Objections to Sexual Identity, Part 6

Welcome and Review: The Crucial Issue of Sexual Identity

0:03 This adult Sunday school class was held on Sunday morning, October 2, 1988, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey.

0:19 Now, we do extend a very cordial welcome to those who are visiting with us. It's a delight each Lord's Day that I'm privileged to teach this class, to look out and see the faces of visitors. And we want you to know that we do cordially welcome you in Christ's name into this class. And for your sakes in particular, a few moments of review will, I trust, be helpful, so you will not be three-quarters of the way through the class before you catch on to what we are doing.

0:52 We are presently engaged in a series of studies under the general heading of crucial issues facing the people of God. And in the light of the directive of Romans 12, verses 1 and 2, that God's people, from the posture of joyful commitment of themselves to Christ in response to his mercy, are to constantly seek to resist the molding influence of the world, but rather be transformed by the renewing of their minds, it is vital that God's people be aware of those influences that, in a unique way,

1:32 are seeking to press them into a mold other than God's mold and be equipped by the scriptures to resist that influence and rather to be found in the way of the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God. Now, the first area of these crucial issues facing the people of God that we have been addressing for some 18 weeks is the subject of male and female identity. Male identity, roles, and functions. And having established from the word of God those areas in which men and women are equal in their created dignity

2:14 and also equal as creatures morally accountable to God, those areas in which they are equal in redemptive privilege as well as Adamic sinfulness, we have also established from the early chapters of Genesis some of the incentives. We have established some of the incipient indications of distinctiveness between the sexes in terms of male and female roles and relationships. Then, turning to 1 Corinthians 11, and in particular verse 3, we established from the scriptures that there is a divinely instituted hierarchy of male headship and female subordination.

Recap of Objections to Biblical Headship (External and Internal)

2:58 And that hierarchy is defined expression in the Bible. In the home, in the church, and in the external appearance and bearing of men and women. To have your head in the sand and be living in a cave with no literature available, no television, no radio, to be unaware that that biblical position is under tremendous attack in our day, both from without the church and from within the professing Christian church. And so we examined, five of the major arguments that come from without, that is, from the world in the face of this biblical teaching.

3:42 The evolutionary argument, the inferiority argument, the religious suppression argument, the individual freedom and liberty argument, and the pragmatic argument. And then we moved on to examine three of the major arguments that come

3:59 not from without the church, but against the established and seen from the world. The word, the Bible,

The Danger of Ignorance and Twisting Scripture

4:41 clear standing,

6:35 and the scripture. Concerned that you be well grounded in

7:05 antidote section, intelligent even is a more tech.

7:43 I turn to the section of views, and what do I find? Evidence and image bearing.

8:13 The church and home is our left.

12:37 You're going to encounter these matters. And in the light of Peter's century,

13:18 as you submit,

15:55 never seen a detail already.

16:13 It's the board apostolic probe to the people who should have really known this.

22:37 The scriptures, they were the preference of their day, and yet they came up with what seemed to be a hopeless contradiction in conjunction with the doctrine of the resurrection. And our Lord in responding to them said in Matthew 22 29, but Jesus answered in seven to them. You do err not knowing. He said,

23:07 if only you had an acquaintance, but they were not.

23:25 She says,

27:20 our beloved brother, Paul, also according unto him, wrote unto you, as also in all is he fizzling in them of these things, wherein notice,

27:32 not all of adultery cannot cease from sin enticing.

28:25 Here's our word.

28:26 They tried to float for that.

The Absurdity of Reversing Roles and Distorting Sexuality

30:38 Then we serve one another. And if you want to serve me, my wife is and say this without embarrassment today and say, dear, you want to serve me by being the head of this house for a month. Now, what will happen at the church? If the church adopts that for a month, I'm not quite sure because it says as the church is subject.

31:05 And if that bunch of people, including me run the show for a month, we're in bad, bad shape. So honey, the theology we have in the home, please, please, please don't let anybody don't let it leak out for a whole month. I will be subject to you. We'll forget that our relationship is to mirror Christ in the church.

31:24 We'll just forget that and become page happening in our day.

31:56 It takes and insecurity and ambivalence.

32:56 And so we are in a real sense,

32:59 at the mercy of the excellent say in his and so good marriages went on the rocks.

34:18 As people read manuals that turn their bedroom into gymnasiums up until then, they're perfectly satisfied with their sexuality and their sexual relationship as a vital dimension of a whole. But now when the floodlight came on that and people were told, unless you're having this experience and this and this and this, you're missing things. It gave to the whole relationship, but ordained place. Within a multifaceted marital relationship,

34:49 an undue prominence and a distorted prominent in wrecking marriages and bring on the surface. It seems to tea. Yes, on the surface,

The Pharisees' Rejection of Truth and Contempt for the Common People

35:21 it seems to and when the multitudes got all excited about Jesus, it really disturbed them, took them up. And we find in John chapter 7 in verse 49.

36:02 It is verse 45 of John 7. The officers, therefore, came to the chief priest in Pharisees and they said unto them, Why did you? Why did you not bring him? They sent out the officers to arrest Christ.

36:21 Why didn't you bring him? Officers answered. Never man, so spake. We got close enough to hear his words or anything like this before.

36:31 Didn't that have echoes? And they said that they marveled. He's just scribes and the common people heard him. How gladly ever man, so spake.

36:49 Now, verse 47, the Pharisees, therefore, answer them. Any of the experts believed on him or the scriptures. Now, let's ask you something officers. Have any of the rulers believed on him or of the Pharisees?

37:11 But this multitude that know not the law are occurred dummies.

The Berean Example: Examining Scripture for Yourself

37:49 ordination consistent or pointed to it by Pastor so-and-so or Mr.

38:55 So-and-so or Dr. So-and-so who pointed to you to that portion ends up denying. He must have his ability described in Acts 17 and I want us to turn there and then we will have hopefully time for some residual questions because we're going to lay. This matter to rest after today, move on into some more positive instruction time at Thessalonica,

39:39 because after preaching there for couples got hot and it's opposed him. And as so often happen, all went out of town with something a little bit less than a per accolades. It be sent away Paul and Silas by night until we're come.

40:08 Fither went into the synagogue of the Jews examining the scriptures for what happened to Thessalonica.

41:00 He says, they themselves report of us manner of entering in. We how that you turn to God from your idols to would say the upper crust society and the credentials.

41:41 They didn't simply look at him as any old character who was standing up to say, this is what the Bible teaches. They received the word with readiness of mind. Why because he was a well-credited servant of Christ and some have taken this text to say, well, I'm just as competent as anyone else to interpret the Bible. And therefore, they have a cynical attitude and they sit before any well accredited.

42:08 Well, that's wrong. They received the word with readiness of mind.

42:19 Why because they were in the presence of a duly authorized apostle one who has passed the scrutiny of yourself in the way of any regular ministry. And then you can receive the word with readiness of mind,

43:01 but not with a gullibility that takes their word, or interpretation is final without passing through the sieve of your own judgment and own examination of the scriptures. And because the scriptures are and they are their own infallible interpreters,

43:22 no matter what a man's gifts and credentials may be as an ordinary teacher and preacher of the word of God recognized as a pastor teacher in the church of Jesus Christ. No matter. How deep are the bonds of affection and trust and love?

The Elders' Commitment to Expository Preaching and Scriptural Authority

43:53 Never be through the old in the New Testament.

45:03 Why have I been engaged for several years preaching verse by verse through the gospel? Why have other themes been taken up by other men? Pastor Bob here teaching now pivotal sections in Genesis and topical series in which we've been led to consider in recent days under Pastor Nichols ministry, key passages in the word of God dealing with such issues as romantic love and openness and communication, between a husband and wife and Pastor Lamar taking us to that ancient figure some months ago of a lot and the lessons. But why,

45:42 why this diverse exposure to large segments of the values part because scripture is its own infallible interpreter, and we do not want to expose any doctrine or practice that when we come in our consecutive reading in the New Testament up to a given chapter, we say, well, uh, folks, uh, we're just going to skip this chapter and move on to the next and give no explanation because we know if we read that chapter would expose some practice.

46:25 We as your elders stand on the consecutive reading of scripture. We come to something that stands as a corrective to our practice.

Warning Against Guru Worship and Final Exhortation

46:38 One of you, I'm still the word that you're having to take in the warnings about a certain Bible that gets into your home by way of the airwaves.

47:23 You subject yourself to that man's influence long enough, and you won't appreciate the teaching of the word of God here, because he's always got a deeper mean spiritual meaning. That's rubbish. That's why he becomes such a guru. And though God has done much good through that man, and we thank God for the good that's been done.

47:43 There is a horrible thread of the leaven of a cultic attachment to him as a guru. You beware of that. You beware of that in relationship to this elder and any other elder in this place. Don't you ever say, well, Pastor Martin said what he said is not worth a plug nickel.

48:04 If it's in the Bible, you say, Paul says, Peter says, God says. And you believe it because you've seen it with your own eyeballs in the book. And if you hear someday that one of the elders has become an apostate and turned his back on everything he taught you, you continue to believe it because God hasn't changed his word. Well, I said we're going to have time for discussion, but I got to preach it.

48:26 Well, I hope, dear people, that we can lay this to rest. I assure you, at the end, as I did at the beginning, it's not been pleasant for me to wade in this muck, but I love you enough to have waded, so that God willing, none of you will ever drown in it. So we've looked at the objections that come from without and sought to answer them, the objections from within and sought to answer them. God willing, next Lord's Day, we'll come back to the more positive instruction of the word of God in working out in detail some of the dimensions of masculinity and femininity and the biblical responsibilities and roles of men and women and husbands and wives.

49:09 These various areas, to which the scripture addresses it. Well, let's pray and start to write his word upon our. We are thank your holy word. We confess with the psalmist that the law of the Lord is perfect, making wise and Lord, we confess not as we ought to know, but we thank you that your word is a lamp to our feet in the light tour,

49:44 and we're grieved of the horrible glut in the name of expounding the scripture, giving new light from the scripture, nothing more or less than a twist, a rack of human wisdom of the word of God. When it was written this upon this man in Bloomfield, who has given it a favorable review, Lord,

50:22 have this in this day in your.