I did choose thee. Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Nibert. 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 Nibert. In John chapter 7 verse 43, we
read these words. So there was a division. And that word is a rent, a schism. There was a dividing line. Some people on one side and some
people on the other. So there was a division among
the people because of him. Because of him. I've entitled this message, A
Good Division. There are so many divisions in
the world and in our country that are sad, that ought not
to be. There are great divisions simply
caused by misunderstandings, where people have not really
understood what someone else has said, and it's created conflict. and division. There's the division
caused by racism. One race thinking they're better
than another race, which is really ludicrous when there is only
one race, the human race. They're not different races.
There's only one race. They're the divisions brought
upon by economic status, the haves and the have-nots and the
oppression that goes on both sides. They're social distinctions. There are religious divisions
and how there have been murder and wars over that. There are
political divisions and each side demonizing the other side. And all of these divisions are
products of sin. Human sin brings on these divisions. And how sad these can be, the
divisions that can actually be in a church, where people fuss
and fight and do not get along. Divisions in a home, divisions
between a husband and a wife, divisions between parents and
children, or divisions with siblings, contention in the workplace,
people fussing and fighting and arguing. Paul said in Romans
12, verse 18, if it be possible, as much as lieth within you,
live peaceably with all men. Now, I realize it's not always
possible, but if it is, live peaceably with all men. The seventh beatitude, blessed
are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children
of God. David said, I'm for peace, but
when I speak, they are for war. Now all of these divisions, you
think of the divisions that war brings, where men are killing
each other. We have so much of that going
on right now in the Ukraine, in Israel, the atrocities that
take place with these rents and divides with people. With all
these divisions, they're so sad, but there is a good division. I've already read the text. There
was a division among the people because of him. Now, earlier in this chapter,
the Lord said what only he could say. If any man thirst, let him
come to me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the
scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living
water. Non-stop satisfaction in looking
to him and resting in him. Then the people respond. Many
of the people, therefore, when they heard this saying, says,
of a truth, this is the prophet. Others said, this is the Christ.
But some said, shall Christ come out of Galilee? Hath not the
scripture said that Christ cometh of the seed of David and out
of the town of Bethlehem, where David was? Now, there was disagreement
regarding him, and people were using the scriptures to make
their arguments. You know, it's very sad when
people use the scriptures to prove what they believe rather
than to come to the scriptures to find out what to believe.
You can manipulate the scriptures to justify and augment yourself. And that's what these people
were doing. And then we read these words. So there was a division
among the people because of him. He was the issue that was true then
and it's still true today. There was and is right now a
division, a rent, a schism among the people because of him. Let me read these words of our
Lord found in Luke chapter 12 verse 51. He says, Suppose ye that I am come to
give peace on the earth? I tell you, Nay, but rather division."
Now remember, these are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. He
said, I didn't come to create peace between men, but rather
division. From henceforth there shall be
five in one house divided. Three against two, and two against
three, and that division is because of Him. Christ and His gospel
is a message of peace, peace with God. Paul said in Romans
5, verse one, having been justified And there's where the peace is.
If I'm justified, that means I stand before God without guilt.
God doesn't have a reason to be mad at me. God doesn't have
a reason to be angry with me. I stand faultless before God
if I'm justified. Therefore, being justified by
faith, we have peace with God. Through our Lord Jesus Christ,
God is satisfied with me. God's not looking for anything
else from me. He's completely satisfied if
I'm justified. I stand before Him without guilt.
God's at peace with me, and I'm at peace with God. Now, if I'm
under law, I'm not at peace with God. I'll be resenting Him. But
being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ. The gospel is a message of peace. And it creates a division between
those who believe and those who do not. And he is the issue. The division is because of him. Now, men try to mask it and make
it something else. And they try to put a veneer
over it to make it something else. But he is the issue. The division is because of him. Now this was clearly illustrated
in the first event that took place after the fall. It's the
story of Cain and Abel. Two boys, same mom and dad. Cain
comes into God's presence. with an offering, but it was
the offering of the fruit of the ground, the vegetables, the
fruit that he had planted. It came from something that God
had already cursed, but he overlooked that. He thought, well, I would
accept it, surely God would. He comes into God's presence
with his works, the things he worked for. Abel comes into God's
presence with blood, the blood of a lamb. And he knew it wasn't
that blood of that particular animal that he approached God. He knew that it was the blood
that that lamb's blood represented, the blood of the coming one,
the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. He believed that the
only way you can come into God's presence is through the blood
of Christ. Not your works, not your intentions,
not your good deeds, not your religious experience, not your
doctrine, not your anything. You can only come through the
blood of the Lamb. Now the scripture says God had
respect unto Abel and to his offerings. But unto Cain and
his offering he had not respect." Now the foundation of a good
relationship is respect. God did not respect Cain or his
offering. Now Cain didn't respect God.
He proved that by coming into God's presence in his own works,
rather than through the blood of the sacrifice. He demonstrated
by that he thought lowly of God. He thought God could be approached
by his works, showing he didn't know who God was. He had no respect
for God, and God had no respect for him or his offering. But
the scripture says unto Abel and his offering, God had respect. Now, Cain got upset with that.
He said, this is not fair. There was a divide between Cain
and Abel. And that division was because
of him, the Lord Jesus Christ. And that division became so great
that Cain murdered his brother over it. And the issue was, God
can only be approached by Him who is to come and not your works. Now, the division is always because
of Him. Now, churches have split over
some of the silliest reasons, but here's a good reason for
division. The division because of Him. And here's the issue. Here's
the issue. He is salvation. What was the difference between
the two thieves hanging on the crosses beside the Lord Jesus
Christ? Was one better than the other?
More intelligent? More righteous? No, they were
both equally wicked. What was the difference between
these two men? Or rather, who was the difference? Jesus Christ was the difference. Talk anything about Judas Iscariot,
the man who betrayed Christ, and Peter, the one who denied
him. What was the difference between those two men? Was Peter
a better man than Judas? No, Jesus Christ was the difference. He said with regard to Peter,
who was going to deny him, and he told him, you're going to
deny me three times. He said, but I have prayed for you. He never prayed for Judas, but
he prayed for Peter. Jesus Christ himself is the difference. Now, the saved and the lost. What's the difference? Are they
saved better? Are they more righteous? Are
they more holy? Are they more intelligent? Do they make a decision
and they get the credit for that? Well, I made a decision by an
act of my free will. My poor brother that's going
to hell, he didn't. I was better. No. Who is he that condemneth? It
is Christ that died. The only reason, if I'm not condemned,
and if you're not condemned, there's only one reason. Jesus
Christ died for you. He represented you, he kept the
law for you, he took your sins upon himself, and he died for
you. He is the difference. Somebody
says, well, didn't he die for all men without exception? No.
If he died for all men without exception, all men without exception
would be saved. Now listen to me, there'll be
nobody in hell he died for. He is the difference. Who maketh thee to differ from
another? And what hast thou that thou
hast not received? Christ made you to differ. Christ himself, his person, and
his work is the difference. If you're saved and this person
closest to you is lost, It's not because you're better. It's
not because you've done something. It's because of what he did for
you. He didn't do it for that other
person. He himself is salvation. Simeon knew that when he said,
Lord, now let us thou thy servant depart in peace for mine eyes
have seen thy salvation. Paul said, he is our peace. He is our life. He is our hope. Now, the division is always because
of Him. Now, if there's a division, let
me give you some idea of what it looks like. If your hope is
grounded, your hope of salvation is grounded on anything you do,
I must be saved because I did this or I did that. Or if you
look upon some experience you had in the past, I must be saved
because of that experience. When I accepted Jesus Christ
as my personal Savior, I walked down the aisle and I felt saved. I felt the power and presence
of God. And I have such change in my
life. I've quit cursing and swearing.
I'm no longer a thief. I'm now walking the straight,
narrow way. I'm now a righteous person. If
you think that your salvation is evidenced by your life. My hope declares that your hope
is no good, and there will be a division. You see, you will
not and cannot be saved by that. I love what the disciples said
when they saw the rich young ruler leave. They said, who then
can be saved? Who has the ability to be saved
if he can't? And the Lord said, with men it
is impossible. Now, when all your hope is in
Him, only in Him, your only hope is that when He said it is finished,
your salvation was accomplished. Not by anything you did or intend
to do, but solely by what He did. Your only hope is what He
did. You're relying totally on that. And somebody says there's something
you must first do before you can be saved, right down to an
act of your will. You know, when I hear preachers say things like
this, they say, turn from your sins and trust Christ, as if
you can't trust Christ until you first turn from your sins.
My dear friends, that's salvation by works. Now I'm all for somebody
not ever sinning again, but if I say, turn from your sins and
trust Christ, all you hear is, here's what I need to stop doing
before I can trust Christ. That's salvation by works. Now,
when I hear language like that, It creates a division with me
and that person because they're taking away the only hope that
I have. And I love what the scripture
says in the book of Amos, how can two walk together except
they be agreed? The fact of the matter is they
can't. One side of the division believes
he is all in salvation. The other side of the division
does not believe that, and those two sides are polarized. They cannot come together. and well they should be. My hope
is that when he said it is finished, my salvation was accomplished.
If your hope is in anything that you do, my hope says your hope
is no good. If your hope is in what you do,
then your hope says my hope based simply on what he's done, is
no good. There is a dividing line. He is the division. Now, between Lazarus and the
rich man, there was a great gulf fixed, a division. And one could not pass through
the other. I think of what God said with regard to the children
of Israel. He said, against any of the children of Israel shall
not a dog move his tongue. A dog's not even going to bark
at him. against man or beast, so that you may know how that
the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel."
Law and grace cannot coexist. Faith and works cannot coexist. Salvation by man's will or God's
will, they both cannot be true. It's one or the other, and they
cannot coexist. I love the scripture, cast out
the bondwoman and her son. Cast out salvation by works. The son of the bondwoman shall
not be heir of the son of the free woman, the child of grace. They cannot dwell together. Now, division. There was a division
because of him. It was not the works of Christ
that divided men. Men had no objection to him healing
the sick. Men had no objection to him feeding
the poor. Men had no objection even to
him raising the dead. As a matter of fact, one time
they tried to make him king when he fed 5,000 people. They thought,
this is the kind of king we want, somebody that can feed us and
we won't have to work. Men had no objection to his miracles.
What they had objection to was what he had to say. John chapter
10 verse 19, there was a division among the Jews for this saying,
for what he said. Now I want to close by giving
you four things that men divide over with regard to him. Number
one, When he is preached as God, men divide. No one has any problems with
him being man. Everybody believes he is man
or was man. But here's where people get upset
when you say he is God. He is the God who created the
universe. He is the God who controls all
things. He's the God who controls you.
He's the absolute sovereign God and you are in his hand. He can
do with you whatever he's pleased to do because he's God. He's
all powerful. He's incapable of failure. You
know, even the thief understood this when he said to the other
thief, don't you fear God seeing you're in the same condemnation.
He knew that that one hanging nailed to a cross beside him
was nobody less than the God of glory. Jesus Christ is God. All the fullness of the Godhead
dwells in his body. He said, you believe in God?
Believe in me, even so believe in me. Do you believe God is
omnipotent? I'm omnipotent. Do you believe
God is sovereign? I'm sovereign. Do you believe
God is all-wise? I'm all-wise. Do you believe
God is eternal? I am eternal. Do you believe
God is holy? I am holy. All God is, I am. All you're ever going to see
of the Father is me. He that has seen me hath seen
the Father. He is God and men's objection
is we will not have this man claiming to be God to reign over
us. That's when men get Divide. Jesus Christ is God. Now I'm talking about the God
of the Bible. I'm not talking about the man-made weak God that
people preach, the God that wants things and can't have them unless
you let him. No, that God doesn't exist. I'm talking about the
God of the Bible, the sovereign, holy, omnipotent God. Jesus Christ
is God. Secondly, men divide. when they hear Christ preach
sin as he preached it. Now, you can preach sin if you
stop doing this, stop doing that, get your life straightened out,
God will accept you. You don't even know what sin is. Let's
know what the Lord said. In John chapter six, verse 45, he said, therefore said I unto
you that no man can come to me. He said, no man can come to me,
except it were given him of my father. Now here is how sinful
You and I are. We cannot come to Christ. You know that teaching of free
will? Any man can freely decide to let Jesus save him or, that's
a lie. The will is under the control
of an evil nature. And the Lord says, no man has
the ability to come to me except it were given to him of my father.
Now, let me tell you what that means. That means that if God
leaves me to myself, if he leaves me alone, I will go to hell. I won't ask for mercy. I won't
come to Christ because of my sinfulness. I will not come to
him. He said in John 5, verse 40,
you will not come to me. that you might have life. Now
the only way you'll have life is in coming to Him. And the
Lord says, you will not come to me that you might have life.
Men are so evil, so totally depraved, that they cannot come to Christ.
And if God doesn't intervene and do something for me or you,
we will not be saved. Now people divide over that.
Are you saying everybody doesn't have a chance? Salvation is not
by chance. Salvation is by the purpose and
grace of God. And no men will be saved if left
to themselves. Thirdly, you preach the absolute
sovereignty of Christ in salvation, and there will be division. Now,
what is meant by the sovereignty of Christ in salvation? Well,
the best illustration I can think of are those two thieves, the
cross in the middle, the Lord Jesus Christ, and their two thieves. One is saved. One is lost. One is brought to heaven. The
other is sent to hell. Why? Was the one who was saved
better than the one who was not saved? No, Christ made the difference. You remember when he said to
those people who did not believe what he said, there were many
widows in Elijah's day and God didn't save any of them but a
Gentile widow. And there were many lepers in
Elisha's day and God passed them all by and saved a Gentile leper. You know the scripture says when
they heard these things they were so mad they rose up to throw
the Lord off a cliff headfirst. You can read about it in Luke
4. Men get upset over that. And last, when you preach the
death of Christ for His sheep. Now listen, Jesus Christ died.
He didn't die for all men, He died for His sheep. He said,
I lay down my life for the sheep. Those are His words, and there
are goats and there are sheep. And we read that in verse 19,
after He said that, there was a division therefore again among
the Jews for these sayings. Now, understand this. Jesus Christ,
when He died, actually accomplished salvation for all of the elect. He didn't make salvation available. He saved. And people divide over
that. They say, well, how could that
be fair? Listen, don't be God's judge. Whatever He does is fair.
If He sends me to hell, it's fair. If He sends you to hell,
it's fair. But thank God He gave His Son to die for sinners, and
everybody that Christ died for must be saved. And people divide
over that. If you tell them Christ shed
His blood for everybody, but it's up to you to make the difference,
people are not going to have division over that. But they
will over the real issue. Christ is salvation. Now we have this message on DVD,
CD. If you call the church or write,
we'll send you a copy. Or if you look on our website, you can
get the copy there. This is Todd Nyberg, praying
that God will be pleased to make Himself known to you. To receive
a copy of the sermon you have just heard, send your request
to todd.neiber at gmail.com or you may write or call the church
at the information provided on the screen.