Sex, Money, and the Lord as our Helper // Hebrews 13:4-6

Welcome:

Grace, mercy, and peace to you, from

God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Announcements:

No SS on 12/28 ( Next week)

Christmas Eve service. Starts @ 4:30p. The service is usually about a hour followed by dinner

Let me know if you would like to sing (children)

Readers for lessons and carols service

The books on sexual ethics for families

†CALL TO WORSHIP Psalm 9:1-2

Pastor Austin Prince

Minister: Hear the call of the Lord: give thanks to him with your whole heart; tell of all his wonderful deeds!

Congregation: We will give thanks to you, O Lord, with our whole heart; we will tell of all your wonderful deeds. We will be glad and exult in you; we will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

†PRAYER OF ADORATION AND INVOCATION

O Lord our God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. You alone are worthy of our worship for you are the one true and living God. Your purpose will be established and you accomplished all your good pleasure. Your mercies are great. You are compassionate and gracious; you so loved the world that you sent your only begotten son that whoever believes should not perish. Remember your promise to meet with your people when they have gathered in your name. Draw near to us as we draw near to you. We praise your unfailing love Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

†OPENING HYMN OF PRAISE #319

“O Come, All Ye Faithful”

†CONFESSION OF SIN AND ASSURANCE OF PARDON

based on Galatians 5:1; Romans 8:15

“For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”” (Romans 8:15, ESV)

As we come to the confession of our sins today, we do not come because we have fallen back into fear. We do not hope that God might hear us or help us in our need. Rather, the Spirit compels us to cry out to Him as our Father—He who assures us of our pardon and strengthens us where we are weak.

As we come this morning, Minister: Let us confess our sins to our Father in heaven.

Congregation: Father in heaven, we thank you for the freedom you have given us through the life, death, and resurrection of your Son. But we confess today that we often live like slaves.

Instead of living like you delight in us, we avoid you in shame and guilt.

Instead of receiving your favor as a gift, we try to earn it with our efforts.

Instead of pursuing your purposes, we cling to our own agendas.

Forgive us. Embrace us. Cleanse us. Heal us.

We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Minister: Hear the assurance of the gospel:

You did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" Christians, your sins are forgiven.

Congregation: Thanks be to God!

CONTINUAL READING OF SCRIPTURE Psalm 126

Elder Paul Mulner

THE OFFERING OF TITHES AND OUR GIFTS

PASTORAL PRAYER

THE LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

THE BAPTISM OF XIUYUAN (shoo yen) “TOMMY” YU

Tommy’s background

Moved to the U.S. during his final years of High School.

It was at his host home that he started to learn about Christ from a catholic family, but while he was at college, he was discipled by a campus ministry and friends about how salvation is by faith alone and not of works. Tommy became active in the RUF ministry and at his local church before moving here. But he has never been baptized. And it was a very encouraging conversation with Tommy that he wishes to be faithful to repent, believe, and to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.

Tommy is leaving — next week he is moving to Ohio and we have already been in contact with a church there that may be home.

Tommy wants to be identified with Christ.

And at baptism, we must focus our attention of God’s identifying with us. Baptism is a sign and a seal. The sign is often associated with cleansing, and that is right. But Jesus was baptized and He didn’t need cleansing. But the water is also a sign of being set apart. Moses and the Israelites were set apart and brought through the water. Noah and his family were set apart and saved through the flood. And Romans 6 says that we have been buried with Christ through baptism, set apart from sin and death and the curse in Christ. It is a sign that we are made holy by the work of Christ.

Baptism is also a seal. Think of a wax seal which bears the impression of the King’s mark. Baptism is Christ putting His name on us, sealing us to Him as sons.

Baptism: Tommy, I baptize you in the name of Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer

Invite to receive Tommy after the service

†HYMN OF PREPARATION #293

“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”

SERMON Hebrews 13:4-6 // Sex, Money, and the Lord as our Helper

PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION

Your word, O God, is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as to the division of soul and spirit. Break us down with thy word so that by abandoning ourselves we might find Christ. Amen.

Text: Hebrews 13:4-6

Hebrews 13:4–6 ESV

4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. 5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

AFTER SCRIPTURE

The Lord bless to us the reading of His holy word, and to His name be glory and praise.

HONOR IN MARRIAGE AND FREEDOM FROM MONEY Hebrews 13:4-6 INTRODUCTION What we do proves what we actually believe. There are lots of things that we can confess to believe. There are many things that we wish we believed or wish we did. But as 1 John teaches, "Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth" (1 John 3:18, ESV). At the end of the day, it's what we actually do that proves our theology. And that is where Hebrews 13 has started to take us. In this closing chapter, we are being shown what it looks like—what changes take place in our daily lives, in the things that we do—that proceed from grasping the truth that we have been seeing in Hebrews, namely, that Christ is better. For one, grasping the magnificence of Christ changes the way that we live toward those outside of us— that's what we saw from our text last week. Brotherly love has come to us and now it spills over its banks, causing us to love others, even becoming hospitable to strangers and prisoners and those who can't repay us. It reorients what we do to those outside of us. Our text today helps us to reorient what we do with what is inside of us. How do we live faithfully against two of the most common idols in the human heart: sex and money? Certainly, in marriage and in my experience in marriage counseling, these two things are usually at the center of tension. And so we begin with considerations in marriage. Look with me at v. 4... I. HONOR IN MARRIAGE (v. 4a) "Let marriage be held in honor among all..." Why? Cultural Background At the time of the writing of this letter, there were some who believed that their freedom in Christ set

them free to do whatever they wanted with their bodies. There was a sense of license and libertinism that said that the body could do whatever it wanted or needed, that it was only the soul that mattered. Of course, these didn't honor and can't honor their marriages or their marriage beds. And there were other groups that believed that the body is base and sinful and needed to be restricted in order to be faithful and pious. These taught that marriage should be avoided. Of course, this influence made its way into monasticism and the clergy and casts a long shadow over Catholic and Orthodox teaching. But this doesn't square with the plain teaching of the text: Marriage is to be held in honor by all. There were all sorts of bad cultural thoughts around marriage. So what about our culture? Is marriage held in honor among our people? No, not particularly. We are a nation of no-fault divorce laws. Basically, there is no weight given to the vows or covenant—it has been hollowed out. We are a people that often scoff at marriage. It's not uncommon to hear people talk disparagingly of those who get married young, as if they are weird. If you asked a young person what they wanted to do when they grew up and they answered something other than a career—if they answered that they dreamed of marriage—that would be an odd answer. We delay marriage. As a culture, we are almost on autopilot. You go to college, you accumulate some debt, then you have to work to pay off that debt for several years, and that demands that you enter the workforce; and for many, marriage isn't even on the radar until they are in their late 20s or 30s, often making it very difficult to have children. Not all such cases, but far too many of us are on this same autopilot catechesis of our culture. It's not uncommon to hear disparaging remarks about marriage—"the ol' ball and chain" kind of talk. Even within the church that's not uncommon. Growing up, I don't think I ever heard an adult man cast a vision of the greatness of marriage to me. I think about this a lot as a married man now. We should aspire to marriage. It needs to be held in honor among all. We make much of weddings in our culture, but that's not because we value marriage very highly; it's because we value ourselves very highly. It is the marriage that makes the wedding important, not the wedding that makes the marriage important.

Think about depictions in art and movies. The list could go on, but it's not highly prized in our time. Why Should We Honor Marriage? One of the clearest encapsulations of what marriage is comes from Ephesians 5: "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband (Ephesians 5:31–33, ESV). Marriage is a great mystery. Not a mystery in the sense that it can't be understood or figured out. It's a mystery in that it profoundly displays the love of God toward His church, something that we have a hard time grasping. But we see God's love in shafts of brilliant light when we see an honored marriage. When we see covenant love: a husband laying down his life for his wife as Christ loved the church, and a wife honoring, responding to, and submitting to her husband as the church does to Christ. According to Ephesians 5, if we dishonor marriage, we dishonor the picture and living illustration of the gospel. How Can We Honor Marriage at COG? Celebrate and talk about it with great honor. Work at them with honesty. We don't have to hide the difficulties of marriage, but we also shouldn't live with years of bitterness or strain. We picture the gospel in restoration and in forgiveness and showing grace. We help those seeking marriage. We care for those who are seeking marriage—because it has so little value in our culture, it is becoming harder to find someone to marry. We shouldn't balk at that. We need to understand that there are those who do consider marriage an honorable thing, but it seems to them out of their reach. There aren't great people to marry. We need to help them in that honorable pursuit. But also, we can honor marriage by not falling into the temptation of being pessimistic. It is a tough age for dating, but honor marriage by keeping your eyes on Christ. There are many who are walking away from marriage; don't be tempted to do the same. Honor it by walking in purity now. Honor marriage in the way that you think about dating. There is no wisdom in dating if it isn't connected to ambitions for marriage. Don't play the field or indulge your passions with someone else's life. Date with an aim toward marriage. It does seem that dating is hard in this age, but also don't fall into the world's way of evaluating a spouse.

I've heard far too many times that a date didn't go well because the man or woman didn't meet a ridiculous and made-up standard of height or beauty. You dishonor marriage when you overly inflate attraction and optics beyond their proper place and make it about fitting a scale and grading system set by the world. What Is a Marriage? Both a covenant and a one-flesh union. It's not promises with no union. There must be a marriage bed. And it is not just union and one flesh without a covenant. Hooking up is not a marriage. It is both covenant and union of flesh. II. THE MARRIAGE BED The text continues: "...and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous" (Hebrews 13:4, ESV). Is the Marriage Bed Defiled in Our World? We don't have to think hard to know the truth about it. We are a culture of adultery and pornography and lust. It's everywhere: TV, internet, billboards, kids' programming. It's part of our catechesis. You'll be watching a movie and the scene has been set up that the husband is cold or that there has been some long loneliness in the marriage, and then the wife meets someone at the park and they are kind and present, and the light frames the scene in a way that it is pulling at your heart. And the score of the movie starts to swell, and they keep bumping into each other, and they are finally going to kiss—and your heart is being pulled to filth. To unfaithfulness. To a lie. To a mockery of God's Word and the gospel. But that's just a mild, everyday thing that shapes our thinking. We are a culture of LGBTQIA++++++ nonsense. God Will Not Be Mocked Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the

And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God (1 Corinthians 6:9–11, ESV). Even this text is so often twisted by preachers in our day. Instead of heeding this warning and call to repentance, they preach not that "such were some of you," but "such are some of you." They embrace the sexual deviancy and claim that Christ has washed them without repentance but as they are. We don't like to think of it, but sexual sin is a unique plague and fire that cannot be hidden. It is a cancer and death to us outside of the marriage bed held in honor—God's gospel won't be mocked. It brings forth: shame and guilt abortion and abuse disease abandonment and insecurity prostitution and exploitation pornography and degradation It will rip apart a family—it will rip apart a church. It will scar your legacy and reputation and leadership. Not that you can't be forgiven—you were washed in Christ. Marriage is a good thing. Sex is a good thing. But they must be held in honor in the way that God intends. But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God (Ephesians 5:3–5, ESV). How Do We Honor It at COG? Frequency Purity Playfulness

Openness—honesty in communication Not trying to pursue it at the last few minutes of the day Bow and curtsy—It's a gift Goodness and Helpfulness of the Marriage Union But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self- control (1 Corinthians 7:2–5, ESV). Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well. Should your springs be scattered abroad, streams of water in the streets? Let them be for yourself alone, and not for strangers with you. Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, a lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated always in her love. Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman and embrace the bosom of an adulteress? (Proverbs 5:15–20, ESV). III. LOVE OF MONEY Having called us to honor marriage and keep the marriage bed undefiled, the text now turns to another common idol of the human heart: "Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have" (Hebrews 13:5, ESV). Rich Young Ruler And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, "Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, "Then who can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God" (Mark 10:23–27, ESV).

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs (1 Timothy 6:9–10, ESV). All Kinds of Evil Lying Overwork Breaking the Sabbath Not tithing Not being hospitable Greedy and jealous "Our possessions possessing us" How Can We Be Free from the Love of Money at COG? Give Be hospitable Honor the Sabbath IV. HOW ALL OF THESE COMMANDS END: I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU "I will never leave you nor forsake you." So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?" (Hebrews 13:5–6, ESV). This is exactly the word we need. We run after lust of the flesh and indulgence, we are discontent, and we grasp onto money because we feel vulnerable. We don't see that Christ is our fullness. Following Christ is addition, not subtraction. Contentment can be learned—not just waited upon to happen. It can be seized in Christ. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him

learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me (Philippians 4:11–13, ESV). How Firm a Foundation The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose, I will not, I will not desert to his foes; That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake, I'll never, no, never, no, never forsake! "Rest assured, my dear hearers, it is harder to know how to be full than it is to know how to be hungry. To know how to be hungry is a sharp lesson, but to know how to be full is the harder lesson after all. So desperate is the tendency of human nature to pride and forgetfulness of God!" —Spurgeon on contentment CONCLUSION Hear the gospel promise that anchors every command in this passage: Christ was utterly abandoned so that we never would be. He cried out on the cross, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"—so that you and I could hear the Father say forever, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." He will never divorce His bride. He will never prove unfaithful to His covenant people. He trod the winepress of God's wrath alone—forsaken in the darkness—so that we might never taste even a drop of that forsakenness. Does He not know your deepest need? He is the One who sweat great drops of blood and prayed, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death." Yet the grave could not hold Him. The Father declared, "You wilt not leave My soul in hell; neither wilt Thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption." Death was defeated, the curse was broken, and the risen Christ now holds His bride securely in nail-scarred hands. Do you truly believe that God could ever prove unfaithful? Do you imagine for a moment that Jesus might one day divorce or neglect His own spouse, the church He purchased with His blood?

Never. Not for a single instant. Therefore, let us live as those who are eternally kept. Let us honor marriage with fierce covenant loyalty. Let us guard the marriage bed with holy jealousy. Let us turn from the love of money with joyful contentment. For we belong to a Savior who was forsaken in our place—and because He was, we shall never know the forsaking of God. We shall never know the forsaking of God when we learn the lesson of Christ. And let your lives prove what you truly believe: that Christ is better—infinitely, gloriously better—than every idol the world offers.

†HYMN OF RESPONSE #300

“Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus”

THE MINISTRY OF THE LORD’S SUPPER

Minister: Lift up your hearts!

Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord.

Minister: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

Congregation: It is right for us to give thanks and praise!

CONFESSION OF FAITH

The Apostles’ Creed p. 851

INVITATION TO THE LORD’S TABLE

This table is for those who belong to Christ through repentance, faith, baptism, and continuing union with his Church. You who do truly and earnestly repent of your sins, and are in love and charity with your neighbors, and intend to lead a new life, following the commandments of God and walking in his holy ways: draw near with faith, and take this holy sacrament to your comfort; and make your humble confession to almighty God.

PRAYER

Minister: Let’s pray together.

Congregation: We do not presume to come to this thy holy table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy table: but you are the Lord, who is always able to have mercy.

Grant us therefore, by thy grace, so to eat the flesh of thy dear son Jesus Christ, and to drink his blood, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his most sacred Body, and our souls washed through his most precious blood, and that we may evermore dwell in him, and he in us. Amen.

DISTRIBUTION OF THE ELEMENTS

SHARING OF THE LORD’S SUPPER

“Eat and drink.” (as I read)

THE WORDS OF INSTITUTION 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

†OUR RESPONSE #234

Tune: The God of Abraham Praise

The whole triumphant host gives thanks to God on high;

“Hail, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!” they ever cry.

Hail, Abraham’s God and mine! I join the heav’nly lays;

all might and majesty are thine, and endless praise.

†BENEDICTION: GOD’S BLESSING FOR HIS PEOPLE

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the

fellowship of the Holy Spirit is with you all. Amen.

Grace Notes Reflection

Quite low is the view of God’s pictured covenant in our culture. Marriage is not held in honor among all, the marriage bed is not a jealously guarded glory, but the love of money is doing quite well.

At this collision in Hebrews between all the great promises in the work of Christ and the daily temptations to grasp on to pleasure, or belittle our covenant promises, or grasp onto false security, God reminds us that He will never leave us or forsake us.

This deep comfort and unbreakable chain should be reflected in our own marriage covenants. God’s love is remarkable in His self-sacrificial love and the Church’s resplendent glory is her obedient submission. Shouldn’t our own marriages display this truth? Shouldn’t our children and our neighbors and our world be arrested by the honor and glory that ripples from the cross out into the marriages of the saints? Paul calls the mystery of marriage a profound one, but does anyone do a double take to figure out why there is so much love in your marriage? Does your marriage or view of marriage carry the weight that it demands?

The marriage bed, too, must be undefiled. It must not be a room seldom known. It must not be a room open to the influence of the world. It must be ministry and love and protection, where forgiveness is known, and where it is better to give than to receive. Where we outdo one another with honor. Where there are no tricks to entry, no manipulation, and no record of wrongs kept. It is a sanctuary that gives life, children, joy, communication, tenderness, and pushes us ever farther in glorifying God and enjoying Him.

We see these great gifts from God destroyed by fear. We pressure and warp our relationships because we are selfish, and think it would be loss to forgive. We fear the loneliness so we pursue security by withholding instead of generosity. We seek pleasure through illicit means instead of waiting on God’s plan. But perfect love casts out fear, and that’s precisely what we have. We can let go of bitterness, perversion, greed because “we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”” (Hebrews 13:6, ESV).