1 Corinthians 11: 3
Acts 16: 22-34
Ephesians 6: 1-3
1 Peter 2: 1-5
What I have to say in this preaching tonight, dear hearers, is from a slightly different angle than that which I would normally take in the preaching. I am conscious of all who are here waiting on a word from the Lord, and I just trust that the Holy Spirit might take what I have to say and apply it in His own way to every heart.
This is the second preaching that some of us have attended today. In the earlier preaching, our brother reminded us of the temple that King Solomon built in Jerusalem. Our brother also emphasised how tall the porch of the temple was. In thinking and praying about this preaching, I thought about the temple and its porch. Then I thought about every person that I anticipated being at this preaching, having been baptised to the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and having a place within the porch of the house of God. What I simply mean by that is this; that if you have been baptised as a member of a believing household but are not a believer yourself you are not part of the world that is outside, but neither are you part of the house of God that is inside. What we can say about you is that you have been brought into an area of protection, blessing and responsibility.
My desire in this preaching, with the Spirit’s help, is to show you how you can become not only someone who is within the porch of the house, but someone who is actually part of the house of God; someone who is not just a member of a believing household, but someone who is actually a believer. You may say to me, well, I am not sure whether my parents are Christians. That does not matter, dear friend. Peter stood up at the beginning of the book of the Acts and as he preached the gospel he said, “For to you is the promise and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God may call”, Acts 2: 39. The gospel goes out to everybody. It is for the “whosoever”; it is not only for the Jew, it is for the Gentile. It is not only for those who have believing parents; it is for everybody, irrespective of their background. I might just say in passing that God is no respecter of persons. The only thing that can be said of those who have believing parents is that their responsibility increases because of the privileges they have been given. I would say right at the beginning of this preaching, that someone who goes out of time into eternity without Christ from such a privileged background will bear the judgment of God more severely than someone who did not have those privileges. The scripture says of the servant who knew the lord’s will and failed to do it, that that servant will be scourged with more stripes than the servant who did not know the lord’s will and failed to do it, Luke 12: 47. So you see that it is a serious and sobering matter to have parents who are Christians and for you to be in this area of privilege.
Perhaps you wonder why I have read in 1 Corinthians chapter 11. It is only to remind you that Christ is the Head of every man. In this section, of course, the male is in mind. Christ is Head of the male, and the male is the head of the female, but it is right to say without any doubt that Christ is the Head of all mankind. He is the Head. It does not matter whether you are a believer or not. He is still the Head according to this section and because He is the Head, each one of us has a responsibility to regulate our lives by Christ. That is our responsibility whether we believe it or whether we do not. He arrived at this exalted position in a way that demands our respect, our affection and our faith.
We sang in our opening hymn of the way that the Lord Jesus came into this world. You remember that Adam was created. You also remember that Eve his wife, was formed from a rib taken from Adam’s side. You know that each one of us after that came into this world by way of natural generation. We have to tell you that with the Lord Jesus Christ it was different; He came in by way of incarnation. He is “over all God, blessed for ever” (Rom 9: 5), He came in to this world by way of the virgin. His conception in the womb was entirely miraculous. A virgin conceived and gave birth and the One who was born was the Son of God, King of Israel, and Son of man. That blessed One had the right to rule over the whole universe. He had legions of angels He could have called upon to assert His right, but He did not do so because when He came the first time He came to suffer and to die.
Think of the Lord of glory leaving that scene where angels surrounded Him and praised Him. He came down and down and down. He came not to the palace. When He was born, His mother brought Him forth, wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger. Do you know what a manger is? It is an animal’s feed box. That was where He was laid. When He came the first time, He came to suffer, right from the moment of His birth. Not only was He not born in a palace, He was not brought up in a palace either. He was brought up in an area that I suppose not many of us would like to live in; an area that was referred to as “Galilee of the nations”, Matt. 4: 15. One dear man said, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth” (John 1: 46); that is where the Lord Jesus was brought up. He was different from us. He was not influenced wrongly by the men of Nazareth. He grew up before God "as a tender sapling", Isaiah 53: 2. There was a delicacy and a sensitivity in His humanity. He knew no sin, He did no sin and in Him is no sin; even though He was brought up in Nazareth in Galilee. When He was thirty years of age God brought Him forward and the heavens parted asunder as God expressed His delight in His beloved Son. There were great men present at the Jordan that day, but there was only one Man, unique beyond compare, for whom God would open the heavens and say, “This is my beloved Son”, Matt 3: 17.
That same One was anointed by God “with the Holy Spirit and with power”, Acts 10: 38. He went about "doing good, and healing all that were under the power of the devil". You can read the gospels yourself, dear friend, and find the way the Lord Jesus brought in blessing after blessing to poor men and women. Yet we find that though, “He came to his own ... his own received him not”, John 1: 11. Not only did they not receive Him, but they delivered Him up to the Roman ruler and ultimately they cried out that He might be crucified.
Before the Lord Jesus reached Calvary He suffered more than any one of us could ever suffer. Think of what He went through at the hands of the Roman soldiers. Think of the way that Pilate caused Him to be scourged. Think of the way they embedded that crown of thorns upon His holy brow. I tell you; "they made long their furrows" upon His back, Ps 129: 3. The prophet tells us that His visage was marred more than that of any other man, Isa 52: 14. He was the Messiah of Israel, the Son of God and yet “they cried out saying, “Crucify, crucify him”, John 19: 6. "He went out", according to John’s gospel, "bearing his cross" (v: 17), and "when they came to the place which is called Skull, there they crucified him", Luke 23: 33. There was a robber on one side, and a robber on the other, and God’s beloved Son in the centre. For three hours, men poured out their mockery upon the Lord Jesus. At the end of those three hours, the scene was shrouded in darkness. No one can fully fathom what the Lord Jesus went through from the sixth to the ninth hour but at the end of the three hours the Lord cried out from the depths of His soul, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me”, Matt 27: 46.
We often say that His own disciples left Him, Judas betrayed Him, Peter denied Him, and God forsook Him. I need hardly tell you that it was not because of anything God found in Christ. When God forsook His beloved Son, He was suffering on account of sins not His own. The Lord Jesus was satisfying God in respect of the sin question. I would say that if you really want to know how God feels about sin; see Him forsaking His beloved Son for three hours of darkness when the Lord Jesus hung upon the cross. When the three hours ended, the Lord Jesus cried with a loud voice, delivered up His spirit, and His life was ended. That life was taken from the earth. It came to an end. He could say Himself "the things concerning me have an end”, Luke 22: 37. His life was ended on others’ behalf. He did not need to bear the penalty of death for anything He had done, but I tell you, dear friend, He bore it for things that I have done. Then the soldier in an act of barbarity thrust his spear into the side of Christ and from thence, “there came out blood and water”, John 19: 34. Thank God for the precious blood of Jesus. It is able to cleanse from every sin. The Lord Jesus was buried. We are often reminded that He was with the rich in His death, but the fact that He was buried could only mean that He was buried on others’ behalf. He deserved to live! He did not deserve to die, but if a person dies, that person must be buried, and if He died for others, He was buried for others.
It is a wonderful privilege to be able to tell you that the Lord Jesus is no longer in the grave. He was there for three days and three nights but, not only did He go into the grave, He also came out of the grave. He is alive to die no more. After forty days, He was “received up in glory”, 1 Tim 3: 16. He is in heaven, a Prince and a Saviour, and He is the Head of every man. Has He not a right to be so? Has He not a right to be your Head? Has He not a right to have control of your life? Has He not a right to have control of my life? Who is like unto Him? Who can compare with Him? He is the incomparable Christ, and He is the Head of every man.
Dear friend, if you are here tonight without Christ, you are serving other lords and other gods. You are in bondage, but I want to tell you about a different kind of Man. The Lord Jesus is your Head, and that for blessing; and if you would only surrender yourself to the claims of this Saviour, you would get the blessing of His headship. If you are the head of a household, your family would too. Oh yes, they need to come to Christ for themselves. That is what I am going to preach about, but when the head of a house is converted, the whole family gets the benefit of it. So that Christ is the Head of every male here. The male is the head of the female. That is a regulated, divinely-provided household condition. It is so lacking in this world. There is many a poor child that suffers because of that but I tell you, that when God comes into the head of a household’s life He has the whole household in mind for blessing. He is also able to set the solitary in families, Psalms 68: 6. Someone may say, ’I do not have a Christian background’. Never mind, dear friend, God is able to set the solitary in families. He finds you on your own and comes into your life. He saves you and He adds you to the Christian circle. He is such a God. The order here is God, Christ, man and woman. It is not that Christ is not God Himself but, as Man, God has made Christ Head of every male. That is His position. How does it work out practically? Let us turn to Acts 16.
There are two households mentioned in Acts 16. One of them had a certain woman called Lydia as the head and she worshipped God. When the Lord opened her heart to attend to the things spoken by Paul, her whole household was baptised. It does not say in the scripture that the Lord opened their hearts, but they were under her authority and were baptised along with her. They would appreciate Lydia as a Christian householder. However, there was a far greater contrast in the jailor’s household, and that is why I read of him.
It is likely that the only person that controlled the jailor was the person who was in authority in Philippi. If this jailor was the kind of person that is in control of jails in some parts of the world now, you can be sure that this was not a man who would be gentle to his household. This man was prepared to lay many stripes upon Paul and Silas and cast them into the inner prison. The inner prison is the part of the prison that is reserved for the worst kind of prisoner. That is where the jailor thrust Paul and Silas. "Suddenly there was a great earthquake"; a natural phenomenon took place. We have seen in the past week how men’s lives can be turned upside down in a moment of time, through a natural phenomenon taking place. The earthquake shook the jailor. He was awakened out of his sleep. He saw the doors were open and drew a sword. He was going to kill himself thinking the prisoners had fled but Paul called out with a loud voice. Listen to this Christian speaking here. A man who, only a few hours before received many stripes on his back, called; “Do thyself no harm”. The jailor “rushed in, and, trembling, fell down before Paul and Silas. And leading them out said, Sirs, what must I do that I may be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy house”.
Christ is the Head of every man, but when I as an individual come to know Christ myself, I bow to Him as Lord. Indeed the scripture says elsewhere that I must confess that Jesus is Lord, Rom 10: 9. That is what the Lord Jesus is to me as an individual. Have you bowed the knee to Him? I have to tell you, dear friend, you will do so sooner or later. Now you have an opportunity to bow the knee to Him for blessing. If you miss God’s opportunity of mercy, you will bow the knee to Him before you are condemned to everlasting punishment. The jailor bowed the knee to Christ. Paul and Silas spoke the word to the jailor, and all that were in his house. The jailor believed in the Lord Jesus. He was saved, and there was a different atmosphere in his household. That is the point I wanted to stress. The jailor was a man who was prepared to scourge people but now he took Paul and Silas “the same hour of the night and washed them from their stripes.” What a tender service that was. He did more than that; he laid the table for them. What a change in this man’s life. The scripture then says that the jailor “rejoiced with all his house”, that is he ‘rejoiced householdly’. Whether the household believed or not is not mentioned. The fact is that the jailor believed and there was rejoicing in the household. That has been the case in many a household.
I was thinking of a man that I heard of once from the part of the country that I come from. He was in prison many times. He was a terrible man, given over to drink and violence; but one day a believer gave him a gospel leaflet. That man went to the preaching that night, knelt down, confessed his sins, and was converted. He then went back home and there was an instant change in the atmosphere of that household. There was rejoicing in that household, when the head of the household was converted.
Most of you present at the preaching have Christian parents. Your father is not violent. He prays for you. He opens the Bible, and reads to you. Do you not think you are privileged? Do you ever thank God for it? You say, ’I do not know God myself as a Saviour’, but did you ever thank God for the privileged upbringing that you have had? If you have never done so yet, dear friend, let me say tenderly it is about time you did so. You are in a very favourable position. You do not need to worry about drunkenness or violence in your household. That is not your life. You are privileged. You are blessed. Your parents do their best for you. Let me ask you dear friend, what do you do in return? That is why I read in Ephesians 6.
Some may be saying, ’What is he doing in the gospel preaching reading from Ephesians 6?’ Only to say this; remember you are part of a believing household and as such, you can be said to be, ‘in Lord’. You are under the Lord’s authority whether you are a believer or not and, because you are part of a believing household, Paul has something to say to you. Here it is in Ephesians 6 verse 1, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is just”. That is what you have to do as a child. You obey your parents as far as it is consistent with the will of the Lord; but you do obey. You not only obey, you also honour your parents. The scripture says, “Honour thy father and thy mother, which is the first commandment with a promise”. It does not say ’which was the first commandment’, but "which is the first commandment". It has a current bearing for us. What does it mean to “honour thy father and thy mother”? It is more than to obey. It is esteeming and revering. Have you always esteemed your parents? You ought to, because it is a commandment that is binding upon you, and if you break the commandment you sin against God. If I sin against God, I must die the death of a sinner, and if I die the death of a sinner, I must face the punishment of God. You are in this privileged area and you have parents that care for you and look after you. You can sing hymns and read the Bible. You lack for nothing that is needful in a material sense, but do you obey, and do you honour? You say, ’Sometimes it is irksome’. You feel your liberty is confined. You do not feel that you are able to do everything that you would like to do. Do you know why that is? It is because you have not come to Christ yourself. That is why. You have not come to Christ yourself. You are within the porch of the house - that blessed area, that safe area, that privileged area. That is where you are but you are not part of the house itself because you have not come to Christ yourself.
My burden in the preaching tonight as I close in 1 Peter 2 is that you might move from simply being a member of a believing household to becoming a believer for yourself. It is the only way to happiness. It is the only way to blessing. I want to tell you that what is offered in the gospel is not second best. It is the best that God could offer to satisfy the heart of men. You say, ’How would I know? I have not tried everything’. Maybe you have not, but others have; and this is the best! It certainly is. There is nothing to be compared with Christ. There is nothing to be compared with Christian blessings. This is the best! Lay aside the malice and forget the guile, the hypocrisies, the envying and evil speaking. These things mark us all but they are sinful and need to be judged. Repent of your sins, and “as newborn babes desire earnestly the pure mental milk of the word, that by it ye may grow up to salvation, if indeed ye have tasted that the Lord is good”. He is good, dear friend; He is good. Have you tasted that the Lord is good, have you come to Him for yourself? Are you a happy Christian? Are you a Christian at all?
I need to close soon, but I do want to stress this, that you need to come to the Lord Jesus for yourself. Yes, perhaps your parents have faith for time and eternity, but that does not mean to say that you are saved. If you see your parents enjoying Christianity, and you are not enjoying Christianity, the question has to be raised; are you a Christian yourself? You may be baptised, but that cannot save you eternally. Yes, you are privileged, but that only increases your responsibility. It is not a question of getting to the age of twelve and then coming forward and breaking bread. It is a question of your heart being worked upon by the Holy Spirit in new birth and God giving you the gift of faith. It is a question of repenting of your sins, and in doing so confessing your sins to God. It is a question of believing in the Lord Jesus and in the value of His precious blood and receiving forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Let me ask you in all sincerity, have you come to Christ for yourself? I am not saying you will have an experience like Saul of Tarsus. I do not mean that, but there needs to be a change in your life. There needs to be an inward conversion in your life. You need to say, ’I have made my choice; it is Christ for me’. Have you made your choice?
When I read this scripture, I think of Moses. Moses was taken by his mother, put in an ark of reeds, and laid in the sedge at the side of the river, Ex 2: 3. His mother exercised faith as a parent but there came a point in the experience of Moses when he had to make a decision for himself. He had the world before him, but the world did not satisfy him. Have you found that? Moses chose. He made the right choice; he made the only choice: he chose Christ. We are warranted in saying that from Hebrews 11: 25, 26. He chose Christ. Will you come to Christ; the “living stone”? If you come to Him, you will become a living stone also. You will become one of the holy priesthood and be able to offer up spiritual sacrifices to God. You will become a Christian yourself. You will no longer only be in the porch of the house; you will actually be part of the house. You will find your joy in speaking about the Lord Jesus, you will find your happiness in being amongst other Christians; and you will be real. There is no point in putting on a façade. It is a great thing to put everything to one side and venture your all on Christ! May you be able to say, ’I have made my choice: it is Christ for me’. Will you choose Christ? You need Him.
For His Name’s sake.
Sunbury
13th March 2011