Covenant Protestant Reformed Church
83 Clarence Street, Ballymena BT43 5DR
Rev. Angus Stewart
Lord’s Day, 25 July, 2021
“O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness:
fear before him, all the earth” (Ps. 96:9)
Morning Service – 11:00 AM
John’s Witness of Christ’s Resurrection (7)
“What Shall This Man Do?” [youtube]
Scripture Reading: John 21
Text: John 21:20-25
I. Peter’s Question
II. Christ’s Rebuke
III. The Disciples’ Misunderstanding
Psalms: 111:1-4, 7-9; 139:11-16; 141:1-5; 40:1-5
Evening Service – 6:00 PM
Human Nature in Its First Three States [youtube]
Scripture Reading: John 8:23-47
Text: Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 3
I. Its Primitive Integrity by Creation
II. Its Total Depravity by the Fall
III. Its Begun Recovery by Regeneration
Psalms: 66:1-7; 139:17-24; 51:1-7; 119:33-40
For CDs of the sermons and DVDs of the worship services, contact Stephen Murray
If you desire a pastoral visit, please contact Rev. Stewart or the elders
CPRC Website: www.cprc.co.uk • Live Webcast: www.cprc.co.uk/live-streaming
CPRC YouTube: www.youtube.com/cprcni
CPRC Facebook: www.facebook.com/CovenantPRC
Quote to Consider
Matthew Henry on John 21:23: “The mistake … took rise from a saying of Christ’s, misunderstood, and then made a saying of the church. Hence learn, First, The uncertainty of human tradition, and the folly of building our faith upon it. Here was a tradition, an apostolical tradition, a saying that went abroad among the brethren. It was early; it was common; it was public; and yet it was false. How little then are those unwritten traditions to be relied upon which the council of Trent [1545-1563] hath decreed to be received with a veneration and pious affection equal to that which is owing to the holy scripture. Here was a traditional exposition of scripture. No new saying of Christ’s advanced, but only a construction put by the brethren upon what he did really say, and yet it was a misconstruction. Let the scripture be its own interpreter and explain itself, as it is in a great measure its own evidence and proves itself, for it is light. Secondly, The aptness of men to misinterpret the sayings of Christ. The grossest errors have sometimes shrouded themselves under the umbrage of incontestable truths; and the scriptures themselves have ben wrested by the unlearned and unstable. We must not think it strange if we hear the sayings of Christ misinterpreted, quoted to patronise the errors of antichrist, and the impudent doctrine of transubstantiation – for instance, pretending to build upon that blessed word of Christ, This is my body. The easy rectifying of such mistakes, by adhering to the word of Christ, and abiding by that. So the evangelist here corrects and controls that saying among the brethren, by repeating the very words of Christ. He did not say that the disciple should not die. Let us not say so then; but he said, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? He said so, and no more. Add thou not unto his words.”
Announcements (subject to God’s will)
We welcome Dale Mansona who settled into 55 Phoenix Fields, Ballymena, on Friday. Alfonso and Salome will be moving there this Thursday (29 July), with Chester coming later as his employer in Limerick required.
Pastor & Mary fly to the US tomorrow, returning on Tuesday, 17 August. May the Lord watch over and keep all of you while we are apart.
The farewell lunch for Rev. & Larisa McGeown is planned for this Saturday, 31 July, at noon at Antrim’s Lough Shore Park. Due to Covid restrictions, people should bring their own pack lunches.
Rev. McGeown will preach at both services next Lord’s day, 1 August, with a presentation to Rev. & Larisa after the evening service.
The Reformed Witness Hour broadcast next Lord’s day (Gospel 846 MW at 8:30 AM) by Rev. Haak is entitled, “Building With a Sword and Trowel” (Neh. 4).
Offerings: General Fund: £699.71.
Translation Additions: 1 Kirundi, 1 Russian, 1 Polish and 2 Spanish.
PRC News: Hudsonville called Rev. R. Kleyn. Rev. J. Engelsma accepted the call to Crete PRC. Kalamazoo PRC will call from a trio of Revs. Haak, DeBoer and Lee.
Destructive Consequences
Brian D. Dykstra
“Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth. Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house: Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel: Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger; And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed, And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof; And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!” (Prov. 5:7-13).
Solomon warned his son about the end result of the strange woman. She leads to death and hell. She has many different ways to entice her victims, so many that they cannot be known. One would think the warning Solomon has just given in the preceding verses would be sufficient for any young man. The final result of a relationship with her being death and hell are as serious as it could be. What more needs to be said?
Once again Solomon gets his children’s attention by calling them to hear his words. Because the strange woman’s tactics are so varied and the results so dire, Solomon wants to make sure that his children as a group, as well as each son individually, do not depart from the words he speaks. His maturing listeners do not have the life experiences he has. They might minimize the seriousness of the danger of which they are being warned or overestimate their strength to resist this woman.
The son must not have his way come close to this woman. His way is his day-to-day living. He must make sure that he does not allow his path to cross hers. He may not give her any opportunity to entice him. We are reminded of Joseph. When his master’s wife made her intentions regarding him clear, Joseph saw to it that he was not in the house when she was there. He kept as far away from her as possible. Giving oneself the opportunity of “just happening” to come across this woman makes it impossible to pray with sincerity the petition, “Lead us not into temptation.”
He is not even to come close to the door of her house. The son must not think he could visit with this woman in her living room. Nor is he to think it is safe to take some refreshment by the dining room table. Then he can see her allurement for himself, experience the excitement of her charms or determine what makes her so attractive to men. The son might believe as long as he stays away from her bedroom, all should be fine. How often do saints find themselves in the snare of sin by increments? It is far better to avoid her door than to trust in one’s strength to resist temptation.
Solomon warns about giving “thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel.” Commentators state that “honour” is not one’s reputation. It refers to the strength and beauty of youth. Living in adultery takes a physical toll. Giving oneself over to the pleasures of sin will become evident physically, not just spiritually. The best of years of youth are given to the cruel. If one begins to realize what is happening because of such sin, this woman will not show sympathy and point the way to the cross and repentance. Those given over to such a sin are delighted to see another in the same ruined condition. Remember the compassion showed by the church leaders for Judas’ agonized soul after his betrayal of Christ. “What is that to us? See thou to that” (Matt. 27:4)! The strength and beauty of youth are spent, never to return.
Next we read of strangers being filled with the son’s wealth and labour. It is not the case that the son has been caught in adultery by a jealous husband who then demands payment to be made in the form of slavery. The punishment for adultery was death, not a period of servitude. We should think of the prodigal son who took his inheritance and spent it all in ways of sin and found himself destitute. All of the son’s money which he inherited, and the money earned by the hard labour of feeding swine has done him no real benefit. He has spent his strength and energy trying to satisfy himself with sin. We know that Satan never keeps his promise that giving in to one’s flesh will bring happiness.
The son then mourns “at the last.” This is not the gentle weeping of a tear or two. One commentator writes, “This mourning is the loud wail of lamentation, the groaning indicative of intense mental suffering called forth by the remembrance of past folly, and which sees no remedy in the future.” In some Bible texts, the word refers to the roaring of a lion or the sea.
The son also realizes that his life did not have to be this way. He had been given instruction but he hated it. When his father or friends saw the direction in which the son was headed, those who loved him reproved him. However, his heart despised reproof. He did not obey his teachers or pay attention to those who instructed him. He rejected it all and went his own way. His youth, strength and wealth are gone. He brought himself to ruin all because he took that first step toward the strange woman’s way and entered her door.
He was “almost in all evil.” There was hardly a sin in which he did not indulge. He lived recklessly in sin and those in the community around him knew his character. Even more shameful is that this was done “in the midst of the congregation and assembly.” He grew up in a covenantal community where good godly instruction was available but he turned his back on it all. He chose the pleasures of sin over a walk of obedience in the way marked by God’s law.
These were the challenges faced by the young men of Solomon’s day. Modern technology makes the world of adultery easily available. The strange woman’s way and door are no longer found at the end of a walk to the sinful part of town. Her way and door are now just a computer click away.
May God work by His Spirit in the hearts of our children so they recognize the danger of the temptations which surround them. Pray for our young people so they live in thankful obedience to God for the deliverance from sin He has so graciously given us in the cross of Jesus Christ!
