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.

Romans in chapter seven, I wanna speak to you on the subject, grace the motivating power of God. The scripture I want to read is found in Romans 7 verse 5 down to verse 10. Remember every man is motivated to do what he wants to do. But sometimes the thing that a man wants to do are not the things that God wants him to do. How do you motivate a man to do what he doesn’t want to do? They try to find a way to change His wants.

Like one man says, I only work when I want to. When I want to eat, when I want a place to sleep, when I want a car to drive. So that’s the only time that I have to really worry about it. Blessings are promises of God. Warnings are promises of God. But they are both designed because of what God is trying to do. He is trying to change your wants. What would it take for God to do in your life to make you want to serve Him?

If the preacher could find that little secret ingredient, it would be so easy to get them to serve the Lord, but you can’t get people to do something if they don’t want to do it. You know why a lot of people don’t go to church? Now this is hard. They don’t wantimately. You know why a lot of people don’t read the Bible? They don’t want to. You know why a lot of people don’t witness? They don’t want to. People have a built-in mechanism that motivates them to do what they really want to do.

So contrace in the book of Romans in chapter 8313, it says, For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh, but they that are after chieve the things of the Spirit. Keep it in mind. We’re talking to those that have trusted Christ’s Savior. nesium. This is to the lost man. This is to the believer. And in the seventh chapter it talks to us about the problems, the struggle that goes on. And then in chapter eightBey it tells you and explains to you how to solve the problem.-and reason for all of these problems because of the mind of an individual.

He says, with the mind I will serve the law of God and with the flesh the law of sin. Lie in chapter 7 and verse 25. But see you now have a new birth, your God’s child, and to be carnally minded he says is death. But to be spiritually minded is life and peace to be carnally minded. It means that a Christian has a choice to be carnally minded or spiritually minded. You see what does that mean? To be carnally minded is fleshly mind means you mind the flesh.

To be spiritually minded means you mind the spirit. Just like a parent can say does your child mind you? No my child doesn’t mind me. What do you mean it doesn’t mind you? Does no obey you. So to be spiritually minded means to obey the Spirit. To be fleshly minded means you mind the flesh. It means you do what it says to you. See how simple the scriptures are? All you got to do is read them and desire to understand it.

The carnal man is the babe in Christ. Or you could say even a mature Christian can get to the place where they become carnally minded, materialistically minded, worldly minded, fleshly minded. But life in peace, it means the life that God meant for you to have, the abundant life, and the peace of God. See now in chapter 5 of talks about we have peace with God. Through the payment that Christ made for us. One thing to have peace with God, another thing to have the peace of God.

So in this life, many of God’s children don’t have the peace of God or the joy of the happiness that they should have in the Christian life. But what can change their want to? Like some man says, I used to drink, but I don’t anymore. He said, I come because I don’t want to. Sometimes the want can be changed. Now God does not take away our desires of sin. He can simply give you a desire. desire for something better.

Now looking for seven, because the carnal mind is emmity against God. It is not the will of God for you to be fleshly minded, to be carnally minded, because that means you’re going to mind the flesh. Look a bit just a second. When you were born into the world you had a first birth, that’s your old man. And when you trusted Christ, that is your new man. So you have an old one and a new one. So it doesn’t matter whether you’re a female or male, it’s you have an old man.

Your old man is that old you. That’s the old birth. But when you trust Christ that’s the new one. So he says there in chapter 7 in verse 22 ID light in the law of God after the inward man. Now the old man is the flesh. He lives in this world. He’s born of the flesh and he lives for the things of the world. And then when you read the book of 1st Corinthians in chapter 3 it talks about ye are yet carnal for ye are walking as lost men.

Is there not yet among you invean and jealousies and strife and wrath and so forth? Those are the signs of a man walking into flesh. So if you walk into flesh it destroys but if you walk into spirit it builds. It encourages his life. There’s peace. So then he makes a statement here in verse 7 because the carnal mind is enmity against God. It means that you cannot please God. The flesh cannot please God. And then he says, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

In other words, it cannot obey the word of God. The flesh cannot obey the 10 commandments. That’s why there was nothing wrong with the law of God because the law was spiritual, the law was good, the law was just, the law was holy, all that’s in chapter seven. But the problem was that sinful man can obey it. So the flesh cannot have played the law of God. Never could, never have, and never will. And so there’s a war because it demands and they cannot perform.

So now that you know Christ is Savior, to walk in the flesh is not to obey the word of God because you can. But what does God want? In the last part of it it says in verse 8, so then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. In the flesh is a person that’s a a lost man in the spirit saved man. So when I was lost, I was in the flesh. Now that I’m saved, I’m in the spirit.

Doesn’t mean I’m spiritual. Doesn’t mean I’m God in holding all earth. That is just mean that this is where God sees me. This is my position in Christ. This was my position in the flesh as a lost man. Now I trust the Christ as my Savior and every person trusts the Lord is seen by God. He’s in the spirit. It’s a spiritual birth. I have a choice. I can walk after the flesh. I’m not in the flesh, but I can walk after the flesh.

Or I am in the spirit. I can walk after the spirit. So you can follow. Now, if Robert was the flesh, and Tim over here was the spirit, and if I walk after Robert, then wherever Robert goes, if I follow Robert, and he’s the type of the flesh, is he going to leave me in the path of righteousness? No, he’s gonna leave me in the trouble. So, last thing I wanna do is let Robert leave me. Now, if him is the spirit and I follow him, I walk in, now I know where he gonna leave me because he won’t do anything wrong.

He’ll always leave me to do right. He will leave me in the path of righteousness. There’ll be peace and joy and all these wonderful things. So, now here I am. Now, you tell me, if I understand in advance these two illustrations with us given in the scriptures, If I am fleshly minded, it’s death and destruction. Or to be spiritually minded is life and peace. I got a choice. Why in the world would any reasonable man walk after the flesh?

Why would I do that? Unless there’s something that there is there that I want more than over here that I want. Now how can God change my want tos? where I don’t want to, and I do want to, because most people will do whatever they really want to do. So he says here in verse nine, but you’re not in the flesh. But in the spirit, that is if you touch the Christ’s Savior. Now get what he said. If so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.

So where does God live today? Does he live in the church? No. He lives where? In our bodies. Our body becomes the temple of God. So you and I have the Holy Spirit of God living within us. Now Christ is called God and the Holy Spirit is called God and God the Father is called God. So you have a triangle God and there’s the Father the Son the Holy Spirit and they’re all equal and they’re all three God. So whenever you have Christ within you you have God within you and if I’ve got Christ within me I’ve got the Holy Spirit within me and I’ve got God the Father is within me.

So I’ve got the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit and they all live within me. Christ in you the hope of glory and the Holy Spirit shall not only be with you but He shall be in you forever. So the Holy Spirit lives within us and He says if a man does not have the Holy Spirit of God then he is not of his because all of God’s children will have the Holy Spirit. So do you have the Holy Spirit?

Yes you do. When did you receive the Holy Spirit? The very moment, the very day you trusted Christ as your Savior in Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 13 where it talks about that we have received that spirit of promise, the Holy Spirit. The book of Mark and notice something there in chapter 7 and look in verse 21. 4. Poor from within, out of the heart of man, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, bornacations, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, the civiousness, and evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness, all these evil things come from within and defile the man.

Now with our natural instinct, that old sinful nature that God gave to us, these things without any restraint from any man will naturally flow from us. If you had a piece of ground, ten acres of ground, if you don’t do anything with it, no restraints of all at all. It’s going to naturally grow weeds, briars, the forms, the thistles. It will just naturally happen. With this whole sinful nature that we have, without any restraints, it will flow freely. You don’t have to work at none of this.

That means that proceeds evil thoughts. Evil thoughts can proceed and flow through you without any work at all. It will be so easy to think the evil, the worst about everything and everybody. It’s just natural. Memory says love, believe it all things, hope with all things. Now, the evil mind goes just the opposite. We have evil thoughts. We think sometimes the worst about a lot of people. You look at Robert over there. Now he looks like he could really just chew you up and spit you out.

But knowing Robert all this time, he looks like he is just as amigos a mouse. I mean, he like, he wouldn’t hurt a flea. But I think if he really wanted to, he is like they call a Moses was a meek man. It means he had power that was harnessed. It’s like a horse, it’s a meek horse. It doesn’t mean it’s weak. It means it has power under control. Are you a meek man? You have power, but you can control it.

Now look what he says here in verse 21, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders. Did you know that in the Bible it makes the statement that if a man hates his brother, he has committed murder in his heart? But let this old sinful nature without any restraints and they will naturally flow. You don’t have to work at producing the works of the flesh. It’ll just happen naturally, it’ll just flow. understand this principle is because there is restraints put upon it by the human nature of man because we were created in the image of God.

And even though we don’t love like God loves, we still love. And because we still want to do right and have responsibilities. There’s a lot of lost people who have a lot of good care traits about them in their life. But see it’s all bent, it’s all twisted. We put a spin on everything. We don’t love the way God loves. You don’t forgive the way God forgives. Now take your Bible and turn to the book of John in chapter 7.

You remember whenever Jesus Christ was talking to the woman at the well in chapter 4, it says this well of water will be bringing up in the life everlasting. He says, just like you drink the water out of this well, he said, but what I’m talking to you about, he says, well, be a spring of water that will come bubbling out of you flow from you. Now here in John chapter 7 and verse 37, he says, in the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried saying, if any man thirst, let him come into me and drink.

If any man thirsts, that means that if any man wants to, any man has a desire to, see you can’t make a man come to Christ. You can’t make a man except Christ. You can’t make a man thirst after righteousness. God knows I’ve tried, but I cannot do it. You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. But to say, if you put some salt in his oats, it’ll make him thirsty. And if it makes him thirsty, what will the horse want to do?

You want to drink some water. So the reason that we try to explain the gospel to people that don’t care is because there might be something that causes a person saying, you know, I don’t want to go to hell. I want to go to heaven. So we’re trying to find ways to change their want-to’s because you can’t make a man do things in a spiritual way against his will. You have to win them. And sometimes it’s very difficult to win people.

It’s difficult sometimes to win a lost man to the Lord, but also I find it’s worse trying to get a Christian to serve a Lord. Well, all that hurt. Now what can change people is the Word of God. If you can just get people to listen to what God says, then all of a sudden some things begin to click and their wants begin to change. So here in the book of John chapter 7 and verse 37, he says, If any man thirst let him come to me and drink.

He that believeth on me as the scripture have said out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” Now that word flow. I would underline it because remember I was talking about the old sinful nature without restraints it will just naturally flow. You don’t have to work at it and believe it or not that if a man who knows Christ’s Savior indwelt by the Holy Spirit would not restrain the Holy Spirit. Not restrict the Holy Spirit. It will just naturally flow.

But see the Christians damn up the river. They choke the channel and won’t let what God has put within the man flow through the man. And you and I are simply to be channels of His blessings but luck more than that. So He says here it will be a river that’s flowing from the believer. So that means every Christian is like a fountain with springs of living water, and something is to flow from you through you. And this living water that he’s talking about here is the Holy Spirit.

See there in verse 39? But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive for the Holy Ghost was not yet given because that Jesus was not yet glorified. If I mean Christ hadn’t died and buried and come back from the dead yet. So they hadn’t received the Holy Spirit. But he says, when I leave, he says, I will send the comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, and he shall abide with you and shall be in you forever.

And he shall teach you all things that I have spoken unto you and bring these things to your remembrance. It’s the Holy Spirit living within you that can quicken your mind and bring things to your remembrance. The Holy Spirit is the water, the river, the fountain within every Christian. It’s only natural for this river to want to flow. Serving the Lord would not be hard and difficult if we learned how to yield ourselves to the Lord. See in the Mughal Romans in chapter 6 it talks about yielding to God.

Yield your bodies as members of righteousness unto God and so forth and live unto God. Yield, yield, yield is always through the chapter. But in chapter 7 it talks about the struggle that will keep you from yielding. because there’s parts of it that it wants to and a part of you that don’t want to and there’s that struggle. Well he says the key to this thing is understand that you have a spiritual mind and a fleshly mind. So with the spiritual mind there’s part of you that wants to obey and part of you that don’t want to obey.

Now you got to just learn how to make the right decisions. Choose between the two. Remember, Joshua made the statement he says, choose you this day whom you will serve, whether the God of the fathers or the God on the other side of the flood, but choose you this day. He says, but this, for me in my house, we will what? We will serve the Lord. Nobody can make anybody else do it. And why doesn’t everybody want to? I don’t know.

Now, take your Bible and turn to the book of Ephesians and chapter 1. And verse 13 says, remember it made the statement over there in the book of Romans in chapter 8. That if any may have not the spirit of God, he is none of his. This must be something very important and the Christian life to serve the Lord because just to struggle in your Christian life without advancing, without accomplishing, without maturing in the Lord, without being spiritually minded, see some Christians, they feed both minds.

We call those fence straddlers, don’t we? People that can’t make up their mind, which side of the fence they’re gonna get on, they get on that side of it, they get on that side of it, they just straddle the fence. I mean, you don’t go anywhere. chapter 1 verse 13 says, in whom ye also trusted, referring to Jesus Christ. After that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also after, or having believed that very moment ye believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.

This is the Holy Spirit that was promised by Christ to his disciples in John chapter 14. So here you are, you trusted Christ as your Savior. You have been indwelt by the Holy Spirit, sealed by the Holy Spirit, baptized by the Holy Spirit, And hopefully because of all those three things have been done for you and I, we should be filled by the Holy Spirit. That means to be controlled by the Holy Spirit that indwells you. So the Holy Spirit inside of you and inside of me is there for the reason of teaching us the Word of God to change our want-tos.

So as you study the Bible and you’re submissive to the Holy Spirit will change your wants. You want to do this. But the word of God says, this is the best. Well, I want the best. So I can always make better decisions because the Holy Spirit that’s within me has given me the desire, the want to for something better. And not just for the things of this life, but for something that’s gonna last for all eternity. So I want the blessings of God.

How many of you in here, you want God’s blessings upon you in this life? Do you want them? If you want the blessings of God, Don’t you want to be rewarded when you get to heaven? If you want that, but you’ve got to want that more than you want other things Otherwise you won’t get them you won’t lay up treasures in heaven in Ephesians in chapter 4 look there in verse 30 This is the verse you ought to have underlined in your Bible Remember it will be a natural thing for the river to flow you see the sinful nature nature, it goes with the flow.

It just flows right along with the world. And you can just easily just rest in it and just let the flesh lead you wherever it wants to go. Or you can go against that. And if you’re in the spirit, that means a different river all together and just let it flow. Just go with the flow. Let God do whatever He wants to do in your life and don’t fight Him. Just let God teach you whatever He wants to teach you.

Anyway, He wants to teach you and don’t fight it. Just go with the flow. And you’ll have temptation be coming to your life. Trials and tribulations, everybody will face them. Just let it serve the purpose which God brought into your life and let God walk you through it. Over the years, one of the greatest blessings I’ve ever had is learning to let God walk me through it. Sometimes I don’t know what to do, but just let God walk you through it.

He will not forsake you. He will not leave you. He will walk you through it. And he don’t always show you the end results in advance. He just like for you in the darkest hour, that darkest moment of despair, just let him walk you through it without constraining him. See what he says in verse 30, and grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you’re sealed until the day of redemption. See that talks about grieve not the Holy Spirit.

Because you see there’s several things in the scriptures that talked about there’s There’s the sin of omission and the sin of commission. There’s a sin because you omit. You didn’t do what he said do. And the sin of commission, it means that you committed something that you should have done. So the Holy Spirit is not to be restrained in your life. You should let him just let it flow. If we would just get out of the way sometimes and stop fighting with God and just surrender, just surrender because he pride keeps us from doing that.

let the Lord open whatever doors He wants, do whatever He wants. It doesn’t matter. See, the key of our lives is not to see how big we can be. We’re not interested in being big shots. And I remember one guy said, I don’t care how high you jump and how loud you hollow that whenever you hit the ground, you’ve got to be walking straight and speaking a language I can understand. You know who said that? Virgil Edwards. You know when I heard them 44 years ago, but you see there in verse 31, let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speak and all these things be put away from you.

You see, but what’s going to make you want to do that? The desire for something better. You know why I dedicated my life to the Lord when I was a teenager? I just knew that I wanted something better than what I had. I wanted my life to be better. You see, you see me now, but you didn’t see me then. You don’t know how hopeless my life was, how empty my life was. And I dreaded living. I told the Lord I just soon died.

If you don’t have something special for me, I don’t have a reason for living. And I laid outside my house one night in Shreveport, Louisiana, on a blanket and a pea coat on top of me. And the snow is coming down in the middle of the night. And I told the Lord, I said, is Lord, unless you want to do something with me, I just soon die. I have no desire to live. And I had a wife and two children.

But inside of me started to burn the desire. I wanted God to use me to do more than just, you know, go to church and just, I don’t wanna play a game. Either this thing is real and I want it to be real in me and I want you to be more real to me than the clothes that I have on my back. Nobody can change that want to inside of you. But if you know Christ is your savior, if there’s a little bit of a desire to say, I want something better.

I want the blessings of God. I want God to use me. We only got this one life to live. We don’t get our instant replay and no reruns, it’s just one trip through. One of these days we’re gonna be all out of here. You know, when we get to heaven, you know, I want God to reward you. I want the Lord to have you come up there and God just to bestow all these rewards upon you because of your faithfulness to him.

But what you’ve done for him, how you yielded your life and how you were faithful, even though it’s a lot of trying times. And because of what you did, the influence you had in people’s lives, I want God to reward you. Now, because I want the best for you, then I know that what you need down here, while I’m here, is to try to help and challenge you through those times. I want you to be the best. I want you to have everything that you can have.

I don’t want you to be robbed of anything when you get to heaven. Enter what you want. If that’s what you want, then you’re gonna have to want it bad enough to let it flow. and not restrict the Lord. The Bible says that evil thoughts, they’re just so natural to flow. You can’t stop, or you can restrict sometimes the outward manifestations, but you can’t stop sometimes the thoughts of the mind. The evil thoughts of the mind. It just flows so naturally.

And sometimes it flows before you even get a chance to control it. And that’s why Paul says, oh wicked man that I am. Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Remember the fruit of the Spirit that makes this statement. In Galatians chapter five, “‘Love, enjoy, and peace. Let the love of God flow through you. Let the peace of God flow through you.'” See, if that was talking about the Spirit, and you have the Holy Spirit within you, how do you know when the Holy Spirit is flowing through you?

I mean, I don’t see no river. when love flows through you, when the peace of God flows through you, when the long serpent of God flows through you, when the forgiveness of God flows through you, when the compassion of God flows through you. You get it now? Then the river is flowing through 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.

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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 Mind, and now a closing thought from Pastor Arden. 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, 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. 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.

Revelation chapter 19 tells us something that’s wonderful, wonderful, wonderful going to happen. In Revelation 19 and verse 11 says, And I saw heaven opened, Behold a white horse, And he that sudden hymn was called faithful in true, And in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire. Known as head were many crowns, And he had a name written that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vestredipton blood, And his name is called the Word of God.

And his armies which were in heaven followed him horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron. And he treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vester and on his thigh a name-written king of kings and Lord of lords. The book of Revelation is the last book in the Bible.

And it ends by stating that you are not to add to the Word of God, nor take away from the Word of God. It also makes the statement in the first chapter, and by reading it, you would be blessed. So there’s some extra blessings to those people who read the book, believe the book, and practice the book. But because it deals with so many things that are future, many times we don’t think it has anything to do with the time in which we live.

But But understanding the future events is to help us to be found faithful now. Booker Revelation deals with Jesus Christ being the judge of the earth. He is the judge that makes war. It talks about the lion making war. It talks about the wrath of a lamb making war. And so the Bible tells us that God has committed to the Son, the judgment of all mankind. The purpose of revelation to instruct and to encourage believers in Christ through a presentation of Jesus in his role as the judge.

John 522 talks about, for the Father, Judgeeth, no man, but has committed all judgment onto the Son, the right that He has to be our judge. The characteristics of the judge is found in Revelation chapter 1. There are things that John, who was about 90 years of age, who had been exiled on the Alapatmas, and what he saw. He said, I was in the Spirit of the Lord’s day and I heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet saying, I am the alpha and the omega, the first and the last.

It means there’s nobody before him and he is the end. When he talks about he is the beginning and the ending of our faith because when we trust Christ as our Savior our faith just began. But also we are to end our lives with our faith in the Lord. He says, what thou see it right in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia. The church age is the period of time in which we live.

So the book of Revelation is written to you and I to understand things that we’re supposed to know because it’ll make a difference in our life, the purpose of our life and the purpose of our church if we understand it. But I fear that today many people do not get a grasp of these great truths that are found and God’s Word. He said unto Ephesus, unto Smarna, and Pergai, and Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea, every one of these churches, the seven churches that he mentions were seven churches that existed at this time in Asia Minor.

And there were candlesticks. The candlesticks were the lampstands. That we’ll talk about just a moment. He said, I turn to hear the voice that spoke with me. All this is in Revelation chapter 1, considering the characteristics of the judge. What is this judge like? He said, I turn to see the voice that’s spake with me and being turned. I saw seven golden candlesticks. Those are lampstands. And in the midst of the seven candlesticks, one like unto the son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot and gird about the patch with a golden girdle.

His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were as a flame of fire, and his feet likened to fine brass as if they burned in a furnace, and his voice is the sound of many waters, and he had in his right hand seven stars, and out of his mouth when a sharp two-edged sword, and his countenance was as the sun, shine it in his strength. I’ll have a brief review on the first part of that personal scripture that we just read where he says, and I turn to see the voice of him that spoke with me and being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks.

And in the midst of the seven candlesticks, one like unto the son of man with people, we feel like you don’t have a right to be my judge. And you may feel like I don’t have the right to be your judge. Well what man has the right to judge another because we have all sinned. We’re all sinners. Jesus Christ was born as the son of a man, as the son of man. He lived upon this earth, he never committed a sin, and therefore he earned the right to judge the rest of us because he was born as the Son of Man.

Now, there’s another title that’s given to him called the Son of God, but right now we’re talking about him as the Son of Man. And then it says they’re in the book of John in chapter 5 and verse 22 and 27. That is the Father and Judge of no man, but I’ve committed all judgment unto the Son. He has given him authority to execute judgment also because he is the Son of Man. The activity of the judge in the midst of the churches.

In other words, what is the role that God has through Jesus Christ right now, even though he’s seated in the heavenlies over the church right now during this period of time? Don’t think for a moment that he doesn’t know what’s going on. Here we’re talking about how that God is able to see and know everything that happens in every church that’s called His church, that He knows to be a church. Not all churches are churches. go by the name of churches, but they’re not churches.

There’s only certain churches that God recognizes His church. He says, in chapter 2 and chapter 3, there are seven churches that are mentioned. This is the next thing that you find in the book of Revelation. And he says, unto the angel of the church of Bethathost right, these things said, he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks. Therefore, remember from whence thou art fallen and repent and do the first works.

The thing that he had against this church was that they had left their first love. So he knew, now we’re not talking about how to get to heaven, we’re talking to Christians, those who believe on the Lord, in the individual churches. And though all these churches existed at that time, they also represent the way churches are today. There are different levels in which churches go through the various stages of the same seven churches that are mentioned in chapter two and chapter three.

But he says, you’ve done everything right. But the only thing that you lost was that you lost your first love. You don’t love me the way you used to. But you still do the works. You just don’t have love. He says, repent or I’m going to remove the candle signal. In other words, I’m going to remove you as a lighthouse. Every church is to be a lamp, a lighthouse to the people on a hill. So therefore, this church and every church that name the name of Christ that is of Christ, God says that He’s watching and He can close the doors.

And the last thing we ever want is for the Lord to write over this church Ichabod, which means the glory of the Lord is departed, which can happen. It’ll happen when the people in the church lose their love for the Lord. When you lost your love, the word doesn’t matter. God wants the love of every one of us. So he goes through every one of these seven churches. And here we talk about in John, 1 John, it talks about for whatsoever is born of God, overcome the world.

And this is the victory that has overcome the world. Our faith, who is he who overcomes the world but he who believe that Jesus is the Son of God. This is when you trust Christ as your Savior. This is a one time deal. This happens to one time that you do it. Single instance of faith. But the great thing of understanding the book of Revelation is that it talks about they who overcome. So we’re talking to the Christians in the church, but we’re talking about individuals in the church who will serve the Lord all the days of their life.

When he talks about the church at Smyrna, he talks about even unto death, it means serve the Lord until the end. What’s going to make us serve the Lord until the end? In other words, it’s one thing to start off certain the Lord like a ball of fire and you can climb like a rising star and then you fizzle out. God doesn’t want his children fizzling out. He wants us to serve the Lord all the days of our life.

Wouldn’t it be a shame to serve the Lord for most of your life and then toward the end of it right before he comes back or right before you die, you mess up? Don’t let this happen to you. Guard against this because there’s something that will happen to those who are serving the Lord when the Lord returned or those who serve the Lord even unto death and the Lord talks about he shall eat of the tree of life. I don’t know what it is.

I don’t even care. But whatever it is, it must be something because it separates you from those who can. When he talks about there, you have also the power, the power that will rule over the nations. I don’t understand all that, but I know it’s in the book and I know what it says. And so he says, power over the nations and I’ll confess his name. He says, I’ll give you a new name that nobody else knows, even talks about himself in chapter 19 of Revelation about he has a name that nobody else knew what it was.

Now of course one day we will, but there’s a lot of things that we don’t know but God just kind of dangles them out there and says look it’s going to be worth it. Believe me, trust me. It’s one thing that trust Christ is Savior that gets you into heaven. What you have for eternity depends on what you and I do with the knowledge that God has given to us. Therefore we need to know and this is keeping his works until the end.

That means serve the Lord all the days of your life and many people will. A lot of people will not. The Bible says in Revelation 4 and chapter 5, John says that he was caught up into heaven and he saw the throne, he saw the the rainbow and he saw the four and twenty elders around the throne and he saw the four living beasts. There is the lion and the lion represents the book of Matthew and the the beast the the ox represents the book of Mark and the man represents a man which is the book of Luke and the Eagle represents Jesus Christ and so you have the four gospels the four pictures of Jesus Christ that forms one portrait that when we get to heaven we’re going to see this thing now a man literally left this world John and went to heaven and

literally saw heaven and saw these things in heaven. And God used him to write these things and tell us about it because it is a true place. These things are real. One day we’re going to be there and we’re going to see all of this. Now the next thing that happens is there is the in chapter 5 a seven sealed book, a book that nobody had the right to open. Jesus Christ has the right to open this book. Jesus Christ is pictured as the lion of the tribe of Judah.

He’s also pictured as the lamb that took away the sin of the world. And so you have two things. When Christ came the first time, he came as a lamb, they thought he would come as a lion, but he did. He came as a lamb, but the next time he’s coming back as a lion, and he’s going to rule and reign upon the and the Bible says he’ll rule with a rod of iron. This is the identification of the judge of all mankind.

This is who he is. Chapter five verses six through seven.138 It says, and be held and low in the mist of the throne and the forebeest and in the mist of the elders, stood a lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God’s end, forth in the all the earth. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that set upon theccording. This is Jesus Christ, who is the only one who has the right to open the seven seal book.

And this seven seal book talks about him. He is the lamb that had the seven horns. Right now, there may be a few questions and doubts about understanding all these things, but just to know this, it is real. It is coming. What he said is true. And you ought to be thankful that you know Christ as your Savior. The next thing that talks about is the activity of the judge among all mankind, and this is talking about the seven-year tribulation period that lies right ahead of us.

Well, the Bible describes that in the last days, their perilous time shall come and people will die of pestilence. That’s incurable diseases. Do we have any incurable diseases in our world today? Yes. Bible shows it’s coming. It’s going to take place upon the earth. Talk about the sun will turn black like ash and that the moon will turn into blood. Now whether or not that’s because of things that upon the earth, it gives it that appearance, whatever. I don’t care how God does it.

Only that God says it and God’s going to pour out his wrath upon the sun, upon the moon, upon the earth and the land, the water, the sea, the trees, the green grass and every living thing is going to feel the wrath of the land. it is coming. Then you have in chapter 6, you’re talking about the four horses of the Apoket, talking about these things that are going to take place. These are the judgments that is going to take place in the opening of the seals at the beginning of the sixth chapter.

The only one who had a right to open the seventh seal book was Jesus Christ. And now he’s opening these seals and you have in Revelation chapter 6 verse 1 and 2, and I saw when the lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, come and see it. He says, and I saw him, behold, why horse? And he that said on him had a bow, and a crown was given unto him, and he went forth conquering and to conquer.

This is the rising conquest by the anti-Christ of rebellious mankind. Now those people who reject Jesus Christ as their Savior. When the rapture takes place, all of us are gone. Only those who have not trusted Christ as their Savior are still left here upon this earth. And the anti-Christ is going to rise to power on the backs of unbelievers. And they’re going to fall in love with this guy because he’s going to convince them that he is the good knight in shining armor and the world is going to go after this individual.

He says, and when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second be say come and see and they went out another horse that was read and power was given to him that set their on to take peace from the earth and that they should kill one another and there was given unto him a great sword. This is because after the man comes into power and starts his rise they become the war of bloodshed and all of this is going to take place and then it says in the book of Matthew in chapter 24 Jesus Christ made this statement.

He says and he shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, see that you be not troubled for all these things must come to pass. But the end is not yet, for nations shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be famines and pestilence and earthquakes, and diverse places, all these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you, and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.

The nation, those that are going to be hated, is the nation of Israel. Right now, it’s almost to the point where all of the nations of the earth do hate Israel. There’s only a few nations that are standing behind Israel and that’s Britain and America and the rest of the world could care less what happens to Israel. And that’s the truth. And they just happen to be the strongest nation that right now can deter the evil from destroying them.

The black horse of famine because after war there is generally famine because there’s nothing to eat, the prices are high and people don’t have money and people will die. The Bible says one third of the world’s population is going to be destroyed. And then DePaul talks about the pale horse of death, which is because of the pestilence. It’s going to destroy the people. And you’re talking about some very ugly things coming down the road. Now this is what’s going to happen during the tribulation period, opening of these first four seals.

Then you have in chapter 16 of the book of Revelation that talks about the bowls of judgment. There’s seven different bowls of judgment that God is going to take these bowls. He says, therefore, and He’s going to pour them out upon the earth. This is God, the judge of the earth. And this is what He’s going to do. Hail stones and 120 pounds are going to be coming down from the sky up on the earth. Can you imagine what little beady hail stones do?

Think of a hail stone that weighs 100 pounds coming down from the In the Bible talks about the great earthquake and great judgment, the earth rocking upon its axis and all the judgment is going to take place. And it talks about also the beast is going to have all kinds of demonic forces and the pestilence and the rivers are going to be dried up, the river Euphrates to make way for the kings of the east and they’re coming. And there’s people over in the east right now that want to come across and it’s go straight on across and you’ve got China.

I don’t know how all of the pieces together. I don’t even care how all of the pieces together because I won’t be here with this all piece together. All I got to know is what the book of revelation says to believe it and what does it do for me? What do I want this knowledge? How is Is this supposed to benefit me? How is it supposed to change me? Well, it will and it does. And the Bible says those who have the mark of the beast are going to be hit with boils and sores all over their body.

These eases that come to fond them and they will hate the Lord even more. This is chapter 16 of the book of Revelation. And the Bible talks about everything that in the oceans are going to die. The fish are all going to die in the rivers and in the stream. They’re all going to die. We are living at a very dangerous time in our world because we’re at the place where the world can be destroyed by mankind. And God said that he does not intervene.

Man will destroy man from the face of the earth in Matthew chapter 24. And the Bible says, and when they try to drink water, the water is bitter. The water turns to blood. It talks about the moon turning to blood, or is it because it looks red and blood? I don’t care how all of it happens. I don’t give it as real or if it’s not real. I just tell you what the book said. And I believe the Bible from cover to cover and even believe the cover because well, it’s got my name on it.

The judgment also, the Bible says that the sun will become so hot, so hot that men’s bodies will be scorched and they’ll be burned. I don’t know if they’ll die because the Bible says they’ll seek death and can’t find it. They hide in the rocks and the caves and so forth and then they’ll try to get away from the wrath of the Lamb and cannot do so. That time is coming. Thus demonic power is going to have all of his forces here.

You talk about all the evil that can be in the world. It’s going to be here. It’s going to be manifesting. And the only thing that keeps him from doing it now is because of the Holy Spirit that is in the believers, in the world, and once the Christians are taken out of the world, this free range. Satan can do whatever he wants to do with all those unbelievers because they refuse to believe on him. And the world is going to have the worst ruler that it’s ever had.

But that’s just the beginning. Because Jesus Christ comes back in power and great glory at the end of the book of Revelation. We’re talking about in chapter 19. And when And he comes back, see that’s some bad news, but there’s good news coming. At the end of my radio broadcast, I always refer to keep looking up. He’s coming, keep looking up. He’s coming. You should live every day believing. He’s coming today. He could come today. He could come this moment.

He could come next hour. But live like that. It’ll keep you pure in your life. It’ll help you in your thoughts. It helps you in your actions. It helps you in your worth when you believe and really believe. Jesus Christ is coming back. The return of Christ coming. Then when Christ comes back in chapter 19, He takes the beast and the false prophet and their cast into the lake of fire. And then the Bible says that at the beginning of the thousand year reign, that He takes the the devil and an angel in chapter 20 and binds him and cast him to the bottomless pit.

And so for one thousand years Satan is bound and we’re ruling and reigning with Christ upon the earth of a thousand years. Then after that he has come out and there is a judgment. The next thing that’s going to happen is for the great white throne judgment. The great white throne judgment shows us the activity of the judge about the lost of all the ages. And remember that they are coming. And I saw a great white throne in him that set on it from whose face the earth and the heavens fled away and there was found no place for them.

those who have not trusted Christ of Savior. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God, and the books were open. And another book was open, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them, and they were judged every man according to their works.

And death Yet in hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. God wants you and I to know this, even though this is future. This is way on out there. But the reason this is important for us to know now is because all those people that we see and that we work with and that we talk to and that are our families.

If they have not trusted Christ as their Savior, they are going to spend an eternity in the lake of fire. Like it or not. Don’t want to hear about it or it doesn’t matter. This is truth. This is where it’s going to be. This is the end result. Many people don’t like to live their lives thinking of the consequences of their decision, looking down the road. What about at the end time? But I believe that it’s wise for us to do so.

Now at the Great White Throne Judgment, millions and billions and billions of people. I believe will stand. And even Christians are going to be there. We’re not going to be judged, but we’re going to be witnesses. Because we’ve already hadapestement. Christ was our judgment on the cross. And we’ve already been to the judgment seat of Christ and received the rewards that we’re supposed to have. But here is talking about God’s judgment upon them and he’s going to open up the books.

The books are open. That’s all the different books. And I believe it talks about in 139th Psalm. He says that all of your members are recorded in the book. There is a book on you. There’s a DNA. code. Mankind, scientists didn’t write no DNA code. God did that. Every one of us are originals. There’s no other copies from us. And then the Bible says another book was open, which is the book of life. The book of life is the Lamb’s book of life.

See, there’s the books in which we are recorded when we’re born into the world. That’s the book of the We can die in the book of life. You cannot die. And that’s why the Lord says rejoice that your names are written in the Lamb’s book of life because once your names are written in the Lamb’s book of life, they can never be blotted out. Your name can be blotted out of the book of the living. That’s when you die.

And the Lord says, in spite of everything that’s done at the judgment. It simply just came down through the conclusion. If your name is not recorded in the Lamb’s book of life, whosoever was not recorded in the Lamb’s book of life was cast into the lake of fire. And then we have the characteristics and the aftermath of what the judge is going to do in the future. The judge becomes the ruler of the New Heavens and a newer revelation, chapter 1, and chapter 22.

He says, and I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away and there was no more seed. And says, and I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven prepared as a bride of dawn for her husband. It’s 1500 miles high, 1500 miles wide and 1500 miles long. One holy city. We are going to live live in the holy city, and is a good possibility to ill hover above the earth.”

He said, and I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God. And then the Bible says, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain for the former things are passed away.

in relation 21 for. And the streets are made out of pure gold, and it is so pure that you can see through it. It’s like a sea of glass, but it’s pure gold. And what we’ll walk on in heaven, people kill for one another down here. Wouldn’t it be a shame for you to spend your life for the almighty dollar and work yourself to death for nothing but money? And you’re gonna take and walk on gold when you get to heaven.

There’s more things more important than money down here. Just what do we do with the time that God’s given how holy of a life do you want to live, how God would do you and I want to be. And behold, He says, I make all things new. 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.

My 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.

Life 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 Arden. Friends, 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. 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 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.

I want to show you what I believe the difference is and what we call grace, pure grace, cheap grace. I guess you could say that if there’s cheap grace, there’s expensive grace. But pure grace can either be cheap nor expensive. Grace is grace. It cannot be bought. Here in Titus in chapter two, I want you to look there in verse 11. In verse 11, it says, for the grace of God, that bring of salvation, have appeared to all men.

Now we’re talking about the salvation that we can have in Christ because of the message of grace. The grace of God brings salvation. The verse right before this, it talks about in verse 10,Represent RELEASE but showing all good fidelity that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all shenanes. See it’s one thing to trust Christ as Savior. There are other things that grace wants to teach us that aborns frivols the doctrine of God. You and I are representatives043 in this world for Christ.

We are His ambassadors. So He says here in verse 12, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world. So there’s actionGroup- a reason why God has left you and I in this present, evil an evil, wicked, ungodAvailability, ungod an evil, an evil an evil. So that we could live righteous, godly, be the way God wants rehensive, and so the teachings of the Bible are various doctrinal truths. that helps you and I to adorn the teachings about God.

People will never, most of them, read the Bible. Many will never go to church. But you and I being left in the world is what they see. So we’re supposed to let the world know that we believe in Christ. We’ve trusted our Savior, God is our Father, and because we’re God’s children, we are the closest thing they’re ever going to see of God. Isn’t that enough to scare you to death? Wouldn’t it be a shame that people reject the teachings of God because of our life?

So he says there’s a main thing that will help us, the foundational truths. And I’ve said for a long time that the growth that you have as a Christian, the fruition on the tree, is got to have a good foundation. We have to have a good trunk. Our roots must go deep into the Word of God. When it makes a statement in the book of Corinthians about you and I building upon the foundation, Well, the foundation is not the wood, the hay, and the stubble.

The foundation was not the gold silver precious stone. The foundation is Christ. The foundation that you and I have is the security of the believer. You and I, being confident of this very thing, having a sure foundation that I’ll hope is in Christ, and then we can build. many people trying to build their life, but they’re trying to build it according to the teachings of the Bible, but the foundation is mixed with sand. If this mix would sand, they’re never going to be really strong.

The wind is going to blow them and toss them to and fro, and they’re not going to be a strong Christian because the winds of adversity will root them out. I believe it is so important that our foundation Be secure. And this is why your Christian life can never be stronger than the foundation that you come from. And this is why you have to have a strong teaching on the Gospel of Grace. Look now in chapter 3, chapter 3.

Look in verse 1. Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to obey every good work. So you study the word so we’ll know how to live in this life and be prepared to do all the good things that God wants us to do in this life. Behind all of that is a driving force. And you may remember that I mentioned to you about being gospel driven. Well, it’s not just a figment of my imagination.

I believe that is the key. And as you read these scriptures that many deep Bible teachers spend hours breaking down every Greek word so they can really give you all the kernels of truth out of all of it. And by the time they get through it still will say no more than what the King James already has. But he makes a statement in verse two. These are things now that the grace of God is supposed to teach us in this life.

He says to speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, gentle, showing all meekness unto all men, for we ourselves also were, that’s past tense, but now you’re not supposed to be like that. So does the word of God suggest that there should in a Christian’s life be a change? Yes. Does there have to be a change for me to be saved? No. And if I don’t change, does it mean that I’m not a child of God? No.

But the word of God expects us that if we study his word and learn the various teachings in the Bible, it will change us. Remember whenever he says in the book of Romans in chapter 12, be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. So you were not transformed by trusting Christ as your Savior. You were born into God’s family, but your life, the external part of your living, has never been transformed until you renew your mind because your actions, the choices that you make are in direct ratio to the caliber of your thought.

So whenever you study the word of God, then you can make better decisions and it can transform your life. So many people’s lives are not truly transformed right after salvation. Sometimes it takes years, but he makes a statement here In verse 3, for we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived. This is the description of a lost man. This is the way you were before you were enlightened, before you came to know Christ as your Savior. He says here, we were foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lust and pleasure living in malice and envy, hateful and hating with another.

That’s the way we were. Is that the way God wants us to be now? No. Well what is that basic truth that I’m supposed to have that’s supposed to revolutionize my life? Well he makes a statement here in verse 4, a little word that you should underline in verse four. Notice this word it is a big word but it says but after now something happened that’s the way you were this is the way you’re supposed to be after that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared.

This is why if you’re not clear on the gospel, you cannot be clear on the Christian life. Because the teaching of the Christian life is only a reflection of what you learned about the gospel. And it refers to this as the founding, but after that the kindness and love of God our savior toward man appeared. Now what is he asking you and I to do? He says, you were deceptive, you were disobedient, you were foolish, you were filled with malice, you were filled with hatred, you did hate everybody.

And you were filled with faith, but something happened. But after that the grace of God appeared in this gospel story that we tell people is the kernel of truth. That really is the foundation upon which we make a multitude of decisions Because we weren’t kind We weren’t filled with love But where did we learn that from? because of the way that I was and God still loving me and the way that I was and God forgiving me and God demonstrating his love toward me I responded to that So now after we have trusted Christ as our Savior, what God did for me and what He did for you and given to you and I pure grace is that element of truth that teaches us all these other things.

That’s why He says they’re in verse 11 of chapter 2, for the grace of God that bring salvation have appeared to all men. The loving kindness of God, His love, His kindness. Otherwise, God has looked upon as a God of wrath and vengeance. But there’s also a lot of love and the love and the kindness that God showed to us in verse 12, teaching us. But if you are not clear on pure grace, you will not ever be clear on the Christian life because it is an overflow of your understanding of what Christ did on the cross for us.

Look in verse 5 now of chapter 3. Not of works of righteousness which we have done but according to His mercy He saved us. What God did for us after demonstrating up their inverse three the way we were and God still doing all this for us. There are people in the world that are still doing that to God and they will do it to you but you and I are supposed to demonstrate that which God demonstrated toward us. But look there now in verse six which talking about his mercy which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior.

That being justified in your underlying, these three words in your Bible, justified by His grace. We should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life because we have eternal life. We became heirs of God and joined heirs with Christ. And there’s a lot of things that God wants us to do. So He left all of us little children in this wicked world to manifest what God is like. And it’s difficult sometimes whenever someone wrongs us. So does the Bible teach us about the other aspects of the Christian life?

Yes, it does. I wrote some things down that I wanted to bring out to you. Because how many times I have been accused of preaching easy believe-ism, cheap grace. Look at Ephesians 2, 8, 9 very quickly. Ephesians chapter 2, verse 8 and 9. These two verses, two of my favorite verses in the Bible, but notice what he says, for by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God not of works lest any man should boast.

For example, I helped sitting over here and you have to see this in your mind’s eye. There is a a little voice sitting right there, brand new, $200,000. See it? Can you see it over here? It’s sitting right there. Isn’t it beautiful? Gorgeous. And let’s say I’m I’m going to give this thing, I’m going to give it to Tim. Two hundred thousand dollar Rolls Royce and I’m going to give it to Tim. Tim ain’t done anything to deserve it.

I’m just going to give it to him. And I say, Tim, this is what I’ve got and you can have it. And Tim says, look, I really appreciate that. And I can see that that’s a very valuable car. And I really appreciate it. I want to have a part in this. And here’s a nickel to show my appreciation. And I want to give you that.

I don’t want you to give it to me totally. Prey, I mean, I want to give you something, just something. Now, if I accepted that nickel as he gave me something forth, I can’t say I gave him that car. I can say I sold it to him and he can say he bought it, but he can’t say I gave it to him free of charge. That nickel just unbited. It’s undone. It’s no longer free. nickel made that $200,000 car worth a nickel because I can say I sold it for a nickel.

He can say I bought it for a nickel but it’s no longer free. This cheapened the value of the car. Christ gives us salvation by grace and yet there’s a multitude of people think they got to do something. The moment they try to do something to help God or have a part, now they have cheapened the gospel of grace. Then grace is no longer grace. Anything that a person does as payment for something, then if the payment is accepted, it will be worth the value of the payment that was made.

And if you gave him one work, one work, then my salvation was no longer free. He sold it to me for that one work. work. You bought it for that one work. That one work, I could say, was singing in the choir, preaching a message. I gave money to the missionaries. Whatever the work was is what my salvation now cost. It’s no longer free. It is no longer grace. Grace means without, without works, price unmerited you cannot add to it.

Cheap grace is no longer grace and I’ve talked to some preachers who accuse me. You preach that cheap grace, that easy believerism. Stop and think for a moment. Should salvation be something hard to believe are easy to believe. If I told you that this pin was a baby grand piano, that would be hard to believe. But if I told you that it was a pin, you just liable to believe that. That’s so easy to believe. It would be hard for you to believe that this is a baby grand piano.

No man has the right to change God’s message. Every preacher that believes it’s more than grace needs to spell it out. Let’s say for example, I have a magazine that got over there a while ago. Well, I got it last week. And in the message, the invitation, artney it makes the statement in order to be saved. This is from a Baptist paper. You must turn from your sins, make Christ the Lord and Master of your life, and be willing to serve Him as Jesusycle and believe on Christ and receive^^^^ the free gift of eternal life.

Do you see anything wrong with that? And this is copied by the millions of people around the world. GGGGGGGG Let’s justSHARE for a moment. We’re going to pretend. If I am a preacher andCEO tell a person that you must turn from your sins in order to be saved, do you not think that it would be important for you to tell that person which ones, if you have to turn from sins to be saved? Shouldn’t I have a long responsibility to list and not miss one of them because their eternal destination depends upon them turning from those sins.

Do they have to turn from all of them? Just some of them. Which one? And I’ll bet you you will not find ten preachers at any given time that will agree on what they are, that I’ll tell you that you have to turn from your sins to be saved. But now will they agree on what sins? And if that has to be all of them, Is it possible? I don’t even know a Christian who has yet turned from all of a sense.

Little on a lost man. But if he has to, then my message in the gospel will not be complete unless I included exactly which ones they are. I must be correct. If I list five or if I list ten, it can’t be maybe, it must be exact. Find the verses in the Bible that says exactly which ones I must turn from. But if you have to, don’t you believe they should have a chapter and verse that proves that, and that lists them.

The other thing, for how long? If I must turn from sin to be saved, how long do I have to quit that sin before God does save me? Will He save me because at that moment I promised that I would? Or will He save me when I have quit the sin? Or will happens if I go back to do that sin? After I quit it for a while. You see, these are all unknown variables that changes the whole thing.

But that turning from a sin is I got to do something. That something has just annulled grace. A man cannot be saved both ways. For example, if I was to say this to you, have you ever received a free paycheck? What is a free paycheck? If it’s a paycheck, what is a paycheck for? A paycheck is supposed to be understood to mean that you did a certain amount of work and you’re being paid. That’s why they call it a paycheck.

It’s a value. You earned it. You worked for it. But would the word free paycheck be the same thing? The free will not let me have a paycheck. Paycheck will not let me have a free. Why? have it both ways. It’s impossible. What about a person being a loving murderer? I guess you could say I’m murdering you because I love you. But there might be something wrong with somebody understanding that. Generally a person who murders somebody is because of vengeance and hateful and revenge or something that’s wrong.

It’s not because of love. Love unknows the mirror. Mirror unknows the love. But you can’t have it both ways. Cheap grace, if it’s grace it can’t be cheap. No price to it. No value can add to it. Can’t take nothing away from it. Grace is grace. Let’s say for example, I just met this kid over here, his name’s Tim, norse. He’s 16 years old, right? He a very smart kid. He don’t have a girlfriend yet. Isn’t that wonderful? Very intelligent.

But I say now, bear is an honest thief. Anything wrong with those two words? He’s an honest thief. Well, he steals but he tells you that he did it. An honest thief. Well, if you steal, you’re not honest. If you’re honest, you’re not a thief. You can’t have it both ways. And that’s why there’s people who are saying you’re saved by grace, but then they butt it all over the place. They add to it and they take it away.

They got to do something. And just a little bit, I had a man tell me one time, you can’t tell me that it’s totally free. You’ve got to do something. That’s too easy. So easy. Why don’t you just believe it? It seems like the easier it is to understand the harder it is to believe because some people just can’t believe it. It’s got to be more than that. After I understood what the man was telling me, Mr. Jackson, I couldn’t believe it was free.

It blew my mind. Can you have a person who is a truthful liar, you want a truthful liar. All right, well, that tells the truth. You see, if he’s truthful, then you’re not supposed to be a liar. But if you’re a liar, then you’re not telling the truth. See, there’s words that people use that they don’t fit. Like the gospel, you can’t add grace and works together. Grace means it’s free. Works means you earn it. You understand why you cannot add grace and works together.

You can’t have your say by grace and you’ve got to go to church. Grace and you’ve got to change the life. Grace and you can’t do that because the one knows the other. As a child of God, we should live as godly as we possibly can, but not to get to heaven, but because we’re going there. Look up here. This hand represents you and me and the wallet represents sin. The Bible says that we all have sin on us.

And God says that He loves us, hates our sin. For you and I to pay for that sin is eternal separation from God in a place called hell. But God doesn’t want us to go to hell. He wants us to go to heaven and to go to heaven. We have to be perfect, just as righteous as God, and nobody’s perfect. Now, heaven’s perfect, God is perfect, but we’re not. We can’t go to heaven because our sin keeps us out of heaven.

There’s no sin in her into heaven. So how can a man get into heaven? God says, not by his works. He cannot earn it, he can’t work, but he can’t buy it. There’s no reason for God to save this man, except God loves him. There’s nothing that he’s ever done that causes him to merit God’s wonderful mercy and grace. We will without hope, without strength. There’s nothing that we could have done. This end represents Jesus Christ. He’s the Lord God in the flesh.

Came into this world because he loves us. He hates our sin because it separates us from him. So Jesus Christ, who had no sinned in half the die, but He took our sins, all of them, paid for it in full on the cross. He did all the work, He gets all the glory. You and I did nothing. We can’t even help. All we can do as a poor wretched sinner is realize I could not save myself. I have nothing to offer.

I will simply accept the free gift of eternal life. And God said He’d put that payment to our account and we get to go to heaven on what He did. He did alone. He doesn’t want our help. He didn’t need our help. We couldn’t help. help. A man is saved by grace, not by works. Let’s pray, show him. Every headbound, every eye closed, no one looking around. If you’ve never trusted Christ as your Savior, one I’d write now just between you and the Lord say, Lord, I know I’m a sin and I believe Christ died, paid for my sins and I’ll trust Him that they may have never ever died.

And if you’ll do that, God will save you and give you eternal life. I believe most of you here, maybe all of you have trusted Christ to save you, but in case someone hasn’t, would you right now. So yes, I believe Christ did that for me and I’ll trust in the take me to heaven when I 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.

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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. Life 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 Art. 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.

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. The preacher’s told 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 to the book of Titus. Does anybody know what the word soteriology means? doctrine of salvation. Salvation is the most comprehensive subject in the word of God to properly understand the main theme of the Bible when these to understand or comprehend the other sixteen doctrines concerning just salvation. Salvation is an awesome study and we often say well we already know that we need to go on the other things. I know but you have to have the basis from which you can blossom out.

Christ made the statement he says cut it down at the roots and another place fertilize it. Either one of those is going to do something to the tree. One will destroy the tree and one will call the tree to grow. So when people come to church, I’ve got to try to tell you, if you don’t watch yourself, God’s going to cut down the tree at the roots. Take you out of here. Or you might need to be fertilized. The Word of God is what makes you grow.

It’s just like we would take fertilize and put it around plants in order to make them grow, be more fruitful. an word of God is something that has to be applied to your life all the time. And when you see Christians not growing strong in the Lord, it’s a sign that they’re not spending time in the Word. The word will make things happen in your life. It’ll bring you closer to the Lord, just like prayer does. But look at the first one, justificationyah.

Now look in Romans in chapter 3. A lot of these are found there in the book of Romans.Philadelphia Romans and chapter three. It says, God forbid ye let God be true, but every man a what? A liar. Is every person in the world a liar? Anybody here never told a lie? You never stole anything? Now you know the kind of people I’m talking to but the liars and things here. And God says we’re all that. But get what he says also in verse 19.

He says, now we know the what things so ever the law sayeth, it’s safe to them who are under the law that every mouth, maybe stop all the world. All the world may become, and what’s the word? Guilty. Guilt to righteousness. You are like made innocent. Declared righteous because of the payment that Jesus Christ made. You’re no longer guilty. Declared righteous. As though you had never sinned. Justification. This is what salvation is. The just shall live by faith. You have been justified.

Just as if you had never sinned. I’d write that little statement down in your notes, because that’s a good definition of justification. Just as if I had never sinned. Number two is redemption. We often say, what does it mean to be redeemed? I’m redeemed. I love divine. And we have been redeemed, but the Bible says we were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. In the book of Psalms, it says, If you have been redeemed, let the redeemed of the Lord say so.

Say so. I’m redeemed. You should be able to say to people. And so if you have been redeemed, that means you were in slavery, the slave market of sin, we often call it, because of sin you have been sold in the slavery. You’re a slave to the devil, a slave to your sinful nature, slave to the world and you can’t break it. You can’t change it. every man who has lost can’t change the way he is a slave. But he don’t know he’s a slave.

He’s a slave to his ideas, his opinions, his thoughts. He’s a slave to this world and he can’t get out of it. He’s a slave to no sinful nature. He can’t whip it. So what can sit a man free? Well, that’s what redemption is. From slavery to freedom. And look in verse 24, being justified, what’s that word? By His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. You have been redeemed. It means you were a slave, you’re now free.

You’re free from the devil. And remember this, Christ said to you free. You’re the one who voluntarily becomes a slave again if you choose to. He said to you free from the power of the Old Sanfonechem. You’re the one that decides to obey the sinful nature. You don’t have to, but many people decide to. You can choose to let your liberty, you can let it be a stumbling block, and you can use liberty as a license to sin. But that’s not the will of God, because God has set us free.

Number three, the word propitiation. Well, that’s a big word. It’s also using the book of 1 John, propitiation. It means the satisfaction. Here’s Christ came into the world, made a payment for your sins, and God was satisfied with the payment that was made. That’s why God was able to accept that payment. He was satisfied with it. Is God satisfied with you trying to save yourself? No. Is he satisfied with you trying to earn your way to heaven? By good words and going to church and doing all these good things?

No, God’s not satisfied with that. He’s only satisfied is if you accept the payment Christ made. When you believe that, he satisfied and not until. So propitiation is the satisfaction that God gets from the payment Christ made. You got that? So God was satisfied with that payment that he made. In verse 25, whom God set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are passed through the forbearance of God.

See even in the Old Testament for the payment was ever made, God through the forbearance knew the payment was going to be made and therefore they were saved by faith looking forward to the cross to the payment. We on this side of the cross, we’re saved by faith looking back to the cross, back to the payment that has been made and they were saved looking forward to the payment that would be made. So bold people, Old Testament, New Testament, all say by faith in Christ.

And whenever you see it and you understand, you can understand the Bible better. It was you read it. Old Testament, New Testament, you understand what God was talking about. Grace and mercy, not exactly the same thing, but grace and mercy came through Jesus’ Christ. lot of times in the citation of a letter, grace and peace, grace and mercy. And grace is something different than mercy. Number four, grace is getting what we want. Don’t deserve. Grace is getting something you don’t, I’m going to get something and I don’t deserve it.

That’s grace. Do I deserve to be saved? No. So being saved, that’s grace. I don’t deserve that. Going to heaven, I don’t deserve that. That’s grace. I get something I don’t deserve. Isn’t it wonderful to be saved by grace? That’s the message we’re supposed to tell everybody about because look, we think that the world out there, they don’t deserve to go to heaven. As though you do, they deserve to go to, they’re not going to, they’re going to deserve to go to hell.

Some of them who say he deserved to go to hell. Some of them Lord and those people to give me, everybody deserves to go to hell. You’re sweet. Grandma, because we’re born with a sinful nature we send naturally. Titus chapter 3, look there in verse 7. Verse 7 says, that being justified, what does justified mean? Just as if you’ve never sinned. Justify being just as if I’d never sinned by my works? No, by his grace. and you’re on the line that in your Bible.

I write in my Bible. I mark all over my Bible. You know why I mark my Bible? Because I don’t have the memory I used to have. I write. I got notes. I write it in there. That’s why you need to have a big Bible with some large side areas so that you can write in it. He says that we’ve been justified by his great we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. See the joyful anticipation of this eternal life not only is a present possession But one day I’m going to be actually there.

What is mercy? Not getting what we do deserve. You see, mercy means that you deserve something and you’re not going to get it. Have you ever asked God for mercy? Have you ever done something that you know God has every right to zap me for that? And you said, Lord, have mercy on me. You might have said it in another way, but that’s what you mean. Lord, don’t want me too bad. Don’t want me at all. I’m sorry. I won’t do it again because you know that if you don’t get things right with the Lord, You know that you have only Father, you just hope in the door for Him to beat the Torah out of you.

And it ought to scare you to death. I have learned enough of the Bible that it scares me to go against it. Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us. That means that you did not deserve to be saved by His mercy. Get that. According to his mercy, he saved us. You did deserve hell and you didn’t get that. You deserve to be punished, but it didn’t happen that way. So it’s a good thing to know.

I, as a child of God, though there’s many things that I deserve to get in my Christian life because sometimes you say things wrong, you get mad. Aren’t you glad God is long-suffering? I haven’t seen where God is just that quick as soon as you do something that Do something wrong that He’s patient Gives you a chance to correct the problem You may deserve to be chasing very severely, but God will give you a little time to correct the problem I wouldn’t want to play the game trying to see how far can I go?

How bad can I get before God lowers the boom on me? I don’t want to find out I? I want to go the other direction. I want to see how many blessings of God I can have, not how many weapons that I can have, but you will say and do things as a Christian and you’re going to need mercy. You’re going to deserve a chasing, a good weapon, but you don’t want God to totally come unglued on you. You want to have mercy.

Mercy so that means you’re willing to correct the problem own up to it and Confess whatever you need to and do that between you and God and if you will God can have mercy He wants to show mercy But you have to have a humble spirit not a prideful attitude Lord. I was wrong Lord I’m sorry that that wasn’t right Lord forget me and God will Doesn’t mean that you may not get no a little whooping along the way David one time I said, you do that one more time and I’m going to whoop you and he did it and I came after him.

He said, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, you got to forgive me, you got to forgive me. I said, I’m going to forgive you, I forgive you. I’m going to tear you up too because I promise you that and I tore him up. They think, just because I said, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m not going to whoop him. Not necessarily. but he was using it as an escape route. Number six, sanctification.

This means to be made pure and holy. The word sanctification came from sanctified hagi-azo in the Greek, the Greek word, and it even made pure and holy and set apart. We often say, Church, otto-tron-bivai, take this as the sanctuary. It means it’s dedicated to the Lord. Well, whenever you trusted Christ as your Savior and you were made pure and Holy, you became a saint of God as a saint. You’re supposed to live a saint-defined life. That means that in your life, you’re supposed to have what we call progressive sanctification.

When you start off as a Christian, you start to grow. And as you grow, you start sanctifying your life means you become more holy as you get older. As you grow in the Lord, you cut off more things out of your life that’s not right. And so you are to developing a behavioral pattern. And so that you begin to talk about the Lord, live like the Lord wants you to, and you honor the Lord. And so this is the direction you’re going.

Saint vacation is a change in behavior. So change in your behavior. And everyone who trusts Christ as Savior is supposed to be working on their behavior. The way you behave. Now remember this, being carnal minded means you mind the flesh, fleshly minded you mind the flesh. You may have a child that doesn’t mind you. And that means he doesn’t listen, doesn’t obey. So fleshly minded means you mind the flesh. Spiritually minded. spiritually minded person as you mind the spirit.

It means that you behave according to the Spirit or you obey the Spirit, the teaching of the Word of God through the Holy Spirit, or you obey the flesh. So there’s Christians who will mind the Spirit or mind the flesh and you can tell the difference in their behavior, how they live. So you as a Christian are supposed to demonstrate that you have a sanctified life. That means you have a holy life. It means that you are not only pure and holy, but you have separated yourself from the world and you don’t act like the world.

You don’t talk like the world because you’re not of the world. You’re in the world, but you’re not of the world. Your God’s child has been placier to affect the world. But many of God’s people are affected by the world instead of doing it the other way. Number seven is regeneration. Look at Titus chapter 3 again. You’ve got your Bible there because This is so important. Look in verse five. Not of works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy He saved us by the washing up and here’s that word Regeneration the word regeneration and then it says and renewing Regeneration means to be made new again See whenever God created him in the garden of Eden say they were made without a sinful nature They had the capacity to sin, but they had no sinful nature So he voluntarily chose to stand.

They were not created perfect in that sense. They were created innocent. They hadn’t done good or bad. They didn’t have to worry about it. So by choice they could do it. You and I, when we trust Christ’s Savior, we won’t have the capacity to rebel, the capacity for sinful nature when we get to heaven. We won’t have them. So when you were born again, it’s called a new birth. So regeneration is God making you new again. Born again, born from above.

Regeneration from death to life. You have been renewed. Got something new. But it’s from the physical life to the spiritual life. The Holy Spirit within you has made you spiritually, spiritually alive. Second Corinthians chapter five and verse 17 talks about if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. All things or passed away, all things have become new. There is in Christ new creature, all things new. Seven words. In Christ new creature and all things new. Because once you have trusted Christ as your Savior, you are in Christ, you’re a new creature, all things new.

Now that’s what God has done for you. That can never be undone. And you say, well what if I say in afterwards You can never in the new birth ever be unborn. It will never have to be made new again because it was a done deal once and for all. We’re just simply going to leave this old man here. We’re going to leave the body with the sinful nature. We’re going to leave it here when we leave. God’s going to change us and give us a brand new body.

the old nature will not be a part of it. Repentance from lies to the truth, from lies to the truth. Now in the book of 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 25, it tells us about that whenever you believe the truth, then you have done away with the lie because you believe the truth. And it talks about Satan who is able to take them captive at his will, who will not believe the truth. So you are, as far as repentance goes, from the lies to the truth.

You see, there’s people who think they can save themselves. That’s a lie. Every man has to repent. There’s people who think they have to do this and that and the other, that’s a lie. All you need to do is trust Christ is your Savior. So really in salvation, so teary-all of you, whenever you accept Christ is your Savior, you have repented in the sense that you are no longer trusting and works. Dead works, as it says in the book of Hebrews in chapter six, that is trusted and dead works, but in the living God.

Life can come from God and He can give life. Dead works cannot produced life. This microphone is dead. That floor is dead. That wall is dead. It can’t produce life. That which is dead can’t produce life. And that’s why dead works. Can’t produce eternal life. That’s why a lost man can’t earn his salvation. He can’t earn life. Because life must come from life and exist on previous life. That’s the law of biogenesis. Look what This is now in verse 9, substitution.

Most people wouldn’t know what substitution is. A tomement is at one minute. It means that in the Old Testament, they took an animal and that animal became a sacrifice. It didn’t wash away their sin, but it only covered their sin until the pain was made. And they did this looking forward to the day one lamb would come. And that’s why when John the Baptist song says, behold, the lamb of God was taken away the sin of the world. And so that is the atonement and that blood was to be taken into the holy of holies and offered upon the mercy seat and Then the high priest would do this once a year for the sense of the people and also for himself But here substitution God taking our sins so we can have his righteousness \-He takes our sins that substitution he took ours He paid for it gives us his righteousness

So he took something and gave something. And this is really what salvation is. You accept what he offers. Number 10 is the word adoption. You’ll find this mentioned in the book of Ephesians also in the book of Romans in chapter 8 verse 15. We have been adopted. It means that you have been given aerenn and adopted It means that now you bear his name, his image, you’re his child. And so God has accepted you. This is an adoption. So it is a change in family.

You were a family of this earth. Well, now you are a part of the family of God. And part of this family, the Bible tells you in the book of Ephesians in chapter three, is in heaven. And part of this family is upon the earth, but you are a part of the family of God. Number 11 reconciliation. This is from being an enemy in 2nd Corinthians in chapter 5. It talks about we are to be witnesses of what God has done for mankind, how that we were enemies of God, and now we are in verse 19 we are in Bacetodors.

So we have gone from being an enemy of God to being an ambassador for God. That’s who you are. You were an enemy of God because you had committed sins against God and God was holding you responsible and the payment that was made, you accepted it and so therefore you are no longer looked upon as an enemy of God. You are now an ambassador for God and God wants every one of us to be his friend. A friend of God is someone who walks with God and talks with God and lives for God.

You’re his friend and he told his disciples in John chapter 15, he says, I have called you friends because such as you are, you are my friends. I am your friends. In verse 20 of Galatians in chapter 2, this is a good verse. I want you to say this because this verse deals with what we call the identification truths. It means that you identify yourself with Christ. You’re identified with somebody. This is like husband and wife. She is identified with her husband.

Well did you know that you are supposed to be able to identify yourself with Christ so that whenever he died on the cross, you died on the cross and you have and identity. He did this in your place for you. So when he was crucified, you were crucified. When he was buried, you were buried. When he came back from the dead, you came back from the dead. You are seen in Him. God sees you in your light head with Christ.

As I said in the book of Colossians in chapter 3. Hearing Galatians in chapter 2, look down in verse 20. He says, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. I know what I really wasn’t crucified, but I was crucified with him because he did it for me. Yet not I, but Christ live it 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.

You are supposed to identify with Him and His death, His burial, His resurrection, His life. In other words, your life is to be identical to His life. You’re to live the way Christ would have lived if He took your place. He is in heaven representing us. We are here representing him. There’s spiritual truths in this book that is just plain awesome if you ever see it. Number 13, predestination. God chooses those in Christ. Predestination is God fixing a destiny beforehand.

Destiny fixed beforehand. It’s not talking about fatalism. It’s not fatalistic in its approach. It simply means that God has chosen to save those that believe. God decided that. Of course, God knows who is and who won’t, but that’s not God’s decision. It is your decision. It is my decision to accept Christ. It is your decision to accept Christ. Or you can reject Christ. God may know what you’re going to do, but it’s still your decision. And so you need to understand that because as a child of God, you’re in Christ because of a choice that you made.

why we want to give other people the same choice that somebody gave to you. Number 14, forgiveness from debt to paid in full. There’s a song that Gina’s saying called paid in full. I love that song because you and I were in debt. We were slaves and that debt has been paid. And an example is given there in the book of Matthew in chapter 18 because of somebody who was so far in debt. He says, Because if you give me time, I’ll pay it all.

I’ll pay it all. So we were in debt and we owed all of it. Christ came and made a payment, not for some, for all of it. So it’s paid in full. And that’s what forgiveness is. It means that you paid your debt in full. Somebody sinned against you. Okay? Now they owe you. They’re in debt to you. wrong Jews in debt to you. Because now say you can either forgive the debt or say you owe me, you owe me an apology.

We often say this. You owe me this, you owe me that, you got to make it right. And maybe they do. But you have a tremendous power in your hand. You have the power to write, paid in full. I forgive you. You’re on me. I can hold that against you for the rest of your life and carry that grudge and be mean and ugly and kind to you for the rest of your life. Or I can say, it’s forgiven.

So they don’t deserve that. What is mercy? Faith is the hearing, believe is the trusting of the same word. He says in John chapter 5 and verse 24, he says, he that, heareth my word and believe it in him that sent me half everlasting life. So you are to hear faith, commit by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. So faith is you can’t have faith in Christ if you don’t hear about Christ. So you got to hear the message and they got to trust what you heard.

And yet it’s part of the same coin. When you talk about you’re saved by faith. What do you mean by it? Saved by faith. I heard something. I trusted it. I’ll say by faith. You can’t do one without the other. Those two things go together. In number 16, eternal security is the truth. You can never lose. You can never lose salvation. That’s the best news in all the world. This hand represents you and me. This wallet represents sin. We all have sin on us.

I’ve sinned. You’ve sinned. We’ve all sinned. But God loves us. Hates our sin. For us to pay for that, turn on separation from God in hell. God loves us who 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 None of us are right. We’ve all sinned come short of God’s perfection So God says we cannot save ourselves This hand represents Jesus Christ He’s the Lord God in the price he came into the world because he loves us hates our sin because it separates us from So he took the sin paper on the cross came back from the dead and he said if we’ll believe he did of course They put that payment to our account we get to go to heaven.

Oh, what Jesus Christ gave for us That’s free. That’s again. 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 to403 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. His 48-11 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 Bibleline, and now a closing thought from Pastor Art. Friends, 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, 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 and reaches 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.

First John chapter two. Here in first John chapter two, look in verse 18, little children. It is the last time and you have heard that antichrist shall come. Even now are there many antichrists whereby we know that it is the last time. And they, he said this 2000 years ago in verse 19, they went out from us, not that they were of us for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us, but that they went out that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

In other words, their message was not our message. Their doctrine was not our doctrine. So I want you to take your Bible, and we’ll come back to this in just a moment, but look there in the book of Acts in chapter 15. And I want you to see this verse 24 before we get into the meat of it. I want you to see verse 24, because it’s a reference, has the same wording, and I believe it’s who is referring to.

So here in Acts chapter 15 and verse 24, the conclusion of the council meeting that they had there in Jerusalem concerning a particular doctrinal issue. Now get this, there were some that were teaching that you had to keep the law in order to be saved. Today, people may not use the word law, they just simply use good works. You must do good works in order to be saved. Or you can get saved by grace, but your stayed saved or kept saved by your good works.

It’s the same teaching. Either Christ saves you forever or He doesn’t save you at all. The gospel is eternal security. It means you are eternally secure. If you’re not eternally secure, you cannot be secure. That’s why anyone who thinks they can lose their salvation, they don’t have any security whatsoever. because they will not know and cannot know at what point in time they have lost their salvation. You cannot mature in the Lord and grow to be a strong Christian if you’re not sure of your foundation.

It’s easy to believe in eternal security if you believe that salvation is by grace. If you believe it is a gift, you have no problem believing that he can save you forever. But if you don’t really believe it’s the gift, you really don’t believe that it’s free. You really don’t believe He gives it to you forever. You know, you can’t believe in eternal security. Because you’ll believe that you still have to do something. And that something is what’s going to keep you from truly trusting Jesus Christ to take you to heaven whenever you die.

Now this week whenever I was there on Friday night up in the mountains, I… There were three young men that had pitched a tent right beside of us and it started to rain and they got soaked. We asked him if they wanted to come and have something to eat. So they came and they had some hush puppies and some french fries and they had some good old mountain trout. And I asked him, I said, where are you from? They said, Covington.

I said, what kind of work do you do? And they told me. And I said, well, what kind of church do you go to? And he says, they went to blah, blah, blah, blah church. He says, and I’m the pastor. I’m a pastor. And I’m just chaffing at the bits. They wanted to talk. I told him, I said, you know, we probably don’t believe the same thing. He says, how do you know that? I says, I can tell you what you believe.

And I says, you believe that you can lose your salvation. I said, now let me explain to you what I believe. So I pulled out my wallet and I said, now let this represent you and me and this represents sin. We all have sin on us. My God says He loves us. But the Bible says that we committed the sin so we have to pay for it. And so the payment for sin is eternal separation from God. So we have to be separated from God.

And God says to go to heaven, we have to be perfect as righteous as God. And none of us are perfect. So we can’t go to heaven because we’re not perfect. So God says, you can’t earn your way to heaven. You can’t buy it. So there’s nothing we can do to save ourselves. This hand represents Jesus Christ. He’s God in the flesh. Came into the world because he loves, hates our sin. But our sin separates us from God. So Christ took the sin, paid for it on the cross, came back from the dead, said if we would believe he did it for us, he would put this payment that he made for all of our sins to our account and we would go to heaven on what he did for us.

So going to heaven is something that you can know. And I said the Bible says you can know you have eternal life. It didn’t take long before each one. I got a question. What about James chapter two? What about those that endure and to the end the same shall be saved? And so we had a good discussion. And finally one kid, he looked at me and he says, you know what we’re going to ask before we ask it, don’t you?

I said, yes, I do. Told the preacher, I says, look, be honest, just honest. If you die right now, where would you go? He said, I hope I go to heaven. You talked about Christ, him down on the cross, Paying for sins, but the reason you’re having trouble with you, where you going when did I because you don’t believe the Bible? You don’t believe the Bible. You don’t believe what Jesus says. I Did not tell him that he is an anti-Christ, but every time that man preaches in the pulpit He is against what Christ said.

He’s against what Christ did When Christ died on the cross he died on the cross to pay for how many of our sins he doesn’t believe that Because if he believes that Christ died for all of my sins, then there is no sin to condemn me to hell because all my sins are paid. When Jesus says, He that believe it on me half what kind of life? He said, He don’t believe that. He believes you have eternal life to your sin again, but that’s not in the book.

Don’t believe it. I says, you don’t believe the Bible. You have nothing to share with anybody. For as much as we have heard that certain went out from us have troubled you with words. They went out from them, but they were not of them. They had a message, but it wasn’t the message that the apostles had. This is what he said. He says, they went out from us, have troubled you with words, subverting your soul saying, this is what they said, you must be circumcised and keep the law to whom we gave what.

No such commandment. That is not our message. And he says, they went out from us because they were not of us. You see, how do you know when somebody is of you, when they believe totally 100% in eternal security? So you can talk about how wonderful God is, Christ down on the cross paying for sin. You can talk about all of those wonderful things. He’s coming back again. They believe in the rapture. They believe all these things, but they don’t believe in eternal security.

security. When you don’t believe in eternal security, you don’t believe the Bible. That is the gospel. The gospel, the good news is that when you trust Christ’s Savior, He saves you from hell, gives you eternal life, and it lasts forever. You see, if you really believe that God loves you, why would it be so hard to believe that God can save you forever? If you believe that salvation is by faith, and faith alone, without works, why can’t you believe that He can give you eternal life forever.

Why can you believe he could save you for a day but he couldn’t save you forever? You see, you’ve got a problem. They don’t believe the Bible. They don’t believe what Jesus said. So he says here in verse 25, it’s Seemeth good unto us being assembled with one accord. One accord means God’s people ought to believe the same thing. And you say, well, it doesn’t matter It doesn’t matter what anybody believe. We’re all working to get to the same place.

No, we ain’t. I’m not working to get anywhere. I don’t go to church to go to heaven. I don’t do good deeds to go to heaven. I don’t love my wife so I can go to heaven. I don’t do all the things and give money to missions and show for the in order I can go. I’m not doing any good works, not one in order to go to heaven. I’m going to. I’m going to heaven because Betty’s dead in a little-o living room, explained the gospel to me, and I believe that I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior, and He saves me from hell, gave me eternal life, and if it’s eternal life, it lasts forever.

And if it lasts forever, and all my sins are paid, then where am I going to go when I die? So you say, what if you sin tomorrow? Well, it’s a sin, but it’s paid. What about right before I die? It’s a sin. It’s paid. Somebody says, yeah, but what if you commit suicide? Is that a sin? Yeah, yes. Paid? Well, you don’t deserve it. That’s the point. You don’t deserve. See, grace means you don’t deserve it. What person sitting here deserves to go to heaven?

Not a one of you. If you get to heaven, it’s because of God’s grace, not because of one work that you did. Nobody can say it. By grace are you saved through faith? That not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever keeps to ten commandments and obey the golden rule and goes to the north side, babbies, church, and pays fifty percent inflation.

Is that what it says? No. It says he that believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life. You will not perish. You’ll have everlasting life. everlasting life. What do you got to do? Simply believe. If you’ll believe, yes, what God said, you’re a sinner. That’s believing him. The Christ died on the cross and He paid for all of my sin, not some of them, most of them. He paid for all of them. And if I believe what He said, then I believe He paid for all of my sins.

Well, if He paid for all of my sins, then how many do I have to pay for? None. If I have 10 apples in His hand, then I take away 10 apples. How many do I have left? None. I know this is difficult. You see, if I offered you my wallet and you accepted you’d have have an empty wallet. If I offered you my Bible and you accepted you’d have a Bible. Well if Jesus Christ walked in here and offered you eternal life and you accepted you have eternal life.

The message of eternal security is the message that I have strived to preach over and over again for the last 40 some years. There is no other message worth preaching. I don’t worry about it. I’ve had people say that well don’t worry about this eternal issue. Just get them saved. Just get them saved. Nobody knows they’re saved till you believe in eternal security. Because you don’t know where you’re going when you die unless you believe in eternal security. Now you can have questions and you can have doubts and you can believe I trusted Christ as my Savior and then later on I heard that it was eternal security.

Well maybe you got saved back then I’m not God but it might have been when you understood that it was forever. Now I really believe him. Now I believe what he said. A lot of times I’m not trying to play God in people’s lies. I’m not the Holy Spirit. And I’m not the judge. I’m just simply telling you what the judge said. He that believeth on me is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned when already because he believeth not in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Verily, verily I send you he that believeth on me half everlasting life. Verily, verily I send you he that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me half everlasting life. And his past from death in the life God taught eternal security. And if you don’t believe what he said, then you don’t have eternal life. You hear the words and I told those three individuals, I says, neither one of y’all know for sure where you go on when you die.

And the reason is because you haven’t trusted Christ as your Savior. You’re trusting your works to get you to heaven. And if you’re good enough, you’ll make it. And if you’re not good enough, you won’t make it. They couldn’t say anything because they knew what I’m saying. I’m telling them the truth. Some people will say, I don’t think God will argue about stuff like that. This is it. This is heaven and hell. It’s not just an issue that I want to make.

This is an issue they made. John said they went out from us because they were not of us. And who is he talking about? These people that were teaching a false message. Their message was they were teaching people that you had to keep the law that not only be saved, but you had to keep the law to stay saved. Couldn’t believe that it would be forever. But that is the message. That is the gospel. Now look there in Acts chapter 15 and verse 1.

And this is what the apostle John is talking about over there in the a book of 1 John in chapter 2. Certain men which came down from Judea taught the brethren and said except you be circumcised after the manner of Moses you cannot be what? Says you cannot be saved. So in verse 2 when therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension that mean they had a big one. and this mutation, that’s the same like a big argument. That’s where you dispute with one another.

You have a big debate going back and forth. In other words, some people said, hey, that’s not the gospel. That is not true. And the Apostle Paul says, I would stood them to their face in the book of Galatians in chapter two. He says because they were to be blamed and even referred to one time, because Peter had done something that he should not have done concerning the gospel. And he says, and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, unto the apostles and the elders about this question.

Do you or do you not? Do you have to keep the law? Do you have to be good after you’re saved to go to heaven? No, you don’t. They say, we gave no such commandment. That is not the truth. And there’s some people who came out from us that said they were of us, but they were not of us. And they have a message that is not our message. He says, and they pervert, subvert. People’s minds and confuse them.

See, if you believe you can lose your salvation, you don’t know where you’re going when you die. You know, I believe you can lose your salvation, then you don’t know you won’t. What do you have then? What do you have that some drunk lad and some gutters has never heard the gospel and like he don’t know where he’s going either. So he makes a statement here in verse 5, but there are rows up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believes in that it was was needful to circumcise them, to command them to keep the law of Moses.

So the apostles and the elders came together for the consider of this matter. It deals with eternal security. Do you have to or do you not? Do you have to continue keeping the law? Do you have to be good? Do right in order to keep your salvation. And he says in verse 7, and when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up and said unto them, men and brethren. You know how that a good while ago God made choice among us.

The Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel and keep the 10 commandments and obey the golden rule and go to the north side of Baptist Church. You don’t see that in there do you? It says, and they heard the word of the gospel and did what? And believe that. You mean that’s all they did? Yeah, that’s all you have to do if you believe it. He says in verse 8, and God, which know of the hearts because God knows who believes and who don’t believe doesn’t he?

Can you fool the preacher? You can raise your hand and not trust the Lord. You can sign a card and not trust the Lord. You can walk an aisle and not trust the Lord. You can get down here and pray the sinner’s prayer, not trust the Lord. God the one that knows whether or not, do you believe that He did this for you? Do you really trust it? Are you trusting Him to take you to heaven? Well, He’s the one you better tell, and He’s the one you better convince that you really believe it.

Because you can lie to the people in the church. You can deceive a lot of people, and you can even deceive yourself. You better make sure you have trusted Christ as your savior. It won’t matter how many people think you’re a Christian, you better know that he knows you are. Now get this. He says they’re in verse eight, and God which knoweth the heart, bear them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us, the Jews.

Put no difference between us and them, Jews and Gentiles, purifying their hearts by works. Faith, not works. Look what he says. Now therefore, why tempt ye God to put a yoke upon the neck of all the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were, what, we were not able to bear. In other words, we never kept them. We never kept the law. Why are we trying to put the law upon the necks of these disciples? And they can’t keep them because we never kept them.

Wouldn’t you hate to say, okay, I trust that Christ is my savior today, but I’ve got to keep the law now in order to go to heaven. Well, what did he do? Give me a jump start. It was only good to get me going. In other words, he was going to help me lead my life now so that I can be good enough to finally make it. That’s not the Bible. No, it’s not. So he makes this statement here in verse 11.

And you are the underlying verse 11, it’s awesome. But we believe that through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved even as they, what? By grace through faith only believing, and God would save him. Now, so that you are confident of this, Turn to Ephesians chapter two and verse eight and nine. Ephesians chapter two verse eight. Now these are two of my favorite verses in the whole Bible. These are two awesome verses. You need to know these verses.

Look in verse eight and nine. For by grace are you saved through faith that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. It’s not of works, lest any man should boast. Now look up here. I cannot stand up here and say, I’m going to heaven because I live better than you do. And I’m so holy and I have my little halo around my head. You know, there’s only about nine inches between a halo and a noose. And you’re gonna hang yourself when you think you’re gonna have him because you’ve got a halo around your head and you’re so good.

I am a dirty lousy stinking rotten sinner now to go to hell, just like you. You are no better than I am. And God says that there’s no difference. Everybody gets saved exactly the same way. God doesn’t save one person one way and another person another way. Everybody gets saved the same way by trusting Jesus Christ as their only hope to get to heaven because you believe He paid for all of your sins. When you believe He paid for all of your sins and you know you don’t have to pay for one of your sins.

If you really believe it, because He paid for it. And that payment that He made is put to your account and there is no sin for me to pay for. That’s why there’s no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus. means that from now until the time that I die, I can never in the future be condemned. You say why? Because when Christ died, He died for me. His death is put to my camp. The law can never condemn a dead man.

I died when I trusted Christ as my savior because His death became my death and the law can never touch me again. It can never condemn me again. You say, you don’t deserve that. You got that right. That’s why he says, by grace or you say through faith, not of yourself. It’s not of yourself. It’s not of yourself. It is the gift of God. It’s not of work. Not of work. How would you translate that? It is it works?

When it says it is the gift of God, how would you translate that? It is not the gift of God? No, don’t change the Bible. Believe it. See, they don’t believe the Bible. And he says there’s some that went out from us and they’re teaching something that is not true. Now go over there to the book of 1 John chapter 2. And we’ll close over here because I want you to see this. Christ through the Apostle John says that they are anti-Christ.

Now look at verse 19 again. They went out from us. Who? These legalistic Judaizers that were teaching that you had to keep the law to be saved, and keep the law to stay saved. He says, for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us. with us. What was the difference between what the church in Jerusalem taught and what these legalistic Judaizers, what was the difference in their doctrine? One believed in eternal security and one didn’t.

So he says there in verse 21, I have not written unto you because you know not the truth, but because you know it and that no lie is of the truth. In verse 22, who is a liar? Who’s a liar? But he that denyeth that Jesus is the Christ. He is the the Antichrist, that denyeth the Father and the Son. Who’s a liar? One that denies that Jesus said what he said, and the one that denies that Jesus did what he did.

Did he pay for all my sins or did he not? If you don’t believe that you call him a liar. If you don’t believe that when he saves you and gives you eternal life, then you call him a liar. Who’s doing this? Antichrist, preachers, these were preachers that he’s talking about in the book of Acts. So don’t you think that all preachers the same. No, they’re not the same. I believe in eternal security. Eternal security because I believe that a man is saved by grace and is none of his works.

Do I have to go to church? No, I do not. Do I have to give money? No, I do not. You say, what if you go out here and live wrong? Are you still going to go to heaven? Yes, I will. Yes, I will. I couldn’t go to hell if I tried. I haven’t tried. I’m God’s child and I’ve tried to live as righteous as Godly as I know how, but that’s not what gets me to heaven. I’m going to heaven because or what he did for me.

Now look what he says down here in verse 24. Let that therefore abide in you which you have heard and from the beginning. If that which you have heard from the beginning shall remain in you. He also shall continue in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise, believe it. This is the promise. What is that promise that he has promises? What is the promise that he promised us? Eternal life. So this subject that we’re talking about here, he’s talking about what I’m telling you, it’s talking about.

I’m not making this up. This is the truth of these scriptures. He promised me what eternal life. And if you don’t believe that, you call him a liar. You say this, say that anywhere else. I know you’re going to say that. Look in chapter five. Chapter five, look in verse 10. He says, he that believeth of chapter five, verse 10, he that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself. He that believeth not God hath made him what?

A lie calls God a liar. Why? Because he believed it’s not the record that God gave of his son. What was the record? I’m glad you asked. This in verse 11 is the record. That God hath given, past tense, hath given to us, those that believe hath given to us, what? Eternal life. Get this. And the life is where? In the sun. So when you accept the sun, you have eternal life because Jesus tries and eternal life is the same.

See down there in verse 20, the last part of verse 27, this is the true God and eternal life. Who? Jesus Christ is the true God. Jesus Christ is eternal life. So when Jesus says, I’ll never leave you and I’ll never forsake you, how can I ever lose eternal life? You can’t because Christ and eternal life are the same. So clear in the book. Not good for what he says up here in verse 13. Jimmy, verse 12, he that hath the son, half what?

Life, what kind of life? eternal life. He that hath not the son of God hath not what? Life. What kind of life? So if you don’t have the son, you don’t have eternal life. If you have the son, what do you have? You can’t have the son and not have eternal life. And that’s why you ask some people, have you trusted Christ to save you? Oh yes, where are you going did I? Well, I don’t know. Do you have eternal life?

I don’t know. Well, wait a minute. Don’t you understand it? No, they evidently not. Now, look in verse 13, these things have I written unto you that keep the 10 commandments and obey the golden I like misquoting scriptures because then you can just see the point These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God that you may what? No Can you know you have eternal life? Can you know that you’re going to heaven when you die?

Yes. The only way you can know that you’re going to heaven when you die is because it is a gift, because it’s free. But if it depended upon your performance, you’ll always be in question. You’ll always be dubbed, and you will not know when you have lost it. And you will not know if you haven’t already. Anybody who believes they can lose their salvation don’t know if they’ve already lost it. So what do they have? Then they have to say, well, I hope I’m going to heaven.

I don’t say I hope I’m going to heaven. Why? Because I know I’m going to heaven. It is the gift of God and it’s not a works list. Any man should boast. That’s the best news in all the world. Just a quote of verse 2 Corinthians 5, 21, 4, he God hath made him Jesus Christ who knew no sin, to be sin for us. That we might be made the righteousness of God in him. I go to heaven because He gives me His righteousness.

I’m a sinner. Christ walked in here and He’s perfect. If He was to give me His perfection, that would make me as perfect, as righteous as God. If I had God’s perfection given to me, would that be good enough for me to go to heaven on? Yeah, I’m going on His, not mine. And see, it wasn’t good enough before my works And my works afterwards is not good enough. I’m saved by grace, grace through faith. Let’s pray, shall we?

Every head bowed and every eye closed, no one looking around. If you’re here this morning and you have never trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, would you do this? Would you talk to the Lord? Because you see, it’s not important that I believe that you have or anybody else. But it is important that you tell God. Tell God this, Lord, I’m a sinner. He knows that already he wants you to admit it. You’re a sinner, you’re not perfect. And Lord, I believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross and paid for my sins.

And right now, I will accept Jesus Christ as my Savior, as my only hope of getting to heaven. If you will, God will save you and give eternal life. In just a moment, I’m gonna ask you to raise your hand, raising your hand does not save you. It only lets me know that what I said made sense to you. And you’re saying, yes, I’ll trust Christ as my Savior and preach our life here to pray for me. So in the quietness of this moment, we’ll hit by nine, closed.

Is there anyone that’ll say, yes, I will trust Christ as my Savior this morning, and preach our life here to pray for me. Would you just slip your hand very quickly and burrow back down? Is there any word at all? No tricks to it, no gimmicks. I’m not gonna pin you against the wall, not gonna embarrass you. I do with his bow nice clothes for that reason. How many of you in this room know positively beyond a shadow of doubt that if you died right now, you’d go to heaven.

Would you raise your hand very quickly and burrow back down? God bless you. far as I know that’s everybody in the room. Our Father, we thank You so much for all that You’ve done for us. Help us not to be ashamed of the gospel. And help us not to be ashamed of the teaching, the doctrine of eternal security because that is the gospel. And we pray, Lord, that You will be done in the lives of each person here. Help us to stand firm, to stand strong, to do right.

Not because we have to, but because we want it. Christ, let me pray. 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 Arden.

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, 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.

The discipleship, that’s serving God, that can cost you everything. So understand there’s a difference between being saved and serving the Lord. Some people are trying to serve the Lord, hoping that if they do enough good, God will save them. No, all of your service and all of my service is supposed to be because we are already saved, not going to be saved, not working to be saved, not helping him save us, but all of my service that I’ve given to the Lord is because I have been past tense, been saved.

not to be saved, I have been saved. Any person who is doing any of these good deeds in order to be saved are not saved. You’re not saved. If you do good deeds in order to be saved, because it means you’re not going to be saved until you finish doing all these good works. So you can’t rejoice in salvation because you don’t have salvation. I’ve enjoyed mine because I’ve had it. You can’t enjoy something you don’t have. Now, I want you to look there in the book of Matthew chapter 7 and verse 15 very quickly.

There are false prophets, false teachers in the world. Some understanding pulpits all across this country. And some of them look just like everybody else. And I’ve had people say, well, all preachers are the same. No, they’re not. No, they’re not the same. They do not all have the same message. Here he says, be aware of false prophets which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are raven in wolves. You shall know them by their fruits. I’ll have to have people say, well, you know, you can tell them by their fruits.

Talking about Christians. So everybody thinks we’re supposed to all be fruit inspectors. Go around with your magnifying glass and inspecting the fruit so you can tell whether or not who’s a Christian who’s not a Christian. Now this verse refers to false prophets. False prophets you can tell. How do you tell? Well the Bible says you’ll know them by their fruit. And some people say well that means that the way they live. Well it could be the way you live.

But there’s also a verse that talks about in the book of Hebrews in chapter 13 verse 15 that says the fruit of your lips giving praise unto God. So there’s the fruit of your lip the thing that you say. But how do you know this is referring to what they said because he says, in verse 21, not everyone that does what? Say it. They are saying something as the fruit of their mouth. What they are saying is we’re trusting our works to save us because look what we did.

We did this and we did this. We cast out devils. I mean, we did wonderful things. We spoke in your name. We did all the s- I’m saying with my mouth, Look what I did and what I did is why I should go to heaven.” And he says, depart from me. I never knew you. That’s because they listen to false teachers. False teachers tells you, look at your life. And if you live good enough, you’ll make it. And if you don’t live good enough, you won’t make it.

So you’re going to heaven depends on how you live. So everybody thinks, well, you have to go to church to go to heaven because that’s what they’ve been told. They have to give money. But of course, if you don’t go to enough church or not, or give enough money or to pray enough, you don’t know if you’re going to make it not because well you ain’t dead yet. So you have to wait until you die to find out. That’s a false teaching, very false teaching.

I want you to take your Bible and look there in the book of Matthew chapter 5, Matthew and chapter 5. Matthew chapter 5 and verse 48, the Bible tells us that God is perfect. Verse 48, be there for perfect even as your Father, which is in heaven, is what? Perfect. If He’s perfect, that means there’s nothing wrong with God. If He’s perfect, there’s no flowing God. He says, be ye perfect as your Father, which is in heaven is perfect.

Oh boy, if somebody was to ask me, write off the bat, what do I have to do to go to heaven and to inherit eternal life? Be perfect, simple. So all you gotta do is be perfect. Now isn’t that consoling? Now you know all you gotta do is just be perfect. Now what’s the problem with that? No one’s perfect. Well, maybe you could try. Would you like to spend the rest of your life trying to be perfect? Well, nobody’s ever done it before, but you might be the first one.

Well, what are you going to do about the things you’ve already done that’s wrong? Now what are you going to do about that? If you can live perfect from the this day forward, what are you going to do about the way you already have lived? He says, being perfect as your Father, which is in heaven, is perfect means there’s nothing wrong with God. If you understood if God is perfect, then heaven also must be perfect. In the book of Revelation chapter 21 and verse 27, he says, there shall in no wise enter into it, anything that work at the domination or whatsoever make it the lie.

I mean, not even a lie. Now I know if I was to ask you, and I think others have done this, ask you, have you ever told, How many here never told a lie in your life? Raise your hand, nobody can raise your hand. Right? Well, maybe you said, well, I haven’t told a lie. Okay, let me just ask you this. Out of all the 10 commandments, can you say you ever broke it at least one? How many of you would admit?

You’ll admit you broke it at least one of the 10 commandments. Would you raise your hand? You broke it at least one. I ain’t gonna ask you what you wanted it was, But you broke in at least one. Very good. Well, did you know that in James chapter 2, the Bible says that if you break one, you broke. You broke them all. You have just admitted you broke in every commandment there is. Matthew chapter 19. And look there in verse 16.

And unto, and verse 16, and behold, one came and said unto him, good master, what good thing shall I do that I may and have or may have eternal life. Every one of us would like to have eternal life. And Jesus said in verse 17, why call us thou me good? There is none good but one that is God. But if thou will enter into life, keep the commandments. Another way of saying, be perfect. How do you know that when he says keep the commandments he He was saying, be perfect.

Very simple. You see, I always cheat, I always read a little bit further and get the answer before I ask you the question. So he says in verse 21, Jesus said to him, if thou will be what? Perfect. Go and sell all the… because he’s already admitted, oh I’ve done this, not did that, not did this, not did that. Well Christ already knew that he had greed, that he coveted money, he coveted wealth. He said, okay, take everything you got and go sell it.

Because he, he doesn’t matter how many you kept, did you break one? Yep, he broke one. What do I have to do to go to heaven? What do I have to do to have eternal life be perfect? Why would he tell him that? So that man could see the impossibility of it. You see, some people think, oh yeah, do it, just be good. No, you have to be perfect to go to heaven. Christ is perfect. Heaven is perfect. God is perfect.

And to go there, you have to be perfect. And that’s why if you ever really see it, it’ll help you to understand why you cannot add works to the gospel. Now notice what he says here. Down here in verse 25, after he had said this to this guy, Jesus Christ talking to this rich young ruler, his disciples standing there listening to him said, in verse 25, when his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed saying, Who then can be saved?

Well, what did they understand? That Jesus was saying, you have to be what? To go to heaven. You gotta be perfect. You gotta be perfect. That’s why they said, they were amazed. You gotta be perfect. Who then can be saved? Didn’t look at verse 26, but Jesus beheld them and said unto them with what? Men, this is what? Impossible. In other words, it’s impossible for a man to do what? Be perfect. It’s impossible for a man to save himself.

Now me, I can read that and I can see that it’s clear to the bell of my mind. I have no problem with that. Yet there’s a multitude of preachers that cannot see that they do not read that. They cannot discern that and they will tell people you’ve got to keep the commandments to go to heaven. Christ is trying to show you the impossibility so that the law is not designed to save you, the law only points you to Christ.

He can save you because it’s impossible for a man and the folly of some preachers that tell people that you have to stop a certain way of living or start living a certain way. You know, stop being bad and start being good as though your efforts of what you do, a sinful man, is going to help God save you. Now let me show you something that’s very important. Look there in the book of Philippians and chapter three. Shumih, let’s look in first of all in Hebrews chapter five.

Hebrews and chapter five. Hebrews chapter five is a tremendous verse. And this is what it says. In verse nine. In verse nine. And being made, this is talking about Christ. Being made perfect, he became the author eternal salvation. Now listen to me. If he is perfect and becomes the author of eternal salvation, the wages of sin is what? Death. If the wages of sin is death and he is the author of eternal salvation, then in his eternal salvation plan can be no sin.

No room for sin because if there was sin in his plan of salvation, then his salvation could not be perfect and it could not be eternal because death would cause it to cease. Now you understand that don’t you? If you don’t get it I’ll repeat it. He is the author of what kind of salvation? Eternal salvation. If it’s eternal salvation it has to be perfect salvation because he is perfect and he has developed a salvation that is eternal a salvation that is perfect.

How do you know it’s perfect because he’s the author of it and this is what he said. When he died on the cross and he had paid for sins of the world, the last thing he said was it is what? It is finished. If it’s finished, there’s nothing else to add to it. It means that after the work Christ did, there is no work for man to do. If you have to have a perfect salvation done by God and wrought by Christ under the power of the Holy Spirit.

Now it ain’t complete unless man has to add his little two cents worth to that plan. Man’s got to stop some of his sins. Well if he has to do that you had just now entered sin into the plan and it can’t be an eternal salvation. When Christ saves it is forever. It’s an eternal salvation, not partial, not until you sin again. Christ is perfect. He is the author of eternal salvation. If it’s eternal salvation, it is a perfect salvation.

And the work that He did is finished. There’s nothing else that needs to be done concerning the plan of salvation that anybody can add to. You can’t add to it. I can’t add to it. That’s why when you take an individual and try to get him committed to giving up something in his life, some work of the flesh, which the Bible says have no confidence in the flesh, then that means that man is trying to do something by his own efforts by what he stops or what he does to enter into that idea of that plan of salvation, God says it cannot be.

This is why when you have individuals who will talk about it, sure, you’ve got to trust Christ and save him, but then you take man and enter him into this plan of salvation. Well man, his part, he will always fail. And if man will always fail, then that means God has to unsave him. Because man didn’t keep his word, or man didn’t do his part. He didn’t turn from his sin. He didn’t make Christ to learn the master of his life.

So therefore, he loses his salvation. That’s why one of the things that will help you and understand, well, who is really teaching the truth? Any preacher that teaches you can be saved today lost tomorrow DISTRICT because of something you do, that man is a false teacher. He is false, totally false. He’s not of God. He’s, well, I’ve got a relative or I’ve got an uncle Timberwolves, and I’ve got a dad or I’ve got a grand, I don’t care who they are.

I don’t care how much you love them. I don’t know how well you know them. Their message is a false message. They’re a false teacher, false preacher. You cannot add to the eternal gospel that he has given. God doesn’t want man tinking with it, adding to it, taking from it. To say you’ve got to stop your sins to be saved is man’s efforts to save himself. And then if you try to say you got to live a certain way to be safe, that’s false teaching.

Man’s works have nothing to do with it. You are accepting the work Christ did, not what you do. And some people cannot buy the idea, they just can’t believe that it would be so simple. I have you say, that’s just too easy just to believe. But that’s all that it requires. Believing means you’re trusting in the work He did for you. You’re not trusting in your work. See if you think you’ve got to stop your sins and to be saved or you’ve got to live a certain way to prove your saved, then what you’re doing is you’re adding your effort, your work to the gift of eternal life.

And when you stop performing, you doubt your salvation. See, anybody who truly just trusts Christ as their Savior never has to doubt their salvation again Because it doesn’t depend on them But anybody who believes you can lose your salvation because of something that you do have reason to doubt Being saved because there will always be something somewhere along the line that you won’t know whether I’m really saved or not because of the way I live Your salvation is supposed to be anchored in what he did for you not on what you do for him How you live has nothing zero influence with God concerning salvation Does that mean that I promote sinful living?

No. But I’m not going to lie to anybody either to try to get people to live right. Do I want people to serve God? Yes, I do. I don’t know any preacher that hits it harder than what I do. But you do not serve God to be saved. If you don’t serve God, if you have trusted Christ, you are his child. You still are saved. Now take your Bible and turn to the book of Philippians in chapter 3. Philippians and chapter 3.

In Philippians chapter 3 I want you to see this in verse 3. And understand that there are no works that a man can do in order to qualify to be saved. You see what you have to do to be saved is to admit something you are a sinner. Lord, I finally confess, I stop all my sins, I promise that I’m going to serve you, and I’m good enough for you to save now. I’m good enough for you to save.

No. You think God’s going to save you because you promised that you’re going to quit your sins when it’s an impossibility? Do you know it is impossible for you to turn from all of your sins? Impossible? That’s why it’s not that way. Did you know it’s impossible for you to love the Lord by God with all of the heart mind, body, soul, and strength that’s impossible for you? Why? Because you got a sinful nature. Why tell people that you got to do the impossible and believe it, that would not give them the cure?

Sure, I’ve told people if you want to go to heaven, just be perfect. What the hell? You can’t do that. Yeah, you got to point. Since you can’t be perfect to go to heaven, go in the church, ain’t going to make you perfect. Well, if you got to be perfect to go to heaven, well, it’s a sense you’re giving your money, ain’t going to make you perfect. Well, if you’ve got to be perfect to go to heaven, it’s a sense that trying your best ain’t going to make you perfect.

So how are you going to get there? It’s going to have to be free. You don’t get it because you can’t earn it. Here in Philippians in chapter three, looking verse three, for we are the circumcision which rejoice of which worship God in the spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have, and you are on the line, this in your Bible. No confidence in the what? confidence in the flesh. No confidence in the flesh means no confidence in who I am.

No confidence in what I’ve done. See in verse five, if you talk about who you are, he said, well, I’m circumcised the eighth day. The stock of Israel of the tribe of Benjamin, the Hebrew of the Hebrews, as touching law, Pharisee, look who I am. Have no confidence in the flesh as the look who I am. Well, my dad was a preacher, my uncle was a preacher, my great-granddad, he was a preacher. Well, I was raising church all my life and I sing in the choir and I say that has nothing to do with nothing.

Zero! No confidence in the flesh. Well look what I’ve done. Look at verse 6 concerning zeal. Boy am I motivated. I mean I’ll give you the shirt off of my back. I mean I give to all the humanitarian needs and I help to feed the poor children and boy I give my body the burn if it was necessary. I’ll do anything like that and buddy that has nothing to do with anything. Concern is he’ll persecute in the church touching the righteousness which is in the law blameless.

He said, man, you talk about what I’ve done. God’s not impressed with what you’ve done or what you’re going to do. When it comes to going to heaven, it’s not of works. It’s not by the works of righteousness which we have done or the works of righteousness which we’ve promised to do. God never saved you because of the works of righteousness. I stop all my bad deeds. And that’s why God saved you. Think again. He didn’t save you because you quit sins.

He never saved you because you promise you’re going to live for him. He promised you only for, he saved you only one way and that is did you or did you not? Did you accept the payment he made on the cross for you? Are you truly trusting Christ to take you to heaven? If you haven’t done that, you’re lost with a hound dog and he’s in the fruit bone. You won’t go to heaven. Many people, many people lost. Many people thinking their say not saved.

And I’ve traveled around and preached in enough churches and a lot of those people, I’ve been people in independent fundamental Bible-emissionary minded Baptist churches lost. People that sing on the choir, people that have been deacons, lost. People that teach Sunday school classes, lost. Because you see, they never really trust the Lord. They just know they want to go to heaven and they think that because they mean well and they join the church or they quit some of the things in their life and they want to serve God.

That’s salvation. That’s not salvation. That don’t even help you to be saved. That doesn’t get your little pinkies one-inch closer to the pearly gates. Whenever you die, yes, did you or did you not trust Christ? And he’s the one, those whether you did or you didn’t. He’s not interested in whether you sung in the choir. He don’t care what you did. That has nothing to do with you going to heaven. You’re getting to heaven is free, totally free only if there is no flesh involved.

No confidence in the life means that you’re not trusting in your good deeds, you’re not trusting in who you are, you’re not trusting in what you’ve done that gets you to heaven. And yet you can ask some people, how do you know you’re going to heaven? Well, I’ve been going to church all my life. I’ve been sincere, not giving money. You don’t get it. And yet you can be there so Close and not really get what he’s talking about look in verse 7 Remember this when he talks about the word gain it means there’s no pluses There’s no pluses Christ plus No In verse 7, but what things were gained to me or pluses for me look who I am Look what I’ve done both those ought to count for some those ought to be some good brownie points Those are some pluses in my life.

He says, no, those were lost, not gained. See what he says here in verse eight, Yay, Dallas, and I count all things, but lost for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ, Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and do count them, but manure that I may win Christ and get verse nine, and be found where in him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, not having my own right, which is of the law, about that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.

God will not give you his righteousness when you’re trying to work and get your own. You have to totally give up, surrender, stop, trusting in anything you have ever done or ever will do. It’s not a matter, and this is why when you hear preachers tell you that you have to turn from your sins to be saved, that preacher’s not clear. That preacher’s messing with your mind. That’s not the book. When preachers tell you that you have to make Christ the Lord of the master in your life in order for you to get to heaven, that’s not true.

That’s telling you you got to stop something, you got to join something and you’ll trust in what you did for your salvation. And then whenever you got sins in your life and then when you find out he’s not the Lord master of all of things in your life, you begin to doubt whether you’re saved or not and you have rights to because you’re trusting the wrong thing. If I am 100% totally trusting Christ to give me to heaven, if he don’t get me there, I don’t get there.

He don’t save me, I’m not saved. He don’t give me eternal life, I don’t have it. And I’ve never sworn a cuss word in my life, I’ve never drank in my life, I’ve never smoked a cigarette in my life. And people say, well, you gotta live right to go to heaven. Dream on. It’s not by works of righteousness. It’s only through Christ and Him alone as your only hope of ever getting to heaven. Now the only way I know that somebody is saved is because of what they tell me they’re trusting in them and get them to heaven.

If they tell me they’re putting any confidence at all in anything that they’ve done, I doubt their salvation. I doubt their salvation. Why? Because God says if you trust in anything other than him, God says you’re not saved. He said, I didn’t say it. He says Christ profit if you nothing. Nothing. Is it important? Oh, I think so. Remember this, when you talk about Whether you stop something or you’ve got to start doing a certain thing, it is impossible, impossible for a man to totally turn from all of his sins.

So why tell them he has to? What they do? Why tell a person that you have to make Christ the Lord and Master of your life in order to be saved? It’s impossible. That’s impossible. But then they’ll leave it there. But tell you, that’s what you’ve got to do. And so now you try to live the impossible life. That’s why you have people sometimes that say, well, I like to be a Christian, but I can’t live it. What they mean is they’re honest.

They know they’re, they’ve got things in their life and they don’t have the power to quit them or to change them. They know that they have no desire to go to church every Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night. How many times you gotta go to church? You had to go, well, you gotta give money. Okay, how much? What if you give it to your own church? That’s not the Bible. anywhere in here salvation is free. He has given to us an eternal salvation.

It’s a perfect salvation because man has nothing to do with it. A perfect God had a perfect plan. It is finished. All we’re doing is accepting it or rejecting it but you cannot add to it. This hand represents you and me and this wall of represents sin. We all have sin upon us. God loves us, hates our sin. And because you and I have sinned, we’re condemned, all condemned. God says you cannot save yourself. It is impossible. To go to heaven, we have to be perfect because heaven is perfect.

God is perfect. And you and I aren’t. And therefore, there’s nothing that we can do to be perfect. It’s impossible. With men, it’s impossible. This hand represents Jesus Christ, God in the flesh. He came into the world because He loves us. Hates our sin because they separate us from Him. So Christ took the sin, paid for it on the cross, came back from the dead. Because of what He did, it is possible for Him to do what we could not do.

We can accept what He did for us. We are only accepting a work that He did. that he did. There’s not a work for us to do. So when you and I believe that, he gives us eternal life and we go to heaven on what Christ is for us. I hope that you have a trust in Christ as you say. Let’s pray, 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 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 estimates.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, 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 hot 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.

Welcome to Bibleline with Dr. Ralph Yankee Arnold, pastor of 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 The preacher told 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.

How many of you know positively beyond a shadow of a doubt that if you were to die today, you’d go to hell and raise your hand? You ought to have a bunch, trust the Lord this morning. We’ve got a lot of centers down here today. How many of you know you’re going to heaven? Raise your hand. Okay, that’s better. Oh, that’s better. Not better. In other words, you know you’re redeemed. You know you’re redeemed. We often sing a song, I’m redeemed.

And I know I’ve been redeemed. I want you to take your Bible and turn to the book of 1 Peter and 1 Peter. Peter chapter 1, and I want to talk to you about a subject that many people don’t like to talk about today, but I do believe it is very important. A subject on the blood of Jesus Christ. It’s mentioned throughout the scriptures in the Old Testament and many types. In the New Testament, it talks many times about the blood of Jesus Christ.

Now I know that But sometimes that sounds maybe a little repulsive to some people. But if you had to have heart surgery, you’re going to have a doctor that’s going to have to know what to do with the blood situation. You may have to have someone donate some blood in order to save your life. You know also the risk that you run by having a blood transfusion, especially if the blood has been contaminated or if it has the HIV virus, you don’t want to come down with AIDS.

And so there’s a lot of discussion even going on today about how it can be transmitted in all the various ways. Much has to do in the Word of God about the blood itself. Many refer to the Old Testament as God is just a bloodthirsty God and that God of the The New Testament is more kind and gracious, but let me assure you, the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament is the same God.

Here in the book of 1 Peter 1, if you’ll notice down here in verse 18, verse 18, says, For as much as you know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold, from your vain conversation or behavior received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.

If you’ll notice there in this verse, there’s three things in verse 18. We know that from this verse, we are redeemed. And the Bible says, let the redeemed of the the Lord say so. We should know one that we are redeemed. We should also understand by what we are not redeemed. And we should know by what we are redeemed. So if you are redeemed, you should know it. And if you are redeemed, you should know how you were redeemed.

And you should know what did not redeem you. See there in verse 18, he makes the statement here not redeemed with corruptible things. In other words, you and I could not be redeemed or bought back with anything that was corruptible. That means everything in this world is corruptible. So we would have to be redeemed by something from another world because everything in this world is corrupt. Every person is corrupt. You and I cannot be redeemed with anything. Like silver and gold.

God even says that is corruptible things. Like silver and gold. What he means is that you cannot buy your salvation. If you had all the silver and all the gold in the world, you couldn’t pay for it. There’s no way humanly speaking that you could purchase your salvation. You had nothing to offer. If God had salvation up here on a silver platter, you couldn’t purchase it. You couldn’t buy it. Because God says what He wants as far as the price goes, you couldn’t pay it.

It’s out of your realm. It cannot be purchased with corruptible things. And since a man is a sinful man, he can not bring forth the perfect works. Therefore man cannot redeem himself. We had to be redeemed. And the Bible says that we are redeemed in verse 19 with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. The book of Hebrews and chapter 9. And I want you to notice a portion of scripture here in verse 22.

This is the necessity of the blood. Why is it so important? And yes, it does talk about in the Old Testament where they made sacrifices, but the sacrifices that were made were never to pay for sin. It was only to cover the sin until the payment would be made. So yes, they killed animals and the animals’ blood was taken and poured out upon an altar, and that was to cover their sin, but it never took away any of their sin.

It never took away any guilt. It could never remove true forgiveness. It only covered. And so we know that the Bible says here in verse 22, and almost all things are by the law purged with blood. And without shedding a blood is no remission. In other words, it doesn’t take it away unless blood has been shed. Whenever we sin against God, sin, the wages of sin, is death. soul that sineth shall die. So since every man has sinned, every man must die.

And Jesus Christ, His blood is different from all the blood of the animals, all the bulls and the goats and the bullocks, all that was corruptible blood. Had to have incorruptible blood, which means that the blood that flowed in the veins of Jesus Christ was not normal blood. It was different kind of blood. It wasn’t like the blood in our bodies. You see, you and I have an old sinful nature. Sin is passed on by the fathers down through time.

And Jesus was born differently than you and I in the sense of he had no earthly father. And there’s a reason for that. Now explain that in just a moment. But the Bible says that Jesus Christ came and he made this payment for all our sins. And he did it with the blood of Jesus Christ. Now I know this, we sometimes wonder if we get a stain in a suit, a shirt, a coat, whatever. Have you ever tried what gets out the stains?

And you’ll hear people talk about, tied can get it out. Clorox can get it out, you’ll whisk it away. How do you get rid of the stains of sin on the soul. God says in the Old Testament, soap won’t do it. Acid won’t do it. No amount of cleaning products will ever wash away your sin. And yet the Bible says though your sins be red light, crimson they can be as white as white. It’s white as snow like it leaves no spot.

No stains left. How can you and I go to heaven and be spotless. We must be perfect to go to heaven. Well, what can wash away my sin? Anybody know the rest of it? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Nothing but the blood. Because there’s something that about His blood that can take out the stains of sin upon the soul. a little boy made him a little boat. He was playing with a little boat and the current took the boat out of his reach and on down the stream and the little boy lost his boat.

He made it with his own hands and now it was gone. A couple weeks later he saw a little boy playing with a boat and he looked at it and he realized That’s my boat. He said, where did you get that boat? He said, I bought it from the used store downtown He said that’s my boat He says it’s my boat. He said no, that’s my boat He said, how much you want for it? He said, I’ll take $10 for it.

So he worked and got him some money and went and paid the boy $10 to get back his own boat. And he says, now you’re twice mine. I created you. I made you. And now I have bought you. That’s redeemed means to purchase back from off the slave market of sin. God created us and gave us a will. And we chose. to go astray. We chose to be lost. It’s not that God didn’t know where we are. It’s that we don’t know where God is.

And people can’t find God. And left to ourselves. No man can find God. So God is the one that searches for man. But it’s like we’re living in two different worlds. And God is using things in this world to try to get our attention and try to get us to see and he’s given us some miraculous thing and he tells us that he loves us. And that’s why this Bible was written. So we could understand the story of how God is trying to redeem the man back to himself.

What he’s gone through like the little boy trying to redeem the boat back, he says that was lost and that was my boat. And Christ has given the greatest possession that heaven had in order to purchase us back so that we can belong to him. I want you to take your Bible look in the book of Leviticus chapter 17. Way over there in the book of Leviticus and chapter 17. Leviticus 17, 11, makes the statement about the blood and about the altar that it is offered upon.

And if you’ll notice there in verse 11, it makes the statement in verse 11, for the life of the flesh is in the blood. That is an historical fact. Life is in the blood. And I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls. Now that is a historical fact. For it is the blood that makes an atonement for the soul. That’s a theological fact. These three things in this one verse, talking about the life of the flesh is in the blood.

Your body is corrupted because the blood that flows in your veins is corruptible blood because in our blood stream carries the curse of sin. Every man’s sins and every man passes on the sinful nature because of our blood supply has been contaminated. It happened way back in the Garden of Eden. It’s kind of like if our original parents, if Adam had AIDS, if Adam had AIDS and he had a child and his child is going to have AIDS and his next kids are going to have AIDS and you would contaminate the whole world, everybody would have it.

That’s the same as what God is saying with sin. Everybody, because we came from the same parent with contaminated blood. If you and I did not have any curse upon our blood supply, our flesh would probably be a lot different. We can live a lot longer. But there’s something wrong with the blood supply. That’s what the Bible says. And the life of the flesh is in the blood. So when God required the life of the person, then God means for the blood to be shed in order to give the man’s life.

So in order to cover the man’s sin so that every man doesn’t have to die for all of his sins because there would be nobody left in the human race. So God and His mercy provided use animals, but they were only a type until one day God would send into this world a lamb without spot, without blemish, within corruptible blood that would be laid upon or poured out upon an altar for the sins of the whole world. In the Old Testament when a priest went into the holy of holies and he offered the blood upon the altar for his own sins and for the sins of the people, well that would take care of that moment back.

Well the next year he’d have to go in again and that would take care of this year. year and back. And then the next year he’d have to go again and make an altar blood upon the earth for the sins of that year and back. But there would be a time coming in which there would be a high priest that would go into that holy of holies and make one blood sacrifice for his blood upon that altar once and for all.

You see, a lot of people are like this. They think that when you get saved, you’re saved up until that time you believe. And then when you commit some more sins, you got to get another payment for those sins and get forgiveness for those sins, or you lost again, and it has to be reapplied. has to be reapplied and then you have to do it again and then well that’s the same as the Old Testament law. Christ was going to make one payment forever because the payment He would offer would not only be for the sins of the past but for the sins of the future.

That’s why He’s not coming back to ever make another sacrifice because the one that He made wasn’t just for the past but also for the future and that’s why he could sit down. The job was done but in the Old Testament the job was never done. That the blood of bulls and goats could never take away the sin. In other words it couldn’t take the stain out of the soul. The religions of the world as man’s attempt to try to remove the stain of sin from the soul and he can’t do it.

But one drop of blood, incorruptible blood, shed by Jesus Christ can remove all the sin of all the world at one time. That’s power in the blood. Washing you white as snow. It’s mentioned in the book of Psalm, but this is what it’s talking aboutClark and also talked about in the book of Isaiah in chapter 1 and verse 18. Washing you whiter than snow, snow’s white, but to be washed whiter than that. You and I need to understand that but to be watched wider than that.

You and I need to understand that Jesus Christ did not have an earthly father. Not having an earthly father, there was no father through the bloodline would contaminate the blood in the Son of Jesus Christ. That’s why he had to be born of a virgin, no earthly father. Well then where did the blood come from Acts chapter 20 and verse 28 verse 28. He says, take heed therefore unto yourselves and to all the flock over the which the Holy Spirit hath made you overseers to feed the church of God which he hath purchased and what did he purchase it with?

His own blood. This is talking about God did this. God have done that. God planted the seed, the incorruptible seed into the womb of Mary and Mary was used by God to feed the body but the seed came from God. Not a man. That’s why that holy thing that was born was the Son of God. So the blood in Jesus Christ was incorruptible blood. That’s why the Bible calls it the precious blood of Jesus Christ. He has different kind of blood.

When Jesus Christ went to the cross, when he died, when he shed his blood. ever wondered what happened to that blood that was shed? I believe that when Jesus Christ left this earth, He took the blood with Him into heaven. Now I want you to take your Bible and look at this in the book of Hebrews in chapter 9, the book of Hebrews where we began our study, Hebrews and chapter 9. And notice there in Hebrews chapter 9 verse 11 verse 11.

The Bible tells us in verse 11, but Christ being come and high priest of good things to come, so we know that Christ is a high priest. By a greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands that is to say not of this building. There is in heaven a heavenly sanctuary or tabernacle where there is a holy of holies and the holy place, all of that is in heaven. The one that Moses built upon the earth, that tabernacle that he built, and they carry with him through the desert, and he set it up.

And even the one that Solomon built, Solomon’s temple, is all built according to a pattern of a real temple that exists in heaven. Look what he says here in verse 23. It was therefore necessary that the pattern of things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves would better sacrifices than these. where Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands down here on the earth, which are the figures of the what?

Of the true one. But into where? Heaven itself. Christ entered into heaven where there is another tabernacle, there is another altar in the holy of holies in heaven. And the one that Moses built was only a temporary one, pattern after the one that God has up there. So when Jesus Christ went to heaven, He did up there what the high priest did down here. He went and offered a blood sacrifice. He took the blood into heaven. Now look what he says in verse 12.

Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but what’s the next words? By his own blood he entered in. You couldn’t enter into the holy of holies without the blood. The Old Testament high priest, they could not enter into that holy place unless they had the blood of a sacrificed animal without spot and blemming so they could enter into that and offer it upon the altar. So when Christ enters in, I must believe that Jesus Christ entered into the holy place, to the holy of holies with His own blood, and offered it upon the altar for the sins of the whole world, once and for all.

Now notice what it says here. In the last part of verse 12, He, by His own blood, He entered in once where? the holy place where? Not down here. He didn’t do it in the temple that was standing in Jerusalem. Well, where did he do it? I believe it had to be in heaven. In another tabernacle. And notice what’s in it. Into the holy place having obtained what kind of redemption? Eternal redemption for us. Because what they did down here, it was only temporary.

It only covered the sin, never took away any sins. That’s why Jesus Christ, when He came, He was a land without spot. He had incorruptible blood. He had the kind of blood that can take and wash away the sin from your soul and make you white as snow and make you perfect in God’s eyes. So you go to heaven because the blood of Jesus Christ has washed you clean. There’s churches the day that don’t even want to have songs that has anything to do with the blood.

They want to take out those song books that have anything to do with the blood. But I believe that the blood of Jesus Christ is not just like the blood of a normal individual. I believe that Jesus Christ took His blood to heaven. How much of His blood would be necessary to pay for all the sins of the world. I believe one drop will do. But I don’t know how much and I really don’t care. If his blood is still some stain on the ground over in Israel, I believe his blood is incorruptible blood.

It will never corrupt. That’s his blood. That’s where God said he has purchased his church with his own blood. Now notice what he says here. In order to obtain eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats and the ashes of Helper, sprinkle of the unclean sanctified to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the the what? The blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

For this cause, he is the mediator of the new testament or the new contract by means of death because he is like a person who is real rich and he made out a will and the will is no good until the person made out the will dies. So he died the testator has died his will is in effect and everyone that will pass through the blood he says are washed pure and clean. That’s what God has done for us.

And then he says down here in the last part of verse 15, might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. In other words, the high priest, it was this year, and in another year, that’s just like the people today who teach you could be saved today and what tomorrow, lost tomorrow. God have pity upon people who think you could be saved today and lose it tomorrow. Do I believe in once saved always saved? There is no other salvation. I had a preacher tell me one time, he says, you mean you believe in that damn the old doctrine of once saved always saved?

There is no other salvation. And you’re either eternally saved or you’re not saved at all. Hebrews chapter 10 and look in verse 10, by the which will we are sanctified, that word means to be made pure and holy and set apart. Through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ, What’s 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 never sinned in your whole life.

By grace are you saying 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 in 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 a Savior. This hand represents Jesus Christ and God in the 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 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 for the soul and it washes you white as snow. Nothing else will be. There is no other detergent in the world.

It had to come from outside of this world in the corruptible 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 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. For 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 Bibleline and now a closing thought from Pastor Art. 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, 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 line 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’ve been speaking on the subject, Chasening and Rewards. And just as clear as the gospel needs to be to the lost man, the Christian life need to be made crystal clear to the saved man. You need to know what it entails. What is the Christian life all about? Chasening and Rewards. Understanding that though you have eternal life, you cannot live as you please and get away with it. That your heavenly Father wants to Trout bless you here and reward you when you get to heaven.

But if you choose not to, that is your choice. Because salvation is voluntary and the Christian life, your service to the Lord is also voluntary. And And if you choose not to serve the Lord, you need to understand that God will chase in you. And chastening comes in various forms. We’re not to despise the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him. Because you are not, and I am not wise enough, to guide my own life.

We need to be rebuked. We need to be told when we’re walking in the flesh. and therefore we need to know the consequences of continued disobedience. The Word tells us that if we judge sins in our own life that God will not have to, you may wonder why some people are in the Lord’s work and others are not. I believe that anyone who trusts Christ as Savior, becoming a child of God, are to be in full time Christian work.

Now you may work at a secular job, but to you that’s not a secular job. That’s a sacred job. Everything to the Christian should be sacred. Your friends should be sacred. And your family should be sacred. Your job should be sacred to you. Therefore, you’re to live like a Christian regardless of where you may be. You should act like a Christian. You are an ambassador for Christ. So your life is to be a full-time testimony. Never forget that. You may not be paid as a missionary on the foreign field, but you are a missionary.

All of us, as God’s children, are missionaries. We’re either a missionary or a mess. We either need to be reaching someone or someone should be reaching us because that is the will of God for us. I want you to look there in 1 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 11 verse 11. According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, now I want to bring your attention to that word glorious because that word glorious is also like when we read in the book of Romans chapter 3 and verse 23, for all have sin and come short of the glory of God.

The glory of God is the perfection of God. When we see Christ, we will see perfection. He will be glorified. There is the perfection of the gospel. Now keep us in mind. The gospel cannot be an imperfect message, or it could not do a perfect job. Only a perfect gospel can produce perfect results. You and I need to be saved from hell. The gospel is that perfect message that can do the complete perfect job. And that’s why there’s statements mentioned in the book of Hebrews that the law could not make the comers there unto perfect.

It says the sacrifices that were made in the Old Testament could not make a person perfect. But the coming of a better Testament did. Jesus Christ, Him coming and making a payment was a perfect payment to make the comers there unto perfect and then he says, for he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. So we have a perfect gospel that can make a sinner perfect forever. So it’s a glorious gospel and Paul says, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.

Now, I want you to understand, the Bible says in Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 4, but as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak not as please in men, but God which triath our heart, as we were entrusted with this perfect message. God uses this perfect message that’s housed in an earthen vessel, that the power may be of the message and not of the man. So that you can’t take credit for what you did.

God had to do it through you, but it’s that perfect message that takes the perfect word of God which is incorruptible and plants that seed into the heart of another individual and a soul is born again. And when they’re born again, they’re born of God and it’s a perfect birth and if it’s perfect it cannot sin. If it cannot sin it cannot die. And that’s why once you become a child of God, you’re always a child of God. Paul says, I’m thankful for that message.

And I’m thankful that that message was committed to my trust. God trusted me with that message. I believe that if you know enough on how to be saved, you know enough on what to tell. If you can’t tell it, you need to wonder why can’t you tell it? Don’t you know enough? If you don’t know enough, then how do you know you’re saved? How do you know you’re saved? Whatever you did, you can tell somebody else. If you can’t tell it, you need to question whether you are.

Because if you know what it takes to be saved, you know what it takes to tell to somebody else. In verse 12, he says, I thank God our Lord who had enabled me for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry. Now there’s three things I wrote down in your notes. I want you to look there. Number one, God enabled him. He told him, Paul was faithful, God put him Paul was faithful. God put him in the ministry.

God entrust you with a message. If you’ll be faithful, God will put you in the ministry. believe that. God has entrusted you with the gospel. If you had trusted Christ as your Savior, you have the same message, every missionary, every evangelist, every preacher has ever had, you’ve got the same message. You’ve got the same gospel committed to your trust. If you will be faithful to it, God will put you in the ministry. That ministry might be in some Sunday school class, Yes, it might be on your job, but you’ll have a ministry if you’ll be faithful.

That’s all you have to be. God didn’t ask you to be rich. He didn’t ask you to be good-looking. He didn’t ask you to be famous. He just asked you to be faithful. Now, can you handle it? Can you do it? You can, but most people won’t. So that’s why you need to understand, chasing and rewards. God is going to chase in you if you will not be faithful to the message that He committed to your trust. It is the will of God that every child of God, when be able to Christ, you are a tree that is supposed to bear fruit.

I love it when we all work together on getting the gospel out, but it will never eliminate the personal responsibility that we have to talk to people about the Lord. And yet the hardest thing you’ll ever face is getting started. It’s kind of like the guy that realized he had to have surgery. And he was laying on the operating table and there’s the doctor. He says, Doc, he says, this is the first time I’ve ever had surgery and I’m scared to death.

The doctor looked at him and says, you know, this is the first surgery I’ve ever performed and I know exactly how you feel. This one guy he never been bear hunting before, but he always figured that he could do it. So he went up in the mountains with his guy to go bear hunting. The old bear hunter, he was going to get something to eat here and we’re going to go get us a bear. He’s, well, you know, I’ve never been bear hunting before.

I don’t know what to do with him. He said, well, you learn. You learn quick. So, okay, he left with his gun and left the guy in the shack and he left. About a half an hour later, he comes back to Holland. He came through and he opened the door, he went in, opened the back door and he went out and closed the door. That bear came right in behind him. He says, you clean that one and I’ll go get another one.

You’ll find out what to do if you just get started somehow, someway. Kind of like this guy was down there in the field. He looked up there and the guy was out there in the field with him. He said, did you see that? He says, that mountain lion just went in your house. Isn’t your wife in the house? So yeah, well what you gonna do? He said nothing. That mountain lion will just have to get out of there the best way he can.

She wants you to know how to do the job. It’s easier after a while. But this is what he said in verse 12. I think Jesus Christ our Lord who at the neighborhood mean, he gave you something. He counted me faithful. I was faithful and then God put me in the ministry. You see, God don’t just put you in the ministry. It’s because of faithfulness. In verse 13, who was before? He said, look what I was before. He said, I was a blasphemer, a persecutor, injurious, but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly and unbelief.

And the grace of our Lord was exceeding the abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief. And if God can say the chief, he can save all the little Indians, right? He says, I’m the chief of sinners. I mean, if there’s any, he didn’t know anybody worse than what he was because he persecuted the Christians.

He caused them to be put to death. He was even instrumental in Stephen’s been stoned to death. In verse 16, he said, how bit for this cause I obtain mercy that in me, first, Jesus might show forth all along suffering for a pattern to them, which it here after believe on him to life everlasting. In other words, God, saving Paul as bad as he was was a pattern that if God can save Paul as bad as he is, God can save who?

Anybody. He can save anybody because he committed murder. He did it all. And God saved him. All he had do is believe and God gave him eternal life. And Paul says, he gave me this message and I want to be found faithful to it. This is a faithful saying worthy of all acceptation. Christ Jesus came into the world of safe sinners of whom I am chief. Ecclesiastes chapter 8 verse 11, we won’t turn to all of these scriptures for the sake of time.

But look at this, God has given us the real reasons why many people do wrong and think they can actually get away with it even in the sight of God. You see, because God is so loving, He is so patient, He’s long-suffering, that God seemed like He’s taken forever and or He didn’t see it and you’re getting away with something. And God gives people room, gives them time to correct things in their life. He makes this statement because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily.

People forget that there’s usually a time lapse between planting and reaping. And those are the scriptures that we read this morning. That God says that if we sow, we’re going to reap what we sow and to be found faithful to the Lord, and we will reap if we faint not. It’s so important. Deuteronomy 32.35 says, to me be long with vengeance and recompense. means I’m gonna get even with you. It recommends, pence means, to pay back. And God’s is going to pay back.

Remember, he is patient, he’s long-suffering. You can choose to rebel against the Lord and not do right. You don’t have to obey God. But there are consequences to not obey in God. It may be months, it could be several years. But whatever it is, God is going to pay back. And you’ll wish you to serve the Lord. You can never go against God and win. You don’t win. Even though at times it looks like it’s not worth serving God.

And you become so tired and weary of well doing. But he says, be not weary in well doing. He says, don’t faint. We shall reap if we faint not. Don’t quit. Don’t give up. Keep trusting God. Keep believing what he says. And he will come through. He always come through in the nick of time. He knows how much you can take. The only reason you fail in certain Lord is not because you had to, because you chose to, it was a choice.

The result of what we do is often not produced until later. If you sow to the flesh, you will reap of the flesh. The flesh is your first birth, that you’re all sinful nature. If you sow to sin, sin is a seed that will grow and produce more corruption in your life. It’s not that you can do one thing and forget about it. It’s a seed that’s planted, words or seeds that are planted and they grow. And a lot of damage can be done, so be careful.

I want you to look in Luke chapter 12 and verse 15. There’s people who are worried more about the things of this world. Look in verse 13, we’ll start in verse 13, it says, And one of the companies said unto him, Masters speak to my brother that he divide the inheritance with me. Now, chances are this is a younger brother talking to an older brother because generally everything is left to the older brother in Bible times and he would inherit everything.

That was the value of being the first born. And this is what was so wrong with Jacob and Esau because he saw his birthright for a Mesopotag. He says in verse 14, Jesus said in him, man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? But I’m supposed to sit down and divide up an inheritance between you and your brother. But he used it as an opportunity to teach a very viable lesson to the young man. He said to him, take heed and beware of covetousness for a man’s life consists of not in the abundance of the things which he possesses.

Covetousness means you covet, desire, what everybody else has. You want more money because it makes you happy. Are you trying to live under some image that you’ve got to portray to somebody? And you’ve got to have a certain car because that’s your image. Or a certain house because that’s your image. You’ve got to dress away that’s your image. Wait a minute. You make sure that it’s not just you’re a covetous individual and you desire all these wealthy things. Being an individual that if God took away everything that you have, it wouldn’t change you one eye over because you’re still a person of character.

There’s nothing wrong in having things as long as those things don’t come between you and God but you’re a fool when you don’t lay up treasures in heaven. Understand chasing and rewards. Going to heaven is free. What you have when you get there is a result of what you do for the Lord. So God sends you a lot of problems in life. Every problem is an opportunity for you to gain rewards, for you to prove faithfulness and some of our trials and testings are not going to be perdy.

Some of them are going to be mean and ugly. There’s a lot of rough spots in the old road and you’re going to lose loved ones. Are you going to have people that’s going to get sick? It’s grace to go through it, not escape from it. It’s the temptations we want to escape from. But there are certain problems we don’t escape from we must learn from. The things of the world are troubled to get. Don’t satisfy when you get them and produce great sorrow when they’re lost.

It has been said that the life of the world is the life of the constantly bursting bubble. A disciplined life for the Lord will cost you work, time and effort, but an undisciplined life costs much more. Usually you will find it is not so much a question of knowing God’s will for your life as being willing to do it. You see if God walked in here right now and told everyone of exactly what he wanted you to do, you’d have trouble with it.

You’d have trouble with it. Not that you don’t know it, it’s just that you don’t want to do it. But you want the benefits of a dedicated discipline life, but you don’t want to be disciplined to get it. It won’t work. It’s like you love the cake, but you don’t like the ingredients that goes into the cake. You want to shortchange it, not put certain ingredients in it. And so you get upset when you don’t like the results. It didn’t turn out the way you expected.

You see, God is the one that designed life and he knows the ingredients that goes into a good Christian life. And you want to leave out some of the ingredients like prayer. And you want to leave out Bible study. And you want to leave out faithfulness to church. Or you want to leave out giving. You want to leave out something because you don’t see no need for that. And then you rob yourself because it doesn’t work the way you think.

Well, I tried the Christian life. You don’t try the Christian life. You live the Christian life. It’s a way of life. It works on you. You don’t have to work on the Christian life. Determine that your life is going to amount to something for the Lord. And then discipline your life to that end. Aim for the highest. Don’t settle for being an average Christian. After all, average is just as close to the bottom as it is to the top, ain’t it?

Well, I’m just an average Christian. That means you’re nothing. You ain’t no closer to the top as you are from the bottom. You’re just average. If you want to be an unusual Christian, you have to do unusual things. You have to be unusually disciplined to be more. Don’t be ordinary. Stand up for the Lord Jesus Christ and serve Him. Well, all that is within you. You’ve heard me make this statement so many times. Your future is being determined by your obedience to God today.

What you do this day is going to affect eternity. It affects the jubbies of the Christ where God is going to reward you. It affects the blessings that you’ll receive tomorrow. And you make wrong decisions today and those wrong decisions are going to plant seeds that you’ve got to deal with tomorrow. If you want to accomplish great things for the Lord in the future, you must accomplish something great for the Lord today. Now in 2 Chronicles 16 and 9, the Bible says it’s like God’s eyes are like radar screens.

And He searches to and fro throughout the whole earth, looking for a man that God can show Himself strong on His behalf. In other words, God says, without me you’re nothing. But with me, I can make you great. I can do things for you. I can do things through you. I can use you. See, God says that He’s looking for people to use, but He can’t bless disobedience. And He wants to use you. He has to have a person whose heart is right.

Do you love God? See, if you love God, all these other things will fall into place. But if you don’t love God, all these are just rules and regulations and you can’t stand that. Then it becomes legalistic to you. And living by grace means I do it because I want to, because of what He’s done for me. He loved me and that was unmerited. He died for me. That was unmerited. He saved me. That was unmerited. That unmerited benefits that I received is why I live.

So I Live by grace means I live because of these un-American things that I’ve received. That’s why he says, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, means in view of what God’s done for you. You yield your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. In Hebrews chapter 11, verse 24 through 26, the Bible tells us that Moses had respect onto the recompense of the reward. But when he chose to suffer with the people of God, he had to refuse something.

And that’s the way it is in life. You’re always, if you choose something for God, you had to refuse something in the world. He refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He refused that honor and that position. He refused all of that. He refused the treasures of what he could have had, what he could have been. refuse all of that and he chose something else. Every day you make a decision, you’re choosing and refusing. There’s temptations that you’re going to face and somebody might look mighty good to you and you’re going to have to refuse, refuse.

Let me ask you a question. If a person was to approach you, proposition you. Would you yield? If nobody else would know. There’s a God in heaven that knows the answer to that question. You have to be willing to refuse, but you see you need predetermined decisions. Determined before that moment. I will not. I will not. Determine ahead of time, predetermined dedication to God. If I dedicate my life to the Lord, and I’ve said it so easy to dedicate your life which you don’t have, it’s so difficult to dedicate the day you do have.

But if you dedicate your life to the Lord, that’s predetermined dedication. I’m determining that tomorrow belongs to the Lord. The next day belongs to the Lord. The next day belongs to the Lord. I’ve given him my life. I predetermined. I’m gonna refuse certain things. I’ve refused them. There are certain things in the world I have refused. That I might choose something better and you’ll face that every day of your life. And some days you may fail. And when you fail, what should you do?

Own up to it, confess it to God and keep going. Never let some sin that you’ve ever done. Today or in the past or tomorrow, So whenever, ever keep you down, because I got good news for you, we serve a God of second chance and 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 can 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. sin 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 sin represents Jesus Christ. God is our sin 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. He’s 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. The 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, 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 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 accepted, what would you have?

Do you turn away? If it’s eternal life and it lasts forever, where are you gonna go and die? We’d 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 We 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, calvaryoftampa.org.

Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, and now a closing thought from Pastor Art. 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, 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 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.

You cannot honestly serve God faithfully Without understanding, chasing, and rewards, you need to be clear on this. Eternal life is guaranteed to all believers, but never make the mistake of thinking Christians can live as they please without consequences. They cannot. This is very important because failure to make this clear can keep a person from wanting to trust Christ as their Savior. in chapter 32, Numbers 32, look there in verse 5. It says, Workforce said, they, if we have found grace and thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession and bring us not over Jordan.

There were a couple tribes. They wanted to be on one side of Jordan. They didn’t want to cross over. And so Moses says, now wait a minute. You mean you want to stay on this side and You don’t want to go over there and fight the enemy because the enemy was in the land of Canaan. He says, should you stay here and they go to war? So he says in verse 6, Moses said unto the children of Gad, unto the children of Ruben, shall your brethren go to war?

Shall ye sit here? Wherefore it discouraged ye the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the Lord had given them? Thus did your fathers when I sent them from Cady’spernaeh to see the land. For when they went up unto the valley of Esco and saw the land they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel that they should not go into the land which the Lord had given them. He says, don’t you remember 40 years ago?

When I set those 12 spies into the land, 10 of them came back with an evil report and discouraged the people and two and a half million people didn’t go into the land because they got discouraged and didn’t believe that they coulduyomi the land. The only two was Joshua and Caleb and they got to go into the land. He says, so for 40 years, people from 20 years old enough that murmured against them and wouldn’t go. He said, they died off.

And now you’re trying to tell me 40 years later, you don’t want to go into the land. You don’t want to fight. And the Lord’s anger was kindled against Israel and He made them wander into wilderness 40 years till all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the Lord was consumed. In other words, God just let them die. You don’t want to go into the land? You don’t have to go into land. You die here in the wilderness.

And everybody who did want to go, God kept them alive. And it’s something God can keep certain ones alive and other ones died. And everybody from a certain age to a certain age, they all died. After 40 years, God just let them die. And all the other one, God kept them alive. 40 years. And he said, Joshua and Caleb, who did believe them up there in verse 12. Two of them believed God and those two got to go into the land.

Isn’t it something? The other 10 died and it was to stay alive. You think life and death is in God’s head or it’s just a coincidence? You think your life is just a coincidence? No, it’s not a coincidence. All the things that happens is not well, it’s just a coincidence. No, it’s not. Your life is being determined by the decisions that you make and the attitude that you have between you and your God today. The quality of your life is being determined by your obedience to God now.

And what happens tomorrow and the next day and the next day is all been prepared based upon how you are. You say not through, yes it is, believe the Bible. Whether you’ll never die, it’s in God’s hands, but some people live and some people died. We say, well when it’s your time to go, you’re going to go. You ever hear people say that? Not necessarily true. Why? Because it was the will of God that all those people went into the land.

Did they all go? No. the will of God that those other ten that went into spy the land, they would have bled to win your land, but did they live? No, they didn’t. They died. Well, it was their time to go, nor was it? It’s because they hurried matters along. They rebelled against the Lord. Now look there in verse 14, and behold here risen up in your Father’s dead. Forty years later, an increase of sinful men to augment yet the fierce anger of the Lord toward Israel.

For if you turn away from after Him, he will yet again lead them in the wilderness and ye shall destroy all those people. In other words, you want repeat. Some people never learn, never learn. You have sown wild oats in the past and you reap the wild oats now and instead of you learning from that you’ll keep on sown in more wild oats. Why? So you can reap more wild oats later. Now, as my wife would say, I hate to say what does don mean?

I don’t know but it says a lot. Verse 17 says, but we ourselves will go ready armed before the children of Israel until we have brought them on to their place. He says, here’s what we’ll do. If you let us stay on this side of Jordan, we’ll go into the land, first fight the enemy and after it’s all over with, then we’ll come back. But we want to just be able to have a place for our wife and our kids and for the animals and then we’ll go and fight with Israel and then after it’s done, then we’ll go back and Moses says that is acceptable.

That is acceptable. And verse 20, and Moses said to them, if you will do this thing, if you will go on before the Lord to war, and will go all of you armed over Jordan before the Lord until he hath driven out his enemies from before him, and the land be subdued before the Lord, then afterwards ye shall return and be guiltless before the Lord, and before Israel, and this land shall be your possession before the Lord. But, let me, you’ve heard this verse before, but But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord and you are to underline this in your Bible.

Be sure your sin will find you out. Do you believe that as a Christian you can live your life the way you want and get away with it? You say, well, no, but you’ll do it. You’ll still be mean and ugly and unkind and will not wholly follow the Lord and you know what’s wrong and you still won’t be truly dedicated to God. You’re half-hearted. It’s the same thing. Delayed obedience is disobedience. Now, I want you to look there in your notes.

You say, I was wondering when we’d get to those. Look at the first little box. This is under chasting and rewards. You cannot honestly serve God faithfully without understanding, chasting and rewards. You need to be clear on this. Eternal life is guaranteed to all believers, but never make the mistake of thinking Christians can live as they please without consequences. They cannot. This is very important because failure to make this clear can keep a person from wanting to trust Christ as their Savior.

It is important for you to know if you want to serve God, you need to understand, change rewards. What does it mean? It’s the way God deals with his children. Because once you trust him as your Savior, you are his child forever. You can never lose your salvation. He’ll never cast you out, never lose you. You are his child. But how does God deal with his children? That you need to know so that you’ll understand how to serve God.

Why you should serve Lord? How to perceive the things that happens to a child of God. Number one, the privileges. There are privileges that you can have. Privileges are things that God gives to you when you are saved, you become God’s son and God becomes your father. While you have certain privileges as a child of God, your father also has the responsibility of taking care of you. Point one, understand this, now you’re God’s child. There There are privileges that you get as a child of God, the lost man doesn’t get.

Cause he’s not a child of God. You are your special, yes you are. You’re now his child, you’re special. But God, being your father, he has also responsibilities to you. isSpecial And one of those responsibilities is, is he cannot let you live as you please and get a way with it. Do you understand that? Do youCatal understand that? Shake your head. All right. I would like to know that I’m not speaking to a bunch of zombies, that you do have movement in your head, and you do hear what I’m saying, because you will give a count to God for what you hear.

The next statement, number two, punishments. If a person thinks a Christian could live in sin and not be punished for it, he doesn’t know much of the Bible, nor does he understand the working of the Holy Spirit in the life of a Christian. You are his child. You have opportunities. You are privileged to live this side of eternity, and God wants to use you, His child, to accomplish great things. You are not here for you. Your biggest mistake is going to believe.

I’m here for me. And what I want and what I want to do and what I want to be, that’s the priority. That’s wrong. If you put yourself in front of God, that’s idolatry. That’s idol worship. You worship yourself. You may not worship somebody. You may worship you. Your will over God’s will. The last statement he says in the book of 1 John chapter 5, Little Children, keep yourselves from idols, worshiping something other than God, and it could be yourself.

I’m going to do what I wanted. What about me? My life. No, it’s not. It’s God’s, and you belong to Him. So your building life is defined the will of God for you. So you understand there’s privileges. There’s punishments when you disobey. Look at the next statement, God deals with his children mainly in two ways. For blessing, for chastening. Now do you want the blessings of God or the chastening of God? Chastening isn’t always bad. There’s several parts to chastening.

Chastening also finds underneath it the area of discipline, of correction. It’s a form of raising a child. It’s not always bad. But when a child does that which is wrong, he is to be corrected. He is to be reviewed. He is to be chastened in the sense that he is to have corporal punishment. And your heavenly father will do this to you. And he says that he will chase in every son whom he received it. If a child of God doesn’t receive chasening, then God said that’s not his child.

That’s what God said. God says that is a bastard. That’s an illegitimate child, not his. Somebody claiming to be God’s child, but not his child. If you are a child of God, God said, He will chase them, and very severely if necessary. But understand, number one, just because you’re His child, forever, and He’ll never cash you out in neveloosia, don’t you misunderstand grace. Grace gets you into the family of God, but now that you are a child of God, in His family, you cannot live as you please and get away with it.

want you to live by grace means live for the Lord because of what he did. But when you don’t appreciate what he did you can take that free gift of eternal life and never serve God. But God says that you don’t understand. I’m gonna chase in you and you’re not gonna like it. No chasing for the presence, same to be joyous but grievous but nevertheless afterwards it yielded the the peaceable fruit of righteousness. In other words, God chastens you for a reason, but number one, for blessing.

When you respond to and obey the Lord’s leading in your life, God’s discipline for you will be mainly one of guidance, encouragement, and further instruction. Because there’s a God in heaven that wants to bless you. But he cannot bless disobedience. And some of God’s children, if, remember this, I was talking to somebody about this just a couple days ago. You need to be focused. When you go up here and you hear Greg Stewart dare to share, he is a man that is focused.

Years, a couple years ago, people used to talk about Tiger Woods. He was so focused upon God. He thought nothing but God. He was focused. One thing, a double minded man is unstable in all of his ways, a double minded man. A double minded Christian, that verses to believers not lost people. Double minded man is you don’t follow the Lord wholly, not totally. You only dabble with it. Enough to try to keep God off your back or hoping that you’re doing just enough that get some blessing so that you can halfway enjoy life because you feel guilty if you don’t do You’re coming to church by being out of guilt more than because you love the Lord.

You read the Bible because you’re guilty if you don’t do it, not because you really want to and you can’t wait to study the Bible or you pray or you’re witness to somebody because you want to but not out of guilt. And some people feel guilty because and they live their life in guilt. That’s not grace, that’s legalism. And all that you do… It’s not a guilt, it’s legalism. When you do because you want to, that’s grace. And many people have never learned how to live by grace.

You do because you want to. You treat your husband right because you want to. You treat your wife right because you want to. You live a good life because you want to. Or I do because I have to. No, you don’t get it. And if you don’t serve God fully and holy, then God says he’s going to chase you. So many of you are going to be in the right place. So many of God’s children live under the state of Chastin all their life.

They really are not blessed They’re not sometimes totally happy and peaceful and joyful and like they read in the Bible It’s like there’s another world that they know nothing about because they never experienced it number two Chastin when you rebel against God’s leading he will deal with you as strong a measure as it takes for you to obey him that you still may not, and God may have to take you home. You see, God took some people. He says, I can take you to, do you know from Katie Sparnia into the promised land was only 11 days journey?

11 days journey, it’s all the further it was. And it took them 40 years to go an 11 days journey. Some of you have been saved 20, 30, 40 years. And you still haven’t got out of the wilderness yet Because you’ve never gotten to the land that flows with milk and honey. You’ve never enjoyed the blessings of God. You’re still always in the land of chastity because you won’t follow Him wholly, fully, and really enjoy the things of God.

And that’s why when things go wrong, you fall apart in your murmur and complain about everything because you’re not right. It’s not God. It’s not people. It’s not circumstances. It’s you. You aren’t doing right. You haven’t put Him first. He is not number one. You are not focused. You’re double minded and you’re never gonna have what you could have had if you’d have put him first. It’ll be all world and life that you never knew about. Heard about but never experienced for yourself.

Look in the little box that says people are motivated mainly by two things, love and fear. Okay. Serving God is different from being taught. I said, I’m teaching but you gotta catch it. If you never catch it, then you’ll never get it. It’ll be knowledge, but you didn’t catch it. Of a lot of people that I’ve talked to over the years, there’s a few handful that really catch what I’m talking about, even on the clarity of the gospel. So important.

Let me tell you that you’re not going to understand the simplicity of serving God until you understand Chasing and rewards the blessings of the chasing of the punishment Understand the difference of what brings And that’s why when you read these Old Testament stories and it talks about how that here’s all these people That could could have gone into the land 40 years before They didn’t they didn’t believe God They didn’t trust him. So what did God we had died in the wilderness God says okay?

They did. God let them die in the wilderness. See, if you serve God holy, then your Father is obligated to take care of His children, to bless you, protect you, provide all these wonderful things. But when you want to leave that position as a child of God, and get out here in the world and do yourself, I don’t need you God. I know what I want. I know what’s best for me and I don’t want your will. You’re too legalistic.

You’re too strict. I want freedom. So you go out here and you get trapped in all of these sins. You rebel against God. God says, well, that’s what you want. It’s what you got. Shut up. Stop whining and complaining. That’s your choice because you wouldn’t serve me holy. You know who I am? You know I’m God. You know you’re your child. You know I’ll never catch on. I’ll never lose you. But say you bring that upon yourself. Many of God’s people do.

They bring misery upon themselves because they won’t serve the Lord with joyfulness of heart. Number one, under Proverbs chapter 3 verse 11 and 12, I want you to look at the Scriptures for the sake of time. He says, for whom the Lord Levoth, he corrected. For whom the Lord levoth, he, what? He correct. It means he doesn’t let you just do what you want. So many times you’ll find yourself, you’re always going through life resisting God and God resisting you.

You want something, God now let me get it. I ain’t got a miserable way to live. The kid wants something that he ain’t supposed to have and and here’s my man daddy wanting the kid to have something that he can have and because he won’t do what he supposed to do, he don’t get that or the other! He don’t get any of them. Who’s false that? Well, the kid won’t obey. And they think that you’re so strict. Well, let me do what I want to do.

God says, look, I designed life. I know what’s best for you. But isn’t it true that most people think they know what’s best for themselves? Your way will work better than God’s way. That’s why you’ll challenge God. You’re always arguing with God. Back talk God. Instead of Lord, whatever you want. Did you ever see Jesus doing that? Not what I will, but I will be done. Here he makes a statement in his quote. Hebrews chapter 12 verse 6, notice, when God corrects you, it is because, hey what?

He hates you? No. Because he loves you and he lights in you and knows what’s best for you. Do you believe that? Do you believe that you’re heavenly Father knows what’s best for you? Yes, he does. His will will never lead you into sin. It’ll never lead you contrary to truth. His will will not do that. The Holy Spirit that dwells within you will never lead you contrary to that which is righteous and holy. At least in the wrong direction, you know it’s not of God.

The other statement here in Job chapter 5 verse 17, Behold, happy is the man whom God corrected. Therefore despise not now the chastening of the Almighty. Happy is the man to whom God corrects. When God has the freedom to the Holy Spirit to work in your life and correct you, God says, you’re going to be a happy man. When you learn to listen to God, you can be happy. If you don’t, you won’t be happy. You’ll never be happy.

Happiness will be something that will be like a soap bubble that always pops in your hand. You live in a dream world, a bubble world, make believe world, and it’s not there. And some people need to get a grip on life and understand the truth of what God’s Word is teaching. I want you to note this now. I’ve mentioned to this many times, but I wanted to put it down in print, So you got a copy of it first John one nine just look at this first year when a Christian disobeys God He should confess it right away every time you confess your sin you will be forgiven It’s what God promises God forgives you for what you do wrong and if you will judge yourself God won’t have to you understand that Do you understand that when you do wrong you confess it God will forgive you do you understand that?

Now there’s two other things you need to understand that Whenever you do something wrong There’s something important to realize. Letter A, God does not guarantee restoration of fellowship on the basis of confession of sin. Fellowship with the Lord comes when a Christian walks with God. When he disciplines his life so that he has things in common with the Lord. You see fellowship with the Lord is to walk in an agreement. And just because you can fester sin doesn’t make everything right with God because you confess to sin.

You were right in confessing the sin, but that doesn’t mean everything’s right now. You need to restore your walk Your fellowship will be restored when your walk is restored if you don’t restore your walk Then your fellowship and your joy will not be there The other point I want you to say there number better be God does not guarantee Restoration of damage resulting from sin on the basis of confession of sin for instance perhaps a Christian has gone away from things of the Lord and starts to drink, ruins his kidneys.

He confesses his sin, yes, the Lord will forgive him, but that forgiveness doesn’t heal his damaged kidneys. Do you understand that? You reap what you sow. The law of the harvest is always you reap the same thing. You reap later and more of it. You understand that. See my responsibilities is try to get you to understand something. I can’t make you apply anything. True? You’re the one that decides whether or not will you walk with God or will you not walk with God?

Will you serve Him wholly or will you just be half-hearted? Did you really understand what the Word of God teaches? It is so important. Look at number four because there is a natural result of sin as well as God’s personal chastisement in your life. Galatians 6, 7 says be not deceived. I wonder why it says that. Because so many people are what? Deceded. They deceived them. That means that you can’t see it. You don’t understand. You won’t believe that it will work.

And just like Satan has blinded the minds of the multitude of the people in the world from here and understand the simple plan of salvation. They think it’s so complicated, so hard. They can’t see that. And you’re saved and you understand why can’t they see it? It’s so simple. But then you turn right around and you can’t see the simplicity of certain. It’s so simple. God is not mocked. But whatsoever a man soeth, that shall he also read. Notice that God does not add, except He confessed.

If you can face your sins, then you won’t reap it. No, no, no. You can sow bad things and bad decisions and you can confess and say that was wrong. In other words, a man may run around with his wife. Oh honey, I’m so sorry. That was so wrong. Please forgive me. She’s not forgive you. There’s the door. Don’t come back. You see, being restored means you got to restore the walk and you may not be able to restore that walk.

She may not want to walk with you, no more. Does God forgive you? God can forgive you. But does it mean the marriage is healed just because you will I forgive me I forgive No, that doesn’t mean they killed I don’t make everything right That don’t do all the damage has been done and those results can hinder your life for the rest of your life understand that and It’ll take an awful lot of the grace of God in an individual to overcome some of the things that people do to each other And just well, I’m sorry angle cut it You have to rebuild a relationship.

You have to rebuild that trustworthiness. It’s not automatically given. You’ve got to rebuild. Many of God’s people are rebuilders. We mess up and we’ve got to rebuild. But it always starts with, I was wrong. I’m sorry. Will you forgive me? That’s where you start. You have to admit. Look up here. This is you and me and this is sin. We all have sin on us. God says he loves us. God always loves us. Hates our sin but he loves us.

And for you and out of paper, sin, turn on separation from God, and hell, but he loves us. He wants us to go to heaven. To go to heaven, we have to be as righteous as God. None of us are righteous. We’re all sinners. We can’t save ourselves. God says you cannot save yourself by the things that you do. It’s not by works of righteousness. This hand represents Jesus Christ. He’s the Lord. God in the face. He came into the world.

He calls it loins us. Hates our sin. The other sins separates us from him. So Christ, he took the sin, the sin, paid for it on the cross, came back from the dead. Said that we would believe he did it for us. He’d put the payment to our account. We’d go to heaven on what he did for us. So I trusted Christ as my Savior, and he saved me, gave me eternal life. I became his child. As a child of God, I don’t go to church because I have to.

No, I don’t. I don’t read my Bible, and I don’t wish because I have to. I live by grace, because I want to. If you do all those things, because you have to, you don’t have to do any of those things. And God’s the one that knows that you’re doing it half hardly and you’re not doing it out of love. You’d be better off, you stayed home. Then the day I hit the credit. I’m gonna be honest with you.

You said, that’s what I wanted, no, no. I wanted to do it. Holy, holy, holy for the right reasons because you love him, because of what he’s done. No, I want families to be healed. I want kids to do right. I want husbands, but love them, wives, wives, and love them. I want everything that will be right. Because I know that that’s what God wants. And God bless us. God, be this word. 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 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 Arden. 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 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 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.

Here in the book of 1 Corinthians 1 it says in verse 26, And ye see your calling brethren, now this is to those who have trusted Christ as Savior. How that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. But God have chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. God have chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty. Bass things of the world and things which are despised have God chosen.

Yay and things which are not to bring to not things that are, that no flesh is glory in his presence. See, God wants an individual to be saved by grace and not by works lest any man should boast. But after you’ve trusted Christ as your Savior, to realize that God wants to use you, it’s not going to be because you have such self-confidence in your talents and in your ability. I told him, and this is the other day. I said, what is that?

He said it’s a pen. I said, what’s the purpose of the pen? He says to write. I said, there’s a lot of $5 pens in the world and a lot of 3 cent pencils. I said, but if the $5 pen doesn’t write and I needed an important message to get down, I said, what do you think I ought to do? I’d use that 3 cent pencil. I said, I’m a 3 cent pencil and I want God to use me because there’s a lot of $5 pens.

It’s got a lot of talent and a lot of ability, but they’ll never yield themselves to God. I want to read to you a brief story. It’s the story that’s in this little book right here. It’s called Outbreak, written by Greg Steer, hot off the press. He sent me a copy. And he said in here, thank you so much for teaching me the importance of the clear gospel and the essence of real youth ministry. May God unleash a viral revival of biblical proportions across this nation to leave a legacy.

Greg. And he wanted me to have a copy of it and he marked a couple of places in here where he referred to myself. He told us a story in here. I was glancing through it and I saw it and I said, this is something that he wrote about a guy that really influenced his life. Because sometimes we look at people differently than what God looks at people. And he says this, Doug came from a broken family in the inner city.

He was reared in a climate of extreme violence and dysfunction. Physical altercations between family members and absolute strangers were common in Doug’s neighborhood and household. To add to Doug’s problems, he He had a dangerous form of epilepsy. Grand mal seizures were part of his routine. Two separate times he had such severe seizures that his heart stopped and he nearly died. Doug always struggled in school. He had a hard time learning, was a bit slow, even when it came to the most basic subjects.

He tried hard but often he just couldn’t get it. Kids can be cruel. they made fun of Doug. His epilepsy and learning disabilities made him an easy target. More often than not, Doug responded with his fist. He had learned the art of violence firsthand and was ready to practice it anytime, anywhere, and with anyone. As a result, suspensions from school and trouble with the law followed. Doug was walking quickly down the path of self-destruction. One day Doug was invited to go to a Christian camp in Florida when we took many times.

When he went, he was challenged by speaker after speaker to make a difference with his life. Each of those powerful preachers seemed to be talking straight to him. They preached about the person of Jesus Christ and the purpose that he offers to those who follow him. They talked about the need to tell others the good news of forgiveness through Jesus Christ. As they could be saved from hopelessness, now and hell later. Doug was hooked. That week he dedicated his life to follow Jesus Christ and keep others out of hell.

After a few major setbacks when he arrived home, he began to live a life that was summoned for Christ. Every day was another opportunity to tell someone else about Jesus Christ. At 16 years old, he didn’t have a car. He didn’t even own a bike, so he began to walk and talk. It was common for people driving down the street to see Doug witness into some person, waiting at the bus stop or hitchhiking. He stuttered and stambered his way through gospel presentation after gospel presentation.

The surprising thing was that more often than not people listened. It wasn’t that he was articulate. It wasn’t that he was suave. It wasn’t that he was all that logical. But he reeked of a contagious authenticity that would contaminate his listeners. His smile could light up a dark room. His heart was filled with the love of Jesus Christ and the people he was talking to. One day, Doug asked me to go soul-winning with him early on a Saturday morning.

To be honest, sometimes I was embarrassed to go witnessing with him. He was too bold. Sometimes I would cringe when he tried to get a passenger or a stranger’s attention. But once he launched into the presentation, Whoever was listening to him could not help but be fully engaged. That particular Saturday morning excursion was going nowhere. It was too early in the morning. Nobody was outside yet. Doug was getting frustrated. Where’s everyone? He began to shout in frustration. They’re still in bed, I responded.

Finally, we went to a tiny part near my apartment complex. About 100 yards away, an eight or nine-year-old boy was playing on a jungle gym. Doug jumped into action. In his excitement about finally finding someone to talk to, he began running right toward the kid yelling, hey kid, where are you going when you die? I will never forget the look of sheer terror in that child’s eyes as he screamed, home and ran away as fast as he could. Doug walked back toward me, absolutely dejected.

Doug, you scared that poor kid to death? I will never forget his response. And he looked up with tears in his eyes. Says, I didn’t mean to scare that kid. I just don’t want to see that kid die and go to hell. Dave saved up his money or Doug. And he bought a 10-speed bike. He was completely excited by his new mobile means of evangelism. He rode his bike everywhere, talked to all sorts of people in parks, on the street, on sidewalks and across overpasses.

One day he told me the story of pulling up to a stoplight and noticing a car full of guys next to him, waiting for the red light to turn green. He thought those guys are going to die and go to hell unless I tell them about Christ. So he knocked on the window or the passenger side window. One of the men tentatively rolled the window down, curious about what this teenager wanted. He knew that his time was short, so he blurted out the gospel message as quickly and clearly as he could.

But he couldn’t get it out fast enough, the light turned green. We got to go, the driver blurted out as he began to press the gas puddle and drive away. Doug couldn’t let the opportunity pass. Too much was at stake. I’m going with you.” He answered as he grabbed onto the door handle with his left hand. The car continued to accelerate. Doug continued to share the gospel message. At 20 miles per hour, Doug was still sharing. At 30 miles per hour, he was almost done.

Finally, at 40 miles per hour, Doug had finished sharing the whole gospel story. I hope you trust in Christ as your Savior, He yelled as His white knuckled finger, let go of the car handle, and His ten-speed wiz’d and wobbled toward the curb. What was my response to Doug’s daring story? Doug, you’re an idiot. You could have died. You could have been sucked under the wheels. Run over. I’ll never forget his response. It would have been worth it as long as those guys hear and believe the gospel message.

I just don’t want to see those guys go to hell. That was one of those guys who took his Christianity seriously. He really believed in heaven and hell. It wasn’t an astute faith or even a profound faith. It was simple, childlike faith. Doug really believed. I felt convicted every time I was around him. Sometimes when we were together I would be watching TV and he would be over in the corner reading his Bible. Every few minutes or so he would come over to me and ask, Greg, what does this first mean?

He said, I would explain it to him and he would go back to the corner and continue studying, meticulously writing down my response in marking and notes in his Bible margin. He studied because he wanted to be a better witness for Christ. Finally, at the age of 19, Doug graduated from high school with diploma in hand, he went off to the army. Once again, he struggled to fit in with those around him. He marched left foot forward when everybody else was starting with the right.

He just couldn’t get it, but he could give it the gospel that is. I remember the letters he would send me from time to time sharing the opportunities that God had given him to share with his fellow soldiers and commanding officers. Soon Doug was armed with discharge by an army that appreciated his efforts but knew that life wasn’t for him. When Doug came back home he met a girl who was a waitress at a local restaurant. He was just a her, she trusted the Lord.

He thought she was cute so he asked her out. She said yes. When he asked her to marry him on their second date she said yes. His family has never stopped sharing his faith. Today he is a custodian in Des Moines, Iowa. Every week or so he calls me. We talk about his family, his job, his church, and his wife. We also talk about the people he has been witnessing to. Twenty-five years after his decision to become a better soul winner at a camp in Florida, Doug is still winning souls.

One day at the Judgement City of Christ, Doug’s name will be called. On that day I believe thousands will stand and applaud this Epiletic Socially Challenge struggling custodian for the impact he made on their lives. I will be one of them. Doug is my big brother. He is seven years older than I am. I remember the old Doug before he got serious about Christ. I remember the new Doug after he got infected. Infected with the Gospel. He had every excuse to keep quiet, but he refused to be excused.

One of the reasons I do what I do today traveling and training teenagers to share their faith is because of that one lonely teenager who shared his faith relentlessly, courageously, consistently. I know that if my brother Doug could do it as a struggling team, your kids can too. Sometimes you think, well, I don’t want to spend time witnessing to this particular person or that person because there are nobody. Well, sometimes these nobodies influence the somebody that can use to shape the world.

And now this great steers having meetings all over America and influencing people in a tremendous$h way.isdom. You and I don’t understand that God does not see as we see. And you’d be surprised how God may be able to use a particular person that you went to the Lord that’s maybe only 8, 9 or 10 years old. Maybe they’re 15 or 16 years old and maybe they can’t think as clearly as everybody else. Maybe they’re educable, slow. Every one of you in this room have a basic belief about something and you have a form of government on how you rule your life.

But everybody is ruled and governed by somebody or something, a set of governmental laws. But what do you believe? And how do you know that what you believe is the truth? Number one, sympathize with the person. Explain that what you want to talk about is not a religion. Do not insinuate that they are stupid. Remember they do not know the truth. Sometimes it will be easier to lead to the Lord. Those who have rejected religion because at least they have recognized something that was not right about what they had been taught.

There’s a lot of people that have gone to churches and don’t want any part of it. They’ve seen a lot of hypocrisy. heard a lot of preachers that tell them that if they want to get saved, they’ve got to stop their drinking, they’re smoking, and they’ve got to stop this and stop that and so forth. And they feel like they cannot live a hypocritical life. And to be honest with themselves, they want no part of it. And I don’t blame them.

They’re being real. And a lot of them will never darken the doors of a church and no one anybody to witness to them because they’ve been told that you’ve got a live, a certain quality life, a straight and narrow way to hire standard for them. So I guess they’ll just go to hell. That’s not the gospel they’re rejecting. That’s religion they’re rejecting. Religions comes from the Latin word re-enlegia meaning to bind back and there’s people trying to bind themselves back to God by their works.

Compliment a person. I’m talking to you about how to be effective. I’m not talking to you about how just to go to church every Sunday and bring your Bible and you look religious, you play the game, and you go out those doors, and you go to work, and it never changes you. Nothing ever happens in your life. You never witness to anybody. And God has given to you and I a tremendous message, but it’s the gospel that is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes.

Agree with people whenever you can. But the issue is always grace and works. It’s either by grace or it’s by works, but it cannot be by both. Salvation is either free or you have to earn it. And the way you know if a person is working their way to heaven by their good deeds is if they can lose it. If they can lose it, they’re dependent on their works for salvation. Sometimes a person will question your authority to speak on theological issues.

You explain to them that it’s not a question of his opinion, versus yours. Your opinion versus his opinion isn’t any better than his opinion. But you’re always wanting to keep it between them and God. God said, this is what God said. The Bible says, before asking a person to trust Christ as a Savior, it is always important to explain that he can know he has eternal life from the moment he does believe. I want you to look there in John 1 John 5 13, 1 John in chapter 5 and verse 13.

I use this verse often, sometimes I use it to start with because I want people to be penalized, like hanging a t-bone stake in front of a dog. I want to watch him drool. I want a person to want this so bad that they’ll listen to what I got to tell them on how to get it. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have, eternal life.

Why is this written? That you may what? Know that you have eternal life. Does God want the people who believe to know they have eternal life? Yes, He does. When should a person know they have eternal life? When should you know? Is it okay if a person’s been saved for 25 years to know he has eternal life? Well, that’d be good, wouldn’t it? I think if a person lived for 25 years, he ought to know he has eternal life.

If he’s trusted Christ, a Savior. Oh, what about if he was 20 years old in the Lord? Wouldn’t that be good for him to know? Yeah? Well, what if he was only 10 years in the Lord? Wouldn’t it be good for him to know that he has eternal life? Well, yes. Well, what if he was five years? Well, that would be good for him to know. What if he’s only been saved for a year? a person who’s been saved for only one year, wouldn’t he need to know that he has eternal life?

These things have already done to you that believe. It didn’t say at what point, at what time, as long as you believe it, if you believe it, you should know you have eternal life. Yes or no? That’s what he says. So if a man can know he has eternal life and it’s okay to know it when he’s been saved 30 years or 25 years or even a year, what about six months? What about a month What if a man’s been saved for one week and he’s a believer?

Can a believer who’s only been saved one week know he has eternal life? What if he’s only been saved for a day? Should a man who’s been saved only for one day? Should he know he has eternal life? These things have already written on you that believe. Even if it’s only for one week, you think it would include him? What if he just trusted the Lord? That moment that he trusts the Lord. The moment he believes, Is it okay for him to know he has eternal life?

Well then if he can know he has eternal life, the moment he believes, is it okay to tell him that he can have eternal life before you tell him how to get it? Yes. You can know you have eternal life. I want a person to know that they can be saved, they can have eternal life. Man can know he has eternal life. Eternal life is what? It’s eternal. If you can know you have it, how long would it last once you have it?

It will last forever. But something else I want you to see there. Look there in verse 12 verse 12 of 1 John chapter 5. He that hath the son hath what life? He that hath not the son of God hath not life. So whether you have eternal life or not depends on whether you have the son or not. If you have the son you have life. If you don’t have the son you don’t have life. So the key to getting this life is to have who?

The son. So when you accept Christ you have eternal life. When would you expect to get eternal life? The moment you have the Son because the Son and eternal life are the same. When Jesus says I’ll never leave you nor forsake you then also neither eternal life can ever leave me or forsake me. Look what he says down in verse 20. And we know that the Son of God has come and have given us an understanding. That we may know Him that is true.

We are in Him that is true, even in His Son, Jesus Christ. This is the true God and what? You’re underlying that in your Bible. He is God and He is eternal life. How can you get Christ without getting eternal life? If Christ will never leave you and never forsake you, how can you lose eternal life? You can’t lose it. And if you get Christ the moment you trust Him as your Savior, when do you get eternal life? That very moment.

Can you know you have eternal life? Yes you can. Romans 6, 23. Says, for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. When you get one, you get the other. When you get Jesus Christ, you get eternal life. And it is the gift of God. It’s the gift of God. Jesus Christ is the gift. He’s the gift. Notice, the gift of God is eternal life, not life until you sin again, or life until you backslide.

You ever hear preachers talk about stuff like that? Oh yeah, you’re saved today, but you can backslide. Okay, what do you mean? Define your term. You mean I can backslide and lose my salvation? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, then you ain’t a preacher. You’re a deceiver. You’re a false teacher, false preacher. You got no business claiming to be a preacher speaking for God. Cause God didn’t say that. His word doesn’t say that. It doesn’t say you’re saved till you sin again.

Say it till you backslide. It doesn’t say that. You don’t add to the scriptures. You don’t add to it. God’s gift is salvation, not probation. You see, if you could be saved today and lose it tomorrow because you didn’t live a certain way, then salvation would be probation. In other words, you were on probation. John 647, this verse should be underlined in your Bible. It’s a powerful verse. It’s a small But the words so precise says so much. John 647, barely, barely, which means truthfully, truthfully, I say unto you.

He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. Look up here. He that believeth hath everlasting life. So simple. example, he, that means anybody, he, that believe it, all it requires. Yeah, but you got to live, no, no, no, no, don’t you add to it, don’t say that. You know, you got to go to church and live the bench, no, no, no, no, it doesn’t say that. It is not true. There is no requirements on how you have to live.

You mean I don’t have to change my life, anything? No you don’t. Nothing. No promises of any kind. No stipulations on how you have to live the rest of your life. Or it’s not by grace. Salvation must be by grace and grace alone. It cannot be having anything hidden to take to the way later. You can’t give it to you in a big You can’t get away in the little print. You’re saved by grace. Grace is unmerited. Unmerited. How do you know when you really believe?

When you can say you have it. Do you have it? You can’t say you have it. You don’t believe it. If I ask you, have you trusted Christ to say, oh yes. Do you have eternal life? Well, I don’t know. Then you don’t understand it. You don’t know. You don’t know what being saved means. What does being saved means? Being saved means that you’re saved from hell. If you’re not saved from hell, then what does being mean to you?

Doesn’t mean anything, the words. These things have a written unto you that believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life and that you may believe in the name of the Son of God. When you talk about believing on the name of the Son of God, then you need to know what the name of the Son of God means. This is written to a certain class of people, not to the rich or poor, American or African, Jew or Gentile, Buddhist or Baptist, but to those who believe on the name of the Son of God.

His name, Jesus. Jesus comes from the Greek translation of the Hebrew word, Jehovah Yasha. And means the eternal self-existent God who saves and keeps. Those who believe Jesus is the Lord and trust Him to save them and keep them saved can know they have eternal life. When he talks about believe on the name of the Son of God. Or like he says in the book of John chapter 1, he says, as many as received him to them gave he the power to become the sons of God, even to those that believe on his name.

His name means. God who will save and keep you. God cannot lie. If he didn’t mean what he said, he should not have what? He should not have said it if he didn’t mean it. Ask the person, is this written to you? Do you believe on the name of the Son of God? Once the person actually receives Christ as a Savior, there should be no difficulty for him to realize he now has eternal life. Anyone who clearly understands what Christ did on the cross will not have a problem with eternal security.

When they understand the gospel, they won’t have a problem with eternal security. Every person who has a problem with eternal security has a problem with the gospel. Eternal security is not a separate doctrine in salvation. It is salvation. Those who do not know they will be saved forever are usually not saved to start with. Heaven is the tremendous inheritance of the children of God. And for a Christian to lack the full assurance of knowing he will go to Heaven when he dies would be a great tragedy.

So you made truly at one point in your life. The best you know how you totally, 100% you depended upon the payment Christ made on the cross. and you trusted Him as your Savior, and you believed you were saved from hell, and you believed you were going to go to heaven at that moment, and God gave you eternal life, and you believe that. And because of a lack of Bible teaching, you don’t go to church, don’t get things ripped from your mind, you can eventually get to the place where you can question and doubt your salvation.

Not even believe it’s your saved. But if you’ve ever been saved, you what? You still are. Once you’re saved, you’re always saved. And all of your doubts and questions afterwards cannot annul what God knows to be true. He fathered you. He knows them that belong to Him. According to 2 Timothy chapter 2, look up here. This sin represents you and me and the wall of represents sin. We all have sin upon us. God loves us. It hates our sin.

For you and I to pay for that sin is eternal separation from the Lord. place called hell. But God loves us, wants us to go to heaven. To go to heaven we have to be perfect as righteous as God and no one’s perfect, nobody’s righteous. We’re all sinners. The Bible says that because we can’t save ourselves we need a Savior. This hand represents Jesus Christ, he’s the Lord God in the flesh. He came into the world because he loves us, hates our sin.

Our sin separates us from he took the sin, paid for it on the cross, came back from the dead. God said if you and I will believe He did it for us. He put the payment account. We go to heaven on what he did for us. God’s looking for just one person who really believes what he says. More than nothing to change him, nothing to stop him. I got a lot of phone calls from people around the area in Colorado because of Doug’s fear.

And I had to explain to him what he was doing to change somebody’s life and so on. 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 six 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 Bibleline 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, 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.

The title of today’s message is called predestination is the security of the believer. That though So God is sovereign. That means He has the power, the right to do anything He wants to do because He’s God. That He also in His sovereignty chose to give to man a free will. But I want you to see what He chose to do. He chose to do something that mankind just can’t believe. I mean, it’s an awesome story. We have the greatest message in all the world to tell people.

God so loved the world. It’s awesome. in your Bible to the book of Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 8 and 9. These two verses are two of my favorite verses in the Bible. They’re awesome. Salvation is based on belief alone. Salvation cannot be earned. You cannot work your way to heaven. This is a verse in the Bible and look what he says there in verse 8. For by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift the God not of works lest any man should boast.

Isn’t that awesome? Look what he says, for by grace are you say grace means unmerited favor. In our minds we always think you have to do something. We have to be good. And I thought that for so long that I had to be good to go to heaven. But I never knew how good I had to be. I was always told if you’re bad you’re going to hell but I didn’t know how bad I had to be to go to hell.

So there’s a lot of people that were just like I am. They want to go to heaven. They hope they’re going to heaven, but they don’t know how good they have to be to get there and they don’t know how bad they got to be to go to hell. Well God says that, I’ll solve the whole problem for you. He says there is none good. We’ve all sinned. None of us deserve to be saved. None of us deserve to go to heaven.

But he says, by grace are you saved through faith? That not of yourselves. It’s not of yourself. You can’t earn it. See, this is what’s so different from all religions. Christ says it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should what? Post, because if I could earn my way to heaven, then I could boast or brag in what I have done. Look what I did, I deserved to go to heaven. God says no, you can’t boast or brag because it’s not according to your work.

He said it’s the gift of God. A gift isn’t something you work for, you don’t earn a gift. A gift is free. What is this gift? gift of eternal life. All men had the ability to believe, and this belief in Christ results in salvation for any man. Turned there to John chapter 3 and verse 16. John chapter 3 and verse 16. And he says here in John 3 16, look at this verse, it’s awesome. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.

God had a son, God loved us, and God would be his son for the sins of the whole world. That whosoever, that means anybody in the whole world would believe that he did it for them. Believe it in him should not perish. That means won’t go to hell, but half as a free gift, half everlasting life. So God says that he He so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever anybody, believe that in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Take your Bible now and look there in 1 Timothy chapter 2. Christ really did die for all men and all sin. Aren’t you glad that He died for everybody? Did you know if the Bible had said He died for everybody but one person? You would wonder if you were that person that he didn’t die for. Or if he died for all sins except just one sin, you wouldn’t know whether or not is that the one that I did. If he paid for all of my sins but one, he didn’t do you any favors because the wages of sin is death.

Look in verse 6, who gave, this is Christ, who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time. In other words, in verse 5, there is one God, one media between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. There’s only one true and living God, but God revealed himself in three persons as the father, the son, and the Holy Spirit. You see God was willing to come into the world and the die for sin. The coming into the world, take it upon flesh, that’s Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is the true and living God. And many people who read the Bible, they can see what he said. This is why the Jewish people, when Christ made the statement, I and my father are one. They took up stones to stone him because he made a statement that he was God. See if he’s the son of God, that makes him God. If I am human and I have a son, my son will be human, right? You shouldn’t question the fact that my son is human just because I’m human because I’m human.

He’s human. If God is God and he has a son, his son will be God. It’s the same. So God had a son. But you see that son was the Holy Spirit that came over Mary and the Bible says that he planted a perfect Holy seed. It says that Holy thing that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. That’s why when Jesus Christ came and it makes a statement in Matthew chapter 1, it says concerning Jesus Christ, his name shall be called Emmanuel is an untranslated Hebrew word which means God with us.

And the Jewish people did not believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God. They didn’t believe He was the Messiah. They rejected Him because they rejected Him. They were scattered upon the face of the earth and God says that He would persecute them and they’d been persecuted for 2,000 years since Christ has been here. but they brought it upon themselves. It didn’t have to be that way. It’s that way because they rejected Jesus Christ as their Savior. Look in Hebrews chapter two.

Hebrews and chapter two just turn to your right, just a couple pages, and you’ll come to the book of Hebrews in chapter two. In verse nine makes a statement that, but we see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death. Because angels don’t die. So God doesn’t die. So God had to take upon fleshmiscme made lower than the angels for a reason. He makes a statement in verse 9, but we see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death so that he could die.

Christ when he was here would not have died because of any sin that he committed because the Bible says he had no sin. He was perfect, he was God, he had no sinful nature. Every person born in the world has a sinful nature we all sin. We all sin. Jesus was born, He did not sin. That’s why He could make a payment for our sins because He was innocent. See, a guilty man can’t pay and die for a guilty person.

Only an innocent person can die for a guilty person. And the Bible says here in verse 9 that He should taste death for every man. Jesus Christ tasted death for every person so that everybody in the whole world could have eternal life. There’s only one true in living God and this one true in living God made a payment for the sins of the whole world so that the whole world would know how much does God love us. He loves us enough that He would willing to die for us.

That’s love. And then He did it in such a way that it doesn’t give it just to the rich and take it away from the poor. There’s no acts that you have to perform. All you need to do is believe this. If you can believe this wonderful story that Jesus Christ did this for you, He saves you and gives you as a free gift everlasting life. And you go to heaven on what He did for you. That is awesome.

Look in 1 John chapter 2 and verse 2, I want you to see this. These two verses, my little children. Now this is written to those who have accepted Christ as their Savior. These things ride eye unto you that you send not and if any man sin we have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous. In other words God doesn’t want us to but when we do sin after we trust you Christ is our Savior. God doesn’t send you to hell, doesn’t cast you out.

He says He will chasten you, discipline you, have to correct you. But He does not allow us to live as we please and get away with it. In verse 2 and And He is the propitiation for our sin. That means the satisfaction, the payment. He was a payment for our sin. Not for ours only, those who believe, but also for the sins of the whole world. It means that Christ came and paid for the sins of the whole world.

See what God wanted Israel to do, God wanted Israel to accept Jesus Christ as their Messiah, but they didn’t. God wanted to use them as a light to the Gentiles so that they could be a light to take the truth that God had given and reveal it to the world, and they blew it. They blew the opportunity that God gave them. Look there in Isaiah chapter 64 and verse 6. But we all are all as an unclean thing and all our righteousness are as filthy rags.

We do all do fade as it leave and our iniquities like the wind have taken us away. In other words God says that we all have sinned. All of our righteousness are as filthy rags. So man doesn’t have any righteousness compared to God’s. look up here. Here’s God, He’s perfect and righteous. Here’s man. We have sinned against God. So we have come short of God’s perfection. And to be righteous with God, to live with God, we have to be as righteous as God.

In heaven there’s no sin. So how is a man going to be made righteous as God? Just as if he had never send. Well, this is the problem. Man thinks he can’t buy his own religion, buy his works, be good enough, and someday he’ll make it. And I made it. I got to go to heaven. No, God says all of your righteousness or its filthy rags, you’ve come short of God’s perfection, you cannot save yourself. It’s impossible. So the only hope is Jesus Christ.

See, Jesus Christ came into the world and he took our sins and he gives us his righteousness. If God gave you his righteousness that would make you as righteous as God. And you go to heaven on what he did for you. And God said I’ll give this righteousness to every person in the world if they would only believe. Awesome. Look in John chapter 3 in verse 18, John chapter 3 and verse 18, all men are condemned, judged and found guilty.

Before they either accept or reject Christ, before man either accepts him or rejects Christ, he’s already been judged, he’s already found guilty. He’s just simply waiting for the day of execution. Everybody’s going to die. You see, if you did not sin, you would not die. God doesn’t sin. God doesn’t die. came into the world if he had not sinned, he didn’t have to die. But he took our sins, when he took our sins he had to die. And so the Bible says he died for us.

If I had 10 apples in this hand, and I took away 5 apples, how many apples do I have left? This is very hard, very difficult. Some of y’all maybe never went to school. If I have 10 apples, I take away 5 apples, how many apples are left? Five. If I had 10 apples in his hand, and I took the way ten apples, how many’s left? None. When Christ died on the cross, if I committed ten sins and He paid for five of my sins, how many do I have left to pay for?

Five. If I had ten sins and He paid for ten sins of mine, how many do I have to pay for? None. Did He die for all of my sins? Yes. How many would I have to pay for none. So you don’t have to pay for something twice. People throughout the world, most have never heard this, never understood this. We have a Savior, but He must be accepted. He does not force Himself upon any individual. Every individual must understand that they are a sinner and that Christ died for them.

And Jesus said, He says, there is no other name given among men under heaven where by man must be saved. He says, no man come up unto the Father except through me. You can’t get there except through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was not just a man like you and I. Jesus Christ is the Lord. Verse 18 says, he that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned when he’s already condemned. Whenever I die, I I stand before God and He puts the scales out there and my good works over here and all my bad ones over here and whichever outweighed the other determine which way I was going to go.

So I thought I had to wait till I died to find out which way I’m going. No. God says you’re already condemned. You’re already guilty. You’re already condemned. And you cannot save yourself and God’s already told us in advance. Forget your good works. It won’t matter. . . . . . . . . . Because all you needed was one bad one to send you to hell. So how many people are condemned? Everybody in the world. Everybody sends. Everybody’s condemned.

We’re all in the same boat. But he makes a statement, but he that, believe it, not is condemned already because, and here’s the reason why. Because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. If there’s anything the Bible teaches, it is that Jesus Christ, as the Son of God, came into this world to make a payment for the sins of the world. And if we accept Him, we have eternal life. And if we reject Him, we do not have eternal life.

But it’s not something that I have to wait until I die to find out if I’ve got it. If I accepted Christ as my Savior today, right now, and if I’m sitting here and I hear this, and I say, I have never trusted Christ as my Savior. But if I believe this right now will God save me right now? Yes He will. And if He saves me, what does He save me from? From hell. What does He give me?

Eternal life. When? Right now. And that eternal life and it lasts forever and all my sins are paid. When I got up to leave, where would I be going when I die? To heaven. Do I have to wait till I die to find out?” No. And sometimes I have people saying to me, well, if what you say is true, you could just go out here and do all these bad things and still go to heaven when you die. I know.

I know. That’s true. God loves me that much. But see, He set me free and He lets me choose. I can choose to obey Him because I’m His child. I can choose to disobey Him and He’ll hook me. So I just came to the conclusion, it’s better to serve the Lord. I have experienced the peace and the joy and the happiness of knowing that I’m going to heaven, knowing that God is obligated by His Word, He must bless me.

I know that when I get to heaven, God is going to reward me. See going to heaven is free. What you have when you get there. says you have to earn those. And so yes, there’s advantages in serving the Lord. But God says to love one another, love one another. He even says love your enemies, but love. God is love. And this is what He wants us to do. Notice something else here. Man is condemned by the sin of unbelief, which is what we just read.

Man is dead, entress, passes, and sin. Let me explain this to you. It means that God had put a no trespassing sign out. Thou shalt not lie, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not, thou shalt, and you didn’t do what he said do, you trespassed. You overstepped a boundary, you broke a law. And when you break one of God’s law, the penalty of breaking the law was death. So since all have sinned because we’ve all trespassed, we’ve all broken God’s law, that penalty is eternal separation from God in hell.

So man cannot save himself. He cannot deliver himself. He can be saved, but he cannot save himself. And so that’s why Christ died to pay for the sins of all the world. God is sovereign that he can do anything he wants and has no obligation to save anyone. Enough said on that. God is God. In His sovereignty, the right, the power to do whatever He wants because He is God, God has given to man a free choice, a will, because that’s what God wanted to do.

Just because man has a free will doesn’t mean God isn’t allowed to influence man’s will. You see, let’s say for example you take Johnny down here. Let’s say Johnny is a lost man, but there’s a God in heaven that loves Johnny. But God is given to him a free will. He can choose to do whatever he wants. He can get married or not get married. He can work or not work. He can grow his hair three feet if he wants to him from under his arms.

He can do anything he wants. He can use deodorant or not use deodorant. He can brush his teeth or not brush his teeth. He got all kinds of choices he can make. God doesn’t make him, but God wants him to go to heaven so God can, without violating his will, seek to influence him. God can allow this young man to walk into this service this morning. And God is seeking him. God says that he seeks to save that which was lost.

He’s the good shepherd that’s looking for the lost sheep. And he wants it used to go to heaven. And he can influence him by him being here this morning, here in this message, and he can decide. He listens and he can decide whether or not, will I believe it or not believe it. But there’s a God in heaven that knows this man, is lost, and this man can go to heaven if this man chooses to go to heaven. But God will not make him trust him.

You see, before the foundations of the world, the Bible teaches that God, like with a telescope looking down through time, God has already predetermined in advance every person that will believe it will go to heaven, and those that will not believe it won’t go to heaven. That’s because God is God. But just because of God knows what a man’s going to do, God doesn’t make the person do it. God may know that you’re going to rob the 7-Eleven store tomorrow.

But God is not the author of sin and God doesn’t pre-determine you to rob a 7-Eleven store to take somebody’s life. God doesn’t make you do wrong. God doesn’t make people sin. The Bible says God does not sin and cannot tempt any man to sin. So God has never tempted anybody to ever sin. Never has. The devil does. You have a sinful nature within you that leads you astray and seduces you. He says anybody, who soever will believe in half, everlasting life.

If he trusts Christ as Savior, he goes to heaven. He rejects Christ, he goes to hell. What God did for one person in this world, he did for every person in this world. God loves you. He loves you. Always remember that. God seeks to get the lost man to believe but does not make him483. God seeks his children to serve him but will allow them to rebel. You see, God is not making everybody do whatever he wants them to do.

God in his sovereignty chose to give you an eye a choice, a will, so So the week and make up our own minds. I decided years ago after I trusted Christ as my Savior, I’d never heard this in church. I didn’t go to church. And Raymond Jackson explained this to me. And that night I could have said yes or I could have said no. And what scares me is I could have said no just as easy as I said yes.

But I said yes. It makes sense to me. I couldn’t see there’s no tricks to it. There’s no gimmicks to this. I didn’t have to stop something. I didn’t have to join anything. I didn’t have to give anything. I didn’t have to promise how I’m going to live. I didn’t have to stop doing something that I was doing. I had to just admit what I am. I am a sinner. And he loved me and he died from me. And if I trust him, he would save me, give me eternal life.

And I made that decision. I also made another one. I’m going to serve the Lord. Not because I have to, but because I want to. The destination of believers is predetermined. It means that God has already predetermined that everybody who believes on Christ, they go to heaven. That was decided before you ever born, before you ever did any good or bad. And God has already decided to everyone that will believe in Christ, they’ll go to heaven. And those that won’t, won’t go.

Even when Christ was here, He says, if the miracles that had been done in Capernaum had been done in Sodom and Gomorrah, they would have remained unto this day. In other words, He knows what would have happened if you hadn’t got married. He knows what would have happened to you if you took the other job. He knows what would have happened if you lived in another city or if you had never trusted Christ. He knows everything that is actual, factual and possible.

Have you ever wondered, I wonder what would have happened if I’d have bought that piece of land 20 years ago, what I could have made today. I wonder what would have happened And if I could have bought those stocks and I didn’t do it, God knows all the variations, the variables, the possibilities. It is God’s will that all go to be with Him in heaven. That’s His will. It is God’s will that all believers walk worthy under good works.

You see you and I that trust Christ as Savior? It’s God’s will that you and I serve Him, but not everybody will. You may have trusted Christ as your Savior and you will defy the will of God. God doesn’t get everything God wants. That’s hard to understand. I mean, God is sovereign. He can do anything He wants to do. But He chose out of love to give you and I the opportunity to voluntarily choose whether or not do I love God?

He said, if you love me, serve me. He says, if you love me, it shall be known of you. I made it my mind years ago. I love the Lord. And I’m going to prove that I love the Lord by living my life for him. And I want to honor him and I want to serve him all the days of my life. I want people to know my Christ. Look at the next statement. Men became chosen ones to believe, result of their choice, not gods.

In 2 Thessalonians it says, God has chosen you through faith. God chose us because we put our faith in him. That’s how you get to be one of the chosen ones. That’s how you got to be one of the elect. It’s how you got to be one of the beloved because you allow God to love you. The next statement, grace appears to all men for all men. In other words, grace is the main by how we’re saved. It’s what out works.

And God loves this is so much, he says, for by grace are you saved? Through faith that not of yourself, it is the gift of God not of works lest any man should boast. And he says that his grace is to all and is for everybody. It doesn’t exclude anybody. In verse 6, number 16, grace is resistible. Not all men are saved. Not everybody’s going to be because people have been given a choice. They can reject his salvation. You can reject Jesus Christ.

You can reject. You don’t have to believe the Bible is true. You don’t have to believe God, sin his son, died on the cross. You don’t have to believe it. Nobody’s going to make it. Even God ain’t going to make you. But it made sense to me. I can’t make you. I pray that you would. This is you and me and this is sin. We all have sin upon us. God loves us. He hates our sin, but He loves us.

And for you and I to go to heaven, we have to be perfect as righteous as God. And this is the problem. We’re all sinners. We can’t save ourselves. And God says that the payment for that sin is death in hell. And the Lord says that we did it, we have to pay for it. We’re already condemned. This hand represents Jesus Christ. He’s God in the flesh. He came into the world because He loves us, but He hates our sin.

Our sin separates us from the Lord. So what He did is He took the sin, paid for it on the cross, came back from the dead, and said that if you and I, we would believe He did this for us. See, it’s a personal thing. Not between you and me or you and somebody else, always between you and God. You don’t have to raise your hand, you don’t have to come down at the front, you don’t have to sign a card, you don’t have to do anything outward.

It’s all done within your mind between you and God God’s the one that knows whether or not you really believe him That’s why you can’t make a mistake this way you don’t become a religious hypocrite because you’re not claiming to be something you’re not You are a center. So am I and Jesuss Pay for our sin and he said if we’ll believe he did it for us He would give us as a free gift what? Everlasting life we go to heaven or what he did for us Who gets all the glory from me going to heaven?

What have I done? I wasn’t good enough before to save myself, and I’m still good. I am a sinner. I’m a sinner saved by grace. You’ve been listening to Bob’s 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, 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 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 Arden. Friends, 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. 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. 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It means you and I are not to worship any God except the true God which is Jesus Christ and eternal life. But if you worship money and you worship fame and you worship popularity or you worship your wife or your husband, you worship anything other than God, you’re in spiritual idolatry. You’re backslidden. Backslidden. Now, you’re not doing right, and God will have to chase in you. He’ll have to discipline you. Louis says in verse 8, And I saw, went for all the causes, where by backsliding Israel committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a bill of divorcements.

Yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not but went and played the harlot also. So Israel, the northern king kingdoms, the tribes, and the seven two tribes of Judah and Benjamin made up Judah. Then they both went a whore and after other gods. God says, you’re playing the harlot. God says, you’re rebellious. And what did God do with his rebellious children? The Bible says he cast them out of the land and they were taken into captivity. That’s what happens to them.

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

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

Look what he says in verse 12. Go and proclaim these words toward the North and say, return thou backsliding Israel. Sayeth, Lord, and I will not cause my anger to fall upon you. For I am merciful, sayeth, Lord, and I will not keep anger forever. God is angry with backsliders. Do read the book. You cannot rebel against God and expect God not to get angry and full of wrath toward his children. God’s going to chase it and discipline none of God’s children can ever live like they please and get away with it Now you say that sounds contrary to what you preach last way You said you just say buy grace and whatever you do nothing can ever affect that I said your salvation you cannot be affected though.

I never go to hell. That is true. I can’t go to hell in future Does that mean that I advocate living wrong? No, I don’t listen to what I’m saying But there’s other reasons why I should live godly the fear of hell that’s been taken away. But I do fear the wrath of God upon me as his child. I fear the chasing hand of God. I’m also concerned that when I get to heaven that I’ll have no rewards there.

And then wishing that I had something that I had done for God. Oh there’s more than that. Look in verse 14. Turn oh back sliding children. Say, if the Lord for I am married unto you and I will take you one of a city and two of a family and I will bring you to Zion but turn no back slide in Israel. Does God want His backslidden children to return to Him? Over and over and over again you’ll read that in the Word of God.

Remember this as a child of God when you rebel against the Lord and you think well God don’t love you anymore. Yes He does. The Bible says up there in verse 12. Remember He says for I am merciful, sayeth the Lord, return me because I am merciful. But if you don’t do it, God’s going to have to chase you and make you wish you had of. It’s better for a child of God to do right than to have to be forced because of being chasing by God.

And yes, you can continue to rebel against the Lord. Look in chapter 5, you’re in my chapter 5, in verse 6, where for a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf out of the evening shall spoil them. A leopard shall watch over their cities. Everyone that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces, because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased.” In other words, it’s kind of like God puts a hedge of thorns around you.

Then whether it’s day or night, whatever decisions you make, it seems like all you do, it keeps hurting you. You keep hurting yourself. You try to run from God and you get hurt. That doesn’t work out. That doesn’t work out. And you try to search for that little peace and you can’t have it. You look for some joy and some habit. Can’t have it. Because you’re running from God. And God says that He puts a thorn around you and you’re pricking yourself.

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

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

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

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

See, some things you can deceive a lot of people, but God looks a lot deeper than just your attendance at church and the little funds that you may give at times. God is looking on the inside of you and God knows whether you’re right with Him or you’re not right with Him. You cannot deceive God. Take it by very quickly, in 1 Corinthians chapter 3. When you trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are born into God’s family, you have eternal life, you’re going to heaven when you die.

Now in the New Testament, you do not find the words referring to backslidden, but the same principle of chasening and rewards is in the Bible. It means that if you want God’s blessings, do this, be obedient. If you don’t, then God will chase in you. So he says in 1 Corinthians in chapter 3, this phrase mentioned there in verse 15, yet so as by fire. So what does that mean? Yet so as by fire. Well what God is talking about is this.

See there in verse 11 it says for other foundation can no man lay but then that which is lay which is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the foundation and you were saved place upon the foundation. Now you may tremble upon the rock, but the rock will never tremble under you. You are safe and secure. The rock will never move. It’ll never move and you’re on the rock. But God says on this foundation, He wants us to build. And this building is done by the deed that we do for the Lord.

The time will come and will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. And God’s going to take all the good works that we have done. And the bad that you have done, the wasted efforts of not living for God, and God says He’s going to put it on fire. Set it on fire. Which means simply He’s going to judge it by the eye of God, not by our eyes. We may think we’re doing such a super job, and God says, I’m the one that’s going to try this thing.

And He says that everything that is not gold, silver, and precious stone is going to be consumed, it will burn up. If you’ve done no good works. He says there in verse 15, If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, loss of the rewards that he could have had, but he himself shall be what? He still shall be saved, yet so as by fire. Nothing but you and the foundation left. Everything else had burned, but the foundation’s there, and you’re on the foundation.

Everything’s gone because you wasted your life. God wants us to serve Him, not to get to heaven, but because we’re going there. And once you’re on the foundation, which is Christ, you can never be lost again. You can build on that foundation or you can waste your life. God’s going to reward you when you get to heaven because of what you’ve done. Now, I want you to take your Bible look over there in a book of Hebrews in chapter 10.

The book of Hebrews. And chapter 10. And you’ll notice there in verse 35. The time will come when we’ll go to heaven. What you have when you get to heaven, the rewards are a result of the work that you do for him. Well the work that you do for him is going to be a result of the confidence that you have in God. Well the confidence that you have in God is based upon your knowledge of his word. So you cannot know the will of God unless you know the word of God.

God. So it’s God’s will that you know God’s works or you’ll know God’s will. Now look what he says in verse 35. Cast not away therefore your confidence which has great recompense of reward. Remember salvation is a gift. Rewards are earned. Only a Christian can earn rewards. No lost man earns rewards. Christians are those who have trusted Christ the Savior and been justified by their faith in the Lord. You notice what he says in verse 34, for you had compassion to me in my bonds until joyfully the spawn of your good, knowing, knowing in your self the knowledge that gives you the confidence, knowing that in your self that you have in heaven a better and enduring substance.

Not only getting to heaven is important, that’s trusting Christ is your Savior, but having a far more better and enduring substance there, well that’s gonna be the result of what I did for the Lord. So there’s more than just going to heaven. It’s what you’re gonna have when you get there. That’s why the Christ says, live treasures in heaven. Then he makes a statement here in verse 36, for ye have need of patience, that after ye have done the will of God, you might receive the promise.

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

But how are the just supposed to live? The just shall live by faith, taking God at his word. Believe in that in heaven, there’s a far more enduring substance. As he says there in chapter 11 and verse six, the last part of it says, he must believe that God is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek to please them. You must believe that. And if you’ll believe that, that gives you the confidence and your confidence, he says, don’t cast that away because that’s what you get the rewards for.

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

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

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

So can a Christian that was spiritually minded, become carnally minded? Yeah? Can a man that was once a godly individual and a giant for God lose his steadfastness and fall all the wayside and be ashamed of the disgrace to the cause of Christ? Yes. But can that man ever draw back and lose his salvation? No. Look what he said in verse 39 again. again. But we are not of them and I’m not one of them either. I don’t believe that a man can lose a salvation who draw back unto perdition but of them that be lead to the what.

Saving of the soul. The man still saves yet so as by far. Everything else is gone. Nothing left but the foundation and the man. No works on it whatsoever. Never did anything for the God. Now, you’re the one that are making decisions today. Are you closer to God today than you were yesterday? Do you plan on being closer to God tomorrow than you are today? You see, we plan picnics. We plan jobs. We plan on buying homes. We plan on doing a lot of things.

We plan all kinds of things. But do you plan on walking closer? the God. Do you plan on having some rewards when you get there? Did you know that if you do, you need to start doing something to make it happen to be fulfilled and you’re running out of time. We don’t have a lot of time. Are there areas in your life right now that you know based upon what these scriptures said, you’re backslidden. If what this says is truth.

Would you judge in your own mind because nobody can do it for you? Are you back slitting? Are you as godly as you used to be? Do you love the Lord as much as you used to? Are you walking with God the way you should? Why not? Correct it. Return or face chastisement. Isn’t that simple? It’s clear. You understand it. You can’t say when you get to heaven, I didn’t understand because I do my dead level best to try to make it as simple and as clear as I can for anyone that listens will know what I’m talking about.

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

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

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

I hope this makes sense to you. Let’s pray, shall we? Every headbound, every eye closed, no one looking around. If you hear this morning and you’ve never trusted Christ as your Savior, you see, that’s more important. It’s where you’re going to spend eternity. So in the quietness of this moment, would you say something like this between you and the Lord? and I believe Christ died and He paid for my sin and I’m going to trust Him right now and take me to heaven and right.

When God said if you didn’t trust Him, He’d say, can you return on earth? What’d you do it? You’ve been listening to Bibleline, a teaching ministry of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida, with Dr. Ralph Arnold. We pray that you were blessed by today’s message. If you have enjoyed our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, 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 80 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 Arden. Friends, 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, 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. 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.

Make your Bible and turn to the book of Ephesians chapter 5. The book of Ephesians chapter 5. I want to speak to you on the subject of understanding the two natures, understanding the two natures, the Lord that can promise us victory can deliver. There are problems that you and I face as Christians with understanding our problems, whether they come disguised as temptations or trials, various kinds of problems, whether marital or with the children, jobs, finances, health. There’s many battles that we have to face because the devil is out for one thing.

That’s to get you and I not to serve the Lord. So if you are here and you have trusted Christ as your Savior but you’re not serving God, then it’s because you’ve lost the battle. There’s a battle, a skirmish somewhere in the past that you lost, that you did not depend upon the Lord to give you victory. And you could have. You see, you can serve God all the days of your life. You don’t have to quit and you don’t have to lose.

But lo and behold, there’s a lot of God’s people that do not have Christian victory, victory in their Christian life. I’m glad that I don’t have to win any of these battles in order to go to heaven. I go to heaven because Jesus Christ went to the cross and won a victory there for me. He paid for all of my sins. I trust him. I have eternal life. Now here in the book you’d be Ephesians in chapter 5 verse 17 it says, wherefore be ye not unwise but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

There are people that are not wise. They do not understand what the will of the Lord is. Now we’re not talking about at this point on how to get to heaven. We’re talking about you as a child of God, understanding the will of God. To understand the will of God, what He wants, you have to understand the word of God. And when you understand the word of God, you’ll understand the way of God and the work of God. So that you’ll know what you and are supposed to be doing in this little old time frame called life upon this planet.

And so the question is, is what am I doing here? What’s the purpose of all of this? What’s the goal of life? Well, I believe the word of God tells us, be not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. Take your Bible and turn to the book of Genesis. Now you can follow me as you follow your notes and then turn to the book of Genesis and chapter five. I want to show you a couple things there very quickly.

Genesis chapter 5, I want you to look there in verse 1, this is the book of the generations of Adam in the day that God created Adam in the likeness of God, made him. So this is talking about the book of the generation of Adam and you’ll notice that the Bible says in verse 5 and all the days that Adam lived were 930 years anyway and he died. We’re down in verse 9, I’ll give you verse 8. And all the days of Cepher 912 years and he died.

Verse 11, and all the days of Venus were 905 years and he died. Regardless of how long they lived, what was the conclusion of all of it? They all died. Because you see when we’re born into this world we are all children of the flesh and because we all sin we all die. So we’re not here forever. We’re born into this world and we’re to understand we’re going to die. We’re not going to stay here forever. So the goal of our life is not to see how much can I accumulate while I’m here.

That’s not the purpose of life. I want you to take your Bible now and turn to Romans in chapter 3. Romans chapter 3, all the way over there in the New Testament, the book of Romans, after the book of Acts, Romans chapter 3, and then look there in verse 10. Romans chapter 3 verse 10. But in verse 10 says, as it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one. Also look there in verse 12. gone out of the way they are together become unprofitable.

There is none that doeth good, no, not one. Who said that? God did. God says, up here in verse four, God forbid, yet that God be true in every man, a what? Every man’s a liar. Every person sitting here is a liar. Who said so? God did. God said there is none righteous, not one. All have sinned. The Bible says there’s none that do it good, not one. Now I want to use a simple illustration. I used it many times, but I want you to follow because this is the first time I’ve ever put it on notes that people can have.

And to follow it and understand because it will help you in understanding the greatest battle of all. And that is the battle that goes on in your own Christian life once you trust the Christ as your savior. Now this arm over here, this arm. I’m not trying to pick a fight with anybody. I’m just trying to show you. This is an illustration. This arm represents our first birth. This is our first birth when we’re born into the world. This is a flesh birth.

It means that we were born of the flesh. And everybody who has a body is a child of the flesh. So this child, the Bible tells us, these are all sinners because we’re all born with a sinful nature. This is what He’s saying, all have sinned. So we’re all in the same boat, all the people that have a flesh birth. They’re all the same in God’s eyes. No difference. Not one good, not one. Of all the people that’s ever been born, we’re all the same.

Now take your Bible and turn it to the book of Romans in chapter 9. Romans in chapter 9, Romans chapter 9, look there in verse 8. In verse 8. And notice what he says in verse 8, that is, they which are the children of the, what’s that word? Flesh, these are what? Not the children of God. These are not the children of God. Look up here. These that are children of the flesh. Those who are born into this world where they body, these are not the children of God.

Last night I spent probably an hour or more, I hear debating with an individual who believed that everybody is the child of God. Everybody is God’s child. And I says, no, we’re not all the children of God because God said they’re not. He says we’re all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. Only those who have put their faith in Christ, those are the children of God but when you’re born of the world you are not. Look there in Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 3.

Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 3. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 3 tells us a little bit about ourselves and why we do the things that we do. And if you will look there in verse 3 he says, among whom also we all, we all, inclusive of everybody. We all had our behavior, our manner of life, in time past and the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of our flesh and of the mind and whereby nature, the children of wrath, even as others, it is our nature to be children of wrath.

Every child born into the world, every little baby is born with a sinful nature. You don’t have to teach people to commit sin. It comes naturally. Nobody has to be taught to be deceptive, to lie, to steal. Everybody can do it on their own. It is a nature that we have. God says that we’re all born with a sinful nature. Look there in Romans chapter 6 and verse 23. Just turn back to your left, back to the book of Romans.

But make sure you look at these verses. Of course, unless you’ve got the Bible totally committed to memory, then you are exempt. In Romans in chapter 6, look in verse 23. Verse 23 says, and the wages of sin is what? Is death? But the gift of God is eternal light through Jesus Christ our Lord. Alright now look up here. This is you and me. We have a flesh birth. We’re children of the flesh. We have a sinful nature. We’re not the children of God.

There’s none of us that do righteousness. We are all sinners. There’s none righteous. No, not one. We all do that, which is wrong. God says so. Now, some people wonder, well, how can I inherit eternal life? But look there in 1 Corinthians in chapter 15. You need to see this verse. Very important. 1 Corinthians, just a very next book to your right. 1 Corinthians and chapter 15. You see, we believe here at Northside Baptist Church in using the Bible, because I could stand up here and spout off for you know, two or three hours, but I have to be able to back up what I say with what the Bible teaches, and so that’s why you need a Bible and you ought to check the Bible, and when you go home you read the Bible and verify what’s been said.

Today there’s churches don’t even use a Bible. They don’t need a Bible, Bible. But we recommend that you bring the Bible to Northside. Look there in verse 50. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verse 50. Now this I say brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Neither death corruption inherit in corruption. Now look up here. God says flesh and blood cannot inherit eternal life. You cannot inherit that which eternal. This, as he says right here, neither death corruption inherent in corruption.

It cannot inherit it like it has a right to it. God never promised this first birth anything eternal, except a place in our literal fire burning hell. I want you to understand, when the Bible says all of this about the first birth, how are you supposed to get out of this mess that you’re in? This is why you need a new birth. What if, what if, you could be born the second time, except the next time you would be born, you could be born without a sinful nature?

Wouldn’t that be the key? Well then you could live a perfect life, you could do everything right. If you only could be born without a sinful nature. Well the second birth is exactly that. When I trusted Christ as my Savior, I became a child of God. Over here, this is my second birth. This is a second birth. This is a spirit birth. He said, that which is flesh is flesh, that which is spirit is spirit. This one is born of God.

Well, when does this happen? In order to save time, if you’re noticing your notes there, the generation of life, if you take your Bible and you was to look there in the book of Matthew in chapter 1, you’ll notice it starts off, this is the book of the generation of Jesus Christ. So you have this phrase mentioned twice, one in the first book of the Bible, in the Old Testament, this is the book of the generation of Adam. And everybody who’s born of Adam, have a sinful nature, all die.

Now in the New Testament, it starts off, thus is the book of the generation of Jesus Christ. And all those that are mentioned there, there’s no death recorded, no death recorded because it’s a different book. It’s a different book. When you and I are born into this world, we’re born in place into the book of the living. When you trust Christ as your Savior, your name is written in the book of life, eternal life. That’s a two different book.

That’s why you’re to rejoice that your names are written in the book of life, the Lamb’s book of life. But the key is is you have to be born again the second time. This is brought out in the gospel of John in chapter 3. John 3 16 is the answer to Nicodemus’ question on how can a man be born when he is old. Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb and be born? And Jesus says, our ruler and Israel and you don’t understand these things?

Evidently not. And there’s a lot of religious people that don’t understand this. So I want you to take your Bible, look at Ephesians chapter 4, the book of Ephesians and chapter 4. Ephesians chapter 4, but do look at the verse because you’ll see what I’m referring to. Remember this, when you trust Jesus Christ as your Savior and why do you do that? Look up here. This is you and me, flesh. We all have sin because this This is the result of a sinful nature.

This did not make us a sinner. Being a sinner is why we produce this. These are the bad things that we do. We commit all these bad things for the simple reason we’re born with a sinful nature to be rebegues, to seek our own way. But God loves us. He hates our sin, but He loves us. And so the Bible says to go to heaven we have to be perfect as righteous as God. not perfect, none are righteous, there’s none good, no not one.

And the wages of sin is death, and since everyone has sinned, everyone must die. So it’s a point under every man wants to die and after this is the judgment. But the judgment isn’t to determine where I’m going. It’s to determine the punishment you receive when you get there. So a man cannot save himself. You don’t save yourself by promising God that you’re going to try harder. I don’t care how hard you try. You’ll never live good enough to get to heaven by your good deeds.

So you need a Savior. This can represent Jesus Christ. God in the flesh came into the world because He loves us, so He took our sin, paid for the one the cross, came back from the dead. God said, if we’ll believe He did it for us, you must believe He did this for you. And the Bible says in the book of Romans in chapter 4 that when you believe it, His righteousness is imputed to your account. He takes your sins and He gives you His righteousness.

And if God gave you His righteousness, you would be as righteous as who? As righteous as God. You go to heaven on His right, His perfection, not yours. So the only reason we’re going to heaven is because God gave me His perfection. Because you have to be perfect to get there. I don’t have any, you don’t either. All of our righteousness are its filthy rags. So when we trust Christ as our Savior, we’re born into God’s family. Now here in the book of Ephesians chapter 4, look in verse 24, and that ye put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Now look up here. You trust Christ as your Savior. God doesn’t do anything with your first birth, your old sinful nature. What he did is he gave you a new birth, like being born again. This one has a new nature, a divine nature created as he says here in righteousness and true. This one is born of God. God fathered this child, my second birth. And God fathered this child and gave me his nature and his righteousness. I am as righteous as God.

I am perfectly holy in God’s eyes. that this one is born of God and has no sinful nature, then it cannot, it cannot sin. If it cannot sin, it cannot die. That’s why once you’re born into God’s family, you are God’s child for how long? Forever. And if you’re God’s child, forever, you can’t go to hell. Because see, this one can’t sin. God can never send a child of God to Him. So here you are living your life and you have within you two births.

And so I’ve got these two natures living within me in one body. One day I’m going to get the other body to go with the other birth. But right now I’m sharing it with my second birth. If you understand this you understand why you as a Christian, you still have an old sinful nature. God didn’t eradicate the old sinful nature. It’s still there. You can still desire the things that are wrong. Now look there in your note and I want you to look at the scripture.

Second Peter chapter one, this is very important. Second Peter and chapter one. Second Peter chapter one, do look at the verse and look there in verse 4. Second Peter chapter 1 and verse 4. And notice what God has given in verse 4. Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises that by these ye might be partakers of the, and you are done on the line these two words, what? Divine nature. Now look up here. This one has a sinful nature.

This one has a divine nature. That’s opposites. That’s two extremes. This one can’t do anything right. This one can’t do anything wrong. This one sends. This one can’t send. This is going to die. This one can’t die. That’s why Christ says, if a man be leaving me, he shall never die. But if he die, yet shall he live. You see, it’s the flesh. And one of these days, if we wait around and God taries, we’re going to go to the way of the grave.

They’re going to bury this body of flesh. But the Biapsen from the body is to be what? Present with the Lord. That’s the second birth. In John chapter 6 verse 47, we won’t turn there, listen. He says, Verily, Verily, I send you, He that believeth on me. Half everlasting life. Now, which one has everlasting life? The one that’s born of God. In the book of 1 John chapter 3 verse 9 says, that which is born of God, whosoever is born of God, does not commit sin.

For his seed remained it than him and he can not sin. Doesn’t practice sin. He says he cannot sin because his seed remained it and he can not sin. Whosoever is born of God. Can not be. not sin. This birth born of God can’t sin. Can’t sin, can’t die. Now that we understand that the conflict that goes on in our life can be understood by having only one body and two births living within it. And that’s why you’ll want to do what’s right and you’ll also want to do what’s wrong.

It can really play games with your mind. You’ll want to go to church and you don’t want to go. You want to read your Bible and you don’t. You want to witness and you don’t. So how do you get to have victory in the Christian life? You have to starve the flesh and feed the new man. Now the new man to grow strong, he doesn’t get strong on Mad Magazine, Playboy Magazine, the filth of the world, he can’t get strong on the Word of God.

That’s why he says, desire the sincere milk of the Word that you may what? Grow thereby. You can grow by it. But you can’t grow strong spiritually on the wisdom of the world. Over here you have this whole sinful nature. And he says, I think I’m going to have me a can of beer. Okay, well he’s going to have my can of beer. And here’s all the nature is just, you are not doing that. Shut up.

And he’s stronger because he’s been fed and his desires become strong and he’s weak because you haven’t been feeding him. And the reality of it is a lot of Christians, they try to satisfy both. They try to go to church on Sunday and feed him a little bit and give him some little pablon. And then the rest of the week, they live like the devil and you see them and you say, ah, hipbo crit. Hey, we always got one more in church.

There’s always room for one more. And so what should a person do? Well, I want you to take your Bible and turn there to the book of Galatians and chapter five, Galatians and chapter five. And you’ll notice that there is a conflict, the conflict here in verse 17, Galatians chapter five or 17, for the flesh lusts against the Spirit. Look up here, the flesh lust against the spirit, the spirit lust against the flesh. They hate each other. They despise each other.

They war all the time and they’re both fighting for the control of one body. And who gets it is the one that I say sick them to. I’m the one that determines who gets to control me. I can yield to the nature of the flesh and I can yield to the nature of God, my choice. And God says, be not deceived. What’s whoever a man saw it, that shall he also reap. If I sow to the flesh, then the flesh is going to have some results.

So there’s the works of the flesh that are mentioned. If I yield to the Holy Spirit and let the Lord control my life, there are some fruit that the Lord mentions that I can have as a result of it. So God says, don’t you be deceived. You cannot live as you please and get away with Him. I am a child of God. I can let the flesh nature control my life. Yes, I can. And if you look at mean, you may see nothing but the works of the flesh in my life.”

And so, well, he’s not a Christian. Ah, don’t you dare go that far. Because I’m still a child of God. I’m just not living like a child of God. I’m not acting like a child of God. I’m allowing my old flesh nature to control my life. And my heavenly Father in heaven says that he’s going to chase in me because I won’t examine my life and correct my problem and he may even have to take me home before my time.

But God says, you cannot live as you please and get away with it. But you can’t live as you please. Yes, you can. You can live like the devil if you want to. I don’t recommend it. I found out years ago that if I would serve God, he said he would bless my life here and he said he’ll reward me when I get there and I believe him. So for 40 years, though I know this, I’ve made up my mind, I am going to serve the Lord.

I don’t serve the Lord to be a child of God. I serve him because I already am a child of God. I know that if I let the flesh control my life, that God is going to chase in me and discipline me. Maybe take me home before my time. And I don’t want the Lord beating a tar out of me. I would rather have God’s blessing. Now doesn’t that make sense? Yes, it makes sense. I want you to look there in verse 19.

The works of the flesh and in your notes there, they’re all listed. And you can get your 1828 Webster’s dictionary and looking up and right now what those words mean. If you don’t happen to know what adultery is. You can look it up and find out. If you don’t know what hatred is, you can find that. If you know what drunkenness is, you can look it up and find out what it is. But he says in verse 19, Now the works of the flesh are manifest.

Which of these? Adultery, fornication, and cleanness, lessiviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, emulation, variance, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, reveling, such life. Other which I tell you before, as I told you in time past that day, which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Look over here. All these bad things are the works of the spirit of flesh. These cannot inherit the kingdom of God. He says, I told you that before. So God doesn’t want a Christian bringing forth the works of the flesh.

What God wants is his children to walk in the spirit. Means letting the Holy Spirit control your life and he controls your life by controlling you with the Word of God. That’s the reason the Holy Spirit lives within you is to teach you what the word of God says so that you will obey it. Walking in the Spirit is nothing more than walking and obedience to the word of God. If you don’t live in obedience to the word of God you’re rebellious.

Still maybe as child you’ll go to heaven when you die but you’re not going to have the blessings of God here you’re not going to have the rewards when you get there and you’re not going to be pleasing God and And there’ll be a shame in it, it’s grace. But yes, you can do that. Hearing Galatians in chapter five, look in verse 22. But the fruitrophe of the spirit is love, joy, peace. If you look at your notes over there now, love, joy and peace are the things that you have within you that’s towards yourself.

That’s like emotions that you can have. When he talks about toward mankind, others long-suffering, gentleness and goodness and toward God, faith, maintenance and temper. So see, these are things that God wants to be permeating your life. And you can have that. But see what a lot of people do is they feed the flesh and they starve the new man. They don’t feed him. Some Christians are so spiritually skinny they could use a chario for a hula hoop. And that’s bad.

The conquest is to win the contest. I’m talking about the contest in your life, the battle that goes on. God wants you to have personal victory, but it’s going to be only for one reason by one thing. Look at that in verse 16, verse 16. This I say then, walk in the spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. You still have the lust of the flesh. You’ll have as long as you’re in this physical body.

When the Bible says to be filled with the Spirit, mean to be controlled by the Spirit. If a man is filled with hatred, hatred controls him. If you feel with business, bitterness controls you. If you feel with love, love controls you. If you feel with the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit controls you. And I hope that it makes sense to 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.

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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. Life 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 Art. 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, 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.

First Timothy chapter one, look there in verse seven. There are people who desire in verse seven, Desiring to be teachers of what? The law, not grace. Law and grace are two different things, like water and oil won’t mix, law and grace won’t mix. Law is one thing, grace is something else. Law means you must deserve, grace means you don’t deserve, you can’t mix the two together. God says, if it is by grace, then it cannot be by works, otherwise grace is in grace.

But if it is by works, then it cannot be by grace, otherwise work is in work. Because see, they oppose each other. One means you work for it, and that’s how you get it. You deserve it. The other one is by grace means you don’t deserve it. That means without works. So you can’t be saved by grace plus works because if it was by your works, then it can’t be by grace. Salvation either has to be free or it’s not free.

So the Bible says here in 1 Timothy chapter 1 down there in verse 7, these are to be teachers of the law understanding neither what they say, nor where of they affirm. In other words, they don’t the what they’re talking about. They’re teachers of the law trying to get people to promise to be good. Have you ever heard certain people teach or preachers that you must commit your life to Christ in order to be saved? That’s mean, yes, you promising that you’re going to live right in order to be saved.

That’s wrong. That’s totally false. You do not commit your life to Christ in order to be saved. You don’t make Christ the Lord and the Master of your life in order to be saved because that means you’ve got to promise that you’re going to live a certain way. That’s wrong. I don’t get who the preacher is. It doesn’t matter. You can’t change what God’s word says. And even though a person may mean well, what they’re saying is still wrong.

A man is either saved by grace, not because he promises how he’s going to live. You may promise, I’m gonna never do that anymore. All right, what happens when you do it again? You’re not saved because you make God any promises. You’re saved because God promised, promised to save you. Have you ever heard that song go something like this? Just as I am with I, with one plea. You ever heard that before? That’s what it’s talking about. Just as I what?

Just as I am not as I ought to be. This verse is talking about that in verse 8. But we know that the law is good if a man uses it lawfully. In other words, the way it’s supposed to be used. Now take your Bible and turn to the book of Galatians and chapter 3. The book of Galatians and chapter three. And notice there in verse six, the Apostle Paul talked unto Gentiles who were being mixed up by those Jews.

The Jews that believe that they had to keep the law in order to be saved. So Paul is trying to tell them, look those Jews that trying to teach you that you got to keep the law, they don’t. Those same Jews that are trying to teach you Judaism is in a religion that doesn’t say because he says I was there. I was just like that. I did that. I was a Pharisee. That’s talked about in chapter 1. He said I did all of that.

He said I was above many my own age in the Jews religion. He says but it was false. He said it was wrong. He said I taught a man had to do all those things. So in verse 6 he says even Abraham who is the father of the nation of Israel said this. Even as Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. In other words, a righteousness that God would give to an individual by faith alone.

Now, we talk about righteousness. Remember there says, two kinds of righteousness. There is the righteousness of man and the righteousness of God. God says, be found in him in Christ, not having my own righteousness, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness, which is of God by faith. So God says, I will give you my righteousness. So if God promot me his righteousness, that would make me as righteous as God. So I go to heaven on his righteousness, not mine.

Christ came into the world and lived perfect. If he did that and lived perfect for me, then it’s just like in God’s eyes, I did that. I lived perfect. Because see what he did with Put to my account, God gave me his righteousness. He took my sin. We swapped places. And all those bad things. that I did. Yeah, he went to the cross and he died. He paid for them in my place. So in God’s eye, just like I went to the cross and I died and paid for all my sins.

Isn’t that wonderful? But he did it for me in my place. So here in Galatians, he says in verse 7, no ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. He said, look, you don’t have to become a Jew to become a child of Abraham. Abraham is considered a He is considered a father by faith. And all those who buy faith except Christ as their Savior are the children of faith or the children of Abraham.

Israel is not just automatically the children of Abraham. Only if you in Israel would trust Christ as your Savior. So you don’t have to become a Jew in order to become a child of Abraham. Oh, you have to accept Christ as your Savior by faith. And then you are a child of God. Now, I know that what he says in verse 8. and the scripture, meaning the Old Testament, foreseeing that God would justify the heat and through faith preached before the Abraham saying, and these shall all nations be blessed.

In the Old Testament, in the book of Genesis in chapter 12, later on in chapter 18, also chapter 15, the book of Genesis in chapter 12, later on in chapter 18, also chapter 15, Abraham was led to the early calities, was going to be a miracle child because Abraham and Sarah was past the age of child bearing and so therefore this child would have to be a miracle and that’s what salvation is. Abraham believed God and it was counted him for righteousness in Genesis chapter 15 and God says through thy seed shall all the nations of the earth will be blessed through thy seed singular.

So through Abraham, through Isaac and Jacob Jacob and so for all down the line, Christ was born. Around the line, Poe- down the line. The seed, Christ, the Messiah, in which the Gentiles believe on all over the world and Then go down the line. Down the line spite you. Right. Right. we are blessed. That blessing is the opposite of a cursing. Right. You and I were born into this world under a curse, the curse of sin. Right. We all sin, we all die.

Right. But the blessing of God is to have eternal life. Right. blessing of God, is talked about here is eternal life. All right. life. And I’ll show you that in just a moment. So notice there in verse 8, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, in these shall all nations be bled. So was the gospel preached in the Old Testament? Yes it was. Was the gospel preached to Abraham? Why is that important? Because Abraham lived and talked about this from 430 years before the law was ever given.

So Abraham was not saved because he kept the law. No, Abraham didn’t have the law. The law was given through Moses on Mount Sinai 430 years later. So God had already promised to Abraham he’ll save people by faith in faith alone. If God’s gonna save him by faith, well then when he gave the law, did the law annul the promise that God made Abraham. No, the law did not know that promise. It means that God still is going to justify make right, just declare right, and a heathen by his faith and faith alone.

I’ve had people tell me, well you can’t tell me all you’ve got to do is just believe on Jesus Christ and you’ll go to heaven. Yes, I will tell you that. That’s exactly what God says. And any preacher who tells anything else doesn’t understand the gospel of Jesus Christ. They’re wrong. Dead wrong. And it burns me because I get a chance to talk to a lot of people that are so mixed up because some preacher calls himself a preacher and man of God and just because they put a name of a church on the top of it, they said they’re a church.

They’re not a church and he’s not a preacher of God. God said if he says it by grace he’s the one that made heaven. He made hell. He made people and he says you get there free and no man has a right to mess with that and that one little work to it. Yet that burns me up. Look what he says in I verse 9, so then they which be a faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. Abraham believed God it was kind of the him for righteousness and everybody in the whole world will believe just like Abraham believed by faith and faith alone without the law can be justified.

Had that same blessing. Just like he had. If you think you have to keep the law in order to be saved, how much of the law would you have to keep? All of it. Look in verse 10. He says, for as many as are of the works of the law are under the what? The blessing occurs. You’re under a curse. So under the law is a curse. But the blessing of God is by grace, means you’re removed from a curse.

You see, I once was lost and I was going to hell. I ain’t going to hell anymore. I’ve been blessed, blessed by God. God allowed me to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ, and I trusted Him as my Savior, and saved by faith, and I’m going to heaven, I have eternal life. That’s the blessing of Abraham that the Bible says, upon all the families of the earth will be blessed. But He says, for it is written, cursed is everyone that continue, if not in all things, which are written in the book of the law to do them.

In other words, you gotta keep them all perfectly, and then if you did, there’s no law that said, God would save anybody who kept the law. Ain’t that something? So how do you know? Well, look in verse 19. Verse 19 says, Wherefore then serveth the law? What’s the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgression till the seed Christ should come to whom the promise was made. And now look in verse 21, is the law then against the promises of God?

God forbid. For if there had been a law given which could have given life, if there had been a law, Okay, you keep the law and you’ll go to heaven. If there had been a law given, then that would have been great. But God never said that. Where do you find the verses that you keep the law and you can have eternal life? There isn’t one. And he makes the statement last part that Verdi righteousness should have been by the law.

In other words, if you could earn it, you should earn it. If you could be good enough to go to heaven, you should be good enough to go to heaven. If you could earn your way to heaven by your good deeds and that’s the way it ought to be. That’s what he’s saying. Verily righteousness should have been by the law, like everybody’s saying in the world, all these various religions. But the only problem is, man is a sinner and he can’t save himself by his works.

Look there now in verse 16. Now to Abraham and his seed, singular, word the promises made, he saith not and decedes as of many, that as of one, and to thy seed which is Christ. So Abraham had God make it promise to Abraham. That’s the promise that was made Abraham. God is going to save by faith. Well, the law was given. What was the law given? So that no man would trust in his works. So that a man would trust Christ as a Savior so that God could fulfill the promise that he’d save him by faith.

Well, man ain’t going to trust Christ and put his confidence in Christ if If you think they can save himself by his good deeds. So I challenge every person, think they can keep the law to be safe. You got to be perfect. One hundred percent perfect. From beginning to end. And since no man is, then he ought to say, I can’t save myself. The law was a mirror. To show a person that their sinners and it will lead them to Christ.

Remember, until the seed come, the Messiah, till you come to Christ, you’re under the law. When you come to Christ and you trust Him as your Savior, now you’re removed from the curse of the law to the grace of God, and now you have eternal life and you’re going to heaven when you die, and you can never be placed under that curse again because you’re free from him. There is now no condemnation to those that are in Christ, but you are under condemnation when you’re not in Christ.

But when you trust Christ as your Savior, God gives you eternal life and you have eternal life. You’re going to heaven when you die. Now look in verse 17, verse 17, tremendous verse. And this I say that the covenant that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, now get the law which was 400 and 30 years after God made that promise to Abraham cannot what? Disannolve. That it should make the promise of none of that. Just because God said, I want to save you by grace, it means you don’t have to earn it.

Then he gives the law for 130 years later. Can the law, and all the promise. God says, no, it doesn’t. The law was not given to save a man. It was given to show the man he can’t save himself by work so that he will trust Christ to save him and be saved by grace. Look there in verse 23. But before faith came, before you trusted Christ as your Savior, we were kept under the law shut up under the faith which would afterwards be revealed.

Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto who? Christ that we might be justified by What hey? So God says the law was given the show of man that he cannot save him to mount You put it into the today’s language. There may be a lot of people that say well We’re not talking about keeping the 10 commandments to go to heaven Which is about you got to do right you got to do good You got to behave you got to go to church you get money and pray and all these good deeds And if you don’t do all these good deeds then you’ll lose your salvation That’s the same thing as trying to keep the law to be safe You’re dependent upon man’s works and God said if you’re dependent upon your works, you can’t be saved It’s not that way.

It’s so important for people to see this and to understand this. Take your Bible and I’ll turn to James chapter 2. The book of James and chapter 2. And notice in verse 10, for whosoever, this is on page 1307, for whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend in one point he is guilty of what? He’s guilty of all of them. That means that if you ever sin in any area, you’re guilty of all sins. You see, I don’t understand that.

Let me give you a brief illustration. 10 links in a chain, you’re hanging over a cliff, you’re hanging onto the last link in a chain. How many links have to break before you fall? Now, this is a tough question, very difficult. How many links got a break? Only one. matter which one. Same consequence as ain’t it? Your mashed potatoes. And so it doesn’t matter which one of those, well I never did this one and I never did this one and I never did this one, but what about the other one?

Well I did that one. Then you’re guilty of all of them. Wages of sin is death. Not wages of sins. The wages of sin is death. You sin, you die. That’s why everybody die. Why everybody’s a sinner. Doesn’t matter how many sins you committed. That’s why when you get up in the morning and you look in that mirror in the bathroom, well when you see that you got, you know, matting your eyes or you need a shave and you got turtleneck sweaters on your teeth and your hair is messed up and cobwebs in it, you don’t take the mirror off the wall and wash your face with it.

Purpose of the mirror is just to show you what’s wrong. That leads you to the soap and the water. That leads you to the toothpaste and the toothbrush that leads you to get the comb and comb your hair. That’s it leads you to something else. That’s the purpose of a mirror. The law is a mirror that leads you to Christ. You were like, good night. I didn’t know I was that bad. God says, yep, I told you it was that bad.

You’re that bad. You need a Savior and you cannot save yourself and that’s why you trust Jesus Christ as your Savior. It makes sense that people are let it make sense. Now take your Bible and turn to the book of Romans in chapter three. The book of Romans and chapter 3. Romans chapter 3 has some very good statements because it concludes that all men have sinned. Everybody’s the center. You see in verse 10 says that there’s none righteous, no not one.

Why? Because you broke the law. In the last part of verse 10, or 11, there is none that seeketh after God. Last part of verse 12, there is none that doeth good, but no not one, by your works it just simply proves that you’re not a saint after all. Maybe a saint Bernard, but now are they sinner. Look in verse 20, I’m going to ask you in verse 19, verse 19, now we know that what things so ever the law say it, it’s safe to them who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

In other words, the law was given the show that everybody’s a sinner. And nobody is any better than anyone else. You are not going to heaven because you quit your drinking and you quit your smoking. And now you’re a good little person going to church. That is not why you’re going to heaven. You’re not going to, and if you’re listening to the broadcast, you’re not going to hell because you do all those bad things. You go to hell because you reject the payment Christ made for you.

That’s the only reason you go to hell. See, Christ has already paid for all your sins. And we’re not saved because we do good deeds and somebody else not say because they did bad deeds. Here in the Romans in chapter 3 makes a statement in verse 20, Therefore, understand this now, therefore by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight. So anybody who said, well, you can’t do this and you can’t do that and you can’t do that, usually are, but they can’t be justified, cleared in God’s eyes.

So it would help a person to see they’re wasting their time trying to be something they can never be. That’s what you call a religious hypocrite. They think they’re so good. They don’t need to trust Christ only as their savior. They’re helping him out. They’re going to do their part and they’re good enough. But of course, if they don’t do their part, they lose whatever they had. That is not the Bible. Look in the last part of verse 20, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

The law is what you let you know that sin. that’s wrong. And that was the purpose of it. Now, look in verse 24. Being justified, what’s the next word? Freely. Being justified. I can be justified. I mean, from all those bad things I did, and all those bad things I’m going to do, I can be justified just as if I never did them. But I did them. God says, I’m going to save you by grace. Grace means you don’t deserve to be saved.

But I’m going to save you because I love you. Oh, you have to do is believe that I did this for you. I paid for your sins. I love you that much. And I’ll justify you freely. No charge to you by grace. Look at it. Being justified freely by his, what’s the word? Grace, unmerited favor. You didn’t deserve to be saved. I mean, God didn’t save you because you promised you’re going to go to church. promise you’re going to give money, you promise you’re going to live right?

That’s why sometimes it’s hard to get some people to trust the Lord because they said, I don’t think I can live. I said, live what? I can’t live the Christian life. Nobody said you had to live the Christian life to go to heaven. You don’t have to live a bad life to go to hell. Salvation is trusting Christ and being lost means you rejected Christ. Please understand that. Be unjustified freely by His grace. Now get the last part of the earth through the redemption because of the payment that was made by Jesus Christ.

Now with He paid for it, that’s redemption, bought by He paid for your sins. All you have to do is believe it. Now look what He says there in verse 28. Verse 28 says, therefore we conclude that a man is justified by what? Justified by faith. And let’s look at the last part of the verse. You’re going to underline that. And yet there’s still people who cannot believe that this is the book. I’ve had people say, well you’re just making that up.

You’re adding to the Bible. I am not adding to the Bible. A man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law, without doing anything, without trying to earn it, saved by grace. Look there also in the book of Romans in chapter 4. Romans chapter 4 and look in verse 3. But what sayeth the scripture, Abraham, beleaved God and it was counted unto him for righteousness, by belief alone. Now look what he says in Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace but of death.

In other words, the man that wants to work for his salvation, earn his salvation, and I’m good enough that God says that he doesn’t get salvation by grace, it would be God would be in debt to that man. That’s why he said now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace. In other words, it’s not considered to be grace. That means that He deserved it. That’s a reward because He earned the right to go to heaven because He was good enough.

God said, that’s not grace. He says a man is saved by grace not by his works. So a person needs to understand the difference between grace and works. It’s either by grace totally free or it is totally by works. It cannot be a mixture of both. I cannot give you something to say, this is free, but you’ve got to pay for it. Now wait a minute, it’s either free or you’ve got to pay for it. going to heaven is either for ear you got to pay for it, but it can’t be both ways.

I mean, they totally say 100% by grace or I can’t be saved at all. And verse five, get verse five, but to him that worketh not, but believe it on him. You say, what about those who just all they do is believe. Can they still be saved just by believing? Well, what he said, but to him that worketh not doesn’t work. Doesn’t try to keep the law doesn’t do any of that. But believe it on him that justifyeth the ungodly his what?

His faith is counted for righteous. In other words, my beleaven is just like I lived a perfect life. In other words instead of me living a perfect life, I can just by faith believe that what Christ did is put to my account and it’s just like I did it all by faith alone. And yet there’s a bunch of morons out there that can’t see that and they They keep people in fear. They keep them blinded. So they think, well, I’ve got to go to church, and I’ve got to give money, and I’ve got to live right, or I’ll go to hell.

That’s not true. As much as I want people to come to church, as much as I want people to live right, I still don’t think it justifies me in lying to people. Deceiving people, because I’m afraid to tell them the truth. I had a man one time telling me to listen. Don’t tell anybody when you trust Christ as your Savior, you have eternal life. Because that’s a family secret, a family secret. I thought that was what God says, the broadcast from the highest heel.

That’s the same thing. I thought that Christ is going to all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. So everybody can know they have eternal life. What’s the reason of trusting Christ as your Savior? If you don’t know where you’re going, when you die. If you don’t know you have eternal life. And there’s a lot of people that are not sure where they go on when they die. And there it is if it’s by faith and faith alone.

I want you to see this. Look there now in verse 14. Verse 14, for if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void. And the promise made of none of faith. In other words, the only ones who get in here at this eternal life are those who kept the law, then that, I know the promise that God made it would be free. So he says this in verse 16, therefore, and you ought to underline this first part of the verse.

Therefore, it is of faith that it may be made of the Lord. might be by what? Grace, to the end, for this purpose, the promise might be sure to all the seed. In other words, the only way you can be sure of going to heaven when you die is that it’s free. If it’s by your works, then you’d have to wait until you die to find out if you were good enough. That’s why you ask some people to go to church all the time, where are you going to die?

Well, of course they don’t know if they’re dependent upon their good works to get them there because they ain’t dead yet. They gotta wait till they die to find out they were good enough to make it. Because it says right there, promise might be sure to all the seed. Who? God said, I’ll make it by faith that the promise might be by grace. In other words, by me putting my faith in Jesus Christ’s work that he did, God will save me by his grace.

I don’t earn that and I don’t deserve that, but I should get the benefits of all of that. That is salvation by grace. There is no other. Let me show you one of the verse before we close. That’s in Acts 13 and verse 38 and verse 39. Look very quickly here at this verse. Page 11-67, these two verses ought to knock your socks off. They’re tremendous. You ought to line them in your Bible. Memorize them. Verse 38, be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren, that through this man Christ is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins.

forgiving you of sin. Now notice. And by Him, all that believe are justified from how many things. All things. And by Him, all that belief. That means everybody that just by believing can be justified from all things, now get the last part, from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses by trying to earn your salvation. In closing, look in verse 43 just to close us out here. I want you to see that. Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnab, who speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God, not the law.

Letting this hand represent you and me and this wallet represent 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 ways of the sin be in death. So God said, He loves us and wants us to 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 it 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, paid for it 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. There is no other way. You don’t promise God anything. All you do is receive Him. He that believeth on me half of the last 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. My broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, Calvary of Tampa dot org. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline and now a closing thought from Pastor Arden. Friend, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound and we will be changed.

up to meet the Lord in the air. So live today and every day, 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 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.

Behold, I call saying to you that if ye be circumcised, Christ, Christ shall profit you nothing. Now the reason they would be circumcised is because they thought they had to keep the law of Moses in order to be saved. So there were people who taught that you have to keep the law of Moses and to be baptized or to be circumcised in order to be saved. So says if a man is being circumcised in order to be saved because that’s something you got to do, then he says, Christ profits you zero.

In other words, you can’t say, well, I’m trusting the Lord and my good works. You know, by going to church, am I trying to keep the 10 commandments? My living right. See, Christ plus me living right is how a man gets saved. Then you don’t understand the gospel. And Christ profits you nothing. God cannot save a man who is trying to save themselves themselves by their good deeds. In verse three, for I testify again to every man, every man, every person that is circumcised or you’re doing it for the purpose of saving yourself, he said that he is a debtor to do the whole law.

In other words, if you think, well, all I got to do is just, you know, don’t tell no more lies. It’s not just not telling lies. You can’t commit one single sin. If you was to start today and never do another sin for the rest of your life, what are you going to do with the ones you’ve already done? You’ve already sinned. The reason you sinned is because you are a sinner. You say, well, if I don’t do any bad thing, then I mean that means I’m not bad.

No, no, no, you don’t get it. You do bad things because you are bad. You are a sinner. That is your nature. you may not do outwardly, you still have sins inwardly. And the biggest sin is pride. I’m good enough to go to heaven by my good deeds. That’s pride. That is a sin. The thing you don’t need a Savior, which God says you do, means you don’t see yourself the way God says, means you are deceived. And people can’t see that.

So he makes the statement here in verse 4, Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law. In other words, you’re trying to save yourself, you’re seeking to be justified, made righteous by your works, by trying to keep the law, you are fallen from grace, or you have rejected salvation by grace, because you want to be saved by your works. God says you can’t be saved that way. Christ is become of no effect, He can’t save anybody.

It’s impossible for God to save anybody who’s trying to save themselves. And the way you know that people are trying to save themselves by their good works is take away their good works and see if they’ll still think they’re going. Where are you going to die? I’m going to heaven. How do you know? Well, because I’m doing the best I can. Okay, take away the best you can. Now you’re gonna know you ain’t gonna make it. Okay, they’re trusting their works.

Christ alone is the only reason any man gets to heaven. So think of all the churches all across this world where people are meeting together And they think they’re going to heaven because, look how good I am, look at what I’m doing, and it has nothing to do with your salvation. God will not save one person because of how he lives. No man goes to heaven because he goes to church and gives us money and he prays and all those good deeds.

God has never saved any man because of what he had done or what he promises that he’s going to do. Take your Bible and look there in the book of Ephesians chapter 2. Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 8 and 9. These are two of my favorite verses in the Bible. Here in Ephesians chapter 2 verse 8 says, 4 by grace are you saved. Grace is unmerited. Means you don’t be saved. By your good works there’s nothing that you can do to save yourself.

Your good works are not good enough. But enough, God says that our good works are as filthy rags. For by grace are you saved through faith? Saved means saved from hell. I’ve asked people, are you saved? Yes, where are you going to die? I don’t know. You can’t be saved from hell and go to hell. You can’t be saved from hell and go to hell. It’s impossible. Being saved means you’re saved from hell. That means if you’re saved from hell, you can’t go there.

Pumps on me, Pim. Well, I’m saved today, but I might go to hell tomorrow. Now, then you don’t understand it. The Bible says the gospel of Jesus Christ is good news. It’s the good news where God will save you today forever and will never cast you out and never lose you. So a man is not saved by his words. How do you know? Well, look at it. For by grace are you saved through faith that not of your self, not of yourself.

It is the what? Gift of God. Look in verse nine, not of works. Why? Last any man should boast. I cannot stand here and say, I’m going to heaven because I’m better than you. I am a dirty lousy stinking rotten sin and I ought to go to hell. I’m just like you. I am a sinner, but I’m saved. Because of what I’ve done, no, when my father-in-law explained to me that there’s only one Savior and that’s Christ, and if I trust Him, He will save me.

I don’t have to save me. I don’t have to do anything. I didn’t have to promise that I’ll start going to church. I didn’t have to promise God I was going to clean up my life. I didn’t have to promise God I’m going to turn from all my sins. I didn’t promise God I’m going to commit my life to Christ. I didn’t ask Jesus to come into my heart or my lungs or my liver. I didn’t ask nothing. I received something.

I accepted Him as my Savior. He saved me and gave me eternal life. Now, no man can get saved any other way. All saved people have to get saved exactly the same way. There’s not two ways of salvation. It is not by works. It’s not Christ and works. not by works alone, it’s by Christ alone, faith alone in Christ alone. There is no other way. There is no other salvation. And the only salvation that He has is eternal salvation.

That’s why you’ll hear me make the statement. I believe in once saved, always saved. I believe in eternal security. And any person who doesn’t doesn’t understand the gospel. When you hear somebody say that’s a damn double doctrine, get away from them. If it’s a church, a preacher, a missionary, an evangelist, have nothing to do with a wife because they don’t believe the book. This is good news for a man to hear. It’s not good news for me to walk up to a person and say, you know what you’ve got to heaven, you’ve got to be good.

That’s the worst thing in the world of the hell of a man, why? Because he can’t, there’s none good but God. There’s only one good, that’s God. The Bible says in John’s, in Romans chapter 3, there is none righteous, no not one. There is none that doeth good, no not one, not one. That’s why he said, all have sinned and come short of the perfection of God. That’s why we needed a Savior. For by grace are you saved through faith, that not of yourself, it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast.

So I don’t go to heaven because of bragging about how good I am. I’m a sinner, but I can tell you how good he is. He loves me, he loves you. He loves everybody in the world in the offer salvation, the same for everybody. It’s free. It is a gift. The other question I want to bring to you, how do you know if you’re trusting your works to keep your salvation? You see, some people say, well, you’re, you’re, you’re, you’re, you’re saved by great but you keep your salvation by you live.

And if you don’t live right, God will take it away from you or he’ll cast you out. here illusion and you can lose your salvation. Now remember it’s impossible for a man to save himself. It’s impossible for a man once he is saved to lose his salvation, impossible. No man that’s ever been saved has ever been lost again. Now take your Bible look in the Book of John chapter 6, the Gospel of John, and chapter 6. The questions that were asked in the Bible study were from honest, sincere people who sincerely wanted to know what the Bible has to say.

And it’s important for people to see exactly what the Bible does say. Now look there in John chapter 6 and verse 37. Some of you have seen these verses before, some of you haven’t. If you don’t have them underlined in your Bible, I would recommend underlining them in your Bible. Remember, the one that saves me is the one who keeps me saved. I was not saved because of what I did. I was saved because of what he did. He saves me.

And the only way I can stay saved is if he keeps me saved. If I wasn’t good enough to get saved, I’m not good enough to stay saved. I wasn’t saved by my works. I am not kept saved by my works. John chapter 6, looking verse 37, all that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and this part of the verse you ought to underline it. And him that comeeth to me, I will, and know wise, cast out.

Now, how do you know if you’re trusting in your good works to keep you saved? Well, if you were to take away all of your good deeds, all of your good works, and you started substituting all your good works with all these bad works. I mean, you’re really got bad. Think of the most wicked thing you could do. And you did all those wicked things, those bad deeds, whatever they might be. Would you still be saved? You said, no.

No. Well, okay. Why? Well, because it’s just you just can’t do those bad things and still go to heaven, then you still don’t understand it. For by grace are you say, what is grace? Marited favor on Marited you didn’t merit it when you think that you’re going there because you’re doing all these good things you still believe you’re meriting it you’re deserving it look I’m going because I’m doing the good deeds and somebody else who don’t do these good deeds don’t deserve to go but you do you deserve it they don’t deserve it then you don’t understand grace heaven is is not a reward that God gives to people who deserve it.

Nobody deserves salvation. Nobody deserves eternal life. Saved by grace means that you didn’t do anything for it. God saved you because you trusted Him. He’s the one that said He will not for any reason ever cast you out. He can’t cast you out. Look in verse 37 again, I will in no wise for any reason, no purpose cast you out. Look at what he says in verse 39, and this is the Father’s will which hath sent me that of all which he hath given me, I should lose how many?

Nothing. He said, I will not cast you out, I will not lose you. So if he will never cast me out, he’ll never lose me, then where am I going to go when I die? I’m going to heaven whenever I die. And God says, you can know that you have eternal life. These things have I written unto you that believe that you may know that you have eternal life. So when somebody says, well you can’t know that. Yes you can know that.

I know I have eternal life. I know I’m going to heaven when I die. It’s not because I’m good, because that’s what the Bible teaches. That’s why this news is worth telling everybody about. There’s no tricks to it. There’s no gimmicks to it. It’s not lying to somebody. If I told you you have to be good to bicycling, well, in fact, it’s true, then you won’t really know if you’re saved till you die. If I said you have to be good to go to heaven, then you’re going to have to wait till you stand before the Lord to find out if you’re good was good enough.

your good did it outweigh all the bad. And I’ll have to admit I used to think that when you die, God put the scales out there and put your bad works on this side and your good works on this side and whichever outweigh the other determine which way you’re going to go. So of course you’ve got to wait till you die to find out which outweighs what. So of course you can’t say no, you know where you’re going when you die because you ain’t dead yet.

You still got some life to live. You’ve got to find out if I’m going to be good enough to make it because I might do something wrong today or tomorrow the next day and so I’ve got to wait and find out. Well that’s fine if that’s the way salvation is but see that’s not salvation that God that’s not the plan of salvation that God made. The only way you can know that you’re going to get there is if he gives it to you now and it’s free and you can’t do anything to lose it.

Well if you can’t lose it then you can know you take out it. You can know that you’re going to make it. Otherwise what do you have? If you have to wait till you die to find out if you made it, well what do you have that the lost man or anybody else in the world has never heard about you? What do you have that they don’t have? Nothing. You don’t have anything to offer anybody except be good and that’s what all the religions of the world are.

Simply a religious system that somebody made up a few little rules and regulations and they vary in their rules and regulations and that’s why all the different churches conflict with everybody else. Well if you just went by what God said it’s free, totally free. and you don’t have to go to any church to go to heaven, you don’t have to give one penny to go to heaven, and you don’t have to do any good deeds to keep your salvation once you have it, because once you have it, you cannot lose it.

It is impossible for a man who’s been saved to ever lose his salvation. Now look there in verse 47. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that keeps the Ten Commandments and goes to North Side Baptist Church and pays ten percent half their everlasting life. Ha, pretty good, eh? He didn’t say that, did it? Verily, verily, I send you, he that beleaveth on me. He that beleaveth on me hath temporary life. She doesn’t pay to read the Bible the way it really is, but I didn’t, did I?

I twisted it again. It doesn’t say that. It says he that beleaveth on me hath, present in hath, right now hath what? Ever lasting life. It means it lasts forever. You see, The gospel has to have two qualities. One it has to be free or it’s not the gospel. Two it has to last forever or it’s not the gospel. So anybody who adds works to it means it’s not totally free so that’s not the gospel they’re preaching. If they can lose their salvation then it’s not the gospel.

Because the Bible says the good news is that God will justify a man by faith, justify him, make him declare him righteous because of what Christ did. Now remember this. Jesus died on the cross 2,000 years ago, how many of your sins were in the future? All of them, why? You weren’t born yet. You hadn’t done the first sin, but if Christ only died once andBaltic 2000 years ago for you, that means He died for you before you were born.

He paid for all of your sins before you ever committed them. Then is it true also that He could have already paid for the ones you’re going to commit today and tomorrow and the next day and to the day you die? He has already died on the cross and paid for all the sins that you will ever commit. So He paid for your sins. But that payment that He made 2,000 years ago is not put to your account till you believe He did it for you.

So when you believe it, He puts that payment to your account and you have a payment. You have a payment for all of your sins, not part of them, not all your sins up to the time you believe. Now I’ve got to get another payment for the rest of them. There’s only one payment that was ever made for everybody’s sins once and for all. Christ died for the world. So when you accept the payment He made, you have a payment for all of your sins, past, present and future.

So the penalty of my sins, eternal separation from God, in hell, has been totally paid for and I never have to worry about it again. There’s no sin in the past, no sin in the present, and no sin in the future that can ever condemn me to hell as hell because those sins are all paid. You say, what if you do something wrong Supplementary is sin623, but it’s paid. What about next week is paid? What about if you sin right before you die?

Is it a sin? Yeah. It’s paid.What sin of mine has he not paid for? If they’re all paid, the only way I can lose my salvation is if there’s a sin that Christ hadn’t died for that there’s a sin that he didn’t pay for, but he paid for all my sins. Now, either you believe it or you don’t believe it. If you don’t believe he did it for all of my sins and you got to try to save yourself by your gurus, then that payment that he made is not put to your account.

That payment he made is no effect unto you. Christ has become of no effect to anybody who’s trying to save themselves. Think of how many people are religious today thinking that they’re saved because they’re helping him out. And so you’ve got to have Christ, but you better do your part too. No, I don’t have to do anything. And I’m still saved and I’ll go to heaven. Somebody asked me, said, Do you mean to tell me you can go out here and do all these sins?

Bad things and go to heaven? You’re trying to tell me that if I believe what you believe, I can live like the devil will still go to heaven. You know who is amazing to me? Those people who tell me how good you have to live to get to heaven aren’t All those people said well if you do this and this and this you’ll lose your salvation they have Cuz I ain’t met anybody by their works that deserves to go to heaven and neither have you You see yeah, but you don’t know my dear old Lance Susie Is she perfect?

Always been perfect. No, we’re all sinners. I’m going to heaven because of what Christ did for me. Now look there in John chapter 10 and verse 28. John 10 28. This is on page 11 29. And once in a while I will remember to give a page number. But verse 28 says, and I give unto them what? Eternal life. Christ gives eternal life. And they shall, that means in the future, never perish. Now look up here, when I trusted Christ as my savior, the moment you believe, he says in John 647, he that believe upon me, hat, present tense, right now, hat, everlasting life.

He said, I’ve given him everlasting life, eternal life. And they shall, it means in the future tomorrow, the next day, the next year, the next 10 years, whatever it shall, never in the future, never perish. That means you can never go to hell, never. If I cannot go to hell in the future, then where am I going? The heaven. John 3 16, ever heard it? 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.

Should not perish, means you cannot perish, you cannot go to hell. Have everlasting life means you go to heaven. So when I say I know I have eternal life, and I’m going to heaven when I die, it’s because I’ve trusted Christ as my savior and Him only as my Savior. But if it’s a partnership where Christ does His part, and I do my part, and I’m saved as long as I do my part, oh, I know He’ll do His part, but if I do my part, well, wouldn’t it, wouldn’t it, wouldn’t it?

What if you don’t do your part? Okay, then you’re lost, according to their own teaching. But the Bible doesn’t say God will save you if you’ll help Him. He don’t need your help. He doesn’t need my help. He is totally capable of saving me, totally 100% by himself. Because when the Bible says in the book of Hebrews in chapter one and verse three, he had by himself purged our sin. He took care of the payment all by himself, then he can save me all by himself.

Because it says it’s not of works list, any man should boast. Now here in this verse, when he makes a statement, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. Nobody can pluck them out of my hand. I have heard that, yeah, but you can take yourself out. Why do you have to always add to the Bible? It says, him that coming to me, I will know why he’s cast out, unless you’re sinned again. Did it say that?

It didn’t say that, why do you add to it? Ah, I wanna hit him. So you get mad, yeah, I get mad. Is that a sin you paid? If you go to say, well, I believed the Bible, didn’t believe it, but they’ll say you believe it, then twist it and change it and alter it and all the rest of it and try to mutilate it and say, God said, God didn’t say that. Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

Now let me show you a simple illustration. This is the Lord. And here’s all these religious people. Most people think that you’re saved because you realize the error of your ways. And I promise to do better. And I want to get saved. And so they run down to the front and pray through, hang on, let go and let God and God grip on God. Now I’m saved. And if you do something wrong, start slipping away. Now you’re lost. So now you gotta get saved again.

And then start doing something wrong. Now you’re lost. Gotta get saved again. He said, boy, I got a good grip on God now. Boy, I know I’m gonna go to heaven. Now. And then lo and behold, there’s some good looking blonde bombshell walked by. Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, and you hope something’s a mat truck He won’t hit you in the middle of some dirty thought. And you gotta get saved again.

That’s not worth a quarter. Where are you going today? Well, I don’t know if I’m here or here, or somewhere in between. See, that’s because they’re going to heaven depending upon how good they are. And the reason they keep slipping away and sliding away back, sliding, back, sliding. That’s not a phrase that’s used to Christians that backsliding you lose your salvation. No! This is talking about a person who goes astray on their own, and now they’re supposedly lost and have to get saved all over again.

Now, let me show what the Bible says. God says, you’re a sinner, and this is the Lord. The Lord says that if you will trust Him, He will save you. Ah, now who got who? He got me. He said, He will save me and take me to heaven. I’m not trying to take me there, He’s taking me there. I am totally dependent upon His power, His strength, not mine. I have nothing. I don’t even worry about it. My security is in His power, not mine, not my ability.

He said, He will never cast me out. He said, He will never lose me. He says, I am in his hand and no man can pluck you out of my hand. And it doesn’t matter as well, you can take yourself out. Chapter and verse doesn’t say that in the Bible. No, God says, once you trust him as your Savior, he saves you, takes you to heaven, and you’re going to heaven whether you like it or not. He’ll never cast you out and never lose you.

what the Bible teaches. And all these preachers that are preaching these other messages of the Turner burn and trying to get you to think that you’ve got to change your life in order for you to be safe, that’s not in the Bible. It’s not in there. And trying to get people to live in fear. Yes, I would love for all of God’s people to show up every Sunday morning and every Sunday night, every Wednesday night, instead of their Bibles and live right, I’d love for them all to do that.

But I’m not going to lie to you and tell that you have to because you don’t have to. You can, as a child of God, you can live like the devil and still go to heaven when you die. You can be as rebellious as you want to and you’ll still go to heaven when you die. There’s nothing you can do that will cover cause God to kick you out of heaven so you can’t go because you’re not good enough.

There isn’t anything. And I’m not going to lie to you and try to get you to live in fear that you’re not going to be saved unless you do and you’ve got to give so much money. No, you don’t. I do what I do and I try to do all the right that I can because I am a child of God, but I don’t do it to try to be a child of God. I already am his child. I’m going to heaven when I die.

And I want to serve him because of what he’s done for me. I want to serve him because I don’t have to serve him. The gospel is good news of how God will save you, give you eternal life, and will never cast you out and never lose you. Now as a child of God, because I’m his child, I’m going to heaven when I die. I made up my mind years ago, I’m going to serve the Lord. And you can’t stop me.

And I can’t stop you. You’re going to do what you really want to do. I’d say this, love the Lord with all your heart and live like you please. Because if you love them with all your heart, you’ll live to please them. And God will bless you for doing so. God loves us, but He hates her sin. For us to pay for that sin, eternal separation from God, in hell. God loves us, wants us to go to heaven and to go to heaven, we have to be perfect just as righteous as the Lord.

And none of us are perfect, none of us are righteous. We’re all sinners. We can’t save ourselves. We can be saved by someone else, but we can’t save ourselves. This hen represents Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, he came into the world because he loves us, cook our sins, paid for them on the cross and came back from the dead. He says, the good news is, is that he did it for you. He did it for the whole world.

And you go to heaven on what Christ did for 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 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 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 believe in that the Lord is coming soon just keep looking up