Did you see? Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Neither. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Mattawara 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 Nyberg. In 2 Corinthians 13, verse 5,
Paul said to the church at Corinth, examine yourselves, whether you
be in the faith. Prove your own selves. Know ye
not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except
you be reprobates?" Now, the church at Corinth had been questioning
Paul's authority. They had been examining him and
seeking to prove him. Now, this is the man that God
had used to bring the gospel to them, and yet they were calling
him into question. It's very sad. If you start in
chapter 11 and on through Chapter 13, he's having to defend himself
to the Corinthians. And it breaks his heart that
he has to do this. But he says to them in the midst
of this, you know, you're examining me. You're calling me into question. And the reason Paul defended
himself, because if they called him into question, they would
call his gospel into question. He wasn't doing this for self-affirmation
or proving anything. He was defending himself and
God's hand on him and God's call on him as the apostle who revealed,
God revealed the gospel directly to him and he preached this gospel. And that's why he's defending
himself against their accusations and against their questionings.
But he says, while you're questioning me, examine yourself. Forget about me for a moment.
Examine yourself. Whether you be in the faith,
prove your own selves. Put your own selves to the test.
Know you not how that Christ is in you, except you be reprobate. Now, that is a horrible sounding
word, reprobate. He said, don't you know that
Christ is in you, except you be reprobate. What in the world
is Paul talking about? when he talks about this thing
of reprobation. Christ is in you, except you
be reprobate. This word is also translated,
a castaway. And Paul feared this for himself.
He said in 1 Corinthians 9, 27, I beat my body and keep it under
subjection. Left after preaching to others,
I myself should be a castaway. a reprobate, someone who hadn't
passed the test, someone who is not genuine, someone who is
not sincere, someone who's not real, a counterfeit, a phony. The word is first used in Romans
chapter 1, where Paul said in verse 28, And even as they did
not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over
to a reprobate, mind. Now, that word means not passing
the test, being examined and failing, being weighed in the
balances and found wanting, being rejected. Now, because these
people did not like to retain God in their knowledge, they
didn't like what they heard regarding God, they didn't like His attributes,
they didn't like the fact that He was holy, they didn't like
the fact that He was sovereign, They didn't like the fact that
He was just. They didn't like His way of saving sinners. They
did not like to retain God in their knowledge. God said, OK,
have it your way. And He gave them up. He left
them alone. And listen, my dear friend, all
God has to do is leave me or you alone. He doesn't have to
do anything to us. All He has to do is leave us
alone. Pull the restraint away and we
will be as bad as Satan. And we will not be able to understand
truth. We will not be able to hear.
We will not be able to discern. God turns the lights out. Let them alone. And that is what makes me fear
more than anything else. The thought of being left to
myself. God saying, let them alone. Now, Paul says to the church
at Corinth, Don't you know how that Christ is in you, except
you be reprobates? We read in 2 Timothy 3, verse
8, of those who are reprobate concerning the faith. They have
no understanding of the faith. They may be religious. As a matter
of fact, these people were religious that he's speaking of in 2 Timothy
3. Ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the
truth. Always learning about religion, having the form of
godliness, but denying the power thereof. Reprobate concerning
the faith. And then we read in Titus 1.16
of those who are to every good work, reprobate. They're incapable
of a good work because they have not the Spirit of God. They've
been given over to a reprobate mind to do those things which
are wrong. All the Lord has to do is leave
me and you alone and we will be reprobates. You know, understand
this. The reason that you and I haven't
been as bad as the devil, if we haven't outwardly, it's because
we've lacked the opportunity, not because of any moral goodness
or moral superiority in us. No, all the Lord has to do is
leave us alone, take away the restraints, And you see where
we'll go. Don't you know that Christ is
in you except you be reprobate. So you examine yourself. I want
to do that right now. And I want you to do that right
now. Examine yourself. Put yourself to the test. Be
honest before God. If you're a phony, if you're
a counterfeit, don't you want to know? I want to know if I
am. I want to face the truth. You
see, if I don't find out till the next world, it'll be too
late. Examine yourselves because of
the importance of this. Where we spend eternity is dependent
upon whether we be in the faith. Examine yourselves because if
you're mistaken, that can only be rectified here. If I find
out I'm mistaken in the world to come, It will be too late. So examine yourselves, whether
you be in the faith. Examine yourselves because many
have been mistaken. In Matthew 7, verse 20, the Lord
said, Many shall say unto Me in that day. Not just a few,
but many shall say unto Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we
not preached in Your name? And in Your name have we not
cast out devils? And in Your name have we not
done many wonderful works. Look at their own apprehension
of their works, many and wonderful. And then the Lord tells us, Then
shall I say unto them, Depart from me, ye that work iniquity. I never knew you. I never knew
you to call upon my name. I never knew you. I never loved
you. I never had a relationship with
you. You make all this big talk now. but it's not real. Examine
yourselves because many have been mistaken and examine yourselves
because you'll be examined by God. Now may God give you and
I the grace to do this morning. Examine yourselves. Now a lot
of people when they think about self-examination, they start
trying to look within and see how good they are, how holy they
are, how righteous they are, how obedient they are. how much
they sin or don't sin, and they try to come up, well, I must
be saved because I'm this way, I'm that way, I read my Bible,
I witness, I fight against sin, I try to do my best, I must be
a Christian. Now, if you think you're a Christian by looking
within your heart and thinking, I measure up, you've missed Christ
altogether. That's pure deceit. That's dishonest. If you look
at yourself and think, boy, I'm holy, I must be a Christian.
You look how good, oh, you've missed it altogether. That's
hypocrisy is all it is. You know, a lot of folks look
at self-examination like that. Well, I'm going to examine yourself
to see if there's any sin in your life. Of course there's
sin in your life. You're a sinner. And I'm not excusing it, but
is there sin in my life? Yeah, there's sin in your life.
Let me answer that right off the bat. So if you're trying
to examine yourself and say, well, there's no sin in my life,
therefore I must be a Christian, you're a liar. You've deceived
yourself. Notice what he says. He says, examine yourselves whether
you be In the faith. In the faith. There is something called the
faith. It's called in Titus 1.1, the
faith of God's elect. The faith which all of God's
elect possess. The faith of God's elect, the
acknowledging of the truth, which is after godliness. The gospel has a content, the
truth, which must be believed. There is someone and something
that must be believed. Our Lord said, He that believeth
not shall be damned. Now, those are strong words,
but there is a content that must be believed. Our Lord said in
John 8, 24, If you believe not that I am He, you shall die in
your sins. I must believe that the Lord
Jesus Christ is the great I Am, or I will die in my sins. Now, in 1 John chapter 4, we
have a very important passage of Scripture regarding what believers
believe in what they hear preached. Now, we read in 1 John chapter
4, verse 1, where John says, Beloved, believe not every spirit. Believe not every tog, dick and
hairy who claims to be a preacher speaking for God just because
he claims he's a preacher doesn't mean God ever sent him. Believe
not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they are of
God, because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
Not a few, but many. Hereby know ye the Spirit of
God." Every spirit that confesses. Now what a man believes is what
he confesses publicly. If he doesn't confess it publicly,
even though he says privately that he does believe it, he doesn't
really believe it. The only way you can tell what
somebody believes is by what they actually say publicly in
what they confess. Here's an example. I don't know
how many times I've asked somebody, does your pastor believe in the
doctrine of election? They say, well, I don't know.
I've never heard him preach on it. Well, that means he doesn't
believe it. If he did, he would preach it. Hereby know ye the
Spirit of God, every spirit that confesses, this is what he says
publicly, that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is of God. Now, this simple confession tells
us what it is believers believe. Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. Now, when I make that statement,
I say, I believe He was before He came. He's the eternal Son
of God. He was before He came. He's the uncreated, sovereign
God of glory. The One who created all things.
The One who controls all things. He was before He came. And He came in the flesh. The
Word was made flesh. God manifest in the flesh. We believe that the God of glory
became flesh. Now, why did He become flesh? He became flesh because He became
the Savior of sinners. I'm flesh. For Him to save me,
He has to become flesh. And we believe that He did what
He came to do. Matthew 1.21 says, Thou shalt
call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins. He did what He came to do in
the flesh. He saved His people from their
sins. When He said, it is finished,
the salvation of all of God's elect was accomplished. That's,
we're relying on that. I'm relying on that right now.
That Jesus Christ came in the flesh. He was before He came.
He came in the flesh and He did what He came to do. That represents
everything we believe. Now look what He says in verse
3. And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come
in the flesh is not of God. And it's that spirit of the Antichrist
where you've heard that it should come, and even now already, it
is in the world. Now, this means, though, when
he says, examine yourselves whether you be in the faith, this means
more than believing the right things. You know, the devils
believe the right things. Remember where James says, you
believe there's one God, you do well. The devil believes,
and he also trembles. The devils believe and they tremble.
The devil believes the right things, so being in the faith
does not simply mean believing accurate doctrine. Paul put it
this way in Galatians chapter 2, verse 20. He said, I am crucified
with Christ. Now here he is stating his union
with the Lord Jesus Christ. If I'm in Christ, I'm in the
faith. I was crucified with Christ. Everything the Lord Jesus Christ
did, He did as an us. I was crucified. I am crucified. I've been crucified with Christ.
Nevertheless, I live. Yet not I, but Christ liveth
in me, and the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by
the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for
me." Now, that statement would be meaningless if God loves everybody
and Christ died for everybody. You see, this is Paul's hope
that He loved me and gave Himself for me. If He loved somebody
and gave Himself for somebody who ends up in hell, then His
love and His giving Himself doesn't do anybody any good. But notice
what Paul says. He says, the life that I now
live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who
loved me and gave himself for me. Now, that word by can also
be translated in. I live in the faith of the Son
of God. I am in him. I live in him. I live in his faithfulness because
I am in him. I'm living in his faithfulness. I'm living off his faith. You
see, somebody had to believe God perfectly. Do you have perfect
faith? Do you have a faith that never
doubts, that's always strong? Of course not. He did. He believed God perfectly. He said, though He slay me, yet
will I trust Him. And my faith before God is His
faith. I am living in His faith. in His faithfulness because I
am living in Him. How do I know I'm in the faith?
Remember, He said, examine yourselves whether you be in the faith.
How do you know you're in the faith? How do you know you're
in the Lord Jesus Christ? Because I am consciously, completely
dependent on being in Him. I know exactly what Paul meant
when he said, Oh, 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 faith of
Christ, His faith, the righteousness which is of God by faith. I am consciously dependent upon
being in Him so that when God comes looking for me, all He
sees is His Son. I do not want Him to see anything
else. Now, that's what it means to
be in the faith. You know, when the Lord said,
No man comes to the Father but by Me, When I come to the Father,
it's because He does and I'm in Him. And when He comes to
the Father, I do too. That's what it means to be in
the faith. Yes, you believe an accurate
doctrine. You believe the truth. But it's more than simply believing
the right things. It's being in Him. It's living
off His faithfulness. Now, He says, examine yourselves
whether you be in the faith. Know ye not your own selves,
how that Christ is in you?" Christ is in you, except you be reprobate. Now, what is this thing of Christ
being in a man? When Romans chapter 8, beginning
in verse 9, we read, But you are not in the flesh,
but in the Spirit." Talking to every believer. You don't go
in the flesh and in the Spirit. You have a bad day, you're in
the flesh. A good day, you're in the Spirit. No. If you're a believer,
you're always in the Spirit, because you have Christ in you.
Now, you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. If so, be
that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now, if any man have
not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His. And if Christ
be in you, Remember, Christ condemns you, says, no, you're not your
own self. How? That Christ is in you, except you be reprobate.
And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin,
but the spirit is life because of righteousness. Christ in you by the indwelling
of his spirit. Now, the physical body of the
Lord Jesus Christ is in heaven, seated at the right hand of the
Father. But He's also here on earth by
Him indwelling His people by His Spirit. The church is His
body, and He dwells in each member of His church by His Spirit,
the Spirit of Christ. Notice how Paul says, And if
Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the
Spirit is life. Notice he doesn't say it's alive.
He said, it's life because of righteousness. Now, my body is
not dead yet. It's dying, but it's not dead,
but it's spiritually dead. This is talking about the old
nature. Every believer has two natures. The body is dead because
of sin, but the spirit, the new man, is life because of righteousness. That's Christ living in you. Now, back to Galatians chapter
2, verse 20, Paul said, I'm crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I
live. Yet not I, but Christ liveth
in me. And the life that I now live
in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me
and gave himself for me." Now Paul says, I live. And I do. I have life before God. I love. Somebody doesn't do it for me.
I believe. I repent. But I know this, it's
not me doing that. It's not the old man. I know
no true faith comes from my flesh, my old nature. No love for God
comes from my old nature. It's dead. I live, yet not I,
but Christ liveth in me. I live by the faith of the Son
of God. Here's what I'm relying on, and
here is what motivates me. I live by the faith of the Son
of God. I'm living off His faith, the
One who loved me and gave Himself for me. He said, I don't frustrate
the grace of God, for righteousness came by the law. Christ died
in vain. Somebody who has Christ in them
doesn't disannul grace. They really believe the only
way they can be saved is by the grace of God. In Galatians chapter
4 verse 19 he says to the Galatians, my little children of whom I
prevail in birth again until Christ be formed in you. I desire
to be present with you now and to change my voice for I stand
in doubt of you. Now Paul says to the Galatians, the direction
you're going makes me afraid that the Lord's never done anything
for you. He says, tell me you that desire
to be under the law. Don't you hear the law? Now these
Galatians wanted to be under law. Don't you hear what the
law says? All it does is condemn you. Why
would you want to be under law? If Christ is formed in a man,
He has a great desire to not be under law, but under grace. And I tell you this, I have a
great desire to not be under law, but under grace. Christ
formed in you means you have His mind. You have His character. He loves God. You love God. He loves His Father as He is.
You love Him as He is. You wouldn't change Him if you
could. He hates sin. You hate sin. His glory is more important to
Him than anything else, and His glory is more important to you
than anything else. He's gracious. He's formed in
you, you're gracious. He's forgiving. He's formed in
you, you're forgiving. He's merciful. Him formed in
you, you're merciful. He's holy. Him formed in you,
you're holy. He's seen in your character,
the fruit of God the Holy Spirit, love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, the fruit
of the Spirit, Christ in you, the hope of glory. And then we
read in Colossians chapter 1, verse 27, to whom God, let's begin reading
verse 26, even the mystery which had been hid from ages and from
generation, but now is made manifest to his saints, to whom God would
make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery
among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."
My hope of glory is Christ in me, me in Christ, and Christ
in me. All my hope of entering into
glory and being saved is me being in Christ. and Christ being in
me." Christ in you, the hope of glory. Now question, can a
man know that Christ is in him? The answer to that question is
yes. And here's how. In 1 John 5, verse 1, it says,
Whosoever, I love that word, whosoever believeth that Jesus
is the Christ, is born of God. Now somebody says, well, I believe
Jesus is Christ. Well, do you know what that means?
Hold on. Wait a minute. When I say Jesus is the Christ,
I say he's God's anointed prophet, the Word of God. I say he's God's
anointed priest, the one who must be successful in what he
does. If he represents me, I must be saved. I say He's God's anointed
King, the one who rules everything, who has absolute sovereign dominion,
control, and authority. That's what I believe regarding
Him. He's God's prophet. He is the Word of God, and I
need Him as my prophet to bring me the Word of God. He's God's
priest, and I need Him as my priest to represent me before
God so that I can be accepted. I can't come on my own. He's
got to come for me. He's got to represent me. I need
Him as God's King to rule and reign over me, to subdue me,
to subdue my wickedness and make me to be His own child. I need
Him as my prophet, priest, and King. Christ is not His last
name. That's His offices. God's prophet,
God's priest, God's King. Whosoever... Now, I'm going to
open that door as wide as God does. Whosoever... I'm a whosoever. Whosoever believeth that Jesus
is the Christ, is born of God. If you're in the faith, that's
what it is. You believe the gospel. There's
one reason. Because Christ is in you. Now, you examine yourselves.
No, you're not your own selves. Have it. Christ is in you. Except
you be reprobate. Examine yourselves whether you
be in the faith. Now, we have this message on
cassette, DVD, CD. If you call the church, write
or e-mail us and send your copy. This is Todd Kniper, praying
that God will be pleased to make himself known to you. That's
our prayer. Amen.