Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Nyvert. 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 Nyvert. In Acts 11, verse 26, I'm going
to read the last sentence in that verse. And the disciples
were called Christians first in Antioch. I have entitled this
message, What is a Christian? The disciples were called Christians
first at Antioch. Now this word is used three times
in the scripture. Do you remember when Agrippa
said to Paul, almost persuadest thou me to be a Christian? And
then Peter said, if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be
ashamed. And in our texts, they were called
Christians first at Antioch. Notice they were called Christians.
They didn't call themselves Christians, they were called Christians. Was it a term of derision? I
don't know. Was it a term of commendation?
I don't know. We just know that they were called
Christians first at Antioch. Now, what is a Christian? How many images come to your
mind when you hear that question? I imagine most people would probably
think, well, a hypocrite. And I understand that. Hypocrisy
abounds. And I know that when I go out
to eat on Sunday afternoons with my wife, and I'm wearing my church
clothes, and I tell Lynn, everybody's saying, look at those hypocrites.
That is what comes to mind quite often. I know that even businesses
try to use a Christian name in order to get business, as if
being a Christian makes them more worthy of business. To be
honest with you, if somebody uses Christianity in their business,
I don't trust them at all. I think that they're using Christianity
for material reasons, and that lets you know that they're not
trustworthy, just doing that. What comes to your mind when
you think of the word Christian? Well, some people think, well,
people who are very moral, very good people, people who are against
abortion and they uphold family values and they're real conservative. Well, you can be all those things
and not be a Christian. That is not necessarily what,
well, it's not what a Christian is. As a matter of fact, if you
are a Christian, Truly, if you are a Christian, you believe
yourself to be so intrinsically evil that the only way you could
be saved is by the Son of God coming and keeping the law for
you and paying for your sins. You don't have anything to bring
to the table. You believe yourself to be evil.
When people think of a good Christian, well, everybody ought to live
moral lives. I'm not saying anything about that, but a good Christian's
an oxymoron. If you're a Christian, you believe
yourself to be a very bad person who needs the grace of God, who
needs the work of Christ on your behalf. What is a Christian? Well, short answer, a Christian
is one who believes on Christ. It's a follower of Christ. A Christian is a disciple of
Christ. But I think it would be profitable
for us to look at the context of this passage of Scripture,
where they were first called Christians, and see what took
place and why they were first called Christians in Antioch. Now, this story begins in verse
19 of Acts chapter 11. Now they which were scattered
abroad, upon the persecution that arose about Stephen, traveled
as far as Pharnaces, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word
to none but the Jews only." Now we read about that persecution
that took place in Acts chapter 7, where Stephen was stoned and
put to death, and all of a sudden everyone was after Christians
or believers wanting them to be put to death. Saul of Tarsus
leading the charge, wanting anybody who was a follower of Christ
put to death, and these believers or disciples of Christ in Jerusalem
had to flee town. in order to escape for their
lives. And as they were scattered, they went about preaching the
gospel everywhere they went. Now, let's go on reading, verse
20. And some of them were men of
Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake
unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus. Now these unnamed
men, this wasn't some of the apostles, these unnamed men who
were disciples of Christ, who had to escape from Jerusalem,
when they came into Antioch, they also preached to the Grecians,
or the Gentiles, the gospel. had not taken place up to this
point. Now, they didn't know about what took place in Acts
chapter 10 when Peter preached the gospel to Cornelius and that
watershed event that took place. And they came to these unbelievers
in Antioch, people who had never heard the gospel, people who
did not know the living God, and they preached the Lord Jesus. And what took place? The hand
of the Lord was with them and many believed. But the first
point I'd like to make, what is a Christian? A Christian is
someone who has not always been a Christian. These Grecians weren't. They didn't know the Lord. They
didn't know who God is. They didn't know their own sinfulness.
They did not know Christ. They were not saved in their
experience before these men came and preached the gospel. Now,
in our calendar, we have B.C., before Christ, A.D., that's the
Latin for the year of our Lord, but B.C., most people that would
claim to be Christians, I don't know if they have a B.C. I don't
know if they have a before Christ. They think, well, I've always
been saved. I've always believed on Christ. I've always been a
Christian. That's too long. First of all,
a Christian is someone who at one time was without God, without
hope in this world. They didn't know God. They were Un-Christian. They were not saved. They didn't know God in their
experience, and that's the case with these Grecians. They did
not know God, and they, these unnamed men, came preaching this
message, the Lord Jesus. Now, first, if you're a Christian,
you've got to be C, before Christ, before you knew Him. And then
you hear this message, the same message that these men brought
them, these men who had not believed, They came preaching the Lord
Jesus." That's a summary of their message. Now, that doesn't mean
they simply said, Lord Jesus. That means they told who He is,
what He did, why He's the Lord. They came preaching the Lord
Jesus. Jesus." Now, what does that mean,
the Lord Jesus? Well, the Lord is the one whose
will is done all the time. Let me repeat that. Lordship,
the Lord Jesus. The Lord is the one whose will
is done all the time. Now, Jesus Christ is Lord. That
means His will is done all the time. When He created the universe,
it was His will being done. He willed this creation into
existence. Everything that happens in this
creation, in this thing called time. Time began when man was
created and there were days and nights. Everything that happens
in time is His will being done. that somebody says, you're saying
that God is the author of evil when you say that, because you're
saying it's His will when bad things happen. I am saying this. Whatever takes place is His will
being done. You see, He's God, and He controls
everything. The scripture says the lot is
cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. And He brings good out of evil,
but whatever is taking place is His will being done. I don't care if it's a natural
disaster. I don't care if it's something good happening to a
society. Whatever takes place, whatever takes place in my personal
life, my sickness, my health, my poverty, my wealth, whatever
it might be, It's His will being done. You see, He's God. He's
completely sovereign over the free and uncoerced actions of
men. And if you're saved, you're saved
because He willed your salvation. It's not because you willed it.
It's because he willed your salvation. Salvation is of the Lord. In this thing of salvation, you
didn't get saved. You didn't decide to be saved.
He willed your salvation if you are saved. I think of what the
leper said in Matthew chapter eight, Lord, if you will, you
can make me clean." He understood that salvation was utterly in
the Lord's hands. Now, he is the Lord, and he is
Jesus. I love his name. Jesus, you know
what that name means? Savior. He's the Lord Jesus. Now, if he's just Jesus without
being the Lord Jesus, he can't save anybody, but because he's
the Lord Jesus, He is mighty to save. Listen to this scripture
from Matthew 121. Thou shalt call His name Jesus,
for He shall save His people from their sins. And that's exactly
what He has done. As Lord Jesus, He saved all of
His people from the penalty of sin. It's what the Bible calls
justification. I stand before God without guilt,
perfectly righteous in His sight, because He saved me from the
penalty of my sins by bearing that penalty for me. That's why
He died on Calvary's tree, and that perfect righteousness He
worked out, He's given to me, and I stand before God without
guilt. He saves His people from the
power of their sins. Now, what does that mean? Well,
by nature, I'm dead in sins. I am unable to believe. I'm unable
to repent. I'm unable to come to Christ. I'm unable to receive His mercy. I can't do anything. But He gives
me a new heart, a heart that does believe, that does repent,
that does love Him for who He is. And I've been saved from
the power of sin. Someone says, well, I've been
saved from the power of sin. I don't sin. You're under the
complete dominion of sin, if that's what you think. You've
been totally deceived and are under its power. The man who
is not under its power sees his sinfulness, but he sees the power
of God unto salvation in the gospel. One of these days I'll
be saved from the very presence of sin. So a Christian is someone
who has heard and believed the message of the Lord Jesus. Now let's go on reading. It says
in verse 21, and the hand of the Lord was with them. These men preaching the gospel,
the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed
and turned unto the Lord. What is a Christian? He's a work
of the hand of the Lord. And if you're a Christian, you
know that. You know that you're not saved by your works, Not
the labor of my hands could fulfill thy law's demands. You understand
that you are the work of the Lord. You're the work of His
hand. I love what David said. David
said, The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me. Thy mercy,
O Lord, endures forever. Forsake not the work of thine
hand." David knew he was the work of God's hand. So a Christian,
somebody says, well, let's go plant a church or let's win souls.
You don't do that. That's what the Lord does. A
Christian is the work of His hand. And what was the result
or the evidence of the work of His hand? a great number believed
and turned to the Lord. Now here is what a Christian
is. He's someone who believes. and
turns to the Lord. Wherever you have faith, you
have one who has turned from self, from their own efforts
and works and whatever they thought would recommend them to God,
and they turn to the Lord. He's the Savior. Now, a Christian
is one who believes. Now, understand this. Faith is
not what you believe about yourself. Somebody says, I believe I'm
saved. Well, that doesn't mean you are. Someone says, I'm afraid
I'm not saved. That doesn't mean you're not,
because faith doesn't have anything to do with what you believe about
yourself. Faith has wholly to do with what you believe concerning
Him. Do you believe He's God? Do you believe He's man? Do you
believe He's the God-man? Do you believe He's the Son of
God? Whoso believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.
Do you believe He's God's Christ? God's prophet, the very Word
of God. God's priest, if he brings you into God's presence, you
must be saved. God's king, the one who rules
and reigns. What do you believe concerning
him? That is the issue. Faith is not believing you're
saved. Faith is believing He is salvation. Now, assurance
comes from that. Believing you're saved is assurance,
but the only way you have assurance is believing that He is salvation,
that He did it all, and nothing is required of you. You look
to Him only as everything in your salvation. They believed,
and they turned to the Lord. Believing on Christ is a turning
to the Lord from self. The Lord said, Whoso forsaketh
not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. Everything that
you think that you have that could recommend you to God, you
get rid of, and you turn wholeheartedly to the Lord. Now, let's go on
reading. The entidings of these came into the ears of the church
in Jerusalem, and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as
far as Antioch, who, when he came and had seen the grace of
God, was glad. Now what did he see when he saw
these people who had turned to the Lord by grace and believed
by grace? Scripture says he saw the grace
of God. What is a Christian? A Christian
is the work of the grace of God. Now, I don't want to presume
that everybody knows what grace means. Everybody uses the word.
I was listening to a man who was a recovered addict. He was
not a Christian, didn't claim to be a Christian, but yet he
said, in this addiction recovery, I've been recovered by the grace
of God. And he was not one who claimed to be a Christian, but
he used that term. So I don't want to just presume you know
what is meant by grace. I want us to look at the first
time the word is used in the Bible. It's found in Genesis
chapter 6 with regard to Noah, but Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. Now what was said before that,
Genesis chapter 6 verse 5, when 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. You know who's
included in that bunch? Noah. It doesn't say except for
Noah. He's talking about all mankind.
That's what he sees when he looks in my heart, and that's what
he sees when he looks in your heart. 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. That's
God's testimony. That's not man's testimony, that's
God's testimony. That's how evil men are as a
result of the fall of Adam. We're born bad. We're born with
evil natures. But Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. The Lord decided to give Noah
grace. You see, God's grace is not something
he offers you. God's grace is not something
he makes available to you, and it's up to you to accept it or
reject it. God's grace saves all the time. By grace, ye are saved. Not grace is made available to
you, but grace saves you. It's the grace of God saving. That's why Noah was saved. But
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Now let me say this
about God's grace. It's saving grace. It's sovereign grace.
What's that mean? That means if you have grace,
it's because He gave it to you. It's not because you did anything.
You can't merit grace. If you do have grace, it's because
he gave it to you. It's free. There's nothing you
have to do to pay for it. There's nothing you have to do
to make God give it to you. It's absolutely and completely
free. And it's always saving. I can tell what somebody believes
about grace by what they believe about election. We read of the
election of grace in Romans 11, verse 5. And then he says, if
it's by grace, if election's by grace, it's no more works.
You see, election is the doctrine that shows whether somebody really
believes that salvation's by grace. If you don't believe in
election, God choosing who would be saved by his grace before
time began, that means you believe salvation has something to do
with what you do. And that is salvation by works. But no, what
did he see when he saw these people? He saw the grace of God. And he was glad and exhorted
them all that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto
the Lord. What is a Christian? A Christian
is someone who with purpose of heart cleaves to the Lord. Now that word cleave, comes out
of the word remain or abide. Now, here is the purpose of the
heart of every Christian. I want to abide in the Lord,
with the Lord. I don't want to fall away. I
want to be preserved. I want to hold on to Him. I don't
want to let go. And I know I will if God doesn't
enable me to. But I want to cleave to the Lord
Jesus Christ. I want to be united to Him. I
want to be found in Him. I want it to be, when God looks
at me, all He sees is Christ. That's how much I want to be
completely in Him, so that all God sees is Christ. That's what
Paul said in Philippians 3, when he said, Oh, that I may win Christ
and be found in Him. Not having my own righteousness,
which is of the law, I don't want to have anything to do with
that. But that which is through the faithfulness of Christ, the
righteousness which is of God by faith, every believer with
purpose of heart would cleave to the Lord Jesus Christ. This
is all I want to be, someone in Christ." What is a Christian? Well, he's someone who cleaves
to the Lord Jesus Christ with purpose of heart. Now, let's
go on reading. This is after Barnabas had gone
to find Paul, and through his preaching, the scripture says,
much people were added unto the Lord. This is at Antioch. A Christian
is somebody that's been added to the Lord. Acts 2, verse 47,
and the Lord added to the church daily, such as should be saved. A Christian is one who is added
to the Lord. Now, this lets us know, once
again, salvations of the Lord. When Agrippus said, almost persuadest
thou me to be a Christian, he thought he could become one if
he decided to. It doesn't work that way. This is of the Lord. They were added to the Lord. And we read in verse 26 of Acts
11, And when he had found him, he
brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass that a whole
year they assembled themselves with the church and taught much
people. And the disciples were called
Christians first in Antioch." Now, people saw these people
assembling together. and being taught the gospel from
the scriptures. And this is where they were first
called Christians. What is a Christian? A Christian
is someone who assembles with God's people. Church is not optional. Now, by church, don't mean a
building. You know that, I hope. Church
is God's people meeting together, where two or three are gathered
together in my name. There I am in the midst of them. This thing we're doing, television. I'm preaching on TV, hoping that
you will come to hear the gospel in a live, local assembly. Church is very, very important. TV does not take the place of
church. Now, I realize that there may
be people who live in areas where they can't find a church that
preaches the gospel of God's grace, and they are not a part
of a local assembly. And I feel sorry for those people. I pray for them. I pray the Lord
raises up a place in their area or causes them to come somewhere
where they can hear the gospel. But I'm very sympathetic with
that. But if you can be in church,
And by church, I'm not just talking about a religious assembly. Most
things that go on under the name church are not churches, because
the gospel is not preached. They're religious organizations,
they're social clubs, they're places where people find support
and so on, but they're not churches, because in a church, the gospel
is preached. The church is the pillar and
the ground of the truth, according to Paul, and sheep were meant
to be in flocks, the public assembly of God's saints. We want to identify
with the message of the gospel. I want everybody to see this
is my hope, the message of the church, Jesus Christ and Him
crucified. Believers assemble together. You see, there's no such thing
as private faith. You don't worship Him privately. As a matter of
fact, the most glorious private worship is during public worship,
when the Lord speaks to your heart through the preaching of
the gospel and makes you know you're His and He is yours, and
that's where you worship privately. The most gloriously is during
public worship. I can't emphasize enough the
importance of public worship. Faith cometh by hearing, hearing,
hearing the gospel preached. And that is what goes on in church
when God's people assemble together. It's to hear the gospel preached,
to hear the Word of God preached. And you see some people where
church is, well, if I can find time for it, if I can juggle
it into life's busy schedule, it will be okay. No, no. You
don't know what church is, if that's what you think. Church
is where God's people meet together, birds of a feather flock together.
They meet together to hear the gospel. And these people witnessed
these people assembling together, and they were called Christians
first at Antioch. Now, what is a Christian? Well,
they have a BC, before Christ. They've heard and believe the
message of the Lord Jesus. A Christian is the work of the
hand of God, and the evidence of his hand is there is a believing
and turning to the Lord. A Christian is the product of
grace when Barnabas saw the grace of God. A Christian is someone
who with purpose of heart cleaves to the Lord." I mean, Christ
is their life. He's not part of their life.
He's not the most important part of their life. He is their life. Paul said, for me to live is
Christ, and to die is gain. It'll be the best day of my life.
A Christian is the Lord's add-on And Christians are those who
assemble themselves together, loving the brethren, loving the
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, assembling themselves together
to hear the gospel. Now, when people witness that,
They were called Christians first at Antioch, this place that was
the first Gentile church. May the Lord richly bless you
and cause you to be a Christian. To receive a copy of the sermon
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