Covenant Protestant Reformed Church
83 Clarence Street, Ballymena BT43 5DR
Rev. Angus Stewart
Lord’s Day, 10 November, 2019
“Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies,
kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering …” (Col. 3:12)
Morning Service – 11:00 AM – Rev. M. McGeown
The Operation of God’s Wrath in the World (6)
Idolaters Given Up to a Reprobate Mind [youtube]
Scripture Reading: Romans 1:18-32
Text: Romans 1:28-32
I. The Dreadful Judgment
II. The Awful Depravity
III. The Evangelical Hope
Psalms: 121:1-8; 119:17-24; 64:1-6; 95:6-11
Evening Service – 6:00 PM – Rev. M. McGeown
Inexcusable Unbelief from Hell [youtube]
Scripture Reading: Luke 16:19-31
Text: Luke 16:27-31
I. A Wicked Request
II. A Just Refusal
III. A Sufficient Revelation
Psalms: 7:8-13; 119:25-32; 41:1-4, 12-13; 19:9-14
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
Quotes to Consider
John Murray on Romans 1:28: “They did not deem God fit to have in their knowledge.’ The godlessness of the state of mind is apparent: they did not cherish the knowledge of God because they did not consider God worthy of such thought and attention. The corresponding retribution is that ‘God gave them over to a reprobate mind,’ to a mind that is rejected because deemed worthless. A reprobate mind is therefore one abandoned or rejected by God, and therefore not fit for any activity worthy of approbation or esteem.”
Richard C. Trench: “[κακοήθεια or malignity] is that peculiar form of evil which manifests itself in a malignant interpretation of the actions of others, a constant attribution of them to the worst imaginable motives. Nor should we take leave of κακοήθεια without noticing the deep psychological truth attested in this secondary meaning which it has obtained, namely, that the evil which we trace in ourselves makes us ready to suspect and believe evil in others. The κακοήθης [malignant person], being himself of an evil moral habit, projects himself and the motives which actuate him into others round about him, and sees himself in them; for according to our profound English proverb, ‘Ill doers are ill deemers’” (Synonyms of the New Testament, p. 40).
Richard C. Trench: “The three words [ἀλαζών, ὑπερήφανος, ὑβριστής; despiteful, proud, boasters], then, are clearly distinguishable, occupying three provinces of meaning; they present to us an ascending scale of guilt; and as has been observed already, they severally designate the boastful in words, the proud and overbearing in thoughts, the insolent and injurious in acts” (Synonyms of the New Testament, p. 105).
Herman Hoeksema: “Is there any hope? What shall we do in such a world? Shall we build up institutions of education? With these institutions of education the world goes to hell. Shall we reform the world? With this reformation the world goes to hell. Shall we have federations? Men who slide down, when they federate, slide down together. No. We shall say, ‘I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation’” (Righteous by Faith Alone, p. 40).
C. H. Lenski on Luke 16:21: “There is a dispute as to whether this licking of the ulcers was an affliction or an alleviation. It marks the abject state of this beggar: it was so low that such dogs were his only friends. The views that they aggravated his ulcers and that he was too weak to fend them off or that they treated him as almost being a carcass reveal lack of dog knowledge. These dogs licked the beggar’s sores as they would have licked their own: to clean and to ease them with their soft tongues. Dogs did that. No one else would” (Commentary on Luke, p. 848).
John Calvin: “Lazarus is commended for patient endurance of the cross, which always springs from faith and a genuine fear of God; for he who obstinately resists his sufferings, and whose ferocity remains unsubdued, has no claim to be rewarded for patience, by receiving from God comfort in exchange for the cross. To sum up the whole, they who have patiently endured the burden of the cross laid upon them, and have not been rebellious against the yoke and chastisements of God, but, amidst uninterrupted sufferings, have cherished the hope of a better life, have a rest laid up for them in heaven, when the period of their warfare shall be terminated. On the contrary, wicked despisers of God, who are wholly engrossed in the pleasures of the flesh, and who by a sort of mental intoxication, drown every feeling of piety, will experience, immediately after death, such torments as will efface their empty enjoyments … The doctrine of the Law is little esteemed by the world, the Prophets are neglected, and no man submits to hear God speaking in his own manner. Some would desire that angels should descend from heaven; others, that the dead should come out of their graves; others, that new miracles should be performed every day to sanction what they hear; and others, that voices should be heard from the sky. But if God were pleased to comply with all their foolish wishes, it would be of no advantage to them; for God has included in his word all that is necessary to be known, and the authority of this word has been attested and proved by authentic seals. Besides, faith does not depend on miracles, or any extraordinary sign, but is the peculiar gift of the Spirit, and is produced by means of the word. Lastly, it is the prerogative of God to draw us to himself, and he is pleased to work effectually through his own word. There is not the slightest reason, therefore, to expect that those means, which withdraw us from obedience to the word, will be of any service to us. I freely acknowledge, that there is nothing to which the flesh is more strongly inclined than to listen to vain revelations; and we see how eagerly those men, to whom the whole of Scripture is an object of dislike, throw themselves into the snares of Satan. Hence have arisen necromancy and other delusions, which the world not only receives with avidity, but runs after with furious rage.”
Thomas Boston: “How dreadful will this gathering of [the wicked] together into one company be! What they will not believe they will then see, namely, that but few are saved. They think it enough now to be neighbour-like, and can securely follow the multitude: but the multitude [of the damned] will yield them no comfort. How will it sting the ungodly churchgoer, to see himself set on the same hand with Turks and Pagans! How will it gall profane Protestants to stand with idolatrous Papists; praying people with their profane neighbours who mocked at religious exercises; formal professors, strangers to the new birth and the power of godliness, with persecutors! Now there are many opposite societies in the world, but then all the ungodly shall be in one society. And how dreadful will the faces of companions in sin be to one another there! … Then there will be curses instead of greetings, and tearing of themselves and raging against one another instead of their usual embraces” (Human Nature in Its Fourfold State, p. 409).
Announcements (subject to God’s will)
We welcome Rev. & Larisa McGeown today. Rev. McGeown will be preaching for us while Rev. Stewart preaches in the LRF.
Monday catechism classes:
5:30 PM – Angelica, Bradley, Josh, Samuel & Taylor (Seniors NT)
6:15 PM – Corey & Katelyn (Juniors OT)
7:00 PM – Alex, Jacob & Nathan (Essentials)
7:45 PM – membership class
Tuesday Bible Study meets at 11 AM. We will continue our discussion on the object of faith (what faith believes).
Belgic Confession class meets this week Wednesday at 7:45 PM to continue Article 36 on “The Magistrates.”
The Reformed Witness Hour broadcast next Lord’s Day (Gospel 846 MW at 8:30 AM) by Rev. Bruinsma is entitled “Thanks Be to God” (II Cor. 9:15).
Offerings: General Fund: £955.60. Building Fund: £204.80. Donation: $870.80 (Hudsonville PRC).
PRC News: Rev. Jon Mahtani accepted the call to be missionary-on-loan to the CERC in Singapore.
Envy Not the Wicked
by Rev. Jason Kortering
(an excerpt from an article in the Standard Bearer, volume 53, issue 9)
How often have you looked slant-eyed at your neighbor and secretly wished that you were in his shoes?
The catalog of “advantages” is lengthy. They can get the best jobs—through their unions and all that. It’s easier for them to climb the ladder of success; after all, they feel a kinship for one another and this enables them to enjoy a convivial life of eating and drinking in jovial fellowship. Besides this, the money they do make is their own; they simply think of ways in which they can spend it on themselves, their families, their friends. Just imagine if we didn’t have to spend our money on Christian education, church supported ministries, the poor, and missions … It’s easy for us to envy them.
There is, of course, much more. Having fun seems to be the one big thing today. Jobs are necessary to some extent. There are responsibilities we must accept. Life is bearable only if one is able to get away from it all from time to time. One can’t be serious all the time. There must be times for living it up a bit. So the entertainment business beckons for followers. The movie business creates as much appeal as it possibly can, all geared to having fun and forgetting the seriousness of life … television offers plenty of opportunity to escape from the humdrum of life. You can be swept into the world of the imaginary, or you can follow the raw edge of murder, the swinging life of the fun-lovers, the intriguing life of the detective, or the titillating embrace of the lustful. All you have to do is turn it on in the privacy of your own home … And what fun they all seem to have!
Add one more thing, people are having more time for this fun. Not only do they have more money, they also have more time. In some areas the work week is shortened—not due to lack of work, but rather to give more time to the worker to have fun. And, of course, he must make at least as much money as, if not more than, when he worked 40-45 hours a week. Think of the free time! …They do not have to bother with attending church, at least not at their sacrifice. If it is convenient they might perhaps make an occasional appearance. The keynote is, obviously, fun!
It is very easy for us to envy them. Let’s be honest about this, for this is the root of our daily struggle. We come into contact with this world of the wicked, to some extent, every day. From our position it seems as if they have it pretty good, and, by contrast, we have to live a rather stuffy life. We might even feel that we live in drabsville.
God also recognizes that we struggle with this envy. Asaph, the man of God, had similar problems. He speaks of this in Psalm 73, “Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart. But as for me, my feet were almost gone, my steps had well nigh slipped. For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked” (vv. 1-3). He explains that they prosper, they have strength, they don’t have trouble like others, they are proud, violent, rich, corrupt, boastful, and have more than heart could wish. God’s people seem to have the opposite. They struggle, are plagued and chastened every morning. Then he continues, “Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain and washed my hands in innocency” (v. 13). Does God send more blessing on the wicked than He does on His children? Envy brings one to this basic confrontation: do the wicked have it better than the righteous? If so, we cleanse our hands in vain, it is no advantage to be a Christian. Envy ultimately would bring us out of the church into the world.
Hence, God comes to us in His Word. The Psalmist learned that it was foolish to envy the wicked because their prosperity placed them on slippery ground that caused them to slide headlong into hell (v. 18). Hardly an enviable position. But, we must be warned, “Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity” (Ps. 37:1). There are plenty of examples of God’s people acting out of envy and having to suffer the sad consequence … Time and again this took place in Israel. They envied the wicked in their feasts and idol worship. They clamored for a king as the other nations. They wanted to have more fun than the dull life of the covenant. Sad, but true, the kings and priests, as well as prophets, often led the people into this terrible path.
Envy always brings compromise, sin, and ultimately destruction.
How can we best deal with this terrible sin? We should begin to examine who the wicked are. Are they enviable? Or should we say with Asaph, how foolish of me to envy them? In answering this question, we should consider three things about them. First, they are corrupt and defiled in their sins. Secondly, they are transgressors; in their corruption they violate God’s holy law. Thirdly, they reveal themselves as Godless, that is, they oppose God and God opposes them in His judgment.
Let’s begin by considering the wicked as evil, that is, morally vile and full of the stench of death. Consider a passage such as Isaiah 57:20-21: “But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.” Paul, writing in the Spirit to the church at Rome, expresses the content of that mire and dirt in Romans 1:24-32. God’s Word calls the products of the unbelieving world, filth, mire and dirt.
The Bible is as timely as when it was written. If you covenant young people cannot see this today, you never will see it. What is the spiritual character of the arts, science, and culture of the unbelieving world? It is even as Paul describes it in Romans, and as the Prophet Isaiah described it in his day; it is the filth that comes forth from a reprobate mind. True, there are relative degrees of filth. Even the world recognizes this. But let’s not call the less evil, good! The degree is that of corruption, not a degree of goodness.
The evidence of this is round about us on every hand. Examine the ten pop tunes, the best sellers, the most requested songs on the radio programs. What is their subject matter? They glamorize sex so openly and explicitly that even their conscience must be seared. The perversion that Paul speaks about is openly glamorized in our society today. Marriage is laughed at. How can there be marriage when group sex is the ultimate? Most of it is so vile that the sensitivities of God’s people are hurt even considering it …
How cunning our enemy works! He works on two levels, in the area of the so-called secular and the so-called religious. But, he works the same, that is, to cut away the truth of God’s Word and give license to the ungodly to wallow in their filth, casting up mire and dirt …
Woe be to the church that calls the evil good and becomes as a blind man leading the blind so that both fall into the pit together. The sure sign of apostasy in the church is for the leaders of the church to call this mire and dirt something clean and worthwhile. How the devil laughs at such deception! It is the worst kind.
Envy the wicked?
Their works smell like dead carcasses and look like an oil slick that the storm tossed sea has cast upon the shore.
It is mire and dirt.
