Jesus, my Lord, come, come away, heroes.
With your mighty triumph o'er his halls,
heroes are with him through the dark domain,
and he lives forever with his saints to reign.
Heroes, heroes, hallelujah, Christ the Lord.
And cannot keep his way, Jesus, my Savior.
He tore the bars away, Jesus, my Lord.
Come, come away, heroes.
With your mighty triumph o'er his halls,
heroes are with him through the dark domain,
and he lives forever with his saints to reign.
Heroes, heroes, hallelujah, Christ the Lord.
Amen.
Please turn with me to song 33.
Song number 33.
Christ the Lord is risen today.
Sing it out.
Christ the Lord is risen today.
Hallelujah.
Sons of men and angels say, Alleluia!
Raise your joys in triumph's light, Alleluia!
Sing ye after earth before, Alleluia!
Live'st again our glorious King, Alleluia!
Where all death is now my sin, Alleluia!
Dying once we all just say, Alleluia!
Where thy victory all reign, Alleluia!
Love's redeeming work is done, Alleluia!
Walk of white, the battle won, Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids him rise, Alleluia!
Christ has opened them with us, Alleluia!
So we now hear Christ's name, Alleluia!
All we are exalted in, Alleluia!
Face thy kin, thy kin we rise, Alleluia!
House of courts ungrace the skies, Alleluia!
All right, it's time for our announcements.
As the bulletins are being handed around on the inside, we have our service times.
Sunday mornings at 1030 is our preaching service.
Sunday nights at 630, and then Wednesday nights at 7 is our Bible study.
This week will be in Jeremiah chapter number 25.
The soul winning times are listed there below, as well as salvations, baptisms, and offering totals.
Across the page there, we have the September birthdays.
And so next Sunday, a week from today, we will have donuts and coffee before the morning service
in honor of everyone celebrating their birthday in September.
So show up to church at 10 o'clock next Sunday morning,
and we'll have donuts and coffee a half hour before the service.
Happy anniversary to the following couples, John Paul and Sheree Art,
John and Michelle Ball, Tom and Naomi Wisniewski, and Dale and Andrea Landry.
So let's go ahead and sing the anniversary song for all four of our anniversary couples.
Sweeter as the years go by, let's sing it out.
Congratulations on all the wedding anniversaries down at the bottom there.
We've got the upcoming home school activities, the Legoland Discovery Center,
and then the Don't Go Back to School Ice Cream Social at FWBC.
So that's right here on Monday night, 6 to 8 p.m.
All of those who have school age children are invited to attend the ice cream social
whether or not you home school.
That's on Monday night, September 5th at 6 o'clock.
And then it says there that activities are open to any family with at least one student,
age 4 and up, always free.
On the back we've got the Bible memory passage.
Ecclesiastes chapter 3, we're on verse number 16.
Anyone who memorizes the whole chapter and can quote it word perfect to a non-relative in church
without coaching or stammering through the passage will earn a special price.
So we don't want people to just kind of stammer through,
just keep throwing stuff at the wall and trying to see what sticks.
You know, you have to actually know the passage.
You know, obviously you might freeze up a few times,
but you need to actually have the whole thing memorized word for word
without being coached and making mistakes and so forth.
And then down below that, ladies, please join us for a maternity shower
in honor of Emily Gonzalez and Jenny Payan this Saturday, September 3rd,
so six days from now, 2 to 4 right here at the church building,
so all ladies and girls are invited to attend that maternity shower for those two ladies.
Down at the bottom there, congratulations to the Yamas family
on the birth of Selah Lydia Yamas, born on Tuesday, August 16th at 1025 p.m.
weighing 7 pounds, 7 ounces and measuring 19.5 inches,
so be sure to congratulate them.
And also another announcement is that there's another lady in our church
who has joined the ranks of those who are pregnant,
and that is Sheree Art is pregnant now,
so let's give them a hand on expecting this.
Congratulations to the Art family on expecting their next child.
And that's about it for announcements.
Let's go ahead and sing our next song.
Let's turn to song number 335, If Jesus Goes With Me.
You jumped there, huh?
335, If Jesus Goes With Me.
Let's sing it out on that first verse.
Song number 335.
Song number 335, If Jesus Goes With Me.
Song number 335.
There's one thing I know.
If it means I'll be free.
If Jesus is with me, I'll go anywhere.
If Jesus goes with me, I'll go anywhere.
If Jesus is with me, I'll go anywhere.
If Jesus goes with me, I'll go anywhere.
If Jesus is with me, I'll go anywhere.
I counted a few of those here.
There's lots to bear.
If Jesus goes with me, I'll go anywhere.
If it means I'm fortunate to marry my possible.
Above the wheels, the world is beyond the middle of snow.
A room I think we can confess, it does prepare.
And if He stays with me, I'll go anywhere.
If Jesus goes anywhere, He'll travel to me.
And I'm happy if he is there, I'm happy all who is near
Is cross to bear, and Jesus does not mean a fool anywhere
He is not mine to rest in the dust with salt, my Lord
And He is not mine to find, oh, the meaning of His Word
But if you overstay, whether you're there
I'll be with my Savior between anywhere
May Jesus go and He will go anywhere
This heaven can be where ever He is, He is there
I'm proud and I'm privileged here
Is cross to bear, and Jesus does not mean a fool anywhere
As the planes go around, let's turn our Bibles to the book of Jude
The book of Jude will read the entire chapter beginning in verse number one
You can follow along silently with brother Garrett Kirschway as he reads
By the way everyone, I just want to mention that this is actually brother Garrett Kirschway's last time
reading the Bible on a Sunday morning
This is actually his last Sunday morning service with us
before he goes to Botswana
This is because of the fact that he's going to spend a week and a half in Texas
preaching at a few churches in Texas
He's preaching at Steadfast Baptist Church with brother Romero
And he's preaching at brother Perry's church, Old Path Baptist Church down in San Antonio, Texas
And so this is his last Sunday with us
He will be here this coming Wednesday night
And then also two weeks from this Wednesday night he will be with us
And that's actually when he's going to be ordained as an evangelist
And we're sending him out as a missionary to Botswana
So that'll be a really special service
You're not going to want to miss that
That's the Wednesday, do you know the date of that Wednesday?
The 14th? Yeah because we're leaving on the 15th
Wednesday September 14th is going to be a really special service for brother Garrett Kirschway
That's going to be his last service
But if you're a Sunday morning glory who never makes it out to an evening service
Be sure that you say goodbye to brother Kirschway
Give him your blessing
And be sure to savor the Bible reading this morning because this is the last time
Book of Jude the Bible reads
Jude the servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James
To them that are sanctified by God the Father preserved in Jesus Christ
And called
Mercy unto you and peace and love be multiplied
Beloved when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation
It was needful for me to write unto you and exhort you that you should earnestly contend
For the faith which was once delivered unto the saints
For there are certain men crept in unawares who were before of old
Ordained to this condemnation
Ungodly men turn the grace of our God into lasciviousness
And denying the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ
I will therefore put you in remembrance though you once knew this
How that the Lord having saved the people out of land of Egypt
Afterward destroy them that believe not
And the angels which kept not their first estate but left their own habitation
He hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness
Under the judgment of the great day
Even as Sodom and Gomorrah and this city is about them in like manner
Giving themselves over to fornication and going after strange flesh
Are set forth for an example suffering the vengeance of eternal fire
Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh
Despise dominion and speak evil of dignities
Yet Michael the archangel when contending with the devil
He disputed about the body of Moses durst not bring against him
A railing accusation but said the Lord rebuke thee
These speak evil of those things which they know not
But what they know naturally as group beast
And those things they corrupt themselves
Woe unto them for they have gone in the way of Cain
And ran greedily after they are of Balaam for reward
And perish in the gainsaying of Corey
These are spots in your feast of charity when they feast with you
Feeding themselves without fear
Clouds they are without water
Carried about of winds
Trees whose fruit wither without fruit
Twice dead plucked up by the roots
Waging waves of the sea foaming out their own shame
Wandering stars to whom has reserved the blackness of darkness forever
And Enoch also the seventh from Adam prophesied of these saying
Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints
To execute judgment upon all and to convince all that are ungodly among them
Of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed
And of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him
These are murmurs, complainers walking after their own lusts
And their mouths speaketh great swelling words
Having men's persons in admiration because of advantage
But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ
Not that they told you there should be mockers in the last time
Who should walk after their own ungodly lusts
These be they who separate themselves sensual
Not having the spirit
But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith
Praying in the Holy Ghost
Keep yourselves in the love of God
Looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life
And of some have compassion making a difference
And others say with fear pulling them out of the fire
Hating even the garment spotted by the flesh
Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling
And to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy
To the only wise God, our Savior
Be glory and majesty, dominion and power both now and ever
Amen
Brother Matt Adams, please pray for us
In the book of Jude, the verse that I would like to focus on is verse number four
Where the Bible reads
For there are certain men crept in unawares
Who were before of old ordained to this condemnation
Ungodly men turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness
And denying the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ
And the title of the sermon this morning is
Turning grace into lasciviousness
First of all, what does the word lasciviousness mean?
It means unbridled lust, licentiousness
It means wantonness, outrageousness, shamelessness, lewdness
Basically to understand the word lasciviousness
Basically you would just think of somebody just doing whatever they want to gratify their flesh
Just if it feels good, do it
That's lasciviousness, just a total unbridled lust and fulfillment of the lusts of the flesh
And the Bible is warning about false prophets and men that would creep in unawares
That would turn the grace of our God into lasciviousness
Now, what you need to understand about the book of Jude
Is that it's warning us about multiple kinds of false prophets
It's not just one type of false prophet or just one false doctrine that's out there
False doctrine comes in many shapes and sizes
That's why he said woe unto them for they've gone in the way of Cain
And ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward
And perished in the gainsaying of Korah
Those are three distinct men, they did not teach the same lies
They did not teach the same false doctrine
Cain's problem was a works-based salvation
He brought the works of his own hands
Instead of just trusting in the blood of the lamb
He was basically believing in a works-based salvation, the fruit of his own hands
But the gainsaying of Korah had nothing to do with that
But Balaam's prophecy for money had nothing to do with that
So God is listing all these different types of false teachers and the types of false doctrine
He's not just warning us about one guy
He's warning us about all different types of false prophets
Now some false prophets, and obviously this is the majority, teach that salvation is by works
That's a major false doctrine, that's the way of Cain
But there's another false doctrine out there that basically teaches that yes, salvation's by grace, it's not by works
But then they go a step further and they say that because of God's grace, we can just do whatever we want
Now I'm not talking about for salvation folks, because truly if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
No matter how you live, you're still going to be saved
Because whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have eternal life
But what these people are teaching is that not just in regard to salvation
But in every area of our lives, we can basically live however we want
And still be blessed by God, still be right with God
God's still pleased with us, God's still blessing us
No matter what we do
They turn the grace of our God into lasciviousness
Meaning that they take the grace of God, God's forgiveness
And say this is a license for me to just live however I want with no consequence
This is just an open door to lasciviousness
I can go out and just live a lascivious life
I'm going to go out and live a lascivious life
Because of the fact that God's grace is there
Now this doctrine has some people that teach it in a very extreme form
And then there are varying shades of this
But let me just say this, because you might think this is an obscure teaching
Nobody believes that, nobody follows that
But how this manifests in your typical non-denominational church
Or your typical neo-evangelical church
Is they'll teach you we're free in Christ
We have Christian liberty
Therefore, don't come at me with a bunch of dos and don'ts from the Bible
Now if you've spent any time in the neo-evangelical movement
Or in non-denominational type churches
You've heard this before
If you've been in the Calvary Chapel style churches
You'll hear this idea
And if I had a nickel for every time I heard it I'd be a wealthy man
You see I grew up independent fundamental Baptist
And soul winning type churches
I was about 12 years old
The church that we were in split and fell apart
And we struggled to find a good fundamental Baptist church
And so we ended up making the mistake
Of just throwing up our hands and going to the liberal Baptist church
That was sort of the rock and roll NIV style church
And we went to two churches like, actually three churches like that
Over the course of five years
So I spent five years in the new evangelical type Baptist churches
The rock and roll fun center type Baptist churches
And I can tell you this is what they teach and believe every week
I mean it's just, it's constantly this thing of Christian liberty
We're free in Christ
And what they mean by that is
That if you start preaching to them
Hey this is a sin you need to stop doing it don't do that
They'll just come at you with
Hey whoa why are you trying to bring me back into bondage
We're free man
So they think free means we should just do whatever we want
No restrictions, no rules
And they often criticize churches that preach hard on sin
And they'll say
Oh those churches are just preaching a bunch of dos and don'ts
But it's about the relationship man
It's not a religion it's a relationship
But the Bible teaches that religion is a good thing
The Bible says
Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this
To visit the fatherless and the widows and their affliction
And to keep himself unspotted from the world
To keep himself unspotted from the world
God says that our religion ought to keep us unspotted from the world
God said come out from among them and be separate sayeth the Lord
And touch not the unclean thing and I'll receive you
The Bible says the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men
Teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts
We should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world
Now what must we do to be saved?
Only believe
Just believe
Okay but what should we do?
We should live godly
We should live soberly, righteously, godly
We should abstain from worldly lust
We should get the sin out of our lives
There's a difference between what we should do and what we must do to be saved
And this is where the confusion is coming in
What must we do to be saved?
Only believe
It's only by grace
We're not under the law but under grace
Okay that's salvation
But when it comes to the way that we live our lives
Jesus said if you love me keep my commandments
He didn't say keep my suggestions
He didn't say keep my promptings and proddings of the Holy Spirit
He said keep my commandments
Jesus said that the great commission is to go and teach all nations
Baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost
Teaching them to observe whatsoever things I've commanded you
And lo I am with you all the way even at the end of the world
He said you need to go out and preach the gospel, yes
But not just the gospel
You need to teach people to observe everything that I've commanded
We are to preach the commandments of God
Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount
Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments and shall teach men so
He shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven
But whosoever shall do and teach them the same should be called great in the kingdom of heaven
God expects us to preach the commandments of God
God expects us to follow the commandments of God
Do we have to follow them to get into heaven?
No
But in order to be blessed by God and in order for God to be pleased with us we have to follow them
Now it's sort of like the relationship between a parent and a child
If my children break my rules they're still my child
I'm still going to love them
That's the grace of God right there
We are still his children even if we sin we're still saved
We're still God's children
The grace of God has covered our sins
But does that mean that I just let my children do whatever they want?
Now truly if they do whatever they're still going to be my kids
Just like no matter what we do we're still God's children if we believed on Christ
But my children if they break my rules are going to be punished
And look no parent is happy with their child
If their child is just continually disobeying
No parent is going to have a good relationship with their child
If their child is continually disobeying
Okay but this false doctrine basically teaches that God's never mad at you
God's always pleased with you
And God's blessings have nothing to do with your obedience
They're just freely given to everybody who's saved
Just blessings and blessings and blessings
No wrong
If you disobey God's commandments
God is going to punish you
He's not going to send you to hell because you're saved
You have eternal life
But he'll punish us in this life
He will be displeased with us
He will bring chastening and chastisement upon us
Now this seems like a very basic truth
But I'll tell you out there amongst the fun center crowd
They do not understand this
And they are constantly when you come at them
With a Bible verse that says don't do this
This is what they'll say
Well I'm glad that the Holy Spirit has spoken to you about that
But the Holy Spirit hasn't spoken to me about that
You know I just have peace about doing that
Even though God said not to do it
I just have peace about it
And I'm just being led of the Spirit
And I'm not under the law I'm led of the Spirit
And so you're trying to kind of bring me back under bondage
And here's what they'll call you a legalist
Ah you legalist
You know what I'm a legalist then
I'm a legalist
You know what legalist let's break it down
What does ist mean?
It means you believe in something
What is a Buddhist?
Somebody who believes in Buddha right?
What's a legalist?
Somebody who believes in the law of God
Amen
I'm a legalist
I believe in the law of God
The law of the Lord is perfect converting
Oh how love by thy law
It's my meditation night and day
Do we then make void the law?
Through grace?
Look at Romans chapter 3 if you would
Romans chapter number 3
This is a key verse my friend
Romans chapter 3
Because there are people out there
That are turning the grace of God
Into lasciviousness
The true doctrine is that we're saved by grace
The false doctrine is
That God's grace means
That we can do whatever we want
And he'll still bless us and be happy with us
And no one can tell us to stop
Whether it's drinking, fornicating, smoking
No don't tell me to stop I'm under grace
Hey the Bible says not to print any marks on your body
But I can get a tattoo because I'm under grace
That's the false doctrine out there
Now you can get a tattoo and still go to heaven
But God does not approve of you getting a tattoo
Because he said don't print any marks on your body
But then people print marks on their body because they're under grace
This is the kind of nonsense that comes out of this teaching
Look at Romans chapter 3
Verse number, well let's just start in verse 28
Because it says therefore we conclude
That a man is justified by faith
Without the deeds of the law, amen
But look at verse 31
Do we then make void the law through faith
Are we just going to completely negate the law now
He says God forbid
Yea we establish the law
So we don't make void the law through faith
We establish the law
God's law is still there
God's commandments are still there
And God does not just give us a free for all
And just tell us live however you want
I mean is that what you do with your kids in your home
Now some of you don't answer that
Because I've seen how your kids behave
No I'm just kidding
But anyway
You know we don't give our kids a free for all
We have rules, we ought to have rules for our kids
And we need to teach them how to behave themselves in the house of God
We need to teach them what is right and what is wrong
We need to discipline and chasten them early
The Bible teaches
And God's the same way
He doesn't just have a free for all
So you see there's two false extremes
The one false extreme is teaching
Oh salvation's by works
You can't live however you want and still go to heaven
That's a false doctrine
But then there's another just extreme overreaction that says
Well not only is salvation by grace through faith
Everything's by grace through faith
And you know there's all the blessings of God
Are just automatically yours
Just because you believe in Jesus
Don't ever feel bad when you do wrong things
Well what about when James told us to
Be afflicted and mourn and weep
Let your laughter be turned to mourning
And your joy to heaviness
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and he'll lift you up
Amen
Why did God tell us to mourn and be afflicted and weep
When we have sin in our lives
We're supposed to feel bad
We're supposed to get right
We're supposed to repent
Of our sins on a daily basis
The problem is when you mix that in with salvation
So we need to separate things here
There's being saved, that's real easy
Believing in Christ
But then once we're saved
We can't just keep to sin
Oh grace, grace, no no no
We need to actually do the work that he told us to do
And we need to actually obey the commandments
That he told us to obey
Now go to 2 Peter chapter 2
2 Peter chapter 2
Another thing to notice about the book of Jude
Is that Jude is a parallel passage with 2 Peter chapter 2
Now when we talk about a parallel passage
We mean that there are two chapters
That teach the same thing
And they even go in the same order
They kind of hit the same points
And God puts a lot of chapters like this in the Bible
So that we can compare and contrast
And we can learn a deeper truth
For example when we compare Matthew with Mark
So if we find the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew
And then we find the Sermon on the Mount in Luke
Those would be known as parallel passages
Because they're teaching the same doctrines
We can compare them and learn more
We could take books like Ephesians and Colossians
That have a lot of parallel passages
Colossians 3 is parallel with Ephesians 5
And when we compare them
We can learn more
Well 2 Peter chapter 2 is parallel with Jude
You'll find a lot of the same exact wording
The same teaching
They both are chapters about false prophets
And here's where we find the teaching that is parallel to
Turning the grace of God into lasciviousness
Into just a license for sin
Into just living a life that indulges the flesh
With no regard for what God is telling us
And thinking that there are no earthly consequences for our sins
Look at 2 Peter chapter 2 verse 18
It says
For when they speak great swelling words of vanity
Meaning that it's just a lot of fluff what they preach
Not a lot of meat on the bone
They allure through the lust of the flesh
How do they get people to listen to them?
Because they appeal to the lust of the flesh
They tell people what they want to hear
Because they're giving people permission to go out and do all these things
And to live a very loose life
He says
They allure through the lust of the flesh through much wantonness
Now that word wantonness is synonym with lasciviousness
With much wantonness
Those that were clean escaped from them who live in error
Watch this
While they promised them liberty
Christian liberty free in Christ
While they promised them liberty
They themselves are the servants of corruption
For of whom a man has overcome of the same as he brought in bondage
Go to Galatians 5
So the Bible is saying that these teachers will promise them liberty
And allure through the lust of the flesh
Basically advertising this doctrine
Saying oh this is a great doctrine
Because it just gives you such freedom
I mean you know you don't wake up in the morning
Feeling all guilty about breaking God's rules
You don't go through life stressed out about a bunch of do's and don'ts
You just wake up and just breathe in the grace of God
And just realize you know God loves me
And He's pleased with me and He's happy with me
And you know He just wants to have a relationship with me
And if the Holy Spirit prompts me I'm gonna follow it
But I don't need to go into the Bible and find all the rules and start obeying them
I'm gonna wait till the Holy Spirit brings that up to me
Or whatever
And they promise people liberty
They make this sound very appealing
But in reality living a sinful life is anything but liberty
And that's why it said that they promise them liberty
But they themselves are the servants
That's the opposite of being free in a sense
You're a servant
He said they are servants of corruption
For of whom a man has overcome of the same as he brought in bondage
This is like when Jesus said in John chapter 8
Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin
You see living a life of no rules might seem like freedom
And I want every child and every teenager to listen up and look at me right now
Let me say this to you young people
You might feel like your parents have a lot of restrictions and rules
Or that Pastor Anderson preaches a lot of do's and don'ts
And that the church is really restraining you and constraining you
And you think that if you just leave your parents house
You just turn 18 and just move out
That you can just live however you want
Oh it's going to be such a great feeling of freedom
Listen to me
It's going to bring you into bondage
You're going to be enslaved way more
Than when you are a servant to Christ
The devil is a much harsher taskmaster than the Lord is
God's yoke is easy
He said my yoke is easy
My burden is light
Says this is the love of God that we keep his commandments
His commandments are not grievous the Bible says
But you know what the devil
He doesn't care whether he grieves you or not
And when you go out and say
Oh man it's so great to just be able to just drink alcohol
You know my parents said no
The church said no
But why can't I have a little fun and drink alcohol
Alcohol will make you its slave
Have you ever heard of being a slave to the bottle?
Oh but that would never happen to you
Yes it will
Every alcoholic began as a social drinker
You start out you drink
You know you lose your judgment
I might as well have another one
You know why not have a third
And one becomes four
And four becomes six
And I already preached a whole sermon about that last week
But let me tell you something
There are many people who are slaves to alcohol and drunkenness
They don't get up every morning and do what they want to do
They get up and seek alcohol because they have to
Because they must
Because they are enslaved to it
Every person who smokes cigarettes
They don't make a decision
Every time they pull out a cigarette
They don't say
Hmm do I want to smoke?
Yes
You know no
They actually have to smoke
Because it's an addiction
Okay
Oh man my parents told me not to go to the casino
But what's a little harmless fun
Yeah until you get enslaved
Until you're addicted to gambling and ruin your whole life
Okay
You say oh you know I'm just gonna
I'm gonna look at some pornography
You know who
What's the big deal
It's just looking
What's the big deal
Yeah until you're addicted to it
And guess what
That's what happens
People get addicted to it
Hear about it all the time
And so there are all kinds of sins
We could go down the list of other sins
You know those are just a few sins that I'm throwing out there
That can become addictive
That can become an addiction
When you just live a life of lasciviousness
Wantonness
Where you're just gonna do whatever
And you think it's freedom
Okay let me ask you this young teenage man
That's so smart
How free are you gonna be
When you knock up some girl and get her pregnant
You're gonna be paying child support
For the next 18 years
That's not freedom
When somebody's deducting huge amounts out of your check
To pay for your bastard child
And being raised in a way that you might not even approve of
But you're still paying for it
That's not freedom
That's not liberty
Oh I'm just free
I can just
And look there are even
Some of these teachers
These false prophets that Jude warns about
Are even teaching now that it's okay
To basically go to bed with somebody before you're married
And they teach that the Bible doesn't condemn it anywhere
And by the way that's what the Jews teach
The Judaism
In Judaism premarital you know what is accepted
It's virtually across the board accepted
Why?
Because they basically are teaching
A lasciviousness
Oh you guys are too strict
You know expecting us to wait till we get married
You're too strict
And then they teach that it's liberty
But actually it brings bondage
It brings enslavement
How free is a bird
Are you gonna be young lady
When you get pregnant
You're a single mother
Oh that's a really free as a bird
I guarantee you that my wife has a lot more freedom
Than a single mother
Why?
Cause her husband's paying the bills
She doesn't have to go clock in
Clock out
Put on a hairnet
Put on a name tag
Be under cc television
No no no
She gets up and she actually does what she wants
Cause God is the one who gives freedom
Where the spirit of the Lord is
There is liberty
You say well to me liberty means never having an alarm clock
Wake up when I wanna wake up
But here's the problem with that
If you just wake up when you wanna wake up
And you never have an alarm clock
I'll tell you the enslavement that's gonna bring
Not having any money
And then you have to rely on other people
And then you're not free anymore
Have you ever heard of financial freedom
I mean money gives you some freedom
And I'm not preaching to be rich
I'm saying that if you go out and work
And pay your own way
And make your own money
And provide for your own family
You can make choices for yourself
That you can't make
If you don't have any money
And you're relying on other people
To pay for you
So actually setting the alarm clock
And getting up early
And going and working a long day
Actually brings freedom
Cause it brings a paycheck
That you can spend on what you want
As opposed to people who just live a real
You know who lives probably the most
Footloose and fancy free life children
Homeless bums
Nobody tells them what to do
Nobody makes them get up in the morning
And go to work
They never get in trouble with their parents
But is that what you wanna be kids
You wanna be a bum
You wanna be out there in the hot sun
Waving a flag
Holding up a sign
That says you know anything helps
God bless
Is that what you want
Or do you wanna go in your air conditioned house
After a long days work
And eat a well learned meal
And sleep a good nights sleep
Because the sleep of a laboring man
Is sweet the bible says
Galatians chapter 5
Is that where I had you turn
Man I gotta hurry
Verse 13
For brethren you've been called unto liberty
Watch this
Only use not liberty
For an occasion to the flesh
But by love serve one another
So the bible balances this idea of
Yes we have liberty
Yes we're free in Christ
Yes we're not under the law but under grace
But does that mean that we should use our liberty
As an occasion for the flesh
Should we use the fact
That Christ has given us liberty
To just indulge the flesh
That's turning the grace of God
Into lasciviousness
Is what that is
Verse 14
For all the law is fulfilled in one word
Even in this thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself
But if ye bite and devour one another
Take heed that ye be not consumed one of another
This I say then
Walk in the spirit
And ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh
For the flesh lusteth against the spirit
And the spirit against the flesh
And these are contrary the one to the other
So that you cannot do the things that you would
But if ye be led of the spirit
You're not under the law
See if you're led of the spirit
God's not gonna lead you into sin
So if you're truly led of the spirit
Then yeah
You're not under the law
Because the law is not made for a righteous man
But for the lawless and disobedient
You see what it's saying is
If you actually love your neighbor
And you actually do what's right
Because you want to
And because of the prompting of the Holy Spirit
You wouldn't be breaking God's laws
In the first place
So you wouldn't even have to worry about the dos and the don'ts
If you're walking in the spirit
But what they're doing is walking in the flesh
Saying that they're walking in the spirit
And saying therefore
Don't tell me about God's laws
I'm in the spirit
It's like well no you're not in the spirit
If you're breaking his laws
Because if you walk in the spirit
You won't fulfill the lust of the flesh
So when I see you committing fornication
I know you're not walking in the spirit
When I see you watching porno
You're not walking in the spirit
When I see you drinking
You're not walking in the spirit
That's the opposite
That's spirits
Wine and spirits
That's not the spirit
That's the spirits
Oh that's why you got confused
When I see you smoking a cigarette
And drinking and doing drugs
And partying
And saying oh I'm free in Christ
You know when I see
I mean I remember
There was a kid that walked into my Baptist youth group
Wearing a Marilyn Manson t-shirt
And I said that's a wicked t-shirt
How dare you wear that in here
I said you are supposedly a Christian
This wasn't a first time visitor
I said that's satanic
And everybody's like oh don't judge
Don't judge
We're free in Christ bro
I'm not kidding
I've sat in church
I mean look
Brother Dave Burzins told me he was in a church
Where the guy took the offering
In a Metallica t-shirt
Okay my dad visited a church a few years ago
Where the guy taking the offering
These aren't visitors
These aren't people that just got saved
Five minutes ago
The guy taking the offering was wearing a Hooters t-shirt
In church on Sunday morning
I mean think about that
This is the kind of junk
And anybody who speaks up about it is called a legalist
Anybody who tries to bring in some sanity
In the voice of reason is told
You're bringing us under bondage
We're free in Christ
No no no
These people want to use liberty
For an occasion to the flesh
And they want to turn the grace of God
Into lasciviousness
Go to Romans 5
Actually I'm sorry
Go to Romans
Yeah Romans 5
We'll start in Romans 5
I'll read for you from 1 Peter 2 verse 15
For so is the will of God
That with well doing ye may put to silence
The ignorance of foolish men
Watch this
As free
God is saying he wants us to live
As free
Like we're free
Comma
And not using your liberty
For a cloak of maliciousness
But as the servants of God
He's saying yeah we've been given liberty
Yeah no matter whether we do right or wrong
We're still saved
Don't use that as a cloak of maliciousness
What's a cloak?
It's a coat
It's an over garment
That could basically hide
You know the sawed off shotgun
As it were
You know
You're using it as a cloak of maliciousness
Hiding your ill intentions
You're using liberty
To gratify the flesh
You're using liberty as a cloak
For your maliciousness
And your wickedness
You're hiding your sin behind this
Oh it's just liberty
Liberty
He says no use your liberty to serve Christ
Use your liberty to serve one another
Don't use liberty
To gratify the flesh
And to break all God's commandments
And displease him
Romans 5 19
For as by one man's disobedience
Adam
Many were made sinners
So by the obedience of one
That's Jesus
Shall many be made righteous
Moreover the law entered
That the offense might abound
But where sin abounded
Grace did much more abound
That as sin has reigned unto death
Even so might grace
Reign through righteousness
Unto eternal life
By Jesus Christ our Lord
So what the Bible's telling us
Is that where sin abounded
Grace did much more abound
Okay
God's grace is sufficient
To pay for all of our sins
Meaning that anyone who believes on Jesus Christ
No matter how much sin they've committed
Can go to heaven
God's grace will pay for all their sin
So no matter how many bad sins you've done
Before you got saved
Once you believe on Christ
His grace covers it all
It's enough
It's sufficient
And if sin abounds
Grace much more abounds
Amen
Look what he says in Romans chapter 6 verse 1 though
He just finished explaining to us
In chapters 3, 4, and 5
All three of those chapters
Wall to wall
3, 4, and 5
Is just all about how we're saved by faith
It's not by works
It's not by the law
It's all by grace
Where sin abounds
Grace did much more abound
But then he explains in verse 1 of chapter 6
What shall we say then in light of that?
Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?
So if we sin
If we continue in sin
Grace will abound
There's no question about that
If you say that God's grace won't abound
That's a false doctrine
But should we continue in sin
Just because God's grace will abound?
God forbid
How shall we that are dead to sin
Live any longer there?
Why would we want to do that?
Is that really God's purpose for our lives?
To just keep living a sinful wicked life after we're saved?
No
The Bible says for by grace are you saved through faith
And that not of yourselves it is the gift of God
Not of works lest any man should boast
For we are his workmanship
Created in Christ Jesus unto good works
Which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them
So we should do works
But we're not saved by works
And we don't have to do works to be saved
And there are people who don't do works
And yet they're saved
Cause they believed on price
Romans 4-5
But should we do that?
Absolutely not
Why not?
Look at verse uh
Jump down to verse 14
For sin shall not have dominion over you
For you're not under the law but under grace
And this is what the new Evangelicals will repeat over and over again
The non-denom
You know?
Not under the law
We're under grace
When you try to preach against sin
What then? Shall we sin because we're not under the law but under grace?
God forbid
And what is sin?
The transgression of the law?
Sin is the transgression of the law
So because we're not under the law but under grace
Is that saying that we should sin?
No he's saying
No we should not sin
Why not?
Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey
His servants ye are to whom ye obey
Whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto righteousness
Once again we clearly see
That sin enslaves us
And that it's a fake liberty that tells you to live however
After you're saved
It's a fake liberty
It's a false liberty
It's a fraud
It's a promised liberty that does not materialize
Now let me just mention one false teacher out there
Now and don't get me wrong because I want to say this
This is not a rare doctrine
Taking it to its extreme is pretty rare
But I'm telling you every new evangelical church that I've ever seen
Had this mentality to an extent
It's very common
It's very prevalent this leaning
But there's a guy out there who sort of takes this to an extreme
And his name's Joseph Prince
Who's ever heard of this guy?
He looks sort of like a cross between Prince
And Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley all kind of rolled into one
Okay?
So he kind of looks like a rock star
He's got the, you know, the feathered out hairdo
And he's got the tight pants
And the tight leather jacket
And the pencil tie
And he's real smooth and slick
And he's preaching on a platform washed in purple light
And he basically teaches
He teaches some right things
And this is how people get sucked in
He teaches some right things
Because he talks a lot about God's grace
And he talks a lot about how you can't lose your salvation
Well that's a great doctrine
Because you can't lose your salvation, right?
So whenever lies are taught
There's truth mixed in
So he teaches a lot of true things
But let me just explain this to you
The problem with most preachers is not what they say
It's what they don't say
Let me say that again
The problem with most preachers is not what they say
It's what they don't say
You can go to the average liberal church
And listen to 25 minute sermonette
They're not really going to say anything bad a lot of the time
But it's just that they don't say much of anything
Okay?
And Joseph Prince, I don't care what anybody thinks
Is a positive only preacher
That's why he fills in for Joel Osteen's pulpit
That's why the two are buddies
That's why he travels in those circles
Because of the fact that Joel Osteen is a positive only preacher
And it's all about the money
Look, are they teaching the error of Cain?
No, because they're not really, you know
Pushing a workspace salvation, Joseph Prince that is
But what he will do
Is run after the error of Balaam greedily for reward
Okay?
Greedily preach what people want to hear
Allure through the lusts of the flesh
And teach licentiousness and this Christian liberty
We're under grace
Take it to this extreme
Where the God of Joseph Prince doesn't chastise anybody
He doesn't chastise
We're all under his blessing
He's pleased with all of us
We're all just in good graces with him
All the time
And so there's no reason to ever feel bad or guilty or anything like that
You know what? That's just a lie
And there's so many scriptures that could disprove that
And what it does is
It sets up this straw man
For the work salvation teachers to attack
When you preach on by grace through faith
Then they'll try to lump you in with this weird doctrine
Like, oh well you're one of these people that just says to live however you want
And they lump you in with this, what they call the hyper grace
Where it's this thing of
Not only do you not need to do works to be saved
You don't even have to do works, period
I mean it's just stupid
Yeah we should do works
They don't have anything to do with salvation
But we should obey the commandments
We should do right
We should get the center of our lives
But you know, according to Joseph Prince
It's just, it's all done
And we just sit back and just enjoy our standing in Christ
And of course the guy has 22,000 people in his church or something
Cause that's a pretty popular message
Just do whatever you want
God, he said the Holy Spirit will never convict you of sin
That's what he said
And of course that's a popular message
Why? Because people in the last days the Bible said
Would heap to themselves teachers having itching ears
What they want to hear
What they want to be told
And the Bible says that they'll make merchandise of you
So there's all these clips of his preaching on YouTube
And then it says hey if you want the full sermon go to his website
To download the MP3 of one sermon
$7.99 for a download of one sermon
Okay, so I have 1600 of my sermons on faithforwardbaptist.org for free download
So what if I charge 8 bucks each
Then I guess to get the whole repertoire
You'd have to spend about, what, 13 grand?
Just to listen to all the sermons from Faith Forward Baptist
I mean imagine spending $7.99 and listening to a one hour sermon
It's like, well, okay, that's an expensive habit if you want to listen to a lot of preaching
But it's about money, that's why
It's not about just preaching the truth, getting the truth out there
He sells the CD for $7.99 one sermon
DVDs are $28 for two or three sermons on a DVD or whatever
You know, and look, I'm not against businesses selling things
But you know what, the church itself should not be selling things, number one
And number two, it's charging those kind of prices
It shows you what the motivation is
When basically he's not even putting it out there at all, the information
You've got to get the download
And it's all the same, just tell you what you want to hear
Tickle your ears, kind of false teaching
You say, well why are you coming down on Joseph Prince
Well how about because he doesn't use the King James, he uses the new King James
But worse than that, he doesn't even believe the new King James
I looked up, I wanted to see what he said about Jude
Where Jude says turning the grace of God into lascivious
Cause that's what he's doing
So I wondered what he'd say about that
I found a video where he's basically, he gets up and says
Oh, this doesn't say what you think it means
Jude verse four
This doesn't mean what you think it means
First he read the verse in like five versions
He read it in five versions, right?
But then he proceeded to explain how all the versions are wrong
All 400 and some English Bibles are all wrong
Let me go back to the Greek and tell you what it really means
And this guy goes back to the Greek a lot
So not only is he using the wrong Bible
Then when it doesn't say what he wants it to say, he'll just change it and say well, the Greek
You know, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think they speak Greek in Singapore
Where Joseph Prince is from
And I doubt that he would do very well if we dropped him in Athens
Without a tour guide
But he's just, oh the Greek, the Greek, all these 400 versions, they're all wrong
It doesn't really mean turning the grace of God into lascivious
It means that you've swapped out the grace of God for lasciviousness
You're trying to swap, so basically preaching the grace of God prevents us from lasciviousness
But that's not what that verse is saying
That verse is saying you're turning the grace of God, you're changing it into lasciviousness
It doesn't say you're swapping it
And by the way, every English Bible says that
Even the versions that are wrong, they get that part right at least
He's just coming in with some strange translation
I mean, it's bad enough when you're shopping Bible versions until you find the one that says what you want it to say
Shopping versions, you'll see preachers that will use like five different versions in one sermon
Because they shop around for the point that they
It's like people keep going to a doctor until one will give you the oxycodone
Right? You'll find one eventually
Oh, it hurts? Where does it hurt? Everywhere
Okay, here you go, oxycodone, there you go
You know, you'll get it if you want, right?
So that's the thing, they searched versions until they find it
This guy, when he can't find it, then he just said, well these are all wrong, this is the Greek
He doesn't want to face what this verse teaches because he's guilty of it, because it's about him
And here's how he tries to say it's not about him
He says, well these people are teaching the way of Cain
And we know I'm not teaching the way of Cain because I'm not teaching works at all
What he doesn't understand is that this chapter is warning about lots of different false prophets
That do lots of different things
Look, when he says that they turn the grace of God into lascivious and denying the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ
It's not saying that necessarily it's the same person doing both of those things
It's not necessarily the same person that's in the way of Cain that's teaching the Gainsang of Korah
These are various types of false doctrine and false things that can be taught
Now I want to tie this in with something here
I want to use this as an illustration for something else
And that is the subject of marriage
Because I think that marriage is a beautiful picture of salvation
We talk a lot about salvation being likened unto a father and a son
Because the Bible says, as many as received him to them gave you power to become the sons of God
Even to them that believe on his name
But in addition to using that as an illustration
The Bible also likens salvation unto marriage
Ok, let me give you some scriptures on that
And if you would, flip over to Romans chapter 7
We're going to go to Romans 7 and then Ephesians 5 if you want to find those two places
But the Bible says in 2 Corinthians chapter 11 verse 2
For I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy
For I have espoused you to one husband
That I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ
So again, marriage there is being used as a picture with Christ being the husband
And the church being the wife
Or the believers being the wife
Or things of that nature
The Bible often uses that
So look at Romans 7 verse 2
For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth
But if the husband be dead she is loosed from the law of her husband
So then if while her husband liveth she be married to another man she shall be called an adulteress
But if her husband be dead she is free from that law so that she is no adulteress though she be married to another man
Wherefore my brethren ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ
That ye should be married to another even to him who is raised from the dead
That we should bring forth fruit unto God
So you see how the Bible is saying
Basically that we are to be married to Christ
That's a symbol there
That's a picture of salvation
Marriage pictures salvation
Look at Ephesians 5
I'll show you further
Ephesians 5 verse 22
Wives submit yourselves unto your own husbands as unto the Lord
For the husband is the head of the wife
Even as Christ is the head of the church
So notice the husband and wife is like Christ and the church
Do you see that?
Even as Christ is the head of the church and he is the savior of the body
Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ
So let the wives be to their own husbands and everything
Husbands love your wives even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it
So we see over and over again in this passage
That marriage is likened unto the relationship between Christ and the church
Between Christ and us as believers
Now why is this illustration so applicable?
Well because of the fact that once we get married
It's supposed to be permanent
Right? It's supposed to be till death do us part
And staying married is not based on our actions or our deeds
It's based on a promise
Right?
It's not based on well I like the way you're acting
Therefore I'm going to stay married to you
I like being around you I enjoy your company
Therefore let's stay married
No it's based on a promise
I'm staying married because I promised
Because you promised till death do us part
It's a vow
Well it's the same thing with salvation
Salvation is not based on our actions
Or how we act, how we feel
It's based on a promise
The Bible says this is the promise that he has promised us
Even eternal life
So God promised eternal life unto all those that believe
And he promised I will never leave you nor forsake you
Now when you get married that's what you're promising
I will never leave you nor forsake you
And it ends at death right?
When the husband dies it's over
When the wife dies it's over
It's not forever and ever and ever it's till death
But stop and think about this
We're in Christ
We've been espoused unto Christ
Here's the thing he's never going to die
Because the Bible says he was dead but now he lives forevermore
And not only that we're never going to die
Because the Bible says whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die
So our salvation is eternal
So that's part of the reason why it's likened unto marriage
Another reason why it's likened unto marriage is because in marriage there's an authority structure
Where the husband is the head of the wife
As Christ is the head of the church
Just as the church is to be subject unto Christ
Meaning that Christ rules over the church
The husband is to rule over his wife
The Bible says in Genesis 3 16
He shall rule over thee about Adam and Eve
So there's an authority structure
That's also another similarity between the two
So when we see these similarities
And understand that marriage is a beautiful picture of salvation
That should show us why God hates divorce
Why God said that he hates putting away
Because what it does is it ruins that picture
It's like as if you could lose your salvation
You know what I mean?
As if it could end prematurely
When in reality it can't end
Because God will never leave us nor forsake us
And the Bible says that he has us in his hand
Inside the Father's hand
And no man is able to pluck us out of his hand
Now this is why this is such an important thing to talk about
Because just as we could turn the grace of God into lasciviousness
In regard to salvation, right?
In marriage people could turn the grace of marriage
Into a license to treat their spouse however
What do I mean by that?
Well if I know that my wife's never gonna leave me or forsake me
I know that it's till death
I know that she's made that promise and can't break that promise
Does that mean that I should just treat my wife poorly?
Cause who cares?
What's she gonna do about it?
She can't leave
Is that a good attitude?
Now isn't that similar to a Christian who has an attitude of
Oh I'm saved I'm going to heaven no matter what
I'm gonna go out and live however
Cause I'm going to heaven anyway
That's just like a husband who would say
Well my wife's never gonna leave me so I'm just gonna treat her however
Or a wife who says
Well I know my husband's never gonna divorce me
I know my husband's never gonna leave me so I'm not gonna obey him
What's he gonna do about it?
See how it's the same type of a thing
Same type of a situation
So we could turn grace into lasciviousness
Not just in regard to salvation but in regard to marriage as well
Now here's the thing about that
Truly, no matter how my wife treats me
I will never leave her I will never divorce my wife
No matter how bad she treats me
I'm not leaving
And no matter how bad she treats me
Or no matter how bad I treat her
You know right honey?
Right?
You know she's not gonna leave me but here's the thing about that
That's the way it should be right amongst Christians
They should have that attitude that of course
It's do or die
No matter what till death do us part
But guess what though
Even if that's the case
You should still put forth an effort
To love your wife husbands
And you should still put forth the effort wives
To reverence and submit to your husband
Whether or not it's gonna make or break
The actual union itself
You still should just as we should
Obey Christ's commandments
If you love me keep my commandments
Okay well if you love your husband
Obey your husband
And if you love your wife
Show your wife that you love her
Demonstrate that love
Live out that love
And make it evident to her
And don't just have an attitude that says
Well she's stuck with me
I'll work on other areas of my life
That are a little more volatile
You know?
This is in the bag
That's called taking things for granted
Now we shouldn't take the Lord for granted
But here's the good news
Even if we take the Lord for granted
He'll never leave us or forsake us cause he's perfect
But did you know that your husband or wife
They're not God
They might break their promise
Now God forbid that they would do that
But you know what?
It wouldn't be the first time
If your wife leaves you
It wouldn't be the first time that that happened
In an independent fundamental Baptist church
Would it?
Would it be the first time that a
A godly Christian family
Was in church and serving the Lord
And then they neglected their marriage
And neglected their marriage
And eventually
The husband got sick of it and said
Hey I'm sick of being treated like garbage
I'm leaving
Now obviously that's wicked for him to leave
Obviously that's wicked for her to leave
If she says
I'm sick and tired of being unloved
And neglected and treated like dirt
I'm leaving
Look that's wicked
But it happens
It's out there
Why?
Because your spouse is not as consistent as God is
He's not as trustworthy as God is
So therefore
Number one
Don't have this attitude
Toward your wife or husband
Oh they're stuck with me
So I'm gonna act however and take it for granted
Because number one
That's wrong
That's not love
If you love them
You'll do it out of love
Not out of fear
But number two
Don't do that
Because you know what?
It might not be as secure as you think
Because stranger things have happened
Than adultery
Adultery happens
Divorce happens
And the people who do it are wicked as hell
But let me tell you something
Don't push your spouse to that
Yeah it's their fault when they do it
But why would you push them to that
Okay let's find that concept in scripture
Go to 1 Corinthians 10
I'm not making things up this morning
I'm preaching the Bible
These are not man's philosophies
Man's wisdom
That say
Hey don't push
Your spouse
Don't push your husband
Don't push your wife
Don't test it to see how far you can push it
What does the Bible say?
Let's get back on the subject of Christ
1 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 5
But with many of them
God was not well pleased
Joyce Meyer
Joseph Prince
Joel Osteen
For they were overthrown in the wilderness
Now these things were our examples to the intent
That we should not lust after evil things
As they also lusted
Neither be ye idolaters
As were some of them
As it is written
The people sat down to eat and drink
And rose up to play
Neither let us commit fornication
As some of them committed
And fell in one day
Three and twenty thousand
Here's the key verse
Verse 9
Neither let us tempt Christ
As some of them also tempted
And were destroyed of serpents
Neither murmur ye
As some of them also murmured
And were destroyed of the destroyer
Now all these things happen unto them for examples
And they are written for our admonition
Upon whom the ends of the world are come
Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth
Take heed lest he fall
Let me ask you this
What does it mean to tempt Christ?
What does it mean to tempt him?
It doesn't mean to tempt him with evil
God cannot be tempted with evil
Neither tempteth he any man
What it means to tempt
It means to test them
When God tempted Abraham
He was testing him
He was trying him
So the Bible is saying
Don't test God
Don't try to push God
And see how far you're going to push him
And see how much you can get away with it
See they tempted the Lord in the wilderness
They kept pushing and pushing
And then he pushed back
And he sent fiery serpents to destroy them
Now what was the sin that caused God to send the fiery serpents?
It was complaining
It was murmuring
Read the story
Numbers 21
They murmured
They complained
They whined
And they kept pushing and pushing
And God
Called their bluff
Now God's not going to call your bluff
In the sense of sending you to hell
Because he'll never send us to hell
Once we have believed on Christ
We have eternal life
We shall never perish
But you know what
God could call your bluff
By bringing serious chastisement into your life
Serious punishment
Serious calamity
The Bible says
He that being often reproved
Hardened at his neck
Shall suddenly be destroyed
In that without remedy
You know don't tempt God
Don't tempt Christ
Don't just keep murmuring or fornicating or drinking
And just keep pushing it
And tempting Christ
He says the same thing in Hebrews 3
You don't have to turn there
Harden not your hearts
As in the provocation
In the day of temptation in the wilderness
When your fathers tempted me
Proved me
And saw my works forty years
He says don't tempt me
Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God
Don't try to test him and prove him
And we're not talking about it in a good way
Like hey we're going to see what God can do
If we give him our best
We're talking about the kind of tempting God
That says well you know let's see if God
Is really even going to punish me
If I do this
Okay back to what we were talking about
Because remember this ties in with marriage
Don't be a wife who wants to just tempt her husband
And test him
And you know what
There are a lot of wives out there
That push and push their husband
They're just trying to find a boundary
Just keep pushing him
Keep on trying to provoke him
Trying to get a rise out of him
Trying to get a reaction out of him
It's out there
Or if we were to flip that over
The way that a husband
Would tempt his wife would be
To just it would be more of a
Instead of a more active tempting
Like the wife who's just nagging and whining
And complaining and cursing
And attacking him and telling him off
And refusing to obey
Refusing to submit
I think on the husband's side
Tempting the wife would be more like
Just how much can I just neglect her
And ignore her
And just not show any love
And she'll still put up with it
Right I mean just
Just see how far you can push it
See how much I mean look
It's sort of like my Hyundai Sonata
That I used to drive
I didn't really give it a lot of tender loving care
You know
I tend to abuse property
Okay I confess
I don't treat things very well
Be careful if you loan me stuff
Okay I'll just put it that way
Cause I don't really treat things that well
You know
And I'm not saying that that's good
I'm just being honest
And it's funny because my dad
Is the exact opposite
He cleans his motorcycle with a toothbrush
And it looks like it just came off the assembly line yesterday
After he's had it for years
But I on the other hand
I tend to have a philosophy of
Well things are to be used
You know so let's drive it till the wheels fall off
So I had this Hyundai Sonata
And man you know I didn't treat that thing
First of all I was constantly tossing the keys
To young guys and letting them borrow it
To do work
You know I'd send them on a fire alarm job
For me or something
Here borrow my car
Or use my car for soul winning
Or use this car
And of course they're just
Grinding and
Gears and you know just whatever
They do all kinds of just
Irresponsible things with it
And then when I would drive it
I would change the oil
Every twelve or thirteen thousand miles
Consistently
Okay
I mean I remember one time
I was out driving
In New Mexico
And I was in like a blizzard snowstorm
In northern New Mexico
And I just
Was just do or die
I gotta get to this job
And I was driving
There were these big snow drifts in the road
And I just kept bashing through them
And if you remember my Hyundai Sonata
Who remembers that car that I had
That red car
Who remembers how the front of it
Was like sewn together
With bailing wire
Yeah
That was from me
Just bashing through these snow drifts
In the road
Just trying to get to this job
And the road was blocked with snow
And I'm just like
Argh
You know just
Just hitting these snow drifts
Just busting through them
And I think like
If I slow down
I'm gonna get stuck
I just gotta keep going
You know and I mean
The inside of the car was just
I'm shoving like ten foot sticks
Of conduit into a sedan
It fit
Oh you can fit
A ten foot stick of conduit
In a Hyundai Sonata
You take it
You put the seat down the back
You stick it through the trunk
Shove it all the way up onto the dash
Up to the window
So I have like ten foot sticks of conduit
I'm putting a six foot ladder
Inside the Sonata
Inside this four door sedan
I'm shoving all kinds of materials
I'm loading it down with parts
I'm sleeping in it
I'm eating in it
They say
Oh it's bad for the car
To let it run all night
I slept in that car
Hundreds of times
With the engine running
All night
Hundreds of times
And I'm not exaggerating
You think I am?
I slept in my car regularly
Two to three nights a week
For about seven years
Okay
So you do the math
So I was constantly sleeping in the car
Trying to save money on business trips
And just in a hurry
Didn't have time to get a hotel
Just pull off at the rest area
Whatever
So the bottom line is
I didn't really take care of this car
I mean I was tempting this car
I mean I'm basically
What am I doing?
What can I get away with
With this car
And it still gets me from point A to point B
You know
And I never
Listen to this
That car when it finally just exploded
The engine just like exploded
I had put three hundred and fifty five thousand miles on that car
And I had only broken down once
I broke down once
At around three hundred and thirty thousand miles an hour
That was the first time I ever broke down
I mean that was an amazing car
Either
Either Hyundai makes amazing cars
Or God was just
Supernaturally blessing that car
Or both
I don't, you know
But it wasn't because I took such good care of it
I'll tell you that much
So I had three hundred and fifty five thousand miles on it
The thing just
The engine just
Black smoke
I had a tow truck come pick it up
And I just tossed them the keys
And said
I'm done with this car
It's all yours
Best car I've ever had
But
But here's the thing
The whole time I had that car
The only thing I did
I changed the oil every twelve, thirteen, fifteen thousand miles
Admittedly I would put that many miles on pretty fast
I changed the tires obviously
And I changed the spark plugs once
I never changed a belt
I never added antifreeze or changed the antifreeze
It just
It was the same
It was the same antifreeze
From when I bought the car
I'm not kidding
It was a two thousand and eight
Hyundai
Yeah seriously
Well you know what's funny is that
I talked about this in a sermon
Or I did a blog post about it
And the Hyundai dealer from Las Vegas
Wrote to me and said
Your story about your car is the most beautiful story
I've ever heard about it
He probably tells it to everybody
When he's selling that
But you know
I know about five people who bought a Hyundai Sonata
Because of me telling that
You know
As far as I know for most of it
It was a great car for them
I think it's a good car
Yeah
This message was brought to you in part by Hyundai
But anyway
But the point is
You know
Here's the thing
Your wife is not just this car
That you just drive it till the wheels fall off
You're spilling food
Spilling drinks
Shoving conduit
Shoving a ladder
Loan it to whoever
Just let the thing run all night with no rest
I mean look
Eventually
And it might last for three hundred and thirty
You know
I'm trying to get more than three hundred and fifty thousand miles
Out of my wife
Amen
So you know
I don't want her to just eventually
And here's the thing
I didn't think there was anything wrong with that car
Because that car was consistent
I mean that car was consistent
But eventually it blew up
Well here's the thing
Eventually your wife is going to blow up
Eventually your husband is going to blow up
And here's the thing
When your car blows up
You toss the keys
And say
Hey
That was worth
Twenty thousand dollars
Or whatever I paid for it
How much was that car
About twenty grand or something
You don't just toss the keys
And say
Hey that was a good ride
That was a good five years
That was a good three hundred and fifty five thousand miles
Good run
Move on to the next one
Guess what you can't do that with your wife
When your wife blows up
When your husband blows up
You don't just toss the keys
It's not that simple is it
It's a lot simpler
To sign over the title to that Hyundai
When it blows up
It blew up
We were on the way
I was on the way to
Who was with me when it blew up
Wasn't somebody with me
Remember we were on the way to hiking
Hell's Gate
You know what
All the people who
You know the problem is
I take people on these extreme hikes
And then they quit the church
None of them were here
That car was filled with like
Four
There were four other guys in that car
And they've all quit the church
Because I took them on these hellish hikes
It was called
I took them on this hike called Hell's Gate
And it was on the way to Hell's Gate
We were driving to Payson
We were going up the hill
It was just
You know black smoke
Is coming out and everything
We pulled over and I said
The hike must go on
We got it towed into town
We got it towed into Payson
Tossed them the keys
Called a cab
And said take us to the Hell's Gate trailhead
And we hiked all day
My wife picked us up that night
You know and drove us back to Phoenix
I never saw that car again
But you know what
That was kind of just easy
To be cool and nonchalant
Hey the hike must go on
Let's do it
Nuts to this car
Call a cab
The hike to Hell's Gate
Here we come
Sixteen mile brutal hike
But here's the thing
The hike doesn't go on
When your wife blows up
Or your husband blows up
Life doesn't just go on
Okay
You do irreparable damage
And so we need to not just take
Our spouse for granted
Right
And just think to ourself
Oh well
Since it's till death
This doesn't need any maintenance
This doesn't need any effort
Look
Marriage takes effort
On both people's part
Husbands need to put forth an effort
Wives need to put forth an effort
And there are far too many people
Who are just
Going through the motions in their marriage
And they're not putting any effort in
And this isn't just directed at women or men
Because I see the same problems on both sides
It's not just all the men's fault
Or oh it's all the women's fault
You know there are plenty of men
Who just completely ignore
Neglect their wife
Don't take any interest in her
And just avoid her
And just they don't spend time with her
And then there are plenty of wives
Who are just
Tempting and provoking their husband
By just being a nag
And a pain
And you know
Not obeying
And not submitting
Look there's problems on both sides
Both people need to make an effort
Both the husband
And the wife
Need to make an effort
To do a good job
At maintaining their marriage
And not to just have this
Hyper grace marriage
Of just well no matter what I do
My wife's pleased with me
Because we're married
Amen
Send your check
And become a
A destined to reign funding partner
You know Joseph Prince
You know
Okay try that on your marriage
Yeah no matter what I do
My wife just always is happy with me
No matter what I do
My husband's always happy
No they're not
And by the way
Especially with women
Sometimes their anger
Is bottled up
And it's not expressed
Until the explosion
Because men tend to be more expressive
Of their feelings right
Men tend to tell you
How they really feel
Men are very direct
In their communication right
Whereas women tend to be
A little bit more indirect sometimes
With the way that they communicate
So you know
If a man's not happy
He's gonna speak up about it sooner
Hey I don't like the way things are going here
But often times
Women are just kind of like
No it's fine
It's alright
No go ahead
Go ahead it's okay
We can cancel our dinner together
You can go bowling
With your buddies again
Or you know
It's fine
Go no go ahead
Have a great time
You know
And then he's out the door
It's like
And a lot of times
When men
When their wife leaves them
They don't even see it coming
You know what I'm saying
Like they don't even see it coming
They're like
Whoa I thought everything was fine
And all of a sudden
It's just they come home one day
And all their wife's stuff is gone
And the divorce papers are there
Do you think that that never happens?
Or worse yet
They think everything's fine
Oh I thought my wife was totally satisfied
I thought everything was great
And then they catch their wife with another man
Happens all the time
And look
This is hell
Don't get me wrong
There's no excuse for adultery
There's no excuse
The bible says
The adulterer and the adulteress
Should be put to death
Major sin
Wicked
But here's the thing
Does that mean that
Oh well adultery's so wicked
That means I'm just gonna keep pushing
My spouse
Toward that
Cause I know they're never gonna do it
So I'll just keep pushing
And keep pushing
No no no
That's stupid
Because number one
You're wicked to tempt
That way
And number two
Maybe they will go off that cliff
Because they're a sinner
God forbid
But maybe they will
And I'm telling you man
And let me just focus in on the men for a minute
Let me tell you something
Your wife may not be happy with you
Your wife may not be satisfied with you
Your wife may not
Feel that she
Is getting what she wants out of that relationship
And you know what
You better make sure
And give your wife what she needs
In this relationship
That's what the Bible says
This is not my opinion
Okay
The Bible says
That we are supposed to
And if you would
Go to 1 Corinthians chapter number seven
1 Corinthians chapter number seven
And remember Galatians 5 13 said this
For brethren you've been called unto liberty
Only use not liberty
For an occasion to the flesh
But by love
Serve one another
And here's the thing about that
You know marriage
Is a kind of liberty in a sense
Because when you're dating
You're constantly
You know
They can break up with you at any time
So you're kind of on your best behavior right
When you're dating
Because
It's not a done deal
It's not a sure thing yet
So you're really on your best behavior
Okay then when you get married
You can relax a little bit
And let your hair down
Because you're not just
On thin ice
Right
But here's the thing
And that's a good feeling
I like being married
I like the fact
Of not having to constantly be
You know wooing
And courting
And dating
And feeling like
I have to impress
And you know
Because I'm on thin ice
You know
It's nice to just be able to realize
Hey it's a done deal
Right
So there's a certain freedom
Or liberty
Where you can kind of be yourself
You can relax a little bit
You can let your hair down
Because you're married
You're not dating anymore right
But you don't want to use that liberty though
And abuse that liberty
Of just
Well I'm just not going to try at all
I'm not going to try to make myself appealing at all
To my wife or to my husband
I'm not going to try to be
You know
A fun person to be around at all
I'm just going to be a pain in the rear end
Because I can
See what I'm saying
We should use liberty to serve one another
We should use liberty
To love one another
The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 7 verse 10
And unto the married I command
Yet not I but the Lord
Let not the wife depart from her husband
That's a pretty clear verse
Teaching that it's wrong for a wife to leave her husband period
But look what it says in the next verse
But and if she depart
So what's it saying
It's wrong
But guess what
Some of them are going to do it
You see that
But and if they depart
But and if she depart
Let her remain unmarried
Or be reconciled to her husband
And let not the husband put away his wife
Go to verse 1 it says
Now concerning the things
Whereof you wrote unto me
It's good for a man not to touch a woman
Nevertheless to avoid fornication
Let every man have his own wife
And let every woman have her own husband
Let the husband render unto the wife
Due benevolence
And likewise also
The wife unto the husband
The wife hath not power of her own body
But the husband
And likewise also
The husband hath not power of his own body
But the wife
Defraud ye not one the other
Except it be with consent for a time
That ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer
And come together again
That Satan
Tempt you not for your incontinency
He's not saying here
Oh Christians are all above adultery
No Christian would ever commit adultery
No
He said if you're married
You better have that physical relationship
Otherwise Satan will tempt you
For your incontinency
And notice he's not just saying that to the man is he
He said it both ways
He said it to the man and the woman
Now most people think of this being as more of a man thing
Most people think of this as
Oh the wife is withholding the physical relationship from her husband
That's how most people think this would work
But did you know
That that's only 80% of the time
If you look at statistically
80% of husbands
Or 80% of people who would say
Hey my spouse is denying me that physical relationship
80% of them are men and 20% of them are women
20% is substantial
That's a lot
20%
Not 2%
20%
Where it's the woman who's saying
My husband is refusing to have a physical relationship with me
So it's not just husbands whose wives are withholding a physical relationship with him
It's wives whose husbands are withholding that physical relationship
Look
This is just a taking of your spouse for granted
And just tempting them
And pushing them
And just seeing how far you can push it
And listen to me
Someday it might blow up in your face
You better make sure if you're a husband
That you attend under the needs of your wife
And if you're a wife
You better make sure that you attend under the needs of your husband
In the physical area
But even outside of the physical area
Husbands and wives have other needs
Men have a need
Of being respected and honored by their wife
Wives have a need
To be loved and appreciated by their wife
Both people have a need
Of companionship and friendship
And spending time together
And you might think to yourself
Well I'm totally satisfied with this marriage
Okay but is your wife totally satisfied?
Oh well I'm totally satisfied
Yeah but is your husband totally satisfied?
You better watch out
Because let him that thinketh he standeth
Take heed lest he fall
What's the whole sermon about?
It's about taking things for granted
And it's about abusing liberty
That's what it's about
It's about turning the grace of God
Into lasciviousness
Or turning the grace of your husband
Or the grace of your wife into lasciviousness
It's about just
Oh I can get away with it
Well then I'm just going to do whatever I want
Well guess what
There are consequences to that
And so we need to make sure
That just because we're saved eternally
Doesn't mean that we ignore
The do's and don'ts that God has for us
And just because we're married
Lifelong
We shouldn't just ignore
You know working on that relationship
We need to put effort into that relationship
And make sure we maintain that thing
So that it doesn't just last
355,000 miles
But that it lasts us for life
Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer
Father we thank you so much for
Salvation Lord
And the free gift of your grace Lord
Help us never to pervert or abuse
That gift of grace
Lord
By dressing up like an Elvis impersonator
And telling everybody
Hey there's no punishment
God's pleased with you no matter what
God's always happy with you
Wrong Lord
Help us to walk in trembling and fear Lord
Of our stern father who's ready to
Discipline us when we do wrong Lord
Help us to continue to walk in
In the fear of God
Even the New Testament tells us
Fear God
And Lord help us to understand
That you know just because
We are married for life
Doesn't mean that we should just do whatever
In Jesus name we pray Amen
Song number 406 who is on the Lord's side
Song number 406
Song number 406 who is on the Lord's side
Who is on the Lord's side
Who will serve that King
Who will be his helpers
Father life to bring
Who will be the world sign
Who will face the flood
Who is on the Lord's side
Who forgive the God
By thy call of mercy
By thy grace be thine
We are on the Lord's side
Savior we abide
Not the way of moving
Not for having gone
Enter me the glory
Praise the warrior's son
But for love can claim him
Thy show will be done
We know Jesus named him
Must be on his side
By thy love can strain me
By thy grace divine
We are on the Lord's side
Savior we abide
Jesus thou hast bought us
Not with gold nor change
But with thy own life God
For thine eye attend
With thy blessing fill me
Each who comes to me
Thou hast made us wily
Thou hast made us free
By thy great convention
By thy grace divine
We are on the Lord's side
Savior we abide
For years may be the wrong thing
Strong may be the fool
But the little army
None can overthrow
The crown will stand her waiting
If we escape through
For this truth of changing
Makes a triumph so
Joyfully enlisting
By thy grace divine
We are on the Lord's side
Savior we abide
We are on the Lord's side
Savior we abide
We are on the Lord's side
Savior we abide
We are on the Lord's side
Savior we abide
We are on the Lord's side