I did choose thee. 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 Nibert. Paul, the apostle, begins Romans
chapter 6, verse 1, with a question. What shall we say then? Now,
he is saying, how do we respond to what I just said? In Romans
chapter 5 verses 20 and 21, Paul makes this staggering statement
regarding the grace of God. He said in verse 20, moreover
the law entered that the offense might abound. God's holy law
teaches us that all we do is break it. The law entered that
the offense might abound and overflow. But where sin abounded,
wherever you find a place where sin abounds, grace did much more
abound. That as sin hath reigned unto
death, How much ability do you have to prevent death? Absolutely
none. There's nothing you can do to
stop it. That as sin hath reigned unto death, there's one reason
for death, and that is sin. The reason men die is because
of sin. Even so, in the same manner might
grace reign. How much ability do you have
to stop the grace of God if God intends to have grace on you?
Absolutely none. His grace is invincible and irresistible. It saves. By grace are you saved. That as sin hath reigned unto
death, even so in the same manner might grace reign through righteousness. It's righteous grace. It's given
through the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. So God
is just in this. unto eternal life by Jesus Christ
our Lord. Now what shall we say then to
this glorious statement regarding God's grace? Oh, how I love the
way grace reigns. Grace reigns in divine election,
when God chooses who He will save. It's seen that it's all
of grace. Grace reigns in justification,
where God gives a sinner the righteousness of His Son. Grace
reigns in redemption, where Christ puts away the sins of those He
dies for. Grace reigns in regeneration,
where God gives somebody life. Grace reigns in the preservation
of a believer. They're kept by the grace of
God. Grace reigns in the final issue of salvation. It's going
to be seen that salvation is all of grace. Now, what shall
we say then to this? Now, Paul anticipates the response
he knew men would have. What shall we say then? Shall
we continue in sin that grace may abound? You say, wherever
sin abounds, grace does much more abound. Well, therefore
we ought to continue to abound in sin that grace would continue
to abound. Is that our response? Now, when
Paul makes this statement, there are two people he's speaking
to. He's speaking, first of all, to the legalist. That one who
does not believe the message of grace, who says, why, that
kind of teaching will encourage sin. That will take away responsibility. That will let people live any
way they want. That's dangerous teaching, to
teach grace like that. That will encourage sin. That
is the response of the legalist. He sees no safety in this message
of grace. He doesn't see how it can truly
restrain sin. And the other person he's speaking
to is the licentious person, the person who's looking for
a license to sin and a justification in his sin. And when he hears
this message that where sin abounds, grace does much more abound,
he thinks, oh, okay, I can sin all I want and there's no problems
and salvation is all of grace. Now, Paul knew those two people
would make that objection. And really, there are only three
possible responses to grace. One, legalism. to licentiousness,
and the third response, the response of the believer is liberty. They find this message a liberating
message. Now, look at Paul's answer in
verse 2. What shall we say then? Shall
we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we that are dead to
sin live any longer therein? God forbid perish the thought
to think that grace would lead to sin. God forbid. That's an absurdity. To continue in sin that grace
may abound is like saying let's continue to be sick so we can
be healthy. It's like saying, let's continue
to take drugs and so on in order that grace will continue with
us. Why, that's an absurdity. We don't believe for a second
that the message of grace encourages sin in any way. Now, Paul says,
how shall we that are dead to sin live any longer? Now, what does Paul mean by that
when he says, how shall we that are dead to sin live any longer
therein? Does he mean he no longer struggles
with sin and can go periods of time without sinning at all? And he's dead to its influences? Well, if that is what he means,
I'm in trouble. Because I surely don't find that to be the case
with myself. But remember, the only way to
understand the scripture is the light of other scriptures. Now,
in this same book, in Romans chapter 7, Paul spoke of his
continual struggle with sin because of his old nature. In verse 14
of Romans chapter 7, he says, He's speaking of himself, what
he is in himself. under sin, sold as a slave to
sin, captive to sin, where I cannot stop sinning in and of myself. That's what I am. Let's go on
reading. This is what Paul says. He says, for that which I do,
I allow not. For what I would, that do I not. But what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would
not, I consent unto the law that's good. The problem's not with
the law. The problem's with me. Now then, it's no more I that
do it, but that sin that dwelleth in me." You see, Paul is speaking
as a believer who has been given a new nature, a holy nature,
and he recognizes the sinfulness of the old nature that he still
possesses, and he knows that he's being honest. Most people
just aren't honest. They try to present something
that's not really there, but not Paul. He's being honest.
He says in verse 18, for I know that in me, that is in my flesh,
dwelleth no good thing. For to will is present with me,
I would never sin again. That's what I want. 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
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 this body of death. I thank God
through Jesus Christ, our Lord, so that with my mind I myself
serve the law of God, but with the flesh, the law of sin. Now that shows obviously that
Paul is not saying, when he says, how shall we that are dead to
sin live any longer therein, he's not talking about someone
who doesn't greatly struggle continually with sin. No, not
at all when he speaks of being dead to sin. So what does he
mean when he talks about being dead to sin? What's he referring
to? Let's look at verse 3 of our
text in Romans chapter 6. How shall we that are dead to
sin live any longer therein? Know ye not that so many of us
as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death. Now he speaks of baptism. Water
baptism. There's only one mode of Christian
baptism. It's immersion, being brought
under the water and brought back up. It's not for infants. It's
for believers. It's the believer's public confession
of Christ. Baptism doesn't save. You're
not saved because you go under the water and come back out.
But what does baptism actually represent? You see, baptism represents
the Christian message. It represents the only hope that
any believer has. Now, here it is. When Jesus Christ
lived, I was in him. I was united to him so that when
he lived, I lived. When you're baptized, you go
all the way under the water so that you are in the water. Every part of you is submerged
in the water. What that represents is the believer
being in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, this is mysterious. But
it's what the scripture teaches. All of God's people are in the
Lord Jesus Christ. They're united to him, in him
by a living union. Just like marriage pictures Christ
and the church, the two become one flesh. Both he that sanctifies
and they who are sanctified are all of one. Every believer is
one with Christ. When he lived, I lived. When
he died, I died. Now, why did He die? Because
of sin. My sin became His sin, so that
He became guilty of that sin. God can do that. God can lift
my sin off of me and place it upon His Son, and that's precisely
what He did. I was in His Son. When He died,
I died. When He suffered the wrath of
God, I suffered the wrath of God. When he was raised, that's
what we do in baptism, the person is brought back up out of the
water. When he was raised, I was raised in him and my life is
in him. I am dead to sin. What does the law have to say
to someone who is dead? Absolutely nothing. There's nothing
the law can say to a dead man. He's died, the penalty has been
paid. I love Romans 7, verse 4, where
Paul says, Wherefore, my brethren, you also are become dead to the
law by the body of Christ, by his dead body, by his living
body that died. You become dead to the law by
the body of Christ that you should be married to another, even to
him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit
unto God. Now the death of Christ did something
that no other death has ever done. It satisfied God. The proof of that is the resurrection. Now I've got one daughter. If
someone killed my daughter and murdered my daughter, And afterwards
they offered to pay me $10 million or $10 billion or give any sum. It would not satisfy me. The only way I could be satisfied
is if my daughter was raised from the dead. God is satisfied with what Christ
did. He's satisfied with the sin payment
he made. That's also seen in the fact
that his body never saw decay. The moment he died, God's justice
was completely satisfied with everybody he died for. God raised
him from the dead in complete satisfaction. And all those that
he died for, their sin was put away. It was blotted out. When he closed his eyes in death,
my sin, which is most real, was made not to be. It's what the
Bible calls justification. I'm declared by God himself to
be justified. The law has nothing to say to
someone who's not guilty. If I see blue flashing lights,
In my rearview mirror, if I'm not speeding, it doesn't bother
me. Now, if I'm speeding, I tighten up. I think, oh, is he coming
after me? But if I'm going below the speed limit, if I'm accepted
by the law, the law can't condemn someone who doesn't break it.
You see, the law is made for lawbreakers, not for those who
keep the law. And in Christ Jesus, I have kept
God's holy law. I stand before God without guilt. I am dead to sin by the body
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now let's go on reading. Verse
3, know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus
Christ were baptized into his death. Verse 4, Therefore we
are buried with him by baptism into death. When he went into
the tomb, I went into the tomb with him because I was in him,
that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory
of the father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Now, when he went into the tomb,
we went in with him, if we're believers. We went in with him. And what was Christ raised by?
The scripture says the glory of the Father. Whatever excellent
attribute God has, and there are many, they're all glorious,
he is the one who raised Christ from the dead. And therefore
we're buried with him by baptism into death, that like as Christ
was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even
so we also should walk in newness of life. Now here is what it
is to not continue in sin and to not live in sin. It's to walk
in newness of life. Now what does that mean to walk
in newness of life? If you told me that I had a clean
slate, that I had a new beginning, that this was the first day everything
in the past had been wiped out. I've got a new beginning, a clean
slate, a fresh start. You know how much good that would
do me? Absolutely none, because I would mess it up in a second. It doesn't do me any good to
have a clean slate or a fresh start. What I need is a new history. Now, history are the facts of
what actually took place. All we ever get is an interpretation
of history. When we're kids and learn about
the American Revolution, we learn the United States version of
the American Revolution, and the children in England probably
learned the British version of the American Revolution, and
the children in France learned the French version of the American
Revolution. What we're getting is an interpretation
of history, and I'm not really interested in an interpretation
of history. I want the facts. I want what actually took place. Now, here's what I need. I need
a new history. I need new facts about myself.
a new history. Now, this is precisely what God
gives the believer in Christ Jesus, a new history. You see, if you look at my history,
All you'll see is perfect righteousness. You won't see any sin. You'll
see that I've never done anything wrong, and I've always done that
which is right. And that's because Christ never
did anything wrong, and he always did that which is right, and
his righteousness is my personal righteousness before God. I've
got a new history. I'm dead to sin. Sin doesn't
have anything to say to me. I've never sinned. That's what
justification is. I've never sinned. People say,
well, justification is a legal term. Well, you're not going
to find that in the Bible. Justification is a living reality. I am justified
by God by virtue of what Christ did only. He only is everything
in my justification before God. And I am dead to sin. I walk
in newness of life, conscious. that the only hope I have, and
the sure hope that I have, that I'm resting in, is that I have
a new history. And when God sees me, he sees
no sin. Now that's a new history. That's what I need, a new history. And the reason I have this new
history is because of the New Testament. You see, this is what
the New Testament is all about. It's about Christ coming, salvation
being in Him, not by works, not by law keeping, but by His law
keeping, by Him coming, and keeping the law for me, and putting away
my sins, and making them to not be, and being raised from the
dead for my justification. Because of the New Covenant,
the New Testament, I have this new history, and I am a new creature. You see, it takes the new birth,
being born again, being a new creature in Christ Jesus to even
see this. Why, this doesn't even make sense
to the natural man. He hears this and says, well,
this is foolishness. I can't believe this. But if
I have a new heart, God said, a new heart will I give you. If I have a new heart, I hear
this, and it comes as the best news I've ever heard. I have
a new worldview. Paul said, God forbid that I
should glory save in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ by whom
the world is crucified unto me. I see this world as a crucified
thing in light of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. I have
a new motive for service, love to him, love for his glory. I have a new family, the family
of God. I have a new commandment. The
Lord said, this is my commandment that you love one another as
I have loved you. I have a new name. My name is
Jehovah Tsikinu, the Lord Our Righteousness. In Jeremiah 23,
it says this is the name wherewith he shall be called Jehovah Tsikinu,
the Lord Our Righteousness. And in Jeremiah 33, it says this
is the name wherewith she shall be called, talking about the
church, all of God's people, every believer, the Lord Our
Righteousness. I have a new goal. That new goal
is to be perfectly conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus
Christ. I have a new will. My will is
not my will, but thine be done. I want my will ripped away, and
I want only His will to be done. We have a new song. They sang
a new song saying, thou art worthy to take the book and to open
the seals thereof for thou was slain and has redeemed us to
God by thy blood out of every kindred, tongue, tribe and nation
and has made us unto our God kings and priests and we shall
reign in the earth. Now to not live in sin is to
walk in newness of life. I have a dear friend, a missionary
in Mexico, and someone said to him, he was preaching this message
on grace, reigning grace, and someone replied to him after
the message, if I believe that, I'd sin all I want. If I really
believe that where grace, where sin abounds, grace does much
more abound. While you've taken away all restraint,
I just sin all I want. And my dear friend's reply to
him was, I sin a whole lot more than I want." You see, a believer,
his want to has been changed. He wants to be just like the
Lord Jesus Christ. He wants to honor and glorify
Him. He wants to follow Him. He wants
to be like Him. His want to has been changed. Now, as I said at the beginning
of this message, there are only three responses to grace. Three responses. Now let me remind
you what grace means. Grace is God's grace that does
everything in salvation. All that is relevant in my salvation
is what He does for me. Salvation is by grace. Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. Salvation is by grace. That means
it's not of works, lest any man should boast. Why, even the faith
you have is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should
boast. Salvation is all of grace. Now, it has nothing to do with
your works. Do you hear? It has absolutely nothing to
do with anything you do. It has wholly to do with what
He has done. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation
is by grace. Now, what is my response to that?
Well, one response, like I said, is legalism. Why? If I believe that, it wouldn't
restrain me from sin at all. Such teaching takes away human
responsibility for obedience. Such teaching takes away the
motive for good works. Why, that kind of teaching will
lead to sin. Now, all someone proves by that
is that they've never been born again. If that's the reaction,
When we hear of grace, we think, well, that's dangerous. That'll
lead to sin. That's the response of the legalist. The legalist has no understanding
of the scripture. The legalist has no understanding
of the law of God. He sees the letter, but he doesn't
see the spirit of the law. He sees the letter where it says,
You better not do this or you'll be punished." And he doesn't
see the spirit of the law, how it's our schoolmaster to drive
us to Christ. It shows us we're guilty and
brings us to the Lord Jesus Christ. So this response of legalism,
that's the way a natural man will respond, but it's evil,
it's wrong. And then there's the response of licentiousness.
Somebody says, well, this is a license for me to sin. If this
is true, if wherever sin abounds, grace does much more abound,
then I can sin all I want without worrying about the consequences.
Somebody like this would be like, for instance, if my wife said
to me, Todd, I love you. I'm dedicated to you. I'll never
leave you. I'm with you forever. What if
I responded to that by saying, really? Then I can be unfaithful
to you and I don't need to worry about it. If that was my response,
all I would show is that I had no love at all for that woman.
This response of licentiousness, grace never leads to sin. Men
may look for an excuse to sin, but it's not grace that led them
to sin, it's their own corrupt nature. No, this is a wrong response. The right response is liberty,
freedom, finding freedom, finding liberty in this message. Now liberty is having all your
debts paid and getting to do what you want to do. You see,
most people's religion is really a very unhappy thing. It's them
being forced to do what they really don't want to do and being
prevented from doing what they really want to do. There's no
liberty or freedom. But Paul said in Galatians chapter
5 verse 1, you stand fast in the liberty. the freedom wherewith Christ
has made you free and you be not entangled again with that
yoke of bondage. Now I want to show you what freedom
is from a passage in Mark chapter 10 beginning in verse 46. And
they came to Jericho and as he went out of Jericho with his
disciples and a great number of people blind Bartimaeus the
son of Timaeus set by the highway side begging. And when he heard
that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say,
Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. And then he charged
him that he should hold his peace, but he cried the more a great
deal, thou son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood
still and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind
man saying unto him, be of good comfort, rise, he calleth thee.
And he, casting away his garments, rose and came to Jesus. And Jesus
answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto
thee? What do you want me to do for
you? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive
my sight. And Jesus said unto him, go thy way, thy faith hath
made thee whole. Go your way, do what you want
to do. You're set free. Do what you want to do. And what
did he do? And immediately he received sight
and followed Jesus in the way. That's what he now wanted to
do. What is my response to grace? Legalism, licentiousness, or
liberty? 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
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