Critical Reminders (Part C)

Adultery is the same thing. Again, if you have stumbled into this, you just know that that just proves there's a real devil and we have a sinful nature and God wants to restore and He loves you and He can even use you very much.

Don't think for one moment that that has disqualified you forever. Unless you are presently engaging in this sin, then your sins will find you out, so it's best to abandon it. This is Cross-Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of Hebrews.

Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about Cross-Reference Radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching. Today, Pastor Rick will conclude his study called Critical Reminders in Hebrews chapter 13. Verse 4 now, he says, marriage is honorable among all, the bed undefiled, but fornicators and adulterates God will judge. Well, the brotherly love, you think it's supposed to stop in your marriage? I'm to show love to other people, but not brotherly love to my spouse? Brotherly love, be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ Jesus has forgiven you. You see that you in the Bible singles you out, isolates you from everybody else.

Be tenderhearted, unless of course you're trying to mess your marriage up. Do we believe it? Believers are not supposed to badmouth marriage as though it's, you know, we're saddled with it. If I could just break free from it.

Why? So you can go try to break free from something else later on too? It is a lie from Satan. Oh, if I had only married so and so. If I had only, once you come in, the marriage is, listen to, read it again with me, not out loud, but I'll read it out loud if you don't mind. Marriage is honorable among all.

It's honorable. Don't treat it like it's junk, like it's a mistake. Maybe you need to step up your game of being, you know, it's not a game. Step up your faith. Maybe you need to work harder.

And I'll tell you something else. You who have had a good marriage for 10, 15 years, well, 16, 17 years may get a little difficult. You're not excused.

The bed is undefiled. The bonds of marriage is the only place undefiled for sexual relationships. Family in the marriage is ordained by God. Sexual activity is pure in the marriage.

Sexual activity outside is impure. Is anybody surprised by that? I didn't know that. I mean, if that's you, please see me after service. We have to talk. The world hates this. They hate this. They think marriage is just something you do and divorce is something you do. You know how their proposals go. For instance, out in Hollyweird, they come up to someone and they say, will you be my future ex-spouse? Let's live together in holy matrimony for three or four years and then do it again with someone else.

Of course it's wrong and it is difficult seeing the attitude in so many Christians, what their attitude is towards marriage. Now, I want to be very sensitive here and gentle. You know, the Marine Corps took that from me. I thought I was gentle before I went in.

I might be wrong, but it just seems that after I got out, I was like, who are you? Get away from me. And just how come you're just tucking that shirt? You know, you look like a slob. Get a shave. Get a haircut.

I know sneakers. Just, you know, everything changed. And sometimes I get into the pulpit and I have to remember. Not everybody's on that page with me. I'm not saying it's better.

Anyway, I want to be gentle with this because it's necessary. I'm not saying all the sin's not that bad. I'm not saying that, but I know this. I know that in the body of Christ there are those who stumble. And I know that Christ loves them and restores them. Paul the Apostle, when writing to the Corinthian church, he called him out on all sorts of immorality. He said that, and I'm going to read a little bit from 1 Corinthians 6, he says, do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor homosexuals nor sodomites, the effeminate ones, men behaving like women.

That's what's happening then. He continues, nor thieves nor covetous nor drunkards nor revilers nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And now here it comes. This is for every one of us, especially if you have ever stumbled with fornication or adultery and you are a Christian. This is for you. And such were some of you. But you were washed. You were sanctified. But you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. Satan will come along and say, yeah, but you know, that was before you were a Christian. Once you became a Christian and you stumbled on in those areas, that was it. He's lying. You're still washed.

We have an advocate with the Father. There's no higher. We're sin-abounded.

Grace did much more. You have no right to limit that except outside of Christ. For those in Christ, there's now no condemnation in Christ Jesus. But for those outside of Christ, there's no salvation.

So they're invited to come in. And so as we go through this, I don't want to unnecessarily cause pain to anyone, as Jabez said, that I might not cause pain. However, if you are in a present state of guilt, impenitent, I want to convict you away from these things.

Don't be surprised when Satan pulls off a tactic and hurts one of us. Be surprised if there's no love in your heart after it. Apparently, fornication, which is sex, all illicit sex, all sex outside of marriage, and in our days we have to say all marriage is between a man and a woman and nobody else, and one man and one woman at a time. I mean, one may pass on and then, of course, you can remarry.

And there's other allowances also. But fornication is illicit and it must have been happening in the church, the ancient church in the days of the apostles or else they would not have addressed it time and time again. That should give us in a weird way, perhaps, a hard way, that should give us strength.

Elijah was a man with light passions. There's nothing new under the sun. What the old saints fought, you're going to fight. And so again, gently but firmly, if you live outside of marriage, you're not honoring marriage. You cannot experiment with marriage. You cannot hook up together, shack up together, live together outside of marriage in Christ. It's not honoring it. And it is, I know many Christians are not questioning their salvation at this point. Many times they think they do love the Lord, but they've been allowed, churches have looked the other way because they want to fill the pews. Churches want to preach the word, some of them, and not uphold the word because they lose people that way. And in this church, there have been those that have been living out of marriage together, even sometimes still married to others. And we say, look, we're going to disfellowship you.

You've got to get this fixed. We're willing to work with you, but we're not willing to look the other way or tolerate it because marriage is honorable. And you can't go tell the world marriage is between a man and a woman it is honorable, and then at the same time you're living in object blatant sin. And it happens a lot, not a little bit.

If you've been guilty of this, I'm not again trying to hurt you. Now some, some Christians have been guilty of this and they fixed it demonstrating the presence of the Lord in their lives, that they are subject to the word of God because the word of God is the voice of God, and the commandments aren't taken lightly by them. And it is a delight to man the wall with such believers. But again, too often they're out. And then there are those advocates that come to their rescue.

But they love the Lord, pastor. How could you do that? Very easily. And if you don't watch your step, you're next. What are you supposed to do?

Why don't you take a parent and he disciplines a child in one of those? I object. He's next. If I'm the dad, he's next. So we understand that. See that's that harshness coming out, isn't it?

I have to smile when I say it so you don't know if I'm joking or serious. Anyway, 1 Corinthians 5, 11, but now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother who is sexually immoral or covetous or an idolatry or an reviler or a drunkard or an extortioner, not even to eat with such a person. So if you, it's not just a sexual immorality or a downgrading marriage, but idolatry, you know, you have a Christian.

I believe in Jesus, but I also like the Hindu religion a lot too. I mean that, you got to deal with that. A drunkard in the context of content being a drunkard because there are those that struggle with substance and we want to help them, not just chase them out unless they said, you know what, I'm kind of liking this sin and I'm not going to fight it.

Then that's a different matter. 1 Timothy 5, 20, those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all that the rest also may fear, not that they may come and advocate or be a support element for the one being rebuked, so that they may say we better watch our step. But again, what do Christians do today?

A church shop. We'll find a pastor in a church that will tolerate sin and preach the Bible sometimes. But I can't say it as though I'm better than anybody.

I know I'm not and you know it too. I get to prove it every Sunday, every time I come in the pulpit. So do you think others should applaud this behavior?

Do you think others should look the other way? Do you expect this is acceptable in the fellowship of believers, that they should come in living in blatant sin and sing songs to the Lord and praise the Lord and then go out and then treat marriage as though it is not honorable? If you are living with another person, you know, male-female thing and you're not married, you will be disfellowshipped but you will also be offered the opportunity to be married.

We'll do it then as soon as you get the license, come in and we'll do it right there. You know how many times they go, oh well, they don't want to do it. They don't want to commit.

So I think I've hit that enough but I just want to hit it a little bit more. This fornication, sexual contact, again, outside of the marriage. You know, if you're dating, you're dating as a Christian for one purpose. You're headed towards marriage, otherwise you're playing with fire. And the rules of dating for a Christian are very simple. Be blameless before God, be friends with each other.

If you get those two right, you've got a chance to move on, to develop the relationship. What could be wrong with that advice? So Revelation 21, but the cowardly, those who are afraid to commit to Christ, unbelieving, abominable, murderous, sexual, immoral, sorcerers, idolaters and liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone which is the second death. Now that's not believers who are stumbling.

This is for those who've rejected Christ. But the point that stands out is God does not just say, aw, that's cute. And we're not supposed to do the same, we're not to do it.

Look at our culture, where it is because this has been the behavior. One more verse that's very important on this subject. For this reason God gave them up to vile passions because they wouldn't have God. So God gives them up to this. For even their women exchanged the natural use of what is against nature, likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lusts for one another, men with men committing what is shameful and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.

See that's the group mentioned in Revelation 21 8 and Revelation 22 15, that's the group that Paul is talking about there because he's writing from Corinth where this stuff was everywhere. You see this is not honorable. It's not what God had intended. Well I could read more verses but not necessary.

I think the point's made. And adultery is the same thing. Again, if you have stumbled into this you just know that that just proves there's a real devil and we have a sinful nature and God wants to restore and he loves you and he can even use you very much.

Don't think for one moment that that has disqualified you forever unless you are presently engaging in this sin and then your sins will find you out so it's best to abandon it. Look, don't flirt. You Christians that are married, don't flirt. It's not cute. It's not harmless. Satan is watching. When he sees that behavior, he registers it and then he plots a plan of attack to exploit it.

Flirt with your husband or your wife, not with someone else's husband or wife and not with someone else other than your husband or wife. And I fear so many churchgoers take these things lightly. So he says God will judge. God will not make himself a liar to save the souls of men, to save men from feeling uncomfortable about sin. God will not save a person and their sins. That's why you need a savior to take your sin away. Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. That is the sin that we have in this life and so he doesn't make us feel comfortable with these things. Well, we move to verse 5 and I hope I, I hope again, I hope we are stronger because of this review and not weaker. I hope you don't say that hurt me pastor and now I can't get past.

I hope you say thank you. I will be stronger. Verse 5, let your conduct be without covetedness. Be content with such things as you have for he himself has said I will never leave you nor forsake you.

Covetedness is an inordinate desire for more. Enough is never enough. There's no such word as enough. Enough in that bag. Here's my other bag. Fill this one up too.

Maybe that way. It is the tale of desire, wagging the dog of contentment. That something's wrong.

There's too much power on the wrong end. Cravings that are born out of envy or insecurity or greed, essentially the self-life, not the God-life. Dissatisfaction with material things will drown out the voice of God.

It causes us to compromise, not to commit to what God wants us to have. Here are four examples of those in scripture who fell to covetness because they were greedy, because they were not satisfied. There's Achan. He was the one that, of course, he was commanded clearly by God. The troops were commanded not to take loot from the invasion, but he saw the garments and the gold and he cracked.

He took it and he paid. Then there's Gehazi. This is a man that was a servant to one of the greatest prophets in scripture and yet he lied to get what the prophet did not want. It was Elisha the prophet and Naaman had come, the general leprosy had come and Naaman was ultimately healed and he wanted to pay the prophet and the prophet said, I'm not taking a prophet from my prophet, from being a prophet and so Naaman goes away. And Gehazi, he says, hmm, opportunity knocks once and he goes after Naaman the general and he says, excuse me, my master has reconsidered.

So he's lying. He's slandering Elijah. He's lying about Elisha and he takes the goodies and when he gets back, the prophet knows.

He says, did not my heart go with you? And the leprosy that was on Naaman is now going to be on you. Tragic ending, but worse still of Sapphira and Ananias, they pretended to give to the church and they did give, but they didn't give what they said they were going to give. Be careful before you go around making these pledges and of course they were smitten for this and the whole church was like, whoa, we better rethink how we treat tithing. So 1 Timothy 6, 10, for the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

And then what Paul has to say, we're almost done. I have learned in whatever state I am to be content. I have not yet learned that.

Maybe with things, but not so much with people. But he says, I know how to be abased. I know how to abound everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. Committed that verse to memory so that I can, so that I can get it.

I want all of it. He says here in verse 5, be content with such things as you have. Well, we have Christ.

What more do we need? Yeah, well that's easy and the flesh will object and fight fiercely to refute it. He says, for he himself has said I will never leave you nor forsake you.

Well, you have to be ubiquitous. You have to be able to be everywhere at the same time to be able to make that promise, which is a claim of deity. Christ is essentially saying, I am God. If he can be everywhere at the same time and only God can do that, Lucifer cannot do that and that's why he has demons to send them out to harass and destroy.

Collectively, the demons and Satan make up, the demons and Lucifer make up Satan, the enemy of the people of God. Now this verse was given to Moses. When Moses was called into ministry before the burning bush, God said, I will certainly be with you.

And then when Moses was going to make Joshua the successor, he says to him in Deuteronomy 31, twice he says it, we'll take one, and Yahweh, he is the one who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you. Do not fear nor be blown away.

Be dismayed. So are you willing to say that God is saying he will be with Joshua but not you. He will be with Moses but not you. Are you willing to say that?

No, I hope not. So you are saying, God is with me. David said it to Solomon concerning the temple. David was old. He was going to be with the Lord soon. He wanted Solomon to finish the job and David said to his son Solomon, be strong and of good courage and do it.

I like that. Be strong and of good courage and get it done. Do not fear or be dismayed for the Lord your God, my God, will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you until you have finished the work for which is the service of the house of the Lord. He will never leave you nor forsake you. It doesn't mean he will insulate us from affliction, but he will be with us in it. Honestly, I wish he would insulate me from affliction.

And he doesn't. But he's always been with me through it. That is, this is the power of my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Jesus is preaching from the cross. He's saying, I know what it's like to feel like God has forsaken you because you are afflicted.

But he is there. He knew when he preached those words from the cross, my God, my God, he knows God is everywhere and he was right there. He's quoting scripture at his death.

And it was asked or recited, repeated in the midst of victory. Verse 6, so we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper. I will not fear.

What can man do to me? Maybe coming from me, that's not very powerful, but it's coming from a man who suffered persecution time and time again from the Lord. He's quoting Psalm 118. He's saying, if Jesus is real to you, if he's worth it to you, be bold. Bold font over that. Be bold. In the beginning we said, blessed be his name. Be bold with that.

And so just a quick review. In verse 1, it's brotherly love, even beyond the brethren. In verse 2, it's kindness. In verse 3, it's consideration. Verse 4, it's honor for the marriage. In verse 5, it is contentment. In verse 6, it is faith. So we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper. I will not fear.

What can man do to me? And we close with his words from 1 John 5, verse 13, the assurance for the believer. These things I have written to you that you may believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may continue to believe.

I was trying to get those Hebrews who were faltering to do. You've been listening to Cross Reference Radio, the daily radio ministry of Pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel in Mechanicsville, Virginia. As we mentioned at the beginning of today's podcast, today's teaching is available free of charge at our website. Simply log on to crossreferenceradio.com. That's crossreferenceradio.com. We'd also like to encourage you to subscribe to the Cross Reference Radio podcast. Subscribing ensures that you stay current with all the latest teachings from Pastor Rick. You can subscribe at crossreferenceradio.com or simply search for Cross Reference Radio in your favorite podcast app. Tune in next time as Pastor Rick continues teaching through the book of Hebrews right here on Cross Reference Radio.