REFORMED CHURCH BELLVILLE SUNDAY 13 MARCH 2016 MORNING SERVICE. (All quotations from the New King James Version unless indicated otherwise) Sing beforehand: Psalm 119:12+13. I will lift up my eyes to the hills from whence comes my help? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. Beloved, grace and peace be unto you, from He who is and was and will come, and from the seven Spirits before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first to rise from the dead, the ruler over the kings of the earth. Song of praise: Psalm 135:1+2. Confession of faith: Nicene creed. We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages; Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made, Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was made incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father, and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the living and the dead, whose kingdom shall have no end. And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets And we believe one holy universal and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and we look for the resurrection of the dead; and the life of the world to come. Law Psalm 24:2+3. Prayer Doxology: Worship: Confession: Supplication (for pardon of sins): Thanksgiving: Intercession (for the need of the congregation, the church, authorities, sinful world and appeal to the promises of God) General supplication: Illumination of the Holy Spirit (necessary for the ministry of the Word): Psalm 128:1+2. Scripture reading: Hebrews 12:25 to 13:6. Scripture text: Hebrews 13:4: 1
Marriage is honourable among all, and the bed undefiled: but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. Theme: Marriage, relationships and the church of the LORD. Beloved in our Lord Jesus Christ, first, two introductory notes: The first concerns a series of sermons about a particular book or chapter. When one prepares a series of sermons, the Holy Spirit compels the preacher to address also the more difficult issues in his preaching. Often these are issues that we would rather skip or prefer not to deal with in a sermon. The second note concerns the principal issue in our text of this morning marriage and sex. In our congregation there are members who are not married yet, or were never married, but this does not mean that this sermon is not for them as well. Most of the unmarried will probably marry at some time. It is necessary that they, together with the married ones, hear how marriage and relationships concern the church. Those who are unmarried and will remain so, can listen as well, so that they may be instruments in the hand of the Lord as Paul was an instrument without being married. Brothers, sisters and children, during the past number of years society's views about marriage have changed considerably. Marriage as such is no longer held in the same high esteem as it was forty or fifty years ago. The percentage of divorces has risen sky high. Many people, not only the youth, see no need for marriage living together is sufficient. The deleterious consequences of these new trends show themselves in society. Many of the things that trouble believers loss of respect, loss of obedience and general misbehaviour can in one way or another be traced back to broken homes. Christians have not remained untouched or uninjured by this. Christians live within this society, therefore the views of society and its behaviour will have an influence on Christians and the church. What we now see happening in marriages and relationships is nothing new. These matters were with us since long ago. What is new, is what the Holy Spirit teaches us in the Word about marriage and relationships. What the Lord teaches about marriage and relationships is contrary to what society has always promoted. That a sexual relationship was limited to one man and one woman in marriage was not a popular trend in both Old and New Testamentary times and today it still is not popular. The word we translate with honourable, can also be translated with precious or valuable. Peter uses the same word where he speaks of the precious blood of Christ and the precious promises of God (1 Peter 1:19 and 2 Peter 1:4). Marriage is precious and very valuable because God instituted it before the fall into sin. What a privilege it is to still have this gift that came from God's hand and was intended for all people from before the fall. God did not want man to be alone for this was not good. Man must live in the company of another person. Our Triune God holds marriage in high esteem and honourable. The Father instituted marriage and still today He brings each husband and wife together. The Son also honours marriage He attended a wedding at Cana where He performed His first miracle. When He confronts the spiritual leaders about their loose views on marriage He confirms what was His Father's original intention with marriage. The Holy Spirit also esteems marriage highly, that is why He guided Paul in writing this epistle to record God's commands about marriage and relationships for the church of all time. The marriage that God instituted is a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman. When the LORD created a woman comparable to Adam, He created only one woman, not many. Yet we read of polygamy in the Bible and nowhere do we read that God condemns it. The fact that the LORD does not expressly condemn it does not mean that He approves of it. Every time marriage is mentioned in the New Testament, there is a reference back to the first marriage God instituted a covenant between one man and one woman. Furthermore, we note that in all the polygamous marriages there is unhappiness and quarrelling. 2
On an occasion the Pharisees questioned Jesus about divorce. God tolerates divorce because of the hardness of man's heart but He does not approve of it. On the contrary, He put it clearly that He hates it (Malachi 2:16), because He instituted marriage as a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman. As to the modern trend that homosexuals can also marry in the Bible there is no justification for it. In fact, the LORD condemns homosexuality as a sin against Him in the Old as well as the New Testament. Our Triune God honours the marriage that He instituted, therefore the people who belong to him should do the same. We are commanded to keep marriage honourable in every respect and the bed undefiled. The word that is translated with bed refers to the sexual relationship between husband and wife in marriage. As this command is given to the faithful it means that there are things that cause marriage between the faithful to fall into disgrace. Believers do not honour marriage if in their marriage they, or one of them, consider complete sexual abstinence to be more holy. The devil is a sly one. If he cannot entice the faithful to lasciviousness he will try to get them to go to the other extreme that is total abstinence in marriage. Celibacy, that is, the ability to live without being attracted to the opposite gender, is a gift that God does not bestow on everybody. Paul said that he had this gift but that it is not given to all men (1 Corinthians 7:7) Celibacy should not be forced onto people as it is in the Roman Catholic church. The unmarried must pray that the Spirit grants them this gift for as long as they remain so. But within marriage a sexual relationship between husband and wife is allowed, and husband and wife should not deprive one another from it except with mutual consent for a limited period for prayer and devotion to God (1 Corinthians 7:5). The LORD created man and woman different and blessed them to be fruitful and have children. Believers disgrace marriage when they agree with the world that homosexuals may marry. The LORD instituted marriage as a covenant between a man and a woman. Man cannot and may not decide that relationships between the same gender may be called marriage and even expect to be blessed by the LORD. In the eyes of the LORD these relationships are an abomination and the church may not explain them away. Because the LORD condemns homosexual conduct and life style, believers must in love rebuke and assist such people when they come across them. We may not resignedly watch people slide into eternal death if they do not convert. Another way by which believers disgrace marriage is when they think as little of divorce as society does. We know that there are many Christians who have divorced for good reason and one does not want to increase their suffering. But, as Christians who follow Jesus Christ, we cannot do else but to say that divorce is not according to the will of God. Believers must therefore do their best to save their marriage from divorce. We must continue to pray that the Holy Spirit may guide people who experience difficulties in their marriage and grant them wisdom. Consider the glory and honour that the Lord will receive when spouses can work through difficult times and remain within the covenant they agreed to before God. Another way in which Christians fail to keep marriage honourable is when they become so enamoured of someone of the opposite sex that they do not even wonder whether that one has a living relationship with the Lord. Those of you who still are unmarried should now listen carefully. Do not marry an unbeliever. To the Lord that is a profaning of His relationship with you (Malachi 2:11). An unbeliever and a believer cannot live in harmony. Your aims in life are different. Being a believer you want to finish the race of faith in which Christ placed you when He saved you. The unbeliever is not in this race and, moreover, did not promise to love the Lord. 3
What now if a believer has already mistakenly married an unbeliever? The Lord says that they must remain married. Being a believer you may not divorce. You must continue to pray for your unbelieving spouse and pray that the Holy Spirit may strengthen your faith so that your spouse does not draw you away from the Lord. A final way in which Christians fail to honour marriage and defile the bed, is when they are sexually promiscuous. In the second part of our text the Lord addresses both the married as well as the unmarried. Adulterers are spouses who have sexual relations with someone to whom they are not married. And fornicators are unmarried people who indulge in sexual relationships. A sexual relationship is meant to be exclusively in a marriage between one man and one woman as God instituted it so. Only within the covenant of marriage between husband and wife is safe sex possible. We now want to hear how Christians will keep marriage honourable. Clearly, Christians will keep marriage honourable and the bed undefiled, when they do not think that it is more holy to live celibate than to have a sexual relationship within marriage. Christians honour marriage when they do not share society's views on homosexual relationships and divorce. Being an unmarried believer you would consider marriage precious if you seek a spouse who serves the Lord together with you. We esteem marriage when we do not allow ourselves to be seduced into all kinds of sexual relationships. We cannot only agree with God's high standards for marriage and sexual relationships. We must find a strategy and exercise to comply with these high standards. To remain steadfast in one's faith and true to the Lord when one meets with temptations, one must take decisions before these temptations come. We cannot believe that we will be able to withstand the temptations simply because we believe in the Lord. Nobody is strong enough in himself alone. The devil and our own sinful nature drive a wedge into our relationships. It therefore is essential that we maintain a firm and intimate relationship with the Lord. Live every day near to the Lord who instituted marriage and, if you are married, live in a close relationship with your spouse. Believers must not allow the slightest gap to open between them and the Lord or between them and their spouse. It is when estrangement occurs that Christians become more and more defenceless against temptations. Pray that the Holy Spirit direct your thoughts at Christ in whom the life of Christians is safe. The Holy Spirit employs Scripture to direct our mind at Christ. Therefore Bible study is essential to us all. We must not read and study the Bible in order to say that we have done it we must obey what the Lord teaches us and apply it. We spouses must remember that our relationship with one another will not automatically run smoothly simply because we made a promise before the Lord. We must work at this relationship. Spouses must build a healthy married life so that the world can see what the relationship between Christ and His church looks like. In addition we, husbands and wives, are examples to and educators of our children as future spouses. Keep marriage honourable by raising good husbands and wives so that they, too, can keep marriage honourable. As with all sins, the Lord takes sins of a sexual nature and sins that disgrace marriage seriously. We hear in our text that God will judge fornicators and adulterers. When Christians trespass in this area, it usually is published on the front pages of news papers and periodicals, for it is sensational news. People love sensation. And if we make a sensation of these sins it may appear that they are the worst sins one can commit. However, all sins are equally bad any sin deserves eternal death. 4
Remember that no sin in our against marriage or of sexual nature is so great that the Lord cannot forgive it. Hear the mercy that the Holy Spirit tells us of in 1 Corinthians 6. After Paul has drawn a list of sins and said that people who do those things cannot enter the kingdom of God, he adds: And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God (1 Corinthians 6:11). Whoever realizes his sin and seeks refuge at the cross of Christ and confesses his sins, can be assured that God will forgive him. And with the guidance of the Holy Spirit he will be able to continue to struggle against sin. Amen! Closing prayer Closing song: Psalm 32:1+4. The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace. Rev Coen Vrey Reformed Church Bellville Date: 13 March 2016. Translator: Willem de Haan. 5