Please turn in your Bibles again to Romans chapter 3. Romans chapter 3, and with God's help we'll be considering verses 1 and 2. Let us perhaps, I know we've read this chapter, chapter 3, but let us perhaps, for context, let's go back to chapter 2 and verse 25 and read through to 3 verse 2. For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law. But if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. Therefore, if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision? And shall not uncircumcision, which is by nature, if it fulfill the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision doth transgress the law? For he is not a Jew which is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh, but he is a Jew which is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God. What advantage then hath the Jew? Or what profit is there of circumcision? Much every way, chiefly because that unto them were committed the oracles of God. Amen. And so the theme this afternoon is the advantages of outward religion. So Paul has been making very clear to the Jews, in particular, there in Rome, that having the written law in itself didn't save them. Being circumcised didn't save them. In fact, he says here, we learn as we learn elsewhere, that being circumcised or uncircumcised doesn't affect your salvation. We might say the same about baptism. Being baptized or unbaptized doesn't affect your salvation. And so, as he continues, we might ask, if both Jews and Gentiles stand condemned by the law of God, As far as they know it, for the Gentiles, without the written word of God, they stand condemned according to what they do know, that is, what's written on their hearts. The Jews, according to what they know, according to what's been given to them. But if all stand condemned before the law and being circumcised or uncircumcised, that's not the thing that saved them. And if there is only one hope for eternal life, that is faith in Christ Jesus. Now, Paul hasn't gone into great detail about that yet, but he said, look, this is the gospel I'm preaching, the gospel of Jesus Christ, that there is righteousness, there is salvation for all who believe, Jew and Greek, Jew and Gentile. But if this is so, what advantage did the Jew have? What advantage? And we might say, what advantage do members of Christchurch have? And Paul says, much. There is much, every way of advantage There was much advantage in being a Jew. There is much advantage in belonging to a particular church in the Church of Christ. Yes, circumcision in itself is vain. It is, cannot save. Baptism by itself is vain, it cannot save. We, the theme last week, the necessity of inward religion There needs to be a changed heart. There needs to be faith. But does this mean that outward religion is nothing, is worthless, is useless? No. Perhaps you've seen, whether it be bumper stickers or memes or just things that people say, I need Jesus, effectively, not religion. I don't need religion, I need Jesus. But Christ, as the head of his church, he defines true religion. And he doesn't, faith in Christ, and the necessity of faith in Christ, doesn't mean that religion is unnecessary or unuseful. And so that's what Paul's addressing here. He says, what advantage then hath the Jew? Much every way. So I want to consider these things under the following headings. Firstly, advantages under the law. Secondly, advantages under the gospel. And thirdly, advantages can be used or abused. So firstly, advantages under the law. So speaking of the Jew, What advantage then hath the Jew, or what profit is there of circumcision? Much every way, chiefly because that unto them were committed the oracles of God." Being a Jew outwardly, which is what he's speaking of now, doesn't guarantee salvation. Being circumcised outwardly with the hands, as he's just said, doesn't mean that someone is saved and doesn't guarantee that they will be saved. But this doesn't mean that it's all a waste of time. Nopal says there was much advantage to being a Jew. Much every way. But he doesn't now. We might think, why? He's going to list off a whole lot of advantages. But he focuses on the chief advantage. And we could say it's the first, chiefly or firstly, because that unto them were committed and trusted the oracles of God. They were given the oracles of God. It's the first and we could say that the rest flow from it. Now the oracles of God we find this language in the Bible in a few places. And it refers to the spoken word, that which is oral from the mouth. So Stephen in Acts 7 verse 38 says how that Moses received the lively or living oracles to give unto us. So he received the word of God. He heard God speak. He was there with God face to face, mouth to mouth. And he heard those words from God, and he wrote them down and gave them to Israel. And the Apostle Paul in Hebrews 5, 12, the Apostle Peter in 1 Peter 4, 11, also refer to the oracles of God. And we're talking about the Scriptures. The Word of God, which is from the mouth of God. And think of what Paul says in 2 Timothy chapter 3 in verse 16. He says, all scripture is given by inspiration of God. Now some translate, certainly commentators say, and some translations I think even reflect, that this has to do with that which comes from God, breathed out by God, God breathed, given by the Spirit of God. And that's why we say when we come to the Word of God, it is not, this isn't, A dead book. It is the Word of God, the living and active Word of God. As Paul says in Hebrews 4 verse 12, for the Word of God is quick. It's not talking about fast, but living, like the quick and the dead, the living and the dead. The Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the divineness under of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Have you noticed that in terms of we? We go to that verse different times and consider how the Lord's, the Word of God and what it is to us. But notice it says, the Word of God is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. That shows us that it's not a dead book. It's not just that God's words were written down once, and this is a record of that. No, it is the word of God. These are the oracles of God, that which comes from the mouth of God. And when God's word is read and heard, we're hearing God. Now, the Jews were given the scriptures, the scriptures of the Old Testament. Jesus refers to how that in Luke 24, as he's speaking to the disciples in the road to Emmaus from Jerusalem and later to his disciples in the upper room, he speaks of how Moses and all the prophets prophesied of him. That's in verse 27 of Luke 24. And then in verse 44, he speaks of how the law of Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms speak of him. And it's without naming all the books of the Old Testament, all 39 books, which they had then, it's referring to the sections in that sense, and the major parts of the Old Testament scriptures. How is this an advantage? Well, they had God with them and He only revealed Himself in the Scriptures to Israel, to the Jews. In Psalm 147, verse 19 and 20, he showed his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel. He hath not dealt so with any nation, and as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the Lord. So there were other advantages. I want to go to a couple of passages and look at some of those in a moment. But they all follow and flow from this one that God had revealed himself to them and given that deposit of truth in the scriptures so that they had access to him and to his will. And the other advantages flow from this chief advantage, this chief privilege that they had in Romans chapter 9 verse 4 and 5. As Paul laments over his brethren, according to the flesh, Jews, his kinsmen, he says, Who are the Israelites, to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises, whose are the fathers, and of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen. These were advantages that they had which no other nation had. They had the revelation of God and all these aspects of it, the covenants, the promises, the fathers, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the other godly forebears. You can look also in Ephesians chapter 2. to have gone to a few times over the last number of weeks. But Ephesians 2, in verse 11 and 12, we're pulled right to the Gentiles there in Ephesus. Gentile Christians, and he says, wherefore remember that he being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by that which is called the circumcision in the flesh made by hand, that at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. So Israel had the light of God's word and revealed therein. who God is. All the promises of Christ, the sacrifices and the ceremonies all pointing forward to the Saviour who would come, the priests there in the temple, that they could go and they could receive an assurance of the forgiveness of their sins as they offered those sacrifices and as they were also ministered to, as the priests taught them, as the prophets taught them. There was hope The resurrection hope held out to them. The hope of the kingdom of God and the Messiah. They had God with them. And so the Jews, they had this great advantage. They were not left in darkness, not left in ignorance, not left in hopelessness. Because the nations, and Paul is As may that very claim, the nations did have some knowledge of God and of His law. Everyone knows. Then, and today, everyone knows that there is a God. They know that they have been created. Deep down they know. The evidence is there before them. And God's law is written on the hearts. but the rest of the world did not have God near to them. They did not have the Word of God with them. They didn't have God's commandments set before them in black and white, written in stone, the Ten Commandments, and then written down with pen after in books. The rest of the world didn't have that word read to them. Day by day, week by week, year by year, in the synagogues, in the temple, at the feasts, these things were set before the Jews again and again. What advantage then did the Jew have? Much every way, chiefly because that to them were committed entrusted the oracles of God. Now did these advantages, did this advantage of having the word of God in itself save the Jews? No, it did not. But Did this mean that salvation was brought near to the Jews? And were sinners saved through the ages by means of the Word of God, by the oracles of God? Yes, as it was read to them and as they read and as they meditated upon that law, as the Spirit of God worked to save sinners by the Word. absolute necessity. It has always been the absolute necessity of an heart change, of an inward religion. The advantage that the Jews had was they had access to the knowledge of that necessity. They had access to the revelation of God. They weren't saved by hearing, only by faith. they got to hear, they got to read, they had access. So many advantages to those under the law. And before we come to those advantages that there are under the gospel, I just want to mention something here concerning modern Judaism. Does what Paul says here apply to modern Jews? Do Jews today have these same advantages? We can say, I think, yes and no. To a certain extent, but not as they did. Yes, and so far as even in modern Judaism, talking about those we might call religious Jews, there still is the Word of God. And in as much as the Word of God is there, they the Spirit is able to work. They have access, they have that advantage, that in their religion there is still the oracles of God. However, no, we have to realise, and the no is that modern Judaism, we have to understand, is not Old Testament biblical religion. It is not at all. They are not worshiping modern Jews, those even that would call themselves religious and be saying that they're following Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. As we've considered recently, they are not worshiping the one true God. They worship an idol, because God is the God and Father of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And they reject Christ, absolutely. They reject Him as Messiah. They reject Him as the Son of God. So they reject, they deny the son, they deny the father. And modern Judaism, yes, the scriptures are still in there, but it is, as we might say, of other religions as well. There is a mountain of tradition, of Jewish tradition, piled on top of the scriptures. The rabbis, the Talmud, the Midrash, and all sorts of other things as well. Is there still advantage? Well, there is. We might say, yes, there is still the word of God there. And so there is some advantage compared to others. But chiefly, when we are speaking of this advantage and thinking of it through to today, we have to consider the church of God. Because when Paul's speaking of the Jews and their advantage, he's speaking of the church under the law. The advantages of those under the law. The church today has the law, but we are under the gospel. The chief, and that's our second point, the advantages under the gospel. The chief application of these verses and of this matter concerning the advantages of outward religion, the chief application is not to modern-day Jews, because they are no longer in covenant with God. Think of Romans 11. We won't go there now, but think of the olive tree. One olive tree, and there is God's church through the ages. In the Old Testament it was almost all Jewish with a few Gentiles graft in. Christ came. Christ was rejected. by and large by the Jews and will describe how the Jewish church in that sense was, well the Jewish branches were broken off, cut off. Now they will be engrafted again, we look for that, we pray for that. and and through the ages the iranian jews converted we thank god for that we praise god for that but uh that it is not that israel as a largely in majority now are no longer or as a people in covenant with god they've been broken off we're talking about the church of god International, Jew and Gentile, the new covenant, people of God, united by faith in Christ and trusting in His blood, the blood of the covenant. So it is the same. The advantage, though, then, is in being near to God, in covenant with God. And we look in the Old Testament, we see there was, in that same covenant of grace, that Abraham was in and his children were in covenant with God, circumcision, the sign of that covenant. And so in the New Testament, believers and their children brought near to God, the sign of that covenant, baptism. So we're speaking of the advantages of belonging They've been a part of the visible Church of Christ. Let me just read in the Confession, in the Westminster Confession, a brief definition of the visible Church of Christ. We understand what I'm speaking of. So it's in chapter 25, section 2, the visible Church which is also Catholic or universal under the Gospel, not confined to one nation as before under the law. It consists of all those throughout the world that profess the true religion and of their children. the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, the house and family of God, out of which there is no ordinary possibility of salvation. So even there, in that brief definition and explanation, it says, out of which there is no ordinary possibility of salvation. What is the advantage of belonging to the visible church of God? What's the advantage of belonging to the covenant people of God? That is where you find salvation. because that is where you find the word of God. And if there are advantages to the Jews under the law, there are advantages to covenant members with a Jew or Gentile under the gospel. And if we think, because, let's go back again to just the end of chapter two, And if you recall, I read from some words that Matthew Henry paraphrased, as it were, of verses 28 and 29. I don't have that in front of me, but to the effect of this, in terms of application, What Paul says of Jews, so those in the Old Testament church, that applies today. He is not a Christian which is one outwardly, neither is that baptism which is outward in the flesh or on the body. He is a Christian which is one inwardly, and baptism is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God. And so we might say then, well, what advantage Do you have, if you belong to the church of God, if you're a professing Christian, if your parents are professing Christians, what advantage is there? What profit is there in baptism? And it's the same answer, much every way. Chiefly, because that unto us have been committed the oracles of God. We have God's word. And this is so important when we come, and this is not the sermon about baptism or about into who baptism was to be applied, to be administered, but so important when we're thinking about our children, when we're thinking about covenant membership, that we understand baptism is not salvation. Baptism is the promise, holds out the promises of God. Those promises need to be taken hold of by faith. But it doesn't mean that baptism is worthless, meaningless. There is advantage in it. There is advantage in belonging to the Church of God. Advantage means in the visible Church of God. And the chief advantage is that we have the Oracles of God. The Church has the Word of God. and not just the Old Testament, the New Testament. We have the entirety of God's revealed will as he has seen fit to keep, to preserve through the ages. We don't just have the promises, we have the fulfillment. We don't just have the shadows, we have the body which is Christ. So I want to with you then now think of something of this advantage of having the Word of God, having the oracles of God committed to us and how that works out. To think on the privileges that you have if you belong to a particular church in the visible Church of Christ. You might say, first of all, that you have God's law. You have everything that the Jews had. Whatever advantage they had, you have that. You have the whole Old Testament, you have the law. God has kept the same word through the ages. and won't go into detail on that today, but he used the Jews, even after they had been cut off in that sense from the visible church of God, in preserving the Hebrew scriptures through many centuries. And so we have them, we have them in our own language, translated, which we give thanks to God. So we have God's law, but we have more than the law, the Old Testament scriptures. We have the New Testament. We have the revelation of Christ, the revelation of the gospel. Now, we read in the New Testament, and we read just before in Romans 3, of how the things that Paul was writing of, this wasn't brand new. God's always been saving sinners by faith in the promised Christ. Now he was saving by faith in the revealed Christ. And that righteousness of God, without the law, so not by work, but by faith, that was witnessed by the law and the prophets. So they had that, but we have these things, no longer in the shadows, no longer the prophets looking ahead, trying to figure out who they were speaking of and when he was coming and what it was going to look like. We have these things in the light of day. They had circumcision, a sign belonging to God, a sign that their hearts needed to be circumcised. pointing to the necessity of blood being shed. We have, you have, baptism, a better sign, not just for males, male and female, no longer in the shadows and blood pointing to a sacrifice one day, but that blood's been shed. Water, cleansing, washing, a clearer meaning, wider application, You have the Word of God. In the Church of God, you have the advantage. The Jews had the advantage. They had their synagogues. They had the temple. They had the priests. They had the prophets. You have the advantage. Think on, compared to the Jews, think on, compared to many of your neighbours, many in the world today, even in this nation with the Christian heritage, but in other parts of the world where there's the darkness of Hinduism, or the darkness of Islam, or the darkness of Buddhism, or just animism, other pagan religions. Think of that access that you have to, again, come back, the word of God. Each week at least, twice as you're able, hearing the word read, hearing the word apportioned, preached, explained, applied. Having God's word with us, before us to sing. Having those words before us, God's words, Think of the sacraments, Christ and his benefits set before us. Whenever there's a baptism, whenever there's the Lord's Supper, Christ's death proclaimed till he comes. I want you to think of families, covenant families. Children, think about what happens in your family. Whenever there's family worship, God's help each day, twice a day. Other times perhaps, mealtimes in some families, every meal. Think of God's Word read. We're not coming together just to hear nice stories. Oh, let's read a nice book while we're together. Families that play together, families that read together, they stay together. That's what the world says, but we're gathering around the Word of God. Think of this. Think of how much children as you get older, and you might even be able to think, well this is how old I am. But think of this, if you and your family are reading a chapter of the New Testament every day, every year you'll be reading the New Testament at least once. Even if it was half a chapter, some of them are long, every two years you'll be reading the New Testament. If you're reading a chapter of the Old Testament every day, three years you'll be finished. And even if it was half of some chapters, let's say four or five years, think of, there you are, eight, 10, 12, 15, 20, how many times have you heard the scriptures read through? And then there's in the church, what advantage does the covenant member have, the member of the visible church have? The word of God. What's an advantage? We can think of advantages that flow from these things. Think of even the fact that we are in a nation, we live in a nation where there is, there are still vestiges of Christianity. They're fading. They've been thrown overboard. But we still have liberty to worship. We have liberty to read. Liberty to worship in public, in our families. Liberty to speak of God and the Bible. What are the advantages of outward religion? The chief advantage. and realize we're speaking of the true religion, not the way some of we can speak of and certainly the world speaks of religiosity. No, we're talking about true religion. And some people can react against the word religion, oh that's just religion. The question is, is it biblical religion? James 1, 26 and 27, If any man among you seem to be religious, embraidereth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. That's religiosity. It's hypocrisy. But pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this. to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, to keep himself unspotted from the world. Religion is good. It's true. It's biblical. It's pure. There's advantage to outward religion in much every way, chiefly because you have been entrusted with the Word of God. These things that I've considered with you, these things are advantages. These are good things. The question is, what are you doing with them? What are you doing with the Word of God? with the oracles of God. So that brings me to my third point, and that is advantages used or abused. Many have these advantages. Even as we talk on these advantages, realize that we can have them, we will have them to a greater or lesser extent. depending on what church you're a part of, depending on who your parents are, depending on the country you live in. For example, depending on when the Lord has brought you or brought your parents to himself. But if you have the word of God, you have great advantage. But that advantage can be used or abused. And it's always, in any context, it's a shame and a disappointment, isn't it, to see advantage and privilege abused. And think of those who and take this to yourself as much as it applies, but those who are, in a worldly sense, are raised in privilege. They've never had to want. They've never gone without. They've been able to go to the best schools and had the opportunities there to be involved in whatever activities that they've desired. They've had those advantages. and through into adult life. But we don't, we often see or hear of advantage and privilege being abused. And it can be abused by presumption, by those who become entitled. They become, they take it to themselves and say, I deserve this. It's my rights, and that's the way they go through life. And they become the oppressors of men. They become those rich oppressors of others. Entitled. Or it can be abused. That privilege can be abused, and there's shame and disappointment in that too, when we see when we see spoiled children, and those children might be not just little children, spoiled adults, taking it for granted and rebelling against that privilege, despising it in that sense. On the other hand, it's good to see privilege used, that when there is an acknowledgement that, no, this isn't my right, but this is what I've received. This has been committed to me. I had this advantage and I'm going to use it for good. I'm going to use it to help others. I'm going to be grateful for it. And it's the same spiritually. It's the same in the church. Advantage, privilege, can be abused by way of presumption, can be abused in pride. And so, I have this knowledge. I have this, I've had this upbringing. I belong to this church. Look at how good I am. The Pharisee. Thank God that I'm not like other men. as he prayed to himself. Or it can be abused by despising and rebelling against it, by rejecting the privilege, by refusing it, by refusing the good things held out. There is advantage. There was advantage to being a Jew, but Paul says, Only if you receive that word. Only if that word is received into your heart and your heart is changed. If your praise is not of men, but of God. If you don't just have the letter, but you have the spirit. If your heart is circumcised. So for us, it is advantage, it is privilege. We ought to be thankful, but also realise the purpose of it. The question is, what are you doing with that advantage? God's word, his law, the privilege of knowing it, ought to lead us to repentance. Look back at Romans chapter two and verse four. As Paul there, also addressing the Jew, he says, or despises thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance. God is so good to you Jews, he's saying. Look, he's brought you near to himself. You're a peculiar people. He brought you out of Egypt to establish you as a nation. He's kept you through the ages. And look at what he's given to you. He's given you his word. He's given you his law. You're going to despise it by continuing your own way, by continuing hypocrisy, by thinking that a form is enough, by thinking that going through the motions is enough. No, he says, the purpose is that you repent and you realize you're a sinner and turn to him. So for us, the purpose of having the word of God with us, The purpose, children, that your parents are instructing you in the Word of God and that you're here brought along to worship, to hear the Word of God read and preached, is not so that you can get these big heads. Not so that you can feel good about yourselves when you look at other people. It's so that you will know that you are a sinner who stand in need of God's grace and that you'll turn to Him. The goodness of God leadeth you to repentance. It's not enough to hear the Word of God. We need to hear it. It needs to be believed. The Israelites heard. They had the Word of God, but many of them heard in vain. The Apostle Paul, in writing to the Hebrews, he goes into some detail on this, looking at the Jews of Israel, as they were in the wilderness. And he says, why is it that so many didn't enter the Promised Land? Because of unbelief. Hebrews 3 verse 19, we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. Continuing to chapter 4, let us therefore fear, lest the promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. Speaking out to us in the New Testament, He's saying, look, they were promised rest in the land of Canaan. That rest in the Lamb of Canaan, that was always looking to something bigger and better. That eternal rest that is found in Christ, eternal life. And He's saying, you Christians, you church members, you professors, make sure that you don't fall short. Don't think that hearing is enough. He says, verse 2, for unto us was the gospel preached as well as unto them, but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. That's the thing, faith. Where does that faith come from? It comes from the Spirit of God. Not saved by works, but by faith, Paul says, that faith is the gift of God. That's why we need a spiritual work. That's why we need our hearts to be circumcised. That's why we need a new heart. A heart of stone taken out, a heart of flesh put in, that we're going to believe and be saved. There is advantage. You, friends, have an advantage over multitudes in the world today. because you have access to the Word of God. Don't despise that advantage. Don't take it for granted. Don't think that that's enough. All I have to me has been committed the Bible. I have a Bible on my shelf. What a good fellow I am. What a good person I am. I have the Bible. Or what a good person I have. I read the Bible. Or what a good person I am. I read the Bible to my children or I go to church and I hear the Bible. No, it's an advantage. Don't despise it by leaving it there on the shelf or in the page or in your ears. It needs to be in here. There are different ways that this advantage can be despised. Sometimes, There's temptation to despise the advantage in this way. Those growing up in Christian homes can realize perhaps that they have the Word of God, but they can despise the instruction. They can despise the strictness. They can despise the boundaries, the patterns, despise the imposition. Why do we have to change the way we organise our lives to have times of family worship? Why do we have to attend public worship? Now, the word can be despised in this context, by way of presumption. I have these things, I must be a Christian. Or it can be despised and rejection. I hate these things, I don't want them. Don't despise what God has given to you. He's given you His Word. And also I'd encourage you Covenant children, younger, older, to contentment in what God has given. Always be seeking more to know Him, to know Him as He's revealed Himself in His Word. Listen when your parents teach you. Listen when the Bible's read in church. Seek to understand the preaching. Seek that faith. Sometimes there can be a discontentment in those raised in the church, in covenant children. Because their experience, even in coming to faith, as I speak to those of you brought up in the Lord and come to faith in the church without having fallen away, there can be a discontentment. because you haven't had that Damascus Road experience. You don't have the testimony that another might have. Sometimes you may feel that your testimony isn't as good as someone else's. Praise God for Gentiles brought in, for Ruth, for Naaman, For others, we praise God. For Jews who believed, having been circumcised the eighth day, taught by their parents in the synagogues, brought to faith, looking to the promises of God. Don't wish for an ungodly upbringing. Don't wish for a pagan environment. That might be coming on us sooner than we wish in this land. We pray that God in judgement will remember mercy, but realise the gift of God. There are those who when they're talking about or thinking about baptism, when they're thinking about covenant children, They presume. They presume. They say, God calls us to believe that our children are Christians, or that our children will certainly become Christians. They believe that they would teach presumptive regeneration, presumptive election. And they say anything short of that is selling our children short. But biblically, I don't believe we have any basis for such views. We've considered it other times, but what we see here, what Paul is saying is, we need to be thinking not of presumption, but of privilege. The child of believing parents, the child of a believing father or mother, is counted holy in the Lord, set apart. They have the advantage of access to God, access to his word. And when you might be tempted to wish for something else, to wish for perhaps a more exciting testimony, Realise this, that there are multitudes of Christians who the Lord has saved from such a situation. Do you know what? They wish that they had Godly parents to teach them. They lament what they have not been taught, the examples they haven't had. And yes, your parents fail, your parents are sinful, but by the grace of God, they show you what it means to be a repenting, believing sinner. So thank God, praise God for that advantage, but don't take it for granted. Seek the Lord. His great advantage, but with it, great responsibility. Responsibility to believe, responsibility to repent, to seek the Lord. To us, the church has been committed God's word. Question is, what are you doing with it? Ask the Lord that it would be to you a lamp for your feet, a light to your path. Amen. Let us stand up and pray to God. Father in heaven, we thank Thee for Thy Word. We thank Thee for these oracles, that which Thou hast spoken, either directly or through Thy prophets, but that by Thy Holy Spirit, moving holy men to speak and to write, that we might have the Holy Scriptures, that we might be made thereby wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus, and that we might be furnished, equipped to every good work. We thank Thee for the privilege that we'd have Thy Word with us, even in our own language. We thank Thee for that access that we have in our homes, in Thy Church. We ask for grace to realise the advantage, not to despise it, not to presume upon it, We ask and pray that even as Thou hast given faith, that Thou would enable contentment in that faith, thankfulness for Thy Word, a love for Thy Word, a meditating upon it, a walking according to it. I pray, Lord God, that they will remember covenant mercies, that those yet unconverted, those yet in their sins and in darkness, that they might be working by the Holy Spirit to regenerate, that each one would be born again, that having hearts circumcised, would be given faith in Christ, that they might receive the engrafted Word to the salvation of their souls, God, that we all together, from the heart, worship and glorify Thee. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen.