Advertise on podcast: Coweta Baptist Church

Now, I am rejoicing in the sufferings my for you… Remember Paul is in prison and his thinking is, If ever I have been tempted to complain about my lot, if ever I thought the cross too hard to bear, yet now, now when I contemplate the great wealth of God's mercy – the glory of being a part in this magnificent work, my sorrow is turned to joy.

To lay aside is not gently remove them, fold them up and put them in the draw, but to cast away, take them off as disgusting filth for they are the works of the flesh that we are so aptly warned of in the Holy Scripture. Those weights may consist of pride, worldly entanglements, or various forms of lust. Worldly philosophies and hypocrisy; the putting off of the old man.

The grace of faith, by which the elect is enabled to believe for the saving of their soul, is the work of the Spirit of Christ in their hearts and is ordinarily produced through the ministry of the Word

In this race of life none of the runners are on the same track, they all have their own specific track that is set before them. Some appear to have a relatively easy race; others are fraught with great difficulty. There is no competition between the runners, however, we do have a competitor; nevertheless, all are to run. This run is the Christian life, and we ought to expect in this race dangers, pitfalls, enemies, and the testings of faith all along the way.

This gospel by which men are converted to Christ was spoken throughout the known world, to Jew and Gentile alike and without exception. To the barbarian as well as the educated, to nobility or pauper, to merchants and slaves is the gospel of hope preached.

Now Jesus took the Old Testament law to show that the Christian and church members are of an altogether different mindset than the unbeliever or even the Jews under the law of Moses. He showed that instead of seeking retribution and compensation for personal loss from one another, we should rather suffer loss, forgive those that have trespassed against us, thus showing that we are the children of God. He even goes further by showing that in this world we shall be mistreated and how we as children of God ought to behave in those circumstances.

'holy disposition,' what is this? We need to understand that this is not a natural disposition. Our disposition, as we have already seen, is that of rebellion against God both in our flesh and in our minds. Eph. 2 clearly tells us that we are by nature, that which is natural to us, children of wrath. Our confession tells us that regeneration consists in giving a holy disposition. God must give us a holy disposition and in this 'giving' the scripture teaches we are passive in receiving it. John 3:3-8

By alienated it means that were estranged from God, that is they were a non-participants, passive in anything pertaining to God. In their unsaved condition they went through life with no regard to God.

How do WE react when an evil man that is bent on doing us evil and harm because we are a Christian, a follower of the dear Savior? Do we rise in anger if he spits on us? Are we to be as sheep led to the slaughter or respond like angry bears? When we respond, are we concerned with our self-image, our pride, our personal feelings? The point is that we are to be empty of self, we are to allow being degraded, misused, misunderstood, even abused for the sake and name of Christ. We are to be exactly like him. To "resist not evil" is not to resist evil men as they attack you personally for being a Christian.

God does not derive pleasure nor displeasure from doing something like we as humans. We as humans do things that please us and avoid those things that bring us no pleasure. We know that sometimes we must do things that are unpleasant, so we avoid them for a long as possible. Not so with God, He is complete in himself and he is no compulsions nor is any of his work among men motivated by feelings of pleasure.

Gill most eloquently said, the first and chief over all persons, angels, and men; having a superior nature, name, and place, than the former, and being the firstborn among many brethren designed by the latter: and in all things he is the first, and has the precedence and primacy; in sonship, no one is a Son in the sense he is; in election, he was chosen first, and his people in him; in the covenant, he is the surety, Mediator, and messenger of it, he is that itself; in his human nature, he is fairer than the children of men; in redemption, he was alone, and wrought it out himself; in life, he exceeded all others in purity, in doctrine, and miracles; and in dying he conquered death, and rose first from it; in short, he died, revived, and rose again, that he might be Lord both of dead and living; and he ought to have the pre-eminence and first place in the affections of our hearts, in the contemplations of our minds, in the desires of our souls, and in the highest praises of our lips.

We believe that to be saved, sinners must be regenerated or born again; that regeneration consists in giving a holy disposition to the mind; that it is effected in a manner above our comprehension by the power of the Holy Spirit and independent of divine truth; and is evidenced in the holy fruit of faith and repentance and newness of life.

Today we are going to see that our Lord goes beyond the scope of just adultery of the heart to that of the act of adultery after divorce. We play the little game that if we get divorced, I have the right to remarry. And, at least as far as Christians are concerned, we find validation in Deut. 24:1-2 for remarriage; a comfort where there is no comfort; a false and invalid validation to justify sin.

John Gill in his commentary most eloquently said, the first and chief over all persons, angels, and men; having a superior nature, name, and place, than the former, and being the firstborn among many brethren designed by the latter: and in all things he is the first, and has the precedence and primacy; in sonship, no one is a Son in the sense he is; in election, he was chosen first, and his people in him; in the covenant, he is the surety, Mediator, and messenger of it, he is that itself; in his human nature, he is fairer than the children of men; in redemption, he was alone, and wrought it out himself; in life, he exceeded all others in purity, in doctrine, and miracles; and in dying he conquered death, and rose first from it; in short, he died, revived, and rose again, that he might be Lord both of dead and living; and he ought to have the pre-eminence and first place in the affections of our hearts, in the contemplations of our minds, in the desires of our souls, and in the highest praises of our lips.

If you cut off your right hand what can your right hand do that your left hand cannot also learn to do? Jesus is not speaking to the mutilation of the body but rather the matter of the heart because if you plucked out both your eyes you will grope after sin with your hands, and if you cut off your hands you will run after sin with your feet, and if you cut off your feet you would crawl like a worm after sin.