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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. You can reach us toll-free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made by clicking on the donations link on the Bible and that today’s message will be a blessing to you and your family.

Should a Christian backslide? No. Why don’t you take your Bible and look there in the book of Jeremiah, chapter 2. The book of Jeremiah and chapter 2. This is where he’s talking about backslidden Judah, backslidden Judah, and look there in verse 19. thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee. Know, therefore, and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hath forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of host.

If you want to have an idea, what does it mean to be backslidden? at the words that are used here in this verse concerning Judah and how that they have been backsliding. As a nation, they were drawing back from God, not going forward with the Lord. And he says, in that first part, thine own wickedness shall correct thee. Remember this, God has instituted natural laws into our land. You cannot make wrong decisions and get away with it. There’s natural results and consequences to them.

So your bad decisions are going to hurt you somewhere down the road. And the Bible says that’s how some people get to be wise. The Bible also says that the children of this world are wiser than the children of light. What he’s saying is that there’s lost people in this world when it comes to living in this world have greater wisdom and judgment than God’s own people do because God’s people won’t obey God and obey Christian principles. Yet there’s some lost people, lost people who will have some higher standards than what God’s people will have.

They’ll have better worth ethics and they will try to live better in society than some of God’s people will. But notice what he says here, and thy backsliding shall reprove thee. Know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter. So whatever backsliding is, it’s an evil thing and it makes God bitter toward you. God is not going to put up with backsliding. Whatever backsliding is, but just to give you a clue, look what it says. For thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God.

As a child of God, remember this, God said, He’ll never leave you and He will never forsake you. But you as a child of God may not walk with God. There may be a time in your life when you was a godly individual. You could even be in the ministry full time. And today you may not be where you ought to be. You’re back slid. You’re living in a back slid in condition. It means that God is not the God of your life anymore.

You’re not honoring God. You’re not walking with God. And if you live in sin, as a Christian, God’s going to have to chase it and discipline you. Because no child of God can live as he pleases and get away with it. You cannot play games with God. Notice what else he says in that verse. The last part of says, and that my fear is not in thee. In other words, when you don’t have fear, the Bible says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

Christians are to Fear God if we fear God with fear nothing else, but whenever you don’t fear God you’ll fear everything else and live in fear And God says, you don’t fear me. You don’t have that high holy reverence or respect for me that you ought to have. You don’t fear God’s chasing hand upon you. You think you can get away with sin and you can’t get away with it. You’re deceived. You’re backslidden in heart. And when you’re backslidden in heart, it’s only a matter of time before you become backslidden in practice.

Because remember, deeds are simply their product. of how you think. First of all in the mind and then in practice. Chapter 3 and verse 21, a voice was heard upon the high places, weeping and supplications of the children of Israel, for they have perverted their way and they have forgotten the Lord their God. Return ye back sliding children and I will heal your back Now notice there in verse 21. 21 says, for they have perverted their way. Whatever backsliding is, it’s a Christian perverting their way.

It means that you have taken the will of God and perverted it, just like you can take the gospel and pervert the gospel. You’re changing it into something else. God has a way He wants you to live. When you don’t live the way God wants you to live, you’re perverting the will of God, perverting his way, and so that you as a child of God, don’t bring honor and glory to God for what all he’s done for us. God says you’re backslidden.

Though this is talking about the nation of Israel, is it possible for a Christian, though the word is not found in the New Testament? Can a Christian be a backslider? Yes he can. I would venture to say we have many churches with many backsliders, people that have slid back from what they did believe to the same degree and have not gone forward. You’re not as God is you ought to be. You’re not as holy in your thinking as you ought to be.

And God says He will chasten backsliders. Now when you get to the New Testament, though you don’t find the word there, God doesn’t deal with us as a nation, the Bible says He deal it with us as sons in Hebrews chapter 12. And there you find it talks about chasening. It’s obedience and disobedience. Obedience and disobedience. When you’re disobedient God’s gonna have to chase you because you’re not obeying. You may have obeyed God at times in your life but are you obeying Him now?

That means you have slid back from obedience to disobedience. That means you’re not going forward, you’re going backwards. Now some of God’s people can accept the free gift of eternal life and have never done anything for God so they haven’t back slid because they have never gone forward. We used to say in church, all the holy people sit down close to the front and all the backsliders sit in the back. When I went to church. You know where I used to always sit?

Right on the back row. And I didn’t like to say in that. So I’m not going to say that. But anyway, if you used to sit up here and now you’re sitting there and then sitting there and then sitting there, well, he has moved back. He’s not as close as he used to be. Well, that’s the same principle with God. Are you as close to God as he used to be? So he says, return you back sliding children. Look there in the same chapter of chapter 3.

And look up there in verse 6. Verse 6, The Lord said unto me, In the days of Josiah the King, hast thou seen that which back sliding Israel hath done? She has gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree and there hath played the harlot. That’s what Israel She has backslidden and has played the harlot. Means worshiping of other gods. You and I know that there’s only one true in living God. And in the book of 1 John and chapter 5, the last little statement says, children keep yourselves from idols.

Means you and I are not to worship any God except the true God, which is Jesus Christ and eternal life. But if you worship money and you worship fame and you worship popularity Or you worship your wife, or your husband, you worship anything other than God, you’re in spiritual idolatry. You’re backslidden. Backslidden. Now, you’re not doing right. And God will have to chase in you. He’ll have to discipline you. Louis says in verse 8, And I saw, went for all the causes, whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery.

I had put her away and given her a bill of divorcements. Yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not but went and played the harlot also. So Israel, the northern king kingdoms, the tribes, and the seven two tribes of Judah and Benjamin made up Judah. Then they both went a horn after other gods. God says, you’re playing the harlot. God says, you’re rebellious. And what did God do with His rebellious children? The Bible says He cast them out of the land and they were taken into captivity.

That’s what happens to them. Did they sin and get away with it? No, they didn’t. Did God judge them? Yes, He did, because they were backslidden, backsliding nations. Now, if it could happen to a nation, it can happen to individuals. It can happen to a church. A church church may not be as godly as it used to be, because after a while the people need to understand it, a church takes upon itself the character of its people. Are we going to be a godly church or an ungodly church?

Well, the determinant on the individuals in the church. And the Lord said unto me, the backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah, justifying themselves when they’re wrong. Did you ever notice that when people are not right with God, you can justify anything you want to do. You can make it right in your own eyes. And when you try to justify it in your eyes, you’ll also try to justify it in the eyes of somebody else. And if somebody else pointed out to you that you’re in air in your ways, you’ll usually climb upon them and render the pieces and turn upon the people that are trying to point it out to try to help you.

Because you become judgmental right back and you become critical and you become bitter. Look what he says in verse 12, Go and proclaim these words toward the North and say, return thou backsliding Israel. Sayeth, Lord, and I will not cause my anger to fall upon you. For I am merciful, sayeth, Lord, and I will not keep anger forever. God is angry with backsliders. To read the book, you cannot rebel against God and expect God not to get angry and full of wrath toward His children.

God is going to chase and discipline none of God’s children can ever live like they please and get away with it. Now you say that sounds contrary to what you preached last week. You said you just saved by grace and whatever you do, nothing can ever affect that. I said your salvation cannot be affected. Though I never go to hell, that is true. I can’t go to hell in future. Does that mean that I advocate living wrong? No, I don’t.

Listen to what I’m saying. But there’s other reasons why I should live godly beside the fear of hell that’s been taken away But I do fear the wrath of God upon me as his child. I fear the chasing hand of God I’m also concerned that when I get to heaven that I’ll have no rewards there and Then wishing that I had something that I had done for God. Oh There’s more than that look in verse 14 turn oh Oh backsliding children, say, for the Lord for I am married unto you, and I will take you one of a city and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion, but turn, oh backsliding Israel.

Does God want his backslidden children to return to him? Over and over and over again, you’ll read that in the Word of God. Remember this as a child of God when you rebel against the Lord, and you think, well, God don’t love you anymore. Yes, he does. The Bible says up there in verse 12, Remember he says, for I am merciful, sayeth, for return me because I am merciful. But if you don’t do it, God’s gonna have to chase you and make you wish you had of.

It’s better for a child of God to do right than to have to be forced because of being chasing by God. And yes, you can continue to rebel against the Lord. Look in chapter five, you’re in my chapter five. In verse six, Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf out of the evening shall spoil them. A leopard shall watch over their cities. Everyone that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces, because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased.”

In other words, it’s kind of like God puts a hedge of thorns around you. that whether it’s day or night, whatever decisions you make, it seems like all you do, it keeps hurting you. You keep hurting yourself. You try to run from God and you get hurt. That doesn’t work out. That doesn’t work out. And you try to search for that little peace and you can’t have it. You just look for some joy and some habit. Can’t have it because you’re running from God.

And God says that He puts a thorn around you and you’re pricking yourself. you’re hurting yourself, God says, wake up! And many of God’s people never do. You see, when you’re going on a slide board, it’s kind of hard to stop halfway. But he pleads with us over and over again. And he says, see, if you don’t wake up, then you just continually more and more backslided. It increases. Once you start running from God, you either have to stop somewhere along the way, get back to God, or you’ll get further and further away from God.

It’ll keep increasing. And if it keeps increasing, the chasing hand of God is going to get very heavy upon you. That’s why the Bible says, because thou serviced not the Lord by God with joyfulness of heart, I will place a yoke of iron upon your neck until it destroys you. It becomes a yoke, a burden, that weighs you down for the purpose of destroying you. That’s why you have people sometimes they say, I just can’t bear it anymore. Can’t bear the burden anymore.

Get right with God. God purposely puts burdens upon us. And He says, cast all your cares upon the Lord. And if you don’t cast the character upon the Lord, then the bird will destroy you. It’s to reveal who you’re walking with. Or you can try to solve everything all by yourself, but God will let you know that you don’t have all the answers and you can’t solve all the problems. You’re not wise enough. The Bible said in the book of Jeremiah, it’s not within man that walk up to direct his steps.

That’s why you need God. Jeremiah chapter 14 and verse 7, oh Lord, though our iniquities testify against us, do Do thou it for thy namesake? For our backsliding are many we have sinned against thee. Whatever backsliding is, it’s sinning against God. It’s rebellion to God. It’s leaving the God that done so much for you and saved you and gave you eternal life. Now this morning, are you walking with God or not walking with God? Are you obedient or disobedient?

But you live in a backslidden condition because you have a backslidden heart that’s not right with God. See, some things you can deceive a lot of people, but God looks a lot deeper than just your attendance at church and the little funds that you may give at times. God is looking on the inside of you and God knows whether you’re right with Him or you’re not right with Him. You cannot deceive God. Take it by very quickly and look in 1 Corinthians chapter 3.

When you trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, you were born into God’s family, you have eternal life, you’re going to heaven when you die. Now in the New Testament you do not find the words referring to backslidden, but the same principle of chasting and rewards is in the Bible. It means that if you want God’s blessings, do this, be obedient. If you don’t, then God will chaste in you. He says in 1 Corinthians 3, this phrase mentioned there in verse 15, yet so as by fire.

So what does that mean? Yet so as by fire. Well what God is talking about is this. See there in verse 11 it says, for other foundation can no man lay, but then that which is lay which is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the foundation and you were saved place upon the foundation. Now you may tremble upon the rock, but the rock will never tremble under you. You are safe and secure. The rock will never move. It’ll never move and you’re on the rock.

But God says on this foundation, He wants us to build. And this building is done by the deed that we do for the Lord. The time will come when we’ll stand before the judgment seat of Christ and God’s going to take all the good works that we have done and the bad that you have done, the wasted efforts of not living for God. And God says He’s going to put it on fire. it on fire. Which means simply he gonna, I bet he gonna judge it by the eye of God, not by our eyes.

We may think we’re doing such a super job and God says, I’m the one that’s gonna try this thing. And he says that everything that is not gold, silver and precious stone is gonna be consumed. If he burn up. If you’ve done no good works, as he says there in verse 15, if any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, of the rewards that he could have had, but he himself shall be what? He still shall be saved, yet so as by fire.

Nothing but you and the foundation left. Everything else had burned, but the foundation’s there and you’re on the foundation. Everything’s gone because you wasted your life. God wants us to serve him, not to get to heaven, but because we’re going there and once you’re on the foundation which is Christ. You can never be lost again. You can build on that foundation or you can waste your life. God’s going to reward you when you get to heaven because of what you’ve done.

Now I want you to take your Bible look over there in the book of Hebrews in chapter 10. The book of Hebrews and chapter 10. And you’ll notice there in verse 35, the time will come when we’ll go to heaven. What you have when you get to heaven, the rewards are a result of the work that you do for him. Well, the word that you do for him is going to be result of the confidence that you have in God.

Well, the confidence that you have in God is based upon your knowledge of His Word. So you cannot know the will of God unless you know the word of God. So it’s God’s will that you know God’s Word so you’ll know God’s will. Now look what he says in verse 35. Cast not away, therefore, your confidence which has great recompense of reward. Remember, salvation is a gift. rewards are earned. Only a Christian can earn rewards. No lost man earns rewards.

Christians are those who have trusted Christ the Savior and been justified by their faith in the Lord. You notice what he says in verse 34? For ye had compassion to me in my bonds and took joyfully the spawn of your good, knowing, knowing in your self the knowledge that gives you the confidence, knowing and in your self that ye have in heaven a better and enduring substance. Not only getting to heaven is important. That’s trusting Christ as your Savior.

But having a far more better and enduring substance there, well, that’s going to be the result of what I did for the Lord. So there’s more than just going to heaven. It’s what you’re going to have when you get there. That’s why the Christ says, live treasures in heaven. Then He makes this statement here in verse 36, for ye have need of patience, that after ye have done the will of God, you might receive the promise. For yet a little while and he that shall come will come and he will not tear you.

Because we’re all waiting the Lord’s gonna come the Lord’s gonna, well he hasn’t come yet. It looks like he’s waiting okay. What are we supposed to do while we’re waiting? Occupy till he come. Keep working. Stay faithful. Live right till he comes. But now notice. Now the just shall live by faith. Those who are justified have placed their faith in trust in Jesus Christ are made righteous, declared justified in God’s eyes by our faith. But how are the just supposed to live?

The just shall live how? By faith, taking God at His Word. Believing that in heaven there’s a far more enduring substance. As he says there in chapter 11 and verse 6, the last part of it says, he must believe that God is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek to please him. You must believe that. And if you’ll believe that, that gives you the confidence and your WAYS confidence. He says, don’t cast that away because that’s what you get the rewards for.

Then he makes a statement, what if people don’t do it? What if people won’t serve the Lord? What if they just won’t live by faith? He says in verse 39, He says, give me verse 38, but if any man do what? Draw back Draw back Same as back sliding any man draw back My soul shall have no what pleasure in him now Isn’t the purpose of our obedience to God because we want to please him That’s why he says over in verse 6 of chapter 11 but without faith it is impossible to please him.

And you don’t please him when you draw back. If there’s anything that you wanna do in life, it should be I wanna please God. Drawing back doesn’t please him, but look what else he says. Verse three, but we are not of them who draw back onto perdition, or the word here is onto destruction as a lost man. It’s kinda like whenever you go to Six Flags, if you get on the roller coaster and it starts going up, you ever hear that little clicking sound?

What’s that clicking going on? In case something happens and that thing stops, it won’t go back down the hill. It just moved us a little bit. Click, click, click, click, click, click. Yeah, everybody’s heard that. It means you can only go so far. You and I as a child of God, yeah, we can draw back an our obedience to God. But you cannot draw back to being a lost person. God cannot allow that. You can only go back and get no weaker than you are in your birth.

of the Lord. Can a Christian that was spiritually minded become carnally minded? Yeah. Can a man that was once a godly individual and a giant for God, lose his steadfastness and fall all the wayside and be a shame and a disgrace to the cause of Christ? Yes. But can that man ever draw back and lose Is this salvation? No.

They’re not of them. And I’m not one of them either. I don’t believe that a man can lose a salvation who draw strutConnector back unto perdition, but of them that be lead to the what? Saven of the soul. The man stillestyle yet so as by far. Everything else is gone. The foundation and the man. No works on it whatsoever. Never did anything for the God. Now you’re the one that are making decisions today. Are you playing on being closer to God tomorrow than you are today?

You see, we plan on buying homes, we plan on doing all kinds of things, but do you plan on walking closer to God? Do you plan on having some rewards when you get there? Did you know that if you do, you need to start doing something to make it happen, to be fulfilled? And you CETENED and you’RE RUNNING029 of TIME. We don’T HAVE a LOT OF TIME. ARE THERE ARE AREES IN YOUR LIFE RIGHT NOW THAT YOU KNOW, BASED UP ON WHAT THESE SCRIPTURE SIT, YOU’RE BACKS LIDDING.

IF WHAT THIS SAYS IS TRUE, WAS YOU JUDGING YOUR OWN MIND? BECAUSE NOBODY CAN DO IT FOR YOU. ARE YOU BACKS LIDDING? ARE YOU AS GODLY AS YOU USED TO BE? DO YOU LOVE THE LORD AS MUCH AS YOU USED TO? ARE YOU WALKING WITH GOD THE WAY YOU SHOULD? WHY NOT? Correct it, return, or face chastisement. Isn’t that simple? It’s clear, you understand it. You can’t say when you get to heaven, I didn’t understand, because I do my dead level best to try to make it as simple and as clear as I can Nicotine for anyone that listens will know what I’m talking about.

Does so important. This hand represents you and me. This wallet represents sin. We all have sin on us. The Bible says that God loves us, but He hates our sin. And since we have all sinned, we’re all condemned. And the payment for sin is eternal separation from God in hell. But God sees loves us and doesn’t want us to go to hell. He wants us to go to heaven. To go to heaven, you have to be perfect as righteous as God.

And none of us are perfect. None of us are righteous. That’s why we need a Savior. God says you can’t save yourself. It’s not by your works. He says, this is what I’ll do for you. Letting this hand represent Jesus Christ, God in a flash, He came into the world because He loves us. He hates our sin because it separates us from Him. So Christ took all the sin of all the world, paid for it for everybody. So what He did for one person, He did for the whole world.

Because God so loved the world. Individually, you got a choice. You can accept this payment that Christ made for you. And God said, if you’ll believe that, He did it for you, He’ll put that payment to you account and you’ll go to heaven on what Christ did for you. And he’ll never cast you out and never lose you. And you’ll go to heaven whenever you die. Then as a child of God, because you know you’re going to heaven, then you should decide, I want to serve the Lord, but not to get to heaven, but because I’m going there.

I hope this makes sense to you. Let’s pray, shall we? Every headbound, every eye closed, no one looking around. If you hear this morning, and you’ve never trusted Christ as your Savior, you see, And that’s more important, is where you’re going to spend eternity. So in the quietness of this moment would you say something like this between you and the Lord? Lord, I don’t understand at all, but I know I’m a sinner. And I believe Christ died, and He paid for my sins, and I’m going to trust Him right now to take me to heaven when I’m a right guy.

For in God’s head, if you would trust Him, He’d save you, he’d return on. What are you doing? You’ve been listening to Bibleline, a teaching ministry of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida, with Dr. Ralph Arnold. We pray that you are blessed by today’s message. If you have enjoyed our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, you can reach Bibleline and pledge your support to keep us on the air in your area by dialing toll free, 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771.

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Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, and now a closing thought from past Word. Friends, 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, believing that the Lord is coming soon, and just keep looking up.