At Todd's Road Grace Church,
we'd 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 Nyberg. I've entitled this message, Christ's
Message to the World. And that catches my attention.
I want to know if this is his message to me, but I know this,
this is Christ's message to the world. This is Christ himself
speaking. Now I'm going to be reading John
chapter three, verse 16, but if that's all I read, you really
would not hear the gospel. John 3, verse 16 is not the gospel. John 3, verses 14 and 15 is the
gospel. John 3, verse 16 is the reason,
the reason, God's reason for giving His Son. Now let's begin
reading in verse 14 of John 3. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up." Now,
he's talking about his crucifixion. And He says the Son of Man must
be lifted up. Now why must the Son of Man be
lifted up? Why must He be crucified? Because
it's God's purpose. He's called the Lamb slain from
the foundation of the world. And it's because He has the sins
of his people made to be his. He bore our sins in his own body
on the tree and he became guilty. God is just. It was the justice. It was the wrath. It was the
judgment of God against sin. He bore it. He must be crucified. He must be put to death. For
as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must
the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish." Notice that, should not perish. You know why
they should not perish? Because there's nothing to condemn
them for. You see, if Christ bore my sin and put it away,
it's gone. When he said it is finished,
the sins of all that he died for were put away, made to be
no more. That whosoever believeth in him,
I love the word whosoever. Whosoever, I'm one of those people. Whosoever, are you a whosoever? That whosoever believeth, not
worketh, but believeth. Romans 4, 5 says, To him that
worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly,
his faith is counted for righteousness. that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have eternal life. That's the life he had
spoken of previously in this chapter, the new birth, this
new life that was not there before, this eternal life, the life of
God in the soul. And then he says in verse 16,
and I would say this may be the most well-known verse of scripture
in the Bible. John chapter three, verse 16,
four. Here's why God gave his son to die on a cross, for God
so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish. but have eternal life. For God sent not his Son into
the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him
might be saved. 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. Four, God so loved the world. Now God is. He is as He says He is in His
Word. That's why He's given us the
Bible, to give us his character. We can guess about what he's
like, but it would just be a guess. But he tells us who he is, all
of his glorious attributes in his word. For God so loved. He loved in this manner. God
so loved the world. This is Christ's message to the
world. The same world of which John
said, the whole world lieth in wickedness. The world Paul called
this present evil world. The world that had no love for
God at all. And they demonstrated this by
wanting to crucify his son. Here's what we're guilty of,
murdering the Son of God. Somebody says, I'm not guilty
of that. Yes, you are. Yes, I am. We were all crying,
let him be crucified. Now, somebody says, not me. Now,
wait a minute. You may not hate, and the world
hates the Lord Jesus Christ, you may not hate the Christ you
can control, The Christ that you feel comfortable with, the
Christ that you can have power over, and he's got
to respond to you. That's the Christ most people
believe, but he's a non-existent Christ. But the Christ of the
Bible, the whole world's cry is, we will not have this man
reign over us. Now this is Christ's message
to the world. And if I had the whole world
for my audience this morning, I'd want to bring this message
to the religious, to the irreligious, to the atheist, to the agnostic,
to the moral, to the immoral. to the interested, to the uninterested,
I would want to bring this message. For God so loved the world that
he gave his only begotten Son. And don't miss this only begotten
Son. There's only one only begotten
Son. And Psalm 27, this is a quotation
from Psalm 27. It's used with regard to the
Lord Jesus Christ several times as the only begotten Son. Psalm
27 says, Thou art my Son. This day have I begotten thee. And we read in Acts chapter 13,
verses 33 and 34, that this is a reference to the resurrection,
the divine begetting, the bringing back to life, the Lord Jesus
Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
only begotten Son of God. And really in his resurrection,
in his life, death, burial, and resurrection, all of God's attributes
are revealed. it. His love, his wisdom, his
justice, his power, his grace, every attribute of God is revealed
in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we preach a
resurrected Christ. I love thinking of this. There's
only one tomb that doesn't have any of the DNA of the person
who died in it, and that's the tomb of Christ. You see, he was
raised from the dead. He's the only first begotten
son of God. He's the lamb slain from the
foundation of the world and he's the lamb raised from the foundation
of the world. Now here's the message. This
is Christ's message to the world. For God so loved the world. Are you in the world? God so
loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever,
I love this word whosoever, that whosoever believeth in him. should not perish. That means
they won't go to hell. That means they won't be condemned
by God. They're not going to perish,
but they have everlasting life. The person who believes has the
very life of God in their soul, everlasting life. And then the
Lord says in verse 17, remember this is Christ's message to the
world. For God sent not his Son into
the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him
might be saved. Now God did not send his Son
into this world to condemn the world. Do you know the world
was already condemned? He didn't have to send his Son
to condemn the world. The world was already condemned. The scripture says in Romans
5, verse 18, that by the offense of one judgment came upon all
men to condemnation. When Adam was condemned, I was
in Adam, you were in Adam, by one man sin entered the world,
and death by sin, so death passed upon all men in that all sinned.
When he sinned, I sinned. When he sinned, you sinned. When
he was condemned, I was condemned, and you were condemned. Somebody
says, I don't think that's fair. Well, it's true whether you think
it's fair or not. This is what the scripture teaches. And I'm
not condemned for somebody else's sin. I'm condemned for my sin.
When Adam sinned, I sinned. And if somebody says, well, I
just can't see my connection with Adam. Well, forget Adam
for a moment. I'll forget Adam for a moment.
I've condemned myself. Let's take the Ten Commandments.
I've not kept one commandment one time, and you haven't either. If you think you have, it's because
you're ignorant of the law of God. You don't really understand
its holiness and its breadth. I've never loved God with all
my heart and soul and strength and loved my neighbor as myself.
I've always been guilty of putting anything before God. I've been
guilty of making false gods, imaginations that come from my
imagination that I feel comfortable with. I have failed to exercise
the proper reverence for His name. I've never rested. I've not honored my mother and
father or God's authorities over me. I've not given them the proper
honor. I've been a murderer. I've never physically murdered
anybody, but I've murdered plenty of characters by innuendo, by
silence. I've been guilty of adultery.
Now, I've never been unfaithful to my wife, but I certainly have
in my mind, and Christ said, to look upon a woman to lust
after is to commit adultery in your heart. You've already committed
the act, and I've certainly committed spiritual adultery. I'm a liar. I'm a thief. I'm a covetous man. You talking about the way you
were before you were saved? No, I'm talking about the way I am
every day of my life. And you're that way too. We're
lawbreakers. We're sinners. And I've condemned
myself. I didn't need Christ to come
and condemn me. I was already condemned by my conduct, by the
things that I've done. Christ didn't come to condemn
the world. but that the world through him
might be saved." Now, if it took God sending his son into this
world to save this world, how evil this world must be. If the only way I can be saved
is by God sending His Son to die on a cross to put away my
sin, how evil my sin must be. Don't judge yourself in light
of who you think you are. Judge yourself in light of what
the cross says we are. The cross says we're so evil
that nothing short of the death of Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
could save us. Now if God sent his son into
the world, of this we can be doubly sure, whatever he sent
his son into the world to do, he did. Whatever he intended
to do, he did. This is the will of him that
sent me, that of all which he hath given me, I should lose
nothing. but raise it up again at the
last day. Christ is the successful Savior. He can't fail at anything He
intends to do. If God sent Him to save the world,
whatever it was He intended to do, He did. You can be equally
sure of this. There is no other way to the
Father but through the Son. Christ said, I am the way, the
truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father But
by me. Well, isn't there salvation in
other religions? No. Christ is the only way to
the Father. And this way is perfectly suited
for me. You see, Matthew 1.21 says, He
shall save His people from their sins. And that's exactly what
I need. I can't save myself from my sins,
but He has promised He shall save His people from their sins. And in this thing of salvation,
He does it all. And that's exactly what I need.
Hebrews 1.3 says, When He had by Himself purged our sins. He sat down. Why? Because the
job was finished. He purged our sins and made every
believer perfect in God's sight. Now, God sent not his son into
the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him
might be saved. That's God's message to the world.
Verse 18, he that believeth on him is not condemned. Now, is
everybody in the world saved? No, but everybody who believes
is saved. He that believeth on him is not
condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already because
he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. Now, he that believeth on him,
Jesus Christ is the object of saving faith. Not God the Father,
not God the Spirit, but God the Son, he that believeth on him
should not perish. What must I do to be saved? Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Now to believe
is more than an acknowledgement of his existence. or to believe
the historical facts of the gospel, it's the entrusting of my soul's
concern, my salvation, 100% wholly to Him. If He doesn't do it all,
I will not be saved. Paul put it this way in 2 Timothy
1.12, I know whom I have believed. And I am persuaded that he is
able to keep that which I have committed to him. Now that word
commit means entrust. It's the word that you use when
you go to the bank and put money in the bank, you entrust the
safekeeping of that money to the bank. It's not you keeping
it, it's the bank. We commit, if we believe, we
commit all of the salvation of our soul to Him. I rely on Him
as my surety to take full responsibility for my salvation. I rely on Him
to keep the law for me and to work out a perfect righteousness
for me. I rely upon Him to put away my
sin and answer the claims of justice against my sin. I rely
on Him to be my justification so that I stand before God without
guilt. I rely on Him to preserve me
so I persevere all the way to the end. I rely on Him to bring
me into heaven. Listen, my friend, if I got all
the way to heaven by His grace, but the last step had to be taken
by my strength, I'd fall down to hell. I need Him for everything. And I want to, I don't want anything
else. I simply want to be found in
Him. I am relying on Him. I am relying
on God looking to Him for everything He requires of me. That's what
faith in Christ is. And it's always faith in Christ
alone. It's not faith in Christ and
anything for me or you. It's faith in Christ alone. Now, he that believeth on him is not
condemned. He that believeth not is condemned
already. He's already condemned. Now,
we read in this passage of scripture of two types of people, those
who believe and those who believe not. And we have those two types
of people listening right now. There are some who believe, you
believe the gospel, and there are some who believe not. Now,
somebody may think, well, why is it that some believe and some
believe not? Well, faith cometh by hearing, some heard, some
did not. Well, why did they hear? Well,
because God gave them the grace to hear. As many as were ordained
to eternal life believed. Now the people who do not believe
choose not to believe. Unbelief is a choice. When you hear the truth and say,
I do not believe that, that's the choice you've made. But if you believe the gospel,
it's because you have no choice. You must believe. It's true.
You can't make yourself believe that which is not true. God gave
you faith and you believe. God made the difference. Now,
there are those who believe and those who do not believe. Well, I see that. How can I know
if I'm somebody that Jesus Christ died for? What gives me the right
to think that I have a right to believe the gospel? Now, the
reason I ask that question, there's two things I want you to hear
real carefully. Before time began, God elected a people to be saved. Not everybody, just the elect
will be saved. That's what scripture teaches.
Jesus Christ shed his blood for the elect. He shed his blood
for his sheep. To say that Jesus Christ shed
his blood for people who are now in hell or people who will
not be saved is to take the gospel out of the gospel. Christ Jesus
is a successful Savior. He shed his blood for his people. They all must be saved. Now here's
my question. How can I know if I'm somebody
that he shed his blood for? Upon what ground can I believe
that he died for me? Do you know there's only one
scriptural answer? This may surprise you, but here's
the only way you can know whether or not Jesus Christ died for
you. Are you a sinner? Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners, of whom I am the chief, Paul said. We read in Romans chapter five,
verse six, when we were yet without strength, In due time, Christ
died for the ungodly. Who did Christ die for? Those
who were without strength and those who are ungodly. Christ died for sinners, not
for believing sinners. It doesn't say that. It doesn't
say for seeking sinners. It doesn't say for repentant
sinners. It doesn't say for sinners whose
lives have been changed. It just says sinners. Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners, of whom I am chief. Are you a sinner? And I mean the scriptural sense
of the word. That means you believe that you've
not kept one of God's commandments one time. Oh, you might have
kept them outwardly, but you know your heart, and you've not
kept one commandment one time. That's a sinner, and that's who
Christ died for. Now, let me ask a question. Since
I'm a sinner with no claims on God because of my sin, how can
I trust Christ to save me without it being an act of presumption?
Let me answer that question. because God commands me to. It's
not presumptuous for me to do what God commands me to do. God
commands all men everywhere to repent. Well, that's me. It's the same thing with faith.
I'm commanded to believe the gospel. And my right to believe
comes with God's command. And here's the result of believing.
He that believeth on him is not condemned. It doesn't say he
shall not be condemned. It says he is not condemned right
now. Every believer is in a state
of justification before God, having never sinned. Now, somebody
may think, but I still sin. How can I believe that with regard
to myself? I can't say I have no sin. I still sin. How can
that be true with regard to me? Well, it's a sad fact that we
still sin, but here's the believer's hope. That sin is not charged
to you. Psalm 32.1, David said, Blessed is he whose transgression
is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the
Lord will not impute iniquity. and in whose spirit there is
no guile. When Paul was quoting this in
Romans chapter four, he said, even as David describeth the
blessedness of the man to whom God imputeth righteousness without
works, saying, blessed are they whose sins are forgiven, whose
iniquities are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the
Lord will not impute sin. Now, listen to me real carefully. If you're a believer and you're
brought into heaven, it's not denying the reality of your sinfulness,
but your sin was not imputed to you. Christ took it upon himself
and bore it away and was punished for it. And the reason you will
not be condemned is because he, as your substitute, was condemned
in your place. That's what he did on Calvary's
tree. Not condemned means not guilty. My sin is gone. It's put away. And I stand before God perfectly
just. It's called justification. That's what not being condemned
means. I'm justified before God. He that believeth, he believes
the gospel, he's relying on Jesus Christ, is not condemned. Now, three things. This excludes any kind of boasting
on my part. He gets all the glory in my salvation. And it also excludes any kind
of despair. His grace is greater than all
our sins. And thirdly, this promotes obedience. Were the whole realm of nature
mine? That were a present far too small. Love so amazing, so divine, demands
my soul, my life, my all. Now this is Christ's message
to the world. God sent not his son into the
world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might
be saved. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. To receive a copy of the sermon
you have just heard, send your request to todd.neidert at gmail.com
or you may write or call the church at the information provided
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