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

and reaches to. which is toll free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made through the Bible-lined website at calvaryoftampa.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 want you to take your Bible and turn to the book of 1 John and chapter three. 1 John chapter three. See there in chapter 3 verse 2 he said, Beloved, Now are we the sons of God and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when He shall appear we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

There are some who teach that when you trust Christ as your Savior you’re automatically you’re all like the Lord now. Well that’s not exactly true. I want to share a couple of thoughts with with you, that I hope will help make the gospel simple and why serving the Lord is so important. I believe it’s very important for people to keep in mind that we need to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, trusting Him to take us to heaven when we die, believing that He died on the cross, paid for all of our sins, and by faith and faith alone, God saves us and gives us eternal life.

And I believe that a man once he has saved is always saved. I do not hold back from saying that I believe eternal security is the gospel and if a man is not eternal secure he’s not secure. I believe that when you trust Christ as your Savior he said he that believeeth on me hath, present tense right now hath everlasting life and if you don’t know you have everlasting life I have no reason to believe you’re saved because he said if you believe it you have everlasting life and you say well I believe it if you don’t know you have eternal life and I don’t know if you believe it.

On the way I know you believe it as you can say I have eternal life and I know that I’m going to heaven when I die. And any person who does not believe in eternal security, I treat them as a lost man. I have no choice. I have to because until then I have to believe that the person doesn’t understand the gospel because the good news is that when you trust Christ as your Savior, you’re justified from all things you have eternal life.

You’re God’s child, you’re going to heaven. I do not believe that some have accused me of, that said, you’re just giving people a license to sin. That you’re just telling people that regardless of what you do, you can live like the devil and get away with it and stuff. Well, I don’t believe that, but I do believe that a Christian can live like the devil. I believe a Christian can do a lot of bad things and still be a Christian.

There are many who teach that when you trust Christ as your Savior, you’re not going to want to do all those bad things anymore. Well, I keep wondering how come they do it. But the Bible tells us, and I want you to see this, the book of Psalms. So look there in the 17th Psalm and the 15th verse. It says, as for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness, I shall be satisfied. When I awake with thy likeness, I know that one day I am going to be just like the Lord, but I’ll have to admit to you that at this moment in my most holiest of moments I am very far short of being totally like Christ.

I would like to believe at this moment yes that Jesus Christ is the Lord of my life that Jesus is the master of my life. My one desire is that I want to serve Him with all my heart. That is true. But does that mean that because I want that he is that in every area of my life. 100% have you ever heard this phrase? If Jesus Christ is not Lord of all, he is not Lord at all. That bothered me for a long time because I had children that would obey me sometimes and not other times.

So am I supposed to think, well because you didn’t I told him to take out the trash, he took out the trash. I said, you know, the washed dishes, they washed the dishes. I told him, don’t fight and they fought. them don’t fight and they fought. So that means they didn’t obey me in anything. No, no, no, that can’t be true. You see, Christ being the Lord or the Master of our life is something that should be for every child of God.

I believe every Christian should serve the Lord with all their heart. But if you think that a person has to, then there’s something wrong. A man does not have to make Jesus Christ the Lord or the Master of his life in order to be saved or to stay saved. Remember salvation is the gift of God. It’s not a works list. Any man should boast. Now I want you to take your Bible look in Ephesians chapter 2 verse 8 and 9.

These are two of my favorite verses in the Bible. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 8 and 9. Remember salvation going to heaven must be totally by grace or totally by works but it cannot be both ways. Because grace means the opposite of works. In other words, if God’s going to give us eternal life as a gift, it has to be a total free gift. It cannot include one work or it’s not free. But if it is by your works, well then it cannot be a gift because they’re opposites of each other.

If it is by grace, then it cannot be by work, otherwise grace is in grace. But if it is by work, then it cannot be by grace, otherwise work isn’t work. Because the one annulls the other. So a man is either saved totally by grace or totally by worse, but he cannot be by both. So my salvation was by me putting my confidence, my trust in a work that he did Christ did totally. I am totally saved, 100 percent saved.

The very moment I be leaved on him as I’ll ever be in this life. I’m saved. I am immediately saved. Totally I’m saved. And there’s nothing more for him to save except to take me out of this world. But I am saved. Means I’m saved from hell. I can never go to hell. And Ephesians 2 8 9 says, for by grace are you saved through faith that not of yourself it is the gift of God not of what? Not of works list any man should boast.

So salvation is not by your works. Now I want to relate this simple little story with you. You remember that David was a man after God’s own heart. I believe that David was a saved man. God used David the King of Israel to write most of the songs. He was the one of the greatest kings that we ever read about in the Bible. And one day when David should have been out, as the king should have been out fighting battles, he wasn’t.

And he saw a woman and he lusted after a woman and he committed adultery with the woman and had her husband killed. He was a murderer and yet he was a saved man. He was a saved man. He was a believer. He was a saved at that moment in the act of adultery as as you are sitting here this morning. You say, well, I would never do that, don’t you ever say never. You don’t know what you’ll do tomorrow.

You don’t realize that the power of the lust of the flesh and of the devil and the temptations and the trials that can hit you. Can a Christian, like King David, commit adultery and be a saved man? Yes, he can. Was Christ the Lord and the Master of his life at that moment? No. Was he saved? Yes. Was he serving God in the midst of those acts? No. When he was having Uriah killed, was he serving God? No, he wasn’t right with God.

Was he a saved man? Yes. But God was not the Lord and the master of his life, but he was a saved man. I want you also to take your Bible and turn to the book of 2 Peter 2. 2 Peter and 2. Remember, I I am not advocating sin. I never do that. Sin is wrong. But I want to tell883 you what I believe is the truth from God’s word. Because there’s many people that cause people to doubt their salvation.

Because if God cannot keep you saved because you commit the big sin, He couldn’t keep you saved if you commit a little sin. But every one of us in this room will admit we all commit little sins. But nobody does those big sins. Well, the same God that can protect you and save you by grace from the little ones also can keep you saved from the big ones. Even though you have sin, greatly against God, can a Christian do those things and Christ not be the Lord and Master of his life, yes.

Should the Christ be the Master of my life, yes. But Christians don’t always do what they’re supposed to do. We don’t always live the way we’re supposed to live. But God chastens His rebellious children. You cannot live as you please and get away with it because you have a wonderful loving, kind heavenly Father that’s going to chasten and discipline you. Understand that. Just because you go out and you commit sin doesn’t mean God takes away your salvation. You’re still his child, but because you’re his child, your heavenly father’s going to have to blister your high knee.

Understand that. And maybe take you home before your time, but he still loves you. 2 Peter and chapter 2. 2 Peter, chapter 2, looking, verse 7 and 8. And chapter 2 is the story about a man named Lot. And verse 7 says, and delivered just Lot. That means that Lot was a saved man. He was a man that was justified, like you and I would be justified. We commit all these bad things. God saves us, we’re cleared. Just a fifth, I’ve never sinned.

So Lot was a saved man, a justified man. But was Jesus Christ, was God Himself, was Jehovah the Lord and the Master of His life? No. Maybe at times. times that you will obey and times you will not obey, but can still be saved. Lot do not always make the right decisions. He chose the wrong decision when he split with his uncle Abraham, and then he made some wrong decisions to go into a place called Sodom and Gomorrah, and he made another wrong decision to stay there.

And he lost the power of his influence. And look what he says, and delivered just lot vexed with the filthy behavior, the conversation of the behavior of the wicked. For that what kind of man says, he was a righteous man. Dwelling among them in seeing and hearing vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deed. He did the same thing. He vexed his own righteous soul because of what he saw, in seeing and hearing. Maybe he didn’t participate, but he saw and vexed his own soul, took and robbed them of the joy because you know he’s not in a right place.

He is not making an influence or an impact upon them. They are influencing him and he lost his wife and he lost his kids. But was he a safe man? Yes. Was he a righteous man? In God’s eyes only because the righteousness that he had was a by faith righteousness. God put his righteousness to his account. Lot was not saved or justified because of his good deeds before or after. If a man has to commit himself to live a certain way in order to be saved and then he fails upon that commitment or thinking that God saved me because I promise that I’m gonna live a certain way, that’s not salvation.

That’s not by grace are you saved through faith and not of yourself. Salvation is the gift of God, not of works, not even the promise of what you’re going to do You are a performance, no, salvation by grace and grace alone. And yet many of God’s people will do exactly the same. There may be things you watch, you ought not watch, you’re a Christian. Can you be saved and watch pornographic stuff? Listen to filth, tell dirty jokes, can’t you do all those things?

I’d venture to say if God would reveal and pull down a little curtain up here and could thought up here what you did just last week that nobody else knows about I bet you that’d be a mass evacuation out of the church just what you thought about oh whatever oh yes you would because you see you still have an old sinful nature that’s why he says Lord when I see you I will be like you because today we may want to be like the Lord we want to be so godly we want to be so holy and yet there’s this whole sinful nature that’s inside of us that keeps us from performing the way we ought to, that keeps and God keeps more in that image that we’re trying to conform to the image of Christ, and we can’t always do the things we wanted to, to the degree that we’d like to do them,

because there’s something inside of it that pulls us down. It’s called no sinful nature. You and I, as long as we live here, we’re never going to be 100% totally under the lordship of Jesus Christ who would love to be. I’m still struggling trying to keep my mind right and keep my words right and keep my deeds right. It’s a constant warfare in the battle all the days of my life. And if I have to fight it, I know you have to fight it.

If I hurt sometimes because of things that you think, I know that you have to. You’re no different than I am. We’re all the things. We’re human bodies. We got a sinful nature. And yet one day, yes, I will sleep and I will awake in his likeness. That’s why you struggle, and that’s what you’re fighting for. You want to be like the Lord. And yet the most godliest person that’s ever lived still has some Mars and some flaws in his life.

We still come short of the glory of God. None of us are the perfect epitome of an example that we’d like to be. But there’s people who try to get others to think, well, that’s because you’re not really saved. You see, because if you was really safe, you’re not going to want to go out here and do all those bad things. That’s not true. Remember that simple illustration? Our first birth. O sinful nature, flesh. Can’t do anything right. This one not going to heaven.

You need a new birth. This one is born of God. This one has a Holy Spirit. This one born of God can’t sin. If you can’t sin, it can’t die. This one is divine. This one will live forever. That’s why he says, who’s so ever is born of God, if not commit sin, because his seed remaining than him and he cannot sin. Lumia’s born of God, he can’t sin. That’s your second burn. I still got this one. I got two of them.

And that’s what’s called me my troubles. And they fight all the time. And every Christian has to go through that. Look in Romans chapter four and verse five. When he makes the statement here, but to him that work if not, but believe it on him that justify the ungodly his faith is counted for righteousness. When he says, but to him that work if not that phrase in itself means you don’t work for it and you don’t promise that you’re going to work for it because God doesn’t save a man based upon his promise to perform.

You don’t have to be willing to do anything. God is willing to save you a dirty lousy stinking good for nothing rotten center bound to go to hell and God saved just like you are. You see, in the midst of everything and I’ve already done it, yeah, do I have to promise to quit all these sins? Not one of them. I don’t have to promise to quit, because if I got to promise to quit one, I got to promise to quit them all.

All right, now what happens if I don’t? All that’s the sign you weren’t really saved. You didn’t mean business. See, that’s not the Bible. Salvation is, look, we’ve all sinned and Christ will save us just as I am, Right where I am. And the Bible says, when you trust Christ is saving, now as a saved man, now does God want me as his child to serve him? Yes, with all my heart. But I don’t do it because I’m trying to get saved, it’s because I already am saved.

And if I don’t serve him, I’m still saved. How I live can never affect my salvation. If you promise that you’ll live for him, in order to be saved, Where’s the verse in the Bible that says that? You won’t find one because salvation is by grace. Look in 1 Corinthians chapter three. Just turn to your right a couple of pages. 1 Corinthians and chapter three. Now you and I know that Corinthians Christians at this church were some very carnal minded Christians, very worldly minded Christians.

Named about 14 major sins in this church. This church had a lot of problems. But I want you to see first of all, 1 Corinthians and chapter one, look there in verse two, unto the church of God, which is at current to them that are what? That are sanctified. That means you already been set apart, declared righteous, you’ve been declared holy. Huguazzo, set apart, pure and holy. That’s why he says in the last part of the verse, called to be what?

Called saints. You see the way you get to be called a saint, not because you live like a saint, You’re a saint because God has set you apart as his child and made you pure and holy because of the payment that he made for you. That’s what made you a saint. You’re not a saint because you live like a saint. You may live like a saint Bernard, but if you trust the Christ, you’re a saint. You’re still a saint.

In case you’ve never seen a saint before in your life, I want you to look at one. You’re looking at a saint. Say, you don’t like no saint to me. Yeah, but you don’t see me the way God sees me. You see, you see me with all my faults. God don’t see them. because He separated me from my sins. He removed my movements as far as the east is from the west. He cast them to the depths of the sea, the gun.

I’m in Christ, and that’s how my heavenly Father sees me. Now, He says that they’re saints. He says that they’re sanctified and they’re in the body of Christ and God has done all these wonderful things for them. Now, in 1st Corinthians chapter three, I want you to look at this. 1st Corinthians chapter three, These were church members and they were saved, but Christ was not, not the Lord of their life. They were not living for God. Christ was not the master of their life.

They were not living the way God wanted them to live, but were they still saved? Yes. You see, if Christians can live and Christ not be the Lord master of the life, why would we tell a lost man that he has to make Christ the Lord master of his life in order to be saved? Do you see a problem? Look what he says here in verse 1, and I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes, and what’s the next two words?

In Christ, these are babes in Christ that should be mature by now, and they’re not. He said, I’d like to talk to you as though you were spiritually mature, Christian, but I can’t because you’re carnal. What do you mean by carnal? Flashly minded. Means that there’s Christians that are still babes? like lost people. So Christ was not the Lord of the Master of their life. Is that what God wants? No, that’s not what God wants, but that’s reality. But are they still saved?

Did Paul say, well, that’s a sign you are not saved because there’s divisions among you. And then by the way, he says in chapter 5, he says, one of y’all is committing adultery with your father’s wife. That’s the sign you’re not saved. He didn’t say that. He didn’t say that at all. But they had to to get it corrected. And in the second Corinthians, he told them, forgive the man because the man got things right. Forgive them. But you see, if you think that because people live wrong, it’s a sign they’re not saved, then you ought to doubt your salvation too.

Well, I didn’t commit adultery and I didn’t rob a bank yet, but did you lie? Do you have bad thoughts? Have you been angry? Have you been envious? Have you been filled with jealousy? You see, those are just as bad because sin is sin. You see, if that was true, then all of us are lost. Nobody’s saved because you see, if you think, well Christ has to be the total Lord and Master of everything, even in my letter, he’s the Lord of all and not Lord of all, and if he’s not Lord at all, then you’re not saved.

Well then nobody would be saved. Where is this epitome of this individual that is so golly and so holy that Christ is totally the Lord and Master of his life? I’d like to see the man. Where is he? Nobody liked that except one. And one day I shall see him and I will be like him. But until then, I’m fighting battles just like you’re fighting battles. And if we don’t understand that, you’re gonna doubt salvation. You’re gonna question whether people are really saved.

You know how I believe that people are saved or lost? I don’t go by their life, that’s for sure. And I don’t care if you sing in the choir. That doesn’t prove you’re saved. You could be as lost as a houndballing in of a soup bone. did you or did you not trust Christ as your Savior? If you’ve never done that, you’re lost. And yet you may live so holy. And another man said, I’ve trusted Christ in Him alone as my only hope to go to heaven.

And that man will be saved and go to heaven. I don’t care if he lives like a dog worth a sign of an individual you’ve ever seen in your life. So it’s not fair. Nobody said anything about being fair. It’s called grace. G-R-A-C-E, God’s riches at Christ’s expense. That’s what God’s done for us. Take your Bible and look there very quickly in Romans 12. Romans 12. And notice there in verse one. Romans 12 and verse one. This is written to the Christian.

It’s written to those who know Christ is Savior. Does God want you and I as His child to submit our bodies to Him as a living sacrifice? Yes. But you know, this is written to the believer. It means the believer hasn’t done it yet. She once said, I beseech you therefore brethren. This is not to the law. You don’t get a lost man to promise how he’s going to live or commit his life to Christ and how he’s going to live his life.

You don’t get a lost man to make Christ the Lord and master of his life in order to be saved. That’s not the book, nowhere in the book. Does that mean that Christ is not the Lord? No, he is the Lord. One day every knee will bow and every time will confess that he is, that’s who he is. Jesus Christ is the Lord. That’s who he is. But he may not be your savior. And he may not be your Lord because there’s time when he is the master of my life because I have served him.

And there’s time when maybe I haven’t served him the way I ought to in every area of my life. But growing in the Lord means that you’re learning how to yield more areas of your life over to his Lordship, over to his rule, so that he is master of all of your life. And yet when you fail, admit that you fail and confess that to God and keep going. That’s what he says here in Romans chapter 12 verse 1, I be seechy therefore brethren by the mercies of God.

That means in view of what God’s done for you. You see because he saved and gave me eternal life. And I don’t have to serve God. I don’t have to go to church. I don’t have to give money. I don’t have to pray. I don’t have to do anything. Well, I still go to heaven. Yes, I will. Well then why do you do it? Because I want to. You see, you will serve God according to what he means to you.

But nobody can legislate you, the morality, it makes you serve God. That’s got to be something on the inside of you where you want to do right. He says that he presents your body’s a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable under God, which is your reasonable service. This is because of what he’s done for. See, he hasn’t saved the lost man yet. That’s why the lost man don’t have to commit anything to Christ. That’s why the lost man don’t have to promise to give up his sins.

A lost man hasn’t had to promise he’s gonna live for God. Why? Because God ain’t saved him yet. But when a man is saved, because of his love should constrain and motivate me. That’s, yeah, that’s totally different because we thus judge that if he died for all, And he died for me and that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him who died from and rose again. That’s why I should serve the Lord because of what he did for me.

But see the lost man hasn’t trusted him. He’s saving you. First of all, get him saved. Now that a man is saved. Now here’s what you need to understand. God wants you to serve him. And he makes the statement here in verse two and be not conformed to this world. But this is talking to the Christian. evidently if he’s telling them be not conformed to this world, then it means that a Christian can be conformed to the world. Look at it.

It’s the book. One thing I try not to do, I will not twist the scriptures to try to make them say what I want them to say, but I’m not going to change it or add to it because I want to be accepted by other people or other preachers or in any denomination or of anybody anywhere. Either the book is the truth or take the thing and throw it in the trash can. It’s either the word of God or it’s not.

say, by grace or say by works. If it’s by grace, then let it be by grace. No man justifies himself in the eyes of God by his works, either before salvation or after salvation. Salvation is a gift of God because of what Christ did for me. But be a transformed. How do you train? See, this is where a conversion takes place. This is where a changed life comes, not to be saved, but because you are saved. But be a transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove or discover where that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

When does God want me to transform my life after I’m saved? Because of what he’s done for, in view of his mercies. Look what God’s done for me. Yet now I should, yes, I want Christ to be the Lord of my life. I want him to be the master of my life. I want to serve him all the days of my life because of everything he’s done for me. If he never does another thing for me, what he hath done is enough.

I don’t serve God because he gives me good health. I don’t serve God because He’d give me a good wife and good kids. I don’t serve God because He’d give me a place to live in a good minute. I serve God because He paid for my sins and kept me out of hell. That alone is enough for me to serve Him for the rest of my life because I can lose my wife. And I can lose this ministry and I can lose my health and I can lose my friends.

I can lose finances and I can lose all of those but I can never lose what He did for me. Therefore I’ve got a reason to serve God for the rest of my life and so do you. 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 toll free 1-800-576-3771.

That’s 1-800-576-3771. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our homepage. 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 broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.org.

Thanks for joining us on Bible Live and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friends, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound. 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. Just keep looking up.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

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 1-800-800-800-800-800. hundred five seven six three seven seven one online donations may be made through the Bibleline website at Calbury of Tampa dot org we pray that you’ll 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 to the book of Ephesians and chapter one I want to talk to you about a subject concerning the election of God, the election of God.

How God chooses, God makes choices. God has chosen His Son, Jesus Christ, and God elected and chosen the nation of Israel. God has chosen, He’s elected angels, He’s chosen, elected, you and I. But what does it mean when we talk about the election of God, the chosen of God, the predestination of God, the foreknowledge of God. Remember this, foreknowledge is an attribute of God, and predestination is an act of God. One is what God knows, another is what God does.

God may know that you’re going to rob the 7-11 store tomorrow, but God forbid that you would blame Him if you went and robbed the 7-11 store. God is not the author of sin. And so therefore, there are things that God knows and there’s things that God does. Predestination is an act of God as a destiny fixed beforehand. There is the foreknowledge of God. And so many times, and you study the Bible, it’s difficult trying to harmonize some of these things with the will of God versus the will of man.

The decision that God seemingly gave to you and I as free agents to choose. And then it seems like we’re all predestined and it’s not real at all. Can kind of mess up a man’s mind. I have been there and I’ve had to spend many hours studying the Bible trying to get something harmonized so that I could Have at peace with myself. I want you to look there in Ephesians chapter one and verse four. Ephesians chapter one verse four, he says, according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before him in love, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.

Well that’s pretty heavy. You know what he said right there? Having predestinated us. And then the verse before that said, in verse 4, according to us, he hath chosen us. So here’s a couple of the ideas. Did God before the foundation of the world, he chose to save who he’s going to save and those that were lost, well, they were lost already anyway? So the ones that God did save it was still by grace, but God can choose to save whoever he wants as he looks out among you as though you represented the world.

And if I was the Lord, I would say, okay, I’ll save Gina, and I’ll save Wilbert, and I’ll save Cheryl, and that’s enough the rest of you go to hell. Now, what I did could have been by grace because nobody deserved it. But now, are we supposed to thank God? Is that cold and cruel? Why did he let the rest of us be born then? And some use the idea that here’s this sign over hell that we don’t understand it.

It says that whenever you die and you’re an unbeliever, you cast into the lake of fire. And then you’re supposed to think that I had no choice. And then a man goes to heaven. Well, he looks up there when he gets to heaven and he gets inside and looks over the gates chosen before the foundation of the world. Isn’t that wonderful? But the man that went to hell, he looks over the gate, chosen to go to hell from the foundation of the world.

Now, if you went to heaven, you would love that. But if you go to hell, you’re not going to like that. Now, I want you to notice something in his verse. According as he has chosen us and get these two little words in him, God has determined before the foundations of the world to save everybody that believes in Christ. That’s how He chose to save. He chose to save all those that will believe. And He says all those that believe will be holy and without blame before God.

Having predestinated us. In other words, the destiny fixed beforehand. God, before the foundation of the world, shows beforehand that all those that believe that are in Christ will be pure and holy, set apart, and they’re going to heaven whenever they die. Predestination is the security of every believer. Every person who accepts that That payment Christ made for Him is set aside, made pure and holy. God has predetermined that all believers, all those are in Christ, God has chosen to save all those who will believe.

God has chosen not to save anybody who does not believe. That’s a decision that He made before man ever got here. So it’s not based upon your good or your bad. Did you or did you not accept that payment Christ made? Now, won’t you take your Bible look over there in the book of 2 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, and notice a very complicated verse, verse 13. Remember, always look at the book and go by what the Bible does say.

Now, I know that it’s possible to twist the Bible any way you want, but I try to harmonize it as best I possibly can. Here in verse, three, it says, but we are bound to give thanks always to God for you brethren, beloved of the Lord. God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation. There’s a verse you cannot deny. It says chosen you to salvation. So am I supposed to in my father-in-law the man who led me to the Lord?

We used to go around on this all the time. And my father-in-law who led me to Christ didn’t understand some of this and he got kind of confusion. He had led me to the Lord. And I would get in there and I’d try to figure it out. Now, I don’t understand that. I don’t understand that. How do you reconcile this with John 3 16 that says, for God so loved the world that He gave His only be God? So the whole so ever believe it.

Now, is it who so ever is or not who so ever? He said, well, God chose to say those who He knew would believe. Then why did He let the rest of them be born then? I said, wait a minute. And I had a lot of questions. I was very inquisitive and a very hard headed. And I want everything to be proved to me not by philosophy or reasoning, just show me the book. And then I got to go by this.

Now, nobody said, if I stop where I did, I would be in trouble. But it says, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation and get this through sanctification of the spirit and belief of the truth. When you and I, when we believe the truth, God from the very foundation of the world has already predetermined to save all those, He chose to save everybody that believes the truth. But now notice in verse 14, where unto he called you by our gospel?

How does God call people by the gospel? He says, going to all the world and preached the gospel to every creature. And he says, if I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me. But you see, God does it through the gospel itself. And God will save whosoever it will believe. God is predetermined to save every person that will trust Christ as their Savior. But remember, when He talks about being chosen and talking about the election, it’s not just about being saved from hell.

I want you to take your Bible and turn back there to the book of Isaiah. The book of Isaiah and chapter 42. Isaiah 42. Remember this, Jesus Christ was God’s Son. Jesus Christ did not need to be saved. Jesus Christ did not need to be adopted into God’s family. He didn’t have to have any predestination placed upon Him. Jesus Christ was God’s Son coming to the world and God calls Him my righteous servant. Here in the book of Isaiah chapter 42, look in verse 1, Behold my servant whom I uphold mine elect.

In other words, God looked upon the world and the world was lost and God needed a sacrifice and He had one Son. Jesus Christ. God elected. God chose His Son to be the payment for the sins of the world. Now the Son was willing to obey the Father in all things. He was willing to come into the world and to be the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. But God chose or elected His Son because His Son was the only one that qualified.

And notice what He says in verse 1. In whom my soul delighted, I have put my spirit upon him. He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.” Now look down in verse four. He shall not fail. In other words, when he’s talking about chosen here and the elect is talking about for service, God has chosen his son to serve him in this way. This is what God wanted his son to do. To come into the world, to down the cross, pay for the sins of all mankind.

He shall not fail nor be discouraged. till he have set judgment in the earth, and the I shall wait for his law. Thus if God the Lord that created the heavens and stretched them out, he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it, he that giveth bread unto the people upon him and spirit to them that walk therein. I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and he called him for a reason, talking about his son, Jesus Christ.

Now, notice what did he want them to do? Well, when he comes unto the world, in verse four, to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and then that set in darkness out of the prison house. In other words, everybody in this world from God’s viewpoint in heaven is in prison. Every man upon the earth is a prisoner. He’s already a lost man. He is a prisoner upon this earth. He is in prison and he’s blind.

He cannot help himself and the people of the world, though they may have on a three-piece suit, a tie, and they decked out and the women can wear all the fancy clothes he wants. God says they’re blind and they’re naked. They’re wretched. They’re lost. They cannot find their way. They can’t find God. God’s the one who came seeking man and God wants every man to know the truth and to come to the light of the knowledge of Jesus Christ so that they can have eternal life.

He says, preach the gospel to everybody in the world, every creature, because God so loved the world and God chose to save anybody, anybody, whosoever would believe. But it’s your choice, it is my choice, whether I will or I will not believe. I chose to accept that payment Christ’s made on the cross for me. God had predetermined before I was ever born, before the world was made, that everyone who believes would be made pure and holy be made a child of God and holy and without spot before Him in love.

Predestined to everyone that believes. This is what God says. Now I want you to take your Bible and look in the book of Isaiah chapter 61 this is also referring to Jesus Christ and he’s talking about My servant my righteous servant. He was elected chosen to do this job He says the spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord hath them known him he’d approach good tidings unto them He this is the very verse that he read when you read the book of Luke When he met the people and he talked to them in the temple and he says this day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears and And he says, He that sent me to bind up the broken heart, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound to proclaim the acceptable year of

the Lord. This was the year. This was the day that God sent His Son into the world, and it was the day of visitation, the day God visited the earth and revealed Himself, and He says, this day it’s been fulfilled in your, and they wished not who it was. They didn’t know who he was. And he came to do a job, and he got on the cross, came back from the dead, and God says, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased, and he sat down on the right hand of the Father.

He was elected, chosen to do a job, and he did his job, and he sat down. Now, don’t you take your Bible looking Isaiah, and chapter 45, Isaiah 45. the nation of Israel. God chose Israel. Of all the nations on the face of the earth, God took a man, Abraham, out of the ear of the counties and said, I’ll make a great nation out of you. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he confirmed his covenant with all three of them and said that There will be a great nation and they were.

God chose them for something spectacular. Look in Isaiah 45 and verse 4. For Jacob, my servants, say, and Israel, mine elect, mine elect. God chose to build a nation, a special nation, of a special group of people, for a specific thing. God was going to use the nation of Israel in which to bring the Messiah into the world. God was going to use the nation of Israel to bring the Word of God to the world. And God was going to use the nation of Israel as a testimony to all the world of what God would do through a nation that would obey God.

But Israel failed in so many ways. They failed to obey the Word. But the Word did come to us, and the Messiah did come. But Israel as a nation did not fulfill the obligation that God had placed upon them. They failed miserably and they were scattered upon the face of the earth. And God says that they will be coming back to their land in the last days and they have. And God is going to raise up the nation of Israel.

And once again, they will be destroyed. Israel will be in the tribulation period. And then Christ will come back and power in great glory. And Israel will be born in a day. A nation born in a day believing that that one that they crucified 2000 years earlier was the Messiah and they will believe on the Lord. So these things are written in God’s Word for that reason. To help us to understand what God chose, why he chose. Now notice there in Isaiah chapter 43 and look in verse 1.

He says, but now thus saith the Lord that created the old Jacob and he that formed the old Israel. Fear not, for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name, thou art mine. You are mine. You belong to me. You are my special people to do a special job.” And he says in verse 3, “…I am the Lord thy God, I am the holy one of Israel by Savior.” Look what he says in verse 10, “…

ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord and my servant whom I have chosen.” He says, “…I have chosen you to serve me.” You see, when it comes to salvation, God has simply chosen to save all believe, that believe, he that does not believe is already condemned, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. That’s why he’s condemned. Now because God didn’t choose him, but because he hath not believed. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, he that believeth not the Son shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth upon him.

But God has chosen to save everyone that will believe, but after you are saved, there’s thing God wants us to do. God chose Israel to do a job, but Israel did not do that job that they were supposed to do. Take your Bible and turn to 1 Timothy in chapter 5. First Timothy and chapter 5. You know that by bringing out about Christ being an elect and angels being and elect, I must be heading someplace, and I am. So I want you to stay with me until we get there.

We’re not there yet. First Timothy and chapter five, look there in verse 21. I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels. Now the angels didn’t need to be saved, so you can always take the word elect and just say, well, talk about saving from hell. No, Christ didn’t need to be saved, but he was an elect. Israel as a nation did not need to be saved from hell. You call you save individuals, not nations.

Angels are also elect. Means they were chosen by God for something. Well, what did he want the angels to do? He says here, I charge thee before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels. The angels that God has elected are chosen. Remember Satan let a rebellion. And one third of the angels rebelled against God. But God has a purpose for his angels. Well, what is that? Take your Bible-looking of the Hebrews, just turn to your right a few pages.

The Hebrews and chapter one. Hebrews and chapter one. The Bible says in verse six, as he compares Jesus Christ with angels. Remember the Bible says that Christ was made lower than the angels for the suffering of death, but only so that he might redeem mankind and lift us above the angels. So he says here in verse six, and again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, referring to Christ, he said, and let all the angels of God worship him.

One of the purposes of angels that God has for angels is that they worship God, they worship God. But also he says this, in verse seven, and of the angels he sayeth, who makeeth his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. Interesting. I wonder what he means by all of this. Well, everybody says in verse 4, are they not all menersteins, spirits, minister, four of a day of salvation. Everyone who trusts their Savior in her eternal life.

We inherit a home in heaven because we’re the sons of God as a son of God, We are heirs of God and join heirs with Christ. So all of us that are heirs of God, God has chosen, elect angels to come into the swirl and to minister to you and I, but their spirit that you cannot see. How many are here this morning? I don’t know. How many do you have? I don’t know. And I don’t care. All I know is this is the Word of God.

And I believe the Word of God. And I believe that there are angels of God that protect me K M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M

M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M Now, you and I don’t have to be afraid of anything in this world.

Remember in the Old Testament there was a story where the prophet of God was kind of nonchalant and not word and the Syrian showed up, whole army. And his servant was afraid. He said, what are you afraid? He said, look at all of them. And he said, yeah, but those with us are more than those that are with them. He said, who are you talking about? This is only me and you. He says, Lord, open his eyes that he can see.

And he opened his eyes and he saw a whole army of angels. Oh, they were there, whether you could see them, they were already there, just the man of God saw them. You’d be surprised how God has watched over you and protected you when you didn’t understand how he was doing all of that. You can’t explain some things. And how you just, miraculously just missed this and just missed that and that just happened. And how close she came in.

Oh, you got a lot to be thankful for it. I want you to take your Bible and look there in the book of Colossians in chapter three. Colossians and chapter three. You got Philippians and Colossians chapter three. And I want you to look up there in verse 12. Colossians chapter three verse 12 here in talking to God’s people. He says, put on, therefore, as the elect of God. Now he’s referring to God’s people. You and I are the elect of God.

God has chosen us. God has chosen to save all those that believe, and so when you believe, you are the elect. You’re the one that God has chosen to serve him. You see, God doesn’t want lost people serving him. God wants his people serving him. If you trusted Christ as your Savior, God has chosen you to do a job. God elected Christ to do a job. Did Christ do the job? Wholeheartedly, never failed. Did God choose Israel to do a job?

Did Israel fail? Yeah. God has chosen angels to do a job and some of the angels rebelled against God. That’s where your demons come from, the devil. The angel that God created now. What about you and I? Well, I can’t give account for anybody else You can’t account for anyone else But what about you if you are a child of God Then God has chosen all of his children you’ve been elected Chosen by God to serve him and you’re to be a righteous servant Look what he says.

In verse 12, put on therefore as the elect of God, holy and beloved. In other words, God has chosen all those who have been made, puree, by trusting Christ as their Savior. You are called be loved. How do you be loved? Let God love God. God, but will you let God love you? Will you be loved by God? So when you accepted that payment Christ made for you, He says, brethren, Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

If you’re saved, you are a Beloved. This is addressed toullivan who are been made pure and holy by the payment Christ made. You’ve been set apart, sanctified, Hologioso, holy, set apart for God for the purpose of service. Look up here. Letting this hand represent you and me and this wallet represent sin. Now we all have sin on us. Everyone here is a sinner. Just like me. We’re all sinners. God loves us. Now he hates our sin, but he loves us.

All of us are in the same boat for all have sin. All have come short of God’s perfection. The wages of sin is death and since every man sin, every man is condemned. And God wants every man to be saved and to483 to go to heaven. So Christ died for all of us. Oh, men, you see, to go to heaven, you have to be perfect, but nobody’s perfect, nobody’s righteous. So that’s why no man can save himself. And so a man cannot do any good deeds to get to heaven because you see, it can’t be bought.

We’re already condemned to pay for what we’ve done. So a man has to be saved. This is Jesus Christ. God’s Son, God chose his Son to come into the world because he had no sin. He was his righteous servant. He took all of our sins, the sins of the whole world upon himself came back from the dead. And God said that if we’ll believe that he did it for us, God is bound by his word. He has to save everyone who believes, whosoever believe it.

For God so loved the world that he gave has only begotten Son, that whosoever be leaveth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. God from the foundation of the world has predetermined to save all those that will believe. And all those that will not believe God has predetermined, they’ll spend an eternity separated from God and a literal fire burn in hell. Salvation is free. It’s a gift and it’s whosoever believeth. Let’s pray show him. With every head bond, every eye closed, and no one looking around.

I hope you understand what I’m saying. I have no axe to grind. I just want to preach the book. And I want you to understand that God loves you. He sent his son to die for you, to pay for your sins. He said, if you’ll trust him as your savior, he’ll give you eternal life as a gift. You don’t earn it. You don’t work for it. You don’t buy it. And God says, once he saves you, you’re his child forever.

You They are never cast you out, never lose you. If you have trusted Christ as your Savior, I hope you understand the importance of telling people, getting them out under the sounds of the gospel. Let God use your power of influence in the lives of other people to get them under the sounds of the gospel. It’s so important. Our Father, we ask Your blessings upon each person that’s here to help them to understand that you have chosen them. They have been elected, unknowned by you, called to serve you, not to be saved, but because we are saved.

And I pray, Lord, that each person here would respond to you, correct anything in their life that needs to be corrected, and I love you with all their heart. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen. 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. Our two of this teaching will conclude with tomorrow’s broadcast. If you have enjoyed our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, you can reach by the line 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. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our home page. 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 broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, Calvary of Tampa dot org.

Thanks for joining us on Vital Line and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friend, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound. We will be changed. Caught up to meet the Lord in the air. to live today and every day, believing that the Lord is coming soon and just keep looking up.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

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 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 through the Bible-lined website at calvaryoftampa.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 would like to give you this morning seven reasons on why you should not commit adultery. You say, well, I don’t need seven reasons, but I want to give them to you anyway. You say, why? Because the Bible gives seven reasons why a person should not commit adultery in working with teenagers that there’s one thing that always seemed to really hold their attention is when I spoke on either love, sex, or marriage. Sometimes all three. Now, the Bible teaches upon this subject that we’re going to look at, and I want you to listen to every word that I say.

I’m not referring to anything that you may have done or you are doing or you may do some day. I want you to listen to what God’s Word has to say and evaluate whether or not you should or you shouldn’t. I think at first glance you would say of course you shouldn’t. But if everybody did that which they of course they should do, we would not be having the problems that we’re having in America. But we do have problems.

We have homes that are fallen apart. We have a lot of men that are not men in the homes anymore. And a lot of damage has been done. We have those in place of leadership that have set bad examples, especially for our young people. Now, once you take your Bible and follow with me, I want to read several verses to you in several places, and then I want to comment upon these things. Exodus in chapter 20, this is on page 95 in an old Schofill reference Bible.

But I want you to turn with me there to verse 12. Exodus chapter 20 and verse 12, make sure you have a Bible and you’re looking on and you follow along with me. Verse 12 says, on with thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee. Thou shall not kill, thou shall not commit adultery, thou shall not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house.

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his men’s servant. Nor his maidservants, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbors. Now, once you look at verse 14, Thou shalt not commit adultery. That is straightforward, that is blunt. That is the word of God, and that is what God said. And God wanted His Word to be taught to the whole nation, and every child that was born in Israel had to know the first five books of the Bible.

So of course you would teach your children because you didn’t want them to be stoned to death. Very great consequences if disobeyed. Take your Bible and turn it out to the book of 1 Corinthians chapter six. Now that was under the law. Now we’ll look under grace, things that God has told us. And you know that in the beginning God made man from the dust of the earth and he breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul.

But the Bible says that there was nobody for Adam. So God was going to make a woman for Adam and he told Adam he says, I will make you a help me. She will be the most beautiful creature in the garden. She will be designed with you in mind and to make you happy all the days of your life. She will love you and perfectly obey you.” He said, but it’s going to cost you an arm and a leg.

Adam thought about that for a moment. He said, well, what can I get for a rib? Now, you and I know that God made a wonderful thing when he made man and he made a woman. The Lord says that we are wonderfully made. God said that. And God evidently made a woman beautiful enough that she would be attractive. So that a man would want her. Can you believe this? That there was a time when Eve could look into a mirror and literally say, you are the most beautiful woman in the world.

One time this man, he told his girlfriend, they were going together for about 10 years, and they got into a big old fight. And they looked at it and he says, I wouldn’t marry you if you were the last woman on earth. And she says, if I was the last woman on earth, I wouldn’t need you. Here in the book of 1 Corinthians and chapter 6, and look in verse 13, the middle part of verse 13, I want you to see this.

He says, now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord and the Lord for the body. And God hath both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His own power. No ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ. Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them the members of on harlot? God forbid. What no ye not that he which is joined to and harlot is one body, for to sayeth he shall be one flesh.

But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. In verse 18, flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body, but he that committed fornication sineth against his own body. In verse 19, what know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which you have of God and you’re not your own, for you’re bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are gods.

In the Old Testament when they had the temple, it was composed of three different sections. It was called the outer court and the holy place and then the holy of holies. And there was a veil separated from the holy place and the holy of holies. And the holy of holies was the place where God would meet with His people once a year. The right man, only the right man, the high priest, was able to enter into that holy place once a year, and if he was acceptable to God, then he could live.

And if he didn’t, he died. But the Bible says this was a sacred place, and only the right man was able to enter into that, which was beyond the veil. The Bible says that this was God’s holy place. The Bible tells us that when you and I trust Christ as our Savior, our body becomes the temple of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit indwells you and I. And when a woman marries a man, they become a one, but they’re one temple.

And that a woman’s temple is also like the temple. And you’ll find in many places in the Old Testament, especially where either Jacob got married and he said he went in unto his wife. She was made for a particular individual, one man. And that woman is his temple, and he as the high priest of his home is the only one who has the right to enter into the veil, into the holy place, and no one else. And if somebody else does, Hispaniola, that temple, God says that is wrong.

He says, so you do not take a temple and add it to that which is against the will of God. He says, you sin so against Christ when you do so. He says, your body now has become the temple of God. And that’s why a woman is to have one man, and only one man has the right to enter into her veil, into the holiest place that the woman has. This is why you have sometimes men who look upon their wife the way God did over his temple and why Christ got angry and he whooped the people out of the temple.

God made a woman. God made men and I believe that marriage is ordained of God and I believe there’s a good woman and a good man and if they do things God’s way God will richly bless their life. Here in the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 7 I want you to look in verse 1. Now concerning the things where of you wrote unto me, it is good for a man not to touch a woman.” Now we’re talking about this is talking about in a sexual sense.

This is not talking about touching your shoulder. Now this is talking about in a physical relationship. And he says in the present time because of the persecution he says, I would that you were like me. But that was only for the present distress if you read the whole chapter. It doesn’t mean that he is against marriage or anything like that. He just says it’s good not to get married for the present time, but if you cannot contain, it would be better to marry than to burn.

So he makes the statement here in verse 2, nevertheless, to avoid fornication or people that are not married, that are having sex, and listen to me, this is very prevalent in our time. People living together that are not married, that is sinful, it is wicked, it is wrong. But it is something that can be corrected. God can forgive an individual and God can restore a life. So keep it in mind what God’s word says in verse two, nevertheless to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, not somebody else’s, his own.

And it says, and let every woman have her own husband, not somebody else’s, because to do so before marriage is considered to be fornication after marriage, adultery. But the Bible teaches very strongly, thou shalt not commit adultery. thou shalt not do that. Now you look there in verse nine. When it talks about a man or a woman, if they cannot contain, let them just live together. That’s what it says? No, let them marry for it’s better to marry than to burn.

That means with the desire, with the passion for the opposite sex. Now take your Bible and go to the book of Proverbs and chapter six. Proverbs and chapter six. Now it’s very important to look at these verses. It’s is the word of God. It’s something that everybody should see and understand what God has written in his word. Here in the book of Proverbs in chapter 6, look very quickly in verse 20. My son, keep thy father’s commandment and forsake not the law of thy mother.

Bind them continually upon thy neck and tie them or and tie them about thy neck. When thou goeth, it shall lead thee. When thou sleepeth, it shall keep thee. When thou awakeeth, it shall talk with thee. See, this is talking about the Word of God. It’s talking about the laws that, you know, parents lay down to their children on things to do and things not to do in places they should go and places they shouldn’t go. These are things that children should remember when they get a little bit older.

And sometimes the teenage years are the most crucial year year because that’s the experimental years. And sometimes they never get out of those teenage years. They just, they teenage all the rest of their life and they never grow up, never mature, never see the damage that they do to themselves or others. But I notice what he says here. In verse 23 for the commandment is a lamp, the law is light and reproofs of instruction of the way of life to keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.

God takes these two women, uses them as an illustration that teach the wisdom of God versus the wisdom of the world, and talking about the two kinds of women in the world, a godly woman versus an ungodly woman. Notice what he says here in verse 25. lust not after her beauty in th thine heart. Now, this is the word of God and it’s in here. It’s because it’s evidently something that men are very prone to do. The Bible says that when Christ was here, he says, in the law, it says, thou shall not commit adultery.

But I say unto you that if a man lusteth or woman in his heart, he hath committed adultery already. So you see, it’s not only what a man does at how he thinks because this this is where it begins, begins in the heart of man. That’s why you have to have some kind of power that can help you to think better, to control your thoughts. And he makes the statement here, don’t forsake the law of thy mother or of thy father because they pertain to life and they are what is going to help you.

So he makes the statement in verse 25, lust not after her beauty in thine heart, neither to let her take thee with her eyelids. Did God make a woman beautiful? Yes. Is there desires that are natural in a man for a woman? Yes. But God says, control it until you get married. Now that’s why I believe that a man should try to find a good woman that yes, can meet his needs all the rest of his life. But the Bible says thou shalt not commit adultery.

Today there’s many homosexuals that say, well I was born this way. What do you mean by that? Well, they say, well, I was born with this desire for other men. So does that mean that because you had the desire, homosexuality is right because you were born with that desire? What about the man who was born for the desire for a woman? Should he commit I was born with this desire. What man here among us can say, I wasn’t born with no desire.

Very few. God says adultery is sinful and that it’s wrong. You’re not justified just because they say, well, we’re going to get married one day. Or we really love each other. Adultery is adultery. Christian or no Christian, you’re not to live with anybody that is not your wife. If that woman is not yours, you are not your wife. have no right to enter into her veil. You have no right to defile that woman. And that’s exactly what it is and his wickedness and his wrong and his sinful.

You can’t sugarcoat it and you don’t listen to television to try to find out what your morality ought to be. You go to the Bible and find out what the word of God says. Now look what he says here and seven reasons that I want to give you here very quickly in verse 27. Can a man take fire in his bosom in his clothes not be burned? In other words, you think, can you commit adultery and not affect you?

I mean, can you commit adultery and there be no consequences? Listen, he says, if I was to pick up some hot colds and put them all over me, is he going to burn my clothes? Chances are, he’s going to burn your clothes. What about a man who walks on hot colds? He’s going to burn your feet, probably burn your feet. Well, if that’s understandable, can you think a little bit further down the road? See, a lot of people never think about the consequences down the road only they think about 15 minutes of pleasure.

And they don’t think about what that’s going to cost them in so many ways to have and thought about. In verse 26, by means of a Horish woman, a man is brought to a piece of bread. Verse 27, can a man take fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burned? Can one go upon hot coals and his feet not be burned? So he that goeth into his neighbor’s wife, whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent. It’s not an innocent thing.

In verse 30, men do not despise a thief if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry, but if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold. He shall give all the substance of his house, but who shall commit at the adultery with a woman lack of understanding. He that doeth it, destroyeth his own soul. A wound and dishonor shall he get and his approach shall not be wiped away. For jealousy is the rage of a man. Therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.

He will not regard any ransom, neither will he rest content, though thou give us many gifts.” Now I want to bring your attention to several things here. If you’ll notice there, when it says in verse 32, “‘But who so committed to adultery with a woman lacketh understanding? He that doeth it, it destroyed his own soul.” Number one, the reason is because the law in Israel had a death penalty. So in order to get this man to understand, do you realize, Mr.

that when you commit adultery with this woman, if somebody finds it out, you die, you die. You understand? You will end this, give up your life for this, whatever this place, are you gonna have for a short of period of time, you’re willing to die for that? think about it. And another thing you keep in mind, Mr. Chances are sooner or later she will tell somebody. Somebody always tells sooner or later. Now listen to this. The Bible says here in verse 33, a wound and dishonor shall he get a wound.

It means that he, number two, he weakens himself. A wounded man is weaker than he was before he was wounded. You get in battle and two men are fighting and one man gets wounded sooner or later the wound will take its toll. He can’t fight as though heIncrease no wound he has a wound you’ll have to protect that as best he possibly can while still trying to fight. So you see when you do that which is contrary to will of God you will wound yourself you’ll weaken yourself and when you weaken yourself you make it possible to get wounded again.

It’s easier to get wounded again until the next thing you’re totally slain. The Bible says, how are the mighty fallen? Sometimes it’s not one through the heart. It can be a lot of blows, a consistent keep, the blows coming, and next thing you know a mighty man will fall. The next word here it says a wound and dishonor shall he get. I believe this is prevalent all across America and even in a lot of churches and people think because they go to church and they read the Bible it’s okay to live in sin, shack up with somebody, live together though they’re not married.

It’s adultery, it’s wrong. So what I love her, that merrier, develop some standards. He is dishonored. He brings shame upon himself, he brings shame upon his family. You can bring shame upon on a church. But he says, he won’t any dishonor shall he get, and his reproach shall not be taken away. Number four, his shame shall always be remembered. It doesn’t matter years from now what’s going on in the White House will always be remembered, and it’s very difficult to forget.

Because see, it’s like spanking a child. You may forgive the child, the child is sorry, and everything’s forgiven, but did that child forget the pain? No, because the next time he does something, you just say, remember what you got last time? You want him to remember. No, you don’t want him to do it again. Everything is not to be forgotten. And the Bible says, and his reproach shall not be taken away. It’ll be something that if a man wrongs his wife, that wife will have a very difficult time, she may forgive, but it’s hard to forget, and it can linger on in their mind for the rest of their life.

The best thing to do is you don’t do it. Don’t do it. Think of the seriousness and the consequences down the road. But most people don’t want to think that way. He faces the jealousy, the rage, and the vengeance of her husband. Look what he says here. In the verse 34, for jealousy is the rage of a man. Therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. In other words, here’s a man. Here’s his wife. When a man lures his wife regardless of the power that he may have, if he lures this woman, wins this woman and it becomes sex consensual.

That’s the new word they use today. The man is still responsible. Generally, a woman don’t rape a man, but the man is to be a leader. The man is not supposed to take that man’s woman. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife. You don’t do it. And if this man takes this man’s wife and has sex with her, the Bible says that man has violated this man’s holy place. This man entered into the veil into a holy place that did not belong to him.

This man is the high priest and he only has the right to enter into the veil. Nobody else. This man has justification for all this anger, the rage, the vengeance. So now you’re supposed to understand whenever you take another man’s wife, you’ll be facing some consequences you may not have ever thought about before. There may be a man be willing to put you under six feet of dirt. There’s nothing to a man that means more to a man. It’s not his house, it’s not his job, it’s not even his children.

It’s when somebody violates his wife that that ought to make a man angry enough to take a life. That’s what God’s talking about here. If there were more men, there’d be less adultery. In verse 34, for jealousy is the rage of a man. Therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. And if that man, even according to the law, if he could, he’d kill that man. Oh, today we got laws to protect everybody from every sin, every crime.

And I believe it’s wrong for a woman to perhaps dress in such a way, to act a certain way in order to lure a man. A woman should understand the desire and the passion that a man has and should not do anything that would cause another man, that’s not her husband, to look at her and to think about her in a way that is not godly, it’s not holy. not wise, it’s not right. In verse 35, He, the man whose wife was violated, he will not regard any ransom.

Money ain’t gonna do it. Neither will he rest content, though they’ll give us many gifts. The man will always hate and despise or have certain feelings toward anybody that violates his wife. Have you ever heard about these so-called these triangles? all of your TV broadcast has to do with a triangle. There’s either two men in a woman or two woman in a man. And sooner or later somebody kills the other one, right? Almost all the time. That’s what makes it a story.

Do you understand that you’re better off? You and that wife. That wife is to meet the needs of her husband. Wives, if you don’t meet your needs of your husband, you’re not right with God. That is your job. If you can, you’re supposed to. No man should have to beg from his wife to be satisfied in the sexual relationship. That’s her duty. And it should be more than that. It should be because there’s love there. There should not be the bull whip in the force.

But if people don’t wake up and realize what’s being done and the responsibilities they have to God, the homes are in a hopeless situation. Marriages will fall apart. The burning passion that men have. Yeah, God made a woman and God intended for that one woman to be that man for the rest of his life. That’s the way God intended. But if I don’t do things to God’s way, I’m telling you what God designed. And so therefore, when you do that which is wrong, what should you do?

Confess your sins to God. Don’t have to confess to everybody else. Confess your sin to God. Accept God’s forgiveness. Forgive yourself and clean up your act and don’t do it anymore. or like Jesus told a woman that was supposed to cut an adultery, says, go and don’t do it no more. Stop. Thou shalt not is still, thou shalt not. And yet there’s so much damage that is done today. And a lot of things that you’ll watch on television are all have innuendos toward sex.

Does nothing but puts it in your mind. You say, well, you ought not cover stuff like this in church. Pray, tell, where do you think it should be covered? You think the teaching in school is going to teach it? If this is the Word of God, and I’m put the teach to Word of God, then I have to teach this, don’t I? But this is serious stuff. This is not a game. You’ve been warned. Do right. And God will bless you for it.

You don’t. God will chase in you. You say, well, what was that seventh reason? The seventh reason is because God said so. And that a good one? You only need one. But think about the consequences. When that put a little good-looking bombshell flirts in front of you, you think of all the things going to cost you because it ain’t going to be free. The Bible says stolen waters are sweet at first, but it bites like an ad at the end.

Puts venom until you, kills you. Watch yourself. Watch your testimony. Watch your relationships. Stay close to your wife as much as possible. Take her everywhere you go. Satan is real and he’ll do whatever he can to destroy you. He doesn’t care how he does it as long as he does it. So you be carefulvu wives be kind to your husband be sweet to him because if you don’t some woman will if they shame for you to lose him when you didn’t have to love your husband do right and husbands love your wives do right.

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 Bible line 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. If you wish to hear today’s program again If you would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our homepage.

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. broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvary oftampa.org. Thanks for joining us on Bible Live, and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friend, one day it will happen, the trumpet will sound, 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, just keep looking up.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

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 the 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 totally. which is toll free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made through the Bible-lined website at calvaryoftampa.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. Turn in your Bible to the book of Psalms, the 77th Psalm. I don’t wanna preach you, I just wanna talk to you tonight, just a little bit. Verse 13 says, Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary.

Who is so great a God as our God? Thou art the God that doeth wonders. Thou have declared thy strength among the people. Thou hath with thine arm, redeem thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph, Celah. The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee. They were afraid the depths also were troubled. The clouds poured out water. The sky sent out a sound. Thine arrows also went abroad. The voice of thy thunder was in the heavens, and Tad enjoyed every moment of it.

The lightning lightened the world. The earth trembled and shook. Now look in verse 19. If you don’t have verse 19 underlining your Bible, it’s a good verse. And I weigh as in the sea, and I pat in the great waters, and I footsteps are not known. Did you know when it comes to following the Lord, and for the Lord to lead you, you can’t always follow somebody else’s footsteps. It seems like when you walk in on water, it doesn’t leave footprints.

It’s trackless. It’s traceless. And you and I are taught to just follow the Lord. It means not somebody else’s tracks, but the ones that the Lord has for us. And we learn a lot from each other, but there’s no substitute for you and the Lord walking together, me and the Lord walking alone. And He says, Thou let us die people like a flock by the hand of Moses and of Aaron. It’s great when you have the confidence in the Lord, because that means that there is a hope there.

I spoke a little bit about this this morning in Sunday school about the living hope. When you believe truth, truth gives you hope. And your hope is your real belief. That’s what you hang on to. Not like, I hope I’m going to heaven. hope, I hope, I hope, is that I know I’m going to heaven. And this hope that we have is based upon evidence that while God word, it is true. Even when we talk about where there is no vision that people perish.

Well, the vision is because you believe what God said. And without believing what God said, God’s people have no vision. Only when you believe what He says, can you You have a vision, and some people are without hope. Take your Bible and look there in the book of Ephesians and chapter 2. The book of Ephesians and chapter 2. He says here in Ephesians chapter 2, look there in verse 11, this is written to the church at Ephesus, so we know we’re talking to the Gentiles.

The Gentiles were alienated from the Commonwealth of Israel. God did not give to them the covenants and the promises like He did to Israel. So Israel did have an advantage. He says, work for, remember that ye been in time past Gentiles in the flesh who were called uncircumcision. By that which is called the circumcision, the Jews, in the flesh made by hand. So there’s the Jews and there’s the Gentiles. Verse 12, that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise.

And you are on the line, this, I covered this not long ago with you, but notice what he says, having no hope and without God in the world. Now, without God, no hope. But it ought to be that with the child of God, with God, you have hope. And our hope should be based upon what the Word of God says and believe in that it’s true, and we can rest in that. And we believe what God’s Word says. Now, I had one year where I had decided I’m going to Florida Bible College.

We got down to Florida Bible College and it was even rough from the very beginning. Because I only had about two weeks before college started and I had gone home from a camp that I went to in Boca Raton, where I met Dr. Lindstrom and Dr. Stanford and several others, him a rillo and I said, this is where I want to come to Bible College. I went back home and I told Betty I said, honey, we’re going to Florida.

She thought we’d settled in and was going to Tennessee Temple. And back then in 1964, Dr. Lee Robertson asked me if I would be the first full-time soul winner for Tennessee Temple. And that was a high honor. They had never hired anybody for that. This at that time was one of the top independent fundamental Bible-driven mission-minded Baptist churches in the whole United States. So it was a great opportunity. But I found out about Florida Bible College. So when I got down to Florida Bible College, I, on my way down, we ran out of money in Orlando.

My brother gave me some money to make it on down here on. The hurricane was coming in trying to stop us. The devil did everything he could. He even brought a hurricane to try to stop me. We got there and stayed with a friend of mine that I had met. His name was Linton Fowler. He’s the one that has a church and a Christian school there in Miami. I preach for them every year when I come through. He let us stay there.

I got a job. I told the Lord, I said, Lord, I’ve got to have at least a dollar and 75th and an hour. to just to make it. And the Lord says, you’re going to take a job for a dollar an hour. So I did. And I worked a lot of hours. I worked the night shift. I averaged two and a half hours of sleep a night for the first two years. And it wasn’t right away that I got this job.

It seemed like everything was falling apart. And Betty’s mom was sick and didn’t know she was going to make it or not. So anyway, we were going to go up there in this 59 Buick that we had. Now it was a good Buick. It was a good running Buick. Except it was having a little problem in the corporation. Well, being the mechanic that I am, I decided I can fix this thing. So I went out there with the screwdriver and pair of pliers, and that’s about all you had to have back in those days, maybe some bailing wire and some, you know.

Anyway, loosen those bolts took off this great big old carburetor on it. And I saw that the gasket had a crack in it, it was messing up and gas was coming out, I kept wondering why it was leaking so bad, and spitting in the spud in there. So I thought, I can fix this. So I got me a Cheerios box. And I said it on top of it, and I traced it. And I figured out the only inside of it, and I made me a gasket.

And then I had to punch the holes in the right spot. I’m proud of myself. I put that thing on there, and I took that carburetor, and I said it on there. And when I did it, I heard something fall that into the motor. But I didn’t know what it was. And I thought, well, whatever it is, probably don’t need it anyway. I tightened it down. And I… Hit that key and it locked down. It would not turn. The motor’s not turning over.

Something’s wrong. So I got underneath and I took off the bell housing where I could get at the big old flywheel. I got a crowbar and I put it in the teeth and I tried that thing and I’m going to make that motor turn over. If it takes everything I got. I pressed and I pressed and I couldn’t. and get it to budge. So I called my friend, letting a follower, and I said, this is the problem, what can I do?

He says, take out a spark plug, and then try it again. I says, back it up. He said, back up that thing as far as you can. He says, and then take out a spark plug, and try it again. That’s right. So I did that. And I started to do it. It shot something out of that hole and I don’t know where it went, but I heard it. It was like a bullet. I put that thing back in there and turned it on.

And that thing purred like a kid. So we got in the car and we’re on our way to Georgia. Now I’m hurting for, you know, a job. We don’t have hardly any money. Two kids. It’s close to the end of the first semester. And we got up to Perry, Georgia. And I’m boogin’ along about 75 miles an hour. And all of a sudden, the motor starts to… And smoke everywhere. In the mirror, it looked like I had a smog screen, you know, like nobody can see us.

And I pulled over the side of the road and smoke is all coming out of it. And I thought, uh-oh. Anyway, we called our parents because we were close enough. They came and picked us up. It took us up there to the Athens. Then we had to come back and get my car to a home up there. And then we decided to get it fixed. And they found out that that little screw that had fell out of the carburetor and landed on the top of the piston.

And whenever I was prying it, you know, he says, you busted it. And so now they had to take the motor apart and redo the whole motor. Now here I am. I’m just a student wanting to go to Bible college, learn how to serve the Lord. I’m not bothering nobody. I don’t want nobody to bother me. Why does all this have to happen to me? It seems like if I didn’t have any bad luck, I would have no luck at all.

You ever feel like that? And I said, why? At this time when I’m in school and I need to be back and I’m just gonna bring Betty up here. And it just seemed like everything goes wrong. Everything goes wrong. Story of my life. And now I have to get the motor fixed. Well, back then it cost a lot of money to get a motor fixed. $250. Now today that would be like $5,000 I think. I don’t know what it is.

But I had to borrow the money from her uncle. $250. Well, they didn’t get it fixed yet. And I thought I’ve already done messed up the first semester of school. I lost my job because I didn’t get back. Everything’s going wrong. And Betty couldn’t leave at this time. My car’s up there. I called up Dr. Stanford and I says, Doc, I says, this is what’s going on. And I says, it don’t look like I need to even come back to school.

It looks like I’ve already done, I’m not going to make it back in time for the exams. And he says, Janky, he says, you get down here and I work with you. So I had a little hope, not much, just a little hope. See, I couldn’t see down the road. It looked so dark, it looked so bleak. I didn’t know enough of the Word of God that just boldly go where no man’s ever gone before. I didn’t know that.

In the early stages, I had moments of glory where I could just boldly just step out and then I had moments of deep fear inside of me. Because I had a wife and I got two kids and I didn’t have jobs, no money, and it just seemed like, how is all this going to play out? He says you just go ahead and get them back done. This was in the winter time. The winter time in Georgia, it wasn’t winter in Miami.

So anyway, Betty’s, her dad and mother, they got in the car and they drove me all the way down to the south side of making Georgia and got me to the expressway. It was cold out there and I had a great big old suitcase. I’m going back to school. I’m going to try to finish this first semester. I had on two pairs of pants, a couple pairs of socks, heavy boots because the wind was a blowing, it was like blizzard condition, but it wasn’t the snow, it was just cold freezing.

I had on a couple sweaters, a big old coat hat, and they left me on the side of the road and I got it there and I hitch-tight. And this guy came by and I 18-weater and picked me up. And I don’t know how many times I had to stop and change and hitchhike and go. It wasn’t long before I was walking down to Hia Lea, Florida in Miami there area. I got this big old suitcase I got hat on, sweaters, coats, two pairs of pants, boots, it’s 90 degrees, sweats just to pour an off of my face.

I was crying and laughing off the same time. I thought, look at you. You have no idea what you’re doing. And your wife and your kids is up in Georgia. You’re down here. You don’t have any job. You don’t, you don’t, you don’t have the money to finish your first semester. And and I have already missed about a week or so of come classes, and I got to get back and take exams. And you have no idea how defeated I felt inside it.

So without hope, but you see, I still got God. I was just learning how to walk with the Lord, and buddy, I was staggering all over the place. But I’ll never forget carrying that big ole suitcase and sweat pouring off of me, and I’m walking down here, and I’m crying and I’m smiling and I’m singing all at the same time. Because I knew it was impossible for me to deliver myself. I know if God doesn’t get me out of this, I can’t get out of it.

In any way, when I got back in class and the doctor Stanford says, you’ve got 100 verses to memorize for PE. The next day we had first Corinthians and we had another hundred verses to memorize for that exam. Now he may only ask you three verses, but you gotta memorize all hundred because you don’t know which three he’s gonna ask. And I memorized all hundred verses in one night. In the next night I memorized all hundred verses for the next test.

And when I took the test I got 98s on my exams. And I just thought, you know, God is awesome. And he enabled me to think, remember, and he just opened up doors. And let me tell you this. When it got after four years, in between that time, I quit Bible college every week. I quit every week because, you see, I couldn’t see down the road. I couldn’t see what’s all this knowledge gonna do for me. Now I see why I needed that knowledge.

at the time I couldn’t see it. I never pictured myself being a pastor. All I wanted to know was enough about Ephesians 2, 8, 9, John 3, 16, how to do the hand gesture smooth so I could just win people a Lord. That’s all I was really caring about. But I didn’t know there was so much more that you have to do and that you had to know. And so when I got ready for my final exam, they called me into the office and they broke the news to me.

They said, Yankie, did you know that you have to have your high school diploma before you can graduate from college? I said, I got to have what? They’re the high school diploma. I really didn’t know what that was. I hadn’t stayed long enough to know that they gave those out at the time. I had finished the tenth grade. I was halfway through the 11th grade when I figured that the more I stayed, the more I learned, the more I learned, the more I forget, the less and no so I studied.

So I quit school and ran away from home and joined the Navy. I was sick and tired of people telling me what I couldn’t do. So I joined the Navy. I was in there about six months when they said they didn’t need my services anymore. And so I got out of there. It just made a lot of bad decisions, but here I am. They said, you got to have a high school diploma. So I went down to the John Hopkins or something like that.

They had a school there. And I was told, this is where you got to go. So I went in there and I only got about two weeks before the final exam for the college, right on graduate. And so when I went in there, they said, this is what you need, and this is what you need, and this is what you need. And by the time I got through, they said these are the book and they cut and they had all these books about this high of books.

Says, you’re going to have to study these books and then we’ll give the test on the road and we’ll let you know when we’re going to have those tests so you can take the test. I said, maybe you don’t understand. I said, I got to graduate from college in two weeks and I need to take a test. If you have a test, I got to take the test. They said, well, you can’t pass the test if you don’t take these classes.

And I said, man, I ain’t got time for that. She says, there’s going to be one in about a couple of days. I said, all right, I’ll be here. I went and it was multiple choice. You know, in multiple choice, it’s a hit and miss. Multiple choice, you can do it by the process of elimination. I know it ain’t that one. I know it ain’t that one. It might be this one, and it could be a 50-50 chance. And so I sat there and I took this test on geography and history and English and all these classes.

And when I got through, they told me that I passed. And I went to the college and it was just right before they had the final exam. And I was able to take my exams. I passed in college. You have no idea the route that I’ve had to take and what I’ve gone through. That whenever I look back over my life, it’s almost like a miracle that I ever got this far. God has taken an old dumb Georgia boy and educated him a little bit.

God must love humor. challenges. Boy, he had a challenge when he got a hold of me. But I enjoy seeing what God can do. And my hope has been strengthened and I have a better vision now because I have believed him on a little bit and he kept his word. And then I believed him on a little bit more and he kept his word. Then I could believe him on a little bit more and he kept his word. always got to have that hope.

There was a story about a little girl and this little boy, they played together all the time, just little kids. And she came down with some kind of disease and they didn’t expect her to live. And they didn’t think she would make it through the night. And so the little boy asked his dad, says, can I go to the hospital and see her? And he says, okay, so they checked with the parents and they permitted him to come. They were neighbors.

So anyway, he goes in and he looks in and there’s a little Cathy laying in the bed and he walks up to her and Cathy can’t move. She’s like in an ecoma and just barely breathing and it didn’t look like she’s gonna get her next breath and everybody was just sitting around the room and so he walked up and And he took her hand and he says, said, breathe, Kathy. Breathe, Kathy. Breathe, Kathy. And just kept saying, breathe, Kathy.

And all night long, he just stood there and says, breathe, Kathy. And she kept breathing. The morning came and Kathy was still alive. And he would just treat Kathy. Now whether she could hear or not, I don’t know, or maybe his hope. But she pulled through and she lived. America is in such a pitiful condition today. It’s like America is in, I guess you could say ER. She’s on her, she’s terminal. And sometimes it looks like there’s just no hope.

And what in the world can we do? And it may be that God is just getting us ready for something wonderful, something great. But maybe whenever you go to bed at night and you think about our country, you might say something along this line. Breathe America. Breathe. Breathe America. Breathe. Breathe America. Breathe. And just maybe she’ll live again. I hope so. Let’s pray, shall we? Father, thank you so much for your love to us and the hope that we have because with God there’s hope we can believe.

We can trust. We can have vision. Father, we do commit our country to you, and Father, unless you intervene, it’s too late. What can man do? How can man bring her back from the brink? And Father, we do pray that you would intervene on our behalf. We’d love to see this country stay free until the rapture. Father, if not, then give us the grace that we need to bear whatever may come our way. We thank You for this time together, for Your love for us.

We’re thankful for Jesus Christ, who came into the world. Not on that cross, and paid for all the sins of every individual, and that by faith and faith alone in what Christ did for them, they can have as a free gift everlasting life. And Father, we pray that if there’s anyone here tonight that’s never trusted You as Savior, that they would do so. So the heads bowed nice and close and no one looking around. If you have never trusted Christ as your Savior.

Wanna just talk to the Lord and say something, something like this, Lord, I know I’m a sinner, but I believe you love me and you pay for my sins and right now the best to know how I will trust you as my only hope of going to heaven. Would you do that? If you are, I’d like to have prayer for you. I’m not going to have you forward. I’m not going to embarrass you. But right where you’re setting. So yes, that made sense to me.

It’s my only hope. See, that’s the hope that you’re supposed to have, because you believe that what he did. It’s a living hope. It’s a true hope. It’s a joyful, a joyful, and a joyful, and a joyful and a joyful and a joyful and a joyful. You just slip your hand up very quickly, put a right back down and say, yes, I will trust Christ as my Savior and preach I like you to pray for me. You know what I’ll do?

Our Father, we do thank you so much for all that you’ve done for us, for each person here. Bless us. Lord, we don’t know what each other’s going through, but someone may be facing a hard time, maybe some hard decisions this week, maybe medical, maybe financial, whatever it might be. Lord, let them put their hope in you trust you in Christ and we pray. Amen. 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 Bible Line and pledge your support to keep us on the air in your area by dialing toll free 1-800-576-3771. 1-800-576-3771. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our homepage.

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 broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryuptampa.org. Thanks for joining us on Bible Live, 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.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

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 through the Bible-lined website at calvaryoftampa.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.

Turn in your Bible to the book of Hebrews, the book of Hebrews and chapter 2. If you could change the person that was over you, would you really want to do so? Well, let’s think about it for a little bit. You’d be surprised how much the Bible has to say about authority. In verse 5, chapter 2 of book of Hebrews, for unto the angels hath he not put in subjection. Notice that word, subjection, the world to come whereof we speak.

But one in a certain place testified saying, What is man that thou art mindful of him or the son of man that thou visited him? made it to him a little and notice this word, lower. He’s lower in rank, lower than the angels. Thou crown is him with glory and honor. And it said him over the works of Thy hand. So you hear in these verses the words like subjection and over and under words that deals with authority and various ranks of authority.

And then he makes a statement there in verse 7, thou made it to him a little lower than the angels, thou crown it him with glory and honor and just let him over the works of thy hands. God did this, always remember. Jesus Christ says, all power is giving to me, all authority is giving unto Him. So wherever authority comes from, it comes from God. And ever since man began, there has been a rebellion to authority. It started with an angel, an angel by the name of Lucifer, who rebelled against authority, who wanted to usurp authority.

Didn’t want God to rule. Satan wanted to rule. So Satan designed in his mind a scheme of rebellion to overthrow God. He led one third of the angels of heaven against God. And they all have suffered because of it. The world has suffered because of it, but Satan isn’t satisfied knowing that he tried and he failed. Now he wants you to fail. He wants you and I to do the same thing that he did. Evidently, misery loves company. And he wants you and I not to be in subjection to authority, he wants us to rebel against authority.

He wants us to rise up to challenge all authority. And kids don’t have to wait too long to start. I think some of them start in the crib. Here in the book of Hebrews, notice there in verse 8, thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet, for in that he had put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him, but now you see not yet all things put under him. A lot of authority and subjection and people that are supposed to be over and those that are supposed to be under and not all things are yet put under that have been put over.

And I said, boy, you can get confused with all of that. Yes, I know. It is God who created the world and it’s God that created the family, God created the church, and God created government. God created all of this stuff. And all of it has to deal with is submitting to authority and how we hate submitting to authority. From the very time that we’re born as we’re growing up, we’re taught to obey. Mothers and fathers are constantly trying to teach the little children to obey, to do what they tell them to do, to mine them.

how difficult it is. Little children in their own minds, they probably don’t mean no harm. All they want is their own way and all they want you to do is give in and let them have their own way. What’s so bad about that? After all, who made you so right. Who gave you the authority? Who said you had the right to tell them what they can and cannot do? Now remember, I’m not the only one asking these questions. We have teachers the day that instill questions like that into the children that challenge their parents and and try to overthrow authority done in their very home, done between husbands and wives, and also in churches and even in governments.

Look now in verse 9, but in spite of all of that and everything that God has done and nothing has done exactly the way God intended yet, but God says in verse 9, but we see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death because angels don’t die. And if Christ was going to die, he has to be lower than the angels in order to suffer death. So he’d have to take on flesh.

Then the angels for the suffering are to have crowned with glory and honor that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. So Christ came and tasted death. He died for every individual. And what it means is, is one day he’s going to take all these rebellious people, that have turned against God because of our sinful nature and is going to make us very subservient, very obedient. He’s going to make us perfect where we won’t have a sinful nature anymore.

But he had to die in order to get us to that position. Turn in your Bible to the book of Ephesians chapter 2, the book of Ephesians and chapter 2. Ephesians chapter I want you to look at verse 2. Verse 2 says, wherein in time pass you walk according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the heir, which is the devil, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. The word disobedience means to disobey.

So it means to be rebellious. The children of rebellion. We are all rebellious. We don’t like to obey. Children don’t like to obey. Wives don’t like to obey. Husbands don’t like to obey God. People in churches don’t like to obey preachers. And the members in society don’t like to obey government. We just have something that’s inside of us that makes us rebellious. And how can we have wonderful peace and unity and harmony in the world? And every one of us has got a problem with rebellion.

The Bible says every man wants to go his own way, that now work it in the children of disobedience. Children will do what they can to overthrow their parents. You don’t believe it? Tell your children what you want them to do and see if without a word they quickly and quietly obey. You just say the word and they will obey. Or do you get back talk. Do you get whining, whining, moaning and groaning? Or you just simply if they know your will, you can just simply look at them and they sweetly and kindly go ahead and obey.

Or do they challenge your authority? Do they try to change your mind? Why are they trying to change your mind. What is it within them? Is it because you made a wrong decision? Do you always make a wrong decision? Do you ever make a right decision? Do they challenge every time or just most of the time? Are they in their own mind of such maturity level that They can discern the wisdom in your decision and can weigh it and come to the conclusion you’re wrong, they’re right and they don’t have to obey you.

Because who gave you the right? And it’s amazing that sometimes kids will actually say those things. And they don’t always want to quickly obey. Now God says that we have a sinful nature, but remember, the way children can respond to parents, they also will have a tendency to respond to husband and wife relationship, and also to God or to the pastor or government. It doesn’t change. Rebellion is rebellion. And God says, rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, like believing in witches, witchcraft.

It’s the same as believing in the power of the devil, demonic power, because where does that come from? We do not quickly and quietly and sweetly obey, except whenever we agree. You see, you don’t need to subject to a will of someone else if you agree. It’s when you don’t agree. Now what do you do? Can you submit? And most people have trouble in the submitting category. Turn your Bible to the book of Matthew, chapter seven. Matthew and chapter seven.

Jesus Christ as He would teach, astonished the people with His wisdom. And it says they’re in verse 28, Matthew chapter seven, and it came to pass. When Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine and or for he taught them as one having, what’s the word? authority and not as the scribes. See some people speak with authority and some people don’t speak with authority. Some parents when they speak to their children speak with authority and some parents do not speak with authority.

Some children can run all over their parents and the parents live in fear of their children because they have yielded of their authority. They have relinquished the right to be parents. They have surrendered to the will of a child and allow the child to run a home. And I know where have I speak. That’s where you have to be careful. Because see if you don’t really believe you have authority to do certain things you will not exercise that authority.

You will either be ignorant of your authority or you will fear of the authority, the consequences, the challenges to your authority because you’re not willing and able to hang on to authority because somebody’s always trying to steal it from you every home. Children have a tendency to want to steal authority away from mom and dad. They may not see it that way. They don’t maybe mean to do that. It’s just that they try to talk them into doing whatever they want them to do and will always have words to say back.

The back talk. Which parents don’t like but it kind of gets acceptable. And I can’t believe that the kids are happy when they know that they and strip the parents of such authority, of such discipline, because then they will lack the discipline in their own lives. They need a mom and a dad who knows not only that they have authority, but hold on to that authority and refuse to relinquish that authority. Don’t give it up just because some child challenges your right to say or to do what you believe is right.

And yes, it’s enough to say because I’m Mom, because I’m the Father. That’s why. And you don’t need another reason. But be sure that you are right. And don’t surrender it. If you surrender power little by little, after a while you have no power, no authority. loses authority when it ceases to enforce its laws. And we have preachers that don’t enforce what the Bible teaches, or husbands also with the wives.

Take a Bible look in Matthew 21, Matthew chapter 21 and verse 23. In verse 23 Christ had said many things, done many things that caused people to wonder about Him. Who are you? Where’d you come from? So in verse 23 and when He was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto Him as He was teaching. and said, by what authority doest thou these things? And who gave thee this authority? Who told you you had the right to do this?

We’re described in the Pharisee. We’ve been doing it this way for 500 years. Now you show up and you challenge our authority. Who are you? So he asked him a question, verse 24, and Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell me, I, and likewise, will tell you about what authority I do these things. He says, the baptism of John, which was it? From heaven or men? John the Baptist, it came on the scene, and he came a baptism preaching to baptism or repentance?

Was that of God or was that of John? Was it God or man? They thought about it for a little bit. They said, we can’t answer you because they knew that whichever way they went, they were trapped. If they said of men, well they feared the people because the people believed John was of God. If they say, well he’s from God then they say, well why don’t you believe him? So you know what they said? In verse 25, and they reasoned with themselves saying, if we shall say from heaven he will say unto us why did you not then believe him?

But if we shall say of men, we fear the people for all whole John as a prophet. And they answered Jesus and said, we cannot tell. And he said to them, neither tell I you by what authority I do these things. But he had the authority. He would not relinquish his authority. And they were amazed that he would challenge them like he did because he had the authority, the right to do so. Husbands, You’re the head of the home.

God gave you the right to be the head of the home. Never surrender that power. Never give up that right. Children, you won’t like your parents if they always get into you. You say you won’t respect them. You won’t love them. They may not be as strong as they ought to be, but they’re yours. You shouldn’t want to change your parents if you could. If you could rest away from them, there will. There are commands. Don’t. You’ll be less thought of if you could.

Nobody thanks very much of rebellious children because they know you’re not disciplined. They know you bring shame. Honor your mother and dad because it’s right. They have the authority to rule you. They have the authority to tell you what you can and cannot do. And if you don’t like it, tough, you don’t have to like it. They have the right. They have the authority. Just because you don’t like something they say or do, you’re to obey your parent. They have the right to rule you.

They can tell you when to get up and when to go to bed. They can tell you what to eat and what to wear, what not to wear, how to look everything about you, their parents, they’re yours. Don’t challenge them. Don’t always say, whenever you can get them to continually change and to give in to you, you not only hurt them and ruin them, you’re destroying yourself. For years to come, you’ll always have a problem with authority because you see what you can get away with when you’re young and you can talk about you’re going to try that later on in life and you’re going to come across somebody ain’t gonna give in to you, somebody gonna deck you, somebody might put you behind bars.

You can’t always get your own way. Parents have been given that authority by God. Parents should not relinquish that authority. Here in Matthew when he says, where did you get this authority from? You and I are supposed to understand that God is the one who made life and made people and gave us authority. Take your Bible and turn there to the book of Titus in chapter 2, the book of Titus in chapter 2. God says, subject yourself, that’s why he says.

Not all things are in subjection now. Not all things are under their feet because not everybody submits. Everybody rebels. From the child to the husband, the wife, preacher, government. Everybody has a rebellious nature. Nobody likes to be told what to do and what not to do. Here in the book of Titus in chapter 2, look in verse 15. This is a statement to a young preacher. He says, these things speak and exhort, and you ought to underline this statement in your Bible, rebuke with what?

All authority. Who gave you the right, this book? Does the preacher have certain responsibilities? Authority given to him to say certain things, the teach, what the book teaches? And he says to rebuke with all, in other words, you got the right to do it. it because God gave it to you. Parents have a right to rule their family and the dads to rule with a rod of iron if necessary, but to rule. And not let just anything go that they want to do.

Well, I just can’t control this and I can’t do this and I can’t do that. Why not? Be a man. Be the head. Take control because if you don’t, anytime there’s a vacuum, you vacuum. There’s always somebody who’s willing to feel a vacuum to step in and take control. And many of men have surrendered the rights to rule their own home. Now I want you to see something because it’s very important. Look at verse 12, teaching us that denying ungodliness.

There are going to be things that I as a pastor will think is wrong. I don’t have to ask you if you agree with me. No more than the child has to ask the mother and dad. Well, Mom, I don’t agree with that. So I don’t have to obey that or agree with you. And therefore, I don’t have to submit. If you’re in this home, you live by these rules. If you’re in this country, you live by these laws.

And if you’re in this church or that church or that church live by its rules or whatever they may be. I don’t have a lot of rules on anything. I simply want people to live godly and honest. But look what he says here. Teachin’ us that denying on godliness and worldly lust. We should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world. So in order to do that, somewhere along the line, the preacher must decide what is living Godly.

What is living righteously? So you try to put together from the teachings of the Word of God what you believe is right and wrong. And you don’t ask the people what they think about it. You don’t take opinion polls. You don’t ask your children. Is this right or wrong? You’re the adult. You make the decision. Let them abide by it. The kids are not supposed to run the home. Parents are supposed to run it. And the Bible says this, living godly in this present world.

And then he says in verse 14, look in verse 14, very important, who gave himself for us, that we might redeem us, he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. So we have to know what are these good works. When he told the people in the book of Acts, seek out men of a good report, fill with a Holy Spirit. There has to be something that you look at. There has to be something that you can say that’s wrong and that’s right.

You’re making decisions. Sometimes it’s a judgment call. Have you ever watched a football game or a baseball game and the umpire says, he’s out. And everybody says, he was not out. He’s blind. Kill the umpire. And try to get the umpire to override. Change your mind because we saw it differently. But he’s the umpire. And he don’t listen to everybody, does he? He makes his call. He may be right. He may be wrong, but he made his decision, and they have to live with it.

Sometimes they don’t like that. But we’re always challenging somebody else’s judgment. But you know whenever they have a replay and they want to see if they can overturn the referee’s call, you know what? They don’t ask the coaches to call, why? Do you think they might be prejudiced? You think they might look at it from their viewpoint and make it in their favor because you know, regardless of how much we love ourselves and how honest we are, we’re maybe not too trustworthy.

We’re deceitful. We lie. We’re bent. We’re prejudice. And very few people trust each other. Now, when he makes the statement here, these things in verse 15, speech, prayer, and prayer, and prayer. and exhort and rebuke with all authority and let no man despise thee because you didn’t exercise your authority. Parents let no child despise you because you did not exercise your authority because you’re the head of the home and you may not have all the answers that they want to challenge you on why can you do this and talk when you do that.

I’m your mother and I said so because I’m your father. Yeah, but the other parents let their kids, that’s enough. All the other kids and all the other parents has no control and no rule over what this family does. You rule that family, not the neighbors. And you don’t give in because all the kids do, all the kids, all the, you’re not all the kids, you’re mine. And if I don’t believe it’s right, I say no. And it’s going to be according to my will and you will obey.

Now we live in a time where that’s not very acceptable. And it takes very strong people, strong in the Lord, because you see there’s consequences to having strong leadership. You’re looked upon as being mean and unkind and undisciplined. But I believe more than anything else in this world, that’s what kids need. I believe that’s what people need in church. I believe down there in verse 2, chapter 2, and verse 10, that they may adorn the doctrine of God, our Savior, and all things.

And as you read down through here, it tells the wise about being discreet in certain things. It talks about your behavior in verse 3, and your charity and your temper. All these are judgment calls. Somebody’s making decisions. And parents have to make decisions that the children don’t always agree with. The pastor will make decision not everybody agrees with. But if you’re looking for that perfect parent, you won’t have a perfect parent. You won’t have a perfect pastor. We won’t have a perfect president.

Nobody in this world is perfect. I do not know of another preacher who loves the people any more than I love people. But I hate sin and I hate what it does. Do right. I believe it’s the will of God. This book is over me. I’m not over it. It’s over me. It’s my authority. It’s Europe. It tells all of us what to do. Let’s pray, shall we? 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 toll free 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our home page.

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 broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryuptampa.org. Thanks for joining us on Bible Live, and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold.

Friend, one day it will happen, the trumpet will sound. 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.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

Bibleline Bibleline, they are 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 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 through the Bible-lined website at calvaryoftampa.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.

One of the most difficult things that preachers have is trying to use the physical, the material that people do see and understand in order to teach the spiritual things which they cannot see nor understand. Christ went through this all the time, trying to get people to understand spiritual truths. Take your Bible and turn to the Gospel of John, chapter 6 and verse 63. In verse 63, it is the spirit that quickeneth or makes alive. The flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.

But some of you, there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believe not and who should betray him. And he says, therefore said I unto you that no man can come unto me except that we’re given him and my father. From that time many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him. It’s easy to get crowds. It’s easy to get people, but it’s not that easy to get people to walk with the Lord.

You see anybody, if they can get people to come out, they look like a very successful pastor or preacher because they can get crowds. But without that person’s personality, generally amounts to nothing. Will you walk with God because of who God is? And if somebody asked you, what do you believe? What do you believe? Well, I believe the whole Bible. What does the Bible say? I don’t know what it says, but whatever it says, I believe it. And I believe every word of it.

But many people don’t know the Bible. I believe what my preacher tells me, but they don’t know what the book says. Your faith is not anchored in the rock. Unless you know what the rock says and what he teaches and hang on to that and believe that. Take your Bible and turn to the Gospel of John chapter 1, the Gospel of John 1. I want you to notice some of the simplicity that Christ spoke concerning the most difficult thing in all the world for people to understand.

What’s the most difficult thing in all the world for people to understand? How to go to heaven. How to go to heaven. It’s the simplest, most complicated and most difficult for most people. People believe that you have to do many things in order to go to heaven. But Jesus Christ, who was the Lord, who came here into this world, said how to get to heaven and how to keep from going to hell. Every Christian needs to understand this so that you can share the gospel with people.

Just recently, I’ve had several people that I’ve had the privilege of leading to Christ that not long afterwards have passed away. Sometimes I think, what am I glad that I did witness when I did? I was a confess of sin to you. I said, already if I confess one of my sins to you. Yesterday morning I got a phone call and says, Yankee, got a lot of things to do, but I got time for about nine holes of golf.

He said, you want to go walk nine holes of golf? I said, I walk nine holes of golf. I need to get up and do a little walking. So I went and played nine holes of God. After the first two holes, this man caught up to us and was going to join in with us so now we have threesome. And we was hitting along and doing all right but I noticed that every time that man hit his golf ball Milton hit his golf ball right where that man hit his.

I don’t think he planned it that way, but whatever that man hid his golf ball, that’s where Milton hid his golf ball. I would be completely on the different side, wherever they went, I went the other way. After about four holes of this, I realized that that man went out of bounds. Milton hid his ball and came probably within a few feet of going out of bounds. Right? That’s where that man was. Mine went the other direction. And so all the time in my mind, I’m trying to figure out whenever I can get time, we walk together, like you always ask a person this question.

Do you know where you’re going when you die? That’s wonderful. I asked a guy right before his to the golf ball. So I was starting over to my golf ball and I was getting further away, but I heard somebody say to this man, do you know where you’re going when you die? And I thought, Milton Hale, I was going to get him. And so the guy answered back, I hope so. Milton always likes to use this 100%. I don’t worry, he got 100%.

He always likes to use 100%. Do you know 100% that you’re going to heaven when he died? The guy says, I hope so. He said, that don’t sound like 100% to me, does it? And so I went on to my golf ball and I’m trying to hear, and Milton’s out there explaining the gospel to the man, man, trust the Lord. Do you realize that man may die tomorrow or the next day? We never know when. When you explain the gospel to somebody, it may be the last opportunity they’ll ever have to hear the gospel and trust Christ as their Savior.

But if that’s one guy can do that and Milton’s not a preacher, but he can preach the gospel, you don’t have to be behind the pulpit to preach the gospel. You can give the people the gospel on a golf course where you work in a nursing home or a hospital or anywhere. Everybody that knows Christ as their Savior can explain to somebody how to be saved. Did you know that that’s one of the things that God wants every one of us to do?

In our midst of serving the Lord to give out tracks and talk to people about where they’re going to spend eternity? Because you see, every man’s going to die. the thing is is where they’re going to go when they die. That will help you as a Christian to grow stronger and faster than anything else is your concern or compassion for lost folks. Now look there in John chapter 1. Look how simple this statement is in verse 12. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, specifically or even to them that believe on his name.

He came unto his own, his own, received him not but as many as received him. Now that means the very moment that you trust Christ as your Savior, you become God’s child. And if you’re God’s child, God says you have eternal life and he’ll never cast you out, never lose you. Look there in John chapter one and look in verse 29. Verse 29, the next day John see if Jesus coming into him and say it behold the Lamb of God which take it the way the sin of the world.

The sin of the world. Now when he makes this statement he’s also giving the gospel that there’s somebody that’s going to take away the sin of the world. That means everybody in the world. Everybody that’s here, everybody listen to the radio, everybody in the world, Christ came to die to take away the sins of the whole world. All that you have to do is to believe that He did it for you. Look there in John chapter 3. John chapter 3, here is a simple story about a man named Nicodemus.

The Bible says in verse 1, Nicodemus was a ruler of the Jews. The same came to Jesus by night and said to Him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God, for no man can do these miracles that thou doeth except God be with him and Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I, send to thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus was offended by that statement. He didn’t know what Christ meant by that statement.

To tell a grown man you’ve got to be born again. You know what he thought? He asked, how can a man, when he is old, enter into his mother’s womb and be born again? So now Christ is having to use something that’s physical to explain something that’s spiritual. So he made the statement here in verse 5, Verily, Verily, I send to you, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit. He cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

So a man must be born again by the Holy Spirit of God. And the water of the washing of the water by the word itself. Believing that the words that Christ spoke. And when you hear the words and believe it the words, the words give to you eternal life. He says, the words that I speak are eternal life. And when you hear the words and believe it, the words give to you eternal life. That’s why it’s always, he that believe it, he that believe it.

Believing the words that he spoke, those are eternal life. life. And so he made the statement here in verse six that which is born of the flesh is flesh. Your first birth, your flesh birth is born of the flesh. You live, you die. And then he says that which is born of the spirit is spirit. That means whenever you trust Christ as your Savior the Holy Spirit of God takes the words that Christ speaks. And when you believe that the Holy Spirit plants those into your heart and you are born again a new birth born into God’s family.

The very moment that you believe that Christ died and paid for your sins and you’re trusting Him as your Savior, you’re born into God’s family. Look how simple He tries to make it. Christ, God Himself, trying to help a person to understand a simple truth in verse 14. And as Moses lifted up the servant in the wilderness, even so must the son of man be lifted up that whosoever believe it in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Everybody has heard of John 3 16. You’ll notice in verse 16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believe it in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Now look up here. You’ll notice every once in a while I’ll always have nothing but a gospel sermon. I like to read the gospel through every message, but sometimes just on the gospel because I don’t want people to forget the most important thing of all.

Christians need to hear over and over again so that they’ll reminded that they’re supposed to be telling people this most wonderful news. This hand represents you and me, this represents sin, and this represents Jesus Christ. The Bible says for God, so loved the world, that’s you that He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, that whosoever anybody, open invitation or whosoever, believe it in Him. That means you believe that He died paid for all of your sins. He says, you shall not perish.

That means you will not in the future, you cannot go to hell. But half everlasting life means that you will go to heaven whenever you die. John 3, 16, so simple. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believe it in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Notice what He says in verse 18. Verse 18 is very important for every Christian to understand so that you can explain it to the people that don’t know it.

Now look what He says in verse 18, He that believeth on Him is not condemned but He that believeth not is condemned when? Already, and why is he condemned already? Because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. When you believe on Jesus Christ, when you believe that he did this for you, the Bible says you are not condemned. But those that do not believe this, they’re already condemned. They’re just waiting for the day of execution.

The wrath of God already abides upon them. And that’s why those who believe on Christ are delivered from that condemnation. See there in verse 36, He that believeth on the Son hath present tense, hath right now what ever lasting life. And He that believeth not the Son see the world is divided into two groups. And it’s not rich and poor. It’s the saints and the aunts. It’s those who believe and those who do not believe. CLSIDHe that believeth hath everlasting life.

He that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. And you’re only waiting for that day when you leave this world and you’re open your eyes in eternity in hell. That is what is clearly taught in the word of God. And so the Bible says Christ uses all the illustrations trying to help a person to understand these spiritual truths. Now look there in chapter 4. He comes to a woman. The person was a man.

A man that was a very religious man. And this very religious man, what did Christ tell him? You need to be born again. Well, how do you get born again? Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. He quotes John 3 16, was talked to Nicodemus. Now he comes to a woman. But what about this woman? Oh, this wasn’t a religious woman. This was not the godly woman like Nicodemus was. This was a woman that nobody wanted anything to do with.

This woman was a heartache. She had been married five times and was now living with a man. that wasn’t her husband. So what’s wrong with that? Everybody does that today. If it was wrong then, is it still wrong today? Yes, it’s still wrong. You’d be surprised how many people are living together and are not married. It is a sin, it is wicked, it’s ungodly, and it’s not based on love but lust. It’s not based upon responsibility, God says that this woman had been married five times and was living with a man that was not her husband.

So how do you know that? It was just a guess. Look in verse 18 of chapter 4. Christ talking to the woman says, for bow has had five husbands and he whom thou now hath is not thy husband and that sayest thou truly? So that means a woman wouldn’t live in with a man, and weren’t married. You’re not going to believe this, but I know Christian men living with women that are not their wives, living together outside of wedlock.

Is it wrong? It is wrong. Wicked. And it’s not right. So the people, what do they need to do? Can they be cast into hell? No, no. Because once they’ve trusted Christ , they’re saviour their God’s child forever. But God will chasten them, God will discipline them and perhaps even take them home before their time. But whatever the Bible says that a Christian will be judged according to their works and they will suffer the loss of what they could have had.

And yes, it will be softer, it will be hurt, it will be pain, there will be tears, there will be anguish and weeping and gnashing of teeth. When a Christian finds out what he has cost himself an eternity, going to heaven, oh, that’s free because that’s based upon what Christ did for you. But every Christian should live as godly as they possibly can. Now, notice, he says there in verse 10, when he came to this woman, Jesus answered and said to her, if thou knewest the gift of God and who it is, that sayeth to thee, give me to drink, God would have of asked of him and he would have given the living water.

He said, if you only knew who I was and what I have, I’m God and I have the gift of eternal life to give to anybody who will believe on me. And this woman says, give to me this water that you’re talking about. So he says there in verse 13, Jesus answered and said unto her, Whose silver drinketh of this water shall thirst again, but whose silver drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst. He made salvation so simple that this woman who was living in sin could understand.

Yes, even Christ can forgive her of all that she’s done. He still loves her and he would give her eternal life and he used the objective water. Just like you drink the water to refresh your body. He said, I’ve got some water that when you take it, you’ll never have to drink again because one little drink will do you. You know that commercial, you take and eat one potato chip and you just can’t eat just when you gotta have another one.

Well, this is one swallow of water that will satisfy. I was saved and guess what? I’ve never had to get saved again And I’ll never have to get saved again in the future because one drink was sufficient for the rest of my life because he gave me eternal life. In the last part of verse 14, but the water that I give him shall be in him, a will of water, spring it up, and the everlasting life. Turn in your Bible there to the Gospel of John chapter five, chapter five, and notice there in verse 24, Verily, verily means truthfully, truthfully.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word, and he leaveeth on him that sent me, hath, present tense, right now, hath everlasting life. If you will hear the words, and his words are eternal life. And when you hear his words and believe on his word, what he said about how you are to get to heaven, then God said he will give you eternal life and get the rest of this verse. And believe it on him that sent me hath everlasting life, that means you have it now, and shall not, that means in the future, tomorrow the rest of your life, in the future, shall not be condemned, never be condemned.

But it’s passed from death unto life. That means that when I trusted Christ as my Savior, God saved me, gave me eternal life, and He promises in His Word, I can never be condemned in the future. No condemnation, never to be condemned, means I can never be lost in the future. Any preacher, any preacher who teaches that you can lose your salvation, believes in words for salvation. And if they believe you can lose your salvation, they don’t understand the gospel.

that man is a false teacher. Christ is the one, he says, I forgive you of all your sins. I give INCLUDES to you ETERNAL LIFE, and you shall never perish, never perish. You can never be condemned again. Look in verse 39. As he talks to these birds, he says, search the scriptures for in them. You think you havedetail life, and they are they which testify of me, and ye will not come to me that you might have what? Life.

Search the scriptures. You can search that Bible all your life and read that book. And you can study this book and quote the whole Bible. But if you don’t go to Christ and trust Him for eternal life, you don’t have eternal life. Because He says the scriptures talks about me. You opin’t have eternal life without Christ. Christ. And if you’ve never trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, then you’re not saved. It is so simple. Take your Bible and turn there to the Gospel of John in chapter 6.

And verse 37, Jesus Christ made this statement, all that the Father giveth me shall come to me and him that come up to me, I will know wise cast out. Now look up here, a simple illustration. I’ve showed you before, but one more time. This is the Lord. This is you and me. A lot of people believe that they must hang on to God in order to go to heaven. If they get a good grip on God, they went forward in the church, they prayed through, hung on, let go and hang on to God, and they’re going to go to heaven as long as they hang on.

And if they start slipping away and now they’re lost, and gotta get saved again. Now they’re saved again. And then if they do something wrong, then they lose their salvation, now they’re lost again and gotta get saved again. You see, this is not the Bible. This is a person trying to save themselves by their own strength. And so they think as long as they do all these good deeds and they go to church and they live right pray through and all these good deeds, they’re going to be saved.

But if they do anything wrong, if they start sinning in their life, then they lose their salvation. That’s not the Bible. That’s religion and religion will not work. I’m against religion. Christ teaches He will save me. Now I am in His hands. He said He will never cast me out for no reason. He said He will never lose me. He says that I am in His hands and no man can pluck you out of His hand. Now if I cannot be cast out, I cannot be lost in any way and I can’t get out of His hand, how can I ever be lost again?

I can’t for no reason because my security is based upon his strength. He’s the Savior. He is taking me to heaven. I’m not taking me there. He’s taking me there. He’s the Savior, not me. I’m trusting Him. And He said, if I trust Him, He will guarantee me eternal life now because it depends upon His promise, His work, and He’s got and He can’t lie. That’s why once you trust Christ is your Savior, you’re saved for how long? You’re saved forever and He’ll never cast you out.

look there in verse 39. And this is the Father’s will, which you have sent me that of all which you have given me, I should lose how many? Nothing. Never lose you. Now look in verse 48. Verily, verily, I send you, he that believeth on me, believeth on me, hath everlasting life. The very moment you believe on Jesus Christ, God gives to you eternal life and you become his child for all eternity. These great truths that we have just covered.

After he said all of this, they couldn’t understand what he’s talking about. When Christ says that I am the bread of heaven, it means all theimentary world is hungry and needs to be fed, but not just with physical food. There’s an emptiness in every person. There’s a vacuum in every individual that can only be satisfied with the bread from heaven. else as a substitute. You can try everything you want to chase all your little dreams and all of them end up with nothing but soap bubbles.

They pop in your hand, they leave you empty. Christ is the only thing that will truly satisfy. That’s why he says in verse 48, I am that bread of life. I’m that bread of life. Taste and see that the Lord is good, but they couldn’t understand something so complicated. So he says, all right, if you eat my flesh and drink my blood, do you understand that? They got offended at that. Does somebody would say something so gross like that?

What do you mean? He says, the words that I speak are life. The Spirit gives them life. When you hear the word and believe it on him that sent you, send him, God says that you are saved that very moment and shall not come into condemnation. The greatest truth in all the world. This truth that we’re talking about right now, there is no message, no story, so great as this one. Nothing in the world is as important as this story.

It’s called the gospel of Jesus Christ. The good news on how a man can be saved and be sure of going to heaven when every dies. One more time, you and me, sin, we’ve all sinned. The Bible says that we committed it and we ought to pay for it and that means eternal separation from God in hell. Now God loves you. He wants you to go to heaven. And to go to heaven, you have to be perfect. Just as righteous as God and none of us are.

That’s why we all come short of perfection. We need to be saved because you can’t save yourself. If you don’t get a savior before you die, you go to hell. Hope I’m making it clear. That’s why you need a savior and there’s only one. No man comes unto the Father except through him. You reject him. You can’t go. You reject Christ. You can’t have eternal life. You reject Him and you’ll spend eternity in hell. But He came because He loves you.

He hates your sin so He took it and paid for it on the cross, came back from the dead and said if you’ll believe that He did that for you, He’ll give you as a free gift everlasting life and you’ll go to heaven on what Christ did for you. Let’s pray Shower. 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 toll free 1-800-576-3771.

That’s 1-800-576-3771. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to Bible G-g-g-g-g-g-g grou. We’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 broadcast of our services may Azerbai seen by going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.org. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold.

Friends, one day it will happen. Trumpet will sound. 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.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

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 years. You can reach us toll free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made through the Bible-lined website at calvaryoftampa.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.

Take your Bible and turn to the book of Romans chapter 5, Romans chapter 5, verse 20. More over the law entered that the offense might abound, but where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. You say, well, what does that mean? Well, change the words here just a little bit where it talks about where sin abounded. All right, sin at your debt. Grace, well, that’s credit. know what God did is, let’s say you had a thousand dollars worth of debt and God is going to apply grace to the debt.

It means that, let’s say he put in enough to cover $995 worth of a thousand dollar debt. You would still be in debt for how much? Five. You’re still in debt because it wasn’t enough grace to cover the indebtedness. So what God did is He put an unlimited supply of money into the account. And it doesn’t matter what the debt is, there was enough grace to cover the debt. So, regardless of how many sins you commit, there was enough grace put into the escrow account to cover whatever the dead is.

Now isn’t that grace? That’s good. In verse 21, that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life. The dead created death. That’s the end result because you couldn’t pay it, it produced this. but if God paid for all of it and you’re released from this debt, then you’re free. Free to get further into debt. Now God said, I’ll pay the debt, set you free, so that now because you’re free, because of the liberty that you have, because of what Christ did for you.

Therefore, don’t let this liberty become a stumbling block to the flesh. In other words, don’t use your newfound freedom as an opportunity to get further in a debt. Now some Christians live their life this way. What God has done is set you free, but you have voluntarily chosen to be a slave again. And I’m not talking about money wise. I’m talking about because of the sinful nature that we have. Look what he says in verse 1, shall we continue in sin, get further into debt?

That grace may abound. In other words, so because God’s going to give me all the grace that I need to favor. Whenever you go shopping, and I did this one time, well several times, I said, you think I need to go get some groceries. So I give her $50 bill and she goes and, well, buys groceries. She knows all she has is $50. So sometimes she will write down whatever she’s getting and the price of every item so that when she gets to the cash register, she doesn’t have to take back three or four items because she knows she’s only got so much money, she can only spend so much.

So that means she can only buy so much. What if I told her one day, honey? I have an unlimited supply. It doesn’t matter. You just go get whatever you want to get. When it comes to serving the Lord, serving God and doing right is unlimited. But when it comes to sin, God doesn’t want you to commit one, not one sin. Understand a little bit about this scenario. Here’s a man who has committed a crime. He’s been placed into prison.

He’s been there for 10 years. 10 years. He’s been in prison. He’s paid his debt to society. So finally, he is released and he’s free. And he don’t know what to do with his newfound freedom. He don’t have a job, don’t have any money, don’t have any friends, don’t know where to go. And so he gets to the end of the day. And so he goes and commits a crime, a minor crime, just so they can send him back toFINE.

GV Heq REUTERS (?, And let’s say you have been in a prisonincerity 20 years. You’ve been a slaveChrist has set gunned you free. He signed your pardon. You’re free. You’re free to go. Now, when you trusted Christ as your Savior, that means that you don’t have to go to hell. The penalty has been paid. Your pardon has been signed. And then because you’re now free to go into this area of freedom, this liberty out there, because you don’t know how to handle that freedom and that liberty, some of God’s children, Jews willingly to commit the sin, to still live in this prison, to live in a prison.

A freedom, fearful of the responsibility, making the right choices. Because sometimes we don’t always make the right one. And some people are so afraid of failure, they do absolutely nothing. They never step out, never find how to walk on water, never venture out, further than the safety of that little security area that they have. This is why every week I get articles about missionaries. Missionaries, and I love stories on missionaries, how that they lead the security of home, the United States, and they go across the around the world, and they bury themselves in some little just so they can minister to some people that were not God and give up everything.

Because you see they’re free. They’re free to go. Some Christians have become such a slave to the things of the world they’ve gotten themselves so entangled with the affairs of the life they can’t serve God the way God wants them to because they’re still a slave. See, as a Christian, has God signed my pardon, said that I was free, and then leaves me in this prison house down here, where I can’t do anything in Romans chapter 8 when he says, there is therefore now no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus.

I believe it goes too full. One concerning justification, the other sanctification. Justification that when you trusted Christ as your Savior, God by a judicial decree has declared you righteous, you’re just because of what Christ has done for you and that’s put to your camp. That is your position in Christ. You’ve been justified. There is therefore now no condemnation to those that are in Christ. You can never be condemned again. But that’s my position in justification. But in sanctification, this experimental part of my life that I’ve got to experience, God has not condemned me to a life as a slave to my Old Sinful nature.

That would be a terrible thing. As you read in the scripture, it says in the book of Ephesians in chapter 2 that the people that were without God, they had no knowledge. And it says they were without hope in this world, without hope. Would it be a shame to, yes, be free from the penalty of sin and live in this life and be condemned to live as a slave under the power of Frie from the penalty of sin, but he is in the process of setting us free from the power of sin in our life.

But because some people can’t handle freedom, because when it comes responsibility, I must read and study and yield in order to do it to be what God wants me. Now, once you look at Romans in chapter 6. Chapter 6 deals with our sanctification. Chapter 5 deals with our justification. Because in chapter 5 it’s talking about how we have been just made just by faith in God. Justified. Look in chapter 5 and verse 1. Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God.

In sanctification, this is that part of the life that we’ve got to live. You can have the peace of God. See, peace with God is our judicial decree by God who declared you like in a court of law, you are innocent. And so you never committed a sin. A payment’s been put. The debt’s been paid. You’re clear. And you can never be condemned again. That’s a wonderful thing. But what about my life that I’ve got to live? All right, let’s just kind of go with the flow.

as you go from Romans and chapter six and you begin to go through here you find something like in verse 11 Likewise, reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed on the sin Live unto God and then in verse 13. He says neither yield ye your members yield yield yield So it’s talking about you making deliberate choices about yield into god But let’s say you do Let’s say that after you trust the Christ as your Savior, you realize that now I’m a child of God.

I have not only been set free from the penalty of my sin, I’ve been released from the prison, from the power of the sinful nature who enslaved me and caused me to be a servant to my own nature for the rest of my life. In other words, it means that you don’t have to live the rest of your life under that domination. There’s a scripture here in chapter 7 that uses this illustration. Here’s a woman married to a man.

And the Bible says that as long as the man lives, he’s in bondage to the man. But if that man’s dead, well, she’s free. Isn’t that a wonderful thing? But even let’s say, okay, he’s dead. She doesn’t have to obey a dead man anymore. She’s free. She can get married again or stay single or something, but she’s free from that dead man. Whenever you trust in Christ your Savior, you and I are supposed to believe that our old sinful nature, the old man died.

Well, if he’s dead, then why does he still have power over my life? Only because I choose to give him power over my life. Your sinful nature can not control you without your permission. So you and I don’t have to live our life inestyles. Well, we don’t. You see what I still commit sin. I know that there’s a difference in committedness sin and living there. Everybody sins and makes mistakes and falls and so forth. But now what’s the end result?

I want you to see that. Look in verse 16, “‘No you’re not that the home ye yields yourselves servants to obey his servants you are to whom you obey, whether sin and the death of obedience under righteousness.'” Then in verse 17, but God be thanked that you were the servant of sin or slave of your old sinful man. You had an old nature that ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrineakespear delivered unto you, being then made free from the sinful nature.

You became the servants of Christ, or of righteousness. So you have a choice after you trusted Christ as your Savior. I can serve the Lord, or I can serve sin. It’s a choice that I can make. Second Corinthians, and chapter three, this is a very important verse. Remember this, you can blame anybody you want for why you are not a godly individual. But for you not to be a godly individual is your choice. You can be godly or sinful.

You can be spiritually minded, carnally minded, your choice. If you’re carnally minded, you chose to go back to prison. You chose to go back to prison voluntarily. Here in 2 Corinthians 3, look down to verse 16. Nevertheless, when it, the mind shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away. Now the Lord is that spirit, where the spirit of the Lord is, there is what? Liberty, where the spirit is Lord. In other words, let’s say in your life.

If the Holy Spirit is the Lord, the master of your life, and you voluntarily yield yourself as his servant, then you’ll know What freedom is all about? When Christ made the statement, if you know the truth, the truth will make you free. So it means if you don’t know the truth, you can’t be free. The reason that I want people to come and study the Bible, whether Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday, it’s because I want you to live a free life.

I want you to be a free person. But it’s truth that sets you free. It’s lies that enslave. This is why some people say, well, I can’t do this, I can’t do this, I can’t do, I can’t, I can’t, I can’t. Yes, you can. It’s your want. It’s the fear that robs a man or a woman out of the blessings of God because they can’t see, they can’t believe because they’ve chosen to make themselves a prisoner of an old, sinful nature.

Look what he says here. Now the Lord is that spirit and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, I get this, but we all, with open face beholden as in a glass, the glory of the Lord. In other words, it’s like a person looking in a mirror and you see yourself and what if you can look in the mirror and see yourself transformed and watch it happening. Wouldn’t that blow your mind? What if a woman, a real ugly woman, looked in a mirror and she saw this ugly woman and all of a sudden she begins to transform and all of a sudden she’s a beautiful woman right in front of your eyes and you saw that happen.

Wouldn’t you like that? Here’s a 98 pound weakling. He looks in the mirror. He don’t like what he sees but all of a sudden he begins to change, transform. All of a sudden he’s got this muscular body, this belt, and all of a sudden there he is and he looks like this Charles Atlas before everybody had to look like Charles Atlas. And all of aoz sudden you begin to change. Wouldn’t you like that? Now God says, look, you’re looking at that mirror.

All you see is flesh. That’s all you’ve seen all your life. It’s the way you are. It’s the real way you are. The way thought the way you lived, the way you made your decisions, the way you responded to pressure, everything about you. Now the Holy Spirit indwells you and as you begin to yield to the power of the Holy Spirit and his freedom begins to slowly change you from the glory of the flesh to the glory of the Spirit.

And you can see over the years how God has transformed you. Since you trusted Christ as your Savior. Have you noticed a transformation in your life? He said, I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies as the living sacrifice wholly acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service and be not conformed to this wubba be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove or discover what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

In other words, has there been a transformation in you? Not in the physical features because in this old body, we’re getting older and yes, it’s being transformed. All right, but I’m talking about the real you now. I’m talking about you, the person that lives inside of the body. Are you a free person? Are you free from the power of the sinful nature to control your life? Now he didn’t say walk in the spirit and you will not have the lust of the flesh.

They didn’t say that. It says walk in the spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. The longer you serve God, yes as you serve God, you still have the desire of sin in your body, in your mind. Well what do you do? Now I’ll go back to Romans. Here you are, you God’s child. I dedicated my life to the Lord. I want to serve God. God bless you a little pea-picking heart. So you begin to yield and you do all the right things.

Your desire is yes I do. Verse 15, for that which I do. Aye, aye, aye, aye, aye, aye, aye, aye, aye. In other words, I didn’t give myself permission to do that. I didn’t want to do that. You are faced with this desire. Put yourself in these verses and say these things about you personalize it for that which I do I allow not for what I would that’s the desire that’s desire what I would this is what I would do I do not Who knows I don’t do what I want, but what I hate, that’s what I wind up doing.

In other words, I don’t want to do like that. I don’t want to be like that. If you ever said or done something that just makes your stomach turn because you wish you hadn’t said or done that and you don’t understand why. I don’t know why no world I did that. You ever feel like such a failure? And yet this is to the person who wants to yield. This is to the person who wants to serve God. This is not the person that doesn’t want to.

It’s the person that does. And he’s struggling. fights, a battle that’s going on, looking for 16. If then I do that which I would not, in other words I wound up doing what I didn’t want to do, I can send unto the law that it is good. Because when there’s something that I don’t want to do because it’s bad, then I have to mentally give consent that there’s a law that says that’s wrong. There’s a law that says that’s wrong.

So I must say that the law is good and the law does work and it works in my conscience because I’m able to judge that something is right or something is wrong because there’s something that I want to do that is right that I have consented into the law that there’s some things that are right and the law that condemns certain things and so therefore when I know that something is wrong then the law works because I know that’s wrong that’s wrong that’s wrong why because the law says the word says God says And so since I can send it to do that which is right, why am I doing that which is wrong?

And this is talking to the person who wants to serve God. Since you trusted Christ as your Savior and you dedicated your life to the Lord, have you ever done anything that you didn’t really want to do? I wish you had to done. Even though you want to do right and yet you fail, it’s called an old sinful nature. Look in verse 17. Now then, it is no more I that do it. But that old dead man that I got to drag around with me, you know, I was told that if a man killed a man, that what they would do is take the man that killed this man, and that handcuffed the dead man to the live man.

And that live man couldn’t go anywhere without dragging that dead man with him. after four days he stinketh and you had to carry that dead man and drag him around with you all the time. A terrible punishment. When you ate, slept at dead men’s with you all the time and many Christians are dragging around a dead man with him. When he makes this statement here in verse 18, he says, for I know that in me that is in my flesh, develop no good thing.

For to Will is present with me. The desire to do what’s right. But how to perform that which is good I find not. Or here you are. You are in this prison under the power of this warden. The old sinful nature, that’s old man. He’s running this prison. And he’s got all these people in. And Christ paid your penalty. And you can go free out of that prison. Now the penalty is paid, but would it be a shame for you to live the rest of your life voluntarily under the power of that old warden?

And you just decide to stay in prison. See when you live in the flesh, when you decide to commit those sins voluntarily, you’re saying I would rather be under the power of that old warden than the man who paid my sins so I can go free. You see it’s like getting a brand new pair of shoes. of while when you wear shoes, they kind of shake to your feet. They kind of feel good. And sometimes the older my shoes are, the better they feel.

And then you get a new pair of shoes. And generally I get a new pair of shoes, something hurts somewhere. Some hurt somewhere. And I’m tempted to take those things off and put on my old shoes again. Why? Because I’ve been walking in them for so long. And it kind of fit and it kind of like go together. you trust the Christ your Savior, it’s kind of hard walking in new shoes. It’s a Christian life, it’s something that’s a struggle.

You haven’t done it before and you’re not sure about what to do and how to live. But God says with this newfound freedom, if you’ll just stay at it, just keep doing what’s right. God will bless you. Those sore spots, they harden up after a while and you get used to it and things break in and you’ll find out that walking with the Lord ain’t so bad. You’re not used to walking with the Lord. You’re not used to having somebody else tell you what to do and always be right.

Now you have people to tell you that but he always is right and God will bless you. When he makes a statement verse 19, now for the good that I would, I do not. You ever want to do right and you don’t do right. But the evil which I would not, that I do, there’s things that are wrong, I know it’s wrong, and you do it anyway. How can you get free from all of that? It’s a battle, it’s a struggle.

But you have to understand that even to the most godless of individuals and go through this war. Because the greatest victory you’ll ever have is not what you accomplish in the world. It’s the personal battle you have within yourself. Satan can’t defeat you until he defeats you in your mind. And that’s why he can take you captive. These scriptures, I don’t believe is talking about salvation, how to get to heaven. I believe these scriptures is talking about your life, how you live, and the battle that you’re going through.

And he makes this statement here in verse 23. In verse 23 he says, but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind. In other words, what I want, something is law, war, and against me. In your physical body is your sinful nature. And here you’ve got a mind that you wanna do what’s right, but in your desires of the flesh, it wars against what I want to do. How can I live as a free man?

Because I can assure you, whenever you choose to live in sin, you’re choosing to go back into that prison house, but that old man rules over you. He says one thing to, you know, to commit a sin, to stumble and fall. It’s another thing to lay in the mud and never get up again. It’s a one thing to let something happen to you that so places upon your shoulder such a load of guilt that you never want to serve God again because I failed, I failed.

And I don’t want to be a hypocrite and try serving God and then I’ll fail and I’ll mess up so I won’t do anything. Whenever you trust in Christ as your Savior and He opened the doors wide of opportunities in a new world of freedom, and you can walk with the Lord and God a legion, guide you and take care of you, meet all you need. And whenever you do sin, I’m glad. When that old warden over there wants to pull me back into that little old prison house and under his power, I have this get out of jail card free.

Whenever he wants to put me back under his power, just because I mess up one time or two time or whatever it might be, I’ve got this first John, 1 9. That if I confess that sin to God, He cleanses me and that is what keeps me from going back into His captivity. But see, a lot of God’s people, when they fail, they don’t use that get out of jail card free. They just become captured and they live a life of a slave to their their own sinful nature, they can make it never be free from it.

God did not condemn you to live under the power of that old warden you’ve been set free. 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 toll-free 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our home page.

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 broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.org. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friend, one day it will happen, the trumpet will sound, 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.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

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 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 through the Bible-lined website at calvaryoftampa.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.

When God had done a miraculous thing for the nation of Israel, He took them down into Egypt. they were in their incubation period. 400 years they were given the choice land. There rose up a pharaoh that knew not Joseph. This new pharaoh put them in the bondage. They became a slave. And now the time has come for deliverance. Scriptures talk about many times about as the pains of childbirth, travail. And he says that Israel was travailing in pain, seeking to be delivered.

The Bible tells us that out of Egypt have I called my son. We know it’s a double reference. One, later on Jesus Christ after he had been taken there by Joseph and Mary. Later on he came back from Egypt and it says that he fulfilled the scriptures and that God had promised that out of Egypt have I called my son. But also out of Egypt did God call his son the whole nation of Israel and Israel is looked upon as one individual.

And God as the king over Israel wanted to direct Israel and God gave them laws. And God God says that I will not put any of the diseases of the nation of Egypt upon you. I will protect you. I will make you victorious. I’ll give you the land that flows with milk and honey and all kinds of things that God just couldn’t wait to do for Israel. But He also promised me, says, now, if you serve me, I’ll bless you.

If you don’t, I’m going to chasten you. And so Israel had a choice. wanted to direct and rule his people one on one. The other nations around the bottom had a king and they wanted a king too. But they wanted a literal man to set up on a throne in Jerusalem and rule. And the Lord told them, says, look, if I give you a king, that king is going to take your land and that king is going to take your money and that king is going to take your sons and daughters.

So you’re going to pay a great price just to have that that king. When you didn’t have to do that, all you had to do is just let God speak through His prophet and the prophet would tell you and that’s what you would do. The children of Israel had rebelled against God. They wanted to have this literal king and God was angry with him. Anybody know the name of the first king of Israel? The Apostle Paul. Saul became the king and as time goes on, well, he rebelled against God.

First Samuel in chapter 12, he says here in verse 6. Now remember, he’s already said, if anybody has any reason, anything against me, because I was the prophet and you refused to obey God through me, if I wronged you in any way, let me know. And of course nobody said anything. Nobody had anything against Samuel. And that’s pretty good from his childhood all the way up to now he says, I am old. He says I’m gray headed. But look at verse six.

Samuel is now rehearsing to them. Now always seek to understand the scriptures by how would I receive this message or what would God want me to do if I heard this message? And so are there anything in your own light that you need to correct? Remember, everybody has to have something that rules them. Something has to tell you what to do or not to do. Sometimes we feel like if we could educate the masses, then the education is supposed to solve most people’s problems.

Samuel said unto the people, it is the Lord that advanced Moses and Aaron. And that brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. Now therefore stand still that I may reason with you. In other words, let me talk to you for a little bit. Every once in a while people need to shut up, sit down, and listen to what God has to say. This is why your personal time between you and the Lord is such a valuable time.

If you get too busy in life that you don’t have no time to stop and let God speak to you, then you’re too busy. You’re just too busy. Stop something. You’ve got something that you’re doing that you don’t need to do if you don’t have time for the Lord. Period. He says here in verse 7, I want the reason with you about what God did for you. Now the reason you and I should serve the Lord, because if we stop and think about what God has done for us, how that he saved us from a place in hell and gave us eternal life and made us his children, and of all the blessings that he wants to give to us in this life and how he wants you, every person, if they would only just reason, they’d want to serve the Lord.

But see, people can’t stop and think because if they reasoned about this thing, then they would do it. The devil will keep your mind so busy, keep you so busy that you can’t think about the priorities. Remember this, when you read the book of Revelation in chapter 2, and he’s talking about the church, he says, I know by works and I know your patience. I know the tribulations He says but I have somewhat against thee. He says because bow has left thy first Your first love So you can do a lot of things But if you ever lose your first love nothing else matters Everything that you do you’re not rewarded for Because God rewards the efforts that are done because of the labor of love If I do all things and give my body to be burned, and if I could move mountains because of my great faith,

or if I could speak with a tongue of angels, but if I don’t have love, it profiteth me how much. It doesn’t profit you anything. So you can go to church and not get one reward. You can read your Bible and get no rewards. You can even witness and not get a reward. Because the reason why you do it, if it’s not to honor the one that did all these things, did all these things for you, he says, your labor is in vain.

Now I would rather you do it because the man who hears the gospel, even with your wrong motive, still can hear the gospel, trust, Christ, to save you, still go to heaven when he dies. But if you want the blesses of God, then he says, don’t lose your first love. That means don’t let anything or anybody come between you and God. If you do, God can remove anything that comes between you and him. Always keep it in mind. So he says here in verse 8, when Jacob come into Egypt and your fathers cried unto the Lord, then the Lord sent Moses and Aaron which brought forth your fathers out of Egypt, made them dwell in this place.

When they forgot the Lord of their God, he sold them into the hands of Cicera, captain of the host of Hazar and into the hand of the Philistines and into And then to the hand of the King of Moab, and they fought against them, and they cried unto the Lord, and said, We have sinned because we have forsaken the Lord, and have served abat- served a balam and asteroth, but now deliver us out of the hands of our enemies and we will serve thee.

In other words, you can look at it as an individual. They got a lot of whoopins they. They didn’t need to get. They got a lot of whoopins because they were rebellious. I got whoopins when I was a kid. Some of my deserved. I also believe I got some I didn’t deserve but when I was going to UCH’- if you did get a whooping in school You did get one when you got home and it didn’t matter what the reason was you got one in school when you got home You got another one and the one that got at home was a lot worse than when I ever got in school I think God they’ll probably get back to a little bit of that But anyway now do you know you touch my kid you say anything to my kid they come on beat you up

So you though you in jail God says his children God, a lot of the weapons they didn’t have to get. Now here you are, you trust the crisis, you’re a savior. You’re going to heaven when you’re done. You’re God’s child. You don’t see God in human form. I mean you don’t see God. He’s a spirit. GBT You don’t see the Holy Spirit. You don’t even see the devil. You don’t see heaven. You don’t see hell. We live by faith.

We believe in all of that because God says, so we live our lives because I believe that God is alive and He’s working and I’m His child. my father and he’s going to do what he promised. So as you live your life God says we are going to receive a lot of weapons spanking, chasting, we didn’t have to have. But because God is concerned about our attitudes, God knows our anger, he knows our bitterness, he knows the results of what we do, what we do.

He knows if we lose our first love. God knows he’s You have to lay the rod. And in ecdROR prosec anten182ciationExper(). And in every case, when they cry out to God, God forgave them and everything was fine and you would think, well they ain’t gonna do that again. Have you ever had a kid? It didn’t matter how many times you whooped that kid, it did not help. And in your sometimes you can just look at one of them and, and bud they straighten up.

You don’t have to touch them. If you He loves me. Jesus loves me. This side. HeOften. He loves us. But we don’t always obey him. And he says they’re inSnow 11. And the Lord sent. Geroble. And Beatan. And Jetha. And Samuel. And delivered you out about about your enemies. of your enemies, some of these religious edges, on every side and you dwelled safe. God, God sent different individuals, and God used those men to do miraculousjury for the Nation of Israel, and Gideon was was was was in the Great Mighty of the Great Mighty of the pursuant to the great Mighty of the Great Mighty of the Great Mighty of the Greatakespeare…………………

for the Day of the Day………… for the Day of the Day? When ye saw that they Has the King of the Children of Emmon came Against You, ye said an enemy, nay, but a king shall reign over us. when the Lord your God was your king. So we want a king over us. He says you already had a king. It was God. God ruled over you. Well we don’t want God. We want us that king. And it is, or I’ll ever get some bad kings.

Do you know that God caused Saul and Jonathan to die in a battle with the Phil detainees? All because of disobedience. But look what he says here. Now therefore behold the king whom ye have chosen and whom ye have desired and behold, O Lord, have said a king over you. Sometimes God just love you, I will let you have it. He’ll let you have your own way. And that thing that you wanted so bad will become the very thing that you’ll despise afterwards.

Remember one time I was listening to Ray and he was telling the story about this guy in the insane asylum and he was walking down the hallway and he heard a guy down at the end of the hall hollering, Susie}: Susie he says what’s Tayyip? What’s he hollering for? He says he used to go with a girl named Susie and she left him for another man and it drove him crazy. Went down another hallway another guy on the other end with hollering Susie!

Susie! He said well what happened to him? He’,”s that he got her. In verse 14 you ought to on the line verse 14, very important in this verse. If ye will fear the Lord and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then both ye and also the king that reigneth over you continue following the Lord. He says if you will keep certain God, just like I told you to, then God says I’ll bless you and the King.

So God says, all right, I’ll give you a king. But the king is still a listen to me. And you are still to listen to me. And if everybody listens to God, then everything will work all right. And he’ll guide the king and so forth. So he says, the people are going to get the kind of a king they deserve. The people will get a king like they deserve. But that doesn’t mean that, you know, just because you don’t alike or agree with all the person to sit.

That doesn’t make him a wicked man. Just because you don’t agree with your husband on everything doesn’t make him a wicked man. Just because the preacher doesn’t say anything that you like. That doesn’t make him a wicked man. You’re wicked when you do wicked things, not just something you disagree with. He makes a statement down here in verse 15. But if he will not obey, you’re noticing God’s word, he’s always a positive and then a negative. So if you will do this, this is what I do, but if you don’t, this is what Okay, this is why if you read the Bible, the Old Testament stories and their stories, a lot of stories, you don’t see as much doctrine or teaching as you do the stories.

But these stories, if you really understand them, teach doctrine. It’s telling you what God will do and what God will not do. It teaches the principles of God. And if I will obey God, what he’ll do, if I don’t, what will happen. And so the Bible says this in the 19th Psalm, thy word is sure, making wise the simple. And the testimonies of the Lord are sure. In other words, the testimonies that are in the Bible of the various individuals are teaching principles about God.

And that if you will do what God says, do this is what you can expect. He says in the book of Romans in chapter 15. That the scriptures were written a four time for our benefit for our profit so that we studied the doctrine in the Bible in the New Testament, a lot of doctrine in the New Testament. But you go back to the Old Testament and there’s your sugar and your salt and your pepper that flavors those doctor no teachings so that you can enjoy them and understand them.

The nation of Israel is like the teaching of eternal security. It’s the doctrine of chastisement. You can see it all. There is the doctrine of salvation, so tearyology in the Old Testament that you can see and understand and help you. But he makes the statement here in verse 15, But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then shall the hand of the Lord be against you as it was against your fathers.

Alright, the Bible says that this was not written to us, but this was written for us now as you read that Can you get anything out of that? Can you learn anything from what the verses are saying? I Can’t I can see it scares me to death That God is not a Respector of persons That if I do what they did God will bless me too But if I do what they didn’t do if I do that then God’s gonna chase me just like he did here because it’s the same God.

When you read in the New Testament and in the Hebrews when he makes a statement, Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, forever. He doesn’t change. God doesn’t change. His character never changes. But how he works with the various people at different times and certain things, yes, he may tell you something different. But it still boils down to either obey that or disobey.Officers, whatever he told Adam and Eve was a simple thing about obey or disobey. What he told Israel is simply an obey or disobey.

The New Testament is always just in an obey or disobey. This print was still saying today, obey or disobey. Either you do what God says or you don’t do what God says and if you do, he’ll bless it if you don’t, he got to chase him. And many of God’s children living today go in the church, we can still be chasing by God. You may not perceive it as a chastening. You say, it’s just something that happened, just an accident.

Anything can happen and you’re the one that has to decide in your mind. Is this simply a testing by which God is going to make me stronger? Or is this something because of something that I’ve done? Is this because of the way that I’m thinking? Is this a result of something else in my life that I need to get? Is God trying to get my attention? You’re the one that has to decide that. And somebody else observing might not know the difference between being chasteened or being blessed.

Because a chasteening can be a blessing. Trials and tribulations can be a blessing because that’s where you learn and draw you closer to the Lord. But sometimes it’s because God got so much for you to learn and wants to grow, but it might be because you did something you didn’t correct. That’s the decision you have to make. So that you have that confidence between you and God. walking with the Lord. Now guess what he says up here in verse 16.

Now therefore, stand and see this great thing which the Lord will do before your eyes. Guess what? He says in verse 17, is it not wheat harvest today? I will call unto the Lord and he shall send thunder and rain that ye may perceive and see that your wickedness is great which ye have done in the sight of the Lord and asking you a qua- I came. See in their mind, they didn’t see anything wrong with it. That’s what the other nations have.

Why can’t we have it? Wickedness is not from your perspective. Just because I don’t see anything wrong, I don’t think it’s that bad, has nothing to do with your perception. It all has to do with God’s perception. God’s the one that says what’s right, God’s the one that says what’s wrong. And based upon God’s perception, something is right or wrong. Not yours in mind. And therefore, And therefore, when you read the Word of God and you see that God says, this is right, this is wrong, you better just mark it down.

That wrong is wicked in God’s eyes. Do right. And you govern your life by what the Word of God says from his viewpoint, not from yours. But in their eyes, they didn’t think it was so bad. Otherwise, they probably would have not have asked for a king, but they did. And God said it was a wicked thing. So in verse 18, so Samuel called unto the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day, And all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

And all the people who said in the Samuel, pray for thy servant unto the Lord thy God that we die not, for we have added unto all our sins this evil to ask us a king. So they knew it wasn’t just that one sin, it’s added to all the other ones. See God knows there’s an accumulation where people, yeah we fail, but did you take care of it. CLR or do you just let it go over look it and try to forget about it.

And you know that it’s wrong, but you don’t do anything about it. And then you do another one and then you do another one doing another and you’re just trying to block it out of your mind. And God knows you never dealt with this sooner or later that two before is on its way. I’ve been preaching long enough and I’ve been watching people long enough and I’ve never seen a person go against God and ever win sooner later the two before is going to hit you over the top of the head.

In verse 20, and Samuel said unto the people, fear not ye have done all of this wickedness, yet turn not aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. Regrets of what you have done, and regardless of how bad it was, listen, you can correct the problem. You don’t have to keep doing that way. And there’s tying things that somebody else may not know that we may hide secret sins in our own heart. God knows.

Confess things to God, keep things clean between you and the Lord and keep doing what’s right. And He says here in verse 21, turn you not aside, for then should ego after vain things which cannot profit nor deliver for their vain. Any time you turn away from doing what God wants you to do with your life, your life is in vain. There’s no profit there. God is only going to reward you when you get to heaven for what you’ve done for him.

So everything else you do is in vain. It doesn’t profit. It doesn’t last. It’s only temporary. And there’s pleasure in sin for a season. It’s temporary. But if you’ll do what God says to do, your land of treasures that you’ll never lose. Now get what he says in verse 22, For the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name sake. You are God’s child. You are a Christian, you trusted Christ, that’s what makes you a Christian. For His name’s sake, He’ll never cast you out and never lose you.

There’s a verse in the book of Hebrews in chapter 13 that says, I’ll never cast you, I’ll never forsake you, never. See, we have New Testament doctrine that states all these things that we’re reading right here. We’re reading right here, the book of Hebrews chapter 12 about Chasen. Right, it’s over here. First Corinthians in chapter 10, That’s all right here. See, New Testament doctrine is the basis, the foundation for all these stories. Verse 23 should be a verse that you underline.

It is a tremendous verse. I’ve had kids learn this verse when they go to camp. More over as for me. Now this is Samuel saying this to the people of Israel. More over as for me, God forbid, or I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you. But I will teach you the good and the right way. Isn’t that a good prayer? My prayer to God is that I am going to pray for you and that I’m going to teach you the right way.

So he says not only what he said, but didn’t he also in the first part of the chapter say, look what I did. From childhood to an old man, he says, you look at my whole life, my life is a testimony of what I believe. Bring charges against me if you have them. They say, we don’t have them. So what I believe and what I’ve done is to teach you the right way. So Samuel is, spite of what they’ve done that was wrong and And what they did was a wicked thing.

He says, I’m here for you. I’m going to pray for you that you’ll still do right and honor God. And he says, I’m going to teach you the good and the right way. Look in verse 24. Only fear the Lord. You know, he didn’t say fear to King. He says, fear the Lord. Fear the Lord. There’s a story that I heard years ago. I don’t know if I can remember it as well as I used to. I don’t know if I remember anything like I used to.

But I was reading an article and it was talking about doing the time of Rome and they had all these wrestlers that would come into the arena and the gladiators would all fight and they had these professional wrestlers but they were wrestlers they would wrestle even on today. sometime, those at loss would be fed to the lions. And that saw them that refused to fight, they would put sharp stakes into the ground, and then they would take the wrestlers and set them on it.

And poor pitch over them and light them on fire. And they said everybody in the realm had to acknowledge that Caesar was king. As you know, part of the problem with the Christians was that now they believed that Jesus was the king. And that they were bowed to Christ, but they were bowed to no man. They was pledge allegiance to Christ, but they wouldn’t pledge allegiance to no man. Well, they lined up all the wrestlers that they had and all the gladiators and everybody that fought in the arenas and told them that this was a new decree, that everybody had to swear allegiance to Caesar and state Caesar is king and pledged their allegiance to him.

Allegiance to the king means to totally obey the king and whatever the king says do. It was called the divine rights of the kings and you’ll do whatever the king tells you to do. Well, that was kind of hard for those that believed in the Lord. And that if they didn’t do it, then they would die. Forty wrestlers stepped forward, Satan, they’d say they would not pledge their allegiance to Caesar. And doing so, they knew that they would die.

It was in a dead and winter time. The lake was frozen, and they marched them out into the middle of the lake. They built the fire on the beach. And the rest of them were around the fire keeping warm, but they marched those forty out there. They stripped them of their clothes and those forty wrestlers would march in a circle. And they marched and they said, 40 wrestlers wrestling for the O Christ, to thee the victory for us the crown.

And they would walk in the circle and they kept saying that. restless wrestling for thee to thee the victory for us the crown. And after a while it was 39, restless wrestling for thee O Christ, to thee the victory for us the crown. And then 30, restless wrestling for thee until after a while there was no voice left. And yet the fire was right there on the shore and all they had to do was come over there and renounce their faith in Christ.

But they would rather die for their faith. We have people the day that can’t even live for their faith, let alone die. Have you placed yourself over God? Are you more powerful in your own eyes than God wiser than God? Can you make better decisions than God? Remember years ago I took a blank piece of paper and I said on this piece of paper, many people they write down what they want out of their life. And then they say, God, would you kind of sign it right there?

This is what I want. They speak God to sign it. And then when they don’t get what they want out of life, I try God. And what God wants you to do is, He wants you to sign your name on the bottom and say, Lord, you just fill it in. Whatever you want from a life, that’s good enough. I’m not demanding anything. I’m your to use. Until death. 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 toll-free 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our homepage.

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. Life broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.org. Thanks for joining us on Bible Live and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friend, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound. We will be changed.

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.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

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 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 through the Bible-lined website at calvaryoftampa.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.

As you know, I believe very, very strongly in salvation by grace. And I believe the way you know it’s really by grace is it is eternal. If a preacher says you’re saved by grace but and then starts button it all over the place then he doesn’t really believe it. If a preacher does not believe in eternal security he doesn’t believe that salvation is by grace because if I can be saved by grace because I’m not worthy of anything I didn’t do any good deeds.

Then I can be kept saved by the very same token. And there’s some things that God has said in His Word that I want you to see about five basic things. For you to understand about this great wonderful salvation that we have. Look there in Romans in chapter 8. Romans 8 and there’s two verses, or three verses, verses 28, 29 and 30, that deal with the purpose of God. In other words, when you look at it from the very beginning, God said that He had a purpose in mind and the purpose that God had from the very beginning was that He would save a man eternally, forever, and do certain things for Him to secure His place in heaven so that when we leave this life, there is nothing better, nothing greater than knowing that we are going to heaven when we die.

Life can be wonderful and you can be very happy and you can love your husband, your wife and your children. But you can lose your wife, you can lose your husband, you can lose your children, you can lose your health, you can lose your job, and one day you will. Maybe all at once. you’re going to die. And the greatest knowledge in all the world is where will you spend eternity? He has purpose before the foundations of the world, before we were ever born, that He is going to do something to everyone who believes.

He is going to justify you. He’s going to make you just as though you had never sinned, never committed a sin. So look what He says in verse 29, for whom He did for know, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son. Now look up here. Before the world ever began, before time began, before God ever created a man, God had a purpose, God had a plan. And he has determined before any man had ever been born, done any good or bad, that God says, I’m going to take everyone who has trusted Christ as Savior, who will trust Him and God has purposed that He is going to justify them, sanctify them, glorify them, and not because of anything they did.

But this is what He’s going to do because it’s His purpose to every believer so that we can know that we’re going to heaven whenever we die. This is all according to His purpose. So eternal security, predestination, the destiny fixed beforehand, is not that he chose you and you in that the rest of you go to hell. God has chosen to save all who will trust him. Those who will accept Christ as their Savior who give them eternal life and they’ll go to heaven whenever they die.

So because of the purpose of God, we can be leaved very easily in the eternal security of the believer. The other thing I want you to see there in verse 31. Verse 31, for what shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all. How shall he not with him also freely give us all things? One of the reasons that you and I can believe in eternal security is because of the provision that God has made.

He made provision for every one of us. every person who’s ever been born into the world to have salvation. So we know that eternal security is according to the purpose of God. And eternal security is also because of the payment that Christ made the provision that He made. Look what He says there in verse 32. He that spared not His own Son. Now if He did not spare His own Son but gave him as the payment for our sins, it was so that he could secure eternal redemption, eternal security for those that believed in him.

This is something that God has designed. This was his plan. God determined that when he saves a person, he saves the person forever because of the purpose that he designed that every person who believes in him would be justified just as if he had never committed a sin, God would declare him righteous and holy and perfect and glorify him someday when he gets to heaven and he will have an old sinful body or a sinful nature. He’ll be perfect and righteous just like God.

That was God’s purpose. That’s what he decided to do if I could lose my salvation because I committed some terrible sin. Now lost again, or how does that sin that caused me to lose my salvation, how does it get paid for now? If Christ isn’t coming back to the earth and He’s not going to pay for any sins anymore, well how am I ever going to get my sin paid for that caused me to lose my salvation? Then you would be eternally lost.

You couldn’t get saved again. So the Bible does tell us that you cannot be saved and lost and get saved again because his provision for salvation was for eternity and you can’t get lost after you trust him as your Savior. It’s impossible. So God loves us that much. Now these two things I’ve mentioned to you before. You do not find anywhere in the Bible a story or illustration or a verse of any kind that says that God has ever saved anybody and lost them.

There’s no story in the Bible where God has ever saved a man, lost the man, and then saved him again. There isn’t one. Why? Because of the provision that Christ made was once and for what? Once and for all. You can’t do it again. He cannot die again to pay for anybody else’s sin. So either you’re saved forever or not saved at all at all. So eternal security, once saved always saved, is not a separate doctrine in salvation. Eternal security is the good news of salvation.

That’s what makes it so different from all the religions that all the religions have. They don’t have that. There’s not something that I can have the day and can never lose. There’s always based upon your life. Look there in Romans eight verse thirty five. I know that I am eternally secure because of this, because of the perpetual love of God, the Father. You see, we may love God a little bit, but you were not saved from hell because you love God.

So now that I know Christ is my Savior, should I love God, I I should love him for what he did for me. I wasn’t saved because I loved him. I will say because he loves me that much. And he says his love is perpetual. And I am saved because of his love for me. And his love is a everlasting love, a perpetual love. And so my salvation is as secure as the love of God. Look what he says in verse 35, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ or from salvation?

Who can, what can separate you from being saved? Nothing. Nothing can ever change that. The purpose of God can’t be changed and the provision of God cannot be changed. And according to these scriptures, the Bible says that his perpetual love cannot be changed and that there’s nothing that you and I are going to go through or face that can change this. Remember this. I am saved by grace. I am kept saved by grace. I will say because he loves me and I am kept saved because he still loves me.

I didn’t do good deeds to save myself. I don’t do good deeds to stay saved. So when you accept Christ as your Savior, you have God living within you. You have eternal life because the life is in the sun. And He said, I’ll never leave you and never forsake you. So you are eternally secure. That means from this day forward, or since the day you trusted Christ is your Savior, it is impossible, impossible for you to go to hell in the future.

There is nothing that you could ever do. I don’t care how bad, how wicked you live. After you trusted Christ is your Savior, you can never, never, never be lost. And I had people tell me, well, you just given people a license to sin, I am not going to change the gospel story because some people abuse their salvation. And I want you to know on top of that because you can never be lost and your God’s child, you can’t live as you please and get away with it.

But because your Father is your Father and you are His child, your heavenly Father can chase in you. In other words, you put it in another vernacular, Beeth a Torah out of you. And maybe take you home before your time, but you’re going to heaven whether you like it or not. Now you should love it and you should be glad. I believe every person who trusts Christ’s Savior should serve the Lord, but they don’t. They don’t have to. You see, you can abuse the love of God and you can grieve the love of God.

You can resist the will of God. God still loves you with a perpetual love. It’ll never stop. He loves you that much. Now, Romans chapter five and verse eight, I want you to see this, Romans chapter five and verse eight, because of the promises that God has made, you and I are eternally secure, because of the promises that God has made to you and me. You see, he said in his word, as many as shall come to me, he says, I will in no wise cast out.

Did he say that? He said, all that come with me, I will in no wise cast out. And this is the Father’s will, which have sent me, that of all which ye have given me, I should lose nothing. He promised, he had never cast me out for no reason. He promised that he will not lose me. He promised me eternal life. He promised me it was by grace. He told me it was a gift, the gift of God, which is eternal life.

He promised that. Now either God is a God who cannot lie and keeps his word, or he is a liar. He promised. These things have, I’ve written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God that you may know know that you have what eternal life. So I know that I’m saved and I have eternal life because of the promises that God made. Now look there in Romans chapter 5 and verse 8. But God commended His love toward us in that while we were saints, No, while we were yet sinners, sinners, Christ died for us.

See Christ died for us 2,000 years ago before we were born. And while we were sinners before we ever heard the gospel, the Bible says this in verse 9, much more than being now justified by the, I am now justified, now justified. I get this, we shall be saved from wrath. That means I believe a reference toward hell. Through him, I will be saved as the promise and God cannot lie. For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son much more.

Being reconciled, we shall be saved from this wrath to come by his life. You see, he died to pay for my sins. And once I trust him as my Savior, I am kept saved by the power of his endless life. You see, he made a payment for me and he intercedes for me and the blood that was made as a payment for my sins is incorruptible blood, it lasts forever. So because of the power of the payment that was made for me, the provision, my eternal salvation is secure.

So that I’m not resting in the quality of my life that I live as my security that I know I’m going to heaven because where I go to church and I read the Bible and I’m a preacher. So I should be, should I feel more secure than you? No. I am no more securely saved than a drunk who walks in here this morning and trusts Christ as a Savior. He will be just to save and just to secure as the preacher who tried to live God if of 40 years.

I have no more advantages because what God did for one, he did for every person. He made a complete payment and he says that you are to be say from the wrath to come because he came back from the dead and ever lived it. Look what he says, the last part of verse 10, we shall be saved by his life. Christ now lives in me and lives in you. He’ll never cast you out, he’ll never lose you. And so because of the promises that God has made, you are eternally secure.

There is a multitude of preachers who do not believe this. Don’t you think, but all preachers believe in the same way. No, they don’t. No, they don’t. Take your Bible and turn to the book of 1 Peter chapter 1. 1 Peter and chapter 1. 1 Peter chapter 1, we are eternally secure and you should know that we’re eternally secure because of the power of God, because of his power. Does any man have any power, any power that’s greater than God’s power.

Take all the power that a man can muster. Is it greater than God’s power? No. So God has all authority, all power. And he can decide what he will do. And this is what he has decided that he will do. You see, man didn’t make this up. This was what God wanted. It doesn’t matter how many times you think in your mind, that’s not fair. That’s not right. I don’t I believe a person ought to be able to go out here and do things wrong and go to heaven.

Well, then you don’t believe anybody ought to go to heaven, because everybody has. I had a man tell me one time, well, if what you say is true, I could go out here and live like the devil and still go to heaven when I die. He said, I’ll never believe that. I said, if you don’t believe in salvation by grace, you can’t, and you won’t believe that. But if you believe that salvation is really by grace, unmerited, then why are you thinking that a man’s got to live good enough to merit it?

If he doesn’t have to merit it. means unmerited. Now either man has to merit salvation or he doesn’t merit salvation. One way or the other can’t be both ways. So if a man is saved by grace means he doesn’t merit his salvation. It means that after you are saved, there’s nothing that you have to do to merit keeping it. Now notice what it says here in 1 Peter in chapter 1. Look in verse Verse three, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again.

That word begotten us again means to be born again. You have been begotten of God. If you were begotten, that means you were born again. But who was your Father? Look what he said. Blessed be the God and the Father of of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ hath begotten you again. That means you have been born again by God the Father. Now he’s not only the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, he is my Father.

He’s my Father. I’m his son, I am his child. He fathered me. He gave me a new birth born of God, born by the incorruptible seed. Now notice something, when he makes the statement here, according to his abundant mercy, half the Godness again, did it say, because you kept the 10 commandments you were born again, because you did all these good deeds you were born again. Mercy means you didn’t deserve it. You didn’t deserve to be saved by his abundant mercy.

That’s why I’m saved. I’m going to heaven because he had mercy upon me. I didn’t get what I deserved. Grace is getting something you didn’t deserve and mercy is not getting what you do deserve. And notice this. He says, according to his abundant mercy, he hath begotten us again, then born again, get this, unto a lively hope. That word lively hope means a living hope. It means that our hope of our eternal, eternal security is based upon a living person because Christ came back from the dead.

Remember I told you this on Easter. Christ coming back from the dead and the scars in his hands and in his feet and in his side, that’s the stamp of approval that He is the payment. And Paul, he is the proof of payment. So Christ being raised from the dead is the proof that the payment for our sins have been paid and he ever live it as a living eternal receipt. And so our hope is in him. You say, well, you don’t deserve to go to heaven.

That’s right. Look at Christ. He went through that. He did that for me. And God fathered me because of His abundant mercy. Now, because of anything that I’ve done, don’t you ever get on your high horse and thinking that you’re saved because you did something worthy, like you’re better than somebody else. We are all sinners and nobody’s any better than anybody else. Only by the grace of God does somebody explain the gospel to you and the Holy Spirit illuminate your mind and you had a good sense to accept the payment Christ made on the cross for you or you would go to hell.

Well, everybody loves you. Now I want you to look in verse four. In verse four, in verse four it makes the statement that you have an inheritance. It means a place in heaven, an inheritance, incorruptible and undefiled, that faith if not away reserved in heaven for you. Now, when it says your inheritance is incorruptible, it means that your place that you have for you is death-proof. It is death-proof. It means it is not subject to decay. It can’t die.

Whatever inheritance that you’ve got, it’s death-proof. When it makes a statement that it is on the file, it means it is sin-proof. It means that it’s not capable of sin. The Bible tells us in the book of Revelation 21, 27, for there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defile of a work of the Bomination or even a lie. But they which are written in the Land of the Book of Life, no, we’re not even a sin.

It can’t enter there. So God has a place. It can never be defiled. It’s sin-proof. And that’s the place He has for me. That’s my place. I have an inheritance that’s incorruptible. It’s death proof. It can never die. It’s mine. No end to it. And it’s sin proof. No sin can get in there. It cannot defile it. That’s mine. That’s my inheritance. You see, when I trusted Christ as my Savior, I became an heir of God and joined heirs with Christ because He’s my Father.

I inherited all of this. You see, a man one day came to Christ and says, what must I do to inherit eternal life? You can inherit eternal life unless you’re his child. It’s nothing that you do. You see, eternal life is something that you have when you trust Christ as your Savior. Now get this. And the last part of it says, and that fadeth not away, that fadeth not away, it means it’s time-proof. It means that in the future, It can’t gradually fade away and I lose it.

All of these words are down here for this reason. When he says it is incorruptible means that I can’t lose it. When he says it, fate if not away means I can’t lose it. When he says that it’s undefiled means that I can’t lose it. Why do you think even the Lord says, lay up treasure and so forth in heaven because you can’t lose it? He says that this is all secured for me because of the power of God.

Now I know and I believe in eternal security for several good reasons. I do it because I believe very strongly in the purpose of God designed it and his payment that he made designed it. And so we have, according to the Word of God, the power of God that secures him. Now look what he says here in verse 5, look in verse 5, who are kept, who are kept, who refers to me, who refers to you, who are what?

Kept, you are kept, you are have been born again, born of the Father, you have a place that is inherited by you, that’s incorruptible and undefiled and that paid if not away, that’s all been put to your account. That’s all yours. That’s yours. And then he said, well, what about you? Why reserve a place like that for you? That’s death proof and sin proof. That means it’s all there and it’s all yours. Yet at the same time, having to where you might not show up.

So he says in verse five, who are kept by the power of God. Who saved you? He did. Who keeps you saved? He does. You were saved by Him and you are kept saved by Him, has nothing to do with your performance. Now, if this causes you to go out and live like the devil, so be it. I can’t help that. But I want you to get the other side of the coin, because this is true. It is the Word of God.

And I don’t usually take a habit of changing and pushing the book If you can show me where from the Bible that what I said is wrong show it to me I’ll try because I know this is the authority the preacher’s not the authority But I want to try to put things in his proper perspective. I Believe that as a child of God Because I’m going to heaven. I don’t worry about that anymore. I don’t even think about it Because what I did 40 years ago in a little old living room and I trusted Christ as my Savior all that was secured That’s all done.

I didn’t save me. I don’t have to worry about that. I don’t have to keep myself saved by anything I do. There’s nothing I can do that can never take it away. But because I’m God’s child, I want to serve Him because of where I’m going. I want to serve Him because of what He did for me. Because all of this is so real and so true. I want to live for the Lord. But I don’t do that to get to heaven.

I do it because I’m going to heaven. Salvation is totally free. You have a place that’s reserved in heaven for you. Look at the last part of verse four. He says, reserved in heaven for who? For you who are kept by the power of God through faith and desalvation. All right, now look up here just a moment. Let me show you a simple illustration. This hand represents you and me and a wallet represents sin. We all have sin upon us.

Now, for you and I to go to heaven, we have to be perfect as righteous as God. No sin. Nobody is. We’ve all sinned and to pay for the sin is eternal separation from God in hell. So if we’re all guilty, then we have to pay. So that’s why we need a Savior. You cannot save yourself. And the sin has to be dealt with. And so God says you cannot earn eternal life. You cannot work your way to heaven.

You have to pay for this. And to pay for your sins means you go to hell. This hand represents Jesus Christ, God in the flesh. He came into the world because He loves us, hates our sin. So what Christ did was He took our sins, paid for them on the cross, came back from the dead. All the sins of all the world has been paid. And whosoever believes that Christ did that for them. He puts that payment to their account and you go to heaven on what he did for you, that substitution.

You are justified just as if you had never committed one single act of sin. God gives to you his eternal life, his Holy Spirit. You become his child, born of God, and you are going to heaven whenever you die. You’re just not there yet, but you’re going to heaven whenever you die. That cannot be changed. His purpose cannot be changed. His power cannot be changed. His promises cannot be changed. 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 toll free 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our homepage.

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 broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.org. Thanks for joining us on Bible Live, and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold.

Friend, one day it will happen, the trumpet will sound. We will be changed. Hot 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.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

Bibleline Bibleline, they are 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 regular prayer… Your 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. One line donations may be made through the Bibleline website at calbryoftampa.org.

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. Romans chapter 8 and verse 28. So now that you’ve trusted Christ as your Savior, don’t you believe that the God that created the heavens and the year also is interested in your life? That God that can give you eternal life, can he give you a hamburger from day to day?

I think so. But here in Romans in chapter 8, I want you to look in verse 28 28 says, for we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, who are the called according to His purpose. It says, and we know. If you know this, then it’s one thing, but a lot of people don’t know it. A lot of people know the verse, but they don’t believe the verse. And so that’s why we have so many miserable, weak, bitter, angry Christians that are not really happy or feel with joy of the Lord.

If God is going to take you from something to something, He’s got to lead you through something. If He’s taking you from childhood to adulthood, He’s got to take you through the teenage years. In 1 Corinthians 10, there’s five basic privileges that God does for all of us that are pretty much the same. I want you to see it very quickly. In verse one, he says, Moreover brethren, I would not that you should be ignorant that all our fathers were unto the cloud and all passed through the sea.

All were baptized unto Moses. In verse three, ended all eat the same spiritual meat. In verse four, ended all drink the same spiritual drink. When God took the children of Israel out of Egypt, what And he did for one Hebrew, he did for all the Hebrews. And so what God does for you and what God does for me, he’s done for everybody else. When God saved me and when God saved you, he did exactly the same thing for me, he did for you.

When Christ died on the cross, he did the same thing for me, he did for you. No difference because it was for you, it was for me, it was for all of your sins, it was all of my sins. When you trusted Christ as your Savior, well then God gave you eternal life. Well, He gave me the eternal life too. Well He made you His chat. Well He did me too. He gave you the Holy Spirit. Well He did me too.

And He promised that He’s going to take you to heaven. Well He did me too. So He said, there’s no difference in that. The difference comes between how you and I show our appreciation to God. That’s an individual choice. I get a chance, you get a chance to tell God how we appreciate what He’s done for us. And that’s where the difference comes in. You see, when we get to heaven, God rewards us, He’s not going to reward us for the things He did, He’s going to reward us for the things we did.

The rewards in heaven will be different because they’re based upon the individual decisions of individuals. Yours, mine. You can waste your life, okay, but when you get to heaven, you’re not going to have what you could have had. If somebody else decides to serve all over, they’re gonna have what you could have had, but you’re not gonna have it. And you may not think it’s that important. There’s a song that I’ve heard recently. It’s called I can only imagine.

Only imagine. No, you can’t. I don’t really like the song. I just as on scripture song. I can only imagine what it’s gonna be like in heaven. No, you can’t. I have not seen ear, have not heard and neither has entered into the heart of man. That’s what God has prepared for them, the love. It hasn’t even entered your mind. You cannot imagine what God’s got for us in eternity. You can’t imagine it….” You can’t dream up. You can’t think of how God is going to reward you when you get to him.

You can’t. It’s beyond your mind. You can’t see it out of sight, out of mind. Therefore, you may not think it’s that important. But whenever God is going to take a child and make a man out of him, he’s got to take you through certain processes. And how you work with those various things and yield to them and so forth, the lessons you learn depends on how fast you grow, or whether or not you become a mature Christian, with the Christian character that you ought to have.

And God is going to lead you through many of these things. There’s a song in the book. It’s page 96 in your songbook, but you don’t have to turn to it, but it says, God leads us along. That’s the title of what I want to talk on. And it’s on page 9 and it says, but listen what it says. In Shady Green Pastures, so rich and so sweet, God leads His dear children along. Will the waters cool flow bathe the weary ones feet?

God leads His dear children along. Some through the waters, some through the flood, some through the fire, but all through the blood. Some through great sorrow, but God gives us a song. End the night seasons and all the day long. It’s a wonderful song. It really is. And God leads us along. But in the midst of where he’s leading us, he will lead us through pretty much the same thing. It depends on how you respond in the midst of all of these things.

And that depends on where you are spiritually. The same problem that I face, somebody else may face, they may stand, I may fall. But if I fall and they stood, you see it’s because of where I was spiritually. God never gives us anything to make us fall. God will allow us to be tempted because of pride or because of some particular lesson he has for us to learn but God’s not picking on people because he got it in for you.

God’s always trying to instruct and to correct anything that’s wrong in your life where he wants to lead you and he makes this statement in verse two. Sometimes on the Mount where the sun shines so bright, God leads his dear children along. Sometimes in the rally in darkness of night, God leads his dear children along. Did you know that the light in the darkness means nothing to God? Did God exist before there was light upon the earth? Remember it was God that created the heavens and says, and darkness was of all the face of the deep.

Well, see, it didn’t matter if it was light or there is no light. God sees all as though there is no such thing as darkness or light. That’s for our benefit so that we can see things that we could not see with the natural life. But he makes the statement here and I love it, sometimes in the valley and in the darkness of night, God leaves his dear children alone, to the water, some to the flood, some to the fire, but all to the blood.

Some through great sorrow, but God gives a song in the night seasons and all the day long. Did you know that those who sometimes may have to go through great sorrow, sing the better songs? They write greater songs. They learn greater lessons. So don’t curse the dark light of candle and don’t become bitter because of things that happens in your life because God is leading you someplace. There are particular lessons that God wants every one of us to learn through the things that we have to face.

Now look there in verse five. In verse five of the same chapter there are five basic sins that plague people. See everybody’s going to be tempted and you’re going to be tempted in different ways by these various means. In verse five, he said, but with many of them, God was not well pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now, these things were our examples to the intent we should not lust after evil things. You’re tempted to do so.

Many will fall because of it. Verse 7, neither be idolaters. That’s the second thing. And many people will because they’ll put idols before God and they worship their idols. You may worship sports. You can worship money. You can worship your wives. You can worship your kids. You can worship anything but not worship God. And God calls that idolatry. Nothing is to be between you and God. And then number three, they’re in verse eight, neither let us commit for an occasion as some of them committed and some are tempted in this area.

Verse 9, neither let us tempt Christ as some of them also tempted and were destroyed of serpents. Many people are going to tempt God. Sometimes we step out and we take dangerous detours thinking that nothing will happen. Or we mock sin thinking there’s no consequences. And God says you’re mocking me. You’re mocking me. You think you can do what you want to do and get away with it. Some Christians will do that and they get this. And the next one he says in verse 10, neither murmur ye, number five, as some of them also murmur.

In other words, to complain, complain, complain. Have you ever made Christians that all they do is complain, complain, complain, always whining about something? Nothing’s ever right. They’re always negative, always pessimistic, always down. You’re always having to say something to encourage them. Well, there’s time when we do, yes, but you shouldn’t live there. That shouldn’t be where you make your daily abode. Take your Bible and turn to the book of Deuteronomy in chapter 1. When God wanted to take Israel, that’s whenever Jacob’s name was Jacob before it changed to Israel.

And there were about 70 in his clan now, as time has gone on. Joseph had already been sent down into Egypt. God promised the land of Canaan to Israel. But there were enemies in the land and Israel was just a little old small group of people, just the tribe. And so God sent them down into Egypt. God sent them down into Egypt where they were there for 400 years. Now America is a little over 200 years. old, and God led them there in order to get them there.

God will sometimes lead you in the exact opposite direction of where He wants you to be because of the lessons He has for you to learn. So while they were there, there’s many lessons they had to learn. And God had promised them a land that flowed with milk and honey. But to get them from where they were, to get them where they are supposed to be, God had to work some miracles. And so God had led them there so that they could go through the furnace of fire.

And many times the scriptures tells us that Israel down in Egypt was a furnace of fire. They were being purified. And then whenever he led them back out of Egypt, he had to go through the Red Sea. And in every step God was leading his children along. He is the shepherd and he’s leading his flock. They didn’t always get led where they wanted to go, but they were led exactly where God wanted them to be. God is the one that had planned on Jacob taking his family down to Egypt and had sent Joseph in advance and he used the wicked decisions of his family, his brothers, and sold him as a slave and he was sent and God led all that happen because he got has a bigger plan.

God, and you must believe, is working in your life. You may not see in all the little details. But after a while, you can look back over you like me, you can see how God did this and God did this and God did this. And some people never see God working in the life. I can look at my life and I’ve seen God move in a mighty and mysterious and strange ways that I could not have planned. I could not have ever designed all the things that God has done for me.

And I look at it and I stand, it is an awesome thing to know that God is doing something in your life and that God has a purpose and a plan. You see, I don’t have to know where I’m going to end up. I’m going to end up in heaven. But while I’m in this world, God is leading and He’s taking you here, He takes you there and so on. And He brings you into something that He might bring you through something that you might learn something to be better for him.

Some people, they don’t mind it if God turns out the light on somebody else, for they can learn all these lessons. But when you see God’s hand going for the light switch, you become, you begin to panic. You become fearful. When you start losing your money and you don’t know what you’re going to do, when your health starts to go. Or you’re facing some serious operation you don’t know what you’re going to do. Or people turn against you and you don’t know what you’re going to do.

And so God leads you through all these things. One of the biggest things I believe is because God wants you to learn that He is enough and He is sufficient for your life. If it’s just you and the Lord. What if there was nobody else in the whole world, just you and the Lord? Could you handle that? It might be that that’s where God will take you. Now here in Deuteronomy in chapter one, look what he says there in verse two.

Before they got into the promised land, he had to bring them through the wilderness and they were went through the wilderness for 40 years. Think about that. When God who had Moses already in Egypt, let him go out of Egypt, the backside of a desert and left him there for forty years waiting. Waiting until Moses was right, waiting until the people in the land, in the iniquity of the emirites are not yet full. And he says that he had to get Israel ready and make a nation out of them and an army out of them.

So God had all these things in mind and he’s planning. God is behind the scene and he has on overall purpose. And he says the wickedness of the people in the land that had the land God’s because of their sin, he was going to take it away from them and he’s going to give it to them. See the earth belongs to God. And God can give it to whoever he wants to. This is his world. Those are his planets and that his stars.

This is his earth. And you are, as The Bible says you are the chief of his pastor, the people of God. So God is free to do whatever he wants with that which belongs to them, but God works according to the rules, the rules of law, the rule of love. God can show the various characteristic traits of himself. He may show his judgment and his wrath or his compassion, his mercy, and he chooses different vessels to do it and different nations to do it.

But God is alive and God is working and though you may think my life is dull, it’s boring, whatever I am, just because you fail to see what’s been done. He didn’t take and create us and then take a vacation someplace. God is intricately involved in the daily affairs of every individual. In verse 2 there are 11 days journey from from horrible by the way of Mount Sir on Decadeus Barnea. In other words, from Mount Sinai, where God gave him the law, Decadeus Barnea, he said, it’s only 11 days journey.

In other words, they could have been right there and went into the land. But how long did it take them? 40 years. 40 years to go to 11 days journey. Why? Because you see, God used the wilderness experience in order to take all of those individuals who believed that they can’t go into the land because of the giants of Enakkari in there. And we can’t win. And so they came back with an evil report and convinced the children of Israel that they can’t go.

And so their unbelief kept them from going into the land. And so God said, I’m going to let you wander around in the wilderness for 40 years. And doing that 40 years, he says, all of y’all are going to die off. And I’m going to take the other generation in. And he says, but Caleb and Joshua, they’ll get to go into the land. Now stop and think for a moment. That means that during these 40 years, and all these people that had died, every death was by the hand of God.

Everyone that lived that went into the land was by the hand of God. Because God could have kept them alive or God could killed all everything in God’s hands. And that means that God individually knew all those who did not believe and those that did and God called some to live and some to die. Well, it was just an accident, that a freak accident. This person died. No, everything is been watched upon by the eyes of God. and whether man lives or whether man dies in God’s hands.

Now God may use wicked things in this world but God is in charge. God is still on the throne. God still rules. Christ, when he was here, he told Luke, chapter 13, he says, do you think that those 18 that died because the tower’s alone fell upon them? They were wicked than somebody else? He says, that’s not true. In other words, he knew the real reason, but he knew they died. But it wasn’t because they were more wicked than somebody else, but then evidently God did know the reason.

They doesn’t say it. He makes this statement because some came and says, Why was this child born blind? He said it wasn’t because of the sins of the mother and the father, and therefore this child was born blind. He says that’s not true. He said it had nothing to do with the mother and the father and their sins. He said this man was born blind that you might see the power of God. In other words, he had been blind from birth all the year because God was going to do something in the life of this one blind person.

See there’s a reason. You just may not always know it. Why would God have a man like Moses born and he couldn’t speak right? Had an impediment of speech. Moses used his flaw as an excuse not to serve God. But God says, I want to use you just the way you are. Moses wouldn’t do it. Moses missed out on some mighty good blessings. When God told Moses certain things to do, Moses at times got angry. And because of his anger, he said and did things he should not have done.

And when he did so, it was not permitted to go into the promised land. Just a coincidence? No, he died upon the mountain. Right before they was to go in. So, well, the one lives, one dies. You say, well, it’s just an accident. No, it’s not. There’s a God in heaven that knows what’s going on. And God will bring you into something that He may lead you through something that you may learn what God wants you to do. There’s always something that’s going on and you should always ask, Lord, what do you have for me to learn?

What do you want to teach me through this? And I assure you, there are lessons to learn in every testing, every trial, every temptation that you have. There’s something to learn. I have over the years wondered why did God leave me here and in the there and in the there and in the there and in there. My life is a step. It’s a walk. You’re walking with God. It’s a step at a time. You don’t have to know where it’s going to end up.

You just go ahead and serve God. Just keep walking with the Lord. And if you’ll serve God faithful today, you’ll be where you’re supposed to be tomorrow. And if you’ll serve God that day, then you’ll be where you’re supposed to be the next day. You see, if God is going to use you, God has got to prepare you. And God has to toughen you up. He has to let you get beat up a little bit. As you go through life, whether with people or things, They are to rough you up so that you get strong in the Lord and not in the power of your own strength, not in your own wisdom.

But you as a child of God, realize there’s some things I cannot control. I must trust God. I don’t do this because I’ve got people who believe in me. I do this because I believe God wants me to do this. And in the power of the Lord, I will do such and such and you do that And you hang with that and you don’t change. And God will work miracles. Because what are you gonna do? If everybody you know, every friend you have, all decide to turn against you.

Now what are you gonna do? Are you only as strong as the ones you hang around? What if they don’t agree with you anymore? What if they don’t love you anymore? What if they turn and say mean and hateful things? What are you made out of? Well, this is why you have to sometimes go from childhood to maturity, and God’s got to bring you to the wilderness. As that song says, some through the waters, some through the floods, some through the fire, but all through the blood.

Because of who Christ is and what He’s done for you, it’s an awesome song. But I read the words to that title one day. God leads us along. Some of you might want God leave me alone. No, God leads us along. Now take your Bible and turn to the book of 1 Samuel, 1 Samuel 22. David had been anointed king of Israel when he was just a little lad. God had looked over the other seven brothers and he picked the smallest one, the youngest one, and says, this is the one I want to be king.

God did that because that was the will of God. It’s what God wanted. So, from childhood, until he became the king, there were many things God was going to bring him through in order to prepare him to be the king. He can’t go from here, straight to king. God has many things for him to learn, lessons to go through. God took a shepherd boy, not the most intelligent person in all the world. He wasn’t born in a palace. He was a little shepherd boy.

and God blessed him. And no doubt while he was out there he learned how to play the harmonica. Well a harp. And the Bible says that he was a sweet musician of Israel and he would learn the same and he played and he was skillful. Did you know that God used that? On a day whenever Saul would have his down moments and he would bring the little young David boy in there and he would play his harp and perform.

And Saul was aged and he enjoyed it and it sooth his spirit, calmed his bad attitude. When it wasn’t long before Saul realized there’s something different about that boy. Someday that boy is going to get my job and so he tried to kill young David. Why did God let him go through all that? Why would God let this young boy who didn’t ask to be the king? And yet at the same time, God had to prepare him. And at one time he had to kill a bear with his bare hands and a lion.

Pretty good. But there was a time in David’s life where there was many things that God had to do for him. Here he had to run for his life. And yet God had promised, you’re going to be the king, and yet here’s a man running for his life. The king was trying to kill him. Look up here. This man represents you and me and the wallet represents sin. We all have sin upon us. God, he loves us, but he hates our sin.

For you and I to go to heaven, we have to be perfect as righteous as God, and none of us are perfect. None of us are righteous. We cannot enter into heaven because of sin. the goal is to get rid of sin and God says that you cannot get rid of this sin except by death. The wages of sin is eternal separation from God in a place called hell. But God loves us. He says you cannot save yourself, you cannot earn eternal life.

This sin represents Jesus Christ. He’s the Lord God in a place. He came into the world because He loves us. He hates our sin. He says it separates us from Him. So Christ took the sin, all of it. Paid for on the cross, came back from the dead. Instead, if we’ll believe He did it for us, He would put the payment to our account and we get to go to heaven, and watch Jesus Christ did for us. I’ve trusted Christ as my Savior.

I hope that you trust the Lord as your Savior. It’s so important not only to know Christ as your Savior, but to realize that God is working in your life. God is leaving you alone. It doesn’t matter about your family situation, job situation, the finance situation, the health situation. God wants to lead you through everything and He wants to become more real to you than the clothes you have on your bank. He wants to teach you things about Himself.

You would never learn any other way. Let’s pray show 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. Part 2 of this teaching will conclude with tomorrow’s broadcast. 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. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our home page. 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. broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.org.

Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friend, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound. 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. Just keep looking up.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

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 read the Bible. continue on the air. You can reach us toll free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made through the Bible-lined website at calvaryoftampa.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.

The salvation that we have as the Bible calls it, so great salvation is not over just because you trusted Christ as your Savior. The Lord saves us from the penalty of sin, which is death and hell. So you have been saved from that. The Holy Spirit indwells us in order to save us from the power of sin in our life. And that goes on all the days of your physical life upon this earth. And then the Lord says that He wants to save us and will save us someday from the very presence of sin.

So we know that we’re saved, saved, saved. You’ve heard that song, save, save, saved. So I’m saved from the penalty, saved from its power and be saved someday from the very presence. But if we neglect why we live in this world, If we neglect this so great salvation, God says that He’s going to reward us and the rewards are not always something good. Did you know that you can do bad things and receive a reward and you can do good things and receive a reward?

In other words, you’re going to receive the just recompense of your deeds. So God rewards evil people and God rewards good people. So you’re going to get rewarded one way or the other. But he makes a statement here in verse 1 of Hebrews chapter 2, therefore we, we refers to those who have trusted Christ as their Savior. These scriptures are not talking to lost people. This is to those who know the Lord. This is talking to you and talking to me.

Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, less at any time we should let them slip. There are things that you have been taught that you ought not to let slip away out of your mind. The Bible says in chapter 3, and we won’t take the time to look at it, but it talks about those who depart from the faith because of their unbelief. You know Christ is Savior, but you can get to where you do not believe the things that God says about Him and about your responsibility to Him.

thinking that it’s a serious thing, that our Christian life isn’t a serious deal. My Christianity is serious to me. My going to church, that’s serious to me. My Bible study is a serious thing to me. My prayer and my giving and everything that I do, my whole Christian life is a serious thing to me. It’s not a game to me. It is a serious thing. It ought to be to every Christian. He makes the statement in verse to for if, if the word spoken by angels was steadfast.

In other words, when God gave his word to Moses on Mount Sinai and God meant what he said and God said he would bless Israel if they were obedient and he would chase them if they were disobedient. God meant exactly what he said and they received the just recompense of the reward. In other words, they got their do whether it was in the land and being totally blessed or out of the land being totally what God kept his word.

And if God will keep his word according to the law, what do you think he’s going to do about these other things that he says? So the book of Hebrews is written not to the lost people. The book of Hebrews is written to believers who are stumbling all over themselves, to believers who are disbelieving the things about their Christian life. They’re not walking as the ought to. So the title of the sermon this morning is in your notes there.

How shall we escape the chastening rod of God? How can you escape it? You cannot escape. So this is written to the believers and not to the lost. But look what he says again in verse to. 3 7 8 8 8 9 9 9 8 9 9 9 9 9 8 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 8 He says, and every transgression, that means under the law, when they transgress the law, he says, and disobedience received a just recompense of reward.

In other words, they got their just due. They received their just desserts. They received what the Bible calls, you reap what you sow. You reap what you sow. And how shall we escape is not to the lost man’s talking to the believers. How is the Christians going to escape the chastening hand of God? Now by the time you get to Hebrews chapter 12 that talks about the chastening, the chastening of God’s people, there’s a lot of scriptures in between these scriptures between chapter 2 and chapter 12, 10 chapters in there.

And they have all kinds of things that it talks about the Christian and what he’s to do and not to do. Look what he says there in chapter 4 and verse 12. Because he’s talking to the Christians, for the word of God is quick, that means it’s a lie. The word of God is a quick and a powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. Pearson even to the divided in a sunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and the moral.

That’s your body. So of the body, the soul, and the spirit, and is a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart. Does the Word of God know your motive? The intents of your heart, yes it does. And God can reveal all these things to us. That helps us to see, why do I do what I do? What is my real motivation? And God says that nothing is hid to his eyes. See there in verse 13? Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight, but all things are naked and open unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

In other words, your whole life has to do with God. And everything is open to the eyes, his eyes. In other words, before God, you are stripped totally naked in front of God. God sees and God knows everything inside and out, body, soul, and spirit. Because as time goes on How are we going to escape when we stand before God and God says why didn’t you do what I told you to do? As the years roll by we want to do less and less instead of more and more He says for the time you ought to be teachers, but you’re not able to teach because you don’t know the word Why don’t you know the word because you wouldn’t study it?

He says you become dull of hearing you don’t want to hear because you don’t want to do You see when you want to do things for God You don’t mind listening to the word of God some people they don’t care what the Bible teaches they’re gonna live their Christian life The way they want to live it’s my life. Get off my back. Leave me alone God pity those kind of Christians Because they’re not going to be used. You’re gonna be put up on a shelf.

What is the purpose of? Chasing so as you go through here You find out a lot of things that God warns us about and things that we should go on to maturity in chapter six and many of God’s people won’t go on. They never mature. They stay a baby all their life. They never grow up, never can handle spiritual responsibilities, but take your Bible and turn there to the book of Hebrews in chapter 10. But he makes a statement here in verse 34, we know him that hath said, vengeance belong unto me, I will recompense.

That’s the Lord says, I will get even. That’s the Lord says, I will pay you back. In other words, God says, I’m going to judge my people. See in the last part of verse 30. The Lord showed judge who, the lost to his people, his people. You see, you and I cannot live as we please after we’re saved and do whatever we want, think it’s okay. No, we have spiritual responsibilities and we’re to be found faithful to do the things that God says to do.

He says, if you don’t, he says it’s going to cost you. It’s going to cost you. Look what he says in verse 35 of chapter 10. Cast not away therefore your covenant, which hath great recompense of what? Reward. Don’t cast away your confidence. In other words, as a Christian, don’t lose your confidence in God. Don’t lose your hope in the Lord. Don’t lose the purpose for which God left you here. Don’t get so involved in the things of the world that you don’t have time to be faithful to God.

Wouldn’t that be a shame? So I can’t be faithful because I just don’t have time. God can solve that. The purpose of chasing to correct a child, that means a rebuke for the wrong actions. To train a child, repeat the right actions. You see, all chasting isn’t bad. Chasting is also for instruction in righteousness to help us to do the things that we should do. It also is to scourge a child and hopefully trying to learn how to get a balance in this when we raise our own children.

And there’s a lot of things that we as a pastor, and we’re going to be able to do that. And there’s a lot of things that we do that we do that God wants to reward us for. And there’s things that He wants to rebuke us on that He said, I want you to stop that and don’t you do it again. and don’t you do it again. And there’s the other things that you’re doing that may be right in God said, I want you to repeat that over and over and over again.

The other words you hear me always said, just keep doing right. Whatever it is, if it’s right, you keep doing right. Always keep doing right. Always do right. The Holy Spirit will never lead you to do wrong. The Holy Spirit will never lead you to be unkind or unfaithful. Holy Spirit always leads you to be holy, to do right, to trust the Lord. You see, there’s some things that God will do for you and I that He won’t do for the lost man.

You see, God’s not interested in just chasing the lost man for everything. He does it’s wrong and it seems like they can get away with murder. And that’s why even David says that I became envious of the wicked. When I saw the prosperity of the wicked, whenever I did what was right and it seemed like I was chasing all the day long and it seemed like they could do whatever they wanted to do that was wrong and they get away with it.

It’s not fair, God. Just not fair. Well, life isn’t fair. But David says, when I saw the end result, I looked down the road and I saw the end result. He said, when I went into the sanctuary, awesome. But he makes a statement here in verse 6 and 7, who is subject to chastening God’s children. He says, for whom the Lord loveth, he chastened and scurgedeth every son, every Ukrain, whom he received the who does God chasing every son, every child.

And he says,Twitter, If you do not receive chasing, he says, then you are a bastard. You are an illegitimate child. You’re not my child. See, God doesn’t chase everybody, but he does chasing his children. You see, why does God chasing? Because he loves you. Because he loves you. And he chases us for reasons, we’ll discuss in just a moment. But in verse 8, but if you be without chastisReleased, we’re of all or partakers, all are part, all who all believers are partakers.

And verse 9 says, furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us and we gave them reverence. And part of the chasing process is our Father, heavenly Father, is correcting us. Because see, we don’t have the knowledge to do everything right. The Bible says the book of Jeremiah, it is not within man that walk of two direct his steps. So God has to correct us all the time. And sometimes we don’t listen to the Lord and God has ways and means in which he can work and deal in our life.

He gives us that personalized attention. Look at number three, how does chastening prophet obedient Christians? How does chastening profit of an obedient children? DIT Look there in verse 10. He says, for they are, are, are barely for a few days. They chastened us, it was temporarily. Chasing us after their own pleasures. You say, what do you mean pleasure? Most times parents will chasten the kids when they get sick and tired of putting up with you, doing something and they want to kill you.

Instead of being faithfully disciplined you all the time consistently, whether they want to or they don’t, they do it because they do it for your good. And sometimes because you’ve irritated them to the no end or you don’t got on their nerves, then they’re going to come down on you and then that’s their form of correction. You see God, He’s long suffered and He’s patient. But when God has to lower the boom, He will lower the boom. He says, but He does it.

Why? You ought to underline these two words. He does it for our what? Our prophet. Why does God chasing us for our prophet? Why does God correct us for our prophet. Why does God rebuke us for our problem? You’re going to live long enough that you’ll be so glad that God never answered all of your prayers and that God was wise enough to rebuke you, to say no to you, to knowledge you have everything that you want. And this is why you have to be so careful in your Christian life, desiring things that God doesn’t want you to have, falling in love with the things of the world that God says not to do.

You can begin little by little that knowing that vex your righteous soul from day on to day, looking and seeing the things of the world. And you begin to grieve for those things that you want to cleave to the things of the world. The next thing there in that verse to make us more holy because he says for our prophet that we might be partakers of his what? His holiness. God, believe it or not, God wants to be holy.

God doesn’t want you to be unholy. Unholy means not like God. Holy means like God. God wants you to be like Him. I heard a man one day… Ask somebody, how do you know you got this great big old granite and you’re gonna chisel the picture of a horse on it? How do you know how to chisel this horse? He says, I just chip away everything that doesn’t look like a horse. I just chip away everything that doesn’t look like a horse.

And God wants to chip away everything out of our lives. It doesn’t look like him. You think as God says that we’re naked unto him and he can see all that God is wanting to purge out of our life anything that doesn’t look like him and act like him. Think like him. What do you think? What do you think? Do you think God has been working on you lately? Do you think God really cares about you? Yes, he does.

And see, God is more interested in you looking like him and being like him than you have in anything else in this whole world. Everything else in this world ain’t worth a quarter compared to you being like him. That’s what he wants. He says, walk in his image, learning how to be like the Lord. He says, now, now, never is. Now, no chasing for the present seems to be joys. Have you ever enjoyed a weapon? You teenage, you ever enjoy a weapon?

No, I don’t think most of you probably don’t get one. That’s what I ought to do once, and I just have a good old weapon session. And just whoop y’all, because you probably got it coming, you just haven’t got it yet. For their profit, right? For their profit. But notice, he says, nevertheless afterwards, afterwards the chasing, it yielded the peaceable fruit of what? Righteousness. In other words, why does God correct you? Why does God because he wants you to do right?

He wants the fruit of righteousness in your life. Wants you to do right. Does God want you to get mean and bitter ugly and unkind because of whatever he allows to come into your life. No, that’s not what God wants. Look in chapter 11 and verse 26, remember the man named Moses? Well Moses, before he ever left Egypt, before he everutable left Egypt, he wanted to serve God before he spent 40 years on the backside of the desert. He had already made up his mind what he wanted.

It’s just that But they rejected him. So he went on the backside of the desert. 40 years later, God came to him and says, I want you to go on that. I ain’t going back. He said, yeah, you are. No, I’m not going down here. Look what he says. He says in verse 25, Choosing, talking about Moses, Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God. You see, serving God is a choice. He says then to enjoy the pleasures of sin.

in other words, this for a season would have been his lifetime. Would have been his lifetime. He could have enjoyed the pleasures of sin for a whole lifetime. But he says he chose the reproaches of Christ, esteemed them greater riches. So he makes a statement here in verse 26, A steaming the reproach of Christ, greater riches than the treasures in Egypt. for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward. You are to underline that statement. You see, he was looking down the road and past this life because he never enjoyed it during this life.

His 40 years of serving God after he got those children was one of nothing but headache and misery for 40 years. That’s what he put up with. You know the reason he was not even allowed to go into the Promised Land because he lost his cool because he got mad, he got angry. It happened on quite a few occasions, but God still used the man, but the man never got to go into the Promised Land, never got to go in.

It was a Monotny Bowen died there, but he looked beyond this life and beyond what he had to go through in for 40 years that he served God. Not talking about the 40 years on the backside of the desert. Is it going to be worth whatever I go through here or what I’m going to get in eternity? See, this is just the dressing room. This is not really where it’s all happening. We’re going to a place where it’s really going to be real and really going to happen.

And you’ll see why it was so important. So, they manned in upon you at times. And that’s why some of these people went through a lot of things. Why didn’t God prevent all these things that happened to these people? Well, maybe he could have, but he didn’t. But look there in verse 34. This is what some of the people went through in the so-called experience, you know, after they’re saved. How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?

What God has done for us and this period of time that God’s given them in the living, what if I neglect to live for God during this period of time? What’s he gonna cost me? So how are you think you’re going to escape the chastening hand of God? You’re not going to escape it. It’s not that God saved you and he’s busy and you’re busy and you just ain’t got time to get together I got it and don’t, no big deal anyway.

You don’t get it. He said, who through faith subdued kingdoms and wrought righteousness obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, valiant and fight and turned and flight the armies of the alien. And look what some of these people went through that didn’t make it. They didn’t make it in this world. Some of the things that happens to them. You say, well, if they really love the Lord, that wouldn’t have happened to them.

Yes, Job still has his three friends and they’ve a lot of years of paths. There’s a lot more of them today. He says here in verse 35, women received their dead raise to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection. Others had trials of schools, mockings and scurging. Yay, more over a bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn a sundae, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskin and goat skin, been destitute, afflicted and tormented.

You see, why didn’t God stop all that? God didn’t want to stop it. God doesn’t stop all the heartaches in our life. God wants us to go right through the middle of every one of them. Everything that happens. God has not seen fit to deliver us from every eels in this world and every bad man in this world and all the bad decisions of people. No, God says, I want to give you the strength and the grace that you need to face whatever’s coming down the road.

And it says in verse 38, of whom the world was not, look at it, look what it says. In God’s eyes, He says the world was not worthy of such people. In verse 39, these all, these all, these all, having obtained a, what kind of report? Well, slap my mouth, somebody else is keeping the books. Somebody else has got a report card on what people are doing. Do you think that if God had a report on them that He’s got one on you and me?

that he’s watching us, that he knows what we go through, what we face, how we feel, and all the things that happens, I think so. I really do. Look at number four in their notes there. What is chastening to prevent useless hands, crooked paths, stumbling blocks. Look at those up there in verse 12. As the Bible says here, lift up the hands which hang down in the feeble knees. Because you see you get you get weak spiritually and you can’t go.

I’m not talking about physically now. I’m talking about spiritually And he says you’re down you’re so discouraged because You talk he talking about spiritually. You don’t have the strength And he says in verse 13 make straight paths for your feet Less that which is lame be turned out of the way you become a stumbling block to other Christians Somebody’s always watching you and somebody’s following you You’re an example to somebody. I don’t care where you think you are on this little Christian ladder and your maturity, you affect some people’s lives.

People are looking at you and watching you, and they’ll make decisions based upon the decisions that you make. You influence people. And God pity how we influence people when we say, I don’t care how it affects anybody else. It should bother us. So he says here in verse 14, follow peace with all men and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord talking about the fellowship that we should have with one another. Looking diligent lest any man fail of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness spring enough trouble you and thereby many become defiled.

In other words, this is what happens to weak Christians. And see, chastening is to prevent us from having all of these things in our life. When we get to it, we don’t care about other people. And God’s, how do you think you’re going to escape the chastening of God when you don’t care about your own personal testimony? You don’t care if you become a stumbling block. You don’t care if you get mad and bitter and you sow discord and you ruin and corrupt people’s lives and cause them to be unfaithful to God.

You don’t care about that. There’s a God in heaven that cares. And there’s a God in heaven that says that’s going to cost you. And you haven’t got to heaven yet, so you haven’t seen what you have lost because of it. The usefulness that you could have had in the lives of so many people. The next one, the selling of the eternal for the temporal. See there in verse 16, like Esau, who sold for one more solid meat, sold his birthright.

In the lower he sold something of great value for something that had no value. You see, whenever you get down spiritually and you’re not right with the Lord, did you know that you’ll give up eternal rewards for something temporal in this life? Eternal weight of reward for something is trash. And verse 17, but we know how that afterwards when he would have inherited the blessing he was rejected, for he found no place or repentance, though he saw it carefully with tears.

And I wrote down the tears of future regrets, the tears of future regrets. Did you know that every Christian is going to have to have that time when you stand and find out what it cost you For all your disobedience Your nonchalant attitude and there gonna be tears of regret I want to how many of those tears when he says in God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes Those aren’t tears from the lost people those are tears from God’s people God may chase in in many different ways with many different believers He will give personalized attention as it’s needed see verse 17 deals with the forfeiting of earthly blessings There’s earthly blessings that sacrifice because of disobedience to God.

1 Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 8 says, And every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. So it’s going to cost you here and it’ll cost you there. 1 Corinthians 11.30 says that your rebellion to God can cause you weakness as a Christian, sickness as a Christian and not only that, death, premature death. Health and wealth, family, finances, all these things can be affected by the attitude you have toward the Lord. You are going to suffer many things in the Christian life, and sometimes it has nothing to do with what you decide.

They’re going to come. And he says, as a man is born and the shots, the sparks fly upward as troubles come to all of us. And everybody’s gonna have their fair share of all kinds of temptations and trials, troubles. And God can use everything to make us better for him. It doesn’t matter what it is. He can draw us closer to him. He can teach us valuable lessons that we will never learn. He had not had done so. Let this hand represent you and me and this wallet represent sin.

And the Bible says that God, he loves us, but he hates our sin. And he says that because we have sin, we are all condemned. And the payment is eternal separation from God and hell. And God says to go to heaven, we have to be perfect as righteous as God. This hand represents Jesus Christ, he’s the Lord God in the flesh. He came into the world because he loves us. He hates our sin because it separates us from him.

So Jesus Christ took the sin, paid for it on the cross, and came back from the dead. And God said if we would believe that He did it for us, He would save us, give us eternal life. We’d go to heaven on what He did for us. There’s no tricks of that. No, give me. This is an awesome story. Do you realize that some things happen in life, in the timing, to bring people together so that somebody would talk?

We have the greatest message in all over the world. We have something worth living for. Let’s pray a shout. 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 toll-free 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771.

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Thanks for joining us on Bible Live. And now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friend, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound. We will be changed. 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.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

Bibleline Bibleline, they are 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 to… 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 through the Bible-lined website at calvaryoftampa.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 know I have eternal life. Not everybody, everywhere knows that. Many preachers will not even say that, even if they know they have eternal life, because they know that it is offensive to those that don’t believe you can really know you have eternal life. They just talk about, let’s just get saved and don’t worry about this eternal security business or once saved always saved. And they don’t want to make it an issue. They feel that that would turn a lot of people off and become offensive to some people because There’s just a lot of good people, a lot of good Christians that just don’t see eye to eye on this.

Well, me not to see eye to eye on this means somebody saved and somebody’s lost. I didn’t write this Bible. I had nothing to do with it. But I have studied it and I have a good idea that I know what it says about how to have eternal life. But I believe the gospel is the lens by which you discern the rest of Scripture. And if you miss it on the clarity of the gospel, then everything is fuzzy. But the pure, the gospel, the sharper the distinction that you’re able to perceive on anything else in life.

And believe it or not, even when I was 18, 19, 20 years old, I used to always wonder, why it made clear because I understood what salvation was but it wasn’t as clear. And then I remember going to Tennessee Temple and watching a man like Dr. Lee Robertson, one of the greatest men at that time, who liked Moses over the children of Israel. And I used to wonder why don’t they make it clear? Even those that came in priests, they didn’t make it clear.

And I would get people to come to church and then the preachers wouldn’t make it simple. They wouldn’t make it clear. They always gave the impression that you had to come forward to be saved, that you had to come down to the altar in order to get saved. And they wouldn’t give the gospel, they would give an invitation, always inviting people to come to Jesus. Come to the cross, come down here. You step out in the aisle and Jesus will meet you the rest of the way and He’ll come down here.

If He can come all the way from heaven down to this earth, surely you can come 40 feet or 50 feet or whatever it is. And if they didn’t come, they didn’t tell them. And then He always talked about it, let’s get the gospel to the lost and it burned inside of me. I’m in it, time got mad and now that I’ve been preaching, I never knew that I was going to be a preacher. I just started off not wanting people to go to hell and the older I get, the more I’m concerned.

The more convinced I am that the position that I hold is right. I’m too far down the road to compromise now and I believe that what the Bible says about the gospel is the gospel. Now keep us in mind, we say that eternal life is the gift of God. The gift of God is eternal life. I believe that gift is eternal life. And I believe eternal life is that gift. And I believe that the gift of eternal life is given freely and it lasts forever.

Now there’s a lot of people that believe that and then turn right around and say things that contradict that very statement. How many times I’ve seen that’s all standing saying just as I am and then you tell them you got to stop something you got to join something you got to make Christ the Lord and the Master of your life and you got to turn from your sins but let’s all stand and sing just as I am. That’s hypocrisy.

Did you understand what I just said? Just as I am. Now you got to turn from your sin. You got to quit and you got to change. If you’re going this direction, you got to turn and go this direction. You got to join. You got to dip. Sprinkle, spit on, baptize. Whatever you got to do. You got to come. You got to go. You got to hang on. You got to let loose. Now let’s all sing just as I am.

And to me, that used to be in my mind. That ain’t right. Something’s wrong with this. And I never saw anybody be able to do it. make it simple and clear as I did when I went to Florida Bible College. And there’s nobody. I don’t think there’s a preacher anywhere that loves preacher fellowship like I do. But my stand on the gospel has cost me a lot of fellowship because we’re not the same. I can walk into a meeting of a thousand preachers and I’ve done it many times and feel totally alone.

Not that I think I’m I’m better. I’m not better. I discern something. I see something and it bothers me that others don’t see it. That love the Lord just as much as I do. I don’t love the Lord only. I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about what I see and I want you to understand and I’m going to show you just a minute. Take your Bible look in the book of Galatians in chapter 1. The apostle Paul to me was the greatest man that’s ever lived.

Done more for Jesus Christ for the kingdom of God than any other single man that I know. God really used this man. The apostle Paul was a Jew. He had persecuted the Christians, put them in jail. He was there when Stephen was stoned, and what he did, he thought he was doing God a favor. And then one day he saw the light, really saw the light. On the road to Damascus, the Bible says that a bright light. He was knocked down and other people couldn’t see or hear what was going on, but he saw it.

And sometimes he was able to discern what those that were around him did not discern. They didn’t get it. And it changed the man’s life for the rest of his life. He got a glimpse of heaven and he got a glimpse of hell. And he says in the Scriptures that God had to put a thorn in his flesh, whatever it was, a messenger of Satan to buffet him, to always keep him humble, keep him beat up all the time.

And yet the Apostle Paul had done nothing more than try to win people to Christ and challenge people to serve the Lord. What a man. But he says here in verse 6, he said, I marvel that you are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel. The grace of Christ is the gospel. But called you from that gospel message that’s a grace message into another gospel. In other words, look up here.

The gospel and the test of the gospel is is it by grace. Grace means that it’s not of work. It means that it’s free and that it’s free and that it it lasts forever, that’s the test of the gospel. He said, but there’s some who want to take this message and pervert that message and change it into another message. The only way you can change or pervert the gospel of grace is to add works to the message. Not works as lots of them, just one work to the gospel ruins the gospel.

And then he uses an illustration. says for if you put leaven into the dough it causes it to rise and it permeates the whole thing and it pumps it full of holes. That’s what just a little leaven does. And so God says you change the message when you add something to the message. See if it’s by grace and it’s is totally free. You can’t take away from it, but you could sure add to it. And when you add something to it, it’s no longer the gospel.

So he makes this statement here in verse 7, which is not another. In other words, you cannot make another message, another gospel exactly like this gospel. This is the gospel, and this is the message that is salvation is by grace through faith that none of yourselves, it is the gift of God, none of works list, He may should both, that a lost man can be justified, go to heaven, and it’s free, totally free. He doesn’t have to make any commitments to Christ, doesn’t have to plan on serving God, he doesn’t have to turn from one sin, not one sin.

And God will still save him just like he is. Entry, and I believe that. Let’s just pretend, here’s a man up here and he’s on drugs, he’s a dope addict, he’s a drunkard and runs around, he does everything in the book, everything you think of, that man is guilty of it. Now, does that man have to stop all those sins in order for God to save him? No, not one. If he has to stop just one sin in order for God to save him, God can’t save him.

God can’t save him. any man who does anything to try to save himself, because salvation is not by man, it’s by God’s grace. And yet you’ll find out 99% of all preachers tell that man he’s got to stop something, he’s got to stop his sins, he’s got to turn from his sins, and he’s got to commit his life to serve God. You say they don’t say that. Yes they do, yes they do. And if he doesn’t serve God that man was never saved to start with.

And so they questioned whether a man saved or he’s lost by how he lives. You can come to this church every service still be as lost as a hound dog in the end of a suitbone. You’re not saved because of that. And you can’t tell if a man’s saved by how he lives. And you can’t tell if a man’s lost by the way he lives. You can’t tell because it’s a spiritual birth. And I will never apologize to any preacher, denomination or anyone.

Right after I graduated from Bible College, I was 26 years old. By the time I was 28 years old, I had been blackball in two major denominations in this country. Christian missionary lines, church, and evangelical free churches of America. They accused me of being an extreme anti-nomian, anti against, no-mian law. Means I’m against law. I was against the law for salvation, but I was for grace because I believe that a man is saved by grace and not by works.

And I believe that when God saves a man, that man is saved and he has eternal life and he is secure for all eternity. I cannot and I am not afraid or ashamed to say it for he say, well, there’s people that might take and use that as the license to sin. They let that be on their head, but I’m not going to change the gospel message to please somebody. I can’t go to hell in future. It doesn’t matter what I do as far as my salvation goes, as far as my eternal destination goes.

Now it will affect my blessings in this life and it will affect my rewards in heaven but it cannot affect my destination. Now should I be ashamed of the gospel? When Paul says I’m not ashamed of the gospel, this is what he’s talking about. The gospel is somebody been able to say, look I was lost. Now I’m found. I was blind. I can see. I’m going to heaven when I die. I don’t have to wait till I die to find out where I’m going.

I already know where I’m going because I’ve trusted Christ. Joining the church, giving money, all the good words you’ll ever do will never save a soul. So look what he says here in verse 7, which is not another but there be some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Christ. change the gospel. And what were they doing? Adding works to the message. Now look there in verse 10. He says, for do I now persuade men or God or do I seek to please men?

If I yet please men, I should not be the servant of Christ. You have to make up your mind, either you serve man or you serve God, but you can’t serve both. And I made up my mind years ago Jesus Christ died for me. Jesus Christ paid for my sins. He and He alone deserves my loyalty, my commitment. He alone. I don’t know anybody else anything. But I owe Jesus Christ and I owe him everything. And the gospel, the clear gospel of Jesus Christ is a picture of how much God really loves man.

And when you change the gospel story by adding works to it, you take a Rembrandt. You’re taking the face of Jesus Christ and you’re marring his face. You’re cutting up the most beautiful picture in all the world, the greatest story that’s ever been told and ruining it. And no man has the right to do that. I don’t care how big his ministry is, a little known by YAH is still a shame and a disgrace for anybody to add one word to the gospel.

And anybody that believes that you can lose your salvation does not understand the gospel. And there’s a multitude of churches around here that preach that you can lose your salvation. That is not what Christ said. Our message is not the same. Our story is not the same. Galatians chapter 2 and look in verse 5. To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. Depulsive Paul says we didn’t move one eye-oater because we did not want the truth of the gospel to be taken away from you.

The thing that bothers me is this, you’ll let some little nitpicky thing, perhaps that I’ll say or do that might bother you. And then you’ll go to a church where the gospel isn’t clear, and you say, well, he’s almost as clear as or is close. And then after a while, the purity of the gospel can be lost. And I’m talking about for the sake of the lost man, the man that may never hear a clear cut gospel message. And yet his eternal destination is in the balance.

And many people will talk about, yes, I’ve been saved. Where are you going today? Well, I’m not sure. Then you don’t understand it. you don’t understand because knowing that your saved is knowing that you have eternal life and can never lose it because if you don’t know you are going to heaven when you die you don’t have that security right now. I know now I have eternal life. I know I can’t go to hell in the future. I am saved and I am secure.

I am safe. It’s already been done. Look there in verse 16, verse 16 in your Bible. Knowing that a man as he explains what he means by the truth of the gospel, knowing that a man is not justified or made righteous by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, not by the works of the law, for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

Nobody can be justified and keep this in mind. If I say I I am saved today. But I can lose it tomorrow, then I must still seek today to be justified tomorrow. That means that I must admit that I am still now a sinner and I am not now at this moment yet saved, because I must do something to get saved. Or stay saved. If you have to do something to stay saved, then you don’t know if you’re going to do it or not.

So you don’t know where you’re going, when you die, because you don’t know when you’re going to die, and you don’t know the condition you’re going to be in when that moment comes. So your salvation does not depend upon Christ, it depends upon your work, depends on how you live, whether you hang on or not. That is not the gospel, that is not the Bible. I believe that the scriptures in all these things are very clear, but look there in chapter 5 of Galatians.

If a person is doing anything at all, trying to save themselves by their life, or they think that I used to talk to people and they say, well, I used to go to church. I used to. I used to. I used to. But now they don’t anymore. So I guess I’m going to hell. Or I used to smoke or drink and I quit that. So that’s how I know that I’m saved. And they’re based upon something that some sins that they quit.

And then when I go back to that same sin, well, I’m not saved anymore. They never got it. They didn’t understand it. That has nothing to do with it. Smokin’, drinkin’, lyin’, stealin’, all those things. Not one of those things is why a person goes the hell. The person goes to hell because they rejected the payment Christ made on the cross forum. Salvation is a gift. It is totally free. And in chapter 5, it makes the statement in verse 4, to those who are trying to save them some, Christ has become of no effect unto you.

Whosoever of you are justified by the law or seeking to be justified by your works. You’re rejecting salvation by grace when you’re trying to save yourself and you cannot have it. I want you to look at another scripture Romans in chapter 16. Look there in verse 17. Now I beseech you brethren, mark them which cause diversions, divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned and avoid them. Now I beseech you in verse 7 again, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the, what’s that word?

Doctrine, which you have learned and joined them. Avoid them. Listen, I got this letter in the mail. It says, Dear Pastor, as you know, over 40 of our local churches and UGA Christian campus groups have invited Pardis Crusades to do an evangelistic outreach April 22 at the Coliseum on the UGA campus. We hope to see many of our local churches and campus groups take part in this outreach to the campus and also our community. We have book great temporary, contemporary Christian musicians and so forth.

For the church to both benefit from the crusade and add to its effectiveness in reaching the lost, it is necessary that a key contact from your church be trained. Our records indicate that No one from your church attended the leaders meeting earlier this month. Our desires to have as many churches and campus groups participate as possible, including the follow-up of those people making commitments to Christ. Now you may not catch nothing on that, but I do. At the same time, we have a tremendous responsibility to refer these new believers to churches that have assured us by attending one of these training classes that they will indeed do satisfactory follow-up.

We will only be sending new believers, referrals to churches and campus groups that have sent representative to these training meetings. So they’re going to have a big shindig and they want all the churches to work together for this evangelistic crusade. And this is the list of those that are all working together. Somebody might think, well, Yankee, how come you have to be so hard-headed and so obnoxious? Why can’t you just work along with them just like everybody else does?

I have a problem. I have some people that I look into this thing and I see some names of churches that I know are not clear on the gospel. And I found out the majority of the sooner or later they’re off on the gospel, they’re off on eternal security, they’re off on the Holy Spirit, they’re off on Jesus Christ, and that is not harmonizing with the doctrine that I’ve been taught from this book. Am I supposed to just close my eyes to all these things and it doesn’t really matter?

Many of these in here believe you can lose your salvation There’s many of these churches in here that believe you cannot lose your salvation And they believe that a man is saved by grace and my problem is how can they work together? And so what I did is I took this man’s Web page that he gave and I looked upon the web page to find out where he stood on the gospel and Then I called him up and I asked and talked to one of their pastors at the church there And he says, well, we don’t like to get into the doctrinal issue of eternal security.

He says, because that is so divisive. And we just want to win them to the Lord. We’re just going to get them saved. And the different churches, some churches might believe that you can lose your salvation. Some churches don’t believe you can lose. He said, but it won’t matter as long as we get them saved. I says, sir, don’t you understand that you don’t know you got anybody saved until they believe in eternal security? No man knows he’s going to heaven until he believes in eternal security.

The good news is you’re saved forever. He can never go to hell. And you don’t think a man is really trusting Christ in Christ alone when he thinks he can lose it if he does something bad? If you tell him he really believes it’s a free gift when he can take it away from him and you don’t measure up to it, that’s not salvation, that’s not what the Bible’s teaching. And no, it’s not what I believe. All my life I didn’t go to church.

I didn’t have a Bible. I didn’t read a Bible. I never had prayer in our home. I never had a Bible in our home. And I never saw anything about Christ. I always thought it was just a cuss word. But one day the Lord turned the light on and I could see. And I realized if it’s free, it’s free. If God even means what He says or He doesn’t mean what He says. And how can you work with somebody that says you can lose your salvation if you do something bad.

Neither you got it or you don’t have it. And I think to myself, what are they thinking? Can you sing me and some guy that believes you can lose your salvation, share an appropriate, we’re all this, we’re brothers and the Lord? Unless you believe in eternal security, I don’t know what you believe. But it ain’t what I believe because the Bible says that Christ paid for all of my sins and but then he didn’t pay for all of yours because if you commit another sin, you think you’ve got to die and go to hell for it.

There is no sin that I can commit and pay for it because Christ paid for all of my sins. Either you believe He did it all of them or none of them. And if He paid for all my sins, then they’re all paid. If He gave me eternal life, then I have eternal life. And He says, I’ll never cast you out. He said, I’ll never lose you. If you’ll never cast me out, never lose me. And you believe you can be cast you believe he will lose you?

You don’t believe what Christ said. I don’t know what you believe, but it ain’t what he said. And whatever Jesus you got ain’t the Jesus that I got. I didn’t write this stuff, but this is the Bible. Now, this is where I’m coming from. Do I just say that none of this matters and I have no desire to make anybody mad? I said, well, see, if we don’t participate in this, they’re going to have all these people, and they won’t send us any of them because we didn’t help them with the crowd.

See, I don’t care who it is, and I don’t care who participates, some things I cannot do. And can you see me doing that? Is there something wrong with me? Do you all understand where I’m coming from? Am I that far off base? Have I drifted so far? Am I that hard-headed? When I got this and I saw this year and some of these people I know it breaks my heart. It’s like it really doesn’t matter. The gospel doesn’t matter.

What you tell a lost man doesn’t matter. And then I have people right here saying, well, the Yankee, they’re just as clear as you are. But this is my life. This is heaven and hell issue stuff. It’s not a game to me. I talked to the man that’s right here in town on the phone the other day. And I said, sir, I said, Where do you stand on this thing about salvation? He said, well, I will save in the Southern Baptist Church.

He said, I believe in eternal security. I said, it’s great. I said, how can you work with those that don’t believe that? He said, well, people got the right to believe whatever they want to believe. I said, so you’re willing to let some of your people from your church go to those other churches that don’t believe what you believe. He said, well, I think that we need to just have to have more love and unity. I don’t know anybody wants to love people more than I love people.

I’m not trying to be a bad man, a bad guy. I’m saying if we’re supposed to let the doctrine in the Bible, tell us what we’re supposed to believe. And my love for God is to hold me online. If you don’t love according to doctrine, you don’t really love. What about a man that’s lost? Here’s the preacher standing right here. And he’s telling Leon, Leon, you gotta quit your drinking, you gotta quit your line, you gotta quit your running around, you gotta quit your drugs, you gotta quit this, and you gotta start living right.

go to church and paying your money and being obedient and all these other things get baptized and God will save you buddy. And then I’m standing over there telling them you don’t have to do anything like that Leon. I got to do his trust Christ as your Savior. Now wait a minute. Are we both saying the same thing? Did we just say the same thing? Don’t you dare say we said the same thing. We’re brothers and Christ. No we ain’t.

We’re not saying the same thing. That’s not me. That’s not my message. And I take a stand against that. But see whenever you believe that, then we can all work together. So here’s you. Little old Yankee down here on the bottom of the totem pole. No, I’ll probably never be a great preacher. I may probably never have a big church because I’m not in it for the money. I’m not in it for the show. But I have gone too long and too far that I’m not going to start compromising on this now.

But it hurts and it breaks my heart when I see those who’ve claimed to believe just like me doing something like this, getting all together and supporting the man that don’t believe what they believe. And they say, well, it doesn’t really matter. That’s such a controversial issue. The man that I talked to in California that it’s heading this thing up and he says, well, we just don’t make it an issue. Well, isn’t having eternal life, he that believe with only half what?

Isn’t that what it’s about? Isn’t John 3 16, for God so loved the the world that he gave has only been gotten son, the whosoever, believe it in him, should not perish but have everlasting life. Isn’t that what this is about? Having eternal life was shouldn’t you, when you trust Christ to say, you know you have eternal life? Well, we don’t want to make that initiative. We just want to get it saved. How do you know you’re saved? Do you know that all your sins are paid?

You’re not going to hell. You’re going to heaven when you die. 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 Bible Line 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. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our homepage.

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 broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryuptampa.org. Thanks for joining us on Bible Live. And now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friend, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound. We will be changed.

Hot up to meet the Lord in the air. live today and every day, believing that the Lord is coming soon and just keep looking up.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

Bibleline Bibleline, they are 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. 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 through the Bible-lined website at calvaryoftampa.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.

In the book of Hebrews, chapter 7, the Bible tells us that yes, God gave the law. But the law could not make those that came to the law perfect. Couldn’t make the comers there unto perfect. Coming to church, we consider that that’s a good deed. coming to church cannot make you perfect. You gave some money this morning. Maybe some of you took some out. It did not make you perfect. Regardless of what you do cannot make you perfect. And yet you have to be perfect to go to heaven.

In Hebrews and chapter 7, I want you to look there in verse 11. In verse 11 says, if therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, for under it the people received the law. What further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchizedek, and not be called after the order of Aaron. if a man going to the priest in the Old Testament and offering these sacrifices here after you, if it could make you perfect, then why would you have to do it again if you were perfect?

Well, it didn’t make you perfect. And they had to offer the same sacrifices year after year after year because it could not make the people who did those deeds, he can’t make you perfect. And the priest, they couldn’t make you perfect. Because they had to offer a sacrifice for their own sins before they could offer one for your sins or for the nation. So they could not save themselves. When Christ came, he was a priest not after the order of Aaron or the Levitical priesthood of the tribe of Levi, because Christ was born of the tribe of Judah and Melchizedek was a different kind of a high priest.

There’s no record of his parents, there’s no record of his death, and so therefore it was like he lives forever. So Christ was a priest after the order of Melchizedek, an endless life, the power of an endless life. Think if you had the power of an endless life. See down there in verse 16, who is made not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life, the power that you would have if you knew that you could not die and never die the power of an endless life.

Well, Christ has the power of living forever. And to live forever, he’s willing to share that eternal life with whomsoever he will and because he’s perfect, he can make you and me perfect. You and I, he can make us perfect. Look in verse 19. For the law, the law made nothing what? Nothing perfect. So those who want to keep the law, the law cannot make you perfect. It cannot make you righteous. And yet you have to be perfect. And the law can’t do that.

So how is a man then going to be made perfect? When you accepted Christ as your Savior, then the Bible says the Holy Spirit gave you a new spiritual birth and you became a child of God. God fathered your new birth. Your new birth born of God, born of God, it has no sinful nature. No sinful nature. It cannot sin. Cannot sin. It cannot die. That’s why once you trust Christ as your Savior, you are a child of God.

God for how long? Forever you have been created by God perfect. Now look up here and you see flesh. What you see came with my first birth. My second birth was born of God and that is a spiritual birth and that you cannot see. But it is perfect in Christ. I am perfect. So there in Christ I am perfect. I have no sin put to my account. I am as righteous and as holy as God. But I am not God.

You see he did that for me because he loved me and for me to live with him in heaven I’ve got to be holy and righteous. I’ve got to be perfect. I could not be perfect on my own. I could not do anything. The law, keeping the commandments, could not make me perfect. Therefore, in the last part of verse 19, but the bringing in of a better hope did. Something else did. What made me perfect? By the which we draw nigh on the God.

I can draw nigh on the God because I am perfect. The law couldn’t do it, but something else did, something better than the law. And as you read this, you’ll find out that Jesus Christ is better than the law. Look at verse 22, by so much was Jesus made a surety, a guarantee of a better testament, better contract. It was His will and delivered and signed in blood. He made out a testament, He made out a will, and guaranteed that everybody who comes to God through Him, He will make them perfect.

What He can do, the law could not do. No man could do. So that when I stand up and I can say, I am a child of God by faith in Christ Jesus. All of God’s children are perfect. All of God’s children are holy. They’re set apart and they’re gods. You see, that’s because you are in Christ. You have been made acceptable in Christ. That is your standing, not your state. understanding in Christ cannot be changed by you or God.

Now the state that you go in from day to day, yeah you might change a little bit. Your state of mind fluctuates an awful lot, but there is a thing in the Bible that’s talked about being perfect and being made perfect. Look there in chapter 9 and verse 9, chapter 9 and verse 9, which was a figure for the time then present in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices in the Old Testament. And you ought to on the line this in your Bible, could not make him that did the service perfect.

Could not make the person that did the service perfect. I don’t care how many laws you kept, how many sacrifices you made, how well you lived. It could not make the person who did the service perfect. And perfect is what you have to eat. So as you read this evidently what something could not do in making you perfect, something else did make you perfect. I’m going to heaven because I’m perfect. That’s the only reason I can get there. But I’m not perfect in my works because there’s no work that I can do to make me perfect.

I’m perfect in Christ. The Bible says in Colossians chapter 2 that ye are complete in him. Complete in him. I like nothing to get to heaven. There’s nothing that I have to do from this day forward to do to get to heaven. I am complete. I have all I need. I have been accepted. If you committed a sin, and even though you did some good work to cover the sin, it didn’t clean your conscience because you still know you sinned.

You did wrong. You do wrong yesterday. You said, well, I’m going to go to church today. Oh, it makes me feel so much better. But your conscience knows you still did it and you still guilty and you still wrong and you know it. Whenever in the Bible you read the word eternal, it also could have the word perfect. You see, eternal life is perfect life. Jesus Christ is the true God and eternal life. Jesus Christ is the true God and He’s perfect.

When He gave you eternal life, He gave you His perfection. And His perfection cannot sin and cannot die. You’ll last forever because you have been made perfect forever. It’s an eternal perfection. See there in Hebrews in chapter nine. Look down in verse 12. Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, he entered in once into the holy place once. How many times can a man get saved one time? If you ever hear people getting saved two and three and four times, they don’t understand it at all.

You can only get saved once. You can only get born in this world one time. You can only get born in the God’s family one time. So he made one payment once and for all, for all sins of all people. And those who by faith believe he did it for them, he makes them perfect. And if you’re made perfect, why would you ever need to get saved again? How can a perfect person sin? Your new birth that can’t sin.

All of the sinning that you do after you trusted Christ was from your first birth because your new one can’t sin. It’s perfect. Can’t sin. And that’s why he says that whosoever is born of God to not commit sin. Can’t commit sin. For his seed remaining in him and he cannot sin, impossible to sin, because he’s born of God. So the part of you that was not born of God still sins. In verse 14 he says, how much more shall the blood of Christ hoot through the eternal spirit?

Eternal spirit? Or you could say they, not just eternal, but perfect spirit. Down in verse 12 when he says, obtained eternal redemption, it could be perfect redemption. And then when he says they’re in the last part of verse 15, eternal inheritance could be a perfect inheritance, undefiled that faith if not away reserved in heaven for you. That’s what God has done for us. Look there in chapter 10 of Hebrews and look in verse 1. Chapter 10 and verse 1.

For the law, having a shadow of good things to come and not the very image of the things, can never, can never with those sacrifices which they offer year by year continually make the comers there unto perfect. In other words, today you may not be going to some temple and making some animal sacrifice, the continual coming to church, continual giving of your money, continual praying year after year. You say, I’ve been doing this year after year. It’ll never make you perfect.

It’s a waste of your time. You’re playing games. Either you are truly trusting only in Christ or you’re lost, it cannot be both ways. Those who come to God in these manners seeking to obtain this perfection that you need to get to heaven can’t make you perfect and it won’t work and the Bible is very simple, very clear on this. I mentioned to this in Sunday school, If I’m standing here and there’s a light here and it shines, then I cast a shadow.

In the Old Testament, they studied the shadow, and only the shadow knows, but they studied the shadow. And the shadow was a shadow of a perfect sacrifice, a perfect individual. They never seen a shadow like this before. They could not describe it. couldn’t pin it on anybody. Who does this shadow belong to? Well, one day Christ was born and he grew up to be a man and lo and behold they found out that Babadi, Christ in grilling that body and how he lived, cast a long shadow of about 2,000 years.

And without this body, this perfect man, who does the shadow belong to? It was only a shadow of the real thing. When Christ came, the shadow only pointed toward Christ. The law pointed toward Christ. So the law brings us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. But it doesnEarly make the comers there unto perfect. Look there in chapter five of the book of Hebrews. Hebrews chapter five. This is so important for you to understand this. Otherwise you will doubt your salvation.

See when you doubt your salvation you call God a liar. When you doubt your salvation you call God a liar. Unless you’re not saved. So I’ve been saved, but I’m not sure I am now. If you ever were saved, you still are. But I don’t tell people that they’ve ever been saved. I don’t know whoFU saved and who isn’t saved. I’m saying that if you trust Christ, God says you’re saved. If you believe it, you’re the one that has to determine whether you believe Him or not.

I don’t want anybody resting upon my word that they’re saved. Therefore, I don’t tell people they’re saved. I say, if you accept Christ right now, God says He gives you eternal life. And if you accept Christ right now, God gives eternal life and all you send are paid, where would you go? You tell me. Now Hebrews in chapter 5. they’re in verse eight, verse eight. Though he were a son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered, and being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation, or you could say a perfect salvation.

The salvation that he designed a plan of salvation for a man was perfect. God had to make him complete because if there’s anything lacking then the man wouldn’t make it. So it had to be a total salvation, a complete salvation, or there’d be no salvation. If you are not eternally secure, than you are not secure at all. If you can lose your salvation by something that you fail to do, then your salvation depends on you, not Christ. And you don’t have salvation.

You’re working for something that’s free because by your good life, you keep it in bad life, you lose it. That’s not the Bible. My salvation totally depends upon Jesus Christ. It is complete and it is perfect. And He makes the statement, and being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation, so that anyone who is saved is saved eternal lead. He does not become the author of temporary salvation. It is all permanent salvation. No probation. God does not save anybody on probation.

I’m going to save you today and I’m going to put you on probation. And if you live right, then I’ll let you get on in. And if you don’t, then I’m going to take it away from you. That is not taught anywhere in the Bible. That’s religions. Religions will teach you that, but the Bible does not teach that. So therefore I I hope that you understand and know that you have eternal life and that you’re going to heaven whenever you die.

The Bible is very simple and is very clear. People make simple things complex and I cringe when they do things like that. Look up here just a moment. They’re trying to make it as simple as I can, as clear as I can. This hand representing you and me in this wallet represents sin. We all have sin upon us. Now God says that He loves us, but our sins that we commit. Keeps us from getting into heaven because heaven is perfect and we’re not so we’ve come short of perfection short of the glory of God.

And the Bible says there’s no amount of works that you can do that can make you perfect you can’t come to God by the law. The law only condemns you. It says you’re not good enough. And so when you spend all your life trying to accomplish something that is impossible, you lose. Think for a moment how many people there are in the world that are at this moment in a church because they think it’s helping them go to heaven.

How many various religions of different kinds, people trying to live a good life thinking that that’s going to help them get to heaven and it has absolutely nothing to do with them going to heaven. A person doesn’t have to go to church, he doesn’t have to give money, don’t have to live right, don’t have to stop any sin in order to go to heaven. That is contrary to what everybody’s heard. That’s contrary to what I was told. I was always under the impression, if I was good I’d go to heaven bad I’m going to hell.

I had mixed emotions. I didn’t know which way I was going to go at different times. Sometimes I thought I’m good enough to go to heaven and other time I knew I wasn’t going to go because it debased upon how I was living. And I would have good days and bad days. Well God said that’s not the way it is. But He loves us and He hates our sin. And to pay for that sins, eternal separation from God and hell.

If you could from this day forward never commit another sin. What are you going to do about the ones you’ve already committed? This hand represents Jesus Christ, God in the flesh. He came into the world because He loves you and me. He hates our sin because our sin separates us from Him. So Christ took the sin, paid for it on the cross and came back from the dead. And the Lord said, if I would believe, simply believe that he did this for me, he puts this payment to my account.

I go to heaven on what he did for me. Now the Bible says all those who believe on him are placed in Christ. So when Christ was on the cross, you are placed in that body, in God’s eyes. And that’s why the Bible says, by one spirit, are we all baptized into one body? and his body became your body, and you died on the cross, and you were buried, and you came back from the dead. And you have risen and ascended into heaven, and you are right now seated on the right hand of the Father in heaven in Christ.

And that’s why it says, we have been blessed with all spiritual blessings in the Heavenlies. These are what is known as the identification truths. In other words, you identify yourself with Christ’s crucifixion and his death and his resurrection. All that was put to your account as though you did it. I paid for my sins. I died. But I didn’t really do it. That’s why he says in the book of Galatians in chapter two, which I want you to see that verse before the close.

One last verse, looking Galatians chapter two. And verse 20. Galatians chapter two and verse 20, you ought to underline this verse in your Bible. It’s an awesome verse. But this is what Paul was talking about. I wasn’t really crucified. I wasn’t really buried. I didn’t really come back from the dead, But it’s been put to my account as though I did. No words like you have an adette you had to pay and somebody paid the debt for you. It doesn’t matter that you said, well, I didn’t really do it.

Somebody did it for you and you accepted that. It’s just like you did. You see there in Galatians in chapter two verse 20? I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. You know what I really wasn’t crucified. It was just like I was because what he did was put to my account like I did it. Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.

So now that I have died, I’m supposed to live as though I’m dead descend. Like my sinful nature doesn’t exist, it has no power. And I’m not going to spend my life satisfying its desires. I can. But if you do fulfill the desires of the flesh, then you’re going to reap corruption. You’re going to reap the chasing the hand of God, and it’s going to cause some rewards when you get to heaven, and you’re going to lose out on the blessings of life now.

So there’s no advantage. There is not one advantage for any child of God to walk in the flesh. It’s not going to pay off. You’re going to lose. I’ve never met a Christian who walked in the flesh in one. You don’t win. It cost you. So because you are a child of God, God says you have been risen from the dead, walk in newness of life, live as a child of God should live. And God will bless you here and reward you when you get to heaven.

And one day this body is going to get so old or something can happen to But, and it’s going to literally die, and whenever this body literally dies, and he put it in the grave, well, your new birth, that born of God, well, it can’t die. Death is separation. It can’t be separated from God. But you, your soul, can be separated from your body, and death is separation. When you leave that body, the Bible says to be absent from the body, to be what?

Present with the Lord. So that’s what we’re looking for. And he says, I am crucified with Christ,ashion nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ live within me. And the life which I now live,, I live by Canaditial, the Son of God who loved meivic renheit and gave Himself for me. See that verse 21,. I do not prostrate thePutin grace of God for ifRedditor comes// by the law than Christ in the vein. If a man could earn his way to heaven by his works, Christ died in the vein.

But a man can’t earn his way to heaven. So therefore he must be saved by grace. Without one shred of works, no confidence in works. Any of his talents or abilities, nothing that he does or doesn’t do. You either Christ or no salvation. Let’s pray, shall we? The heads by a nice close and no one looking around. I know that most of you, maybe all of you, have trusted Christ as your Savior. But if you are here this morning and if you’re not trusted Christ as your Savior, then you’re not a child of God.

If you’re not a child of God, you’re not going to heaven. And I want you to go to heaven. The Lord wants you to go to heaven. That’s why I paid for your sins. And friend, if you try to live good enough to get to heaven, it would just make you a hypocrite. Don’t sense doing that. Don’t play that game. Just be honest between you and the Lord and say, Lord, I’m a sinner. That’s what I am. And I can’t promise how I’m going to live, because that’s not an issue.

Lord, right now the best on how I will accept Christ is my Savior. I’m going to trust in the payment of heaven when I die. God said that you’ll believe that He’ll save and give you eternal life, and you’ll go to heaven and what it did for me. If you’ve never done it, we should do it right now. 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 toll-free 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the Spinning Globe in the upper right UNCLASSIFIEDneau page. 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 broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.org. Thanks for joining us on Bible Live, and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. friend, one day it will happen, the trumpet will sound, we will be changed. caught up to meet the Lord in the air. so live today and everyday, believing that the Lord is coming soon, and just keep looking up.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

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 through the Bible-lined website at calvaryoftampa.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.

Well, I want you to take your Bible and turn to the book of Matthew, Matthew, and chapter 12. Matthew chapter 12, a very interesting portion of Scripture that kind of deals with the things that we say. Now we’ve been studying in the book of James and it tells us some things that we have as far as conflicts in which God is going to reward us when we get to heaven if we had victory over the lust of the flesh.

That’s internal pressures. You know the desires that you control. And then he He says, I’ll reward you when you get to heaven if you have victory over external pressures. You know, you’re going to have trials and tribulation and people problems and financial problems and all those social problems. But if he says, if you have victory over those things, he says, I’m going to reward you when you get to heaven. And then he tells us some things about we need to do as our good works that we do.

Now, it has nothing to do with what people do to us, but what we do for them in James chapter two. a very important book on the Christian life. And God said, I’m going to reward you when you get to heaven if you have good works in your life. Now remember, good works doesn’t get you to heaven. You go to heaven because of what Christ did, not what you do. But now that you’re God’s child, you have eternal life, well, you’re not there yet.

So God left us here. Now it’s not just a matter of getting victory and doing good works. Is it possible for you to do good deeds for people while you’re blessing them out with the tongue. Do wonderful things but then you use that little tongue of yours and you cut somebody real sharp and become bitter and it brings out all that poison inside of you and you infect other people. Is that possible? Yes it is. So God tells us something that we need to keep in mind.

I read this in Sunday school but let me just mention it to you real quickly again. Sometimes we say things we wish we hadn’t said. We do things we wish we hadn’t done. But sometimes we might encourage somebody to do something we wish we hadn’t have encouraged them to do. Well, sometimes you do things that you wish you hadn’t done. And then sometimes you let people talk you into doing something that you wish you hadn’t done. This little tongue right here that we have can be a world of good or a world of iniquity.

And this is what the Lord says in verse 33. So look there in Matthew chapter 12 verse 33, Jesus speaking, he says, either make the tree good and his fruit good or else make the tree corrupt and the fruit corrupt, for the tree is known by its fruit. A generation old generation of vipers, how can ye be an evil speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh, a good man out of the good traces of the hearts, bring it forth good things.

And the evil man out of the evil treasures bring it forth evil thing. But I send you that every idle word that men shall speak they shall give account they’re up in the day of judgment. This isn’t talking about what you said on purpose this is just idle word, just idle chatter. Ever get to bed again with something just idle chatter just talk about anything. And a lot of times have you ever noticed that you I know you won’t ever accuse yourself that idle chatter can be idle gossip.

You just you know you’re not gossip and you know real bad it’s just that it’s for prayer. I mean you wouldn’t say anything against anybody unless it was good and boy is this good. And you have things that you want to share you know you know dirt you got on somebody always remember when you throw dirt you lose ground. Have you ever found out that when you want to give somebody a piece of your mind, you’re in most desperate need of it?

For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. So in the book of James we’re not talking about going to heaven, being justified to go to heaven. We’re talking about being justified, cleared by God, that what you said was right, or what you did that was right. God is the one who is the just one. And he’s the justified one. of those who need to be justified. So when we were ungodly and unloveable, he saved us by making a payment for our sins, and we are justified.

Just as if I’ve never sinned, I have been declared righteous by God. I’m his child, I’m going to heaven when I die. But he didn’t take me to heaven yet. He left me here. Since he left me here, he wants me to do certain things for him. So there’s things that I’m to do, things I’m to say, the way I’m supposed to live. So God says, for the rewards in heaven and to be blessed here and for position of service in the kingdom, he says, it depends upon what you do for me.

Now God ain’t going to make you do anything for him. You can trust Christ to save your heavy turn of life, go to heaven when you die, and not do a thing for the Lord. But if you want more than the natural man, if you want more than just the things of this world, well then you’re going to have to serve the Lord. Now nobody can make you do it. But if you decide to do it, God says, I’m going to reward you.

And I’ll make it worth your while. So you have a battle within you. It’s called the Two Natures. And I want you to take your Bible, turn that to the book of James in chapter 3 now. The book of James, chapter 3, right after the book of Hebrews. And I want you to look there in James chapter 3. And you’ll notice there’s a teaching here. I’ll show you this in just a second. But first of all, I want you to look up here after you find James chapter 3.

I want you to look at me. Over here, now this is when we are born into the world. This is our flesh birth. Our flesh birth has a sinful nature. We sin naturally. This flesh birth is not the child of God. It’s not the child of God. It doesn’t do anything right. This is an evil tree. This evil tree has bad fruit. And so this tree can only bring forth bad fruit. So therefore you can tell the tree by its fruit.

So since every individual in the world does something wrong, then we all know that it’s a bad tree because it has a sinful nature and the fruit is the proof that it’s a bad tree. So God says, these trees here, God said, I don’t want these trees in heaven because they got bad fruit. Why? Because in heaven is a perfect place. If God lets us go to heaven the way we are, then we’ll have bad fruit in heaven. That means we’ll lie, steal, cheat, murder, and rob and rape and all that.

We’ll do all that in heaven. why? Because that’s what we do down here. Bad trees here will be a bad tree there. So God says this bad tree, this bad tree with this bad fruit can’t go to heaven. That’s why you needed a Savior. God says that He’s going to give you a new birth. Oh, when you trust Christ as your Savior, you became a tender plant, a little bitty newborn Christian. This little b, here’s a new birth. This one here has a divine nature.

This one can’t sin because it’s born of God. And if it can’t sin, it can’t die. So if it can’t sin, it can’t die. This little newborn child here, this belongs to God. God is its father. That’s why now God becomes your father. You become God’s child. This one has a divine nature. Can’t do anything wrong. Well, then you got this over here. This is a bad tree and the bad tree got bad fruit. This is a good tree born of God.

And it can only bring forth good fruit. It can’t bring forth the bad fruit. Why? Because it has no sinful nature. So your new birth born of God can only do good. This old sinful nature can only do bad. And guess where both of them live inside of this one body. Inside of my body, I have both of these living inside of me. And they’re fighting for the controls of my body. So the Bible says, out of the evil treasures, the mouth speaks out of good treasure the mouth speaks.

What God says now, you only got one mouth. Some people I think have two or three. You got one mouth out of this one mouth. You’re supposed to speak one or the other. Now, since you’re a child of God, which one do you think God wants you to control. He wants you to let the new birth with the divine nature bring forth out of its treasures wisdom. Over here this is the old man, the old nature, and so this one wants to reveal its wisdom.

So from the same mouth reveals one of two things. The wisdom of man or the wisdom of God. So this one is born of God has a divine nature. Only that which is right. Over here we have a sinful nature. This is the child of the flesh, not born of God. And this wisdom is fighting to express itself. So now you have a battle of the wheels that are to reveal the wisdom. Wake come from so look what he says here in verse 13 Verse 13 who is a wise man among you?

Who is a wise man and in dude with knowledge among you let him show out of a good behavior conversation his works with meekness of wisdom But if you have bitterness a bitter envee and strife in your hearts glory not don’t brag about that lie not against the truth This wisdom descended not from above but is earthly sensual devilish, for where inveen and strife is there’s confusion in every evil word. Now look over here. There is the wisdom of the world.

This man of the world can only learn the wisdom of the world. Now this one over here is born of God. This one is to learn the wisdom of God. So that’s why in order for this one to gain wisdom, it has to come from the Word of God. So when you read the Bible and you study it, you’re taking God’s wisdom, putting it into this mind, a new mind, so that this child can make the right decisions and it’ll be revealed in the tongue and in your life.

This one, if it controls your life, is going to reveal the wisdom of the world. So as you live day by day, you’ll have problems of all kind. Some will be financial problems, health problems, people problems, you name it, you’re gonna have them. You got those whenever you were born in this world. You got troubles. Everybody’s got troubles. But now your wisdom is revealed and how do you handle your problems? How do you handle troubles? So you’re going to have the will of man versus the wisdom of God.

So the wisdom of man has a way in which he solves problems and the wisdom of God has a way in which God wants you to solve problems. And these two are not the same. If it’s different, it’s not the same. This is different. They’re not the same. They battle back and forth all the time. So God says, my brethren, He says there is a wisdom of the world that’s earthly, it’s sensual, it’s devilish, it’s deceptive. In other words you might think you’re being wise when you’re just being nothing but a smart aleck, not very wise.

You see you’re not wise because you know what to do, you’re wise if you will do it. You’re not wise because you know you should serve the Lord, your wise if you serve the Lord, not because you know. I’ve had people who don’t know the Bible. I’ve been through the Bible a hundred times and I know the Bible. They think that makes them smart. They’re wise. No. If you don’t obey God, you’re a fool. You’re a fool. Anybody is a fool who does not serve God, you’re a fool.

Because why if you’re so smart would you waste your life? Now, look what else he says in verse 17, but the wisdom that is from above is first peace, a pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated full of mercy, good fruit without partiality, without hypocrisy, and the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. Now look at there. There’s the wisdom which is of the earth. That’s what this one feeds upon, the wisdom of man, how smart he is and what he learns from people in the world.

Then there’s the wisdom of God, where a man learns God’s wisdom, and this will make the man smarter. Now, remember this, the dumbest child of God is wiser than the smartest man. Now you have to figure that out for a while, but understand it. So now God said, I want you to bring forth the wisdom of God, and it’s going to be revealed by the tongue. tongue. The tongue is going to reveal how smart you really are, how wise you are.

Now look what he says here in verse 9, verse 9, therewith bless we God, even the Father and therewith curse we men with what? The tongue with this same tongue, look up here, I bless God, praise the Lord and I I knew right! And I say, right things, good thing. And then with the same tongue, I curse man. He says, my brethren, this ought not so to be. In other words, he says, how can the same tongue bring forth sweet and bitter at the same time?

He says it’s not supposed to be. Because you see, whenever you have this new birth, God will be. God put this one in charge of the body. You’re not supposed to let this guy run your life revealing wisdom of the world. You’re supposed to reveal the wisdom of God because you take in the wisdom from God and then you use that body of yours with the tongue that you got and everything else you have to reveal that to individuals.

So now look what he says. He says in verse 11, a doth a fountain send forth at the same place, sweet water and bitter.” What’s the answer? No. And we’re not supposed to come out of the same sp- pick it. So he’s turning on to get both of the same time. No. And you don’t even with the tongue. It’s one or the other. One nature is always under control at any given time. Just like somebody said, I don’t know how to figure that out.

You can’t think two thoughts at the same time. My wife could think ten thoughts at the same time. why she’s reading my mind on top of that. Look what he says in verse 10. Out of the same mouth, proceed with blessing and cursing, my brethren, these things ought not so to be. So we talk until Christian, my brethren is to those who believe. So there are believers who are using the same tongue which which they praise God and bring blessings to God.

And at the same time, that cursing man that God made. And he says, now this ought not be. In other words, it is not the will of God Studies of God, for you to walk in the spirit and the flesh. Which one do you think God wants you to walk in? The spirit, not the flesh. You’re not supposed to let the flesh control your life. But is it possible? Yes. This ought not to be, but it is. Because you’re having in your life the envening and the jealousy, the strife, the bickering, those he says, that comes from the wisdom of the world.

That comes from this man. You see, the wisdom of God produces peace within you, peace within you. And that’s what he says in last part of verse 17 and also in verse 18. Look there in verse 12, can the fig tree, my brethren, bear all of berries? No. Either a vine figs, no. And so can no fountain both ew salt water and fresh. Same time because it’s two different sources. But here you are with one body two sources. Now one has to control what’s going to come out of your mouth.

Is it going to be the wisdom of God or the wisdom of man? And there’s a battle. Isn’t it true that you know some things to do that’s right and you know what’s wrong and you’ll still do wrong instead of doing right even though you know to do right and if you do that is that wrong? Well slap my mouth that’s what the Bible said look there in James chapter 4 look in verse 14 verse 14 whereas you know not what shall be on tomorrow do you know what’s going to happen tomorrow not really you do not know what another the day is going to bring forth.

I mean, if John had known he was going to be eating up with a hornet, he wouldn’t have probably won’t have those hornets were. If he knew he was going to step on that nail, he probably wouldn’t have stepped on that nail. I mean, that’s just, you know, if you know that, you don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. You don’t know what that car is going to break down. If you know it’s going to break down, you wouldn’t have got in and started down the road.

If you knew, for sure, positively. Be kind to shove it out. You wouldn’t have done it. He says, for even your life, it is even a vapor that appeared for a little while and then vanish at the way. In other words, you’re here, you’re gone. Believe it or not, see some of these kids right here? They will never grow up. They don’t even know the world is going on. They say your dreams are more likely to be fulfilled if you don’t oversleep.

But he makes a statement here in verse 14, it appeared for a little time and then vanish at the way for that you ought to say, if the Lord will, we shall live, and if the Lord will, we shall do this or that. In other words, do you realize how much is in the will of God? And God can determine certain things. Look what He says in verse 16. But now you rejoice in your boasting to all sorts of rejoices and the Zevils.

Have you ever seen somebody? I mean, especially here’s three guys on the P-box. Three guys on the T-box. And one guy says, you guys better brought your A game today. You guys better bring your A game today. And what that means is that that guy is brought his A game and you’re going to have to be on top nor to beat him, right? Does a guy really know how he’s going to play the game before he plays the game?

No. No, you never… You don’t know what’s going to happen. There were people who had already said he doesn’t got this thing won, but he didn’t. He didn’t. You see, that’s why you still… Why don’t we have to play any of these ball games? Let’s just say who won and let it go at that. Well, we know they got this thing won. How many times I’ve seen them do that and an underdog come up there and just stop them.

They do it all the time because you don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. You don’t really know. And so he says here in verse 17, therefore to him that knoweth to do good and do it that not to him it is what? The him and his sin. Do you know to do right? Yes, you do. Do you know what you’re supposed to do concerning tongue? Yeah. Yeah. You do. And you’ll still curse somebody and be bitter and envious and jealous.

But you know it’s wrong, right? Yeah. But you do it anyway. Right. Don’t you get mad at people and you want to choke them? Even a few people you’d like to kill? Christian love? Cause you’d love to do it. But you have within you an old sinful nature that still, you know it’s wrong and yet you won’t always keep it on control. But then how are you supposed to get this victory stuff? Well, that’s what’s interesting. That’s why you need church and that’s why you need each other.

That’s why you need to pray. That’s why you have to do all the things that are right. So he says here that you got a battle. Now I want you to look in verse 1 of chapter 3. Verse 1 of chapter 3. He says, my brethren, talking to believers, not lost people, be not many masters. That means teachers because what does a teacher do? Speaks with the what? With the tongue. And if you say something that’s wrong, you got a lot of people that might do wrong because they heard you say it.

So the tongue can also teach a lot of people a lot of truth. But if there’s people who are listening to what you say and may make decisions based upon what you say, do you think you need to be careful what you say? Is it possible for you to kill the love of someone? No, you may not take a gun and go blown away, but you’ll say mean hateful, cutting things that will kill somebody’s love for you or for somebody else.

You’ll take somebody else and pull them down into the mud and walk all over them and make somebody else think bad about the people. That thing like that. That is a very hard thing to control. Ain’t it? You can drive a car down a road and you can fly an airplane and big… How many things are going to do? Big old ships? But that little thing right there, you can’t control it. You cannot tame the tongue. The The Bible says you can’t tame the tongue.

The tongue will speak the things that’s in your heart. In other words, if you who live inside of this body have these two natures and the wisdom of God and the wisdom of the world, there you are. Now, what are you gonna speak? Where your heart’s desire is. If your heart’s desire is in the things of the flesh and this is where your treasure is in the things of the world, your tongue is gonna reveal that. But if you’ll live in the things of God and the wisdom of God out of the treasures of your heart, the mouth what?

Speaks When you speak your mind is on parade people can see inside of your mind By discerning the words by which you speak And therefore some people never never talk about the Lord Wouldn’t it be a shame for you to go to work tomorrow and you can live all day talk to everybody in the sun and you never talk about the Lord. Never talk about what He did for you or how they can have eternal life. You never talk about any of the wisdom of God and what God can do for somebody.

But you could talk to them about football, you can talk to them about God, you can talk to them about the weather, you can talk to them about everything, but you can’t talk to them about the Lord because you see, your treasure isn’t the spiritual things. Your treasure is in the material things. You’re more concerned about what people think of you than what you think of them. See, when you learn to think about people and what their needs are, then you know that they need spiritual truths.

Not the wisdom of the world. So it determines where you are. And out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. And God said, every man is going to be judged by the words. It means that you’re going to either be blessed here, rewarded there, based upon what you say, because what you say reveals where your heart is. For where a man’s treasure is, there is his heart also. And so therefore God says you’re going to be justified for the rewards, based upon if you’re justified by your words, so that every man will reap what he sows.

You reap what you sow. And some people are using the wisdom of the world and you’re sowing envy and you’re sowing bitterness. You’re sowing jealousy. You’re sowing hatred. You’re so that because it permeates your life. And when it permeates your life, you’re gonna defile many others. And then because of that, you’re not So in peace you’ll have no peace. You sow wrath, you’ll reap wrath. That’s why so many of God’s people never learn how to have victory in the Christian life because they don’t understand what’s going on.

He says you’re in verse two, for in many things we all offend. In other words, it’d be great if everybody was perfect. We didn’t do anything wrong. And we had total victory over the soul fell over here and he never got it, never got any, no. As you live your life, you’ll always find out okay, how victorious you wanna live. He’s always there and he’s always fighting. And he’s always slipping things out through your mouth. That’s slipped, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that.

You didn’t mean to do it. That shows you how really is. And next thing you know, you’re saying, and then there’s some things you know I shouldn’t have said that. And then you say they ain’t on purpose. And then sometimes you might slip and say something you wish you hadn’t said. It means you didn’t have total control. You’re in all which control all the lust of the flesh. Wouldn’t it be great if you did? But he says, but in many things we offend off, but if any man offend not in word, the same as a mature man and able also to bridal the whole body here.

Look up here. Now the whole book of James has to deal with one main thing. What you controlling, you can throw on the body. Have you ever seen a little chihuahua and a great big old German police dog and the little chihuahua that dog doesn’t understand the situation. Oh, mouth totally is all about. I totally when the I says man, did you realize that that little chihuahua can kill that rotweiler or a German police dog. She said, really? I said, yes ma’am, if it ever gets caught in his throat, you’ll find out that, you know, some people are nothing but that’s all they’re all mouth.

They have no wisdom whatsoever, but they talk all the time and they have no wisdom. Talk but never say anything about you. You want to realize this tongue that you have, though it’s so small, it can ruin the whole body. Have you ever seen somebody who has a wonderful testimony in all areas except for their mouth? If they could just control that tongue, they’d be fine. But they ruin so much and they’re always, they don’t know when to shut up.

It’s okay to talk, but they don’t know when to And you say, yeah, do you know what time it is, preacher? But they don’t know when to shut up. You’re gonna have to hear, and it talks about how that you can take and put a bit in a horse’s mouth, and you can lead that whole horse. That great big horse around. God is talking about how to control the body. You have a body. This is why the Apostle Paul says, I keep my body and I bring my body into subjection.

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 toll free 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our homepage.

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. broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvary of tampa.org. Thanks for joining us on Bible Live, and now we’re closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friends, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound. 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.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

Bibleline Bibleline, they are 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 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 through the Bible-lined website at calvaryoftampa.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.

in your Bible to the book of Romans in chapter 6, that Romans chapter 6. I titled this message created in the likeness of Christ, created in the likeness of Christ. The reason for that, if you’ll notice here in chapter 6, look in verse 5. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, and then down in verse 10 He says, for in that he, referring to Christ, he died, understand once, but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.

So then we should be in the likeness of his life. In the book of Romans, chapter six, there are three questions that are asked. Look at verse one, verse one. What shall we say then? Now this is the question that’s coming up is because now you have been justified. See, See there in chapter five, look in chapter five verse one, therefore being justified by faith. So we’re talking to those who have been justified. Okay, you’ve heard the message, you accepted Christ as your savior, you’ve been declared righteous, you’re saved, you have eternal life, you’re a Christian, you’re born again, you’re going to heaven when you die.

Now, what? So chapter six verse one says, what shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? shall we continue in sin? Does God want you as his child to continue in sin? Well, evidently it must be possible or there wouldn’t have to be an issue, would it? Evidently a Christian can continue to live in sin. Or why bring it up? Because evidently you can continue to live in sin. But should you? Well, no. And then in verse two he says, God forbid, how shall we, and this is what really is the kicker?

How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein? It says, well, if you’re dead to sin, how can you live in sin? So what does that mean? Well, that’s what I’m going to try to explain to you this morning. The first question, shall we continue in sin? Now that we have been justified by faith, not going to be have been, shall we continue to live under the domination of our old sinful nature? should you allow that old sinful nature that dominated you for all those years, up until the time you trust the Lord, still rain in your mortal body?

Should you still let it rain in superiority over you? Well, look what he says in verse 14, for sin shall not have dominion over you. So evidently something has transpired from the time that you trusted Christ as your Savior. Something happened, something changed. And it did. How shall we live any longer therein? Now this seems like how can you continue to live in sin? How is it possible? Well it’s very possible. Well from God’s viewpoint I want you to see what he’s talking about.

Is it possible for a Christian to live in the flesh? Have you ever seen people and you say well now that that Christian is in the flesh and that Christian is in the spirit? Well Let me try to explain to you as clear as I possibly can. And it’s not gonna be the easiest thing in the world. When you are born into the world, you are a child of the flesh and you live in the flesh. Now I’ve done this before, but kind of watch very briefly.

This arm here represent our first birth. We are children of the flesh. And the Bible says we are in the flesh, not only living inside of a physical body, but we have a flesh nature, a sinful nature. So God looks at us as in the flesh. That’s where you are. In the flesh. So, if you’re in sin, you’re in the flesh. If you’re in the flesh, you’re in sin. That’s where you are. Now, when you trusted Christ as your Savior, you are now different than you used to be.

You see, where you were dead in sin, you were in sin, but you were dead. This is mentioned in the book of Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 1 where it says we were dead in sins and trespasses and so on. That in sin means that you are as a sinner dead to God. You’re separated from God. Death doesn’t mean annihilation. Death means separation. So you are in the flesh, in sin. You’re dead in sin. You’re separated from God. If you’re dead and separated from God, then you can’t serve God.

You can’t please God. You can’t do anything for God. You are a lost man walking around in the flesh, in sin. This the Bible says is separate from God. You’re dead in your sins. When you trusted Christ as your Savior, He has to separate you from the flesh. So when you trusted Christ, you were born again, born of the Spirit, and you now live in the spirit and this one is alive unto God. This one is dead in sin.

So when you trusted Christ as your Savior, you are not dead in sin, you are dead to sin. So if you’ll notice what he says in verse 2, God forbid, how shall we that are dead to sin? That’s why even the prepositions in the Word of God mean something. You see, you were dead in sin separated from God. Now that you trusted Christ as your Savior, the new one, you’re dead to sin. You’ve been separated from sin this new over so that you have something totally new.

This one born of God is in the Spirit. You do not find, I don’t believe, I could be wrong, but as I’ve check the Scriptures, I do not find it where we are in the flesh or we as a child of God can live in the flesh. Even though we see some people doing things, you can say, well, you know, they’re just in the flesh. No, a Christian can’t live in the flesh, but the Christian can walk after the flesh.

Here’s the old man and And you can walk after the flesh, but you can’t be in the flesh. I’ll show you what I mean. In this portion of scripture that I mentioned to you that so sometimes difficult to understand, I want you to see several verses. So we’re going to jump down to letter E under number one. If you look at little letter E, a Christian cannot live in the flesh, but may walk after the flesh only by choice.

Words mean something. Phrases mean things. Little prepositional What’s mean something? Phrases mean things. Little prepositional phrases mean something. And so if you will, take your Bible and look there in Romans 8. And notice what it says there in verse 5. A Christian is seen differently from the lost man. The lost man is in the flesh and in his sins. And he is dead in his sins, separated from God because of his sins. You are looked at totally different from God’s point of view.

This is what happened to you when you trusted Christ. You now are a child of God in the Spirit, a spiritual birth. This one is in the Spirit. This one is in the flesh. So the Christian cannot be in the flesh. in Romans chapter 8 and verse 5, for they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh, but they that are after the spirit, the things of the spirit. So you see, you can be after something in the sense that you follow something, but now it’s all by choice.

You were by nature you did the wrong things. Now as a child of God is because you have choices, a choice to walk either either in the spirit or a choice to walk in the flesh, you didn’t have that before. So the Bible doesn’t say you’re in the flesh because that would be like God not recognizing your birth. Notice what else he says here. In verse 7, because the carnal mind is emmity against God for it is not subject to the love God, neither indeed can be.

Verse 8, so then they that are in the flesh cannot please God, though that are in the flesh, in the flesh. or what? Not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is not at his. So the last man is in the flesh. The Christian is in the spirit. It’s so be that the Holy Spirit dwells within you. So when you trusted Christ, you became a child.

The Holy Spirit indwells you. You have a divine nature. This one has a sinful nature. There’s two people here. This one is the old man before you trust the Lord. And then the new man since you trusted Christ. So God sees you in the spirit and not in the flesh. So the Christian has never looked upon as walking in the flesh, living in the flesh, but the Christian can walk after the flesh by deliberate choices because God has separated you from the old man.

Now you have choices. That’s why when you read the other part of chapter six, You’ll notice the word yield, yield, yield, yield, cause now you yield to the spirit or you yield to the flesh and you can produce the same works, the same evil deeds and same evil thoughts that you always have, but you’re doing it now by choices of yielding to those things. You’re not as far as God can turn under the domination of it. He says you don’t have to live that way anymore.

You can have victory in your Christian life, but it’s because you choose to have it. I want you to also look there in verse 12 of chapter eight of Romans. Therefore brethren, we are debtors not to the flesh to live. And here’s those words in after the flesh. You’re not in the flesh because you’re in the spirit. Chow of God is in the spirit. Chow of the flesh is in the flesh. And there’s two different natures, two different births.

So as a Christian, you are to walk after the Spirit, not after the flesh. Your flesh birth will always walk in the flesh, but you have two births. And that’s why the question was asked, shall we that are dead to sin, live any longer than it is? This is the sin. We that are dead to sin. That means that you’ve been separated from it, death and separation. that are separated from this sinful nature, this sinful birth, you’ve been separated from it.

That you now are alive under God. Now look there again in Romans chapter 8. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors not to the flesh to live after the flesh, for if you live after the flesh, you shall die, but if you through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live. This is talking about a believer. Only believer has this choice. A lost man doesn’t live after the flesh. He lives in the flesh. You and I live in the spirit, but we can walk after the flesh.

You say, well, I don’t understand the difference in time you will, but I want you to follow me first. I want you to look in Galatians chapter 5 and verse 25. Galatians chapter 5 and verse 25. When you have the battle that goes on in the Christian’s life, the Bible tells us there in verse 25, if we live in the Spirit, if we live in the Spirit, all believers live in the Spirit. I’m not talking about your spiritually minded, I’m talking about that’s how you are alive on the God because you are in the Spirit.

You have a new birth born by the Spirit of God, born again. Let us also do what? walk in the spirit. You see a Christian should walk in the spirit because he is alive in the spirit. You have been separated from the sinful nature, the old man, and God has made you alive in Christ and now you are in the spirit therefore walk in the spirit. Now look there in verse 16, verse 16. This I say and walk where?

In the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. That’s the old sinful nature that you have. So you as a believer have a choice that the people of the world don’t have. They can’t choose to walk in the Spirit because they’re not in the Spirit. They’re not a child of God. But you are. And that’s why it says, be not deceived, God is not mocked for what serve man so that shall he also reap. In other words, you as a Christian don’t have to live in sin.

You don’t. You do it because you choose to. You want to, but you don’t have to. This new birth that God gave you is sufficient, strong enough, powerful enough to overcome the loss of the flesh. The only reason this one ever gets victory in your life because you let it, you chose to. Not because it had to. How do you apply this truth? To the experiences of life. Now here in verse 25, let us also walk in the spirit so it means that you can live in the spirit and not walk in the spirit.

There’s people that have trusted Christ as their Savior, but they walk after the flesh. They walk after that old man. Now you say, how do you explain a little bit of that? Let me give you this idea. Let’s just use a person, for example. But let’s say Milton’s got some bad habits and bad ways and he’s got old sinful nature. And he does, just like everybody. But if Milton was to drop over right now and he’s dead in the door nail, laying right there on the floor, dead.

He’s a dead man. Is he gonna tell him more lies? Is he gonna get mad anymore? Is he gonna say anything he shouldn’t say? Can he get drunk? No. Can he commit adultery? No. Can he lie? No. Can he steal? No. Why can’t he? He’s dead. He’s dead. Dead. He’s dead. He’s dead. Dead man can’t sin. Dead man can’t do anything like that. He’s a dead man. Well, lo and behold, when you trusted Christ as your savior, you died.

You died. So the question is, how can you commit sin if you’re dead? God wants you to know how to apply that truth, that principle in your life. If you ever latch onto it and you really see it and understand it, it will help you all the days of your life. If you don’t, you’re going to have a battle in your old flesh sinful nature that you’re not going to have victory over, and it’s going to pull you down.

And as yours roll by, you want to be victorious, and there is a way. But this is why the book is written so that you and I could understand this. Romans chapter 6. Number three in your notes there says, no you not. That we were baptized into his death. And then I wrote this statement there in your notes. Herein lies the key to understanding the Christian life. This is not speaking about water baptism. This is Holy Spirit baptism which places us into the body of Christ of which water baptism is a picture.

You see, water doesn’t place you into Christ. It doesn’t baptize you into His death or His burial or His resurrection. It’s only a picture of it, but it can’t place you there. These are positional truths, things that happen to you because you were justified by faith, not because you did something, because you did some deed. You got baptized in water. Being baptized in waters, a picture of your death, Berlin resurrection, but it does not save you. Why should we walk in newness of life?

Why should we? In letter A, because we were baptized into Christ’s death, that means crucified with him. Because we were buried with him, that’s in verse four. Because we were raised up from the dead in Christ, that’s in verse four. This was your death, your burial, your resurrection. What is the gospel? the death, burial, resurrection of Jesus Christ. He did that for you. So what he did was put to your account and so that became your death and your burial and your resurrection.

So if you died and come back from the dead, then the old man died. The old sinful nature died. That’s why his Bible tells us that our old man crucified with Christ on the cross. Well if that’s been done and you came back from the dead then the old man is dead, been crucified. Then why should you resurrect him the old man instead of just letting the new man live? Let the old man die because as God sees it, He did die and God’s eyes.

So you and I are supposed to reckon this to be true. Would you show you one verse there in verse 11? I want you to look in verse 11. Likewise, because of this positional truth that is true, likewise, reckoning also yourselves to be dead indeed on the sin. In other words, separated from that sinful nature, and it has no power over you, no domination over you, you don’t have to do it. You have been severed from it by death.

You died. You died. A dead man is not under the law because he’s dead. law that God gave doesn’t condemn a dead man. That’s why those that are in Christ can never be condemned in the future because you can’t be condemned if it can’t sin. If it can’t sin, it can’t be condemned by the law. So the dead man is free from the law and the law can’t touch him. Can never be condemned again. That’s why there’s no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus.

Those are in Christ, no condemnation. The law can’t touch you. Why? Because you’ve already died. The ways of sin is death and you paid it. You’re free. And because you are now free, you’re free to serve God. Look what He says there in verse 6. Knowing this that our old man is crucified. Who says, see, I didn’t make that up. That’s in here. That’s in the Bible. Knowing this that our old man is crucified with him that the body of sin might be destroyed.

That henceforth from now on, from this point on, we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is what? Freed from sin? If Milton is dead, he’s free from the sinful nature, right? Now what God says is his death was put to your account. Now you live like a dead man. Live like the old man is totally dead and the sinful nature of the sinful lust and desires and all that. You’re not going to satisfy them because those came from that old dead man and you’re alive in God.

And that’s why he says there in verse eight. Now if we be dead, look what he says. Look at it. If we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. So now you are separated from that sinful nature, that old man, he’s dead, now live unto God. Now what some people make the mistake of doing and saying, that in our life the old man is totally eradicated and we don’t have those desires anymore. It is true positionally but in your life experientially, he’s very much alive and he wars against your soul and that old sinful nature is just as mean and is always has been.

And that’s why now you can still get just as mean and sinful as you want to be. But it’s because you yielded to it. You didn’t have to. You have within you a power called the power of the Holy Spirit to live the way God wants you to live. But you have these two natures. This one will never improve. This one can’t improve because this one is perfect. This one is sinful. They’ll always be like that. Take your Bible and look there in Romans and look what it says here in verse 4.

In verse 4 of Romans chapter 8 that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit. So the Christian is to walk after the Spirit and not after the flesh. Lost men can’t do that. And by doing so, then God says that you are not condemned. The Baron verse one will tell you that. Now go back there to the book of Romans and chapter 5. Jimmy chapter 6. I want you to understand that I don’t believe that this is referring to the water baptism because water baptism doesn’t put you into Christ.

This is what happened when Christ went to the cross and he died. See there in verse 3. No you’re not that so many of us as were baptized and to Jesus Christ were baptized into his death. Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death. That like his Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in the newness of life. You should walk as though you just died on the cross and paid for all of your sins and you come back from the dead, you’re a new person.

Now as a new person walk in the newness of life. Walk like Christ. You were like him in his death. You were like him in the burial. You were like him in the resurrection. Now be like him in your life. These are truths that God has laid down in his word. Now what I did is I drew a little diagram here on your paper. And you see the word positional truth? On the cross, on the cross. The old man, what?

The old man died. In the resurrection, the new man arose. Look there in Romans chapter 5 and look at this verse. I want you to see this. In verse 25, who was delivered for our offenses, that means he died for the old man. And was raised again for our justification, so that’s the new man. So one was to pay for the sin and he come back again from the dead. That’s us coming to new life as a plant out of a dry ground as Christ was looked upon in Isaiah chapter 53.

Separating these two, the old man from the new man is the word D-E-A-T-H. Death whose death was that really? That was the Lord’s death on the cross But his death was put to your account and when you believe he did that for you This death payment is put to your account as though you paid it So you were crucified with Christ you were Buried with Christ you were raised with Christ you ascended with Christ and you’re seated in the heavenlies in Christ That’s all put to your account.

God sees you in your new birth. He doesn’t see you in the flesh anymore. God does not recognize the old man that used to be. He sees the new man. You as his child and his family. God deals with you now only as a child of God. He doesn’t deal with you at all as a lost man. As a man in the flesh. A man that was under the law. A man that was in sin. A man that was dead.

God doesn’t deal with you anymore like that. because he don’t see you like that. He sees you only as his child and he deals with you as his child from now on, from henceforth. The old man is in sin, the old man is in the flesh, the old man is under the law. To the right, a Christian is in righteousness, a Christian is in the spirit, a Christian is under grace. Look there in Romans chapter 6 and verse 14.

For sin, this old sinful nature, that you were dead in your sins, shall not have dominion over you because you died. And it was in your old man, not the new man. For you’re not under the law, because the old man was under the law, you’re not under law, you’re under what? You’re under Grace, what’s that word? Look what he says here. You’re not under the law but under grace. You’re under grace. Grace is a different position. Remember over there in the book of Gereomans in chapter 5 when it says that we have access into this grace?

When you trusted Christ as your Savior, God took you from there here. Let this one die, gave you a new birth, this one is in grace. Or another way This one is in Christ. This one is in the Spirit. You are now a child of God and you’re going to heaven whenever you die. That can never change. That’s a position of truth. That’s what God did for you, the day that you trusted Christ as your Savior. 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 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. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our home page.

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 broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryuptampa.org. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friends, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound. 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.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

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 through the Bibleline website at calvaryoftampa.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.

your Bible and turn to the book of Psalms. This is the 51st Psalm. Even though this was written by David who had sinned with Bathsheba and this is his confession to the Lord, there are some things in these several verses that would help us. He makes the statement here in verse 4. Verse 4, against thee and thee only have I sinned. Now he’s praying, talking to the Lord and done this evil in thy sight that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest and be clear when thou judges.”

In other words, when God judges a man, it will be right and it will be clear cut. It won’t be shady. It won’t be gray. No gray areas. It’s right or wrong. And God is perfect and righteous and just and he makes no mistakes. So the Bible does tell us that it is appointed under every man wants to die and after this the judgment. So every man is going to die and every man is going to be judged and God is going to be justified in whatever he says.

When the Lord says to some, into thy one to the joys of the Lord, it’ll be right. When the Lord says you can’t come, it’ll be right. But wouldn’t that be a devastating thing for so many people who have gone to church all their lives? Gave money support of the Lord’s work saying in the choir did all kind of things saying specials Maybe a deacon who knows whatever they’ve done Missionaries evangelist and yet the Lord tells them you can’t come We think that’s going to do to them who thought they were on their way all those years But one of the reasons as he says here in verse five now Behold, I was shaping in iniquity and in sin.

Did my mother concede me now you and I were born in sin sin is a state of condition. It’s a way that you are you were born in sin and because you were born in sin, you have a sinful nature and we all do according to this verse. It doesn’t mean that the parents sinned and having you. That’s not what he’s saying. He says, you are born in sin, you meaning that you were born with a sinful condition. It’s like some babies that are born that have a defect, something’s wrong.

Some are born like that. All of us were born with a sin defect. We have a sinful nature. And because of the sinful nature, that’s why we do what we do. Take your Bible and turn to the book of Romans in chapter 3, the book of Romans and chapter three. But see you and I were born in sin and we live in sin. You and I live in sin. We often think of individuals who live in sin as living in some great grievous gross sin, not necessarily that that is the only kind of living in sin there is.

Here he says in the book of Romans in chapter 3, look in verse 23. Verse 23 says, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. It’s not that all of us have sinned one time. We’ve only sinned once. No. We lived in sin. You see, when you have a sinful nature and you are separated from God, we all live in sin. We live in this state of being, this condition that we are in. We live as a sinner.

Even though we try to do a lot of things that are right, we still have a sinful nature. We’re in a sinful condition and that’s why we’re in rebellion to God. A man that doesn’t even commit adultery, maybe he doesn’t rob banks, hasn’t murdered anybody, but if you live without God. You’re still living in sin. You’re living in rebellion to God. Because if you’re not right with God, then you’re in air against God. And the Bible says all have sin and comes short of the perfection of God.

What does sin mean? Comes from a Greek word, harmatano means to miss the mark. Miss the mark of what? The mark of perfection. You see, it’s like taking a bow and arrow and you shoot the arrow and you missed it by an inch. Somebody else might shoot, miss it by 10 feet. Somebody else, 10 yards. You see, we sometimes say, well, I’m not as bad as so-and-so because they missed it by 10 yards. I only missed it by two inches.

But if you miss the mark of perfection, you still miss the mark. And to go to heaven, you have to be perfect and none of us are. So all of us, with all of our decisions and all of our action, we never produce any any acts or works of perfection, everything is flawed. So we live with a sinful nature and we live in sin as the Bible tells us. All of us do. And because of that, things have to be changed, but you need to understand what he’s saying.

Now take your Bible and turn to the book of Ephesians in chapter 2, the book of Ephesians and chapter 2. When the Lord says, You have to be quickened in verse 1, who were dead in trespasses and sins. It means because of you have trespassed. God says, thou shalt not, you did. You trespass, you overstep the law. You want to crawl over the boundary. So you trespass and the wages of trespassing is eternal separation from God. So you’re considered to be spiritually dead.

You’re physically alive, but spiritually you’re dead. because you’re spiritually dead. And the Lord says, you’re separated from God and you live in sin. That’s why He makes the statement in verse two. He says, where in time pass ye walked? When he says you walk means you lived according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air. Now you may not have known it, but you still did. You He made it in planet, but you did.

Because you see, a lost man can’t serve God. A lost man might be used of God, but he is not serving God. God can use anybody for his honor and glory. And so a lost man can’t please God, because he’s in the flesh. And as long as you’re in the flesh, you’re in your sinful nature. And when you’re in your sinful nature, you’ve got additional problems that God says, you can’t come. cannot go where he’s going. So he makes the statement here.

In verse 3, among whom also we all had our conversation, that means your manner of life or the way we lived. He says, in time passed in the lust of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind. And we’re by nature, by nature. Those two words are very important. It is your nature to live after the flesh after the desires of the mind. You know, it’s whatever I want, whatever I want to be, where I wanna go, how I wanna live, who I like and who I don’t like.

And what I think, it’s all I, I, I, I, I, I, I, has nothing to do with God. And so many people govern their lives about what they want to do in life has nothing to do and what does God want me to do. And so many people do what makes them feel good. And that’s why they have a little slogan, if it feels good, do it. Whatever you want. Live the way you want to live your life. That’s living in sin.

It means you’ve missed the mark for your life. And so the Lord tells us this in His word, but God has done some things for us. Now, why don’t you take your Bible and turn to the book of John chapter eight, the Gospel of John and chapter eight? Look there in verse 19. He said, then said they unto him, where is thy father? Jesus answered, you neither know me nor my Father. Now Jesus is talking about His heavenly Father, that there’s a lot of people today, a lot of religions that talks about God, and they have various names for God.

And so a lot of times people think that it really doesn’t matter what His name is or what people call Him, as long as we’re all talking about the same God. But you see, the way you find out if they’re talking about the same God, is it, are you talking about the one that is the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because the true and living God had a son and his name was Jesus. That’s why over and over again it says Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God.

The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. So he’s not just any God by any name. You can’t just attach a name to him and call him, well, this is God. No? No, it has a name. The real God, true God, has a son. And his name is Jesus, and he says, if you know my Father, then you know me. He said, but if you don’t know me, then you don’t know my Father. He said, but if you do know me, you know my Father.

And if you know my Father, you know me. He said, but you don’t know me. And because you don’t know me, you don’t know my father. Because, you see, Jesus and the Father are the same one. He says, I and the Father are one. And that’s why he told Tommy, he said, that have seen me have seen the Father. I and the Father are one and the same. That’s why they were going to take up stones to stone him because of blasphemy.

He said, for what good work are you going going to stone me for it. They said not for a good work, but for blasphemy because that without being a man, you make yourself God. They understood what he was claiming. They knew what he was saying. Jesus claimed to be God. But there were people who did not believe that. And he says, who is your father? He makes the same here in verse 19. You neither know me nor my father.

If you hadn’t know me, you should have known my father also. These words spake Jesus in the treasure as he taught in the temple. And no man laid hands on him for his hour was not yet come. In other words, they could not in their own power bring Jesus to a premature death, though at times they wanted to kill him. They wanted to push him off a cliff. They wanted to stone him. But God would not allow that because he was under the protection of God the Father.

And he trusted the Lord to take care of him as the Father. So he makes the statement here in verse 21, then said, Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins. Whether I go, ye cannot come. Now the reason they cannot come is because he says, ye shall die in your sin. If you die in your sins, you cannot go. So the key of course is not to die in your sins.

It’s kind of like this. What if God says all those who live in Athens will die and go to hell? What would you wanna do? Get out of Athens. Well, this is what the Lord has done for us. The Lord has made a way, a possibility for you and I to do this. Now look there in verse 21, again where he says, ye shall die in your sins, whether I go, ye cannot come. Remember this, anyone who dies in their sin cannot come.

If you knew that everybody who died in Athens would go to hell, you’d wanna get out of Athens as quickly as possible because you knew that you didn’t have a clue as when you would die. Every lost man needs to know. You are born in sin, you live in sin, and if you don’t get out of there, before you die, you will die in your sins, and if you die in your sin, you cannot go to heaven. This is what Jesus Christ said.

So he made a statement down there in verse 22. They didn’t understand what he said. Can you understand what I’m saying? The people he told this to, they didn’t understand that. So they said there in verse 22, then said that Jews, will he kill himself? Because he said, where I go, you cannot come? They figured the only way you can get anywhere that we can’t go is you gotta have to kill yourself. And we ain’t going there. But if he died, where does he go?

He goes to heaven. If they died, where do they go? They can’t go. So we made this statement here. Verse 23, he said unto them, ye are from beneath, I am from above. Ye are of this world, I am not of this world. Now remember this, you can be born on the earth, but he says you’re born from below, I am from above. You are of this world, I am not of this world. all those who are born in this world or of this world and live in this world and will die in this world.

But God sent His Son who came from another world into this world and tells us that if we would believe that He died on the cross, the paper hour said, we would be born from above. The word born again, and John chapter 3 means born from above. So we would be born from that world. Though we’re in this world, we’re not of this world. And so one day God’s gonna take us out of this world. So you and I as a child of God cannot die in our sins.

Remember this on the cross, there were three. Two thieves, one on each side of Jesus Christ. One died to sin. One died in sin. . . . . . . . . . And one died for sin. Jesus died for sin. One died to sin, which was the thief on the cross that said, remember me when thou comeest into thy kingdom. The one that didn’t believe it died in his sins. So when Jesus died, one could go with him and one could not go with him.

If you die in your sins, you cannot go. That’s why you need to be born from above. By accepting the payment Jesus Christ was. made on the cross for you. Now look at verse 24, I said there for unto you that ye shall die in your sins for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. So if the reason you die in your sin is not because of all the bad things you’ve done.

It’s because you don’t believe that he is who he claimed to be. He said if you don’t believe on me, you will die in your sins. In other words, you were born in sin, you’ve lived in sin, you’ll die in sin and be eternally separated from God for all eternity. Now it doesn’t have to be that way. The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ came into the world and died on the cross to make a payment for our sins.

Let’s say for example, you have sinned against God and the wages of sin is death, the wages of sin is death. So when you sinned, you’re supposed to receive wages, what you earned for what you did. And the wages that you’ve earned is eternal separation from God in hell. You deserve to go there. You have to pay for that. That’s what you did. This is what you received. That is just. And the judgment It’s clear, there’s no doubt about it.

So you are in debt, you have a debt to pay. You were born with a sinful nature, you have lived and committed sins through your life. And if you die in your sins with this debt over your head, you’re in a heap of trouble, boy, and you need help. Jesus Christ came into the world and He took the sins that we have all done, In the words the debt we owe, the payment we’re supposed to pay. Christ took him upon him and he made a payment he died in our place.

And it’s kind of like if the Lord had all this money in here. All this money is put into an escrow account. People who buy and sell houses know what an escrow account is. Most lawyers know what an escrow account is. That you can put money into an account and it can be taken out. And it’s part of a payment that is set up to make sure that the money there. Well, Jesus made a payment for the sins of the whole world and the money is sitting in an escrow account.

And so the payment, there’s enough money in this offering plate right here to pay for all the sins of all the world, but it’s not automatically paid. Everybody’s sins are not automatically paid and automatically forgiven. You as an individual, you must believe that He did that for you, that there is an escrow account and that when you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, He takes the payment that’s necessary and makes a payment to your account. See the payments not put to your account till you believe He did it for you.

When you believe it, He saves you and gives you eternal life. Therefore you do not die in your sin because your sins are paid you’re free from your sins. It’s like you live in Athens and you know you need to get out because you were born here. You lived here, but if you died here, you’d go to hell, only in the illustration, but you couldn’t afford to move. What if somebody was to put a bunch of money into an account and all you had to do is draw on it and you would have enough to get a mansion out of the town and it’s totally paid for by somebody else?

Wouldn’t that be a wonderful thing? Well, that’s what Jesus Christ has done for us. Now take your Bible and turn to the book of 1 John and chapter two. And notice there in verse two, the Bible says in verse two and he Christ is the propitiation for our sins. Now that’s a big word, it means the satisfaction, the mercy seat, he is the payment for our sin. That’s why you hear me often make the statement, Jesus Christ made a payment for our sins.

So he says he is the payment for our sins and look at him, not for ours only, but also for the sins of the who? Whole world. Jesus made a payment for the sins of the whole world, but the payment is not put to your account to you believe. That’s why he could tell those people that he had talked to there in John chapter eight, unless you believe that I am healed, you will die in your sins. They’re not having to die for them, but they’re dying in their sins.

They refuse to accept the payment that was made for them. That’s a shame. That’s a disgrace for the judgment of individual who considered themselves to be so smart and intellectual. A payment has been made and everybody can have this free gift of eternal life. Take your Bible look here in the book of Philippians and chapter 3 Philippians chapter 3 and verse 9. You see, if the Lord says, do not die being found in your sins, then you need to be saved from your sins.

You need to be looked at as an individual who is no longer in that state of condition. When you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are taken from a flesh birth and you are put into a new birth. This one is born of God, born from above. See that’s been placed in Christ. For example, when Jesus Christ was on the cross, He was in your place. He died for your sins. So in God’s eyes when you believe He did that for you, that substitution, He did it in my place.

So in God’s eyes, it’s like you went to the cross. died on the cross and paid for your sins and you come back from the dead and you go to heaven because see it’s like you paid for your sins. You did it. But see somebody did it for you though and it’s put to your account as though you did it. So you see there’s nothing that he can charge you with. See there isn’t anything that can send me to hell.

I don’t have anything to go to hell for because I’ve already paid for my sins. I paid for all of my sins when I died. I died in Christ because He did it for me in my place. I didn’t really do it, but in God’s eyes He considers the payment that He made the propitiation for my sin, the payment for my sin. God was satisfied with that payment and I go scot free. So when believe that I am delivered from my sins.

I am now a child of God and I’m going to heaven whenever I die. When you die, keep this in mind. And be found in sin. Is that what your Bible says? No. You are born in sin, you’ve lived in sin, but don’t you die being found in sin. He says and be found in Him not having my own righteousness which is of the law but that which is through the faith of Christ the righteousness which is of God by faith be found where in him.

Now you will die in this world you will either die in sin or you will die in Christ. You’ll die in sin or you’ll die in Christ. That’s why Paul says for me to live is Christ and to die is gain because I was born in Christ I live in Christ I die in Christ when you’re a child of God. You see, that’s why it’s so important for you to understand that it’s not based upon our good works. It is based only upon Christ and He says, unless you believe you shall die in your sin.

The only way you can get out of this condition is to believe that He did this payment for you. So when you believe on it, this payment that He made is put to your account as though you did it and you go scot-free. You do not deserve that. I don’t deserve that. That’s why it says for by grace or you say through faith that not of yourself, it is the gift of God, not at works lest any man should boast.

Tremendous. Take your Bible out there in the book of John in chapter 3. And here in the book of John, it makes the statement. In verse 36, he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. He that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.” Now look up here. Here is the lost man and his bowl is full and all these sins that he’s committed, the wrath of God abides on him.

And you never know when the day of execution will be. But it’s a point in that every man wants to die because of sin, every man wants to die after this, the judgment. And so the Bible says the wrath of God’s abides upon every person that’s lost. See what he says? He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. He that believeth not the Son shall not see life cannot come. Will never see eternal life, never see heaven, never get to go.

He says, you cannot come because you will not believe. We need to understand that there’s a lot of religions in this world. A lot of religions talk about God. But Christ says, if you don’t know me, you don’t know God. So every religion in this world is wrong if they think they can get to God without Christ. There is no other name given among men whereby we must be saved. And that’s through Jesus Christ and Him alone. In John chapter 14 and verse 6, he says, I am the way, the truth and the life.

No man comes unto the Father except through Me. You don’t go through Christ. You do not go. And Christ is the one that knows whether you have or you have not believed in Him. It’s not important for everybody else to think that you are a believer. God’s the one that made heaven. He’s the one that made hell. And He’s the one that made heaven. whether you have or you have not believed or trusted him and him alone is your only hope to get to heaven.

Won’t it be a shame and a shock for a lot of people one day to find out they died in their sins and did not die in Christ? When I trusted Christ as my Savior, I was placed in Christ, I am in Christ, and I will die in Christ. You said, do you still do anything wrong? Oh, ever once in a while. But those sins have been paid for once and for all, all the sins of the world, all of mine, because I believe he did it for me.

And you say, well, you don’t deserve that. You got that right? That’s what salvation is, and that’s what grace is. So when the Bible tells us this, Jesus Christ took my wrath. I am free from this condition, but every person that’s still lost is still in their sins. The wrath of God abides on them because they have not believed. Now look at one of the verse before we close. Look there in verse 18. Verse 18 of John chapter three.

He that believeth on him is not condemned. Get that. He was condemned. But when he believed on Christ, now he is not condemned and can never go to hell. He is not condemned. There’s no condemnation to those that are in Christ, that are in him. And he found in him not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. So he says here, but he that believeth not is condemned when.

Alright, here’s the man born in sin, lives in sin, and he will die in sin. When is he condemned? He’s always been condemned. Youapeste you don’t wait till you die to find out where you’re going. You don’t have to wait. lost man who is in his sins, who has not trusted Christ, is going to hell. They’re all going to hell unless somebody reaches them, explains it to them, and get them to get in Christ before they die. They will go to hell.

You will never be a good servant of the Lord. You will never be a good soul winner for the Lord if you don’t believe this. There has to be something that you see and you understand that motivates you all the days of your life to keep given the gospel. They keep trying to get people to trust the Lord as their Savior. 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 toll free 1-800-576-3771. 1-800-576-3771. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our homepage.

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 broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryuptampa.org. Thanks for joining us on Bible Live, and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friend, one day it will happen, the trumpet will sound, and we will be changed.

Hot 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.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

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 through the Bible-lined website at calvaryoftampa.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.

This is called the overview that’s overlooked. In other words, an overview is stepping back and looking at the total picture, trying to see it all. If you get too close to something, you can see one thing, but you can’t see how it relates to everything else because you’re too close. Step back and look at your life that you’ve already lived and see what God’s done for you and you’ll be amazed. Every book in the Bible has a main theme.

There is a purpose of that book. Different people who study the Bible, they may be impressed with this. theme and somebody else, well I think it’s this and something else this. But the theme of the whole Bible is Christ and the theme of every book was going to be Christ or something that deals with Jesus Christ and every book in the Old Testament, New Testament always comes back to that. But this book, the book of Romans I believe is a picture of a duplicating machine.

I’ll show you what I mean by that in just a moment. First of all, look there in Philippians in chapter 2 and look in verse 13. Once you have trusted Christ as your Savior, understand that God not only indwells in you, but He is to work in you to perform, to perform something. For it is God which works in you. All the problems and heartaches and and the trials and tribulations, all that is God’s way of working in me.

And sometimes to work in you, he has to work on you. And he uses those things to get you where he wants you to be and to get you to search, because if you really want God’s will, that’s what makes you struggle, but it makes you stronger in the process. And it’s the struggling that strengthens you. It’s the conflict. It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. In other words, God has a purpose.

It’s for his pleasure. You are here to please God. So he’s going to work on you in a way that pleases him, not you, not me. Do all things without murmuring and what? Dispute and arguing. Don’t always murmur and always argue about everything. God says, don’t do that because you’re supposed to believe that God is working in you and he He uses people’s opposition to you. Look at Elsek in verse 15, that ye may be blameless and harmless the sons of God without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.

Every problem that people have is your opportunity to shine. People’s problems is to get them to the Lord. So therefore, don’t mind it when people have problems and come to you with problems. problem solver, always try to help people get to the Lord. That’s what it’s all about. So the Lord tells us that we’re here and He wants us as a coffee machine to reproduce others just like us. Now take your Bible and turn to the book of Romans, the book of Romans and chapter one.

It’s that God desires to create a righteous man to produce righteous deeds in a wicked, crooked, and perverse world. So God wants to create a machine. Now I don’t want to use this as a machine like you’re just a machine mechanical, no you’re a person. But like as a machine, it’s only an example please understand that. Create a machine that can produce righteous deeds. God created a man and a woman but the man and the woman got marred. So those were the original people that God had to work with.

So all the copies that came from them because they were marred, all the copies were marred also. In other words, have you ever taken a piece of paper and you can put a number on it or an X or anything on it and put it on a copper machine and make copies and it’s going to… Had the same marks just like the original did. And the copy can never improve itself. The copy is only a copy. It’s not the original.

So we had an original in the very beginning. And the copy was marked, and so all the copies, all the people on the earth have all got scars. Sin. We have a sinful nature. Because the original copy, Adam, was bad. So in Romans chapter 5 and verse 12, wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, death by sin, so death passed upon all men for that all have sinned. And then verse 14, nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similatehood of Adam’s transgression, who is a figure of him that was to come.

So there is an original Adam and he sinned for by one man sin entered into the world and therefore all have sinned because of the original. So everybody has sinned. So out of all of these copies, God could not find one that could produce righteousness. They all produced sins. So God worked with all these copies and try to make some of the copies different from the other copies, pull them aside from all the other copies and say, I’m going to make you something special.

But the copies were still just copies. So God gave them the law and did they have an advantage? Yes, they did. Look in chapter 3. Chapter 3 verse 1, What advantage then half the Jew. Or what prophet is there of circumcision, much every way, chiefly because that unto them were committed the oracles of God or the Word of God. So when God took these special individuals, these copies and separated them from the other copies and was going to reveal things to them that was not revealed to the other copies, will God work with these copies for 1500 years and the conclusion was at the end of 1500 years all the copies were just as bad as the original and God, God, could not change the copies.

God couldn’t change the copies. God and His Word couldn’t change the copies. The copies were still copies and the copy cannot improve itself and God couldn’t change the copies. When you look in chapter one, chapter two, chapter three, he is laying a foundation to show that everybody in the world is in the same boat and that they have all sinned and nobody could produce the righteousness that God wanted. So once you have got a bad copy, all the copies will be bad.

Chapter three through chapter five shows that the copies cannot improve themselves, but the only cure is to replace the marred original with another perfect original, which is Christ. And do what? Make more copies. This is why Christ came into the world. Jesus Christ, He was perfect. And so if He was put onto the coffee machine and you made copies from a perfect original, then we could have some perfect copies. So He gave birth to a person. So every one of us that are born again, born by the Spirit of God, have a perfect birth.

That when you trusted Christ as your Savior and were born into God’s family, you were made a perfect copy. You’re perfect. They don’t believe you are created perfect. As you go through the book, you find out that God is revealed certain things and it’s all by faith. It’s not by your works. So salvation is the gift of God. But now that’s why you need to understand that when you go from chapter three, parts of chapter three, therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

See the first three chapters to an half chapter, they will show you that a man cannot save himself. That a man is a bad copy and he cannot improve his condition. No man can. So only through Christ is there a perfect cure. It’s kind of like having something that’s all written over and it’s all marred and you didn’t try everything and you can’t get the stain out and yet Christ comes along and says, here’s my blood and you are dipped into his blood and when it comes out it’s perfectly pure and the The only thing left is the image of Christ.

Your second birth, born of God, is the perfect image of the Son of God. You and I, we will reach a certain level in our walk with God, and that new birth is a perfect Son of God. Within you, there is a little child that was born. That’s your second birth. It’s born of God. It’s a perfect copy. And you are going to go through various levels of the Word. and your Christian walk and you maturing in the Lord.

To where one day you ought to be able to take a ministry just like Christ took a ministry. You go through chapter two, you go through chapter three, you go through chapter four and chapter five and about Christ dying, paying for sins, and we can therefore be justified by faith. Chapter five verse one, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. So we have a new machine. This new machine can make new copies. Now everyone that trusts Christ is Savior, you’re like a little individual copy machine, and you can make copies.

That’s why you are supposed to win others to Christ. And so by you winning someone else to Christ, then they become a child of God, created in His image, created in righteousness, just like the original. And so we all are to become copy machines, creating others in His image. When we trust Christ as our Savior, that’s just beginning of the work. The Lord says that when we are saved, it says that He indwells us. So the Bible tells us that He which hath begun a good work in you will accomplish that work.

That’s the job. So the Holy Spirit lives within us. He’s working on us in order to work in us that He might work through us in building us. And it’s the problems of life. It’s all the conflicts that you have that works against you that makes you struggle and fight in order to build your faith strong in the Lord. So don’t despise life, realize the purpose of it. It’s to build us to develop that character, that good qualities that the world needs to see.

Because he says, in a crooked and perverse generation, it means God didn’t straighten up the world and solve all the world’s problems for you and me to live here. He let the world be as bad asmpeg wants to be and puts you right in the in the middle of it. Now I think I would have preferred if he’d have just straightened out everything and I could have just enjoyed it. But that’s not the way God wants to do it.

He wants us to be a light in a dark world. Means the world don’t have the answers. You do. Live like it. Act like it. Think like it. Pray like it. Walk like it. Because you’re different from the world. In other words, don’t you live like a copy from the old machine? Romans 6 shows that the new copies are not to run on the old machine, the old man. Look in chapter 6 and verse 11. Likewise, reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed on the sin.

That means the old copy machine is broke. You don’t need it and you don’t run on it and you don’t produce those copies no more. In other words, when you had nothing but the old machine, you produce sins all the time. And the Bible says, shall we that know the truth, now live in sin, walk in sin? Shall we continue in sin? Look in chapter six and verse one. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin? That grace may abound.

How shall we then, or dead to sin, live any longer than end? God says, no, because he, consider the old machine is dead. It don’t work no more. So if it’s dead and doesn’t work anymore, You don’t have to produce no more copies from it. You are supposed to live according to the new machine. And now you let Christ duplicate Himself in you. When Christ was here, did Christ have any troubles? Any problems? Just like you and I. And yet He says in all points tempted just like we are.

And yet without sin. Now it would be great if we didn’t have to worry about this old machine and this old nature that we have, but we do and He follows us all the days of our life. But your new birth is totally perfect. It cannot sin. It cannot produce one bad copy. Anything that comes out wrong is coming from the other machine. And you’re the one that cranked it up and you produced it. Don’t blame somebody else for running your old machine.

You made me sin, and everybody blames everybody else without taking personal responsibility for their own actions. You are responsible. Let not send, therefore, rain in your mortal body. In other words, don’t let this old coffee machine keep producing those old bad copies. Don’t keep producing the same anger, the bitterness, the hatred, all those things that God says, I don’t like those results. So God, in order to build a machine that could produce righteousness, had to start all over again.

Well the total new birth and Now by you trusting Christ as your Savior born of God created in righteousness Now God says I want you to produce others just like you and so that’s why he says so Love kindness and so forth if you sow bitterness you sow anger you whatever you sow you what? you read and so many people are adding to their burdened by becoming, you can be a gossiper. Do you know if you gossip to somebody about somebody, those people that will listen to your gossip will also spread gossip about you because they know that person gossips.

And they’ll tell a lot of people about you, God don’t do it. Keep control. Look what else it says here in verse 13, neither yeo ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness understand. In other words, don’t let this one body that you’ve only got one body. Don’t let this one body that you have be an instrument that produces unrighteousness. Now you have something new. You have another original, a new man. But you’ve only got one body produced righteousness. No, you not.

that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey his servants, he art to whom you obey.” In other words, you’re the one that determines whether or not what kind of copies do you reproduce? What are you producing in your life? Show why the new copies are not to run on the old machine. You say, well why? Because you get a conflict of interest. You’ll get double vision, double image. It won’t be clear. This is the battle of the two, what?

The two natures. Romans chapter seven is the battle of the two natures. It means you cannot try to produce the righteousness on the old machine. In other words, you cannot serve God in the flesh, in your own energy. Have you ever heard about people who get in? I just getting so burned out. Well, it’s because you’re trying to produce righteousness on a bad machine and it won’t work. But if you’ll try to produce the righteousness just by letting the new machine run, it won’t wear you out.

I have never yet, I’ve never come close to burnout. Well, I’m not going to serve the Lord. I’m just tired of serving God. I’m going to quit. And so as you read down through Romans chapter seven, well, look in verse 18, for I know that in me that is in my flesh, developed no good thing. In other words, there’s an old bad coffee machine inside of me that wants to produce some bad copies. And every time I want to make good copies, the old bad machines cranks up and starts producing bad copies.

That’s what he’s talking about. When I want to do that which is good, I want to end up doing that which is wrong. And when I sometime want to do that which is wrong, I find it good as with me. He said, oh, I get so confused in verse 15, for that which I do, I allow not for what I would that do I not, but what I hate that do I. Yet then I do that which I would not, considering to the law that it is good, not that it is no more either do it, but send it to all of me.

old machine inside of me that wants to keep producing bad copies. For I know that in me, that is in my flesh, dwellef no good thing, but how to perform that which is good, I find not how do I perform just the good copies. Don’t you struggle in your Christian life trying to produce just good copies? Isn’t the old copies easier to reproduce? And it’s so easy to get mad and angry and bitter and not the trust to be disobedient.

So easy to do that. Well that comes from the old sinful nature. That’s that old machine that lives inside of you. But so how can I perform? In other words, where does the power come to run on? The flesh cannot perform. The flesh is work, but then Christ says, come into me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Then why should it be hard to serve the Lord? Because how to perform has not been found. See, what is this new power? So you don’t even until you get to the eighth chapter, find out what is the new power that this new machine is supposed to run on. It doesn’t run on the flesh. It doesn’t run off that bad machine that you had. God says you consider that one dead. It doesn’t work. All you get is bad copies.

If you live in the flesh and you walk in the flesh, you’re producing bad copies. That doesn’t produce the righteousness of God. That’s not why God left you here. So here in chapter eight of Romans, you’ll notice there in the last part of it after the spirit. And verse one verse two, for the law of the spirit of life in Christ, it hath made me free from the law of sin and death. And then he talks about that in verse 4, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, but not by us, who walked on after the flesh, but after the flesh.

In other words, if you walk after the Spirit, the Spirit that lives within you will give power to produce the righteousness. Now if you don’t allow the Holy Spirit that lives within you to control you, you cannot produce the copies of righteousness that God intended. So therefore you cannot walk in the flesh. It’s the flesh that wears you out that makes you tired and miserable and all those things that just drag you down. It’s not the power of God that does that to you.

The work of the Lord will not kill you. The work of the Lord is not where, what wears you out. It’s when you’re trying to do the work of the Lord in the power of the flesh, it will not work. When you don’t depend upon God and you worry about things and you think it all depends upon your talent and your power, your ability, your intellect, your, your, you, you, then you, you don’t miss the whole picture. It won’t work that way.

And that love, that’s power, that desire that comes from God, that’s power. It means it gives you that which you need to faithfully keep serving God when it seems like everybody else seems to stop in the quit. You’d be surprised how many of you probably sitting right here, but had it up to here, was serving God and going to church and doing right. You just get tired and worn out. Be to a frazzle. Don’t want to do it no more.

And the flesh is where you are. You have gotten away from the power of the Holy Spirit. and the Bible says in verse 5, look in verse 5, you need to see that. Well, they that are after the flesh, that means that you’re going to run this old machine after the flesh and produce some bad copies, but they that are after the Spirit, are going to have some good copies. And so as you go through life, whenever we get to heaven, God’s the one that separates the bad copies from the good copies.

So when we’re in heaven at the Judson City of Christ, guess which ones are burned up? All the what? All the bad copies. The wood, the hay, the stubble. All that is going to be burned. So if you spend your life producing bad copies, you’re wasting your life. You understand what I’m saying? It’s simply an illustration, but I believe it bears with them. Now chapter 9, chapter 10 and chapter 11 is simply the past, the present, in the future of the nation of Israel.

Shows an example of someone who tried to produce better copies on an old machine. Israel promised that they would, chapter 9, but they failed. Israel showed that they could not, chapter 10, that’s the present and they’ve been set aside. Israel will eventually submit to their new original, which is Christ, the Messiah, when he returns as their only hope, and that’s the future. And the Bible says Israel become the greatest nation on the face of the year. Now look in Romans chapter 12.

Romans 12 to 14 shows the products to be produced for God and for others as a result of chapter 8. In other words, if the Holy Spirit controls your life to produce the works of righteousness in your life, you should be able to expect something from your life. Because it is God that workers in you that is to produce something from you, the righteous knees among whom you shine in this world that is crooked and wicked and perverse. And you’ll shine as the lights.

See in verse 1 of chapter 12, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God which is a reasonable service. conform to this world but be it transformed by the renewing of your mind. And then he goes down here and talks about all the things about service in a verse 6, having then gifts different according to the grace. In other words, if the Holy Spirit lives in you and if you listen to what the Word of God tells you that the Holy Spirit teaches him and as he guides you and directs you, you will find out what God wants you as an individual to do with your life.

And then he talks about all the various gifts. In verse 7, or ministry, or he that exhorted in verse 8, and verse 9, let love be without the simulation or hypocrisy. It talks about in verse 10 being kindly, affection, and want to know those are the outflow that have been produced by this new power that lives within you on this new coffee machine that can be some coffees made that God’s been looking for. But that’s the product. That’s the end result.

This is what God wants to come forth from your life. So when you get a chance, chapter 12, verses 9 through, especially 16, read that and see what God wants to produce from your life. It’ll help you tremendously. Now in chapter 15 and 16, it shows the glory, the patience, the hope, the love, appreciation for what God is doing in bringing forth righteousness from the righteous people. In other words, if I serve God, if I do, God promises these are going to be the things that comes from me, but that might come from me.

But what does it do for me? Well, this is what God says it does for you as an individual. God becomes a God of patience for you and a God of hope for you and a God of love for Look what he says there. This is in chapter 15. Chapter 15, looking verse five. Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be like-minded one toward another according to Christ Jesus. In other words, you become a copy like the original.

And that pleases God. And remember, serving God is for the purpose of pleasing Him. Look what he says there in verse one. We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the week and not to please ourselves. If you’re always the kind that sit back and what can people do for me, you missed it. Because then you want people to please you. Make me happy. Make me happy. No. Do it for others. You reach out. You want to try to win them.

You want them to go to heaven. You want this person to serve God because you want God to bless them. you want all of God’s people that when they get to heaven to be rewarded, wouldn’t that be great? Or do you just want it for yourself but you don’t want nobody else to be happy. You don’t want nobody else to have joy and all those thrills that when they get to heaven they want people to cry. That’s why I try to challenge people to serve the Lord and win people to Christ because when you get to heaven the Bible says the ones you want in the Christ those are going to be your joy in the the Lord.

Paul says, my joy in the Lord are ye at the coming of Christ. I want everybody to have that. I think it will be fantastic. So that means you want others to have what you have and to know what you know. 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 toll free 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our homepage. 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 broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.org. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friend, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound. 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. Just keep looking up.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

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 through the Bible-lined website at calvaryoftampa.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.

In the book of Romans, turn there, chapter two. page, love 193 in an old Scoville reference Bible. But I hope that whatever you have in your hands is an old King James Version. And if you will, they’re in the book of Romans in chapter two, verse 11, it says, “‘For there is no respect of persons with God. “‘There is none. “‘God so loved the world. “‘He loves everyone in the world. “‘But everyone in the world needs to understand “‘that it is appointed unto every man wants to die “‘and after this the judgment.

When God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to, and in He says these words, my gospel. I like to believe that I have a gospel. My gospel. It’s not one that I devise, but it’s one that’s been given to me to give to other people. The Lord says that we have the gospel committed to our trust. Therefore, we speak not as pleasing men, but God would strive at the heart. So I have a gospel that there’s a lot of preacher, there are a lot of churches, and everybody claims to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

You heard even on radio and TV, they’ll have, we’re going to have a gospel singing or a gospel song and many of the songs may not have a thing to do with the gospel. It’s a word, a term that we use that means good news. The gospel is good news. And I like to believe that the gospel that we preach here, the good news, have you ever compared the gospel that one man preaches with the gospel that someone else preaches?

They’re They’re not all the same. I like to believe that the gospel, but I preach is not only good news, it’s better news. I wrote down seven things on why I believe that the message that we preach is better. If you ever wanted to have fun, if you go and visit other churches, or maybe some of you come from another church, and you just visit with us today, or if you hear of anybody you ever go into some other church and you visit, Never be afraid of askingemn the preacher questions.

Find out what he believes. Where does he stand on various things? Never be afraid of putting a preacher on the spot. Don’t be afraid of embarrassing the preacher. If he doesn’t know what he believes and doesn’t know how to defend what he believes, he ought not be doing what he’s telling. He ought to go find them something else to do. But a preacher supposing know what he believes and he’s supposing know why he believes what he believes and should want other people to believe what he believes so he shouldn’t be afraid of people asking him what he believes.

Should he? So you ought to be bold enough to ask a person, what do you believe? I would like to believe that whenever you come here, it won’t take you long to find out what I believe. I try to make it very simple, very clear. My message is not general. I have very specific points that I say, this is where we stand here and this is where we stand here. This is what we believe this is what we don’t believe so that you know what I teach.

One of the statements that I have wrote down and I want you to turn in your Bible to 1 John chapter 5 and verse 13 simply ask yourself this question which is better news to think hope or guess you’re going to heaven or know you’re going to heaven. Now which would be better? Would it be better to know you’re going to heaven or to hope that you’re going to heaven. Which would be best to know that you’re going to heaven.

I’m glad you said that. Why? Because see that’s what I preach. Not everybody preaches that but I preach that and it is better. So evidently I might have a better message. I’m not just a typical Joe Blow in the pole pit who wants to just spout off and waste this time. Maybe I have a message worth hearing, preaching, supporting, and encouraging others to hear. Here in 1 John chapter 5 looking verse 13, this is what I believe. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may think that you have eternal life.

Is that what it says? Does it say hope? Does it say guess? What does it say? That you can know that you have eternal life? Well, see, I believe that it’s better to know that you’re going to heaven, that it is for somebody to hope that they’re going to heaven. And many preachers, all they can do is give you hope. I can help you to know that you have eternal life and that you’re going to heaven. Let me ask you another question.

Which is better news, to have a payment for most of your sins, or all of your sins? Is it better to know that Christ died for some of your sins, or to believe that He died for all of your sins? Well, of course it’s better to know that He paid for all of your sins, because if there’s one sin that He didn’t pay for, that one sin could continue to help. And any preacher that believes you can lose your salvation, it’s because there’s a sin that you committed that wasn’t paid.

Isn’t that terrible? Well, see, I don’t believe that you can lose your salvation. I believe that when Christ died, He paid for all the sins of all the world. I believe that. I believe that the message that we preach here is a little bit better. Well, it’s not a little bit better. It’s a whole lot better. And I think you should believe that. Let me ask you another question. Take your Bible and turn to John 3 16. I know that most of y’all have heard this verse, but I want to show you one thing there in John chapter 3 in verse 16.

Is it better to be saved for a day, for a month, for a year? Or would it be better to be saved forever? Which would be the best? If you could get saved, if any man could get saved, would it be better to be saved for a day? Would it be better to be saved for a month? Would it be better to be saved for a year? Or would it be better to be saved forever? Which we would rather have?

If you had a choice, which would you ever have? You’d rather be saved for how long? Forever. Well, lo and behold, slap my mouth. That’s what I believe. Now, a lot of preachers do not teach that. If they don’t teach that, not only is our message better than their message, their message is dead wrong. It’s a dead message, a wrong message. It’s in here. If the Bible had said in John 3 16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him shall be saved for a day.

Now that might be good for a day. It might be good if you could be saved for a month or save for a year, but that’s the way it is with a lot of people. They don’t believe that whenever you get saved, you are saved forever. Well, I wonder what the Bible says in John 3 16. Let’s just read what he says here. See there in verse 16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believe it in him should not perish, be shall not go to hell in the future, but have what kind of life, ever lasting life.

Now if God had said that if you believed on him you would be saved full of day. Would you be guaranteed that you would at least be saved for a day? True? Yeah. If God had said you’d be saved for a month, then at least you would be guaranteed to be saved during that month. If God had said, I guarantee you, you’ll be saved for a year. At least you know during that year you couldn’t go to hell because you’d be saved for a year.

But what if God said forever, everlasting, it lasts forever? It means that I am guaranteed that I have eternal life forever. Now, a lot of people don’t believe that. People need to check the gospel that some preachers say they believe. And walk up and say, do you believe that once you’re saved, you’re always saved? If they say, oh no, get out of there. Don’t give them a dime. Anybody on radio or TV, they are false teachers. False preachers have nothing to do with them.

They’re not good men. Well, they’re good people. They’re just doing their job a different way. No, they’re not. They’re not good men. They’re wicked men. I don’t care how well they dress, how sweet they may be. They are wicked men. Preaching a wicked message. Now, I have a better message. I have a gospel that not only can say for a day or a month or a year, but he says forever. Let me ask you another question. Is it better to have a salvation?

You can lose or a salvation you can’t lose. Just listen to the words. Is it better to have a salvation that you can lose or to have a salvation you can’t lose? Which would be the best to have a salvation you can’t lose. What’s slapped my mouth? I got a better one again. Because a lot of people believe you can lose your salvation after you are saved. believe you can’t. Well, it doesn’t matter, Will if I think mine is better, what does the book say?

I’m glad you asked. Now look there in the book of John chapter 6. Look in John chapter 6, two verses that are very important. In verse 37 he says, all that the Father giveth me, shall come to me and Him that come up to me, I will in no wise cast out unless He sins again. Is that what your Bible said? Your Bible didn’t say that. It says, I will in no wise cast out. That means that once you come to Christ and you trust Him, He will come to me.

never cast you out. Look what he says in verse 39. Verse 39 says, and this is the Father’s will, which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me, I should lose nothing. If he saves me, he’s taken me to heaven. He will never cast me out for any reason. You mean, Regor to what I do, regor to what I do. I can never be cast out. He will not lose me. He’s saving me. He’s taking me to heaven and He will not lose me.

Some people believe that you can get lost. You can lose your salvation. He will cast you out. What the Bible don’t teach them. So if I teach what Jesus teaches, then my message must be better. I must have a better gospel than someone else who says they got the gospel. But their good news is not even as good as my good news. Listen to it. Is it better to have a salvation you can lose or a salvation you can’t lose?

It’s better to have one you can’t lose. That’s what I got. That’s better than one that you can’t lose. And that’s not the Bible. That’s why the Bible said this is good news to go into all the world and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. I think if he wanted us to preach the gospel to every person in the world, he ought to give us the best message possible. And that’s what we have. But there’s a lot of people that don’t believe that God loves people that much that He would give me eternal life and never cast them out and never lose them.

But I believe that He will. Another question. Is it better to receive eternal life that is temporary or eternal life that is eternal? Now that’s all paradox. If God was to give me eternal life as a gift, is it better to have this gift temporary or eternal? Which would be the best? Eternal would be the best. Well that’s what I got. That’s what I preach. I must have a superior message than any preacher that teaches it you can lose it.

Now don’t you dare think for among all all preachers are the same. They are not the same. All churches are not the same. I believe what it teaches right here in this book, that He would give us as a free gift ever lasting life. Let me ask you another question. Is it better to receive eternal life as a free gift or by living a perfect life? Many preachers teach you have to live a good life in order to get it.

Now if you had God had eternal life and here it is, what would be the best way for you to be sure of getting it? Him giving it to you as a free gift or you deserve it. Which would be the best? Which would probably be secure? Which would probably mean you’d really get it if it was free. But if you had to earn it, you wouldn’t earn it. You couldn’t earn it because you see you don’t have to be good to go to heaven.

You have to be perfect. And you cannot bring forth good works unless you’re good. You can’t bring forth perfect works unless you’re perfect. And the Bible says there is none good, no not one. We’re all sinners and so sinners bring forth sins. We bring forth imperfection. No lost man in a sinful nature can bring forth good works that’ll get him to heaven. That’s why salvation is the gift of God not of works lest any man should boast. Isn’t that clear?

So if it’s better to receive eternal life as a gift than working for it, then evidently the gospel that I preach here is superior to anyone who teaches any other gospel. And there’s a lot of people who teach of the gospel. Christ says, or I should say the apostle Paul in the book of Corinthians in chapter 11 says, I am fearful because I fear that the devil who will beguile you shall corrupt your minds from the simplicity that is in Christ.

And many will bear with a false gospel, a false Christ and a false Holy Spirit. They bear with it. They don’t see anything that wrong with it. Listen, truth is truth. Truth is truth. A lie is not the truth. And while sometimes truth is putting on its shoes, a lie can go halfway around the world. Is it better to receive the Holy Spirit the moment you’re saved or at some arbitrary date? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. If I was going to receive the Holy Spirit, when would it be best to receive the Holy Spirit?

The moment you’re saved or some on arbitrary date out there in the future somewhere, it’d be better to receive the Holy Spirit when you get saved. Well, slap my mouth. That’s what I believe. It’s better. And as you go through and you study the Bible, you find out the Bible is very clear and the message is very good, it’s better than any message ever devised by any man. Man cannot compete with the clearness and the purity of the gospel of the Jesus Christ itself.

Man has always won the add something to it, but all they do is delude the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul says I’m rebuking Peter even because he says that the truth of the gospel might remain with you. The truth of the gospel might remain with you. Now, I want to give you a couple of the strong points of believing what saved always saved. Why I’m not afraid of those words and very thankful for those words that once a man is saved, he is always saved.

I wrote seven things down. You know, as you know, most preachers have to have a seven point outline. Well, I happen to come up with just seven. I don’t know why it just works that way. But number one, one of the strong points is that once saved, always saved. Once you’re saved, you’re always saved. Now think about it, isn’t that a good thing to know? That once you’re saved, you are always saved. A lot of people don’t have that confidence and that assurance that you have.

I have it because I understood this when I trusted Christ is my Savior. The man who won me to Christ helped me to see and understand that God meant exactly what he said. So I knew that once I trust the Lord I had eternal life that I will saved forever. The second point, once his child always his child. You see I meet people once in a while and I’ll either pull out a track and give it to them or talk to them about the Lord.

And sometimes people say you You mean you believe in that damn nable doctrine of once saved, always saved? I had a preacher tell me that. And that’s exactly what they called it. You’re wrong on the gospel. Everything else doesn’t matter because, see, if you don’t get to heaven, who cares about all the other great teaching? What’s the gospel? It doesn’t matter what church you go to when you go in there and you try to compare this and compare that.

What’s the message the man is preaching in the pulpit? That’s what’s important. It’s the gospel being preached. That’s why I want people to support our radio and our TV minutes, right? Because we have a gospel, we believe it’s worth putting on the air, trying to reach people with it. Not just one of many, not filtered with a lot of man-made opinions in it, but the pure gospel of Jesus Christ. And we believe that once a man is saved, he is a child, and once a child of God, always a child of God.

Why should that be so hard for people to believe in once saved, always saved? We believe a lot of other things. Do you believe a man once in hell is always in hell? You believe that? I do. I believe once a man’s in hell is always in hell. I believe once a man has gone to heaven to be with the Lord. He’s always with the Lord. Well, I can believe that. Well, why can’t I believe things that he says down here?

better off believing that my security is better off if I was in heaven with Christ than on earth with His Word. His Word here is just as good as His presence there. I don’t have to be in heaven to feel more secure. I am just as secure right here on this in this world in this so sinful body knowing the Word of God I I am just as secure. I have disasminning guarantees and I have no fear of ever losing my salvation.

All my sins are paid. This is a great thing to know and to believe. Once you’re his child, how long will you his child forever? Only God’s children go to heaven, but everybody in the world are not God’s children. That is they which are the children of the flesh. They shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But once you are born into God’s family, you have eternal life. God’s child. Once you’re a child of God, you’re always a child of God.

Number three, once forgiven, always forgiven. I’m glad to know that once I have been forgiven of all my sins, the penalty paid for all my sins, they never have to be done again. They are placed in the depths of the sea, as removed as far as the east is from the west. I’ll never have to confront them again. They’re all gone. And the Bible says that once forgiven, they’re always forgiven. They’ll never be brought up again. That’s a good thing to know.

A lot of people don’t have that comment. They don’t have that assurance. But I do. You see, well, why do you have to confess your sins? Now, I don’t confess any sin to go to heaven. I have never confessed one sin to go to heaven. But if I want to have fellowship between me and God, if I want to have fellowship between me and my wife or my kids or other people that I wrong, yes, I need to confess that.

But not one of those sins that I have ever committed since the time I was born. I’ve been saved can ever condemn me to hell. The penalty has been forever paid, never has to be done again. But if you want to keep a clean slate between you and the Lord, yes, you own up to it and you admit it and call it what it is. And if we as God’s children, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sin, that’s not for salvation.

That’s for fellowship. And if you read the first chapter of John there in 1 John, you’ll see that and understand that. And many people take verses out of context and apply in the wrong way and it will not help them grow spiritually. Number four, once a saint always a saint. You want to know what a saint looks like? Look up here. I’m a saint, not Bernard. I am a saint. You are a saint. If you have trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are a saint.

You see that word comes from a Greek word, Haggioso, meaning to be made pure and holy. The moment you trusted Christ as your Savior, you are made pure and holy and set apart for the Lord. Once you are a saint, you are always a saint and no saint goes to hell. You are God’s child forever. Once a saint always the same. See whenever you can believe, once saved always saved, you can believe the rest. But if you don’t believe, once saved always saved, you can’t believe that once a child always a child of God.

You can’t believe that once forgiven always forgiven, you can’t believe that either because you still believe that there’s a sin that will continue to help because you weren’t forgiven for it. You see, the key is you have to believe that once you’re saved you’re always saved for all the rest of the greatest promises in the Word of God to mean anything to you. And if you don’t believe that one point you can’t believe the rest. You can’t believe that once you’re a saint you’re always a saint.

Why? Because if you believe you can lose your salvation you can’t always be a saint. Number five, once glorified, always glorified. I’m not glorified yet. One of these days, the Lord’s gonna come back, and those that are alive will be changed in a moment. The twinkle of an eye will have a glorified body. It means a body that’s perfect. Remember the Bible says that all have sin and come short of the glory of God, or short of God’s perfection.

So these bodies are gonna be made perfect. My body isn’t perfect right now. It’s got a lot of flaws. So does yours. But one day we’re going to get a brand new body, a glorified body. But once I get a glorified body, it’ll always be a glorified body. It can never be undone. It from now on, all eternity. That’s a great thing to know. But a lot of people don’t believe that. But I believe that. But all these great truths hinges upon one thing, the truth of the gospel.

you say forever. If you’re safe forever, then all the rest of the things you can see it. But if you don’t believe that you won’t see this other, and that’s the problem that 99% of all these preachers are having and they’re confusing the people to sit in a pew. I had a preacher tell me one time, he says, you mean you believe in that damnable doctrine of once saved always saved? There is no other salvation and you’re either eternally saved or you’re not saved at all.

Number six, once with the Lord always with the Lord. Once you’re with the Lord, always with the Lord. He said, He’ll never cast you out, never lose you, never forsake you. He will never forsake you. Even when you leave this world and you’re in heaven and you’re with the Lord, how long are you going to be with the Lord? Forever with the Lord. Once with the Lord forever with the Lord. It’ll never be changed. You’ll always be with them.

Can you find in the Bible the saved man Christ ever lost? If you opened your Bible and read it from the beginning to end, can you find in there one man God ever saved and lost? Can you find one? Where does it say anywhere in there? One man, one man. And yet how many people teach it? They can’t find one man. One example, isn’t it? Can you find the man that Christ ever saved twice? Can you find one man in the Bible or a woman that he ever saved twice?

Because see if a man can get saved and then he gets lost, can he get saved again? Well a lot of people preachers teach that. That’s what they call being backslidden. Oh, I believe a Christian can backslide in the sense that is if I’ve ever gone far enough forward in their walk with the Lord, but no Christian can ever lose their salvation. You see, that is a heretical teaching. That’s slamming the gospel of Jesus Christ. Hebrews chapter 10 and look in verse 10.

By154, by the which we are sanctified, that word meant to be made pure and holy and set apart. Through the offering of theRedd of Jesus Christ was the next three words. Once for all, once you believe that he did that for you, he puts that payment he made on the cross to your account and you are washed pure and clean as though you’ve never sinned in your whole life. grace or you say through faith that not of yourself it is the gift of God and not of works lest any man should boast.

Now look in verse 14 Hebrews chapter 10 verse 14 says, for by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified perfected forever. I wonder what those words mean. Remember this if you’re depending upon your good works to get you to heaven, you’re lost. Your salvation had to be purchased with something that was incorruptible with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Look up here. Letting this hand represent you and me and this wallet represents sin. We all have sin upon us.

Now God says He loves us. He hates our sin. And our sins separates us from God. The Bible says we’ve all sinned and the pain of that sin is eternal separation from God in hell. And that’s why everybody’s condemned because everybody sins. We need to save you. This hand represents Jesus Christ, God, enough flesh. He came into the world because he loves us. Now he hates our sin because it separates us from him. So Christ took the sin, paid for it and the cross came back from the dead.

God said if we’ll believe that he did it for us, he’d put this payment that he already made to our account. And we would go to heaven on what Jesus Christ did for us. That is applying the blood to the soul. And it washes you white as snow. Nothing else for God. There is no other detergent in the world. It had to come from outside of this world. Incorruptible blood of Jesus Christ. 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 toll free 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our home page.

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 broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryuptampa.org. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, and now we’ll close you thought from Pastor Arnold. Friends, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound. 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. Just keep looking up.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

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 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 through the Bible-lined website at calvaryoftampa.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.

Here in chapter 7 of Ecclesiastes he says a good name is better than precious ointment and get the last part of the verse and the day of death than the day of one’s birth. We generally in our life and our understanding, we celebrate when a baby is born, try when they leave this world. And then to leave this world and to go to heaven, that’s a precious thing in the eyes of the Lord. The death of the saints is precious in the eyes of the Lord.

But the Bible says we all are like sheep and we’ve all gone astray. We don’t think we don’t love right, we don’t do right. And he says, there’s none that doeth good, no not one. Look what he says here in Ecclesiastes chapter 7, and I want you to look there in verse 20, for there is not a just man upon earth that doeth good and just sendeth not. Now the Bible tells us that we are supposed to bring forth good works.

He also talks about let men see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Well, if there’s not a just men up on the earth that doeth good, then can we do anything good? When we compare ourselves with each other, we might consider ourselves to be fairly well. And many people do compare themselves. I’m just as good as so-and-so. I’m better than they are. But when we compare ourselves to the Lord, then of course we’ve all come short of perfection.

Jesus Christ made this statement to a man who asked him, Sir, what must I do? Good master. To inherit eternal life. He says, why call us thou me good? There’s none good but God. One in him to recognize that not only was Jesus able to perform miracles but Jesus Christ was good but also that Jesus Christ was God. Can a man do good? But I think there’s two parts to this verse and I want you to look there again, for there is not a just man upon earth that doeth good and sin if not.

After we trust Christ as our Savior, God says that we’re justified, so there is a just man upon the earth. And God tells us to bring forth good works and to maintain good works, so evidently yes, we can do good deeds. We can do good works. But can a just man upon the earth do good and sin not? I don’t believe that there’s any of us that will live our lives with our sin. It would be great if we could, but we don’t.

So after we trust Christ as our Savior, we still, even though we want to do right, we want to do good, we still fail and make a lot of mistakes. Do a lot of things that we should not do. Look in 2 Samuel, 2 Samuel in chapter 1. The Bible tells us that the King of Israel, Saul, and his son, Jonathan, had just been killed. Saul had done his dead-level best to kill David, hunted him down like a dog, and yet David never said or did anything against Saul.

Could have took in his life several times, but he didn’t do it. And then when he died, he made this statement in verse 19, the beauty of Israel is slain. Upon thy high places, however mighty fallen. Tell it not in gat, publish it not in the streets of Askelon. Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph. David didn’t want the heathen to rejoice because a giant had failed. And he was the king of Israel and still looked up to and honored and respected.

Look in verse 25. He says, How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle? You and I are supposed to understand that when we dedicate our life to the Lord, not only we saved, we’re in the world, but we’re in the midst of a battle. And many of us are going to go down in this world, and hopefully we’ll go down fighting. But one day all of us are going to die. But while you live, will you fight?

Fight the devil with everything that you have. Fight the sinful nature. Fight the lust of the flesh and the trials and temptation that want to destroy. I believe that is the will of God for us to fight all the way. How are the mighty fallen and the weapons of war perished? I want you to notice something in verse 27. When David made the statement, how the mighty fallen and the weapons of war perished. Every person who trusts Christ as Savior is a potential mighty weapon for the Lord.

Now we use weapons, we use the sword of the Word, we use the shield of faith, and we prepare ourselves to battle. Whether it’s the teenagers or whether it’s the adults, every person we train to serve the Lord is a soldier. They are potential weapons for God to use. So God uses every individual’s. And in the midst of this war, in this world, in this life, we’re going to get wounded. We’re going to get scars. And we’re going to lose battles in this life.

But one day it will all be over. But in the midst of our battle, whether we’re young, in the middle, or toward the end of our lives, there’s a great battle on, a great war. And how are the mighty fallen? And I hope that we fall while we’re fighting, and not to quit, and not to give up, but to keep doing what God wants us to do. I want you to take your Bible and turn to Isaiah 61. The other night I was covering a couple things concerning Christmas.

And I had them look at Isaiah chapter 61. But I want you to notice there in this verse. It says Isaiah 61 in verse 1. It’s a quote in the New Testament in the book of Luke where Jesus Christ quotes these verses. And this is in verse one, as Jesus refers to these verses, he says, these scriptures speak about me. So when we read this verse, we know that we’re talking about Jesus Christ. He says, the spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek.

He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted. And when you stop and think the good tidings, this good news of Jesus Christ coming into the world so that we can have as a free gift ever lasting life. And I’ll have to admit when I was 18 years old, I was one of those that was brokenhearted. I remember whenever Betty’s dad sat down and explained the gospel to me that night, all I knew if what he said was true, I was going to hell.

And I remember sobbing like a baby, just broke down in tears. I had never been to church where I saw anybody cry like that. I’d never seen anybody get saved. So I didn’t know what the rules were. I didn’t know what you did. You didn’t do. I’d never heard about being saved before. And I remember that night as clear as a bell, I remember the details. I remember what he said and I remember what I did. And yes, I went.

I cried like a baby. I had a broken heart, but I can tell you this. Trust in Jesus Christ as my Savior healed that broken heart about where I was spent eternity. Since that time, I’ll have to admit there has been an awful lot of events in my life that you could consider to be good things or bad things, but I’ve had a lot of broken hearts. Whether you considered them with your kids or your grandkids or whether it’s ministries or whether it’s health, whether it’s finances, you name it, you’re going to have broken hearts.

But the same God that can heal the broken heart of being lost is the same God that can also heal you in every other way. I would venture to say that Jeanette at this moment has a broken heart. And I believe that it’s good and proper for God’s people to pray for her. Because it’s going to be very hard, very difficult. When people have been married for so long and been in the ministry for so long, it must be a devastating thing.

But can God still heal even toward the end time of your life? I believe God is sufficient for every person for all time. It doesn’t matter the circumstances. And yet you and I can still sit here and maybe we’re not hurting physically, but you can still have a broken heart over something. But whatever it is, Christ says He came to heal the broken. I want you to take your Bible and turn to the book of Hebrews in chapter 10.

Hebrews and chapter 10. The Bible tells us after we trust Jesus Christ as our Savior that we are, yes, saved by faith. Placing our faith in what Jesus Christ did for us, he saves us, gives us eternal life, and we become his children. His children, children for all eternity. He said he never casts us out, he never loses. But we are still in this world. Can a just man do good and send if not? I don’t think that it’s possible for a child of God to live his life without sin.

In regards to how much we love the Lord and And how strong we think we may be. We’re not above failure. We can sin and fall at any given time. Say and do things that we shouldn’t. I know I’ve done that over my life. Nobody lives perfectly all the days of their life. But if a man made 99 decisions, 99 decisions out of 100 and made one bad decision, it doesn’t annul the 99 good decisions. As you live your life, you have to remember that God forgives you of every sin.

And in the forgiveness of your sin, you and I are to forgive ourselves. many people never forgive themselves for the things they have allowed themselves to do. And so they live under a load of guilt. He says, If thou serveth not the Lord thy God with joyfulness and gladness of heart. He said, I will put a yoke of iron upon your neck until it destroys you. But I am so thankful that God in his wisdom saw fit to put the 11th chapter of Hebrews in the Bible.

We often refer to the 11th chapter as the Hall of Faith. Down here you hear of the Hall of Fame. Those who have really done outstanding things in various ways and so they get their name in the Hall of Fame. And what’s great to know is that what God does record. But I also want you to be impressed by what God does not record. You see, God has an ability to do something you and I can’t do. He can forgive and forget and we can never forget.

We don’t forget. We try. We’d love to. But if somebody ever wrongs you, You might forgive them, but it’s hard for you to forget. And sometimes as time goes on, it might get a little easier. But somebody can say one thing, and all of a sudden, it causes flashbacks back to a time or a moment when somebody said or did something that really hurt you. We all go through that. But what I want you to see here in chapter 10, look there in verse 38.

Verse 38 says, Now the just shall live by faith. Is there a just man upon the earth that doeth good and sineth not? I don’t think so. Is there a just man upon the earth? Yes. The Bible even says that Lot was a just man. A just man. But he vexed his righteous soul from day on the day by the things he saw and heard. and it cost him his wife and it cost him his kids. But in the midst of the battle he made some wrong decisions.

But here it makes the statement, the just shall live by faith. But if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him, and my soul shall have no pleasure in him. Could be a reference to the apostle Paul, whom I believe God used to write the book of Hebrews. But even if it’s a reference to God Almighty, our Heavenly Father. It does say that God has no pleasure. See, God is not pleased with our failures. God’s not pleased with our mistakes.

He’s not pleased with our turning our backs upon God and not doing right. God is not pleased when we think wrong and when we do wrong. He’s not pleased when we hurt one another. I don’t think God even likes us to have broken hearts, but we do because we’re people living in this world. And he makes this statement here. If any man draw back, my soul is in love with God. shall have no pleasure in him, but,” well, my glad I like that word, but we are not of them who draw back unto predation or destruction, but yes, you can be a saved individual and slide back in your service to God, but it’s never a reference to losing salvation.

It means that what we know we don’t do, what we’ve learned we don’t share. It means that we fail God in performing our duties as a good soldier. So he says here in verse 39, but we’re not of them that draw back unto perdition and you ought to underline this part of the verse, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul just because the just doesn’t perfectly perform in all of his life and every area of his life doesn’t mean that you’re not a just person.

Doesn’t even mean that you’re not a good person. It means that you are a just person doing good, but not what I’ve sinned. It says in the book of John, first John, he says, a man that said he hath no sin, he is a liar. It means that you and I, we do have a sinful nature and we still do sin. And we do fail and we do get upset. We do get bitter. We do say hateful things because we’re still people.

We’re human. But the Lord can forgive us, restore, and we can keep walking with the Lord. If not, then no Christian would ever mature if we didn’t have a wonderful, loving, forgiving, heavenly Father. He says here, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. In other words, we may believe that a person can draw back, but we don’t believe that they can never lose their soul. So then you come to chapter 11 where when he’s talking about the just shall live by faith.

And as time goes on, we have broken hearts and God heals them. But there’s something that I want you to notice here. Not what is recorded. I want you to see what is not recorded. You say, how can you show us what’s not recorded? When you read the Old Testament, you get the full story, the full story. You read the Old Testament and you’ll find out what happened and what God did. Verse five of chapter 11, by faith, Enoch was translated that he should not see death and was not found because God had translated him for before his translation he had this testimony that he pleased God.

Isn’t that a wonderful thing? But do you believe that Enoch because he pleased God never displease God? Do you believe that because of his testimony that he was such a good, a righteous man that God took him on to heaven and didn’t even let him die? Isn’t that awesome? Does that mean he never failed? It doesn’t mean that. It doesn’t mean he never sent it doesn’t mean that. See every one of these people fail, but in chapter 11 you don’t find God recording any of the failures of any of his servants.

Because you see, God was able to do something. God says, a man shall live by faith. And what a man does for the Lord, God records. And the other that God has forgiven is never brought up again. When you read the whole story in the Old Testament, yeah, you find out where the men did that which was wrong. But when you come to chapter 11, you don’t find any of those things. It’s almost like when we get to heaven, what’s God going to bring out?

He doesn’t bring out our sins because they are buried in the depths of the sea. They’re removed as far as the east is from the west and their sins will remember no more. Aren’t you glad of that? But what you did by faith for the Lord, God said he’s going to reward you for. Look there in chapter 10 and notice in verse 32. Verse 32 is he’s talking to these Hebrew Christians he says, but call to remembrance the former days.

Can we remember the former days? There’s a lot of things in my life I remember some things I like to forget. But he says, I want you to remember something. After you were eliminated, after you were saved, when you saw and you heard, you understood. You believed in the Lord. After you were living, he endured a great fight of affliction. You see, God’s saving us and leaving us in this body, in this world, is a battle in itself. He left us in a body that fights against everything God wants us to do.

My body don’t want to go sometimes. You still have and I have the lust of the flesh. We get tired, we get weary, we get worn, but maybe there’s times when you endured a great fight of affliction. You were afflicted, but you fought. 33, partly while you were made a gaze in stock both by reproaches and afflictions, partly while you became companions of them that were so used. Sometimes it’s because of literal things that you’ve done. Sometimes it’s because you’re a companion with those that are suffering.

While I was in Colorado, I had a very dear man whom God brought alongside of me to help me in the ministry there. His name was Bob Daly. And as time went on, we led a lot of people to Christ. Saw a lot of wonderful things happen. But there also came time when we had persecutions. And that man, he stuck with me and it hurt him. He was greatly hurt, but he stuck with me because he believed that I was right.

The suffering that he went through, he’s still my friend today. And I hurt because of what he had to bear just because he chose to be my friend. And I’ve always respected Him for that, knowing that He didn’t have to. As you read these scriptures and it makes statements about things that you’ve done, look what He says here in verse 34. He says, For ye had compassion of me and my bonds and took joyfully the spallen of your goods, knowing in yourselves one of the reasons that you can fight and go through afflictions and bear through things that maybe you didn’t have to, but you chose to because of your faith in the Lord.

It’s never in vain. And he makes his statement, know it in yourselves that you have in heaven as a result of the way you are, decisions you make, the labor, the fight, you’re gaining something in heaven. See, going to heaven is free. That’s a gift. That’s because of his love for you. But what you have when you get there is going to be indirect ratio to the caliber of your love for him in this world. And so he makes this statement in verse 35, cast not away therefore the confidence, which had great recompense of reward.

The Bible tells us the Apostle Paul in chapter 1 Paul in chapter one of Galatians made this statement, If I seek to please men, then I cease to please God, because you can’t please both. If you seek to please God in the process of pleasing God, it doesn’t please man. Can you handle that? Can you live with that? As you and I live our life, we don’t have to spend our lives fighting by just keep going, just keep doing what’s right.

Seek into please God, and God will honor you for doing just that. You ever have a child? Just because you have a child that makes a mistake on something, that means you made a mistake on everything. But there’s good people that say bad things, good people that do bad things. And that’s why the Bible says in this world we learn to love each other and to forgive one another. another. But what’s not mentioned here? Take your Bible and look there.

Verse 21, he says, by faith Jacob, when he was dying, bless both the sons of Joseph and worship, leaning upon the top of his staff. You remember that there was a time in Jacob’s life where he stole his brother’s birth right where he lied to his father, deceived his father, but it’s not recorded here. This is where God says, when we go to heaven and we are standing the judgment city of Christ God’s going to be worse but what we’ve done.

You’ll suffer loss of what you could have done and didn’t do, but what you did do is recorded. So anything from the beginning of your Christian life to the end of your Christian life, whatever you’ve done for the Lord, God will never forget. Isn’t that wonderful thing to know? One of these days you’re going to die. I’m going to die. And when we get to heaven, the times where we failed will never be brought up again. That’s a wonderful thing.

You see, the greatest thing you’ll ever have in this life is your faith in God. It doesn’t mean that your faith in God is so great that you never sinned. It’s that even when you fail God, you have enough faith in God’s word that you can confess that to God. Say, Lord, I sinned, I failed against you. and I want you to forgive me and God can forgive. And you can keep on serving the Lord. Never let some sin that you’ve ever done today or in the past or tomorrow, whenever ever keep you down.

Because I got good news for you. We serve a God of second chance, third chance and fourth chance and fifth chance and seventh chance and eighth chance. He’s always willing to forgive and he can always use you. He may not be able to use you to the extent he could have at one time, but he could still use you. Let God use you to the fullest. Wherever you are in this Christian life of yours, God will bless you for it.

This end representing you and me and the wall represents sin. We all have sin upon us. God, He loves us. He loves you. He loves me. He loves everybody in the whole world. It’s the sin that we have a problem with. Because you see our sins separates us from God. This end represents Jesus Christ, God is our sins separates us from Him. That’s why God hates sin. Because He’s perfect and we’re not. And He can’t fellowship with us. We can’t fellowship with Him.

We can’t go to heaven because of the sin. And God says that since we committed it, we have to pay for it. It’s eternal separation from God in hell. He loves us, He wants us to go to heaven, and to go to heaven we have to be perfect, because righteous is God, and nobody’s perfect. Nobody is. We’re all sinners. The Bible says we cannot save ourselves by the good deeds that we do. The only payment for sin that God would accept is the payment of death.

The sin represents Jesus Christ, God in the flesh came into the world. Because He does love us, He took the sin, paid for it on the cross. This was his way of showing us that he loves us. God so loved the world that he gave his only big gotten son whosoever in the world made it even, whosoever believe it. Made it where anybody can have it. It’s not hard, it’s not complicated. Even a child can understand it. But all they had to do was believe it, he did it for them.

And he would put the payment to their account. They’d go to heaven and what Christ did for them. If I offered you my tie and you accepted, you’d have a tie. If Jesus Christ walked in here and offered you eternal life and you accepted, what would you have? Eternal life. If it’s eternal life, then it lasts forever. And where are you going to go in your life? You go to heaven. 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 toll free 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our homepage.

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 broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.org. Thanks for joining us on Bible Live, and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. friend one day it will happen the trumpet will sound 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 just keep looking up

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

Bibleline Bibleline, Dear God’s Word on Bibleline, Everywhere, Every Time, Dear 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 through the Bible-lined website at calvaryoftampa.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.

We read just a moment ago how that God says, woe unto the man that strived with his maker. Why would a man want to go against God? Fight against God. Well, be like you going up against this wall right here trying to push that wall down. You can’t win. So don’t fight God. Find out what God wants you to do and just go with it. You’ll enjoy life, it gives you purpose to life, and you know that the one that created the heavens and the earth, that created you.

You’re working together in harmony with Him. And it’s so important. Take your Bible and turn to the book of Isaiah chapter 45 and verse 6. But look there in verse 6. That they may know from the rising of the sun and from the west that there is none beside me. I am the Lord, there is none else. I form the light and create darkness. I make peace and create evil. I the Lord do all these things.” That little phrase and I create evil, don’t let it bother you.

God creates the results of evil decisions. For example, you may choose the sin, okay, but God gets to choose the results of the sin. God can say, because you did this, this can happen. If you do this, this can happen. It’s called the law of sowing and reaping. So God creates all those consequences of wrong decisions. And it is God that can choose to bless the good results of good wise decisions. So we’re the one that makes the decision, but God’s the one who is in charge of the consequences.

Isn’t that awesome? Just understanding that helps you in your life to make wiser decisions. as I the Lord do all these things. Then in verse nine, we’re going to Him that strive us with His maker. There was a little story here, and let me just share this with you. Says that a college professor and about atheist was teaching his class. He shocked several of his students when he flatly stated he was going to prove that there was no God.

Addressing to ceiling, he had shouted, God, if you’re real, then I want you to knock me off this platform. and I’ll give you 15 minutes to do it. The lecture room fell silent. You could have heard a pin fall. 10 minutes went by. Again, he taunted God’s end. Here I am, God, I’m still waiting. His countdown got down to a last couple of minutes when a Marine just released from active duty and newly registered in the class walked up to the professor, hit him full force in the face, sent him tumbling from his lofty platform.

The professor was out cold. At first the students were shocked and babbled in confusion. The young Marine calmly took a seat in the front row and set silent. The class fell silent, waiting. Eventually the professor came to and was badly shaken. He looked at the young Marine in the front row when he regained his senses and could speak. He said, what’s the matter with you? Why did you do that? God is busy watching over my squad in Iraq. He sent me to take care of the small stuff.

I love that. Hit him one more time. And I was talking to the teenagers just Friday night about not mocking God and the way you mock God is you mock sin. Because you say, I can do this and get away with it. God says you can’t. You try to prove to God you can do whatever you want to do and there’s no consequences. There’s consequences to our decisions. So down here in verse 12, he says, I have made the earth created man upon it.

I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens and all their hosts have I commanded. He created the heavens and the earth. He is your maker and you’re not here to fight with God. Look what he says there in verse 17. But Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation. You know, that’s the same as Ephesians 2, 8, and 9. This is John 3, 16. How that God’s going to save with an everlasting salvation. See, there’s no temporary salvation.

When God saves a person, He saves them for how long? Forever. See, there is the gospel in the Old Testament. Look at verse 18. For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens, God in self, that formed the earth and made it. He had established it. He created it not in vain. He formed it to be inhabited. I am the Lord. There is none else. There is no one beside God. God had a plan. The plan of salvation was not designed by an individual.

So look what he says in verse 19. I have not spoken in secret in a dark place of the earth. I said not unto the seed of Jacob. Seek ye me in vain. I the Lord speak righteously. I declare things that are right. So if you understand that God is a good God, a righteous God, a perfect God, a holy God, a just God, then God can do no wrong. So there’s no reason for you and I to ever get mad or bitter at God.

Now this same God that did all these things allows things in this world to happen to us. We may not understand fully the reasons why but that doesn’t mean that God is wrong. Then He makes a statement down here in verse 22. I want you to look in verse 22. He says look unto me and be saved all the ends of the earth. Salvation is not in a church, it’s not in a kingdom, it’s not in good works of anything.

Salvation is in the Lord. Look under me be ye saved all the ends of the year for I am God and there is none else. There’s only one true and living God and even though this is in the Old Testament written 700 years before Christ ever came, the salvation that God promised was based upon His Son coming into the world. He says in verse 23, and you heard this statement mentioned in the New Testament. But here it says, I have sworn by myself, the Word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness and shall not return that unto me every knee shall bow and every tongue shall swear.

Now when you read these verses there in the book of Philippians in chapter 2, where it’s talking about these screams, same scriptures, and it talks about the Lord. And he says, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, that though he was God, he thought it not Robert to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation. And he took upon himself the form of a servant, became a man. And he suffered and suffered under death.

And the Bible says that whereby God had highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord to the glory of God the Father. Those scriptures comes from right here. And so if those scriptures come from right here then this is talking about salvation. Eternal salvation in the Old Testament, in the book of Isaiah before Christ ever came.

But it tells us why Christ had to come so that God could fulfill the promise that He made. Look upon me all the ends of the earth and be saved. Everybody can be saved and there’s nobody else that can do it. So then if there’s no other person that can save them, then evidently Jesus Christ must be gone. That’s awesome. Looking at verse 25, in the Lord, L-O-R-D caps, that’s Jehovah. In Jehovah shall all the seed of Israel be justified and shall glory.

So how are you going to be justified through the Lord. You’re not justified by the law or anything else. See, even the Old Testament taught justification by faith and faith alone. Now look in verse 5 of chapter 46. He says to whom would ye liken me and make me equal and compare me that we may be like? You can’t compare God, Our God, our God, who is the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ with any other God. Take your Bible and turn to the book of Luke and chapter 3 verse 23.

Jesus Christ, though He’s going to come and come. Had to come at a certain time in a certain way, in a certain place, certain city, certain year. All these details are given in the Old Testament. But in the New Testament, it’s reality. There is the prospects in the Old Testament and the expectation. But now the real thing happens. And whenever the real thing happens, some of the people did not see nor understand. Let me read this to you. This is by Ari Torrey.

Says here, Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Why should the Son of God step down from the throne of heaven? Lay aside his infinite glory and consent to enter this world to the lowly door of Bethlehem’s manger. The incarnation was for the purpose of the death. Jesus Christ’s death was not a mere incident of his human life. It was the supreme purpose of it. He became man in order that he might die as man and for man and give his life as a ransom for many.

That’s the reason that he came. He came as a man that he might die as a man for the sins of man. Here in the book of Luke, there is the genealogy of Mary. In the book of Matthew chapter 1, it gives a genealogy of Joseph. Here is the line of Mary and it is the son-in-law of Helai. He doesn’t have two fathers. And so as you go down through here and you see the genealogy of Jesus Christ from Mary and it goes all the way back.

But the purpose of this is to prove that Jesus Christ is a man. Because you see he could not pay for our sins as God, he had to do it as a man, but he had to do it as a perfect man. So this is the reason for the virgin birth. Mary was also of the same line of David. And Joseph was of the other line, but that one had a curse on it. So by Joseph, Mary and Mary, did Jesus be in born?

He didn’t have the sinful nature of the man. But he has the legal right because Joseph was his legal father. And that’s why you have here in verse 23, and Jesus himself being again to be about 30 years of age, being as was supposed the son of Joseph, but he wasn’t his son. In verse 31, it makes a statement last part of it, which was the son of Nathan, which was the son of David. So you see, David had Nathan, David had Solomon.

And so both lines, represented the king and one as the son of man, but they all went through David and then on back into Abraham. But this genealogy goes all the way back to verse 38 which was the son of Enos which was the son of Seth which was the son of Adam, the son of God. So he goes all the way back to the very first man showing that Jesus Christ the lineage goes all the way back Jesus Christ is truly he is a man.

Now take your Bible and turn there to the book of Matthew. You’ll notice in Matthew chapter 1 when it makes this statement. In verse 1 this is the book of the generation of Jesus Christ the son of David the son of Abraham. Now here see it doesn’t go all the way back. It doesn’t go all the way back to Adam. It only goes concerning Abraham. See God had made a promise to Abraham that he was going to make of him a great nation and through this nation, God promised to David who came from the line of Abraham that he would be the king of Israel.

So this is why the book of Matthew pictures Jesus Christ as the king of Israel. The book of Luke you’ll find this is where in chapter one Dr. Luke gives the story of of the virgin birth of Jesus Christ, and tells about stuff that you don’t find in the others. Because it show in Jesus Christ as a baby, as a child, and he grew in wisdom and statue and so forth. He was a man. Luke pictures Jesus Christ as a man and the other one pictures Jesus Christ as the king.

This is why in the book of Luke it says in chapter 4 talks about, Behold is born unto you this day in the city of David a Savior. A Savior was born in Luke, but in the book of Matthew show us where the king was born. In chapter 1 of Matthew it says, born a king. In Luke, born a Savior. You see, the king doesn’t pay for our sins. But the Savior as the man does. So that’s why Jesus Christ has to prove that He is both and can do both jobs.

This is the problem that Israel had. They pictured the Messiah coming, but only as the knight in shining armor that’s going to set up a kingdom and deliver them from the iron hill of Rome and set up this beautiful kingdom of all the earth. So they looked at the king and they forgot about the Savior, the babe. But now notice here in Matthew chapter 1, so he starts in verse 2, Abraham begot Isaac and Isaac, Jacob and Jacob, Judah and so forth, and then on down the line down to verse 6, and Jesse B.

got David the King. David the King, he got Solomon and so forth. So this here’s David and Solomon and you read the book of Luke and it’s David and Nathan because it’s talking about two lines. One for Joseph to claim the throne of Israel and the other one a human individual that could make the payment for the sins of the world he had to be a man. And so this is why the virgin birth had to take place. Look there in Matthew chapter 1 and you’ll notice it comes all the way down to verse 16 and Jacob begot Joseph, the husband of Mary of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

But nowhere do you find that Joseph is the Father of Jesus Christ. He was not the Father. Jesus Christ was born because the Bible says the Holy Spirit, hovered over Mary and it says that Holy thing that shall be born of these shall be called the Son of the highest. In other words the Holy Spirit fathered Jesus Christ. Now go back over there to the book of Luke and chapter 2 here it says in verse 8 and there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the fields keeping watch over their flock by night.

Hello, the angel of the Lord came upon them and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were so afraid. And the angels said unto them, Fear not, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which I be to all people, for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord, and then talks about the sign that they’re going to find. How are they going to find this child?

And all of this is written so that we could know and understand and believe that Jesus Christ is who He claimed to be. Look there in verse 40 of chapter 2. And you won’t find all these types of things written in the other book, but you’ll find them here in the book of Luke, because Luke, Dr. Luke, writes it from a medical point of view from a physician’s point of view. And the child grew, waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom and the grace of God was upon him.

Look down there in verse 52. And Jesus increased in wisdom and statue and in favor with God and man. That means increased in wisdom mentally. And it says and in statute physically and in favor with God spiritually and with man socially. So in every area, Jesus Christ as the perfect man, perfect in every way, never committed his sin, and he knew perfectly how to deal with everybody under every circumstance. Never did it wrong, never just mean retaliation, but everything he said, what he thought, what he did his whole life.

Now, what was the purpose of this perfect man coming into the world? Just to live a nice, beautiful, glorious life, he was born that he might die, that he might pay for our sins. Let me read this to you. So he didn’t have a beard of gray, nor a cute round button nose, eight rain deer never pulled a sleigh, he never wore red velvet clothes. No one ever wrote of him or wrote to him, advising that they’d been nice.

In fact, it almost been forgotten no one ever really thinks twice. So let me tell you of the reason that we celebrate this day. It’s not just the winter season to give us a holiday. He was born to us a tiny child on a steel and silent night, a bade so small, so meek and my own, to save man from a sinful plight. He cared so much that he left his home in heaven up above. To be born on earth, he gave up his throne, the greatest gift of love.

So why then is it Santa’s story told on this sacred day? Why does he get all the glory with a man made grand display? Itorage to us to tell the real story, we must take them to the stable, to ensure that all the Christmas glory is not given to a fable. There’s no Christmas without Jesus. We must help the blind to see. the reason why we celebrate is God’s gift to you and me. So remember to think of Christ this season and to tell His story to all because Jesus is truly the real reason, not because of a man in a mall.

I want to close to these words. Look over there in the book of Philippians in chapter 2. This is really, I guess you could say Christmas in a nutshell, but not not only that, but it gives us the purpose of our life in a nutshell. So look there in verse 5, talking about how should a person think the attitude, because if all this is true, that means there really is a heaven, there really is a hell and we really have important choices to make.

So it says in verse 5, let this mind be in you, no word learned to think like this, was also in Christ’s Jesus. In other words, this is how he thought. His actions were by product of the way that he thought. So God says, let his mind be in you. Think the way God thinks. And what was that? He said, who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, because he is God.

He’s not stealing something from God. He has God. Made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant. You know, down here, sometimes we become very concerned about our reputation. But I guess all I need to do is just take care of my character, my reputation, and take care of itself. In other words, you go ahead because of your character, you do right. You can’t determine what people think about you. Your reputation is what you are in life, but your character is what you are in the dark.

the reason why you do what you do. You can’t make somebody else exalt your reputation. But he says here in verse 7, but made himself of no reputation, took upon him the form of a servant, was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. What I want you to see. Before he became of no reputation and became a servant, he already existed.

Before he became a man, he already existed. Because it says, in verse 6, who, being in the form of God, who? Being in the form of God. He existed before he became a man. And this is what people need to understand. Jesus Christ did not begin when he was born in that little baby’s body upon this earth. Jesus Christ existed from eternity past. Jesus Christ was God. And he says here in verse 8, and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself to his heavenly Father, became obedient unto death, the death of the cross.

Him dying was an obedience to his heavenly Father because he was obedient even under death so his death was an obedience to obeying what his father wanted. It means that was the purpose of why he came and he was obedient to that purpose. Now get this. In verse 9, where for God also had highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow. Things in heaven, things in earth and things under the earth.

We read this verse just a while ago in the book of Isaiah that at the name of Jesus every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord to the glory of God the Father. Now in view of that, in view of that, what should that do for me? How should I be? Now that all this is true. Verse 12. Wherefore is here because of what just went before it. Wherefore it might be loving as you have always obeyed.

Now he’s talking about here you are. Now Christ, at this kind of a mind, he obeyed his heavenly Father’s will even unto death. Wherefore let his way of thinking be in you that even though he died, God highly exalted him. Here we are. He wants us to be obedient, even under what? Death. And then whenever we get to heaven, God will highly exalt us, not just getting to heaven. That’s not the exaltation. Being exalted in heaven is a position because of our obedience after we trust the Lord, because this obedience here in verse 12 not talking about your salvation.

This is talking about you are saved. Now what? So he says, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, not work for it, but work it out. Work out that which God has put within. See, the Holy Spirit lives within you to work through you. Now let that happen. He that hath begun a good work in you will perform if you just get out of the way.

Then he makes his statement. Verse 13, for it is God which worketh where? In you. So his work is not over. Just because he saved you and gave you eternal life, his work is not over. That’s just the beginning. Have you not only allowed God to save you from hell, giving you eternal life and you’ve learned to have him, will you let God continue the work in you that he began? Do you actually believe you have reached your potential as a Christian?

For it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his good what? His good whatever pleases God. It is the will of God for him to work in you to make you whatever pleases him. Get verse 14. Do all things without murmuring and disputing. Look at verse 15. That you may be blamed and harmed as the sons of God without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation or world. And you ought to underline these words.

Among them, in other words, this is talking about our life now. This is where we are. Among them, ye shine as lights in the world. God loves us, but He hates our sin. And for us to pay for sin is eternal separation from God in a place called hell. No wages of sin is death. But God loves us and wants us to go to heaven and to go to heaven, we have to be perfect as righteous as God and none of us are perfect.

And God says, you cannot save yourself by your good works. You need a Savior. This hand represents Jesus Christ, He’s the Lord, God in the flesh. He came into this world because He loves us. He hates our sin. The Bible says it separates us from it, so Christ took the sin, papal and the cross came back from the dead. Instead of, well, believing did it for us, he’d put this payment on our account. We’d get the good of heaven on what Jesus Christ did for us.

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 toll free 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our home page.

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 broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.org. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friends, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound. 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.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

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 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 through the Bible-lined website at calvaryoftampa.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.

If you can believe the book of Genesis, you’ll have no trouble believing anything else in the Bible. The attack today is to attack the book of Genesis. That’s why there’s such an attack upon the story of creation. And evolution is an attack upon the Bible. It’s an attack upon God. It is a religion of the atheist. But remember this true science and creation agree perfectly. Whenever the Bible talks about create out of nothing. And then there’s things that God made out of things that he created.

Evolution can only deal with that which has been made and cannot answer the question, can something come from nothing? Well, something can’t come from nothing, but something is here. And so they can only deal with things that are here were made by the things that were already here, because evolution cannot create out of anything, because it always has to progress upon that which went before it. So in evolution you have to say this came from. Mankind came from a lower form of animal.

Where they come from, where they came from, a common ancestor, where they come from. Well they came from us, those were the Nile and where they come from. Well that came from four gases that came together. And where they come from. Well a big bang theory, where they come from. See they have to keep saying where something come from? Well the Bible says that there was nothing and God created it and evolutions can’t cross that line. But would God see all things are possible?

If you can believe the first words in the book of Genesis and look in verse 1 in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. If God created the heavens and the earth that means he created it out of nothing. So it is here the Bible tells what God did. So if anybody is going to disbelieve the story of creation, then they should at least listen to what God said. So God is the one that says when the beginning started, and before this, there’s God.

But God can’t create out of nothing. That’s what the word in the Hebrew means. But then there were things that God made from that which was made. He says He took the dust of the earth and and made a body that a man lives in. So the body of man was made from the dust of the earth that God had already created. The Bible has the answers. It just depends on whether or not people have our minds already made up and don’t wanna know the answer.

Have no desire to know what God’s word says. The Bible tells us that he did things in six days. Now, when the book of Genesis was written, remember, God gave this story to Moses on Mount Sinai. Adam and Eve had already come and gone, and the flood had already done happen. When he’s writing this, and God put it into his word and tell him the story, I think that God knew whether it was 24 hours or 240,000 geological ice ages.

No, it was one revolutionary turn of the year because the God that told him the right Genesis is the one that gave them the law that says it was six days, and so either you go about what God says or you don’t. But don’t try to manipulate the word of God. Look there in chapter two. Look in chapter two. There’s not really two creation stories in the book of Genesis. Some people say there’s two creation stories. There’s only one story of creation is explained on two different chapters.

But there’s only one story. And he gives like an outline, like sometimes I will give you an outline of what I’m going to cover. And then I go back and I cover it. Look here in Genesis chapter 2 and verse 1. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished. And all the hosts of them and on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made. And he rested on the seventh day. Now on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made and he rested on the seventh day.

But the previous chapter tells what he did on each one of those days and even says what he did on the sixth day But now it’s time like I’m telling you what I done told you then I’m gonna tell you some more give you some more details And he says in verse three and God blessed the seventh day sanctified it because that in it He had rested from all his work which God created and made So that’s what God said he did and that’s what I believe he did now take you hold your place here Look all the way over there in the book of Exodus in chapter 20.

When God told Moses what to write concerning the law, well, he also told him the story of Genesis and how he began, what he did on what day. The same God, it’s the same time, gave the same story. Even though these things happened in Genesis, and what happened here could have been 1500 years later. It doesn’t matter. were written at the same time by Moses. He wrote the first five books of the Bible. So in Exodus in chapter 20 you notice there in verse 8.

Remember the Sabbath day to keep it hold of the Sabbath day is the same Sabbath day to seventh day that God talked about over there in Genesis in chapter 2. And he says here in verse 9, 6 days shout thou labor because God created the heavens and the earth in 6 days. He rested on the seventh day. This is the same thing. Did say worship on the seventh day, which the seventh day I’d been trying to do, just says you don’t work that day.

Because God made the body, He made the earth, He says it has to rest. And I think people would be better off, they did rest a day. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God, and it thou shalt not do any work. Thou know thy son, know thy daughter, thy man’s servants, and thou know thy maid servants, nor the cattle, nor any stranger that is within that gate? Why? In verse 11. For in six days, the Lord made heaven and earth.

Now, do you think the six days in verse 11 coincide with the six days in verse six? It would be the same length of time. I think so. If you’re trying to find a way to harmonize evolutionary teaching, which needs eons of time to explain where we came from and how the animals got here and so forth, Well, then you need all the time in the world because the evolutions believe that in time, enough time, anything is possible. So they talk about millions and billions of years.

You don’t find that in the Bible. I believe that God can create the earth with the appearance of age, just like He created Adam, created Eve. I believe they had the appearance of being so old, but how old? I don’t know. Maybe they all look like it with 30. Who knows? They can’t look like Caleb. They were able to have children. They were able to think. They could speak. They were probably two of the most intelligent people before Solomon there ever was.

They didn’t have a corrupt mind. Adam was able to name all the animals of the garden. He wasn’t bent over in some cave, you know, learning how to make a fire and talk about grunk grunk grunk grunk grunk grunk grunk grunk grunk grunk grunk grunk grunk grunk grunk. No, that’s the cave men talk of the evolutionary teaching. That’s not Bible. they tell them about the prehistoric man. There’s no prehistoric man because we have the history of the first man.

Now where’s the history before this man? There’s nobody before Adam. Adam was the first man. There was nobody before Adam and we have the history of Adam and his wife, his children, their names and on down the line we have the genealogy. So where’s the prehistoric? There isn’t any such thing. That’s evolutionary teaching but you’ll find out in your textbooks in the public school but he makes a statement here in verse 11, for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth the sea and all that in them is rested on the seventh day and that’s what God did and this is why you have the story and it talks about the six days.

In verse 2 says, and the earth was without form and avoid and I know that even the Scofield reference notes try to say that this was a time when there was a cataclysmic judgment perhaps upon the angels that sinned against God and therefore everything was destroyed and the earth laid in this state for millions and millions of years nobody knows you can put all the years you want in here and then because of that judgment that God brought upon the earth now God is gonna recreate everything off the earth again on the earth again Romans chapter 5 sometime we we find our direction by checking our routes.

But our roots doesn’t go back 100 years or 200 years. It goes all the way back to Adam and Eve. Let’s go back to the roots. That’s where we all came from. And after the flood, those were our roots. We go all the way back everybody to the family of Noah. We all have the same roots. It’s that we are many branches. But we’re all same people coming from one main root. but in the book of Romans and chapter 5, look what it says in verse 12, wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world.

So how did sin enter into the world? By one man. The Bible tells us that the first man was Adam. Sin came into the world by one man and if there was sin and God killed all these prehistoric men that lived upon the earth before this, you know, the one they called the Cro-Mang-Young, and the Heidelberg man, the Pithakanthopus E. Wrechdis man, the Australopithecine man. All these supposedly fossils that proved that we came from some eight men, well that means that they were men and they died.

That means that sin was here and death came into the world by way before Adam. True. How can you have all of them die if there was no sin in the world? He says, wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, death by sin. So death passed upon all men for that all have sinned. So we know how that sin came into the world. Looking verse 14, nevertheless death reigned from a caveman. No, it starts with who?

And starts with that first man. So the first man, as the Bible says, was Adam. Now the New Testament says this, the Old Testament says this, who am I to say that there were prehistoric men on the earth before them? In 1 Corinthians chapter 15, look in verse 45, verse 45 in your Bible, verse 45 says, and so it is written the first man. Now who says that Adam was the first man, the Bible. So if God says the first man was Adam, the New Testament says it was Adam, the old Testament says it was Adam, then I believe it was probably Adam.

And he says, and sin came into the world through the man. He says the first man Adam was made a living soul. Last Adam, a quickening spirit. Now who is the world? The last Adam. The last Adam is Christ. See there’s two families. So here’s Adam and he represents the whole human family. The second Adam, Christ, everybody born into his family represents a new set of species, a new human race. They’re all born without a sinful nature. These all sinful nature, Christ, no sinful nature, divine nature, live forever.

Two different families. This Adam, the first Adam, member in Genesis chapter This is the book of the generation of Adam and it names all these people and they all die. Matthew chapter 1, new book, new testament, Christ, new family, and it says, and this is the book of the generation of Jesus Christ, and there’s no deaths recorded. So you see, there’s death in this book, this family, no death in this family. So that’s why once you’re in the family of God, you never die.

You only reason we will face death in this world is because we’re still a family, part of the family of the human race. Still got that old human body. Old sinful nature. And it’s going to die one of these days. So you understand that. Now look what he says in verse 47. The first man is of the what? Earth. And the second man is the Lord from where? See, we know who it is. The second man is the Lord, and he came from heaven.

So he became from heaven, and you say to Jesus Christ, when he came to him, where did you come from? He came from heaven. He came from a place where he existed before he got here. Now if I say to you, where did you come from? Well, you don’t know of any place except you were born in some city, some place. Well in evolution see, they have to say where you come from. And so they can go back only so far, but if you give the evolutionist enough time, they say anything is possible.

But it breaks all the scientific laws. That’s why evolution is not scientific. It means it’s based upon hypothetical opinions and they cannot truly scientifically demonstrate their theory. We are here today and we came from some common ancestor. All right, prove that. Scientifically they cannot prove that. The facts are not there. They believe, but they have no evidence to prove it. They got a bone. And they believe that we came from some simple forms of life down the line. But the Bible says it’s just the opposite.

We came from¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ complex forms of life. And we have fallen and we get worse. Evolution says we came from nothing and we’re getting better and better. We’re climbing up this evolutionary ladder. Does creation that says we had a fall and evolution says we’re getting better and better going in the opposite direction Are they compatible? They know where you compatible? We’re talking about two different philosophies all together one is from God and The evidence is true about what God says What evolutionists say is it true?

We’re not getting better better and life doesn’t get more complex as it gets older scientific law states this, the law of biogenesis, genesis, the law of beginning. Life must come from life and exist on previous life. All life today can only exist on previous life. Everything that’s alive exists on previous life and has to come from something that was alive. That’s a scientific fact. Alright, let’s take it all the way back. There’s divine life, spiritual life. There’s human life, there’s animal life, there’s plant life, material, in animal objects.

You got rocks. Can that which has no life give birth to that which has life? No. Then there is no way for evolution to ever happen. They talk about the first law of thermodynamics, but the second law of thermodynamics is that everything has a tendency of running downhill toward chaos. you let go gets worse and worse. You can build yourself an expensive car, set it outside. Does it improve or does it after a while start getting rusted? Everything goes down.

They talk about the evolution of the telephone. It ain’t no evolution of a telephone. It’s an evolution is not even happening. There’s no such thing as evolution of the telephone. It’s the development of a telephone. Did that telephone create itself? And did it get better and better? Do we now have cell phones? Did it do it by itself? Did this cell phone that we had today that takes pictures? Did it happen without an outside force, without a plan, without a designer?

Did it happen that way? No. So then you start an evolution where it progressed upward without outside force. And yet that’s what we’re supposed to believe that happened to you and I. It just happens and we got better and better and better. We were animals and now we’re getting better and better. No we’re not. Here a guy took something that was already existing and made something out of that which already existed. He didn’t create anything out of nothing. But he can take something and then upon that with more knowledge add to that and develop it.

We have the development of the automobile but there’s no such thing as the evolution of the automobile. The car did not evolve. In other words, here’s my old amodel Ford. And all of a sudden I got me a must thing and did it all by itself. Nobody did it. Do you believe that? I can’t buy that. You wouldn’t buy that with a car. But why would you believe that about the human body that it evolved and got better. Now, it talked about mutations that within species there is mutations and there are mutations.

But 99% of all mutations are harmful. In other words, nothing’s ever made better because of a mutation within the species. But I want you to see this. Look up here in 1 Corinthians 15, but God give it a body as it had pleased Him and to every seed His own body. When God made the animals, isn’t it wonderful? Listen to this, that God not only made an animal, He made the animal where it can reproduce after its own kind.

You think that something without a mind, without a brain can make that happen. I mean, be able to develop something that is alive and in it has the seed of reproduction. That is incredible how it can reproduce itself. Isn’t it amazing how that you can take a cow? a cow, let’s say you’ve got a brown cow that eats the green grass and gives white milk and yellow butter. What a machine! Let the evolutionists today create such an animal. Here’s a chicken and all it does is eat all the little worms on the ground and anything and they can see and pack and eat and make sure it makes a wonderful thing like an egg.

And on the inside of that egg, you can crack it open and there’s the yolk and the white of the egg and it’s so good to eat. And yet if you leave it alone in the first life, it becomes another chicken. How did that chicken that doesn’t have a brain produce the egg that can make another chicken out of that egg? That’s God. And yet they want us to believe that it just happened. It just happens. And yet every animal is able to reproduce after its own kind.

Every tree is able to reproduce after its own kind. Every blade of grass, it can reproduce after its own kind. Isn’t that awesome? You stop and think about it. A man today on the top of the evolutionary ladder is not able to make anything like that. And he’s supposed to be in a brain. If he can’t do it, remember I said, where do the eyes come from? He says, some light sins in the spot like a freckle. Why aren’t you glad they didn’t develop in the city of pants every time you sit on you go blind?

I’m so glad I got my eyes right there in the front. I wouldn’t mind having one in the back just to keep an eye on Leon and the rest of y’all. But now get what he says down through here. It says in verse 39, all flesh is not the same flesh. There’s one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beast, another of fish, another of birds. And that is a scientific fact and that is true today. They can test the blood of people and their blood is different than the blood of a fish and the blood of an animal.

You need a blood transfusion. Don’t get it from an elephant. It won’t be good for you. It won’t match. You have to be careful even getting certain kind of blood from people. The wrong kind will kill you. But all these things is so interesting in the Bible where God says that He made all these things. And He’s the one that says how things are going to work. The other thing I want you to see there in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, look what He says there in verse 21, verse 21.

He says, for sense by man came death, not by the angels, by man. By man came also the resurrection of the dead. The first man Adam died. The second man Christ died, became back from the dead. Now get what he says here. For as in Adam, all do what? All right, that’s the first man. So everybody born from Adam, he’s our root. That’s where we came from. So whatever happened to Adam is what’s going to happen to us. He died.

We all die. Now get what else he says here. And so in Christ shall all be made alive. So every person of the human race from the first Adam that will believe in Christ, all will be made alive. One you die, one you live. I am glad that I am in that second family. Now get what he says. Verse 23, But every man in his own order Christ the first fruits afterwards they did a Christ at his coming, then come the end.

There is a time coming where even in Matthew it says, and when shall the end be? When will the end come? And he says, there’s going to be rumors and wars and all of this stuff and all he’s saying is going to happen. But the end is not yet. But then he says, the end is here. The end comes. And he will deliver this world, the kingdom up to his heavenly Father. And I go back to the book of Genesis.

Back to the of a good Genesis. We have finally covered the first two verses. And the earth was without form and void. That means that when God created the heavens and the earth, He took and put the material. Everything is there. Now He’s going to shape it. Now He’s going to make something from it. Now He’s going to take and have different days on what He does. And He says that the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Now here you’re seeing that in the beginning God, that word God is Elohim. It’s a plural word in the Hebrew. And it means three or more. It’s a plural word. So he says, and the spirit of God moved upon the face of the order. Well, where’s Jesus? In the book of Genesis, as in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, the word was God, the same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him.

And without Him was not anything made that was made. And you read the book of Colossians in chapter one, and it makes the same statement that He created everything and by Him all things consist or held together. Jesus Christ was here on creation day. And this is why you’ll also see it makes a statement. He said, let us make man in our own image. Look there in verse 26. And God said, let us make man in our image. Well, who in the world was he talking to?

Do not talk about the angels. I believe he’s talking about the God here. There’s the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. A man is a trinity. You got God the Father, Christ, the Holy Spirit, and each one of these, God is the Spirit, but every one of these, there’s like the soul of man, the body, and the spirit. And Christ is the physical of the body that came into the world. The body has stopped preparing. We have a body, a soul, a spirit.

Our body is what makes us world conscious, our soul is what makes us self-conscious, our spirit is what makes us God. conscious. So we’re conscious of these things. And but we’re spiritually dead when you’re born to the world with a sinful nature. And so by trusting Christ to save, you’re made spiritually alive. And so like I’ve said before, now, here’s your spirit. Here’s your soul. Here’s your body. Your body is what connects to the world. You live in this body so you can connect to the world because you in this body, you can see the world, hear the world, touch the world, smell the world, you can do all think to your senses.

That’s because the soul can work through the body. But the soul has a spirit and the spirit is how you communicate to God. Okay, but you’re cut off from God spiritually. So spiritually a man, the spirit is how the soul connects to God. But see when you’re spiritually dead, you might know that there is a you don’t know God. So when the Holy Spirit indwells you makes you spiritually, what? Alive. Now through the Spirit we know God. And that’s why he says the things of God can no man know except the Spirit which is in man.

So the Holy Spirit can reveal these things to you. God was not your spirits till he alive. So the Bible says that you and I as the soul God wants our soul to be happy, our body to be healthy, our spirit to be holy. And so you can be happy if you do the things right in the body and you can be happy when your soul is right with God spiritually. And so this is why you as an individual you have so much more that you you can enjoy than the lost man.

A lost man cannot enjoy anything spiritually, but a Christian can. You can enjoy the world. And he says, he hath given us all things freely to enjoy. But through the Spirit we learn what things not to enjoy, not to love. And if you’ll use these things wisely, you can be so much more intelligent, make greater decisions. And God God bless you even more. So, we’re good. 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 toll-free 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our homepage.

If you’re in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Our Sunday morning services begin at 1030 and at six o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.org. Thanks for joining us on Bible Live. And now we’ll closing thought from Pastor Arnold.

Friend, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound. 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.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

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 regular The 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 through the Bibleline website at calvaryoftampa.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.

The Bible is the source of truth. There’s nothing wrong in this book. It was not devised by man. This is the word of God. God gave this book. And he gave it word by word. Every word in the Bible was given by God. And man wrote what God told them to write over a period of 1600 years by 35 to 40 different writers. From every walk of life, it is God’s book. And therefore you have a source of truth.

If you learn this, you’ll know what truth is and you’ll know how to live, how to make wise decisions. I want you to be smarter than the average bear. And when it comes to so many, if you was to look around this room and you look at different people and you say, well, man, that person be hard to reach. That person be hard to reach. And the person who thinks the easiest can be the hardest. And the person who thinks the hardest can be the easiest.

You never know. There are some people who think, well, I don’t need to go to church to go to heaven because I’m just as good as the people that go to church. Well, whoever said that going to church is what gets you to heaven. You don’t have to go to church to go to heaven. So now what are you gonna do? Well, I’m just as good as everybody else. Who cares? Everybody else you compare yourself to isn’t good enough to go either.

Now. What are you gonna do? We must compare ourselves with Jesus Christ because Christ is perfect and you and I we’re not perfect. So if you have to be good to go to heaven, well, you’re not going to make it because God said there’s none good. Okay, we got to be better than that. God says you have to be perfect as righteous as God. All right, are you perfect? Are you as righteous as God? So whether you’re witnessing or just for the satisfaction of knowing in your own mind where you stand, this is good for you.

Look at the next statement. Church people are sinners like everybody else, but they’re saved by grace. See the people that go to church, they’re still sinners, but they’re safe centers. I’m a safe center. I’m a center, but I’m saved and I’m going to heaven. That doesn’t mean that I think I’m better than somebody else. Don’t try to give you, you’re better than they are because you’re not better than they are. God says there’s no difference. You’re all the same in God’s eyes.

You’re all centered. You come short of perfection. So you get the chip off your shoulder and stop looking down your long fairs, you have good nose like your Kellogg’s cornflakes, just a little bit better. You know that somebody else, you know you’re not. The reason people come churches like you. Let me show you something. The church is like a hospital. You want well people on the staff, but we let anybody come because we want to help everybody. But see, this is a spiritual hospital.

It’s not a physical hospital. It’s a spiritual hospital. I don’t heal everybody of all their sicknesses and diseases. I don’t make short people taller. I try to help you spiritually. I look at people and as the scripture says in the book of Isaiah chapter one, he says, you are sick from the toe to the head spiritually. And I look at people as people are spiritually sick and I’m Dr. Arnold and I’m going to go to my medicine cabinet and I’m going to pull out some verses and I’m going to help you to get well.

The message, the power that can do that for an individual, you got it. I covered this the other night but this is just a little bit different from a different perspective with different scriptures. There are too many hypocrites in the church and we sometimes use what people are doing as an excuse for us not to do what we should do. A hypocrite is a play actor. They’re the person who pretends to be something that they’re not. They came actually with the playwrights of even back in Shakespeare’s time, called a hypocrite.

That’s a person who went out on the stage and they pretended to be something that they were not, that was an actor. Well we have people in life that do that. You pretend you’re a Christian. You go to church, you read your Bible, you said, you look holy, you even by your head, you pray and all those things. But see, you pretend it, you’re not real. I did that for years, but I didn’t know I was hypocritical. I didn’t know that I was not really a Christian.

I thought that I must have been a Christian. I was born in America. Everybody’s a Christian, aren’t they? Did all those good things just put me a Christian? Well, I was wrong. Even though I was sincere, I was just wrong. You can pretend, but that doesn’t make it so. If somebody tells you, you’re trying to witness to somebody, give them the gospel. And all of a sudden I give Leon the gospel, Leon says, there’s just too many hypocrites in the church.

Okay, no, so what? Who cares? I don’t want to take him become defensive and then jump all over him and try to convince him, well you’re a hypocrite too. I won’t win him that way. Quietly show that hypocrites exist in every walk of life. Would we stop eating because farmers are hypocrites? No, you’re going to eat anyway. I think if hypocrites go to church, that’s a good place for them to be. At least you’re going to learn something. Maybe it’s not been hypocrites.

Do not let the earthly hypocrites keep you from Christ, or you will end up in hell with them. If the hypocrites don’t trust Christ as Savior, they’re real hypocrites, and they go to hell, you say, well, I don’t want to go to their church because it’ll be hypocrites. Okay, you can spend eternity in hell with them. And don’t that, does that make sense? Sometimes those we call hypocrites, and this is true, are simply weak people who need our prayers and help.

There’s people that sometimes are hypocritical in this thing they say and do. And they just need some prayer, and they need a little help, and maybe a good pattern on the back. I talked to people, and I would get them right there, right there to trust the Lord. I said, you know, you’re sinner, yes I do. You believe Christ on the cross and be, yes, I said, well, you’re right now, where you right now, where you ate right now, will you accept Christ as your Savior?

Well, I need to wait a little bit and then I’m, I’m going to wait on God to show me some more stuff. I says, look, you’re not going to live long enough for God to show you everything you want to know. I says, you understand the simple basic things. One, you’re a sinner, Christ paid for your sins. If you don’t trust them, you’re going to hell. If you do, you’ll go to heaven. Now, what else do you need to know?

They’ll see in my mind, that’s all you need to know. Go ahead and trust Christ is to save right now learn those answers later and if you never learn them so what but if you do learn them fine but you’ve got the most important thing settled see I am a result oriented type person I think about what’s the point the main point is I don’t want you to go to hell I want you to trust Christ as Savior and nothing else matters there’ll be more concerned about that poor heathen over there in Africa well I’m not interested in that heathen in Africa right now I’m talking about you.

You’re a heathen right here in AmericaCLASSIFIED. God has shown us, He loves us and wants to forgive, save and bless you. Would you have Him write another Bible? Send Jesus to die again or send another Holy Spirit? What do you want God to do? I might don’t God to do something. What do you want Him to do? Raise the dead? Present some little miracle for you? You see, why should God have to do something special for you to convince you to trust Him when He didn’t do it for everybody else.

Why should God have to reveal more to you than He revealed to me? Whenever I was 18 years old and Betty’s dad was talking to me down here in part of your apartments, He didn’t use no psychology on me. He didn’t use prophecies on me. He didn’t use scientific facts on me, he explained to me John 3 16. Now if John 3 16, and if he’s just 2 8 9 and a couple of verses, if that’s good enough for the average guy, it oughtn’t be good enough for everybody, but there’s always somebody want, I don’t need a little more, a little more convenient.

You can’t win everybody and you’re not going to convince everybody. Whatever a man wants God to do, he’s already up. See I’ve had people say, well prove to me there’s God, prove to me there’s a God. Like what am I supposed to do? I’m supposed to get up here and get a holy God bring them down here says there he is. See there’s God. I can’t do that. I believe God has already revealed Himself to a person and that a person knows that there’s a God.

They just don’t know who He is and where He’s at and what He’s like but they know that there’s a God. You are not waiting on God, He is waiting on you. God is the Father who is forever seeking the the prodigal son. Jesus is the seeking savior who says, him that come up to me, I will know wise, cast up. He’s the one that’s doing the seeking. Christ came into the world to seek and to say that which was lost.

God’s the one that seeks. He wants you to come to him and trust Christ to save you. Now, even though you may be listening with the ear of a person who is to explain this to somebody, it also can help you in your own understanding, because you need to understand this. You need to know that God loves me, God wants me, God sought me. And after you trust Christ to say, there’s so many things that God wants to do with your life.

God’s invitation is always, and the Spirit and the bride say, come, let him, that hearth say, come, and let him, that is the thirst come, and whosoever will. Let him take the water of life freely. That’s what God says. So God wants everybody to come, so you don’t have to, well I’m waiting on God, waiting on God to do what? God will save every person that comes to him, but he won’t make you do it. And once you trust him as your Savior, he gives you what kind of life?

Eternal life, and if it’s eternal life, it lasts forever. And if it lasts forever, and all you’re centred paid, where are you going to go and you die? You’re going to heaven when you die. I’ve had people that have told me this. I’ve done done too many bad things. God can’t save me. One day I talked to a man right ahead, one of the Navy SEALs. He was so emotionally mixed up. And I asked him, I said, where are you going to go today?

And he just bowed his head and he started to sobbing. He said, God can’t save me. And I said, why can’t God save you? He says, because of what I’ve done. I said, what have you done? He said, I don’t want to talk about it. He said, I’ve just done too many things. And he says, God can’t save me. I said, the Bible says, God can save everybody. He says, you can, but not me. And I said, well, why?

I said, well, why? He says, I was a Navy Seal. He said, I’ll kill 50 something men. With my hand, I have killed that many people. And I told him, I said, well, I’m sorry. I said, the Bible says that God’s already done saved the chief of sinners. And I said, you’re just one of the little Indians. Paul says he was the chief of sinners. And this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptations that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief.

And so if he can save the chief, I says, you’re just a little Indian. I said, God can save you. Anyway, I’ll explain some more. He trusts the Christ of Savior. But he thought that he had done too many things and God couldn’t save him. The Bible says the apostle Paul made the statement there in Timothy that he said, God used me as an example because he says, I persecuted the church, I killed people, I put them in prison, I did all these bad wicked things.

He said, God saved me. And if God can save me, God can save anybody. No one is worthy of being saved. But God says, all are bad. God says, there’s none good. We’ve all done things wrong. See, you may think that your mama’s good enough to go to heaven. You may think you got dear old Aunt Susie. She’d give you the shirt off her back. She’ll go to heaven because she said to good lady and she’s so religious. That doesn’t mean she’s going to heaven.

If they have not trusted Jesus Christ as their Savior, they are not saved. If they’re not dependent upon what Christ did on the cross for them, they are not safe. It doesn’t matter if they go to church. Well, my family goes to church. We’ve been raised in church all right. That doesn’t matter. None of it matters. If the person never trusts the Lord, they’re lost. They’ll go to hell. Person that you love the most, your aunt, your uncles, your grandparents, if they haven’t trusted the Lord, they’re lost.

And they’ll spend an eternity separate from God. They don’t have to join this church. They don’t have to be baptized, but they must trust Christ a Savior. I want you to know that because see you’ll never be a good soul winner. You’ll never be really concerned about somebody else eternal destination. If you think they got a chance of making it without trusting Christ. There is no other way. Christ says no man come up unto the Father but by me.

There is no other name given under heaven among men whereby a man must be saved. There is no other way you have to believe that. Otherwise you’ll never witness to people because you’ll think, right, they go to church. What does that prove? Well, they’re good people. What does that prove? They give money. They live just as good as I do. What does that mean? Now, they trusted Christ as their Savior. They trusted Him to take them to heaven because He died, paid for all of their sins.

If they haven’t done that, they’re lost. What does that mean? It means they go to They go to hell for all eternity and there are no second chances. This truth, though I don’t like it, I really don’t like it, but it’s still the truth. It burns in my bones. Hall claim to be the Chief of Centers and and Jesus saved him and transformed him into a mighty witness. I’ve had so many people say, well, I can’t live the Christian life.

I can’t hold out. When I witness to somebody, and they say that, a lot of times it’s because somebody, and generally it’s a preacher, who has told them that you’ve got to live a certain way to go to heaven. And they feel like I’ve already tried, I failed, I can’t do it, so why try again? And the problem is, is whoever told them they had to live a certain way to get to heaven, it was a lie. You do not base your eternal destination where you’re going when you die.

Going to heaven is not a reward that God gives to you if you’ll behave yourself down here. If you live right, I’ll let you go to heaven. That is not true. That is not true. Because salvation, going to heaven, it’s a gift. It’s free. Can’t live the Christian life. That’s the truth. You sure can’t The Christian life is not what you do for Christ Well, what Christ does with you and through you say here’s Christ. He walked in here And you’re lost.

Oh, you could do some things for him, but that doesn’t make that the Christian life You could go get him a glass of water That’s doesn’t make that the Christian life because you even got a glass of water and gave it to Christ So you did something for him, but that doesn’t make you a Christian. So that’s still not the Christian life. The Christian life is a Christian who has Christ’s life in them. And Christ, He puts His life in you that He might live through you.

So the biggest part that a Christian has in the Christian life is just getting out of the way. just get out of the way and yield your body to the Lord so God can use you. You see it’s you allowing Christ to live his life in you. Paul said and this is an awesome verse. I am crucified with Christ nevertheless I live. Yet not I but Christ live it in me. Now the Christian life Christ live it in me.

He lives in you. The Christian life is Jesus Christ living in you and he wants to live through you. He wants to have the possession of your body. That’s why you’re not to use your body for wrong purposes. It belongs to him. He bought it, paid for it and it’s his little house and he wants to use it. Now get this, but Christ liveth in me and the life which I now live in the flesh in this body, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.

Listen, I was dying and going to hell. I could not save myself. Christ came, paid for my sins, sets me free from hell. I can’t go there. He has saved me from hell, given me eternal life. I’ve become His child. He owns me. For me to live the rest of my life for Him is a reasonable thing. It is very unreasonable that you would want to waste your life whatever you want and not live your life for the person who saved you from hell.

But you may, but you’ll still go to heaven because he loves you that much. The other verse says, and again I can do all things through Christ which strengthened with me. This is Philippians 4.13. Now get the balance. Galatians 2.20 says that Christ liveth in me so it’s his life. Philippians 4.13 tells us that I can do all things through Christ, His strength. The Christian life is not something that wears a person out. The Christian life is not something you get burned out.

I’m just burned out. No, you’re not burned out. Not if it’s His life and His strength. If you’re using your life and your strength, yeah, you’ll burn out. You can’t make it. That’s why you quit after a while. That’s why you can’t hack it. That’s why you can be fired up one minute and dead the next minute, but his life doesn’t die out. It doesn’t fade. His strength doesn’t get weaker. His strength doesn’t get stronger. His strength is strength.

His power is power. His life is life. And you’ve got it all the day you trust Christ as your Savior. What you find is you are yielding to his life, yielding to his strength so that God can use you. His strength through you. Get what he says here. Tells us that I can do all things through Christ because you’re doing it through His strength. Now we no longer do it in His strength. No, you’re gonna wear out and you won’t last and you’re gonna fall to temptations, the trials and tribulations of this world are gonna bring you down.

And you’re not gonna walk, you’re not gonna stand strong. Oh yeah, you go to heaven when you die because God doesn’t go back on His word. He promised you eternal life. That’s true. That’s real. He’ll never take it away. Jude reminds us that God is able to keep us from falling and present us fallest before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. June 24th. See, see God says that you’re in his hand and he’ll never let you go.

No man can pluck you out of his hand. Nobody can steal you away from God. Once you trust Christ as your Savior and you’re in his hands, you’re going to heaven and he’ll never lose you. He’ll never let go of you. That’s the best news I have ever heard of in my whole life. He promised to give us eternal life and to let no one pluck us out of His hand. And there’s the verse. You ought to look it up in your Bible and underline it.

It’s an awesome verse. In times of difficulty, remember. There have no temptations taken you but such as this common demand. Look at me. And the temptations of life are common to everybody. You just don’t know what I’m going through. Yeah, we do. Yeah, we do. Most people face the same problems just at different times in their life. God will make a way to escape that you may be able to bear it. Isn’t that an awesome verse? God will make a way to escape.

He says also, ye are a God of little children and have all of them. overcome them greater is he the Holy Spirit that is in you that he the devil that is in the world The Holy Spirit listen look at me the Holy Spirit lives inside of me The devil is in the world Greater is he that is in me the Holy Spirit that he the devil that’s in the world So me and the Holy Spirit being God yeah, well we can handle anything devil to throw us I Don’t get what the devil throws at me Me and God can handle, but I can handle it by myself.

But me and God can. I can face any trial, any temptation, any discouragement, anything that comes my way, me and God can handle it. If it fails, it won’t be God’s fault. It’ll be mine because I didn’t yield to His strength. Everybody has problems and the devil is going to jump on you every time he can. It wants to ruin mess up your life, but you don’t have to mess up. You can do right. Well, I want to win against the devil.

I don’t want the devil to beat me. That fight there, that battle that I’ve been going through for 44 years, a lot more fun than in a basketball game. I’ll tell you that. The victories are better, but the defeats are a lot worse than any loss that you’ll ever play place in the basketball game too. You cannot live the Christian life without Christ. But Christ in you makes the Christian life possible. Without Christ, the Christian life is totally impossible because it’s him living his life through you.

So God wants to use you to live his life through the world. I am doing the best I can. I am trying to be a Christian. How many times I’ve heard people say, well, I’m trying, I’m trying to be a good Christian. You don’t try to be a Christian, either you’re a Christian or you’re not. It’s like my son telling me, I’m trying to be an Arnold. I’m just trying to be an Arnold. you are an Arnold when you’re born in my family kid.

You don’t have to try to be an Arnold. You are an Arnold. Now because you’re an Arnold, live like an Arnold. You and you trusted Christ as your savior, you became a Christian. That’s what you are. You are a Christian. So you have to try to be one. You are one. You understand what I’m saying? You don’t have to go to church to try to be a Christian. I don’t have to go read my Bible so I can be a Christian.

Now I am a Christian. I can’t stop being a Christian. I was a Christian when I accepted Christ. And I’m not ashamed of it. There’s something that we covered the other night. When it talks about the law, and what is the greatest law and the second? Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, mine, body, soul, and strength, and the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Very good. Well, if the greatest commandment is to love the Lord, with all your heart, mine, body, soul, and strength, then the greatest sin would be not to.

The greatest sin is not drinking, smoking, didn’t you, and going with the girls who do? The greatest sin, not loving God. Because if the greatest thing a man could do is this, then the greatest thing that’s wrong is if he doesn’t do that. That’s a great sin, not the love God. So now that you know Christ is your savior, God says he wants us to love him. and you have to learn how to love. You have to learn what God wants you to do, and how to please God.

We do not become Christians through good works. Good works are not a pathway to salvation, but a possible product of salvation. Because it doesn’t mean that if you get saved, you’re automatically gonna produce good works. No, you’re not. It’s not automatic. But remember, good works, doing good deeds, will not save you, won’t get you to heaven. But if you have trusted Christ your Savior, God wants us to do good things, because He says it’s good and profitable on the men.

Doesn’t save you, you should do them because you are safe. Why do I go to church? Because I’m going to heaven, I’m a Christian. This is what God wants me to do, this is what I do. So you learn to do the things because that’s the will of God. We do good works because we have become good or justified through Christ and not by the works of the law. Well, just because they’re sincere, does that mean it’s right? No.

If a person is sincere in his religious belief, that is enough. As long as you’re sincere. And aren’t there a lot of sincere people in a lot of different religions? Sincearity is commendable, but it can never substitute for truth. So sincerity is not a substitute for truth. In the realm of life. A person may sincerely thank a poison is medicine, but if he will die. if he takes it, you can be sincerely wrong as well as being sincerely right.

Let these things that I’m given to you dispel the questions, the doubts, the objections that you may have, because sooner or later I will hit the one that may be bothering you. And I hope that they will help you to become stronger in the Lord. And when you talk to people, you’re going to find that they have objections. See if they didn’t have objections, you would win every person to the Lord. So these objections and knowing the answers might help you to win them.

And some of your some of your relatives, maybe parents or brothers and sisters, may not understand this. Let God use you. He may not be able to use you to the extent he could have at one time, but he could still use you. Let God use you to the fullest. Wherever you are in this Christian life of yours. God will bless you for it. This isn’t representing you and me and the wall represents sin. We all have sin upon us.

God, He loves us. He loves you. He loves me. He loves everybody in the whole world. It’s the sin that we have a problem with because you see our sins separates us from God. This isn’t representing Jesus Christ. God, our sins separates us from him. That’s why God hates sin, because he’s perfect and we’re not. And he can’t fellowship with us. We can’t fellowship with him. We can’t go to heaven because of the sin. And God says that since we committed it, we have to pay for it.

It’s eternal separation from God in hell. But he loves us. He wants us to go to heaven and to go to heaven. We have to be perfect is righteous as God and nobody’s perfect. Nobody is. We’re all sinners. The Bible says we cannot save ourselves by the good deeds that we do. The only payment for sin that God would accept is the payment of death. This sin represents Jesus Christ. God in the flames came into the world because He does love us.

He took the sin, paid for it on the cross. This was His way of showing us that he loves us. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, who so ever in the world made it even, who so ever believed it. Made it where anybody can have it. It’s not hard, it’s not complicated. Even a child can understandEPAK. All they had to do is believe that he did it for them and he would put the payment to their account.

They’d go to heaven on what Christ did for them. If I offered you my tie and you accepted you’d have a tie. If Jesus Christ walked in here and offered you eternal life and you accept it, what would you have? Eternal life. If it’s eternal life and it lasts forever, then where are you going to go when you die? You go to heaven. 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 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. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our home page.

If you’re in the area, we welcome you to visit unpreced 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 broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.org. Thanks Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, and now we’ll close you with God from Pastor Arnold. Friends, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound. 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.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

. . . . . 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 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 through the Bibleline website at calvaryoftampa.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. Justification by faith, defend it. And the Gospel is justification by faith. You’re justified by faith and faith alone in what Christ has done for you. It’s not like justification by faith is one way you can be saved. It is the only way you can be saved. And that a man is justified by faith without works.

Now, here in Romans in chapter 4, I want you to look there in verse 1. And verse 1 says, What shall we say then that Abraham, our Father, as pertaining to the flesh hath found? Now it’s not so much like Abraham went on looking and he found something. How many of us have made this statement? I was lost and then I found the Lord. Like God was lost and I found him. No, God wasn’t lost. I was lost and he found me.

It wasn’t Abraham out there trying to find a way to be justified. Now the Bible tells us that Job did ask the question, how shall a man be justified with God? But you can’t find the way unless God reveals it to you. And so that’s the purpose of us sharing the gospel with individuals so that they can hear the gospel and believe. So they can be justified just as if they’ve never done a thing wrong in their whole life.

So God says, that justification is by faith. Now look there in your notes, where I have number one, justification was not by works before the law. When did Abraham live? Before the law. How much before the law? 430 years before the law was ever given. So there’s no way that Abraham could have been saved by the law. And yet if he’s the father of the nation of Israel, he’s the one that’s always referred to in the word of God, the great faith of Abraham, then it can’t be referring to Abraham had to keep the law to be saved or do good deeds to be saved because the law wasn’t even given for 430 years later until it was given to Moses on Mount Sinai.

Abraham found another way for a man in the flesh to be justified. Now how can a man in the flesh become justified? Well because God reveals something to him. God spoke to Abraham back in the book of Genesis chapter 15 and the Lord tells him things that he would not have known and made promises to Abraham. And the Bible says Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for faith or for righteousness. So God gave him his righteousness because Abraham believed God, and by believing alone a man can be justified.

So God made a promise to Father Abraham, saying, and these shall all families of the earth be blessed or received what you received, salvation, his righteousness by faith and faith alone. So the Bible says in Galatians chapter 3 verse 8 that the gospel was preached in the Old testament times to Abraham when he says that the heathen shall be justified by faith. So God made a promise and that promise is to be kept. Look there at letter A in your notes.

If Abraham was justified by work, if he was justified by his works because we have people today that say you’re justified by your works. You say, how do you know there’s teaching that you’re justified by your worst? Any preacher who teaches you can lose your salvation because you did something bad, believes in justification by works. Any preacher who believes you can lose your salvation does not believe in salvation by grace. Because if God can save you by grace, He can keep you saved by grace if you really believe it’s by grace.

In letter A, if Abraham was justified by works, number one, he has reasons to glory in himself. And God would be in debt to Abraham to reward him for all of his works. Look there in verse two, for if Abraham were justified by works, if he was, he half-wear of the glory. That means he could brag, but not before God. He could brag before other people, but not before God. You ever heard of a verse that says, for by grace are you saved through faith that not of yourselves?

It is the gift of God and not of works, lest any man should what? Most? So God says that if Abraham was justified by his works, he could brag, but he couldn’t brag before God because Bible tells us that no man shall glory in his presence. God wants all the praise, the honor, and the glory for saving a man. And that’s why he made salvation free. Said it would be by grace. If it was by works, you could take credit for it.

And it’s not by your works. Let her be. If Abraham was justified by faith alone, he has reasons to glory in God alone. His faith was counted for righteousness. And what does the Bible say? Look in verse three. For what, sayeth the scripture? That’s the Old Testament. Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness. So Abraham simply by faith alone received the righteousness of God. So God gives his righteousness to a person by believing, not by works.

It means not by you going to church, not by you living a good life, not by the money you give. You are not justified, cleared of your sins because you tried to do some good deeds that would outweigh the bad deeds. It won’t work that way. Salvation is a gift of God. Let us see what Abraham found. What did he find? That works, rewards, and debt go together, and that belief, grace, and God’s righteousness go together. So how do you know?

Well, look what he says in verse 4. Now to him that worketh is a reward, not reckon of grace, but of debt. So those things go together. If you work for it, if you work for it, then it would be a reward given to you because God would be in debt to you. That’s not justification by faith. That’s be justified by works because you work for it, you earn it, you deserve it. And God says that’s not the way it’s going to be.

Look there in the book of Romans in chapter 3 and verse 28. Romans 3, 28. A lot of these things no doubt will be repetitious because these things are mentioned over and over and over again in the Bible. And verse 28 says therefore we conclude that a man is justified by what? Faith without the deeds of the law. In other words without you earning it without the deeds of the law you can be justified by faith. Look at number two in your notes and go back to Romans chapter 4.

Number 2, justification was not by works under the law. It wasn’t by works before the law was ever given. And what about King David? He lived under the law. He lived after Moses. He lived a thousand years before Christ. So he lived right under the law, though not dispensation of law. What did he, did those who live under the law, did they have to keep the law to be saved? No, nobody has ever been saved any other way than by faith and faith alone.

It’s always been by grace. Nobody has ever earned their salvation. So don’t you try to waste your time trying to earn something that’s free, because you won’t be able to get it then. If you look there in your notes, number two, justification was not by worse under the law. Letter A, justification clears you from what you have done, sins. close you in what Christ has done His righteousness. And David’s three greatest blessings. This is the essence of grace. But first of all, look there in verse 5 in your Bible.

Verse 5. Notice what he says, but to him that worketh not but believe it. So believing is not a word. Believe it is not considered a work of man or a work of the flesh. Work is work, but believing is not worth. believing something means you believe in that what Christ did on the cross was for you and you’re accepting his work. But believe it on him that justify it the ungodly. His faith is counted for righteousness. One of the main points in this is you need to understand is that God can justify the ungodly.

So when you read chapter one, chapter two, you hear about all these ungodly people, these wicked people, they do a lot of bad things. And yet right before it starts off with that I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believed unto the Jew first and also to the degree Jew and Gentile. Then it tells you how bad the Gentiles are in chapter one. And mentions all these bad things that they did.

Then in chapter two it talks about the Jews In the last part of chapter two and the first part of chapter three, and how bad they were and the advantage that they had, but all have sinned. No difference. All comes short of God’s perfection. And yet God still loves them and says that the ungodly can be justified. That means to be made pure and holy, declared righteous, not by their works, but by faith in faith alone just by believing.

How many times I’ve heard people say, that’s too easy. That is just too easy. Well, I’ve asked a patient for this. I says, what is that? It says, that’s a pen. I said, that was too easy. Believe hard. How do you believe hard? If I told you this was a piano, a baby grand, would you believe that? That would be hard to believe. But why should it be hard for a person to believe that God made salvation free because He loves everybody and anybody, whoever they may be, can trust Christ a Savior and have eternal life?

That’s why it says, going to all the world and priests, the gospel to every preacher. Wouldn’t it be neat if all preachers preach the same message? all preaches, all over the world, preach exactly the same message then people all over the world would know what they had to do. But we have all kinds of preachers preaching all kinds of things and they don’t all say the same thing. Things that are different are not the same. And so they add things to the message.

And when you add one work to the Gospel of Grace, then the Gospel of Grace is no longer the Gospel of Grace. To be a gospel of grace, it has to be free, totally free, or it’s not the gospel. It has to be forever or it’s not the gospel. So if it’s missing any one of those components, it’s not the gospel that people are preaching. It has to be free. It has to last forever. Best news in all the world.

I want you to look there at letter A. Justification clears you from what you have done. the things you’ve done, the sins that you have done in your life. Now look in verse 5 again, but do him that work if not, but believe it on him that justify at the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. In other words, faith is counted or adds up to the same thing. In other words, where faith and righteousness becomes the same. Remember, here’s God, and here we are, We have come short of God’s perfection, everybody.

So the Bible says to be justified means to be made equal with God. Declared righteous where God sees nothing wrong in us. God sees no sin in us. It’s just like we are as righteous and we are as perfect as God himself to be made equal with God the Father. We can’t do that by our works, but if He gave us His righteousness that would make us as righteous as God. That’s been justified. To be declared righteous, as righteous as who?

As righteous as God. Because we’re not comparing ourselves with each other. It is between us and God. His faith is counted for righteousness. In other words, God’s righteousness is imputed to you. Means put to your account. Verse 6, look at verse 6. Even as David, now this was under the law, even as David also described the blessedness of the man unto whom God, and you ought to underline this in your Bible. are awesome words, these four words, imputed righteousness without works.

In other words, God, save in a man, give it a man, His righteousness, justifying you without your works. It means you don’t have to change your life. You don’t have to change the way you live. That blows most people’s minds. That blows most preacher’s minds. That you can be justified, cleared, and don’t have to change your lifestyle. Don’t have to change one eye or don’t have to stop one sin. Don’t have to commit one thing to God. Don’t have to promise that you’re going to live differently.

And yet that seems contrary to everything that we think and feel. See if a man was to design salvation, a man would say, you’ve got to do this and stop this. And if you don’t, you go to hell. God says, nobody deserves it and I’m making it free, totally free. If you have to change your life in order to get it or keep it, it’s not free. It wouldn’t be free. Maybe it’s not easy to believe in them. Maybe that’s very difficult for people to understand.

Because I’ve had so many people say, well, you just given people a license to send, so they can go out here and just live like the devil. I says, don’t you anyway? Most people sitting in this room right now live the way you want to live. The people I hear in the world, how are they living? The way they want to. They do whatever they want to do. You know why some people ain’t in church today? Because they don’t want to go.

You know why some people won’t be in church tonight and maybe some of you? Because you don’t want to come. You know why you won’t be here on Wednesday? Because you don’t want to. You already do most of whatever you want to do. What would you do if nobody ever found out about it? What would you do if there was no restraints? See, sometimes the knowledge of the Word of God is the restraints that we need upon our life.

And that’s why I’ve said, love the Lord with all your heart, and then you can live like you please. But love in first. Here in verse 6, where it says, God will impute righteousness without works. That’s getting something that you don’t deserve. That’s grace. If you’ll notice there in your notes, let her be. Justification close you in what Christ has done. That’s righteousness. David’s three greatest blessings. This is the essence of grace. Number one, righteousness imputed, put to your account without works.

That’s grace. Number two, iniquities, which are sins are forgiven because they are covered A in the Old Testament by the blood of animals, which was only a type, but it never washed their sins away. And God was not satisfied with the butter bowls and of goats. And that’s why the payment Christ made, God was satisfied with. That’s why he says in the book of Romans in chapter three, he was the propitiation for our sins. That means he was the satisfaction.

God was satisfied with the payment that Jesus Christ made for all the sins of all the world. And God is satisfied that if you trust Him as your Savior, God is satisfied in justifying you so that He can be just and the justifier of those who seek justification from Him. Hope that’s clear. Number three, number three is also awesome. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not imputes in. Blessed is the man to whom God will not impute sin.

Well, if that’s true, You mean if I do something wrong, God doesn’t put that sin to my account? You see, the one is past where He’s paid for my sins. He gives me His righteousness and then He says that one sins that I commit tomorrow, the next day and in the future will not be put to my account. Now, tell me if I don’t give you a license to sin, nothing will. And yet I believe all of this. And guess what?

I want to live as righteous, as godly, as holy as I possibly can. So believing this is not the problem. This truth, understanding that that’s not a problem. If there’s some things that a person doesn’t understand, that there are consequences to the sin in other areas and it’s not hell. I have enjoyed life. I enjoy living. I enjoy the blessings of God now and I’m looking forward to rewards when I get to heaven. I don’t want God to have to beat me to death, take me home before my time.

I don’t want God to have to chasten me. I’ve watched a lot of other Christians who rebelled against the Lord and I’ve watched God tear him up. I don’t want to have to find out the hard way. I’m just going to take God at His Word and believe Him and go ahead and serve Him. But I serve Him because I want to, not because I have to. Nobody can make me. Looked in verse 8 again, blessed or happy is the man to whom the Lord will not imputes in.

Now this statement that is made here, these blessings, that’s where the Bible says that those who believe by faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. In other words, the blessing that came upon Abraham, because he believed, also came upon David because he believed, and the Lord says, if we believe those same blessings will come upon us. In other words, God will forgive you of everything you have ever done, give you his righteousness, and in the future, not impute your sins to you.

So why not? Well, let me just kind of give it to you in a little capsule here. When Christ died on that cross, picture him on the cross, Christ on the cross was in your place. That should have been you paying for your sins, correct? Yes. But he did it for you. So when Christ died on the cross, you died. And if you died, you were buried, and you came back from the dead because you were in Christ and He did it for you.

So this whole thing, death, burial and resurrection was put to your account as though you did that. That means that when you trusted Christ as your Savior, you died. You died. Well the law cannot touch a dead man. You’re dead to the law. The law can’t touch you. The law cannot contribute a sin to a dead man because I really didn’t die. I am to reckon it to be true because it is true because it was put to my account as though I did it.

When we get to chapter 6 and the identification truths, it’ll blow your mind how awesome this is when you really understand it. The reason that my sins in the future are not put to my account, it’s because they’ve already been put to his account. And you can’t place the sins and charge a person twice for the same sin.

You see, Christ doesn’t have to die twice. He died once and for all, for all the sins, past, present, future at one time. So when you accept that payment, you have a payment for past, present, future sins. There is no sin that can be put to your account. Blessed and happy ought that man to be. Does he deserve all of this? No. These are positional truths. These are foundational truths. Things that doesn’t change. Now there’s other truths in the Word of God that refer to our state in which we’re in.

But there’s some things that don’t change and that’s your standing that you have in Christ. Now look at number three, justification was not by ordinances. Now today we have two main ordinances of the church. The Lord’s Supper and baptism. Neither one of those ordinances that we have save a person. Nobody has to do those in order to be saved. We do require a person to be baptized in order to be a member of this local body of believers. We believe it’s a sign of your obedience to God that you believe that he died on that cross-paid for your sins and rose again, and you believe that and you want to walk in newness of life.

So there’s no problem there. We have the Lord’s Supper, but it’s for those who trust the Christ as their Savior. It’s not to save you. It doesn’t help you to be saved. It’s just an ordinance that what we do in remembrance of what Christ did for us as we look forward to His coming again. Well, God gave an ordinance to the nation of Israel. When Abraham believed what God said, God justified him, declared righteous. This is almost 500 years before the law was given, 430.

And verse 9, come with this blessedness that we just mentioned those three blessings. Upon the circumcision or the Jews only, circumcision refers to Jews. Uncircumcision refers to Gentiles or the Gentile nations. Or upon the uncircumcision also, for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. Abraham was made righteous by faith. Well, where does this circumcision come in? Because there were some people saying, you’ve got to be circumcised in order to be saved. Being circumcised is the cutting away of a little flesh.

The Bible says that Abraham, as a grown man, was circumcised as a seal of the righteousness he already had. In other words, by faith alone, he was severed from the flesh birth and given a new birth. And that was a type of it, a symbol of it. It doesn’t save, but it is a cutting away of the flesh, a separation. When you and I trusted Christ as our Savior, we were severed from our first birth and given a new birth.

God sees you a totally a circumcised individual, spiritually speaking. Down here in this verse, looking verse 11, that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised, that righteousness might be imputed under them also. So God says, whether you’re Jew or Gentile, been circumcised, haven’t been. Everybody can be justified by faith. God will take and put his righteousness to your account. Remember this, the righteousness of God not put to your account until you believe on Him.

That means the very day, the moment you trusted Christ as your Savior, this righteousness is imputed to your account. It’s not done if you haven’t believed. Look there in verse 24. But for us also to whom it shall be imputed put to your account If we do what? If we believe. And God says, He puts that payment that He made to your account. He gives you His righteousness and you go to heaven on what He did for you. Letting this hand represent you and me and this wallet represents sin.

We all have sin on us. God loves us, but He hates our sin. We committed the sin we ought to pay for it, and the payment is death. Inhale, the wages of sin being death. So God said, He loves us and wants us to have eternal life and go to heaven. They go to heaven. We have to be perfect and no one’s perfect. God gave the law to convinces. So anybody who looks at the right to stand out of God knows their sinners and cannot save themselves.

So we need a Savior. This hand represents Jesus Christ. God in the flesh, He came into the world because He loves us. Hates our sin because our sin separates us from the Lord. Christ took the sin. Faithful on the cross came back from the dead. Said if we’ll believe that He did it for us by faith alone. Believing that what He did was for us, I believe He did it for me. God would save me by grace. I didn’t deserve it.

I didn’t do anything to deserve it and never will. But he loves me. He gave it to me as a gift. I go to heaven or what he did for me. There is no other way. You don’t promise God anything. All you do is receive it. He that believe it on behalf of our lasting life. 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 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. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org. and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our home page. 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 broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.org. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friends, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound. 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.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

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 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 through the Bible-lined website at calvaryoftampa.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.

Turn in your Bible to the book of Romans, the book of Romans, Romans chapter one. We all know that John 3 16 says, for God so loved the world, that whosoever believe it in him should not perish but have everlasting life. God loves the world, and out of those that are in the world, whosoever out of those that are in the world, believe it, is supposed to be saved. But there are people that teach, that there are some people that God cannot save, because they have sinned away their day of grace.

They have crossed over the line. They done done too many bad things, and God won’t save them. Here in the book of Romans in chapter one, I want you to look there in verse 24. They say in verse 24, wherefore God also gave them up. Gave them up is not the same as God gave up on them. He also makes a statement there in the verse 28. God gave them over. So God gave them up and God gave them over.

But what does all that mean? I want you to look there in Romans chapter 1 and verse 16. Romans 1, 16, a tremendous, tremendous verse. This verse is the launching pad for the book of Romans. It’s to show you at the very outset why he’s not ashamed of that. He’s not ashamed of the gospel. I am thankful that I have a message that is for everybody. Doesn’t matter who they are, where they are, or what they’ve done. God can save them.

He can save anybody. He says they’re in verse 16, for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation and notice to everyone that believe it. But they say, well, there are some who can’t believe it, so it doesn’t include those. There are some people who believe that God has chosen to save some and reject others and that only ones who really can believe are the ones that God has already done chose out of all the people upon the earth.

That’s not true. The invitation is to anybody in the world and why Paul says that he’s not ashamed is is because the message is for everybody. Everybody. He says to the Jew first, also to the Greek. Then he explains what he’s talking about in this message that is for everybody and that everybody can be saved and all they have to do is believe. He says this message has two main components to it. When you give the gospel, it says that reveals several things.

in verse 17, for therein in the gospel is the righteousness of God revealed. So whenever we explain the good news to somebody, how they can have eternal life and be sure of going to heaven when they die, in that message is a message on how they can receive the righteousness of God. It also in that same message tells you about in verse 18, the wrath of God is revealed. So we know in this story, they’re in, in that message, that story reveals the wrath of God upon sin, and at the same time, the righteousness of God from the sin.

Tremendous story. A lot of people’s messages that they call the gospel doesn’t contain that, But it should, for a person to really understand. And to understand that God means that He loves everybody in the world. I asked you just a moment ago to be thinking along this line. Is there anybody that you’ve ever met that you would say, if anybody goes to help, that person deserves to go to hell. That person really deserves to go to hell. Can you think of anybody?

And then I want you to picture yourself looking in the mirror. That person really deserves to go. Look at me. I deserve to go to hell. I really do. So am I going because I deserve it? Nope, I’m not going. Because somebody did something for me. In the following verses is an awesome story. It’s to show you the wrath of God upon sin. See there in verse 18, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness.

So God is going to take the rest of this chapter and kind of show you what He’s talking about. What is sin? So a lot of people don’t think that what they do is so bad, because everybody else does it, and if everybody does it, it’s not bad, right? Sin is still sin because God says what sin is. It’s not what we call it, it’s what God calls it. You’re supposed to always look at everything through the eyes of the Lord, means through the scriptures.

Let God tell us what sin is and what love is and what salvation is so that we have it from God’s viewpoint. The Bible tells us that from creation itself, the world that God has made, that he has revealed himself to mankind by the things that he has made in look there in verse 20, for the invisible things of him from the creation of the world, not evolution of the world, are clearly seen. In other words, clearly means evidence beyond reproof.

I mean, there’s no way you can refute the evidence and the evidence is clearly seen. And God says that the world He made is the evidence that somebody you can’t see made it. God says that’s justification for hanging everybody. I don’t have to try to prove to people that there is a God. God said He’s already placed that within the heart of every individual that ever been born. Atheism has to be taught. Nobody’s born an atheist. You know that there is a God and he says in the last part of verse 20 that they are without what?

Excuse. Who says so? God did. God said they’re without excuse. I don’t care about all their philosophy and their logic, their reasoning on why I’m an atheist. Thank God. This one man said, I don’t believe in God. I said, don’t tell me. Tell him. Verse 21, there are seven things mentioned here that is a downward train. It’s a destructive thought process that when you rebal against truth, where does it lead? And so there are seven things that are mentioned there in verse 21 to verse 23.

Number one is they glorified him not as God. They glorified him, not as God. But God wants you to know God still loves them. Neither were they thankful. God still loves them. Oh, this part about God still loves them. That’s not in your notes there. I’m just throwing that in because I want you to believe that. Because the gospel that was mentioned up there is that God said he will save anybody that believe it. Jew or Gentile. The verse right before talks about that I am dead or to the Greek and to the barbarian, into the wise and to the un-white.

So it doesn’t matter who they are or what they’ve done or how they’ve lived. He says, I’m a debtor to preach the gospel to them because God can save them. That means that they are eligible for salvation. The other one, number three, they became vain in their imaginations, but God loves them. Their foolish heart was darkened, but God loves them. professed themselves to be wise, but God loves them. They became fools, but God loves them. They changed the glory of the incorruptible God and made him like unto a four-footed beast.

But God loves them. So I want you to become convinced. It doesn’t matter what a person has done, how wicked they have been. God still loves them. How many of you have ever gone to a restaurant? And you have some per little waitress or some nice looking young fella wait on you. And you’ll be extra nice and extra kind and extra friendly to them. and maybe even live in my nice tip or in a track and say something to them, it’s very nice.

Anybody? Hopefully all of you have. Have you ever been served by a guy that’s got earrings all around his ears? Maybe wearing a necklace. Looks a little funny. Acting a little strange. Do you know that God loves that man or that boy or that girl just as much as that little clean cut person? And would you try to win this one to the Lord like you with the other one? You see, you and I are supposed to be blind to a lot of things.

We’re supposed to see the world through the eyes of the Lord. God so loved the world. In this world, there are murderers, but God loves them. There are homosexuals, sodomites, but God loves them. thieves but God loves them. There’s liars but God loves them. God so loved the world. Loves every last one of them. And you and I are supposed to let God use us to love them through us so we can try to reach them. Now if you believe God gave them up and there’s There’s no hope for them.

Then you can be mean and unkind and rude and crude to all of them. But if you want to try to win them, you still got to treat them with love. Though you don’t approve of their sin. Does God approve of any of our sins? No, but does God still love us? Yes. So we try to win people to the Lord. Is there a possibility that any of these people could ever be saved? Why? Now, I want you to look there in verse 23, where’s that, and then change the glory of God, they changed it.

I want to just mention three things that they did change. And verse 25 says they changed the truth into a what? Into a lie. They changed truth into a lie. In other words, when you teach that evolution is true, what did you do about truth? You change the truth that God created into a lie that God didn’t create it. So every person in this entire world that teaches that we came here by the process of evolution. There’s no God, therefore there’s no such thing as right and wrong, there’s no morality.

That’s a lie. That’s a lie. Yet we pay people to teach these lies to our children and to our kids in the universities that are supported by tax dollars to teach lies to the people. And then wonder why they do what they do. In verse 26, women change the natural into the unnatural. See the verse 26, for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature. They called it being a lesbian, women with women, that’s against nature, against nature.

It means it’s wrong. It’s a sin. You cannot justify it. It’s not right. Love has nothing to do with it. You can’t say, well, it’s okay because we love one another. No, that has nothing to do with it. You look at things from God’s viewpoint and God says it is a sin. So what is it? It’s a sin. You say, well, they have the right. No, no, right means right. Nobody has the right to do wrong. Cause when we do that which is wrong, God said he will judge the wrong, so it’s not right to do wrong.

Wrong is still wrong. Sin is still sin. But God gave us up to our sinful nature. He will allow you as an individual to live as wicked as you want to live. Every person sitting in this room, every person in the whole world has a sinful nature. And God will permit you, gave you up, gives you permission to live as wicked as you want to live. That’s why people do it. You can become a thief if you wanna become a thief, can’t you?

You can commit adultery if you want to commit adultery. You can become a homosexual, a sodomite if you want to. You can divorce your husband and your wife if you want to. You can become a drunkard if you want to. You can do it. God won’t stop you. God will not stop you from committing any sin. You can do anything you want. But this is the condition of the whole world. Everybody. has been given to live and make choices and whatever you want.

But in spite of all of that, does God still love you? Yes. And there’s only one hope for individual, and that is the message of the word. Let me give you a couple of things that I didn’t write down for you. Number one, homosexual is not a scriptural term. and is misleading. The Bible refers to them, Sotomites. Number two, there are over 15 scriptural terms which identify, describe, and condemn the sin. Number three, a Sotomite is not a class of people, it is a type of sin.

Somebody said, well I was born this way. Now you weren’t and don’t you believe that slop? It’s a choice. choice, there are choices that people make. A sodomite is not a class of people but a type of sin. Number four, this interest in the same sex can be proper. The Bible talks about people that have absolutely no desire for the opposite sex. There’s no scripture that says, you’ve got to get married. No, you don’t have to get married. The Bible talks about eunuchs, some who make themselves that way.

They don’t care if they say single all their life. God did not hold a gun and make you get married. Kind of like this one man one day, him and his wife were celebrating her 50th anniversary. And she reminded me and he said there and the tear just began to come down his cheek. She thought, mmm, he is so sentimental. This is wonderful. She said, honey, that is so touching. He says, yes, I know. He said, I was just thinking, he says, remember back then, whenever your dad stuck at gun in my side and told me that it was either Mary you or be placed behind bars for fifty years.

Yeah, he said, today I’d be a free man. Free man today. But burning lust for the same is not. In other words, you may not desire the opposite sex and that’s okay. But if you have a burning lust desire for the same sex, you got a problem. You got a problem. It’s a spiritual problem. The snares of uncontrolled lust leads to the prison of perverted, perverted affection. Number six, it is curable. You see, is there a cure? Just like a cure for everything else.

There is a cure. But I want you to look there and hold your place here. But look in 1 Corinthians and chapter 6. Corinthians and chapter six, page 12, 16 in an old Schofield reference Bible, but I want you to see this. Look in verse nine, looking verse nine. No, you not, that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Be not deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, not effeminate is a crucified man. You ever seen them?

nor abusers of themselves with mankind, whether it’s men or women, working that which is against nature. Men with men, women with women, that is not natural. And the Bible says here, he says, “‘nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, “‘nor evilers, nor extortioners shall inherit “‘the kingdom of God.'” Ah, sounds pretty bad. You say, well, according to that, nobody can go. Ah, you got it. Coved this? What is covet? Thou shalt not covet. What does it mean to covet? Covet is like a desire.

It means you want something that somebody else, well, who doesn’t? If somebody had a million dollars and you don’t have anything, don’t you have a little coveting going on? Have you ever gotten jealous? You know, jealous is the fear of being replaced. Have you ever been jealous of your husband? Your wife? jealous of somebody else because they happen to be prettier than you? You ain’t never been envious. Wishing, boy, I wish I could sing like that. Why wish I lived in a house like that?

You ain’t never done that, huh? Even the covetous. The Bible says, let God be true in every man, a liar. Hello? We’re all what? We’re all liars. Everybody in this room is a liar. You say, I ain’t. Liar? Everybody lies. Now notice in verse 11, verse 11, well if those people can’t be saved, well then how come this verse could be written? Looking in verse 11 and such were some of what? Such were some of you. So he said, some of you, you did all of this.

You’re guilty. Look what he says, but ye are, this is now. Now you’re saved, you are washed, ye are sanctified, ye are justified. That means just as if you’ve never done it. You mean you could do all those bad things and in God’s eye be just like you never did. That’s right. He says, justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. In other words, that’s the way you were, but you can’t inherit eternal life.

That’s why he says, flesh and blood cannot inherit eternal life. That’s why you have to be born. What’s the next word? Again, born again. You trust Christ as your Savior. You’re born again. Your new birth is a child of God. That’s what makes you a child of God. You were born again, the second time. But the second time you were born of God, you are His child and you inherit everything God has. But the first birth doesn’t inherit anything.

So can God save a murderer? Yes. A drunkard? Yeah. A daughter? Yeah. Can God save a homosexual? Yeah. Anybody can be saved. See, the invitation is open to all. Whosoever will may come. Anybody. God loves the whole world. You see, Christians need to remember this. So that we don’t just go through life picking and choosing who we Thank God to go to heaven and I want to let them other people, I want to let them go to hell. God loves them just as much.

And don’t put yourself too high above that you begin to look down your long, fair, cynical nose and thinking you’re so much better. You deserve to go to heaven. No, you don’t. After you trust Christ as you’re saving, you can still think wrong thoughts and do wrong beings. This isn’t written to lost people. This is written to God’s people. God’s people, but now that you are his child, live for the Lord. Do right. But you’re not going to try to reach people if you don’t believe they can be saved.

That there’s classes of people that God has excluded. No, there’s nobody excluded. So he starts off in chapter 1 of Romans and verse 16. Look again, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Why? Because it’s for everybody. I’m so glad it’s for everybody. And that he says, it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believe him. Jew, org, and don’t make any difference to the root two class people in the world. Jew’s gentle. So he says, whosoever, did he say, except, he didn’t say no accepts to nobody.

And some of those people have done these bad things. And God says, and such were some of you, but now you’re saved. You’re wise, you’re justified, just like you never did it. You’ve been cleansed, you’re God’s child. Now as a child of God, should we live like a child of God? Yes. Should I put God first and love him and serve him? Why yes, I should. I’m saved and I’ll go to heaven because of what he’s done for me.

Romans chapter three, it makes a statement there in verse four. He says, God forbid, yay, let God be true. Every man and liar, as it is written, that thou mightest be justified in thy sayings and mightest overcome when thou art judged.” Now, believe it or not, this is not a reference to God judging the people. This is a reference to people judging God. It goes all the way back to Psalms 51 when David had sinned against Bathsheba and against God.

And he says, Lord, that thou mightest be justified when thou art judged. Because don’t you judge? Whether or not you’re gonna serve God based upon what God has done for you. So in your mind, you can judge whether you think God is a good God or God is an unjust God or God just a mean oh God, it’s such a thin heaven and he just out to get me. And I’m mad at God because if he loved me, he wouldn’t do this, you just judge God.

When he says, all things work together for good to those who love the Lord to those who are called according to us, Purim. You don’t believe that. So you said in judgment, God says, I didn’t make you the judge. I’m the judge. You’re supposed to obey me. But we’re trying to make God feel sorry. You ought to be ashamed of yourself. Look what you did to me. And you think that if you were God, you could have made better decisions than God did.

And I’m not going to serve him. God says, I want you to go to church. I ain’t going to church. it, but then God said you did? I don’t need to read the Bible. Yeah, but God says you do. You set yourself up as judge over God. But God says one day I’m going to prove to you because you judged me, I’m going to be justified. I’m going to be cleared of every accusation and every person who has rebelled against God.

The Lord says when He gets through in the time. Every knee, every knee shall bow and confess He is God to the glory of God the Father. Yes or no? That’s in the book. The only reason you don’t serve God with all your heart because you have set in judgment on God and truth and you You change the truth. You alter the truth, just like the wicked people of the world. And you’ll decide what you will and will not do with your life.

It’s my life. And God says you have been bought with a price. Therefore glorified God in your body, in your spirit, which are God. You belong to God once you trust Him as your Savior. And it’s not up to you. You owe God. It is your reasonable service. you’re not thinking clearly because you’ve got an old simple nature that still is harbor within you, lives within you, and deceives you and lies to you and you believe alive. Did you know that most Christians live just like an atheist?

In an atheist doesn’t believe in God. Well if you live your life like God doesn’t exist, what’s the difference? When you have heartaches and problems and you won’t cast your cares upon the Lord, where the 8th is done either. What’s the difference? You can be, as it says they’re in chapter 1 where it makes the statement in verse 29, being filled with all unrighteousness. Or the contrast to that is being filled with the Holy Spirit. If you let the Holy Spirit control your life, you’ll have the fruit of the Spirit.

But if you let the flesh control your life, you’ll be filled with all manner of evil and wickedness and unrighteousness. With the heads by a nice close and no one looking around. I know that most of you, maybe all of you, have trusted Christ as your Savior. But if you are here this morning and if you’re not trusted Christ as your Savior, then you’re not a child of God. If you’re not a child of God, you’re not going to heaven.

And I want you to go to heaven. The Lord wants you to go to heaven. That’s why He paid for your sins. And friend, if you try to live good enough to get to heaven, it would just make you a hypocrite. Don’t sense doing that. Don’t play that game. Just be honest between you and the Lord and say, Lord, I’m a sinner. That’s what I am. And I can’t promise how I’m going to live, because that’s not an issue.

Lord, right now the best on how I will accept Christ as my Savior. I’m going to trust Him to take me to heaven when I die. And friend, God said, if you’ll believe that, He’ll save you and give you eternal life and you’ll go to heaven or what it is for you. If you’ve never done it, would you do it right now? 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 by the line 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. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our homepage.

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. broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, Calvary of Tampa.org. Thanks for joining us on Bible Live, and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friend, one day it will happen, the trumpet will sound. 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.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

Welcome to Bibleline with Dr. Ralph Yankee Arnold, pastor of Calbra Community Church in Tampa, Florida. Clearly declaring the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the radio and the Internet. Your regular prayers and month… and monthly support make it possible for Bibleline to continue on the air. You can reach This is toll free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made through the Bibleline website at calvaryoftappa.org. We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ and that today’s concluding message of this teaching will be a blessing to you and your family.

If God is going to use you, God has got to prepare you. When God has to toughen you up, He has to let you get beat up a little bit. As you go through life, whether with people or things, they are to rough you up so that you get strong in the Lord and not in the power of your own strength, not in your own wisdom. But you as a child of God, realize there are some things I cannot control.

I must trust God. I don’t do this because I’ve got people who believe in me. I do this because I believe God wants me to do this. And in the power of the Lord, I will do such and such. And you do that and you hang with that and you don’t change. And God will work miracles. Because what are you going to do? If everybody you know, every friend you have, all decide to turn against you. Now what are you going to do?

Are you only as strong as the ones you hang around? What if they don’t agree with you anymore? Well, they don’t love you anymore. What if they turn and say mean and hateful things? What are you made out of? Well, this is why you have to sometimes go from childhood to maturity and God’s got to bring you through the wilderness. As that song says, some through the water, some through the floods, some through the fire, but all through the blood.

of who Christ is and what He’s done for you. It’s an awesome song. But I read the words to that title one day. God leads us along. Some of you might want God lead me alone. No, God leads us along. Now take your Bible and turn to the book of 1st Samuel, 1 Samuel 22. David had been anointed king of Israel when he was just a little lad. God had looked over the other seven brothers and he picked the smallest one, the youngest one and says this is the one I want to be king.

God did that because that was the will of God. It’s what God wanted. So from childhood until he became became the king, there were many things God was going to bring him through in order to prepare him to be the king. He can’t go from here, straight to king. God has many things for him to learn, lessons to go through. God took a shepherd boy, not the most intelligent person in all the world. He wasn’t born in a palace.

He was a little shepherd boy. and God blessed him. And no doubt while he was out there he learned how to play the harmonica. Well a harp. And the Bible says that he was a sweet musician of Israel and he would learn the same and he played and he was skillful. Did you know that God used that? On a day whenever Saul would have his down moments and he would bring the little young David boy in there and he he would play his harp and perform.

And Saul was aged and he enjoyed it and it sooth his spirit, calmed his bad attitude. When it wasn’t long before Saul realized there’s something different about that boy. Someday that boy is going to get my job. And so he tried to kill young David. Why did God let him go through all that? Why would God let this young boy Why who didn’t ask to be the king? And yet at the same time God had to prepare him, and at one time he had to kill a bear with his bare hands and a lion.

Pretty good. But there was a time in David’s life where there was many things that God had to do for him. Here he had to run for his life. And yet God had promised, you’re going883 to be the king and yet here’s a man running for his life. King was trying to kill him. Look in verse one. And David therefore departed thence and escaped to the cave of Dulam. And when his brethren and all his fathers house heard it, they went down to the to him.

And every one that was in distress, every one that was in a debt, every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him. And he became a captain over them. And there were with him about 400 men. In other words, he got all the derelicts, all the rejects and people that they weren’t doing too good with King Saul’s army and his reign. Next thing you know, David had all these volunteers who came to him and they had an idea of God is going to use this guy.

God is going to use this guy. He has been anointed, he could be the next king. And therefore, if they be around David and when he becomes king, hey, they get all the other positions. And these men became known as the mighty men of David. The mighty men of David. These men would have died for David. They almost worshiped this man. They loved this guy.

And David was just an individual that knew God. And God was leading him along. See to go from Bethlehem where he was born to Jerusalem is only a few miles. That’s not far from Bethlehem to Jerusalem because that’s where he’s going to be the king. Well he was born here maybe five miles. I mean I’ve been there. I’ve been to both of these places five times I’ve been there. It’s not far from Bethlehem to Jerusalem. But God had to lead him not from Bethlehem Jerusalem, He had to lead Him to a place called Zigglag.

Zigglag. That’s a strange funny place. See God didn’t take Him from here straight to here. God had to lead Him through Zigglag. And for you to get where God wants you to be, God may have to lead you to a place like Zigglag. And the next question you have, I know it’s going to be is what is that? Look in chapter 27. Chapter 27, look in verse 1, and it says, and David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul.

Now wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. Didn’t God say that you’re going to be the king of Israel? Well, I know that one of these days I’m going to perish by the hand of Saul. Do you think he was feeling a little low? Down just a little bit. In other words, He was facing the death of a vision, the vision of what I’m going to have and what I’m going to be someday, it’ll never be real.

And I am destined to be killed by Saul. And so He says here, there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escaped into the land of the Philistines and saw shall despair of me to seek me anymore in any coast of Israel, so shall I escape out of his hands. So David arose and he’s running for his life. I have no hope. He’s going over to the camp of the enemy, the Philistines. He went and lived with the Philistines and they let it and they didn’t know for sure about him but he pretended like he was a crazy man.

He let his spit drill out on his beard and he had like a crazy idiot, you know. And they said he’s mad. He put on a show. The man must have been a pretty good actor. He could have probably been a Hollywood movie star. Here was David, the guy that’s going to be the king of Israel and he’s pretending to be a mad man and he’s now in the enemy He can’t for the Philistines? What a strange way that God leads his dear children along.

And there’s times in your life where you seem like, man ain’t nothing being done. I’ll never get to be able to be anything great for the Lord. Well, God has to lead you through the trials and tribulations. God has to let you learn some lessons. And some of those is that there are some things you can’t make happen. You are not to exalt yourself. You’re not to lose yourself up by your own bootstraps. You’re to let God do what God wants to undrafted when God wants to do it.

And God will do it. Believe it. Just trust him. You just keep doing right as he leads his dear children along. Now look there in chapter 30 and chapter 30. He Thu been with the Philistines. And the time had come where they had to go to war. Well, David didn’t want to have to fight against Israel because that made him be fighting against King Saul and fighting against Jonathan. Oh, God, he didn’t want to do that. God didn’t want him to do that.

So these people that he was staying with, they said, we don’t want you to go with us because the leaders around there, Captain says, look, isn’t this the same David? That the children of Israel used to say he has killed his or saw the killer’s down and David, his tens of thousands, and we’re going to let this man, they did all of that. Go with us. They didn’t want him. So David was rejected by them. They didn’t want him to help.

So he says down here, and he has now about 600 men with him. He’s gained a few since the other chapter. And verse one, and it came to pass when David and his men were come to Ziklag. On the third day that the Amalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, and smitten it life and burned it with fire and had taken the women captives. They slew not any, either greater small, but carried them away and went on their way.

Now keep us in mind, this was in the land of the Philistines. So they had gone and they said we don’t want you fighting with us. So they returned back to the city where they were living. When they got back they found out the city was burned and their wives and children were gone. In other words it’s everything David was losing everything. So in verse 3, so David and his men came to the city and behold it was burned with fire and their wives their sons their daughters had taken captive.

Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wet a bunch of sissies. No it was their wives it was their kids that were concerned. Get this. Until they had no more power to weak. In other words, they cried till they had no more tears left. And David’s two wives were taken captive. And it says in verse 6, David was greatly distressed. You ought to underline verse 6. Now I covered these scriptures not long ago, but I was hitting it from a different viewpoint.

Something I want to see now is this in verse six before God could take David and make him a king David had a lot of lessons in which to learn and the lessons is this he’s not the trust because of the power of his men the mighty men of David you can’t trust him then he can’t trust in his wife and his kids there has the time when God will take everything you have away from you. He may not do it to everybody, to do the same degree, but there’s things that you have to learn in this life.

And that might be some great losses of things that you would love to have, but you cannot have because God wants you to know that you need to be satisfied with nobody, but just you and Him. Where you don’t have the power or the might to do certain things and you’ve got to let God do it. Can you be patient? Can you wait? Trust the Lord. think what he says. And he says in verse 6, David was greatly distressed for the people’s spake of doing what to him.

The very people that loved him, the very people, they’re going to be our king, the very people. Why are they so mad at him for it? Because we trusted you, we followed you, we did whatever you said do. And look at the results. Do you know that Moses went went through the very same thing. Moses did not want to be the leader in Israel. He didn’t want to do it, but God did. And whenever he brought the people across the Red Sea and into the wilderness, all of a sudden, hey, there’s two and a half million people here.

What are we going to eat? What are we going to drink? Been three days in no water. And they were ready to stone Moses. What are they meant? Was God leading Moses and the people follow in Moses? Well when you don’t like where the man’s taken you, it’s his fault, right? Crucified. They really stone him. At one point, Moses says, Lord Jesus’ lives will go ahead and kill me. Take me on, I have blood out my life. And here you are, and you want one day, you want to be a leader?

Okay, what are you willing to go through? Are you willing to go through Zig Lagg? Where everything that you have, the people can turn on you. I’ve had it happen to me in the ministry over and over again. You got lessons to learn, but you got to go. And those that think to it, well, I thought we was going to, and I thought, and I thought, and I thought, where’s this land of milk and honey? You promised us before they got into the promised land.

He had to bring them through the wilderness and they were went through the wilderness for 40 years. Think about that. When God who had Moses already in Egypt, let him go out of Egypt, the backside of a desert, and left him there for 40 years, waiting. Waiting until Moses was right, waiting until the people in the land, in the iniquity of the emirites are not yet full. And he says that he had to get Israel ready and make a nation out of them and an army out of them.

So God had all these things in mind and he’s planning. God is behind the scene and he has an overall purpose. And he says the wickedness of the people in the land that had the land, God says because of their sin, sin, he was going to take it away from them and he’s going to give it to them. See, the earth belongs to God and God can give it to whoever he wants to. This is his world. Those are his planets and that his stars.

This is his earth and you are, as the Bible says, you are the chief of his pastor, the people of God. So God is free to do whatever he wants with that which belongs to them, but God works according to the rules, the rules of law, the rule of love. God could show the various characteristic traits of himself. He may show his judgment and his wrath or his compassion, his mercy. And he chooses different vessels to do it and different nations to do it.

But God is alive and God is working and though you may think my life is dull, it’s boring and whatever else, it’s because you fail to see what’s been done. He didn’t take and create us and then take a vacation some place. God is intricately involved in the daily affairs of every individual. In verse two there are 11 days journey from Horriba by the way of Mount Sir on Decades-Parnia. In other words from Mount Sinai where God gave him the law Decades-Parnia, he said it’s only 11 days journey.

In other words they could have right there and went into the land. But how long did it take them? 40 years. 40 years to go to 11 days journey. Why? Because you see, God used the wilderness experience in order to take all of those individuals who believed that they can’t go into the land because of the giants of Enakkor in there. And we can’t win. And so they came back with an evil report and convinced the children of Israel that they can’t go and so their unbelief kept them from going into the land.

And so God said, I’m going to let you wander right on the wilderness for 40 years. And during that 40 years, he says, all of God is going to die off. And I’m going to take the other generation in. And he says, but Caleb and Joshua, they’ll get to go into the land. Now stop and think for a moment. That means that during these 40 years, and all these people that had died, death was by the hand of God.

Everyone that lived that went into the land was by the hand of God. Because God could have kept them alive or God could have killed all everything in God’s hands. And that means that God individually knew all those who did not believe and those it did and God calls some to live and some to die. Well, it was just an accident, that a freak accident. This person died. No, everything is been watched upon by the eyes of God. And whether man lives or whether man dies in God’s hands.

Now, God may use wicked things in this world, but God is in charge. God is still on the throne. God still rules. Christ, when he was here, he told them in Luke 13, he says, do you think that those 18 that died because the tower’s alone fell upon them? They were more wicked than somebody else, he says, that’s not true. In other words, he knew the real reason, but he knew they died. But it wasn’t because they were more wicked than somebody else, but then evidently God did know the reason.

He doesn’t say it. He makes this statement because some came and says, why was this child born blind? He said it wasn’t because of the sins of the mother and the father, and therefore this child was born blind. He says that’s not true. He said, I had nothing to do with the mother and the father and their sins. He said, this man was born blind that you might see the power of God. In other words, he had been blind from birth all the year because God was going to do something in the life of this one blind person.

See, there’s a reason. You just may not always know it. Why would God have a man like Moses born and he couldn’t speak right? Had an impediment of speech. Moses used his flaw as an excuse not to serve God, but God says, I want to use you just the way you are. Moses wouldn’t do it. Moses missed out on some mighty good blessings. When God told Moses certain things to do, Moses at times got angry. And because of his anger, he said and did things he should not have done.

And when he did so, it was not permitted to go into the promised land. Just a coincidence? No, he died upon the mountain right before they was to go in. So, well, the one lives, one dies. You say, well, it’s just an accident. No, it’s not. There’s a God in heaven that knows what’s going on. And God will bring you into something that He may lead you through something that you may learn what God wants you to do. There’s always something that’s going on, and you should always ask, Lord, what do you have for me to learn?

What do you want to teach me through this. And I assure you, there are lessons to learn in every testing, every trial, every temptation that you have. There’s something to learn. I have over the years wondered why did God leave me here and in the there and in the there and in the there and in there. My life is a step. It’s a walk. You’re walking with God. It’s a step at a time. You don’t have to know where it’s going to end up.

You just go ahead and serve God. Just keep walking with the Lord. And if you’ll serve God faithfully today, you’ll be where you’re supposed to be tomorrow and if you’ll serve God that day then you’ll be where you’re supposed to be the next day and then thousands upon thousands of died in the world never got into the land and so many of them they blame Moses and God says it if I hit he says you people he says you wicked people and here you are now with a man like David a man after God’s own heart And he says here in verse six, and the people speak of stoning him because the soul of all the people, they were what?

They were grieving, grieving. They were hurting. Every man and his sons and his daughters. But David had all these men that got around him and really encouraged him. Is that what it says? I didn’t know what it says. And David encouraged himself in the Lord. Get that. David encouraged himself in the look. Do you think, now listen, David didn’t have the Bible like we have today, but he did know, he did know the stories in the Old Testament. Many of these stories that were written before him, he knew what God had done with Moses.

He know the stories, just like we can read them, he knew them, and he had to encourage himself. Just like with Joshua, Joshua had to suffer consequences. Because of the sin of AI, you see, if God is going to use you, God has got to prepare you. And God has to toughen you up. He has to let you get beat up a little bit. As you go through life, whether with people or things, they are to rough you up.

So that you get strong in the Lord and not in the power of your own strength, not in your own wisdom. But you as a child of God, realize there’s some things I cannot control. I must trust God. I don’t do this because I’ve got people who believe in me. I do this because I believe God wants me to do this. And in the power of the Lord, I will do such and such. And you do that and you hang with that and you don’t change.

And God will work miracles. So look in verse eight, David inquired at the Lord saying, Saying, shall I pursue after this trip? Shall I overtake them? So he didn’t ask his men, he asked the Lord, Lord, what do you want me to do? Shall I pursue? Will I overtake them? And the Lord says, go and you will win. And you will, in the last part of it, you will recover everything. You’ll not lose anything. In the end time, in result, you will not lose anything.

You’ll get everything back. You see, the road from Bethlehem to Jerusalem was a short road. But God didn’t want to take him from here to here. God wanted to take him the opposite direction to Ziegler, and then he becomes king. Because, see, he has to learn it’s not because of the power of his men that he has, The friendship of his men? It’s not anything else. You’ve got to learn how to be strong and encourage yourself in the Lord.

Because what are you going to do if everybody you know, every friend you have, all decide to turn against you? Now what are you going to do? Are you only as strong as the ones you hang around? What if they don’t agree with you anymore? What if they don’t love you anymore? What if they turn and say mean and hateful things? What are you made out of? Well, this is why you have to sometimes go from childhood to maturity, and God’s got to bring you through the wilderness to a place called Zig-leg.

And it may not be one, it may be four or five of them he’s got to bring you through. As that song says, some through the water, some through the floods, some through the fire, but all through the blood. because of who Christ is and what He’s done for you. It’s an awesome song. When I read the words to that title one day, God leads us along. Some of you might want God leave me alone. No, God leads us along.

And so you may be in the middle of your little zig-lag or you may be heading into it or you may be coming out of it. But learn the lessons that God has for you. And you’ll have those lessons even while you’re young. You have lessons to learn. Look up here. This hen represents you and me and the wallet represents sin. We all have sin upon us. God, He loves us, but He hates our sin. For you and I, to go to heaven, we have to be perfect as righteous as God.

And none of us are perfect. None of us are righteous. We cannot enter into heaven because of sin. So the goal is to get rid of sin. And God says that you cannot get rid of this sin, except by death. The wages of sin is eternal separation from God in a place called Hell. But God loves us. He says you cannot save yourself. You cannot earn eternal life. This then represents Jesus Christ. He’s the Lord God in a place.

He came into the world because He loves us. He hates our sin. He says it separates us from Him. So Christ took the sin. All of it. Paid for it on the cross came back from the bed. And I believe he did it for us. And we get to go to heaven. And what Jesus Christ did for us. I trust that Christ is my Savior. I hope that you trust the Lord as your Savior. It’s so important not only to know Christ as your Savior, but to realize that God is working in your life.

God is leaving you alone. It doesn’t matter about your family situation, the job situation, the finance situation, the situation, the health situation, God wants to lead you through everything and He wants to become more real to you than the clothes you have on your back. He wants to teach you things about Himself. You would never learn any other way. Let’s pray, shall we? Every head bowed and every eye closed and no one looking around. If you have never trusted Christ as your Savior, then why not right now?

Just between you and the Lord say something like this, Lord, I know I’m a sinner, I believe Christ died, paid for my sins and I’ll trust Him to take me to heaven when I die. I’m not going to embarrass you, I’m not going to point you out or make you bend up or walk down the aisle. I want you to write what you said and say, yes, I’ll trust Christ as my Savior and I like you to pray for me.

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 Bible line 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. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our homepage.

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 broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.org. Thanks for joining us on Bible Live, and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold.

friend one day it will happen the trumpet will sound 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

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

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. 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 through the Bible 9 website at calvaryoftampa.org. We pray that you’ll enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, and that today’s concluding message of this teaching will be a blessing to you and your family.

turning your Bible to the book of Deuteronomy, and chapter 25. 17 says, remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when you will come forth out of Egypt. How he met thee by the way, and now notice what Amalek did. Now what Amalek did to them, Amalek will do to you, because you as a child of God, you have the flesh living in your property, just like they had to deal with Amalek, at that time you have the same thing.

In verse 18, how he met thee by the way and smoked the hindmost of thee. Even all that were in Yara and the lioness, feeble behind thee, when thou was faint and weary and Yara and the lioness, and he feared not God. That flesh that lives within you, that sinful nature that you have, does not fear God. And if you listen to Amalek, Amalek will convince you you don’t need to fear God. You see, the sign of wisdom is the sign of a man who fears God and a man who fears God hates sin.

Because you know what it’ll do to you. It doesn’t mean you don’t sin, but you hate it. And he says here in this verse, when thou was faint and weary. So here’s all about two million people coming out of the land of Egypt, going across the Red Sea, going through the wilderness, and on their way to the Promised Land, and they had the Amalekites that were picking up the stragglers, those who became weak and disheartened. I think, by the way, do you ever think about the scripture that says that whenever we, as God’s people, are running in a race and cause about be not weary and well doing, do you get weary doing right.

Do you wise get weary obeying your husband? Do children become weary in obeying their parents? Do the husband get weary of doing right and go on the work and providing for his family? You get weary of doing the right thing. That’s when the Amalekite that lives within you can attack you and he can defeat you. Remember this, the Amalekite that lives within you is stronger than you. But you need to keep in mind greater is he that is within you than he that is in the world.

And the only reason that you can win over the desires of the flesh or over the Amalekite is because your confidence is in the Lord. Kind of like this boy was talking this other boy walking out of street. He says, my daddy can be sure daddy. He says, big deal, soaking my mother. That’s not much comfort when you don’t have either one of them that are very strong. But if you had the Lord walking with you everywhere you go and you know that the Lord will fight your battles and the Lord can give you the strength and the grace that you need to do what’s right and to stand strong even though they may be stronger than you, not stronger than Him.

And the only way they can work Me is they’ve got to work Him. And I’m sick and close to Him. Don’t that make sense? Now the only reason the flesh or am malachite will destroy you is because you’ve got too far away from the Lord yourself and you’re not walking within. And you become weak. And then it says the am malachite is He’s going to destroy you. That’s talking about that sinful nature that you have within you. He’s more powerful than you know.

If somebody came up to your door and knocked on that door, and that person told you, I’m the most wicked. I’m the ballast. Balor. I’m the destructive individual you’ve ever met in your life, and I like to come in and spend time with your wife and kids because I want to rape your wife and I want to kill your children. May I please come in and you say, well, of course. Would you do that? To a man that you already know what he’s like, what his goals are?

Would you open your door and invite him into your home? Not if you got any sense at all. The Bible says that that old sinful nature that you have, that a malachite that lives within you, says the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. What’s desperately wicked? The malachite. Where does this a malachite live that’s so desperate and so wicked and deceitful? And who can know it? It’s that malachite that lives within you that you’re mind talking about. That’s why he’s not to be trusted.

That’s why God forbid that you should trust your own judgment. That’s why you should trust God’s judgment. That’s why it’s why it’s why to seek two or three godly individuals for counseling when you want to do something because that amalekite will deceive you. He’ll lie to you. He’ll tell you whatever you want to hear. He can convince you of almost anything. He just has to find you void of knowledge. And he’ll feel that vacuum. And you’ll find yourself having it very hard, very difficult, kind of discerned, is what I’m doing.

Is it of God or is it of the flesh? I can’t tell. It means you lack the knowledge to discern. Because remember the Amalekite is very good at what he’s doing. He knows your strength, he knows your weaknesses, and he’s waiting for the right moment to attack you. And that’s what destroys the families. what destroys his kids, destroys husbands and wives, destroys churches. In verse 19, therefore it shall be when the Lord thy God has given thee rest from all thy enemies round about, in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance of possession, that yosh thou bought out the remembrance of amalek from under heaven, that I shall not forget to do it.

When they got into the land, did they really take possession of all the land? They cast out all the Amalekites, all the problem people, they get them all out of the land. No, they left the little pocket seven and those little pockets later on came back and caused Israel nothing but trouble. In verse 15, notice in verse one, now we’re in the land and there’s some things that happen. And verse one, Samuel also said unto Saul, now Saul was the first king in Israel.

The Lord sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people over Israel. Now therefore, hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the Lord, thus saith the Lord of hosts. I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him and the way when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek and utterly destroy all that they have and spare them not, but slay both man and woman, infant and sucking, oxen sheep, camel and ass, and God says destroy everything.

want they Christian to have victory in the Christian life. And the thing is who do away with the desires of the flag. God says that we’re supposed to remember he was crucified on the cross, but we keep resurrecting him. And he says here you’re supposed to go and to kill him. Is that what happened? Well, not everything happened just exactly like God told him to do. So in verse 15 and Saul says they refer into the people they have brought them from the Amalekite, referring to the thing because he says, did you do everything I told you to do?

He said, oh, yes, sure it is. He says, and what’s this sound I hear in my ear, the bleeding of the sheep? He said, oh, the people did that. And they brought them back because they want to sacrifice them to the Lord. And verse 16, didn’t Samuel sit in the salt? Stay, and I will tell thee what the Lord has said to me this night. And he said unto him, lay on. And he says, Samuel said in verse 17, when thou was little in thine own sight, was thou not made the head of the tribe of Israel and the Lord and nor did the king over Israel?

And the Lord sent thee on a journey and said, go and utterly destroy the sinners via malachite and fight against him until they be consumed. Now why didn’t he do what he was supposed to do? God has told us that we’re supposed to realize that the flesh would crucify and to live our life as though he doesn’t exist. In other words don’t satisfy his desire. If he’s a man up here laying up here on the ground and he’s dead.

Now if he’s dead if I kick him he won’t move. If he’s dead a dead man don’t have any feelings. You can’t hurt his thing. I could say anything I want to about that man and it He’s not going to fight back. Why he’s dead. Now God says you’re to reckon your sinful nature like that and whenever those desires come, you don’t satisfy the desire. You ignore him because God’s given you something else to do, greater desires, a bigger burden, something greater worth living for.

And if you don’t watch it, you’ll start feeding those desires and the thing you know, he will destroy you, he will kill you, he’s destroyed many of God’s people. Now notice what he says here in verse 22, and Samuel said, half the Lord as great delight and burn off in than sacrilered as in obey in the voice of the Lord. Behold to obey is better than sacrifice. Look in verse 23, for rebellion is that the sin of witchcraft and stubbornness is that the iniquity and idolatry because thou has rejected the word of the Lord.

He has also rejected thee from being king. Saul lost his crown from being the king in Israel because of an Amalekite. Because of an Amalekite, he didn’t destroy the Amalekite and because he did not, the Amalekite took his crown from him. Now you have desires within you and if you don’t control those desires within you, it’s going to destroy you. You’ll either control them or they’ll destroy you. It’s only a matter of time. You need to understand it. You cannot just go where you want to go and it are not affected.

You can’t just watch what you want to watch and it not affect you. You can’t read just what you want to read and it not affect you because out of malachite in your thrice off of filth off of rebellion off of the little sin that you kind of hide from everybody else but God knows and that little malachite that lives within you he knows and you say well it doesn’t matter if nobody else knows and you just be be that little Amalekite and it won’t be long for that Amalekite be big enough to take the whole territory.

He’ll take possession of your whole property and ruin your whole life. If you don’t want them to do it, beware of it. And then in verse 24, and Saul said in the Samuel, I have sinned or I have transgressed the command of the Lord and thy word because I feared the people and the bade their voice and so then Samuel says bring that Amalekite to me verse 32 then says Samuel bring ye hither to me agak the king of the Amalekite and agak came up to him delicately plants and you know and agak says surely the bitterness of death is past and Samuel says yes we can live together everything’s hunky-dory it’s all right is that what he says and Samuel says as thy sword have made women chollas, so shall thy mother be chollas among women.

I wonder what that meant. And Samuel hewed hay gag in pieces before the Lord and Gilgal. In other words, how did Samuel solve the problem? He destroyed the Amalekite. Every great person who wants to be greatly used of God has got to have victory over the Amalekite. If you can’t whip the Amalekite, you can’t whip anything. You can’t win anything. never have victory and every one of us have the desires of the flesh. Every one of us can fall.

Every one of us have a malachite living within them that can destroy our lives and you can’t play games with them. You can’t toy with them. It’s kind of like that little mosquito that flies around the flame. You know, it won’t get me. It won’t get me in pitit gun. You play with fire and you will get burned. Turn your Bible to the book of 1 Samuel, chapter 28. Notice what it cost him. It cost him his life. Verse 18 says, because thou obeyest not the voice of the Lord, nor executed his fifth fierce wrath upon Iamalek, therefore hath the Lord done this thing unto thee this day.

In other words, what happened to him? He died. God took the man’s life because he disobeyed what God said. You have the flesh living within you. Did you know if it was not for the Amalekite that lives within you, probably some of you sitting in this room have already gone to the mission fields? If it hadn’t been for that Amalekite who told you you can’t be used of God and put fear into your heart, some of you probably would have been in Bible school, some of you probably were in full-time Christian work today, maybe as an evangelist, a missionary, who knows what, but that Amalekite lied to you and he deceived you and told you God ain’t gonna meet your name, God ain’t gonna take care.

You got it, you’re going to bless you. You’ve already listened to him and many lives have already been ruined. And think of how many people are burning in hell for all eternity because the Amalekite got control of you. Remember there’s a story there about a Jewish woman named Esther who was used of God to deliver the children of Israel from a man named Haman. the Haman was set out to do one goal. What was his goal to do with the Jewish people?

To annihilate them. Did you know that when you read the book of Esther in chapter 3 and around verse 1 and so forth? Did you know what Haman was? Haman was an Amalekite. Now look at this, 2 Samuel chapter 1 and verse 1, now it came to pass after the death of Saul when David was returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites and David had a bow to Daisy Zig-leg. And then they heard that there were some problems and somebody came in and ran and told the message to David about what had happened to Saul and Jonathan and it says here in Verse 3 and David said unto him from whence comeest thou and he said unto him out of the camp of Israel Am I escaped and David said unto him how went the matter I pretty tell me and he answered that the people are fled from the battle and many of the people also are fallen and dead

and Saul and Jonathan, his son, are dead also. And David said unto the young man that told him, how Noah style that Saul and Jonathan, his son is dead. And the young man that told him said, and you ought to underline this phrase, as I happened by chance. Now this man who came to tell David this news, you’ll never guess who he was. He was an Amalekite. And they always have the bad news. And they just happen by chance just to show up at the right time.

Did you know that if you choose to rebel against God, there just happens to be all kinds of people that help lead you further and further away from God? When you get down and we can discourage and you’ll find out there’s somebody else whether to unload some more garbage into your mind and help destroy you. And he says in verse six, as the young man that told him, says, as I happened by chance upon Mount Gaboa, behold Saul leaned upon his spear and loathed the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him.

And when he looked behind, he saw me and called unto me, and I answered, here am I, and he said in me, who art thou? And I answered him, I am an Amalekite. He said again in the me, stand I pray the upon me and slay me for anguish has come upon me because my life is yet holding me. So I stood upon him and slew him because I was sure that he could not live after that he was fallen and I took the crown that was upon his head you ought to underline that statement the amalekite that lives within you has one goal that’s to take your crown from you I believe God wants every one of us as his children to receive a full reward God wants us to be fully blessed I believe it’s God’s will that we serve all the days of our life all the days of our life

I don’t think it pleases God for me to serve the Lord for 15 years and then quit. Serval Lord for 20 years and then quit or serve a Lord for 25 years and then quit. My desire should be as I want to serve the Lord more and more all the days of my life. But the longer I live the more convinced of I am that the Amalek height is real and that he is alive and he’ll do anything he can to destroy your life and destroy my life.

Notice what he says He said, and I took the braces from off of his arms and so forth, and I brought them hither unto my Lord. And then David took hold of his clothes, he rent them, and lackless all the men that were with him. And they mourned and wept and fasted unto Eden, and saw, were sawing for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the Lord, and for the house of Israel, because they were fallen by the sword.

And David said unto the young man that told him, Wince art thou, and he answered, I am the son of a stranger and a malachite. And David said unto him, How was thou not afraid that stretch forth thine hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed? Remember over there in the book of Deuteronomy when we read it while ago and it says there is no fear of God to the malachite. They’re not afraid of God. Your sinful nature that you have is not afraid of God.

Satan is not afraid of God. And that’s why whenever you left out a malachite, talk to you long enough, he’ll convince you that certain of the Lord is a joke, that you’re going to lose out. You’re not going to have any fun in life. Look what you’re going to miss out on. And by the time that a malachite gets through with you, you want to walk into flesh. And some of you want to find out what the other side like.

What have I been missing all of my Christian life? The temptation is there. And it says that temptation is common to every man, but that God is faithful and not will him that any man should be tempted above that which is able, but God said that he will give us that which we need and a way of escape that we may be able to bear it. You don’t have to lose to the Amalekite. If you lose to the Amalekite, it’s because it was your choice you chose to.

And David called one of the young men and said, go near and fall upon him and he smote him that he died. Now how did David handle the Amalekite? He killed him. I had a young man by the name, well, but I’m not sure your name. He was 19 years old. He trusted Christ of Savior at one of our youth meetings and I went to a village in one night. He was sitting there and he saw me coming in.

I can hear him tell when a person doesn’t want me to sit down and talk to him because I do only have one thing to talk about and that’s the Lord. But I went over and sat down with him anyway and started talking to him. He said, Yankee, get off my phone. He says I’ve I’ve been to the camp because I dedicate my life to the Lord at camp all I hate says but He says there’s things I want to do with my life.

You know, it’s almost the same story Don’t pretty much have the same story. I’ll serve the Lord when I get your aging I get your age and I’ll think about the Lord like you do but right now. I’m young I just think I want to do And he says I’m not gonna serve alone. I will not That was on a Monday night, but by Friday night, he had his dad four-wheel drive. He rode with him. He’s dead. Some Asian watching all these people who think they got the world in their arms.

They don’t. For in my name, Ray Stanford told a story about a girl who was a beauty queen down at Miami University. Had long, flowing, blonde hair. She used to come to rent their Bible silly hat and she was very beautiful. She would stand up and get testimony, but after a while that stopped because now she was a beauty queen. And she didn’t want to come out on board. Right there, they talked to her and she didn’t want to serve a Lord now because she’s getting too much attention, you know, fame, beauty, and popularity, all that stuff.

And so they had a rotten, a lake with one of these little boats that had this sort of I brought Moader on the little spinner on the top of it, said he put the rope in the pullet and said she pulled the wing back to know so her hair blows into the wind, but her hair got caught on that spinner. And it took and pulled all the skin from her eyebrows, pulled every bit of it and just pulled all of her hair right off.

She stood at her face and she had to wear a wig enough for the rest of her life. You see, Malachite would get hurt. And Malachite, she didn’t have to happen. Chose with Bell against the Lord. Yes. I’m not gonna serve a Lord Now who doesn’t want you to serve a Lord that a malachite delivered in you God wants you to but the Amalachite doesn’t and he will talk to you and try to convince you that God’s way is not the best You know we’re live your life now the way you want to and you when you get a hundred and ten years old and one foot in Great one on the banana field and yeah, maybe serve the Lord You know when there ain’t nothing else to do But you know you want to give the Lord the best year you be alive Why not give the

Lord the best years of your life? Give them everything that you have. There’s a malachite that will do everything he possibly can. And the Bible says that as God’s children, we should be aware that there’s somebody trying to take our crown, trying to ruin our lives. And that’s that little malachite that lives in. Now, you will find that battle all the days of your life. And the Lord says the way you fight him the best way. He says walk in the spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the Amalekite.

It means for you to study God’s Word and get in church. Get in good strong Bible believe in church. Talk to the Lord. Defend the bono. Pray to him. Get around other good strong Christians. Do the things that are right. Look up here. Now most of you here probably have already plus the class occasion, but if you’re here tonight and you’re not positive of going to heaven, I want to explain something to you. Rest of you if you know it, I want you to listen to those who have never heard it before.

This hand represents you and me, and this wallet represents sin. We all have sin upon us. God loves us. Now He hates our sin, but He loves us. And God says, for us to pay for this sin is eternal separation from God in hell. And the whole world is worthy, so the whole world is condemned. Jesus Christ says that He loves us and wants us to go to heaven, but we’d have to be perfect to go to heaven. And no one’s perfect, no one’s right to you.

By your good works, you’ll never be perfect. All the good things you could ever do will never pay for your sins. That’s why we need them to save you. There’s only one that Jesus Christ. This ain’t representing Jesus Christ. He came into this world because he loves you and means. He hates our sin because they separate his funding. So Christ who had no sin did not have to die, so he took hours. Papered on the cross and came back again from the dead.

God said that if we would believe that he did this for us, that he paid for our sins, he would put this payment to our account. If he puts this payment to my account, then I have a payment for all of my sins. And he would give me as a free gift everlasting life, and I’ll have it in life, and I’ll go to heaven whenever I die. God gave me eternal life. I became his child. I am indwelled by the Holy Spirit that bolt very moment.

He’ll never cast not, he’ll never lose me. He did not do anything with this whole simple nature that I am. Ask just a battle that I’m going to have to go through for the rest of my life. The battle is what makes the Christian grow stronger. It can be a stumbling block or a stepping stone. Pressure is not a not bad if it pushes you closer to the Lord. But with many people, they let their problems become a wedge that spies you away from the Lord.

Never let anything come between them the Lord only the temperatures of life pushes you closer to him. And you’ll find that God will honor you. God will bless your life. He could, if any man served me, him was my father, and you want God to honor you. And depend upon the Lord to give you the strength and the grace that you need. And don’t feel so guilty because you have a sinful nature. All of us do. All of us have trouble in most of the same area.

If you didn’t, you’re not human. And when you’re weak, and when you’re fallen, the best thing you can do is between your and the Lord’s and Lord, I have sinned. That was wrong, acknowledge it, and ask the Lord to forgive you and to help you. But don’t cut it covered over. Don’t deny you have a sinful nature or that you sinned. It’s amazing that the Bible says all had sin but we can’t find any sinners. Nobody does anything. But we’re all sinners.

Let’s pray, shall we? Every headbound, every act closed. No one looking around. If you’re here tonight and you have never accepted the payment Jesus Christ made on the cross for you, would you right now honestly sincerely accept him as your savior? I’m not going to have you hold nothing but the right who you are. Would you just talk to the Lord and say something like this Lord I don’t understand it all but I know I’m not going to sin it.

And I believe Jesus Christ that on that cross and paid for my sin and right now the best I know how. I will trust in it my faith. Will you be there? This is it. I’m gonna answer the raise you here and put it right back down. That just lets me know that what I said makes him to be in this thing. He has the darkness and I will trust Christ in my faith you can have it. And take your life to the place where I’m in person.

You’ve been listening to Bibleline, a teaching ministry of Calvary Community Church in 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 toll-free 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org.

Click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our home page. 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 broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.org. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, and now we’re closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friends, one day it will happen.

The trumpet will sound. 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.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

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 regular prayers and monthly support make it possible for Bibleline to continue on the air. which is toll free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made through the Bibleline website at calvaryoftampa.org. 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.

Satan does not care how he ruins the destroy your life just as long as he does. Satan must use your sinful nature. If you don’t have a desire for something, he can’t lure you. You can’t lure a rat with cheese that the rat didn’t have within it the desire for cheese. Satan couldn’t lure you if you had no sinful desire. And Satan can destroy the Christians. That’s what wrecks the home. That’s what causes teenagers to become rebellious. That’s what causes the sick are on the way, even after we know Christ is Savior.

So he says here in verse 8, Dint came Amalek and fought with Israel in Rephemed. Now remember, they had crossed over the Red Sea into the wilderness and they were on their way to the Promised Land. And who met him on their way? Amalek. You trust Christ as your Savior is like cross in the Red Sea. We are going through through the wilderness is kind of like on our way toward maturity. You see the land of Canaan is kind of like the Christian victory place, the land of promise of person who is mature in the Lord that can claim the promises of God.

And God says that we’re on our way toward maturity. On your way there, there’s someone who wants to stop you from reaching maturity to keep you from being the kind of a person that you ought to be for the Lord. His name is Amalek. That Amalek lives within you. Every one of you sitting in this room have a little Amalekite living within you. So if you will look at the flesh, nature that you have, and call him an Amalekite, that way you know who he is.

And then you know what he does. It’ll help you in having victory in your Christian life. In verse 9, Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand. So Joshua did as Moses had said to him and followed Amalek. And Moses, Aaron and her went up to the top of the hill. And he came to pass when Moses held up his hand at Israel, when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.

But Moses hands were heavy and they took a stone and put it under him. And he sat there on it. Aaron and her stayed up his hands. one on the other side and his hands were shed into the going down of the sun. Now look up here. The flesh lust against the spirit, the spirit lusts against the flesh and this battle goes on inside of your own life. And so you’re the one that determines which one wins by which one you hold up.

One man said it’s kind of like having a black dog and a white dog living inside of them and they’re always fighting. They say well which one wins? He says the one I say sick them to. You have within you this constant battle going on. Now notice what he says in verse 14, and the Lord said unto Moses, write this for a memorial in a book and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua for our utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.

There is coming a day when the Bible says in the book of Revelation that we will remember the former thing was no more, but we’re not in heaven yet. We’re still here and we have to deal with that Amalekite. So you have an Amalekite living within you, just like I do. And the Amalekite that lives within you has only one goal and that is to destroy you and keep you from getting to where God wants you to be. He does not want you to have a Christian victorious life.

In other words, he wants possession of this land. The Amalekites wanted possession of the land that God had promised to Israel. And the Amalekite that lives within you wants possession of this land, this piece of property. But God says this piece of property belongs to the Lord and to your new nature that God placed within you and not let the Amalekite have it. And so the Amalekite is fighting against your new nature for the possession of this piece of property.

So he says here in verse 16, for he said, because the Lord has sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation, perpetual war. You are going to have war with that Amalekite that lives within you until the day you drop dead, until the day you die that a Malachi is not going to let up. You’re going to have to battle them all the days of your life. Like it or not, that’s the way it is.

Now turn in your Bible to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 1. There’s three verses that I want to read to you and show you that what God had promised to Israel they could have. It says in verse 6 the Lord our God speak unto us in horrib, saying ye have dwelt long enough in this mouth. Turn you and take your journey and go to the Mount of the Amorites, and at all the places neither unto, in the plain, in the hills, and in the south, and by the seaside, to the land of Canaanites and unto the Lebanon, unto the great river, the river Euphrates.

In other words, have you felt that you have been complacent and stationary long enough and it is about time you did something with your Christian life like advancing and moving on and going further than you’ve ever gone before. You see in your property this piece of land that I’ve got up here which is kind of like the ancient nation of Israel this property up here there’s an Amalekite trying to take control of this property. There’s also my new nature that God given to me, my new birth, and God says it belongs to him.

So they’re both of them fighting over this piece of property up here. And God says it’s about time that you claimed every area of this territory for the Lord. He says, now, whether it’s in the hills and the valley and the plains and over to the sea and the graver of Euphrates, all of it. Now many Christians growing in the Lord is learning how to have the Lord control more and more of your life as you get older. You see when you first trust Christ’s Savior, your child of God, but you don’t really know too much about walking with the Lord.

And there might be just a couple areas that you might dedicate to the Lord, but not everything. And you learn a little bit more and you realize I can trust the Lord in that area of my life. And then you learn a little bit more than you realize I can trust the Lord for that area of my life. Coming to maturity is where you can trust the Lord in every area of your life. Now there are some creatures who are very strong in certain areas of their life and then very weak in other areas of their life.

But every area in your life that you are weak in that has not been totally dedicated to the Lord is an area that the Amalekite will attack you in. Don’t you know that that Amalekite that lives within you knows your weak points? He knows your strength and he knows your weaknesses. Haven’t you ever noticed that when you hit down and discouraged it seemed like that’s when everything seems to fall apart he knows what he’s doing. You need to understand the battle that goes on inside as you.

It says here in verse 8, Behold, I have set the land before you go in and possess the land which the Lord swear unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them, and to their seed after them. Now if God’s will, that they not only cross the river, but to get into the promised land that God had promised to them, you see the difference between being a child of God and a man of God is the word of God that lies between.

And so you go from one stage of a child of God, which when you trust Christ to save, you’re all a child of God. But many children of God never mature to where they can trust the Lord in every area of their life and be used of God to carry out spiritual responsibility. Many of God’s children stay bathed all their life, and so babies don’t carry responsibility. Babies run from responsibility. Adults are supposed to be found faithful, dependable. Now are you spiritually responsible for the things that God has given to you to do, to fulfill things to be, ways to live, standards to have, convictions to have?

You may have sit still long enough and then move on to other things. Genes is 25, tells about a man who had two sons. Jacob and Esau. In verse 27 it makes this statement, and the boys grew, this is on page 38, and the boys grew and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field, and Jacob was a plain man, dwell and intense. And Isaac loved Esau because he did eat at his venison, but Rebecca loved Jacob, and Jacob sought potage, and Esau came from the field, and he was faint.

And Esau said to Jacob, feed me, I pray thee, with thy same red pottage, for I am faint. Therefore it was his name called Edom. And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau says, Behold, I am at the point to die and what prophets shall this birthright do to me. Now if you have trusted Christ as your Savior, you need to understand your birthright. In other words, the rights that you have by birth. When you’re born into God’s family, there are rights that belong to you as a child of God, they’re called birthright.

Did you know that you have privileges that you never had before? God is now not just God of creation. He is now your heavenly Father. You are His child. You can talk to the Lord. You can ask God for things. You can expect things from God or protection and to plan all of your needs. there are privileges that you have because of who you are. You are a child of God. Esau did not value his birthright, the right that he had as a first born and was willing to give up his birthright for a mess of pottage.

Now some of us as God’s children are very easily led to give up an awful lotamoto a message andAbove And the Lord says, you are going to reap what you sow. So be wise, don’t let a moment of being faint and weary and well-doing cause you to give up everything that belongs to you. You see, whenever… whenever you sell your birthright you have prohibited yourself e e e e e e e e e e ython e e e e e e e e e e e e 896 e e e e e rebellion against any truth.

You must be willing to follow and obey any truth. And God’s Word, regardless of where it may lead, whatever the consequences may be. And that’s why it behooves every Christian to not only know the Word of God but to have a teachable, a sensitive spirit to do the will of God. To obey whatever the truth is that you learn from God’s Word. But it says that Edom is is the name that was given to Esau. Now, turning your Bible to the book of Malachi, chapter 1, the book of Malachi, and notice there in chapter 1 of the book of Malachi, chapter 1, and look in verse 1.

In verse 1, it says, The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi. I have loved you, sayeth the Lord. Yet ye say wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother sayeth the Lord? Yet I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage ways for the dragons of the wilderness. Now how would you like to have been Esau? God says, I love Jacob, but I hated Esau. Did you know that God ever hated anybody?

I didn’t know God hated people. How would you like to have been Esau and have God who created the heaven and the year to hate you? But remember, this is not talking literally about Jacob and he saw. It’s only representative now look up here. Which one was born first? Esau was born first. Esau is a type of the flesh. Jacob came second. He is a type of the second birth, our spiritual birth. Now God says he sees us when we trust him as our Savior in the Spirit, not in the flesh.

God hates the flesh at sinful nature that we have. This sinful nature, remember we gave him. name. His name is Amalek. He is an Amalekite and it’s the Amalekite that was keeping God’s people from getting into the promised land. He was the one that was destroying them. He was the one that’s always warring against them. God hates the flesh. God says that no flesh should glory in his presence. Curse it is the man who put his confidence, his trust in man or in the flesh.

Paul says, I have no confidence in the flesh. Turn your Bible now to the book of Genesis in chapter 36. Notice in verse 8, Esau was called Edom, had a grandson. And you’ll see in a minute what his name was. And verse 8 says, Thus dwelt Esau in Mount Seir, Esau is Edom. And these are the generations of Esau, the father of the Edomites in Mount Seir. These are the names of Esau’s sons and it goes through all these things and names them down in verse 12 and Timna was concubine to Eliphaz Esau’s son and she bear to Eliphaz Amalek now the word Amalek got Underline it that’s Esau’s grandson Esau’s grandson Now remember you generally will have the first born persecute the second born.

In an illustration similar, remember it was Cain who was born first and Cain did what? He’ll label. Then you have Esau who was born first and he persecuted Jacob and hated him, wanted to kill him. You also have the story of Ishmael and Isaac. And through Ishmael, he was a son of a bondwoman, and that’s where the Arab nations came from. But then you also, you have over here, you have Isaac, through God says, through him the seed would come, the Messiah would come.

And so that’s why even when you find out you’ve got Saul and you’ve got David and Saul persecuted David. You have this battle all the time used throughout Scripture. Remember, in the Old Testament, we have stories that illustrate doctrinal truths that we read in the New Testament. So that’s why the Old Testament was written for our admonition because they are the applications that we need to apply to all the doctrine that we get in the New Testament. Though we learn many doctrinal truths, we need those stories that that helps us to come alive, we understand what it means.

And God says in the 19th Psalm, he says, in the testimonies of the Lord are sure, making wise the simple. So these testimonies that God has given are stories about real people doing real things and their decisions, whether to obey God or not to obey God, and the consequences of it are to help you and I to know how to face life and what we should and should not do. So there will know the results of things. If I know the result of something before I do it, it should either make me or prohibit me from doing that.

If I know that if I serve the Lord God is going to bless my life, then I should want to serve the Lord. If I know the result of sin and what it’s going to do to my life, then it should cause me not to want to fulfill that desire. And so he says here that there is Amalek. Now look in verse 31 of Genesis chapter 36. And these are the kings that rained in the land of Edom before they rained any king over the children of Israel.

That means that Esau ruled and his generation before any king ever got to the land of Israel. Remember it says in the book of Genesis in chapter 5, and this is the book of the generation of Adam and the day that God created him, and he lived so many years and he died and So many others lived so long and they died now remember Adam was born first and everyone who’s born of the flesh is born before you’re born of the Spirit And then in Matthew, in chapter 1, the first book in the New Testament when he says, this is the book of the generation of Jesus Christ.

Talk about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all those people, but there’s no death recorded. Because see, this is a spiritual birth, this is a flesh birth. And Christ says that which is born of the flesh is flesh, that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. So you have these two births. You have also that is mentioned here. The king ruling in the flesh before the king of Israel ever ruled in Israel. The land of Israel and the story of Israel is like a picture of an individual soul.

For example, picture Israel as a person. Think of the nation of Israel as a person. That means Israel had a miraculous birth. was born as a child of faith because of Abraham. Remember that whenever Isaac was born, he was a miraculous child. Abraham was already a hundred years old and his wife was 90 years old. So his being born was not of the flesh. He had a miraculous birth born by faith. So the nation of IsraelThankfully is actually a miraculous child and the nation of Israel can never be destroyed.

Now you may destroy as a nation over there, but Israel itself, the people, will always be. And so now for six thousand years, they’re still in Israel, or four thousand years. There’s always an Israel, but they haven’t always possessed the land. Israel is a type of an individual who has trusted Christ as Savior and battling for the possession that God’s given to him. That’s why when you trust Christ as your Savior, you are always a child of God. You can never be be destroyed as a child of God.

You’re always his child, but now you may not always be in the land and always possess this body the way God wants you to. And that’s why sometimes you won’t always read the right things and you won’t always study the right things and think the right things and do the right things, but you’re still God’s child, but you won’t possess that body, that property that God gave to you. And God will have to chastise you forth and because of it God chastised Israel many times because of their sin but they were still God’s people.

So when you trust Christ as your Savior your God’s child and if you don’t do what God wants you to do with your life, yes God’s gonna have to chastise you and maybe even take you out of your land. They may take you home before your time. Turning your Bible to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 25. And Moses trying to help the children of Israel to understand what they should do when they get into the land of Canaan, lay down some guidelines for them, put them some things to do and things not to do, some things to remember and some things not to remember.

But verse 17 says, remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt. How he met thee by the way, and now notice what Amalek did. Now what Amalek did to them, Amalek will do to you, because you as a child of God, you have the flesh living in your property, just like they had to deal with Amalek. At that time you have the same thing. In verse 18, how he met thee by the way and smoke behind most of thee.

Even all that were in your unblindest, feeble behind thee, when thou was faint and weary and your unblindest, and he feared not God. That flesh that lives within you, that sinful nature that you have, does not fear God. And if you listen to Amalek, Amalek will convince you you don’t need to fear God. You see, the sign of wisdom is the sign of a man who fears God and a man who fears God hates sin because you know what it’ll do to you.

It doesn’t mean you don’t sin, but you hate it. And he says here in this verse, when thou was faint and weary. So here’s all about two million people coming out of the land of Egypt, going across the Red Sea, going through the wilderness and on their way to the Promised Land, and they had the Amalekite types that were picking up the stragglers. Those who became weak and disheartened. Think by the way. Do you ever think about the scripture that says that whenever we as God’s people are running in a race and talk about be not weary and well doing, do you get weary doing right?

Do you wise get weary obeying your husband? Do children become weary and obeying their parents. So the husband gets weary of doing right and going to work and providing for his family. You get weary of doing the right things. That’s when the Amalekite that lives within you can attack you and he can defeat you. Remember this, the Amalekite that lives within you is stronger than you. But you need to keep in mind greater is he that is within you than he that is in the world.

And the only reason that you can win over the desires of the flesh or over the Amalekite is because your confidence is in the Lord. Kind of like this boy was talking to this other boy walking down the street. He says, my daddy can be your daddy. He says, big deal, so can my mother. That’s not much comfort when you don’t have either one of them that are very strong. But if you had the Lord walking with you everywhere you go and you know that the Lord will fight your battles and the Lord can give you the strength and the grace that you need to do what’s right and to stand strong even though they may be stronger than you they’re not stronger than him and the only way they can what me is they’ve got a what him and I’m sitting close to him don’t that make sense now the only reason

the flesh or amalekite will destroy you is because you’ve got too far away from the Lord yourself and you’re not walking within and you become weak and then it says the amalekite is going to destroy you. I was talking about that sinful nature that you have within you. He’s more powerful than you know. If somebody came up to your door and knocked on that door and that person told you I am the most wicked. I’m the ballast. I’m the most destructive individual you’ve ever met in your life.

And I like to come in and spend time with your wife and kids because I want to rape your wife and I want to kill your children. May I please come in? And you say, well, of course, would you do that to a man that you already know what he’s like, what his goals are? Would you open your door and invite him into your home? Not if you got any sense at all. The Bible says that that old sinful nature that you have, that a malachite that lives within you, says the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked.

What’s desperately wicked? The malachite. Where does this a malachite live that’s so desperate and so wicked and deceitful? And who can know it? It’s that Malachi that lives within you that Jeremiah is talking about. That’s why he is not to be trusted. That’s why God forbid that you should trust your own judgment. That’s why you should trust God’s judgment. That’s why it’s why to seek two or three godly individuals for counseling when you want to do something because that a Malachi will deceive you.

He’ll lie to you. He’ll tell you whatever you want to hear. He can convince you of almost anything. He just has to find you void of knowledge and he’ll fill that vacuum and you’ll find yourself having it very hard, very difficult, kind of discerned is what I’m doing. Is it of God or is it of the flesh? I can’t tell. It means you lack the knowledge to discern because remember the Amalekite is very good at what he’s doing. He knows your strength, he knows your weaknesses, and he’s waiting for the right moment to attack you.

And that’s what destroys your family. That’s what destroys his. Destroyed husbands and wives. Destroyed structures. 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. Part 2 of this teaching will conclude with tomorrow’s broadcast. 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. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our homepage. 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 broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.org.

Thanks for joining us on Bibleline and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friend, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound. 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. Just keep looking up.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

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 through the Bible-lined website at calvaryoftampa.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.

The Bible tells us that God has already judged the world For 1500 years he had given to the nation of Israel his law, but he had also given the light of understanding, of conscience to the Gentiles also where they could know that there is a God because of his creation, because of conscience being able to reason that if that there is a world, there has to be a God that is assumed. Even when we read in the very first words of the Bible, God does not explain God.

He just simply starts off with the very first verse in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. It is assumed that the nations of the world, the people of the world, know there is a God. But instead of seeking God and letting even their conscience, which has a little bit of light, guide them to God, they refuse that. So whether it was because of the word that was revealed to Israel, or the world that is revealed to the common mind, everyone has found themselves to be guilty before God.

Because God has judged the whole world. Now take your Bible and turn to the book of Romans in chapter 3. And he makes the statement there in verse 19, Now we know that what things so ever the law say it, it’s safe to them who are under the law, y’all get this, that every mouth may be stopped, because whatever God does, it must be right, and God must be just justified in the eyes of everybody that whatever God did, it was right.

So God has to always vindicate Himself and prove to the world that what God did was justified and God’s going to do that. This is the only main reason for the great white throne judgment so that every lost man will get a day in court and present his cause. And when it’s all over with, there won’t be anything for them to say and the Bible says and they will be cast into the lake of burning fire. Now get what he says here.

In the last part of this verse, He says that every mouth may be stopped all the world the word all if you don’t have it on the line You should all the world may become guilty before God So if you are found to be guilty it means that courts already been held It’s already been held God has already declared this to be true and So therefore this is a judicial decision as a judge would make in a courtroom room.

Thou art found guilty. And if you had a jury trial and how does the jury find the defendant guilty innocent every man is a liar. Now look in verse 4 of Romans in chapter 3. God forbid you let God be true every man a liar. Everybody’s a liar. I know we don’t like to admit that we ever told a lie but we have and God says every man is a liar in a thousand ways but God says in this verse all the world may become guilty before God.

Now look in verse 20. Therefore… If the sentence has already been rendered, then there’s nothing that the defendant can do to justify himself, cause courts over. Courts over. It’s other words, it’s like a judge saying that you’re guilty and you’re just waiting for that. Nothing that you do now is going to change the judge’s mind. It’s final. Now the day we have the court of appeals, and this appeal, not appeal, and so forth, and they sit on death row for 20 years.

You think God’s like that? God’s not like that. God makes a decision. And he has said the whole world is guilty and because the whole world is guilty, therefore there’s nothing that you can do to deliver yourself from that verdict. Now, this is why God sent his son. Look at verse 20. Therefore by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight, because there’s nothing that you can do. The verdict is over. It’s your guilty and you got to pay.

And he says, for by the law is the knowledge of the sin. That is how we know that we are a sin. Now these are simple verses that we’ve covered many many times. Now take your Bible and turn it there to the book of John chapter 3. John and chapter 3. The Gospel of John is a book that’s very simple, very good, easy for anybody to understand. It’s one that I guess more people have trusted Christ to save your from than any other book in the Bible.

I always recommend the Gospel of John to a person who has just trusted Christ. I say read it and then we get through, read it again and then we get to read it again. If you don’t get to any of the books in the Bible. Just read the Gospel of John, because Gospel of John is so easy and simple for a person to understand. So many great truths. Now look at John 3 16, a verse you’re very familiar with, but look at it.

He says, for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever it be, leave it then Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Now you said, Well, everybody’s heard that verse. There are people who’ve never heard the verse. The first time I heard the verse, I was 18 years old. Now think about that. You think everybody’s heard that. I was 18 for I ever heard that verse. Get what he says in verse 17.

For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world. Why? The world was already condemned. So Christ didn’t come down here to prove to everybody about all this bad wickedness that everybody’s doing. He came to save the world. I believe very strongly that as a person that is sent into the world, like it says God sent his son, well the Bible also says he sent us into the world. Well if God didn’t send his son into the world to condemn the world, then why should I go into the world to condemn the world?

The homosexual is going to hell not because he’s a homosexual in the man that drank, he’s going to help not because he drank him. All those are the results of him being a sinner. That’s not an issue to me. We’re supposed to love the person, not their sin, and they don’t have to stop their sin in order for us to love them more or even for God to love them more. That’s a love the world. And he came saying it’s not to condemn the world because they’re already condemned.

but we can let them know that they are condemned because they have not believed, not because of the things they’re doing because then whenever you point out all the sins that they’re now doing, we’re giving the impression you got to stop before God will save you. And I disagree with that. Though I want people to live good and righteous and so forth, but that’s not the point when you’re talking about salvation. Look there in verse 17 when he says, for God sent out his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be what?

Might be saved. So he came to save, not to condemn, but to save. It’s not good to always try to point out all the wickedness that people are doing most of the, all you got to do is put your center. And everybody, I think most people, they know that. I’ve only met a couple people in my whole life that thought they were perfect. And this guy, he says, if you ever met anybody that’s perfect or heard about anybody being perfect, he says, oh yeah.

He says, my wife’s ex-husband. Look at verse 18. Verse 18 says, he that believeth on him is what? Not condemned, but get this. But he that believeth not is condemned when? He’s already condemned. So he’s not going to hell because of any particular sin that he’s doing. Those, all those things that he does is because he is a sinner. That’s what he is. That’s just the fruit on the tree. We don’t have to get him to pick the fruit off the tree before God will save him.

But get what he says to you. He has condemned already because he hath not, what? He hath not believed. The name of the only begotten son of God. This is why a man’s condemned because he hasn’t believed. Not because of all the bad things he’s doing. Hitler didn’t go to hell because he’d kill 6 million Jews or however many millions he’d kill. That’s not why he went to hell. If he went to hell, it’s because he didn’t believe on Christ.

Didn’t trust Christ. Sodom who’s saying if he was to trust Christ’s Savior, where would he go? They go to heaven. And nothing else matters. I mean, for the world, yes, I mean, that’s terrible. what happened and some have been loved. I mean, but if they trust Christ, they’ll save it. They’ll go to heaven when they die. Despite everything they’ve ever done. It’s hard sometimes for us to believe it, but that’s grace. That’s because God loves them. Remember you and I don’t look at things exactly the way God does.

God loves the people we despise and we hate. I hope there’s nobody like that in your life, but he makes a statement in verse 19 and get it. And this is the condemnation that light is coming to the world because men love them. So God has given us the light so the people could see there’s a God that loves you. And I told the man, I said, I would rather let him know God loves you. And instead of trying to condemn everybody because of all the bad things that they do, maybe they have done a lot of bad things.

And I went down one day to the ballgame they were having down there and they had all these tailgate parties. And I had never been to one. And I saw, I mean, but you know, for the most part, yeah, there were some people down there drinking. That was a little fan of mine. You know, but for the most part, people were just having a good time. They were just having fun. They were eating same food that I eat. And some of them were even drinking, some of the same stuff that I drink.

But to put a blanket, they’re all bad. No, they’re not. There’s a lot of good people doing a lot of good things. And there’s a few people that will do some things that are not good. We, I believe, have a tremendous message that people could only hear it and understand and let them know about the love of God. And to me, this is what Christmas is about. Now take your Bible and turn to John chapter five and verse 24.

John chapter five and verse 24. See, you were condemned already. I’d say judicial decree from the judge, God. After you trust Christ as your savior, of the same God that says once you are guilty, you’re condemned, but you trust Christ, you’re saved from the condemnation, and then the same God has already decreed, you can never be condemned again. In other words, you can’t be tried for the same crime twice. I was judged because I was a sinner. I can never be judged for that again.

We even have laws in our country that says the very same thing. And this is why he says you’re in verse 24. Verily, verily I say unto you, hear that, heareth my word, believe it, th on him that sent me hath right now, present, ever last in life, and shall not come into combination. You can’t be condemned in the future because that would be double jeopardy. can’t do that. It is God that says it, but is past from death and the life.

God has already given you eternal life. He can’t condemn you. This is why it’s such a wonderful thing to know that you have eternal life and to know that you’re going to heaven when you die and understand why. I know sometimes people say, well, all you know is John 3 16. Well, if that’s all that I knew and the seven steps in the hand gesture, that’s a tremendous message and that’s a lawful lot to know. And there’s like, I don’t think I’d ever run out of people to talk to.

But it’s understanding all these other things in the Bible that make you strong enough to keep doing that and keep it simple and clear because you really believe it. But as you notice from this verse 24, shall not in the future ever be condemned again. You will never come into condemnation. That is right along with you can know you have eternal life, half of your time. You have this. You can’t be condemned. Can’t go to hell in the future.

Take your Bible, look at 2 Corinthians in chapter 5, 2 Corinthians in chapter 5. In this verse… It’s a tremendous truth, great truth. I never really understood this verse until I heard Dr. Stanford speak on it about a thousand times. I mean, he was always hitting this verse. I’ve read the verse, but I didn’t get out of it what he got out of it until I listened to him. And then he had to say it over and over again for me.

I see what he’s saying. We can verse 21, where he had made him to be sin for us. He knew no sin, Christ knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God. Now let me ask you a question concerning Christ. Can Christ go to heaven? Why? He’s perfect. That’s why Christ is going to heaven, He’s perfect. What if you were in Christ? He goes, you go, because you’re in him. If Leon is driving his little red pickup truck down the highway going to Culver, if Mrs.

Campbell gets in the truck, wherever Leon goes, she’s going, why? She’s in the truck. When you are in Christ, you get to go where he goes. that’s where he is. You’re in him. Now, this is a simple illustration. I’ve given it before, but I want to show you something. This is me. See there? Got Yankee on it. That’s how you know it to me. And this, this is Christ. So whenever you trust in Christ as your Savior, God put you where?

In Him and the Holy Spirit sealed you in Christ. And then the Bible says that Christ is in God. So now where am I? God the Father can see the Son and whenever He looks for me and He finds me, He finds me in Christ and Christ is in the Father and I am sealed in Him. This is a positional truth. This is what happens when you trusted Christ as your Savior. He says that you are in Him. Now get the last part of the verse.

He made the righteousness of God those two words. Very important in Him. So me going to heaven is me being in Christ. So Christ says salvation is Yankee needs to be into my life. We have people today that are saying that if you want to go to heaven you have to have Christ in your life. You need Christ in your life, Christ in your life. And I’ve asked Christ to come into my life. For salvation, no, is that Christ wants you in his life.

And then you get to go and enjoy his life where he is. That’s the different story, that’s salvation. Now whenever we’re talking about serving the Lord. God left us in this world. In this world I live in this body. So Christ wants to be where? In me Christ in me. In this life I am supposed to live. Christ wants to live his life through my life. That’s service. Salvation is that Christ wants me in his life. That’s a position of truth that cannot change.

But Christ living his life through you down here in this world can change moment by moment. Because you see it’s not that he is any less, is that I am not letting him live his life through me in this life. So as a Christian do I want Christ in my life? Yes. But I want Christ to live his life through me. When I get to heaven I will be in his life, that eternal life. When you trust it, Christ your Savior, you are placed in Him.

And He says, He’ll never cast you out, never lose you. You are in the Son, sealed by the Holy Spirit, and the Son is in Christ. Now, how can you ever get out of here? You can’t. You’re sealed. You’re ready to be delivered. You’re going to heaven when you die. Now that’s the good news. Now take your Bible and turn to the book of Philippians in chapter three, the book of Philippians and chapter three.

I am in Christ to live there. Christ is in me to live here. And some people get it mixed up and they think that I just got to get Christ in my life to go to heaven. No, because here you’re talking about Christ helping you live your life or you’re living your life for certain things for Christ and that that’s not salvation. So you have a lot of Christians people I should say go in the church, live in good lives, doing things for Christ and so forth and never trust Christ to take them to heaven.

Because salvation is Christ allowing you to enter into Him his life and that’s you get eternal life. Now here in Philippians in chapter three, look what he says in verse nine. And be found in him not having my own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. And be found where? In him not having my own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.

How did you get there? By faith along believing that what Christ did was for you. You here can never be condemned. That’s your position in Christ. You’re safe and it can never be changed. Never be altered. God can never undo this. Over here Christ in your life may have control of you at one time and not another because it depends upon you yielding to the one who lives on the inside of you. This is why we often say greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.

Satan’s in the world, Christ is in you, greater is he that is in you. So if you let the Lord who lives within you have the right to live through you because you yield to him, you have the power to defeat the one that’s in the world that’s greater than you. And you can have power over the temptations of the flesh, the trials and tribulations,wiki anything the world has to throw at you because Christ is in your life in this world.

Here now you can have victory. But many of God’s people have no victory in their Christian life, but they can. Now get what he says in verse 9, Be found in him not having my own righteousness, which is Malkol, but that which is through the faith of Christ the righteousness, which is of God by faith. So God will give you his righteousness. Jesus Christ can go to heaven because he’s perfect. All right,, if you’re placed in him Then you’re in Christ and he’ll never cast you out and never lose you and you get to go because of what Christ did for you.

See, this is a message that London have never heard this That man and his family, they left. And so this young black couple, they got up to leave. And when they got up, I said, and she was laughing about something. And I said, I don’t know what you’re laughingLaun it, but it must be good. And she said, oh, it is. I said, I got something good for you too. I said, you know that little thing I gave you, that little piece of paper?

I said, let me, I said, you got two minutes, don’t you? Yeah? I said, sit, sit, sit. I think he may sit down at my table. And so when they sit down, I said, come on, let me show you something. Let me show you how you can know that you’re going to heaven. I said, can I ask you? I said, do you know that you’re going to heaven? I said, oh, yeah, I’m going to heaven. I said, what about you?

He said, yeah, me too. Oh, this is great. They’re all Christians. I said, is there anything that you could do that could keep you from going to heaven? She said, oh, yeah. That’s why you gotta go to church and do the best you can. Were they really trusting Christ? They had the right words to start with, but they were trusting in the way they live. And she said that this is why we have to go to church. And she said, and I pray, and I try to do right.

I said, well, what if you don’t? Well, then you don’t get to go. I said, let me talk to you. So I pulled out my wallet and I went through the hand gesture and I explained to gospel how they can know they have eternal life. I trust them twice to say. And I says do you understand what I’m saying she said yes, I do look at what she said and I Told them all about Robert coming to our church.

I invited them to come I said he needs somebody to come in here And I says I said I’d love to have you come and I said this guy is one of the biggest dudes you’ve ever seen your life I said he lifts weight. He’s big and solid kind of bill like myself I said, I’m not going to tell myself. Anyway, I enjoyed talking to them. And I said, where are you right now? Will you trust Jesus Christ as your Savior?

And I said, yes, I will. And I looked at the guy and I said, what about you? He says, I will do. I said, if you trust Christ right now, what would you have? Eternal life. Now listen, it’s right everything else you think about. Even with all the stores and you can buy all kind of stuff and people will. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But the greatest gift you can give to anybody Is the explanation of how to have the gift of eternal life?

And what if it’s shame for? Year after year after year to go by and there’s nobody that you’ve ever talked to Find a victim. I Sit down deliberately and ask the Lord. They’ll let me talk to somebody Then I had to take advantage of an opportunity And sometime it works sometime it don’t but at least you try I’m sure that if you really try you can find one person just they didn’t know I was a preacher. I didn’t tell him I was a preacher till afterwards But you can do it because it’s just the good message.

It’s a good news It’s the greatest story in all the world go for it Try it you’ll like it and to see something that would be tremendous Anyway, keep it in mind salvation is not me having Christ in my life But Christ having me in his life life. Service is me having Christ in my life here. So I am in Christ to live there and Christ is in me to live here. Don’t that make sense? I thought of that last night sitting downstairs.

All of us admit that makes sense to me and I wrote that down and I knew you’d like that didn’t you like that? Because it does it so simply makes sense. I am always trying to find us a simpler way to say something because anybody can be hard to complicate. I want people to understand what I’m saying and I want to be clear and simple and I hope that makes sense to you. We head by a nice close and no one looking around.

Ask the Lord that in the next couple weeks you will take the time, somehow, some way and find someone to talk to. Not just give them a track, let it be a door that you open up, but talk to somebody. even have to know it. Find one person, come by himself. Talk to a little kid, but anybody somewhere. And it’s the greatest thing that you’ll ever do. Father, we ask your blessings upon us. We thank you for all you’ve done for us.

We thank you for these people, our church, and Father, our blessings upon each and every one of you. In Christ’s name we pray. You’ve been listening to Bibleline, a teaching ministry of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, 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 toll free 1-800-576-3771.

That’s 1-800-576-3771. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our home page. 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 six o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvary of tampa.org.

Thanks for joining us on Bible Live and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friend, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound. We will be changed. Caught up to meet the Lord in the air. So live today and everyday, believing that the Lord is coming soon. Just keep looking up.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

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 1-800-800-800-800-800. 800-576-3771. snippy made through the Bible-lined website at calvaryoftampa.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.

Look at John chapter 4 and look down there in verse 20. Here’s a statement that sometimes we make is called, to be or not to be. To be or not to be. Well, I believe to be a child of God or not to be a child of God is a decision that every person has to make. Are you or are you not? And as Christ was born into the world without a sinful nature, you and I, the only way we can live forever and to be like the Lord is to be born without a sinful nature.

Well, that’s the purpose of the New Bird. the new birth is you being born again without a sinful nature, so that you can be like God and be with God forever in heaven. So we do have a very important decision to make. The part of telling the good tidings to all men is so that every man has a chance of deciding for himself, do you want to be born again? Do you want a new life? Do you want to have eternal life?

Do you want to be a child of God? Do you want to be born without a sinful nature? What kind of a world would it be if every person in the world today did not have a sinful nature? Wouldn’t it be wonderful? The families would be different, the kids would be different, the government, I don’t know if we’d need any laws, everybody would do right. Wouldn’t have a sinful nature. We wouldn’t have any nursing homes. There’d be no hospitals.

Everybody would be perfect. If we could be all born without a sinful nature. Now that’s the purpose of Christ coming to the world so that things would be changed, that things would be different. So he makes a statement here in John chapter 4, Jesus Christ had been to see a woman at the well. And he came down here and says in verse 20, she said to him, Our fathers worshiped in this mountain. Now, the other statement, I guess, instead of just simply saying, to be or not to be, and if it is, I like to just say, to be a child of God or not to be a child of God is one of the most important decisions a person can make.

The other statement is to worship or not to worship. To worship or not to worship. What is worship? We say, I worship God, or a man worships his wife, or worships his little grandchildren, worship. What do we mean by worship? Well I think you’ll see that as we go. But to worship or not to worship, that is a good question. To worship the Lord as we should, should mean that we not only say, but we do the things that please the one that we say we love and that we worship that person.

We give him honor and respect, do reverence and total obedience to worship means to please that individual of that person in everything that you do. And because there are people who do that with people, yes, there is those who are guilty of people worship. God is the only one that is supposed to be truly worship. We’re not to worship angels. We’re not to worship Mary. We’re not to worship the apostles. We’re not to worship our families. We’re not to worship our country or our homes or our possessions.

We’re supposed to worship God. So to worship God or not to worship, that is a good question. So who is to be worshiped? It says here in verse 20. Our fathers worshiped in this mountain. I wonder who they worshiped. Well, it says over there in verse 20, God is a spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and interest. So we’re talking about worshiping Him, God. So even though God made the heavens and the earth and everything therein, He wants from mankind one main thing.

That’s worship. God wants to be worshiped. But he says here in verse 21, Jesus said unto her woman, believe me the hour coming when ye shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father. Ye worship, you know, not what? So is it possible to be religious and not be right with God? To worship and yet have nothing to do with God. Yes. Ye worship, you know, not what? Ye know, we know what we worship. For salvation is of the Jews.

So in this statement, who is to be worship? Well, God, where were they to worship? She says they worshiped in these mountains. Jesus says they worshiped in Jerusalem. He says, but he says, God must be worshiped in spirit. It’s not so much a place. We may come to church, to worship, but we can worship outside of church. You can worship God at home in your car, on your job. You can worship anytime, anywhere. You can worship because he says596 in spirit, that’s yours.

In truth, that’s God’s. According to his truth, you see, you are to worship in your spirit, the true and living God. According to truth, it can’t be a made up religion. You’re on opinion. You’re on way of worshiping God. You worship God God’s way according to truth. And the truth is revealed in His Word. And what are we supposed to worship God for? We can worship God because of the great creation that He created upon this earth. We could worship God for our families, but the thing that he’s talked about here, as though the one main thing that we’re supposed to worship is found in verse 22.

Look in verse 22, ye worship, you know not what, what are you worshiping? Worship God for what? We know what we worship for, and then he says the reason, salvation is of the Jews. Salvation. So we should worship God because of salvation. When you stop and think all the things that are connected with salvation, you understand the purpose of worship. We worship Him because of His saving our soul. And because of Him saving us, given His eternal life, making us His children, He deserves to be worshiped.

Christ came, God’s gift. He died, paid for sin, came back from the dead. He is God. So we should worship Him because He is God. And we should worship Him because of what He’s done for us. Does God deserve from you and I to be worshiped? Yes. Can we make somebody else worship God? No. You can try to help somebody be religious, but you can’t make somebody worship God because it’s in the Spirit. It means that you are connected to God in such a way that nothing else comes between you and him.

Look in Revelation chapter 13. Revelation chapter 13, I want you to notice down through here that there is someone else, someone else that wants to be worshiped. That someone else is someone who tried to steal the worship from God. And he wanted the angels to worship him. His name was Satan, O Lucifer. He’s the one and one of the honor that only belongs to God. He said, I will be like the Most High. I will send him to the sides of the North, and I will be lifted up, and the congregations shall come unto me.”

Well, that’s what he wanted. What do you think is Satan’s main focus upon the individuals in the world is for people in the world to worship him. He wants to be worship. And the best way you can worship the devil is simply to obey Him, surrender to Him, yield to Him, bow to Him, look to Him, trust in Him.

That’s worship. There is someone who is very jealous of this. Satan is jealous if you worship God, and God is jealous if you worship Satan. God is a jealous God. So here in Revelation in chapter 13, I want you to look there in verse 4. In verse 4, he says, and they worship the dragon which gave power unto the beast. Now from chapter 12, we know who the dragon is. Anybody know who the dragon is? The dragon is the devil, Satan himself.

And so this is the tribulation period of time right ahead of us. But notice what he says in verse 4, and they worship the dragon gave power unto the beast and they worship the beast, saying, who is likened to the beast, who was able to make war with him? So they are in awe. It mentions in chapter 17 how the world will be in awe of this beast and just like spellbound because of the power that he’s going to have.

And to be able to bring down fire from heaven and do miracles in the side of the people, they’re going to worship Him. Now bow to Him. They will receive His mark upon their forehead or from the back of their hand. The Bible says that the people of the world will not be able to buy or to sell unless they have the mark of the beast. So they’re going to worship the beast. That’s what Satan wants from you and I.

So they are vie for our attention. God wants our attention and the devil wants our attention and if you follow light it will lead to truth. If you follow darkness it will lead to Satan. Understand that. Look what he says now. In the verse eight and all that worship upon the earth shall or dwell upon the earth shall worship him whose names are not written in the book of life of the land slain from the foundations of the world.

So according to this verse, those that worship Him are not those who know the Lord, because those that have their names written in the Lamb’s book of life is because they had faith in Christ. So I don’t see anybody who has trusted Christ worshiping the least. I may be wrong, but I don’t believe it. I don’t see it in the scripture. But the think of everybody in the world worship in the devil. What about now?

Is it possible that Satan can so deceive you that you think you’re worshiping God and you’re not worshiping God at all? Is it possible that whenever Christ was talking to the woman at the well that he says, you worship, ye know not what? So did they worship? Yes. Did they think they were worshiping God? But they weren’t worshiping God. Because God’s the one who says, I’m God and they weren’t worshiping me. So they were deceived. And I believe there’s a multitude of people that are deceived about who is God and how do you worship God?

The way you and I are to reveal that we worship God is by our obedient to God. We do what God says. We obey Him. We live the way that is our way of saying thank you to the Lord for His unspeakable gift, which is Jesus Christ. So Christ was God’s gift to us, but the way we live our lives is our gift back to God. Also look there in verse 12. And He exercises all the power of the first beast before Him and causes the earth and them that dwell therein to worship the first beat, whose deadly wound was him.

Chances are these people, they are deceived because look- look what he says in verse 14- and deceived them that dwell on the earth. They probably are not saying, we’re worshiping the devil. They probably think they’re worshiping God. WARNY Remember the anti-Christ is a false Messiah. HeDenver claims everything that Beetles Christ is. He even goes to Jerusalem and claims to be God,Highes himself in the temple as God, demands people to worship him as God, and the people do, and they’re wrong.

Well SolidGoldMagikarp he could do that then. Do you think he’s doing it?limits. Now, yes. There’s people who live their whole lives totally in Cunningham. I believe that it’s so important for people to ffenter into the real world. I used to have people say, wow, Yank, you know these kids, they need to get out to the real world. I says, that’s exactly where I’m trying to take people into the real world. This is real. Not knowing God. Not knowing Jesus Christ.

Not knowing the truth. And living according to the truth, you’re not living a real life. Yours is all based upon that which is false and deception upon lies, but to live a life based upon truth, that’s the real life. That’s the real thing. It’s not Coca-Cola. This is the real thing. It talks to them about they need… To worship this image of the beast that was set up and deceived the world. Look in verse 15, and he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause, that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be what?

Would be killed. Is there a price to pay for not worshiping Satan and his image that he set up? a great price. Did you know I’ve had people say, well, I can’t afford to serve God. There’s a price in serving the devil and there’s a price to pay if you don’t serve your Lord. And the way we worship God is not coming to church just on Sunday morning and singing a few Christian songs and think, well, I worship God and then go out and you think, well, the other six days are mine.

No, they’re not. True worship of God as God owns all of me and all that I have and all that I am or all that I ever will be. Then you begin to learn how to worship God. I should be obedient on Sunday but should I be obedient on Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday and Friday and Saturday I should be obedient to God every day of my life. That’s worshiping. Take your Bible look in the book of Luke chapter 2.

It says in verse 8 and there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field. Keep in watch over their flocks by night. Low the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shown round about them, and they were so afraid. The angel said unto them, fear not. For behold, I bring you good tidings.” That’s what we refer to as the gospel. I got a good story to tell you. It is good tidings, and you ought to underlined the next two words, great joy.

We’re supposed to believe that every person that hears the gospel and understands it in his great joy, but it’s the devil that tells you they don’t want to hear and you’re wasting your time. They’ve already heard and can talk you out of witnessing or giving tracks or explaining the gospel to anybody. But we’re supposed to believe that it’s a good message and it will bring great joy. This great joy may not come in this life as well as it will when they get to heaven.

Every person who wakes up in heaven, don’t you think that’s going to be a great moment of great joy. It’s great that you trust the Lord. And the Bible says there’s joy in heaven over every person who trusts the Lord. But what about the moment you get to heaven and then you see all that you’re believing got you. That’s gonna really be a great moment. But you see it’s supposed to be something in our mind that burns in our minds that this is a message that everybody really wants to hear.

Don’t let the devil tell you that nobody wants to know that. Think just the other way. It’s the devil who lies to us. Aren’t you glad you know it? Aren’t you glad you heard it and somebody explained it to you? Then don’t you think there’s other one just like you out there? I believe that. They get what he says, which shall be to some people. It’s great joy to all people. They may not accept it, but we’re supposed to believe it and explain it.

Now get what he says, for unto you is born this day in the city of David a millionaire, and he’s going to give everybody some money. This is one of the greatest things you could ever have as boy a millionaire to be born and give you some money. You know a million dollars don’t go very far today. But see if that was the greatest need in all the world was for people to have money, well then Christ should have come in here as the multi-millionaire just to give people money, but that’s not what was supposed to be this great good news.

And yet everybody’s got physical He could have come as just a great doctor, but he is the great physician. And he did have the power to heal. And yet when he came into the world, it says, Behold, in the city of David, is born unto you this day a Savior, which is Christ. Evidently, this is supposed to be the greatest news in the world. This is why everybody should rejoice. This is what Christmas is all about. God so loving the world that he gave his only begotten son to whosoever believe it in him You should not perish, but have everlasting life.

And this is the good news that everybody would have great joy, because, behold, it’s born unto you this day in the city of David, a Savior. Not a trailblazer, not a Daniel boom or a Davy Crockett. Somebody show you away. No, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. I think it’s awesome. The way the Scriptures are laid out and what God has done for us. Now, don’t you take your Bible and turn there to the book of Matthew 2.

Matthew? In chapter two, when you talked about worship, remember the Bible says that they followed a star. Let’s just consider that the star is light. They saw a light and they followed a light. You’ve heard me say that the Bible makes a statement John chapter one of this is the light that light of every man that cometh into the world. Inside of every individual is a desire to know God. What is the source of this? life, this truth. There’s a God.

Where is God? How can I know God? And the Bible says, if I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me. Even though a man may seek God, it is because God is drawing him. God’s the one who takes the initiative. No man seeks God without man being drawn by God. And there’s people who will follow some amount of truth and it will lead. I believe that’s how I came to know Christ as my Savior because I wanted to know God.

I believed that there was a God and I was searching. I did want to know, but I believe it God who was drawing me and drew me right to the place where I could be told by an individual that God could freely use. And he explained to me the gospel and I trusted Christ as my Savior. Now here in Matthew chapter 2, look there in verse one. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the King, behold, there were wise men from the east to Jerusalem.

Now we really do not know how many wise men there were. And some say that they were kings from the east. Well we don’t know if they were kings. The word comes from the word maggai. It simply means wise men or they could have been those who study astronomy or even astrology because chances are they came from Daniel’s place over in Babylon. That’s probably where they came from in the east in Babylon from Iraq. And so here they came all this journey about 930 miles.

That’s a long way. You’re almost a thousand miles. But they saw a light and they follow the light and word of the truth lead. It leads to the source of light led to Christ. And it says here in verse two, saying, where is he that is born? King of the Jews, for we have seen his star these and are come to in your underlying this word. We’re come to worship him. Come to worship him. Now this little baby laying in a manger hadn’t done anything for anybody yet.

Even when the wise men got there, Jesus Christ, they believed was about two years old. So the wise men didn’t come to the manger scene. They came about two years later. Now I know that ruins a lot of the manger scenes, but it’s okay as long as you understand it. Here you have them coming to a house. the wise men did not come to the major where Jesus supposed to be born. See there in verse 9 when they had heard the king they departed and lo the star which they saw in the east went before them till it came and stood over where the young young child not a babe now young child was and then they saw the star and then in verse 11 and when they were come into the house just a total a different story, totally different time than when he was born.

But that’s okay. This is why he was killing all the babies from two years old and under because that’s about how he was. When you read this and you find out that, okay, these wise men, they came from the East, there’s several things that they did. They followed the star, they followed the light, were led to the truth. They knew who he was. How do you know they knew who he was? Where is he that is born? What? King of the Jews.

They knew this was no ordinary child. And yet this child had done nothing for them yet. It’s because they knew and they believed. This was the king of Israel and the travel 930 miles one way and in turn I go back again. Would you travel that way by camel or by foot just to see a baby? This was not just a normal child. They believe this was the Son of God. This is a perfect little child. This was the Lamb of God that was going to make a payment for the sins of the world.

But now notice what he says up there in verse 11, they saw the young child would marry his mother and fell down and did what to him. They worshiped him. They were led to him. They knew who he was and they gave to him. And the Bible says that this is really how you and I learn to worship. We should seek God. And it will lead us to God if we follow truth. And he says, Thy word is truth.

God must be worshiped in spirit and in truth. The other point I wanted to make was you have to honor him for who he is he’s God. You honor him for what he has done, that salvation. to obey Him in spirit. That’s why the Bible talks about it’s been mighty in spirit. Because you see your body is only a tool that is used. Your soul that’s you. Your spirit is the connection you have between you and God. God is a spirit.

And God says that your connection to Him is through your spirit. And when you were spiritually dead, it was like a phone line that had been cut. But now that’s been restored. Now you’re made spiritually alive. And because you’re spiritually alive, you and I are supposed to worship God. To me, it was God that said for us to come together on the first day of the week. And it was God that says that, do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together.

I believe that coming is a way of worshiping God. To me personally, I find it very difficult for me to worship him, be obedient to him and not be found faithful and doing the things that he says to do. Worshiping God means obeying means that if I’m supposed to give a certain amount or believing that he wants me to support this ministry, that my worship to God is my obedience to God. If you’re not obedient to him, you don’t worship him.

Some people don’t trust Him. They believe God will let Him down, or that He doesn’t really mean what He says. But really believe it, and let it become a part of your life. I believe it’s the greatest thing in all the world. So on Christmas day, should we worship the Lord? Worship the babe and the manger. As many say they do. And never obey Him in their life, the one that died on the cross. The one that was born and the one that died.

See, they’re the same one. They’re the same one. But many people worship the babe in the manger. They talk about it. They sing about it. But like that’s the end of the story. That’s the Christmas story. No, that’s only the beginning of the Christmas story. The Christmas story is the whole thing. The good tidings. Just to rejoice that a baby was born. Big deal. We’re even that it was the Son of God. So what? But what he came to do, we worship.

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 toll-free 1-800-576-3771. 1-800-576-3771. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our homepage.

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Hot 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.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

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 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 through the Bible-lined website at calvaryoftampa.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. Now take your Bible and turn there to the book of Haggai, the book of Haggai in chapter two. But I want you to notice there in These scriptures something is very interesting if you’ll notice in verse 3 in verse 3 You’ll notice that there is a comparison With people who can remember Way back who is left among you that saw this house and her first glory In other words, they were there looking at the temple that had been rebuilt out of the rubble And some were old enough, but see, they had been taken into captivity in 70 years has passed.

So you’re talking about some old people, but they were there and they had seen the Solomon’s temple. They saw it in all of its glory. They were there. They saw that temple. In comparison to that temple, what they have now isn’t anything compared to that. Look what he said. And how do you see it now? Is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing? As you compare it, it’s nothing compared to what you used to have.

This is nothing. But he also wants them to understand this. Down there in verse 9, the glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former saith the Lord of host. And in this place will I give peace. In other words, there is going to come a time where there’s going to be in the future another temple that’s going to be built. And that one will look like nothing. Solomon’s will look like nothing compared to the temple that God’s going to.

In other words, you’re comparing this to that. You ought to compare that to that. The one that God’s going to build. Now, you sometimes think, boy, look what I’ve got, compared to who? And as you look back and sometimes you’ll see how God is blessing you have more now than you had before and you always are comparing. And you say, boy, I wish I had that house instead of my house. I wish I had that car instead of this car.

And God says, be content with what you have. And wait a minute. He says, regardless down here of how you compare yourself with others or what you have, the material things of the world, he says, compared to what you’re going to have when you get to heaven. This is nothing. This is nothing. Don’t put your desires in the things that will fade away. As though this is all there is to it, that this is all of your hopes and all of your dreams because you can lose it all.

Then what happens to your hopes and your dreams? And that deep burn in desire, say, God placed within me a deep burn in desire, a desire to want to serve the Lord. Because I know that according to the Word of God, God says, lay up treasure in heaven so that you can’t lose it. These can’t get it. It won’t rust. It won’t decay. Nothing happens to it. It’s saved. In other words, everything I have ever done for the Lord lays up treasure in heaven.

I’m not interested in laying up treasure on the earth, just heaven, laying it up there so that when you get there, you have something. That’d be your great desire. The Lord says it another way in this word in the book of Colossians and also in Philippians, set your affections on things that are wired. And by another word, set your affections on things that are above, not on things of the earth, because the things of the earth, God says, he’s going to shake it one of these days.

Now, you’ll notice as he goes down through here, down in verse six, looking verse six, for thus sayeth the Lord of hosts, yet once it is a little while. and I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land.” That’s the verse we just read in the book of Hebrews in chapter 12. That verse over there to the Christians is to wake us up to help us to realize like the 11th chapter of the book of Hebrews, all these Old Testament saints, everything was lost in this world.

And many lived their whole life and never saw the fulfillment of the promise in their lifetime upon the earth. But you see, God says like Abraham, He looked for a city whose builder and maker was God. Talk about when I get to heaven. there’s going to be a day when there’s going to be a kingdom upon the earth, something that’s rock-shotted that will not change. God says, I want you to understand this heaven and this earth will pass away and the works therein will pass away.

But he that doeth the will of God shall last for eternity shall last forever in the book of 1 John in chapter 2. Now notice, when he said I will shake the heavens and so on, then down in verse 7, he said, I will shake also all nations. Shaking the earth is one thing. You know the visible things of the material wealth of the world. You know the land and the sea and the mountains and the Bible says the whole earth will reel to and fro like a drunk man.

But when you talk about shaking the nations, it means that the people in the nations upon the world won’t have the answers about what to do and how to solve the world’s problem. You know what’s interesting? The Bible, now I’m not saying that this is the start of it. I’m not saying the Bible predicts after two days, I believe two thousand years, that there is going to be massive chaos in the world and great economic problems in the world, that the nations of the world will be so shaken as the people because they’re perplexed by not knowing what to do about the things they see coming upon the earth and no solutions.

Now the Bible talks about that in the book of Luke chapter 21. If all these things are true and God shakes the world, He said, don’t put your hope in men of the world or don’t put your hope in the White House, don’t put your hope in the legislators, you’re supposed to put your hope in God. Trust in the Lord. Some things you can’t change. You don’t have to worry about changing them. All you got to do is have enough faith for yourself that you can know how to live while the rest of the world is falling apart.

Notice what it says there in verse 7 and I will shake all nations and get this you’re on the line of and the desire of all nation shall come the word desire refers I believe to Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of all people’s hopes and dreams and desires. Whatever I want one day maybe not all here. One day I will be totally satisfied with all my desires when I get to heaven. I won’t want anything that I won’t have.

I’ll have everything that I need for all eternity. I’ll be forever loved. Never be cast out, never forsaken, never worry. None of the things that down here causes you all of those things. And the Lord says, put your hope and your trust in the Lord. One day he says after he shakes the earth, and I believe during the tribulation period toward the end of it, the desire of all nations will come, Jesus Christ, and they are going to accept him as their Messiah.

Now when that takes place, he will set up his kingdom upon the earth, and he will rule, and nations will be blessed, people will be happy, there will be peace on earth, there will be good news for all people and joy for all people. And the Bible says to him that thousand year reign and children will play in the streets and the lions and so forth will play with the children and nobody will be harmed because Christ will be here and he will rule with a lot of iron.

Wonderful thing that the Lord says is going to take place. Now take your Bible and turn to the book of Luke in the Bible. The book of Luke. This is in the New Ted, we got Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, but in the book of Luke and chapter 2. And it’s a story of Jesus Christ being born. He is the desire of all nations. And it makes the statement there in verse 10 as we read a little bit earlier.

And the angel said unto them, fear not, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. Listen, it doesn’t matter who the person is. Doesn’t matter where they are, what year they were born, what century doesn’t matter. For all people of all time got some good news for you. He says unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior which is Christ the Lord. Best news that anybody ever heard.

Because man cannot deliver man. Man can’t change man. Man cannot fulfill the dreams and hopes and aspirations of man, because the only thing we can do is all temporary. Have you ever been happy? Yes. Have you ever been sad? Have you ever had something wipe away your smile? In other words, it never lasts. It’s always temporary. Well, one day it’ll be forever. Eternal joy, eternal happiness, peace on earth, goodwill toward men. But you see, they rejected the king. They rejected the babe.

And can you believe this? Can you believe that there was a government upon the earth at that time, a government that wanted to kill a little baby? Can you believe that a government wanted to kill a poor, helpless, little baby? They did. And the Bible says the government killed a whole bunch of little babies. it to be done. Little babies were killed. Innocent little babies. Is there a government today that does the same thing? Abortion is murder. Abortion? Murder.

The Bible says here in verse 13, and suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill toward men. And like I said earlier, if all men of all nations on the whole earth would give glory to God in the highest because of the Son that He gave, then there would be peace on earth and good will toward all men. But today we don’t have people who want good will for everybody.

There’s people who get mad enough that want to take their life, mad enough to do physical farm, mad enough for revenge in their heart. You see, we don’t wish goodwill to all men. You only wish goodwill to those that treat you right. Those that do us wrong, we want to punish. But the Bible says that we’re supposed to them. But why isn’t there peace that rules? Now remember this, when Jesus Christ came to rule upon the earth, He was rejected and crucified so the king was rejected the kingdom was postponed well then the ruler is gone the king is gone how can he rule and yet the Bible says the kingdom of God is among you then he said the kingdom of God is within you and it means that the king of heaven God himself can still rule when you read the book of

Colossians in chapter 3. It says, and let the peace of God rule in your heart. You see, the world doesn’t have to have this peace. It doesn’t have to accept Christ. They can reject it. Or they can be as mean as they want to be for those who do. But personally, every individual can allow the peace of God to rule in their own individual heart. You as an individual, you can choose to be as happy as you want to be.

You can choose to have as much peace as you want to have. You can choose to have as much joy as you want to have, or you can be as miserable as you so desire. But it’ll be your own personal choice. Nobody can do it to you. Nobody can robbed you of that. You have to surrender it. Nobody can make you mad. You have to choose to get mad, choose to get angry. But those are all individual choices that you and I make.

Or you can allow the peace of God to rule in your own individual heart because you see after you trust Christ as your Savior, there is still somebody on the throne who still wants to rule in your life. And he should rule in your life. Now, He doesn’t rule over me to get me to heaven. I trusted Christ as my Savior. I became His child. He became my Savior. I am going to heaven when I die. That was by grace and grace alone, something I do not earn.

I do not work for. I don’t deserve it. But God loved me and He did that for me. And as a child of God, I have decided that I would rather have God that created the heavens and the earth who put everything in its orbit. perfect God to know how to rule. Let him guide my life. Let him tell me how to live. Let him tell me how to think. And I have loved his decisions, loved his choices. I could not have planned a better design for my life than the one he has given to me.

I wouldn’t swap it for anybody or anything, not in this world. God’s been good to me. You see, God wants to rule in every individual heart. One day He’s going to take us out of here, and the world is really going to get dark. And then it will become the desire of all nations for this so-called peace. You know why they’re going to rally around this antichrist, this last one-world government, because they put in their hope into somebody hoping that they will be able to produce peace upon the earth, because that’s what people want.

And they’re going to accept a mark upon their hand, upon their forehead, and they’re going to become worshipers of this last one world government,DeliveryDate the mark of the beast, they’ll accept it, because they want the economy to prosper. They want to be happy, they want to have things, but they’re putting all their hope in the wrong thing. I want you to take your Bible, not your Bible, but your song book. Take your song book out and turn the page 429.

And I want you to look at the words of a song that we sung just a few moments ago. Looking the first verse, it says, Hark the herald angels sing, glory to the newborn king. Think of the words of what this thing is saying. Glory to the newborn king. He was born king. Peace on earth and mercy mild God and sinners reconciled. Listen, God says there is an image between him and man. Christ came that he might reconcile man back to God.

So that they could be peace between God and man. That’s why in the book of Romans in chapter five, verse one says, therefore we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have peace with God. You see, I’m not at war with God. God’s not mad at me because of all my sins. He’s not going to condemn me to hell because of all my sins. I made peace through Christ. God said, if I accepted Him as my Savior, what He did would be put to my account as though I did it and God is satisfied with that.

And so we had a mediator. There’s only one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. One mediator. If you accept that man Christ Jesus as your mediator, then you can have peace with God. Look what he says. Joyful all ye nations rise. Join the triumph of the skies. With angelic hosts proclaim, Christ is born in Bethlehem. Aren’t those wonderful words, but we just sing the songs. Don’t think about what they’re saying. Look in verse two. Christ by highest heaven adored.

Christ the everlasting Lord. Everlasting. Late in time behold him come, offspring of a virgin’s womb. They all in flesh the Godhead see, held the incarnate deity. It means that God, God, God, in flesh, God is in the flesh. That’s why he says, and the word was made flesh, and we beheld his glory, the glory is of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God, and the same was in the beginning with God, and all things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made.

He was in the world, the world was made by him, all things were made by the Lord and he is the light of the world. You see this is what God became, God becoming flesh. That’s who that person was, it was born 2000 years ago. Now notice what else he says here. Vailed and flesh that God had seen. Then pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus our Emmanuel. What’s the word Emmanuel mean? Emmanuel is an untranslated Hebrew word which means God with a Jesus was God in the flesh.

Now you can’t believe he was just, oh he was a good man, he was a good teacher, oh he’s a good prophet, Jesus Christ is God. He is God in the flesh. That’s who he is. I’m not interested in dedicating my life to some man, to have some man rule over me. But I’ll yield to God. There’s only one true and living God. In verse three, hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace, hail the son of righteousness. The son of righteousness is afraid, he’s taken out of the book of Malachi.

Malachi. Light and life to all he brings. Listen with healing in his wings. Mal, he lay his glory by. Born that man, no more may die. The Bible’s in the book of Hebrews, I mean in the book of Philippians in chapter two. And the Bible says, he became as a man, unto death, and that he even rose again from the dead, so that every person would one day bow and confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord to the glory of God the Father.

Mile, he lay his glory by man, born that man no more may die, born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth. Second birth. You see, I was born to the world once, but I got another birth. When I trusted Christ as my Savior, I would see day second birth. And verse four, come and here’s those words. You ought to underline them even in your book. Well, it belongs to the church. Unline it carefully. desire of nations come, come desire of nations come.

Fix in us thy humble home. Now though he was rejected by the nations, you as an individual don’t have to reject him. You could still accept him and Christ will entwail you and yes your body, your literal body becomes the home of God himself and you can let God who created a heavens and the earth, ruled over everything, rule in your own heart. And he can give you the power that you need to live the way God wants you to live.

It’s awesome when you think about this. Fixing us by humble home, rise to the woman’s conquering seed, bruising us the serpent’s head. In other words, every one of us has a little devil within us. And that little devil within us is an old sinful nature. But in the book of Genesis in chapter three and verse 15, There is a reference made there about the seat of the woman, the seat of the serpent. And at one day the seat of the woman, a man child will come and bruise the head of the serpent.

And if I took my heel and stopped the head of the serpent, I’d bruise my heel, but I crushed the head of the serpent. That’s what he did. The guy that wrote this song had a little Bible knowledge. Today we have people that write songs that have no knowledge of the Bible. There’s no doctrine, no teaching in them. These are, this is awesome. Notice what he says, Adam’s lightness now a face. That means the destroy, the destroy, the lightness of our physical birth or our flesh birth and stamp on me the image of him, the image of Christ.

Look at the last part of that. Stamp a thine image in its place. In other words, to make you like Christ, second Adam from above, reinstate us in thy love. I think it’s an awesome song. I love it. Not all songs has as much to say, but then you stop and you think about the other song we sung a while ago, the first song, Joy to the World, Joy to the World. Think of how exciting that is. Think of how many people all over the world are gonna be singing that song at this time of year.

Do you really think that most of the people who sing that song know what that song’s even talking about? Joy to the world. The Lord is come. That’s why we have joy. Now, a lot of things are just, well, I ain’t gonna be able to change. Some things I don’t, I won’t spend my time on. But I do know that I believe Christ is coming back. And my hope is in some things that will never change. Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever.

See, I’m gonna shake this world. I’m gonna shake it so that you’ll know you can’t trust anything in this world. I’m gonna burn this world up by fire. He said, but my words, what I say to you are rock solid. My promises are good. You and I are to hang on to that. Do you believe that if you cast all of your cares upon Him, he’ll care for you? Do you believe that all things work together for good to those who love the Lord to those who are called according to His purpose?

Do you believe that? Do you believe that my God shall supply all of your needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus? Do you believe that? Or are they just words? words, which words. I’d rather hang on those and all the promises of the White House or the legislature in Georgia or anybody else. God promised me that if I served him, he’d take care of me. Now, him taking care of me is his business. I ain’t interested in how he’s going to do it.

I don’t care how he’s going to do it. I just know that God promised to take care of me. And so far so good. Look up here. This hand representing you and me and this represents sin. We all have sin upon us. Because of sin, sin destroys the fulfillment of our desires. Because there’s so many things we want. Most people want a happy marriage between a husband and a wife and look how many homes have been wrecked. What happened to the dream?

We always want all of our children to turn out right. And then when it don’t happen, what does it do to you? When you hope for that job or that certain raise and you got it and then something else happened to take it away or you finally couldn’t wait until you retired. And then when you finally retired, your health went and you couldn’t enjoy anything after that. I mean, I’ve not seen that happen. But you are living in a world that changes.

Your desires change is always rocked by some tragedy somewhere along the line. To rob you of the peace and the joy that you would have had. But God says, he loves us. He loves us. He knows the desires that we have. But he lets us have the desire, but he says, now don’t fulfill the desires with the things of the world. He says, put your hope in something that’s better. You see, if you didn’t have desires, you wouldn’t want to be saved.

If you didn’t have desire, you wouldn’t want to live in heaven. You didn’t have any desire. You wouldn’t want to have a new body. If you didn’t have any desire, but say, God gave you these, and they’re to be used correctly. But God loves you, hates your sin, and for us to pay for this sins, eternal separation from God in a place called hell. Now God loves us once us to go to heaven. To go to heaven, you have to be perfect just as righteous as God.

Nobody’s perfect. Nobody’s righteous. We’re all sinners. That’s why we need a Savior. Everybody in the world of all nations, of all time, everybody needs a Savior. We’re all in the same boat. Nobody can save themselves and nobody can save another. Everybody’s lost. There’s only one that can save us the desire of all nations. Here he is. Somebody can deliver us Christ. He came into the world because he loves us, hates our sins. So he took the sin, paid for it on the cross, came back from the dead.

Said now, all we have to do is to believe he did it for us. And he puts his payment to our account and we go to heaven. Now, if at this moment, right now, if you could all be He placed in heaven all of your desires will be fulfilled. Forever. They’ll all be fulfilled forever. You see, it’s not over yet. God hasn’t broke His Word. He hasn’t broke any of His promises. Never. He doesn’t change. He says the heavens and the earth, oh, they’ll pass away, but my words will never pass away.

You can believe that. Though some things are going to be shaken The faith of a lot of people are going to be shaken. God’s Word doesn’t tremble. You’re placed upon the solid rock. You may tremble on the rock, but the rock will never tremble under you. Let’s pray, shall we? Every headbound, every act closed, no one looking around. If you’re here this morning and if you have not trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, talk to the Lord right now.

Say something simple like this. Say, Lord, I know that I’m a sinner because friend we all are. Lord, I believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross and that He paid for my sins. And right now, I will trust Him to take me to heaven whenever I die. Now friend, if you’ll do that right where you are, God said He would save you, give you eternal life. And if it’s eternal life, it lasts forever. Never cast you out, never lose you.

But if you’ve never done so, would you do it? Would you trust Him right now? And if you will, I’d like to have prayer for you. If you know Christ is your Savior, I hope you understand that He is the desire of all nations. And I hope you understand that when you sing that song next time, it’ll mean just a little bit more to you. Our Father, we thank You so much for Your blessings to us. We’re thankful for Your words You’ve given us.

We pray, Lord, that one day, yes, there will be peace on them. Good Lord, all men. In Christ and we pray, amen. 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 toll-free 1-800-576-3771.

That’s 1-800-576-3771. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our homepage. 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 six o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.org.

Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friend, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound. 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.