The Unbelieving Husband

Temple Baptist Church - 6-28-2017

1 Peter 3:1-6

Introduction: 

A.  It needs to be noted that the first word of chapter 3 ties it to its continuing context.  The context is suffering in righteousness! 

1.  One of the worst fears of parenting is for their children to marry wrong.  We train them, pray for them, guide them, and are there for them but the final choice belongs to them.  Our text deals with the saved wife and unbelieving husband in the same home. 

2.  This works both ways: either to marry wrong or to have either a husband or wife who is out of the will of God: either saved or lost.  There is virtually nothing worse than a spiritually divided home.  I have tried to help many ladies whose husband is not right with the Lord but have also had to try to help men whose wife isn’t right.

B.  God is interested in the spiritual welfare of our homes.  God established marriage and marriage that follows the Word of God works.  But, often the spiritual condition of the home is divided becomes a two-way street: one going one direction while the other goes the opposite direction.  God sets forth a way to win your mate without spiritual warfare within the home.

C.  The world has put forth much “humor” concerning the divided home and how to deal with it in a carnal sense: AND, yes, I copied some of it.

1. Years ago, while Mark Twain was speaking in Utah, he got into an argument with a fellow over the issue of polygamy. The fellow said to him, “Can you give me a single passage of Scripture which forbids a man to have more than one wife?” Twain quickly responded, “Yes, ‘No man can serve two masters’.”

2. Someone has observed that “when a man and a woman are married, they become one. The trouble starts when they try to decide which one.” Another individual once said, “Marriage is nature’s way of keeping people from fighting with strangers.”

D.  Enough of that.  God designed marriage to be unity, not division.  It takes cooperation not conflict.  It is to be friendship, not a fight.  Peter is now giving instruction to both wives and husbands on how to have peace within the home through Christian behavior.

E.  Peter deals first with the more common situation: a believing wife with an unbelieving husband, whether he is and unbeliever who is lost or a saved unbeliever who chooses to rebel against God’s Word and ways.

F.  How to win your husband without war.  The Russian author, Leo Tolstoy, wrote a book titled “War and Peace.”  I should have titled this as “Peace without War.”  The biblical context is not demeaning to the wife but reveals the dignity, strength, and power of a godly one.

G.  In our text, God is giving us guidelines for both keeping peace in a divided home and possibility winning our spouses to the Lord.

1.  Stay With Them – vs 1 “to your own husband”  That means you are there!  If you leave, you will probably never win your husband.

Romans 12:18  If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

1 Corinthians 7:10-11  And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from herhusband:  (11)  But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.

2.  Be In Submission To The Husband's Authority – vs 1 “be in subjection”

Ephesians 5:22-24  Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.  (23)  For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.  (24)  Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.

3.  Do Not Preach To Your Husband – 1 “without the word”  Three times the Bible commands the woman to be quiet in the New Testament:

a.  Concerning Tongues in the church – 1 Corinthians 14:34-35  Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.  And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church. 

b.  Concerning preaching or teaching men in the church - 1 Timothy 2:12  But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.

c.  Concerning the divided home - 1 Peter 3:1  Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;

4.  Live A Separated, Holy Life-  vs 2-4 “chaste conversation”

a.   It Is An Inward Holiness – vs 3-4 - 2 Peter 3:11  Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,

b.   It Manifests Itself In An Outward Holiness - vs 2 - 1 Timothy 2:8-10  I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.  In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;  But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.

1 Peter 2:12  Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.

5.  Live In Fear Of The Lord – vs 2 “coupled with fear”

a.  Fear Of The Lord Brings Reward - Proverbs 22:4  By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life.

b.  Fear Of The Lord Brings Refuge - Proverbs 14:26  In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge.

6.  Do Not Be Hypocritical - 3-4a

2 Timothy 1:5  When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.

7.  Have A Meek And Quiet Spirit - 4b

1 Thessalonians 4:11a  And that ye study to be quiet … 

8.  Learn To Trust God With The Situation – 5  You cannot work in his heart.  Don't try to do God's work.

Isaiah 12:2  Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and mysong; he also is become my salvation. 

9.  Reverence Your Husband – vs 6 “calling him lord”  Notice the little “L”

Ephesians 5:33  Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.

The Shepherd and Bishop of Your Soul

Temple Baptist Church - 6-21-2017

1 Peter 2:24-25

Introduction:

A.  To understand the interpretation of these two verses, we must once again remember to whom Peter was writing. 

1.  Displaced Jewish Christians who came to Christ by faith and were persecuted to the degree that they fled from their national homeland of Israel and relocated to Asia Minor.  There are things that they do not understand:

2.  What was their relationship to Israel?  It was the religious Jews (i.e. Paul) who persecuted them and drove the out.  The answer: they were still Jews, God’s chosen people.

3.  If they were children of God, why were they suffering so greatly?  They were appointed to suffer as Christians because the world hated Christ and would also hate His children.

B.  Peter is trying to encourage them in the Lord because they were saved, belonged to the Lord, and were a heavenly people instead of an earthly one.

1.  Peter reminds them of the Price paid for their salvation in verse 24.  “his own self bare … in his body on the tree”

2.  Peter reminds them of their Previous condition prior to salvation in verse 24.  “our sins”

2.  Peter reminds them of their Position in Christ in verse 24.  “ye were healed”

3.  Peter reminds them of their Purpose of living for Christ in verse 24.  “should live unto righteousness”

C.  With these things in mind, let us look at verse 25.

1.  Israel’s lost condition.  “sheep going astray”

a.  Somewhere between Israel’s return to rebuild the walls and the Temple in the days of Nehemiah and Ezra, things changed spiritually.  Israel quit looking for the Lamb of God and looked for a Messiah King.  They wanted physical deliverance instead of a spiritual one. 

John 1:11  He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

John 1:29  The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

Matthew 23:37  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

John 19:14-16  And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!  (15)  But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.  (16)  Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away.

b.  During the “400 Silent Years” between Malachi (the end of the Old Testament) and Matthew (the beginning of the New Testament), there arose the religious sects of the Sadducees and the Pharisees.  Though Israel continued to offer the blood sacrifices required by God, they thought that they were right with God through their separation from the world and good works.  Neither animal sacrifices nor good works could ever merit righteousness with God!

Hebrews 9:12  Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

Ephesians 2:8-9  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:  (9) Not of works, lest any man should boast.

c.  These two heresies still plague the religious, self-righteous people of our day.  Salvation is always Christ plus something instead of Christ alone.  Baptism, good works, church membership, sacraments, Mary, the Pope, the preacher, etc. have all been added to the finished work of Christ called the Gospel.  Jesus summed salvation up in one verse:

John 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

2.  The saved Jews present condition.  These saved Jews had been a part of these “sheep going astray” but, through accepting the finished work (death, burial, and resurrection) of Christ the Messiah for their salvation, had “returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop” of their souls.  “Shepherd,” though used in both Old and New Testaments, was a familiar term to these dispersed Jews.  “Bishop” is a New Testament term that they were getting acquainted with.  I want to look at both considering these verses. 

a.  Definition of the terms:

1)  Shepherd – to tend, to pasture, to allow to graze.  The word “shepherd” shows a distinction between the shepherd and the sheep.  The Shepherd of the 23rd Psalm was not a sheep.

a)  The Good Shepherd - John 10:11, 27  I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.  (27)  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:  (The Lord is good to us.)

b)  The Great Shepherd - Hebrews 13:20  Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,  (The Lord is One of a kind.)

c)  The Chief Shepherd - 1 Peter 5:4  And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.  (In all things, the Lord is preeminent.)

2)  Pastor – to tend, to pasture, to allow to grace, to be a part of.  As the Old Testament shepherd was not a sheep, the New Testament pastor does the same work as the shepherd but is one of the sheep.  Jesus Christ was not our “Pastor” because He is not like us, He is God!  He is called our Shepherd.

Ephesians 4:11-16  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;  (12)  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:  (13)  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:  (14)  That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, andcunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;  (15)  But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:  (16)  From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

3)  Bishop – superintendent, to be over, to be above, to be among.  As the Bishop of our souls, Christ is the Head—He is the authority—He is the overseer.  The office of a Bishop gives his place in the local church and its authority over the corporate body of the local church.

1 Timothy 3:1  This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.

b.  They had returned to the Shepherd and Bishop of the souls!

1)  Israel did not have the New Testament when 1 Peter was written but were thoroughly familiar with the Old Testament.  The best known of all mentions of a shepherd was the 23rd Psalm.  The Psalms were hymns of the Old Testament saints. 

2)  When David penned this immortal Psalm, he was not speaking of a normal shepherd of sheep but a Spiritual Shepherd!  David did not need a human shepherd.  “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want” says it all.  David wrote of the “Shepherd of his soul!” 

3)  This is the Shepherd that Peter wrote about; this was the Shepherd that these saved Jews had returned to! 

a)  The Shepherd that feeds and leads the soul. 

b)  The Shepherd that gives peace and restores the soul to righteousness when we fail. 

c)  The Shepherd that protects and accompanies us through the veil of death. 

d)  The Shepherd that makes our soul a table in the presence of our enemies. 

e)  The Shepherd that anoints our soul with the oil of the Spirit and fills our saucer when our cut overflows with joy. 

f)  The Shepherd who gives goodness and mercy in this life and takes to His home for ever. 

c.  That was their Shepherd and Bishop of their souls.  That is our Shepherd and Bishop of our souls!  The Israel who sung about Him had left Him for the self-righteousness of Phariseeism.  In our day, we see this Psalm on Funeral Obituaries of people who know nothing about Him.  They memorize it and quote it but do not know the Shepherd of the soul. 

d.  These precious Jewish believers had returned to Him.

Paul

Temple Baptist Church - 6-18-2017

Romans 1:1-16

Introduction:

A.  I started to preach on Paul’s Apostleship tonight but decided to take a Romans, chapter 1 look at what the Holy Spirit said about him.  As far as this preacher is concerned, Paul was the greatest Christian in the New Testament.  I could spend a lot take giving him the accolades that, in my mind, he deserves but God says it all in one short chapter.

B.  Let us take a Biblical look at this great man of God: a servant of Jesus Christ … an apostle … separated unto the gospel of God.

C.  Paul was:

1.  A Purchased Man.  Vs. 1.  “a servant”  Paul realized and never got over the price that the Lord Jesus Christ paid for his redemption.

2.  A Possessed Man.  Vs. 1.  “separated”  Paul not only possess salvation, his salvation possessed him.

3.  A Precious Man.  Vs. 7.  “beloved of God”  Paul used this term to describe the Roman believers because he realized just how precious that he was to God.

4.  A Priestly Man.  Vs. 9.  “without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers”  As a priest represented man to God, the apostle represented God to man.  Paul understood both aspects and, as a man given to prayer, made intercession for others.

5.  A Purposed Man.  Vs 11.  “I long to see you … if by any means”  Paul answered the call of God and was purposed to fulfill that call.

6.  A Paying Man.    Vs.  14.  “I am debtor”  Paul realized the responsibility of the gospel: freely received and freely give.  He owed a debt that he could not pay and owed a debt that he could pay.

7.  A Preaching Man.  Vs. 15.  “ready to preach”  Instant in season and out of season.  Always prepared and standing ready for the opportunity to arise.

8.  A Pleased Man.  Vs. 16.  “I am not ashamed”  Paul was not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ and never wanted Jesus Christ to be ashamed of him.

9.  A Powerful Man.  Vs. 16.  “the power of God unto salvation”  His preaching was the gospel; his preaching was with boldness; his preaching was affective.

10.  A Perceptive Man.  Vs. 17.  “for therein is the righteousness of God revealed”  It was not with words of man’s wisdom that the work would get done but with the gospel of God.

Where Have All Of The Godly Men Gone?

Temple Baptist Church - 6-18-2017

Isaiah 4:1

Introduction

A.  Every Family Needs Three Homes.

1.  They Need A Heavenly Home - Acts 16:31  And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

2.  They Need A Church Home - 1 Timothy 3:15  But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

3.  They Need A Christian Home - Ephesians 6:4  And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

B.  The Importance of the godly Men.  Our text is prophetic of the end times when the “Branch” will come.  This will not be a message on the Second Advent but verse 1 is certainly relevant to the days in which we live. 

1.  We live in days of few good men or good ladies. 

a)  Everything is so mixed up and out of order.  The unisex movement of the late 60’s and 70’s when the Women’s Liberation Movement was at its height has taken a toll on society.  Even earlier than that, during WWII, the men went to war and the women went to work. 

b)  Thank God for both because the war was necessary and the women had to step up and fill the factories with workers. But society was forever changed! The men came home from the war but the women never came home from the work place. 

c)  Today, the men are weaker and no long leaders while the women are stronger and no longer followers.  I have never seen so many soft men as there are today. 

2.  Soft and effeminate.  When I was growing up, there was an occasional little boy who acted like a little girl but not many.  Our text says that there will be 7 women looking for one man!  Why?  Because of the scarcity of good men!  Look in the work places.  I am not advocating the movie but the work places are now “Peyton Place.”  Ladies, there 7 women looking for your man!

C.  This is a Father’s Day message to all our men because you will either be a father or a father figure to our people.  Good husbands and good fathers.

1.  I love and appreciate the men of this church!  We have good men here: godly and responsible men.  I am not ashamed to be counted among you.

2.  Someone once said, “A child is not likely to find a father in God unless he finds something of God in his father.”

3.  In our churches, we need good men who are godly fathers or father figures.

D.  What kind of men do we need?  1 Corinthians 16:13  Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. (Paul’s admonition was “Quit you like men” – Act like a man!)

1.  We Need Men Who Fear God – Ecclesiastes 12:13  Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

a.  Clean Men (Free from bad habits) - Psalms 19:9  The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.

b.  Moral Men (Men of character) - Proverbs 8:13  The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

Proverbs 16:6  By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.

c.  Wise Men - Proverbs 9:10  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

2.  We Need Men Who Are Faithful To God – Psalm 22:4  Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.

a.  Faithful To The Lord - Psalms 100:2  Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. (We need some men who are willing to serve the Lord.)

                       

b.  Faithful To Fill The Gap – Ezekiel 22:30  And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. (We need some men who stand for something.)

c.  Faithful To The Church – 1 John 2:13  I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. (We need some men who can be counted on.)

d.  Faithful To Follow Christ And Lead The Family – In In the plan and purpose of God, the father is the head of the household. The order of the authority is the “head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.” Far too many men fail to take charge of their homes.  Dr. B. R. Lakin used to say, “Some husbands are so henpecked that they roost on the foot of the bed at night.” 

d.  Faithful To Teach The Children – Ephesians 6:4  And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

1)  To Teach Them About The Lord.

2)  To Teach Them How To Be Men And Ladies.

3)  To Teach Them God’s Word.

Conclusion:  Happy Father’s Day!