2024.04.29 Hopewell @Home ▫ Romans 14:1–9

Read Romans 14:1–9

Questions from the Scripture text: What is the command in Romans 14:1? What does the apostle call the one who is still scrupulous about the ceremonial law? But over which things does he caution against disputing? What does the strong believer eat (Romans 14:2)? What does the weak one eat? What must the strong one watch against doing (Romans 14:3)? What must the weak one watch against doing? Why? What question does Romans 14:4 ask the weak believer? What must he remember that God will do for the strong believer? What other ceremonial observance does the weak believer keep (Romans 14:5)? How do the strong see days? What is important for each? How must the one observing the ceremonial law at the time observe the day (Romans 14:6)? What must be the intention of the one who is not observing it? How does this apply to the eating and not eating? What must both the eating and not-eating one do? What two things do no Christians do (Romans 14:7)? For what (Whom!) do they live (Romans 14:8)? For what (Whom!) do they die? What should always be true about a Christian? What has Christ done to secure this (Romans 14:9)? 

What is the church to do with individual believers with dubious applications of Scripture? Romans 14:1–9 prepares us for the sermon in the midweek prayer meeting. In these nine verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that the church should welcome weak believers, exercising patience with them and treating them with honor. 

The church must welcome a weak believer. The command to welcome (Romans 14:1, “receive” in NKJ) is in the plural. But the one to welcome is in the single. To apply this passage well, it is important to note that the under-informed conscience of the weak believer must not be permitted to lord over the church. There is genuine weakness in the one who was still observing the Old Testament ceremonial law, and genuine strength in the one who keeps the Christian faith in spiritual simplicity. And if the church were to observe anything that Christ hadn’t commanded, it would put itself in the place of Christ, making the church lord of the conscience instead of the Lord Himself.

And, of course, the church is led and taught by strong believers. The weak believer is received, but what he doubts is not permitted to change the operation of the church. There is to be no disputing over those things, although obviously the whole of the New Testament instructs that the strong are to lead the church and to instruct the weak. Still, it is clear that while the church receives the weak and does not change corporate religion for their sake, yet it must welcome and love them, even before the instruction has taken hold.

All believers are in danger of remaining sin. The stronger believers are the first to be warned in Romans 14:3. Their welcome from Romans 14:1 is to be genuine. They must watch their hearts against despising the weaker brother. And the weaker brother doesn’t even know that he is weaker; he thinks he is correct and must watch against the temptation to pronounce judgment upon the stronger brother! 

There are dangers here for all. Differences are opportunity either for the flesh (despising by the stronger brother, or judging by the weaker brother) or the Spirit (teaching/helping with patience by the stronger brother, cf. 2 Timothy 4:2; or esteeming by the weaker brother). Even the stronger brother is only upheld by God’s grace (end of Romans 14:4). 

The key is to live conscientiously, unto the Lord. Again, Romans 14:5 refers to the weak brother and the strong brother. Here, the part of the ceremonial law at question are the consecrated days of the Mosaic covenant that have now been set aside. The only remaining day is the weekly day from creation, now known as the Lord’s Day. But understanding the calendar correctly isn’t as important as being convinced in the conscience so that what you do is done unto the Lord from His Word (end of Romans 14:5). 

This didn’t make room at all for manmade religion/days, and would have been much less plausible after the Lord destroyed the temple. But, within the context of the time, these issues were useful to establish the principle: what is done must be done for the Lord. Observing the Levitical day (or keeping the Levitical code) must not be done out of a desire to establish oneself by being Levitically observant, but as a thankful response to the Lord. And not observing the day (or eating freely) must not be done out of a desire to indulge one’s freedom from ceremony but as a thankful response to the Lord, Who has welcomed us in Christ now, eliminating those shadows (Romans 14:6). All must be done unto the Lord, not for proving of self, and not for indulging of self.

As those who are sure to die, we ought to live in the same manner as we hope to die: unto the Lord (Romans 14:7-8)! Christ died and lived for us, so that we might live and die as His. Since we are going to be His even in death, we ought to be His also now. We do not do things for ourselves but as living sacrifices unto Him (cf. Romans 12:1). And as living sacrifices to Him, the strong must welcome those whom He has joined to Himself without despising them, while the weak are willing to join and submit to the strong without judging them.

What do some believers observe that you don’t? How do you guard against despising them? What do other believers not observe that you do? How do you guard against judging them? How are you instructing your conscience from Scripture, so that you would be strong in faith, rather than weak? Who is Lord of your conscience? What has He done for you? What must you do for Him? What are you in danger of doing as a proving of yourself? What are you in danger of doing as an indulging of yourself?

Sample prayer:  Lord, thank You for dying and rising again for us. Grant that we would live for You and die for You. Help us to be strong in faith, as those whose consciences are instructed by Scripture. And do not let us despise or judge our brother, we ask through Christ, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP197  “Christian Unity” or TPH409 “Blest Be the Tie That Binds”

2024.04.28 Lord's Day Live Streams (live at 10:10a, 11a, 3p)

Click below for the:

April 28 Lord's Day Worship Booklet

Sabbath School Outline

Matthew 7:13–14 Sermon Outline

p.m. Song Selections & Num 9:1–14 Sermon

We urge you to assemble physically, if possible, with a true congregation of Christ's church. For those of our own congregation who may be providentially hindered, we are grateful to be able to provide this service.

Each week we LIVESTREAM the Lord's Day (Sabbath School, Morning Public Worship, and p.m. Singing and Sermon) and Midweek Meeting (sermon and prayer). For notifications when Hopewell is streaming live, install the CHURCHONE APP on your [Apple], [Android], or [Kindle] device, and enter hopewellarp for your broadcaster

Christ Alone! [2024.04.27 Pastoral Letter and Hopewell Herald]

Hopewell Herald – April 27, 2024

Dear Congregation,

Tomorrow, we come to hear about the narrow gate and the confined/difficult way in Matthew 7:14. And the gate is narrow indeed. It is Christ alone!

If we are tempted to rest upon our good works, or good intentions, or sincerity, or even upon our good doctrine, we find that the gate is too narrow to squeeze through with any of that. We can only get through with Christ Himself as all of our merit and all of our hope. Christ alone!

If we think that we can carry with us pleasurable sins, living for self, companionship of unbelievers, or anything else that we felt was at the core of our identity, we find that we must give it all up. Christ alone!

There is a close connection between the Christian gospel and Christian worship. Christ alone!

So much of what God had put into worship to pre-figure Christ to His church “under age” (cf. WCF 19.3), He put an end to after Christ came. So, by the absence of those things, the intentional simplicity of worship under His priesthood shouts to us: “Christ alone!”

Now, when we come to join the heavenly Zion by faith in the Lord’s Day assembly, we must be keenly aware that nothing can come with us, except that which is from Christ Himself. Christ alone!

And when we are there, we are keenly aware that His blood has consecrated us to enter, and His flesh is the new and living way that we enter. How did we come to be gathered unto God Himself? Christ alone!

If we profit from the preaching, we remember that Christ is now the Prophet in Heaven, Who addresses us through earthly mouthpieces. The profit is from Christ alone!

If the Spirit fills us, and the Word of Christ dwells in us richly, then we know that this is because it is Christ is the Priest, Who sings God’s praise in the assembly. In the priesthood of all believers, every one of us now replaces the Levitical choir and the Levitical accompanists, as we admonish one another. But the rising of praise to God and penetration of the Word and Spirit in our heart features Christ alone!

If we draw near to God in the praying, and know that we are heard in Heaven, we draw that encouragement not from ascending smoke or incense but from the risen, ascended Christ alone!

When we come to the table and are nourished and strengthened and assured and gladdened, it is not by the quantity or content of the bread or the wine, but by Christ alone!

If, with God having removed so much from the sights, sounds, smells, and calendar that He Himself had previously instituted, we are tempted to add in anything that man has instituted, the whole of Scripture admonishes us: “Christ alone!”

Looking forward to worship with you, and this particular sermon text, that announces to us, “Christ Alone!”

Pastor

Two Gates, Ways, Destinations [Family Worship lesson in Mathew 7:13–14]

What is the great choice of our existence? Matthew 7:13–14 prepares us for the morning sermon on the Lord’s Day. In these two verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that there are only two ways to live—one that leads to life, and one that leads to destruction.(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

2024.04.27 Hopewell @Home ▫ Matthew 7:13–14

Read Matthew 7:13–14

Questions from the Scripture text: With what command does Matthew 7:13 begin? By what must they enter? What is the other gate like? What sort of way does it open? To what does the broad way lead? Who go in by it? But what sort of way does the narrow gate open (Matthew 7:14)? What does it lead to? Who find it? 

What is the great choice of our existence? Matthew 7:13–14 prepares us for the morning sermon on the Lord’s Day. In these two verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that there are only two ways to live—one that leads to life, and one that leads to destruction.

Two Doors. Christ is the narrow gate (Matthew 7:13). You can’t enter some other way and merge into the path that leads to life. You have to begin with Him. You have to begin with nothing but Him. You have to give up everything else to follow Him (cf. Luke 9:23–24). You don’t get to keep either what good or meritorious works you once thought that you had (Philippians 3:7–9; Hebrews 6:1, Hebrews 9:14), or your former identity, allegiances, or sinful desires (cf. 1 Corinthians 6:11; Titus 3:3–7). 

The wide way is literally anything but “Christ alone” (even a wide assortment of “Christ-plus”-type hopes). It is wide indeed. We may never comfort ourselves with the idea that we must be ok because so many people believe like we do. Wide is the gate that leads to destruction.

Two Directions. The Lord has been describing to the few in front of Him the transformed life that God gives to those who will be entering the kingdom. This transformed life is the narrow path of Matthew 7:14 (cf. Matthew 5:20). Jesus is the only way into it, and it is the only path that leads from Him. If you are not on the narrow path—if you do not have a new life in pursuit of holiness—you need to go back to the gate. 

In pursuing holiness, the believer must not desire approval of men because then you would “have your reward.” And he also must not expect approval of men because there are comparatively few with you in the confined path. Jesus gives us a wide invitation to Himself and speaks of the rest in Him and the lightness of His yoke (cf. Matthew 11:28–30; John 6:35–37; John 7:37–38). But at the same time, He warns us that we have to count the cost of giving up everything and of offering ourselves as a living sacrifice (cf. Romans 12:1). 

Two Destinations. Those on the broad path do not think much about their destination. They are too busy living their best life now. When they do think of their destination, it is mostly to assure themselves the opposite of the reality, to tell themselves that the destination will be like what they enjoy now, but even better. Truly, they have their reward, and they are destroying themselves already. 

But how great is the destruction to which they go! Thus far, God spares them in kindness and mercy which are meant to lead them to repentance (cf. Romans 2:2–4). But they assure themselves that this means their path is fine, and their destination is good. They refuse to consider that they are storing up wrath against the day of wrath (cf. Romans 2:5), when they will arrive at their destruction—everlasting destruction in flaming fire that comes continually from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His power (cf. 2 Thessalonians 1:8–10). 

Those on the narrow path have entered through a glorious door and are enjoying an increasingly glorious (though confined) path, but they think much about the destination: life. Here, “life” is a synonym to “the kingdom” in the sermon (cf. Matthew 5:20). “Life” is the comfort that ends their current mourning (cf. Matthew 5:4), the inheritance enjoyed as co-heirs with Christ (cf. Matthew 5:5), the filling with righteous character and conduct (cf. Matthew 5:6), the final/full/forever enjoyment of mercy (cf. Matthew 5:7), the full enjoyment of God Himself (cf. Matthew 5:8), and the unimaginable honor of being displayed as His children forever (cf. Matthew 5:9). 

The text refers to it all under the one word: “life.” Life as we were created to have it. Life for which we were redeemed. Life as Christ Himself has had from all eternity as the Son of God. Life as Christ Himself perfectly and increasingly enjoyed in all of His humanity. Life! When others scoff at the exclusivity of the door, we heed them not; our destination is life! When others frown or scold as the confinement of the way, we rejoice that the confinement compels us forward to our destination—life!

What is your worthiness before God? From where does any strength and goodness in you come? What else are you tempted to trust in? What else are you tempted to live for? What is your heaven? How often do you think about it/Him?

Sample prayer:  Lord, thank You for giving Your own Son as our gate to enter the way. Grant the ministry of Your Spirit to grow is in the holiness we must have in order to see the Lord. Give us to know you now, and bring us to glorify You and fully enjoy You forever, we ask through Christ, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP6 “Be Gracious, LORD” or TPH459 “My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less”

Wake Up, and Get Dressed! [2024.04.24 Midweek Sermon in Romans 13:11–14]

Christians should begin living now, already, our heavenly life, which we are enabled to do by putting on Christ.

(click here to DOWNLOAD video/mp3/pdf files of this sermon)

The Lord's Covenant Meal [Family Worship lesson in Numbers 9:1–14]

Why does God remind them about the Passover? Numbers 9:1–14 prepares us for the evening sermon on the Lord’s Day. In these fourteen verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that the God of the first Passover is the God of the second, and He requires that it be kept, and that it be kept correctly, by all of His church and only His church.(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

2024.04.26 Hopewell @Home ▫ Numbers 9:1–14

Read Numbers 9:1–14

Questions from the Scripture text:  Who spoke to whom in Numbers 9:1? Where? When? After what? What did He command for whom (Numbers 9:2)? On what day (Numbers 9:3)? At what time? According to what? What did Moses do (Numbers 9:4)? What did the children of Israel do (Numbers 9:5)? On what day? At what time? Where? According to what? What had happened to whom (Numbers 9:6)? What couldn’t they do? What did they do on that day? What did they say about themselves (Numbers 9:7)? What did they ask? What does Moses tell them to do (Numbers 9:8)? To wait for what? Who spoke to whom in Numbers 9:9? To whom was he to speak (Numbers 9:10)? What conditions would not prevent keeping Passover? What is the “make-up day” for such cases (Numbers 9:11)? At what time must it be kept? In what manner (Numbers 9:11-12)? Who cannot participate in this make-up day (Numbers 9:13)? What must happen to him instead? Why, what hasn’t he done? What must he bear? Whose case does Numbers 9:14 address? What does this sojourning stranger wish to do? How must he then do it (cf. Exodus 12:43–49)? 

Why does God remind them about the Passover? Numbers 9:1–14 prepares us for the evening sermon on the Lord’s Day. In these fourteen verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that the God of the first Passover is the God of the second, and He requires that it be kept, and that it be kept correctly, by all of His church and only His church.

The Lord (Jesus!) is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The date in Numbers 9:1 places this event at the time of the raising of the tabernacle (cf. Exodus 40:17), a month before the censuses that begin in Numbers 1:1. It is connected to the setting up of the tabernacle (cf. Numbers 7:1) and Israel’s preparedness to depart. In two weeks, it will be exactly a year since the tenth plague and the first Passover. The Lord had commanded that this be kept annually, as the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (cf. Exodus 12:14, Exodus 12:17–18), but now He comes in His kindness and gives a reminder in Numbers 9:1-4. He is the One Who has commanded the observance and the manner of keeping it.

As with all of the commanded worship of God, He reminds us in the midst of the worship that He is the same as He was when He commanded it, and that He is the same as He will be when that to which the worship looks forward is finally fulfilled. Passover is reminding them that the God of the plagues and the God of promised land is the One Who has set up His tent in their midst in the wilderness. 

Passover also reminds them that they owe their existence to the lamb that was slain to redeem them from death. This is why Hebrews 13:8 takes this truth about YHWH, held forth in the Passover, and declares it about Jesus Christ, in the context of His own sacrifice, His own altar, and His own Supper (cf. Hebrews 13:8–10). All the bringings-near that we have seen from Leviticus to this point find their fulfillment in Christ, but this is perhaps the most poignant one of all, as the last of the prophets declares Him to be “the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world” (cf. John 1:29), and the book of life is called “the Book of Life of the Lamb Slain” from the foundation of the world (cf. Revelation 13:8). 

Dear reader, the same Lord and the same Jesus as at the creation, at the Exodus, in the wilderness, at the crucifixion, at the time of Hebrews, and the time of Revelation… this same Lord and Christ is the One to Whom (and in Whom!) you draw near day by day in your secret and household worship, and Lord’s Day by Lord’s Day in the public worship!

Defiling the Passover or skipping it are cause for excommunication on earth and from heaven. The exactness of the day becomes a difficulty for some who were defiled by a dead body (Numbers 9:6). Shall they be prevented from drawing near to God (Numbers 9:7, “presenting the offering” is literally “bringing near the brought-near thing”)? Touching the worship of God, and particularly the Passover, Moses wisely does not decide this himself but waits for special revelation (Numbers 9:8). The Lord’s answer is not just for this situation but for their generations (Numbers 9:10) and includes not just those who are put outside the camp by the providence of uncleanness, but after they have come into the land, those who happened to be traveling beyond its borders at the time of the Passover. 

God still permits (requires!) that these keep the Passover (Numbers 9:10-12), warning that the “make-up date” of the fourteenth day of the second month does NOT leave the day up to preference. Someone who is not prevented by providence from observing on the original date is to be excommunicated (Numbers 9:13). 

This has significant implications for the importance of assembling as a church now, under Christ’s high-priesthood. God forbids the forsaking of the assembling of ourselves together (cf. Hebrews 10:25), even as He refers to Christian worship and the assemblies of the church as the fulfillment of the observation of Passover. “Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed,” and now we must keep the feast by keeping ourselves clean of the leaven of sin, living unleavened lives of sincerity and truth (cf. 1 Corinthians 5:6–8). There, too, in 1 Corinthians 5, those who defile the feast are to be excommunicated (cf. Exodus 12:15). 

Taking Exodus 12:15 with Numbers 9:13, we see that those who absent themselves from the commanded worship are to be subject to excommunication, just as much as those who are present but defiled. The passive “shall be cut off” reminds us that what the church does on earth reflects something that God Himself does from heaven. And, in fact, the Lord was doing this at the time, in Corinth, even though (because?) they had been failing to exercise church discipline in connection with the Supper (cf. 1 Corinthians 11:29–32). 

Church membership is required for taking the Passover. Finally, the Lord reminds them that “church-membership” is required for Passover participation. By concluding with Numbers 9:14, He reminds them of how He had concluded Exodus 12, enabling a stranger to participate if he fully converted, and his household came into Israel under one of the tribes (cf. Exodus 12:43–49). One was not admitted to the Passover simply by desiring to keep it to YHWH (cf. Exodus 12:48). He had to join the congregation and receive the covenant sign (cf. Exodus 12:44, Exodus 12:47, Exodus 12:48). 

How are you keeping yourself clean from the leaven of sin? When are you tempted to skip church, even when you’re not really providentially prevented? Of what church are you a member?

Sample prayer:  Lord, we thank You for granting unto us to come near to You in Christ. Please grant that by Your Spirit’s work, we would keep a clean conscience before You, and that we would not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. Please grant to Your church to take the purity of Your congregations seriously, we ask through Christ, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP15 “Within Your Tent, Who Will Reside” or TPH196 “At the Lamb’s High Feast We Sing”

Joining Our Savior's War against Our Sin [Family Worship lesson in 1John 3:4–10]

What’s the big deal about sin? 1John 3:4–10 prepares us for the second serial reading in public worship on the Lord’s Day. In these seven verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that sin is a big deal because it is opposed to God, opposed to Christ, and opposed to the new life and identity of the believer.(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

2024.04.25 Hopewell @Home ▫ 1 John 3:4–10

Read 1 John 3:4–10

Questions from the Scripture text: What does the one committing sin also commit (1 John 3:4)? Why is this true? Why was Jesus revealed (1 John 3:5)? Who knows this? What isn’t there any of in Him? What doesn’t the one abiding in Him do (1 John 3:6)? What two things hasn’t the sinning one done? How does the apostle address his readers in 1 John 3:7? What does he urge them not to let anyone do? What is the relation between one’s works and one’s status? From where do both come? Of whom is the one who sins (1 John 3:8)? How do the devil and sin relate to one another? Who has been manifested? For what purpose—to destroy what? Of Whom are some people now born (1 John 3:9)? What does such a man not do? Why—what abides (remains) in him? What can’t he do? Why—of Whom has he been born? Which two categories of men have been distinguished from one another (1 John 3:10)? How is this distinction revealed? What two things are always the case for someone who is a child of God?

What’s the big deal about sin? 1 John 3:4–10 prepares us for the second serial reading in public worship on the Lord’s Day. In these seven verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that sin is a big deal because it is opposed to God, opposed to Christ, and opposed to the new life and identity of the believer.

The nature of sin: lawlessness, 1 John 3:4. Sin is utterly heinous, because it is against God. It is against His existence, His deity, His glory, His claims upon us. And this glorious God has given us His Fatherly instruction, His law. This law is an expression of the applications to our lives of the implications of His character for us as His image-bearers. So sin is an utter rejection of the glorious God, and an utter rejection of His self-revelation to us. It clamps its hands over its ears, as it were, and refuses to receive God’s good and kind communication of Himself.

Christ as solution to sin (1): taking away our sins, 1 John 3:5-6. Jesus was manifested to take away our sins (1 John 3:5a) in the two ways that we heard about in 1 John 1:9. In our justification, Jesus Himself is counted as our righteousness, with His keeping the commandments of the law counted in our behalf, and with His offering Himself as an atoning sacrifice wiping away the guilt and penalty of our sin. So, He was manifested to forgive us our sins. But He was also manifested to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Not only does He instantly take away the penalty of our sin; He instantly takes away its power over us and progressively takes away its power within us and presence within us. Indeed, sin still feels powerful, but it is no longer our master. And He weakens it more and more, even as He makes us more and more holy. 

Jesus’s great work is to take away sins. It is the height of wickedness to tolerate sin or to teach that a Christian may do so. Since in Jesus there is no sin (end of 1 John 3:5), and since a Christian may aptly be described as one who abides in Jesus, how can a Christian go on in sin? Sinning never comes from seeing Him; sinning never comes from knowing Him (1 John 3:6). Though since the time that this book was written, false teachers have been telling saints that seeing and knowing Jesus permits them to go on sinning comfortably, the truth is exactly the opposite. Abiding in Christ makes sin most uncomfortable!

Christ as solution to sin (2): destroying the works of the devil, 1 John 3:7-8. The word for “practices” in 1 John 3:7 (and 1 John 3:10) is actually “works.” There were teachers at the time saying that those who were righteous with God in Jesus Christ could just go on working unrighteousness. But this was a lie, so the apostle says, “let no one deceive you.” If Jesus is righteous, then He produces a telltale sign in those whom He makes righteous: they work righteousness (1 John 3:7). 

But all believers began dead in sin (cf. Ephesians 2:1), walking according to the devil himself (cf. Ephesians 2:2), as children of wrath (cf. Ephesians 2:3). And even after we have that new seed within us, that new birth, that new nature, it is possible for us to live according to that which is passing away, that which remains from our former nature. Is it ok to go on sinning then? By no means! “He who sins is of the devil” (1 John 3:8)! Whenever a believer sins, he acts according to that satanic nature with which he came into the world. He must not do so! Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (end of verse 8), to go on in is to fight against the cosmic mission of our God and Savior. 

God’s children opposed to sin, 1 John 3:9-10. Furthermore, going on in sin sets us against our new nature (1 John 3:9; cf. Galatians 5:16–17). We came into this new nature by being born of God. We cannot be born of God, then unborn of God. The new nature must persist and must win out until that which is from our former nature is defeated and eliminated. When we sin, we may know that it is coming not from our new and lasting nature in God, in Christ, but from our former and condemned nature whose days are numbered. So for every thought, we must determine: does that thought come from the spirit or from the flesh? For every word, we must determine: does that word come from my former nature or from my new nature from God? For every action, we must determine: does that action come from me as a child of God, or rather as I used to be, a child of the devil?

This is vitally important for us to distinguish, and if we find that we do not care to work righteousness, then this is very serious indeed. All of humanity are divided into two categories in 1 John 3:10: the children of God and the children of the devil. That song of old liberalism tells a diabolical lie when it says, “with God as our father, brothers all are we.” No, there are two fathers: the devil is the father of those who are still in the first Adam, and God is the Father of those who are in the second Adam. God is the Father of those who are in Christ. And verse 10 gives us the telltale sign of the one who is a child of the devil: he doesn’t work righteousness, and he doesn’t love his brother. Such a person cannot be a child of God. In the Son of God, there is no sin (1 John 3:5), so the children of God, who abide in the Son of God, also do not sin. Do they commit sins? Yes (cf. 1 John 1:8, 1 John 1:10), but only from what remains of their former, vanishing nature. It is not of their new nature, and they are at war with it.

How is it evident that you are at war with your sin? If you had to evaluate by whose side you seem to be on, do you seem to be a child of God or a child of the devil? What has Jesus done about the penalty of your sin? What is He doing about the power and presence of your sin? 

Sample prayer:  Lord, forgive us for breaking Your holy law. Not only is our sin against You Yourself, but also against Your good and kind teaching to us of Your law. Forgive us for how we have been willing to think and say and do that which Christ came to destroy. Forgive us for having tolerated thoughts, emotions, and actions that belong to the children of the devil, rather than the children of God. Truly, our sin is a dreadful thing. But we thank You that if we are in Christ, it is because we have been born of You, and Your seed remains in us. Make us to work righteousness, and to love our brother, we ask through Christ, AMEN!

 Suggested songs: ARP118A “Because He’s Good, O Thank the LORD” or TPH461 “Blessed Are the Sons of God”

2024.04.24 Prayer Meeting Live Stream (Live at 6:30p.m.)

Click below for the:

April 24 Prayer Meeting Folder

Romans 13:11–14 Sermon Outline

We urge you to assemble physically, if possible, with a true congregation of Christ's church. For those of our own congregation who may be providentially hindered, we are grateful to be able to provide this service.

Each week we LIVESTREAM the Lord's Day (Sabbath School, Morning Public Worship, and p.m. Singing and Sermon) and Midweek Meeting (sermon and prayer). For notifications when Hopewell is streaming live, install the CHURCHONE APP on your [Apple], [Android], or [Kindle] device, and enter hopewellarp for your broadcaster

What the Servant Secured for His Bride and Offspring [Family Worship lesson in Isaiah 54]

What does the Servant secure for the church? Isaiah 54 prepares us for the first serial reading in public worship on the Lord’s Day. In these seventeen verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that the Servant secures for the church an age in which He Himself is her Head, and the Lord deals with her accordingly. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

2024.04.24 Hopewell @Home ▫ Isaiah 54

Read Isaiah 54

Questions from the Scripture text: Who is commanded to sing (Isaiah 54:1a)? Even though she hasn’t done what (verse 1b)? What sort of singing (verse 1c)? Even though she hasn’t done what (verse 1d)? How do her offspring and joy compare to whose? Who says this? What will she have to do for her growing family (Isaiah 54:2-3)? What will they inherit (Isaiah 54:3b)? What two things is she told not to do (Isaiah 54:4a–b)? Why, what will be taken away (verse 4c–d)? Whom does she have now for a Husband (Isaiah 54:5a)? What is His Name (verse 5b)? Whom does she have for nearest of kin/Redeemer (verse 5c)? What else is He called (verse 5d)? Who has called her (Isaiah 54:6a, d, Isaiah 54:8c)? From out of what condition (Isaiah 54:6b–c)? How long was she in that condition (Isaiah 54:7a)? How will the mercy into which we brings her compare (Isaiah 54:7b, Isaiah 54:8b)? How sure is His promise to do this (Isaiah 54:9-10)? What is her condition now (Isaiah 54:11a–b)? But how does the Lord describe His adorning her (Isaiah 54:11-12c)? What blessings will her children have, in addition to being many (Isaiah 54:13)? How secure will she be in her new, righteous condition (Isaiah 54:14)? What will the enemies still do, but what will happen to them (Isaiah 54:15)? Why won’t any weapons succeed against His people (Isaiah 54:16-17c)? To whom does this heritage belong (Isaiah 54:17d)? How will they come into it (verse 17e)? How can we be sure (verse 17f)?

What does the Servant secure for the church? Isaiah 54 prepares us for the first serial reading in public worship on the Lord’s Day. In these seventeen verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that the Servant secures for the church an age in which He Himself is her Head, and the Lord deals with her accordingly. 

Flourishing joy for the currently barren, Isaiah 54:1-3. Israel, in the time of her exile, is forsaken. But the seed that the Servant (Christ!) secures by His labor (cf. Isaiah 53:10d), now produce a multitude of children for her that she did not even bear (cf. Isaiah 49:18–23). This historical metaphor is often lived out by particular church members. That which is true for Israel as a church is true for barren (cf. Psalm 113:7–9) and eunuchs (cf. Isaiah 56:3–5) among God’s people, who receive church-family as a super-natural blessing that they enjoy especially on the Lord’s Day, with a view toward eternity. We get a taste of the family-forming power of Christ when we are more than compensated at church for the emptiness that barrenness, singleness, or bereavement have brought to the home. This is the proper way for converted Jews to feel in the largely gentile church: sing (Isaiah 54:1a)! Break forth into singing, and cry aloud (verse 1c)! You are the seed who are inheriting the nations (Isaiah 54:3b)!

Affectionate love for the currently forsaken, Isaiah 54:4-8. As conveyed so poignantly in the contemporary book of Hosea, Israel are desolate and alone because she has forsaken her Husband. But the Servant who has atoned for her sins (cf. chapter 53) has brought her back into her marriage to YHWH of hosts, her Husband (Isaiah 54:5a) and closest of kin (e.g., “Redeemer,” Isaiah 54:5c, Isaiah 54:8c). His chastening her has been momentary (Isaiah 54:7a) and measured (Isaiah 54:8a) in order to bring her into immeasurable compassions (Isaiah 54:7b) and eternal covenant love (Isaiah 54:8b).

Faithful covenant blessing for the currently sinful, Isaiah 54:9-10. When God promises that the waters shall never again cover the earth (cf. Genesis 9:15), it is in the context of noting that even with Noah’s household as the only remaining humanity, it was still true that “the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth” (cf. Genesis 8:21). Now in the wake of the Servant’s work, the steadfast love (Isaiah 54:10c), covenant of peace (verse 10d), and compassion (verse 10e) of YHWH are secured to His church forever. We know that particular congregations may be disciplined (cf. 1 Corinthians 11:30–32) and even forsaken of God (cf. Revelation 2:5), but when the church comes into the age of the Servant, she comes into an age in which corporately, as a whole, she is always being built and always under the shining of God’s love like the sun rising until it is at full strength (cf. Matthew 16:18; Proverbs 4:18; 2 Samuel 23:1–5). With Christ as our Head, even those who live in times and places of apostasy and dreadful chastening of the local churches may cling to the Servant and know they are part of a broader church that is still being built under the smile of God.

Fearless peace for the currently attacked, Isaiah 54:11-17. In this final section, Zion is more than just built up; she is beautified. The word picture of the gems, sapphires, rubies, (Isaiah 54:11) crystal, and precious stones (Isaiah 54:12) takes our minds right to Revelation 21:18–21. The greatest beauty, however, is the character of the bride (cf. Revelation 21:2), presented here as the children obtained by the Servant for His church. They are not just plentiful, as we saw in Isaiah 54:1-3, but peaceful. As those taught by YHWH (Isaiah 54:13a, cf. 1 John 2:27), they have the peace (Isaiah 54:13b) of those who don’t fear (Isaiah 54:14) even when enemies are gathered against them (Isaiah 54:15). The God Who so affectionately loves them (Isaiah 54:4-8) is the Creator of swords and tongues and everything in between (Isaiah 54:16-17b). The Lord is their portion (Isaiah 54:17d), because from Him is their righteousness (verse 17e), even as He has said (verse 17f). 

Who is the Head of the church? What has He secured from God for the church on earth? What will she be like when He is done with her? How do you experience the life, love, and mercy personally that He has earned for the church corporately? Who has been attacking you? Why don’t you have to be afraid of them?

Sample prayer:  Lord, we are those barren who are ashamed of our inability and our sin, knowing that You have been right in all of Your chastening us. But You have made us to flourish much; forgive us for not seeing how great this mercy has been! When we look at ourselves, we are ashamed, but we have failed to see how You have removed this shame as our Husband, our Warrior, our Redeemer, our Holy One, our Sovereign God. Grant that we would be quick in repentance, turning from ourselves to You. We know that You will build Your church; give us to live in joy and hope and devotion to You, as part of Your whole church in the earth—even when we sometimes must grieve and be humiliated over what happens locally. 

Suggested songs: ARP45B “Daughter, Incline Your Ear” or TPH404 “The Church’s One Foundation” 

The Rejoicing of Righteous Homes and Hearts [Family Worship lesson in Psalm 118:15–18]

What does a righteous home sound like? Psalm 118:15–18 prepares us for the opening portion of public worship on the Lord’s Day. In these four verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that a righteous home is loud with the sound of rejoicing over Jesus.(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

2024.04.23 Hopewell @Home ▫ Psalm 118:15–18

Read Psalm 118:15–18

Questions from the from the Scripture text: What “voice” does Psalm 118:15a describe? Where is it heard (verse 15b)? What does it rejoice over (verse 15c, Psalm 118:16a, verse 16b)? What has this right hand of YHWH done? What else does this right hand ensure will not happen (Psalm 118:17a)? What will happen instead? Why will the righteous one live (verse 17b)? What has YHWH done to the righteous one (Psalm 118:18a)? But what hasn’t He done?

What does a righteous home sound like? Psalm 118:15–18 prepares us for the opening portion of public worship on the Lord’s Day. In these four verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that a righteous home is loud with the sound of rejoicing over Jesus.

Recognizing the righteous tent. How do you know if you are in one of the tents of the righteous (Psalm 118:15b)? There is one piece of furniture that you will always find there: the voice of loud rejoicing and salvation (verse 15a; the word for salvation here, is the word from which we get “Jesus”!). The word for “rejoicing” is ‘loud’ enough that it can well be translated “crying out.” The victory of the King in Psalm 118:10-14 spills over into the tents of the righteous, who are given a share in His victory. Can people tell if your house is a tent of the righteous? How about your heart? Is there jubilation over Jesus there?

What the righteous rejoice over. Three times (Psalm 118:15c, Psalm 118:16a, verse 16b) we hear what this jubilant voice is rejoicing over: “the right hand of YHWH.” This great King, Who destroys the swarm of enemies, is Himself the right hand of YHWH—the strength (Psalm 118:15, Psalm 118:16b) and glory (verse 16a) of God, which delivers His people. 

Why the righteous are delivered. We deserve death. It is a turn of events when we do not die, but instead we live (Psalm 118:17a). For what purpose are we given this life? “To declare the works of YHWH” (verse 17b)! This is not miserly, on the Lord’s part, but generous. If we had desired all creation, instead of desiring to know Him and His glory, we would desire too little. And it is the great privilege and purpose of our creation and our redemption to declare His glory!

How the righteous are brought into their portion. Notice that being saved by YHWH’s almighty right hand does not mean that we experience nothing but comfort and ease. Psalm 118:188a might look like it doesn’t fit in this section, but it is the standard experience of all whom the Lord saves, all who are true children (cf. Hebrews 12:8). They partake in chastening, in discipline, sometimes quite painfully (the word is intensified by a doubling in the original, cf. Hebrews 12:11). But this is not because the Lord is against them, but rather because He is saving them from the death that they deserve (Psalm 118:18b), the death to which they would plunge themselves without His deliverance and His chastening. 

So, with our thoughts resting upon the victory of the King, let us rejoice over His salvation, and even His faithfulness and wisdom and goodness in chastening us!

Who is your King? Whom has He defeated, and whom/what will He have finished defeating at the last? What painful thing does He do in your life to bring you into the full enjoyment of what He has gained for you? What is an example of His chastening that you have experienced? How often/much do you find your heart full of the affection of rejoicing at all of this? How often/much do you find your home full of the sound of rejoicing at all of this? 

Sample prayer:  Lord, grant that loud shouts of joy would be filling our houses throughout the week, and grant that loud shouts of joy would fill the assembly of Your household on the Lord’s Day. You have saved us by Your Son, Jesus Christ. He has been for us Your valiant and exalted right hand. Even when You have severely chastened us, it has been to deliver us from death so that we may live and declare Your works. So, grant unto us the ministry of Your Spirit, that He would apply Christ to us, and give us to declare Your works in praise, we ask in His Name, AMEN!

 Suggested songs: ARP118C “Loud Shouts of Joy” or TPH118A “O Thank the LORD for All His Goodness” 

Ordained Servants in Service of Worship [2024.04.21 Evening Sermon in Numbers 8:5–26]

In Christ, our High Priest, all of His saints are designated by God for service as living sacrifices.

(click here to DOWNLOAD video/mp3/pdf files of this sermon)

How to Grow in Holiness [2024.04.21 Morning Sermon in Matthew 7:7–12]

Progress in holiness comes through fellowship with Father, Who even uses us in our brothers' lives.

(click here to DOWNLOAD video/mp3/pdf files of this sermon)

Resistance to Tyranny (6): A Case Study [2024.04.21 Sabbath School Lesson]

Gun confiscation as a case study in resisting tyrants.(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

Redemption Applied by God [Westminster Shorter Catechism 29—Theology Simply Explained]

Pastor walks his children through Westminster Shorter Catechism question 29—especially explaining how just as God has accomplished our redemption in Christ, so also it is God Who applies to us our redemption by His Spirit.

Q29. How are we made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ? We are made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ, by the effectual application of it to us by His Holy Spirit.(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

A Day for Worship [Children's Catechism 90—Theology Simply Explained]

Pastor walks his children through Children’s Catechism question 90—especially explaining how the whole Lord’s Day is to be spent in the acts of God’s worship.

Q90. How should the Sabbath be spent? In prayer and praise, in hearing and reading God's Word, and in doing good to our fellow men.(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

Wake Up! And Get Dressed! [Family Worship lesson in Romans 13:11–14]

How can Christians shake off complacency in their lives? Romans 13:11–14 prepares us for the sermon in the midweek prayer meeting. In these four verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that Christians combat complacency by consideration of what has begun in them, and Who He is that is doing it. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

2024.04.22 Hopewell @Home ▫ Romans 13:11–14

Read Romans 13:11–14

Questions from the Scripture text: What do we know (Romans 13:11)? What do we know that it’s time to do? What is nearer? Than it was when? What is far spent (Romans 13:12)? What is at hand? What should we cast off? Who includes himself in this? What should we put on? Who includes himself in this? How should we walk (Romans 13:13)? As at what time? In what six ways should we not walk? What (Whom!) must we put on in order to do this (Romans 13:14)? For what must we make no provision?

How can a Christian shake off complacency in his life? Romans 13:11–14 prepares us for the sermon in the midweek prayer meeting. In these four verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that Christians combat complacency by consideration of what has begun in them, and Who He is that is doing it. 

You know the time; it’s time to get out of bed (Romans 13:11a)! The apostle has described Christian living as love unto God, brother, and neighbor. The apostle has described Christian living as, therefore, fulfilling one’s role as a gift in the church and in the several relations into which God has placed us in this world. The apostle has described Christian living as keeping the commandments of the law. 

And now the apostle describes Christian living as waking up. The imagery is borrowed from Isaiah 60:1–3, which follows the “Awake, awake!” of Isaiah 51:17, Isaiah 52:1, which we have studied together recently. But the idea is that when we first believed (Romans 13:11b), the first rays of the light of God’s glory in Christ shone upon us. The dawn of heaven broke upon us. We began seeing His light, and we began our progress toward the promise of what we would be when the full sun shines. The fullness of our salvation hastens toward us; our salvation is nearer than when we first believed—and nearer, ever nearer, still.

The Christian who is not living as a living sacrifice to God, as a gift to his congregation, and as a beacon of good to his neighbors (even enemies and magistrates), is like that lazy person who knows that it’s time to get up, but wants to keep on going as if it is still nighttime. But the night is far spent (Romans 13:12a). It’s time to get up. Our clothes are laid out for us—“the armor of light” (verse 12b). We have all of the wonderful truth, from the first 11 chapters, about righteousness through faith, and peace with God, that assures us of the completion of salvation (cf. Ephesians 6:13–17). There can be no more beautiful or functional attire than that which the Lord has provided for us. Shall we not put it on? Does it not coax us from our slumber? The strengthening brightness of the new day matches perfectly the clothing that God has provided for us.

So, the apostle urges us to wake up and walk: “let us walk properly as in the day.” Hopefully, you are not so wicked, dear reader, as to devote your life to partying, drunkenness, unfettered immorality, and extreme immorality. Those first four items in the list in Romans 13:13 inform the last two. Strife and envy among believers is so offensive to God that He puts it in such a list as this! Indeed, there is no neutrality. There is only the binary option of that which is from Christ and that which is from the flesh. Lazy living, defaulting to what comes easily from your former nature, comes from the same place as all of those other horrible things. So, have done with all of it! 

Especially since we have been given such a glorious alternative: put on the Lord Jesus Christ. The glory of our clothing from Romans 13:12 becomes even more clear when it is described in personal terms in Romans 13:14. We do not merely put on truths or doctrines in the Christian life; we put on a Person. We embrace our shared life with the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our clothing not only in our justification, where He is our worthiness before God, but also in our sanctification, where a joint life with Him is what produces our ever-brightening character and conduct. How can we, upon whom such a day has dawned—we who belong to the light of the next world—continue living in the darkness that belongs to this world? He Who has begun this good work (Who has made His dawn to break upon us!), will bring it to completion in the day of Christ Jesus (when that sun will shine in full strength!). Wake up!

In what ways has your own living as a sacrifice unto the Lord been a reflection of the heavenly life which has begun in you in Jesus? In what ways has your own living as a gift unto your congregation been a reflection of the heavenly life which has begun in you in Jesus? In what ways has your own living as a beacon unto your neighbor been a reflection of the heavenly life which has begun in you in Jesus? By what means has the Lord given us to see the light of His glory? By what means has the Lord given us to put on the Lord Jesus Christ? What use are you making of these means?

Sample prayer:  Lord, thank You for saving us out of our darkness and death, and into Your light and life. Truly, by bringing us to faith in Christ, You have made the light of the knowledge of Your glory to begin to shine in our hearts in the face of Jesus Christ. Now grant that Your Spirit would make our conduct, also, to shine more and more brightly by dressing our lives in His light and His life, we ask through Him, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP104A  “My Soul, Bless the LORD!” or TPH540 “Soldiers of Christ, Arise”

2024.04.21 Lord's Day Live Streams (live at 10:10a, 11a, 3p)

Click below for the:

April 21 Lord's Day Worship Booklet

Matthew 7:7–12 Sermon Outline

p.m. Song Selections & Numbers 8:5–26 Sermon

We urge you to assemble physically, if possible, with a true congregation of Christ's church. For those of our own congregation who may be providentially hindered, we are grateful to be able to provide this service.

Each week we LIVESTREAM the Lord's Day (Sabbath School, Morning Public Worship, and p.m. Singing and Sermon) and Midweek Meeting (sermon and prayer). For notifications when Hopewell is streaming live, install the CHURCHONE APP on your [Apple], [Android], or [Kindle] device, and enter hopewellarp for your broadcaster

Doing Unto Others as Father Teaches Us to Desire Done to Us [2024.04.20 Pastoral Letter and Hopewell Herald]

Hopewell Herald – April 20, 2024

Dear Congregation,

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” is known and quoted by many who don’t even profess to be Christians.

In tomorrow’s morning sermon text, we find that it comes in the context of learning from our good and wise Father that holiness is what we most need from Him, and that He even uses our brothers and sisters in Christ in His loving, sanctifying work.

In this context, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” means, among other things: go to church! Do not neglect the assembling of yourselves together. Stir one another up unto love and good deeds.

Get as much earthly duty out of the way as you can, so that there will be as little “deeds of necessity” as possible on the Lord’s Day.

Prepare your heart and mind for the worship of God by coming clean with Him and laying hold of Christ as your sin offering.

Plan the morning in such a way as to prepare heart and mind for the public worship of God.

As we approach the service, and especially in secret prayer just before it begins, lay hold of Christ as your Ascension, and bring Him in your faith-hand as your Tribute, enjoying your and Father’s shared delight in Him as your Fellowship.

In the assembly, be attentive and soft-hearted to the Word as it is read and preached, with Jesus as our Prophet, Who declares God’s Name to us as His brethren (cf. Heb 2:12). At the conclusions of readings and sermons, voice a heart-felt “Amen!”

Join with all your heart, as we are led in prayer that is formed from the Word, with Jesus being our truster-in-chief as High Priest of our prayers (cf. Heb 2:13). And let this conclude in a heart-felt “Amen!” when each prayer is completed.

Sing with all your heart, as Jesus sings His Father’s praise through us in the midst of the assembly (cf. Heb 2:12). Give a heart-felt “Amen!” whenever we have sung God’s Word together.

As Father nourishes us richly upon His Son, joyously come to Christ’s table, eager for one another’s partaking as well (cf. Heb 13:8–16; 1Co 11:33; Rom 15:5–7), under the ministry of the elders (cf. Heb 13:7, 17).

In love and wisdom, the Father has filled His public worship with those means of His sanctifying grace, as we come through the Son, in dependence upon the work of the Spirit. This is what we would have Him do unto us. From Him we learn that this is in which we would have others participate, as they do unto us. This is what we ought to do unto each other.

Looking forward to our loving one another like Father does,

Pastor

Holiness as a Gift from Father [Family Worship lesson in Matthew 7:7–12]

What is progressing in holiness like? Matthew 7:7–12 prepares us for the morning sermon on the Lord’s Day. In these six verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that progressing in holiness comes through fellowship with a good Father, Who even uses us in our brothers’ lives.(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

2024.04.20 Hopewell @Home ▫ Matthew 7:7–12

Read Matthew 7:7–12

Questions from the Scripture text: What is the first command in Matthew 7:7? What will happen if you do so? What is the second? What will happen? What is the third command? What will happen? How many who do these things will have these outcomes (Matthew 7:8)? What scenario does Matthew 7:9 ask about? About what sort of response, from the father in question, does it ask? What is the implied answer to this rhetorical question? What other scenario does Matthew 7:10 ask about? What response? What implied answer? What does Matthew 7:11 say about Jesus’s disciples? But what do they still know how to give? To whom? To Whom does the verse compare them? Where is He? What will He give? To whom? How does the beginning of Matthew 7:12 connect it to the previous verse? How much of their desires should they act upon? Which desires? What are they to do with all that they desire to be done t them? What does this fulfill? What do the law and prophets tell us about God’s intentions? What do the law and prophets tell us about God’s requirements? 

What is progressing in holiness like? Matthew 7:7–12 prepares us for the morning sermon on the Lord’s Day. In these six verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that progressing in holiness comes through fellowship with a good Father, Who even uses us in our brothers’ lives.

Two great errors that Matthew 7:1-6 corrected are judgmentalism (Matthew 7:1) but also failing to value sanctification for ourselves and others (Matthew 7:5-6). But it is hard on us to know both that we are not holy and that holiness is priceless. If we are examining ourselves (cf. Galatians 6:4), and aiming at sowing to the Spirit rather than the flesh (cf. Galatians 6:8), we may grow weary (cf. Galatians 6:9a). The Lord Jesus now teaches us about not losing heart (cf. Galatians 6: 9b) and serving one another in the same vein (cf. Galatians 6:10). Growing in sanctification, growing in grace, must be marked by:

Neediness. The asker knows that he needs something. The seeker knows that he is missing something. The knocker knows that he is on the outside of something. The judgmental person feels (wrongly) that he has arrived. The believer’s view of himself is marked by poverty, mourning, lowliness, hunger (cf. Matthew 5:3–6).

Dependence. In our foolish inconsistency, we often respond to our neediness by trusting in how sincerely we wish to change, or how hard we intend to try. But asking, seeking, and knocking from Father is exactly opposite that. Growth in holiness is obtained primarily by prayer. Even the use of all other means (Ephesians 6:14–17) is joined to prayer (Ephesians 6:18), because they are the Lord’s means, and we are looking to Him to give the increase. Although, in our sanctification, we are instructed to work, the holiness comes not by achievement but by God’s loving gift.

Persistence. “Ask… seek… knock…” are imperatives in a tense that communicates an ongoing command. They are not something that are done once and disposed of. Asking, seeking, and knocking is always the way of life, the way forward, for the believer.

Confidence. Prayer doesn’t just ask and seek; it obtains and finds (cf. Hebrews 4:16). Each who asks receives, seeks finds, and knocks gains entry (Matthew 7:8). Why? Because of Whom it is that we are asking: our Father Who is in heaven (Matthew 7:11). Just as He sustains food to the birds and beauty to the flowers, He sustains even to the wicked world a sense of responsibility for their children. If He had not extended common grace so that fallen man gives his children bread and fish instead of stones and serpents, humanity would soon have perished altogether. And as the very one who grieves over his remaining sin still provides for his dear children, he must conclude that his heavenly Father will most assuredly give him every good thing.

Affection. Partially sanctified men, and even unregenerate men, feel not only a responsibility to their children but natural affection. By extending this to us in both common grace and special grace, God gives us an inkling of His Fatherly affection toward us. Coming to Him as dearly loved children brings forth from our own hearts a reciprocal affection.

Submission. Treating God as Father means more than just knowing His love. It also means trusting His wisdom. We trust His wisdom about what to ask for (cf. Matthew 6:8–13), and we trust His wisdom in how He answers. The law and the prophets teach us both what our Father has intended toward us and what our Father requires of us.

Imitation. Having learned from Father what to desire from Him, we understand what to desire from other men. We become grateful for assistance with the planks in our eyes. The “therefore” in Matthew 7:12 shows us that, in this context, the so-called “golden rule” is specifically about loving our neighbor with evangelism and loving our brother by fellowship in one another’s sanctification. We learn from the goodness of Father both the goodness that we should desire for ourselves and the goodness that we should desire to show to others. 

Behold how good and wise Father is! He has made fellowship with Him the necessary heart of the pursuit of holiness; thus He has infused our lives with much sweetness as we pursue that holiness. Let us learn from Him what is best, and imitate His goodness with others. 

What place does sanctification have in your prayer life? What place does prayer have in what else you are doing for sanctification? How does the biblical way of sanctification force you into the sweetness of interaction with your heavenly Father? How does knowing and desiring such sweetness for yourself shape how you interact with your brothers?

Sample prayer:  Father in heaven, we feel our great neediness! Thank You for also making us to know Your grace and the sweetness of coming to You for that grace, and depending upon You for that grace. You know how to give good things to those who ask You. Help us to aim at the same good in loving our brethren, we ask through Christ, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP51B “From My Sins, O Hide Your Face” or TPH518 “Come, My Soul, with Every Care”

Ordained to Logistical Service in Support of Worship [Family Worship lesson in Numbers 8:5–26]

What are we to see in the ordination and work of the Levites? Numbers 8:5–26 prepares us for the evening sermon on the Lord’s Day. In these twenty-two verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that in Christ, our High Priest, all of His saints are designated by God for priestly service as living sacrifices.(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

2024.04.19 Hopewell @Home ▫ Numbers 8:5–26

Read Numbers 8:5–26

Questions from the Scripture text:  Who spoke to whom in Numbers 8:5? To whom was Moses to do what (Numbers 8:6)? By what three steps (Numbers 8:7)? Then what are they to bring (Numbers 8:8) where (Numbers 8:9)? Whom are they to gather with them (Numbers 8:9-10)? What are the children of Israel to do (Numbers 8:10)? Then who is to do what in Numbers 8:11? After themselves being presented as an offering, what are the Levites to do (Numbers 8:12)? What do they do again in Numbers 8:13? From whom does this separate the Levites (Numbers 8:14)? Unto Whom? What can the Levites then do (Numbers 8:15)? What two things are repeated a third time to conclude this section? Of what do Numbers 8:16-18 remind us (cf. Numbers 3:12–13, Numbers 3:45)? Of what does Numbers 8:19 remind us (cf. Numbers 3:9)? What three purposes does Numbers 8:19 add? How do the various people and groups respond to YHWH’s command (Numbers 8:20)? How does Numbers 8:21 summarize the preparation? What followed (Numbers 8:22)? Who speaks to whom in Numbers 8:23? About whom (Numbers 8:24)? At what age do they enter into the service of the tabernacle? At what age do they stop supporting the worship (Numbers 8:25)? What may they continue to do (Numbers 8:26)? What mustn’t they continue to do?

What are we to see in the ordination and work of the Levites? Numbers 8:5–26 prepares us for the evening sermon on the Lord’s Day. In these twenty-two verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that in Christ, our High Priest, all of His saints are designated by God for priestly service as living sacrifices.

Preparation: cleansing and presentation—cleansing, ordination, separation (Numbers 8:5-15). First things first. Before even speaking of the purposes of their service (Numbers 8:19), the Lord directs how the Levites are to be prepared properly for that service. There is the cleansing (sprinkling, shaving, laundry) of Numbers 8:7—anticipating when Jesus is baptized upon His entrance into His earthly ministry. Then there is the ascension bull with its tribute, together with the sin-offering bull, in Numbers 8:8. 

But before the atonement part of this cleansing can be completed, the Levites are ordained. The same leaning/resting that they are going to enact upon the animals in Numbers 8:12, the children of Israel enact upon the Levites in Numbers 8:10. 

Throughout their service, and their whole life, a Levite would remember when an Israelite household came and leaned upon them in the place of their head of household. The very memory of the pressure would recall them to the significance of their calling and the fact that the Lord Himself is the One Who designated them for their ministry. This procedure would continue in ordination to church office in the Christian church (cf. Acts 6:6; 1 Timothy 4:14, 1 Timothy 5:22). 

With the cleansing and ordination (laying on of hands) completed, the Levites are presented as a wave offering. This is important enough to be mentioned before (Numbers 8:11), during (Numbers 8:13), and after (Numbers 8:15) the actual standing-presentation of them. The significance is that they are separate. They are separated from among the children of Israel (Numbers 8:14a). More emphatically, they are separated unto YHWH Himself (verse 14b).

We must be cleansed in Christ, and atoned for by Christ as our substitute, before we can enter into service. All of us are baptized into Christ and serve under His high priesthood. Just as the Levites were presented as living sacrifices, every Christian is called to live that way (cf. Romans 12:1). And especially those who are called to office in the church ought to remember both the necessity of their cleansing in Christ as a prerequisite to their call and the weightiness of being designated for that call by God Himself.

Purpose: substitution, work, plague prevention (Numbers 8:16-22). As we learned back in Numbers 3:12–13, the Levites were substitutes in the place of Israel as a whole—sanctified unto God against the backdrop of the plague of the firstborn (Numbers 8:16-18). Here, they are saving Israel from a different sort of plague. They are a “gift to Aaron and his sons” (Numbers 8:19), because the priesthood must administer Israel’s coming near to the holiness of God. (“sanctuary,” verse 19). 

This is a weighty assignment indeed, because by those who come near, YHWH must be regarded as holy (cf. Leviticus 10:3), and it is especially Aaron and his sons who distinguish the holy and the unholy, and between the clean and the unclean (cf. Leviticus 10:10).  When Nadab and Abihu added in the slightest to what God had commanded, they were incinerated with miraculous fire (cf. Leviticus 10:1–2). 

So the priests have their hands full administering the drawing near itself. But there’s so much demanding logistical work to support the tabernacle service. This is the work for which the Lord gives the rest of the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons. The word translated “work” in Numbers 8:19 (and Numbers 8:22, Numbers 8:24, Numbers 8:26) is actually the word for “service,” which can mean other types of service, but most often means “worship” and is usually the original language word behind “worship” in our English Old Testaments. The Levitical labor in earthly things is very much in service of the worship that is conducted for Israel by Aaron and his sons. 

This is similar to the purpose of the diaconate and the eldership in the New Testament. The difference there is that the Great High Priesthood of Jesus has ushered in the priesthood of all believers. So every believer now comes into the holy of holies; Christ’s spiritual-worship-officers (elders) oversee this worship, especially by prayer leadership and the ministry of the Word (cf. Acts 6:4). Similarly, every believer has a duty to serve the Lord as they can in His church’s earthly maintenance and earthly mercies. The deacons are set over all of that business (cf. Acts 6:3) as a gift to the apostles (and, later, the elders) in much the same way that the Levites are a  gift to the priests in Numbers 8. What a blessing YHWH’s command was for the priests, and what a blessing was the people’s and Levites’ obedience (Numbers 8:20-22).

Prime: service done in the prime of life (Numbers 8:23-26). Finally, Numbers 8:23-26 indicate to us the mental and physical strenuousness of the work. They had to be 30 years old to participate in transport or setup/takedown (cf. Numbers 4:3, Numbers 4:23, Numbers 4:30, Numbers 4:35). But at the age of 25 they were strong enough and wise enough to enter into the regular service (Numbers 8:24). Then, at the age of 50, they were forced into a semi-retirement (Numbers 8:25) in which they could do other things to help keep what God had commanded, but they would no longer provide labor for the actual worship acts administered by the priests.  

There are important principles here. We see the duty to train in anticipation of serving the Lord. We see the wisdom of waiting patiently to ordain or be ordained (cf. 1 Timothy 3:10, 1 Timothy 5:22). We see how important it is to give the Lord’s service the prime of our life, the years of sharpest mind and strongest body. We see that those whose abilities for particular tasks have diminished should find less taxing ways to serve and make room for the next ones that the Lord has raised up. 

Most importantly, this entire ordination teaches us important things to appreciate about Christ’s ministry. He properly prepared for it, was called to it, and consecrated Himself for it. He was all of the offerings, all at once, that atoned for us and brought us near. He gave Himself up in the prime of earthly life and even now in glorious, eternal prime, He always lives to intercede. Hallelujah!

What service would lie ahead of you in this life, in God’s ordinary providence? How are you training for it now? How can one be cleansed and atoned for, for the service of the Lord? How have you availed yourself of this cleansing? How do you continue to lay hold of it before the Lord? In what season of life are you right now (pre 25, prime years, or post 50)? How are you applying the lessons of this chapter to that? What implications does the priesthood of all believers have for your duty to serve the church in earthly maintenance and earthly mercy? What officers has Christ given you to oversee that service?

Sample prayer:  Lord, thank You for giving to us Christ as our Great High Priest, and giving a priesthood, under Him, to every member of His church. Cleanse us and atone for us by Him, and give us to train and to serve in a manner appropriate to every season of our life. Grant that the proper earthly maintenance of Your church would result in blessed worship that draws near to You in the way that You Yourself define as properly hallowing You. And grant all of this, we ask, in Jesus’s Name, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP15 “Within Your Tent, Who Will Reside” or TPH404 “The Church’s One Foundation” 

Trinitarian, Sanctifying Grace [Family Worship lesson in 1John 2:28–3:3]

What do God's children do? 1John 2:28–3:3 prepares us for the second serial reading in public worship on the Lord's Day. In these five verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that God's children abide in Christ and purify themselves as He is pure.(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

2024.04.18 Hopewell @Home ▫ 1 John 2:28–3:3

Read 1 John 2:28–3:3

Questions from the Scripture text: What does the apostle call them (again) in 1 John 2:28? What does he tell them to do? How does this relate to their anointing from Christ (cf. 1 John 2:27)? What is He going to do? What will those who are abiding in Him have, when He appears? What won’t they be? Before Whom? At what time? What do they know about Him (1 John 2:29)? What is His righteousness the only explanation for? How do those who practice righteousness come to do so? With what command does 1 John 3:1 begin? What are they to behold about God’s love? What does he call God, as a clue to what sort of love this is? With what verb does he describe the extension of this love from the Father to them? What does this love bring about—what does the bestowing of Fatherly love cause them to be called? Who do not know/acknowledge/understand them? Whom else does the world not know/acknowledge/understand? Now what does the apostle call them in 1 John 3:2? How does their name relate to their current status? What aspect of their adoption has not yet been appeared (cf. Romans 8:23)? But what do we know about that aspect at the time of His appearing? What will we be like? In order to do what? Again, in 1 John 3:3, what do all children/beloved already have? In Whom? What does each of them do to Himself? According to what standard?

What do God’s children do? 1 John 2:28–3:3 prepares us for the second serial reading in public worship on the Lord’s Day. In these five verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that God’s children abide in Christ and purify themselves as He is pure.

There are two great commands here that produce the same result in the life of the believer. The commands are with respect to the Son and the Father, and each is sustained by a special work of the Holy Spirit. 

Abide in the Son, 1 John 2:28-29. It is from out of the Son that we were born (end of 1 John 2:29), which is the only way that someone comes to practice (more literally, “work”) righteousness. We were originally born out of our first father, Adam, so we do not begin as those who work righteousness. But we know that Christ is righteous (verse 29a). Everyone who works righteousness has a new birth from Christ and in Christ. There is no other way that this happens, and no other working is “righteous.” 

Those who have had this beginning of being born of Christ will have the sweet ending, at His coming, of not being ashamed before Him (1 John 2:28). How extraordinary! It is one thing to be in a condition in which you will not be ashamed before men. But what is it to be in a condition in which we will not be ashamed before the glorified Jesus?! The only way that this can happen is to “abide in Him.” And we know from 1 John 2:27 how that happens. The anointing that we have received from Christ (His Holy Spirit) abides in us, teaches us, and makes us to abide in Him (cf. verse 27). 

Behold the love of the Father, 1 John 3:1. More precisely than to behold the love itself, the command is to behold what sort of love it is. So, 1 John 3:1 is commanding not merely consideration but wonder. What sort of love is it?

• It is divine love—love that issues from the goodness of God and the fellowship of the Godhead.
• It is Fatherly love, the love of “the Father”—love that is from everlasting, with the divine Father as its fountain and the divine Son as its object; we have been brought into that love (cf. Ephesians 1:4–6).
• It is adopting love. It causes us to be called the children of God.
• It is gifted love—“bestowed,” not earned.
• It is consoling love. 

When the world refuses to acknowledge us and denounces us, it is a reminder tat this is a consequence of having been brought into the family whose Head receives the same from them (end of 1 John 3:1). What sort of love is this? Behold what sort of love! As the Spirit makes us to cry “Abba, Father,” (cf. Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6), He is pouring out this sort of love in our hearts (cf. Romans 5:5). 

Therefore, purify yourself, 1 John 3:2-3. Both instances of “revealed” in 1 John 3:2 are the same as “appears” in 1 John 2:28. Jesus will soon appear (verse 28). Only then will the full consequences of our adoption also appear (1 John 3:2b, cf. Romans 8:23). We already have status as children (1 John 3:2a), and we already have the hope (1 John 3:3, biblical/NT hope, i.e., “sure certainty”) that when He appears we shall be like Him and see Him as He is (end of 1 John 3:2). But we do not yet have the hoped-for things: glorified body and purified soul. 

So, the hope makes a difference. We are unable to “work on” a glorified body, but sanctification is for keeps. And those who live out of this hope purify themselves as He is pure. This cuts two ways. First, He is the standard of our purification. His own purity gives purity its definition and extent. Second, His purity is the outcome of our purification. We labor as those who are sure to arrive at the goal —who are sure not to be ashamed, even before Him and even at His (glorious!) coming. Both the abiding in the Son that the Spirit teaches, and the love of Father that the Spirit pours out in our hearts, have this great effect: they drive us to purify ourselves. They compel sanctification!

By what means do you abide in Christ? How is “making your home in Christ” your goal as you attend upon those means? Who tells you to do this and gives to you to do this? With what sort of love has the Father loved you? What does this guarantee about your end? What does this hope drive you to do?

Sample prayer:  Lord, if we were to stand before You in ourselves, or in our present condition, we would surely be ashamed. Forgive us, and cleanse us of our remaining sin, so that we will not be ashamed. Forgive us for how forgetful we are of abiding in You, and grant that we would rest in You and flourish spiritually. Forgive us for being too unimpressed with the greatness of the Father’s love for us. And forgive us for desiring to be acknowledged by the world. Forgive us for not keeping our eyes upon the purifying that is necessary in order to see You as You are. And grant that we would have this hope and live in this hope, we ask through Christ, AMEN!

 Suggested songs: ARP118A “Because He’s Good, O Thank the LORD” or TPH461 “Blessed Are the Sons of God”