November
25, 2018
SOVEREIGN GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH
MEETING LOCATION
251 Green Lane
Ewing, NJ, 08368
Clay Curtis, pastor
Telephone: 615-513-4464
Clay@FreeGraceMedia.com
MAILING ADDRESS:
7 Birch Street
Pennington, NJ, 08538
Schedule of Services
Sunday 10: 15 AM Bible Class
Sunday 11:00 AM Morning Service
Thursday 7: 30 PM Midweek Service
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NURSERY
We have a nursery equipped with a digital flat screen television
broadcasting all services live, for children four and under.
All articles by the pastor unless
otherwise noted.
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SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE WEBSITE: The
videos are now listed as individual sermons, as well as full services—click here.
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SUNDAY’S READING IN PROVERBS
Proverbs 12: 13: The wicked is snared by the
transgression of his lips: but the
just shall come out of trouble.
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“A man’s gift maketh room for him.” —
God’s servants do not have to tell others they are God’s servants. Their
message and God’s use of them does that. And God’s servants never force
themselves into light or into a place. God opens the door before them and puts
them into their divinely appointed place.
Pastor Don Fortner
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Imputation
is not supposition: God does not impute righteousness and treat believers as if we are righteous. God imputes fact of what we have been made by
a prior act: "In that [Christ] died,
he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise, reckon [impute] ye also yourselves
to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
(Rom 6: 10-11)
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RULE
OF LIFE
Romans 7:6: But now we are delivered from
the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness
of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.
Notice
two things; first "we are delivered
from the law," second, not that we may do nature's pleasure, but
"that we should serve in newness of
spirit." Being delivered from
bondage, it is our privilege to "serve" in liberty. We read further on in the chapter, "and the commandment which was ordained to
life, I found to be death" (vs. 10). It evidently did not prove as a rule of life
to him.
I was alive without the law once, but when
the commandment came, sin revived, and I died (v. 9). Whoever "I" represents in this
chapter was alive until the law came and then he died. So the law could not have been a rule of life
to him but just the opposite, even the rule of death. It is true that a sinner
cannot be justified by the works of the law and just as true that the law is
not the rule of the believer' s life. "For as many as are of the works of the law
are under the curse" (Gal. 3-10). The law knows no such thing as a difference
between an unregenerated and a regenerated person. It curses all who attempt to stand before it. It rules and curses a man as long as he lives.
In Phil. 1:21 the apostle does not say, “to
me to live is the law" but "to
me to live is Christ."
Christ is our rule of life, he bore our
sins in his own body on the tree, he was made a curse for us. He drained, on our behalf, the cup of God's
righteous wrath. He deprived death of its
sting, and the grave of its victory. He
gave up his life for us. He went down
into death where we lay, in order that he might bring us up in eternal union
with himself in life, righteousness, favor and glory before our Father and his
Father.
The law could never teach me to love,
bless and pray for my enemies but this is exactly what the gospel teaches me to
do and what the divine nature leads me to do. We are predestinated to be conformed, not to
the image of the law, but to the image of God's son. We are to be like Him.
If a man is walking according to the
spirit of the gospel, he will not commit murder or steal. Let a man confine
himself to the standard of Moses and he will fall short of the spirit of the
gospel.
The believer has found forgiveness and righteousness
at the cross of our Lord Jesus. He is
not now as an accepted son, sent back to the foot of Mount Sinai, there to be
scared and repulsed by the awful curse of the broken law, but he finds all his
motives for service at the cross. The
believer stands, not in law, but in grace and he waits not for judgment, but
for glory. Pastor Scott Richardson
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“Godliness with contentment is great gain - 1
Tim. 6:6
Godliness: “An attitude and style of like that acknowledges God’s
claims on human life and seeks to live accordance with God’s will.” I
think the scripture gives a good definition of godliness when it tells us to
“Be followers of God, as dear children” (Eph.5:1). Find out what God says
in His word and follow that. Trust in the Son of God as your all and all
and follow His as a sheep would follow the Shepherd. Find out who the
Children of God are and be kind and tenderhearted to them. Look upon this
poor lost world and pity it, and pray for it and do it good whenever you can,
(Matt.5:44). Be a follower of God and follow Him as a “dear child.”
That is lovingly and truthfully with a sincere heart. Follow Him humbly
with full dependence upon Him as a helpless child would cast all his care upon
his father to supply his every need. What an excellent attitude for the
child of God to have – “godliness”. But this is not all; “godliness with contentment
is great gain.” “Contentment” (easy in mind; satisfied) with what God is
pleased to provide. Content, to believe what he has written. Content to
walk in the way he has marked out for me in His word. Content to go, or content
to stay, content to do His will. Content with God – what great gain!
Content with my wages (Lk.3:14). Content with my situation in life (Phil.4:11).
Content with such things as I have (Heb.13:5). Content to have food and
clothes (1 Tim.6:8).
You and I are ready to leave this
world for that one which is to come. We will not take one thing of this
world with us. We will leave it all behind. Are we content to leave
all behind now and carry nothing with us to the edge of this life but what God
has provided? How rich you are if this is your attitude. Pastor Bruce Crabtree
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READY-MADE
SHOES
Ephesians 6: 15: And [having] your feet shod with the preparation
of the gospel of peace.
God provides
a believer shoes to walk through this life amidst the fire of trials.
First, notice the word “preparation.” It means the shoes are already made when Christ
puts them on God’s elect through the Holy Spirit. Sinners are not cobblers. We cannot make these shoes ourselves. Suppose a physician were to tell you that he
partly had a remedy for your broken foot but you have to set the broken bones
yourself. It would not be good news. You would seek another physician who had the
ability to make you completely whole, without your help. The good news is that Christ does all the
work of making his people whole, apart from our works. Sinner, as long as you are trying to be a
cobbler, trying to prepare these shoes yourself, then the true gospel will not
be good news to you. Christ has done all
to prepare these shoes for the feet of his saints. The apostle Peter called it “salvation ready to be revealed in the last
time.” (1 Pet 1:5)
Then notice the definite article “the.” It means there is but one shoe. When we go to the shoe store, we find
hundreds of different styles and sizes of shoes. With God, there is one shoe which
fits all God’s saints perfectly because it is made especially for God’s elect—"the gospel of peace.” In the sinners defiled mind, the true and
living God is his enemy. Since we all
broke the law in Adam, we are guilty before God. There is no peace between God and his people
as we come into this world. But Christ
sends his preacher to them that are his with this gospel of peace, “all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ.”
(2 Cor 5: 18) God was in Christ reconciling his elect to himself, not imputing
our sins to us, because “he hath made him
sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in
him.” (2 Cor 5:21) Having made peace through the blood of his cross, Christ
alone, reconciled all his people to himself.
(Col 1: 20-23)
Lastly,
it says “having…our feet shod.” It means Christ puts these shoes on each of
his redeemed. Through this gospel of
peace, Christ speaks personally to the sinner by the Holy Spirit, declaring, “The way of peace [you] know not; and there is no judgment in [your]
goings: [you] have made [you] crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not
know peace.” (Isa 59:8) Then the poor sinner sees himself a real sinner and
all his works vanity. When Christ makes
us willing by his power to believe on Christ, Christ shods the believers feet
with the gospel of peace declaring to us, “the
mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not
depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the
LORD that hath mercy on thee.” (Is 54: 10; 55: 11-12; 57: 19; Jn 16:33) For
the first time, seeing that we are justified by the blood of Christ, “by faith, we have peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ.” (Rom 5: 1) From that day forward, we have this sure
promise, Christ “will keep the feet of
his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall
no man prevail.” (1 Sa 2: 9) “And the
peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus.” (Php 4: 7) “And
the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.”
(Rom 16: 20)
Oh, believer, thank God for Christ his Son
who prepared and puts on our feet the gospel of peace!