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Listen to Pastor Mike preach this recent sermon from Ephesians.
Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry coming to you from Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. No Compromise Radio is a program dedicated to the ongoing proclamation of Jesus Christ, based on the theme in Galatians 2, verse 5, where the Apostle Paul said, �But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.
In short, if you like smooth, watered-down words to make you simply feel good, this show isn�t for you. By purpose, we are first biblical, but we can also be controversial. Stay tuned for the next 25 minutes as we�re called by the Divine Trumpet to summon the troops for the honor and glory of her King.
Here�s our host, Pastor Mike Abendroth.
I�m going to read something and you can ask yourself the question, �What is that And also, �When was that written Dearly beloved friends, we are gathered together here in the sight of God in the face of this congregation to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony, which is an honorable estate instituted of God in paradise in the time of man�s innocency, signifying unto us the mystical union that is betwixt Christ and His Church, which holy state Christ adorned and beautified with His presence and first miracle that He wrought in Cana of Galilee, and is commended of St. Paul to be honorable among all men.
And therefore, it is not to be enterprised nor taken in hand unadvisedly, lightly, or wantonly, to satisfy men�s carnal lusts and appetites like brute beasts that have no understanding, but reverently, discreetly, advisedly, soberly, and in the fear of God, duly considering the causes for which matrimony was ordained.
One, the procreation of children to be brought up in the fear and nurture of the Lord in praise of God. Secondly, it was ordained as a remedy against sin and to avoid fornication, that such persons as have not themselves the gift of continency might marry and keep themselves undefiled members of Christ�s body.
Thirdly, for the mutual society, help, and comfort that one ought to have for one another, both in prosperity and adversity, into which holy state these two persons present come now to be joined. Therefore, if any man can show any just cause why they may not lawfully be joined together, let him now speak or else hereafter forever hold his peace.
The pastor says to the couple, I require and charge you as you will answer at the dreadful day of judgment when the secrets of all men shall be disclosed, that if either of you do know any impediment why you may not be lawfully joined together in matrimony, that ye confess it.
For be ye well assured that so many as be coupled together otherwise than God�s word does allow are not joined together by God, neither is their matrimony lawful. And the minister adds this blessing, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost, bless, preserve, and keep you.
The Lord mercifully with his favor look upon you and so fill you with all spiritual benediction and grace that you may live together in thy life, that in the world to come also you may have life everlasting.
Amen. What was that? Did it sound good? Did it sound like hate speech? Did it sound biblical? What was it? It's certainly ancient. It is from 1559. Thomas Cramner wrote in the book of Common Prayer this part of a wedding ceremony as you know.
This is from the Salmonization of Matrimony. It is ancient but is it relevant? Is it out of date? Is it outmoded? Of course the world would say yes, yes, and yes. And if the Common Book of Prayer in 1559 is out of date, how about another document, the Bible that's even older?
Today we're going to talk about the Bible and Christian marriage and marriage in general. And the Bible has much to say about it and it's positive. As you know we've been going through the books of the Bible and we just finished the book of Nahum.
And so we're going to have a couple week interlude here and we're going to talk about what does the Bible say about marriage? While the world attacks marriage, celebrities disdain marriages, advertisers shame marriages, God celebrates and has ordained marriage.
When I looked at an article and it was describing why homosexual marriage will wreck the nation, it had something that was left out. Many things were probably true but this particular person said, you know what, if there's going to be homosexual marriage in America, it will harm the nation.
And he listed these things but there's one missing. He said there'll be wholesale revision of every state family law. There'll be closures of Christian adoption agencies. The preaching against homosexuality and counseling of homosexuals likely would be prohibited.
Churches will lose tax exemption. There'll be legalization of multiple partner and incestuous marriages. People of biblical faith will be driven from public office. Society will coarsen. Businesses will have to cater to homosexual couples.
Professional licensing requirements to serve homosexual couples. An undermining of God's male-female order. Loss of liberty and finally he gives God's judgment on the nation. Now while they all may be true and you can argue about those, there's something missing when it comes to this issue.
There's validity to each of these but they pale in comparison to the fact that homosexual marriage, gay marriage attacks the very heart of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. So I'd like you to take your Bibles and turn to Ephesians chapter 5 as we talk about Christ-centered view of marriage so that you see the right thing so that when the wrong thing comes along it's easily identifiable.
What does the Bible say about marriage? Is it an eternal arrangement about God the Son and His Bride? Is that where it stops? What is going on with marriage as it's redefined? And here's my premise for today.
And if you're a young child, here's what I'm after when I'm preaching to you and I see several children. If you had to summarize the message, what would that message be about? Here's the message simply.
When you talk about marriage, you see a couple getting married, you ought to think about Jesus and the church. And when you see and understand Jesus and the church, you ought to think about marriage. It's that simple.
When you think about marriage on earth between a man and a woman, you ought to think about the ultimate marriage, Jesus and the bride. And when you think about Jesus and the bride, you ought to think about human marriages.
That's the simple message for today and maybe the next week or two. I'm going to read Ephesians 5 verses 22 through 33. That will be our passage today. And then we'll get to another book of the Bible after this short mini-series.
I'm going to read these verses and here's what I'd like you to do. There's one word in here that's repeated six times. If you come to the Bible and you're trying to interpret it, one of the best things you can do in a letter like this to the Ephesians, an epistle we call it, is to look for key words that are repeated.
Every word's important. Obviously, the Spirit of God intends that. But if you see a repeated word, that will help you in your study and say, you know what, this text is about this idea. So there's a word that's used six times and I want you to see if you can find it because if you can, you'll understand the passage and you'll understand the bedrock of marriage.
Wives, submit to your own husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now, as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having her cleansed by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor without any spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.
In the same way, husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it just as Christ does the church because we are members of his body.
Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is profound, and I'm saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you, there it is for the sixth time, love his wife as himself and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
This morning, dear congregation, we're going to look at Ephesians chapter 5 and work through it so we can see the relationship of Jesus and the church and marriage between a couple and how one reflects the other and an attack on one is an attack on the other.
Ephesians 5 verses 22 through 33 is our text. Now, before I get into the text, I also want to say that there's a lot of symbolism and figures of speech, of course, in the Bible, and you can already tell something's going on here.
He's got marriage, and he's kind of weaving it together with Jesus' love for the church, and he does that with words like as or just as in verse 25, Christ loved the church. He's showing that it's tied in.
He ties it in. Also, if you look at verse 32, this mystery is profound. He's been talking about husbands and wives on earth, and then he says it refers to Christ and the church. That's the ultimate point here.
It says in verse 29, just as Christ does the church. So he's trying to do something with marriage and with this ultimate marriage that is Jesus with his bride that he's going to redeem, so they kind of mix back and forth together in this great symbolism, and marriages have a lot of symbolism, great symbolism.
You ever been to a wedding and thought, wow, there's so much symbolism here that points to things. For instance, the groom comes in first. Why? He's better? No, he's the covenant initiator. We have families sit on different sides of the sanctuary.
Why? Because here's the groom's family, here's the bride's family or vice versa, and they are pronounced husband and wife, and they walk through the middle of their families like they're cutting an Old Testament covenant.
There's a white runner often because it's holy ground. Parents get to sit up front because there's special seating for them due to the honor given to them by the Bible. Father walks the bride down the aisle.
Who gives this woman to be married to this man? And the father says, as the head of the family, I'm choosing this man to be the best for my daughter. I do. The groom makes the vow first. He's the leader and covenant initiator.
You're given rings, the symbol of a covenant, and they're circular in shape without end, and till death do us part, they might light a unity candle signifying oneness. Gowns are white showing purity, holiness.
They might end it with a kiss. You may kiss the bride, and in the old days, you would seal a contract with a kiss. And of course, what we don't do anymore is we don't throw rice. That was always a tragedy, right?
Symbolizing fertility. Who is the rice cleaning up crew? I don't know. I love all those symbols because when I go to a wedding, I just watch them. They're not all done, maybe at every one, but it's so symbolic and it's meant to be.
It's meant to show you something. There's a picture, a picture with my eyes, I see, but there's the ultimate picture, and that's what we're going to look at today. Marriage. Here's the ultimate symbol in a wedding.
Marriage is modeled after God's love for his people. Marriage is a picture of how God loves his people. Now you say, pastor, we are not in Ephesians lately, so we just dive into chapter five and parachute in.
Is there a context to what's going on? That's a good question to ask. Here's the context. Ephesians is about God plans. God ordains. God elects. God predestines. God has a purpose. How does he do that purpose?
It's through his son, his beloved son, the one that he sent from eternity past who takes humanity to himself. The God man lives for us, dies for us, is raised, and he works everything out in that son.
He has a plan. He works it out in his son. And why does he do that? To the praise of his glory. Verse six, to the praise of his glory. Chapter one, verse 12, to the praise of his glory. Chapter one, verse 14, to the praise of his glorious grace.
God has a plan. He works it in through Jesus, and he does it to the praise of his glory. That's Ephesians. You're like, wait a second. How does that play out? Gentiles and Jews get together for one body.
Who could ever do that? Well, it's always planned by God. He did it because of Jesus, and now he gets praise for that. And now we come to chapter five. What does a marriage look like? How does a marriage operate?
How do we live a godly marriage? How should I think about marriage? Well, do you know what? God has always planned marriage from eternity past. It wasn't an afterthought. Marriage is designed to think about who Jesus is in Christ Jesus.
And why is marriage ordained? To the praise of his glorious grace. That's the book of Ephesians, and that's where we are right now. And over and over and over, you see six times, verse 25, love your wives.
Christ loved the church. Verse 28, love their wives. He who loves his wife loves himself. And finally, in verse 33, let each one of you love his wife. But in the midst of all this human talk about a man loving his wife, you must see Ephesians want you to see there's a picture, a reflection, a mirror of a greater, bigger marriage, and that is between Jesus and his bride.
It's even interesting, the word church, do you think it's masculine, neuter, or feminine? Just the word church in general, the Greek word church. For those of you that can't understand me, is it masculine, feminine, or neuter?
Which one is it? It's feminine. It just makes sense when you think Jesus, the man, he dies for the bride, the church, the elect ones, and marriage reflects that. Did you know that Martin Lloyd Jones said, how many of us have realized that we are always to think of the marriage state in terms of the doctrine of the atonement?
Is that what you think of? You go see a wedding and you think, substitutionary atonement. Kind of sounds funny, doesn't it? Probably some theological student in seminary would do that. They go to a wedding, everybody's happy, and he's sitting there thinking about, you know, penalty substitution.
But he would be right, or she, if she thought that way, would be right. Verse 25, this is our main verse for today. Husbands, love your wives, and there's as in your ESV, or just as in your NAS. How do you love your wife?
And here's the model, here's the motivation. Just as Christ, the Messiah, also loved the church and gave himself up for her. God has designed marriage on earth to reflect an eternal reality about the son loving the father enough to go rescue the bride, the church.
The model and ground of every marriage is the love of Christ for his church. And that love, by the way, if you looked at the word love, do you think it's erotic love? There's a Greek word for that. Do you think it's like brotherly love?
There's a Greek word for that. Do you think it's kind of family affection? No, no, you would all go, that kind of love of Jesus is sacrificial love. That's the kind of love that says, at my own cost and peril, I will do something for your own benefit, for your good.
That's what the word love is. When I look at marriage, I think of Jesus, and so should you. And it's not just loving, it's loving to the extent where Jesus gives himself. Do you notice that? It's a love that gives.
For God so loved the world, he gave. That's what the father did, and now we have the son doing the exact same thing. You know, when Paul starts talking about marriage, like other topics, he just can't stop talking about who Jesus is.
It's just like, you know, you bump Paul, and, you know, if you went to his house, you went to his tent in the middle of the night, and shook Paul, and said, what's going on, Paul? He'd probably start talking about who Jesus is, because it's just the default for Paul.
He never forgot what happened on that Damascus road. A living picture of the Lord Jesus. That's what a husband should be. One of my favorite preachers is named Samuel Rutherford, and he's Scottish, or he was Scottish.
He died long, long ago. And I've always said to people, our church would be twice as large if I just had a Scottish accent. That would so help. I've told you the story, I know, but I was asked the final question when I was ordained, right over there on that platform.
What would you, if you could ask anything to help you in your ministry, what would it be? That was the final ordination question. And I'm not always very quick and on my toes, but I did say, I, okay, think for a second.
I was just going, I have no idea what to ask for. I'm tired. I want this thing to end. And so I said, a Scottish accent, right? Every time Rutherford started talking about Jesus, there was an old elder who would sit in the back.
And this is a description, by the way, not a prescription. The elder would shop in the back pew when the great preacher, Samuel Rutherford would talk about the greater Jesus. Hold you there, minister.
You're all right there. Hold right there. Stay on target. Keep teaching me about who Jesus is. That's what Paul's doing. He's talking about marriage, but he can't talk about marriage without talking about a substitutionary on behalf of, for the church, he dies.
Self-sacrificial, wanting the wellbeing of the one who's loved. He gave himself. And by the way, when you hear giving himself and you're thinking, all right, what does the new Testament talk about that kind of language?
It's a giving, it's a delivering up to be suffered, to suffer rather, and to die on the cross. That's what that kind of language is to give, to be delivered for. It says in Romans four, he was delivered over for our transgressions.
That's the same word to give himself. Romans eight, he who did not spare his own son, but delivered him over for us all. The love of Christ for his bride was to the extent that for her own good, the church, the bride, Jesus, the God, man who never sinned, delivered himself over to be spat upon, hit, mocked, beat, beard pulled out.
But what was worse than all that was the eternal wrath of God poured out on the Lord Jesus. And he did it for us. I don't know if you know this ladies or not, but you ought to be glad you're not living 2000 years ago without the word of God.
Some people read this passage and they're like, why have submit and all this stuff. They're like, you know, that this is like archaic. You know what archaic is? Greco Roman world back in these days, never had any obligations for husbands.
The wives had the obligations. Don't anybody here say, amen, you will be church discipline, but the husbands had no obligations. The wife had to do everything and the husband could just accept or reject or whatever.
This is a revolution. This is driven by God showing the reflection of the church. Husbands love your wives as Christ love the church and gave himself up for her. Could there be any higher love? Could there be any higher personal love for people wanting and striving for their good?
Jesus said in John 10 for this reason, the father loves me because I laid down my life so that I may take it up again. No one has taken it from me, but I lay it down on my own initiative. I have the authority to lay it down.
I have the authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from the father. That's how the Lord Jesus loves. I know you know that. I know you know that he gives himself. He's the good shepherd, John 10, that lays down his life for the sheep.
The sheep don't deserve it. The sheep haven't earned anything. God has done it by grace and by grace alone. He loved the church. By the way, I was convicted this week, husbands, and therefore I will convict you because that's part of my job.
When the Lord convicts me in my study, then I have the pleasure of convicting you as well. By the way, if you ever hear preachers and they're always saying, do you believe this? What about you? And they're using that second person like, why doesn't he say we more?
Doesn't he sin too? Isn't he married too? Why does pastor not say we more? He's just saying you. It's kind of like Nathan's finger coming out. What about him? And it's all true because I'm, I'm, I'm just like you.
I'm, I'm just a sinner saved by grace. But in the study all week long, God is saying, this is the truth, Mike, do you believe it? And I have to say, well, I do, but not like I should. And it doesn't come into action.
And I, therefore I repent and please forgive me. And then the Lord says, now you go tell my people this truth as a herald, right? If you'd like to offend the pastor, you say to him after the service, thanks for the talk.
That was a nice sharing. Or sometimes when I'm at the door, people will say visitors, they'll say, thank you, father. That was a good mass today. And I just smile and say, thank you. And then I say, these are my, this is my wife and my four children.
Here's the ouch moment. One commentator said regarding Christ, loving the church at his own cost at, at, at, at everything that would have cost him. It follows that a husband is in no danger of loving his wife too much.
The husband is in no danger of loving his wife too much. Why? Because the death of Christ and his sacrificial giving was the model. And we could never love our wives to that extent. How does love work?
First John 3 16. This is how we know what love is. Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. Now I've had the privilege of officiating many of your weddings. And I always ask the husband to be the groom to be in my office in front of the bride to be in front of his fiance.
Give me four reasons, young man or older man, why you want to pick your bride? That's my regular question. I don't say it all the time, but often. And it's kind of sweet because she's like, Oh, he's going to have to say these things he likes about me in front of the pastor.
And so she's kind of looking, she gives the look like these better be good. And the poor guy, he thinks it could be a theological trick question. I've been prone to do that. Right? Are you saved by works congregation?
Yes, you are by the works of Jesus, right? He had to obey the law and die for our law break and be raised from the dead. So I say, give me four reasons you pick your bride. And they don't know. Shall I say pretty?
Is that okay? Is it godly to say pretty? I have a list of a few things that I've heard. And these are direct quotes from men. Reasons why these picked his wife to be. She's a Christian. Good. She's from campus crusade.
I've asked this to Mr. Goddard here who's walking out. Are you going to be offended by what I said? I asked you this question in premarital counseling, sense of humor, witty, wicked, intelligent. She loves children.
She loves her parents. This was an interesting one. It's attractive. I know, but it struck me as odd. She obeys her mother. She's pretty. She's beautiful. She's carrying into the top of the list. In my mind, you one young man where I said, why do you want to marry this woman?
And she said, because he said, because she's a five point Calvinist. I said, by the authority vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride. We'll do the paperwork later. It's good to pick someone based on their loveliness.
That's what we do. Even in arranged marriages, the parents of the groom and the parents of the bride will pick because they know the family. They know what's going on. It's right and good for us to do that because we choose lovely.
We choose good. We choose that way. But what makes a greater love is not me saying, you know what? I love my wife for all these reasons. But how about if she wasn't lovely? Romans five, I read to start the service.
This is the description of us with four descriptions, helpless, ungodly sinners and enemies who loves at their own cost. Ungodly people, sinners, enemies, and helpless people that would try to kill you if you love them like that.
And matter of fact, of course, we know the Lord was killed. Loving the unlovable makes such great love. We're born sinful and yet the Lord Jesus, even though he knows the wages of sin is death, he took those wages upon himself even though he never sinned.
The Bible says, greater love has none than this, that one lay down his life for his what? For his friends. This is not the general love that God has for creation. This is the special redemptive love, electing love, redeeming love, sacrificial love.
And Paul says something goes on. He just keeps talking about how this great Jesus who loves and gives himself does other things. And you can see there's three that's in English. Verse 26, that verse 27, so that and then in verse 27, that she might be holy.
Jesus loves the bride. He gives himself for the bride, and he does it for a purpose. He does it. He has a goal in mind. Why would Jesus die for what else is going to be accomplished? Paul can't stop talking about Christ without elaboration.
And so he he gives these three extra. What does Christ's death accomplish? What does Christ's love look like? What's the goal or purpose in mind when Jesus loves and dies for you as a member of the bride of Christ?
Verse 26, that he might sanctify her. You just see the marriage idea. You just see the ultimate marriage idea where all of a sudden we as sinful people are not holy, are not blameless. And so when Jesus dies for us, he takes us out of the trash bin, as it were, and then he he puts us over here in a special spot that's called sanctification.
It's not a growing sanctification in this passage. It's just he sets us apart. We used to be dishonorable, and now we're for honorable use. That he might sanctify her. That's what God does. It's interesting, the old wedding custom in Judaism.
When the ring is given, the bridegroom says to the bride, Behold, you are sanctified to me. Isn't that interesting? You're set apart from me. I'm yours and you're mine. That's that language. Purified, cleansed, set apart.
That cleansing language is used in verse 26, having cleansed her by the washing of the water of the word. We all had spiritual leprosy and now we're cleansed and we're washed, not by baptism, but by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.
Titus chapter three, cleansing. We were dirty. We needed to be cleansed. It's a metaphor for that very thing. He goes on. Christ's death was intended to accomplish other things too. Sanctification. And he keeps going on.
This is wedding language that he might present to himself, the church. Think about when that bride walks down the aisle in all her glory. Think about what she's wearing. No spot, no wrinkle, or any such thing.
You can just see the wedding dress, this white dress symbolizing purity. And so God saves us and he sets us apart and he washes us. And you see that double benefit of the Lord Jesus for pardon and for power to say no to sin.
And he does it for himself. You notice for himself. It is to him alone that he receives the church and all her splendor and beauty in this wonderful spiritual wedding dress. That's without a spot. It's gorgeous.
It's splendid. It has no spot verse 27 or wrinkle or any such thing. Nothing about sin or iniquity or unrighteousness or ungodliness. It's all dealt with. Yes, we did it all, but it's all paid for. And then he says, lastly, that that last that in verse 27, that she should be holy and blameless.
Jesus deserves a pure bride and he makes her such. When you talk about marriage, you ought to be thinking about atonement and the Lord Jesus. You ought to be thinking about the son giving and rescuing and redeeming the glory of the son.
When you think of marriage, you ought to think of the purchase price, his own life and death for the bride in love. Wrong thinking about marriage denigrates, therefore, the gospel right thinking about marriage talks about God's love and how he gives to glorify himself and cleanse the bride.
Let me ask you some questions in light of this truth on the sanctity of marriage. We've just gone through this passage just quickly. Let me ask you some questions. Question number one in light of the truth of marriage in Ephesians five.
Where are the no men? Where are the no women and oh, where are those that say no these days when it comes to defending the biblical view of marriage, the son and his bride? Where are those that say, I'm not going to believe anything but a husband and a wife, a man and a woman.
They've always been men. They've always been women and they get married. Where are those people that say no? I get asked often by people. Um, well, uh, should I go to a gay wedding? Should I go to a rehearsal?
Should I go to their party afterwards? Now it must be said, and I'll say it more in weeks to come. Sinful people are not our enemies. Are they? Of course they're not our enemies. We were to love them and we were to be kind to them.
And for a good 15 years we had a gay couple that lived across the street, two ladies and it was by the grace of God driven by my wife. A lot of times we, we, we, I love them to this day. We serve them.
Uh, we've done things for them. We've had their children come over to our house. And, uh, I remember one said to my wife, could I have my three daughters that we've adopted to come spend time with your wife?
Uh, because you guys have a normal family is what they said. And so we would walk, I, Luke and I would go stack wood for them. We would take care of their lawnmower. We would do all kinds of things. Matter of fact, it went both ways.
I didn't have a car that was working one day. And so one of the ladies said, you can borrow my car because we would talk all the time. And, uh, I said, well, thank you. I appreciate it. And so I drove up and parked the car and on the back of the car, as I got out the equal sign rainbow, love makes a family like pastor.
That's my pastor. They would call me and say, I'm having surgery. Would you please come? And I say, I will come as a pastor. And that means I read a portion of the Bible and I pray. And you've, I've, you've heard the story where I've gone in and we've talked about Psalm 22.
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And we've went through the entire thing. I said to her, what's your favorite Psalm? She said, Psalm 22, the Lord is my shepherd. And I said, well, that's close.
That's Psalm 23, but you just said Psalm 22. And I'll just read you one verse. I'll just say it out of memory. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me in Psalm 22? And then I preached the gospel. And she said, that was so sorry.
I'm so sorry. Jesus had to go through all that. Dear friends, this, this issue has nothing to do with, we're saying no to people and we can't be friends and you're our enemy. That's not the point. But when I come to say, where are the people that will say, like I was preparing myself to say to these two ladies, well, I love you and we've shown it and you've loved us and you've shown it.
You know, I can't come to your wedding. You know, I can't come to your rehearsal. I wish God's blessing on your life. My prayer for you is that you might be saved and redeemed. And I can't do that because while you can't come and believe things that I believe, or you don't want to, I can't do that.
And so I love you. And if our relationship changes, it's not because of what I'm going to do. It's how you'll receive me saying, I love you, but I answered to a higher authority. The answer is no. And you say, but that might cost me my friendship.
That might cost me something at work. If I say no to go to a gay wedding or a gay reception, but you ought to say no. Where are the people in the world that say no. If you turn your Bibles to Galatians, Galatians, if you had to describe it with one word, I wonder how you describe Galatians.
If you describe Romans with one word, it's easy, righteous, righteousness, one word of Romans. We don't have righteousness. Jesus earns it for us, gives it to us by faith alone and all his work, including the resurrection.
And we respond with righteous living, not to earn salvation, but to get it. But if you had one word for Galatians, what word would you pick? One word summarizing all the book of Galatians. Here's an option.
The answer is to summarize the book of Galatians. It's the word. No, that's the book of Galatians. Do you see it in chapter one, Galatians chapter one, the fourth word in English, the third word in Greek, Paul, apostle, not.
I could say no, but I'm not going to. I'm not going to say no. He, of course he said not. Paul, apostle, not. Paul is not afraid to say no. I don't want you to be afraid to say no. Be kind, be loving, be thoughtful, but you can say no.
This was Paul. No, I wasn't an apostle based on what I said or did. It's all of what God has done. You add works to the gospel, chapter one, verse six. I'm going to tell you no. You're Peter and you start messing around with the Judaizers and the party of the circumcision and you're going back on what the Lord Jesus says.
I, Paul, will go to you, Peter, and say no. You're saved by grace in chapter three and you want to now become sanctified by works of the law? No. You want to walk in the deeds of the flesh? No. He says some yes things in there, but he is not afraid to say no, because anything that attacks the work of Jesus, Paul is going to say no to.
I could ask you this question. What would make you so angry that you could not be restrained? What makes you so angry that you could not be restrained? What so moves you? What makes you so passionate you can't sit still?
What would make you jealous? What would make you jealous with God's jealousy? I hope at the top of the list is defending the bride of Christ, therefore the work of the Lord Jesus. Where are the men and women who will say no?
We love you, but the answer is no. I don't believe it. I won't accept it. When my kids learn at a public school, I'll tell my kids, the teacher, you want to be nice to her or him, but the answer is no.
That's not what we believe. It's worth fighting for, not because of what it does to society, although that's true. It's worth fighting for because it reflects what you believe about the doctrine of substitutionary atonement and the Lord Jesus.
Sociologist Carl Zimmerman said in 1947, you want to see a culture that goes, here's what happens. Marriage loses its sacredness. It's broken by divorce. There's promiscuity and there's the acceptance of adultery.
If he could only have written that now, I wonder what he would have said. He would have added something else. It is true that no society ever survives after family is destroyed, but there's something more important than saying, you know, how will it affect us?
The good news is I pastor a church with people who are willing to say no, not meanly, not rudely, but the answer is no. Under no circumstances will I celebrate something that's not proper and true. One day I'm going to die and you're going to have to get a new pastor.
How will you find a new pastor? Say, well, Abendroth was this kind of personality. We'd pick the opposite. And that's what churches do. Abendroth is bad at administration. So we pick an administrator, whatever we would do, we do.
That's also true. I looked at some one ads for pastors. These are all true. One ads trying to find a pastor. What do you look for? He's a dynamic leader with a passion to facilitate growth, relevant, thematic preaching, incorporating creative use of drama and contemporary worship.
Gifted in leadership, shepherding administration, recruiting, team building, problem solver, large church experience of a thousand persons or more. He must have a contagious faith, one who loves God and truly worships him through, quote, choirs, orchestra, drama, handbells, and banners.
I always liked the handbell thing. Wasn't that fun? There was always one four-year-old that just stood there and went like that. Compassionate, innovative team member. Ability to adjust and initiate change.
Excellent relationship skills. Music degree required and theological degree preferred. True. Transformational preaching. Enthusiastic, full of energy, team player, team builder, fast track relationships with commuters and their families.
Seminary degree unnecessary and a business background preferred. Now, if you hire somebody like that after I'm gone, I don't know who I'm sending. Maybe the Witch of Endor. I don't know. How can I conjure something up?
If you have to hire a pastor, what do you do? Well, he has to believe our statement of faith. He has to be a Christian, obviously, and gifted in teaching. But he will preach the word in season, out of season.
He will exalt the Lord Jesus every single Sunday. And somewhere right at the top of that list, it better be, when it comes to people who attack the substitutionary work of the Lord Jesus, he will say, no.
No. We don't have to be mean. We don't have to be rude. But we have to be zealous for gospel fidelity. God's glory is worth defending. Marriage is worth defending because of what it shows us, let alone the pragmatic things that happen.
God protects his honor. God says, I'm a jealous God. I will not give my glory to another. Where are the leaders and saints who say no? J. Gresham Machen wrote a commentary here on the book of Galatians.
And he says about that fourth word in English, not. It's a small but weighty word, not. Paul, an apostle, he says, not from men, nor through a man. That word, not. We are told constantly today to be put out of the Christian's vocabulary.
Our preaching, we are told, ought to be positive, not negative. We ought to present the truth, but ought not to attack error. We ought to avoid controversy and always seek peace. Machen, with regard to such a program, it may well be said that if we hold to that, we might as well close up our New Testament.
For the New Testament is a controversial book from beginning to end. All definition is by way of exclusion. You cannot say clearly what a thing is without contrasting it with what it is not. There is one word, Machen said, which every true Christian must learn to use, and it is the word not or no.
We don't need yes men. And yes, ladies, we need men who can take a stand against sin and error, not from men. I'm so quickly, I'm astonished you're so quickly deserting who you called in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel.
Not that there is another one. Galatians 1, verse 6 and 7. And so I commend you, dear church, because I don't think one of you that I know of have fallen into this trap. But we, at the cost of our own reputation, friendships, work, everything else, need to think through this and say, no.
Question two, in light of this, very related. Have you bought into this lie? What light is that you say? I want to be known for what I'm for, not what I'm against. At our church, we're known for what we're for, not what we're against.
It sounds good. But is it apostolic? Is that what the Bible teaches? Dear friends, if you're against unrighteousness, you're for righteousness. If you're for godliness, you're against ungodliness. That slogan doesn't help us when I'm against sin, Satan, worldliness, the evil world system, and everything else.
If you have a Bible turned to First Corinthians six, please. I'm going to read New King James, because while I like the ESV, they make a mistake here by combining two words into one. But you can turn there.
And we still get the idea even with the ESV. What's my point in this section? I just want you to see that there are some things we need to be against. That's all. There are some things we need to be against because we're for something else.
And there's a way to have love and joy and peace and carry on how we do things. That's all true. But still, we have to not be buying into this. You know, our church isn't polemic. Our church is just good news.
Our church is X, Y, and Z. Here's what he says in First Corinthians six, nine, and you know the passage. Do you not know? Stop there. The church at Corinth, they thought they knew everything. They were know-it-alls.
You ever meet somebody like that? Can't even finish your sentence before that person says, I was almost going to say one of my kids says, I know, dad. I know. I know. They're always saying Corinth. We know.
We know. We know exactly what to do. Guess what? They don't know. And they should know. Do you not know? You should. That the unrighteous, we're not talking about a deed here or a deed there. This is a continuation lifestyle pattern.
These unrighteous people will not inherit the kingdom of God. Don't be deceived. Why do you think he wrote that? Because it's easy to be deceived. They're nice. They're friendly. Whatever stripe of sinner that you have as a friend and you're like, you know what?
Pastor says this is a homosexual lifestyle. It's sinful, but they're nicer than my Christian friends. So maybe everything's going to be okay. Maybe God has changed his mind. He softened his rules. His holiness isn't as immutable as I thought or whatever it might be.
It's easy to be deceived. So Paul writes, don't be deceived. And then he gives this list and we call it a vice list of a lifestyle. This is not a one off. This is lifestyle. But he says, and those that are here today, and if you're doing these things, this is what should show you your sin.
So you could look to the Lord Jesus who loves to save people just like this. Neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers. And now we get two words in the Greek, only one in the ESV. But the King James reads, New King James, homosexuals, passive, sodomites, active, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.
I think it's fair to say, if you said to Paul, you need to be known for what you're for and not what you're against. I think Paul would correct you. Verse 11. And such were some of you. And I say that to you with me involved.
Such were some of us. That's what we were. We lived in sin. But guess what happened? Guess what the Lord did? And by the way, everything that I just read is a sin that needs to be cleansed. It needs to be washed.
It doesn't need to be commended or celebrated or accepted. It needs washing. That means it's dirty. From homosexual to heterosexual sex and everything in between. You were washed. Can you imagine? There's divine passives.
God did all the work. I was dirty. God washed me. You were sanctified. He set me apart to be his bride. And you were justified, declared righteous based on Jesus's work in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.
Friend, if you're going to be for something, you're going to be against something. And then last question, question three, related. Can you be a lover and a fighter? Both. Some people say that theologically, I'm a lover, not a fighter.
Now, I think early on in my ministry, I think I fought too much. I think it was too much polemics on here's all these other religions and here's all these other positions theologically and controversy, controversy, controversy.
I think I like the fight theologically when I was younger. Now I should like to fight theologically for the Lord's honor, not to be right, not to correct people. If you turn to Jude, you will see or I could read easily what Jude talks about.
And Jude says, you know what? You may be a lover, but you're going to have to fight. And it's not just the elder's job. It is the elder's job, but it's somebody else's job. We shouldn't love controversy, but there is a time to defend the Lord Jesus's glory.
And I need to wrap this up, so let's quickly just read Jude three. Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once delivered to the saints.
Do you see what's happening there? Paul's writing, excuse me, Jude's writing a book. He's done. There's no Savior like the Lord Jesus. And all of a sudden, there's a problem and he has to stop, as it were.
And I'm trying to make the effort to write to you about salvation, but something happened. What happened? Something I have to fight for. I have to fight for the faith that is the delivered faith of the Lord Jesus.
He's fighting. Husbands, if your wife is attacked, what would you do? I hope you wouldn't do what one celebrity evangelical said when asked the question, if your wife is away from you and you can't reach her, and there's some man going to come up to her with a knife and try to kill her, and you had a gun, would you shoot the guy?
And this particular pastor said, I wouldn't. And so, would you? I would shoot the guy two times, once for him and once for that coward pastor, but that's another story. It's built into your system. Protect my bride.
Shouldn't it be built into your system to protect the bride? Could anything worse be attacked than the Lord Jesus? Luther said, if we are correct and right in our Christian life at every point, but refuse to stand for the truth at a particular point where the battle rages, we're traitors to Christ.
Be kind, be loving, serve, pray, evangelize, but that does not mean you say, okay, I buy this. Okay, I'll attend. Okay, I won't attend the wedding, but I'll attend the reception. I won't attend the wedding or the reception, but I'll send a gift to congratulate.
Really? Kenneth Gentry said, homosexual conduct cannot be defended on the basis of a supposed silence of Jesus Christ. And we must remember, silence is not golden. It is yellow. We are under tremendous pressure to go along, to get along.
If it's just, you know what, society won't be as good, let's go along. If it's an attack on Jesus's work for the bride that he wants to sanctify and then ultimately glorify, I think some people are going to have to stand up and say, no, I'm for this and I'm against that, and I'm going to have to fight.
I don't mean politically. Well, more next week, but turn to Revelation 19, because I'd like to end with a wedding ceremony. We started with Thomas Cramner's, and I thought that was pretty good. But there's a discussion of the final marriage that every one of you as believers will attend.
And it's going to be wonderful. If you're here today and you're not a Christian, this isn't for you, because for you, you're acting like you don't care about the Lord Jesus and his church, and so you are going to need to repent and think about it rightly.
But for Christians, this is the final marriage supper, and it's good. It's worth saying hallelujah. Chapter 19, verse 6, we start with a marriage ceremony and we end with a description of one. I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty pearls of thunder crying out hallelujah for the Lord, our God, the almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice, exalt and give him glory for the marriage of the lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready. It was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
And the angel said to me, write this. Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the lamb. And he said to me, these are the true words of God. Bow with me. Thank you, Father, for your word.
We are thankful that we will ultimately see you on that great day. The ultimate marriage supper of the lamb. We thank you for that. And Father, I would pray you protect our dear congregation from self-righteousness.
We have no righteousness except what you've given us. We're not better than anyone, but you have given us your word and revealed it. And therefore, since marriage does reflect the Lord Jesus and his relationship to us, would you help us to think rightly about it, to be thankful for it?
And then when needed, appropriately defend it. And we would ask this in Jesus name.
No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Abendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. Bethlehem Bible Church is a Bible teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life transforming power of God's word through verse by verse exposition of the sacred text.
Please come and join us. Our service times are Sunday morning at 1015 and in the evening at 6. We're right on Route 110 in West Boylston. You can check us out online at bbcchurch .org or by phone at 508 -835 -3400.