Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Nider. 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 Nyberg. I've entitled the message I'd
like to bring this morning, Why is a believer secure? When God saves a sinner from
their sins, in this life, they do not stop being sinners. Toward the end of Paul's life,
he said, this is a faithful saying, worthy of all acceptation, that
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am
the chief. He didn't say, I used to be the
chief of sinners, but I no longer am now. I've made much progress. No. As he came to know the Lord
more, he saw more of his own sin. And he said, I'm the chief
of sinners. Read what Paul says about his
own experience in Romans chapter 7, verses 14 through 25. He said,
what I would, That do I not, that what I hate,
that I do. I find a law that when I would
do good, evil is present with me. I know that in my flesh dwelleth
no good thing. O wretched man that I am, who
shall deliver me from this body of death?" Those are the words
of the Apostle Paul. Because of our present sinfulness,
if we're believers, We can fall, and we can fall greatly. I think
of David, the man after God's own heart committed adultery
and then committed cold-blooded murder, unable to attempt to
cover it up. A true believer can make wretched
decisions in this life. I look at Lot pitching his tent
towards Sodom. A believer can look like an unbeliever. You look at the way King Solomon
died, seemingly in idolatry. We can go into the New Testament
and see where Paul himself compromised the gospel in Acts chapter 21.
You know, one of the things, one of the reasons I know the
Bible is the Word of God is that it doesn't try to hide men's
faults. We try to hide them. We try to
cover them, but the Bible exposes men as to what they really are
to teach us that salvation is not in our works, it's in Christ,
it's by His grace. But Paul, in Acts chapter 21,
he was so tired of the conflict that he took the vow of the Nazarite
and he was going to offer up a blood sacrifice after the Lord
had already offered up His sacrifice. And the Lord prevented it from
happening because he was arrested before the sacrifice took place.
What about Peter, in Galatians chapter 2, he compromised the
gospel. And Paul publicly reprimanded
him for it. It's sad to say that there's
nothing that an unbeliever will do that a believer cannot do
also. Do you hear that? Now, a believer
shouldn't do any of these things. But don't say a believer couldn't
do any of these things because there's nothing that an unbeliever
can do that a believer cannot do also and will do apart from
the grace of God except sin against the Holy Spirit and fall away
from Christ. And do I have to convince you
of this? If you know yourself, you know what I'm saying is so.
A believer, a blood-bot, Spirit-born child of God can get himself
into an awful state. Scriptures and experience teach
this. But a believer is eternally secure. Christ said, I give them eternal
life. Not temporary life, but eternal
life. And they shall never perish. A believer cannot perish. A believer cannot send away grace. If you could send away grace,
it wouldn't be grace. A believer is eternally secure. Now, I realize that this truth
is abused and misunderstood. There are many people who would
say they believe what they would call once saved, always saved
or the eternal security of the believer. And they think, well,
because I made some kind of commitment or because I made a decision
or because I had an experience, I'm eternally secure, even though
I don't walk with Christ. That's wrong, my friend. If you
don't walk with Christ, you don't know Christ. to use eternal security
as an excuse for sinful life is wrong. However, just because
people abuse that truth doesn't mean we're not going to preach
the truth. Believers can never fall away. They can fall, and they do fall,
but they cannot leave Christ They cannot extinguish the grace
of God in their heart, and they cannot lose their salvation. They are eternally secure. Now, why is a believer eternally
secure? Here's the reason. In 2 Corinthians
chapter 1, verse 20, Paul says all the promises, all the promises,
All the promises of God in Him, in the Lord Jesus Christ are
yea and amen unto the glory of God by us. Now understand this,
salvation is in Christ. It's not in you. It's not in
what you do. It's not in your decision. It's
not in your intentions. It's not in your works. It's
not in your doctrinal understanding. Salvation is in the Lord Jesus
Christ. All the promises of God in Him. Now, what is meant by being in
Christ? We find that phrase over and
over in the Scriptures. We're chosen in Him. We're accepted
in Him. In whom we have. forgiveness,
in whom we have redemption. God has blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ. What is meant by being
in Christ? It means in union with Christ. All of God's elect are eternally
united to the Lord Jesus Christ. God put them in Christ. They've always been in Christ. They didn't put themselves in
Christ. God put them there. Of Him are you in Christ Jesus. And just as we didn't put ourselves
in the Lord Jesus Christ, we can't get ourselves out of the
Lord Jesus Christ. If you're in Him, you're in Him
by an eternal union. You've always been in Him. And
I believe one of the best illustrations of this is baptism. Now, when
I'm baptized, that's the believer's public confession of Christ.
Baptism by immersion. Baptism isn't by sprinkling.
Baptism is by immersion. Baptism is not for infants. It's
for believers. It's believers' baptism. And
here's what I say when I'm baptized as a believer. I say, when Christ
lived, I lived. When He died, I died. When He was raised, I was raised. because I was united to Him. And all of God's salvation is
in Him. All of the blessings of God's
salvation are in the Lord Jesus Christ. In 1 John 3, verse 5,
we read, He was manifested to take away our sins. Did He do it? Absolutely. Everybody He died for, He took
away their sins. And in Him, is no sin. That means if I'm in him, I have
no sin. Now, the Bible gives us so many
illustrations of the security of the believer being in Christ. For instance, if you were in
the ark, the wrath of God came down upon the ark. Everybody
in the ark, the eight souls who were in the ark were totally
secure. What about when God passed through
the land of Egypt to destroy the firstborn? And He told the
Israelites, you take a paschal lamb, the blood of the paschal
lamb, without blemish or without spot, you slay that lamb, put
the blood over the door, and you go in the house. And when
I pass through, when I see the blood, If I see the house with
the blood over the door, I will pass over you." You think how
secure they were. God said, when I see the blood,
I will pass over you. Somebody may be thinking, well,
what if that person was extra wicked? It doesn't matter. God
said, when I see the blood, I will pass over you. What security
there is in that house with the blood over the door. We're in
Him by union. Our Lord spoke of the vine and
the branches. The same fiber that's in the
vine goes into the branches, and there's no connecting point.
Always in the Lord Jesus Christ. All the promises of God, all
the promises of salvation, all the promises of acceptance and
security, they're all in Him, and they're all yea, they're
all sure, and they're all certain, and they're all amen. And we
are in Him consciously by faith. Of Him are you in Christ Jesus,
who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness, sanctification
and redemption. We're in Him consciously by faith. Now, somebody may ask the question,
but what if a believer sins in a very grievous way? It's a sad thing when they do,
but they are still eternally secure. Great was the sin of
David. And what sorrow he brought into
his life by that sin. And the Scripture says the thing
that David did displeased the Lord. There's no excuse for or
justification of his sin. But listen real carefully. He
was no less secure when he was in the arms of Bathsheba than
he was when he was slaying Goliath or writing the Psalms, because
his security was in Christ. It wasn't in what he did do.
It wasn't in what he didn't do. His security was in the Lord
Jesus Christ, and that is why he was eternally secure. And
that's why every believer is eternally secure. David said
on his deathbed, In 2 Samuel 23 verse 5, his last words, these
be the last words of David, Although my house be not so with God,
yet hath he made with me an everlasting covenant, a covenant that was
made before time began and a covenant that will never cease, salvation
in Christ. Although my house be not so with
God, yet hath he made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered
in all things, and sure. And this is all my salvation,
and all my desire, though he makes it not to grow. Now, Paul goes on in II Corinthians
chapter 1, verse 21, and says, Now he which establisheth us
with you. Notice, he didn't say you're
established with us. He says we're established with
you. You see, believers are all saved the same way. I'm saved
the same way the Apostle Paul was. And I'm just as much a saint
as Paul was or Moses was or John was. I'm saved the same way by
the grace of God through the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, he which establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed
us is God. It's God that has established
us. and made us secure or confirmed
us in Christ. I'm in Christ. He's my stability. I'm not stable in myself, but
he's stable. And in him, I am stable. I must ask again, how safe are
you in Christ? Eternally safe, perfectly secure. There's no possibility whatsoever
of any believer losing their salvation. Now, not only has
He established us in Christ, the Scripture says He has anointed
us. John speaks of this anointing
in 1 John 2, beginning in verse 19. He said, They went out from
us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they
would no doubt have continued with us. But they went out that
they might be made manifest, that they were not all of us.
But you have an unction, an anointing from the Holy One, And you know
all things. If you've been anointed by God,
you know all things. Now, that doesn't mean you know
all things, period. But you know all things because
you know that Christ is all. And knowing Christ is all, you
know all things. Look what he says in verse 27
of 1 John chapter 2. But the anointing which you have
received of Him abides in you, and you need not that any teach
you. But as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and
is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, you
shall abide in Him." Because of this anointing you've received,
you consciously desire to abide in the Lord Jesus Christ and
not be found anywhere else. The cry of your heart is, O that
I may win Christ and be found in Him. Now, if Christ came back
today, Where would you want to be found? Somebody thinks, well,
I'd like to be found reading the Bible or I'd like to be found
praying. I'd like to be found preaching
or witnessing or doing some good work. Not me. Now, I'm not saying
anything against those. But the only place I want to
be found is in the Lord Jesus Christ so that all God sees when
He sees me is Jesus Christ. Now, that's being taught of God. You want to abide in Him. Now, next, he says in verse 22
of 2 Corinthians chapter 1, this is why a believer is so secure.
It says, God hath sealed us and given the earnest of the Spirit
in our hearts. He has sealed us. Now, a seal
is a sign of something being authentic. There's a seal that
demonstrates this is the real thing. It's not a copy. It's
not a phony. A seal is a mark of ownership. It's an emblem of destination
and preservation. When you're canning something
and it pops, it's sealed. It's preserved. Now, in Ephesians
chapter 1, we're given some understanding of what this thing of sealing
is, we read in verse 12, Ephesians chapter 1, that we should be
to the praise of His glory who first trusted in Christ, in whom
you also trusted after that you heard the word of the truth of
the gospel of your salvation, in whom also after that you believed
you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. Now what does
Paul mean when he says that we should be to the praise of His
glory who first trusted in Christ? Now Paul's not saying we first
trusted Christ and you trusted after we did. Paul wasn't the
first one to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe as far
as human beings go, Adam was. You know Abel trusted Him. He
believed the Gospel and he did that 4,000 years before Paul
was ever around. When he's talking about the one
who first trusted in Christ, he's talking about God the Father.
God the Father. trusted His Son to save His people. I think the illustration in the
Scripture that we're given of this is when Judah said, I'll
be surety for Benjamin. All that's required, look to
me for it. If I don't bring him back to
you, speaking to his father Jacob, you can require it at my hand.
I bear full responsibility for Benjamin. Now, in the previous
chapter, Reuben had said, I'll be responsible to bring Benjamin
back. And Jacob wouldn't trust Reuben.
He knew him. Reuben was unstable. Unstable as water, thou shalt
not excel. He said, I'm not going to leave that boy with you. He
knew Reuben. But Judah, the lion of the tribe
of Judah, out of whom Christ came, he would trust Benjamin
with Judah. Now, God the Father entrusted
the salvation of the elect to the Lord Jesus Christ, and all
that He required of them, He looked to His Son for. He's the
one who first trusted Christ. And you know, just the way the
Father trusts Him, we trust Him too. He trusted His Son to do
everything for the salvation of His people. And we trust,
every believer trusts the Son to do everything for our salvation. In whom you also trusted, after
that you heard the word of truth, not before, but after you heard
the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, the good news
of how God saves you, in whom also after that you believed,
or having believed, you were sealed with that Holy Spirit
of promise. The next, we read that He is
the earnest of our salvation. Yes, we're sealed, and He also
is the earnest, and this is why a believer is totally secure. He has Christ as his down payment.
He has the Holy Spirit as his earnest. Having God the Holy
Spirit in me, God the Holy Spirit can't fall away. God the Holy
Spirit can't be corrupted. Therefore, the believer cannot
fall Now, you can grieve God the Holy Spirit. You can quench
His influences. The Scripture says both of that,
those things. You know, you can only grieve
somebody that loves you, though. And it's true, we do grieve Him. And the Scripture says, Grieve
not the Holy Spirit of God by whom you're sealed unto the day
of redemption. Now, since all of God's promises
in Him are yea and amen, since God has established us in Him,
Since He has anointed us and since He has sealed us and put
His Spirit within our hearts as an earnest and a pledge, we
cannot leave the Lord Jesus Christ. We are eternally secure. That's true of every believer. And I know this. This doesn't
make a believer think, oh, good, I can sin all I want. I don't
need to worry about it. What if my wife said to me, I
love you and I'm never going to leave you? Would I say, well,
good, that means I can go out with other women then? Of course
not. It's going to make me give myself to her. If the Lord loves
you, you will love Him in return. We love Him because He first
loved us. Now, I would like to close by
looking at the most powerful passage of Scripture I know of
regarding the security of the believer. It's found in Romans,
Chapter 8. And this is, to me, just one of the most precious
passages of Scripture in all the Word of God. I want to read
several verses. In verse 28, Paul says, And we
know they may not But we do. And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are Thee
called according to His purpose. And you know what that means? Now, I realize people can abuse
this. I realize that, but I can't do anything about people abusing
the truth. But that means even the falls
of the believer will end up working together for their good and God's
glory. Peter had to fall. He was so proud and arrogant
and self-confident, he had to fall. And it was blessed for
his good. and the glory of Christ. Now,
I'm not saying sin is okay. I'm not saying there's an excuse
for sin. But everything that comes a believer's
way, according to this passage of Scripture, all things work
together, not separately, but together for good to them that
love God, to them who are called according to His purpose. Four,
whom He did foreknow, those He knew beforehand, before time
began. He also did predestinate to be
conformed to the image of His Son that He might be the firstborn
among many brethren. Now, if I've been predestinated
to be conformed to the image of His Son, I'm going to be conformed
to the image of His Son. God can't predestinate something
and then it doesn't take place. He's God. Moreover, whom He did
predestinate, them He also called. And whom He called, them He also
justified. and whom He justified, then He
also glorified." Now, all these things are spoken of in the past
tense. They're not talking about things that will happen, but
things that are. In Christ, I'm already glorified. Now, how can I fall away if I'm
already glorified? How can I fall away if I'm justified? How can I fall away if I've been
predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son? Verse
31, what shall we say then to these things? If God be for us,
Who can be against us? What a glorious thought! He,
verse 32, that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up
for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us
all things, grace, preservation, perseverance, acceptance, justification,
all things? Because Christ died, all of God's
blessing is ours. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who
is He that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea,
rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand
of God, who also maketh intercession for us. What else is needed? If Christ is praying for me,
making intercession for me, if He died for me, if He's seated
at the right hand of the Father for me, how can I fall? My high
priest is in heaven taking care of me. I can't fall away. Verse
35, who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Can't be
done. Shall tribulation or distress
or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword? As it's written,
for thy sake we're killed all the day long. We're accounted
as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we're
more than conquerors. through him that loved us, for
I am persuaded, listen to Paul's words, for I am persuaded that
neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers,
nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature, and that includes me, I can't separate
myself from the love of God, shall be able to separate us
from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Thank God for the security that
every believer has in Christ, and oh, for grace to honor Him. Now, we have this message on
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