. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God that you can know that you have temporary life. See it wouldn’t it be better if everybody would just read the Bible the way it says it. It says these things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.

So can you know you have eternal life? Well the Bible says that. So if the Bible says you can know you have eternal life then can you know that you’re going to have and I believe so. So look at number one in your notes there. Does Scripture state emphatically who needs to be saved from hell? Does the Bible tell us who needs to be saved? Now I want you just to look at your notes on this. We won’t actually look at the verse in the Bible on this but I want you to look here at what it says.

Number one is that you must be a sinner. You have to qualify. See not everybody qualifies. You have to be a sinner. Is it what’s a sinner? That means you’re not perfect. So if you’re perfect, you don’t need this sermon this morning. But if you’re not perfect, you’ll need this sermon this morning. So do you think everybody here needs this sermon this morningrial? Do you realize that everybody? Well, let me just ask you and find out how many in here have never told a lie in your life.

You know you’re sitting among liars here this morning. You know all of y’all would have made good politicians. We’ll move right along. But you must be a sinner. Matthew 9, 13 says, but go you and learn what that means. I will have mercy and not sacrifice. It means that he wants to have mercy on a person. He’s not asking you to do anything because there’s nothing you can do. There’s nothing you can sacrifice in order to do anything. to please God that He will let you go into heaven.

So He says, I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. In other words, there are some people who believe that they are so good. I mean, they’re not like the rest of us. They are so good that if anybody goes to heaven, it’ll be them. And so they don’t need to trust the Lord. They’re just so good. Well, I think there’s a problem there. Jesus came to call sinners, to change their mind, realize they cannot save themselves, and that they can see that Jesus Christ can save them, so they’ll trust Christ as their Savior.

Look at letter B there. You must be lost. Not just be a sin, but you got to be lost. It means you don’t know the way. Romans says there’s none that seeketh God. You’re lost. People that don’t know where they’re going when they die, God says, you’re lost. So when I asked the question, where are you going when you died? And you say, I don’t know, you’re lost. That’s how you said that is. If I ask you, where are you going to die?

And you say, I have been found. Well, then that means you know the way. You know how to get to heaven. So you have been found. And there’s some people have been lost. And those that are lost have not been found. That’s why here in this life, we’re supposed to those that are found or supposed to seek those that are still lost. Sounds simple it is in the Bible. But now notice in Romans chapter 3 verse 22 it makes this statement.

Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ, unto all, and upon all them that believe for there is no difference. If it’s unto all, that means that He says there’s no difference. All have sinned. So how many people in the world have sinned? Most of them, huh? Everybody has sinned. So that means everybody is lost. And Christ died for everybody, all people. But He says here, the statement that needs to be understood, who needs to be saved?

All those that are sinners, all those that are lost, everybody that cannot save themselves. So they need a Savior. So people cannot save themselves because all have sinned and come short of God’s perfection. They’re all lost and will spend an eternity separated from God in a literal fire burning hell. So Romans 3, 23 puts it very plainly. have sinned. So if everybody has sinned, everybody’s lost, everybody needs a Savior. So number two, does scripture state emphatically that you can know that you’re going to heaven?

You see, there are some people that don’t care to go to heaven. I asked this one man, I said, where are you going to go in your diet? He says, Tennessee. I said, why? He said, that’s where they’re going to bear me. I said, well, when you die, where are you going? He says, nowhere. I says, what are they going to do? He said, just put me in the ground. So you’re not going anywhere. He says, nope. I says, have you ever died before?

He says, no. I said, then how do you know that’s true? Anyway, it took a while, but I got him to trust the Lord. See, some people just don’t think it through. Where are you going when you die? Because everybody’s going to die. Because the way Jesus is dead. So everybody sins. Everybody dies. So now notice this next scripture. Second Corinthians chapter five, you need to see this. Second Corinthians chapter five. There is a verse that makes a good statement about heaven.

Now we take verses and say that you can know you have eternal life. And we also use John 3 16. And I’ll show you that in just a little bit, but in second Corinthians in chapter five, he makes a statement there in verse one. For we know, we know, I hope we know that if our earthly house of this body, or temple word is all that means this body dies. This house, I’m living in. If it dies, we know we have a building of God and house not made with hands, where?

Eternal in the heavens. I know I’m gonna get me another body. Now how God does it, I don’t care how God does it, just once I get one. I just don’t wanna live for all eternity naked. I wanna have a body. I don’t want to float around like I hate. And you see down here that I really didn’t make that up. You see what he makes the statement here in verse 3? If so be that being clothed, we shall not be found, ha!

Naked. See when the rapture takes place and we’re gonna lose these clothes that we got on? Well, I don’t want to be naked. He’s gonna give us a white robe. We often sing that song in my robe, ah, of white. I hope it’s white, but I believe it will be. But we’re going to get a brand new body. We’re supposed to believe it because we know that. So we can know that we’re going to heaven. And when he says here, we know, he’s talking about all the saints there that he’s talking to in this church at Corinth and that if they were ungodly people.

They trust the Lord, but very ungodly. And we know that we, when we leave this whole world, leave this body, we have a home in heaven. So they knew they had eternal life. And Paul says, we know we’re gonna be with the Lord in heaven and we’re gonna get a new body. So you can know you’re going to heaven when you die. But a lot of people don’t believe that they can know for sure they’re gonna make it. And the only reason you can’t be sure, if for some reason or other, it depends upon you.

Look at the next statement, we won’t turn there, but just look here in your notes. First Peter chapter one verse three, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy, have begotten us again unto a living hope, a lively hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Now, whenever you trust Christ as your Savior, you’re saved from something to something. And in verse four, we’re saved. In verse three, being born again.

But say from something to an inheritance that’s incorruptible and undefiled, that fate if not away reserved, where? Reserved in heaven for you. Why would he reserve a place in heaven for me I’m not going to show up. God who made heavens and the earth knows I’m going to be there. And then he told me how I can know I’m going to be there. He promised, guaranteed. And if it’s not eternal security, there is no security. If he doesn’t secure you for all eternity, he didn’t secure you at all.

If you’re going to heaven depends upon how you live your life, then your salvation depends upon your works. And God says, it’s not by works of righteousness which we have done. But according to His mercy, He saves us. God has never saved anybody because of the way they lived, not one person. Because not one person has ever lived in such a way they deserve to be saved. They deserve to go to heaven. There is no one that deserves to go to heaven.

Well, except me. No, no one deserves to go to heaven. Look at the last verse there, letter D, who are kept by the power of God. In other words, God saves you and He keeps you saved by His power, not your power. That’s what keeps me saved. I can’t get lost unless somehow along the line, I can be greater than the power of God or somebody else is greater than the power of God because he says, he keeps me saved.

Saves me, keeps me that way. Let me show you a simple illustration. You’ve seen it before, but I’ll show it to you again. This is God, this is me. Most people think that, well, to go to heaven, you’ve got to get a good grip on God. So now I’m going to heaven. But if I do something wrong, now I’m going to hell. I’ve got to get saved again. Now I did something wrong, and I’m going to hell. I’ve got to get saved again.

Well, I’ll rededicate my life or get right. Where are you going to die? Well, I’m not sure yet because it depends on how strong they are. But the Bible says if I trust Him, He saves me. There’s a difference. I’m trusting Him to take me to heaven and I’m going to heaven because of His, but He’s going to keep me by His power, not mine. And I am trusting Him to get me to heaven. It has nothing to do with me.

I’m not going to heaven because I’m hanging on to God. I’m not hanging on a God. He’s hanging on a me. He’s got me. And he said he would never cast me out. He said he had never lose me. So that’s how I know. I’m going to heaven whenever I die. Now look at number three. Does scripture teach emphatically that Christ died for all sins? You have to know and understand this. It will give you great peace of mind.

Does the scripture teach that Christ died for all sin? First John two says, and he is the propitiation. Now the word propitiation means he is the payment. He is the satisfaction. God was satisfied with the payment Christ made on the cross for your sins and for mine. Now he’s asking you, are you satisfied? See if I’m satisfied with the payment Christ made in the cross for me, then why would I have to spend the rest of my life trying to earn something he already paid for?

See if I accept the payment he made, I don’t have a payment to make. See, most people think they go into church, they’re earning it, they’re paying something. If they live a good life, they treat their wife right, don’t kick the dog, help little old ladies across the street whether they want to go or not. Just do any good deeds you can and you’re making payment, you’re earning your way to heaven. And you’ll have some people say that, you can’t tell me you can go out here and live like the devil and still go to heaven when you die.

Well, if I can’t tell you, can God tell you? You said, because you don’t deserve it. Of course you don’t deserve it. Nobody ever said you did. you just giving people a license to sin. I believe what I’m telling you and it doesn’t give me a license to sin. The last thing I want to do is to live in sin. I want to live as holy and righteously and as godly as I possibly can, but not to get to heaven because going to heaven is a gift.

It is totally free. What I have when I get to heaven rewards or blessings here, I need to to do right because see I became a child of God 55 years ago and as a child of God I realize if I serve him he’ll bless me. If I don’t he’ll beat the Torah to me. I would rather have his blessings than the chasing hand of God. I would rather live to be a ripe old age and I was told seven he was a ripe old age.

So I’m getting older and older but anyway you You need to understand what he’s saying here. He died in 1 John chapter 2 verse 2. He is the propitiation for our sins, not for ours only believers, but also for the sins of the what? Whole world. Look up here, most people never get this. They never get this. When Christ died on the cross, for the sins of the whole world, that would have to include, has to include the very first sin that was ever committed by men.

the first sent man ever committed. And it has to include the last sin any man will ever commit. Thank you through. And that would have to include all the sins in between. Well, this is where we are. I wasn’t in the beginning and I’m not, I don’t think I’m gonna live until the end, but I’m in here. Does that include mine? Would it include all of mine? We did it for the whole world. Am I not in this world, part of this world?

If he paid for the sins before I got here, and he’s already paid for the sins after me, well, he had to include mine if he paid for all the sin of all the world. So that means he paid for how many of my sins? All of them. You mean even the ones you haven’t done yet? Well, didn’t he down the cross before I did the ones last week? He already did it. He already paid for all the sins of the world.

And that’s what he did when he died on that cross to pay for all the sins of the world. Look in the next statement. Acts 13, 38, be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the what? Forgiveness of sin. Now he can’t forgive you of a sin unless the sin has been paid for. He made the payment because you owe it. He can’t just forgive you. So that would be nice.

He had to come into the world and pay for the sin. The wages of sin is death and all of us are guilty. So instead of you paying for all of your sins, Christ paid for your sins. But the only thing you and I have to do, believe he did it for us. So when you believe that he did it for you, he puts the payment he made to your account. The payment’s not put to your account, it’s not credited to you until you believe he did that for you.

And you’re accepting that payment as your payment. And if you accept that payment as your payment, there’s no more payments for you to make. You can’t earn it. You can’t work for it. Has nothing to do with deserving it. It’s because God had mercy. Now, let her see. Verse 39 says, and by Him, all that believe, all would include everybody. have sinned, all are going to die, all are guilty, and he paid for all sin so that he could forgive all people of all sins.

And so he says here that you would be justified from how many things? All of them. Well, at what point in my life is this verse good for? That was good yesterday, but ain’t good for today? Well, what if I sinned tomorrow? What if I send 10 years from now? What about right before I die? Did he include all of my sins or just some of my sins up to the time I sacrificed? Now I’ve got to really work these things off and I really got to watch myself.

And if I die with unconfessed sins, I’m going to hell. Bible doesn’t say that. You can’t find one verse in the Bible that teaches that. That’s junk. That makes your salvation going to heaven depending upon how you live. And if you don’t live right, then he annulls your salvation and takes away way the free gift of eternal life and cancels your reservation because you ain’t coming. Or he made it free. I mean, really free. This is what he says.

Now look there at the next verse. A letter D, Acts 10, 43, to him give all the prophets witness that through his name, whosoever believe it in him shall receive what? Remission of sin. Does he say how many sins? Or would it include all sins? It would be all of your sins. Every sin, all, forgiven. Now, Number four, the scripture stated emphatically that Christ died once for all sins forever. You see, why is that important? Well, you see, if he died on the cross 2000 years ago, and it was only for those sins that were committed up to that point, what’s he going to do for all the sins that were committed after that point?

See, here we are in 2000. So does that mean he has to come back now and pay for the sins we did since the cross. What about a hundred years from now? Does he have to come back then and pay for the sins that were committed a hundred years after when you lived? Then the Bible says, for he must often have come and made a payment. He’d have to make this sacrifice over it and over it and over it and over again.

How many times does Christ have to go to the cross and pay for the sins of the world? One time. Because it’s appointed unto every man once did I. So Christ only had to die once for every man. So He died on the cross and paid for the sins of all the world. So that He says, go into all the world and preach the gospel, the good news of forgiveness of sin. God will forgive you. You mean as bad as I’ve been?

It doesn’t matter how bad you’ve been. You mean I’m so good but I don’t need it. I’m better than so and so. Yeah, but in God’s eyes, There is no difference. All have sinned and come short of his perfection. Regardless of how good you are, are you perfect? If you’re not perfect, you’re a sinner and you’re lost and you need a Savior. That’s what he’s talking about. Look at number four. Does scripture state emphatically that Christ died once for all sin forever?

Now that’s a little addition onto this because he doesn’t have to do it again. In Hebrews 925 there in your notes, nor yet that he should offer himself often as the high priest entered into the holy place every year with the blood of others. See, they had to do it all the time. Every year they’d have to do it and offer a sacrifice for the sins of the high priest, had to offer one for him. And then he had to offer one for the sins of the people.

Every year they had to do this. But when Christ came, he made one sacrifice forever and never has to do it again. See letter B, 926. For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world. But now get this once in the end of the age or the end of the world, hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of animals and bulls and goats? No, of himself. He offered himself for us. He was perfect.

He had no sin, so he had no debt to pay. So he became our sin dead. He paid it in full. Look at the next statement. Let her see. And as it is appointed unto men once to die after this judgment, every man’s gonna die. It’s appointed every man into die. And then after death, there’s a judgment. The next verse, Hebrews 10, 10. By the which will we are sanctified, mean to be made pure and holy, through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ, What’s the next three words say?

Once for all. Once for all. For all my sins. One payment for all of them. He’s not coming back to make another payment. Look at the next statement. But this man referring to Christ. After he had offered one sacrifice, four sins forever. Sat down on the right hand of God. Now why did he sit on? Because the work’s done. You see, for you and I to go to heaven, the work has already been done. There’s no work for you to do.

You don’t have to earn it. You don’t have to deserve it. It’s free. It’s a gift. That’s why they call it good news. Go into all the world and spread the good news. Got good news. You can go to heaven. And yet there’s preachers that’ll tell the people, Well, you know, it’s free, but let me tell you what you’ve got to pay. You’ve got to stop your sins. Okay? Which ones? Oh, well, all of them. That was the problem.

You couldn’t. You haven’t. You didn’t, and you can’t. You’ve got to make Christ the Lord and the Master of your life. You see, one is you’ve got to promise not to be bad, and the other one is you’ve got to promise to be good. How you doing? Did you know, as you can tell people that you have to be good to go to heaven and they still won’t. You can tell people that you can live wicked and you’ll go to hell and they’ll live wicked anyway.

Don’t they? Doesn’t people heard that? If you do bad, you know where you’re going. It’s gonna be hot down there. But if you want to go to heaven you have to earn it but then they don’t try to earn it. And they don’t try to keep out of hell. You know I think most people just give up. Because they don’t think it’s even possible. It is possible for every person in the world to go to heaven. And God has made it in such a way that everybody can have it.

So He just concluded the whole world guilty. And Christ died for the whole world. It says, free him. You can’t earn it. But if you believe I did it for you, I’ll give you the free gift of everlasting life. You go to heaven and what I did for you. Now who gets the credit for that? He does. What did you do? Nothing. All you had to do was believe. You ever heard of John 3 16? For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believe it, should not perish but have everlasting life.

So that’s the only thing He required. It’s where you believe it. Because if you required more than that, then you can’t be sure. There can be no security. If it depends on anything else you have to do, then trust the Lord. It can’t be secure. Well you’ve got to go to church. Okay, which church? How often? Well I’d say here. You’ve got to give money? How much? I’ll just take all you’ve got. I mean we want to play it safe.

You don’t know how much to give or just give all you’ve got? No I’m getting like this sermon. But you know that what I’m saying isn’t true, is it? Because remember, you want to be secure and know you have eternal life, know that you’re going to have an… See, most people think you have to wait till you die. Now why do I have to wait till I die to find out where I’m going? Well, because you don’t know how good you’re going to be.

Yeah, but it doesn’t depend on that. Well, you don’t know how bad you are. It doesn’t depend on that. Because in people’s mind, they can’t believe that it’s free. You can’t tell me, oh yes I can and so does God. But I’m not the one you have to answer to. This is what the book says. You take your Bible and you go home and you check and see if these verses are not in the Bible and see if they don’t say what this thing says.

Because I just want people to know the heavy trauma I’ve been doing. Did you know that the clearer you are in your own mind, the easier it is for you to tell somebody how to go to heaven? There’s a lot of people you know that will never darken the doors of a church. You may have friends and relatives and so forth that never heard the gospel. They don’t know where they’re going when they die. And you can tell them.

You don’t have to get them to church. You don’t need to preach her. All you got to do is tell them. Tell them what Christ died for you. He paid for all of your sins. You know how I know I’m going to go to heaven because Christ paid for all my sins. That’s the only reason I’m going to heaven. He died from me. He took my place. Substitution. And you don’t earn it. You don’t work for it. You can do that.

to do that. Don’t miss out on all the fun. Join Pastor Jesse and Kyla Martinez on Thursday nights from 7-9 p.m. for Tampa Youth Ranch at Calvary Community Church. Tampa Youth Ranch is a great mix of live music, games, Bible study, food and fun where teens 13-18 get to know God and the Bible with their friends. Check it out online at tampayouthranched.org and see the cool pictures from past activities and all the fun you’ve been missing. No right, no problem.

Call 813-334-4655 today for information on getting a ride to Tampa Youth Ranch. Thanks for joining us on Bible Eye. If you are in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4011 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. And now a closing thought from Pastor Arm. 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.