It's not that I did choose thee,
Lord, for, Lord, that could not be. Todd Grove Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Neiber. 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 Nyvert. God is hope. What all does that mean? I like
the way someone defined holiness as otherness. God is other. He is altogether not like you
and I. God is holy. And because God is holy, God
hates sin. God hates unrighteousness. God hates wrongdoing. That's His character. God is
holy. And God cannot embrace me and
accept me if I have any sin, because God is holy. For God to accept me, something
has to be done about my sin. There's nothing I can do about
my sin. This is only that which he could
do. I want to speak this morning
on a glorious subject, the putting away of sin. Now, whether you're
aware of it or not, you have sinned. You have sinned and you
are a sinner before God. That's what the scripture says.
I'm a sinner before God. What can be done about my sin? Now, I want to take you to 1
Samuel, chapter 12, where David, the man after God's own heart,
has sinned. Now, if you read in the 11th
chapter, what he did was he committed adultery, and then he tried to
cover it up And he implicated other people in his sin. And
then he had the husband of the woman he committed adultery with
murdered. And he was guilty of a terrible
abuse of power. What David did was remarkably
evil. Now, David's the man after God's
own heart. And somebody thinks, well, could a true believer do
something like that? Now, if you say that, You don't
know much about yourself, because if the Lord left me or you to
ourselves, we would be as bad as Satan. Now, that's so. And David committed a horrible
crime. And so God sends Nathan, his
prophet, to David at this time after David has committed adultery,
premeditated murder, He implicated others in his crime, and he was
guilty of a horrible abuse of power. And God sends His prophet
to David at this time. And we read beginning in 1 Samuel
12, verse 1, And the Lord sent Nathan unto David, and he came
unto him, and said unto him, He gives a parable. There were
two men in one city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had exceeding many
flocks and herds he had more than his heart could wish for,
but the poor man had nothing save one little ewe lamb, which
he had brought up and nourished up And it grew up together with
him and with his children. It did eat of his own meat and
drank of his own cup and lay in his bosom and was unto him
as a daughter." Oh, this poor man treasured this one little
ewe lamb. He traded it like it was one
of his kids. And there came a traveler unto
the rich man. And he spared to take of his
own flock and of his own herd to dress for the wayfaring man
that was coming to him. But he took the poor man's lamb. This rich, wealthy man didn't
want to use one of his lambs to help this man. So he took
this poor man's lamb and killed it and dressed it for the man
that was come to him. Now, when David hears this story.
And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man. And he said to Nathan, As the
Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely
die, and he shall restore the Lamb fourfold, because he did
this thing, and because he had no pity. David was angry with
this man, and well he should be. And Nathan said to David,
Thou art the man. Nathan says, David, I was describing
you. And Nathan goes on to tell David
of the sorrow that's going to come into his home and into his
life for the rest of his life because of this thing that he
did. And then we read in verse 12,
For thou didst it secretly, you were trying to hide what you
were doing, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before
the Son. And David said unto Nathan, Here are David's words
in his response to Nathan. I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The
Lord also hath put away thy sin. Now put yourself in David's place.
He is guilty of these horrible crimes. And he confesses his
sin before the Lord. Nathan tells him, the Lord hath
put away thy sin. Now, is this something that interests
you? Do you want the Lord to put away your sin? David says, I sinned against
the Lord. Now, I know this. Sin will not
be put away apart from confessing it. And I'm not talking about
confessing it to men. I'm talking about confessing
it before God. In I John chapter 1 verse 9 we
read, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive
us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Now just saying the words, I
have sinned, does not necessarily mean there is a true confession
going on. Pharaoh said, I have sinned this
time. The Lord is righteous and I and
my people are wicked." Now, there was a confession of sin of sorts.
Pharaoh said this while the hail stones were falling and destroying
the land. You see, a confession under the
sense of terror and fear will not last. As soon as the storm
was over, as soon as the thundering and lightning ceased, Pharaoh
hardened his heart once again. When he said, I've sinned against
the Lord this time, he manifest the shallowness of his confession. He didn't realize that he had
sinned against the Lord all the time. In Numbers chapter 22,
verse 34, Balaam said, I've sinned. But he was an insincere man.
He was a man controlled by covetousness and greed. He was a two-faced
man. And his confession was not sincere. In 1 Samuel chapter 15 verse
24, Saul said to Samuel, I have sinned. I have transgressed the
commandment of the Lord and thy words that he gives of the cause,
because I feared the people. He had an excuse for his sin. Now, in my confession of sin,
if my sin is not all my fault, it is not a sincere confession.
His confession was very much like Adam's. when He said, The
woman that thou gavest Me, she gave Me of the fruit, and I did
eat. The implication being, if you
wouldn't have given Me this woman who did this to Me, I would have
never eaten the fruit. He is blaming the woman. He's
not blaming Himself. You see, any time there's not
full responsibility, it's all my fault. It's not a true confession
of sin. Judas said, I've sinned and that
I betrayed the innocent blood. But who did he come to and make
this confession to? Not to the Lord, but to the priests. Now, I don't understand this.
I know that Judas was the child of perdition. The scripture says
that regarding him. But I also have no doubt if he
would have come to the Lord, The way that publican did, the
way the prodigal did, confessing his sin and begging for mercy
and forgiveness, I know the Lord would have received him. If Judas
came like that, he would have been received just like that
prodigal was. But David says, I've sinned against
the Lord. Now, he'd seen the enormity of
his guilt. He saw the wickedness of what
he'd done. I've sinned against the Lord.
What is it to confess your sin? David's doing it this time. What
is it to confess your sin before the Lord? Listen to me real carefully.
To confess your sin before the Lord is to take sides with God
against yourself. And you say that whatever you
do is right. If you condemn me, if you pass
me by, if you don't have mercy on me, you're right, just, holy
and good. What I have done, who I am, deserves
death." Now that's what you do when you confess your sin. And
David confessed his sin. He acknowledged God's justice,
His righteousness, His rights. He didn't have a sense of entitlement
before God. He knew that he lost that because
of his sin. Now, in this confession of sin,
God's prophet says to David, the Lord hath put away thy sin. That sin that was so evil, that
was so ungodly, that was so deceitful, that was so vile, the Lord hath
put away thy sin. Now, this is something that only
the Lord can do. Put away, do away with Passover
sin. This is something only the Lord
can do. I never will forget one time when one of those TV evangelists
was caught in this sin. And somebody says, well, what
are you going to do about your sin? And the man said, I put
that sin under the blood. Now, wait a minute. You don't
have the authority to put your sin under the blood. Only God
can do that. Only God can do something about
your sin. In Micah 7, verse 18, we read,
Who is it God likened to thee that pardoneth iniquity? that passeth by the transgression
of the remnant of his heritage. He retaineth not his anger for
ever, because he delighteth in mercy." Now, that is the character
of God. Are you interested in having
your sin put away? Well, I know it won't be put
away apart from you confessing your sin before God. But it's
not the act of confession that puts away sin. You see, faith
cannot put away sin. Repentance cannot put away sin. No amount of suffering we experience
on account of our sin can put away that sin. No amount of self-denial
can put away sin. No amount of holy living can
put away sin. My death cannot put away sin. Why, even hell itself does not
put away sin. That's why hell is eternal. God's
justice is never satisfied. Only the Lord can put away my
sin. Now, the Bible uses a lot of
words to describe this thing of the putting away of sin. Hebrews 9.26 says he, verse 46,
now once in the end of the world had he appeared to put away sin
by the sacrifice of himself. That's what the Lord came to
do. He came to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Now,
this same word, put away, is translated in Hebrews chapter
7, verse 18, dis-annulled. Wouldn't you love to have your
sin dis-annulled? You know what that means? Like, you've heard
of a marriage that's been dis-annulled. There's not a divorce. It's dis-annulled. That means it never happened
when it is dis-annulled in that sense. Before the law, it never
happened. Wouldn't you have loved to have
that done about your sin to where it's dis-annulled? It's described
as a taking away. He was manifested to take away
our sins, and in Him is no sin. It's described as a cleansing.
The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin. It's described as a purging.
Hebrews 1.3 says, when he had by himself purged our sins, it's
described as a blotting out or an erasing. Think of God erasing
your sin. He says, I have blotted out as
a thick cloud, thine iniquities. It's described as a removal.
As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our
transgressions from us. David described it this way in
Psalm 32, 1 and 2, blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the
Lord will not impute sin. God not charging you with your
sin. We read in Micah 7, 19, thou
will cast their sins into the depths of the sea. He said their
sins and their iniquities, well, I remember no more. Now, this
is God saying that. How could God forget something?
He says their sins and iniquities, I remember no more. Because when
he puts them away, there's nothing there to remember. If he put
away your sin, that means God looks at you and he sees nothing
but that which is pleasing in his sight. Let me read this passage
of scripture in Jeremiah, chapter 50, verse 20. In those days,
And at that time, saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall
be sought for, and there shall be none. Did you hear that? There shall be none. And the
sins of Judah, and they shall not be found, for I will pardon
them whom I reserve. Now that's what God, if He's
put away your sins, that means the searchlight of His holiness
is going to look you over and there will be nothing there for
Him to condemn you for. In Hebrews 9, verse 24, we read,
For Christ is not entered into the holy place made with hands.
He's talking about the physical tabernacle of the Old Testament,
which are figures of the true. Everything in the Old Testament
All those things they did, the blood of bulls and goats could
never take away sin. It only prefigured what Christ
would come to do. For Christ has not entered into
the holy place made with hands, which are the figures of truth,
but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God
for us. Now who's the us he's speaking
of? everyone who looks to him only as the only reason God would
have anything to do with him. All of his elect, all of those
for whom he died, all who believe, Christ is right now in the very
presence of God appearing for them. Now, he says in verse 25,
there's something that he did before entering heaven that doesn't
need to be repeated. He says, nor yet that he should
offer himself often As the high priest enters into the holy place
every year with the blood of others, now every year there
was the great day of atonement. It was repeated every year. Why
was it repeated every year? Because it didn't actually take
away sin. It simply pointed to him who
would take away the sin. But it didn't actually do anything. No sin was put away by these
physical sacrifices. Now, he didn't need to offer
himself often as the high priest entering into the holy place
every year with the blood of others, for then he must have
often suffered since the foundation of the world. But now once, this
is what the Lord did, now once in the end of the world, have
he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Now, he did this only once. Because
only one time was needed for him to do what he intended to
do. What did he intend to do by his life and by his death,
by the sacrifice of himself? He intended to put away sin. Now, did he do what he intended
to do? I want you to think about that.
Did he do what he intended to do? In Matthew 1, verse 21, Thou
shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from
their sins. And that's what He intended to
do. He intended to save His people from their sins. He intended
to put away sin. Question, did He do it? My dear friend, when He bowed
His mighty head, and said, it is finished. Sin was put away
for all that he represented. Whatever it was he intended to
do, he did. And how did he do this? How did
he put away sin so that it's not? I think of the sins I've
committed, and I don't even know most of them, But do you know
they've all been put away? God looks at me and doesn't see
any sin. And this is not make-believe. This is not play-acting. When
He sees me, He sees somebody without sin. How can that be? Because my sin has been put away. Now once in the end of the world
has He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Now, here is the very heart and
soul of the gospel, substitution, sin being put away by the sacrifice
of the Lord Jesus Christ. I want to read a few verses of
scripture from the book of Isaiah, Isaiah, chapter 53. Verse six,
all we like sheep. Have gone astray. Here's Isaiah's
confession of his sin. We've turned everyone to his
own way. And the Lord hath laid upon him the iniquity of us all. Christ took my place. Now, understand this. If God
would let sin go unpunished, He would no longer be God. He
would lose His justice. He would lose His holiness. He
would lose His perfection. He would become mutable. He would
become just like me and you if He could let sin go unpunished. The wrath of God against sin
is part of His perfection. And I'm glad it's that way. I
couldn't respect a God who would just let sin go unpunished. He is a just God and a Savior. And I have sinned. Look at Isaiah's
confession. All we like sheep have gone astray.
We've turned everyone to His own way. And the Lord hath laid
upon him the iniquity of us all. It says in verse 10 of Isaiah
chapter 53, Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. This was
God's purpose. It pleased the Lord to bruise
him. Now how could that please the
Lord to bruise Him? Because God's just. My sin became
His sin. When the Father laid it upon
Him, He became guilty of it. And it pleased the Lord to bruise
Him. He hath put Him to grief when
thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin. That word offering for
sin is also translated guiltiness, when thou shalt make his soul
guiltiness. It's also translated sin, when
thou shalt make his soul sin, and that answers to II Corinthians
5.21, for he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin,
that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. In verse 11, it
says, ìHe shall see the travail of his soul and be satisfied
by his knowledge. Shall my righteous servant justify
many? For he shall bear their iniquities.î
Peter said, ìWho his own self bear our sins in his own body
on the tree.î Now, here is how sin is put away. My sin was laid
upon Christ. Christ became guilty of my sin. God's wrath came down upon him
as the sin-bearing substitute, and he put it away. He satisfied the wrath of God. Now, the reason he can satisfy
the wrath of God is because of who he is. He's the God-man.
I can't satisfy the God's wrath. I'm a sinful, mutable man. But
he can. And when he bowed his head and
said, it is finished, and when he died, satisfaction had been
made and my sin was put away. Now, in his person, he never
sinned. He was made sin. God's justice
smote him. And get this, the Lord Jesus
Christ voluntarily took my sin. He took my sins and my sorrows. He made them His very own. He bore the burden to Calvary
and suffered and died alone. And by His glorious death, He
put away sin. And now God's prophet can say
to David, who was guilty of such horrible crimes, the Lord hath
put away your sin. In Hebrews chapter 9, beginning
in verse 11, we read, But Christ being come in high priesthood,
good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle,
not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building,
neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood.
He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal
redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and
of goats and the ashes of an heifer, sprinkling the unclean,
sanctifies to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall
the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself
without spot to God." Now you've purged your conscience. from
dead works to serve the living God. Don't look to your works.
Don't look to yourself in any way for the putting away of the
sin. That's what he did. You purged
your conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Now,
I love to think of that poor prodigal coming and confessing
his sin. He knew his sin was against God.
He said, Father, I sinned against heaven and in the eyesight. All
sense of entitlement was gone. He said, make me as one of your
hired servants. I don't even deserve to be called
a son. I'd be grateful for any crumbs of mercy that come my
way. But what did his father say when he came like that? Bring
forth the best robe, the righteousness of my son, and put it on him. And put a ring on his hand signifying
my eternal love. and shoes on his feet, grace
to walk in my ways." Wherever you have a sinner confessing
his sin, you have the glorious God putting away that sin. Now, we have this message on
CD and DVD. If you call the church, email
or write, we'll send you a copy. We'd like to invite you to services
at Todd's Road Grace Church. We begin this morning Bible study
at 9.45, morning worship 10.30, this evening 6.00. You come,
you'll hear the truth. This is Todd Knopper, praying
that God will be pleased to make Himself known to you. That's
our prayer. It is not that I did choose thee, Lord, for, Lord,
that could not be. 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.