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 Neibert.

I'm going to read a verse of scripture from the last of 1 Corinthians, chapter 16, verse 22. When Paul is closing this epistle, he says, If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema, maranatha, Let him be cursed upon the return of the Lord. Paul, the apostle, inspired by the Holy Spirit, is actually saying if someone dies not loving the Lord Jesus Christ, let them be damned. Let them be cursed.

Now was Paul being harsh when he expressed that sentiment? Let the person that does not love the Lord Jesus Christ be eternally damned upon the return of the Lord." Now he expressed this at another time in Galatians chapter 1 when he said, if any man preach any other gospel unto you, than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. Let him be accursed by God.

Now there's only one motive for preaching another gospel. You do not love the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the only reason a man would preach some other gospel, because he bears no love to the Lord Jesus Christ. If I love him, I will preach his gospel. If I really have no love to his person, I'll change the gospel for some personal motive of making things better for myself or being more successful or something.

Now, Paul was not being harsh when he made this statement. He said in another place, in Romans chapter nine, I say the truth in Christ, I bet, I lie not, that my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, that I have much heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart, for I could wish that I myself were a curse from Christ for my brethren. by kinsmen according to the flesh."

Now, do you see that he said, I would be willing if it could happen. I would be willing to be damned if they might be saved. Now, I don't know anything of that kind of love, but Paul did. And I know the Lord's love, he was cursed that his people might be saved. He came under the curse of God, but Paul loved men. He said, brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved. He loved me, and he was not saying this in a harsh way.

Now, think of the statement. If any man, I don't care who you are, if any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema, maranatha. let him be cursed eternally upon the return of the Lord Jesus Christ."

Now, what is the character of someone who does not love the Lord Jesus Christ? Well, someone who does not love the Lord Jesus Christ hates the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, somebody might object, now, that's not so. I'm indifferent. I don't care much one way or the other. I don't positively hate him. I'm indifferent toward his claims and what people say about him. It's just not important to me. Well, that's worse than positively hating him if he is who he says he is. He's the Son of God. He's God manifested in the flesh. To be indifferent toward Him, that is a crime. And that person who's indifferent toward the Lord Jesus Christ will be cursed upon His return. They hate Him.

Somebody says, well, what about somebody that's never heard of Him? How can they hate Him? Well, here's the fact of the matter is, we're born into this world with such evil natures. Now, this is what the Scripture teaches. In Adam all die, we were born spiritually dead. You have the quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins. If you've never heard of him, if you would, because of your sinful nature, you'd hate him. You would not bow the knee to him. If the Lord left you to yourself,

Now, people are comfortable with their caricatures of Christ that they have made to, they can feel comfortable with, but I'm talking about the Lord Jesus Christ of scripture. Every natural man hates him. The only people that love him are the people he has saved and he's given them that love. They were all at one time guilty of hating the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now listen to this scripture. Genesis chapter six, verse five, God saw. the wickedness of man. All men are included in this description, me and you. And God saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Now, that is the man that has no love for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, think of who he is. I want to spend most of this message talking about who he is. This is the issue. Who is Jesus Christ the Lord? The Son of God. the uncreated Son of God, the second person of the blessed Trinity, He became man. The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. And He came to save men. God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

and what he went through to save men. I think of Gethsemane's garden when a cup was brought before him. And the scripture says he sweat great drops of blood at the anticipation of having to drink from that cup. And he said, father, if it be with, I will let this cup pass from me. What was in that cup? the sins of his people. He was going to be made sin. For he hath made him to be sin, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. And oh, he was not, I would not diminish in any way the physical sufferings, but he wasn't sweating great drops of blood over the physical sufferings he was getting ready to endure. It was the thought of being made sin, separated from his father, forsaken by his father, yet he did this. first in obedience to his father's will to glorify him, but also to save his people from their sins.

He's so beautiful, he's so glorious in this person, his character, holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, the creator of the universe, the brightness of God's glory and the express image of his person. It would take a monster to not love him. and you and I are by nature monsters.

The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I think of his words to Philip, he that has seen me hath seen the Father. Do you hear that? He that has seen me, the Lord says, has seen the Father. All we'll ever see of the Father is the Son. I repeat, it would be only a monster in iniquity that does not love the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why Paul said, if any man, don't care who you are, I don't care what your place in life is, if any man, Love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema, maranatha.

Now let me repeat, think of who he is, the Son of God, equal to the Father, Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God. The only way you can be equal with God is to be God. In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God as a distinct person, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. Colossians chapter two, verse nine says, in him, dwelleth, all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, every attribute of the eternal, infinite, transcendent God dwells in the body of the Lord Jesus Christ in its fullness.

" Fullness of sovereignty. His will is always done. fullness of omnipotence. He's all powerful. He's got the power to make sure his will is always done. Fullness of righteousness, fullness of justice, fullness of mercy, fullness of independence. He has no needs. Every attribute of God resides in its fullness in the body of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Do not love him. That is the most unconscionable sin there is, to have no love to the Lord Jesus Christ. And here the word love is the Greek word phileo, the love of approval, is what this means. To approve of, to be fond of, three times it's actually translated to kiss, brotherly love. To not love Him is to not approve of Him. It's to turn thumbs down upon Him. Oh, if any man loved not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema, maranatha. What desperate, insane wickedness it is to bear no love to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, there's no one like Christ. You know, when people say he's Christ-like, I've got a hard time with that. Nobody's like him. I want to be like him, but no one is like him. He has no one you can compare him to. He's 100% God, just as if he were not man at all. And he's 100% perfect manhood, just as if he were not God at all. The God man, the Lord Jesus Christ, God manifest in the flesh.

Now he has one personality. And in that one personality is 100% deity. 100% humanity, the two natures of the one man, the Lord Jesus Christ. This is why he's able to do what he does, because of who he is.

If any man loved not the Lord Jesus Christ. Now I fear many would say they do love the Lord Jesus Christ, but it's because they love the Christ they've made up. Not the Christ of the Bible, the Christ that they feel comfortable with. Not the Christ of the Bible. So notice the way Paul says, if any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema, maranatha.

Now, he's first identified as the Lord. The Lord. You know, it bothers me the way people use his name, Jesus, without using the Lord Jesus or the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said this, Jesus said that. You know, we don't have one instance of the disciples ever coming up to him and addressing him by his name, Jesus. As a matter of fact, he said, you call me master. And Lord, and you say, well, for so I am. That is the way he is to be addressed because he is the Lord. Every knee is going to bow to him and every tongue is going to confess that he is Lord. to the glory of God the Father. No man can say that Jesus is Lord, but by the Holy Ghost, Paul said.

If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you'll be saved. How did the thief address him when he found out who he was? When he went to that cross, he didn't know who he was. And when the Lord revealed himself to him, how did he address this one hanging on the cross, seemingly so helpless? Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. You're not going to stay dead. You're going to come back as a mighty reigning victor because of who you are. Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.

Now, his lordship encompasses three things. He's Lord of creation. He's Lord of providence. He's Lord of salvation. And before I talk about this, I want to remind you of one thing. He's my Lord. He's your Lord. The scripture says he's Lord both of the dead and the living. If you're dead in sins, he's still your Lord, and he's gonna use you to glorify himself. You are in his hands, he's not in yours. When people say, won't you make Jesus the Lord of your life? God's already made him the Lord of your life. Jesus Christ is Lord.

First, he's Lord of creation. It's said of him, all things were made by him, and for Him. And He is before all things. And by Him, all things consist. In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God. The Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him. And without Him was not anything made that was made. Oh, how we love the fact that He created the heavens and the earth. He spake the world into existence as an act of his will. That speaks of his lordship. Yes, I believe the Genesis account. I think to not believe that God created the universe is just the blindest leap into the dark. What blind, you talk about blind faith. You have to have blind faith to believe something so foolish. He is Lord, he created the universe. The great creator became my savior and all God's fullness dwelleth in him. He willed the vast expanse of the universe to come into existence and he created the minutia of the atom. With all of its complexities, He is Lord of creation.

And what I love thinking about Him being the Lord of creation, I know my Creator. Every believer does. Knowing the Lord, we know the actual Creator of the universe.

But secondly, He's the Lord of providence. Providence is everything that happens in time. He is the first cause behind every event. The lot is cast into the lap. The wise man said in Proverbs 16, 33, and we think of that as a thing of chance or luck. The lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. By him, all things consist. The reason you're breathing at this time is because He wills for you to breathe. And when He wills for you to stop breathing, that's when you will stop breathing. He is the Lord of Providence. Everything is His will being done.

He's the one who declares the end according to Isaiah. He declares the end from the beginning. And from ancient times, the things that are not yet done, saying, my counsel shall stand. I will do all my pleasures. Pleasure. I have spoken it, I will do it. I have purposed it, I will bring it to pass. He's the first cause behind everything. And somebody says, are you making him the author of evil? I'm saying he controls everything. I don't care what it is. And he brings good out of evil. And I say without apology, whatever happens, I don't care what it is, he's the first cause behind it. And I trust his character, whatever he does is good and right, whether I understand it or not.

He controls everything. He exercises complete sovereign control over the free and uncoerced actions of men and demons. He controls everything. That's who He is. He is Lord of time. He's Lord of everything that happens, and He is Lord of salvation.

What does that mean? That means if you and I are saved, it's up to Him to save us. Now, the leper understood this. The leper came and worshipped Him, saying, Lord, if you will, You can make me whole. He didn't come up to the Lord and say, Lord, I've decided as an act of my free will to allow you to heal me. Well, that's ridiculous. He wouldn't have acted in that way. He's before the Lord. He said, Lord, my salvation's in your hands. If you will, I can't make it happen. If you will, you have the ability to make me clean.

Now, to say he's Lord of salvation means salvation is up to him. It's not up to you. It's up to Him. You have no control of this. Now, the wise thing to do, instead of getting mad and thinking my rights are being violated, say, Lord, have mercy on me. Because I can guarantee you this, He's never turned anybody down who's asked for mercy.

Now somebody says, I asked for mercy and he didn't give it to me. You weren't asking for mercy. You're trying to bargain with him. You're trying to strike a deal with him. If you do this, I'll do that. But no, if you come like the leper, Lord, he knew he was the Lord. If you will, you can make me clean. That's what I need. And I can't make myself clean. He's the Lord of salvation.

Who is he? He is Jesus, the Lord Jesus Christ. I love his name, Jesus. Now, Jesus is the Old Testament Joshua. You remember Joshua who preceded, or who, yeah, preceded Moses and brought the children into the promised land? Moses wasn't allowed to do it. The Lord would not allow him to. When he struck the rock twice, he said, you failed to sanctify me before the people. You're not going to bring them in. Joshua is going to do it.

Now, there's a lot of significance to that. The law can never bring us into the promised land. Moses couldn't do it. Only Joshua, the Savior, can. Joshua, Jesus. And Matthew chapter 121 says, thou shalt call his name Jesus. Joshua. His name means Savior. That's who He is. He's the Savior. To hate Him, to have no love for Him, He's the Savior.

Thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins. And my dear friend, that's exactly what I need. I need to be saved from my sins. I can't save myself from my sins. I can't make them go away. I need Him to save me from the condemnation of sin. And he did in justifying his people. I need him to save me from the power of sin. Sin has such power that I can't believe, that I can't repent, that I can't love. This he did when he gave his people a new nature that can believe, that can repent, that can love. Saved from the dominion and power of sin and saved from the very presence of sin.

Oh, what a name, Jesus. The most glorious name. ever uttered, and to not love Him.

" And then there's His name, Christ. This represents His offices. The Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is the New Testament word for the Old Testament word, the Messiah, the anointed. Now in the Old Testament, there were three offices that were anointed by God. The office of the prophet, the office of the priest, and the office of the king. No man, no mere man, no son of Adam ever had all three of those offices. There's only one man who bears all three offices. The Lord Jesus Christ, God's prophet, God's priest, God's king.

Now, the Lord Jesus Christ is God's prophet. What is a prophet? A prophet is a man that brings men a word from God. Now, Jesus Christ is like no other prophet. Every other prophet said, thus saith the Lord. He never said that. He said, I say unto you. You see, He is the prophetic Word. The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy according to Revelation 19.10. He is the prophetic Word. He is the Word of God. He's the Word God brings to His people. He's the Word.

A priest is somebody who brings men to God. Now, Christ is a priest like no other priest. These Old Testament priests, they would bring the blood of slain animals and present them, the Lord presents before the Father his own blood. He is the sacrifice. Not only is he the priest, he's the sacrifice. He presents his own sacrifice. And he himself is the altar. His body is the altar upon which the sacrifice was presented. Oh, what a priest. He's always successful. He's not like the Aaronic priesthood. He's a priest after the order of Melchizedek. And he is king. He's the king of kings. The Lord said, yet have I set my king on my holy hill of Zion.

He's the king of kings. He's the Lord of lords. Listen to this. The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord. As the rivers of water, he turneth it whither so ever he will. All other kings have borrowed authority. He placed them in that position. nobody placed him in his position he's king because of who he is king of kings and lord of lords and how we need him as the lord jesus christ i need him to be lord to save me i need him to be jesus to save me i need him to be the christ to save me to to be god's prophet god's priest and god's king for me i need him to not love him.

If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema." Now, what is the evidence? What does someone do who loves Christ? Let me give you the answer to that. They trust Him only as all in their salvation. They don't look anywhere else. They don't look to their works. They don't look to their experience. They don't look to their evidence. They look to him only. To him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. You see, you can't love Christ and not believe him. If you look to him only, you do love Him. And if you have no love to Him, you have no faith.

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