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. I'm speaking this morning from
2 Thessalonians, chapter 2, and I've entitled this message, Free
Will and Antichrist. Free Will and Antichrist. Now what do I mean by free will? Well, to most people it's just
a given. Man has a free will. Now I will not deny that we do
what we want to, but man does not have a free will. A man's
will is controlled by his nature. A man by nature is evil, and
his will is not free from that. Now, what is meant by Antichrist? What do you think of when you
think of Antichrist? Most people think of some kind
of monstrous individual, super-powerful individual who is opposed to
Christ. Now, there is a sense in which
that is true, but the prefix anti- doesn't so much mean against
as instead of, in the place of. Antichrist will seek to take
the place of the Lord Jesus Christ. Free will and Antichrist. And as we look at this passage
of scripture, I think you'll understand why I've entitled
this message that way. 2 Thessalonians 2, this 2 Thessalonians
was written just a few months after 1 Thessalonians, and here
is why he writes to the church at Thessalonica. He says in 2
Thessalonians 2, verse 1, Now we beseech you, brethren, by
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering
together unto him, that you be not soon shaken in mind, or be
troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as
from us." Some men had been sending out letters and saying they came
from Paul. They were sending out fraudulent
letters. But he said, don't be troubled that the day of Christ
is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any
means with regard to the second coming of Christ. For that day
shall not come except there come a falling away first, and that
man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition. Now, there were
some men who were taking the second coming of Christ and using
it for their own ends. to deceive people, to scare people,
to manipulate people, to get them to do what they wanted them
to do. And that's been going on for
centuries. Christ is coming again. There's no question about that.
But he said the day and the hour, no man knows, not even the son,
the father only. How can a man make a prediction
with regard to his coming? I know that happens. Recently,
there was a man who had it all figured out. People were selling
everything they had and giving it to him in order to be ready
for the second coming of Christ. And some aspect of the truth
is used, and it's evil. It's fraudulent. And that's what
was happening at Thessalonica. Some men were using the second
coming of Christ and even saying Paul is the one who was teaching
this and wrote some letters to the church saying Paul had signed
them. And he said, that's not so. And
he said, that day will not come, the second coming of Christ,
except there come a falling away first, an apostasy. Now when Christ comes back, there
will be a great falling away, an apostasy. You know, the Lord
himself said, when the Son of Man cometh, shall he find faith
on the earth? During that falling away, we
read that the man of sin shall be revealed. The Antichrist,
the man of sin, the son of perdition, the son of hell, who opposes
and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is
worshiped, so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God,
showing himself that he is God. Is this one single man? I don't believe so because John
tells us that there are many antichrists, many false prophets. I don't think that what Paul
is speaking of is a single man. I suppose it could be. But if
a man came to you and announced to you, I am God, would you believe
him? Of course you wouldn't. I think
that what Paul is dealing with is a personification of the message
of Antichrist, the man of sin who opposes and exalts himself
above all that is called God or that is worshipped so that
he as God, sitting in God's place, he's attempting to do. sitting
in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Now what's this all about? This
began in the Garden of Eden. I would like to read the story
of the fall in Genesis chapter 3. Maybe you're familiar with
this story. Now the serpent was more subtle was more deceitful
than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he
said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, You shall not eat of
every tree of the garden? No, God did not say that. He
said, There's one tree you're not going to eat of. But he says
as he said, You can't eat from any of them. And the woman said
unto the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of the trees of
the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst
of the garden, God has said you shall not eat of it, neither
shall you touch it, lest you die. And the serpent said unto
the woman, you shall not surely die. Now he contradicts what
God said. You shall not surely die, for
God doth know that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes
shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and
evil." Now, God's holding out on you. He doesn't want you to
eat that fruit, because He knows that if you do, It will make
you like him. You will no longer be under his
thumb. You will be equal to him. And
here's how this works. You'll know good and evil. and you'll be able to make the
choice between the two. You will choose good over evil,
and that's what'll make you like God. Now, right now, you're just
obeying your nature. There's no moral virtue in your
obedience. But if you exercise your will
and freely choose the good over the evil, that is what will make
you like God. Now that was the temptation in
the garden. You will have a free will. You see, if your will is free,
that means it's free of God. That means God cannot do unless
you let him. You have to decide. You're the
decision maker, and that's ultimately taking the place of God. That's
the place of authority. You're the decision maker. The
buck stops with you. Now, that is how Antichrist comes,
with this message of free will. Free will is taken for granted
by men, and yet it's the essence of sin, and it's the essence
of evil. Christ said, not my will, but
thine be done. That's the essence of holiness.
The essence of sin is my will be done. That's seeking to take
the place of God's sovereign will. Now, in religion, If your
salvation begins with an act of your free will, and that's
what most people teach, God loves everybody, Christ died for everybody,
God wants everybody to be saved, but it's up to an act of your
will as to whether or not you're gonna accept him or reject him
as to whether or not you'll be saved. Ultimately, salvation's
up to you. It's not up to God, it's up to
you. Or in the Christian life, this
free will is promoted. It's up to you to make the right
decisions, to choose the good over the bad, and to choose to
not sin, and to choose to read the Bible, and to choose to pray.
And your choices is what's going to make you a better person,
more holy. You're going to be more like
God because of the choices you make. Now that just sounds reasonable. but it is denying it's of God
that worketh in you both to will and to do his good pleasure.
Once again it's making your will what makes you grow. Or then
at the end in heaven some people they teach that there'll be rewards
in heaven some people will have higher positions than others.
And ultimately that's because of the decisions those people
made. The way they exercise their will to do things and not do
things that will give them a higher reward in heaven. Now that is
free will religion. It is the religion of anti-Christ. Let me repeat that. Free will
is the doctrine of anti-Christ. You can't believe the gospel
and believe free will. You can't believe in salvation
by grace and believe free will. Now, Paul goes on to say in verse
5, Remember ye not that when I was with you, I told you these
things? I told you about this man of
sin, this wicked doctrine of free will that every man takes
as a given, yet it's the very essence of evil? I told you this. Verse six, and now you know what
withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth
already work. The mystery of iniquity, free
will, Babylon religion, the harlot of Babylon is already at work. It's working today. The mystery
of iniquity doth already work, only he who now letteth will
let, until he be taken out of the way. The only reason it hasn't
completely engulfed mankind and no one is saved is because God
has prevented this from taking place. He's restraining it. Verse
8, and then shall that wicked be revealed. Antichrist, the personification
of the doctrine of Antichrist, free will. And then shall that
wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit
of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming,
even him whose coming is after the working of Satan. with all
power and signs and lying wonders. Satan is behind this Antichrist
religion of free will. He's called by the Lord the father
of lies, and he comes as an angel of light and a minister of righteousness,
according to 2 Corinthians 11. He doesn't come with a red suit
and a pitchfork and a pointed tail. His main sphere of operation
is in the pulpit, and he comes with this message of Antichrist
Free will, salvation is up to you, it's in your hands. And
look what he says in verse 10, and with all deceivableness of
unrighteousness. Plausible arguments, deceivableness
of unrighteousness in them that perish because they receive not
the love of the truth, that they might be saved. Now, these people did not receive
the love of the truth. Now, there's a big difference
between receiving something because it's logical and it makes sense
and receiving something because you love what it says. They received not the love of
the truth. Now, remember this, the truth
is a person. The Lord said, I am the way,
I am the truth, I am the life. The Lord is a person, the truth
is a person, and receiving the love of the truth is receiving
the love of Him for who He is. Now, without any question, the
Bible is the Word of God. It's God's inspired book. Somebody says, I believe that.
Well, do you love that? Big difference. The Bible teaches
that God is absolutely sovereign, and that makes sense. If He's
God, surely He's the first cause behind everything, and if He's
all-powerful, He can control everything. That makes sense.
Yes, but do you love the God who is absolutely sovereign?
Big difference. Do you love what the Bible says
regarding Him, God the Father electing a people, God the Son
redeeming the people, and God the Holy Spirit giving life to
those people, a Trinitarian salvation of the one God in three persons.
Do you love that? Do you love that the Bible teaches
that you're dead in sin and can't save yourself, and you love it
because that makes you know you can't look to yourself as to
why you'd be saved. It's receiving the love of the
truth. Not simply receiving the truth,
but receiving the love of the truth. Now he says, because they
receive not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. For
this cause God shall send them strong delusion. Now did you
hear that? Because these people receive
not the love of the truth, God shall send them strong delusion. Would God do that? Absolutely. Says here he will. God shall
send them strong delusion that they should believe A lie, and
that is actually in the original, the definite article is used,
that they should believe the lie. The lie of free will. Anti-Christ religion. That which puts salvation in
your hands, up to your will, and not God's will. That is the lie. God shall send them strong delusion
as a judgment on his part because they receive not the love of
the truth. God shall send them strong delusion. If God deludes
you, you'll be deluded. You won't be able to see the
difference. God shall send them strong delusion that they should
believe the lie that they all might be damned who believed
not the truth. but had pleasure in unrighteousness. They had pleasure in the lie
that they believed. They didn't believe the truth,
but they had pleasure in the unrighteousness that they believed. They bit the hook. They swallowed. They believed
in Antichrist religion, which has as its very essence, free
will. That's what Satan tempted our
first parents in the garden with, free will. Now, Paul says in
verse 13 of this same chapter, but. Oh, I'm so thankful for this
part. I'm thankful for all of it, but this is a breath of fresh
air. But in spite of all that, we
are bound to give thanks always to God for you. Brethren, beloved
of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you
to salvation. Now here's the difference between
somebody who believes the lie and somebody who doesn't. God. He is the difference. But we are bound to think God
Always for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord. Now, this is talking
about the people God loves. They're called beloved of the
Lord. Well, isn't everybody beloved
of the Lord? Well, Jacob wasn't. He said,
Jacob, have I hated. Thou hatest all workers of iniquity. Now, before you get stuck, how
can God hate somebody? His hatred's not like ours. Our
hatred is evil. His hatred is a holy hatred in
accordance with his holy character. And he loves his people. He loves Jacob. He didn't love
Esau. He loves Jacob. He loves his
people. They are called the beloved of
the Lord. Now look what he says. But we are bound to thank God
always for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath
from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification
of the Spirit and belief of the truth. Now Paul thanks God for
divine election. I remember hearing of a young
man who gave a sermon that he entitled,
The Hated Doctrine of Election. And he came to a wise old preacher
and said, I want you to tell me what you think about this
sermon. He said, take it and burn it and write another sermon
entitled, the beloved doctrine of election. God's people love
this glorious, God-honoring, Christ-honoring truth. Now, what
does this passage of Scripture say with regard to election?
First of all, it's true. It's what the Bible teaches.
Somebody says, I don't see it in the Bible. You're not looking
then because it's on every page. God reigns, God rules, God chose
who would be saved. Ephesians 1.4 says, according
to his, he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of
the world. David said in Psalms 65.4, blessed
is the man that thou choosest. and causest to approach unto
thee." When Luke is giving the end of Paul's first public message,
he says, as many, with regard to their response to that message,
as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. The Lord said,
all that the Father giveth me shall come to me. Now that's
the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. He says, I pray for them. Speaking
of His elect, I pray not for the world, but for them which
thou has given me. Election is true. Election is
eternal. God hath from the beginning chosen
you. Before there was time, that's
when this choice was made. And this choice is personal.
God hath from the beginning chosen you. I think it's almost humorous
the way people try to write off elections saying, well, that's
God choosing some nations and not choosing other nations. Well,
if it's wrong for him to choose individuals and not choose other
individuals, it's worse to choose nations and not choose other
nations. That's foolishness. What are nations but made up
of individuals? But election is personal. He
chose you. Behold, I've loved you with an
everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness have I drawn
thee. An election is unto salvation. God hath from the beginning chosen
you to salvation. If there is no election, there
is no salvation. But don't stop there. He said,
He's chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the
Spirit and belief of the truth. Everyone that God elected, everyone
that Christ died for will be sanctified by the Spirit of God,
given a new nature, and the evidence will be that they believe the
truth. And if someone does not believe the truth, they were
not sanctified by God the Holy Spirit, nor were they elected.
Now, Paul goes on to say, where unto he called you? By our gospel. You see, if you're called by
God, you're called by the gospel. Where unto he called you? By our gospel to the obtaining
of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ said, the glory
thou has given me, I have given them. Therefore, brethren, stand
fast and hold the traditions which you've been taught, whether
by word or our epistle. Don't give in to these fraudulent
letters and these false claims. Don't give in to anti-Christ
religion. Stand fast and hold the traditions
which you've been taught, whether by word or our epistle." And
then he gives this concluding statement to this chapter, now
our Lord Jesus Christ himself. Oh, I love that. Now, our Lord
Jesus Christ himself. This comes from him. And God,
even our Father, which hath loved us. Now, who is the us? The elect of God. Those who believe. He hath loved us and given us. everlasting consolation, a consolation,
a comfort and encouragement that began before the foundation of
the world and after time is gone, it'll still be going. He's given us an everlasting
consolation and a good hope through grace. Now I have a hope, a hope
is a confident expectation with regard to the future. I have
a hope that when I stand before God in judgment, he's going to
say, there's no fault in him. He's perfect. He's without sin. He's perfect before my holy law. And I have a hope that everything
between now and then is working together for my good and his
glory. Now, a lot of folks have hope,
but it's not a well-grounded hope. It's not a well-founded
hope, and they will find that out when it's too late. The only
good hope is a hope through grace. You see, the reason I have this
good hope is because of the grace of God, because God, by his grace,
elected me before time began. Because God, by His grace, sent
His Son to put away my sin. And God, by His grace, made my
sin not to be. And God, by His grace, took the
righteousness of His Son and gives it to me. So I stand before
God. Righteous, having the righteousness
of Christ. God, by His grace, called me
by His grace and gave me a new heart that was not there before
and gave me the grace to believe, to repent, to love God. And God,
by His grace, is going to preserve me all the way to the end. That's the good hope through
grace. Now may the Lord deliver us from
free will, the religion of Antichrist, and cause us to rejoice in free
grace, the religion of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have this message
on DVD and CD. If you call the church, write
or email, we'll send you a copy. This is Todd Nyberg, praying
that God will be pleased to make Himself known to you. That's
our prayer. To receive a copy of the sermon you have just heard,
send your request to todd.nyberg at gmail.com. or you may write
or call the church at the information provided on the screen.