“I ask, then, has God rejected His people?”
Romans 11:1

This is the fundamental question Paul is answering in this section of the book of Romans: “Has God broken His covenant with Israel?” If so, how do I know He won’t break it with me?

Today we think about Israel and her past as well as her future. The well known author, Mark Twain struggled with the incongruity of Israel’s survival. He wrote:

“If the statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one percent of the human race. It suggests a nebulous puff of stardust lost in the blaze of the Milky Way.
Properly the Jew ought hardly to be heard of. He is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his commercial importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk. .. other peoples have sprung up and held their torch high for a time, but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have vanished.
The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind.
All things are mortal to the Jew, all other forces pass, but he remains.
What is the secret of his immortality?”

What is the secret of his immortality?
I’m glad he asked!
God and His covenant

Because of grace,
Tim

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Today we come to a text that reminds us of the binding nature of the marriage contract. It is not to be entered into lightly or ill advisedly- but reverently, soberly and in the fear of God!

Dearly beloved, we are gathered together in the sight of God and in the presence of this company, to join together this man and this woman in holy matrimony. Marriage is an honorable estate, instituted of God, blessed by our Lord Jesus Christ, and thus held to be honorable among all men. It is not therefore to be entered into lightly or ill advisedly; but reverently, soberly and in the fear of God.
“A married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives…”
Romans 7:2

Marriage has fallen on hard times in America. The hook-up culture of flippant sexuality, shacking up to experiment and then if it doesn’t work out- no fault divorce to dissolve it; hasn’t led to societal bliss, only lives filled with chaos and insecurity. Although adults are left with shattered lives; it is truly the children that bear the brunt of the carnage.

We need to maintain a commitment to our vows. If you are married, I can guarantee you will go through ups and downs in your relationship. There will be times of hard feelings and unfilled expectations. There may be times when you question your sanity in having gotten married in the first place. Friends and loved ones may tell you to throw in the towel and call it quits. Don’t yield to that temptation and don’t let yourself even begin to think of divorce as an alternative.

By God’s grace you can weather the storms and with perseverance and grit you can emerge from times in the valley to experience the very best in what God intended marriage to be. Read God’s Word about marriage- commit to living it out and put God to the test if He won’t bless His Word by giving you the best of relationships and His blessing along the way.
I guarantee you will look back and say it was worth the effort.

Because of grace,
Tim

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This verse is part of what we call the Abrahamic covenant. God made various covenants with men at various times. God made a Covenant of works and then grace with Adam and Eve in the garden. When Noah came off the ark God made a covenant with him and then confirmed it by setting a rainbow in the clouds. God made a Covenant with Moses and all Israel on Mt. Sinai. God made Covenant with David concerning the Messianic kingly line. Finally, God made a “New” covenant with all who believe through His Son Jesus Christ and confirmed it in His blood.

To understand God’s dealings with men it is vital that we understand covenant. Covenant is a promise enacted by solemn oath confirmed with sign’s and seals. Think for instance of the Marriage Covenant. It is a promise- “till death us do part”; enacted by solemn oath- thus the taking of a vow; signified in the marriage ring and sealed with the marriage bed. Thus marriage is a Covenantal relationship and transcends all other human relationships.

As we consider God’s Covenant with man this morning we will consider it in light of God’s promise to bless him. What does it mean to be blessed? What does this blessing look like? Why are some blessed and others cursed?

Abraham is the father of those of faith. The Covenant promise of God is claimed by faith. So let us be blessed with believing Abraham.

“And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.”
Genesis 12:3

Because of grace,
Tim

The post The Covenant Maker appeared first on EBCSV.

I Timothy 3:2 “The husband of one wife”

Chapter 24 of the Westminster Confession of faith contains the clear teaching of Scripture concerning the permanence of marriage, Biblical reasons for divorce and the way the church is to confront divorce when it happens in its midst.
The text of the confession reads:
24.1
Marriage is to be between one man and one woman; neither is it lawful for any man to have more than one wife, nor for any woman to have more than one husband; at the same time.

24.2
Marriage was ordained for the mutual help of husband and wife, for the increase of mankind with a legitimate issue, and of the church with a holy seed; and, for the preventing of uncleanness.

24.5
Adultery, or fornication committed after contract, being detected before marriage, gives just occasion for the innocent party to dissolve the contract. In the case of adultery after marriage, it is lawful for the innocent party to sue out a divorce: and after the divorce, to marry another, as if the offending party were dead.

24.6
Although the corruption of man is such as is apt to study arguments, unduly to put asunder those whom God has joined together in marriage: yet nothing but adultery, or such willful desertion as can no way be remedied, by the church, or the civil magistrate, is cause sufficient for dissolving the bond of marriage: wherein a public, and orderly course of proceeding, is to be observed; and the person concerned in it, not left to their own wills and discretion, in their own case.

May this clear exposition of the Scripture enable us to clearly understand and do God’s will in this regard.
Because of grace,
Tim

Listen to the related message below.

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The loving-kindness of God. “Loving-kindness” is a word coined by a man named Miles Coverdale back in the late 1500’s to translate the Hebrew word ‘hesed’. Hesed is one of the richest words in all the Bible. It has been variously translated into English with such words as:
compassion, mercy, steadfast love, covenant loyalty. It is such a heavily nuanced word that it is actually very difficult to translate into our language. It expresses three parallel thoughts:
“(1.) a feeling in the heart of love (2.) that results in actions of mercy and grace (3.) because of a prior covenantal relationship.”

It’s hard for translators to put all that into one word. It ties very nicely with the N.T. Greek word- charis (grace). The term “loyal-love” expresses the thought closely.

So today we study the fact that when God makes a covenant with his people He faithfully discharges the obligations of that covenant. But, not only does He faithfully discharge His obligations- He does so from a heart full of love. What a great God we love!

“Through the LORD’S mercies (hesed) we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.”
Lamentations 3:22-23

The words of the little chorus fit nicely:
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
His mercies never come to end,
They are new every morning,
New every morning,
Great is Thy faithfulness O Lord,
Great is Thy faithfulness.”

And so it is
Because of grace,
Tim

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As we continue discussing the covenants of God- today we discuss the purpose of the law and how the New Covenant has superseded the Old covenant. We will discuss the purpose of the law as well as its limitations. We will also explore the blessing of living under the New Covenant.

In thinking about these things, my mind returned to a hymn from my childhood that succinctly expresses these truths: “Once for all”

“Free from the law, O happy condition
Jesus has bled and there is remission
Cursed by the law and bruised by the fall
Christ has redeemed us, Once for all!

Once for all, O sinner receive it!
Once for all, O brother believe it!
Free from the law, your burden will fall
Christ has redeemed us, Once for all.”

His death was a one time sacrifice for sin- never to be repeated.
The efficacy of His death encompasses all- there is none outside the scope of His love. No matter what sin you may have committed, no matter how badly you have broken God’s law- there is a sufficient payment for sin- it was Once for all. O believe it, receive it and live for Him who loved you and died for you.

Because of grace,
Tim

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