In "Basic Assumptions," Pastor Albert Martin lays the groundwork for a series on singleness by establishing two fundamental theological assumptions: the Father's concern and the Father's word. Drawing from Psalms 103 and 139, and Romans 8:32, he argues that God the Father possesses a perfectly knowledgeable, presently active, and powerfully disposed concern for the highest good of His adopted children, including those who are single. He then asserts that God's Word is adequate, clear, and binding in its authority, providing sufficient guidance for all of life's problems, including the unique challenges of singleness. This sermon serves as a crucial theological and pastoral foundation, urging listeners to trust God's character and the sufficiency of Scripture before delving into specific issues related to singleness.
Purpose of the Sermon Series and Acknowledgment of Limitations6:01
Outline of the Sermon Series and Tonight's Focus: Basic Assumptions8:36
Assumption 1: The Father's Perfectly Knowledgeable Concern10:12
Assumption 1: The Father's Presently Active Concern16:08
Assumption 1: The Father's Powerfully Disposed Concern for Our Highest Good20:30
Assumption 2: The Father's Adequate, Clear, and Binding Word27:06
Concluding Exhortation to Believe and Pray34:44
Key Quotes
“I do not propose to have all the answers to your peculiar needs and problems, but I do believe there are some fundamental perspectives in the word of God that need to be set out and faced and reckoned with.”
“And now when we think of God as our Father through the work of Christ, we must not attach to the notion of Father the perverted, twisted concepts of fatherhood that we may have experienced in our own homes.”
“Now once this grips you and ceases to be merely an abstract theological proposition, which it is, it's true, whether I recognize it or not, but once I lay hold of that, that my father's concern is perfectly knowledgeable, then, you see, I'm at liberty to come into the presence of my father to pour out before him all that he already knows without any spiritual embarrassment.”
“What was the greatest obstacle in the way of your redemption and mine? Well, the greatest obstacle was this. How can God be just and pardon the guilty?”
“Or is there a burning suspicion that somehow he's the celestial killjoy who's guilty of the grossest form of schizophrenia? He's a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde who can will my eternal salvation but who consigns me to temporal misery, a life of singleness. That is cursed, blasphemous unbelief.”
“It should be an occasion of amazement to us, though seldom it is to our shame, that the God of heaven would actually embody his mind in the words of Scripture.”
“I believe we come to this same word, written by the same God, who made us not only with souls that need to be brought into communion with Him through the redemption of His Son, but who made us, male and female, with all that attaches itself to our maleness and to our femaleness, made us with our legitimate aspirations and longings and desires, and therefore my assumption for this weekend is that the Father's word is adequate for any basic problem encountered by any peculiar segment of the Christian church.”
“The word of God is binding in its authority. And therefore, to the extent that we open up the word of God this weekend, the precepts of that word impinge upon you where you live, and the only proof that you truly love Christ is that you obey that word.”
Applications
Parents & families
Come to grips with your Heavenly Father's perfectly knowledgeable concern for you in your single state.
Reckon with the matter of your own singleness with a Spirit-given understanding of the Father's perfectly knowledgeable concern.
If you don't learn to trust God's concern in a state of singleness, you're not fit to be married.
All listeners
Go to the Scriptures and seek to derive from the Scriptures what it means to have God as our Father, rather than attaching perverted concepts of fatherhood from earthly experiences.
Lay hold of the truth that your Father's concern is perfectly knowledgeable, allowing you to pour out all your longings, yearnings, frustrations, and unresolved drives before Him without spiritual embarrassment.
Have your eyes open to behold the presently active concern of your Father, which is a point of faith and not of sight.
Learn to rest, to sink down into the arms of a God who is powerfully disposed to your highest good.
Confess as wickedness, as sin, any blasphemous, wicked, unbelieving heart that has questioned the Father's concern and His desire for your highest interest, and ask Him to cleanse you in the blood of His Son.
Consider the peculiar problems and needs of single, saved, earnest Christians in the full conviction that our Father knows us, is presently and actively concerned, and is powerfully disposed to our highest interests.
Pray, 'Lord, the problem is not with your word. The problem is with my own sight. Open thou my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.'
Tell God, 'Father, I believe your word is adequate. I do believe your word is clear, and, Lord, I do bow to its authority.'
Pray for a good night's sleep to come refreshed to hear God's word.
Pray for a heart that will bow to the authority of God's word, asking Him to tie your hands of rationalization behind you in loving submission and bring His arrows of conviction and comforts home to your bosom.
Do not leave this weekend until you have had dealings with God.
A full transcript is available on the
tab. 85 paragraphs, roughly 39 minutes.
Machine transcription
Introduction to the Retreat and Sermon Series
On October 25th through 27th, 1974, a retreat for single men and women of post-high school ages was held in Paradise, Pennsylvania under the auspices of the Paradise Baptist Church. Pastor Charles Barnhart of the Paradise Church was the primary organizer and driving force behind this retreat. Pastor Barnhart shared his concern for a retreat of this nature with some of his fellow pastors in the Reformed Baptist Association who encouraged him in this endeavor. I, Pastor Albert Martin of the Trinity Baptist Church, was asked to bring three expositions, and my co-worker,
Pastor Osheel Blaise, was asked to conclude the weekend ministry. Originally, I thought I would bring some expositions of a general nature dealing with some specific portions of Scripture or some broad biblical themes. However, as the time went on, I was asked to bring three expositions of I was constrained to make an effort to grapple with the whole subject of singleness in the light of the Word of God. The following three messages are the fruit of that effort. Since the first message was
not given until close to 10 p.m. on the Friday evening which began the retreat, I felt it wise to be brief in that particular study. My concern in that first study was to set the framework for the following materials that would be used in the retreat. I was constrained to make an effort to
be given on the Saturday morning. In the next two lectures, an attempt has been made to construct a theology of singleness and to bring to bear upon the peculiar problems of single Christian men and women the guidelines of Holy Scripture. Since this is the first attempt I've ever made to deal with this subject, and since the written materials on this theme, constructed from a solidly biblical or Reformed perspective, are almost nil, there are no doubt some glaring omissions and areas of weakness. However, it is hoped that any who hear this series of tapes and do have additional insights in this general area will
Recommended Bibliography for Singles
feel free to contact me and to share those insights so that they might be incorporated into any future treatment of the subject. Finally, I felt it would be helpful to give a brief bibliography for those who wish to do some reading in this vital area of practical Christian concern. There is an excellent book for single women called Your Half of the Apple by Jeanne Andrews, published by Zondervan. The foreword to this book is written by Dr. Francis Schaeffer,
and one of the most helpful things about this book is that Miss Andrews writes from the perspective of having been single beyond the normal marriageable age, and then having had the joy of being a wife for a period of time, and now writes from the perspective of one who is widowed. She speaks very bluntly and frankly and yet most perceptively to the peculiar problems of single Christian women, and this book is highly recommended. And then a second book, J. Adams' Christian Living in the Home, published by Presbyterian and Reformed, a publishing house in Nutley, New Jersey, has an excellent chapter on the matter of singleness,
and although there is much helpful material in the whole book that will give a single person some biblical perspectives on what is really involved in marriage in a biblical and realistic perspective, this chapter, written especially for singles, will be helpful. And then in the excellent book in the general theme of Christian ethics by Professor John Murray called Principles of Christian Conduct, published by Erdmann's, there is a most helpful section on the subject of creation ordinances, and within the framework, what Professor Murray calls the creation ordinances, is a most helpful treatment of
the subject of marriage, showing the place of marriage in the creation framework, and thus laying a very solid biblical and theological perspective for one's assessment of the whole institution of marriage. And then there is an excellent InterVarsity Press publication called Living and Loving by A. N. Triton, T-R-I-T-O-N, in which Mr. Triton seeks to set forth the general principles of the Word of God relative
to human sexuality, to Christian perspectives on dating and marriage. And then perhaps what is the most helpful book on the general subject of Christian marriage, one that I constantly recommend for all the couples that I'm privileged to have premarital counseling with, the name of the book is Designed for Christian Marriage by Dwight Harvey Smoot, and it is a book that is published by Ravel. Again, the general treatment in the first three chapters of this book on the subject of marriage and its biblical perspectives is excellent, and chapter six, dealing with the subject of infatuation, fact or fiction, is perhaps the finest thing I've ever read on this
whole matter of distinguishing between the nature of true biblical love and this thing called infatuation. For any who think they may be, quote, falling in love, this chapter is a must. And then finally, there is a book called Love is a Feeling to be Learned by Walter Trubisch, also published by InterVarsity Press. Of course, in recommending these books, this recommendation is not to be construed as a blanket approval of everything that is included in the books, since no human author can receive such a complete recommendation.
Purpose of the Sermon Series and Acknowledgment of Limitations
However, it is hoped that these books would be useful for general background reading in this vital area of biblical concern, but particularly if the tapes are used in a class situation or a study situation, these books and the sections that I have mentioned would be most helpful for background reading so that those involved in the class study could bring a broader perspective to the discussion period. This series of messages is sent forth with the prayer that single Christians will gain new insights concerning this matter of their singleness, and also that those who are not single but are married
will be able to have a more sensitive relationship to those who are single, and when having opportunities to counsel and interact with single Christians, perhaps will be better able to give them biblical counsel. And direct them into some new dimensions of that good, acceptable, and perfect will of God. Now, since singles are a special class of people, just as marrieds are a special class of people, I have sought to prepare a special kind of ministry,
not qualitatively different from any other ministry in that it will be a biblical ministry, but as I've already intimated, a ministry geared directly to grappling with some of the issues relative to the state of singleness. Now, let me state at the outset, I do not propose to have all the answers to your peculiar needs and problems, but I do believe there are some fundamental perspectives in the word of God that need to be set out and faced and reckoned with. And it's been a great blessing to me this week in wrestling for the first time in my life with trying to construct a theology of singleness.
Now, you have chapters in various books which give a little homey suggestion here or there, and quote a text or two, but I've not found anything that has really tried to come to grips and set forth a theology of singleness. Now, that book that's down on the book table, the other half of the apple, is the finest thing I know for any single gal to read. It's tremendous stuff, but it's not a theology of singleness. There's some good theology in it, but it's a mixture of good, practical, homey, biblical horse sense.
Outline of the Sermon Series and Tonight's Focus: Basic Assumptions
With reference to the state of singleness, particularly for a woman. But what we want to do in these sessions together is to come to grips with some of the foundational principles of the word of God. Now, what I propose to do tonight, and since the hour is late, I shall just really give the introduction tonight, and then, assuming that you're all going to get your giggles and your grunts and snores over with in due time and get at least seven hours sleep, because if you don't sleep, you're going to have trouble sleeping. If you don't, you'll be catching up when I'm trying to speak tomorrow morning.
I believe you'll be much fresher in the morning to come to grips with things, so what we'll do tonight is just bring an introduction to our study, and yet this is not something secondary. There are two fundamental assumptions in all that I share with you from the word of God during our hours together. And I want to articulate those assumptions for you, and we'll be making reference to them again and again in the course of our study. Then, having underscored these two fundamental assumptions, then tomorrow, God willing, I shall set forth what I am calling a theology of singleness.
And we'll look at singleness in a theological perspective. And then, secondly, we shall look at some practical concerns relative to singleness, namely the distinct advantages of singleness, the distinct disadvantages of singleness, and how to cope with singleness if and until. Three dashes, all right? Okay.
Assumption 1: The Father's Perfectly Knowledgeable Concern
Now, you can assume, I'm sure, and get the idea of what that third point is about. All right, then, just this matter tonight, the two fundamental assumptions undergirding all that we share from the scriptures. And those assumptions have reference to the Father's concern and, secondly, the Father's word. First of all, then, the Father's concern, and that's capital F, not because it refers to your father, using the term father as a proper noun for your father, but capitalized because we're speaking of the Heavenly Father, of whom the whole family of heaven and earth is named.
And one of the great and almost staggering concepts of the word of God is that when guilty rebel sinners, by the operation of the Holy Spirit, embrace Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, according to John 1 and verse 12, God constitutes such believing sinners his own sons and daughters. As many as received him, to them gave he the right to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Now, a Christian is, viewed from one perspective, a bond-slave of Jesus Christ. And the Apostle Paul uses that word.
He uses that concept again and again. But when he's trying to emphasize the privilege that is the portion of a forgiven, accepted sinner, he does not use the concept of our servitude to Christ. In the book of Galatians, he emphasizes the concept of filial access to God. We are no longer servants, he says, but we are sons.
And God has sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, calling us to cry, Abba, that is, Father. And now when we think of God as our Father through the work of Christ, we must not attach to the notion of Father the perverted, twisted concepts of fatherhood that we may have experienced in our own homes. Rather, we must go to the Scriptures and seek to derive from the Scriptures what it means to have God as our Father. And I'm convinced that with reference to the matter of singleness, it is doubly essential for every single man or woman of marriageable age
to come to grips with this matter of your heavenly Father's concern for you in your single state. And I want to say three things about the Father's concern. First of all, it is perfectly knowledgeable concern. Psalm 103 and verse 14 underscores this aspect of the Father's concern.
It is perfectly knowledgeable. Psalm 103, speaking of the Lord's mercy and grace to his people, the Psalmist says, verse 13, Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him, for he knoweth our friends. He pitieth us according to a knowledge that is perfect. The same Psalmist in Psalm 139 mentions the creative work of God
in knitting him together in his mother's womb. God is there making the selections in the gene pools. God is there determining basic characteristics. God is there determining my sex.
God is there knitting me together. I'm fearfully and wonderfully made. And because he has made me from the very beginning of my conception and has knit me together, I can say with the Psalmist, he knows my frame, and he knows me with a knowledge that is perfect. Now once this grips you and ceases to be merely an abstract theological proposition, which it is, it's true, whether I recognize it or not, but once I lay hold of that, that my father's concern is perfectly knowledgeable, then, you see, I'm at liberty to come into the presence of my father
to pour out before him all that he already knows without any spiritual embarrassment. All of my longings, all of my yearnings, all of the peculiar frustrations and questions and unmet and unresolved drives, that I have as a single person, my father knows them completely because he's the author of many of them. Now sin is the author of some of them, but he is the very author of many of them. And yet I'm amazed at how many Christians have failed to grasp the wonder of their adoption.
When a father has a wholesome relationship to his children and they are confident of his love, there is nothing they will not share. Now at times it borders on the ridiculous, it sometimes becomes very embarrassing for parents who have children who are absolutely confident that since mom and dad know them, there's nothing that's worth hiding from them anyway. I wonder, has this really gripped you, that your Heavenly Father, if you are in the family of God through faith in Christ, has a perfect knowledge of what you are, not just as a human being, not just as one human being, but you, that which makes you you and no one else.
Assumption 1: The Father's Presently Active Concern
As you seek to reckon with this matter of your own singleness, I submit that you must have a spirit-given understanding of the Father's concern as a concern that is perfectly knowledgeable. And then secondly, it is presently active. Look at verses 13 and 17. It is presently active.
It is presently active. Verse 13 and 17. That concern is not only perfectly knowledgeable, but it is presently active. Verse 13.
Like as a father pitieth his children, present tense, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. Verse 17. But the lovingkindness of the Lord is, not was, but is, from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children. You see, God's knowledge is not like some great immense and boundless think tank that simply stores up all this information in abstraction.
No, no. God's knowledge of us is a knowledge in the context of concern, and that concern is presently active. And you need to know this, because the question that emerges in the mind of many a person who is of marriageable age, and yet is still in the state of singleness for one reason or another, and we shall deal with a number of those, there is this great question. If my father knows me, and if he knows how I'm put together, does he care?
Or does he stand by in indifference to my present need? Well, the Scripture says, Well, the Scripture tells us no. Like as a true father, a father who's worthy of the name, exercises pity to his children, so the Lord pities those that fear him. Now, this is one of the great points in the life of faith.
The devil will attack the child of God at this point. The present activity of the concern of God. You remember how he threw this in the teeth of our Lord? If thou be the Son of God, then certain in God your father loves you.
He doesn't delight to see you after a forty-day fast, continuing in hunger. Turn these stones to bread. Surely your father will give you leave to gratify an appetite that he has given. Remember how the taunt was thrown in the teeth of our Lord upon the cross?
You said God was your father and delighted in you. Let that God deliver you now. If he has a present concern, let him manifest his concern. If you're honest, you'll admit that you've heard that same voice.
If God knows you're afraid, why in the world doesn't he do something to fill the longing, to alleviate the pain? You ever hear that voice? I say in dead seriousness, you need not to have some unusual spiritual experience of ecstasy and transports. No, no.
You need to have your eyes open to behold the presently active concern of your father, which is a point of faith and not of sight. To believe as our Lord did when the billows of the father's wrath were breaking over his head that he was still his well-beloved. To believe, though the father had not yet given him leave to fulfill his physical appetite, that he should live by the word of God until such time as the father gave him leave to eat in his own appointment in his own appointed way. And then thirdly, we need to see that the father's concern is not only perfectly knowledgeable, presently active,
Assumption 1: The Father's Powerfully Disposed Concern for Our Highest Good
but it is powerfully disposed to our highest good. It is powerfully disposed to our highest good. Again, I go back to the 103rd Psalm. Verse 10.
He hath not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us after our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his lovingkindness towards them that fear him. Why aren't you in hell tonight? There's only one reason.
Because the lovingkindness of God is as high as the heavens are above the earth. Or right now, your voice would mingle with the groans of the damned in hell and so would mine. Now, this is the logic, this is the reasoning of Scripture. Romans 8, 32.
He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up freely for us all. Delivered him up for us all. How shall he not also with him freely give us all things? What was the greatest obstacle in the way of your redemption and mine?
Well, the greatest obstacle was this. How can God be just and pardon the guilty? That was the obstacle. How can God maintain the rights of his throne of majesty and justice and pardon rebel sinners?
When justice cries out, damn them. There was only one way for that obstacle to be overcome. It meant the enfleshment of the Son of God. The second greatest mystery of the whole universe.
The first one, of course, is the one God in three and the three in one. The second greatest mystery is the God-man in one person. It meant the enfleshment of God if that obstacle were to be overcome. It meant that God would have to forsake God.
It meant that the earth would have to hear the cry, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? That was the obstacle that stood in the way of our being pardoned. It meant there had to be the rending of the very powers of death in the grave. And yet what did God do?
He delivered up his Son. He did not spare him. He gave him up to everything necessary for our pardon that the psalmist could be able to write as far as the east is from the west. So far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
Now here's the apostle's argument. If he spared not his Son, if he gave us the greatest gift to meet our greatest need, will that God ever withhold a lesser gift to meet lesser needs? Now what's the obvious answer? You don't need to have an elementary course in logic to know what the answer is.
He's arguing from the greater to the lesser. What was your greatest need? Not a husband or a wife. Your greatest need was to be delivered from your sins.
That was my greatest need. Now, it demanded the greatest actings of God. He that spared not his Son, he did his greatest work to meet my greatest need. Now Paul says, shall he not with him freely give us all things?
If he's shown his disposition to be what? Powerfully disposed to my highest good. And he proved it in the redemption of his Son. And he asserts it in such language as Matthew 7, 11.
If ye who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him? Now let me ask you in a very pointed way, have you ever really learned to rest, to sink down, and I say it without any maudlin sentimentality, to sink down into the arms of a God who is powerfully disposed to your highest good? Any of you? Have you really learned what that is?
Or is there a burning suspicion that somehow he's the celestial killjoy who's guilty of the grossest form of schizophrenia? He's a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde who can will my eternal salvation but who consigns me to temporal misery, a life of singleness.
That is cursed, blasphemous unbelief. And I've chosen my words carefully. It is cursed, wicked, blasphemous unbelief. It's saying he can give the greatest gift because he's disposed to my good but he won't give me lesser goods.
No, what a blessed thing it is to see the Father's concern powerfully disposed to my highest good. Therefore, as we consider some of the peculiar problems and needs of single, saved, earnest Christians, we must do so in the full conviction that our Father knows us, and our Father is presently and actively concerned about us, and he is powerfully disposed to our highest interests. And you see, if you don't learn that in a state of singleness, you're not fit to be married. What do I do as a parent when I see my child
losing blood on a hospital bed, and pulse growing weaker? What do I do as a father with children? I have to reckon with the same issue. Does my father know?
Does my father care? Will my father withhold what is good? You see? So this is not a peculiar problem of singleness.
Assumption 2: The Father's Adequate, Clear, and Binding Word
It shows that all of the basic problems that any Christian faces in any dimension of life are theological, and they start with right views of God in their resolution. But then, in the second place, we must, as our fundamental assumption, have some convictions not only about the Father, not only about the Father's concern, but about the Father's word. It should be an occasion of amazement to us, though seldom it is to our shame, that the God of heaven would actually embody his mind in the words of Scripture. Now, I know there are times when all of us have hankerings after some kind of present direct revelation.
We say, oh, if God would only run to heavens and speak. Can you imagine what would happen if right now there was a thundering such as there was upon Mount Sinai when God came down in smoke and thunder? And out of that thunder came a voice and said, I, Jehovah, God of heaven and earth, am about to speak to you. Listen carefully as I speak.
And then God said three sentences. You know what we'd do the rest of the night? We'd sit here arguing about precisely what was said. We'd all hear it a different way.
Yes, we would. No, no, no, God said it with the emphasis upon the verb. No, no, no, no, no, God didn't say it that way. God said it this way.
And instead of being able to revel in what he said, we'd sit around debating as to the precise thing that he did say. How good that God has put it for us here. How kind of God, how blessedly kind of God to embody his mind in his blessed word, a word concerning which he himself has said, all scripture is God-breathed and is also profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto every good work. What do I need to come and minister at a singles retreat?
Do I need 13 years of advanced psychology and the peculiar problems of singles? No. I need to have a mind and spirit steeped in this blessed book, and then I shall be furnished to the good work of being a servant to you fellows and girls and ministering to you in the name of Christ. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth.
So, as we think of the Father's word, let us understand, for this is my assumption in the preparation and delivery of these thoughts, these few hours together, is, first of all, that the Father's word is adequate. The Father's word is adequate. Now, when we're wrestling with the questions, how can I be forgiven? How shall I attain eternal life?
We all instill in ourselves we all instinctively say, well, of course, those are questions to which the Bible addresses itself explicitly, categorically, authoritatively, and we must get our answers there. But now when we come to such questions as these, what do I do with my singleness? What do I do with my longings, my frustrations, my fears, my disappointments? Well, now we must go to the experts elsewhere.
No, I don't believe that. I don't believe that for a moment. I believe we come to this same word, written by the same God, who made us not only with souls that need to be brought into communion with Him through the redemption of His Son, but who made us, male and female, with all that attaches itself to our maleness and to our femaleness, made us with our legitimate aspirations and longings and desires, and therefore my assumption for this weekend is that the Father's word is adequate for any basic problem encountered by any peculiar segment of the Christian church. Now we're a special segment here,
gathered this weekend, and this word is adequate to instruct us. Then secondly, this word is clear, or as the old writers would say, it is perspicuous. And I like that word. It is perspicuous.
That is, it is not veiled. It is not muddied. It isn't foggy. It is clear.
Psalm 119, verse 105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my pathway. What is the function of the lamp and the light? To illuminate the path, that I may know where to walk and how to walk.
Well, David says, thy word performs that function. Now in the words of the old Westminster Confection, not all things are alike clear. And there are certain things for which we wish the word of God had a more clear word. But in something so basic as the issues before us, I believe there is an assumption or a presumption in favor of believing that God has indeed spoken.
The matters that relate to our functioning in life as men and women, whether in the married or single state, are so pivotal to everything that relates to life, it would be cruel of God not to speak to us in this vital area. And God has indeed spoken. And so the issue that should concern us this weekend, Lord, the problem is not with your word. The problem is with my own sight.
Open thou my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. And frankly, I've been amazed and thrilled in my preparation this week to see how clear the word of God is in this matter of giving explicit guidelines and directives to us in our present state. And then thirdly, I am assuming that the Father's word is not only adequate and clear, but it is binding in its authority. Isaiah 8, 20, To the law and to the testimony, if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
Jesus said, Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. Now this means that my opinions on matters aren't worth a wooden nickel this weekend. When we come to discussions, if you ask my opinion about something, I shall try to be careful and say that's my opinion. That's not a directive from the word of God.
But in these lectures that I'm bringing on the theology of singleness, the peculiar advantages and disadvantages, I am deliberately avoiding anecdotes. I believe I could support many of these points from pastoral experiences, but I'm deliberately bypassing all of that. And I want to give you a large, meaty chunks of the book so that the issue will be not, well, that situation that you described doesn't quite suit me. Therefore, I can slip out from underneath its implications.
No, no. The word of God is binding in its authority. And therefore, to the extent that we open up the word of God this weekend, the precepts of that word impinge upon you where you live, and the only proof that you truly love Christ is that you obey that word. For ye are my friends, said our Lord, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
Concluding Exhortation to Believe and Pray
Now then, these are the assumptions that undergird all that we will attempt to do, all that I will attempt to do in the time allotted to me during the weekend. The assumption, first of all, for those who've just drifted in, you can get the tape and listen to it later on, but we dealt with the Father's concern. It is a concern that is perfectly knowledgeable, presently active and powerfully disposed to our good. And then the Father's word, it is adequate, it is clear, and it is binding in its authority.
And I think perhaps the best way we could spend a few minutes as we drift off into sleep tonight is to fix our minds upon those two fundamental assumptions and seek to keep ourselves awake in silence until we can say, My Father, I do believe your concern is perfectly knowledgeable, presently active, and I ask you, And I ask you, I ask you, I ask you, I ask you, my Father, I ask you, my Father, I ask you,
My Father, I want you to please me and let me feeds you so that I may be able to understand you as God's own Son, do believe that you know me completely. I do believe that here, amidst all of the almost four billion inhabitants of the earth, you have an eye and a heart for me as though there were none other. It is presently active. And my father, I believe your concern is powerfully disposed to my highest good. Don't drift off to sleep until you can say that with some
measure of faith. And if you've been guilty of that blasphemous, wicked, unbelieving heart that has questioned the father's concern, his desire for your highest interest, confess it as wickedness, as sin, and ask him to cleanse you in the blood of his own dear son, and then tell him, Father, I believe your word is adequate. I do believe your word is clear, and, Lord, I do bow to its authority. Enable yourself.
Help me to serve and to open up that word to us on the morrow. Help me to get a good night of sleep to come refreshed to hear that word. And, Lord, above all else, give me a heart that will bow to the authority of that word. Lord, I'm a clever rationalizer. I know
it, Lord. You know it. I'm so clever that I can take the arrows of conviction, and I can bend them just as they're about to strike my heart so they just completely deflect, and they end up in the wall. Lord, help me to have those hands that take your arrows and push them away, tied behind me in loving submission. Lord, bring your arrows home to
my own bosom. Lord, bring your comforts. Bring the oil of consolation. Lord, speak. I don't
want to leave this weekend until I've had dealings with you. I believe if that's the general tenor of the spiritual climate of these hours as we drift off to sleep tonight, that we have every reason to believe that as the new day dawns upon us in the goodness of God, it can dawn with us having the expectation that God is going to meet with us, because he's promised, open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. They that hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled. And so, as you can see, I've not come just to fill up the time. I believe God wants to meet us. This may be the last time I'll ever preach
to a group of people. I have no promises. Oh, that God would meet us. God would come upon us, open his word, and give us a new sight of his own large fatherly heart to us, his adopted children. So that's all I'm going
to give you tonight, the Father's concern, the Father's word. And may the Lord on that basis then lead us as tomorrow morning we come to grips with singleness in a theological perspective and turn to the Spirit of God. Let's pray the scriptures together. All right, Pastor Barnhart.
All right, Pastor Barnhart.
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Texts Expounded
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This verse is used to demonstrate the Father's perfectly knowledgeable concern for His children, knowing their frame.
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This verse is used to show that the Father's concern is presently active, pitying His children like an earthly father.
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This verse reinforces the idea of God's presently active concern, emphasizing His lovingkindness from everlasting to everlasting.
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This verse is cited to illustrate the Father's powerful disposition to our highest good, not dealing with us according to our sins.
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This is a key passage used to argue that if God gave His greatest gift (His Son) for our greatest need (redemption), He will surely give lesser gifts for lesser needs.