I've entitled this message. Grace
and peace. Grace and. Peace. Now, Paul says in verse 7. To
all that be in Rome. Beloved of God. Called to be
Saints. Grace to you. and peace from
God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Now I want grace to come
to me from God my Father and I want grace to come to me from
the Lord Jesus Christ. Now when Paul is writing to all
who are in Rome who fit this description Beloved of God, and
called to be saints. There's something very special
about this. Beloved of God, this is a reference
to his saving love toward his elect. To all that be in Rome,
beloved of God. Second Thessalonians 2.13 says,
but we're bound to give thanks always to God for you. Brethren,
beloved of the Lord. because God hath from the beginning
chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the spirit
and belief of the truth. Election is the doctrine of divine
love. I want to repeat that. Election
is the doctrine of divine love. If you're beloved of God, you
are the object of his saving love. Now I realize that the
world is horrified by Jacob have I loved and Esau have I hated,
but there it stands. But let me ask you this question.
Do you desire to be loved by the living God? Is that the desire
of your heart? Don't even imagine that his special
saving love toward his elect prevents anyone from being saved. It doesn't. Don't think there's
someone knocking on heaven's door and saying, I want in, I
want mercy. Nope, you're not elect. That
never happened. Election does not prevent people
from being saved who perhaps otherwise would have been. It
saves people who would have most surely been damned if it were
not for his electing love and grace. Thank God for the election
of love. And then next he says to these
people, to all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be
saints. Look up in verse six. He says
to them, among whom also you also are the called of Jesus
Christ called, called by God to be saints. Now, what is a
saint? It means a separated one. A separated
one. If you're a saint, God has separated
you as an individual. It means a holy one. It means
a sanctified one, separated by God the Father in eternal election
to be holy. Ephesians 1, 4 says, according
as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before him. separated by
the Son, declared to be holy by his death on the cross. Hebrews
10.10 says, by the witch will, we are sanctified through the
offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Now this
sanctification was achieved and accomplished by the blood of
the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. When he died, God said
concerning everyone he died for, they're holy. They're holy before
me. And then sanctified by the Spirit,
separated by the Spirit, and were in generation made holy,
having the divine nature imparted to them. 2 Thessalonians 2 verse
13 says, We're bound to give thanks always to God for you,
brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning
chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit,
actually being made holy, having the divine holy nature imparted
to you. Hence, a saint. What a glorious,
transcendent thing it is to be a saint of God. And that's what
every believer is, a saint of God. Now, listen to this. Being
made a saint is the work of God. It's not the work of man. It's
what God does for a man. It's not what man does for God.
Being a saint is the bestowal and actual impartation of spiritual
life. It is not the artificial imitation
of ethical living. Being a saint comes from the
righteousness of God. imputed, not the imperfect righteousness
of man worked out. Being a saint is according to
the faithful calling of God, and it's not according to the
fitful carefulness of man. Being a saint is God's reward
to Christ. not a payment for a human surplus
of good works. Being a saint is from divine
reconciliation, not from human regulation. Being a saint comes
from the canceling of all sin, not the cessation, the stopping
of some particular sin. Being a saint is being delivered
from and dead to the law. It's not trying to keep the law
or making the law as your rule of life. Being a saint is divine
regeneration. It's not human reformation. Being a saint is being acceptable
unto God. and not exceptionally good. Being a saint is completeness
in Christ. It's not competency in human
character. Being a saint is possessing every
spiritual blessing. It's not professing or possessing
some aspect of betterment. Being a saint is always and only
of God. It's never of man. Being a saint
is being his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works,
which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. It's a transcended thing to be
a saint, isn't it? Saint Todd. Saint Todd. Every believer is a saint of
God. Every believer is beloved of
God. And every believer is a saint of God. And what a glorious thing
this is to be called to be a saint. Surely this is the high and heavenly
and holy calling. Now here is the reason for being
beloved of God and being called a saint. Look what he says once
again in verse 7. To all that be in Rome, Beloved
of God, called to be saints, grace to you and peace from God
our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, there's one reason
we're beloved of God. Grace. There's one reason we're
saints. Grace. the grace of God in Christ
Jesus. Grace from God the Father and
grace from the Lord Jesus Christ. We have the same Father, we have
the same Savior, we have the same grace, and that's what makes
us brethren, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling. Brothers that are closer than
any blood ties can produce. You know they say blood's thicker
than water, that's true. But grace is thicker than blood.
Brethren by grace. Grace, I love this word, grace. All religions speak of a kind
of grace. And all of what goes on under
the name of Christianity makes some kind of proclamation of
grace. And would say they believe in the grace of God. It means
something different by it. Now I want you to listen real
carefully to these statements regarding the true nature of
the grace of God. First, turn to Romans 5. Verse 21. That as sin hath reigned unto
death, Even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal
life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Look back up at verse 20. Moreover,
the law entered that the offense might abound and overflow. Now, if you've ever understood
what God's law means, it means you see that all that flows out
of you and abounds out of you is sin only. That's what you see when you
see the law of God. Moreover, the law entered that
the offense might abound, but where sin abounded, overflowed,
grace did much more abound. Now, grace is God freely acting
according to his nature. God is gracious. You know, I've heard people say,
maybe I've even said, God must be just and he may be gracious.
No, God must be just and God must be gracious. It's his nature. He delights in being gracious. Grace is only for the individual
who has nothing to pay and can meet no requirements. Let me repeat that. Grace is
only for the individual who has nothing to pay and can meet no
requirements. Now, if that's not you, grace
is not for you. Grace is righteous. It doesn't just put sin under
the rug. Grace reigns through righteousness. It's an altogether righteous
thing that magnifies the righteousness of God. Grace is a righteous
thing. Yes, grace is for sinners. But
grace is an altogether righteous thing. Sin is dealt with. And
grace will not act where there is any human ability. God's grace will not act where
there is any human ability, it only acts where sin abounds. In the place where sin abounds,
that is where grace does much more about. Grace does not need
our help. It requires nothing of you. It does not need our help. It's either all of grace or all
of works. There is no in between. The flesh
has no room in God's purpose of grace. They that be in the
flesh, the scripture says, cannot please God. All flesh is grass. I love that Isaiah 40, the voice
said, cry, what shall I cry? All flesh is grass. And all the
goodliness thereof, as the grass withers, the flower fades away,
but the word of the Lord endures forever. You know, all it takes
to fall from grace is to add something to it. It's all it
takes. Grace is the only reason for
God's blessing. The only reason. God doesn't
bless you because of something you've done. God blesses in grace. And grace always produces humility,
true spiritual humility. and where there's no humility,
the grace of God has not truly been experienced. There's no
arrogance in grace. Now, let's look at where grace
is first mentioned. Would you turn with me to Genesis
chapter 6? You're beloved of God, and you're called to be
saints for this one reason, grace. Genesis chapter 6. Verse 5, now
this is a word that we hear quite often. Genesis 6 verse 5, and God saw
that the wickedness of man was great in the earth. This is what
God saw. And remember, God sees things
as they are. What he sees, that's how it is. Me and you, we don't
see the big picture. We don't see anything, really,
when it comes right down to it. We can't make a judgment about
anybody or anyone because we just don't know all the story.
But God sees things as they really are. And God saw that the wickedness
of man was great in the earth. and that every imagination of
the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually, non stop. Now that's God's estimation of
man. Now here's the question I want
to ask you. Was there any human being to whom this verse did
not apply? Or is there any human being even
now to whom this verse does not apply? Does this describe I'm not asking if it describes
the person beside you, perhaps it obviously does, but does this
describe you? When God looks in your heart,
he sees that the wickedness is great. And that every imagination,
he's not even talking about the works. Now he's talking about
the things that go on through the mind. Every imagination of
the thoughts of his heart is only evil. continually. Now this is a description
of Todd Nybert. This is a description of everybody
in this room and everybody outside of this room. Now look in verse
8. Here is the first time the word
grace is used. But Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. Noah was in this description
of Genesis 6, 5. He was born with a sinful, evil
nature, but Noah found grace, found favor, found free favor
in the eyes of the Lord. Now, what does it look like when
one finds favor in the eyes of the Lord? We'll turn to Ephesians
chapter 2. Beloved, what I'm doing right
now is preaching the gospel. This is God's gospel. This is
the truth. Ephesians 2, beginning in verse
1. And you hath he quickened who were dead. Dead, D-E-A-D, dead in trespasses
and sins. Oh, you were physically alive,
but you were dead as far as love to God, the ability to believe,
the ability to repent, dead in trespasses and sins. Wherein
in times past, in your past, you walked according to the course
of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air.
You were under the control of the devil, the spirit that now
worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our
conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling
the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature
the children of wrath, even as others, but God. There's grace right there. But
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. But God, 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. You know what that means? That
means when Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, I was too. I was
in him when he was raised, I was raised. That's when I was quickened.
When did you live? when he lived, when he was quickened. He has quickened us together
with Christ. By grace are you saved, Paul
says. That's what grace is. And hath
raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places
in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come, he might show the
exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through
Christ Jesus, for by grace are you saved. through faith, and
that not of yourselves. It's the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast, for we are his workmanship. Created
in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained
that we should walk in them. That is what grace looks like. Now, it's the grace of God that
makes us beloved of God and saints of God. Don't you know that so?
It's the grace of God that makes us beloved of God and saints
of God. And you know what issues from
that? Peace. To all that be in Rome, beloved
of God, called to be saints, grace to you, and peace from
God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Peace. The peace of God. What do you and I know of the
peace of God? Now everybody knows what it's
like to feel peace from time to time when circumstances are
right. But what is the peace of God? Turn with me to John
chapter 14, please. The Lord says in verse 27, peace. I leave with you my peace I give unto you. Not as the world giveth, give
I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid. Now the Lord tells us very clearly
here the peace he gives is not the kind of peace that the world
gives. And the world does in fact give
a certain kind of peace. And you can feel calm and tranquil
and content. You can feel a sense of well-being.
You can feel like everything's going well. And you have peace. Everything is going your way. It's a good feeling, isn't it?
I like feeling peace. I don't like feeling turmoil.
I don't like feeling strife. I enjoy feeling peace. And the world can give a type
of peace. However, this peace can also be produced by a pill. And this peace can also be produced
by alcohol. And this peace can also be produced
by a good nap. And you just wake up and have
a better attitude. Everything looks better. This
peace can be produced by a generous inheritance. All of a sudden
your situation is better. This peace can be produced by
believing a lie. And this peace is so fragile
and can be destroyed in an instant. It's a peace that's grounded
in circumstances and circumstances change. It can be destroyed instantly
by change, by doubt, by failure, by fear, by difficulty, by guilt,
by shame, by distress, by regret, by anxiety over the future, or
any challenge to our position or possessions. Need I go on? This peace is easily destroyed. But God's peace has nothing to
do with human beings or human circumstances. It cannot be produced on a human
level at all. He said, my peace, I give you. Don't miss that. My peace, I
give you. What kind of peace does Christ
have? Well, there's two things that really stood out to me when
I thought about this, when I thought about the peace that the Lord
Jesus Christ has. And you know he has peace. He's
not worried. He's not stressed. He's not anxious
about anything. But there's two things that make
up his peace. Number one, he's got the peace
of sovereignty. He controls everything. He has
absolute control over everything and everybody. And nothing is
outside of that umbrella. He's the absolute sovereign of
the universe. And He controls everything. He
even controls the things that are going on through your mind. He controls all. And so He's
at peace. Nothing's going to happen but
His will. What peace he has, nothing for him to be anxious
about, is there? Nothing for him to demonstrate any anxiety
about. He doesn't need to worry about
the future. Oh, the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the peace
of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. And secondly,
he has the peace where he doesn't have to worry in any way about
the consequences of sin. Now when you and I lose our peace,
all of a sudden we're afraid our sin's gonna come back and
haunt us somehow. Our sin's gonna come back and get us. You know,
there's, I wish it wasn't this way, but there's not a day that
goes by where at some point during that day, I think, could I possibly
be saved and think that? And when I'm thinking that way,
I'm thinking, uh-oh, what if I go to hell? What if I go to
hell? You say, well, you ought to have
full assurance. I know I do, and I do have full assurance. But still,
there's not a day that goes by where at some point I don't think,
uh-oh, if I was a believer, would I think that? Would I do that?
Would I be that way? And when you think that way,
all your peace leaves, doesn't it? Because you're looking to
yourself, and you have no peace in that kind of thinking. But
the Lord never worries about the consequences of sin, because
he's without sin. He's without sin. He's without
guilt. He put the sins of his people away. We're without sin
too. So you think of this piece. He says, my peace, I give unto
you. Now, this is the piece that Paul
said passes all understanding. It transcends human intellect. It transcends human insight and
it transcends human analysis. No counselor can give it because
it's the gift of God. My peace, I give unto you. It's the peace that comes from
grace. Now salvation really is all of
grace. If that's so. I have peace. Now, this peace is divine. Ephesians 2.14 says, He is our
peace. It's altogether divine. You know, peace, as far as that
goes, is a divine attribute of God. He's called the God of peace. I love that title of our Lord,
don't you? He's called the God of peace.
He never second guesses anything he did. He never regrets anything
he did. He never worries. He's never
stressed. He's God. He's in control and
he has perfect peace. He's not in turmoil. He's not upset. He's not angry
the way we get angry. God is at peace. He has perfect
joy in himself. I love thinking about this. God
is happy. He's happy. He's in control. Now, this peace that the believer
has that is a gift Second Thessalonians 3.16 says, may the Lord himself
grant you peace. It's a gift of God. It's not
something you can just work up or achieve. It's something the
Lord gives his people. My peace I've given to you. This peace has absolutely nothing
to do with circumstances. Doesn't have anything to do with
how you get along with your wife or your husband. Doesn't have
anything to do with how much debt you have or how much debt
you don't have. Doesn't have anything to do with relationships
at all. Paul put it this way in first
Thessalonians 5, 18, in everything, give thanks. Everything. Doesn't matter what it is. In
everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ
Jesus concerning you. This is exactly what you need
given to you by your loving heavenly Father. Thank Him for it. Doesn't have anything to do with
everything going my way. Romans 8, 28 says, and we know
that all things work together for good, to them that love God,
to them who are the called according to his purpose." Aren't you thankful
for that verse? Now here's exactly what this
piece is. Would you turn to John 16 here in John 14. Turn to John
16. Verse 29. His disciples said unto him,
Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. You
know, I can't help but think what the Lord thought when they said
that. Oh, I'm glad I'm clear now. You know, that's so ridiculous. But there they go. I mean, you
know, the disciples say stupid things. People say, well, I'm
afraid if I say something, it'll sound so stupid. It will. It will.
Me too. That's the way we all are. I
mean, we're just, we're floundering along with the disciples. You
know, they make these silly statements, kind of like whenever I'm with
Sir Peter tonight, when he said, let's make three tabernacles.
One for thee, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. He was an
apostle, and he makes a dumb statement like that. Well, I
expect dumb statements out of me. I expect it. Expect it. Even when you're preaching, even
when I'm preaching, I'm flashed like you are. Now speakest thou
plainly, and speakest no proverb. Now are we sure that thou knowest
all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee. By this we believe thou camest
forth from God." We're filled with faith now. Jesus answered
them, do you now believe? Do you? You're talking. Do you
now believe? Behold, the hour cometh, yea,
is now come, that you shall be scattered, every man to his own,
and you'll leave me alone. At my most tried hour, you're
going to forsake me and leave me and prove just how great your
faith is and just how great your cowardice is. That's what you're
going to demonstrate. Yet, I'm not alone. Because the Father is with me. These things have I spoken unto
you, that in me you might have peace. In the world you shall
have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. In me, there's not a more important
concept in the scriptures than this, in the Lord Jesus Christ.
In him as my head. You know the way the Lord points
out that we're the body and he's the head? Do you know the same
blood that circulates through the little toe circulates through
the head? That's how closely united we
are to him. He said, I'm the vine, you're the branches. The
same sack that goes through the branches goes through the vine,
and that's how closely united we are to Him in the Lord Jesus
Christ, union with Him. Now, these things have I spoken
unto you that in me you might have peace. Now let me tell you
what I have peace in. I have peace that when God looks
at me, Todd Nybert, all he sees is Jesus Christ, his darling,
beloved son. You know what that makes me feel?
Peace. Now, if he looks at me in any
other light, I don't have peace. He said, these things have I
spoken unto you that in me you might have peace. Now in the
world, you're going to have trouble. You're going to have tribulation.
You're going to have trial, but be of good cheer. I have overcome
the world. Now in Christ, these things have
I spoken to you that in me you might have peace. Let me tell
you at least two people who are in Christ. Two people, at least
two. There's more than that, but let
me tell you at least two. Number one, scripture says, in him dwelleth
all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Who's in Christ? God is. God is. As a matter of fact, all you
and I are ever going to see of God is Jesus Christ. He's God. So God's in Christ, and you know
who else is in Christ? You. Speaking of every believer,
God and These things have I spoken unto you, that in me you might
have peace. Just a few scriptures and we'll
close this up. Turn to 1 John 3. In him dwells all the
fullness of the Godhead in a body and you are complete in him. I love scriptures that give me
peace. Verse four, whosoever committed
sin transgresses also the law for sin is the transgression
of the law. And you know that he was manifested
to take away our sins. That's what he came for to take
them away. Did he do it? Yes, he did. And in him is no sin. Turn to Romans 4. Verse 25. Who was delivered for our offenses
That's why died our offenses and was raised again for our
justification. Now, let me say this about justification.
Justification is not something God offers you. I think it's ridiculous the way
God wants to save you. He's offering your salvation.
It's up to you to accept it or reject it. Would you prefer being
justified or condemned? I even had somebody tell me last
week that God even gave everybody a second chance when Christ went,
during those three days, he went down to hell and preached to
the people in hell to give them another chance to repent and
believe. Yeah, I'm sure somebody in hell
said, nope, no, I'd rather stay here. I mean, that stuff is so,
offensive really to the to the well at any rate he was delivered
for our offenses and he was raised again for our justification.
You know what that means? When he was raised from the dead
every believer was justified. Justification is not something
you accept or reject it's something the judge declares you to be. If God says I'm justified I'm
justified. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It's God that justifieth. Who is he that can condemn? It's
Christ that died, yea, rather that's risen again, who's even
at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for
us. He was delivered for our offenses.
and raised again for our justification. Chapter five, verse one, therefore,
and you can read this, having been justified. Having been justified. By faith, we have peace with
God. God's at peace with us. And we
are at peace with him. It was said of the church, To
her, Revelation 19.8, to her was granted fine linen, clean
and white. And this is the righteousness
of the saints. Once again, I've heard people
say, well, that is the righteous deeds of the saints. Oh, do you
really believe any of your deeds could be considered fine linen,
clean and white? No, no. The righteousness of
Christ is the righteousness of the saints. And what peace flows
from that. Romans 14, 17 says the kingdom
of God is not meat and drink. It's not do's and don'ts. It's
not rules and regulations. But it's righteousness. And what
comes from righteousness? Peace. And joy. in the Holy Ghost. Romans 15, 13 speaks of the joy
and the peace of believing. Believing what? That He only
is my righteousness before God. To all that be in Lexington,
beloved of God, to be saints, grace to you, and
peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's
pray together.