is not that 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 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 Nybert. I've entitled the message for
this morning, Five Fundamentals of Faith. Now, a lot of times
when people think of fundamentals or they'll think of a fundamentalist,
they'll think of a red-faced preacher preaching against certain
sins in a very stern fashion. And they say, well, there's a
fundamentalist. Now, that's a term that's used,
but that's not what fundamental is. May God give us grace to
see what the fundamentals of faith is. Now, I'm going to read
a verse of Scripture. that give us, just one verse of scripture
that gives us the five fundamentals of true saving faith. In Romans chapter 4, verse 17,
we read, As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations. Before him whom he believed,
even God, who quickens the dead, and calleth those things which
be not as though they were." Now, in that verse of Scripture,
we have five fundamentals of faith. First, it's written. That's the first fundamental
of faith. It is written. The second fundamental of faith
is God speaking saying, I have made thee a father. Faith trusts
in what God has done, not what it does, but in what God has
done. I've made thee a father of many
nations. And then here's the third. Before
him whom he believed, even God, faith quite simply believes what
God says. This is a quotation from Genesis
chapter 15, verse 6. where Abraham believed God and
it was counted to him for righteousness. And here's what faith believes
regarding God. It believes him, fourthly, who
quickens the dead. That is an essential part of
faith. Believing him who gives life
to the dead. And here's the fifth fundamental
of faith. It believes that one who calls
those things which be not as though they were, literally,
cause those things not being as being. Now let's consider
all five of these fundamentals of faith. Now by fundamental,
I mean the groundwork, the roots, the basics, the bottom line,
the foundation, the meat and potatoes, the primaries, the
radicals, the primordials, the fundamentals of faith. Here's the first, as it is written. The Bible, the Scriptures are
central to our worship and fundamental to faith We believe all Scripture
is given by inspiration of God. That's what the Bible claims
for itself. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.
Everything that we believe must be the message of Scripture or
it is false. The Bible is the authoritative
Word of God. In public worship, the Word is
preached. Paul said to Timothy, Timothy,
preach the word. And if we come to hear, we come
to hear the word of God, not the preacher's opinion, not the
denominational distinctive, but I want to hear the pure word
of God. And that is all I want to hear. Now we believe if we have faith,
we believe that God is as the Bible tells us He is. For instance,
how would we know that God is one God in three separate persons
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. That's
a great mystery. We'd never know something like
that unless God was pleased to make it known in His Word. And
we believe God is as the Bible declares Him to be. God the Father,
God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. One God in three persons. He's
holy. He's just. He's immutable. He's sovereign. He's gracious. He's all-powerful. He's all-knowing. He's everywhere at once, omnipresent.
We believe that God is as He's said to be in His Word. The Bible
is fundamental to faith. There is no faith without the
Word of God. We believe man is, as the Bible
presents him to be, that he's evil, that he's a fallen creature. I'm talking about me, I'm talking
about you, born into this world evil, born into this world dead
in sins with no ability whatsoever spiritually to do anything toward
our salvation, dead in sins. We believe salvation to be as
the Bible presents it to be. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation,
being saved from sin, it's of the Father in eternal election
when He chose His people to be saved before time began. Salvation
is of the Son in redemption where He actually redeemed everybody
He died for. Salvation is of God the Holy
Spirit where He regenerates those the Father elected and those
the Son redeemed. Salvation is the work of God. Now, I think of how the Lord
met Satan when Satan tempted him. Now the Lord could not have
sinned because he's God, but Satan attempted to make him sin. He tempted him in the wilderness
after he had fasted 40 days with the lust of the flesh, the lust
of the eyes, and the pride of life. The lust of the flesh,
if you're the son of God, command these stones that they be made
bread. The lust of the eyes. If you're the son of God, prove
it to us. Jump off the temple. And the angels, if you really
believe God, the angels will bear you up. Prove it. Give us
something we can see. The pride of life. All the kingdoms
of the world I'll give to you that's delivered to me if you'll
fall down and worship me." And you know how our Lord answered
all three of those temptations? Now, remember who this is. This
is God. This is the Son of God. He answered all three of these
temptations with these words, it is written. Even the Lord
Jesus Christ used the Scriptures because this is His Word. The Bible is fundamental to faith. Faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the Word of God. Now, with regard to the Scriptures
being fundamental to our faith, we dare not go to the Bible to
prove what we believe. That's irreverent. We go to the
Bible to find out what to believe. We don't use the scriptures to
further our own ends or prove what we believe. We go to the
Bible to find out what to believe. This is God's holy word. The Bible only is authoritative. The Bible, the scriptures are
fundamental to the faith. Now the next fundamental to the
faith is what God has done. It says, as it's written, I have
made thee the father of many nations. Now remember, Abraham
was an old man, 100 years old. Sarah was 90 years old and had
already gone through menopause. It ceased to be with Sarah after
the man and women, the scripture says in Genesis 18. She had already
lost the ability to have children by going through menopause. But
yet God said, I have made thee a father of many nations. And
he said this to Abraham before Sarah had a son. He says it in
the past tense. I have made thee a father of
many nations. Now this is totally what he has
done. This word is also translated
a point. ordained and purpose. I've appointed
thee a father of many nations. I've purposed thee a father of
many nations. I've ordained thee a father of
many nations. This speaks of the absolute sovereignty of God.
What's meant by the sovereignty of God? Well, God has a purpose.
And he has the power to make his purpose come to pass. And
he always does, no exceptions to this rule. He always does
make his purpose come to pass. Whatsoever the Lord pleased that
did he in earth and sea and in all deep places. When God purposed
Abraham to be a father of many nations, he became the father
of many nations before it took place. He was made the father
of nations before he ever had a child. Now that is salvation.
It's totally what God does. And this is such a perfect word.
I have made thee a father of many nations. I think the best
illustration of this to understand what he's saying. Abraham was
not the father of many nations. He was an old man. He had not
yet had Isaac. Sarah was barren. She'd gone through menopause.
But God said, I've made thee, I've made you to be something
you're not. What I thought of is John chapter 2 where the Lord
turned water into wine. Now, it didn't become water that
tasted like wine. It didn't become water that smelled
like wine. It didn't become water that looked
like wine. It became wine. It became what
it was not. It was not wine, and it became
wine. Abraham, and this is what the
Lord did, this is what the, only the Lord can make something to
be what it was not. This is totally the work of God.
When you have faith, you look only to what God has done, not
what you do, not what you intend to do. Not what you did, but
what God has done. Now, in the gospel of Christ,
we're made to be, if we believe, we're made to be what we were
not, righteous. Now listen carefully to this
statement. In the gospel of Christ, I don't look like I'm righteous.
I don't act like I'm righteous. I am righteous. 2 Corinthians 5.21 says, for
he hath made him to be sin for us. He was not, he never sinned,
but the scripture says that God made him to be sin. Who knew no sin, he never sinned
in himself that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. This is what's fundamental to
faith. We rely on what he has done, what he has made. He said to Abraham, I've made
thee a father. He didn't offer to Abraham the
ability to be a father. He didn't say, I'll help you
to be a father. He said, I've made you a father. And it became
past tense before it ever took place. It's totally the work
of God. Now that's fundamental to faith.
Now, the third fundamental faith. First, the first one is it's
written. The Bible is fundamental of faith.
Secondly, it's relying on what God has done, not what you do,
but what God has done. And thirdly, it says, before
him whom he believed, even God. This is a quotation from Genesis
chapter 15, verse 6, where it says, Abraham believed God, and
it was counted to him for righteousness. Now, at this time, God made a
promise to Abraham. Abraham didn't have any children.
And God said, look at the stars, Abraham, can you count them?
He said, no, I can't. He said, so shall thy seed be. He didn't say, so shall your
seed be if you do something in order to make it take place.
He said, so shall thy seed be. And the scripture says, Abraham
believed God. He didn't have any evidence physically.
He didn't have any descendants. Yet he believed what God said,
that his descendants would be as the stars of heaven. He believed what God said. Look in verse 18 of Romans chapter
4, speaking of Abraham's faith, who, against hope, believed in
hope. that he might become the father
of many nations according to that which was spoken, so shall
thy seed be. And being not weak in faith,
he considered not his own body, now dead, when he was about a
hundred years old, Neither yet the deadness of Sarah's
womb, he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief,
but was strong in faith, giving glory to God, being fully persuaded
that what God had promised, he was able also to perform." I think of what Paul said in
2 Timothy 1.12. He said, I know whom I have believed,
like Abraham did. I know whom I have believed,
and I am persuaded, just like Abraham was, I am persuaded that
he is able. to keep that which I've committed
to Him against that day." Well, what have you committed to Him,
Paul? The full salvation of my soul. My hands are off. I've
committed the entire salvation of my soul to Him. If He doesn't
do it all, I won't be saved. I'm relying completely on Him
to do it all. I'm relying on His ability to
save me. Abraham believed God's ability
to do whatever it was he said he was going to do, and that's
what faith does. It believes what God has said. You know, it's one thing to say
you believe the Bible is the Word of God, and it's another
thing to believe what God's Word says. Whatever God's Word says,
that's precisely what I believe. That's fundamental to faith.
There is no faith without actually believing, being persuaded by
what God says in His Word. Believing the truth concerning
the true character of God because God said it in His Word. Believing
the truth about yourself because of what God says about you in
His Word. believing the truth about salvation,
how Christ is salvation, because this is what God says in His
Word. This is fundamental to faith. We believe God. Now, there are two things said
concerning the God we believe, and these are the fourth and
fifth fundamentals of faith. Abraham believed God, number
one, who quickens, who gives life to the dead. And number
two, he believes God who calleth those things which be not as
though they were. Now, this is fundamental to faith. First, we believe the God who
quickens, who gives life to the dead. Only God can do that. Somebody's dead and God gives
them life. Now, the scripture speaks of
three different resurrections. There is the resurrection of
the Christ. There is the spiritual resurrection of the believer,
you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.
And there's the final resurrection of our bodies. Now, let's consider
these three resurrections briefly. First, the resurrection, the
physical resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, Paul
said in Romans 10.8, if thou shalt confess with thy mouth
the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised him
from the dead, Thou shalt be saved. What a verse. to me. Well, I do confess that
Jesus is Lord. He's the Lord. You don't make
Him the Lord. You don't vote Him into office.
He is the Lord. I've heard people, I've even
heard preachers say, won't you make Him the Lord of your life?
You can't make Him the Lord of your life. He is the Lord. You
don't make Him Lord. We confess He's the Lord, and
we believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead. Now, first, you've got to believe
He died. He, the Son of God, this is so mysterious, the Son
of God, the God-man, fully God and fully man, died. He died
on Calvary's tree. He died when they nailed Him
to that cross. He suffered and He bled and He
died. How could the God-man die? I
don't know, but He did. The God-man died. I remember
somebody once wrote me or called me. I think they wrote me and
they said, you said that, well, the God part didn't die, the
man part did. And I think, how do you separate the God-man died?
Don't try to trivialize anything like that. Now, why did he die? There's only one reason for death.
sin. That's the only reason for death. The wages of sin is death. Now this man never sinned. He's the only one to keep God's
law perfectly. and the sins of God's elect were
imputed to him. They became his sin, so that
he became guilty of that sin, who his own self bare our sins
in his own body on the tree, and he died under the wrath and
judgment of God. Because of seeing the scripture
says he was delivered for our offenses and raised again for
our justification Now we believe that God raised him from the
dead The Bible tells us that and we have some understanding
as to why God raised him from the dead. I because he paid the
debt for sin and completely satisfied the offended justice of God. The sentence was over. Now, hell,
there is a place called hell and it's eternal. It's never
ending because you can never, the sinner can never satisfy
the justice of God. The debt has never been paid.
Sin is an infinite evil. That's why hell is eternal. But
when the Lord Jesus Christ died, it wasn't a sinner dying the
way you and I would die. It's the God-man being made sin
and he was able to completely satisfy all the claims of God's
offended justice and justify the sinner. He was raised again
for our justification. When he was raised from the dead,
every one of his people were justified. I love that passage
of scripture in Romans chapter 8, verses 33 and 34, where Paul
says, who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?
Who will bring an accusation against him? It's God that justifieth. Who is he that can condemn? It's
Christ that died. Yea, rather, that's risen again,
who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession
for us. Satan means accuser, and he's
called the accuser of the brethren. He's called that in Revelation
12, 10, the accuser of the brethren. And he can make so many accusations. Any accusation he'd make to the
Lord about me, I saw him do this, I saw him do that, I saw him
think this, I saw him think that, I've seen him do this repeatedly.
He could make all kinds of accusations against me to the Lord. If he
whispers in my conscience, it scares me to death." Do you really
think you're a Christian? Could you really be saved if
you do those things and think those things? Why, you're a hypocrite.
You're not a Christian. How many times has that come
through my heart? The accusations are true, but
you know when he would bring those accusations to God, you
know what the Lord would say? That's not true. You see, he's
been justified. Any accusation you bring against
him, well, Christ died. Christ died for that sin, and
he put it away. He's now justified. Rather, he's
risen again, who's even at the right hand of God making intercession
for us. No accusation, no charge can
be brought against any believer. How wonderful. We believe in
him who gives life to the dead. And that's what he did with the
Lord Jesus Christ. And then we believe in the spiritual resurrection.
And you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins.
Has there ever been a time when you've been dead in sins? You
know, many people never even think about it. But according
to the scripture, every man by nature is dead in sins. no ability
to save themselves, no ability to believe, no ability to repent,
no ability to love God. All there is, is sin. That's
it. Nothing else. And you hath He
quickened, He gave life to. The same power that was exerted
in raising The Lord Jesus Christ from the dead is exerted in giving
a believer spiritual life, quickening the new birth, being born again,
being born from above. We believe in the spiritual resurrection
and we believe in that one coming physical resurrection where he
will raise the dead in Christ incorruptible. Oh, how we look
forward to that. And then. Last, he says, we believe
the God who calleth those things which be not as though they were. Now here's the fundamentals of
faith. First, it's written. Second, it's what God has done.
That's what we're relying on. That's who we're relying on.
Third, we're believing what God says. Fourth, we're believing
in him who raises the dead. And fifth, we're believing him
who calls those things which be not as though they were. It could be perhaps better translated
who calls those things not being as being. And let me tell you
some things that I'm not in and of myself, that I'm not naturally.
I'm not holy. I'm not good. I'm not just. I'm not perfect. I'm not righteous. I'm not obedient. I'm not faithful. I'm not lovely or lovable. That means there's nothing in
me that could draw out God's love. Not a thing. Not a thing.
In and of myself, there's nothing in me that could draw out God's
love. I'm not without fault. I'm not unblameable. I'm not
unprovable, unreprovable. I'm not without sin. I'm not
dead to sin, I'm not any of those things. And that's the truth.
In and of myself, I am not pleasing to God. From the sole of my feet
to the top of my head, I'm nothing but wounds and bruises and putrefying
swords, as Isaiah said in Isaiah chapter one. Now that's the truth.
I'm not any of those good things that I mentioned in and of myself.
But he calls those things which be not, being. Now, although I am not those
things in myself, God says this regarding me because of the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ. God says, I'm holy. I'm good. I'm just. I'm perfect. I'm righteous. I'm
obedient. I'm faithful. I'm lovely and
lovable. I'm without fault. I'm unblameable,
I'm unapprovable, I'm without sin, I'm dead to sin, and I am
pleasing to God. Now somebody says, how can that
be? How can God call you that when you just said that's not
what you were? Well, here is the key to understanding this.
I want to read a verse of scripture from 1 John 4, verse 17. John says, herein is our love
made perfect that we may have boldness in the day of judgment. For as he is, so are we in this
world. If he's holy, I'm holy because
I'm in him. If he's righteous, I'm righteous
because I'm in him. That's all my salvation. that
God would make me to be what I was not because I'm in the
Lord Jesus Christ, where it's not as if I were righteous, I
am righteous in Him. It's God calling those things
which be not as though they were. Now that's very fundamental to
faith. You can't have faith without
believing that and laying hold upon that. You might not be able
to understand it, but you believe it. You know, faith isn't so
much things we understand, It's what we believe. Now this is
fundamental to the faith. It's written. We trust what God
has said. We trust what God has done, not
what we've done, but what God has done. We believe what God
has said. We believe in Him who gives life to the dead and calls
those things which be not as though they were. Those are the
fundamentals of faith. To request a copy of the sermon
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