Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Neidert. 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
for this morning, From Cowardice to Courageous. From Cowardice
to Courage. In verse 30 of John, chapter
19, we read of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. When Jesus,
therefore, had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished. And
he bowed his head, and he gave up the ghost. And there he hangs,
still nailed to that cross, dead. And then we begin reading in
verse 38 of John chapter 19. And after this, Joseph of Arimathea,
being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews. You see, he was cowardly, wasn't
he? He was a secret disciple because
of his fear of the Jews. He besought Pilate that he might
take away the body of Jesus. And Pilate gave him leave. He
came, therefore, and took the body of Jesus. As a matter of
fact, in Mark's account, we read where he came in boldly or courageously
to Pilate. He'd been living in fear and
secrecy, but now he is courageous and bold. He is the one who takes
the body of the Lord down from the cross. Verse 39. And there came also Nicodemus,
which at the first came to Jesus by night. You can remember that
in John chapter three. He came to Jesus by night because
he was afraid of what would happen to him if his cronies found out
that he was talking with the Lord Jesus Christ, because they
were all against him. So he came at night at a time
when he wouldn't be exposed. But now he comes publicly. There
came also Nicodemus, which at first came to Jesus by night,
and he brought a mixture of myrrh and loaves, about 100 pounds
of weight, very costly. Then they took the body of Jesus
and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner
of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where he was
crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new sepulcher. wherein was never man yet laid,
and we know from the other accounts that this sepulcher belonged
to Joseph of Arimathea, the rich man. Verse 42, there laid they
Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day, for the
sepulcher was nigh at hand. Now we just read of the burial
of the Lord Jesus Christ, and God particularly honored two
men to bury his beloved son. Now, the burial of the Lord Jesus
Christ is very important. It lets us know of the reality
of his death. In 1 Corinthians chapter 15,
verses 3 and 4, we read that the gospel is how that Christ
died for our sins according to the scriptures, according to
the Old Testament scriptures, and that he was buried And that
he was raised again the third day, according to the scriptures. And do you know, in Isaiah chapter
53, verse 9, we read, he made his grave with the rich. And he was buried with the wicked
and made his grave with the rich. Actually foretelling the fact
that he was going to be buried in the sepulcher of this rich
man, Joseph of Arimathea. Now, these men were at first
very cowardly men. Joseph of Arimathea was a secret
disciple because of fear of the Jews. Nicodemus came at night
because he was afraid of what would take place if his fellow
Pharisees found out what he's doing. He was a master in Israel.
He was somebody. He had a position. He had influence.
And he would ruin everything by showing some interest in Christ.
So he comes to him by night. But now he comes boldly. Mark tells us that Joseph came
in boldly and asked for the body of the Lord Jesus. And it was
Joseph who actually took the Lord's body off of the cross. Now, I love to think of the care
that is given to the Lord's body, how careful he was when he did
this. The Lord is going to make sure
that his son receives a proper burial. And these men were both
wealthy men. The disciples couldn't have afforded
all the spice and the fine linen and so on to bury the Lord Jesus
in, but the father is going to make sure his son is given a
proper burial. And what honor he bestows upon
these men, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea. Now, what about
these men? Well, like I said, we first read
about Nicodemus in John chapter 3. Do you remember what he said?
Master, he called him a teacher. He didn't come to him as God.
He came to him as a teacher. Master, we know that thou art
teacher sent from God, for no man can do the things that thou
doest, except God be with him. He observed some things that
the Lord Jesus would do, and he concluded he must be come
from God. And then the Lord says, Nicodemus,
you must be born again. All your knowledge is useless
and pointless knowledge. In reality, you know nothing. You must be born again. And he goes on to preach the
gospel to Nicodemus in John chapter 3. And what a wonderful passage
of scripture and sermon that is. But evidently it had some
effect on Nicodemus because we read in John chapter 7 When the
Pharisees were all deriding the Lord Jesus Christ, Nicodemus
didn't come out and support him, but he said, how can you condemn
him if you don't know what he's really saying? You can read about
that in John chapter 7. And then here in John chapter 19, he comes
and participates in the funeral of the Lord Jesus publicly, knowing
what it would cost him. Joseph of Arimathea, he begins
as a secret disciple of Christ. I guess he could have been like
those fellows described in John chapter 12, verse 42, among the
Pharisees, many believed on him, but they did not confess him
because they loved the praise of men more than the praise of
God. Now, perhaps Joseph seemed like
that and that made him a secret disciple. He wouldn't come out
and confess the Lord Jesus, but he doesn't remain that way. He's
described in Matthew's account as a rich man. who was also a
disciple of Jesus. And there's something wrong with
that. I'd a whole lot rather be called a disciple of Jesus,
who also was a rich man, rather than the first thing said about
me, who was a rich man, who was also a disciple of Jesus. Now,
since John tells us that he was a secret disciple, that lets
us know that he was a coward. He was afraid to confess the
Lord Jesus Christ. And some may say he had no true
grace. But listen to me, just as not
all that glitters is gold, it's equally true that not all that
is dull is dross. There may be gold underneath
the dullness, and sometimes the workings of grace begin very
small, but they're true and they're real nonetheless. Now, this man,
Joseph of Arimathea, He begins as a secret disciple of the Lord
Jesus Christ, but God gives him grace to confess the Lord boldly
by coming boldly before Pilate and begging for his body. And
then he was the one who removed publicly the body of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now, we see these two men, Nicodemus
and Joseph. They began as cowards. And God
gives them grace to be bold confessors of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now,
without doubt, both of these men could be justly criticized.
But remember, a believer is a work in progress. Don't look at me
now. Well, look at me now, but look
at what I'm going to be. By the grace of God, every believer
is a work in progress. The Lord will make them both
bold confessors of the faith. No doubt they were like Timothy.
You remember how Paul said to Timothy, Be not thou therefore
ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner,
but you be a partaker of the afflictions of the gospel. Timothy
was timid and he had to be exhorted by Paul toward this boldness
in the faith. And I hope that this message
is going to encourage everybody who hears to be a bold confessor
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, there is a type of faith
that is not saving faith. Let me repeat that. There is
a type of faith that is not saving faith. Now, this faith may agree
with what the scripture teaches. And he gives a scent to what
the scripture teaches, but it's not saving faith. Very much like the faith of devils
that James speaks of when he says, you believe that there's
one God, you do well. The devils believe and tremble. They had a type of faith, they
believed, but it was not saving faith. Very much like those fellows
in John chapter 12. where it says in verse 42, nevertheless,
among the chief rulers also, many believed on him. They believed
the claims Christ made concerning himself. They said, well, he
must be who he says he is. But because of the Pharisees,
they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the
synagogue. For they loved the praise of men more than the praise
of God. Now, this is an example of a
faith that is not saving faith. Now, wherever there's true saving
faith, the gift of God's grace. And remember, that's what faith
is. It's the gift of God. Ephesians 2, 8, 9 says, For by
grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. That
faith that's not of yourselves, it's the gift of God. Not of
works, lest any man should boast. Wherever there is true saving
faith, these two things always accompany it. Wherever there's
true saving faith, there is committal. And wherever there's true saving
faith, there is confession. Wherever there's true saving
faith, there's committal. And wherever there's true saving
faith, there is confession. Now, what is meant by commitment?
Wherever there's true saving faith, there's committal. I ask
that question because I know the first thing we think of is
how committed are you? How steadfast are you? How committed
are you? You think about your works and
so on. And that's really not what I'm talking about when I'm
talking about the committal of true saving faith. In Second
Timothy, chapter one, verse 12, Paul said, For I know whom I
have believed, And I'm persuaded that He is able to keep that
which I have committed to Him against that day. Paul says, I have committed the
salvation of my soul to Him. My hands are off. My hands are
off. I had no control in this thing.
I have committed the salvation of my soul to Him. Here's what I'm doing. I am relying
on His commitment to me. I'm relying on Him representing
me. I'm relying. on Him working out
a righteousness for me. I'm relying on Him dying for
my sins and making me acceptable before God. I'm not relying on
my works in any way. I'm relying on Him. I've committed
the salvation of my soul to Him. You know, when people make investments,
for retirement. They have mutual funds. They'll
put some in a conservative portfolio, some in a more aggressive. And
they think, well, if this one fails, then I'll have this one
to back it up. And they have these different
portfolios. And they think by that, you know, I'll save myself.
I've got a plan B. I've got a plan C. I'm covering
all my bases. Faith in Christ doesn't do anything
like that. I have no plan B. I have no contingency plan. All
my eggs are in this basket. When he said, it is finished,
my salvation was accomplished. I'm not looking to what I do
in any way. I'm not looking to the fact that
I'm a preacher or what I know or what I intend to do. Here
is all my salvation. He said, I've glorified thee
on the earth, I finished the work that thou gavest me to do. Here's my salvation that he finished
it, that there's nothing for me to do, that he did it all. I am relying wholly on him. And if he didn't finish the work,
then I have no hope. Listen real carefully. In my
heart, I hate that teaching. And it's what most preachers
preach. I hate that teaching that says
that Jesus Christ made all men savable by his death. That he
died for everybody, he paid for everybody's sins, but it's up
to you as to whether or not what he did will work for you. Now
listen to me. If He can die for my sins, or
if He can die for anybody's sins, and they wind up in hell because
they don't do their part, I know I'll wind up in hell. That's
why I hate that. You see, here's my hope. My hope
is that Jesus Christ died for me and accomplished my salvation. Now, if you tell me that He can
die for me and I might wind up in hell anyway, you take away
my only hope. All my hope is right here, that
He died for me and accomplished and finished my salvation. I
have committed. All my salvation to Him, and
I'm not looking anywhere else. Now, any belief in salvation
by works in any way, even believing in free will, that He died for
everybody and it's up to your free will as to whether or not
you'll be saved, that's a failure to commit. You're resting some
of your hopes in what you do, an act of your will or some work
you perform. That's a failure to commit. You've
never really committed. That's not saving faith. Where
there's faith, there is committal. Like David said in 2 Samuel 23,
5, his dying words, he said, although it be not so with my
house, yet God hath 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. I've committed
the salvation of my soul to Him. If God be for us, who can be
against us? He 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? Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who
is He that condemneth? It's Christ that died, yea, rather
that's risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who
also makes intercession for us. I've committed the salvation
of my soul to Him. My hands are off. If He didn't
do it all, I won't be saved. Now, in true faith, there is
a commitment to Him. But also, in true saving faith,
there will be confession. Now, there's no salvation apart
from confession. Confess with our mouth the Lord
Jesus and believe in our hearts, he's raised from the dead will
be saved. For with the heart man believeth
and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Confession. When you confess,
plead guilty. That's what you do. When you
confess, you plead guilty. Now, the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ is offensive to the natural man. And if I'm faithful to the
gospel of Christ, I will offend men. You know, preachers carefully
phrase what they're saying in order not to offend, and they're
so afraid of offending people. They're afraid if I offend these
people, they'll quit coming, they'll quit giving. The budget
needs won't be met. This won't be a... I might lose...
Preachers are afraid of offending people, but a God's preacher
is afraid of not offending people. Do you understand that? I don't
want to offend people by my conduct. I don't want to offend people
because I act like a jerk or treat them wrong. That's not
what I'm talking about. But if the natural man is pleased
with my preaching, I'm not preaching the gospel of God. Paul spoke
of the offense of the cross. He said, if I yet preach circumcision,
then is the offense of the cross ceased. I wouldn't be persecuted
if I was preaching circumcision. The natural man is offended by
the message of the gospel. And to confess Christ, I identify
with that message that offends the natural man. It's part of
bearing the reproach of Christ. Now, you think of the gospel.
The gospel offends men by natural man. What do I mean by natural
man? I'm talking about the way we're all born into this world. Anybody who
has Not a believer, anybody who's not been born of God, anybody
who's not one of God's elect, anybody who's not one of Christ's
sheep, that's the natural man. It's the way everybody's born
by nature, the way we naturally think. The natural man is offended
by the gospel. You see, the gospel offends men's
sense of personal righteousness because it says we don't have
any. The gospel offends men's sense of personal rights because
it says we don't have any rights. We're in the hands of a sovereign
God because of our sin. We forfeit all rights, all claims
because of our sin. And we're in the hands of a sovereign
God who can do with us as he's pleased to do. He can save me
if he's pleased to. He can send me to hell if he's pleased to.
He's God. He's in control. I'm in his hands. He's not in
mine. Somebody says, won't you make Jesus Lord of your life?
You can't do that. God's made him Lord and you're
in his hand. That's the truth. That offends
men's sense of personal right and their sense of control. Every
man wants to think he controls something. But in reality, we
control nothing. We have no control. The gospel
offends men's sense of wisdom because it says you can't figure
this out. It comes only by revelation. I don't care how much you study.
I don't care how smart you are. You can't figure out the gospel
unless God is pleased to make himself known. Salvation comes
by revelation, not by education. The gospel offends men's love
of self because it calls upon men to deny self, take up their
cross and follow him. Now, here's what the gospel really
offends. It offends what men are trusting in. Because men
are trusting in their works, and their experience, and their
past. You know, I remember when I went
down to the front, and I received Jesus, and I saved the sinner,
and I did, I did, I experienced this, I experienced that. The
Gospel says your experience is no good. Only what Christ did
is going to save anybody. Don't look to your works, your
experience, you look to Christ only. Now, the world hates the
Gospel. The world is offended by the
Gospel. Am I going to fail to identify with this message? in
order to save my own skin? Am I going to fail to confess?
Then I don't really believe. That means I'm ashamed of the
gospel. Now, what is confession? The
word means agreement. To speak the same thing. How can two walk together except
they be agreed? Now, if I'm a believer, And you're
a believer. You know what? We're in agreement.
We're in agreement. And if we're not in agreement,
we're walking in two different directions. How can two walk
together except they be agreed? Now, I agree with all that God
says. I agree with God that this book
is given by inspiration of God. Now, the fact that I agree with
it doesn't authenticate it. This is God's word, whether I
believe it or not. But beloved, I agree. I agree with all God
says. He says all scripture is given
by inspiration of God. I agree. I agree with everything
God says. I agree with what God says about
himself, all of his wonderful attributes and characteristics.
I agree. God says he's holy. I agree.
God says he's absolutely sovereign. The first cause behind everything.
I agree. God says He's just and righteous.
I agree. God says He's love. I agree. I agree with everything God says
regarding Himself. I agree with everything God says
regarding me. When God says I'm a sinner, I
agree with God. When God says I can't save myself,
I agree with God. I agree with everything God says
about salvation. When God says He chose who'd
be saved, I agree. When the Bible says that Christ
laid down His life for a sheep, I agree. When it says that he
perfected for everything that are sanctified, I agree. I agree
with all God says concerning his salvation. There is agreement
and there's no salvation apart from this agreement or this confession.
But this agreement has something public about it. It's not just
mentally agreeing. Yeah, I see that. I got no choice. No, our Lord said, whosoever
shall confess me before men, Him will I also confess before
my Father, which is in heaven. But whoso denieth me before men,
him will I deny before my Father, which is in heaven. There's something
public about confession. And in confession, I confess
guilty as charged. If it's going to cost me something,
I'm going to confess. And let me also say this about
confession. What we confess, it isn't merely a grim acknowledgment
Like, we get caught at something, and we have to acknowledge it.
No, we rejoice in what we confess. It's something that we love.
It's someone we love. We confess Him, and there's a
rejoicing in this confession. Now, somebody says, well, how
in the world can I confess Christ? I can tell you. Or the Bible
can tell you. First, you confess Him by believer's baptism. That's my public acknowledgement
of the Lord Jesus Christ. I confess to the world. that
all my hope is found in the life, the death, the burial, and the
resurrection of Christ. I confess that when He lived,
I lived before God. When He kept the law, I kept
the law. When He died, I died. My sin became His. When He was
raised, I was raised. I confess the gospel. I confess
Christ by believer's baptism. I confess Christ by identification
with His people. Wherever his gospel is preached,
I'm going to be identified with him. Paul said, don't be ashamed
of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner. I confess
by identification with his people. I confess by my mouth, by what
I say. The Lord said, by your words,
you'll be justified and by your words, you'll be condemned. My
confession better line up with his confession. I confess by
my words and I confess by my life, my life, my conduct. Confess is my confession as to
whether or not I really love the Lord Jesus Christ or whether
I don't. Now, there is no salvation apart from confession. I confess. First, I commit. I commit the
salvation of my soul to him. And I confess to all that He
is my salvation, and I'm looking nowhere else but to Him and to
Him only. That is my confession. Where
there's true saving faith, there'll be this commitment and this confession. And this is what caused Joseph
and Nicodemus to go from cowards to courageous, what they saw
in the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now we have this message
on CD, DVD, or cassette tape. If you call the church, write
or email, we'll send you a copy. This is Todd Nyberg praying that
God will be pleased to make Himself known to you. That's our prayer.
Amen. 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
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