is not that I did choose. 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 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 Niber. In Romans chapter 5, verse 9,
Paul says, much more than being now justified by his blood, we
shall be saved from wrath through him. For if when we were enemies,
we were reconciled to God by the death of his son, much more
being reconciled, we shall be saved. by his life. I've entitled this message, We
Shall Be Saved. Now, quite often you hear religious
people using this term, I got saved or I was saved. To say I got saved, is the wrong
kind of language. The right kind of language is
the Lord saved me. The Lord did something for me,
but you get a cold. You get saved. That's not the
right terminology, but may the Lord be our teacher this morning
as we consider we shall be saved. Now, when Paul says this, we
shall be saved, I want to be in that we that he's speaking
of, don't you? Now, when he says we should be
saved, he's not speaking with the royal we, but he is speaking
as the representative of everyone who is saved. We shall be saved. And I desperately want to be
in that number, and I want you to be in that number. We shall
be saved. The Bible, the book I'm preaching
from, is the inspired inerrant Word of God. I read in the Herald
Leader recently where a preacher was saying that the Bible was
partially written by men. It might have been inspired at
one time, but men have added things to it, and we have to
have the discernment and understanding to know which part comes from
man and which part comes from God. Now, my dear friends, that's
foolishness. You and I don't have that kind
of understanding for one thing. And for another thing, the Bible
is the Word of God. The Scripture says all Scripture
is given by inspiration of God, and it's profitable. This book
is the book of God, and in this book, the Bible, God tells us
how He saves. And did you know that God is
made known by how He saves? The only way you and I can really
know the character of God, first of all, is if He reveals Himself
to us. We can't know Him unless He's pleased to reveal Himself.
But the way He saves sinners is who He is. His character is manifest. The
cross is a declaration of who God is. You see, when I see Christ
nailed to a cross, I see God's purpose. He's the Lamb slain
from the foundation of the world, and God's purpose is always going
to be done. I see God's justice and holiness. He will not accept
a sinner apart from a sacrifice, and Christ is that sacrifice. When sin is found on Christ,
God forsakes Him. Oh, we see God's holiness and
His justice, but we see His mercy and His grace and His love that
He would provide His Son for sinners. We see His wisdom in
a way where He has made a way to be just and justify the ungodly. Oh, God is known in His salvation. salvation, the psalmist said,
belongeth to the Lord. Jonah said from the belly of
the whale in Jonah 2.9, salvation is of the Lord. And that's when
the whale vomited him up. And then Psalm 37.39 we read,
the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord. In 1 Peter 4,
verse 18, Peter makes this statement. He says, for if the righteous
scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Now, when Peter says that, he
doesn't mean that the righteous make it in by the skin of their
teeth and they're just barely saved. The word scarcely means
with great difficulty. If the righteous with great difficulty
be saved. Now, somebody may think, well,
if God is all-powerful, how can something be difficult for God?
Well, was it difficult for God when He forsook His only begotten
and well-beloved Son? I don't know how else to say
that. This is just mysterious, but of course it was. Was it
difficult for Christ in Gethsemane's garden when He sweat great drops
of blood and prayed to His Father, if it be possible, let this cup
pass from me, knowing He was getting ready to suffer the wrath
of God. Was that difficult for Christ?
Of course it was. Was it difficult for the Lord
Jesus Christ when He was made to be sin and He actually bore
the sins of His people? They actually became His and
He had to bear the wrath of God. if the righteous with great difficulty
be saved." Well, what does it take for a sinner to be saved? Paul said, we shall be saved,
and he's speaking in certainty. He's speaking of all those who
shall be saved. What does it take for a sinner
to be saved? Now, listen very carefully. I
want to give you six things that it takes for a sinner to be saved. First of all, it takes the will
of God. For you or I to be saved, God
himself must will my salvation. And remember this, God's will
is not some kind of impotent wish and desire that he hopes
will happen. God's will cannot be thwarted. God's will must be done. He can't
will something and it fail to happen. Now, for you to be saved,
or for me to be saved, first of all, God must will our salvation. He hath mercy on whom He will
have mercy, the scripture says, and whom He will, He hardens. God has to will my salvation.
You know, that's what took place in divine election, when God
chose who would be saved. The Bible teaches that God chose
who would be saved. He willed their salvation. So
first of all, for me to be saved, God has to will my salvation. Secondly, for a sinner to be
saved, Christ has to be their representative. Christ has to
keep the law for them, and Christ has to shed his precious blood
for them. In Gethsemane's garden, Christ
said, if it be possible, Let this cup pass from me. Now, here's
my question. Was it possible for me to be
saved? Was it possible for this cup
to pass from Christ where he wouldn't have to die on the cross?
No, the only way I could be saved is with the shedding of Christ's
precious blood as my substitute. Paul said if righteousness came
by the law, Christ died in vain, but he didn't die in vain. And
he, by the shedding of his blood, actually paid the sin debt of
everybody he died for. So for me to be saved, God's
got to will my salvation, and Christ has to die for me. He has to actually put away my
sin. Now, when I say that, understand,
Christ's death was not him making salvation available if you do
your part. When he said it is finished,
the salvation of the elect was accomplished. And for me or you
to be saved, we have to have Christ die for us. Now, if Christ died for you,
you must be saved. Thirdly, for me or you to be
saved, it takes the invincible, irresistible work of God the
Holy Spirit in giving us spiritual life, in giving us the new birth. That's what it takes. Except
a man be born again, born of the Spirit, he cannot enter the
kingdom of heaven. Did you know that the same power
that was used in raising Christ from the dead The almighty power
of God is used in giving a dead sinner spiritual life. And you
hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins. So we
see for a sinner to be saved, it takes the work of the triune
God. The Father must will his salvation. He must choose him
to salvation. The Son must redeem him. And
God the Holy Spirit must give him spiritual life. He must regenerate
him and give him a new heart. Fourthly, what does it take for
a sinner to be saved? And remember, we're looking at
what the Word says. The Word says in 1 Corinthians 1.21, it
pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that
believe. Could God save without the preaching
of the gospel? I suppose he could. I don't want
to say one way or the other, but I do know this, he doesn't.
It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them to
believe. Listen to this scripture. Whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then
shall they call on him in whom they've not believed? And how
shall they believe on him in whom they've not heard? You can't
believe something you've never heard. And how shall they hear
without a preacher? And how shall they preach except
they be sent? Now, it pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe. Now, I realize preaching
has pretty much been put on the scrap heap in our day. People
have plays and skits and music and all these things to bring
people in, supposedly, in this religious environment, but it
still pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that
believe. And don't get caught on the preacher as if the preacher's
important. He's not. Paul said, It's God that gives
the increase. Who is Paul? Who is Apollos?
It's God that gives the increase. We're nothing. But the point
is, it's the message that you hear, the message that the preacher
brings that you find unto salvation. It pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe. What does it take for
a sinner to be saved? It takes the keeping power and
grace of God. Now, the only way you'll stay
saved, and the only way I'll stay saved, is if God preserves
me, if He keeps me, if He causes me. Oh, I love that scripture,
now unto Him that's able to keep you from falling. The scripture
says we're kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. Now, what does it take for a
sinner to be saved? Well, you're going to have to
endure all the way to the end, and in order to do that, you're going
to have to be kept. And what does it take for a sinner
to be saved? Everything that was, is, and
shall be. All of God's providence. Romans
8, 28 says, And we know that all things work together for
good to them that love God, to them who are called according
to his purpose. And any sinner that is saved
can look at the amazing events of providence that led to their
salvation, that led them to where they're going to come to bow
the knee to the Lord Jesus Christ. We shall be saved. I love thinking
of God's salvation. You know, it is God's salvation.
When David said, Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation,
he didn't say, Restore unto me the joy of my salvation. He said,
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation. Salvation in its past
tense. 2nd Timothy 1.9 says He saved
us. It's a completed action. And He called us with a holy
calling, not according to our works, but according to His own
purpose and grace, which were given us in Christ Jesus before
the world began. Salvation in its past tense.
When Christ said it is finished, my salvation became history.
The salvation of everybody He died for became history, and
history cannot be changed. It's completed. Salvation in
its present tense. Lord, save now. Save now. Give me the grace to come to
you right now. Salvation is in the present tense. You know,
I pray every day, Lord, save me. Save me. Save me from myself. Save me from my sins. Save me
from this situation, but save me. Salvation in its future tense. Paul said, now is our salvation
nearer than when we believed. I'm not plumb saved yet, as long
as I still have this sinful nature. I'm not plumb saved yet. I won't
be saved completely. until I stand before the Father
perfectly conformed to the image of Jesus Christ without even
the hint or the smell of sin, perfectly like the Lord Jesus
Christ. We shall be saved. Now, the Bible has so much to
say about this thing of salvation. First, it says, by grace are
you saved. By grace are you saved. The unmerited favor of God. You didn't earn it. You didn't
deserve it. You didn't do anything to get
it. By grace are you saved. Now, listen real carefully. The
litmus test as to whether or not somebody really believes
that salvation is by grace is if they believe that God chose
who would be saved before time. In other words, election. Election
is the litmus test as to whether or not you believe grace. If
you don't believe in election, you don't believe grace. If a
preacher doesn't preach election, he does not preach grace. See, election says salvation's
of the Lord. Election says he does it all. It begins with him,
it's carried on by him, and it's finished with him. That's what
election says. Salvation is by grace. And then in Romans 5.10,
It says, for if when we were enemies we were reconciled to
God by the death of His Son, much more being reconciled we
should be saved by His life. We're saved by the life and the
death of the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm saved by His life in the
sense that His perfect life, His righteousness, that perfect
life that He lived for 33 years is mine. He gives it to me and
I'm saved by His righteousness, His life. I'm saved by His death. His death put away my sins. You know, when he died, he didn't
go through the process of decay. The moment he died, no decay. The reason being, sin was put
away. It was gone. It was done away
with. And I'm saved by his resurrection. In Acts chapter 16, verses 30
and 31, the Philippian jailer asked, what must I do to be saved? That's a good question, isn't
it? What must I do to be saved? This man knew he was not saved. He wasn't saying, is there any
work I can perform in order to save me? He wasn't saying that
at all. He knew he couldn't save himself. He wanted to be saved. And he said, what must I do to
be saved? And I love the way Paul and Silas
answered him. They said, believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Rely, depend, trust upon
the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the Lord. You know what
that means? That means He's in absolute control of everything. He's the Lord. He is the absolute
sovereign of the universe. He's Jesus. Thou shalt call His
name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins. Oh,
thank God for that. He's the Savior. He's the Christ. at His offices. He's God's prophet. He's the Word of God. He's the
Word that comes from God. He's God's priest. If I'm going
to be saved, I'm going to have to have a priest. I'm going to
have to have someone represent me. And the only one who fits
the bill is the Lord Jesus Christ. Not some man-made priest, but
He's God's priest. The priest of God's providing
who brings me before God and makes me acceptable. He's the
King and I need Him as King to cause me by irresistible grace
to do His will. He's the Lord Jesus Christ. Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. We're saved by His intercession. Hebrews 7.25 says, wherefore
He is able to save them to the uttermost. that come to God by
Him. You see, if He, seeing He ever
liveth to make intercession for them. You see, right now, there's
a man in glory, the Lord Jesus Christ, representing all of His
people. He sits at the right hand of
the Father, not saying, oh, forgive Him this time, forgive Him one
more time. No, He just sits there as my
representative. All He does is show the Father
His hands and feet, and nothing else needs to be said. And I'm
kept by Him. He saves us to the uttermost
because of His intercession, representing us before the Father.
Paul said in Romans 10.9, if thou shalt confess with thy mouth
the Lord Jesus, You confess he's the Lord. And He's the Savior. If thou should confess it with
thy mouth, the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God
hath raised Him from the dead, thou should be saved. Now that
does not simply mean that you believe in the fact of the resurrection,
but you understand what His resurrection means. When He was raised from
the dead, that means God accepted what He did. And God was completely
satisfied with what He did. And you know, I find the same
satisfaction that God does in Christ. God looks to Christ,
His Son, for everything in the sinner's salvation. And I look
to Christ for everything in my salvation. God entrusts the salvation
of His people to Christ. We trust the salvation of our
souls to Him. Paul said, I'm persuaded that
He's able to keep that which I've committed to Him against
that day. We're saved by calling. Romans
10.13 says, Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall
be saved." Now, the name of the Lord is who He is. It's His attributes. It's His holiness. It's His justice. It's His power. It's His wisdom. It's His grace. And I'm saying,
Lord, save me by who You are. Save me by willing my salvation,
because all power belongs to You. Save me by Your grace. Save
me by Your justice. Save me in a way where my sin
is dealt with and put away, yet I'm saved perfectly and safely.
Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
Right now, if you call upon the name of the Lord, you shall be
saved. That's God's promise. We're saved
by looking. Isaiah 45, 22, God says, and be ye saved, all the ends
of the earth. Look away from yourself, look
away from your circumstances, and look to me, and be ye saved. Just like the snake-bitten Israelites
were to look to the serpent on the pole, we look to Christ only,
and in looking, we live. We're saved by being turned.
The psalmist said in Psalm 80, verse three, turn us again, O
God, and cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved. Lord,
turn me, and I will be saved. We're saved by entering the door.
John chapter 10, verse 9, the Lord said, I am the door. He
didn't say, I'll open up the door for you. He said, I'm the
door. By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved. Now, the
only way of entrance to the Father is by Him. He said, I'm the way,
the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but
by me. You know what that means? Many people think, well, that
means we plead nothing but Christ. Well, we do plead nothing but
Christ, but it means more than that. The only way I come to the Father
is me being in the Lord Jesus Christ. And when He comes to
the Father, I do too. When He enters into the presence
of the Father, I do too. I'm the door by me. If any man
enter in, he shall be saved. We're saved by receiving the
love of the truth. We read in 2 Thessalonians 2.10, because
they received not the love of the truth that they might be
saved. It's not just giving a scent to something you see. Well, I
see it says that, but no, there's the love of the truth, the love
of how He saves by His grace, the love of how He saves by His
blood, the love of how He elects, the love of how He redeems, the
love of how He regenerates. It's receiving the love of the
truth. And then in James 121, We read,
let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath,
for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
Wherefore, lay aside all filthiness. and excess of naughtiness, and
receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save your
soul." Be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to pop off, slow
to object, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, this glorious
word that I'm preaching, which is able to save your soul. And
we're saved by perseverance. He that endureth to the end,
the same shall be saved. Now I would like to close by
giving you a prayer that everyone who is ever saved prays. And if the Lord saves you, you
will pray this prayer. And this is the story of Peter
walking on the water. We read in Matthew chapter 14,
beginning in verse 24, but the ship was now in the midst of
the sea, tossed with the waves, For the wind was contrary, and
in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them walking
on the sea. And when the disciples saw him
walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It's a spirit. And they cried out for fear.
But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer,
it's I. Be not afraid. Oh, may the Lord speak that to
my heart. Whatever happens, it's Him. He's
in control of it. Be not afraid. And Peter, verse
28, answered Him and said, Lord, if it be Thou, bid me to come
unto Thee on the water. And He said, Come. And when Peter was come down
out of the ship, He walked on the water to go to Jesus. Now,
he was looking at the Lord Jesus Christ, and he was walking on
the water just like the Lord was. A supernatural miracle was
taking place as he moved toward the Lord with his eyes on Him.
But verse 30, when he saw the wind boisterous, he saw the wind
and the waves, he quit looking to Christ. And he saw the wind
and the waves. He saw the circumstances. He
was afraid and beginning to sink. He cried out, Lord, save me. Now, this is the prayer that
everyone who is saved prays. Lord, you're the Lord. You're in absolute control of
everything and everybody, and I'm in your hand. You're the
Lord. Lord. You know, the thief understood
that Christ was the Lord when he was hanging on the cross.
He said, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Lord,
remember me. You're the Lord. You're not going
to stay on this cross. You're not going to stay dead. You're going
to come back as a mighty reigning king. The leper understood this
when he said, Lord, if you will, you could make me clean. Now,
when we pray, what's most important is who we're praying to. Not
just going through the act of prayer. He's the Lord. Lord, save me. And notice he's
not saying, make salvation available for me. You know, it will not
do me any good at all if all the Lord does is make salvation
available to me and some part of it's left up to me. That will
not do this sinner any good at all. He must do it all. So I
cry out, Lord, save me. Save me. Save me from my sin.
Save me from the penalty of my sin. Save me from the power of
my sin. Save me from the presence of
sin, the commission of sin, save me from my sins. I can't save
myself. If you don't save me, I won't
be saved. Lord, save me. Lord, save me. I'm the problem. I want you to
save others. This is not a reference to indifference
about the salvation of others, but I'm my own worst enemy. I'm my great problem. Lord, save
me. Save me from my sins. Lord, save me. Now that's a prayer that everybody
who's saved prays. If you're saved, you have prayed
this prayer and the Lord put it in your heart. And do you
know anyone who's ever prayed this prayer has had that prayer
answered? The Lord has saved them. Look
what we read in verse 31. When Peter cried out, Lord, save
me, immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand and caught him.
Oh, what a mighty hand that caught Peter and said unto him, O thou
of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? May God enable me
and you, even now, to pray this prayer from our heart. Lord,
please Lord, save me. To request a copy of the sermon
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