May 3, 2015
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
Full Service Live & on Video on YouTube.
Search by pastor’s name.
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NURSERY
We have a nursery equipped with a digital flat screen television broadcasting all services live, for children four and under. Check the announcements.
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All articles in the bulletin are by the pastor unless otherwise noted.
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“THE HEART AND THE HEAD”
When my messages come to the place that they do not disturb sinners, it is time I quit preaching. When my messages come to the place where they do not convict, where they do not convince of sin, where they do not sweep the flesh out from under us, where they do not make us feel small and sinful, I need to quit preaching and let somebody up here who can.”—Henry Mahan from the sermon, “The Heart and the Head”
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PARDON FOR SIN
When a president leaves office, he frequently pardons prisoners. Those prisoners are set free from prison, but those former prisoners remain guilty. The president of the United States has power to set a guilty prisoner free from prison, but he does not have the power to make that prisoner not guilty. Society must look on that former prisoner as a free man but everyone knows he is really still guilty.
GOD DOES NOT PARDON SIN LIKE THE PRESIDENT PARDONS PRISONERS. God is holy. God ALWAYS punishes sin.
God “will by no means clear the guilty” (Ex. 34:7). So when God pardons sin, God removes the guilt of sin through the sacrifice of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. The guilt of the sin of all of God’s elect was charged to Christ our Substitute. The blood of Christ removed the guilt of the sin of His people. In Christ we stand NOT GUILTY. The Father does not wink at the sin of His people and accept them in spite of their sin. The Father accepts His elect in Christ because in Christ they have no sin! “And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me” (Jer 33:8). Frank Tate, pastor of Hurricane Road Grace Church, Ashland, KY
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YOU CAN’T WASH YOURSELF CLEAN
Matthew 27:24 When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.
Pilate seemed noble enough when he washed his hands and claimed to Christ’s accusers that he found no fault in Him. However such sin as his is not easily removed. There is an “idiom” (a saying), which is commonly used today that goes, “I am washing my hands of such and such a person.” That simply means that one is claiming to end their association with another, that they will stop being involved with them. “I am washing my hands of the situation,” means, “I will relieve myself of all responsibility in the matters which concern them.” I can assure you that this did not work for Pilate. His “washing” was ineffective. Men and women cannot wash themselves clean of their guilt and shame in sin. Pilate’s confession was, “I am innocent of the blood of this just person.” Men and women cannot claim or declare themselves to be innocent of the shedding of Christ’s blood. God is the Eternal Judge, and He declares that we are all guilty of that charge! Pilate washed his own hands with water. Pilate confessed Christ’s innocence with his own mouth, yet his actions proved both his washing and his confession to be false!
Notice carefully his words. “I am innocent of the blood of this just person, SEE YE TO IT.” In other words, “I won’t condemn and kill Him, but you can!” Pilate played a major role in the judgment, condemnation and death of Jesus Christ the Righteous. He should have acted the part of an upright judge, not hastening or yielding to the unrighteous and evil request of the people. He should have let Christ go free, instead of turning Him over into the hands of those who hated Him without a cause.
His washing and his profession meant nothing! Sinner, neither will yours! We too are guilty of crucifying the Savior. Though the Lord Jesus Christ was delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, the scriptures declare that, “YE have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.” (Acts 2:23) I have, you have, we all have, in our wicked hearts have taken, crucified and slain the Lord of glory over and over again.
Has God caused you to feel the guilt and the shame of it? If He has, you cannot declare yourself to be innocent. God must declare you so in Christ! You cannot wash yourself clean with water (baptism). Christ must wash you clean with His own blood. Will men and women ever learn that salvation is the work of God alone, by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone? They won’t unless God be their teacher. David Eddmenson, pastor of Bible Baptist Church, Madisonville, Ky
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CHRIST IS ALL AND IN ALL
Isaiah 52: 1: Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.
Christ is the Strength of Peace with God the believer puts on by faith when the Holy Spirit awakens us in regeneration. (Is 27: 5; Job 23: 3-7; Rom 5: 1) Our beautiful garments are Christ our Righteousness: the “best robe”, “the ring”, the “shoes” put on his prodigal sons. (Lu 15: 22) The holiness of every citizen of the holy city is Christ. (Heb 2: 11; 10: 14; 1 Cor 1: 30) And Christ is the everlasting Covenant assuring heavenly Jerusalem that “henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.” (Is 49: 8; Col 2: 11-13; 1 Cor 6: 9-11)
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SHOW THE HOUSE TO THE HOUSE
Christ said to Ezekiel, “Thou son of man, shew the House to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities: and let them measure the Pattern.” (Eze 43: 10) Christ is the House that is shown to the house of Israel as the gospel is preached. (Rev 21: 22; Jn 2: 19; Heb 8: 2; Eph 2: 19-22) As we behold Christ in the beauties of holiness he makes us ashamed of our iniquities. (Zech 12: 10) As he lets us measure the Pattern, the breadth, length, depth and height of Christ’s love passes knowledge as we behold him sanctifying the Father in his heart, even unto the death of the cross. Thus Christ makes us hate our iniquities and makes us sanctify him in our own hearts that we may be ready always to give a reason of the hope that is in us. (1 Pet 3: 15) As we behold Christ’s every movement manifesting him to be altogether holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners our Sanctifier creates in us a desire to walk even as he, that we might honor and praise him who is our Sanctification. Beholding Christ suffer and bleed on the cross until he perfected us forever, the measure of his love begins to fill us with the fullness of God so that we mourn our feeble consecration and consider any service our Master calls us unto as reasonable service.
Christ said to Ezekiel, “And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, shew them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof: and write it in their sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them. This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.” (Eze 43: 11-12) Brethren, I take that to mean that the gospel of the House is that Christ, seated in the holiest of holies in the top of the mountain at God’s right hand, is the Holiness in whom we, the whole house round about, is not only a holy temple, but most holy. And if this sight of Christ has indeed sanctified our hearts so as to turns us from our sins to walk by faith in his marvelous Light then Christ shall continue to show us everything about the House, giving us more and more precious views of Him.