Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Neiberg. 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. I'm reading a passage of scripture
from Acts chapter 24, the 14th verse, and we'll set the context
of it after I read this passage of scripture. Paul says in verse
14, but this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they
call heresy. So worship I, the God of my fathers,
believing all things which are written in the law and in the
prophets." Now, Paul says in this verse of scripture, there
is a difference between me and them. And this difference is
with regard to the way. They call this way heresy. And there is a difference between
me and them with regard to worship. This way that they call heresy
is how I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things
which are written in the law and in the prophets. I've entitled
this message, Wherein Do We Differ? Now there is a glaring difference
between Paul and those religious people, and there is a glaring
difference between a gospel believer and the churches of our day,
if you want to call them that. A glaring difference. Now, when I make this statement,
I realize that it could be considered inflammatory, so I want you to
hear me out. Don't just turn me off and say,
that guy's nuts. Please listen. If there's another
church in the Lexington area that preaches what we preach,
I'm not aware of it. I'm not saying that in arrogance.
I sure hope I'm not. I'm not saying that in self-righteous
moral superiority. But if there is another church
in Lexington, Kentucky that preaches the message that's preached at
the Todd's Road Grace Church, I'm not aware of it. Now, I'll
be thankful if there are, I'll be thrilled if there are, but
I am not aware of it. Where do we differ? Why would I make such a statement
as that? Wherein do we differ? Now, I want to set the context
of Paul making this statement. The Jews tried to kill him. And
a Roman centurion understood that Paul was a Roman citizen.
So he came and rescued him. And he was going to bring him
before this man, Felix, and have him present his case before Felix. And the Jews were going to present
their case against him before Felix. So that is the setting. And we read in verse one of chapter
24, and after five days, Ananias, the high priest, descended with
the elders and with a certain orator named Tertullus who informed
the governor against Paul. They hired him an orator, someone
who could really wow the crowd with his flowery eloquence. And when he was called forth,
Tertullus began to accuse him, saying, and he first begins with
insincere flattery, oh, he butters up. He butters up, Felix, seeing
that by thee we enjoy great quietness and that very worthy deeds are
done unto the nation by thy providence. We accept it always and in all
places, most noble Felix, with all thankfulness. Oh, I'm sure
Felix thought, hey, I like what they got to say. Now he begins
what he says with regard to Paul. Notwithstanding that I be not
further tedious unto thee, I pray thee that thou wouldest hear
us of thy clemency a few words, for we have found this man a
pestilent fellow. He's an infectious disease. He's a pest. He's a mover of
sedition among all the Jews throughout the world. He doesn't bring people
together, he divides them. He's a divisive man with his
doctrine. And he's a ringleader of the
sect of the Nazarenes. He's a part of a sect who also
has gone about to profane the temple. Why? He profanes our
religion. You know, that set of accusations
has pretty much been laid against every gospel preacher. They're
a disease, a pest, they're divisive, they profane our religion, they
don't bring people together, they're a part of a sect. I've
heard that so many times. But the chief captain Lysias
came upon us and with great violence took him away out of our hands.
We were going to deal with this man, and this Roman centurion
came in with great violence, took him out of our hands, commanding
his accusers to come unto thee by examining of whom thou thyself
mayest take knowledge of all these things, wherever we accuse
him. And the Jews also assented, saying, These things were so.
We agree with everything he has said. Then Paul, now Paul's gonna
speak for himself. Then Paul, after the governor
had beckoned unto him to speak, answered. For as much as I know
that thou hast been of many years a judge unto this nation, I do
the more cheerfully answer for myself, because that thou mayest
understand that there are yet but twelve days since I went
up to Jerusalem for to worship. And they neither found me in
the temple disputing with any man, neither raising up the people,
neither in the synagogues, nor in the city. Neither can they
prove the things whereof they now accuse me." Now they did
what men do. They demonized Paul in order
to vindicate themselves. They spoke lies with regard to
the Apostle Paul in order to vindicate themselves. Paul says,
none of the things they accuse me of are true, but This I confess
to thee. Now, I confess to guilt here,
and I'm doing so publicly. This I confess to thee. I'm not trying to hide this.
This I confess to thee. Now, what a man believes is what
he publicly confesses. Somebody says, well, I believe
what you believe. Well, do you publicly preach
it? If you don't publicly preach it, you don't believe it. If
you don't go to a place where it's publicly preached, You don't
believe it. David said, I believed, therefore
have I spoken. That's the spirit of preaching.
This I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call
heresy. So worship I, the God of my fathers,
believing all things which are written in the law and in the
prophets." Now, let me say a few things about the way. after the
way that they call heresy. That was the issue. The way. After the way they call heresy. You know, Paul had said earlier
in his testimony to these people in verse 4, and I persecuted
this way unto death. This way of Christ. This way
he's speaking of now. I persecuted this way unto death,
binding and delivering into prisons both men and women. I was at
one time opposed to this way. What way? Christ said, I am the
way that excludes all other ways. This is called in the scripture,
the way of the Lord. Any other way is the way of Satan. It's called the way of God. Any
other way is the way of man. It's called the narrow way. Any other way is the broad gate
and wide road that leads to destruction. It's called the way of righteousness.
Any other way is a way of sin. It's called the way of peace. Any other way is the way of a
false peace. It's called the way of salvation.
Any other way is the way of damnation. It's called the way of truth.
Any other way is a lie. It's called the new and the living
way. All else is old and dead. And Paul called it the more excellent
way, the way of love. True love to God and true love
to men and telling them the truth. Now in these other ways, there
will be claims to love to God and love to men, but they're
not real. Not if they don't stand for the way. This I confess unto
thee that after the way they call heresy." Now, you made that
statement. You don't know of a church in
Lexington that preaches what you preach. And I hope there
is. I hope there is. If this is a
church that believes this, call me up. Let's get together. What is the difference? Why am
I making a claim like that? Wherein do we differ? I mean,
we read out of the same Bible. We sing many of the same hymns.
We practice the ordinances pretty much the same way, bread and
wine at the Lord's table, baptism by immersion. I know there's
some people that don't practice that, but that's the scriptural
practice. There's no difference in intelligence.
I'm not saying I'm smarter. I'm certainly not claiming moral
superiority. Every time I speak, I better
speak with the knowledge that I myself am the chief of sinners
and don't have any reason to look down my nose at anybody
at any time. So when I'm saying this, I hope
I'm saying it in brokenness and humility, not with an arrogant
know-it-all attitude, but this comes from a deep conviction
of the truth. Wherein do we differ? Well, here's the first place.
A different God. A different God. You see, the
God of the Bible is absolutely sovereign. What's that mean? That means He has a will. He
has the power to perform His will. He has the right to perform
His will. He performs His will all the
time, and whatever His will is, is right. He is sovereign in
creation. He spake the world into existence. He is sovereign in providence. That means, listen to me, He's
the first cause behind everything. Whatever took place, I don't
care what you call it, it's God's will taking place. It's what
He purposed in eternity, and it's now taking place in time.
He's sovereign in salvation. That means if you're saved, it's
because He decided to save you and saved you must be and saved
you are because He did it. It wasn't something you did.
It wasn't something you cooperated in. It's something He did. He
is absolutely sovereign whatsoever the Lord pleased that did He. in earth, sea, and all deep places. Our God is in the heavens. He
hath done whatsoever he hath pleased." Now, this is the God
of the Bible, and a God that's not just like this is an idol. It's the figment of man's depraved
imagination. It is not real. It's a man-made
God, a weak God, a pygmy God, a God that is not worthy of worship. The God of the Bible is absolutely
sovereign. That means me and you are in
His hand. He can do with us whatever He's
pleased to do. And if He passes me by and lets
me drop into hell, just and holy, righteous and true is His name. That is the God of the Bible. That is God being God, and any
God that is not just like that is not God at all, but the figment
of man's imagination. Secondly, what's the difference?
We have a different view of Scripture. Paul said, believing all things
that are written. Somebody says, I believe in all
things that are written. Well, I hope you do. But if you
hear some aspect of God's truth and say, well, that's your interpretation
of it, that's because you do not believe all things that are
written. You see, the scripture says with
regard to itself, it is of no private interpretation. Somebody
says, that's your interpretation. No. The Bible declares what it declares.
It's not up for here's my interpretation or here's your interpretation.
Nobody cares about what my interpretation is and nobody cares what your
interpretation is. What does God's Word say? And we don't
come to the Bible as a proof text to prove what we believe. We come to God's Holy Word to
find out what to believe. Believing all things that are
written. Wherein do we differ? Different
God, different view of the scriptures. And thirdly, we differ as to
what took place in eternity. Now, there was a time when there
was no time. There was a time when there was
no space. There was no universe. All there
was was God. And He dwelled in the supremacy
of His glorious Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, God
the Holy Spirit. All there was was God. There
were no angels. There were no sun. There was
no moon. All there was was God. What took place in eternity?
Everything. Everything God does in time,
He did in eternity. And the scripture that most gloriously
speaks of that is Christ that's called in Revelation 13.8, The
Lamb having been slain from the foundation of the world. Before the creation of the world,
Jesus Christ was the Lamb slain. You know what that means? That
means the fall was already considered. Sin was already considered. But
before there was a sinner, there was a Savior. Hebrews 4.3 says
that all the works were finished from the foundation of the world. Listen to this scripture, 2 Timothy
1.9. This is what Paul calls the form of sound words. He saved
us and he called us. The saving came before the calling.
He saved us and He called us with a holy calling, not according
to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which
was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. Everything the believer has was
given him in Christ Jesus before the world began, according as
He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before Him. Everything
took place in eternity. It's not going to be changed.
Nothing can be added to it. Nothing can be taken from it.
It's all in the immutable God's mind, purpose, and decree. Everything took place in eternity. And one woman made this statement
when she talked about God's eternal love. And he said, behold, I've
loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving
kindness have I drawn thee. This dear lady said, I'm glad
God loved me before time began, because if he would have waited
to after, he could have never loved me. And that's true. But
God's love to his people is eternal in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Now, the next thing, or difference,
is a different view of creation. Now, most people believe that
God created the universe. As a matter of fact, everybody's
born believing that. It is intuitive knowledge. We know that somebody
created this place and nobody created him and he was mighty
powerful. Now, everybody is born with that knowledge, but why
did God create the universe? That's the question. Somebody
says, well, was he lonely? He just wanted to have some people
to enjoy him. Christ is called the Lamb slain from the foundation
of the world, and God created the universe for the cross. Let
me repeat that. God created the universe for
the cross where he was going to manifest himself. All of God's glorious attributes
are manifest in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the
purpose for the creation of the world and everything that takes
place is the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, fifthly, We
differ as to what took place in the garden when God put our
first parents in the garden after the creation. Most people present,
well, God's given you a choice. If you eat the fruit of the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil, you'll die. If you don't
eat it, you'll live. It's up to you. You don't find
that in the Bible. God said, in the day you eat
thereof, you shall surely die. God is in control of this. It's all according to God's will. Somebody says, are you saying
God's the author of sin? I'm saying God's God. And nothing
happens without him and whatever he does is right. Don't dare
try to sit in judgment on God and say, I think that was wrong.
Whatever he does is right. Nay, but old man, who are you
to reply against God? And we know what happened as
a result of Adam's fall. In the day you eat thereof, you
shall surely die. That means dead in sins. In that
very day, he died spiritually. He no longer had the ability
or the spirit to perform the functions of spiritual life.
He was dead in sins. He couldn't believe. He couldn't
repent. He couldn't love God. He was
dead in sins. You're born that way. I'm born
that way, dead in sins. And you hath he quickened who
were dead in trespasses and sins. We have a differing view as to
what happened in the garden. Most people think Adam stubbed
his toe, Adam hurt himself, but he still got a free will. We
believe no such thing. Man is dead in trespasses and
sins, and God put it this way. And God saw, and I want you to
remember that how God sees something is the way it is, and God saw. that the wickedness of man was
great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts
of his heart was only evil continually. Man has no way of doing anything
to help in his salvation, any more than a dead man can give
himself life. But not only Do we have a differing
view as to what took place in the garden? We differ as to what
took place on the cross. You see, on the cross, the Lord
Jesus Christ actually saved everybody he represented. When he said
it is finished, everybody he died for, their salvation was
signed, sealed, and delivered. He wasn't making salvation possible
if you do your part. Hebrews 1.3 says he by himself
purged our sins. By one offering, He hath perfected
forever them that are sanctified. He completely saved His people
from their sins. Oh, thank God for that. When
He said it is finished, the salvation of everybody He died for was
finished. And we have a differing view
as to what happens to a sinner when God saves him. Now, most
people would say, well, you When God saves you, you become a better
person. You don't have the same struggle
with sin you used to. You don't have the same appetite
for sin you used to. You no longer are interested
in worldly things. You become better, better, progressively
better through reading the Bible, through prayer, through discipline.
You become more and more like Jesus Christ, and you become
better. The Bible doesn't teach that. When God saves a man, it's a
new creation that was not there before. It's not the old man
becoming better. It's a new creature, something
that was not there before. A new heart will I give thee. God gives a new nature, a holy
nature. That old nature doesn't get any
better. When someone makes some kind
of profession like that, it's because they're lying. It's not
true. The old nature never gets better. Now, I grow in grace and the
knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, but to present
myself as becoming better would be dishonest at best. We have a different view as to
what takes place when God saves a sinner. He gives a new heart. It's called being born from above,
something that was not there before. And the bottom line with
regard to all this is we have a different gospel. One gospel
is saving, the other is false and does not save. And we have a different method. We differ as with regard to the
method. The method is preaching. Somebody says, we preach. Most of what goes on under the
name of preaching is manipulation. It's not preaching. The freewheeler
tries to manipulate men's will. The reform tries to manipulate
men's intellect. That's the appeal. The charismatic
tries to manipulate men's emotions, a hotbed of emotion. None of
that is preaching. Preaching is the declaration
of the truth and leaving the person who hears alone with God,
trusting God to take care of the results. It's not trying
to manipulate. It's declaring the truth. Paul said, Christ sent me not
to baptize, not to get results, but to preach the gospel, not
with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be of
none effect. We do differ. Now, how do I want to leave you? I want to leave you with what
Moses said to his father-in-law. He said, we are journeying to
the place the Lord said, I will give it you. That's our journey. It's a place of free grace where
the Lord gives. Next, Moses says to his father-in-law,
Come with us. We will do thee good. I'm preaching the way. Get in
the way. Come with us. We will do thee
good, for the Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel." What
I want to say to anyone who differs with what I've said, come with
us. We will do thee good. If you
seek the Lord, you'll find out that what I'm saying is so. Come with us. We will do thee
good, for the Lord has spoken good concerning Israel. We have this message on DVD,
CD, if you call the church, write, email, we'll send you a copy.
This is Todd Niber, 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.niber at gmail.com. or you may write
or call the church at the information provided on the screen.