that I did choose. 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 Nyberg. Paul was introducing his letter
to the Romans. He says, to all that be in Rome,
beloved of God. Now he's not speaking to every
Roman citizen, but he is speaking to everyone in Rome who is beloved
of God. I've entitled this message Beloved
of God. I wonder if there's anyone listening
right now that wonders, does God really love me? Or perhaps someone thinks, how
could God love me? As bad as I am, how could He
love me? Now, I've realized that there
are many who presume on His love. They just take it as a given
or take it for granted. Sure, God loves me. He loves
everybody. But they can't get that from the Scriptures. God
doesn't love everybody. I know He didn't love Esau. He
said, Esau have I hated. The Scripture says, Thou hatest
all workers of iniquity. Thou abhor'st the bloody and
deceitful man. You can't say from the scriptures
that God loves all men without exception. You just can't do
it. So how can I know if he loves me? How can I know if I'm beloved
of God? Now, I want to try to give with
the Lord's help what the scripture teaches concerning the love of
God. Now, Paul says to all that be
in Rome, called to be saints, and that's what every believer
is, a saint of God, beloved of God. Now, they're beloved because
they're accepted in the beloved. Ephesians 1, 6 says, for he hath
made us accepted in the beloved. If I'm beloved of God, it's because
God's done something very special for me. He's separated me. He's
made me to differ. In Exodus 11, verse 7, when the
Lord was telling Moses that he was going to pass through the
land of Egypt and smite the firstborn, he made this statement in verse
7, but against any of the children of Israel, shall not a dog move
his tongue against man or beast, so that you may know that the
Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel." If
I am beloved of God, God has made me to differ. Paul said
in 1 Corinthians 4, 7, who maketh thee to differ from another?
Now, if I do differ from someone, if I'm loved by God, it's because
he made me to differ. We love him because he first
loved us. Now, religion makes, human religion,
the average preacher, makes God's love meaningless. Now, I want
to say this right when we emphasize the fact that God doesn't love
everybody, because the scripture does. The reason is not to say
He doesn't love everybody, but it's to say if you're loved by
Him, you're saved. That's the point. His love is
saving love. If He can love you and you wind
up in hell, His love doesn't do anything for you. I want to
ask you four questions. I want you to think about these.
I've given these before, but when we were hearing a preacher preach
a message entitled, Four Questions for Thoughtful People, and I
remember it just knocked me out. Religion, when people, their
religion, they're very intelligent, very intelligent people, but
it seems like they check their brains out the door when it comes
to their religion. But let me ask you these four
questions. Let's take Judas, who we know is in hell, and Peter,
who we know is in heaven. If God loved them both the same,
what does the love of God have to do with salvation? Nothing. Didn't do anything for Judas,
even though he loved him. If God wills the salvation of
all men the same, if He willed the salvation of Judas the same
way He willed the salvation of Peter, what's the will of God
have to do with salvation? The answer is nothing. If Christ
died for all men the same, if He shed His precious blood and
paid for Judas' sins and Peter's sins, what's the blood of Christ
have to do with salvation? Absolutely nothing. And if God
the Holy Spirit calls all men the same, what does the Holy
Spirit have to do with salvation? Absolutely nothing. It's what
one man does and what another man does not do. It puts salvation
ultimately dependent upon the hands of the sinner. And that
is salvation by works is all it is. To say that God loves
all men equally or all men the same is to make God's love, is
to reduce it to meaninglessness. It didn't do anything. It didn't
put anybody into heaven, and it didn't deliver anybody from
hell. Let me show you a passage of scripture in Isaiah chapter
43. Now, see if what I'm saying is not according to the scriptures.
Now, this is God speaking, and He says, For I am the Lord thy
God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Savior. He says, I gave Egypt
for thy ransom. He's talking to Israel, His people.
I gave Egypt for thy ransom. I didn't have mercy on them.
And the Ethiopian, see, but since thou was precious in my sight,
thou has been honorable and I have loved thee, therefore will I
give men for thee and people for thy life. Fear not, I'm with
thee. I'll bring thy seed from the
east and gather thee from the west. You see, God made a difference. And what a difference he made.
Now, when we talk about the particular love of God for his elect, his
saving love. I hope we don't fall into the
trap of sitting in judgment on the judge and charging him with
unfairness. How could it be fair? Take that
passage of Scripture in Romans 9.11, Jacob have I loved and
Esau have I hated, Romans 9.13, and somebody says, how could
that be fair? How could it be fair for him to love Jacob and
hate Esau? Doesn't everybody Shouldn't everybody
be loved equally? That seems like God's showing
favoritism. Now wait a minute. Fair is hell. Fair is God sending
me to hell. That's fair. If we're going to
talk about fair. But here's another problem with
that kind of thinking. All of a sudden I'm becoming
God's judge. I'm saying I don't agree with this. I don't agree
with the way the Lord's doing things. Since when do you and
I have the ability to set in judgment upon the judge of the
earth? And state, we agree with this. And as far as that goes,
as far as that goes, if it was up to you or me for people to
be saved, if it was in our hands, we'd be the only ones who'd be
saved. You see, we'd get mad at people. If they sinned against
us 5 million times, we'd say, enough's enough. No more. No
more. But thank God, He's gracious,
He's merciful, and that's the way His love works. It's saving
love. Don't sit in judgment on God.
For a sinner to sit in judgment on God, whatever God does is
right. I love what Paul said when he said, Thou wilt save
me. Why does he yet find fault? For who has resisted His will?
If you say God is sovereign and in control of everything, and
I can't resist His will, how can I be held responsible for
my actions if I can't resist His will? I love Paul's answer,
Nay, but, O man, who are you to reply against God? Shall the
thing formed say to him that formed it, Why is thou made beneath
us? Hath not the potter power over the clay of the same lump
to make one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor? You
know, the Lord put it this way. He said, I thank Thee, O Father,
Lord of heaven and earth, because You've hid these things, You
have hid these things from the wise and prudent and revealed
them unto babes, even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Thy
sight. And if it seemed good in His
sight, it is good. Now all of God's love to His
beloved ones is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. That's why Paul said,
nothing shall separate us from the love of God. And the us is
the same us that he's speaking of when he says, if God be for
us, who can be against us? He said, for whom he did foreknow,
he also did predestinate to be. to the adoption of sons by Jesus
Christ Himself. Moreover, whom He did predestinate,
then He called, and whom He called, then He also justified, and whom
He justified, then He also glorified. What shall we say to these things?
If God be for us, who can be against us? Who shall separate
us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord?
You see, because God's love's in Christ, if we're in Christ,
we have all of God's love. He said, thou has loved them
as thou has loved me. However, God loves his son. That's how he loves those in
his son, his beloved ones. Isn't that amazing? The love
of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Now, because of this
love that's in Christ, God can say, as he said in Hosea 14,
for behold, I will love them freely. Now, understand, he loves
freely. That does not mean he loves unconditionally. I hear people say, well, God's
love is unconditional. No, it's not. No, it's not. God cannot love me or you as
we are. He does not love unconditionally.
He loves His people as they are in His Son. He makes them lovely. He makes them lovable. And His
affection is drawn toward those who are lovely. And that's what
every believer is in Christ Jesus, lovely in Christ Jesus, lovable
in Christ Jesus. So God's love is not unconditional.
But it is free. It is free. Behold, I'll love
them freely. God is love, the scripture says.
It's nowhere said that God is wrath or God is hatred. It doesn't say that, but it does
say God is love. Aren't you thankful for that?
God is love. And he doesn't have to find a
reason in you to love you. Somebody says, how could God
love me? Because his love is in his son. If you're in his
son, He loves you. He really does. I mean, does
He love His Son? Then He loves you if you're in
His Son. But you don't have to look for a reason to think, how
could God love me? Look at me. He loves because
of who He is. We read in Deuteronomy chapter
7, God said in verse 7, the Lord did not set His love upon you
nor choose you because you were more in number than any people.
For you were the fewest of all people, but because the Lord
loved you. That's why I did it, because
He loved you. God is love. God must love. Now, God doesn't owe love to
men, but God must love because God is love, and He delights
in loving His people, those who believe. Yes, God is love. Now,
when we talk about the love of God, we have to begin where the
Bible begins. In Jeremiah chapter 31 verse
3, God said, behold, I've loved you with an everlasting love,
a love that never had a beginning. He said to Jeremiah, before you
were in the belly, before I formed you in the belly, before you
were in the womb, that's before you had any physical existence
at all, I knew you. I knew you. And this word no
in the Bible, Adam knew his wife Eve, doesn't mean he knew what
her name was. He was in an intimate, loving relationship with her.
Behold, I've loved you with an everlasting love. It's what the
Bible calls election. It's electing love. Second Thessalonians
2.13, but we are bound to thank God always for you, brethren,
beloved of the Lord. There's that word, beloved of
the Lord, for. God hath from the beginning chosen
you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the
truth. It's predestinating love. Ephesians
1.5 says, In love, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made
us accepted in the Beloved. Now, I know, I have one daughter,
and if I could, I would pre-determine, pre-map out everything that I
could for her good, and make sure it worked. If I had the
ability to do it, I'd do it. Well, God does have the ability,
and He has determined that all of His beloved ones be just like
His Son. That's what predestination is
all about. It's not just events, it's people whom He did foreknow. Them He also did predestinate
to be conformed to the image of His Son. God has predetermined
that I'm going to be exactly like Jesus Christ. What more
could love do? Oh, the glorious predestinating
love of God in Christ Jesus that cannot Go away. I mean, if he predestinates something,
it has already taken place. I mean, nothing can prevent it. But listen to this, too. I've
been talking about his love, and perhaps this is the thing
that I like to think about the most. In Romans 5, verse 8, we
read, God commendeth his love toward us in that while we were
yet sinners, Christ died for us. God's love is for sinners. Are you a sinner? And by that,
I mean what the Bible means. I don't mean you just, yeah,
I mean, I'm not perfect. Nobody's perfect. I do wrong things. I'm
not talking about that at all. If you're a sinner, if you're
a real sinner, that means you know that all you do is sin. Even your good things are filthy
rags. Scripture says our righteousnesses
are as filthy rags. And you cannot not sin. You can't
prevent yourself. You can't be holy. You know that.
Not in and of yourself you can't. And you can't look down, if you're
a real sinner, you can't look down your nose in moral superiority
at anybody. You know that the only reason
you haven't done what somebody else has done is because God
kept you from it. You really believe that. And you know you
have no claims on God. You can't say, Lord, it wouldn't
be fair for you to not love me. No, you have no claims on God.
For every sinner, I can say, everybody fits that description,
God loves you. And if God loves you, you must
be saved. Because His love, His saving
love is for sinners. What? What love? And then we
read in 1 John chapter 4, I want to read this passage of scripture
to you, beginning in verse 9. In this was manifested the love
of God toward us, because that God sent His only
begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. Herein is love, not that we loved
God. John says, when I'm talking about
love, and I'm gonna define, here it is love, not that we loved
God, but that he loved us, and sent his son to be the propitiation
for our sins. That word, propitiation, it's
a big word, not used much in our day, but it means a covering. Love covers all transgressions. When we read of the mercy seat,
the lid of atonement that was over the Ark of the Covenant,
it's literally the lid of propitiation. When God said, I will be merciful
to their unrighteousness, it's literally I will be propitious
for their unrighteousness. That means I will cover their
sin. I'll cover it. That's what the
blood of Christ does. It covers. But there's something different
about His covering. If I take something and cover
it up, you know what? It's still there. It's still
there. But when he covers sin, that
sin is no more. It's gone. He says, there are
sins and iniquities I remember no more. Why? Because there's
nothing there to remember. The blood of Christ has put it
away. Now that's love. Herein is love. Not that we love God. We're not
going to talk about our love. It's nowhere near what it ought
to be. But that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation
of our sins. You know that publican crying,
God be merciful to me, thee, sinner. You know that word merciful
is literally God be propitious. Cover my sin through the blood
of your son. There's nothing I can do about
it. Take it away through the blood of your son. Do something
about my sin. That's what he's crying. And
that's love that He sent His Son to be the propitiation of
our sin. It's a love that propitiates.
And it's a love that magnifies the saving grace of God. Now
listen to this scripture from Ephesians 2, 4, and 5. But God,
talking to believers, but God who is rich in mercy, for His
great love, wherewith He loved us even when we were dead in
sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace are you
saved. You see, His love magnifies saving
grace. Now what can a dead man do to
save himself? He can't do anything. He's completely,
100% dependent upon the grace of God. And His love is a love that magnifies
His saving grace. By grace you are saved. This love is saving love. It's saving grace. It magnifies
the grace of God. The love of God our Savior toward
man appeared not by works of righteousness, which we have
done, but according to his mercy he saved us. His love is not
an offer. His mercy is not an offer. His
love saves. You see, if he loves you, you
have his salvation and all that's included in it. And it's a love. The love of God is a love that
makes us his children. Now, not everybody is a child
of God. You know, the Lord said to one group, he said, you're
your father, the devil. and the lusts of your father you'll do."
They certainly were not children of God. The Lord said they were
children of the devil. So not everybody's a child of God, but
His love makes us every believer His sons. John said, Behold what
manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should
be called the sons of God. Joint heirs with the Lord Jesus
Christ. God's my father. Oh what? To be a child of God He loves
to where he makes us his own children own children by adoption
Adopted by Christ and his own children by birth That's what
the new birth is by adoption and by birth being born of God
and his love listen to this His love is a love that makes us
lovely. Now, somebody thinks, how could
God actually love me? Look at me. Look at what a mess
I am. Look how sinful I am. Look how helpless I am. How could
God actually love me when I'm so unlovely in and of myself?
I can answer that question. Ephesians chapter 5 verse 25
says, Husbands, love your wives even as Christ also loved the
church. and gave himself for it, that
he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of the water
by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church,
not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should
be holy and without blemish." The Scripture says in Colossians
1.22, He's presented every believer in God's sight holy and unblameable
and unreprovable in His sight. Now, when God looks at me as
the object of His love, He looks at someone who's altogether lovely,
someone who's just as obedient, just as perfect as His Son, because
that's how God sees me in the Lord Jesus Christ. And I am worthy
of God's love in Christ. He sees me, and just like He
sees His Son, He says concerning His Son, this is my beloved Son
in whom I'm well pleased. Well, everybody in Christ, He
says the same thing. You're without blot, without
wrinkle, without blemish, without any such thing. You don't have
any sin. He says, Behold, thou art fair,
my love. Behold, thou art fair. There
is no spot in thee. That's what the bridegroom said
to the Shulamite in the Song of Solomon. And that is how every
believer is in Christ Jesus. And this love is a love that
never ends. John chapter 13 verse 1 says, having loved his own
which were in the world, he loved them to the end. It never stops. You know, there are people who
fall in love and get married and truly love one another and
they end up hating each other, and they end up getting divorced,
and splitting up, breaking homes, bringing pain to children. Oh,
it's such a horrible thing. They began at least thinking
they loved each other, and then they get to the point where they
can't stand one another. But do you know God's love never
ends? It never grows cold. It never
becomes cool. It never becomes distant. We
may lose our first love. That's what he said to the church
at Ephesus. You've left your first love, but he never does. It's a love that never ends.
Just like it never had a beginning, it will never have an ending. And it's a love that chastens.
Whom the Lord loveth, he chastens and scourges, corrects every
son he receives. While I don't necessarily want
to be chastened, The thought of not being chastened terrifies
me because if I'm not chastened, that means the Lord's removed
his hand from me. That means I've been left to myself. And
the worst thing that could happen to me is for me to be left to
myself. Oh, his love chastens because
he loves. The reason you correct your children
is because you love them. If I misbehave and the Lord doesn't
chasten me, it's because I'm not one of his loved ones. Oh,
whom the Lord loveth. he chasteneth. And his love is
a love that constrains. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5.14,
the love of Christ constrains me. His love to me, it constrains
me. It restrains me. It keeps me
from doing things I would have done. It presses upon me. It takes me. I'm overcome with
it. The love of God in Christ Jesus,
it constrains me that He would give His Son for me, that He
would love me. You see, His love is never unrequited. We love Him, John said, because
He first loved us. And if He loved you, you will
love Him in return. You'll walk with Him. He's your
all. You're separated unto Him, if
you're one of His loved ones, if you're one of His saints.
You know if you love somebody, you want them to be pleased with
you, don't you? You want them to be pleased with you. You don't
want to treat them in indifference or take advantage of them. You
want them to be pleased with you. Love wants to please. The love of Christ constraineth
me. And then we read in 1 John 4,
verse 16, where John said, We have known and believed. the love that God hath to us. Now that word believed, you could
just as easily call it we have known and relied upon. We have
known and trusted the love that God hath to us. You see, salvation
begins with His love. And we're relying on His love. I'm relying on His electing love.
The Lord said, you did not choose me, but I chose you. I'm relying
on His electing love, and I'm relying on Him loving me freely
for Christ's sake. I'm relying on a love to me that
never began and will never end. You know, a woman was speaking
to Charles Spurgeon once, and she said, I know God had to love
me before I was born, because He couldn't have loved me after
I was born. If He waited to then, there wouldn't be anything there
to love. That's so true. I am depending, I'm relying on
that everlasting love. And I'm depending on His love
being for sinners. That's my only hope, is that
He really does love sinners. And I am relying on His love
that predestinates these sinners to be perfectly conformed to
the image of His Son. I'm relying on a love that magnifies
His saving grace and makes propitiation for sin and makes me lovely.
I'm relying on that. Now, dear friend, if you want
to be loved by the God of the Bible, and if you desire His
love, Believe on Christ, and you have it. You have it, and
you'll find out that you've had it eternally. But the thing to
do, don't say, what if He doesn't love me? Oh, if you need His
love, if you need His grace, He does. Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. Now we have this message
on DVD and CD. If you call the church, write
or email, we'll send you a copy. This is Todd Nybert, praying
that God will be pleased to make Himself known to you. That's
our prayer. 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.