I did choose thee, Lord, for,
Lord, that Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Nivert. 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 Nivert. In 2 Peter 3, verse 18, we read
these words, But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord
and Savior, Jesus Christ. To Him be glory, both now and
forever. What does it mean to grow in
grace? That's the question I'd like
to address this morning. What does it mean to grow in
grace? Do I know anything about growth
in grace? In verse 15 of this chapter,
Peter says, and account that the longsuffering of our Lord
is salvation. In verse 9, he said, The Lord
is not slack concerning his promises. Some men count slackness, but
is longsuffering to usward, speaking of every believer, all of God's
elect, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come
to repentance. And you can be sure of this,
if God is not willing for any of His people to perish, they
won't perish, but that every single one of them will come
to repentance, because the longsuffering of God, Peter says, is salvation. Even, Peter says, as our beloved
brother Paul, speaking of the apostle Paul, also according
to the wisdom given unto him, hath written unto you, Paul has
written to you of this. Verse 16, as also in all his
epistles, speaking in them of these things, these things of
salvation. Paul was the man used by God
more than any other man to expound the gospel of his grace. Peter
acknowledges that at this time. And notice when he speaks of
Paul's writings, he said, in which are some things hard to
be understood. Now just because something's
hard to be understood is no excuse for it to not be believed. I
can't understand how God is one God in three persons, the Father,
Son, and the Holy Spirit, but I believe. I can't understand
how God's people have always been in Christ. That blows my
mind, but I believe. I cannot understand how God never
had a beginning. He never began to be. He's always
been. He's always the great I am. I
don't understand that, but I believe it. To not understand something
is no excuse to not believe it. And Peter goes on to say, regarding
the things Paul has written that are hard to understand, it's
they that are unlearned and unstable, rest or twist, as they do also
the other scriptures. Peter looked at Paul's writings
as scriptures unto their own destruction. Ye therefore, beloved,
seeing you know these things before, beware, lest you also,
being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your
own steadfastness. I've been a pastor for 35 years,
and I can't number all the people I've seen who seem to believe,
but they fell away. and you don't see them anymore.
Now, obviously, they never believed or they wouldn't have fallen.
John said they went out from us, but they were not of us.
For if they would have been of us, they would no doubt have
continued with us. But they went out that they might be manifest
that they were not all of us. But he says, beware lest you
fall. I don't want to fall, do you?
I don't want to fall away. I don't want to make shipwreck
the faith. Well, what is going to prevent this? He says, grow
in grace. In order to not fall from your
own steadfastness, grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord
and Savior, Jesus Christ. Now, living things grow. Dead things don't grow, but living
things grow. And I fear being like the church
of Ephesus, losing my first love. I fear being like the church
at Sardis, who had a name that they lived, but were dead. They
were living off past experiences and not on today's. I dread the
thought of becoming like the members of the church of Laodicea,
where the Lord said, you're lukewarm. You're neither cold nor hot,
and because you're neither cold nor hot, I'll spew you out of
my mouth. Because you say we're rich and are increasing goods
and have need of nothing, and you don't know that you're wretched
and miserable and blind and poor and naked. I don't want to be
that way. And the only way that can be
prevented, the only way I'll not be that way, is if I grow
in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Peter said in 1 Peter 2, verse
2, as newborn babes, desire, earnestly crave the sincere or
the pure milk of the word that you may grow thereby. Growth is a thing to be desired.
You know, instead of the Lord that he, and here's another thing
I don't understand, he increased in wisdom and stature and in
favor with God and with men, the Lord grew and increased. Now, how that is, since he's
the eternal God, I don't comprehend, but I believe it's so. The Lord
grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and men.
Now, what is this thing? of growing in grace. I want to
know, don't you? What is this thing of growing
in grace? Well, the first thing I need to deal with and that
we need to consider, and this comes, but you can't have an
understanding of what it is to grow in grace if you don't know
what grace is in the first place. So what is grace? What is grace? We read of the grace of God.
We read of salvation being by grace. By grace are you saved,
through faith, and that not of yourselves. It's the gift of
God, not of works, lest any man should boast. We believe that
by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved, even
as they. What is this thing of grace?
Now, what I'd like to do, I'd like to cut through the chase
and go to the fountainhead of grace. What is the fountainhead
of grace? What is the beginning of grace?
Well we read in Romans chapter 11 verse 5 of the election of
grace. The election of grace. Now what
someone believes about grace is seen in what they believe
concerning the election of grace. God's electing grace. It is sad that most churches, most
preachers, do not preach electing grace. They deny that God elected
a people before time began, when the Scripture so clearly sets
this forth. And you might not understand
it in all of its ramifications. That's okay. Believe it, because
the Word of God teaches this. Now, we've got to begin with
the Word of God. This is the inspired Word of God. If God can create
the universe, God can inspire men to write a book and keep
it free from error. God can do that. We couldn't
do it. Obviously, we couldn't do it, but God can, and God has,
and this is the inspired revelation of God. Now, I want you to read
from Romans 9 about this thing of election, because what you
believe about the grace of God is seen in what you believe regarding
election. In Romans 9, verse 11, we read,
for the children, speaking of Jacob and Esau, for the children,
Came out of the same womb, same mom and dad, taught the same
things for the children. Being not yet born, neither having
done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election
might stand. Not of works, but of Him that
calleth. Now here is the purpose of God,
that salvation might not be of works. And he uses the example
of Jacob and Esau. Before they were born, before
they had any good works to recommend them, before they had any evil
works to disqualify them. This took place before they were
born. God made a difference between
the one and the other. chose Jacob. He passed by Esau. God loved Jacob. God hated Esau. And don't be so amazed by the
Bible saying that God hated Esau. Esau hated God. Esau didn't think
the knowledge of God was worth a bowl of soup. He traded the
birthright for a bowl of soup. And he had no love for God. And
God's hatred is not like our hatred. Our hatred is a vindicative,
evil hatred. His hatred is a holy hatred.
It's a righteous hatred. God made the difference between
Jacob and Esau. The difference between these
two men is found in the will of God. That's grace, where God
makes the difference. Genesis chapter 6, verse 5, 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. But,
verse 8 of Genesis chapter 6, but Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. When God is passing through Egypt
to destroy the firstborn, he says in Exodus chapter 11, verse
7, but against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move
his tongue. against man or beast, so that
you may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between
the Egyptians and Israel." This is called discriminating grace.
God making a difference. Now that word discrimination,
discrimination between men is evil. It's ungodly to prefer
one race or one color of skin or one social bracket over another. That's evil. There's nothing
right about it. But the only hope you have is
that God will discriminate grace because if he doesn't, we'll
all go to hell. Every one of us will, but thank God He makes
a difference. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 4,
verse 6, Who makes you to differ from
another? Speaking to the believer. And what do you have that you
didn't receive? Now if you're a believer, God
made the difference. He made the difference in eternal election.
He made the difference in redemption when Christ died for your sins.
He made the difference in regeneration when God the Holy Spirit gave
you a new heart. Now if you put man making the
difference in any doctrine, call it what you want, it's not grace.
So when we're talking about growth and grace, what is grace? It's
God making the difference. And if any part of your salvation
is dependent upon you making the difference, it is not grace. Now let me tell you what growth
and grace does not mean. It doesn't mean grace grows.
I can't become more elect. I don't grow in election. I don't
grow in justification. I don't become more justified.
I don't grow in holiness. I don't become more sanctified.
I don't become more holy. I don't become more redeemed. I don't become more regenerated.
I don't become more accepted. I don't become more pleasing
to God by my works. Since salvation really is all
of grace, you have all these in their fullness. Colossians
chapter 2 verse 9 and 10 says, In him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, and you are complete. You hear that? If you're a believer, you're
complete. That means you lack nothing. All that God requires
of you, you have. It can't get any better. You
can't get more saved. You can't get more loved. then
you are in the Lord Jesus Christ. Hebrews 10 and 11 says, By the
witch will we are sanctified, declared by God to be holy once
for all. Perfect tense, perfectly completed,
never to be repeated through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ. Now the reason Salvation is so
sure for the believer is because it's what God has done. It's
God making the difference. If salvation is dependent upon
you or me doing anything, if it's dependent, if it's ultimately
conditioned upon or contingent upon us doing something, then
it's not grace anymore. Not grace at all. And number
two, it's doomed for failure. Because if anything is dependent
upon me doing anything, it's doomed for failure. And the same
is true of you. So what is this thing of growing
in grace? Grace doesn't grow, but there
is such a thing as growth in grace. What is it? Well, let's
read the verse again. Grow in grace and in the knowledge
of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Growing in grace is inseparably
connected with growing in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ. In 2 Timothy chapter 1, verse
12, Paul said, I know whom I have believed. Not what I believed,
but I know whom. I have believed and I'm persuaded
that He is able to keep that which I've committed to Him against
that day. What have you committed to Him, Paul? Everything in regard
to the salvation of my soul. Now, if you believe in works
in any way, it's a failure to commit. You only commit when
you cast aside all works and look to Him only as everything
in your salvation. That's what faith in Christ is.
It's looking to Him only as everything in your salvation. It's really
believing that all God requires of you, He looks to His Son for.
That's faith in Christ, and it's faith in a person. It's not faith
in a doctrine. It's faith in a person. What
you believe is going to be determined by who you believe. And here
is how you view that knowledge. Paul said, he said, I count all
things but loss, garbage, refuse. for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I've suffered the loss of
all things, and do count it but dumb that I may win Christ and
be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is of
the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness
which is of God by faith, that I might know him. Paul, don't
you already know him? Yeah, but just a little bit.
He's so immense, he's so glorious, he's so I don't even know how to describe
him. My knowledge of him is so small. We know in part, Paul
said. We see through a glass darkly.
Yes, I know him. I know whom I have believed.
I know when I hear another Jesus preached. It's not him because
I know him. But my knowledge is so small, oh, that I might
know him. And if you have the knowledge
of him, you pray with Paul, O that I might know him more. That's my desire is to know him
more. So in this, this thing of growing
in grace actually is growing in the knowledge. And that word
knowledge is not just cognitive knowledge. It has something to
do with love. Adam knew his wife Eve. That doesn't mean he knew who
she was and knew what her name was. He entered into an intimate
relationship with her. The knowledge of Christ is not
just knowing stuff about him. I think of what our Lord said,
take my yoke upon you and learn of me. not just about me, but
of me, for I'm meek and lowly in heart, and you'll find rest
for your soul." So growth in grace is foremost and primarily
a growth in love to Him. Now, when I'm thinking of Him, I'm
not thinking of my love to Him, because I'm not I don't feel
good about my love to him. That ought to be much greater.
It ought to be more passionate. It ought to be a whole lot of
things. So I don't feel good about my love to him, but I do
love him. I love him. I love his character. I love
his attributes. I love his sovereignty. I love
his power. I love his holiness. I love his love. I love his justice. I love his goodness. I love his
immutability. I love his immensity. I love
his wisdom. I love his power. Everything
about him I love. And I love him more now than
I used to. I see more of his beauty. I see more of the excellency
of his character. I see more of the glory of his
salvation. Growth and grace is growth in
love to Him. To you which believe, Peter said
in I Peter 2.7. I love this verse. To you which
believe, He is precious. Now that's how every believer
views the Lord Jesus Christ. He is precious. He's precious In his word, oh,
how I love his words. He's precious in his person,
the God-man. He's precious in his righteousness.
His righteousness is my personal righteousness before God. Oh,
how precious is his blood that puts away my sins. How precious
he was in his death when he died for me and justified me. How
precious he is even now in his intercession as he represents
me before the Father. How precious he'll be in his
second return. All to you which believe he is
precious. Now do you know how you can tell
that someone is growing in their love to Christ? It's not by them
telling you they are. Oh, I'm loving him more. Well,
that's debatable. If you told me that, that makes
me question whether it's true. You can tell someone is growing
in their love to Christ, and this is what is unique about
growth in grace. Everything else, when it grows,
it gets bigger. Growth, you become smaller. It's called humility. When you grow in grace, here's
the first sign, and I can prove this from the scriptures, you
grow in humility. Now, when Christ described a
man as having the greatest faith in all of Israel, he marveled. He marveled at this man's faith
and said, I've not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. What
kind of faith did this man have? Well, you can read about it in
Luke chapter 7. You can read about it in Matthew chapter 8.
This was a man who didn't believe himself worthy to come to Christ.
He was a Roman centurion. He sent a servant to him. He
didn't feel like he could come on his own. He didn't feel worthy
to come on his own. And he said, I've got a servant
that's grievously tormented by devil. He didn't tell him what
to do. He just spread the case before
the Lord. He's grievously tormented by
devil. I didn't think I was worthy to
come. Neither did I think I was worthy for you to enter my house.
All you have to do is speak the word. Speak the word only, and
my servant shall be healed. For I'm a man under authority.
I understand authority. I say to my servant, go do this,
and he does it, and another come here, and he comes, and to another,
I understand authority, and you have all authority. All you have
to do is speak the word. I know I'm not worthy to come
to you, and I'm not worthy to have you come to my house. Don't
trouble yourself with that. Speak the word only, and my servant
shall be healed. What a high opinion this man
had of Christ, and what a low opinion he had of himself. And
you know what the Lord says about this man? I tell you, I've not
found so great faith, no, not in Israel. Now, we would have
sent this man to counseling to get his self-esteem. pumped up,
but not the Lord. He said, this man has great faith.
Now humility is a just estimate of yourself. That's what humility
is. It's a just estimate of yourself.
When the publican cried, God be merciful to me, the sinner,
the worst man to ever live, he had a just estimate of himself. So growth in grace is growth
in humility. I love what John Calvin said
when they said, what are the three greatest Christian graces?
He said, first, humility, second, humility, and third, humility. You see, growth in grace is growth
in maturity. It's maturing in grace. It's
not being a baby. Now, we love babies. What if
they're 40 years old and act like babies? We don't like that
so much. What if they're 80 years old
and act like babies? Growth and grace is growing in
a lower view of yourself, and therefore growing in maturity. Growth and grace is a lower view
of yourself. You stop acting like a child,
becoming easily offended, you won't speak to people, always
ready to correct others, When others are around you, they feel
judged and condemned. You can't keep long friendships
if you're a baby, if you're immature. You conduct yourself like a baby,
and growth and grace is maturing. It's a lower opinion of yourself
and a higher view of others. Now, when Paul spoke of I beseech
you by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable
service, and be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed
by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that
good and acceptable and perfect will of God." What's the first
thing he said to them? He said, I say through the grace given
to me to every man among you, not to think of himself more
highly than he ought to think. Now, that's the first thing he
says about proving the good and acceptable and perfect will of
God, to not think of yourself more highly than you ought to
think. Now, what's it take to grow? Well, you've got to be alive.
You've got to have life. Well, what is the Christian life?
What is it that grows? I've heard people say, I want
to live the Christian life, and that's such a vague statement
that I don't even like it. What is it to live the Christian
life? And what they mean by this is how do you act so people think
you're a Christian? I'm not interested in that. But
what is life? Well, I know from the scriptures.
The Lord defined life in the Beatitudes when he said, blessed
are the poor in spirit. Those who have absolutely nothing
to recommend them before God. Blessed are they that mourn,
that mourn over their sin presently. It's a grief to them. Blessed
are the meek. They're meek before God. They
bow to his providence. They know whatever he does is
right, good, and true. Blessed are they that hunger
and thirst after righteousness. Now you hunger and thirst because
you feel like you don't have any in yourself and you're hungering
for it. Blessed are the merciful. Having experienced the mercy
of God, they show mercy to others. They forgive others. Blessed
are the pure in heart. The pure in heart is the new
nature. Every believer has two separate
natures, a sinful nature that he was born with, and the new
nature, the pure heart, that he was given in regeneration.
That's the pure heart. And it's the pure heart, really,
that sees the sinfulness of the old man. Blessed are the peacemakers,
not troublemakers, but peacemakers, not always trying to bring about
contention, but peace. Blessed are they who are hungering
and thirsty, or blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness. And this is not talking about
being persecuted for helping the poor or building a hospital. You'll get your picture in the
paper if you do that. This is talking about standing
for the righteousness of Christ as the only righteousness the
believer has. And if you do that, you're wiping
out all other righteousnesses that men are trusting in, and
you'll be persecuted for that. Now that is what the Christian
life looks like. And if I grow, if the living
thing grows, as I grow, I become more poor. I mourn over my sin even more.
I become more meek before God. I hunger and thirst for righteousness
even more. I become more merciful, more
forgiving, having experienced the mercy of God to me. I become
more pure in heart in the sense that I see clearly the difference
between what comes from God and what comes from the flesh. The
pure in heart see that in their flesh is no good thing. I become
more of a peacemaker and not a troublemaker. I'm persecuted
even more for righteousness' sake because I stand for it even
more. Now, what's going to keep me
from falling from my own steadfastness? Grow in grace and in the knowledge
of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I want to grow in my
need of grace. I want to grow in my understanding
of grace. I want to grow in my love for
the grace of God. Let me tell you these three things
about the grace of God. It's always sovereign. He has
mercy on whom He will. It's always free. There's nothing
you have to do to get it. And it's always saving. Everybody
God gives His grace to, He saves. Now, what does it take to grow
in grace? Grace. That means you can grow
in grace. Not works, but grace. 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
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