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.

In the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord said in verse 33 of chapter 5, again you've heard that it hath been said by them of old time, thou shalt not forswear thyself. For swear means to swear falsely. Thou shalt not swear falsely, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths. But I say unto you, swear not at all. Neither by heaven, for it's God's throne, nor by the earth, for it's his footstool, neither by Jerusalem, for it's the city of the great king, it's his city. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black, but let your communication be yea, yea. And nay, nay, for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil."

Don't promise, don't make a vow, just say yes or say no. Anything beyond this, the Savior says, is evil.

Now, you've heard it said by them of old. Leviticus 19.12, and you shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of the Lord thy God. Ecclesiastes 5.2, when thou vows to vow to God, defer not to pay it. For he hath no pleasure in fools. Pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldst not vow than thou shouldst vow and not pay.

Don't vow a vow. Don't swear falsely. Pay what you have vowed.

Now we have numerous instances of Old Testament saints making vows, the vow of Jephthah, the vow of Hannah, the vow of Samson. Yet the Lord says, swear not at all. Do not promise. Do not make a vow.

Now, what is the Lord talking about? Is he saying that when the preacher's marrying somebody and he says, do you promise to be true to her till death alone parts you? Does that mean I should say, no, I can't make that promise? Why, that would be a desecration of what marriage is. When you're brought before a court of law and you're called upon to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, and you say, well, no, I can't promise to do that. Or perhaps when the loan officer gives you that permissory note that you will pay so much a month until the loan is paid for completely, and you say, no, I can't make that promise to do that. Well, you're not going to get the loan. We could not have a society. We could not have a government. We could not have jobs where there were not promises made. If I buy an item at the store that says $10 and I take it to the cash register and they said, well, we've changed the price. It's now $20. Why? We couldn't exist in society like that, could we?

He's not talking about those kinds of promises. He's talking about vows you make to God. He's talking about promises you make to God. Lord, if you do this, I promise I'll do that. That's what he's talking about. Lord, I promise I'll never commit that sin again, if you'll just forgive me. Lord, I promise I won't do this, and I promise I'll start doing that. The Lord said, don't do that.

a religion of personal resolve, a religion of man's promises. I remember some years ago that group, the promise keepers, real men keep their promises, the promise keepers. There's only one true promise keeper, and that's the Lord God. All men by nature are liars. Now, I'm not saying it's okay to lie because that's your nature. Of course, I'm not saying that, but I'm saying there's one promise keeper. the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Lord says, swear not at all. James takes it this far in James 5, verse 12. He says, but above all things, my brethren, this is the most important thing I've said up to this point, but above all things, my brethren, swear not Neither by heaven, neither by earth, neither by any other oath, but let your yea be yea and your nay, nay, lest you fall into condemnation. And that word condemnation is the word that's generally translated hypocrisy. Any promise I make, it's hypocritical. I'm lying to myself. I'm lying to God.

You see, if I know myself, I know that, for instance, tomorrow, I might not be around tomorrow to keep that promise. Boast not thyself of tomorrow, for you knowest not what a day may bring forth. Above all things, do not swear. Let your yea be yea, let your nay be nay, lest you come into condemnation.

Now, the Lord says, In verse 33, you've heard that it's been said by them of old, thou shalt not forswear thyself, but thou shalt perform unto the Lord thine oath. But I say unto you, I love the way the Lord says that. Here's the ultimate authority. I say unto you, swear not at all, neither by heaven, it's God's heaven, not yours, neither by earth, It's God's earth. It's his footstool. You have no business swearing on the earth. Neither by Jerusalem. It's his city. It's the city of the great king. And thou shalt not swear by thy head. Because thou canst not make one hair white or black. You lack the ability to do anything.

And we ought to know that about ourselves in this thing of our relationship with God. We ought to know our sinfulness and our weakness. And that when we make promises to Him, we're making promises that we're being hypocrites when we do that. We're not being honest before God. We're being deceitful before God.

The Lord says, let your yea be yea. Let your no be no. Anything that comes more than these cometh of evil. Anything but this is evil. Let your yes be yes. Let your no be no.

Now yes is a powerful affirmation. Yes. Strong agreement. I think of when the Lord said to that Syro-Phoenician woman, it's not meat, it's not right to take the children's bread and cast it to dogs. She said, yes, Lord. She knew she was a dog. Yet the dogs eat of the crumbs that fall from the master's table. I'd be Oh, so grateful for any crumbs of your mercy that would come my way. I don't expect a place sitting with the children. I'm nothing more than a dog under the table, but oh, that I might have the crumbs of your mercy. And the Lord said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith.

I think of the question the Lord asked the two blind men. Do you believe that I am able to do this? Yes, Lord. We believe in His ability. The Lord said, I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You've hid these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them unto babes, even so. And that's the same word, yes, yes, Father. For so it seemed good in thy sight. We have such trust of his character that whatever he says or does, we say, yes, we are at agreement.

The Lord said to Peter, lovest thou me? Yea, Lord. Yes, Lord. The Lord said, behold, I come quickly. John replied, even so. Yes, come, Lord Jesus. When the Pharisees heard the multitudes cry to the Lord Jesus, Hosanna, they said, Master, hearest thou what these say? Yes. Have you never read, out of the mouth of babes and sucklings, thou's perfected praise? Let your yea be yea. Yes. That's all that's needed.

And I've also heard this about no. No is the most powerful word in human language. It's universally understood, a powerful negation, even a dog understands when you say no.

Listen to these scriptures. Romans chapter three, verse nine. Are we better than they? The Jews better than the Gentiles? No, in no wise. There is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that doeth good, no, not one. There is no difference. You know there's no difference between me and you? You take the most moral man and the most immoral man in the world. Before God, there's no difference. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Therefore, by the works of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight. For by the law is the knowledge of sin.

I love Romans 9, 16, it's not of him that willeth. nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy." There is no respecter of persons with God. No respect of persons. And that's seen most clearly on the cross. Christ wasn't given slack because he was the son of God. God killed him because sin was found on him. God proved there that he's no respecter of persons.

Romans 3.27 says, where is boasting then it's excluded by what law of works? No, but by the law of faith. How was it reckoned when Abraham believed? How was it reckoned to him? When was it reckoned? When he was circumcised, not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.

Paul made this statement. I know that in me, that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. Do you know that? Paul did. That's what he said about his flesh. In my flesh dwelleth no good thing.

Now let your yea be yea and your nay be nay. And anything that comes further than this comes of evil. A religion which is founded on what you promised God. is evil. It is unsaving. It is hypocritical. A religion founded on personal resolve, what you promise you will do, is evil. That is the word of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, I think a passage of scripture that casts a lot of light on this is found in 2 Corinthians 1. Beginning in verse 17, Paul said, when I therefore was thus minded, did I use lightness? Or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be a yay, yay, and nay, nay. And here we have it, saying yes and no. But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea. For all the promises of God in him are yea, and amen. to the glory of God by us.

Now, Paul says, when I first came to you, I didn't come in lightness, in some kind of frivolous, unserious way, saying yes and no to the same thing. But as God is true, God can't lie. God cannot tell a lie. It's against his character. God cannot sin. God cannot be what he's not. I am that I am. As God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay.

Now he's talking about his preaching. When we came to you, our word was not yea and nay. Now I would pretty much summarize most preaching in our day is yay, nay preaching. Saying yes and no to the same thing. You see, any preaching that denies or contradicts any of the attributes of God, Now, God's given us the Bible to give us his character, his attributes. God makes himself known through this book, and anything that contradicts any of his attributes is the same as saying yes and no to the same thing. Let me give you a few examples.

Somebody says, well, God wills the salvation of all men, and if all men are not saved, his will is frustrated. Won't get that from the Bible. For one thing, God doesn't will the salvation of all men. If he did, they would all be saved. And if God willed something and didn't take place, that would mean God is not all powerful. That means he can will something and his will be frustrated. It would make his will meaningless.

Preachers say, God loves all men the same. And a preacher will look at a congregation and say, God loves you and I do too. If God loves all men the same, and some of them are saved and some of them are lost, that would make God's love meaningless. You mean he can love you and still send you to hell? What's his love done for you? That would make his love meaningless. It's a denial and a contradiction of his attributes.

Well, Christ died for all men. He died for Judas, he died for Peter, he died for all men. That would make his blood meaningless if you could go to hell, even if he died for you. It would also be a denial of the justice of God. You see, if my sins paid for, God can't turn around and punish me again for that which Christ has paid for. This would be a denial of God's attributes.

People say, well, God offers you forgiveness. That would make forgiveness dependent upon you, whether you decided to accept the offer or reject it. That's foolishness. Man has a free will. Well, if man has a free will, then man's will's sovereign over God's will. And God doesn't have a sovereign will. That is a complete denial of the attributes of God.

Now here's some examples of yea, nay preaching. Is salvation all of grace? Yes, it is. But, there's always a but. You need to accept it or you will not be saved. If that's the case, salvation is not all of grace. Is the blood of Christ sufficient to save you? Yes, the blood of Christ is sufficient to save you, but, there's always a but, but you need to do what it takes to appropriate it to yourself or you won't be saved. That is yea, nay preaching. That's yes and no to the same thing.

Is Christ all in salvation? Well, yes he is, but no, your works are going to determine your position in glory. You'll have a higher reward if you do more. That's yea, nay, preaching. Yes, it's true that God worked in you both the will and to do His good pleasure, but no, you have to let Him do that. That is yea, nay preaching. These are just a few examples of yea, nay preaching.

Now let's go on reading, verse 19. Paul says, for the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea, the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among us. We preach a person, the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Now, what you think of Christ is important, but who he is is more important. Who is the Lord Jesus Christ? The Son of God, whom do men say that I am? Well, they say good things about you. Some say you're Elias or Jeremiah, one of the prophets. He said, whom say ye that I am? Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Now, if you believe he's the Son of God, you believe he's equal with God, you believe he's the second person of the Blessed Trinity. God the Son. That's what the Ethiopian eunuch believed. He said, what hinders me from being baptized? Well, if you believe with all your heart, you may. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. You believe that, you believe everything else. You believe he must be successful in what he did. The Son of God equal to the Father to this extent. He said to Philip, he that has seen me has seen the Father.

Isaiah 9, 6 says, unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given, that son wasn't born, he's eternal. And the government should be upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Jesus, his name is Savior. Matthew 121, thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Christ, God's prophet. Christ, God's priest. Christ, God's king.

He was preached among us. We preach not ourselves, Paul said, but Christ Jesus the Lord and ourselves your servant for Jesus' sake. We preach Christ crucified. We preach And what does he say? For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me, and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea, for all the promises of God in him are yea and amen.

The Lord said in John chapter 14, verse six, I am a way, a truth and a life. No, he didn't say that, did he? He said, I am the way that excludes all other ways. I am the truth that excludes everything else that claims to be true. I am the life that excludes all other lives. Is he the only way? Yes. Is he the only truth? Yes. Is he the only life? Yes. His life is the only life that God will accept. The only way you can be accepted is if his life is your life.

Is He salvation? Yes. He is all in salvation. Is salvation all of grace? Yes. Not yes, but yes. Every aspect of salvation from election to the final glorification of the saints is all of grace. Is his blood actually sufficient to save me? Yes. Is there anything else needed? No. What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Yes, his blood is sufficient. If he died for you, you can't run the risk of the hazard of the possibility of being anything but saved. That's how powerful his blood is. When he had by himself purged our sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.

Is His righteousness the only righteousness? Yes. That's why David said, I've made mention of thy righteousness, even thine only. His righteousness is the only righteousness there is. If you have righteousness, it's because his righteousness is yours. Not because of the impersonal righteousness of yours. Isaiah 64, 6, Isaiah said, our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. The only righteousness there is, is the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Do you have to hear the gospel to be saved? Yes. Do you have to believe the gospel to be saved? Yes. Do you have to persevere all the way to the end, believing, looking to Christ only? Yes. Do you have to be born, birthed of the Spirit of God? Yes. Are men by nature dead in sins? Yes. Can they do anything to save themselves? No. Can you be saved without hearing this? No. Can someone be saved apart from the Lord doing it all? No. Can a sheep of Christ ever perish? No. Are there other ways to God? No. Does man have any ability to save himself? No. But does man have a free will? No. Would there be anybody in hell that Christ died for? No. Can a man be saved and not believe grace? No. And the Lord says, whatsoever cometh more of this yes or no, not yea and nay, cometh of evil. A religion of personal resolve is evil, swear not at all that your yea, be yea and nay, be nay, yea and nay is contradictory. It fails to glorify God.

Do you believe Christ is able to save you? Yes. Do you believe that all God requires of you, He looks to His Son for every bit of it? Yes. Do you believe Christ is all? Yes. All in the scriptures, He's the only message? Yes. Everything God requires of me, He looks to His Son for.

Can you be saved if salvation is in any way dependent upon you? No. Do you believe any part of salvation is dependent upon you? No. Do you believe this kind of teaching will encourage a sinful life? No.

Listen to what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2, verses 1 and 2. He said, I, brethren, when I came to you, I came not with the excellency of speech or wisdom, declaring indeed the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

Do you believe that is the only message? Yes, no to all other messages. You see, all the promises of God in him are yay. They're not contention upon you doing something. They're not dependent upon you keeping your promise, then God will keep his promises. All the promises of God's salvation in him are yay, yes, and amen unto the glory of God by us.

Let your yea be yea, and your nay be nay.

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