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 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. The title of the message that
I would like to bring this morning is, Why Are Men Condemned? Why are men condemned? Now, it is a fact that they are. My text is going to be John 3,
verses 18 through 21, when the Lord tells us why men are condemned.
But men are condemned. The Lord did say, wide is the
gate, and broad is the way that leads to life, and many there
be that go in thereat. Not just a few, but many. Straight
is the gate, and narrow is the way that leads to life, and few
there be that find it. Broad is the gate, wide is the
way that leads to destruction, and many take that route. Straight is the gate, and narrow
is the way that leads to life, and few there be that findeth."
Those are the words of the Lord. These are not the words of some
red-faced, hellfire, brimstone preacher. These are the words
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Why are men condemned? Verse 18 of John chapter 3, he
that believeth on him is not condemned. But he that believeth
not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name
of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation.
that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather
than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone that
doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light,
lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh
to the light that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are
wrought in God." All men know intuitively that
God is. Now, somebody may object to that
and say, well, I don't believe in God. Well, that may be the
case, but there was a time when you did. All men are born believing
that God is. And all men are born believing
that there is such a thing as right and wrong. You see, God's
law is written on the heart of every man born into this world. Everybody knows it's wrong to
murder. Everyone knows it's wrong to
lie. Everyone knows it's wrong to
steal. God's law is written on the heart
of every man. And every man believes intuitively,
not only that God is, and that there is a right and wrong because
God is, everybody believes that God will reward the righteous
and God will punish the wicked. There is a place called heaven
where the righteous are rewarded. And there is a place called hell
where the wicked are condemned. And everyone has this sense of
right and wrong. I was watching a TV commercial
the other day and someone gave two very small children suckers. One was given a big sucker. Big
as a saucer. And the other one was just given
one of those little bank suckers. And the one that was given the
small sucker cried out immediately, that's not fair. She felt like
she was being done wrong. We all have a sense of fairness
and a sense of right and wrong. Now we read in verse 19 of the
text, this is the condemnation. Why are men condemned? This is
the condemnation. And that word condemnation is
the same word that's usually translated judgment day. It's appointed for men once to
die. And after that, the judgment. place where God gives everybody
exactly what they deserve. You will remember perhaps when
the Lord said to that religious crowd in Capernaum, it'll be
more tolerable for Sodom in the day of judgment. And that's the
same word, then it will be for you. Now I want you to think
about that. He says to this crowd who did not believe him, Those
people of Sodom, that place that was known for its moral perversity,
they will fare better on judgment day than you will, who have rejected
me." Now, I repeat, there's a place called heaven where God rewards
the righteous, and there's a place called hell where the wicked
are punished. And Abraham said, shall not the
judge of the earth do right? Whatever he does is right. If
I'm brought into heaven, it'll be right. If I'm sent to hell,
it will be right. Men are judged according to their
works. Read the account in Revelation
chapter 20 of the great white throne judgment, where every
man will be given exactly according to his works. Now, I think it's
amazing. I'm guilty of it. You've been
guilty of this. Men sitting in judgment on God. thinking God is too harsh in
his judgments or disagreeing with God's way of saving sinners.
I think that that is most clearly seen in Romans chapter nine,
where we read in verse 11 for the children, Speaking of Jacob
and Esau, 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 and Esau have I hated. Now Paul anticipates the objection
we'll all make to this. What should we say then? Is there
unrighteousness with God? Is God being unfair in loving
Jacob and hating Esau? In counting Jacob his child and
rejecting Esau? Is God being harsh and unfair
and arbitrary in his judgments? Paul says, God forbid. God forbid. He has mercy on whom he will
have mercy. In that same chapter, it says
that he has mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he
will, he hardens. Same chapter. And Paul anticipates
the objection he know will make as sitting in judgment on God
saying, well, Why does he yet find fault for who has resisted
his will? If he hardened my heart, and
how can I be held responsible for what I have done? If he hardened
my heart, isn't that being harsh and unfair of God? Paul answers, nay, but O man,
who are you to reply against God? You see, you and I are unfit
to sit in judgment on God. What he does is right, and we
are to bow to that and not sit in judgment on him in his condemnation. Now, why are men condemned? Well, the text tells us, he that
believeth on him is not condemned. We're going to talk about why
men are not condemned too. But he that believeth not is condemned
already, because he hath not believed on the name of the only
begotten Son of God. That's why men are condemned.
Because they have not believed on the name of the only begotten
Son of God. Now somebody may be thinking,
well what about people who have never heard his name? Well, we'll
get back to that in a minute, but you have. So you don't need
to worry about those people. You've heard his name in this
message this morning. And what his name means is I'm
going to try to expound what the passage of scripture is saying. Now with regard to condemnation,
did you know that according to the scriptures, we're born condemned?
Romans 5, verse 18 says, by the offense of one, judgment came
upon all men to condemnation. You see, when Adam sinned, you
and I sinned as well because we were in him. Romans 5, 12 says, by one man,
sin entered the world and death by sin, so death passed upon
all men in that all have sinned. Now when Adam sinned, I sinned,
and you sinned. Somebody says, no, I didn't sin
when Adam sinned. I wasn't even born. Well, you
were in him. He was your representative. And
when he sinned, you sinned, and I sinned. And somebody says,
I wouldn't have done it if I was left on my own. Yeah, you would
have. Yeah, you would have. In Adam, the scripture says,
all die. And we're born into this world
condemned. But let me read the rest of the
verse of scripture I just quoted. For as in Adam, all die. Even so, in Christ shall all
be made alive. Now here's the gospel. If I can
be condemned in Adam, I can be saved in Christ. Just as everyone
was condemned that Adam represented that was in him, everybody in
Christ, everybody he represents shall be saved. That's the very
heart of the gospel, salvation by Christ. He that believeth,
the Lord says, on him is not condemned. Romans 4 or 5 says
to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth
the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Now, why is
it that one who believes is not condemned? Romans 8.1 says, There's
therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.
Here is why the one who believes is not condemned. There's nothing
to condemn him for. Now somebody says, Has he sinned?
How is it you say that there's nothing to condemn him for? If
Christ bore my sins, He put them away and I stand before God without
guilt, without sin, sinless, perfectly righteous. That's the
hope of the gospel. Christ took my sin. That's why
He died. He took my sin and it became
His. And just as truly as my sin became His, His righteousness
becomes mine. And that's why I will not be
condemned. There's nothing to condemn before.
When the Lord looked at that woman who was taken in adultery
and said, hath no man condemned thee? Where are those non-accusers? No man condemned thee, she said,
no man, Lord. He said, neither do I condemn
thee. Go and sin no more. Now, how could he say that? Because
there was nothing to condemn her for. Christ put away her
sin, and she stood before the holy law of God, as every believer
does, without guilt. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them that are in Christ Jesus. He that believeth on him is not
condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already, because
he hath not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God. Now here's why men are condemned.
Because they've not believed on the name of the only begotten
Son of God. Now, before we go on, somebody's
thinking about, what about the people that have never heard
his name? What about people who have never heard the gospel?
Well, that's a reasonable question, and let me try to answer that.
Let's say a man is a serial killer and he kills children, and he
does so with malicious intent and enjoys doing it. He's a wicked
man. He's committed horrible crimes.
Now, if that man has never heard the gospel, would we say, well,
He ought to be excused then. He shouldn't be punished and
condemned. We wouldn't say that, would we? No, that man is to
be punished because of his sin. And men go to hell not because
they're not elect, not because Christ didn't die for them. They
go to hell because of their sin. So all men are guilty in that
sense, but the chief greatest sin there is The sin of condemnation
is because men do not believe in the name of the only begotten
Son of God. Now, what is meant by the only
begotten Son of God? According to Acts 13, This begetting
refers to his resurrection. That's how Paul used it when
he talked about where that's quoted from Psalm 2, 7, thou
art my son, this day have I begotten thee. And he tells us that speaking
of the resurrection. And when David said that in Psalm
2, it was a thousand years before the cross took place. You see,
Christ is eternally the only begotten son of God. Just as he was the lamb slain
from the foundation of the world, he's the lamb raised from the
foundation of the world. And his begetting, this is really
a reference to the cross, the only begotten son of God, the
one God raised from the dead. Well, he died. Why did he die? The cross. The cross is the greatest
manifestation of the character of God. We cannot know who God
is apart from the cross of Jesus Christ. That's why Paul said,
we preach Christ crucified. That's our message. The cross
is the most God-like thing God ever did. In the cross, God reveals
his name. Now, by the name of God, that
doesn't simply mean to verbally articulate his name. The name
of God represents the person behind the name. Every attribute
of God is made manifest in the cross. His justice, sin must
be punished. His love, Him giving His Son
for sinners. His wisdom in Him making a way
to be absolutely just, perfectly absolutely just, and yet justifying
somebody who in themselves are not just. What wisdom God displays
in that. What power He displays in actually
making my sin not to be and putting it away. What grace He manifests
in giving His Son. Every attribute of God, His purpose
fulfilled, every attribute of God is manifest in His Son. His only begotten Son, the name
of His only begotten Son. And the greatest crime anybody
can commit is to hear of the name of the only begotten Son
of God and not believe. That's why the Lord said to that
group in Capernaum, it'll be more tolerable for Sodom than
it will for you on the day of judgment. Oh, the crime of not
believing. That is why men are condemned
because they've not believed on the name of the only begotten
Son of God. And what you've heard this morning,
what I've heard this morning renders us responsible before
God, we've heard the name of the only begotten Son of God,
the cross, the great manifestation of who God is. The cross is the
great manifestation of who we are. God murders in and of ourselves. The cross is the great manifestation
of God's salvation, how he saves by what Christ did on the cross.
And to not believe? Look what the Lord goes on to
say in verse 19 of this text. And this is the condemnation,
that light has come into the world, and men loved darkness
rather than light, because their deeds were evil. Now the light
that he's speaking of is the light of how God can be just
and justify the ungodliness. You will remember after the Lord
said to that woman taken in the very act of adultery, I don't
condemn you. The very next verse, he said, I am the light of the
world. I am the light as to how God
can accept somebody and make them not guilty. And the scripture
says men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds
were evil. When they hear the light, of
the gospel there's you think they jump for joy but they have
no love for that light because their deeds are evil you see
they're hoping if I'm somebody that doesn't love the light of
the gospel it's because I'm hoping that somehow I can be saved by
something I do and if I'm told I can't be saved by anything
that I do that's taking away my only hope of salvation and
I if God doesn't do something for me I'll hate that message
and that's what these people do This is the condemnation,
that light has come into the world, and men love darkness
rather than light, because their deeds were evil. He says in verse
20, everyone that doeth evil. Now, somebody says, I don't do
evil. I might make mistakes, but I
don't do evil. Well, if that is your response, it's because
you've really not had revealed to you who God is. Because if
you knew who God is, you'd know you're somebody that does evil.
But that person who hates the light and doesn't come to the
light is somebody that everyone that doeth evil hates the light
and neither comes to the light lest his deed should be reproved
or exposed. You see, the light shows that
every deed that I have is sin. Do you believe that about yourself?
I hope you do. Every deed, the good deeds, every
deed I have in and of itself is nothing more than sin. Now, if you believe that about
yourself, you know what you're gonna do? You're gonna know your
only hope of salvation is in what he has done, not in what
you do. Oh, that's a blessed place to
be, but let's read verse 21. But he that doeth truth comes
to the light, that his deeds might be made manifest, that
they are wrought in God. Now, why does God condemn men? Because they've not believed
willfully, not believed on the name of his only begotten son.
They've loved darkness rather than light. But there are some
who believe. And it's called in this 21st
verse, a doing of the truth. I love that. A doing of the truth. In the original, the definite
article is used, he that doeth the truth. Now, the truth is
objective. It's not subject to what you
or I may think it is. It is what it is. And Christ
said, I am the truth. He's the truth of the true character
of God. He's the truth of the true character of man in the
sense that we see what man is, we see what I am. When men were
left to themselves, they nailed him to a cross. They hated him.
And he's the truth concerning how God saves by the cross. He is the truth. Now, the truth is an objective
message, but it becomes subjective when I become a doer of the truth. Let me read you some scriptures
with regard to the truth. 1 Timothy 2.4 says coming to
the knowledge of the truth is salvation. Titus 1.1 says the faith of God's
elect is the acknowledging of the truth. which is after godliness. Repentance is called in 2 Timothy
2.25, repentance to the acknowledgement of the truth. Now, the object
of truth becomes subjective when I become one who is a doer of
the truth. Now let me give you four words
that will explain what being a doer of the truth is. Number
one, you must first hear the truth. Ephesians 1.13, in whom
you trusted after that you heard the word of truth. There's no
trusting until you've heard. Faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the word of God. Here's the second word. First,
you've heard. Second, you believe the truth.
You believe what you've heard. Second Thessalonians 2 13 says,
we're bound to thank God always for you, brethren, beloved of
the Lord, because God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation
through sanctification of the spirit and belief of the truth. You believe the truth. And when you hear the truth and
believe the truth, you know what you do? You worship God. They
that worship Him, our Lord said, God is spirit and they that worship
Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. That is the response
to belief. Worship. You worship Him for
who He is. And the fourth word is love.
You love. You hear the truth, you believe
the truth, you worship the God of truth according to the truth
of scripture, and you love the truth. Paul warned of those who
receive not the love of the truth, but they might be saved. Now,
it's one thing to say, I believe the Bible is the word of God.
It's another thing to love that the Bible is the word of God.
It's one thing to say you see that the Bible teaches salvation
is by grace. It's another thing to love that
it teaches salvation by grace. It's one thing to say you believe
that the Bible teaches that men are sinful and can't save themselves.
You see that. It's another thing to see that
you're the sinner that can't save yourself. That's when you
come to the love of the truth. A doer of the truth is someone
who hears, believes, worships, and loves the truth of the gospel. Now, the Lord says, he that doeth
truth comes to the light. Unlike the man who hates the
light, he comes to the light that his deeds might be made
manifest that they're wrought in God. Now, what does that mean? My deeds, my personal deeds,
were worked by God in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. And
I'm not afraid to bring that to the light. Why, even the faith
I have is worked by God. I believe that it's worked by
God. I'm not afraid to bring the faith He worked to the light. The love I have is his gift. I'm not afraid to bring that
to the light. See, everything the believer
has is what God has done. Now, if I had to bring what I
had done to the light, I'd be scared to death. But I bring
what Christ has done as my personal doings. His righteousness is
my righteousness before God, and I'm not afraid to bring that
to the light. I know that I will be accepted
because of Him. Why are men condemned? because
they don't believe on the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Why are men saved? Because Jesus Christ died for
them and gave them his righteousness. I hope this message has been
helpful. We have it on DVD and CD if you call the church right
or get a copy from our website. This is Todd Knibrick praying
that God will be pleased to make himself known to you. That's
our prayer. Amen. To receive a copy of the sermon
you have just heard, send your request to todd.neiberg at gmail.com
or you may write or call the church at the information provided
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