Sermons

Unjust suffering such as false accusation is to be expected by those who follow the God of the Bible.  In our text, David prays for vindication in the face of a lie, declaring his belief that he is innocent, that his Lord knows the truth, that suffering is not the absence of love, and that in the end his trust in his Lord will be worth it all.  Furthermore, such is the hope of the Christian today.    

God’s good creation in Eden was all our first parents would ever need or want, but when they were tempted by Satan in the form of a serpent, they caved and set into motion a future world history corrupted by sin.  Satan succeeded because he was cunning and able to deceive Adam and Eve.  If we are to avoid his temptations, we must know our enemy, who deceives us by distraction and decoy.  

In this final reading of our text we explore three additional purposes for marriage.   The first of these is procreation.  Children are a blessing from God and together with parents form the family, the first fundamental institution of society.  From the family derives two additional institutions, government and the church.  All these reflect the glory of God.

In our fifth reading of this text and related scriptures, we find God’s roles for the married man and woman in daily life.  The man is to be lover, leader, and learner.  The woman is to be follower, fan, and friend.   And when a marriage is rightly ordered, it reflects our salvation as it points to the relationship between Christ and His church. 

God’s formation of man to oversee His creation extends to the man’s authority for the care and protection of those who worship God, up to and including today’s church.  God’s creation of woman to help him also extends to the role of women in that arena.  Today’s fourth reading of the text in this series lays the groundwork for the complementarian commands of scripture which define the roles of men and women in His church.

In this installment on the subject of marriage we continue to mine our Genesis text for more of the Christian worldview in this gift from God.  There we find that God has at least three purposes for a couple united in marriage–joy and unity in their life together, the sign of sexual intimacy, and growth toward holiness.  In this search through the scriptures, we also learn more of God’s rules and conditions for marriage.

Marriage is defined by God.  When He formed Eve and presented her to Adam, He established man and woman in a lifelong covenant relationship.  This second in a series of sermons explains that two things characterize a good marriage, faithfulness and love.

The origin of marriage is found in the text for this first in a series of sermons on marriage.  When God created Adam, He gave him work to do and worship to enjoy in the garden He had created.  But Adam was incomplete and needed a helper.  He needed another like himself with whom he could fulfill God’s purpose for man.  He created woman to be in covenant relationship with the man.  As we consider the marriage relationship from a biblical perspective, we can say, despite voices of opposition, that God made marriage, He made it good, and that it remains so today. 

In his account of the crucifixion, gospel writer Mark emphasizes the shame heaped on Jesus. This derision and accusation leveled against the righteous by the unrighteous, is more blasphemy than mere mocking or ridicule.  But those who scoffed in that day are not alone.  We join with them by our disbelief or our neglect of the Son of God.  Jesus could have called down help from heaven, stepped down from the cross, and defeated all who do not worship him.  But he was willing to remain in that state of suffering on the cross even to death to make atonement for our sins.  He died for our blasphemy, that we might live.

God accomplishes His purposes through faithful leaders in His church.  From the elders under Moses to the elders of today’s church, the biblical image often used for these is the shepherd.   In our text, Jeremiah the prophet condemns Israel’s elders for scattering the flock and declares the Lord’s will to care for the remnant by providing faithful shepherds for them.  This same God speaks through the apostles to define the requirements of the good elder in Christ’s church, a message particularly fit for this day when our church ordains a new elder. 

God’s covenant with Adam in the garden was conditional.  To the obedient man the tree of life and all its blessings were his and his descendants.  By this, Adam became the representative, the federal head, of humanity.  Therefore, when Adam sinned, the effect was disastrous, a sin nature inherited by all his descendants and evident in their ongoing sin and death that resulted.   Only another federal head who was sinless could fulfill the covenant,  rescue man from his predicament, and restore him to fellowship with his covenant Father.  

When God placed the first man in the garden, He created a unilateral agreement with him which granted much freedom and one restriction.  God’s duty was to continue to supply an abundance of food.  The man’s duty was to enjoy those foods with an abundant life as a consequence, and to avoid the restricted one on penalty of death.  One name we give this agreement is the Covenant of Works, the first of several covenants that define man’s relationship with God.  We now know that the man didn’t keep his part.  The result was tragic, for himself and for the whole human race that descended from him. 

When God placed Adam in the garden, He gave him dominion over it to manage and cultivate.  But in this text, God goes on to issue a higher calling to guard it as a place of worship.  By this, Adam assumes the role of priest over the garden.  But this first priest would not be the last in redemptive history, as our scriptures report.

The beautiful garden in Eden which God created for our first parents was complete, perfect.  In it and through it He gave them everything they needed including a vocation, that noble work to tend it.  When they thought they knew better than God what they needed, they lost it all, including the beauty and fulfillment of their calling.  Consequently, their work, and that of their descendants, became more difficult.  God still calls all to their vocations, but His followers can only work with hope because their Savior fulfilled His calling and is preparing a new home for them.  

What is God’s glory worth to us?  Do we as individuals or congregation desire His glory so much we are willing to pray for it.  When we pray “Hallowed be Your name” we express our desire for God’s name to be held in high honor, as reflected by our lives.  To that end we seek to delight in His glory, to display His glory, and to declare His glory.

To know what we were made for, we must know where and what we came from. Our text describes God’s creation of man as living being, both body and spirit. In our sin, we neglect one or the other or both, and die. Only Christ whose body and spirit were uncorrupted by sin can be our salvation.