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Bibleline Bibleline, here God’s word on Bibleline, here God’s truth on Bibleline. Welcome to Bibleline with Dr. Ralph Yankee Arnold, pastor of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida. Clearly declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ through the radio and the internet. Your regular prayers and monthly support make it possible for Bibleline to continue on the air. and 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.

This is our lecture 16 on the study of the book of Galatians. So take your Bible and turn to the book of Galatians. And we will read a few of these verses down through here in the book of Galatians. And you’ll notice we’ll start with verse six, verse six through verse 12. This is on page 1243, “‘Even as Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. know you therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.

And the scripture foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith priests before the gospel and Abraham saying, and these shall all families or all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse, for it is written, cursed at every one that continue, if not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

but that no man is justified by the law on the side of God, for it is evident that just shall live by faith. And verse 12, and the law is not a faith, but the man that doeth them shall live in them. So God says you’re either saved by grace or you saved by works, and if you’re gonna be saved by works, you gotta keep all the law. You gotta fulfill every bit of it. And that’s why it says curses is those that are under the law because there’s people who get the message all wrong.

The gospel is good news. But the word gospel doesn’t save anybody. They can be a lot of good news about a lot of things. You can get a lot of good news from somebody that just left you a thousand dollars or maybe a million. And that’s gonna be good news. It can be good news that your wife got to come home from the hospital or whatever. But the gospel we’re talking about the message of this good news. What is the good news?

What is this thing we’re supposed to be all excited about? The gospel that can save a person. So here we look there in the beginning here of letter A. Now this is the gospel argument proven by the Old Testament. Paul is now going to go back and do a little reminiscent and try to show you why the legalistic Judaizers that were saying you had to keep the law to be saved are wrong and he tells them why. And this is what I want you to see.

So letter A, Abraham the patriarch of the Jews, the man to whom even the Judaizers would subordinate themselves to as an authority. How was he saved? So since The Judaizers really loved Abraham. There’s a couple verses that I want you to see. So look there in the book of John in chapter 8, the Gospel of John and chapter 8. Now I don’t hurt to do a little, you know, run and hither and dither through the Scriptures, learn to use your Bible.

It’s a tool. It’s nothing wrong in writing things in your Bible. You’re not adding to the word of God Because whatever you say is not divine, it’s not inspired. We know that. I’ve had somebody that looked at my Bible one day and says, I don’t believe you did that. You added to the Word of God. You know, some people just get so spiritual they’re no earthly good. But anyway, hearing the Gospel of John, I want you to look in verse 39, chapter eight, because when Jesus was talking to these, you know, these higher-ups, the religious leaders of the day, You know the Pharisees, the Sadducees?

He says here in verse 39, they answered and said unto him, Abraham is our Father, and they were proud of that. As though that’s the key to everything because you know, those are the chosen people and the nation of Israel, they’ve been chosen by God. So they’re special. So all the Jewish people get to go to heaven, right? They were chosen by God to bring the Word of God into the world and chosen by God to bring the Messiah into the world and chosen by God to be a nation by which would shine a light to the world.

They kind of messed up here and there. He says here, Jesus said, if ye were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. The work of Abraham is mentioned where he talks about, well, what shall we do that we might work the works of God. Look there in chapter 6 very quickly in chapter 6 and look what he says here in verse 28. Then said they unto him, What shall we do that we might do that works of God?

Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God that you what? Believe on him whom he hath said. So he’s already said this. If you’re Abraham’s children, then you would have believed on the one that the Father sent. And he says, surprise, that’s him. And they did not believe that. And so he also says, ye are of your Father the devil, done in verse 44. Now look in verse 53. Verse 53 says, art thou, and this is what they were saying to him, art thou greater than our Father Abraham.

So they did believe that Abraham was great, but they don’t believe Jesus was as great as Abraham, which is dead and the prophets are dead, who makes a style thyself? Who do you think you are? Boy, if you’re not conceited, here’s God, they’re talking to God. Jesus was God, and then he made this statement, he says, before Abraham was, I am. And so they asked a simple little question. In verse 57, they said that Jews and him thou art not yet 50 years old and hast thou seen Abraham?

Well, la de da, he has. And then he makes his statement in verse 58, Jesus said to them, Verily I send you before Abraham was I am. Yeah, Abraham saw Jesus in the Old Testament. And before Abraham was, I am. He was saying, look, I’m God, and you need to believe on me. Well, the Jewish people didn’t want to do their spend, the religious leaders. So go back here to your notes. And in verse six where he says, even as Abraham believed God, Paul is saying, just like Abraham, you like Abraham, and you want us to keep the law like Abraham, and you want everybody to be circumcised, like Abraham.

Abraham and see they were saying you got to be circumcised in order to be saved. Well the problem was, and this is explained a little bit in the book of Romans in chapter 4. Let’s just take a quick peek at that in the book of Romans and chapter 4. You’ll notice in chapter 4 Abraham see had already believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. He had trusted the Lord, He believed what God said, He had eternal life, and God had already put His righteousness to His account.

And then it says in verse 9 of Romans chapter 4, come at this blessedness, this blessedness means to be justified by faith, because that’s what God had promised. That’s what Abraham found is that you’re saved by faith without works. This was 430 years before God ever gave the law, so Abraham could not have kept the law. So these Judaizers who loved Abraham says you got to be like Abraham. Well Abraham wasn’t another law. Why did they find him put him under the law?

Well Abraham, he had to be circumcised. Well if Abraham had to be circumcised at what point was he circumcised? Look what he says. He says in verse 9, come at this blessedness or justification, then upon the circumcision only, just the Jews. That’s the only one that can be saved, were upon the uncircumcision also, the Gentiles. For we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. How was it then reckoned when he was in circumcision or in uncircumcision? In other words, when did God declare him righteous?

While he was after he was circumcised or was it before he was circumcised. So you go back in, you’ll find out that Abraham had already believed in chapter 15. He was told in chapter 17 that he had to be circumcised. So being circumcised was a sign or the seal of the righteousness he already had. Just like whenever we trust Christ as our Savior we have the seal which is the Holy Spirit that we’ve already been saved. Circumstances didn’t save them no more than baptism saves If anybody or as he says right here, see what he says?

In verse 11, and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet been uncircumcised. So, if Abraham did not have to be circumcised to be saved, because he’s already received the righteousness of God, well then evidently, why are you trying to tell these people that they have to be circumcised, like Abraham? Well, he wasn’t. So you see they were not really interested in the people They’re just interested in trying to develop a following Getting disciples that somebody else has to win a lot of the Lordship’s salvation churches and Calvinists They don’t usually win people to the Lord.

They just try to steal them from other people’s church of their deep theological teaching so go back now to the book of Galatians back to Galatians and And while you’re there, look in chapter four. And notice what he says here in chapter four. Because there’s a verse here that simply says a little bit about their motive of why they do and what they’re doing. You see in verse 17, they zealously affect you, but not well. In other words, it’s not to make you better.

It’s not to make you more holy, not to make you more godly. It just makes yourself righteous because you begin to look at yourself as being so much more righteous, and then you begin to look like a Pharisee at others who don’t live as holy in this God as you do. So he says, they would exclude you till they’re not interested in you. In the book of Titus, it talks about the slow bellies. In other words, God says, no, rebuke them sharply that they may be sounding the faith, but here he says that you might affect them.

In other words, they want you to change because it makes them look good and look better. So they have a message that makes the person look good. This is why you’ll have some people like to preach, you got a turn from your sin because he hates to tell people, look, this man trust the Christ is savior, but he’s not living right. Well, then they question whether you must not have told him right. Because if he’s really saved, he’s not gonna do that.

Well, he’s not doing that. So I gotta tell, so they add works to the gospel. So if you really wanna go to heaven, whether you’re gonna stop this and start this and join this and quit and all that stuff, That’s about their own personal ego. That’s not the Bible. The Bible says by grace are you saved. So either that’s true or it’s not true. Now look at the next verse we have here. Number three, verse seven, no ye therefore, Paul is established in the scriptural truth that these Judaizers, though Jews by ethnicity, were not truly sons of Abraham.

So we just looked at that verse, but in the book of Romans in chapter nine, especially just verse eight, and you don’t have to turn there to be college dollars, just mentioned to you. He says, those that are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God. So just because people were born as a Jew did not make them God’s children. And so the answer to that is very simple. Look into book of Galatians in chapter three, Galatians chapter three, and look in verse 26.

If you wanna be a child of Abraham, talking about a faith that really counts of the seed, he says there in verse 28, excuse me, not verse 28, but what was that verse? 26, that’s what I said, yes. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. When you put your faith in Christ, now you just did exactly what Abraham did. And if you do what Abraham did, then you’re gonna be blessed like Abraham was blessed.

You’ll receive the imputed righteousness to your account. So that’s in verse 26, look in verse 29. And if you be Christ, then are you Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise? God promised to save everyone by faith and faith alone. Cause he said, I’ve got just to find the heathen through faith. Well, if he’s gonna do that, this is what he meant in chapter three. in chapter 3, chapter 3 and look in verse 9. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.

Not those who keep the law, they didn’t have to keep the law. They did not have to be circumcised in order to be saved or to stay saved because we spoke before about what justification means. Now number 4 there, when we look at verse 8, Abraham Abraham knew the gospel because it says that God preached before the gospel of the Abraham sin that God would justify the heathen through faith so a man is saved and justified by faith the lung.

Letter A, Abraham understood and was expecting the resurrection in Hebrews, Chapter 11. So he knew about the seed. He knew about Jesus Christ. He was told this. And the word seed is singular and refers to Jesus Christ himself. Letter B, scripture tells or foresees for knowledge that God would justify the heathen. Because that’s what God said and God knows the future and He knows what He’s going to do. That’s what He’s going to do. And you see, the part of this verse where we have clarity is explained a little bit more in the book of Genesis in chapter 22, where he says, Abraham believed God and his voice and God had made this promise to him about the seed and how many people.

And so when this was mentioned to him, there was no Jewish nation, there was no nation yet. Everybody was a heathen. It means without God. And so God was gonna use Abraham and made some promises to him. Look at the little word note. The word gospel was a contemporary term as Abraham would not have known the meaning of the word itself. It is not the word gospel that saved. It can be good news about him, anything, but the saved, it is the message of the gospel that saves.

Paul is explaining that before the gospel, the current vernacular, they were similar with Abraham understood and believed the message of the gospel. Though he may not have understood what the word gospel was or the word good news like we have it today. But he understood the message. And God gave him a message when he told him to count the stars and talk about how that this is going to be the results of a seed you’re going to have and you’re going to have a son named Isaac and down the road that’s going to be a Messiah.

And so he knew and understood what this was talking about. So Paul had given these things and explained some of these things and to let them know that the gospel message was given to them by Paul, not the Judaizers. They didn’t come here and win you to Christ. He said, I did. I’m the one that came here. I’m the one that brought the gospel message. And then they’re coming in with the law. So are you saying that you never were saved?

And now you’ve got to do something to be saved or stay saved? And that’s why he said, I marvel that you’re so soon removed from him that called you to the grace of Christ or the gospel, which is not the gospel, into another message. He said, but there’s gonna be some that would trouble you, pervert the gospel of Christ. And he called it, and only way you can change the gospel of grace is by adding works to it. And God says, that is an accursed message.

If it’s more than faith alone, then it cannot be faith alone. If you add anything to it, it can’t be faith alone. We’re saved by grace alone through faith alone. You don’t really believe that. You believe you’ve got to do this and this and stop this and this. And so there is expectation. Now look at letter C. God tells us what He would do, predestination, I had a time, how God would go on to save. And when He saves a person, he’s going to save them forever.

God has already predetermined for the foundations of the world that he would save a man by faith alone. Give them eternal life, they become God’s child. That’s how you become a child by faith in what Christ did. Nowhere does God say you had to keep the law or earn the right to be in, or to inherit eternal life. Remember one of the things that the rich young ruler says, what must I do that I may inherit the kingdom of God.

There’s nothing to do because it’s already been done. All you have to do is trust Christ the Savior. So do I have to go to church to go to heaven? No, I do not. Do I have to give money to go to heaven? No, y’all do, but I don’t. No, you do not. Do I have to change my life? Not one bid. You mean you can still go to heaven and not have to change anything that you’re doing? That’s right.

Now, most preacher will not tell you But it’s the truth. If it’s the truth, then why not say that? Well, because you don’t want people to go out here and live bad. They’re already doing that. Don’t most people live however they want to live? But what if I was to trust Christ as my Savior and God gave me eternal life and now I’m his child and I’m going to have my dad. What if I decide I want to serve the Lord because I want to?

Because I love him. Is there anything wrong with me doing that? No, I don’t have to though. though. But I know it pleases God that if I would love him, he says, if you let me keep my word abide in me. Do a lot of things. So there’s a lot of things I’ll do for the Lord. And he was able to, once saved always, saved us a damn number of heresy. And I’ve had people say that. But the only thing is, that’s a condemnation upon the very gospel itself.

Because once you’re saved, well, you mean God can save me, but he can’t keep me saved? You mean if I could be as bad as I can, but when I trust Christ to blame me, now I can’t be bad anymore. Now I’ve got to be a goody-goody, too, shoes, and I’ve got to do all these right. But what if I don’t? That means God really doesn’t love me. That he really does not take me to heaven. My sins are not really all forgiven.

No, he means what he says or he doesn’t. If he gives me eternal life today, how long would I have eternal life? I’m giving you as a gift and I’ll never take it away. He’s out never cast you out and never lose you all. I’ll come to how long have I got it. He can’t give me eternal life twice. So once I trust Christ as my Savior, He gives me eternal life and that’s how I can know I’m going to heaven whenever I die.

But if I add words to it, then you can’t know until you’ve lived your life to find out if you lived a good enough life. And God says, you’re not saved by your works. For by grace are you saved through faith, that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. See, I can’t stand up here and say, I’m going to heaven because I’m a good guy. You know, I’m in a preacher and no God says it’s not a works.

I’m saved by grace. So the worst man you’ve ever heard of, if he trusts Christ, the Savior, God will save him, give me eternal life. You say, well, that’s not right. You mean, if he did it, it would be grace that that would be grace. And that’s what it is. Now look down here at the next statement. Number five, Abraham was declared righteous through faith or the law. When God declared him righteous was it because he kept the law only because he believed what God said.

He believed what God said you were saved by faith. And the book of Romans in chapter 4 what Abraham found? He found that you can’t save yourself. So he trusted Christ as Savior and God put his righteousness to his account. So here you are and you’re a bad dude. You’ve done everything in the book and you know you do not deserve to go to heaven. You deserve to go to hell. So how do you go and get to heaven?

You got to stop being bad, start being good? No, just like you are. If you believe that when Christ died, He died for you, that He loved you. And if you accept Him as your Savior, all sins are paid. Why? Because He paid for all my sins. So the reason I can’t go to hell today, well I don’t have any sins paid for it. Well, that don’t sound right. And the reason I don’t have to go to hell tomorrow or the next day or rest of my life, I don’t have any sense to pay for it.

When Christ died for me, how many of my sins did He pay for? All of my sins. Now down here at the bottom, people have a lot of times questions about, you know, how can a man be just with God? Job had asked that question. How can a man be just with God? God answers that question and it’s only because of what Christ did and gives us the free gift of eternal life. So if I died and then God was considered the law has done its job and it killed me, but it does it before I really did die.

And so Christ’s death was in my place. So he died for me. So that means I don’t have to die and I don’t have to go to hell. So he paid for my sins. I have received the free gift of everlasting life. Now look at letter C. Letter C, Paul shows the reason for Israel’s failure. They did not submit themselves to God’s righteousness. In Romans in chapter 10 and verse three, where Paul had made the statement, and he says, I have a heart’s desire to see Israel that they’re saved.

He says, for I bear them records, that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. for they’ve been ignorant of God’s righteousness have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of Christ. For Christ is the end of the law, for righteousness to everyone that believe it. So Christ is the end of the law. So once you trust Christ as your Savior and you died, the law can never condemn a dead man. That’s why I can’t be condemned today to go to hell.

And I can’t be condemned in the future. There is now no condemnation to those that are in Christ. It doesn’t sound fair, I know. It doesn’t make any sense why I’m gonna go to heaven, and here’s another person over here, and they maybe live better than me, and they’ll go to hell. And the reason, because they didn’t trust Christ, and I did, and that’s the only difference of why I’m going to heaven, and somebody else will not go to, I trust the Lord, they will not trust the Lord.

But that’s why God says, preach the gospel to every person, so they can know and put their faith in Christ. Now, don’t let her see. You’ve even heard people make the statement. Well, nobody’s perfect. You ever anybody say that? Well, nobody’s perfect. Well, how do you know that People have a conscience and what is that age of accountability? So look there in your Bible at the book of Romans in chapter 2. The book of Romans in chapter 2. You’ll notice that Adam and Eve, when they sinned against God, what’s the first thing they did?

They went and hid, they invaded him from fig leaves. They hid. Why? Their conscience bothered them. Why? because they knew they had done something wrong. They knew they’d done something wrong. When never children get a little bit older, they learn the difference of right and wrong. They know that I did something wrong. Never forget the story of Dr. Curtis Hudson when he had his boy, name is Tony. He said, just a little kid. And they had gone someplace, they came back and he was sitting on the counter and he had a jar open and he had chocolate in it.

You know that they’d put on a table. It was in a jar. And so when they came in there, it was all over the place, chocolate all over. He had it all over his face and all over his clothes. And he walked in and he saw his son, Tony. Have you been in that chocolate? No sir. The evidence was it was all over the place. the kids lying through his teeth. If you could see them with the chocolate. Now Tony today is about this big and he’s like this.

He’s a huge guy, powerful preacher. But Dr. Curtis Hudson loved telling stories about his son though. He was a weight lifter in Tennessee and I think held a record in Tennessee but he was a big strong individual. But I don’t thought that he would have killed him by then but he let him live. But you have a conscience. Now notice here in Romans in chapter two, looking verse one. Therefore thou art inexcusable old man, who so ever thou art that judgeeth?

For wherein thou judges another, thou condemnest thyself, for thou that judgeeth doeth the same things. And then God says, you have a conscience. And your conscience works because you judge between right and wrong. You’re able to judge when somebody does you wrong. That’s not right. That’s not fair. Where’d that judgment come from? Animals don’t do that. The people do that because, see, we have a mind, as a little version of the Bible says, to Him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to Him it is sin.

When a child learns to Him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, somewhere along the line, they’re learning, I did wrong. Have you ever spanked a child? Did you ever get spanked? Was it for being good or bad? I got spanked for being good because I was just a good kid. I really was. I mean, I wouldn’t lie to you for anything in the world. Raise my right hand. 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.

mailing address is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Again, don’t forget to include your mailing address. And God bless you and thank you for listening to Bibleline. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline. If you are in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. And now, a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friend, one day it will happen. But 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.