I did choose thee. Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Niver. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Manowar Boulevard. Sunday services are
at 1030 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at
945 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 Nyberg. In Romans chapter 10, verse 1,
Paul the Apostle makes known his heart's desire and prayer
to God. He said in Romans chapter 10,
verse 1, Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for
Israel is that they might be saved. They were not saved and
Paul prayed that they would be saved. Now this statement comes
upon the heels of Paul's declaration of the absolute sovereignty of
God in salvation. It comes at the heels of Romans
chapter nine, perhaps the most controversial chapter in all
of the word of God. Let me read some verses from
Romans chapter 9, and I would summarize this chapter as God
being God. You've heard that several times
in the last several weeks. Beginning in verse 11 of Romans
chapter 9, we read, for the children being not yet born, neither having
done any good or evil, that the purpose of God, according to
election, might stand, not of works, But of him that calleth,
it was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it's
written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. And this
is God speaking. What shall we say then? Is there
unrighteousness with God? Do we count God being unfair
for that? God forbid. For he saith to Moses,
I'll have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I'll have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. So then it's not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. That's God being God. For the
scripture saith unto Pharaoh, even for this same purpose have
I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that
my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath
he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will, he Now,
here we hear of the absolute sovereignty of God in salvation. Now, people say, if you believe
that way, it'll destroy missions, it'll destroy evangelism, it'll
destroy a passion for souls. Didn't do that to Paul. Right
after he said this, he said, brethren, my heart's desire and
my prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved. Now understand, the truth never
has a negative effect. Somebody says, well, if you preach
that, people become indifferent about Evangelism, if everything's
already determined and if God saves whom he's going to save
and he hardens whom he's going to harden, what's the bother
to pray for somebody? Why witness if everything's all
determined? Now, that doesn't have that effect
on a believer. Truth never has a negative effect. Now, men may
abuse the truth and twist it to vindicate their own sinful
behavior, but it's not the truth that does that. It's man's willful
twisting of the truth that does that. Those who receive not the
love of the truth don't mind twisting the truth in order to
justify and vindicate themselves, but someone who loves the truth,
the truth never has a negative effect on him. A belief in the
absolute sovereignty of God has never destroyed one's zeal and
passion for evangelism and witnessing and telling others of the Lord
and desiring the salvation of the lost. Paul said, brethren,
my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they
might be saved. I've entitled this message, what
does it take for a sinner to be saved? Now these people were
not saved. Paul says, my heart's desire
and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved.
They were not saved and Paul is praying for God to save them. Now, these people were very religious. When we say they were not saved,
it doesn't mean they were not very religious. Paul says in
verse two, for I bear them record that they have a zeal of God.
They're very zealous about their religion. They have a zeal for
God, but not according to knowledge. for they being ignorant of God's
righteousness." They don't know anything about the righteousness
of God. And what proves that is they
go about to establish their own righteousness. They go about
to try to do something that they think will obligate God to save
them, and they don't submit themselves to the righteousness of God.
They don't submit themselves to the righteousness of His character.
They don't submit themselves to the righteousness of God in
their condemnation. And they don't submit themselves
to the righteousness of God in the gospel of salvation, how
He takes the righteousness of Christ and gives it to all who
believe. They failed to submit to his
righteousness. Paul tells us in verse four,
for Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone
that believeth. Now, Paul understood that these
men, without this saving knowledge, were not saved. He understood that all men, by
nature, by choice, and by practice are dead in sins, unable to save
themselves, and they need God to save them. Brethren, my heart's
desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be
saved. They can't save themselves. The
only hope of the sinner is for God to do something for them.
He was praying that God would indeed save them That's his heart's
desire and prayer to God. I couldn't help but think of
the rich young ruler coming to Christ. And he said, good master,
what good things shall I do to inherit eternal life? And the
Lord knew he was coming into his presence on the ground of
law. He said, well, you know the commandments.
And he named them. He said, keep them. And the rich
young ruler replied, and he seriously believed this about himself.
He replied, all these have I kept from my youth up. What a fine
young man this was. What an obedient young man this
was. He didn't understand that he was eaten up with covetousness.
He thought he was good. What could he do to become better?
And the Lord replied to him, one thing you lack. Go sell all
you have and give it to the poor and you'll have treasure in heaven
and come and follow me. And he went away sad, the scripture
says, grieved because he had great possessions. And he left. Now when the disciples saw this
man leaving, this rich, young, promising ruler with a lot of
money and a lot of morality, and they thought he could have
really helped our cause, and they see him leaving, they say,
who then can be saved? If this man, the best humanity
has to offer, if this man is not saved, who then can be?"
And the Lord replied, with men, it's impossible. And that's how
possible it is for a man to save himself. It's impossible, but
not with God. For with God, all things are
possible. Now, salvation is of the Lord. If you ever learn what that means,
if you ever learn what that means, we'll understand who God is.
Salvation is of the Lord. With men, it's impossible, but
not with God. For with God, all things are
possible. Now, you see, salvation is not
what you do for God. It's what He does for you. Have you ever understood that?
Salvation is not what you do for God. It doesn't have anything
to do with you doing something that God responds to. Salvation
is what God does for you. It's not a cooperative effort
between God and the sinner. Salvation is by grace. Now let
me ask you a question. How much of salvation is by grace? all of salvation is by grace. From election to glorification
and everything in between, all of salvation is by grace. Unmerited favors. There's nothing
you can do to earn it. There's nothing you can do to
get God to give it to you. It's his free gift. Now, Paul prayed for these people. Brethren, my heart's desire and
prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved. Paul prayed
for these people. He greatly desired their salvation,
and I think that's so beautiful. These are the people who certainly
did not love Paul. Everywhere he went, they tried
to kill him, his Jewish brethren, his national Jewish brethren. They tried to kill him. They
hated the gospel he preached, but yet his prayer is my heart's
desire and prayer to God for Israelites, that they might be
saved. Now, why is Paul telling us of his heart's desire, telling
us what his prayer to God is? Because he wants us to be the
same way. He wants us to have this desire for the salvation
of men. My heart's desire and prayer
to God for Israel is that they might be saved. Now, what does
it take for a sinner to be saved? I want to read a passage of scripture
from 1 Peter 4, beginning in verse 17. For the time has come
that judgment must begin at the house of God. And if it first
begin at us, what shall the end of them that obey not the gospel
of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall
the ungodly and the sinner appear? Now think of that statement Peter
made, if the righteous scarcely be saved. Now let me tell you
what that doesn't mean. It does not mean the righteous
just barely make it in by the skin of their teeth. They just
make it in. No, not at all. You see, I'm
saved. Bold shall I stand in that great
day. For who ought to my charge shall lay. Fully absolved from
these I am from sin's tremendous curse and shame. We can go into
heaven with the very righteousness of Christ. And if you have the
righteousness of Christ, you're not barely saved. You're fully
and completely saved. You see, Peter's not saying the
righteous just barely make it in. That word scarcely means
with great difficulty. With great difficulty are the
righteous saved. Now, that's not even a reference
to the difficulties we'll experience. A young man came to me recently
and said, I want to be baptized. I think the Lord's done something
for me. And I rejoiced with him, but I said, your troubles are
just beginning. Your trials are just beginning. You're really
going to struggle with sin now like you've never struggled before.
Your troubles are just beginning. I wasn't talking about those
kind of troubles. When we're talking about the
righteous scarcely being saved, there are great obstacles in
the way of the salvation of the believer. The law of God, the
holiness of God, my own sinful weakness, and inability, they're
great obstacles in the salvation of the sinner. Now, most religious
people don't think that way. They think, well, to be saved,
all you got to do is accept Jesus as your personal savior and invite
him into your heart. You know, that language isn't
in the scripture anywhere. That kind of language is foolishness.
It's really not what happens when God saves a sinner, that
they accept him. The issue is not, will I accept
him? The issue is, will he accept
me? People talk about their personal Savior. Well, He's the Savior
whether He's your personal Savior or not. All this language of
accepting Him as your personal Savior and inviting Him into
your heart or giving Him your heart. Somebody says, won't you
give Jesus your heart? What would He want with it? What
would he want with it, really? As evil as it is and weak as
it is, you come to him and he'll give you a new heart. Oh, that's
what I want. I want him to give me a new heart.
Now, what does it take? What is necessary? What must
take place for a sinner to be saved? Paul said, My heart's
desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be
saved. What's it take for a sinner to
be saved? Now, I want to answer that from
the scriptures. I'm not giving you my opinion or what I think
or what some denomination stand is. What does the Bible say about
the salvation of the sinner? Well, here's the first thing
that's necessary for the salvation of the sinner, the will of God. God must will the salvation of
that sinner. And by God willing the salvation
of the sinner, I don't mean Him desiring for the sinner to be
saved. I'm talking about Him willing for the sinner to be
saved and that sinner being saved. You see, God's will cannot be
thwarted. If He wills the salvation of
a sinner, that sinner will be saved. By the witch will, We
are sanctified, set apart, declared by God to be holy, by the witch
will, God's will, we are sanctified through the offering of the body
of Jesus Christ once for all. Now what this is talking about
really, when I talk about the will of God in salvation, we're
simply talking about election. God willed, God chose who would
be saved before time began. Second Thessalonians 2.13 says,
but we're bound to thank God always for you, brethren, beloved
of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you
unto salvation through sanctification of the spirit and belief of the
truth. Now, election is not hard to
understand. Ephesians 1.4, you listen to
me carefully, please. Ephesians 1 verse 4 says, according
as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before him, and love having
predestinated us under the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
himself, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he
hath made us accepted in the beloved. Who chose who? He chose
us. When did He choose us? Before
the foundation of the world. Why did He choose us? If we're
chosen? If we're believers? Is it because
He foresaw we would believe? No. to the praise of the glory
of His grace. How did He choose us? According
as He hath chosen us in Him. Now for a sinner to be saved,
that sinner is going to have to be saved by the will of God. Of His own will begat He us through
the word of truth. Now, the point is, If God didn't choose
a people, if God didn't will the salvation of a people, nobody
would be saved. It is impossible to preach the
gospel and not preach election, the will of God in salvation. It's impossible. Now, a preacher
does not preach election, God electing a people before time
began as an act of his own free and sovereign will. If a preacher
does not preach that, he does not preach the gospel. Now, some
preacher may say, well, I see that's in the scripture. I believe
it, but it's so difficult to understand. It just confuses
people. No, it doesn't. It's the truth. It's the truth.
It's who God is. And for me to be saved, for any
sinner to be saved, they have to have God willing their salvation,
which is precisely what he did in eternal election. Now, what
does it take for a sinner to be saved? Nothing less than the
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ being shed. Without the shedding
of blood, there is no remission of sins. Now I think of our Lord
in Gethsemane's garden. knowing he was getting ready
to bear the sin of his people and be forsaken by his Father. And he knew he was going to feel
the full equivalent of an eternal hell as he was nailed to that
cross. He said, Father, if it be possible,
if there's any other way that my people can be saved, If it
be possible, let this cup pass from me." The Son of God was
overwhelmed at the thought of being made sin, at the thought
of being separated from His Father, at the thought of bearing the
sins of His people in His own body on the tree. And He said,
if there's any way that this can not be done, and they still
be saved. Let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless,
not my will, but thine be done." You see, it was not possible
for a sinner to be saved, and him to not shed his precious
blood. You see, God's holy. God's immaculately
holy. He cannot accept a sinful being. I'm a sinful being. How can I
come into God's presence when I'm a sinful being and God is
holy? Something's going to have to be done about my sin. And
that's precisely what Christ was doing on Calvary's tree.
He was putting away my sin. My sin became His sin. He bore the sins of His people. He bore the sins of all of God's
elect. Now, I don't believe for a second
that Christ bore the sins of every man to ever live, because
if they did, every man to ever live would be saved. You see,
the blood puts away sin. It's not like Christ can die
for your sins and you wind up in hell anyway. Oh, there's no
gospel in that at all. My hope is that Christ died for
me. What does it take for a sinner
to be saved? Nothing less than the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. He has to put away my sin. Wherefore, by one offering, he
hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. What does it
take for a sinner to be saved? The blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thirdly, what does it take for
a sinner to be saved? It takes the irresistible, invincible,
life-giving work of God the Holy Spirit, giving them life, regenerating
them, causing them to be born again. You see, by nature, I
can't believe I'm dead in sins. I can't come to Christ. I can't
love God. I can't repent. I can't do anything
God requires. I'm dead in sins. So I have to
be given life. That's what the new birth is,
life from the dead. I'm given life to see the beauty
of Christ, to see the beauty of His way of saving sinners.
I'm given life to trust Christ as my righteousness before God,
to see that His precious blood is all that's needed to make
me clean and holy in God's sight. It takes the new birth, it takes
the regenerating work of God the Holy Spirit for a sinner
to be saved. I have to be given life. God's got to elect me,
Christ has got to die for me, and God the Holy Spirit's got
to give me life. That's what it takes for a sinner
to be saved. What does it take for a sinner
to be saved? Everything that was, is, and shall be. In other words, it takes all
of God's providence. Now that word providence in the
Latin is where we get the word pro in video before it was all
ordered before time began. God's providence is the working
out in time, what God purposed in the past. And we know Paul
said in Romans 8, 28, that all things work together for good. to them that love God, to them
who are the called according to his purpose. What does it take for the sinner
to be saved? Everything God does in providence.
You know, the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord,
the scripture says. And a good man is a man saved
by the grace of God. and his steps are ordered. Everything that the Lord has
brought into my life is exactly what I needed. Whether it be
painful, whether it be supposing feeling good or whatever, it's
all of the Lord. What does it take for a sinner
to be saved? Everything that was, is, and shall be God's good
providence. What does it take for a sinner
to be saved? Well, it takes the electing love of God, the redeeming
blood of Christ, the life-giving work of the Holy Spirit, all
of God's providence. But listen to this scripture,
and remember, we're asking this question in light of what does
the Bible say. We read in 1 Corinthians 1, verse 21, it pleased God by
the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. What does it take for a sinner
to be saved? The preaching of the gospel. Now somebody says,
you're going to tell me that God can't save without the preaching
of the gospel? I'm saying God will not save
without the preaching of the gospel, because he said, it pleased
God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. Now
here's the point. Philip comes up to the Ethiopian eunuch, and
he said, do you understand what you're reading? He said, how
can I? except some man should God be." Here's the point in
the preaching of the gospel. You can't figure this thing out.
I can't figure this thing out. I can't just read the Bible and
figure it out. No. God sends a preacher. How shall they preach except
they be sent? How shall they hear without a
preacher? God's going to cross your path with a preacher. Now,
what is the preacher? He's a nobody. He's a nothing.
He's no better than you. He's no more powerful than you.
He's a nobody. But Paul knew that. He said,
I'm nothing. I'm nothing. But he's got God's message. When
Naaman came to Elisha to be healed, Elisha stayed in his house and
sent a servant out. That enraged Naaman. He said, I thought he'd come
out to me. He was very angry over this because he thought
he should deal directly with Elisha. And this gives us a beautiful
picture of the preaching of the gospel. You know, God's not going
to deal directly with the sinner. No, you're not going to have
that satisfaction thinking, I figured this out and I've done this and
I intend to do that. No. You're going to hear the
gospel through a lowly preacher, a servant. You're not able to
figure this out. And no one is saved apart from
the hearing of the truth. Faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the Word of God. Now, remember, We're dealing
with the scriptures. We're not giving my opinion or
your opinion. The scripture says it pleased
God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. I
think it's interesting that in this day you have skits and plays
and musicals and all those kind of things and the preaching of
the gospel has just been disregarded. But it's still true that it's
pleased God through the foolishness of preaching to save them that
believe. What does it take for a sinner
to be saved? The preaching of the gospel.
He's got to hear the message and he's got to believe the message.
What does it take for a sinner to be saved? Our Lord said, he
that endureth to the end. the same shall be saved. You
see, I will not be saved unless I endure to the end. So what
does it take for a sinner to be saved? The preserving grace
of God, the keeping grace of God. Jude put it this way in
Jude verse 24. Now unto him that's able to keep
you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence
of his glory, With exceeding joy, to the only wise God our
Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now
and forever. What does it take for a sinner
to be saved? The saving, keeping grace of God that keeps him in
the faith all the way to the end. Now, what's it take for
a sinner to be saved? Great obstacles in the way. It
takes the will of God. It takes the blood of Christ.
It takes the life-giving work of the Holy Spirit. It takes
everything that was, is, and will be, all of God's providence. It takes the preaching of the
gospel, and it takes the preserving grace of God that will preserve
that sinner all the way to the end. Now, I'd like to invite
you to services at Todd's Road Grace Church. Our services begin
this morning at 10.30, this evening at 6, and we have a midweek service
at 7, and you will hear the preaching of the gospel, and we'd like
to invite you to come out and hear the gospel preached live. To request a copy of the sermon
you have just heard, send your request to messages at todsroadgracechurch.com. Or you may write or call the
church at the information provided on the screen.