I did choose thee, Lord. Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Neidert. 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 Nybert. In Romans 1, verse 16, Paul makes
this statement, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. The question I'd like to ask
this morning is, what is the gospel? What is the gospel of
which Paul said he was not ashamed? Now, we could go to many places
in the Bible that define the gospel, but what I want to do
is just consider the word gospel and the gospel's description
of itself. There are some nine or 10 of
them in the New Testament. What is The gospel. Now, I have to say this, any
message that does not answer that question, whatever else
it is, it's not a gospel message. What is the gospel? Well, probably most of you know
that the word gospel means good news. So the first thing that I would
consider about the gospel is it's news. Not yesterday's news,
today. It's the right now news. The reason I say that is because
every one of us would have a tendency to hide in two false refuges. the past and the future. There are those who will say,
well, I must be saved because this took place in the past.
I remember when I received Christ, when I walked down the aisle,
when I had some kind of experience, I can remember how I felt. I
must be saved. And somebody else is thinking,
well, I'll make things right one day in the future. It might
not be well now, but tomorrow things are going to change. I'm
going to believe tomorrow. Now, both of those are false
refuges. They're both based on works,
what you've experienced, what you have done, but the gospel
is news, something in the present, something for now. News is something you hear. Have you heard the news? You've had someone say that to
you before. Have you heard the news? Now, I've heard people say on
numerous occasions, I would rather see a sermon than hear one. Oh, would you now? That kind
of thinking is contrary to the gospel. You can't be saved by
seeing somebody's life. Faith cometh by hearing, not
by seeing. Faith cometh by hearing, hearing
the news, hearing the message, and hearing by the word of God. And it's good news. That's what
the word means. Good news. If it's not good news, it's not
the gospel. And I'm talking about present
tense good news. Let me give you a scripture that
will Explain what I'm saying. 1 Timothy 1.15 says, For this
is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation. Everybody ought to receive this.
It's the best thing they've ever heard. That Christ Jesus came
into the world. Here's the news. Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners. Not good people. Not righteous
people. Sinners, of whom I am the chief. Who is that good news to? Sinners. Anybody that does not think they're
a sinner, that's not good news to them. The only people that
Christ came to save is sinners. And to every sinner, that is
indeed good news. What is the gospel? And notice
the definite article the, the gospel that speaks against anything
that's contrary to it. There's only one gospel. What
is the gospel? Well, here's my first point.
Jesus Christ himself is the gospel. The gospel is a person. Mark 1, verse 1, I love the way
Mark begins. Here it is, the beginning of
the gospel. of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I love that. Jesus Christ, the
Son of God, is the gospel. Jesus, I love his name. Thou
shalt call his name Jesus, Savior, for he shall save his people
from their sins. Christ, that's his offices, that's
not his last name. He's prophet, priest, and king.
He's prophet. He is the Word of God, and he's
like no other prophet. Every other prophet said, thus
saith the Lord. He says, I say unto you, divine
authority. He's the priest like no other
priest. Every other priest brings the
blood of an animal sacrifice. He brings his own blood. He,
the priest, is the sacrifice. He presents himself to God, and
if he represents you as your priest, you must be saved. You
can have some man claiming to be a priest. He can't do anything
for you. He shouldn't be claiming to be
a priest in the first place. But this priest saves, and he
is king, prophet, priest, and king. He's like no other king.
He has inherent authority and power because of who he is. All
other powers are borrowed powers. Delegated powers. Not true. Somebody says, who are the most
powerful men you know? I don't know any powerful men.
He has all power. All men are his pawns. He is
in absolute control. Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
the God man, the second person of the blessed Trinity. You see,
Jesus Christ is God. He's the Son of God. He's God
the Son. how mysterious the Trinity is,
but because of who He is, that's what enables Him to save. Because
of who He is, the issue is who is Jesus Christ? He is the Gospel. So much so that He said in John
chapter 14 verse 6, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father, but
by Me. He doesn't say, I'll show you
the truth or I'll teach you the truth. He said, I am the truth. He didn't say, I'll show you
the way or I'll lead you along the way. He said, I am the way.
He doesn't even say, I'll give you life. He says, I am the life. If you're saved, it's going to
be because of the life of Christ being your personal life before
God, his perfect righteousness. He says, no man comes to the
Father, but by me. The only way any man is going
to come to the Father is him being in me and me bringing him
to the Father. Jesus Christ is the gospel. What is the gospel? The Bible. God used the entire Holy Scriptures,
Old Testament and New Testament, to define the gospel, Genesis
1-1 through Deuteronomy 22-21. Now listen to these words from
Paul in Romans 1. He called the gospel the gospel
of God which he had promised to for by his prophets in the
Holy Scriptures. The gospel is the message of
this book. Without the Bible, we have no
gospel. It's the gospel of the scriptures.
People make an issue out of confessions and creeds and church covenants
and catechisms. I think, you got the Bible, why
do you do that? It's the Bible that's the Word of God, not men's
comments on the Bible. All scripture is given by inspiration
of God, but these confessions that men think are so sound when
they put such an emphasis on them, they put more emphasis
on their confessions than they do the Word of God. This book
is the gospel. The Lord said, you search the
scriptures and they are they which testify of me. The gospel is the word of God. Isaiah said in Isaiah chapter
eight, verse 20, to the law and the prophets, if they speak not
according to this word, it's because there's no light in them. In Revelation 14, 6, we read
these words, the everlasting gospel. The gospel that had no
beginning. The gospel that has no ending. It's the eternal gospel. Now, a gospel that begins in
time is not the gospel of God. The gospel of God is the eternal
gospel. Christ is called in Revelation
13.8, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Before creation, Jesus Christ
was the Lamb having been slain. Before there was ever a sinner,
there was a Savior. Now, the gospel is not God's
response to man's sin. The gospel is not God trying
to clean up the mess that Adam made in the fall. All things
are for the gospel of God. God created the universe for
the gospel. God created the universe for
the cross. Man fell for the glory of God
in the cross. All things are for the glory
of God eternally. The gospel is an eternal message. Hebrews 4.3 says all the works
were finished from the foundation of the world. Paul said in 2
Timothy 1.9, he saved us and he called us, not according to
our works. He saved us and called us with
a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to
his own purpose and grace, which were given us in Christ Jesus
before the world began. If it's not eternal, it's not
the gospel of God at all. Now, what is the gospel? Well,
Paul said in Galatians chapter 1 verse 11, I certify you, brethren,
I assure you that the gospel which was preached of me is not
after man. The gospel was not derived from
any human source. Paul says, I neither received
it of man, nor was I taught it. You remember, Paul was brought
into the third heavens by Christ himself, and Christ taught him
the gospel directly. The gospel is utterly divine. The good news is not after man.
It didn't come from man. It's not man's production. It
is utterly divine. The gospel of God is what it's
called many times in the New Testament. What is the gospel? We read in Ephesians 6, verse
19 of the mystery of the gospel. The gospel is a message of mystery.
What do I mean by that? Well, in the Bible, the word
mystery is not used the way we use the word. We say, if we don't
know the answer to something, it's mystery to me. I don't know.
But the mystery of scripture is not truth concealed, but truth
revealed. The gospel is the mystery of
God that we would never have known had not God made it known. It's not something we could have
figured out. It's not something we can intellectually comprehend. It's something we believe. Here's
an illustration. According to the Bible, God is
one God in three distinct persons. God the Father, God the Son,
God the Holy Spirit. There are no human analogies
that will explain that. It is simply the revelation of
God. Now, you couldn't, if you didn't
have the Bible, you couldn't say, well, I'm going to figure
out what God's like and come up with this conclusion. Well,
here, according to my studies, he must be one God and three
separate persons. We would have never known that had not God
made it known. Think of this scripture. Great
is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. God became flesh. the eternal
God who the universe cannot contain, was in a womb for nine months
and came out as the man Christ Jesus. Can I understand that? Of course I can't. Do I believe
it with all my heart? We read in Ephesians 5, verse
31, where Paul says, great is this mystery, speaking of the
two becoming one flesh, speaking of the man and wife in marriage,
Great is this mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
He's talking about the eternal union of Jesus Christ with the
church. There's never been a time when
they've been separated, one with Christ eternally. Would I have
ever figured that out had not God made it known? All the truth
of the scripture is mystery that God makes known. You know, if I could intellectually
comprehend these mysteries, it wouldn't mean much to them, would
there? I don't intellectually comprehend them, but I believe
them with all my heart, the great mysteries of the gospel. Acts
chapter 15, verse seven, we read of the word of the gospel. The
gospel is a word. Now, I love the way Christ is
called the Word of God. In the beginning was the Word,
the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Now, can you tell
what's going on in my mind? There's only one way you can,
is if I honestly tell you, with words, the thoughts that are
in my mind. Jesus Christ is the mind of God. He's the Word of God. When God
expresses Himself, it's Jesus Christ. He is the living Word.
We have the written Word. All Scripture is given by inspiration
of God. The Word of God. And it's through
the written Word that we're given the message. Remember when Paul
said to Timothy, Timothy, preach the Word. Does the Word declare
that God is holy, righteous, sovereign? Preach it. Does the
Word declare that men are unable to save themselves, dead in sins?
Preach it. Preach the Word. Whatever God's
Word God's Word declares, preach it. Now the Gospel is the Word. It's the Word, the message from
the written Word that reveals the living Word. The Gospel is
the Word, the Word of God. And then we read in numerous
times in the New Testament of the truth of the Gospel. The Gospel is the truth. Twice
in the book of Galatians, chapter 2, we read the phrase, the truth
of the gospel. First, when the Judaizers wanted
to circumcise Titus, Paul said, no, we're not going to do that,
that the truth of the gospel might continue. You see, if he
would have submitted to circumcision, the gospel would have no longer
been there, the truth of the gospel. And when Peter sought
to move tables, when the Jews came and he had been eating at
the Gentiles' tables, and when the Jewish believers came, he
moved tables, Paul publicly reprimanded him and said he did this because
he walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel. Now,
the truth of the gospel, the truth of the gospel tells the
true character of God. That's what the gospel is, the
true character of God. Do you know all of His attributes
are revealed in the cross? His justice, His holiness, His
love, His grace, His sovereignty, His power. Anything that is said
that is contrary to any of his attributes is not true. For instance,
most preaching says that Jesus Christ died for everybody, but
some of those people he died for might wind up, might wind
up in hell anyway. You mean that God can punish
sin once and punish it again in somebody else? That would
deny the justice of God. You know that's true because
it's contrary to the attributes of God. The gospel tells the
truth concerning man. He's dead in sins, alienated
from God by wicked works, unable to save himself. And if I hear
anything that's contrary to that, I'm not hearing the truth. When
Peter moved tables, he was eating with the Gentiles, fellowshipping
with the Gentiles. And the Jews come in and he feels
intimidated because he knew that they would not be pleased with
him doing that. He should be with the Jews. So
all he did was get up and move tables and sit down with the
Jews. And Paul rebuked him publicly
that the truth of the gospel would remain. You see, the truth
of the gospel is that Christ is all. You hear that? The truth of the gospel is that
Jesus Christ is all in salvation. He's all my reason for being
saved. He's all in my salvation. And
Peter was denying that when he moved tables because he said,
you can be a little bit more pleasing to God if you're over
here on the Jewish table eating with the Jews than with the Gentiles
and keeping Jewish law where you don't expect that out of
the Gentiles. What he was doing was denying that Jesus Christ
is all, and that's why Paul rebuked him the way he did. The truth
of the gospel. And then we read in Acts 20,
verse 24, of the good news of the grace of God. The gospel
of the grace of God. The gospel is a message of God's
grace. Now, what is meant by grace?
Everybody uses the term. What exactly is meant by grace? Well, in Romans chapter 11, Paul
says, verse five, even so then at this present time, there is
a remnant according to the election of grace. There is a small amount of believers
because God, by His grace, elected them to be saved before the foundation
of the world. And if by grace, if elections
by grace, somebody says, well, God foresaw who would believe
and then He elected them. Doesn't work that way at all.
God foresaw that all men would be dead in sins, and He sovereignly
elected a number of people by His grace. If by grace, then
it's no more works. Otherwise, grace is no more grace.
But if it be of works, it's no more of grace. Otherwise, work
is no more work. Now, I can tell what a man believes
about grace by what he believes about election. That election
of God before time began, the election of grace. If you really
believe the election of grace, you believe all of salvation
is by grace. And if you don't believe the election of grace,
you don't believe any of salvation is by grace. The election of
grace, the good news of the grace of God. And we read in 2 Corinthians
4.4 and 1 Timothy 1.11 of the gospel of the glory of the blessed
God. The good news of the glory of
the blessed God. Now, why is this good news? You
see, if God gets all the glory and salvation, that means He
does it all. Now, if man gets any glory, that
means there's something man must do in order to be saved. One
says salvation is of the Lord, the other says salvation is of
man. Now, it's good news to me that God gets all the glory and
salvation, the glorious gospel of the blessed God. And the gospel
is called in Ephesians 6.15, the gospel of peace. The gospel
of peace. Peace. Peace with God. Knowing that God is pleased with
me. Knowing God has accepted me. It's what's called the peace
of justification. Romans 5, one, therefore having
been justified. By faith, we have peace with
God. Now, what's that mean? What is justification? If I'm
justified, that means I'm not guilty. If I'm justified, that
means I didn't do it. If I'm justified, that means
I stand before God without guilt. If I'm justified, I stand before
God sinless. Now, how can that be? Here's
the gospel. Jesus Christ took my sins and
made them his own and bore the wrath of God as my substitute
and satisfied the wrath of God where God said, I can ask for
nothing else. I can look for nothing more. And he takes his
perfect righteousness and gives it to me. And I stand before
God without guilt. We read in Colossians 1.23 of
the hope of the gospel. What a blessed thing hope is.
Yes, peace is great, hope is great. Now, remember Paul said,
hope that's seen is not hope, for what a man seeth, why does
he yet hope for it? Now, here's my hope. When I stand before
God in judgment, he's gonna say to me, Todd Nybert, well done,
thou good and faithful servant. And I know why he's gonna say
that to me, because Jesus Christ is the one who did well and is
the good and faithful servant. And if I'm in him, that is described
of me. I have a hope that on judgment
day, I'm going to be accepted as one who's never sinned. And
I have a hope that everything between now and then is working
together for my good, because Romans 8, 28 says, all things
work together for good to them that love God. to them who are
called according to his purpose." Now, can I see that I'm sinless
before God? No. I see myself as a sinner,
but I know I'm sinless before God because of the gospel. Can
I see how everything's working together for my good? No. Quite
often things look like a mess, but I know they are because the
Word of God tells me that. It's the gospel of hope. And
then we read in Philippians 127 of the faith of the gospel. The gospel is a message of faith
and not works. To him, Paul said in Romans 4-5,
that worketh not, but believeth. On him that justifieth the ungodly
his faith is counted for righteousness. Let me tell you two things you
can't do at the same time. You can't work and believe. You're either
working or you're believing. Do you believe the gospel? I
think of when those people came to the Lord and they said, what
must we do that we might work the works of God? He said, this
is the work of God that you believe on him whom he has sent. When the Philippian jailer said,
Sirs, what must I do to be saved? He knew he couldn't save himself.
What must I do to be saved? I love Paul's answer. He didn't
say, Repent of your sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
When I hear preachers say that, you know that phrase is not even
in the Bible. Your repentance is toward God. It's a change
of mind. It's almost like they're saying, stop sinning and start
believing. That's not what Paul said. He
said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. It's the message of faith, not
works. It's not what you do, it's what he did. It's not due,
it's done. You believe that you rest in
what Christ has done as all that's needed to make you perfectly
acceptable before God. That's the gospel, the gospel
faith and not of works. How every believer loves the
good news. Now I want to ask you a question.
Is this good news to you? Well, if you're a sinner, it
is. And if you think of yourself
some way higher than that, it's not. I pray that God will take
this message and cause the gospel to be gospel to you, to where
you call it my gospel. 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.