Close Communion: the Lord's Supper as a Covenant Meal for Covenant Members [2022.10.02 Sabbath School special class]

Four Biblical principles for church-member-only communion. Three options. Hopewell's practice.(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

Jesus Christ the Only (and Infinite!) Righteousness that Sinners Can Have [Family Worship lesson in Romans 3:21–22]

If even the works of the law can’t justify us, how can we be righteous before God? Romans 3:21–22 looks forward to the sermon in the midweek prayer meeting. In these two verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that in Jesus Christ, God has offered His own righteousness to sinners.(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

2022.10.03 Hopewell @Home ▫ Romans 3:21–22

Romans 3:21–22

Questions from the Scripture text: What is revealed in Romans 3:21? Whose righteousness? Apart from what? Who/what had testified to this righteousness? What does Romans 3:22 begin by restating as its theme? Through what is this righteousness obtained? What (Who!) is the object of this faith? Unto whom is this righteousness? Upon whom is this righteousness? Unto/upon how many of them? How does the end of verse 22 support  that it is all of them (only them) who are counted righteous in this way? 

If even the works of the law can’t justify us, how can we be righteous before God? Romans 3:21–22 looks forward to the sermon in the midweek prayer meeting. In these two verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that in Jesus Christ, God has offered His own righteousness to sinners.

Righteousness of God, Romans 3:21. If by the deeds of the law we cannot be justified, then what righteousness can a man have as his standing before God? Verse 21 answers that God gives His own righteousness! This is that greatness of the gospel since back in Romans 1:16–17. We have no power to save, but the gospel is God’s power to save. We have no righteousness, but in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed.

Righteousness apart from the law, Romans 3:21. This righteousness does NOT come from our having the law, hearing the law, believing the law, or doing the law. The law and prophets tell us about the righteousness that we may have. But the law cannot be the way that get that righteousness.

Righteousness through faith of Jesus Christ, Romans 3:22. This righteousness comes by believing in Jesus Christ. There’s no preposition here, and it can be read as well as “through the faith of Jesus Christ.” What saves is not our believing but the Christ in Whom we believe. It is even His own faith that is the only worthy faith (cf. Hebrews 2:13). And He is the only worthiness that we or our faith can have. 

Righteousness into and upon, Romans 3:22. The first preposition sounds like “unto” in many English translations but actually means “into” in the original. The credit of Christ’s righteousness becomes as much ours as if it came from within us. And lest we think that this is “infused” righteousness instead of “imputed” righteousness, the Spirit adds that the righteousness is “upon” us. God bestows His righteousness upon the believer as a gift.

Righteousness for all who believe, Romans 3:22. This phrase teaches mechanism. All who believe in Jesus Christ receive Jesus Himself and are credited with all of His own righteousness. This is why all who believe in Jesus are justified. Their faith may be weak; their faith may be strong. But they have the same Jesus!

What righteousness can you have? How can’t you get it? Whose is it? How can it come to be yours?

Sample prayer:  Lord, even from Your holy and righteous and good commandments, we could not obtain righteousness. But, in the gospel You have revealed Your righteousness for all who believe! Grant that by Your power, we would have Your salvation, by Your righteousness, in Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP32AB “What Blessedness” or TPH435 “Not What My Hands Have Done”

Theology Simply Explained — WSC55 What the Third Commandment Forbids

Pastor walks his children through Westminster Shorter Catechism question 55: What is forbidden in the third commandment? The third commandment forbiddeth all profaning or abusing of anything whereby God maketh Himself known.(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

A Model of Prayer, Humility, and Fasting [2022.09.30 Special sermon for Tennessee Day of Prayer, Humility, and Fasting]

The Scriptural model for "prayer, humility, and fasting" is something that is forged by a lifetime of devotion to God in the means of grace. Though there is no shortcut to reproducing it, we can observe that such men pray biblically, intentionally, worshipfully, humbly, and believingly.

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

2022.10.01 Hopewell @Home ▫ Acts 13:49–14:7

Read Acts 13:49–14:7

Questions from the Scripture text: What was spreading where (Acts 13:49)? Who stirred up opposition (Acts 13:50)? Especially among which two groups? What did they raise up against whom? What did they succeed in doing? But what does the apostolic team do (Acts 13:51, cf. Matthew 10:14; Mark 6:11; Luke 9:5)? To where do they come? Despite this persecution, and the loss of their preachers, with what are the disciples filled (Acts 13:52)? And/by with Whom? Where do they go in Acts 14:1? What is the mechanism that produces the result there? What is that result? Who stir up whom in Acts 14:2? And what do they do to their minds? With what word does Acts 14:3 start? What is the first part of the apostolic response? What do they do there for a long time? What was the Lord doing? How did He bear this witness? Into what two groups was the entire city’s population divided (Acts 14:4)? Which party conspired to do what in Acts 14:5? Who learn of it in Acts 14:6? What do they now do? To what two cities in what area? What were they doing there (Acts 14:7)?  

How do Christ’s servants respond to opposition? Acts 13:49–14:7 looks forward to the morning sermon on the coming Lord’s Day. In these eleven verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that through whatever opposition they experience on earth, Christ’s servants serve Him in dependence upon Him. 

The persecution they experienced. Spiritual success looks like the Word of the Lord spreading (Acts 13:49), the disciples of the Lord being full of joy and the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:52), and great multitudes believing (Acts 14:1). What it doesn’t necessarily look like is the absence of opposition. In the midst of this success, first at Antioch Pisidia, and then at Iconium, they received stiff opposition.

In both cases, gossip was a cornerstone of opposition to the gospel. The Jews in Antioch Pisidia knew whom to target: worshiping and prominent women, and then politicians. These groups presented the advantage of being easily stirred up and wielding a disproportionate influence. The city isn’t wise enough to see through it, and they succeed in raising up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, getting them expelled from the region (Acts 13:50). In Iconium, it’s unbelieving Jews poisoning the minds of the general Gentile population (Acts 14:2), and eventually getting a coalition together with violent and murderous intentions (Acts 14:5).

The ways that they responded. When they could no longer stay in Antioch Pisidia, Paul and Barnabas shake the dust off their feet against them. What is the point of this? God is the intended audience of this act; He will act upon this in the day of judgment (cf. Matthew 10:14–15). But He also acts upon it by blessing their labors even in their absence (Acts 13:52). Christ’s servants must remember that He is their primary audience.

Wherever they go, they stay on mission. Acts 14:1 notes something that we could easily miss. In our translation, it is found it that little word “so.” They so spoke that a great multitude believed. God’s appointed mechanism for working faith in a great multitude was not just preaching but a particular manner of preaching. We have seen that manner in the great sermon in Acts 13:13–41, and it is summarized in Acts 14:3 as “speaking boldly in the Lord.” Their recent experiences and stiff opposition did not cause them to tone down their ministry but to persist in it. When they end up in Lystra and Derbe they do the same (Acts 14:7).

They know the difference between discouragement and danger. Whereas opposition is a cause for them to reaffirm their commitment in Acts 14:3, actual threat on their life is cause for them to move on to the next ministry in Acts 14:6.

The way that Christ responded. There is much here about how His enemies resisted, and how His servants responded, but the main Character isn’t actually in any of the cities but sitting on the throne of heaven. It is His Word that spreads (Acts 13:49). It is His Spirit Who fills the disciples (Acts 13:52). It is He Himself Who bears the witness in Acts 14:3. It is to the Word of His grace to which He bears that witness. It is He Who grants gifts of signs and wonders done by their hands as that witness. Surely, this not only confirmed their message to their hearers but encouraged them in their preaching that the Lord Himself was with them.

What are some signs of a faithful and fruitful gospel ministry among us? What sorts of opposition might we expect from within the church? From the world? How should we pray and hope that we, and especially Christ’s ordained servants will respond? How should we pray that Christ will respond?

Sample prayer:  Lord, grant to us that many would believe and be full of joy and of Your Spirit. Grant that Your servants would speak in such a way that a multitude would believe. Forgive us for when we are fearful, anxious, discouraged, or intimidated by the gossip and opposition of those who reject the bold preaching of Your Word. Give us wisdom to see the difference between resistance and threat, and keep us faithful until our work in this world is done, we ask, in Jesus’s Name, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP2 “Why Do Gentile Nations Rage?” or TPH2B “Why Do Heathen Nations Rage?”

Yahweh Teaches Israel—and Us!—to Walk with Jesus [Family Worship lesson in Exodus 23:20–33]

What will the covenant relationship between Yahweh and this new church-nation be like? Exodus 23:20–33 looks forward to the evening sermon on the coming Lord’s Day. In these fourteen verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that God Himself will lead them, God Himself well bless them, and God Himself will establish them.(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

Shutting Our Mouths to Drive Us to Christ Alone: the Law's Role in Our Justification [2022.09.28 Midweek sermon in Romans 3:19–20]

The law's role in our justification is to close our mouths, judge us before God, and convince us of sin.

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

2022.09.30 Hopewell @Home ▫ Exodus 23:20–33

Read Exodus 23:20–33

Questions from the Scripture text: Whom would God send where (Exodus 23:20)? To do what two things? What two things were they to do with Him (Exodus 23:21)? What were they not to do? Why, what wouldn’t He do? What would be in Him? In what things were they to obey His voice (Exodus 23:22)? If Israel did, what would God do to whom? What six enemies does He specifically mention doing this to in Exodus 23:23? What will He do (end of verse 23)? What three things mustn’t Israel do like them (Exodus 23:24)? What two things must they do to them? What must they do to Yahweh (Exodus 23:25)? Who is Yahweh to them? What five things will He do for them as their God (Exodus 23:25-26)? What else will God send before them (Exodus 23:27)? What two things will this do to their enemies? What else will He send (Exodus 23:28)? What three peoples does He say they will drive out? How long will this take, and why (Exodus 23:29-30)? Where will their borders be (Exodus 23:31)? What aren’t they do with whom (Exodus 23:32)? What aren’t they to let them do (Exodus 23:33)? Why not? If they are permitted to remain, what will the result be?

What will the covenant relationship between Yahweh and this new church-nation be like? Exodus 23:20–33 looks forward to the evening sermon on the coming Lord’s Day. In these fourteen verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that God Himself will lead them, God Himself will bless them, and God Himself will establish them.

God Himself will lead them, Exodus 23:20-24. The Angel that goes before them is not something new. We have already read about Yahweh going before them in Exodus 13:21, specifically as this Angel in Exodus 14:19, as Whom Yahweh first appeared as flame in Exodus 3:2. On this side of the incarnation, it is much easier for us to understand that this Angel (Messenger/Herald) is a Christophany, a theophany of the second person of the Trinity. 

But even here, we see that He has all authority and power, and even the identity of God Himself in Him (Exodus 23:21). This of course is bad news for their enemies, but if they do not obey Him it will be equally bad news for them. Our God is still a consuming fire, and it is not safe to rebel against Him or take Him lightly.

God Himself will bless them, Exodus 23:25-26. In their covenant with Yahweh, the Creator and Sustainer of all things, every detail of life will come not as chance but as covenant blessing. Every detail will be personal, covenantal benefit. Bread. Water. Health. Fertility. Length of life. These will be tokens of His favor. Similarly for believers, every little blessing in life comes in the love that gave us Christ and is to be received that way (cf. Romans 8:32). Every good gift and every perfect gift comes from a Father Whose light smiles upon us with unrelenting intensity (cf. James 1:17).

God Himself will establish them, Exodus 23:27-32. God is in complete control here. Although they are expected to express their fidelity by destroying and shattering all vestiges of the religions of the people of the land (Exodus 23:24), the Lord Himself will do much of the dispossessing of the land. He is sovereign over men’s hearts (Exodus 23:27) and many hornets (Exodus 23:28)—even to the point of controlling the pace at which they are driven out (Exodus 23:29-30). 

The fidelity to Yahweh commanded in the shattering of all idol paraphernalia in Exodus 23:24 is paralleled by the duty to drive them out completely in Exodus 23:31-33. The difficulty will be willingness, not ability; Yahweh says, “I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand.” As God establishes their strength, they are to guard against their own tendency to unfaithfulness. This remains true for God’s people today. As He works in us to will and to work according to His good pleasure, we are to be working out our own salvation with fear and trembling (cf. Philippians 2:12–13).

How are you taking confidence and comfort from being led by God? How are you navigating the risks and dangers of negligence or resistance to His direction? How are you recognizing and responding to every blessing in life as a covenant blessing from Him? What are you doing to cut out of your life influences that tempt your heart to dependence upon, devotion to, or delight in something apart from the Lord?

Sample prayer: Lord, You are our Shepherd. You have laid down Your life for us, and You lead us through our lives. Grant to us to walk by faith in You, believing all that You say, obeying all that You command, and taking all of our delight in You. Guard us from all that would hinder this we ask through Christ, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP23B “The Lord’s My Shepherd” or TPH78 “O My People, Hear My Teaching” 

Three Great Motivations for Every Christian to the Ministry of Prayer [Family Worship lesson in 1Timothy 2:3–7]

What are we participating in when we pray? 1Timothy 2:3–7 looks forward to the second serial reading in morning public worship on the coming Lord’s Day. In these five verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that when we pray, we join a work in which God Himself has become Mediator and ransom for men, and appointed preachers teach us what to believe in and believe.(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)