I did choose thee, Lord, for,
Lord, that could not be. Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Nyberg. 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. After our Lord's resurrection,
he said to the eleven apostles in John chapter 20, verse 21,
As my father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had
said this, he breathed on them and saith unto them, receive
ye the Holy Ghost, whosesoever sins you remit, they are remitted
unto them, and whosoever sins you retain, they are retained."
I have entitled this message, The remission and the retaining
of sins. Now, what is the greatest need
that you and I have? It's not hard to answer that
question. The forgiveness of sins. My sins are many. And my sins are great. And I
know precisely what David meant in Psalm 25, verse 11, when he
said, Pardon my sins, O Lord, for thy name's sake, for they're
great. Not they're not all that bad,
not they're just a few, but there are many and they are great. Now, in our text, we read of
the remission, which means the forgiveness. We read of the forgiveness
and the retaining of sins. Now, some will have their sins
remitted, forgiven. Not everybody's forgiven. There
is a place called hell, but there are many whose sins are forgiven. And there are those whose sins
are not forgiven, but they are retained. those who die in their
sins, and they will be raised in their sins, and they will
spend eternity suffering the wrath of God due to their sins,
suffering an eternal death. Not everybody's sins are forgiven. There are some whose sins are
retained, and how desperately I want to be in that group whose
sins are remitted, whose sins are forgiven. Now, as I said,
our Lord, after His resurrection, says to the eleven apostles,
as the Father has sent me, even so send I you. Why did the Father send the Son?
Our Lord tells us in John chapter 3, for God sent not his son into
the world to condemn the world. You see, the world was already
condemned, but he sent him that the world through him might be
saved. And he sends them with the only
message that secures the forgiveness of sins. And then he says in
verse 22, and when he had this said, he breathed on them and
said, receive ye the Holy Ghost. Now somebody says, did they not
have the Holy Spirit before this? Yes, they did. But this is a
reference to the special equipping of the Holy Spirit to preach
the gospel in the world. They were given understanding
by the Holy Spirit that they did not have previous to this.
Then opened he their understanding that they might understand the
Scriptures. And you look at the difference between Peter on Pentecost
and before Pentecost. Before Pentecost, he's afraid
of a little maid. After Pentecost, when he's equipped
with the Holy Spirit in this way, he preaches the gospel so
powerfully and clearly and wisely from the Old Testament Scriptures.
Receive ye the Holy Spirit. And then he says in verse 23,
Who sins? Whosoever sins, you remit. They are remitted unto them,
and whosoever sins you retain, they are retained. Now, this verse has been subject
to debate over the centuries. Some believe that he conferred
on the apostles the authority To forgive and absolve from sin. If you forgive somebody, they're
forgiven. If you retain their sins and
don't forgive them, their sins are retained. Now, what if the
power to forgive sins was put in a man's hands? The fact of
the matter is, if that were the case, no one would be forgiven. Now, what do I mean by that? God forgives some. He forgives a whole lot, as a
matter of fact. But forgiveness is in His hands. He doesn't forgive
everybody. I've heard people complain with
the fact that God doesn't forgive everybody. Why can't He just
forgive everybody? Why can't He just save everybody?
He could if He wanted to. Why doesn't He do it? And when
we say something like that, what we're saying is, I'm more merciful
than God. I'm more gracious than God. When
the fact of the matter is, is if forgiveness were in my hands,
I may forgive you now, but if you sin against me again and
again and again and again and again, at some point I'm going
to say, that's it. No more forgiveness. You've had
it. Thank God, forgiveness is not in a man's hands. It's in
the God of glory's hands. He does forgive sin. Now, do you remember when Christ
said to a man taken with the palsy, Son, be of good cheer,
thy sins be forgiven thee? The scribes said in their heart,
why does this man speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God
only? They were right. The only one
who has the prerogative to forgive sins is God Himself. And the fact of the matter is,
Jesus Christ is God. He has authority upon earth to
forgive sins. And what the Lord is saying,
when He says, Whosoever sins you remit, they are remitted,
and to whosoever sins you retain, they are retained, He's saying,
I bestow upon you power to authoritatively declare whose sins are forgiven. and whose sins are not forgiven. That's what gospel preaching
is. It's a declaration of whose sins are forgiven and whose sins
are not forgiven. Let me try to illustrate this.
When Joseph interpreted the dreams of the butler and the baker,
and he declared that the butler would be restored and the baker
beheaded. He didn't restore the one or
behead the other. He simply declared what would
be. When the prophets declared what
would be, they didn't accomplish what would be. They simply declared
what would be. In the preaching of the gospel,
that's what's going on. A declaration of who God has
forgiven and who he has not forgiven. Now, I have three very simple
points to this message, and I hope by the grace of God, you'll listen
as if your life depends upon it. The forgiveness of sins,
there is the forgiveness of sins. Secondly, whose sins are forgiven. And thirdly, I want to apply
all this right, pray that the Lord will apply this to our hearts. Here's my first point. There
is the forgiveness of sins. Let me tell you what is utterly
unique about the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. All other
religions, all counterfeit gospels end with the forgiveness of sins. If you do this, and if you do
that, and if you stop doing this and start doing that, if you
refrain from this and do that, you'll have the forgiveness of
sins. If you confess, then you'll have forgiveness. If you repent,
then you'll have forgiveness. If you believe, then you'll have
forgiveness. Forgiveness is at the end of
the things that you first do. But the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ begins with the full, free, Frank, forgiveness of sins. Forgiveness is not the end. It is the beginning. This is
where we begin, where God says you are forgiven. Psalm 130, verses 4 and 5 says,
If thou, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who should
stand? But there is forgiveness with
thee that thou mayest be feared. In Psalm 86, 5, David says, For
the Lord is good, ready to forgive, and plenteous in mercy unto all
that call upon thee. Now, let me remind you, forgiveness
is in God's hands. As to whether or not your sins
or your sin will be forgiven, It's completely and utterly in
God's hand, and it's completely and utterly out of your hands.
It's up to God. There are those whose sins are
retained. There are those whose sins are
not forgiven. God does not forgive everybody. Now, preachers in our day present
God as wanting to forgive everybody. Christ died for everybody. God
wants to forgive everybody, but He can't forgive us unless we
accept His forgiveness. He will forgive us if we'll just
accept it, but as to whether or not we end up being forgiven
is whether or not we'll accept it. He wants to forgive, but
He can't forgive us unless we allow Him to forgive us. Now,
listen to me, my friend. That's foolishness. That's foolishness. That's stupid. If you murdered
my daughter, and then said to me, I'm going to allow you to
forgive me. Something's wrong with that picture.
Something's desperately wrong. It's not like God wants to forgive,
but He can't unless we let Him. Forgiveness is in God's sovereign
hands. As to whether or not you or I
will be forgiven is totally up to Him. He has mercy on whom
He will have mercy, and whom He will, He hardens. But thank
God, He does forgive, and He's ready to forgive. He delights
in mercy. And His forgiveness is not like
ours, narrow, difficult, half-hearted, with strings attached. No, His
forgiveness is full, free, boundless, bottomless, and absolute. You see, God's forgiveness is
free. There are no conditions that
first need to be met, no strings attached. God's forgiveness is
not God's response to something we've done. God's salvation begins
with the full, free, frank forgiveness of sins, and it's a full forgiveness. All sin is forgiven. When He
declares your sins forgiven, that means all sin, past, present,
and future. Sins I haven't even committed
yet have all been forgiven. It's a complete, full, free,
absolute forgiveness of sins. God does not forgive because
of worthiness, nor does He withhold forgiveness because of lack of
worthiness. What hope there is there for a sinner? God's forgiveness
is free. It's everlasting. It's irreversible. The songwriter said, here's pardon
for the sins of past. It matters not how black they're
cast. And oh, my soul, with wonder of you, for sins to come, here's
pardon too. Oh, the forgiveness of God. There are two things that take
place when God forgives the sinner. First, there is no punishment
for that sin. Romans 8, 1 says there is therefore
now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. No condemnation. I will never be punished for
my sin. And there's a reason why I will
never be punished for my sin. Here's the second aspect of forgiveness. The reason for God's anger has
been removed. There's no reason to punish. This is why Christ died on the
cross. My sin became His. He was punished. And that sin has been paid for. and put away. And God cannot
punish me for that which Christ has already been punished for.
Christ put away my sin. 1 John 3, 4 and 5 says sin is
the transgression of the law, and He was manifested to take
away our sins, and that's what He did on Calvary's tree. He
took them away, and in Him is no sin. That means if I'm in
Him, I have no sin. Hebrews 9.22 says, Without the
shedding of blood, there's no remission of sin. But thank God,
with the shedding of blood, there is the full, complete remission
of sin. In Acts 13, verses 38 and 39,
Paul said, Be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren,
that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins. And by him all that believe are
justified. from all things which you could
not be justified by the law of Moses. Did you hear that? Those
who believe are justified. That means they're not guilty.
You see, the reason God forgives is there's no reason for His
anger. The reason for His anger has
been removed because Christ bore my sin. He bore the punishment
of it. He bore the guilt of it. He put it away. And now I have
no sin. I'm justified. God justifies
all that Christ died for. And then He says, you're forgiven.
All your sins are forgiven. Now, who's forgiven? We see. That there is forgiveness with
God. That means those people who are
forgiven are not condemned. And they're justified. The reason
for condemnation has been removed. Now, here's the question. Who
is forgiven? Am I one of these blessed people
who are forgiven of their sins? Who is forgiven? Not everybody is. There's some
whose sins are retained. Who is forgiven? In Ephesians
chapter 1, verse 7, Paul said, In whom we have redemption through
His blood, the forgiveness of sins. Who's the we? Who's the we Paul is speaking
of when he says, In whom we have redemption through His blood,
the forgiveness of sins? Is he talking about everybody?
No. Read the passage of Scripture.
He said in verse 4, according as He hath chosen us in Him before
the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without
blame before Him. He's talking about the elect,
those God chose before time began. According as He hath chosen us
in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without blame before Him, in love, having predestinated
us under 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, in
whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness
of sins. Who is forgiven? The elect of
God, those whom the Father chose to be saved before time began.
Who is forgiven? All that Christ died for. The Scripture says, he that spared
not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, speaking of
all the elect, hast thou not with him also freely give us
all things? Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It's God that justified it. Who
is he that condemneth? It's Christ that died. Yea, rather
that it's risen again, who's even at the right hand of God,
who also maketh intercession for us. If someone could be damned,
that Christ died for. If Christ can pay for your sins
and yet you remain unforgiven, that would make the blood of
Christ meaningless and useless and to no point. Now that teaching,
listen to me carefully, That teaching that says Jesus Christ
shed His blood for all men and made salvation possible for all
men, but you need to do something to make what He did work for
you, that is a false message. That's a counterfeit gospel.
No one is saved by that message because it puts the burden of
salvation in your hands. It's not the blood of Christ,
but it's what you do. That's a message of salvation
by works, plain and simple. No, the blood of Christ didn't
make forgiveness possible. The blood of Christ secured forgiveness
for everybody that He died for. In my heart, I hate that doctrine
that says that Christ can die for you, and you end up in hell
anyway. That takes away the only hope I have, because the only
hope this sinner has is that Christ paid for my sins, and
there's nothing for me to pay. Who's forgiven? Those who are
born of God. Everyone that the Father elected,
everyone that the Son redeemed, everyone that God the Holy Spirit
births into the Kingdom, they are forgiven. Now, how can I
know if I'm elect? How can I know if Christ died
for me? How can I know if I've been born of the Spirit? Who's
forgiven? All who believe. Faith. is the evidence of divine
election. Faith is the evidence of Christ
redeeming me. Faith is the evidence of God
the Holy Spirit giving me a new nature. All who believe by Him,
all who believe are justified from all things which you could
not be justified by the law of Moses. Now let me ask you a question.
Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, God's anointed prophet,
the very Word, the eternal Word of God. Do you believe that Jesus
Christ is God's anointed priest? The only way you would come into
the presence of God is through Him. Do you believe that He's
God's anointed King, the one who has absolute control, and
you need Him to rule and reign over you? Do you believe that
Jesus is the Christ? Beloved, if you do, your sins
are forgiven. Do you believe that Jesus Christ
is the Son of God? The eternal uncreated creator
of the universe and God the Son. Do you believe that? If you do,
your sins are forgiven. Are you relying on Him only as
your only ground of acceptance before God? And you're afraid
to look anywhere but Him only. His righteousness is your only
righteousness. His blood is your only sin payment. Are you relying on Him? Beloved,
if you are, you are forgiven. Do you believe that He's able
to keep that which you committed to Him against that day? Then,
beloved, you are forgiven. In Acts chapter 16, verse 30,
that Philippian jailer said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe. on the
Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. And he believed, and
he was forgiven. Who's forgiven? The elect of
God. Those that Christ has died for.
Those that God the Holy Spirit has given life to. Those who
believe the gospel. is the evidence of things not
seen. Now, let me try by the... I can't apply it, only God can,
but listen to these last four or five things I want to say
with regard to forgiveness, the application of this. If you're
forgiven, first of all, receive it. Receive it. And that's chapter 26, verse
18. We read of receiving the forgiveness of sins. You receive
it when you believe that you are forgiven for Christ's sake,
and you receive it, you embrace it, you rejoice in it. Secondly,
if your sins are forgiven, be of good cheer. That's what the
Lord said to that fellow. He said, son, be of good cheer
by sins. Be forgiven thee. Are your sins
forgiven? Then you have a valid reason
to be of good cheer, no matter what the circumstances are. Oh,
if your sins are forgiven, be of good cheer. What else do you
need? Thirdly, are your sins forgiven? Love much. Our Lord said, he that's been
forgiven much. loveth much. And I've been forgiven much,
because every breath I've taken, because it's me, it's been sin.
I've been forgiven much, therefore I am called on to love much. He that's been forgiven little,
loveth little. Are your sins forgiven? Then
you forgive. You see, if you don't forgive
men their trespasses, neither will your heavenly father forgive
you your trespasses. Ephesians chapter 4, verse 32
says, Be kind, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as
God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you. If you see how
God's forgiven you, you'll forgive. And if you refuse to forgive,
God won't forgive you. The evidence of the forgiveness
of sins is the forgiveness of sin. You will forgive if God
has forgiven you. Now, I'd like to close by reading
a passage of scripture from Hebrews chapter 10, verse 18, where the
writer to the Hebrew says, Now, where the remission of these
is. There remaineth no more offering for sin. When Christ died on
Calvary's tree and put away sin and remitted sin, no more offering
is needed. So don't try and bring one. When you have sin fresh on your
conscience, don't wait until you feel better, or don't try
to bring a little repentance for an offering, or a little
tears for an offering, or a little good works for an offering, or
a little sincerity. Don't bring anything. Look to
the Lord only. Don't dare bring an offering.
Where the remission of these is, there remaineth no more offering
for sin, so don't bring one. He goes on to say, having boldness
to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus. Not because of your
sorrow, not because of your intentions to never do it again. Here's
where my boldness is. Having boldness to enter into
the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, the
way of the cross. Don't bring an offering. Believe that His offering is
all that is needed. Now, anybody who believes, their
sins are remitted. If you don't believe this message,
your sins are retained. And if you die in this state,
you'll meet God in your sins. Oh, believe the gospel. Now,
we have this message on cassette tape, CD, and DVD. If you call
the church, email arrivals, send you a copy. God bless you. God bless you.