The Gospel He Preached

In this part of the sermon: Pastor Martin introduces Trinity Baptist Church, its confessional basis (1689 London Baptist Confession), growth, various ministries (missions, tape ministry, ministerial…

Martin describes the location of Essex Fells, NJ, and the founding and growth of Trinity Baptist Church, highlighting its confessional basis and various ministries, to introduce himself and his church to the audience.

First question people most often ask is, where is Essex Fells? And the best way to describe it is to say that it's my privilege to live and minister in an area that is just about 20 miles due west and a little bit south of the George Washington Bridge, which is upper Manhattan, in that area way up in northern New Jersey, in that section of the country that is generally described as the northern New Jersey, New York metropolitan area, where, as I've often told people, no one lives if he has a choice unless, A, he's crazy, or B, he's called of God. And it's because of the latter, I trust, that I...

0:04 - 1:29 Read in full sermon

The point: Covet prayers for faithfulness to the trust God has given to the local church.

Martin shares a humorous anecdote about the young couples in his church having many children, comparing them to 'old-time Catholics,' to illustrate their biblical attitude toward parenthood.

And we have a number of young couples who are in the early 30s. And we have a number of young couples who are in the early 30s. In fact, it's a joke around our place that our young couples have babies like old-time Catholics when it was a sin not to have as large a family as you could possibly have. And we rejoice in the wholesome biblical attitude which our couples have to the privilege of parenthood and the establishment of Christian homes.

4:02 - 4:21 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin explains that Paul preached one universal message to both Jews (those with Old Testament privileges) and Greeks (pagans without revealed religion), asserting that Paul was…

Martin uses the analogy of a doctor with only one remedy for every patient to question if Paul was a 'spiritual quack' for having one message, thereby setting up the argument for the universal human condition.

And yet, and this should amaze us if we can feel something of this, Paul says in this passage as a model of a gospel preacher that he had one universal message for the Jew and for the Greek. Now think of it. What would you think of a doctor in this town who had but one remedy for every patient that came to him?

18:39 - 19:04 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The sermon argues that despite surface differences, all humanity shares the same fundamental condition: created by God, fallen in Adam, equally depraved, and equally dead and…

Martin provides examples of 'modern Jews' (those raised in Christian homes, protected from sin) and 'modern Greeks' (those from pagan backgrounds, exposed to vice) to illustrate that despite outward differences, their spiritual need is the same.

We've got people who were nursed as it were at the breast of Christian truth. From the time you were born you were given the knowledge of the word of God taken to Sunday school the word of God was read in your family. There was loving strict discipline that kept your outward life from so many of the sins that have crippled others. Some of you who in that sense are modern Jews born under the privilege of the light of the word of God kept from so many sins because of the influence of a godly home.

22:13 - 22:45 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Repentance and faith are the two plates brought together by the pin of the mighty work of the Holy Spirit on which the door of salvation turns.

Martin uses the analogy of a door hinge with two plates (repentance and faith) held by a pin (Holy Spirit's work) to explain their inseparability and essential role in salvation.

but he's a wonderful example of a gospel and he's a wonderful preacher because here he gives us the essential elements of his gospel what are they look at verse 21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks two things repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ now notice Paul is summarizing three years of ministry and he says every year everything I preached can come under this two-fold summary of repentance towards God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ and I like to think of repentance and faith like the two plates on a hinge now you know what a hinge is it holds the door to...

31:37 - 33:04 Read in full sermon

The point: Understand that disobedience to parents and cheating in school are sins against God, not just against people.

Martin analyzes David's prayer in Psalm 51, where David says, 'Against thee, and thee only, have I sinned,' to illustrate that true repentance is primarily a vertical matter against God, even when sins have horizontal consequences.

touches every single issue that really counts and where there is any entering through the door of salvation there will always be repentance towards God the vertical realization of sin the vertical acknowledgement of sin will predominate and predominate the sinner knows he's having dealings with God remember David in Psalm 51 how did he pray when he was repenting of his sins of adultery his sins of murder his sins of lying his sins of deceit he was guilty of all those sins yet listen to his language Psalm 51 verse 4 against thee and thee only have I sinned and done that which is evil in thy sig...

40:26 - 41:55 Read in full sermon

The point: Understand that disobedience to parents and cheating in school are sins against God, not just against people.

Martin uses the story of the prodigal son, who said, 'I have sinned against heaven,' to further illustrate that repentance recognizes sin as primarily against God, not just against human rules or societal norms.

you remember the prodigal son you see the same thing don't you he came to the place where he said I've had it around here I can't stand my pop's rules I can't stand the restraints of this house I've had it give what's coming to me dad I'm getting out of here that's a little bit of modern paraphrase but he got out of there and it says he wasted his substance with riotous living blew his money on booze and harlots and drugs if he were living in our day now the scripture says this listen carefully listen carefully when he came to himself he said I will arise and go to my father and say father I h...

46:03 - 47:29 Read in full sermon

Driving home: You can have everything about Jesus, all told to you in the Bible, and say, oh yes, I believe all that, that's true, he's son of God, son of man, lived, died, rose, all the rest, but my friend, have you embraced him?

Martin uses the analogy of reading a book about his wife versus embracing her to distinguish between mere intellectual knowledge of Christ and a personal, heart-felt reception of Him in saving faith.

You see, I might go home and someone might meet me at the door, and there have a large volume of all the lovely things that are true about my wife. She is this, she is this, she is this, she is not this, and not this, and not that, she has done this and done that. Every word might be true, but I might still be standing outside the door. And when I go home, I clue you, I'm not going to stand outside the door reading a book about all the lovely things my wife is. I'm going through the door and take her in my arms and embrace her. See the difference? You can have everything about Jesus, all told ...

57:37 - 58:40 Read in full sermon