February 24, 2019
SOVEREIGN GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH
MEETING LOCATION
251 Green Lane
Ewing, NJ, 08368
Clay Curtis, pastor
Telephone: 615-513-4464
Clay@FreeGraceMedia.com
MAILING ADDRESS:
7 Birch Street
Pennington, NJ, 08538
Schedule of Services
Sunday 10: 15 AM Bible Class
Sunday 11:00 AM Morning Service
Thursday 7: 30 PM Midweek Service
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NURSERY
We have a nursery equipped with a
digital flat screen television broadcasting all services live, for children
four and under.
All articles by the pastor unless otherwise noted.
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SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE WEBSITE: The videos are now listed as individual
sermons, as well as full services—click here.
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We are thankful to
have father and son preaching for us this morning as brother Scott Keller and,
his son, brother Rob Keller bring the messages.
What a rare blessing of God’s grace!
I am scheduled to preach in a conference at Sovereign Grace Church in
New Caney, Tx where brother Joseph Murphy is pastor. Tonight I am scheduled to preach at Lincoln
Wood Baptist Church where brother David Pledger is pastor. Pray
for us as we endeavor to preach Christ alone!
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Proverbs 12: 26: The righteous is more excellent than his neighbour:
but the way of the wicked seduceth them.
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THE FRUIT OF SIN AND DEATH
“The eyes of them both were opened, and they
knew they were naked and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves
aprons” (Gen 3: 7)
Sin made Adam and Eve become self-righteous
religionists, immediately. No one told
them to cover their sin. Yet, right
away, they went about to cover their nakedness. Due to the fall into sin and death, every
sinner is religious by nature. Every sinner
tries to cover his sin by his own works—fig leaves! By nature, we commend ourselves and condemn
others—fig leaves! We seek acceptance
with God by our morality—fig leaves! We
use our benevolent deeds in attempt to obligate God unto us—fig leaves!
Also, their heart became enmity against God, “And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the
cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the
LORD God amongst the trees of the garden” (Gen 3: 8). No one taught them to do this. Normally, they had commune with the LORD
God. Now, they hid from God. This is an example of what the apostle Paul
meant when he said, “the carnal mind is
enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can
be” (Rom 8: 7).
Furthermore, they hated each other, “And
the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the
tree, and I did eat” (Gen 3: 12). God
shows us in the fall the one reason for the present condition of the whole
human race. It is not our environment that makes us sinners. The one reason self-righteousness and enmity exists
in every sinner the world over is because in Adam all died.
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GRACE GREATER THAN OUR SIN
As great as our sin is, grace is greater, “But where sin abounded, grace did much more
abound” (Rom 5: 20). Sin overflowed,
abounded, and contaminated us in every way.
But the grace of God in Christ did much more overflow: in justification
(Col. 1:21-22), in regeneration (Rom. 8:1) and in sanctification (2 Cor. 5:17).
The result is, “That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through
righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom 5: 21).
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THE FIGURE OF CHRIST
Adam was a type of Christ. After speaking of Adam, Paul said, “who is the figure of him that was to come”
(Rom 5: 14). How was Adam a figure of Christ? As
Adam was the head of all whom he represented so the Lord Jesus Christ is the
head of all whom he represented. When we
read “all” in connection with Adam, it means all whom Adam represented. When we read “all” in connection with Christ,
it means all whom Christ represented.
We
had nothing to do with becoming condemned sinners. Adam did it all. “Wherefore,
as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed
upon all men, for that all have sinned:..Therefore as by the offence of one
judgment came upon all men to condemnation.” (Rom 5: 12, 18).
Likewise,
we have nothing to do with being made the righteousness of God. Christ does it all. “Even so
by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification
of life” (Rom 5: 18). By the
righteousness of one—by Christ's obedience—the free gift of justification of
life came upon all who Christ represented.
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NOT CONDEMNABLE,
CONDEMNED; NOT SAVABLE, SAVED!
The word of God does not say that Adam’s sin
put his people in a condemnable state so that we must do something to make
ourselves condemned. It says Adam’s sin made
us condemned sinners. Likewise, Christ's
obedience did not put his people in a savable state so that we must do
something to make ourselves saved. The word
of God says Christ’s obedience made us righteous. “For by
one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified” (Heb 10: 14).
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WHERE
ART THOU?
“And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said
unto him, Where art thou?” (Gen 3: 9)
Adam was not seeking God. God is always the one who comes to seek and to
save his lost child. He makes us confess
our sins like God made Adam confess his transgression.
Sinner,
where are you this hour? You have sinned
against God. Are you hiding in some fig
leaves you have made? God makes his
child confess our sins, especially the sins of our so-called righteousness. God strips away all our fig leaves and brings
us to rest all in Christ. Through God’s gift of faith, he clothes us in the
righteousness of Christ. We see it in type, “Unto
Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed
them” (Gen 3: 21).
Notice,
Adam sinned, God made a covering; Adam ran, God sought and found him; Adam
blamed God and Eve, God brought him to confess his sin; Adam hid, God gave him
faith; Adam was naked, God clothed him in the garments of one slain in his
place. So it is with us. We did the
sinning; God does the saving.
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WE ARE SAVED BY HOPE
“For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a
man seeth, why doth he yet hope for” (Rom. 8:24)?
Hope
is a blessed gift of the Spirit of God. We
are saved by hope. But when we see what
we have hoped for, hope ceases.
This world is evil in every way: politically,
socially, morally and spiritually; there is no hope in this present wicked
world there never was and there is not now.
There is no hope in our flesh. When
sin seems to reign and darkness is all around us, yet, I said, yet, we are not
without hope because the Lord Jesus who loved us and washed us from our sins in
His own blood, shall one day return and deliver us from this body of death and
take us from this valley of the shadow of death.
So no matter what happens in this world,
it is not our home. We are just
strangers and pilgrims. We don't feel at
home here. But what a blessed and
glorious hope we have. When Christ shall
appear then shall we also appear with him.
Old sinful self I'll leave you behind. Heartaches, fears doubts, troubles, sorrows, sighs,
groans, and especially death, I'll leave all of you behind. But until that day HOPE keeps on looking out
the window, looking for my Master to come. Even so come Lord Jesus. Pastor Don Bell