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 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 Nybert. I'm reading from 1 John 5, verse
18. John says, we know that whatsoever
is born of God sinneth not. But he that is begotten of God
keepeth himself. and that wicked one touches him
not." I've entitled this message, What Does Sinneth Not Mean? We know that whosoever is born
of God sinneth not. What does sinneth not mean? Now, I'd like to introduce this
message with a question. Do you sin? Do you sin? Now, let me give you my answer
to that question, and you can compare yours with mine. Yes,
I do. I would be a liar if I said to
you that I do not sin. Now, I'd like to look at a passage
in this same book, 1 John 1. Verse 5, we read, this then is
the message which we've heard of him in declaring to you that
God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. Now among other
things, this means there is no sin at all in God. He is the sinless being. He is holy. Holiness cannot sin. If something can sin, if it's
not sinning now but can sin later on, that would make it mutable,
subject to change. God cannot change. The Holy Father cannot sin. The Holy One of Israel, the Lord
Jesus Christ, cannot sin. The Holy Spirit cannot sin. The
triune God cannot act contrary to His nature. Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord of hosts. He cannot sin. Now, God is light. In him is no darkness at all.
He's the perfect being, the sinless one. Verse six, if we say that
we have fellowship with him, And walk in darkness, we lie
and do not the truth. Now, most people will take that
verse and they'll say, well, if we say we have fellowship
with God, and a lot of people make that claim, but we walk
in secret sin and practice sin, we're actually liars and not
doing the truth. Now, it's never good to sin. It's never okay to sin, but that's
not what that verse means. That means if we claim to have
fellowship with Him and yet walk in darkness as to how this holy
God can accept and receive us through the gospel, all we're
doing is lying. Many people make that claim,
I have fellowship with God, but they walk in the ignorance and
darkness of salvation by works. Now, whenever someone makes that
claim and does not believe the gospel, all they're doing is
making a claim that is not true. Verse 7, but If we walk in the
light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another. If we walk in the light of the
gospel as to how a holy God can accept a sinner through the sacrifice
of Christ. If we walk in the light as He
is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood
of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us. from all sin. It doesn't say we no longer sin. It says the blood of Jesus Christ
continually cleanses us from all sin, and that's what I continually
need. Now listen to this statement in verse 8. If we say we have
no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. We've
lost all credibility. Now there the word sin is a noun.
There's no point in my existence up to this point that I can say
I have no sin, because I always have a sinful nature. It's always
there. Somebody says, I don't. Well,
if that's the case, you've just never been born again, and you
don't really understand what sin is. John says, if we say
we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. A miserable self-deception, and
the truth is not in us. We've lost all credibility. Verse
9, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive
us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Now,
what is this thing of the confession of sin? Is it simply giving verbal
admission to our sin before God? It's more than that. It's taking sides with God against
ourselves. You can't confess all your sins
because you don't even know what they all are. Many sins we've
committed, we don't even know they're sins. What we do when
we confess our sin, we take sides with God against ourself. We agree with what he says concerning
our sin. Verse 10, if we say we've not
sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us. Now in
verse eight, if we say we have no sin, it's a noun, but here
it's a verb. If we say we have not sinned with regard to anything
I do, if I say, well, I didn't sin, I'm making him a liar because
he says I have. Now, so in light of that passage
of scripture, I just read, what does sinneth not mean? Now, I'm not asking you, first
of all, what do you think it means? Let me ask you this first. What does John actually say? It says in 1 John 5, verse 18,
we know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not. Now that's what he says. Whoever
is born of God does not sin. Now let me read you three translations,
which are not really translations, but interpretations, because
they're not being faithful to the text, but these are translations
that many people use. Now, I love the King James Version
of the Bible. I think it's the best translation.
I don't think it's inspired. It's a translation, but I love
the King James Version. I think it's the best translation,
and I want to read you some translations of this verse that many people
use. The New Living Translation says,
whoever is born of God does not practice sinning. The New International
Version says, whosoever is born of God does not continue to sin. The English Standard Version
says, whosoever is born of God does not keep on sinning. Now,
if somebody came up to me and said, I don't practice sin. or I don't keep on sinning, or
I do not continue to sin, I would have one of two reactions. First, I'd think, if that's true,
I'm in trouble, because that's not my experience. I sin, I sin,
my sin is ever before me. And if what they're saying is
true, I'm afraid maybe the Lord's done something for them that
he hadn't done for me. I would have that response, or
I would have this response. That person is a self-deceived
liar, and that is how I know it is. A person who would make
that kind of claim is a self-deceived liar. Now those translations
were not translations, they were human interpretation upon what
the text said, but it's not what the text said, whosoever is born
of God sinneth not. Now what does that mean? John
says, we know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not. The
same we as Romans 8, 28, and we know that all things work
together for good. Everybody who knows, everybody who God
has revealed himself to. Now it's my prayer that everybody
listening will be enabled to say, we know. No nagging doubts
about this, no uncertainties. We know that whosoever, and this
is the word that is usually translated all, all in this group, whosoever,
all who are born of God. Now what does that mean, to be
born of God? It means to be fathered by God. Fathered by God. Now every time the word born
of God is used in the scripture, it is always No exceptions used
in the passive tense. Now, your natural birth did not
depend on some response on your part, did it? Nor could it be
hindered by some resistance on your part. In your natural birth,
you were 100% passive. And do you know it's the same
thing in the new birth? In John chapter 1, verses 12
and 13, we read these words. As many as received him, to them
gave he the power to become the sons of God, even to them which
believe on his name, which were born, which were birthed, not
of blood, not of the will of the flesh, not of the will of
man, but of God, not of blood. You're not born again because
your mom and dad are. There's no fleshly connections.
not of the will of the flesh. You're not born again as an act
because of an act of your free will, where you decided to accept
Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, and you became born again.
There's no such thing as free will. Preachers talk about free
will. There's no such thing. Your will
is controlled by your nature. That's an absurdity. God doesn't
have a free will. He's holy. He can't act contrary
to his nature. He can't sin. He can't freely
decide, well, I'm going to do evil. God can't do that. You
see, your nature controls your will. No one is born because
of an act of their free will where they let God have his way.
Men are not born because of the will of man, and a bunch of men
got together and said, we're going to pray through for this
person until they're saved. No, we're born of God. Born of God. Now, I repeat the question, can
God sin? No. He cannot act contrary to
his nature, and to suggest that he could would be heretical blasphemy. Can the Lord Jesus Christ sin? The answer is no. Now, some have
suggested that Christ could have sinned, but he didn't. He resisted temptation, but if
he didn't have the potential to sin, then what would the virtue
be in him resisting that temptation? That's foolishness. He's holy. He's immutable. He does not have
the potential to sin, and really, to say that He has the potential
to sin is to say He's not immutable, that He can change. The Lord
Jesus Christ is impeccable. Can the Holy Spirit sin? No. He's the Holy Spirit, the Spirit
of holiness. Now, question. Can that which
God fathered Can that which comes from Him, where He birthed someone
into the Kingdom of Heaven, can that which God fathered, can
that which is born of the Spirit, sin? No. No. The very thought of that, that
God could birth something that could sin and commit evil, is
just flat wrong. That's not the way it is. Listen
to this scripture in 1 John 3, verse 9. is born of God doth not commit
sin. Look what it says next. For his seed, God's seed, the
seed of the new birth, for his seed remaineth in him and he
cannot sin. That which is born of God lacks
the ability to sin. It's a holy nature. Because he
is born of God, where the new birth is, there is an inability
to sin. Now, whosoever, whatever is born
of God, does not sin. That's what it means. Whoever, whatever, is birthed
by God, fathered by God, does not sin. Whatever's born of Adam
sins. Whatever's born of God does not
sin. Now, to understand this, we're
gonna have to understand something about what took place in the
Garden of Eden. In the Garden of Eden, when Adam ate of the
fruit, the scripture says he died. He became spiritually dead. In the day you eat thereof, you
shall surely die. He didn't say, if you eat. He
said, when you do. This is all a part of God's purpose. He's
in control of everything. And Adam died spiritually. In Adam, all die. Now, the only
way a dead man can do anything is if there's a miracle, a supernatural
miracle of God. If you've got a man physically
dead and he's raised from the dead, only God can do that. And
if you have a spiritually dead man and he's given spiritual
life, that too is the act of God. In Adam all die, even so
in the same manner in Christ shall all be made alive. They're
living. John 3, verse 3, Except a man
be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God, born from
above. Can that which is born from above,
born from God's sin? The answer is no. I John 3, verse
5, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he can't enter
into the kingdom of God. Verse 6, that which is born of
the flesh is flesh. It'll never arise above its nature. That which is born of the flesh
is always going to be sinful. But that which is born of the
Spirit is Spirit. It comes from God the Holy Spirit. The wind blows where it wills,
you hear the sound thereof, and you can't not tell whence it
cometh, or whether it goeth, and so is everyone that's born
of the Spirit. It's a sovereign work of God. Listen to these
scriptures. 2 Corinthians 5, 17. If any man
be in Christ, he's a creature, a new creation. Old things are
passed away. Behold, all things have become
new. That can only be understood of the new nature. Somebody says,
well, I'm better than I used to be. Not me. I'm just as sinful
in my flesh as I ever was. Now, somebody, I know people
can take that and abuse it, but I'm talking about my experience.
I don't feel like I'm in my flesh, that I'm better. I heard a preacher
say recently, I'm less sinful and more holy. Not me. I'm nothing
but sin in my flesh and nothing but holy in my spirit." That's
the new nature that he's speaking of. Now, what I'm teaching right
now is what the Scripture teaches. Ephesians 2.1, "...and you hath
he quickened, given life to who were dead in trespasses and sins."
We are His workmanship. Ephesians 2.10, "...created in
Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained
that we should walk in them." Colossians 3.10 says you put
on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image
of him that created him. Now that which God created, he
doesn't create anything sinful. James 1.18, of his own will,
begat he us through the word of truth. Can that which God
has begotten sin? No. 1 Peter 1.3, according to
His abundant mercy, He hath begotten us again. 1 Peter 1.3, we read
of the hidden man of the harp, which is not corruptible. In
2 Peter 1.4, we read of being partakers of the divine nature. Now, these passages of Scripture
teach of this new, holy nature that does not sin. Well, what
about my sin? I hear what you're saying. I
hear that someone who is born of God does not commit sin. And I find in my own experience
that I sin. Like David said, my sin is ever
before me. Well, if you're a believer, if
you're a believer, that's your old man. That's the old nature
that's still there. It's the old nature that is no
better, it's just as sinful as it ever was. It's so corrupt,
it has the same appetite for sin as it ever has. Now, with a believer, you have
two separate men going through the same consciousness. Now this
is something we can't so much understand but believe because
it's the scripture teaches. We have two different men going
through the same consciousness. Kind of like if you have hot
water and cold water coming out of the same spigot. You have
two men One holy that does not commit sin, the other evil that
doesn't do anything but sin. You have these two men dwelling
in the same person, going through the same consciousness. Paul
put it this way in Galatians 5.17, the flesh lusts against
the spirit. And the spirit lusts against
the flesh, and these two are contrary, the one to the other,
so that you cannot do the things that you would. I would never
sin again. I would be exactly like the Lord
Jesus Christ. I would never sin again. But my flesh won't allow that. My flesh, I would. There's no sin I wouldn't commit.
I know that's about myself. There's no sin I wouldn't commit
because of the wickedness of my flesh. But thank God my new
man won't let it happen. The flesh lusts against the spirit.
The spirit lusts against the flesh. They're contrary one to
the other so that you cannot do the things that you would.
Read Romans 7. where Paul—as a matter of fact,
let me read this passage of Scripture, Romans chapter 7. This is Paul
speaking, and beginning in verse 14, he says, "'For we know that
the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.'" And
he's speaking as a believer. For that which I do, I allow
not. For what I would, that do I not. But what I hate, that
do I. Now if I then do that which I would not, I consent unto the
law, it's good. I'm not looking for excuses.
Now that it's no more I that do it, but that sin that dwelleth
in me. For I know that in me, that is in my flesh, dwelleth
no good thing. For to will is present with me,
I would be perfect. But how to perform that which
is good, I find not. For the good that I would, I
do not, but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that
which I would not, it's no more I that do it, but the sin that
dwelleth in me. I find then a law that when I would do good, evil
is present with me. For I delight in the law of God
after the inward man, but I see another law in my members, warring
against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to
the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that
I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Now,
I've heard preachers say, well, you need to get out of Romans
chapter 7 and into Romans chapter 8. You're in Romans chapter 7
and Romans chapter 8 at the same time. Every true believer, this
is how a healthy believer feels. Somebody says, this couldn't
be a believer speaking, just proves they don't have a new
nature that recognizes what sin is. Now, John said, we know that
whatsoever is born of God sinneth not. He does not commit sin,
but he that's begotten of God, the new man that's begotten of
God, keepeth himself, and the wicked one toucheth him not." He that's begotten of God keeps
himself. He watches over himself. He guards
himself. We're told to keep ourselves
pure. We're told to keep ourselves unspotted from the world. We
are told to keep the unity of the Spirit. We're told to keep
the Word. We're told to keep ourselves
in the love of God. The Lord says, blessed is he
that keeps my works to the end. Blessed is the one who keepeth
his garment, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. Now,
I have this new nature, and because of that, I'm on the lookout.
I'm on the lookout, because I recognize this old, evil nature, and I
want the new nature to do battle against it and keep it, because
it frightens me. The old man frightens me, but
thank God for this promise. The elder shall serve the younger,
that old nature. As bad as it is, it's serving
the new nature. It shows me my sin and my need
of the Lord Jesus Christ, and it keeps me from looking anywhere
but Christ. Thank God for this new nature
that looks only to Christ, and the old nature is a continual
reminder to me that all I have is Jesus Christ. I don't have
anything to recommend me to God but Christ himself, and I don't
want anything else. You see, the issue here is the
issue of law and grace in reality. The issue is the issue of law
and grace. Now, notice what he says. We
know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not, but he that
is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth
him not. There is nothing for the devil
to work with, with regard to this new man. The new man is
untouchable. Let me repeat that. The new man
is untouchable. You remember when the Lord said,
the prince of this world hath come and found nothing in me,
nothing to work with? The devil finds nothing in the
new man. Now he can turn the old man upside
down. He did that with Peter. But Peter's
faith never failed because Christ prayed for him, because he had
this new nature that believes the gospel. You see, it's the
new nature that believes, not the old man, the new man. And
somebody says, well, how do you tell the difference between the
two? Well, you can't really. I mean, it all comes out of one
consciousness. I realize that. I don't fully
understand this. I just believe it because I know
the Bible's teaching it. Somebody says, do you believe in once
saved, always saved? Well, it depends. Who saved you? If you saved yourself? No, I
don't believe in once saved, always saved. You'll fall away.
I've seen it happen so many times. People get started, they just
fall by the wayside. If you had anything to do with
your salvation, no, I don't believe in once saved, always saved.
But if God elected you before time began, If Christ Jesus died
for you and put away your sins and washed you in his own blood,
if the Holy Spirit has given you this new nature that cannot
sin, that does not sin, that looks to Christ only, and it keeps itself, He that's
begotten of God keeps itself. Yes, I believe once saved, always
saved. Now, if man has anything to do
with it, don't believe it for a second. People have religious
experiences, and they say, well, I must be saved, because once
saved, always saved. No, no, that's foolishness. That's
foolishness. But if God has done something
for you, yes, I believe once saved, always saved, because
salvation is of I believe in the eternal security of God's
elect. For this reason, God willed their
salvation, and God's will is never thwarted. Christ purchased
their salvation, and that purchase is eternal. It's gone. My sins
are gone. God the Holy Spirit birthed them
and gave them a new nature that cannot fall away, and that wicked
one cannot touch them. Now he may sift the old man's
wheat like he did Peter, but he cannot touch the new man because
the new man is born of God. Now we have this message on DVD
and CD. If you call the church or 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.
Amen. To request a copy of the sermon
you have just heard, send your request to messages at toddsroadgracechurch.com. Or you may write or call the
church at the information provided on the screen.