Please turn in your Bibles to the book of Colossians in
the third chapter. Colossians chapter 3. lies that are told by what I would
call works mongers. Those who essentially preach
that salvation is by human will or human works or human worth. But there have been many lies
told by these individuals in every age about the gospel of
the free and sovereign grace of God, as well as those who
preach and believe it. There are some who would say
that we are fatalists. We're not fatalists. We don't
believe simply what is to be will be. We believe that whatever
is, a wise and good God has ordained it. It's His purpose. Some say we deny human responsibility. But we do not deny that. We simply
say what the Bible says, that men have no ability of themselves
to believe or do anything that is pleasing or acceptable to
God. And then some say that we believe
that some will be saved no matter what. No. We believe all the Lord's people
will be saved. They will be saved all because
of God, and He will bring them to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And they say some very wicked
and cruel things. They say such things as, we believe
that babies go to hell. But that's not true at all. We
don't say anything about where the Bible is silent. And we know
that every infant or whatever they are, if they die in childbirth
or early childhood, they would have to be saved on the same
basis as you or I. All in the grace of God. in Jesus Christ. They say things like this. They don't believe in missionary
efforts. But I know several missionaries
who would certainly say that's not true. What we believe is
we believe in missionaries who will preach the gospel. We send out and support those
who preach the gospel. But perhaps the most common lie
is that we believe that you can live any way you want and that
this grace of God makes people disregard their conduct of life. They have nothing to say about
godly living. But as I said, those who say
these things, they lie. And they not only lie on us,
but they lie on the God of all truth. And our text here in Colossians
3 is one of many scriptural truths that this is not true. And not only that, but what we
find in this place as well as in every portion of Scripture
is that the truth of sovereign free grace in Christ and instruction concerning our
conduct of life, they are oftentimes in the same verse. We never find instruction in
righteousness except it follow the gift of
that righteousness which is in Christ. I've heard some say that we believe
simply something like this. Love Christ and do what you will. And I think I understand what
they are saying, but I'm afraid I find that just a little bit
dangerous to say. Those who love Christ, while
they do in part what they will, I'm afraid they also do what
they really wouldn't if they could. And by that I mean that
our old nature has not been eradicated. So when we say something like
that, it almost sounds like that we believe that something has
happened to us so that the only thing we ever will to do or want
to do is love Christ and obey Him. While that may be true in what
we desire, I'm afraid it's not true in a lot of what we You see, the scriptures set forth
a gospel wherein we are first told of what Christ has done
for us. But we are in the light of that
told also some things that we are to do, although we are never
told to do them in order to be saved. We're never told to do
them in order to gain the favor of God. We're never told to do
these things in order to increase or raise our standing in the
sight of God. We are as high as we can get. We are as close to God as we
can get already in Christ. We have already died and now
are risen in Christ. And it is as those who are risen
in Christ that all of these instructions are given. Hold your place right
here and let me read you something that Paul says when he writes
to Titus. He says to Titus, And not only
to him, but to each and every one of the Lord's people. In
Titus 2 and verse 11, he says, for the grace of God. There is
not one kind of grace in one portion and then another kind
of grace in another portion. He says, for the grace of God
that brings salvation, or that is bringing salvation, hath appeared
unto all men, teaching us this grace wherein we are taught that
God has saved us in Christ, this grace teaches us also that denying
ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously,
and godly in this present world. And he gives a big reason why. He said, because we are looking
and we are living in the expectancy of the immediate appearing of
the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. So listen to what Paul says here. in this twelfth verse of Colossians
3. He says, put on, therefore, as
the elect of God, that is absolute, free, sovereign grace and mercy. A term that is used to describe
that mercy and grace given to a people that were given to Christ. Put on, therefore, as the elect
of God, holy and beloved. in Christ, not only absolutely
loved with an everlasting love, but also in Him already holy. You see that? Put on, therefore,
as the elect of God, holy and beloved, vows of mercies kindness,
humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering. Now, there are many names in
the Bible that are used to describe the people of God. But here,
as in other places, Paul calls them the elect of God. That is, those who are chosen
of God. You remember He said to His disciples,
you have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you. You see, salvation does not find
its origins or its beginnings or its determinations in the
choices of men but in the choice of God. He described them in that first
verse as those who are risen in Christ. If or since you then
be risen with Christ. These are believers. And he also speaks of in another
place and refers to the gospel as this, the faith of God's elect. That word elect means to choose. So these that he writes to, they
are referred to as those who have been chosen of God. And the scriptures speak of them
also as those who are elect according to the foreknowledge, which is
foreordination of God. They are chosen according to
that foreordination of God so that Paul said, even when he
was there in prison, And enduring the hardship of that dungeon,
he said, I endure all things for the elect's sake. He said, before you think that
I have failed, before you think that things are run amiss, before
you think that God has lost control, let me assure you of this. The things that have happened
to me have fallen out to the furtherance of the gospel, so
I endure all these things for the elect's sake." As a matter
of fact, there were some of God's elect in that very prison to
whom God had sent him to preach the gospel. You see, to elect, as I said,
is to choose, and surely we would have to admit that God alone
has the right to do so. He said, can I not do with my
own what I will? So salvation, as we find stated
even in this title or name given to God's people is by God's choice,
just like Paul says when he writes to the Ephesians in chapter 1. He says, blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He says, according as he hath
chosen us." He blessed his people with all spiritual blessings
in Christ Jesus. He says, according as he hath
chosen us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be
holy and without blame before him in love. If the Lord is pleased to show
mercy to you or to me or to anyone of Adam's race, it will not be
because of our decision. It will be because of His decision. It will be because of His choice
of us rather than our choice of Him. And this is not a choice
to give a chance or a choice to an opportunity or a choice
to make something available to somebody. It says that God's
people, these elect ones, they are chosen to salvation. I know that election is not salvation,
but I know also there is no salvation without election or apart from
election. As a matter of fact, there is
no Christ without election. Because if you go back and read
that first chapter of Ephesians, Paul says of this choosing by
God, of this election, that he chose these people in Him. You can't go to your Bible and
take your scissors out and cut out everything that gives real
glory to God and shows Him as the Savior that He is by taking
out these things because you kind of throw out the baby in
the bathwater. When you do, you cut out election,
you cut out Christ. Chosen in Him. And these elect ones, they are
made manifest by the Spirit of God through the gospel. That is, the badge or the mark,
if you'd say, of God's elect is this, that he will bring each
and every one of them to be confronted with this gospel And He will
bring every one of them to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. They will all believe. They will
all come to Him. They will all trust Christ alone
as He's revealed in the Gospel. Turn over to II Thessalonians. and the second chapter, 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. In this second chapter, Paul,
after he has just been talking about so many who would be deceived
who would believe a lie rather than the truth, and on whom God
would send strong delusion, that they should believe a lie, and
that they all might be damned, who believed not the truth, but
had pleasure in unrighteousness. And then to these he writes,
he turns on a but, and he says this, We are bound to give thanks always
to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord. He's talking about
the same people. In Colossians 3, he describes
them as holy and beloved. Here he speaks of them as being
beloved of God, beloved of the Lord. He says, because God hath
from the beginning chosen you to salvation. That's a choice of individuals.
He has chosen you to salvation in its entirety, in its fullness. Salvation from sin. All your sin. Salvation from
Satan. Salvation from yourself. He's chosen you because He loved
you with an everlasting love and He chose you to salvation. He didn't just choose you to
salvation and cast off all means. He says through sanctification
of the Spirit, that is a work of the Spirit of God in you, which brings you to what? Believe
the truth. through sanctification or this
setting apart work by the Spirit of God wherein He brings you
to believe the truth, He says, whereunto He called you by our
gospel to the obtaining of the glory
of our Lord Jesus Christ. It's all of Him. It's all of
His love. It's all of His grace. And the issue is not why did
He not choose all. The issue that ought to amaze
us is that in a race like Adam, our father, why did He choose
any? The only thing that He's obligated
and bound to do, and that because of the holy and just God that
He is, the only thing He's bound to do for us is to punish our
sins. But it says that He loves somebody
and that He chose somebody, and for no reason in them And for
nothing done by them to gain His favor or to merit righteousness
in any way, it says that He chose them and therefore they are His
elect. He chose them in Christ. And so here it is to these elect,
not just here in Colossae or in Thessalonica or any place
since God has given us His Word and preserved it. It is to these
elect ones redeemed by Christ that He issues this statement
and it is what you might say is a call to full dress. You military guys, you know that
there is a sort of command that goes out ever so often that on
this day or during this period of time or in this place, this
will be the uniform of the day. That's what Paul is saying here. He's already said before, put
ye on the Lord Jesus Christ. As far as any hope of salvation,
it will never be based on anything you do. It will always be in
Christ. He is the Lord, our righteousness. And then he says this now. He
says this. Or really as it is, since you
are one of God's elect. And if you as one of God's elect
have been loved without a cause, there was no reason for Him to
love you, no reason in us for Him to save us. If then He has
put away all our sins, if we have been made the righteousness
of God in Him by God imputing to us His righteousness, if we
have been shown kindness from God, if we've been dealt with
in mercy by God, if we've been forgiven, and if we've already
been clothed by God. You've been clothed by God. You remember Adam and Eve when
they disobeyed God and they sinned in the garden. And they discovered
in their sin, their nakedness before God. They went out and
they tried to take fig leaves and make them a nice covering
and suit of clothes. But evidently that didn't satisfy
God because it never will satisfy God. It's not by works of righteousness
which we have done. It's in His mercy. It's in His
purpose and grace. It's in His Son, the Lord Jesus
Christ, that He saves us. So what did He do? The Scripture
says that God took skins of animals. That means those animals had
to die. That means blood had to be shed. He took skins of
animals and he made to them coverings or coats, or as the word actually
is, tunics, and he wrapped them in it, which was a picture of
Christ. So Paul is saying, if God's clothed
you in the nakedness of your seed, if he's covered you in the garments
of salvation. That's what Isaiah writes in
chapter 61. He says, I will greatly rejoice
in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God, for he hath
clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered
me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself
with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels."
He said, that's what God's done for me. And of this bride of these elect
ones in revelation, she's described in this way, and to her was granted
that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white. For the fine linen is the righteousness
of the saints. It's not what they've done. They're
not covered in standing before God, accepted by God, based on
their righteousness. You remember he said, all our
righteousnesses are as filthy rags. But they're covered in His righteousness. They're in Christ. He views them
all together in Christ. And then in Ezekiel, when he's
talking about this same one, the bride, his children, his
church, these elect ones, it says that he says to her, and
thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty, for it was perfect through my comeliness
which I had put on thee saith the Lord." That's who he's talking to here. He said, if the Lord has put
away your sins, and if he's put on you the very righteousness
of Christ, he says, put on, therefore, as
the elect of God. Not in order to be one of God's
elect, but because you are. Not in order to be saved, but
because He saved you. Not in order to gain His favor,
but because He's already favored you. Actually, in this chapter, He
says, on the one hand, put some things off and put some things
on. as the elect of God. Look back in the first verse
at a few things that he speaks of that God's elect, those who
have been brought to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ are
to put off, put away. He says, If or since ye then
be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where
Christ sitteth on the right hand. Now think about this. He is talking here to God's elect. He is talking
to some folks who've been saved by one absolutely outside of
themselves. He's talking to one, those who've
been loved with this everlasting love, these that he has brought
through the death of Christ to be in an unchanging state of
justification. He looks at them in Christ. He's
accepted them. He's pleased with them. They'll
never fall out of favor with Him. But He speaks to them and He
says, put off some things. Put off some things. Will they actually be interested
in what He tells them? Or will they just go and they'll
take out the things of grace and they'll take what it says
that He did for them, but what He tells them to do, they'll
just throw that aside? No. Because He says this of them,
My sheep hear My voice. You better think about this.
My sheep hear my voice. The goats don't. My sheep hear
my voice. Then Christ said this. Listen
to this. John 8, 47. He that is of God. Of God. That means born of God. born from above. He that is of
God heareth God's words. That means hears them so as to
obey them. But he looked at those very people
that he was standing around, the Pharisees, these religious
people, he said, ye therefore hear them not, because you are
not of God. You're not the people of God,
you're of your father the devil. You do his will. He's a lie,
you're a lie. He that is of God hears God's
word. In Revelations he says it like
this, he that hath ears to hear, let him hear. That means you or me if we claim
to be believers. All right, look back in verse
2. He just said, seek those things
which are above, spiritual things, eternal things, and most especially
the things of Christ. Set your affection on things
above, not on things on the earth." Now, we live on the earth, don't
we? There are some things in this
world that we have to do. We have to work. We have to do
some things. We have to have some things,
do we not? He said, but don't you dare set
your affection. Make as the chief of your desires. Make as the chief of your efforts. Don't dare set your affection
on things on the earth, but on things above." And there's a
reason for that. He said, for you are dead, or
you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. You're not only dead to sin.
He's not only separated all your sins from you and put them away,
you're dead to this world. You're not going to be destroyed
with this world that's under a curse. Why are you clamoring
after some things that God is going to burn up with fire? Why
are you wanting to walk in the course of this world that is
going to perish forever in the sight of God? He said don't do
that. He said, when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then
shall ye also appear with him in glory. Don't be clamoring
around for a pat on the back by this world when you're going
to have the full reception of God the Father. Don't try to
be favored by them or identified with them. They're perishing.
He says, you're going to be glorified with the Lord Jesus Christ. And then look at what he says
in verse 5. He says, mortify. You know what that word means? Put to death. Put to death. When Lee read that sixth chapter
of Romans, he's saying exactly the same thing there. He says,
mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth. That
is, those very members of our body whereby we find them oftentimes
the instruments of unrighteousness. And then he gives us A brief
summation, he says, fornication, sexual immorality. He said, don't ever let it be
caught among you. Uncleanness, inordinate affection. Evil concupiscence, all these
things have to do with evil desires and evil passions. Covetousness, which is idolatry,
that is the desire for all these things which you do not have,
the desire to have what someone else has. He said it's idolatry. What does
that mean? That means you worship it more
than you do God. And then he says this, for which
things say the wrath of God is coming on the children of disobedience. You say, well, these things are
pretty much the norm of our day. They're not the norm with God. He said, you are in the world. I don't pray that the Father
take you out of the world, but that He keep you from the evil. You're not of the world, He said,
even as I'm not of the world. Oh, it's enormous. What did we
sing in that hymn? Holy, holy, holy. We live right now in a time and
in a generation of people when it would really take something
to shock us. But I can tell you this, oftentimes
the very things you hear spoken, the things you see on the TV,
the things that you watch in the movie, the things that go
on in this world, they may not shock you, but they ought to.
What is counted as the norm in our day, for the most part, is
counted as absolutely abhorrable sin in the sight of God. He says this, "...in the which
ye also walked some time when ye lived in them." Has God saved
you from anything? He says, but now ye also put
off all these anger. Anger. What you got to be mad
at? Now, I'm telling you this. What
have God's people got to be angry with? The only thing He said
we're to be angry with is sin. What have you got to be angry
with? Well, you say, you just don't know how they treat me.
They do nothing except that which God permits. Well, you say, you just don't
know how things go in my life. Well, let me tell you this. If
you're God's child, He said that He works all things after the
counsel of His will. He has ordered and ordained all
things, and not one thing happens, not one person does anything
against us except the Father Not only permit it, but send
it. You haven't got anything to be
angry with. We're angry with men when we ought to be angry
with sin, the sin in us. He says, put off these things,
anger, wrath, malice. What's that? Holding a grudge. Holding a grudge. You say, well, you just don't
know how these people, you don't know what they've done to me.
I just can't let it go. You're better. Because if you ever find out
what God's forgiven you of, if you ever realize by His Spirit
what He's preserved you from doing to somebody else, or forgiven
you for what you've done, you might not have such malice. You might be like that preacher
who stood there talking to a man one day when they led a man by
him to the gallows to be hanged. And he looked at the man and
he said, but for the grace of God, there goes me. He said, put off these things.
Malice, blasphemy. talking things about God or agreeing
with things about God which just are utterly blasphemous, he says,
filthy communication or filthy language out of your mouth. Well, you say, what I say doesn't
have anything to do with my salvation. No, but it might reveal whether
or not you're saved, whether he saved you. Filthy communication. Why? He says, because out of
the abundance of the heart. Now listen. Out of the abundance
of the heart, the mouth speaks. What's in our heart is what's
on our lips and tongue. Lies, cursing, gossip, whatever
it is, filthy communication from your mouth and always talking about the
world. Never have anything to say about Christ. Talk about
the weather, we'll talk about the news, we'll talk about this,
we'll talk about that, talk about our work, talk about this thing.
Christ is not on our lips. That greatly concerns me. Concerns
me enough about myself. That's right. He says, lie not
to one and to another, seeing that you have put off the old
man with his deeds. What's the old man? That's the
one we are in Adam. There are a lot of people confused
about this right now. They talk about a new nature,
although the Bible never mentions a new nature. It talks about
an old man and a new man. The old man is that old man that
we are in Adam. The new man is the man that we
are in Christ. That's what Paul said. He said,
I knew a man in Christ. He's talking about himself. And rather than a new nature,
we're still struggling with this old nature. And the only hope
we have, the only preserving influence we have, which is a
great one, is the Holy Spirit indwelling us. and have put on the new man,
that's the man in Christ, which is renewed in knowledge after
the image of him that created him, where there is neither Greek
nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond nor
free, but Christ is all and in all. He said, if you are in Christ,
risen with Him, hidden by God in Christ, if you are one with
Him and He is everything and there is none of these divisional
things such as Jew or Gentile or all these other things, He
said, there is not bond or free, but we are in Christ and Christ
is all. Put off these things. You say,
preacher, I struggle. I do too. You say, I don't think
I'll ever be free. You won't in this life. And that's
why we need grace. That's why we need His Spirit.
That's why we need to be honest with ourselves. That's why we
need to be honest before God. That's why we seek mercy and
help to do these things. Because He hath saved us. given us everything in Christ. You see, the point and the position
of obedience is entirely different. It's not by law. It's all by grace. It's a motivation
that stems out of love for Christ, not some mercenary spirit whereby
we obey Him to get something from Him. And then he says this, put on therefore. Put off these
things. Oh, and God help us that we can
as much as possible and quit excusing ourselves and justifying
ourselves and what we do. Put them off. But he says, and
put on something. He says, put on therefore as
the elect of God, holy and beloved, vows of mercy. Bows of mercy. That's actually
a double plural there in the original. Bows of mercies. And in that time, and especially
when the King James was translated This bowels is simply an expression
of our innermost being, of our heart of hearts. And he's saying
here this is literally put on a heart of compassion. Heart of compassion. Since God is plenteous in mercy
and has been merciful to us, how we ought to be merciful to
others. Especially the brethren. This is to be heartfelt. This is not to be some superficial
act. Some outward kind of fake piety. He said this is in the heart.
Bows of compassion. Inner pity toward the weakness
and the misery and the needs of others. I had a friend in Kentucky, he's
dead now, but the Lord used him to teach me something, I can
tell you that. He wasn't a preacher. But one day he was talking about
how he had to, it looked like he was going to have to do something
for an individual, and I thought to myself, after what they've
done. And he looked at me and he said,
he said, brother, he said, I want to show mercy because I need
mercy. It was just like God took me
and shook me and said, don't you ever forget that. If you
need mercy, you need mercy. Mercy is kindness and pity that
is demonstrated toward one who's shown themselves as your enemy. You need mercy. Show mercy. Show mercy. You remember when Joseph, his
brothers had lied to their father, told him that Joseph was dead. The wild beasts had slain him.
They took his coat, covered it in animal blood, took it to his
father. cast him in a pit, and then when
that wasn't good enough, they pulled him up out of the pit
and sold him into slavery to slave traders headed for Egypt.
And when he got there, he was doing so good and recognized
by the head of the house, Potiphar. And then Potiphar's wife accused
him of rape and lied and had him cast into prison there. Just
down, down, down. Everything that happened, just
see it going down, down, down. Then one day, when he was enabled
of God to interpret the Pharaoh's dream, and he raised him to be
the second over all Egypt, and his own brothers had to travel
from their land to Egypt just to get a sack of grain. And finally, you can just imagine. Here's
Joseph. He's second in command of all
Egypt, over all the storehouses of Egypt. And his brothers come there.
They don't know who he is. They don't recognize him. They
come there begging a sack full of corn to keep their families
and themselves alive. He could have said, I got you
now. I got you now. I'll set things
right now. I'll get even with you now."
What did he do? He showed mercy. He knew that but for the grace
of God, that would have been him. And he embraced them and
wept with them. They were scared. He said, I know. that you meant
this for evil. He said that there was one who
overrode all of it. He said God meant it for good
to show favor and to preserve a great people alive. Bows of
mercy. Then he says kindness. Kindness, sympathy. That is love
that's expressed in Not just words, but deed. Compassion in
expression, you'd say. You remember that one who's a
type of Christ that we've come to call the Good Samaritan? Here's
the priest. Here's the Levi. They walk and
they go on the other side of the road. But do you know what
characterized the Samaritan? It said, he went to where he
was. He interrupted his day, his life. He went to where he was. He put
himself maybe in some element of danger. He went to where that
man was and he bound up his wounds and he poured in oil and wine
and he set him on his own horse and took him to an end and he
reached in his pocket and he pulled out the money and said,
if he has any other need, if this doesn't cover it, I'll
pay for it when I get back." Kindness. Kindness. In Ephesians, he says, Be ye
kind one to another, tenderhearted. Then he says, Humbleness of mind.
That's where the humility, true humility begins, in the mind. In the mind. Not that humility
that's outside where everybody kind of walks around. These people
are trying to look so holy and they make me want to throw up. The butter would melt on them. Honey falls out of their lips.
That's not humility. He said this is humility. Be
of the same mind as Christ who humbled himself. He took on himself
the form of a man and a servant and became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross. Humble yourself. One writer called this modest
self-appraisal. in relation to other believers. The thought that their ideas
and their opinions and their knowledge and their gifts and
their character, it's all, they're all better than me. I hope you all know more than
I know. Probably do. This means our will
submitted to the will of God. Then he says meekness. Meekness. What does that mean? Being a
wuss? Meekness. Meekness is quiet strength. Meekness is our depending not
on our strength, but on the strength of God. Meekness. Strength that is known that doesn't
have to be proven. You know what it says of Moses?
It says he was the meekest man of all the earth. I know what kind of image we
got. We got the Charlton Heston image, don't we? I saw the Ten
Commandments. There's Moses. There's Charlton.
No. The meekest man of all the earth. A little meekness. A willingness
to suffer injury rather than to inflict injury. Meekness, which is definitely
not weakness. Then he says long-suffering.
That means giving space or time, allowing for reconciliation and
repentance and restoration. Long-suffering. No, this is what
we're going to do. We're going to bring them up
before the church. We're going to get this matter
straight. No Christian would live like this. Let me tell you
something. Even if you are a believer, but
from the restraining grace of God, you'll live like a David
or a drunken Noah or any other. Don't you think for one minute
that you can live this life of, I'd never do that. You don't
know you then. Long-suffering. God waited, was
long-suffering in the days of Noah. Hosea was long-suffering
with Gomer. Long-suffering is waiting to
be gracious, forbearing one another. I didn't
mean something like this. Enduring one another. If you
can't embrace me, at least endure me. Endure. Looking over the faults and the
failures of others. Enduring offense and not quick
to take offense and surrendering your so-called rights and controlling
your emotions. Forbearance. And then he says, forgiving one
another. You see, God's elect forgive
very much because they've been forgiven of so much. I hear people make statements
like this, they scare me. Supposed to be believers, professed
to be among God's elect. I'll forgive them, but I'll not
forget them. Well, you've not forgiven them. We pray and forgive us our debts
as we forgive our debtors. What if God forgave you on the
basis of you forgiving others? That's scary, isn't it? And above all, put on charity. That's love. If a man gives his body to be
burned, if he gives everything he has, Paul says in 1 Corinthians
13, and he has not love, he's like a sounding brass and a tinkling
cymbal. He's just a lot of noise. I'll just have to read the rest
of these for the most part. Verse 15, And let the peace of
God rule in your hearts, to the which also you are called in
one body, and be ye thankful." Thankful. Let the Word of Christ
dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one
another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with
grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever you do in word
or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks
to God and the Father by Him. Wives, submit yourselves unto
your own husbands as it is fit in the Lord. Husbands, love your
wives and be not bitter against them. You haven't got to go to a marriage
counselor. God's people, they believe the
word. Does it get much plainer than
those two statements as far as the relationship between husbands
and wives? He said, husbands love your wives
as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it. Wives
be in submission or reverence your husband. That just simply
means, look at him simply in this light, that he is the one
that God has put there as the head of the household. He's not
better than you, smarter than you, or anything else. It's simply
a symbol of God's authority. You look at the wickedness in
our day, and I'll tell you where it always boils down to, whether
it's homosexuality, whether it's all the liberalism, whether it's
all the It all boils down to this, a rebellion against the
order and authority of God. Children, whatever it is, always
boils down to that. Why is this to be this way? Because
this is what God says. Let me hurry. Children, obey
your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing unto the
Lord. That's why. Fathers, provoke
not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged. I'll tell you, as a father, there
are a whole lot of things I wish I could take back. Servants, those employees, obey
in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eye service,
as men pleasers. but in singleness of heart, fearing
God. I can tell you this, if this
is the way it was, there wouldn't be a need for a union or a fight
over a union like there is right now. And whatsoever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord
and not to me. that of the Lord ye shall receive
the reward of the inheritance." You see, you've already received
everything by grace. You've already received this
eternal inheritance in Christ. He said, For you serve the Lord
Christ, not as a slave, but as a willing sponsor. But he that
doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done
And there is no respect of persons put off, put on, as the elect of God. Neither our supposed character
or our imagined good conduct, either one, are a part of our
standing in salvation with God. But our salvation and our relationship
to God as his children, as his people, surely has a great influence
on our character and on our conduct. Father, this day we give you
thanks and praise and glory for all that you have freely given
us according to your own will and purpose in Christ Jesus. We thank you that our righteousness
is of you, that we have nothing of ourselves, wherein to commend
us to you, but you have freely given us all things. And that being true, Lord, we
pray for grace and strength that we might live in this world and
live before this unbelieving world, and most especially live
before and in relationship to our brethren in Christ in your strength, given more
grace and help. Leave us not to ourselves. or
to our own devices, but keep saving us, helping us, giving
us strength that we might live to the honor and glory of Him
who loved us and gave Himself for us. We thank you and pray
in His name. Amen.