1689 London Baptist Confession (part 62)

Father in Heaven, Lord we come before you this morning thankful that we have a place to meet, thankful that we are not suffering governmental persecution as the saints are in so many nations, even seeing the man from India beheaded this week, we know of the persecution in China, Africa, so many places around the world your saints are being hunted down and treated like animals and Father we would pray for them today that they would remain bold and Lord that you would just grant them safety that there would be a relenting of the persecution.

Father keep us mindful of the great blessings that are ours in being able to gather together and being able to be open about our faith. Lord bless each one here as we look to what your word says about marriage, about what it says concerning the church, Lord bless each one here we pray in Jesus name, Amen.

Marriage, Celibacy, and Asceticism

Well we were talking about marriage last week, some of the things that we commonly talk about, I mean you'll hear it every Sunday morning from the pulpit, how many times does Pastor Mike talk about for example polygamy, we hear it all the time.

Okay we don't talk about things like that, some of the finer points of the Bible and we're going to speak about a few more of those today but we left off last week, well we talked a little bit about children, about why people don't want children these days and it really is depressing, I saw even something this morning, this woman chanting my body my choice, my body my choice and proudly announcing that she'd had two abortions and I think who does that?

Who does that? Who thinks that way? Well sinful people against who are in rebellion against God I guess think that way. We mentioned also the idea that the Roman Catholic Church believed and still practices this to some extent today that celibacy is better than being married, I don't know about you but I think it was Bob Muto a few weeks ago who said it's not good for man to be alone and I agree with that, celibacy better than marriage, why would they teach that?

Why would they believe that? Distorting the word, okay asceticism, so there's this idea that suffering does what? Brings you closer to God and so if that's true and it can be true like we were you know even when I was praying I was talking about the persecution that the saints are undergoing around the world which has a tendency you know which makes you more holy?

A lack of persecution or persecution? For the most part believe it or not it's persecution because now you're really focused on the fact that you could actually die you know so bad things are happening to people around you they're getting hauled off to prison and so every day for example in China you have to ask yourself do I really believe what I believe?

Am I really ready to give up everything for what I believe? And so I think that does happen and so in an ascetic I don't know if that's a word or not but in that sort of mindset this self-deprivation the more I give up the holier I am.

So instead of being persecuted I'm just going to kind of self-persecute if I if I could and it really is set up a series of extra biblical laws that at least give me the appearance of godliness so celibacy would be one of those things I mean we don't talk a lot positively about the Roman Catholic Church.

Some people from time to time will like to quote Mother Teresa. One of the reasons I don't like to quote Mother Teresa was she was a big fan of asceticism self-deprivation to the point where you know everybody talks about her ministry in Calcutta.

What people don't talk about is that she withheld pain-relieving drugs from people. Why. Because suffering is next to godliness. Suffering brings you closer to God. Suffering is a good thing. So why would you give people pain-relieving drugs withhold them.

Because that way they'll be closer to God. But celibacy is not God's plan. There's a real practical reason why the Roman Catholic Church preaches or talks about celibacy. I mean priest single. Why. So that I mean that started about 1000 or 1030 or so AD.

Because now without heirs without a family when the priest died everything he had went back to the church. A priest a cardinal whatever all of his belongings would go back to the church which made the church quite wealthy.

And plus if he doesn't have a family in the first place you could pay him less the whole the whole deal. It was good for them all the way around. Not so good for men maybe not so good for the church as a whole.

We talked about the fact that they don't even think that sex within a marriage is good unless the ultimate goal is to have children. So really a very low view of that. So overall we're talking about marriage.

We're talking about the reasons for marriage and one of them is to avoid sin. It's one of the reasons the confession lays out for people to get married. Let's look at Ephesians 5 verse 3. Ephesians 5 3 you know just as an aside I was talking to an eyeglass person about robots.

And you know there's this idea that robots are going to take over all these jobs and nobody's going to have any jobs. All the truck drivers mcdonald's workers everybody everybody in the service job is going to be out of a job.

And I looked at him and I said let me see if I get this straight. So in the future I'll come in to you know my optometrist and a robot will examine my eyes. I'm okay with that for the most part. Here's the problem when the robot says Steve those glasses look great on you.

I don't think I'm going to believe that. Or this shirt and this tie are awesome on you. I'm not going for that right. So I think there's always going to be a place for the human factor. And and I was just thinking about that because I thought maybe I need a robot reader in here.

So I I could just say who would read Ephesians 5 3. And then I will read that Steve. Okay. Thank you. Yeah. That'd be lovely. Maybe we should have Alexa in here. We need more spies. Would somebody read Ephesians 5 3.

Please. Now that's a high standard right. Sexual immorality all impurity covetousness not even named among you. Right. It should even be known as something that occurs within the church that word sexual immorality.

Somebody like pastor bob can tell us what that is. What that word is. It is cornea which is typically fornication. But what. Yeah it can include other things. Certainly it means any kind of moral uncleanness but it's become kind of accepted in some circles christian circles.

Quote unquote. I'm just kind of surprised that there are a lot of roman catholic priests who even when a couple is living together they'll still do the service. And I found that very intriguing. Well they went through the the counseling program.

Okay. Well what does that mean. So you guys are living together. Yes. Okay next. So it's not even supposed to be named let alone you know approved of in some manner by the church. But people will argue well hasn't morality changed since the bible was written.

We don't live anymore like they did. Well yeah morality has changed. God's standard hasn't changed. I think maybe the worst excuse I've heard for living together. And I mean it's it. Jen and I were talking about this the other day it's become like uh she was talking about some celebrity who said that you know they uh this couple they bought a house together and it seemed to them that the next logical step was to get married.

And I'm like I don't know that's it call me old-fashioned. But it doesn't seem like the next logical step. I mean it'd be the next logical step if you've been planning it for a while and you bought the house and the wedding is already planned and you know you're living separately and all that.

But um you know next step the worst excuse I think I've heard for living together is we're saving money for our wedding. You've already had your wedding. You just want a celebration to kind of call it that because you're already living like you're married.

So how is the church to view such things. Let's look at first corinthians 5 verses 9 to 13. If we're not to even have sexual immorality named in the church we're not to be known as a place that tolerates sexual immorality.

First corinthians 5 verses 9 to 13. Now who's had an extraordinary amount of caffeine this morning and could really read like what is that. Five verses just charged up ready to go. I guess it would only be me all right.

The apostle paul writes this I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people. Not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world. In other words unbelievers. That's okay. Go ahead and associate with them.

Or the greedy and swindlers or idolaters. Since then you would need to go out of the world. In other words if you're not going to associate with anybody who's involved in any of these sins then you're going to have to be roman catholic and go to some you know sanctuary where nobody talks and you don't interact with anyone.

But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother a christian a professing believer if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed or is an idolater reviler drunkard or swindler.

Not even to eat with such a one. People say well what do we do if somebody's put out of the church you know. And and we're to treat them as an unbeliever. Well not to even eat with such a one. What do you do.

You just evangelize them. You don't have fellowship with them. Verse 12. For what have i to do with judging outsiders. Right. They're all sinners. All sin is equal. And we evangelize unbelievers. That's what we do.

Then he says is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge. Those who profess christ but don't live lives commensurate with their profession. God judges those outside. And he says purge the evil person from among you.

So how is the view to or how's the church to view these things. How's the church to deal with sexually immoral people that aren't to be named in the church. Well you're to purge the evil person the sinful person the unrepentant person from the church.

Marriage is given to satisfy the god-given desires men and women experience. We're designed that way to have those desires. And we're given marriage so that we can fulfill those desires in a way that is not sinful.

Let's look at first corinthians chapter 7 verses 8 and 9. First corinthians chapter 7 verses 8 and 9 to the unmarried and the widows i say that it is good for them to remain single as i am. Paul was an aesthetic aesthetic.

No he wasn't. He's just saying i you know i no longer need to do these things. And if you're unmarried or a widow and you can stay single. Good. But look at verse 9. But if they cannot exercise self-control they should marry.

For it is better to marry than to burn with passion saying listen if you still have these desires that's okay get married. We're we're. I think i was talking with charlie last week you know why is it that we have so many young men that are not maturing properly.

And in part i think it's because what charlie was saying is it's too it's too easy in the world for men to fulfill their desires without getting married. So they have no need therefore to prove themselves professionally or to mature personally.

Because who cares. They don't have to really deal with a wife. They can go out and do whatever they want. And so we have this kind of emotionally i'll just say well i don't want to say that uh this emotionally devolved generation and really kind of a it's pervasive in our society now.

Because if you can live sort of a peter pan lifestyle and get away with it then you do it. And for too many it's too easy to do that. But the biblical picture is if you have these desires the right way is to go for a young man to go and win a wife.

And to do that he has to be able to provide for and do all these kind of things and um and to love her sacrificially. And he cannot do that if he's you know bent on living his life. And i i don't know why it's always mob's basement with the xbox.

But basically that's it thoughts or comments about that before we move on to the next part seeing no objections. The confession says this it is lawful for all sorts of people to marry who are with judgment to give their consent.

Who May Marry and What Consent Means

Now when you hear that is lawful for all sorts of people to marry. Keeping in mind what we talked about last week that in order to get married you have to be single. In order to get married you know at least to another believer you have to be a believer in order to get married you have to have always been the gender that you currently are.

I don't know how else to say that these days you know gender by the way just in case was confused is not uh what do you call it a continuum. It's pretty much male or female kids or any confusion. It is lawful for all sorts of people to marry.

What do you think that means station in life. Yeah i think certainly there were issues especially back then and even now. You know in terms of class who can marry a royal. Who can marry you know can you marry somebody above your class.

So to speak i think that's true. But i think even more importantly especially these days there's no mention of race here. Right. There's no restrictions there. Why. Because it's lawful for all sorts of people to marry regardless of race.

Race is no barrier so-called race ethnicity no barrier to marriage. And the second part there it's kind of interesting because it says who are able with judgment to give their consent. People say well what about the age of consent.

You know in some states it's 16. I think in some states is it as low as 14. That makes me kind of want to scratch my hands or something. 14 seems young. 14 seems young. When you have a life expectancy of about 120 is what i'm going to say.

You know 14 is is is young. But the idea here isn't so much to set an age is to say that they have the capacity to understand what they're entering into. Why would you want you know for example when we baptize somebody we want to make sure that they understand all the implications of getting baptized.

The first time i was baptized was at the age of eight in the mormon church. And there is absolutely no way i understood all the implications of that. I didn't even understand all the doctrines of the church or even most of them.

And the only reason i was making a profession of faith is because that's where i was all the time was in the church. But when you give consent to be married that is a vow for life. So you need to understand what you're getting into.

And so if there's some form of either mental deficiency or emotional emotional deficiency or something like that those people should not be getting married. The confession goes on to say yet it is the duty of christians to marry in the lord.

And therefore such as profess the true religion should not marry with infidels or idolaters. Neither should such as are godly be unequally yoked by marrying such as are wicked in their life or maintain.

And you'll want to write this down. Damnable heresy. What's the overall idea. Marry a christian. Right. I mean what are the exceptions here. You know when they say it is the duty of christians to marry in the lord.

In other words you're a christian. You ought to marry another christian such as profess the true religion. Notice what it doesn't say. It doesn't say somebody who perfectly agrees with you on every bit of but they should not marry with infidels or idolaters.

And you think who would do that. Who would marry an idolater or an infidel. How many times have you heard this one. Well he or she is open to the gospel. He or she is interested in the gospel. Hear that.

I hear that fairly frequently but typically as what. As kind of a rationale for dating somebody. Why would you date someone that you don't intend to marry. You know i would look at this and i would say this is a pretty good reason not to do what is sometimes referred to as missionary dating.

I think they may be open to the lord. What does that really mean. What's the translation of that. I think he or she may be open to the lord. What does it really mean. What's that they're not believers.

And i think i can change that person. I could be the greatest evangelist in the world. And if i'm dating an unbeliever for however many years that doesn't mean that person's going to come to christ. What does it mean if i tell myself if i convince myself that this unbeliever might come to faith in christ.

What am i ultimately going to be doing. Compromising my faith. I'm going to be lowering the standard. I'm going to be looking for anything from this person. And i'm also going to be lowering my own standards.

Why. Because i want to be comfortable with this person. Because i've set my affections upon them. I've decided this is the person that i'm interested in. And so you know jesus is out here on the periphery.

And i've you know i look at him every once in a while. But i'm really focused on this person. We could say not necessarily that i've lost my first love but i've got a bigger calling another bigger name on another line.

Right. I've got another priority. Sorry lord. You're gonna have to hang on for a little while. I want to see if this other person is going to become the person i want them to be. It's kind of i mean when you're removed from it.

And that's why i say to people you know why am i here. I'm i'm not here to burst people's bubbles. But when they come to me although i i like to do that uh no when people come and say you know well i'm dating so-and-so well is that person a christian.

Maybe i hope so could be they're interested. I don't really you know nobody has ever come to me and said you know i'm interested in this person. Um they're a wonderful spiritual godly person. But i don't really find them attractive.

But i'd like to find some way to marry them. I i've never had that con that that conversation. Not even one time i'd like that i'd like to hear you know i don't. I'm not really physically attractive to him.

But they're such a wonderful human being and a godly saint. And you know i'd like someday to attain to that level of godliness. So that's the person i would like to pursue in marriage in all my christian life.

I've never heard that one time i do hear you know. Well i think there's room for growth. I you know all kinds of rationale right. But not that one i wrote this i said uh is he or she a christian. And then i said should you evaluate that.

If you're the single person and you're wanting to date someone else should you be the one to decide that that person's a christian. You think yourself. Well certainly i should be okay. And i think there's some truth to that.

I mean you have to evaluate it for yourself. But here's what i like to say. You know you've heard the story or the saying that love is blind. Right. Well love is blind. It's also deaf and it's also dumb.

And i don't mean unable to speak. I mean dumb. And then i say but we're here to help. Right. Why. It's not because i think i know everything. Or pastor mike knows everything or scott brown knows everything or pradeep tilak knows everything.

But here's what we do know we're a little bit older and but better than anything else we're detached from the situation. When you look at somebody else you look with the eyes of all to say the eyes of love.

You know the eyes of hope the eyes of optimism whatever you want to call it i just call it blinders. Um you want to believe the absolute best about that person. But what you need is somebody who's dispassionate about it wants your best but isn't willing to overlook the other person's weaknesses and faults and everything.

This is what parents are to do. Right. I mean when a young man would come after my daughters and i'd chase him off the lawn with a shotgun. Why would why would some guys get the the boot and other ones be allowed to pursue.

You know why did jerry and joey get to marry my daughters. Because as i got to know them and see their faith listen to them talk about the lord watch them pursue their lives and think this could be somebody that could you know.

Um that could actually not only handle my daughter which you know could be difficult but but but also but also love them and lead them in the lord. Right. But the person involved doesn't always see the weaknesses of the other person.

So it's good to have that kind of third party involvement. So with that in mind let's look at second corinthians 6 verses 14 to 18. Yes. So so so let me interrupt you for a minute or introduce you one of the other.

Um that's true. The blinders can be an advantage in that we overlook their faults. Right. We're not picking in every little thing along the way. And it's not probably till i like to think a year and a half two years into the marriage where you just really go.

Okay this person you know what was i thinking. And that's where you have to learn what you're talking you know to subjugate your own desires and and everything. And realizing that you're living with a real person.

And i think that's true. But ultimately that's not what i'm talking about. I'm talking about people are willing to overlook massive problems including you know unbelief in in order to justify it. Yeah i think i think we're going to start using charlie for marital counseling.

I like that. I like that. I like that optimism. You're yeah i mean it's like you know you have to put and and that's kind of what we're. What we're getting to right now is we don't want to ever be in a situation where we have to put uh you know our faith on a shelf.

You know we talk about elf on a shelf at christmas. Well how about having to put jesus on the shelf. You know let's not talk about jesus. So let's look at second corinthians 6 verses 14 to 18. And this by the way i have to introduce it this way.

This is not primarily to do with marriage even though people use it with regard to marriage all the time. It's a bigger principle than that. Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness.

Or what fellowship has light with darkness. What accord has christ with belial. Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever. And the answer is none. Right. These things don't go together.

You might as well say oil and vinegar or whatever. You know oil and water. I guess whatever he's trying to say these things contrast. They don't go together. What agreement has the temple of god with idols.

Again none. For we are the temple of the living god. As god said i will make my dwelling among them and walk among them. And i will be their god and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst and be separate from them says the lord and touch no unclean thing.

Then i will welcome you and i will be a father to you and you shall be sons and daughters to me says the lord almighty. So i mean this. This principle has to do with business. It has to do with all manner of things any kind of close relationship that is dependent upon someone else.

And so the principle does apply to marriage. And here's what i would say if you want to know misery as as a believer then you should say well i'm going to date an unbeliever and see what happens. Because then as you get closer to them emotionally and you overlook all their faults spiritually.

And then you go on and marry them. Then what do you have. You have this situation where the thing that is most precious to you the faith that you have in the lord jesus christ his word his people. This other person is indifferent to you love the lord jesus.

You want to go worship with the people of god on sunday all these things that you just love to do. And this other person is like i don't care about that. That doesn't mean anything to me. I don't even understand why you like those people.

That is probably the hardest thing that there is. And so the the confession says that christians ought not to do that they should not marry infidels unbelievers idolaters those who worship other gods.

But it also says that they shouldn't marry those who what's the word there maintain damnable heresy. Well what could they be talking about there. What's that bad doctrine. Really bad doctrine. We'll get to it in just a minute here.

Heresy, Consanguinity, and Forbidden Marriages

Yeah horrific doctrine. But anyway the point is christians. Uh christians should pursue a another christian in order to marry that person a believer a believer a fellow believer. I got my pages out of order which is why i was like going what is going on with my notes.

Okay let's look at galatians 1 8 familiar verse. And would somebody read that. Please let him be accursed. Let him be anathema. Now let's just imagine for a moment that as a christian i've married a roman catholic.

That i've married a mormon. That i've married a seventh day adventist. That i've married a jehovah witness a muslim. Paul says let somebody who has a different gospel be accursed. And what have i done.

I've married somebody that paul says should go to hell and in fact is headed for hell. That's damnable heresy. It means heresy that can be condemned. That should be condemned. And again this is something that the confession tells us not to do.

And the bible tells us not to do. Now to some of the minutiae of marriage. The confession says marriage ought not to be within the degrees of consanguinity. There's a word you use all the time or affinity forbidden in the word.

Nor can such incestuous marriages be made lawful by any law of man or consent of parties so as those persons may live together as man and wife. We're heading for this. I mean our civilization is if i could just say it this way is becoming less and less civilized.

All the rules and laws and norms that have existed for millennia are being undone. And so we see people marrying themselves. Marrying. I think some woman in japan i think it was married a building. I mean people are doing bizarre things.

Um i'm sure that people somewhere are marrying animals. You know their dog or or whatever. Well why. Because first of all people have lost their minds. But secondly this idea of marriage has just been so watered down and defiled by our culture that it can mean anything people want it to mean.

So will we see. And probably somewhere it's already happening brothers and sisters getting married. I think so i mean everything that the bible says ought not to happen people are doing. And we won't go through leviticus uh 18.

But it gives a long list of all the marriages that should not take place. Leviticus 18 the beginning of verse 6. And you can read all about it if you care to. Later. Let's look at uh mark 6. I mean people say well what's what's wrong with this.

I mean there are. You know. And i was even talking with somebody recently who said well what about uh. You know the children of adam and eve. You get a lot of what about questions. Uh what about the children of noah.

You know how how were they able to intermarry. And whatnot. Well what's the answer to that. Okay the genome was far more uncorrupted. And the reason for that is because it wasn't so far from the fall.

Right. It hadn't had so much time to be corrupted by disease and other things. And why else was it maybe not so bad. Okay as of yet there was no prohibition that comes in leviticus that comes later with uh when moses writes that all down.

Okay so mark chapter six. We're well into the time where these things are forbidden by the law of god. Mark chapter six. And i'm going to read uh beginning in verse 16. But when herod heard of it he said john whom i beheaded has been raised.

He's heard of this work of jesus. John whom i beheaded has been raised for it was who had sent and seized john the baptist and bound him in prison for the sake of herodias his brother philip's wife because he had married her.

That's forbidden in leviticus 18. You can read all about it. For john had been saying to herod it is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife. And herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death.

In other words his sister-in-law. Now his wife said put john the baptist to death. But she could not. For herod feared john knowing that he was righteous that he was a righteous and holy man and kept him safe.

When he heard him he was greatly perplexed. And yet he heard him gladly. This is an unbeliever just hearing a preacher and thinking i don't really like what he says but i like how he says it. And he's a very clever fellow.

Verse 21. But an opportunity came when herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of galilee. For when herodias's daughter came in and danced she pleased herod and his guests.

And the king said to the girl now this is his niece right. Ask me for whatever you wish and i will give it to you. And he vowed to her whatever you ask me i will give you up to half my kingdom name your price.

And she went out and said to her mother for what should i ask. And she being her mother said the head of john the baptist i can't even imagine going in there and asking for that. But and she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked saying i want you to give me at once the head of john the baptist on a platter.

And the king was exceedingly sorry but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. So he did it. But here's the point. The point is it was sinful. Then it's sinful now it's always sinful because god said it's sinful.

The fact that people want to do sinful things doesn't make it okay. We have a few minutes to just kind of are there any questions. If not then we'll proceed to yes anthony. Well i mean there are certainly people.

Um you know healthy is a matter of opinion right. Um she's in the pink of health. Uh you know she got a she went and saw the doctor. She's fine. Um or it can just mean somebody who's got you know good mindset and all those things.

Um but the truth is we all i mean i'm just thinking about what i call myself healthy. I i don't know that's that's hard. You know i mean because we all have baggage we all have things that we carry around with us in life you know from our childhood and whatnot.

You know. And i i think it's just really a matter of how we handle those kind of things. So i i understand what you're saying and i'm i'm like you know i wouldn't want let's put it this way i think there are people who profess christ and who exude christ and exude the exude the kind of the joy of being saved.

And then there are people who profess christ and don't have much joy and i think it's harder to somehow see christ in them. And i think it would be harder to recommend somebody like that you know as a potential mate.

But um i i mean i understand i'm just i don't know how to measure healthy. You know i i don't i don't know any other thoughts about that. Yeah i didn't say unlovable i said unattractive so that that that would be bad.

Right. Well i mean that's not only unhealthy. I mean it's kind of it's problematic you know. Um so yeah i mean there is that all. Right. We'll we'll just introduce this here. Uh the church talking about the church the confession says the catholic or universal church which is to define catholic just means the universal church the church across the earth which with respect to the internal work of the spirit and grace of truth truth of grace may be called invisible consists of the whole member of the elect that have been are or shall be gathered into one under christ the head thereof and is the spouse the body the fullness of him that filleth all in all.

The Universal and Invisible Church

So again the catholic church we often use catholic as shorthand for the catholic church of rome. Right. The roman catholic church which is a denomination within christendom but not within christianity meaning it is they name the name of christ.

But we would not consider that a valid or a christian church. But the catholic small c church just means the universal church the church of all believers everywhere whether they are presbyterians or baptists.

And that's pretty much it. Oh sorry. Uh but those who actually profess christ and are christians and it separates kind of the invisible from the visible church. Well you know if you're a believer and you're here today are you invisible.

No and that's not the point of the invisible church just means that we can't see the hearts of people. It means that we can't determine by looking at you whether you are saved or not. The invisible church exists substantially within the church but it cannot be identified with it.

Augustine said that every church is a mixed body and by that he wasn't talking about ethnicity or anything else. What he meant was that the wheat and the tears exist side by side and we can't know who is which.

Right. We just preach the gospel indiscriminately and we trust the lord for the results. Uh is also possible for a true believer to not be part of the visible church. Now how could a true believer not be part of a visible church.