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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 the today’s message will be a blessing to you and your family.

Anyway, I want you to take your Bible and turn with me to the book of Romans in chapter 3, the book of Romans, chapter 3. One of the things that you’ll have happen when you talk to people about the Lord is that they really understand what you said about salvation being by grace, and they’ve got to never cast you out and never lose you. I’ll usually ask the question along this line, you mean to tell me, I can go out here and live like the devil and still go to heaven when I die.

Seems like that’s the next thing that will follow something along that line. They’ll even go so far, you mean I can go kill somebody? I don’t know if I had somebody in mind, but they’re always trying to prove that what you just said isn’t the truth. Because if what you said is true, then the other part has to be true. But if I can’t, then you’re lying about what you’re saying because everybody knows to potential of the human nature that if you can do wrong, you will do wrong.

So here in the book of Romans in chapter 3, look in verse 8, as Paul going down through here and explaining some things, because when you teach that, yes salvation is by grace, then somebody’s going to say this and they’re going to slander you. You’re those people that believe in it, easy-believism. You’re the ones that gives people a license to sin. You ought to see how many times I’ve been accused of that on Facebook and the YouTube. But it says, and not rather as we be slanderously reported and it’s on a firm that we say, they swear to it that that’s what we’re teaching, easy-believism, easy-live-ism.

Do whatever you want. You’ve got a license to sin. So have a ball. Go for it. Let us do evil that good may come because the more sins you commit, the more grace covers it. So if you want more grace, do more sin and make sense, don’t it? But when you read chapter 6, shall we we continue in sin that grace may abound. That wasn’t the point of what Paul was preaching or that God was condoning because he saved us by grace.

So a lot of people they use grace as a license to live in sin, licensed permission to do the wrong, to do the evil. A good definition of this license as used in a wrong way, it’s like giving yourself permission. God gave me permission to live any way I please and no consequences. It is a wrong perspective and practice which perverts the grace of God in falsely assuming that God’s grace and freedom from the law is a license to sin.

I’ve been accused of that for about 55 years. I don’t know anybody who wants people to live a more godly life than what I do. I want them to serve the Lord. I want them to live a godly life. I want them to be like the Lord. Because the teachings in the Bible is after we’ve trusted Christ as our Savior to go toward holiness, godliness. And I believe that’s what the Word of God teaches. Now take your Bible and turn to the book of Second Peter.

Peter. And there’s a portion of Scripture that’s mentioned here that after we have trusted Christ as our Savior, we’re supposed to grow in the Lord. You know, learn more, behave better. We don’t do better so we can get saved. We get saved so we can do better. But here in verse five and beside this giving all diligence, add to your faith. Now after you trust the Lord, God wants us to add to our faith. And He mentions a bunch of very good characteristics that will help every Christian to walk with the Lord.

And he says, if you will do this, if you will do this. See there in verse eight, if these things be in you and abound, they make you to abound. They make you that you shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. So the more you learn about the Lord and grow in the Lord, then you’re adding to your faith to be strong enough that you don’t have to fall by every wind of doctrine that comes along.

And that’s why he says, because a Christian doesn’t grow, can become blind. In other words, they can’t see. And that’s why you see a lot of people that says, well, I don’t see anything wrong with this. I don’t see anything wrong with that. I don’t see anything wrong. And that’s the truth that they don’t see, because they don’t a sern. So he says here in verse 9 that he may, that lack of these things that blind cannot see a far out.

Now we’re talking about a believer, not a lost man. Can lost people be blind? Yes. Can it, is it possible for lost people not to have a vision? They can’t see down the road. They can’t see the consequences of their bad decisions. Therefore he said in verse 10, Wherefore the rather brethren, something contrary to that brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure for if you do these things you shall never what? You won’t fall. So the reason for growing in the Lord is to keep you from falling and the more mature you become, the less the possibilities of you falling.

You’ll learn how to discern things. You learn the ways of the devil and how he works. You’ll learn a little bit more about how the world works and you’ll learn about trials and tribulations and testings. And everybody has got to go through testings. The trial of your faith is a testing. Over in Africa, there was this missionary and he’d like to get off from, you know, the run to people and get out by himself and sit along the river bank and just have his morning devotion and just read.

Well, he did it this morning and he was sitting there reading and it was such a beautiful day. And all of a sudden while he’s sitting there reading, this great big old lion walks right up beside of him and lays down right beside him. And he sees this big old lion. So he didn’t know what to do. He says, maybe God’s testing me. So he just read some more and it wasn’t long before another line came up and laid down right beside him on the left side He said that’s it.

God is really testing me So he just opened up his Bible and just really read it didn’t bother him didn’t pay any attention and in just a few moments both the lions devoured him and The moral of the story is don’t read between the lions Now when you come to the Bible, don’t spend all your time reading between the lines. You want to read what does he really say? Because these are some of the things that can help you in your Christian walk.

And so he’s talking about your knowledge that you have and that’s why he says in verse 12, wherefore I will not be negligence to put you always in remembrance of these things. So there’s some knowledge that He wants Him to have. Now you get into chapter 2 and you’ll find out that there’s some other things God has mentioned here. And I want you to notice that hearing the book of 2 Peter in chapter 2, if the Christian doesn’t listen, doesn’t learn, he’s going to fall and because of that is going to bring chastisement to himself.

Plus he’s not going to be effective. And there’s a few things that’s mentioned that you really don’t want a believer to have to go through. And you can see it in the the lives of individuals that you see that have come to know the Lord and then they have habits in their life that they don’t either correct. And so instead of growing, they become worse than they were before. So here in 2 Peter in chapter 2, I want you to know just what he says here in verse 19, for they, the false teachers, promised them the new believers, liberty.

They themselves are the servants of corruption. You see, lost people can’t win people to Christ. They thrive off of people who already have been reached by somebody else. That’s why there’s sometimes there’s churches who can’t grow because they don’t win anybody to the Lord, so they have to rob them from somebody else’s goldfish bowl. And so when you’re talking about that, he says here, for of whom a man is overcome means he’s made worse of the same as he brought in bondage.

Now we’re talking about in the first chapter, about adding to your faith so that you will be fruitful and abound and not fall. And these is some of the reasons why you have to grow in the Lord because if you don’t, you are going to fall. And then he makes a statement here in the last part of verse 20. They fall asleep are again entangled again, or the new believers, and overcome the ladder in his worst with them than the beginning.

For it had been better for them, not to have known the way of righteousness than after they have known it to turn again the Holy Commandments delivered unto them. When a person has learned some things after they’ve trusted the Lord, grown in the Lord, and they know the way of righteousness, So they’re not ignorant to turn from what they know. But now there aren’t new believers that have not that knowledge. And so that’s why you try to teach and train a new believer because see they’re in 2 Peter in chapter three.

Look what he says in verse 17. Yee therefore beloved, seeing you know these things. things. See, there’s new believers that don’t know because, you know, seeing Peter in chapter 2 when he talks about, therefore as newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word that you may what? Grow thereby. So there’s patience with those who have not yet learned, but there are those who already know the truth and then will drift from that truth. And because they know what’s right and refuse to do what’s right.

They’re going to be worse than they were before because now they have the knowledge of knowing what they’re doing is wrong and know how to correct it and refuse to do so. And walk in rebellion. So he says here in verse 17, you therefore beloved seeing you know these things before. Be where lest you also be in let away with the era of the wicked and here’s those words and why there’s such a warning here in the book of 2nd Peter.

fall from your own steadfastness. So you had steadfastness, you’re doing good, you’re moving along, you’re learning, you’re adding to your faith, but beware of those false teachers because when they get through with you, they’re going to make you worse than you were before. Because now you have the guilt of knowing the right way and you refuse to go the right way and you’re listening to all this error. But it says, but grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

So that’s what God wants us to do. Now look back there in chapter 2 and verse 21. In verse 21, I do believe that this is talking to the saved person and not to the lost man. This is what the false teachers can do to a believer. When a believer does not grow in grace and stay according to their steadfastness and little by little, they fall from their steadfastness. You don’t lose salvation, you can never lose that, for it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness.

In other words, you learn the truth, you knew the truth, you grew, and then turn away from it. Not talking about new believers, I don’t believe, but he says that after they have known it to turn from the Holy Commandment delivered unto them. And that’s why he says in verse 22. But it has happened to them, according to the true Proverbs, the dog has returned to his own vomit again. This is how it looks in God’s In God’s idleness is why he talks about Luke, Warren Christians in the book of Revelation in chapter three.

And he says, and the sow that was washed to our wallow and the mar. Things that have been corrected, but uncorrected. You see, it’s one thing to start off certain Lord. It’s another thing to maintain your walk with the Lord. Now, there are three things that I believe are sources of our testing or I could say that causes us to fall. because you’re gonna be tempted by these three things. One is the devil, and two is you’re gonna be tested by the world, and then of course, you’ve got the flesh.

So you’ve got these three enemies of yours, and they’re always working on you. And every one of them can become temptations, trials, tribulations, you’re going to have these things. Now, I want you to take your Bible and look there in the book while we’re right here. First Peter chapter five, looking first Peter chapter five. When we talk about the devil, and as you read the fifth chapter, you’re talking about some people who have some knowledge of the Lord of God.

And he’s talking about being in verse three, about being examples of the flock. Well examples are those who have been walking with the Lord and know how to walk with the Lord, for others to follow them. and talks about us following those that are elders in verse five. Likewise, you young, you submit yourself unto the elders. So there’s two groups of people, the young and the old, those who know the Lord, walk with the Lord, and talks about those that are lifted up with pride and how that we’re supposed to cast all of our cares upon the Lord.

So you’re going to have problems in life. And as you have these problems in life, you’re supposed to submit yourself to the Lord, cast your cares upon the Lord. So when it talked on here about the devil, look there in verse eight, be sober, be vigilant because you’re adversary. And if you don’t have this underlined in your Bible or Mart, I would do so. The devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour and he devours the proud of heart.

He devours those that are not humble and dependent upon God. One of the dangers of God’s people after a while is they get lifted up with pride because I know so much. I’m so strong and there’s scriptures that deals with this and God can allow the devil to tie you up because, remember, the devil gets you by as according to this. He devours you with the cares of this world. That’s why he says up in verse 7, “…casting all your cares upon him, for he careth for you.

But then the devil comes along and he wants to devour you with all these cares of the world, and get you worrying about the things of life.” And so you have to be careful, but you can withstand the devil in verse 9, whom resist steadfast in the faith knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brother that are in the world. So it’s not just you. Many of God’s children have become entangled with the affairs of this life that they cannot please him who has called him to be a soldier.

Now looking in first John chapter 2, first John in chapter 2, just a couple of pages to your right. First John chapter two, and you’ll find out that these three sources of temptation, and here’s one of them, and how many of God’s children are going to be tempted, tested. In verse 15, love not the world. Why? Because if you love the world, he says the love of the Father is not in you. In other words, like you can’t love both.

You can’t love God and then love the world at the same time. Now the word world is not referring to just people, but the things of the world, this life, where you don’t think about eternal things, you only think about temporary things. So he says, love not the world, neither the things that are in the world, things. If any man loved the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world.

And this world is going to pass away along with all the lusts and desires and wouldn’t it be a shame to live for something that’s going to pass away and never be rewarded for it? to waste your life is to waste your life upon the lust of the world that’s going to pass away and the things you acquired with all of them. And so there is this damage that can be done and cause a Christian to fall, even the strongest of Christians.

This is not just talking about we’re just those weak Christians out there. This is also a warning to those who think they have arrived and achieved great superiority over those weaklands in the flesh, and it would never happen to us. And we can’t do this or that. Beware. Pride, cometh before a fall. And I believe that’s what Peter is talking about. But anyway, take your Bible and turn to Colossians in chapter 2. The book of Colossians in chapter 2.

Colossians chapter 2 and look in verse 8. This is a good verse and the reason for this verse is because he’s talking to them about as you have therefore we receive Christ so walk you in him. That’s mentioned in verse 6. You received him by faith. So how are you supposed to walk by faith? You took God’s word on what He said how to get to heaven. Now take God’s word on how you’re to live the Christian life. And in verse 7 concerning you and I, growing in the Lord, He says, rooted, built up in Him, established in the faith.

Don’t sound like we’re talking about a bunch of weak Christians. Those are rooted and grounded as you have been taught and abounding therein with thanksgiving. You have arrived. Now look at the next verse. Beware lest any man spoil you. It’s just like whenever the enemy would take, whoever they were warned against, and they would spoil them, means they take everything of value away from them. There are those who want to spoil you. In other words, taking from you, that which is of value, to ruin your testimony, to destroy your character, to render your life useless before God, because there’s those who would love to see you fall flat on your face.

I honestly believe there’s a lot of people who would love to see me totally mess up. They would feel so relieved because anybody who wants to serve the Lord and is serving the Lord is a rebuke to those who will not serve the Lord. And therefore if more people would not serve the Lord then they don’t look so bad. And so there are those who go around and their only job in the Christian life it seems like is blowing out somebody else’s candle.

See, if I blow your candle, I mine shines brighter. No, it doesn’t. You start a win and it reaps, a whirlwind, and you destroy your own testimony, your own character. But now, I want you to look at something else. Look here in Colossians in chapter three. And Jesse has covered many of these scriptures, and so there’s no reason to cover a lot of them, but I do want to read something to you. Unlike a license or permission to sin, a true understanding of the application of God’s grace really results in a holy life.

In other words, for a man to live by grace, holiness will be the result. Godliness will be the result. No man who is living by grace permits a license to sin. They’re not compatible. They do not go together. You cannot use, well, we’re just living by grace. We can do anything that we want to do, live however we want. That is not the purpose of grace, and that is not what grace does. Grace, your love for the Lord because of what is done for you is what motivates the person out of a nice warm, receptive heart to want to please his Heavenly Father.

But a holy life denies ungodliness and worldly lust. You may have the worldly lust. You have that sinful nature living within. But the battle is not fulfilling those desires. So that means that it’s just not a matter of going through life, try and not to fulfill the lust of the flesh, but the desires of the Spirit. Where it says in the book of James, the Holy Spirit lusteth. In other words, he desires you and I to serve God more than the desires of the flesh to fulfill the lust of the flesh.

You see, there’s two different desires here. So you and I, the closer we get to God, the more the Holy Spirit, those desires can grow and become strong enough to overcome the desires of the flesh. And if that doesn’t grow, then the desires of the flesh are so strong they destroy God’s children. But it involves an ongoing, ongoing walk in faith in Christ through the Word of God and humble service to others in love while looking for that blessed hope of Jesus Christ’s imminent return.

So while we’re waiting for Him to come back, You and I have a responsibility to live a holy, godly life. Now in the book of Peter, he talks about chapter 1, be holy for what? Be holy for I am what? I am holy. So it’s not so that we can have a license to do wickedness, it’s the freedom to do godly, to live holy life. And so that’s what we strive for. And a scripture I wanted you to look at is Galatians in chapter 5.

Now many of these scriptures we’ve looked at, you know, time and time again. But in the book of Galatians in chapter 5, you’ll notice they’re in verse verse 16, verse 16, this I say then, walk in the spirit. Now only a believer has this choice. A lost man can only walk into flesh. But a saved man has two births, two natures, and he can either walk with the Lord, or he can walk into flesh. But the key of not walking into flesh is to walk in the spirit, and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

You still have them. We all still wanna do wrong, regardless of how sincere we may to be in that we wanna live a perfect life and we know we can’t, but we know that we can walk with God. And then he describes the difference between the flesh and the spirit. Verse 17 down to verse 21 gives you a good description of what it means to walk into flesh and what you’re gonna expect to be the result. 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 10.30, 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. Friends, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound, and we will be changed. up to meet the Lord in the air. So live today and every day, believe in that the Lord is coming soon and just keep looking up.