September 11, 2016
SOVEREIGN GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH
LOCATION
Rocky Hill Firehouse, 2nd Floor
150 Washington Street
Rocky Hill, New Jersey, 08553
Clay Curtis, pastor
Telephone: 615-513-4464
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.
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All articles by the pastor unless otherwise noted. As you read the bulletin at home with your children be sure to look up the scripture references.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
· Thursday, Sept 15, Brother Scott Keller is scheduled to preach the gospel here.
· Friday-Sunday, Sept 16-18, I am scheduled to preach in a conference at Kingsport Grace Church, Kingsport, TN where Gabe Stalnaker is pastor.
· Sunday, Sept 18, Brothers Eric Lutter and Scott Keller are scheduled to preach the gospel here at 10:15 and 11am.
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PHARISEES
Matthew 19: 2: And great multitudes followed him; and he healed them there. 3: The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?
This is how it is in our day. Here was Christ physically healing sinners. It was a glorious display of Christ’s greater ability to heal sinners spiritually through faith in his blood. Sinners saved by Christ want all the focus to be on Christ because he is all in every heart he has made new.
Yet, there are always those who would take the focus off Christ and put the focus on their vain works. They do so by absurd questions like the Pharisees asked Christ. Since sin entered this is the way of vainly religious men. Here stands the Lawgiver—Christ who is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believes—yet, the self-righteous set the law against the Lawgiver; they set their idea of righteousness against the Righteous One; they set the law against he who is the very fulfillment of the law for his people. They are essentially calling Christ antinomian because they accuse him of being against the law of Moses.
Their question about divorce was used by Christ to condemn them first, for not knowing the scriptures; then secondly, he condemned their hard hearts (vv4-8).
Let us learn a valuable lesson from Christ’s answer. Anytime a sinner appeals to the law before God in order to justify himself he always condemns himself. The law was only given to reveal our sin and declare us guilty before God. “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” (Rom 3: 19-20)
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WHAT GOD HATH JOINED TOGETHER
Matthew 19: 4: And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, 5: And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? 6: Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
God made Adam and Eve and united them in holy marriage. He made the marriage union of husband and wife after the pattern of Christ and the church.
When a sinner is born-again by the Holy Spirit the believer becomes subject to Christ. This is the reason the wife is to submit to her husband “as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.” (Eph 5: 22-24)
Christ loved his bride and gave himself for her. Therefore, the husband is to love his bride “even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it. That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” (Eph 5: 25-27) The husband is to love his wife, regarding her as one set apart for him by God from before the foundation of the world even as God sanctified his elect and gave us to Christ before time began. The husband is to cover her sins, to forgive her and keep her, in devotion to her as his own body even as Christ covered our sins and keep us as his own body because Christ and his bride are one flesh. “So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.” (Eph 5: 28-30)
Christ gave up all for his bride and makes the believer forsake all for him. “For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” (Eph 5: 31-33)
Christ’s love for his bride shall never end. He shall never put away his bride. Likewise the husband is to be joined to his wife for life. This everlasting union between Christ and his bride is set forth like nowhere else in the union of husband and wife in marriage. Therefore, Christ says, “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.”
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Psalm 25: 4: Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. 5: Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. 6: Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old. 7: Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness’ sake, O LORD.
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GOD REGARDS THE FIRST MARRIAGE
Matthew 19: 9: And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.
“Fornication” is the exception our Savior gives for divorce. He is not saying we should divorce but it is permissible. Also, he says the man who divorces his wife for other reasons and marries another commits adultery. The man who marries her which is put away also commits adultery. It is because God regards the first marriage as the true marriage even when we do not.
There is a great glorious truth set forth here between Christ and his bride.
Under the old covenant, the Jews forsook their spiritual marriage covenant to God and joined themselves to false gods. It was spiritual fornication and adultery. God said, “Judah hath profaned the holiness of the LORD which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god.” (Mal 2: 11) It shows us how God’s elect spiritual Judah forsook our eternal marriage covenant to Christ when we sinned in Adam.
Yet, God said they were still married to their first spouse: “the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.” (Mal 2: 14) Here is the good news! Though we committed fornication against Christ our Husband he did not put us away. Even more amazing, in God’s eye we were still married to Christ by his everlasting covenant of grace.
Though we tried to cover our sinful divorce from Christ by being married to false gods in vain religion—“covering violence with our garment”—like a man covers the violence of divorce by marrying another woman, still, God did not regard our second marriage as valid. Why? “For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.” (Mal 2: 16)
Yet, God’s law required those who do this “must be cut off.” (Mal 2: 12) How could God cut us off yet Christ remain married to us? It was only by Christ dying in the room and stead of his bride to satisfy God’s law and make us righteous in him. Therefore, in time, God said to Christ what he said to Hosea when Gomer was naked on the slave block “Then said the LORD unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine.” (Hos 3: 1)
Oh, how this sheds light on why God regards only the first marriage even after divorce. What constraint to never put away our spouse for any reason! Since, God hates putting away, though we committed fornication by our sin and committed adultery by our vain marriage to false gods, we were still married to Christ. Therefore, Christ laid down his life in our place and saved his bride from our sins. Oh, the greatness of God’s forgiveness toward adulterers like us. So believer, submit yourself to Christ our Husband with all faithfulness. Wives, as the church is subject to Christ, submit yourselves to your husbands as unto the Lord. Husbands love your wives even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it. And let us all, forgive one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.