It is not that I did choose thee,
Lord, Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Niver. 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 Romans chapter
8, verse 2. We looked at verse 1 last week.
This morning I would like us to consider the second verse
where the Apostle Paul says, For the law of the Spirit of
life in Christ Jesus hath made me free. from the law of sin
and death. I have entitled this message,
The Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus. Now, I'd like to read
a passage from Romans chapter 5 in verse 18. Paul says, Therefore,
as by the offense of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation. And then he says in verse 19,
for as by one man's disobedience, many were made sinners. Now here Paul tells us that because
of the sin of our first father Adam, you and I were condemned
and made a sinner. When Adam sinned, I was held
responsible. I was condemned for his sin. And the reason that I'm born
into this world a sinner is because I'm born into this world with
the fallen nature, the sinful nature of my first father, Adam,
that he received as a result of his disobedience to God. Now,
somebody may be thinking, how could it be fair for me to be
charged with somebody else's sin? Well, let's just say you
were not charged with Adam's sin. How have you done on your
own? It wouldn't help you at all if you were not charged with
Adam's sin, because you sinned on your own. But the fact of
the matter is, God did charge you with Adam's sin, because
you were in Him. And really, that is not bad news,
because if God can charge you for the sin of somebody else,
He can also charge you with the righteousness of somebody else.
That's how you'd be saved, is by the righteousness of somebody
else. So it's not a bad thing to be charged with Adam's sin
if I can also be charged with the righteousness of Christ.
But this result of the fall, being condemned and being made
a sinner, I don't become a sinner when I sin. I sin because I already
am a sinner. I was born into this world like
that. Now, our state, because of Adam's
sin, can be likened to a man on death row, condemned to die
for his crimes, who also has a heart disease, and he needs
a heart transplant, a new heart, or he's going to die. It wouldn't
do him any good to get a pardon if his heart disease was not
fixed and healed and he was given a heart transplant. And it wouldn't
do him any good to get a heart transplant when he regains his
health if he's not pardoned. He'll still be condemned. This
is the state of all men by nature. We're in a state of condemnation
and in a state of death. Now, the passage of scripture
I just read tells how This man with this situation can be pardoned
and made whole, given a new heart. The law of the spirit of life
in Christ Jesus hath made me free. from the law of sin and
death. Now, the first thing that I would
like for us to consider as we consider this verse, the law
of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the
law of sin and death. What does Paul mean by the word
law? The law of the spirit of life
in Christ Jesus, the law of sin and death. In Romans chapter
7, the chapter before this 8th chapter, Paul uses the word law,
and he uses it in two different senses. First, it's a reference
to the written law. A law is something written down,
and if it's not written down, it's not a law. The law is that
which is written. God has had the Ten Commandments
written down. That's God's law. Paul says in
Romans 7 verse 1, And in this passage of Scripture, he's talking
about the law concerning marriage. God has written down what he
has to say with regard to marriage in the scriptures. It's written
down. Now, if there's no law written
down, who's to know what the law is? For instance, not too
long ago, I bought a Toyota. What if I drove off the parking
lot in that Toyota, and all of a sudden I saw flashing lights
behind me, and the police pulled me over, and I said, what are
you pulling me over for, officer? He said, it's against the law
to drive Toyotas. Where's that written down? Can
you demonstrate that to me? You see, you can't just make
up laws as you go. No, the law must be written down.
And there's no law against the driving of Toyotas. A law is
that which is written that if you disobey it, you must be punished
according to its commands. But there's another word that,
another thing that law means in Romans chapter seven, look
in verse, 21, Paul says, I find in a law that
when I would do good, evil is present with me. I find a law
in myself. He says in verse 22, for I delight
in the law of God after the inward man, but I see another law, not
the written law. 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. Now he's talking
about a nature. a law of nature. You obey your
nature. A lion eats meat. That's his
nature. He does not eat grass. It's against
his nature. Now, if he wanted to eat grass,
who would stop him? He could if he wanted to, I suppose, but
he won't and he can't because it's against his nature. A cow
eats grass. It will not eat meat because
it's against his nature. It's his nature to eat grass.
You obey your nature. There are physical laws. There
are laws of physics. There's a law of gravity. The
law means a nature. You obey your nature. That's
the law of your nature. Paul speaks of the law of sin,
which is in his members. Now, notice Paul in our text
in verse 2 says, For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ
Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. Now, why is this law called the
law of sin and death? Well, first let's consider the
written law. The written law is called the
law of sin and death. In verse 3 of Romans chapter
8, it says, For what the law, talking about the written law,
could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh. The problem
wasn't with the law, the problem is with us, the sinfulness of
our flesh. For what the law could not do,
in that it was weak through the flesh. You see, there's some
things the law cannot do. It cannot give power to obey.
It cannot give life. It cannot show mercy. It cannot
forgive sins. It cannot justify. It cannot
sanctify. It cannot produce love to God.
All it does is produce resentment toward God. It can't give power
for obedience. It doesn't do any of those things.
It doesn't produce faith. It doesn't produce repentance.
All it does is expose sin and curse to death. That's all God's
holy law does. Hence, Paul calls it the law
of sin and death. And then when he is speaking
of the law of sin and death, speaking of the nature, This
too is the law of sin and death, my sinful nature. It makes it
law to me to be a sinner. I can't be anything but a sinner
by nature. I can't stop sinning. I can't
become a good person. I can't become a righteous person
by nature. I'm a child of wrath, Paul said,
a child of wrath. You know, people talk about free
will. Everybody has a free will. There's
no such thing as a free will. Even God doesn't have a free
will. God's will is controlled by His nature. He must be holy. God can't lie. He can't, well,
I've got a free will. If I want to lie, I'll do it.
No. God is holy. He obeys His nature. He acts
according to His nature. He's always just. He's always
sovereign. He's always what He is. His will is according to His
nature. Man's will is controlled by his nature. If I'm a sinful
person, I'm going to have a sinful will. There's no such thing as
free will. It's an absurdity, actually. Your will is controlled by your
nature. Now, when Paul calls man's nature the law of sin and
death, it's because men by nature are sinful, and they can't be
anything but that. Genesis 6, verse 5, God saw the
wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination
thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. In Jeremiah chapter 13 verse
23 we read, Can the Ethiopian change his skin? No. Or the leopard his spots? No. Then may you also do good that
are accustomed to doing evil. No, you can't. The scripture
says there's none righteous, no, not one. There's none that
doeth good, no, not one. So when we're talking about the
written law, it's the law of sin and death. And if we're talking
about our nature, our nature is the nature of sin and death. But we also read in this passage
of scripture of the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Once again, This is something
written down, this law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus.
It's in the written word. And I'm so thankful that we have
a written word from God. What if it were up? What if your
dependence a book on God was just on what I said? You didn't
have anything to try me with to see if I was telling the truth.
You'd be in trouble, wouldn't you? Hard telling what I would
say, but thank God we have the written word. And I ask you to
try what I'm saying with the word of God to see if what I'm
saying is not so. Paul said to Timothy, preach the word. That's
what I'm doing right now. I'm preaching the word. And the
written word of God tells us of the law of the spirit of life,
which is in Christ Jesus. We read in first John chapter
five, verses 11 and 12. This then is the record. the
written down record that God hath given to us, eternal life,
not temporary life, but eternal life. And this life is in His
Son. He that hath the Son hath life,
and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. This person has life before the
written word of God. It's called in Romans 5.18, justification
of life. Now, the reason there's no condemnation
to them that are in Christ Jesus, there's nothing to condemn them
for. They are justified before God.
That's what Christ did. On Calvary's tree, it says, He
was delivered for our offenses and raised again for our justification. Everybody He died for, They're
justified. Their sin's gone. There's nothing
to condemn them for. When Christ said, it is finished,
their justification was complete. And they have life before the
written law of God. All 10 commandments look me over
and they say, he's never broken any of them. He has been perfect
in thought and word and deed. That's because my sin became
Christ's sin, and He was punished under the wrath of God, and His
glorious righteousness becomes my personal righteousness before
God, and I have life before that written law of God. But the word,
the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus also means the
nature. The nature of the spirit of life
in Christ Jesus has made me free from the nature, that sinful
nature of sin and death. Now, by nature, I'm born into
this world dead in sins. I cannot love God, don't even
know who He is, can't see Him unless He's pleased to make Himself
known. I have no idea what it means to believe. I have no idea
what it means to repent. I'm dead in trespasses and sins. I cannot perform the functions
of spiritual life. It's only when God gives me life,
when He gives me a new nature, when He gives me a new heart,
that I can do these things. Now remember that man? He's received
his pardon. because Christ has justified
him. But that will not do him any good unless he's given a
new heart. Not only does he need to be justified,
he needs a new heart. Now, justification is the work
of Christ for you. Regeneration, being born again,
being given a new heart, is the work of Christ in a man. What we need is a new nature. And II Peter 1.4 literally says
that we're made to be partakers of the divine nature. See, that's what I need. I need
a new nature because my old nature is no good. If I'm left in my
old nature, I will never be saved. I'll never come to Christ. Remember
how the Lord said no man can come to me except it were given
him of my father, except my father draw him. I lack the ability
to even come to Christ unless he gives me a heart to do it. I'm so thankful the Lord said
all that the father giveth me shall come to me. And him that
cometh to me I will in no wise for no reason whatsoever cast
out. Now we're held captive by a sinful
death nature, but the law of the spirit of life in Christ
Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. I'm given
a new nature. Now that old nature is still
there. Somebody says, I don't sin anymore. You're lying. You
do too. You do too. Every time you breathe, you sin.
If you have an old nature and every believer still has the
old nature, it never gets better. It never improves, but he's also
got a new nature, a holy nature. Our Lord said, greater is he
that's in you than he that's in the world. We have God, the
Holy Spirit in us. We have a new nature and we can
now do what at one time we could not do. Now this law, this law
of the new nature is also written down, but it's written down in
the heart. I love it in Hebrews 8, 11, where he says, I'll put
my laws in their minds and write them in their hearts. Written
down in their hearts. It's written down, but you know,
in the New Testament, I think this is very interesting. We
read of six laws of nature that every believer has. Now remember,
the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, this new nature,
has made me free from the law of sin and death. I've been given,
as it were, a new DNA. I've been given a new nature.
I've been born of the Spirit of God. And He's put these things
in me that I now obey my nature. And like I said, there are six
laws spoken of in the New Testament. The first one is found in Romans
9.31. It's called the Law of Righteousness. The Law of Righteousness. Now the only righteousness there
is, is the righteousness of God. Scripture says our righteousnesses
are as filthy rags. And the only thing that a believer
can find or the only one that the believer can find assurance
and comfort and peace is in the righteousness of Jesus Christ
being his righteousness before God. And this is the only thing
that gives me confidence. It's not my ability to do anything. It's the righteousness of Christ
being my personal righteousness before God. Philippians chapter
3 verse 9, Paul said, O 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 faithfulness of Christ, the righteousness
which is of God, by faith. The only thing that I can find
any rest and assurance and peace in is if the only righteousness
that I have is the very literal righteousness of Jesus Christ. Now that's my nature. I can't
find any peace anywhere else. but in the righteousness and
the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the law of nature. That's the nature of a believer.
He can only rest in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians
5.21 says, For he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no
sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Now, the second law that I read
of is in Romans chapter 7, 18, the law of sin. You see, the
believer has a holy nature, and it's only the holy nature that
really recognizes what sin is. The reason men don't believe
themselves to be sinful is because they don't have a holy nature,
and they can't really see sin for what it is. But if you're
ever given a holy nature, if you're ever given a new nature,
a new heart, you're going to see that everything about your
old nature is nothing but sin. I find in a law, Paul said, that
when I would do good, evil is present with me. Now, a believer
is never able to look at himself in any other way but that of
being a sinner. a real sinner, someone who needs
the mercy and grace of God, someone who needs Christ to do something
for them. I am a sinner, and I can't see
myself in any other way by nature, but that of a sinner needing
His grace. And it's a blessed thing to be
a sinner, though. Here's why. I Timothy 1.15 says,
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am
chief. Well, I'm one of those, so He
came to save me. You see, this law of sin prevents
a believer from looking anywhere but Christ alone. Nothing more,
nothing less, and nothing else. Christ alone is everything in
my salvation. Now that's the nature of the
believer. He sees himself as a sinner needing Christ. And then Paul spoke of a third
law in Romans chapter three, verse 27, where he says, by what
work? The law or by what law? By what work? The law? Nay, but
by the law of faith. Every believer has the law of
faith. It's his nature to believe. Now, I can remember a time when
I would ask myself a question, what does it mean to believe?
I would if I knew how. What does it mean to believe?
I hear the preacher say, believe on Christ. What's it mean? I
never really could figure it out. I would hear, repent of
your sins. And I thought, how? What does
that mean? And then one day I found myself believing. One day I found
myself in a state of repentance. It's called the law of faith. Now, I've already touched on
this. A believer has two natures. The old nature never believes.
The new nature, it's his nature to believe. The reason that man
said, I believe, help thou mine unbelief. Well, the new nature
does believe, the old nature doesn't. And we always have to
pray that, I believe, help thou mine unbelief. But I do believe. It's the nature of a believer
to believe. Believe what? What are you talking
about? Well, Paul put it this way in 2 Timothy 1.12. He said,
I know whom I have believed. Notice he didn't say, I know
what I believe. Somebody says, I know what I
believe. Well, let's listen to what Paul says. He doesn't say,
I know what I believe. He said, I know whom I believe. You see, faith is in a person,
the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not in a doctrine.
It's not in an experience. It's not in a work. It's in a
person. I know whom I have believed, and what we believe is determined
by whom we believe. I know whom I have believed,
and I am persuaded. I am convinced that He is able
to keep that which I've committed to Him. against that day. Now I have committed the entire
salvation of my soul wholly to Him. I've committed it to him. My hands are off. If he doesn't
do it all, I won't be saved. I have committed the salvation
of my soul to him. And I am persuaded that he is
able to save me with no help from me. It is the nature of
a believer to believe. They believe the gospel. In James 2, verse 12, we read
of the law of liberty. The law of liberty. Now, that
once again is in a believer in his nature. He is such that he
can only live in the atmosphere of liberty and freedom. He cannot
live in the atmosphere of bondage. Paul said in Galatians 5, 1,
stand fast in the liberty The freedom wherewith Christ hath
made us free, and be not entangled again in that yoke of bondage.
The yoke of bondage is salvation by works in any way. If salvation
is dependent upon me in any way to any degree, I have no freedom. I have no liberty. I'm bound. But if when he said it is finished,
All that God required, requires, and ever will require of me is
taken care of. All my debts are paid. I have
freedom. You see, we don't sing that song,
Jesus paid a half, the other half I owe. We sing, Jesus paid
it all. All the dead I owe. Sin had left
a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow. And that's what gives true freedom
and liberty. I owe nothing. I am accepted
in the beloved. In James chapter two, verse eight,
we read of the royal law of love. It's the nature of a believer
to love God. He can't help it. He that loveth
him that begat loveth him also that's begotten of him. We can't
help but love God and we love him as he is. We love him as
he's revealed in his word. I love the sovereignty of God
because I love the God who is sovereign. I love the justice
of God because I love the God who is just. I love the grace
of God because I love the God who is gracious. We love him
as he's revealed in his word. I'm not talking about an idol.
I'm talking about the God of the Bible. Every believer, his
nature is to love him. He at one time had no love for
God. But when God saved him and gave him a new heart, he now
loves God as he is. And we love his people. That's the nature of one who
is born of God. And finally, I'd like to read
from Galatians chapter six of the law of Christ. We read beginning
in verse one, brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, overcome
by some sin, You which are spiritual, which is every believer, they've
got a spiritual nature, it says, restore such in one. Not kick
him out, not hold him off, restore such a one. In the spirit of
meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Knowing
that if you're tempted the way that brother was, you will fall
the way that brother did. You don't have some kind of arrogant,
judgmental attitude toward them. You consider yourself. lest you also be tempted. Bear
ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."
Put up with one another. That brother's sin is a burden
to him. Don't kick him out. Put up with
him as he puts up with you. Bear ye one another's burdens,
and so fulfill the law of Christ. The Spirit of life in Christ
Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. Now, we
have this message on CD, DVD. If you call the church right
or email, we'll send you a copy. This is Todd Kniper praying God
will be pleased to make Himself known to you. 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.