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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 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 and turn with me to the book of Romans chapter 8. And somebody just happens to turn to the book of Romans in chapter 8. But I want us to look there in verse 28, Romans chapter 8. Look at verse 28. It says, in verse 28, and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Moreover whom he did predestinate, then he also called, and whom he called, then he also justified, and whom he justified, then he also glorified. What shall we say to these things, if God be for us who can be against us? So we’re supposed to understand that all these verses we just read is God being for us. And when he makes a statement, all things work together for good to those who love the Lord. Now we know we don’t have to love God to go to heaven.

But in this life, after you have trusted Christ as your Savior, it is the will of God that we love Him. And if we love Him, then we can now be changed into the image of Christ or to develop this purpose that God has for us in our life. And so it works together for good. And so we know that after this life, everyone who has trusted Christ will be like the Lord. We’re going to be in heaven. But since it’s such a wonderful thing to want to be like God in heaven, wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could be more like the Lord now on earth?

And so I want to talk to you a little bit about that because it deals with the choices that we have to make. And many people think that man really does not have a choice. He has no will. That God just put us on little strings and he’s kind of working all the strings and we really are just puppets in his hands. And it’s a shame that we don’t get to making choices at all. And God has already pre-proved in this.

Well, I don’t believe that, but I want to explain some things to you that I I believe can help you as you walk with the Lord. And understand why God does what He does. So man’s choice within the sovereignty of God. Now does man really have a choice? And he really decides, or is it God already, like I said, predetermined everything that’s going to take place? You’ll hear some people say, well, it was the will of God. It’s the will of God.

Everything’s the will of God. Well, if everything is the will of God, I don’t like the will of God. If I was in charge, I think I could make better decisions than God’s been making lately. Have you ever looked in the mirror and thought you could have done better if you was in charge? I mean, if you were in charge, I mean, and here you are, you’re sick? Well, I wouldn’t let me get sick. See, there’s a lot of things that we would love to do, but we don’t have the power to do it.

So we need to understand a few things now. So we’re gonna try to lay a foundation and then we’re gonna build up on it. In the book of Ephesians in chapter one, and there’s verse three, says, blessed be the God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Who hath blessed us. Now this is already past 10. This is to those who have trusted Christ as Savior. We have already been blessed by God in the heavenly’s and we’ve been blessed with spiritual blessings.

He didn’t talk about the earth, didn’t talk about me having money and gold and silver and all of that. talks about spiritual blessings. There’s things that God has done for us because we are in His Son. We’re in Christ. If I was to say everybody who comes to church today and everybody in the auditorium, I’m going to give you a thousand dollars to each one. Would you like that? I’m not, I’m just sitting in an illustration. And so it doesn’t matter who’s so ever.

Anybody who comes today, I’ll give you a thousand dollars. Isn’t that really great? But God says, He says, God says, those who trust Christ’s Savior and are in Him, He has blessed with all spiritual blessings. So the key is you have to be in Christ. And so the next verse, verse four, when he talks about according as he had chosen us. us. God has chosen everyone who is in Christ to be made pure and holy and set apart and he has predestined many things for those that are in his Son in Christ.

But see the majority of people leave out these little words like in Christ that’s found there in verse 3, in him that’s found there in verse for, but those are there for a reason because it’s how God decided. See, God is sovereign and he can make choices, he can make decisions. And God has predetermined all those who believe in Christ will be like Christ. All those who believe in Christ can go to heaven. Everybody who believes in Christ will be made filled with love and joy and peace and enjoyed the eternal pleasures of heaven forever.

So that’s a choice, but who made this decision? God made this decision after the counsel of his own will. In other words, God got with himself and said, self, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and they came up with the awesomest plan you’ve ever heard in your life. It was on how to prove to his creation that he loved us, and then what he would do for those who loved him. And God says, this would all be done because it would be to the praise of His glory where He hath made us acceptable in Christ.

See, Christ is the beloved. We are made acceptable. In other words, so you need to understand how did I get to be acceptable to God? Why am I going to heaven when there’s a lot of people that are not going to heaven? are, some are. The Bible says few there be that find it and the road to destruction, many. In other words, it gives the inclination that there’s more people going to hell than there’s going to heaven because most people will not listen.

If God has got us all on little strings, then we really don’t have a choice in God’s determine in everything. And everything is the will of God. And you hear a lot of Muslims say, it’s the all is will, if it’s and in a program it must have been Goll’s will. And so we don’t follow that line of thinking. But he has made us accepted in his son. Now, number one thing to always keep in mind, the difference between God and us.

You see, God is God, we’re not God, we’re not him. Now mankind doesn’t like the idea of there being a God. So he wants to be God. He wants to have all the power of the authority to do whatever he wants to do, make his own decisions and not have any serious consequences. Do whatever he wants. There’s a world out there that, well, that’s the way they think and that’s what they wanna do. That’s why people do whatever they want.

Change the laws to fit our desires and therefore, if it was wrong before, we’ll just make a law and making it right. therefore there’s nothing wrong with it, so we’re in charge. And they forget all about the God that created the heavens of the earth. So God is sovereign. What that means is God is the ultimate source of all power, all authority and everything that exists. That should not cover it. Now, in His sovereignty, the right that God has, the power that it has, see a lot of people say, well, God can do anything you want.

God can do anything. He can do anything you want. But there’s some things that God cannot do and will not do, but it’s not because God can do anything He wants, because you see, He won’t sin. God can’t lie, God can’t steal. And let me tell you this real quick. Years ago, I had my first year’s rent meeting in Colorado. I graduated from FBC, I went to Colorado, so I had me, like, five house five, well, we had about three of us playing in guitars.

And I had two junior high kids sit there on the floor. And so I’m gonna sing to them, then I’m gonna give them my little Bible study. I just graduated from Florida Bible cause I knew everything. Man, I’m a Bible. So I opened it up for questions and answers, and this one little kid raised his hand. He says, he’s God big, I said God big. He says, God great, God great. He says, can God do anything? I can God do anything.

He says, can God make a big rock? I says, yeah, I can make a big rock. He says, can God make a rock so big he can’t lift it? Well, that’s when I wanted to come off that little stool I would have said, no one can just punch him all the way to Hawaii. That little rascal set me up. Junior high kid just took a graduate from Florida Bible College and pinned my ears back and I wanted to, ooh, I couldn’t believe he did that to me.

But I gave an invitation and one of the boys trusted Christ the Savior. It was the only meeting when I’ve had 50% of my congregation get saved. But I’ve never forgot the one. I’m still after him. Because now I got the answer. Can God do anything? No, they’re loving God can’t do. He can’t lie, he can’t steal, and he can’t make it a rock so big he can’t lift it because it wouldn’t be no place to put it. The?

But I haven’t found him saying it. But I’m looking for him. But now get this, in his sovereignty, God has chosen to give man a will to make a free choice which demonstrates the attributes of God’s love. See God giving you the freedom to choose. That’s an act of love. When God lets you learn lessons like forgiveness that is an act of love. When he shows compassion that’s an act of love. He shows justice that’s an act of love.

These are all the attributes of God because God is love and the attributes reveal His love. So we would never know about the love of God if we never had a chance to understand the attributes of God. So that’s why this whole plan of salvation was designed in such a way that you and I could get to know what God is like. I can’t get ahold of God and bring Him down here and say, there He is. I don’t have to go around trying to prove God.

If you don’t believe in God, well, he believes in you. I had a man tell me and he was like, I don’t believe in God, thank God. Anyway, now look at the screen here because which demonstrates the attributes of God. Now understand this statement, just because man has a free will, it doesn’t mean that God cannot seek to influence your decisions. It doesn’t mean that the devil doesn’t have the ability to influence your decisions. So God is trying to get you to do what He wants.

The devil is trying to get you to do what He wants, and you’ve got to make a decision. All of our lives is making decisions, and there’s cause and effect. So God tried to tell us the results of your decisions, think about it, and the results of making the wrong decisions, and wisdom is being able to make the right choice. And so everybody’s got to make decisions. And that’s why you want to come to the book of wisdom, the Bible, so that you can learn how to discern life.

And God says it is not within man that walk up to discernment his steps. It means you’re not smart enough, wise enough to guide yourself. You don’t have all the answers. You’re just going to be like millions and millions of people who live your life and then you die. And you don’t know who you are. don’t know where you came from, you don’t know what you’re doing, you don’t know where you’re going. And so you don’t have the answers.

You can guess, think, maybe perhaps. But you don’t have that peace of mind and that rock security that I know who I belong to. I know where I came from. I know what I’m doing here. But anyway, just because men has a free will, it doesn’t mean that God or the devil or people, people can influence you and they try to influence you. They determine sometime. Some of you came to church today because somebody influenced you. And there’s probably some people who didn’t come today because they were influenced.

Whether it’s people, circumstances or things such as the lust of the flesh, the sinful desires you got, that influences you. And the lust of the eyes, what you see? Oh, look at that car they got, I got to have one just like that. Look at that house. Oh, I got to have one like that. Look how much money they got. Well, we got to get ours too. And you’d be surprised. We’re influenced by many things and circumstances, people, things.

But we got to understand you are going to be held accountable for your own decisions. That’s what God says. So they’re there and you can make decisions. Good, bad, and different. And you’re going to have to live with the consequences of them. Now, God giving you that choice is a wonderful gift from God to be able to choose. You can choose to love God, hate God, live good, live bad. Everybody’s got decisions to make, but like Adam and Eve.

Adam says, it was that woman you made. That’s why I messed up. Yeah, he had a choice to make, but he blamed it on somebody else. Eve said, it was that serpent. He tricked me. But they were influenced. And there were consequences. So to the woman he says, you shall be multiplied sorrow. And to the man he says, I’m gonna put a curse upon the earth that it does not produce its full yield so that you’ve got to work by the sweat of your brow or the sweat of your face until the day you go back to the dust.

One of the blessings for thy sake means for your benefit. God says we have to work for a living to survive. And it’s gonna be filled with sorrow. That’s how you like the description of life. And there’s a little sprinkle good things along the way that we can enjoy, but we’re faced with decisions every day of our life. Now get this, God knows everything. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight, but all things are naked and open onto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

In other words, God sees everything. He knows everything about you. He can even see in the nighttime. You didn’t know that, did you? That’s why more people like to do it and do bad things at night, right? Because God can’t see them. God can see everything and everywhere all at the same time. Isn’t that wonderful to know? I didn’t mean to tell me to say, but I don’t believe in God. I says, can you prove there is no God?

I says, that means you’ve got to be everywhere all at the same time, because anywhere you’re not might be where God is. And I says, if you want to, you’ve got to know everything that is knowable, because if there’s anything that you don’t know, could be the knowledge of God. I says, do you know everything? Duh. Can you prove there is no God? No. He says, it’s just by faith. Y’all just believe by faith. I says, where’s yours coming from?

That’s what you wanna believe. But get this. Shafer, look, here’s Shafer. He knows perfectly and eternally all that is knowable whether actual or possible. God knows what would have happened in your life had you married that other woman. You’ve wondered about it, haven’t you? Now anyway, if you’re married out of the man, what would have happened? God knows everything that is knowable, actual or even possible of any decision that we could have ever made. Any altar that we could have had, any changes, or if you took that job, or that job, or lived in this state, or lived in this city, God knows everything, all the possibilities, because God, he’s God, and he knows it all.

Now get this, oh, under the chorazin, whoa, under the bessated for, if, so God knows what would have happened if. And he says, if the mighty works which were done in you had been done, in Tyron’s side on, he says, they would have, repenting long ago in sackcloth and as God knows what would have happened if they had done this and the results of it, God knows. Just because God knows does not mean God made it happen. God may know that tomorrow you’re gonna rob seven and 11 store or Robert and seven 11 so that’s wrong.

God doesn’t tempt a man to sin. God doesn’t lead a man to sin. But just because God has for knowledge, has knowledge in advance of whatever anybody may do. But that doesn’t mean God made you do it. You’ve got a choice. God gave to us in his sovereignty. God chose to give man a free will so we can make decisions. But he says there’s consequences to our decisions. Now, man is not God. Man is depraved, but we are get this.

Now, this is the description of what it means to be depraved. This is the true meaning of depraved. Now, some evidence believe it did totally private where a man can’t think, he can’t reason, he can’t make decisions, he’s not, he don’t know, he’s dead. Well, that’s not what the Bible is talking about. But we are all as an unclean thing that’s depraved. All our righteousness or as filthy rags, that means we’re depraved. We do all fages of leaf and our Iniquities like the wind have taken us away Everybody born into the world is born with a sinful nature and we are all light sheep and we all want to go our own way Do our own thing.

That’s why we rebel. We want to do what we want to do. We don’t like people tell us what we can cannot do Think about it. Isn’t that where you are? Now, the true meaning is moral corruption, wickedness, perverse behavior, back in or lacking in moral and perfect decency in words, thought, or deed. We do a lot of these things, but nothing to perfection. We are flawed in every area of our life. Our love is flawed. Our thinking is flawed.

We can still doigure it, but it’s all flawed because none of it can produce perfection. We are not perfect individual. We’re sinful individual and we cannot do any perfect thing before the eyes of a holy God. So regardless of how much you try, if you want to try to earn your way to heaven by your good deeds, you cannot perform perfect deeds. Impossible. You’re flawed. Well, I’m not going to do anything wrong from that. The rest of my life.

Impossible. Regalves of your desire, you can’t perform. Now, get this. He says, as it is written, there is none righteous, not one. There’s none that understands it. There’s none that seeketh after God. This is how God sees us. This is why man is depraved. He’s sinful, he’s wicked, and he’s not righteous, he doesn’t understand, he does not seek. And so if it wasn’t for God creating the world, and he says this world is the evidence God exists, because the world is here and I didn’t make it, and neither did you.

Either it’s created itself or somebody made it. You only got two options. It did it itself or God made it. Now get this, he says they’re all gone out of the way, are together become unprofitable. There is none that doeth good, not one. So everyone born into this world, we are all sinners in the eyes of God. We’re all depraved. And we cannot perform this righteousness that God requires for us to go to heaven. And look what he says in this verse where he talks about, and all men are condemned.

It means judged found guilty before they either accept or reject Christ, God’s already condemned the whole world. Everybody’s lost. Only God is perfect. Everybody else, we’ve missed the boat. Now in Romans chapter 3 verse 19 where he says, now we know that what things so ever the lost say, and it’s safe to them who are under the law that he says every mouth may be stopped and every one, all the world guilty before God. So God says every mouth must be stopped.

Nobody can justify themselves. And all the world is guilty before a just and holy God. That’s our position. That’s how God sees us. And on top of that, God still says we have a free will. We can make decisions. But God, so He wants to give us some evidence to consider. The devil is trying to give you evidence, look, this is all there is. And you only got one like to live. Why not accomplish everything that you want to?

Go for all the gold you can. Make all the money you can. Have all the sex you want. Have everything that you want to have. Have all the parts. Do everything you want to do. when it’s, you died, it’s all over. And so that’s what the devil says. But see, the devil is a liar. He didn’t create the world. He didn’t make you. But God will allow him to influence you because God wants you to make the decision. And you can’t make a justifiable decision without having a choice.

You can choose to believe God or not believe God. Now, if I was God, I wouldn’t I said, you believe me, buddy. And I’m going to give you an option. But that’s not God. God loves us. And he chose to love us and he wants us to love him. And to love him because of what he’s done for us. But he has to do something for us. What can this mighty God do for me? That would cause me to want to love him.

Well, I’m going to have to be in a pretty bad fix. Well, when you stop and think about it, you are in one. All the world guilty before God. Now I said, all men are guilty, yes, because they have not believed. You see, it says in John 3 18, he said, he that believeth on him is not condemned. Those who believe on Christ are not condemned. But he says, he that believeth not is condemned when? He’s already condemned. Because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

So you see, if I would believe on Christ, God promised me eternal life. He promised that I would be His child and I could go to heaven. We see, when I was 18 years old, I’d never heard this before. My mom and dad, I never saw them in a church. I never went, you know, we didn’t read the Bible. We didn’t have prayer in our home. So I didn’t know that you could know you could have eternal life. I had never met anybody that says, I know I’m going to heaven when I die.

I never met him back until I was 18 and I took this little girl, Betty, and we ran away to Anderson, South Carolina and we got married. Her dad came looking for me with a gun. He was going to part my soul in eternity. Probably should have, but I’m so glad he didn’t. I’d have been in hell. But I’m glad God is so good. And her dad told me the best news I’ve ever heard. He told me how I could have him turn to life.

And the only thing I had to do was the only thing I could do was believe that he died and paid for my sins. See, if he died and paid for my sins and I believe it, then I don’t have to pay for him. He paid for my sins because he didn’t want me to do it. Well, that’s a good deal. He gives me his perfection and I give him my sins. That’s a good deal. Fool would turn that down.

I’m not going to be no fool. He says, but he that believe if not is condemned already. Now, there’s a good statement that I want to pass on to you. Man is dead in trespasses and sin. See Calvin’s wants to say, well, you’re dead. You can’t do anything. Yeah, you can still make decisions. You can still go to work. You can still choose. Man has overstepped the boundary of God’s law. In other words, there’s a fence right there and God says, don’t go over there.

So here I am over here. There’s a line, do not go over there. Knowin’ me, I’m gonna do it. Now I have trespassed, I’ve overstepped the boundary. Not because I did not listen to God, I gotta pay God what I owe him. All right, what do I gotta pay? I gotta pay, I died? Well, that wasn’t a fair deal. Well, I didn’t understand all of that. Agers of the law is what? There’s no excuse. You’re still guilty. So everybody has overstepped the boundaries.

So we’re, that means that we are separated from God because of sins. So every man has sinned and because we’ve all sinned, we overstepped the boundary. We did something, God says not, have you ever walked down the street and it says, no trespassing? I wonder what that means. Keep off the grass. I wonder what that means. Thou shalt not lie. I wonder what that means. Thou shalt not steal, I wonder what that means. Thou shalt not commit adultery, I wonder what that means.

Thou shalt not covet, I wonder what that means. And we do whatever we wanna do. And nobody’s gonna tell me what I can’t, it cannot do. Can you picture two little ants on the train track down to the desert of Arizona? And these two little ants are on this train track and one ant said to the other ant, he says, I don’t believe in no train. I don’t believe in no train. He ain’t no such thing as a train.

It’s black. Train just came back. And one of these days, God’s gonna go, it’s black. And it won’t matter what you think. God’s still God. The results are still there. Consequence is gonna be long and hell is hot, and it’s a long time. 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 Mail. The mailing address is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Again, don’t forget to include your mailing address and God bless you and thank you for listening to Bibleline. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline. If you are in the area, we welcome you to visit us.

The address for Calvary Community Church is 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.