July 14,
2013
SOVEREIGN GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH
LOCATION
Rocky Hill Firehouse, 2nd Floor
150 Washington Street
Rocky Hill, New Jersey, 08553
Clay Curtis, pastor
Telephone: 615-513-4464
Schedule of Services
Sunday 10: 15 AM Bible Class
Sunday 11:00 AM Morning Service
Thursday 7: 30 PM Midweek Service
Order
of service, announcements, nursery schedule, etc., are in attachment. All articles in the bulletin are by the
pastor unless otherwise noted.
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THE DIVINE CONTRAST
Romans
6: 23: For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is
eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
This verse speaks of two very
opposite things—eternal death and eternal life. Notice the contrast in the way these two are obtained—death is a wage
earned; eternal life is a gift given. Also, notice the contrast from which these
two are of—death is of sin; eternal life is of God. Then notice the contrast
through whom these two are obtained—death is through the sinner; eternal life
is through Jesus Christ our Lord.
His Servants Ye Are to Whom Ye Obey
Beginning in verse 16, the apostle Paul uses the analogy
of a master and a servant, “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?” All men serve one or the other but no man can
serve two masters. (Mt 6: 24) Either we yield
to sin as our master and are free from righteousness (v20) or we yield to God
as our master and are free from sin. (v18) Which one do you serve? May God give grace to answer that question honestly.
The
Wages of Sin is Death
Those who yield to sin are the servants of sin. Servants
of sin produce only sin, “yielding your members servants to uncleanness and to
iniquity unto iniquity.” (v19) The final wage sin pays is death of eternal
separation from God in the terrors of hell, “for the end of those things is
death.” (v21) So sinner, if you go all your
days, yielding your members to your master, sin, you will eventually be paid the
wage you have rightfully earned for yourself. There will be no one else to
blame but you.
But The
Gift of God is Eternal Life
Paul said, “But God be thanked!” (v17) Brethren, God alone
is to be thanked for God alone made us, who “were the servants of sin,” to obey
“from the heart that form of doctrine [the gospel] which was delivered to us.”
(v17) What a divine contrast God made by his grace! “Being then made free from
sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.” (v18) Yielding our members servants
to righteousness, our fruit is not sin but holiness (v22), our reward is not a
wage earned but a gift given, it is not death but eternal life, and it is not
of us but through Jesus Christ our Lord. (v23) Brethren, let us say with Paul, “God
be thanked!”
Life
or Death
Sinner, which sounds better, life or death? Well, yours
is a matter of life or death! Time
is short. Put down all else, look up these scriptures, and give diligence to what
you are reading and hearing. This is the word of God. “Labor not for the meat
which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which
the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.” (Jn 6:
27) Ask God for mercy, to reveal Christ
to you, to give you faith in Christ. “He
that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God
did from his. Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest (Heb 4: 10-11) “For
the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
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THOUGHTS ON WORSHIP AND PRAISE
In the worship
of God and the Christian life, let a man be himself; and the more he keeps to
his own nationality, his own personality, and reflects the glory of God in
simplicity and truth (not in phony imitation), the more Christ will be honored
and glorified. Praise God in misplaced
words, oh humble farmer, but don’t try to approach Him in the robes of
“put-on!” He looks on the heart. Henry Mahan
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THE ARMINIAN GOSPEL
Brothers and Sisters, I have been studying the Word of God for almost
forty years. I was born and raised in an Arminian household. I
believed the Arminian gospel. I imagined everybody does. When God
converted me, I began to read the Holy Scriptures for myself, and the more I
read, the more I saw, and see, the poor Arminian has no gospel—no good news-at
all. His gospel is a sham and a shame and leaves a poor sinner hopeless
and helpless.
The Arminian says the
eternal purpose of God is based upon man’s free will and choice. If one
ask what’s wrong with such a gospel I answer it this way: it starts at the
wrong place. The Scriptures began with God: “in the beginning God.” Before man had a being, there was the
Eternal, Triune God. The Arminian begins with man and his power and abilities
to do something. Such a gospel deifies man and humanizes God. God
becomes subject to man—man’s will and choice. It makes God a beggar, a
bystander, as it were, pleading and hoping somebody will decide to accept Jesus
into their hearts and lives. But God, in fear of violating their free
will, can do nothing until man first acts. God’s whole purpose, according
to them, is utterly dependent upon man’s unstable and changing will.
They tell us that Jesus
Christ has done no more for those on their way to heaven, than for those who
are now in hell. They tell us of a Savior who does not save, a
redemption that does not redeem. They don’t tell us of an everlasting
salvation that is in the Lord, but of a probation. Their gospel is
nothing but a system of works, human merit, goodness and power.
Mr. Spurgeon said, “You
can have such a gospel, you are welcome to it, and I hope you keep it to
yourself.” Bruce Crabtree