Herbert W Armstrong

   Some will say, "Well, I don't attend church. I'm not interested in things like that. Why should I be interested in such a thing as salvation?" Well, I'll tell you why everyone ought to be interested. If you don't, you are under the death penalty because God says. Now, most people don't believe God. I know that's true. Adam and Eve didn't believe God. Not many believed Christ when he was on earth. But when He says you're under a death penalty, if you don't get out from under it, you're going to pay that penalty because God is in charge. He is the supreme power. And God says the wages of sin is death. It's a death penalty, but the gift of God is eternal life.

   Now, it's a very important thing that we learn what it means. If we're under a death penalty, all have sinned, as you will find in Romans in the second chapter or the third chapter rather, in the 23rd verse (Romans 3:23): For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. You have, I have, everyone has. Everyone has done that.

   Now, I've said that you don't have life. You are in the process of dying. Every one of us is in the process of dying. All we have is a physical, chemical life, just like a clock wound up that's running down. And once it runs down, it's gonna stop. It's through, it's dead. Unless someone winds it up again, we keep winding our little clock up every day by eating food and drinking water. But you know, that isn't going to keep you going forever. We sustain life by the breath of air, the circulation of blood in our veins, and we provide fuel by the eating of food and the drinking of water. And some of these days, we run down. The life of some expires in the first minute or two of life, right, practically at birth, or some are stillborn. Others live a year or two. The average life might be close to 70 if you live a mature life. Some, very, very few, might live to 100 and past. Very few. You're not going to live forever, and the most certain thing in life is that everyone who ever lived is going to die. Everyone. And we're in the process of dying while we live.

   But God also says, and everyone has heard this because it's called the golden text of the Bible, John 3:16: God so loved the world that he gave. See, God is a giver. He is not a getter. There are two ways of life. One is giving, the other is getting. But giving is an outflow, concern for the welfare of others. It's love outflowing, first, of course of all, to God and then loving neighbor as yourself. But people are on the getting side. "I love me. I don't care about you." We want to take from others. We want to get the best of others in a bargain. Why do stores have sales? Because people think they can get the best of the stores, and they go down to the sale thinking they can get something cheaper. Everyone wants to get, get, get, get. And we don't like authority over us, and they especially don't like the authority of the Eternal God.

   Well, God says, God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, who was Jesus Christ, that whosoever believeth in him should not, what? perish. Now, that doesn't say live forever in hellfire. The wages of sin is death. It isn't living forever in hellfire. No, the wages of sin is death, but it's a second death. Your Bible says that as in Adam, all die. And again, it says, it's appointed to all men once to die, and after this, the judgment. How judgment after you die? Well, the Bible gives only one hope of life after death, and that is the resurrection. If you ever had an idea of any other way of living after death, you just don't know what you're talking about because it's God who determines these things. And God says, when you die, you're dead, except by a resurrection, you come back to life. And it's appointed to all men once to die, and after this, through a resurrection, the judgment. And judgment doesn't mean a condemning. Judgment means an opportunity of salvation. I wonder if you understood that. Judgment means you're being judged as to whether you can have salvation, but it means an opportunity too, to have eternal life.

   Now, God only has eternal life. I read that to you before. I'm going to repeat some of these scriptures that I've had in the previous broadcast. God who alone has immortality, and that is in I Timothy 6 and verse 16 (I Timothy 6:16). Now in I John the fifth chapter and verses 11 and 12, I John 5:11 and 12. I'm going to give you a lot of scripture in this program, so listen. And this is the record that God has given to us eternal life. But how? How does God give us eternal life? And this life is in his Son. You see, God so loved the world that he gave. God is a giver. He gave his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ gave himself for us. He also is God, and he also is love. That whosoever believes in him should not, what? Not go to hell, should not perish, should not die and be dead forever. And I'm going to cover some of that on a preceding broadcast later. This is the record that God has given to us eternal life. But how? And this life is in his Son, Jesus. Now, God has eternal life, and he's given to the Son to have life in himself also. As you read in I John, he that hath the Son hath life. He that hath not the Son of God hath not life. You're just dying every day you live. You don't have life without the Son of God. That's all. You just don't have it. You've been taught you're an immortal soul. You can't find a word of that in your Bible. You cannot find that in the Bible. The Bible says the soul that sins, it shall die. And again, it repeats it and says that the second time: The soul that sins, it shall die. God said to the first man, a soul. It says in Genesis, the second chapter and verse seven (Genesis 2:7), God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man made of the dust of the ground became what? A living soul, not an immortal soul, a living soul, a living nephesh. And a nephesh is a breathing animal that gets its life through breath. It's a mechanical existence only. So, God only has immortality. Now, but how do you receive it? You receive it through Christ. But how? Let's turn next to Luke the 13th chapter and verse three. Luke 13 verse 3 (Luke 13:3), where Jesus said, "I tell you nay, but except you repent, you shall all likewise perish." And once again, it's perishing. God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes in him should not perish. You're dying every day you live. And if God doesn't give you life, you will perish. And that means you'll be as though you had never been. I can read the scriptures like that, and I'll save that for another broadcast, but I'll do that later. Nevertheless, you'll notice now that Jesus said, "Except you repent," and he repeated that two verses later, "If you don't repent, you will all likewise perish." He didn't say go to hell.

   But how do you receive? Now, turn to Isaiah, the 55th chapter, back to Isaiah just a minute, and then we'll get back to the New Testament again (Isaiah 55:7). "Let the wicked forsake his way. You've been living the wrong way. I'm going to show you in just a minute what sin is. It's the way you've been living. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him and will abundantly pardon." So, God is full of mercy and grace, and he would like to give you eternal life. But there are conditions. First, you have to repent. You have to change your way of life.

   All right, then what do you repent of? You have to repent of sin. But what is sin? The Bible definition of sin? Well, it's back here in I John, the third chapter and verse four (I John 3:4): Sin is the transgression of the law. Sin is the transgression of the law. Now, the law is the way you want to live. You've been living the wrong way. Let the unrighteous man forsake his sins and forsake the way he's been living. I just read it to you. Let's go back once again. Let the wicked forsake his way. Your way is contrary to God's law. God's law is also to love the Lord thy God, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself. It is outflowing love. You've been living the way of incoming, well, shall we say, lust and greed? I should say coveting and use a little nicer word perhaps. But sin is the transgression of the law.

   Now, what law is it a sin to transgress? Now again, we need to turn back to Romans, the seventh chapter. Romans 7 and verses 12 and 14 (Romans 7:12, 14). "Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good." And then in verse 14, "For we know that the law is spiritual." Now it is the transgression of God's law, but that is a spiritual law.

   Let me say once again, the accomplishments of mankind in this 20th century, especially in our industrial West and especially in the United States, are absolutely awesome. Sending men to the moon and back, having the space shuttle, sending unmanned spacecraft to bring back close-up photographs of Jupiter and Saturn and photographs right on the very surface of Mars, landing on the surface and getting close-up photographs right on the surface of Mars, and all the marvelous things. The marvelous inventions we have today, the communication systems, the transportation systems, our flying through the air. All of these things are awesome, but they're all physical and mechanical and material.

   Our problems and our troubles are spiritual in nature, and all of our troubles and our problems and our fears and our worries and all of our suffering is coming by transgressing the law that is a spiritual law because they are spiritual in principle. We can't get along with other people. We can do marvelous things in the physical realm, but we can't live together. Husband and wife can't get along together, children and parents, family with the neighbors, nation against nation. It's that way, we're just divided in every way because we're transgressing that spiritual law. It's a spiritual principle, and we're living the wrong way spiritually. That's the whole thing summed up in a nutshell.

   Now, if you repent, then, of your way of life, the way you've been living, the way of get instead of the way of give, then what will happen? You'll find here back in the book of Acts on the very day of Pentecost, where, Peter said, when they asked him what to do in order to have salvation, he said "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Now, there were 3000 that did repent and were baptized on that very day.

   Now, I've explained before from Romans, the fifth chapter, Romans 5, beginning with verse 8 (Romans 5:8): "But God commends his love toward us," now God, who so loved the world, he gave his only begotten Son, "commends his love toward us, that while we were yet sinners, Christ, who he gave for us now, Christ died for us. And much more then, being now justified by his blood—justified only means your past is squared up. It does not mean given life, it doesn't mean saved or anything of the kind. Just forgiven your past sins by his blood, "we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son," Christ's death, Christ's blood only reconciles you to God. It pays the penalty of your sin. Now, God is the lawgiver. Sin is the transgression of the law. And if you break the law, that cuts you off from God. And you're completely cut off from God, and God only has eternal life to give, and you don't have it unless you get it from God, unless he's given it to you. And even so you only have it temporarily, and you only have it in the sense of being begotten of him, but not yet born.

   A lot of people don't even understand that. A lot of people think they're already born again, and they don't even understand what Jesus was talking about and what the Apostle Paul was talking about in the 15th chapter of I Corinthians about being born again. Nevertheless, we are only reconciled to God by the death of his Son. Now then (Romans 5:10), "For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved"—how? Not by his death, not by his blood—"we shall be saved by his life." By his life, Jesus was resurrected from the dead.

   Let me just read you something that I hadn't intended to say back here in the first chapter of Romans about Jesus Christ (Romans 1:4). Jesus Christ "declared to be the Son of God with power according to the spirit of righteousness by the resurrection of the dead." Now, Jesus Christ declared to be the Son of God by the resurrection of the dead. That is Romans chapter one and verse four. He was the firstborn of many brethren. You and I can be resurrected and made immortal the same as he was. He was the firstborn of many brethren. Well, a lot of people don't understand that either because a lot of these things are just not generally understood.

   All right, now I'd like you to turn to the eighth chapter of Romans just a minute and in verse nine (Romans 8:9): "But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you." Peter said, "Repent and then believe in Christ by being baptized, which is your faith in Christ. Going down into the water is the death of Christ, being under it is the burial of Christ, coming up is the resurrection of Christ. And it's all pictured in the baptism ceremony." But "you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you." When you repent, you really believe in Christ and believe what he says and receive him as your Savior, then you receive the Holy Spirit. Peter said, "You shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." The Spirit is the Spirit of God dwelling in you. Now, "if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." Who then is a Christian? Not someone who joined a church, not someone whose name is on a church book. One who has and is led by the Holy Spirit of God. He is Christ's, he is a Christian, and no one else is whatsoever. Now, you don't hear that preached very often. I'm very sorry to say, I wish they would preach that a little more often.

   But now I want to go on to verse 11 before I leave that. Verse 11 (Romans 8:11): "But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you," that is the Spirit you are not born with, that is the Spirit only God can give you that you'll receive after you change your way of life. After you repent of breaking God's law, after you turn to Christ and receive Christ as Savior, then "He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal body"—not immortal—"your mortal body by his Spirit that dwelleth in you." If the Spirit of God dwells in you, if by that Spirit you will be resurrected in a life after this life, a life after this life, because there is another life after this life.

   Now, you were under the law. You were under the law. Sin is the transgression of the law, and the wages of sin is death, and the law was over you because you broke it. A criminal breaks the law of man by murder, and he's put in the death cell, and the law is over him and has a claim on his life, and it's going to take his life. Well, every one of us has sinned and broken the law of God, and so we are all in a death cell too, and we can get out because God so loved us that he gave his only begotten Son for us. And I've been showing you, you have to turn from your way and turn to the way of the law of God, which is the way of life.

   Now, you were under the law. You broke the law, the penalty was death. But now after repentance and after belief, if you have done that, Jesus is a living Savior. You have the Holy Spirit, and Christ is in you through the Holy Spirit. Now, Jesus is the kind of Savior who does the saving inside of you and not outside.

   Now, I'd like you to note the sixth chapter of Romans, beginning with verse 14. Romans 6, and beginning with verse 14 (Romans 6:14): "For sin shall not have dominion over you." And speaking about the future, "shall not in the future have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law but under grace." Now you're under God's grace or mercy or pardon if you have forsaken your way and turned to God's way. And God's way is his spiritual law; it's a spiritual principle, a spiritual way of life.

   Now notice verse 15 (Romans 6:15): "What then? Shall we sin?" Does that mean it's all right for you to go back and sin again and break the law some more? "Shall we sin, because we are not under the law but under grace? God forbid." "Know you not, that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are to whom you obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness." By obeying the law unto righteousness. No, you have to quit sinning. You have to turn from the law, and the law is a spiritual law. And how can you, who are not spiritual, how are you going to obey and keep a spiritual law? You yourself cannot. You simply cannot. And God does not give you any advance permission to sin again.

   Notice in Romans 3, verses 24 and 25. Now in Romans 3, verses 24 and 25 (Romans 3:24-25): "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past." Not sins that you're going to commit in the future, sins that are past. That's all that is forgiven. If you sin again, well, it says in Christians, if you confess your sin and repent, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins if you just slip and fall through temptation once. But you can't continue to do it because repent means turn away from it, change your mind, change your way of life, turn away from it to a different way of life, a different life, and a different lifestyle altogether.

   Now, how then can you keep the law? Love is the fulfilling of the law. The law is outflowing love from you to God and the neighbor. It is the love of God in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. That's Romans 5, verse 5 (Romans 5:5): "The love of God in our hearts by the Holy Spirit." That is the only love that can fulfill his law in you. God infuses into you or into me his Holy Spirit, his life. And the Spirit of God gives us knowledge to understand the Bible by his Spirit, and his character is the building of his character.

   Now, finally, once again, Romans 8, I'd like to have you notice that just once again before we leave it. In verse 9 (Romans 8:9): "If any man has not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. But if the Spirit of Christ dwells in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies into eternal life by his Spirit that dwelleth in you."

   Friends, there's so much more to this. I can't take it all in this program. I'm going to have to break off there. And once again, I want to offer you the same booklet that I've been offering the last two programs: "What Do You Mean... Salvation?" It is an eye-opener. Not one in thousands and perhaps millions knows what salvation is. You need this book, believe me. Now, we don't have anything for sale. We don't charge for anything. We won't follow it up by requesting money. Not unless you want to become a voluntary co-worker. Otherwise, we do not request the public for money, and I don't know anyone else that can say that. But anyway, I hope others can, and God bless them if they can. But anyway, that's the way we work.

   Now, also, I'd like to send you a copy of the Plain Truth magazine. It's one of the major magazines of this world. Circulation is right around 3 million copies. It's published in five different languages. It has a worldwide circulation. The Plain Truth. The Plain Truth it makes the truth plain.

   In this particular number, let me just show you the type of articles that run in the Plain Truth: "Milestone for Europe: Greece Joins the Common Market." Now, what did that mean when Greece joined the Common Market? The Plain Truth explains the meaning behind world news. You get it on television news, you get it in your newspapers, but they don't explain the meaning. Only God understands the meaning, and only the Bible, and by the power of it, can give you the real meaning and what it really means. And we give you that more than they do, beside an analysis of world conditions.

   Here's another: "What and Why the Church?" What is the church? Is it just a place you go to, a building with a sloping roof and a steeple on it, pointing up to heaven and the cross on the top? What is the church? Why should there be a church? Why did Jesus say, "I will build my church, and the gates of the grave will never prevail against it"? Why? What is the church, and why should there be one? Well, you need to know, and there's an article in that issue about it. I don't know if it will be in the issue you will get, and "How Husbands Should Lead the Family." That is very necessary because if there's anything we're lacking, it's the family relationship. Now they want to desex the Bible. Now they're wanting to desex and rewrite the Bible, and God can't be he or Christ can't be he. It will be kind of an "it," I guess, or something like that. They say that we're discriminating against sexes if we call God a "He." Well, I think you'll find that article very, very interesting if you have that particular number.

   Another: "Uncovering the City of David." That shows you what we're doing in Jerusalem in the greatest dig, the greatest archaeological project on earth today: Uncovering the city of David. And then, "Reincarnation: Have You Lived Before? Will You Live Again?" You've heard about reincarnation. We'll tell you what it is and whether it's true or false and whether you can believe it or not. Then, "Finding a Way Out of Fear and Depression." There's something there that you just really need to read. That is a type of the articles in the Plain Truth.

   Well, here's another: "Job Outlook in the World Tomorrow," and articles like that. It's just chuck-filled with them. It's, what is it, about 64-68 pages or something? It's in full color. A very fine magazine. There is no subscription price. Again, it's all free. We have nothing to sell. Take me up on it.