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
Neidert. 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 Nibbert. I want to read a verse from 1
Corinthians chapter 15. It'll be the 22nd verse, and
I've entitled this message, Death, the Cross, and Life. 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse
22, For as in Adam, all die. Even so, in the same manner in Christ
shall all be made alive. Now, in this verse of scripture
I just read, we read of death, we read of what happened really
in the cross, and we read of life. death, life, and the cross,
as in Adam, all die. Everybody that Adam represented,
and he's the father of us all, as in Adam, all die, even so
in the same manner in Christ. Everyone who is in Christ, everyone
who is represented by Christ, That's not all men without exception,
that's all men that are in Christ. Every believer, all the elect
of God in Christ shall all be made alive. There was a preacher
in England some 250 years ago by the name of Roland Hill who
was talking about gospel preaching. And he said, all preaching should
have the three R's. ruined by the fall, redeemed
by the blood, and regenerated by the Holy Spirit. And any message
that does not have the three R's is a message that ought not
ever to have been preached. And I agree with that preacher
upon this. Any message ought to have in
it the three R's, ruined by the fall, redeemed by the blood,
and regenerated by the Holy Spirit. Now, in this message, Death,
the Cross, and Life, we're going to talk about what really happened
in the garden, death, And we're going to talk about
what really took place on the cross. In Christ, in Christ shall
all be made. When Christ was on the cross,
everybody he was representing was made to be something that
they were not. We're going to talk about what
really happened on the cross, what took place. And then third,
we're going to be considering what really happens when God
saves a sinner, life. In Christ shall all be made alive,
regenerated, given life, birth by the Spirit of God. Now, I
couldn't bring a more important message. What really happened
in the Garden of Eden? What really happened on Calvary's
tree? and what really happens to a
sinner when God saves them? Very interesting questions that
we must know the answer to, and let me say this by way of introduction.
You can't be wrong on one of them and right on two of them.
You are either wrong on all of them or you're right on all of
them, these stand or fall together. My understanding of what happened
in the garden will show me my need of what happened on the
cross and my need of what God does for a sinner when he saves
him. Now, first, what really happened
in the fall? What really took place when our
first parents ate of the fruit and fell? Now you think about
this. Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden. They were
placed in paradise. They were created upright. They
didn't have sinful natures the way you and I now have. They
were created upright. I don't say they were created
holy, because holiness cannot sin. And if they were created
holy, they would have never fallen. But they were created with an
upright nature. And they were put in a position
where they could have all that their hearts could desire, this
paradise, this Garden of Eden. And God gave one requirement. He said there's one tree that
you're not to eat of, the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil. You can eat from any other of the trees, but you can't eat
from this tree. Now let's read what took place
at this time in Genesis chapter 3, beginning in verse 1. Now the serpent, this is what
took place in the Garden of Eden. 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?
Did God say that? Notice he changed what God had
said. God said that there was one tree
that you're not to eat And he said, shall you not eat of every
tree of the garden? He changed what God had said. Verse two, and the woman said
unto the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of the trees of
the garden. God didn't say you can't eat
of any tree. 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 ye die. Now God never said,
do not touch it. That's not recorded in Genesis
chapter two, but Eve adds to what God said. And I believe
this is where touch not, taste not, handle not religion began. Don't touch this, don't taste
that, don't handle this and you'll be fine. She added to what God
said. Verse 4, And the serpent said
unto the woman, You shall not surely die. You don't have to
believe what God said. He's holding out on you. Verse
5, 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, here's exactly what the
serpent is saying. If you eat of this fruit, you're
going to know the difference between good and evil. Your eyes
will be opened. Right now, you're just obeying
your nature. You were created upright. There's no moral virtue.
There's no moral power in you. You're just obeying your nature.
But if you eat of this fruit, your eyes will be opened. You'll
know the difference between good and evil. You'll choose the good
over the evil, and that's what'll make you like God. Now, what
the temptation actually was is you will have a free will, and
that is what will make you like God. Now let me tell you something
about free will. Most people believe in what they
call free will. All free will says is I'm independent
from God's will. Free will is essentially rebellion
against God. Now are you saying men don't
have a free will? That's exactly what I'm saying. Your will is
controlled by your nature. I'm not saying you don't do what
you want to do because you do. When you do something, you do
it because you want to. But as far as a free will, God
doesn't even have a free will. His will is controlled by His
nature. He has a holy nature, a righteous nature, and He cannot
do anything but that which is holy. If you have an evil nature,
your will is controlled by your nature. But Satan was saying,
this is what is going to make you like God. You'll have a free
will and be able to make your own choice of good. And that's
what's going to make you like God. And that sounded reasonable
to the woman. Now, this was the deceit that
was going on in the Garden of Eden. Verse six, and when the
woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant
to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise. There
we have the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the
pride of life. She took of the fruit, and did
eat, and gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat, and
the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were
naked. Now they were naked before they
ate the fruit, but it wasn't an issue with them. They didn't
have fallen natures. They didn't have sinful natures.
They didn't have wicked hearts. They were innocent so they could
walk around naked and there was nothing sinful about it. But when they were given these
fallen natures by eating the fruit, God said, in the day you'll
surely die, they now had fallen natures, and they went immediately
and tried to cover their naked with fig leaves, representing
salvation by works. Now, what took place at this
time? First, in the fall of our first
parents, what really happened in the garden, God's will was
being done. Now you remember that God said,
in the day you eat thereof, you shall surely die. He didn't say
if you eat. He said in the day you do eat,
you shall surely die. God's will was being done. done. God purposed the fall. It was all a part of his glorious
plan to glorify himself. Now never forget this. The cross
was not God's response to the fall of man. The fall of man
was for the cross. Were there no fall, there'd be
no cross. there'd be no forgiveness of
sins. We'd know nothing of the grace of God or the love of God
or the mercy of God. We'd know nothing of the beauty
of his character without the cross. And if there were no fall,
there would be no cross. So when Adam fell, this was God's
will being done. Revelation chapter 13, verse
eight says, Christ is the lamb slain from the foundation of
the world. You see, before there was ever a sinner, Before there
was ever a fall, there was a Savior, Christ Jesus the Lord. So first of all, what do I see
going on in the Garden of Eden? I see God's will being done. Somebody says, are you making
God the author of evil? I'm saying when Adam fell, God's
will was being done. Now, you can take that any way
you want, but that's the truth. It's God's sovereign purpose. Now, in the Garden of Edom, I
see that Adam really did die that very day. Now, he didn't die physically,
you know that. He went on living for perhaps many years, but he
died spiritually. He no longer had spiritual life. He died that very day spiritually. Now, what is meant by death?
In the day you eat thereof, you shall surely die. Well, when
we think of physical death, what do we think of? Well, we have
lungs that can't bring in air. They're dead. Can't bring oxygen
to the blood. You're dead. Your heart can't
pump the blood. to the body anyway. You're dead.
That's what death means. When you're dead, you cannot
see. You show a dead man a beautiful
picture. He can't see it. You can't hear. Let him listen
to the most beautiful music and he doesn't hear. He can't smell. Give him the fragrance of a beautiful
rose. He can't smell it. There's no
appreciation. Give him the best tasting food there ever was.
He can't taste it. Hit him hard, he can't feel it.
Touch him softly, he can't feel it. He's dead. Now, someone who
is spiritually dead, they cannot perform the functions of spiritual
life. Just like somebody physically
dead cannot perform the functions of physical life, someone who's
spiritually dead cannot perform the functions of spiritual life.
They can't believe. They can't repent. They can't
hear the gospel as gospel. They may hear the words audibly,
but it means nothing to them. They can't smell the sweet fragrance
of Christ. They see no beauty in the gospel
in Christ. They can't feel His embrace. They're dead in trespasses and
sins, and if God leaves me and you to ourselves, all He's got
to do is leave us alone, and we'll go to hell, because we
cannot do that which is required of a sinner to do to be saved. Believe the gospel. Repent. You
can't do it. The Lord said, no man can come
to Me, except the Father which was sent Me draw him, and I'll
raise him up at the last Now, some say in the Garden of Eden,
Adam was impaired. He was no longer good the way
he used to be, but he did retain his free will, and he can do
certain things, but that's not what the Bible teaches. In the
Garden, Adam died, and this death manifested itself by a hatred
of God. Adam now became a God-hater. He went and fled from God's presence. Wherever God was, he did not
want to be. He no longer relished God's presence. He went and hid himself from
the presence of the Lord. And you know, men are God-haters
and they don't know it. You say, do you hate God? Of
course I don't. I love God. Men don't manifest
their hatred for God until they hear the true gospel. When you
hear of a God who, listen to this language, discriminates
in His grace. That's a strong word. He discriminates
in His grace. He gives His grace to some, and
He passes by others, all as an act of His free and sovereign
will. That's what God does. That's
what the scripture teaches. God elected a people. He passed
by the rest. Somebody says, well, I don't
love that God. I know you don't. That manifests your hatred for
the living God. And really, if you see that you're
a sinner, you'll see that's the only kind of grace that can save
you is if God will reach down and make a difference with you
and do something for you. Because if he leaves you to yourself,
you will not be saved. Now in Adam, all die. That's what happened in the cross. As by one man sin entered into
the world, and death by sin, so that death passed upon all
men, in that all have sin. Now let me say this, if I'm wrong
on the fall, I'm wrong on it all. I will not understand anything
about the grace of God, about the scriptures, if I don't see
what took place in the Garden of Eden. Now the second issue
the cross. What really took place on the
cross of Christ? What really happened? Jesus of
Nazareth, the Son of God, lived a sinless life for 33 years. He knew no sin. He loved God with all of his
heart, and he loved his neighbor as himself. He never put anything
before his God. He never committed idolatry. He never took the name of the
Lord his God in vain. He is the only one to keep the
Sabbath. He honored his parents completely. He never murdered anybody. He never murdered anybody's character
by innuendo and gossip and slander. He never committed sexual sin,
not even in his mind and heart. He never told a lie. He never
stole anything. You know, one of the things I
was thinking was, how can he steal something when everything belongs to him?
He's the son of God. He's God the Son. He never coveted. He found perfect contentment
in his Father. He knew no sin. He never sinned. Yet, he was nailed to a cross. Forsaken by God, forsaken by
man. Dying the most shameful, painful
death. Now why? What took place on the
cross? First of all, the cross was God's
will being done. Just like Adam's fall was God's
will being done, the cross was God's will being done. When Peter
preached on the day of Pentecost, here's where he began. Him being
delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God. You have taken and with wicked
hands have crucified and slain. The cross was God's will being
done. As Isaiah said, it pleased the
Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief. The
reason for the cross is the will of God. It's not man making,
doing what God didn't want to be done. No, this was all according
to the will of God. You see everything he did, he
did that the scriptures might be fulfilled. Paul said in his
sermon on Acts chapter 13, when they'd fulfilled all that was
written of him, they took him down. Now listen to this real
carefully. The cross was the absolute execution
of absolute justice, the justice of God. That's what was going
on when Christ was nailed to the tree, the execution of the
absolute justice of God. Now what do I mean by that? In Proverbs chapter 17, verse
15, we read this passage, this statement, He that justifieth
the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are
abomination to the Lord. Now, if somebody's wicked and
somebody justifies them, that's an abomination to the Lord. If
somebody's innocent, not guilty, and somebody condemns them, That's
an abomination to the Lord. Now, many people, when they think
of Christ being on the cross, they think, well, the innocent
is being punished, but the guilty might be set free. There's truth to that in that
Christ died the just for the unjust. That's true. But understand,
what was going on the cross? On Calvary's tree. The sins of
God's elect were taken off of them and put upon the Lord Jesus
Christ. He bare our sins in His own body
on the tree. When He drank that cup, that
was the cup of the sins of His people, so that He actually became
guilty of those sins. He never committed sin. Somebody
says, are you saying that Christ committed sin? No, I'm not saying
that at all. He knew no sin, but he was made to be sin, to
where that sin was actually his sin, so that when he was dying,
he was dying for his own sin. How can you say that? Because
my sin became his sin, just like the sins of the high priest put
his hands on the head of the goat, transferring the sins of
Israel to that scapegoat. And that scapegoat bore those
sins and was led by a fit man into the wilderness. When Christ
died, he was dying for his sins. Now, he never committed sin,
but my sin became his sin. Now, how did that happen? I don't
know, but it did. God can do that. He took my sins and my
sorrows and made them his very own. He bore the burden to Calvary
and suffered and died alone, and he died for his sin, and
the absolute justice of God was executed. He deserved to be forsaken
by God when he became my substitute. But here's what's glorious, just
as truly as his sin, or my sin became his sin, his righteousness
becomes my personal righteousness before God. An actual substitution
took place. He became what I am, that I might
become what he is. You see on Calvary's tree, He
made perfect satisfaction for sin. God's wrath came upon him
completely, and he bore that wrath, and he satisfied God's
wrath, so now there's no wrath left. God says there's no fury
in me because he made perfect satisfaction for sin. By one
offering, he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. That's
what happened on the cross. He took my sin and it became
His sin. God's wrath came upon Him because
that's what He deserved when my sin became His sin. He actually
became guilty of that sin. And just as truly as He became
guilty of my sin, His righteousness is given to me and now I stand
before God. righteous without sin because
of the substitutionary death of Christ. That is what took
place on Calvary's tree. When he said, it is finished,
the salvation of God's elect was accomplished. Every body,
every sinner. Are you a sinner? If you're a
sinner, he died for you. That's who he came to save. He
came to save sinners. Now, thirdly, what happens when
God saves a sinner. Let me first tell you what does
not happen. I'm changed. That doesn't happen. I'm changed. I'm different than
I used to be. I don't have the same sinful princities that I
used to be. I'm a better person. I'm more
holy. I'm just better. I'm more righteous. My dear friend,
that's just not the truth. If God has saved you, you still
have your old nature that's just as wicked and just as evil as
it ever was. Paul didn't say, oh, wretched
man that I was. He said, oh, wretched man that
I am. He didn't say Christ came to
save sinners of whom I was the chief, but who I am the chief
right now. Whenever you hear religious people
talking like that, like they're better and they don't have the
same problems, well, the problem is they don't have a holy nature
and they don't know what sin is in the first place. Well, they wouldn't
be saying things like that. No, I've not changed a bit in
that sense. I'm just as bad as I ever was,
and I'm not saying that in any way but sorrow, but it's just
the truth. But here is what takes place when God saves a sinner. He puts something there that
was not there before. A new heart will I give you. Now, there was a time when I
was dead in sins, and sin had complete dominion over me. I
couldn't believe, I couldn't repent, I couldn't love, I couldn't
do anything, but stink. But now I have a new nature,
a new heart that believes the gospel, that repents of sin,
that delights in the law of God after the inner man, a new man,
a new creation in Christ Jesus, something that was not there
before, that can hear the gospel, that can perform the functions
of spiritual life. I hear the gospel as gospel. See the glory of Christ and how
he saves by his grace. I can smell the sweet savor of
Christ. I can feel the warmth of his
embrace. I feel my need of him. Not always the way I want to,
but it's always there. Even when I don't feel at all,
I'm feeling something. Oh, you have life, life from
the dead. As in Adam, all die. In Christ
shall all be made. I was made something. I was made
the righteousness of God. And here's what happens when
God saves a sinner. In Christ shall all be made alive. Life from the dead. I'm a new
creature in Christ Jesus. And I can now perform the functions
of spiritual life. Now, here are three critical
questions. What happened in the garden?
Death. A dead man can't save himself.
What really happened on the cross? Salvation. Every believer was
made to be, by what Christ did on Calvary's tree, holy and unblameable
and unreprovable in his sight. Their sin was actually punished,
judged, and put away in their substitute. He took my sin and
became guilty, and he put that sin away. And what happens in
the heart? Life from the dead. I can now
believe. There was a time when I couldn't.
I now stay in a state of repentance. There was a time when I couldn't. Thank God for the fall. Thank God for the cross. And
thank God for the life he gives. Now we have this message on DVD
and CD. If you call the church or write,
we'll send you a copy. This is Todd Mifflin, praying
that God will be pleased to make himself known to you. That's
our prayer.