Chapter 13: 1-6

“Let brotherly love continue. 2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. 3 Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also. 4 Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. 5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ 6 So we may boldly say: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?'”

Over the past few weeks, we have talked about brotherly love and how important it is to live a moral life before the Lord. We have also looked at the wonder of a godly marriage; God designed marriage to be the backbone, the very foundation of a society. Without strong godly marriage, a society will fall apart, and we see that today. The attacks on marriage, from the welfare system to the homosexual movement and other movements, have chipped away for 50+ years on marriage.

It is important that we be deliberate in our love one to another, to Christian strangers, and to those that are imprisoned and beaten down for the sake of the Gospel. And it is just as important that God’s people have vibrant, loving, passionate marriages that bind us together and thwart the lies of the world outside. Today we will look at another element of good moral living as a child of God.

• Don’t Covet; be content, verse 5

The Tenth Commandment comes to mind. Moses wrote these words back in Exodus a long time ago, and they are just as relevant today.

Exodus 20:17 (KJV) “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbour’s.”

This is not to be confused with admiring someone’s achievements or how God has blessed them. It is not even about ambition; you see someone’s success, and you work hard to achieve that kind of success. No, to covet is to want to take what is there by any means possible. You want their home, their car, his or her assets, and maybe even to take another’s spouse. You have no boundaries, and you do not observe or respect anyone else’s boundaries; you have no regard for one’s properties. There is nothing wrong with being wealthy. If that wealth is gotten in proper business practices or handed down from generation to generation, then there is nothing wrong with wealth.

The Bible and, in fact, history is filled with many very wealthy men, women, and families of God. There are many very godly men and women walking the earth today who are billionaires and millionaires. That wealth is well-gotten and rightfully theirs. They should not feel or be made to feel guilty because they are wealthy, and church folks should not swindle each other out of money because ‘well, they can afford it.’ No, no, no!! Most rich godly people are generous, at least the ones I know and many that I have read after. They tend not to let others know what they are doing when they give monies away.

If you are not wealthy, if you seem to struggle – and there are times when my family and I did struggle – you need to be content with the old car, the older clothes, and the sacrifices that are to be made when one is financially tight. Do not grow envious and jealous of your wealthy brethren. Do not scheme and plot how to get money from them. Seek God, put Him first, and He will supply your needs; no questions asked, God cannot lie.

Matthew 6:31-33, Berean Study Bible “Therefore, do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles strive after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.”

God promises that if you put Him first, He will supply ALL of your needs. Not our wants and not our ambitions, but our needs. There will always be the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots.’ Some will get their money easily, some with hard work, and some just seem to be ‘lucky.’ But you will not be cheated by God. Do not covet your sibling’s stuff.

• God is my Helper, verse 6

Moral living is understanding that we have all we need from God. And that God is our helper. There is no need to live a life of fear. We do. I do. God is for us; God is my friend. He is on my side and our side if we are His children. God cannot be against us. You and I do not have to be constantly trying to win God’s favor. We have it in Jesus.

We are going into some of the most dangerous times to be set upon the Lord’s true churches in a long, long time. We will face hard things, things that will scare us and make us wonder if God is truly for us. He is. Even if we lose everything and suffer, God is for us. He is on our side. We must have this mindset before the trouble comes. We must have this resolved before the suffering and the loss. We must have this secure framework and foundation so that when the hatred comes and the very people who say that they love us turn on us, we will not be broken and dismayed; why? Because we know God is on our side. He is right with us, and He one day will avenge all the pain and suffering of those who defy Him and hurt us.

Proper moral conduct includes loving our siblings in the Lord, serving our siblings in the Lord, and remembering those that suffer for the Lord. We should have vibrant and passion-filled marriages filled with lots of kids. In addition, we should learn to be content and live securely that God is our friend; a true friend who cannot and will not abandon us no matter what the circumstances seem to say.

God bless you,

Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church

How to Connect with Us

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MississaugaMissionaryBaptistChurch
CLICK HERE to join us online via Zoom
Online: https://mmbchurch.ca/
Email: seangooding@mmbchurch.ca

Chapter 13: 1-6

“Let brotherly love continue. ² Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. ³ Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also. ⁴ Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. ⁵ Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ ⁶ So we may boldly say: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?'”

Last week we looked at a part of the moral conduct that Paul lays out for us here in Hebrews. One of the most amazing things that you can glean from this is the absolute transformation of Paul.

When we first meet Paul (then called Saul) in Acts 7, he is presiding over the execution of Stephen, the church’s first martyr. Paul was a Pharisee, one who grew up on strict rituals and the overperformance of the law. So much was their commitment to the ‘Law’ or their version of the ‘Law’ that there was no room for compassion and love. No room for grace and mercy, no room for kindness and perceived weakness. They really had the idea that they were better than everyone else, including Jesus, by the way.

When Paul got saved when he experienced grace and kindness for the first time, it really transformed him. The man who wrote about the grace of God to the ‘chief of sinners’ was truly a transformed man.

As we explore these moral modes of conduct, we see some crazy ideas that are promoted by this former Pharisee; his pharisaical brethren would have been ashamed of how weak and soft he had become. But these perceived weaknesses are the very strengths that help others to see the wonders, the grace, the kindness, and the love of God.

Last week we explored ‘brotherly love.’ This intentional kindness and service to each other that is driven by the love of Christ in us is a far greater testimony than any man-made rule of conduct. And when love is the driving force and the motive of what we do, then adherence to the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes becomes a natural outflow. We are loving, kind, generous, humble, patient, and on and on we can go. But all of these flow from brotherly love.

Today we will look at marriage.

• Marriage is honorable, verse 4

For the last 50 years, the governments of the world have attacked the family. They have encouraged men and women to be sexually active in their youth and then settle down as they get older. Governments have invented new ways to ‘recognize’ marriages as civil unions and partnerships more than true, solely committed marriages where one pledges love and service for life.

For the very first time in the history of the USA, more babies were born out of wedlock than in wedlock than ever before. This is the first time since 1845 when they began keeping records that more than 51% of all babies born were born out of wedlock.

Marriage is honorable. God says that — not me, not a church, not a country. God says it, and all other opinions are no longer valid. Marriage, we are told in Ephesians 5, should mirror how Jesus loves the local church. It should mirror how the local church serves and honors the Lord. Marriage is the pinnacle of human interaction. In it, we see the true understanding of grace and kindness, of eternal and immediate forgiveness; we see the power of sacrificial love, and through godly marriage, we see the expansion of the kingdom through childbirth.

As a Missionary Baptist pastor, you can see the importance of missions. As a church, we have and do support missions in Ukraine, Pakistan, Kenya, in the USA, and we support missions to our prisons here in Ontario, Canada, and on and on we can go. But what we do know for sure about the family is that it is the fastest and surest way of building a church. When godly families have kids, and the men lead those families as the spiritual servants, then we know that 93% of those kids will follow the Lord. Godly marriages are the best and fastest way to build the Lord’s churches. This is why the devil and his minions are so focused on destroying traditional marriage. The Lord’s churches and His people do all in their power to promote and preserve marriage. Get married young, have lots of kids, and lead them to serve the Lord.

• Enjoy Sex in your marriage, verse 4

The ‘bed is undefiled’; this is God telling married people to have fun. Enjoy your sexual life, and have fun doing it. A man and his wife can explore any manner of sex between them without shame and fear. The most important thing is that the sexual experiences are between that man and his wife ONLY. God calls on men to be enraptured with their wives. The following passages are to be taken as plainly as they are read.

Proverbs 5:18-19, (NASB) “Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth. As a loving hind and a graceful doe, let her breasts satisfy you at all times; Be exhilarated always with her love.”

Proverbs 5:15, (NASB), “Drink water from your own cistern and fresh water from your own well.”

The Song of Solomon, we have learned, was only to read as one neared marriage. Many have tried to make it about the church and Jesus, but it is about a man and his wife; it explores their intimate lovemaking and interactions in many scenarios. God allows us to explore and enjoy each other, and no one is allowed to attach any shame or limits on it. A man and his wife are free to explore their sexual needs. Sex is not about making babies; it is, first and foremost, about pleasure and the intimacy that can only be had between a man and his wife.

God designed your sex organs and your brain, and He instilled the desire for sexual intimacy. God wants you to have a wonderful sex life with your spouse. Get married and have fun. God wants you to.

Proverbs 18:22, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favour from the LORD.”

A good, loving, and sexually fulfilling marriage is a part of good moral Christian conduct that bolsters the Kingdom of God.

God bless you,

Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church

How to Connect with Us

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MississaugaMissionaryBaptistChurch
CLICK HERE to join us online via Zoom
Online: https://mmbchurch.ca/
Email: seangooding@mmbchurch.ca; support@mmbchurch.ca