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Bibleline Bibleline, here God’s Word on Bibleline, everywhere, every time. 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 prayers and monthly support make it possible for Bibleline to continue on the air. You can reach us at 813-884-4328 or you can donate on the homepage at BibleLineMinistries.org. We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, and that today’s message will be a blessing to you and your family.

I’m going to speak this morning on the subject called the sin unto death. Found in the book of 1 John chapter 5, you’d be surprised how many different views there are on this one little simple portion of scripture. And I’ll have to admit, out of front, I’m not 100% that mine is correct. That’s why you’re going to read the verses and you’re going to study the scriptures and you’re going to come out with what you believe it might be.

So first of all, take your Bible and turn to the book of 1 John chapter 5. Now remember, now we have a heavenly Father who really knows how to love His children. Do you believe that God gets up in the morning and looks over the banister of Heaven and looks down here and he sees you and says, Boy, I’ve got to talk to you today. I know you deserve it. So I’m gonna go ahead and just beat the Torah out of you from morning to night.

Wouldn’t that be wonderful to get up every day knowing that your heavenly Father was just gonna beat you for no reason? Punish you and you don’t even know why. Have you ever spanked your child without telling them why they’re being spanked? Now don’t answer that, you probably have. But I know I have been warped at times and I’ve been totally innocent. I sense a wave of doubt as it sweeps across the room. But my daddy used to just whoop me just for general principle, because he knew I did something.

He didn’t know what it was, but he knew I was guilty of something. Now my sisters, he didn’t do that with him. Only the firstborn son. And I wish I had been the lastborn son. But he would just beat the Torah to me, and I hadn’t done anything wrong. I did not deserve it. And I can recall some of those moments. I’ve said this before. My daddy was an officeman, but we went on a few wailing expeditions. But you got a heavenly father who loves you so much, and I don’t believe my heavenly father just gets up and starts beating on obedient children.

Now disobedient children, he may have to call you in and obtain your hide a little bit, but I don’t believe God whoops us without telling us what it’s for. Chasing us for no reason at all. So I want to talk to you about the sin unto death. But first of all, I want to read these two little statements that I wrote here, because I think it’ll help you to understand where I’m coming from. So let’s look at the little paragraph there.

How do we distinguish between those who sin unto death and those who do not? Remember now we’re talking about believers. Our prayers can never override the will of God, even though God tells us to pray according to his will and whatsoever we ask, he will do, but it’s always within his will, whatsoever he has to father in my will, according to my will. So that’s why we studied the Word of God so that we can understand the will of God so we can discern the things that we should pray for, not only concerning ourselves, but also for one another because prayer is a powerful thing.

And God tells us throughout the scriptures, pray, pray, pray. And all of the great men of the Bible, they always prayed. And Jesus, when he was here, he prayed. So there’s got to be something to this prayer life of ours, where you’re talking to the Lord. But when you talk to the Lord, you should expect something from the Lord, especially whenever we’re making requests unto the God. We’re asking God to do something, either for us or for someone else.

So our Purse can never override the the will of God or the will or desire of a man. In other words, we can’t take away his will by praying. Because people will have their own will to make choices and decisions. And so we cannot override those things. We can appeal and appeal to the authority that’s over them that God would do something for them. Remember now, picture me up here with a nice, great, big ole umbrella in my hand.

Under this umbrella is the will of God. Outside of the umbrella is not the will of God. So under the umbrella where we have the protection of God, the will of God and how he can lead and guide us, and we can have all kinds of freedom to move around under this big old giant umbrella called the will of God. But sometimes as children of God, We want to get on the outside of God’s protection, outside the will of God.

And when we do, you have moved yourself away from the protection of the Lord. It’s not like God has to know from heaven, zap me so that I, ah, you did that. Boom, you’re dead. You’re dead. He doesn’t kill everybody who steps outside of his will. but whenever you choose voluntarily to step outside of the will of God, then you may be moving yourselves outside of the wisdom of God, the protection of God, and therefore God can remove His protection from you that you suffer the consequences of your own natural decisions.

The next thing is I never pray for God to bless rebellion, but I do ask God to chaste them for correction. So there arePlot children of God that don’t always obey what God’s word says. So I don’t ask God’s, get them God, strike them dead. Now they did that in the Old Testament, but I don’t do that today. I don’t. But I do ask God not to bless them, but to chaste them and for the purpose of correcting them so that they can get back into the will of God.

Look at the next statement. Although all men will die in this physical body. There are some sins that produce physical death and there are some sins that do not produce physical death. The main question is does this the chasing of the Lord ever bring physical death in order to shut down his life earlier than it could have. In other words, You ever hear people make this statement? When it’s your time to go, it’s your time to go. You ever hear that?

When it’s your time to go, that’s it. And yet doesn’t the Bible say from the book of Deuteronomy in chapter six, when he says, to do all of these things, heart, mind, body, and soul, if you’ll do all of these things that you may have eternal life, no, it didn’t say that, that your days may be long upon the earth, that your life can be extended. And so there is a possibility that our lives can be long. He even tells in the book of Ephesians where he talks about the children of God, obey your parents that it may be long your days upon the earth, a promise of living longer.

That doesn’t mean that you’re not going to some people die, but it’s a general principle. And there’s lots of these in scripture, but God can intervene in anyone’s life at any given time. It’s appointed unto every man wants to die and after this to judgment. But we do know that Enoch didn’t die. Well, who made that first role in the start with? Well, God did. Can he suspend it if he wants to? And he’s God. Isn’t God sovereign enough to give me a free will?

Now, there’s a lot of people saying, no, he can’t do that. God is sovereign, but he can’t give me a free will. Anyway, he got a problem with that. So God gives you and I choices to make in our life. Now look at the next statement. Number one there, remember one incident may be a trial to one person, a temptation to another, a chastened to another and a warning to another. The same thing that can happen to me, that can happen to you could be a testing to me, it may be a chastening for me, it may be a warning.

But see, people are different stages of their Christian life. And God may use different things to wake us up, to challenge us. You’re not living your life totally without God been aware of who and where you are and what you and I are doing. So we do have God intricately involved in our lives. You may not discern it. We often call everything an accident, don’t we? But I don’t know if God, other accident, God’s, oh man, I didn’t know that was going to happen.

Is it something that we call an accident, something we didn’t plan? I fell down the stairs. Did you do it on purpose? Oh yes. What happened? I broke both legs. So you plan to do that? Well, generally, no. So we call it an accident. It’s interesting that these Calvinists, it talks about everything is the will of God. And then they get insurance to override the will of God. But anyway, we’ll move right along. In Acts chapter 5, but first of all, before we go there, I want us now to take a look there in 1 John chapter 5 verse 13.

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. And then it adds another statement and that you may believe on the name of the Son of God. God. That means to continually believe in other things outside of just having eternal life. So that’s why he says, and this is the confidence in verse 14. And verse 14, this is the confidence that we have in him that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

So we have to know if we have according to his will. So that’s where your discernment comes in. Assuring the will of God. study in the world of God so that you can discern the will of God, so that you can make better promises or I should say better decisions for your life because you want better results from your decisions. Don’t you always want to make the right decision and get the best results from that decision? Well, I always think that would be a normal desire of all of us.

And then he says in verse 15, and if we know that he hears us whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the positions that we we desire of him. If any man see his brother sent a sin which is not on the death, he shall ask. And he shall give him life for them that sin not on the death. There is a sin on the death. I do not say that he shall pray for it. All unrighteousness is sin and there is a sin and not on the death.

Now you have to admit, boy, this is really interesting. What does it mean? I don’t know. Well, I got an idea. But I know he’s talking to believers. who have trusty Christ’s Savior and is written to give us confidence. And it lets us know that this confidence that we have is that God hears our prayers if we ask according to his will. And that there are people who can commit some sins that doesn’t produce death. And there’s those who can produce sins that will lead to death.

And this is talking to believers. I can apply it in many different ways. But I want to try to explain some things to you that I think would help. So first of all, let’s take a look there in Acts chapter five. Now, here are two people that were in the church, we believe they were believers, doing something for the church. There was others that were doing this, and they did it too. God didn’t kill them, but here’s a man and a wife, and God just zapped them.

Took them out of here. But here’s two people who have their names written in Scripture. And verse one, but a certain man named Anaias would defire his wife, sold a possession, kept back part of the price. His wife also being privy to it. Ah, scheme, collusion. You’ve heard that word before and kept back part of it and bought a certain part of it and laid it at the Apostles’ feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan feel thine heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the price of the land?

While it remained, was it not thine own? And after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? Why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? Thou hast not lied on the men, but on the God. Who did they lie to? They lied to God. Tried to deceive the church, tried to deceive Peter, but the Holy Spirit told Peter what they did. Does God see everything that people do? Does he know your motives? Notice why you do what you do.

Does God really know why you’re here today? Now, when he makes this statement here, you lied to God. In other words, look what he says here in verse five. Ananias hearing these words fell down and gave up the ghost and great fear came on all them that heard these words. When he says that he fell down, what did he do? Oh, he stumbled? What happened to him? He died. So can God’s children die because of sin? They’re sins that can produce death.

Now, I don’t necessarily know every sin that commits a person to death, but there is such a thing caught in the Scriptures. And we can go through the Old Testament into the whole bunch, because when you stop and think about it about a King named Saul, and he died because of his rebellion to God. Uh-huh, it’s in there. Anyway, and the young men arose, wound him up, carried him out, and buried him. I don’t even wound him up like the little leaf, the little bunny that was talking about.

That means that they wrapped him up. And it is amazing that the guy died and he was buried before his wife ever came in. Maybe she wanted to have some last words, didn’t get a chance. And so he says here in verse 7, and it was about the space of three hours his wife walks in. Now our husbands already been buried. Now you’re talking about moving on the ball. And Peter answered her, tell me whether you sold the land for so much.

And she said, yay, so much. Then Peter said to her, how is it that you have agreed together to tempt the spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband or at the door and shall carry thee out. What do you think happened to her? She died too. So is it in the Bible where somebody did something wrong and died for? and died for it. I had a man write me, you can’t show me one verse in the Bible that says God ever killed any of his children.

Well, remember he only takes the flesh birth. He can’t kill the new birth. So none of God’s children ever go to hell. None of God’s children really never die. Because Christ says, when you believe in me, you shall never die. And if you die, yes, shall you live? But he’s talking about two birds. The one that dies is that flesh bird, but it takes us out of this world. And just let’s us get into the next one. See, everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to leave here to get there.

Now, if God answered everybody’s prayer concerning those that get sick, Lord make everybody well, and you shall have whatever you want. I know it’s not God’s will to keep everybody here forever. I don’t want to stay here forever. So there’s some prayers to God will not answer. Why? Because it’s contrary to his word. Now get the scripture here. Look at Acts chapter six, chapter six and verse eight. Stephen was a new elected deacon. He was a good man. He was a godly man.

The Bible says that’s what he was. So in verse eight and Stephen full of faith and power did great wonders and miracles among the people. Was he a good man doing good things? You ought to say, he preached one great sermon as far as we know it. This is the only sermon he preached. But he preached a great sermon. So I’m now looking in chapter 7. Chapter 7 and verse 51, look what he said about these people he was preaching to.

I have some people say, you know, you should always try to bring comfort to people. When people come to church, never ruffle any feathers. That came to the wrong church. You’re supposed to make everybody feel good. And some churches don’t even talk about sin because that makes people feel bad. You know, that just makes people feel bad. It makes me feel good. Oh, I feel better now. And always smiling. Well, there’s sometimes, you know, not everything. We’re smiling about it.

Give what it said in verse 2, verse 1. You stiff neck and uncircumcised. That’s why I had to get my neck fixed. I had a stiff neck and I didn’t want to be no stiff neck. So now I say I can turn my head a little bit. Now, was it worth it? See, now I praise the Lord. So He’s not talking to me here. You do always resist the Holy Spirit and your Father’s so do you. And so He was landed on the line and hitting right between the eyes.

And so because He preached such a great sermon, a good godly man, well, God’s not going to let somebody do Him wrong, right? Because He’s doing right, He’s serving God, so therefore He’s invincible, right? Now, what, what, what, what, what, what they said. Verse 54, when they heard these things, they were cut to the heart and they gnashed your teeth on him. And he’d been full of the Holy Spirit, looked upstairs, fastly into heaven, saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God and said, behold, I see the heavens open in the Son of man, standing on the right hand of God.

And they cried with a loud voice, stopped their ears, ran upon him with one of course, cast him out of the city, stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet whose name was Saul, and they stoned Stephen, calling upon the Lord and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. What do you think happened to him? Well, he died. Well, God’s not gonna let people who are doing right die, is he? What you read the scriptures.

People that did right, they still die. You can do right and still suffer for it. And don’t take for granted. Everybody who gets sick, well, they must be out of the will of God. Everybody that dies are out of the will of God. Well, lo and behold, everybody dies out of the world of God because everybody dies. No. This is the truth of what God’s Word says. And there’s some thing that God says in one verse that enlightens another verse and helps you to understand this principle of life that we’re living because you’re going to have things happen in your life and you’re going to wonder whether or not is that because of something that I did.

Did I deserve this? Isn’t it true that sometimes when things go wrong in your life you think I must have sinned? I wonder what I did wrong. You ever had your kids go wrong? I must not have raised them right. I don’t judge too fast. Give them time. When they get some kids you be surprised how they wound up teaching the kids what you taught them. It all depends on what time we want to judge something and we don’t have all the facts in the case.

But look at the next thing on Schruggs, look in chapter 9 and verse 1. who later became the great apostle Paul and wrote about 14 books in the Bible, no for 13 for sure, but he says in verse 1, and saw yet breathing out threatening and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord. That means it taped their life. He tried to ruin the church. He did a lot of wicked things, but he did what he did because he thought he was doing the will of God.

But the only thing was he wasn’t doing the will of God, but he thought he was doing the will God and look at the damage that he did. And yet God could have taken his life, but God I believe let him hear the gospel. And even though God had a purpose for his life, he had to still trust Christ as Savior and he did so and he believed. And God used him in a great and wonderful way. But here’s God’s children.

God allowed that man to kill his children. But you see, He acts them from the body’s present with the Lord. They still went to heaven. But God allowed a wicked man to do something wrong to his children. And as you live your life, you’re going to suffer being defrauded. Things are going to happen. You’re going to get sued sometimes. People are going to do wrong to you. And you’re going to have health problems. You’re going to have financial problems.

You’re going to have every problem that anybody else has. sooner or later, if you live long enough and you’re going to always wonder, I mean, why? Why? Isn’t that the question we always ask why? Look in chapter 14, chapter 14, chapter 14 and look there in verse 19. In verse 19, the Apostle Paul went to preach, in Galatia here and lo and behold, he must be a God. Well, this idea about him being a God changed quickly. Now they wanted to kill him.

They wanted to kill their God. But we’ll just jump down here to verse 19. And there was another certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium who persuaded the people and having stone Paul drew him out of the city. Supposing he had been dead. Now you ought to read the things that are I mentioned in 2 Corinthians chapter 11 about what Paul went through. And God let people try to kill him, stone him, all kinds of things that happen to him.

Have you ever wondered, I’m trying to serve a Lord the best, like I’ve ever done to you, what do you do? What did you expect? Well, I thought being blessed is going through life without any problems. Well, really, you’re talking about heaven. That’s not the way it is here. Did you know to have all of your needs met is just as trying as having none of them met? Because your faith is on trial and God is going to try your faith.

Now look at this next thing. Here in Acts 14 where he says he would be killed, we know that and believe that, according to 2 Corinthians in chapter 12, he said, I knew a man in Christ, it’s about 14 years ago, whether in the body or out of the body, I cannot tell, but such a one was caught up into the third heaven. We believe that’s what happened to Paul. Even though they wanted to kill him, God used that to show him things that no man had ever seen.

And come back to the earth and live, and then God put a thorn in his flesh to make things worse for him, lest he be exalted above measure that he was somebody that he shouldn’t think that way. So God had to humble him all the days of his ministry. You see, why would God do that? Because he’d be lifted up with pride. Pride destroys every person. When you think more about yourself than you will do about the word of God says.

When you get to think I don’t need God I don’t need church I don’t need the Bible and the note you get it all nailed down you can handle everything all by yourself. You fool. That’s a fool. Alright, but anyway, Galatians chapter 1, look over there very quickly, the book of Galatians, Galatians and chapter 1. Look what Paul had to say. Galatians chapter 1 and verse 13. Here he is telling a little bit about the way he was before he ever trusted Christ as a Savior.

He says, for you have heard of my conversation or my behavior, my testimony. in time passed in the Jews religion, because he was a religious man. How that beyond measure, I persecuted the church of God and wasted it. This is what I did. Now, God had to do a work in his life. Have you think sometimes you have to hit somebody over the head with a two before? Not everybody sees everything the same way. And sometimes you can prejudge things that’s happening in somebody else’s life.

And sometimes you can look at somebody and they’re going through the trials of tribulation. Oh, I know what they did. You don’t really know. You guess, but did you know there’s a warning in the scripture, like in the book of Luke, about the one Pharisee that says, Lord, I’m so glad I’m not like those other ones. And they look down their long fairs, silken nose. Boy, I’m glad I’m not like that. I’m glad I’m not like that. I’m so holy.

I go to church all the time and I pray and I give. Man in my holy. And another man just says, Lord be merciful to me as sinner, because he just knew he was a sinner. And there’s some people don’t think, well I’m glad I’m not that bad. I’m not that bad. I’m not that bad. And they just kind of prejudge everybody else. You better watch that. Cause there’s verses in the Bible about people who do that. Lock those doors.

No. No, look at this. Look there in first Corinthians chapter three, 1 Corinthians chapter 3. Now you need to know these verses are in the Bible because they will help you. 1 Corinthians chapter 3, when you trusted Christ as your Savior, the Bible says you were born of God and your body becomes the temple of God. See, God doesn’t live here in this church. I’ve seen some people think, don’t you, quiet, be holy. Why are we going to be holy, quiet?

We might wake up God. He doesn’t live here. But how do I know God is here? I brought him. He lives inside of me. My body is the temple of God. Look what he says they’re in verse 17. If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. Your body is the temple of God. And if you defile that body, and a lot of people have died way before their time.

They have killed that body with alcohol and drugs and doing things that should not do. Running with the wrong people, the wrong time, doing kind of things, AIDS, but there’s crimes, sins that can be committed against the body. And a lot of people who have gotten diseases of the body because of sex with people they’re not supposed to be with. And there’s a price to pay and they die early. But if you know Christ is your savior, you can’t sin against the body and get away with it.

You’ve been listening to Bibleline, a teaching ministry of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida with Dr. Ralph Arnold. We pray that you were 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 813-884-4328. That’s 813-884-4328. To listen to today’s message again, or to obtain a free download of any of our Bible line programs, just go to our homepage at BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the Radio Broadcast link.

If you’re in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Our Sunday morning services begin at 1030, and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. live broadcasts of our services may be seen by clicking the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org. 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. Believing that the Lord is coming soon and just keep looking up.