“ Summary, Part 2 ” The lesson for us is that we must not forget God if we would avoid serious chastening from His hand. Sin makes us forget God. Another lesson is that freedom is a dangerous thing when it is abused, especially when it makes us forget the Lord. When we forget the Lord, we will return to sin and its misery and cruel bondage. Sin is lawlessness: it rebels against God’s authority because it rebels against God Himself. It replaces the perspective of God’s truth with the perspective of our own fallen flesh and distorts everything (Prov 2:13-15, Ex 16:2-3, Num 11:4-6). II. IF YOU WOULD NOT RETURN TO YOUR FORMER SLAVERY, REMEMBER WHO DELIVERED YOU (Neh 9:6-16) [23:00]. The cure for the madness of sin is to remember the Lord: we turn to Him to be saved and to be safe. A. YOU ARE DELIVERED BY ONE WHO IS ALMIGHTY GOD [24:10]. 1. HE IS THE ONLY GOD. That fact is that He is our God, and so we owe Him allegiance. 2. HE IS THE CREATOR WHO GIVES LIFE TO ALL THINGS (v. 6) [25:26]. How wicked that we live as though He doesn’t exist, especially when we wouldn’t exist if He didn’t exist. 3. HE IS THE GLORIOUS ONE BEFORE WHOM THE HEAVENLY HOST BOWS [26:20]. Even the mighty angels prostrate themselves before Him in praise and worship (Rev 4:9-11).
“ Summary, Part 1 ” As regenerate Christians, we should have no desire to return to our former bondage to sin. As much as we must look forward to our blessed hope, it is critical that we look back and remember that from which we were saved: slavery to the world, the flesh, and the devil. Nehemiah tells of how quick Israel was to not only turn back to Egypt, but to their slavery in Egypt (Neh 9:17), even despite all of God’s wonders. I. IF YOU WOULD NOT RETURN TO YOUR FORMER SLAVERY, REMEMBER WHAT YOU WERE DELIVERED FROM [starting at 7:00 of the audio]. This sounds academic, but sin has a way of making us forget its bondage and cruelty. Sin always comes in disguise, making empty promises and delivering nothing but pain. When one reads Ex 2:23-25, which was the product of over 400 years, it is amazing to consider that Israel was ready to turn back within weeks of their deliverance. In Deut 26:6-9, forty years later, Moses put past and future in view when he reminded them of their cry to God as they were about to enter the Promised Land. Almost a thousand years after that, after seventy years of captivity to the Babylonians as judgment for continued disobedience, Nehemiah is reminding them of the danger of forgetting the Lord.
“ Summary, Part 4 (final) ” B. HE ENTREATED THEM TO BOAST ONLY IN THE LORD [44:48]. 1. LET THEM BOAST IN THEIR UNDERSTANDING AND KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge…” – Prov 1:7. 2. LET THEM BOAST IN THE GOD THAT THEY UNDERSTAND AND KNOW. IV. HOW JEREMIAH’S APPEAL TO JUDAH RELATES TO US [47:53]. 1. WE MUST MOURN OVER THE SINS THAT PLAGUE OUR NATION. This includes the sins of the church as well. Why don’t we do this? Because we’re comfortable with those sins, we fear ostracization, we practice escapism, we don’t see sin’s heinousness, and we practice it ourselves. It is a curse that will destroy us because we don’t have the heart for the lost, our own sins contribute to our nation’s sins, because we avoid the grief for ourselves that we could realize in grief for others, and because that grief would move us to witness for God. B. WE MUST EXPOSE THE SINS THAT PLAGUE OUR NATION. The church is the nation’s conscience. If we aren’t part of the solution, we’re part of the problem. 3. WE MUST REPENT OF OUR SINS IF WE WOULD NOT FACE GOD’S JUDGMENT. We cannot be a light to others from within our own darkness (1 Pet 4:17). God will purge His people before He’ll purge the wicked around them.
“ Summary, Part 3 ” C. JEREMIAH WARNED THEM OF GOD’S JUDGMENT FOR THEIR REBELLION (vv. 7, 9, 25-26) [30:00]. 1. HE WARNED THEM THAT THEY WERE RIPE FOR GOD’S FIERY PUNISHMENT (v. 7). God’s punishments accomplish two things: the destruction of the wicked and the purification of the righteous. He makes a distinction between the two. 2. He warned them that they were facing God’s just vengeance (v. 9, 25-26). His holy character demands it. They believed they were immune to judgment, even despite what happened to their brothers 150 years earlier. Their physical circumcision should have instructed them about spiritual circumcision: the circumcision of the heart (1 Sam 15:22-23). III. JEREMIAH ENTREATED A BOASTFUL PEOPLE [38:23]. They were boasting in their privileges as if they forestalled all of God’s judgments. They thought they were self-sufficient. A. HE ENTREATED THEM TO QUIT BOASTING IN THEMSELVES [42:23]. “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” – Prov 16:18. 1. IT IS FOOLISH TO BOAST IN MAN’S WISDOM. 2. IT IS FUTILE TO BOAST IN MAN’S STRENGTH. 3. IT IS FRUITLESS TO BOAST IN MAN’S WEALTH. No amount of it can buy off God’s wrath.
“ Summary, Part 2 ” B. JEREMIAH EXPOSED THEIR REBELLION (vv. 2-8) [21:34]. 1. HE EXPOSED THEIR RAMPANT ADULTERY (v. 2). Sexual sin ruins so much. Unfaithfulness to God opens the door to unfaithfulness to one’s spouse (cf. Ez 22:10-11). 2. HE EXPOSED THEIR WIDESPREAD TREACHERY (vv. 2, 4, 8). You couldn’t trust anyone in that day. 3. HE EXPOSED THEIR PREVAILING LIES AND DECEPTION (vv. 3, 5). They wanted dishonest gain and the promotion of wickedness. 4. HE EXPOSED THEIR WILLFUL APOSTASY (vv. 3, 6). They refused to know the Lord. That was the root of the matter, as it is in our own day. They were covenant breakers: they followed other gods (Deut 31:16) and rejected His statutes (Lev 26:15, Jer 11:10).
“ Summary, Part 1 ” In 1 Cor 1:26-31, Paul reminds the Corinthian church that its members were not chosen for any kind of greatness. On the contrary, God chooses the small and lonely to convict the world of its neglect for Him. In our present study of Jer 9, we learn that privilege does not necessarily have its members. I. JEREMIAH LIVED AMONG A PRIVILEGED PEOPLE [starting at 4:13 of the audio]. Deut 7:6 – God’s people were His prized possession. There is no privilege greater than that. Deut 33:29 – the Hebrews were to be a mighty nation before the world because of its chosen status in God. To whom much is given, from much is required. But the Hebrews fell far short of this critical divine lesson (cf. Ez 23). LESSONS: 1. Wasted privilege not only results in decreased blessings, but in divine punishment. 2. We are liable for the judgments on others that we didn’t heed. II. JEREMIAH LABORED AMONG A REBELLIOUS PEOPLE [13:46]. 1. THEIR REBELLION BROUGHT HIM TO TEARS (v. 1). He was not moved to self-righteousness. We should weep for those too senseless to weep for themselves. 2. THEIR REBELLION ALMOST DROVE HIM INTO RETIREMENT (v. 2). He desired to be alone to get away from his brethren’s rebellion and also to pour out his grief.
“ Summary, Part 3 (final) ” III. THE REMEMBRANCE OF OUR SPIRITUAL SLAVERY AND GOD’S DELIVERING GRACE THAT MOVES US TO SHOW KINDNESS TO THE NEEDY DEMONSTRATES THE REALITY OF OUR CHRISTIAN FAITH [42:53]. When you reach out in the name of Christ to meet a person’s temporal and material needs, you demonstrate the reality of your Christian profession (Jas 1:27). True religion is not merely a matter of holy living; it is also a matter of heartfelt giving. First, you demonstrate Christian love by following Christ’s example of sacrificial giving (1 Jn 3:16-19). Further, you prove your profession of saving faith not by pious talking but by generous giving (Jas 2:15-17). Finally, your repentance is proven in providing for the needy (Lk 3:8-11). IV. GOD WILL REMEMBER AND GENEROUSLY REWARD THOSE WHOSE REMEMBRANCE OF THEIR SPIRITUAL SLAVERY AND DIVINE DELIVERANCE MAKES THEM GENEROUS TO THE NEEDY [50:34]. No kindness you show to the needy will go unrewarded by God, either in this life of in the life to come (cf. Deut 24:19; Job 31:16-22; Ps 41:1-3, 112:9; Prov 11:24-25; Is 58:7-11; Lk 6:35). Further, Christians who share their most precious gift of all—their faith—are blessed not only in this life but especially in the life to come (Dan 12:1-3; cf. Mt 25:31-46, 10:40-42).
“ Summary, Part 2 ” Second, God gives two motives for heeding this command: one being to urge Israel’s remembrance of its own need for provision and protection when they were enslaved in Egypt, the other being His promised blessing for their obedience. God will replace our Christian giving; we cannot out-give God (cf. 2 Cor 9:8-10). II. REMEMBRANCE OF OUR SPIRITUAL SLAVERY WILL MAKE US RESPONSIVE TO THE SPIRITUAL PLIGHT OF NEEDY PEOPLE [31:43]. Eph 2:11-12 – there is no more spiritually destitute state than this (cf. 2:1-3). As Moses reminded the Jews of their slavery in Egypt, Paul reminds the Ephesians of their lost state when they were unsaved pagans (5:11-14). They were not to become like the world in order to save the world. LESSONS [39:27]: 1. Remembrance of God’s delivering grace should make us graciously bold in our witness. 2. Remembrance of God’s delivering grace should keep us from returning to our sin. 3. Remembrance of God’s delivering grace will keep us from contaminating the Gospel message.
“ Summary, Part 1 ” In Deut 7:6-8, God chose the Israelites out of His own will. There was nothing special about them. Paul discusses God’s choosing Jacob and rejecting Esau in Rom 9:11-16. No one deserves God’s mercy; His rejection of Esau wasn’t surprising, but His choosing of Jacob—or anyone else—is surprising. In His common grace, He treats all alike and we need to learn from that. Mt 5:43-48 – Jesus corrects the Jews’ provincial attitude: like everyone else, they favored their own (cf. Ex 23:4-5, Prov 25:21). God provides all their basic needs even as they rebel against Him (cf. Rom 14:16-17, 2:4). The kindness we show to non-Christians should have a spiritual goal in view, with the greatest goal of pointing them to Christ. I. REMEMBRANCE OF OUR SPIRITUAL SLAVERY WILL MAKE US GENEROUS TOWARD THE TEMPORAL WANTS OF NEEDY PEOPLE [starting at 22:27 of the audio]. Deut 24:17-22 – What do we have that we have not received? Here, God gives the spiritual truth behind the historical event. First, Pastor Nutter suggests that this commandment does not mandate a modern state social welfare system. Nor does it mandate a church state. It is a lesson for moral use.
“ Summary, Part 3 (final) ” B. WHAT ARE GOD’S VARIOUS QUALITIES THAT DESERVE OUR PRAISE AND HONOR? [43:40] 1. HIS GLORY. It is the sum total of all His attributes (1 Tim 1:17). 2. HIS MAJESTY (Ps 150:2). 3. HIS DOMINION. His infinite might and sovereign right to rule over all (Ps 103:19, 1 Tim 6:16). 4. HIS AUTHORITY. It points to the essence of His power in creation, providence, and salvation (Jn 17:2, Eph 1:21). C. WHEN IS THIS PRAISE AND HONOR DUE? [49:00] 1. IN ETERNITY PAST. Even there, He basked in His own self-praise. 2. FOR ALL TIME. 3. IN ETERNITY FUTURE. He will purge this universe and bring forth a glorified one. D. WHAT IS THE APPROPRIATE RESPONSE TO GOD’S PRAISE AND HONOR? [51:35]One word: amen. Biblical hope rests on God’s sure promises. When we say “we hope that…”, we imply doubt. But our blessed hope, a noun and not a verb, is certain. CONCLUDING APPLICATIONS [54:00]: 1. As you contend earnestly for the faith, keep your hope fixed upon Him who will enable you to stand in His presence blameless with great joy. 2. The great purpose for which God has created men is that they might praise His glory. There is no higher calling than this.
“ Summary, Part 2 ” APPLICATIONS [22:55]: 1. Faithful pastors earnestly seek to prepare their people to be blameless before God (2 Cor 11:2). 2. Christians prove they are blameless by their pure behavior in this putrid world (Php 2:15). 3. Christians prove by their blameless conduct in this life that they are bound for glory (Rev 14:4-5). B. GLORIFY THE GOD WHO WILL PRESENT YOU JOYFUL IN HIS PRESENCE [27:59]. For two reasons: they’re in His presence (Ps 16:11), and because they are blameless. This is what we look forward to as we still struggle with sin here. Happy are the holy! APPLICATIONS [32:26]: 1. Only those who are blameless here will stand before God joyfully hereafter. 2. God’s blameless people should gather for worship with holy exuberance. If we’re not joyful in worship here, we will not enjoy eternal worship in heaven (cf. Ps 2:11, Acts 9:31). Worship is a happy experience only for the holy. III. GLORIFY THE GOD WHO IS WORTHY OF ALL PRAISE AND HONOR ETERNALLY (v. 25) [38:40]. A. WHO DESERVES THIS PRAISE AN HONOR? 1. THE ONLY GOD OUR SAVIOR. He is the only God (Is 45:5), He has made Himself known (Deut 4:35), and He alone is worthy of trust and praise (Is 45:22). 2. GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST (Jn 14:6, Acts 4:12, Eph 2:18).
“ Summary, Part 1 ” We continue from last week with II. GLORIFY THE GOD WHO WILL PRESENT YOU BLAMELESS AND JOYFUL IN HIS GLORY FINALLY (v. 24) [starting at 7:17 of the audio]. Cf. 2 Cor 11:2. A. GLORIFY THE GOD WHO WILL PRESENT YOU BLAMELESS IN HIS PRESENCE [9:59]. 1. WHO WILL STAND BEFORE GOD BLAMELESS? Only those accepted and approved by a King may have this privilege (Ps 1:5). 2. WHY DO YOU NEED TO BE BLAMELESS? In ourselves, we are full of blame. Naturally, we are God’s enemies (Is 64:6-7). What we think of ourselves doesn’t matter; what God thinks of us means everything. 3. HOW DO YOU BECOME BLAMELESS? We cannot cleanse ourselves spiritually (1 Pet 1:18-19). If we are not washed in the blood of Christ, we are not blameless before God (cf. Eph 1:6). 4. WHEN WILL YOU BE PRESENTED BLAMELESS? If you’re a Christian, you are declared blameless now (Rom 4:7, 5:1-2, 8:1; Col 1:22), but the day of presentation is yet to come (1 Thes 3:13). That day is our blessed hope (Eph 5:27). For now, Christ is purifying His church.
“ Summary, Part 4 (final) ” 3. FACTORS IN GOD’S PRESERVATION [45:47]. First, God keeps you by instructing you in His truth; ignorance is dangerous and can be deadly. Gospel truth possesses preserving power. Second, God keeps you by warning you. Third, God keeps you by gracious acts of providence that prevent you from following detours off the narrow road. We can think of times this happened in our own lives (cf. Ps 119:67). Fourth, God keeps you by giving you a bitter taste of sin. Painful memories can be powerful preventatives. Finally, God keeps you by the Holy Spirit’s producing in you a longing to be holy even as God is holy. Preserving grace not only protects; it also perfects. CONCLUDING APPLICATIONS [49:17]: 1. Beware of abusing the promise of God’s preservation. “Once saved, always saved” is true but often misunderstood. Many who live by this were never saved in the first place because they didn’t pursue the Lord. You cannot contend for the faith and compromise with sin. 2. Always thank God for the means He uses for your preservation. They keep us on the narrow road to aim us toward the gate that few ever find. 3. Bless God for His preserving grace as one who strongly feels his proneness to wander.
“ Summary, Part 3 ” B. GOD PRESERVES YOU FROM STUMBLING [31:30]. 1. YOUR NEED FOR GOD’S PRESERVATION. First, notice that there is no safe place on earth where you could not stumble. Simpler times and places never saved anyone. Not even rites and rituals save. How many perished in sin because they believed they were saved by their christening or confirmation? Second, mere outward obedience preserves no one. Legalism can conceal serious inward sins. Third, exalted religious experience preserves no one. Emotionalism without truth is deadly. But though God may permit His own to fall grievously into sin, He will always restore them. David repented of his idleness and Peter repented of his unbelief. 2. THE FACT OF GOD’S PRESERVATION [40:22]. Jn 10:27-30 – We are beloved in God the Father and kept in Jesus Christ, for Jesus Christ. First, God is able to keep you from stumbling since He knows you. This is the biblical sense of knowing: an intimate, affectionate love, like husbands and wives for each other (2 Tim 2:18). Second, God is able to keep you through the prayers of His Son (Jn 17:50). Third, God is able to keep you from stumbling through the power of His indwelling Spirit (Eph 1:13-14). Finally, God is able to keep you by His power through the gift of saving faith (1 Pet 1:5).
“ Summary, Part 2 ” 2. YOU ARE PRONE TO STUMBLE BECAUSE YOU FACE MANY OCCASIONS FOR STUMBLING [20:20]. a. STUMBLING FROM FALSE DOCTRINE. This comes from an inadequate understanding of the truth. New truth and ideas are very appealing to the flesh, but this uproots us from the solid foundation of the Scriptures and the early church, which even contended with many of these same ideas. b. STUMBLING FROM A CARELESS SPIRIT [22:10]. This includes a weak love for God, the Bible, or the church, or just a lack of discernment. Even miscategorized priorities can shipwreck our faith. Many professing Christians are practical atheists. There is also fanaticism: zeal without light, not to mention arrogance: knowledge with pride. c. STUMBLING THROUGH THE INFLUENCE OF UNCONVERTED FRIENDS [26:55]. No matter how dear these people may be to us, they are still unregenerate and their examples and ideas are not to be entertained. Peer pressure is more powerful than we often understand. Think of what it does to younger ones. d. STUMBLING FROM NEGLECT OF ORDINARY DUTIES [29:30]. Idleness is the devil’s playground. Then there is backsliding: not confessing sins regularly. Unconfessed sin is the road to apostasy.
“ Summary, Part 1 ” The epistle of Jude urges us to contend for the apostolic message and to beware of those who would come into our midst to deceive us. It ends with a doxology to the God whose Spirit helps us endure in our own obedience and in His strength. I. GLORIFY THE GOD WHO PRESERVES YOU FROM STUMBLING PRESENTLY (v. 24) [starting at 11:11 of the audio]. A. YOU ARE PRONE TO STUMBLING. 1. YOU ARE PRONE TO STUMBLE BECAUSE YOU ARE IMPERFECTLY SANCTIFIED. We’re in the state of sanctification, between regeneration and glorification: we aren’t what we once were, but we’re not yet what we will be. a. YOU HAVE AN IMPERFECT KNOWLEDGE OF THE DANGERS OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE [12:53]. Knowledge is safety. We can’t be naïve to the fact that the unholy trinity of the world, the flesh, and the devil are still after us, even more now that we’re God’s. b. YOU MAY FAIL TO EMPLOY THE MEANS GOD INTENDS FOR YOUR SANCTIFICATION [16:50]. God intends to bring us to heaven with the body of Christ, and many are deceived into thinking that they can do it on their own. We also risk shirking transparency with the brethren. We’re not a member of a club, but of a body. Also, we neglect regular prayer, devotion, and study, all of which are means of strengthening us as Christians.
“ Summary, Part 3 (final) ” 2. THE SABBATH COMMAND WAS REPUBLISHED BEFORE ENTERING THE PROMISED LAND [33:29]. Deut 5:12 – why the repetition? Several reasons: it was crucial that God reassert His authority, it was a reminder of Israel’s status among the pagans, and it was a visible sign of His covenant. Ex 31:13, 17 – God not only set them apart but built them up (“sanctified”, “refreshed”). Did God need this? We may not understand it, but we can still learn lessons from it. II. THE REDEMPTIVE REMINDER OF THE SABBATH [39:51]. In Egypt, the Hebrews were slaves. It is hard to imagine that they got any satisfactory rest there, let alone that they had much of a chance to worship God correctly. When God redeemed them, He brought them out of their spiritual and physical past (Ps 118:24). III. THE CHANGE OF DAY IN THE SABBATH COMMAND [46:18]. Christ’s death and resurrection on the eighth day brought in a new, glorious creation: us (1 Cor 16:1-2). CONCLUDING CONSIDERATIONS [50:31]: 1. Christian brothers and sisters, do you find Sabbath worship a delight? 2. When you gather with God’s people on God’s day, reflect with solemnity and joy upon the wonder of God’s new creation and the glory of Christ’s redemption. 3. How we view the Sabbath is an accurate barometer of the state of our religion.
“ Summary, Part 2 ” B. THE SABBATH COMMANDMENT IN PARTICULAR [19:48]. 1. THE SABBATH COMMAND WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED AT MOUNT SINAI. a. IT IS A REMINDER OF GOD’S INSTITUTION OF THE SABBATH AT CREATION. God said “remember”, so this was not new information to the Hebrews (Gen 2:1-3). He blessed the seventh day, which He didn’t do with any other day, sanctified it, and stated the reason: He had rested from His activity. This forms the foundation of the Sabbath commandment. b. IT IS UNIQUE AS GOD’S SPECIAL DAY [23:00]. It is the Lord’s day. Both Ex 20:8-10 and Is 58:13 call the Sabbath day the Lord’s day (cf. Mt 16:9, Rev 1:10, Acts 20:7). c. IT IS GOD’S PATTERN FOR MAN [26:51]. Ex 20:9-11 – Why is a week seven days and not ten or something else? Because God set the pattern for man; He had us in mind during the creation. d. IT IS AN EXPRESSION OF GOD’S MERCY TO MANKIND [29:03]. He had our fatigue in mind. Six days of hard work is enough. Mk 2:27 – God made the Sabbath for man. On that day, the Hebrews were to remember their slavery in Egypt, and we are to remember our bondage to the world (cf. Lev 23:3).
“ Summary, Part 1 ” The Old Testament has many spiritual lessons for the New Testament church. Critical among them is the Sabbath. I. THE WIDER CONTEXT OF THE SABBATH COMMAND: THE LAW OF GOD [starting at 7:27 of the audio]. A. THE LAW OF GOD IN GENERAL. 1. THE LAW WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED AFTER ISRAEL WAS REDEEMED FROM EGYPT. God took the Hebrews out of Egypt to make them a unique people, distinct from the pagans surrounding them. The Sabbath commandment is not found in the ceremonial laws, but in the moral law of the Decalogue. It is thus eternal and universal. See the London Baptist Confession of faith, chapter 19.1-5. 2. THE LAW WAS REPUBLISHED FORTY YEARS LATER, BEFORE ISRAEL ENTERED THE PROMISED LAND [14:12]. Being under God's covenant authority is a privilege. In Deut 4:5-8, 31-38 God explains this to His people and declares His love for them (cf. Ps 33:12).
“ Summary, Part 5 (final) ” CONCLUDING APPLICATIONS [54:36]. What does God expect of His people regarding the presence of false teachers in the church? 1. A growing knowledge of apostolic doctrine that will enable you to identify their typical errors and characteristic sins (v. 3. Cf. 2 Pet 3:17-18). 2. An ever-present awareness of their sly presence in (and terrible damage to) the church, that leads to a careful avoidance of their ungodly example and licentious teaching (v. 4). 3. A sufficient knowledge of Bible history to identify the character, teaching, and impact of apostates in the church today (vv. 5-19). 4. A continual commitment to keep yourself in the love of God by increasing your knowledge of Biblical truth, by spiritual prayer, and by a holy life prepared to meet the Lord (vv. 20-21). 5. To prayerfully and carefully do what you can to deliver those who have been influenced by false teachers and their lies (vv. 22-23).
8/31/15 5:15 AM
