Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Nyberg. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Manowar Boulevard. Sunday services are
at 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at
9.45 a.m. Wednesday services are at 7 p.m. Nursery is provided for all services.
For more information, visit our website at toddsroadgracechurch.com.
Now here's our pastor, Todd Nybert. I've entitled this morning's
message, A Christmas Sermon. My text is found in 1 Timothy
1, verse 15. Paul says, this is a faithful
saying and worthy of all acceptation. that Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners, of whom I am the chief. Now this is the week that over
two billion people are celebrating the birth of a man, Jesus Christ. who was born some 2,000 years
ago. Christmas is thought to be his
birthday. Now to celebrate his birth is
all well and good, but the question arises, why did he come? It's incumbent upon us to know
the answer to that question. Why did he come? Well, Paul tells us why he came. He says in verse 15, this is
a faithful saying, and it's worthy of all acceptation. You and I have every reason to
jump for joy at this statement. that Christ Jesus, Christ the
Messiah, that's what the word means, the anointed one, the
prophet, the priest, the king, Christ Jesus, his name means
savior. He is the anointed prophet savior. He is the anointed priest savior. He is the anointed King, Savior. Christ Jesus came into the world,
unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. He came into the world. He was before he came into this
world. You see, He's God the Son, the
second person of the blessed Trinity. One God in three distinct
persons. Jesus Christ is God. I love to say that. Jesus Christ
is God. Emmanuel, God with us. Now he came into the world, he
was before he came, as the eternal son of God, the creator of the
universe. But he came into this world born
of a virgin. Isaiah 7.14 says, behold, a virgin
shall conceive and bear a son. And his name is Immanuel. God with us. Unto us a child is born. Unto us the Son is given. The
Son wasn't given. The Son is the eternal Son. But
he became man. Unto us this child was born. Jesus Christ, the God-man, was
born of a virgin. Now, somebody says, why do you
make a point of that? Well, If he was not a virgin,
he was not God. And if he's not God, he cannot
save me or you. But he was born of a virgin,
miraculously, because he is God and he is mighty to save. He's able to save to the utter
most them that come to God by him. You see, you can't be too
bad. You can't be too far out to not
be saved if he's pleased to save you. He is mighty to save. Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners. That's what our text says. Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners. He did not come to save good
people. He did not come to save righteous
people. He said, the whole need not a
physician, but they that are sick. I came not to call the
righteous. But sinners to repentance, he came to save sinners. And I love that there's no adjective
in front of the word sinners. It doesn't say believing centers.
It does not say repentance centers. It does not say reformed centers. It just says sinners. Are you
a sinner? I'm not asking you if you're
a Christian. I'm not asking you if you're saved. I'm asking you
this question, are you a sinner? Sinners are those Christ came
to save. Now, what is meant by the term
sinner? It's very important for you and
I to understand that because Christ Jesus came to save sinners.
I got to see if I understand what a sinner is. What is meant
by the term sinner? Well, we can't answer that unless
we understand what sin is. What does the Bible call sin? How does the Bible define sin? Well, we read in 1 John 3, verse
4, that sin is the transgression of the law, God's holy law. We read in Romans 3, verses 22
and 23, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There's no difference, Paul says.
You know there's no difference between me and you. We're equally
sinful. I don't care if you're talking
about the most moral, religious person or the most degraded,
debauched person. Really, in God's sight, there's
no difference between the two of them. All have sinned and
come short of the glory of God. Sin is coming short of the glory
of God. Why, the Bible even declares
that the plowing of the wicked is sin. Now, that's a strange
concept. Going out and plowing, that's
a sin? How could that be a sin? Because
of who does it? The plowing of the wicked is
sin. If I'm a sinful man, that makes
everything I do sin. A sinner is the one who commits
the sins. I've heard it said, God loves
the sinner, but he hates his sin. You won't find that in the
Bible. You cannot separate the sinner from his sin. God does
not send sins to hell. He sends the people who committed
those sins to hell. You cannot separate the sinner
from his sins. Now, sin is the transgression
of the law, the Ten Commandments. Thou shalt have no other gods
before me. A sinner is somebody who has
God, small g, God's before the living God. The second commandment
is against idolatry. A sinner is someone who's an
idolater. The third commandment is about taking the name of the
Lord in vain, being forbidden to do it. A sinner is an irreverent
person who takes the name of the Lord in vain. The fourth
commandment is about remembering the Sabbath to keep it holy.
to do no work. A sinner is someone who knows
nothing about resting in Christ and His finished work. The fifth
commandment is about honoring your father and mother. A sinner
is someone who has no true respect for authority, most especially
the authority of God, and they don't respect the authority of
those who have authority over them. And the sixth commandment
is, thou shalt not kill. A sinner is a murderer. The seventh
commandment, thou shalt not commit adultery. A sinner is someone
who's guilty of sexual sin. The eighth commandment is thou
shalt not steal. A sinner's a thief. He might
not go shoplifting, but he robs God of glory, giving himself
the glory. The ninth commandment is thou shalt not bear false
witness. You're not gonna lie. A sinner's
a liar. Thou shalt not covet. A sinner's a covetous person.
Now that's, somebody says, well, I'm not like that. Then you're
not a sinner. A real sinner breaks God's holy law. Sin is the transgression of the
law. Now, if you see what you are
before God's law, you know that you have broken every commandment
all the time. You've never kept one commandment
one time. You are completely unqualified
to sit in judgment on anybody because all you're seeing is
your fault and And anything you judge anybody else for, if you
have any honesty, you know you've done the same thing. Romans 2.1
says, Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that
judges. For you that judge do the same
things. And if you're a sinner, you know
you have no claim on God. If He sends you to hell, just
and holy is His name. Are you a sinner? Somebody says, now I'm not that
bad. Well, okay, but Christ didn't
come to save you. He only came to save sinners. If you are a sinner, you are
the person Christ came to save. Christ Jesus came into the world
To save sinners. To save them. To save them. Listen
carefully. Not to make their salvation possible.
Not to make salvation available to them if they only reach out
and take it. Not to make salvation a possibility. He came to save sinners. Not simply to make them savable
if they do their part. He came to save sinners. He said in John chapter six,
verses 38 and 39, I came down from heaven not to do my own
will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the father's
will, which has sent me that of all which he has given me,
I should lose nothing, but raise it up again. At the last day,
he came to save sinners question. Did he do what he came to do?
In John 19, verse 30, just before he died, he cried, it is finished. Every sinner he came to save,
he saved. It is finished. Remember on the opening chapter
of the New Testament, we have this verse, thou shalt call his
name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. And when he said it is finished,
his people were saved from their sins. Now notice What Paul says
at the end of this verse, Christ Jesus came into the world to
save sinners of whom I am the chief. Now notice he didn't say,
I used to be the chief before God saved me. He's talking about
right now, present tense, in his own experience, he says,
I am the very chief of sinners. I am the worst man walking this
planet, the most sinful man to ever live. Here's the glorious
statement, faithful saying, worthy of all acceptation. Christ Jesus
came into the world. to save sinners, of whom Paul
says, I am the chief. Now let's see in this passage
of scripture, what led him to make this glorious statement. This is the true Christmas message. Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners. Now what led Paul to make this
glorious statement? Well, in verse five of chapter
one, he says, now the end of the commandment, And that word
commandment is the charge, the declaration, the declaration
of the gospel, the message of the gospel. The great end or
purpose of the commandment is threefold, charity out of a pure
heart. Now what is this pure heart?
This is the heart he gives in the new birth. What the Lord
spoke of when he said, blessed are the pure in heart. And that
pure heart, that new heart he gives in the new birth, loves
God. Loves God as he is, as he's revealed
in his word. He loves men. Charity out of
a pure heart. Secondly, a good conscience.
Now, what is a good conscience? Well, it's not the conscience
of the psychopath who doesn't feel guilty about anything he
does. It's a conscience that has nothing to feel guilty about. Now, somebody says, how could
I have a conscience like that? It's called in the scripture
justification. It is, who is he that condemneth?
Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? God justified
them. You see, on the cross, Christ
took away my sin and he justified me so that I have nothing to
feel guilty about because I have no sin. I stand before God without
guilt because of what Christ did for me. That's the end of
the message of the gospel, the great charge. And then thirdly,
he said, and to faith unfeigned, faith unfaked. And here's what
that means. I really do look to Christ as
the only hope I have. I'm not just saying it because
I know it's the right thing to say. I really do believe. I really
believe I'm a sinner and I really believe the only hope I have
is that Jesus Christ lived for me and died for me. Now, Paul
goes on to say, from which some having swerved, This great end
of, uh, loving God with a pure heart and a good conscience and
faith and fame. Some from which some has swerved
and it turned aside under vain, jangling, empty, meaningless
words, desiring, he says in verse seven, desiring to be teachers
of the law. Oh, I want to be a teacher of
the law." And Paul says, in doing this, they understand neither
what they say nor whereof they affirm. They do not understand
what they're saying nor the implications of what they're affirming. Now,
Paul makes this remarkable statement in verse 8, but we know that
the law is good. He's talking about the Ten Commandments.
We know that the law is good if a man use it lawfully. Now there is an unlawful use
of the law. The law is good if a man use
it lawfully. Knowing this, verse nine, that
the law is not made for a righteous man. You see, a righteous man
does not need law. He's righteous. Why do you put
a lock on a door? To keep a righteous man out?
No, to keep a robber out. A righteous man does not need
law. If you are using the law to persuade
men to keep it so that they might become righteous, that is an
unlawful use of the law. You see, the strength of sin,
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15, is the law. Now look what he
says in verse 9, knowing this, that the law is not made for
a righteous man but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly
and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers
and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for whoremongers,
for them that defile themselves with mankind, for men-stealers,
for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing
that is contrary to sound doctrine. Now somebody says, what in the
world is sound doctrine? Well, he identifies sound doctrine,
the doctrine of Christ, the doctrine of the gospel in the next verse. If there's anything that's, any
other thing that's contrary to sound doctrine according to the
glorious gospel of the blessed God. Now, in that verse, glorious
is not an adjective, it's a noun. And it can read just as accurately,
according to the gospel of the glory of the blessed God. Now there we have sound doctrine. The gospel of the glory of the
blessed God. Now the gospel is for the glory
of God. Now, men have a tendency to think,
well, the gospel's for us. Well, we benefit from it, but
the gospel is for the glory of the blessed God. God created
the universe for his glory, and everything that takes place is
for his glory. The scripture says, the Lord
hath made all things for himself, yea, even the wicked for the
day of evil. And in the salvation of a sinner,
and remember, that's why Christ came. Christ came into the world
to save sinners. In the salvation of the sinner,
God gets all the glory. And if you are saved, who gets
the glory? Who gets the credit in your personal
salvation? Listen to what David said in
Psalm 115. David, the man after God's own
heart, said, not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name
give glory. for thy mercy and for thy truth's
sake. You see, if you and I are saved,
it's because he saved us by his grace. By grace are you saved,
Ephesians 2.8, through faith. And that not of yourselves, it's
the gift of God, not of works. Lest any man should boast and
say, I've done this. Even the faith you have is His
gift. It's not the product of your free will if you have it.
And if you have it, you know that. It's the gift of God. By grace are you saved. Now,
in every aspect of salvation, salvation is by His grace for
His glory. Now, if you're saved, it's because
God chose you to be saved. before the foundation of the
world. Ephesians 1.4 says, according as he hath chosen us in him before
the foundation of the world. Now, God didn't choose you because
of any merit or goodness in you. He chose you simply because he
would, because you were in the beloved, accepted in the beloved. You get no credit for that. If
you're redeemed, there wasn't anything good about you that
caused Him to redeem you. He redeemed you because of how
evil you were, and it would glorify Him to put away your sin. If you're justified, you don't
get any credit for that. He made you righteous. He took
your sin in His own body on the tree, put it away, and gave you
His righteousness. How much credit can you take
in that? He gets all the glory in that.
If you're born again, how much glory do you have in that? You
have as much to do with your new birth as you did with your
old birth, which is nothing. Nobody said, do you want to be
born? Sure. No, this was, you were
passive in this thing. And all of a sudden, there you
were. It's the same thing in the new birth. Now here, you'll
have to hear the gospel, but even hearing the gospel is because
he's given you life. You're unable to hear or believe
or love or repent, except he gives you life. If you persevere
and you must persevere to be saved, the only reason you persevere
is because He enables you to. He gets all the glory. Now, let me say two things about
that. Number one, I'm thankful he gets the glory because he
deserves it. He did it all. Number two, I'm thankful he gets
all the glory because if he doesn't get all the glory, that means
there's something I must do to contribute in my salvation. And
I would share in the glory. And in reality, I would get all
the glory if I can share in any of the glory. If I get any of
the glory in salvation, then salvation's by works. And he
doesn't get all the glory, but I'm so thankful he gets all the
glory, because that means salvation is all together by his grace. There's no work that I must first
do before I can be saved. He did it all. He gets all the
glory. Now, Paul goes on to say, and
I thank Christ Jesus, our Lord, who hath enabled thee. For he
counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry. Who was
before? Before God saved me, I was a
blasphemer. I was a persecutor. I was injurious,
insolent, proud, arrogant, but I obtained mercy because I did
it ignorantly in unbelief. I was so ignorant. I was so unbelieving. I was so lost. The only way I
could be saved is by simply obtaining mercy given from him. And he says in verse 14, And
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ was exceeding abundant with faith
and love which is in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying. You
can count on this statement, this saying. You can count on
it. It's faithful. Well, how do you know it's faithful? Because
it's in the Bible. Second, Timothy 3.16, all scripture
is given by inspiration of God. This is in the Bible. That's
why we can count on this. And it's worthy of all acceptation. You and I ought to receive this
as the very best news we've ever heard. That Christ Jesus, God's
anointed prophet, God's anointed priest, God's anointed King,
Jesus, Savior, that's what his name means. He came into the
world to save sinners. That was his purpose in coming.
He lived for them and worked out a perfect righteousness for
them. He died for them. When we were yet without strength
in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. That's how my sins
paid for. That's how my sins put away by his death. Christ
died for our sins according to the scriptures. And he was raised
for them. He was delivered for our offenses
and raised again for our justification. And he intercedes for sinners
even now, wherefore he's able to save them to the uttermost
that come unto God by him. And I love the way Paul said,
of whom I am the chief. Not I was the chief, but I am,
present tense, right now, the chief of sinners. I am just as
sinful right now as I have always been. Now, I have a new nature. I've got a heart that was not
there before, but I'm not less sinful than I was. I've got a
new man that loves God, but I'm so thankful Paul put this in,
not who I used to be the chief, but who I am the chief right
now. Now, how be it, he says in verse
16, for this cause I obtain mercy that in me first Jesus Christ
might show forth all longsuffering for a pattern to them which should
hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. Now Paul says I'm
the pattern of salvation. If you're saved, you're saved
the same way I am. Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners, of whom I am the chief. This is the true Christmas
message, why Christ came into the world. To receive a copy
of the sermon you have just heard, send your request to todd.neibert
at gmail.com or you may write or call the church at the information
provided on the screen.