http://www.trinityopcnovato.org Serving Novato, Marin County, California and the World Wide Web. This site provides information about the Christian ministry of Trinity Presbyterian Church, OPC. This site also broadcasts the latest sermons and Sunday schools from Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) in Novato, CA. Our sermons seek to exposit Scripture, preaching Christ and the cross, and understanding the impact and demand of the Word on our lives. Fri, 24 May 2013 00:33:39 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 Copyright © by W. Reid Hankins and Trinity Presbyterian Church, 2011 info@trinityopcnovato.org (Rev. W. Reid Hankins) info@trinityopcnovato.org (Rev. W. Reid Hankins) Religion & Spirituality:Christianity 1440 http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/wp-content/plugins/podpress/images/tpc-vertical144.jpg http://www.trinityopcnovato.org 144 144 http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/?feed=podcast Sermons and Sunday Schools Serving Novato, Marin County, California and the World Wide Web. This feed broadcasts the latest sermons and Sunday schools from Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) in Novato, CA. Our sermons seek to exposit Scripture, preaching Christ and the cross, and understanding the impact and demand of the Word on our lives. Church, Novato, Marin, Hankins, Sermon, Christian, OPC, San Rafael Rev. W. Reid Hankins Rev. W. Reid Hankins info@trinityopcnovato.org no no http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/2013/05/19/kingdom-god-eating-drinking/ http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/2013/05/19/kingdom-god-eating-drinking/#comments Mon, 20 May 2013 00:30:27 +0000 Pastor Reid Hankins http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/?p=2111 http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/2013/05/19/kingdom-god-eating-drinking/feed/ 0 0:33:03 Sermon preached on Romans 14:13-23 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Worship Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 5/19/2013 in Novato, CA. Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div. Romans 14:13-23 5/19/13 “For the Kingdom of God is no[...] Sermon preached on Romans 14:13-23 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Worship Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 5/19/2013 in Novato, CA. Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div. Romans 14:13-23 5/19/13 “For the Kingdom of God is not Eating and Drinking” Last week we talked about the common situation where there is conflict in the church over what were called “doubtful things” in verse 1 of this chapter. We described these doubtful things as not salvation issues. They are non-essentials, things ultimately of moral indifference. In light of verse 17, you could say these are things that the kingdom of God is not really about. And yet for some people these issues were held to be of great importance. Some people believed that such issues were issues of morality. In other words, in these “doubtful things” or “disputed things”, there were different moral convictions in the church. And so we saw Paul identify the two sides as the strong and the weak. The strong did not feel compelled on such doubtful things to constrain their behavior one way or another. The weak did feel compelled to such constraint. Each group had to be careful in how they lived their convictions out. The strong had to make sure they did not despise their weaker brethren. The weak had to make sure they did not judgingly condemn their stronger brethren. The examples listed were of whether Christians should eat meat or not, and whether Christians should observance certain special days or not — likely referring to the various Jewish Old Testament festivals and new moon days. And yet we also mentioned that these were just examples; we can identify today various such “doubtful things” that cause conflict in the church. Today’s passage, and next week’s passage continue to deal with this overall subject. But today’s passage particularly deals with how the strong brother can cause the weaker brother to stumble. The stronger brother can commit sin through an undue exercise of their liberty. Specifically, the stronger brother can do something that is morally legitimate but if they do it in such a way that it causers their weaker brother to stumble into sin, then the stronger brother is guilty too of sinning. Verse 21, tells us not to eat the meat or drink the wine or anything else, if it causes your brother to stumble. This is the sin of an offense given. Now to be fair, this teaching actually speaks to both sides. Sometimes the stronger person can sin by giving an offense — by causing someone to stumble into sin. Other times the weaker person can sin by taking an offense unnecessarily. For example, in Matthew 13:57 it says that the people of Jesus’ home town took offense at Jesus’ teachings. Well, Jesus wasn’t wrong in that case. Such people took offense when they should not have. Our passage from last week really honed in on this challenge to both sides. The strong should not give offense with their Christian liberty. The weak should be careful not to take offense either when no offense is actually given. This passage today, however, hones in on the obligation of the strong to not give offense. That will be our primary study for today. Let’s begin then with our first point in verse 14. Our first point is to observe that Paul says that nothing is unclean of itself. This is a bit of theological truth that the strong got; the weak did not. Paul affirms this. This should encourage the stronger brother that there position is right. As verse 17 says, the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking. In other words, life as a Christian in God’s kingdom is not really about external things like eating and drinking. It’s not really about ceremonial, outward, externals. It’s something far deeper than that. To be fair to the weak, we can understand some of the difficulty here for them, particularly Jewish[...] Romans Rev. W. Reid Hankins no no http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/2013/05/19/heidelberg-catechism-lords-day-43/ http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/2013/05/19/heidelberg-catechism-lords-day-43/#comments Mon, 20 May 2013 00:04:10 +0000 Pastor Reid Hankins http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/?p=2107 http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/2013/05/19/heidelberg-catechism-lords-day-43/feed/ 0 0:42:20 Adult Sunday School class led by Rev. W. Reid Hankins at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 05/19/2013 in Novato, CA. This week we continued a series through the Heidelberg Catechism, studying Lord’s Day 43. Adult Sunday School class led by Rev. W. Reid Hankins at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 05/19/2013 in Novato, CA. This week we continued a series through the Heidelberg Catechism, studying Lord’s Day 43. Rev. W. Reid Hankins no no http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/2013/05/12/god-received/ http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/2013/05/12/god-received/#comments Sun, 12 May 2013 20:50:39 +0000 Pastor Reid Hankins http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/?p=2103 http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/2013/05/12/god-received/feed/ 0 0:39:54 Sermon preached on Romans 14:1-12 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Worship Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 4/21/2013 in Novato, CA. Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div. Romans 14:1-12 5/12/13 “God Has Received Him” Q[...] Sermon preached on Romans 14:1-12 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Worship Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 4/21/2013 in Novato, CA. Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div. Romans 14:1-12 5/12/13 “God Has Received Him” Quarrels and conflicts and cliques in the church. Factions, schisms, and church splits. Unfortunately, these sorts of things are all too common in Christ’s church. How do we handle differences in the church? When is an issue a thing we must fight for, and when is it the wrong hill to die upon? These are questions we are faced whenever we face various conflicts and disagreements in the church. You might have heard the famous saying, “In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity.” That addresses the concern. And that is a powerful saying. But at the same time, we need more than a saying. We need biblical truth, in all its wise detail, to guide us. To inform our thinking. That we would be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Well, this passage informs our thinking on this subject of potential conflict and quarrels in the church. Now, to be fair, even after we study today’s passage, there is still going to be difficulty in living this out. This passage will help us to think about when we need to divide from others, versus when we should accept others even with their differences. But when we go to apply it, the actual practice of these principles can be difficult. It can be difficult to know where to draw the line. And yet it’s even more difficult if we haven’t begun to think biblically about how to approach the differences we’ll have with others in the church. And so let’s dig in by seeing the topic of this passage and giving some definitions. Begin in verse 1. It calls us here to receive one who is weak in the faith. This is verse 1. Receive the one who is weak in the faith. So this passage talks about some people who are “weak” in the faith, and some who are “strong” in the faith. The language of being “strong” is not mentioned yet in the verses we read, though it is clearly implied in contrast. The language of “strong” versus “weak” is mentioned in context, however, in 15:1. This general issue is continued to be addressed throughout this chapter and into the start of chapter 15. So what is this weak faith versus this strong faith? Well, it seems that there are some who in their weaknesses of faith had some convictions about how to live as Christian that were not shared by the so called strong of faith. It’s important to note what kind of convictions these were; this is very important. Verse 1 in our pew bible calls them “doubtful things.” The point in verse 1, by the way, is that we receive the weak, not in order to dispute with them over these doubtful things. In other words, the doubtful things are the points of conflict between the weak and the strong. We’ll talk more about the receiving of the weak in our second point, but first understand that we are talking about these “doubtful things” as the point of conflict. The ESV translates these doubtful things as opinions. The simple point to note then is that these are matters of some dispute. They are dealing with cases of conscience, but as we’ll see that they are ultimately matters of indifference, though not everyone thinks that is the case. Basically, the strong think they are matters of indifference, the weak do not. In some cases, there may be little or no biblical revelation on the disputed subject, and so differing opinions may arise. Or in other cases, it may be that someone’s less mature faith is not fully informed on the full breadth of teaching of Scripture and lacks sufficient growth to know what someone stronger might know — further instruction can remedy that weakness of course. Or, may[...] Romans Rev. W. Reid Hankins no no http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/2013/05/12/heidelberg-catechism-lords-day-42/ http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/2013/05/12/heidelberg-catechism-lords-day-42/#comments Sun, 12 May 2013 20:37:41 +0000 Pastor Reid Hankins http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/?p=2099 http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/2013/05/12/heidelberg-catechism-lords-day-42/feed/ 0 0:39:52 Adult Sunday School class led by Rev. W. Reid Hankins at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 05/12/2013 in Novato, CA. This week we continued a series through the Heidelberg Catechism, studying Lord’s Day 42. Adult Sunday School class led by Rev. W. Reid Hankins at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 05/12/2013 in Novato, CA. This week we continued a series through the Heidelberg Catechism, studying Lord’s Day 42. Rev. W. Reid Hankins no no http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/2013/05/05/rev-keith-knauf/ http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/2013/05/05/rev-keith-knauf/#comments Sun, 05 May 2013 23:09:53 +0000 Pastor Reid Hankins http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/?p=2095 http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/2013/05/05/rev-keith-knauf/feed/ 0 http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/2013/04/21/knowing-time/ http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/2013/04/21/knowing-time/#comments Mon, 22 Apr 2013 04:04:41 +0000 Pastor Reid Hankins http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/?p=2091 http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/2013/04/21/knowing-time/feed/ 0 0:30:45 Sermon preached on Romans 13:11-14 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Worship Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 4/21/2013 in Novato, CA. Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div. Romans 13:11-14 4/21/13 “Knowing the Time” In [...] Sermon preached on Romans 13:11-14 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Worship Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 4/21/2013 in Novato, CA. Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div. Romans 13:11-14 4/21/13 “Knowing the Time” In our message two weeks ago we said it was important to understand the times. That we are living in the last days, but the final day has not yet arrived. We talked about that with regard to the civil government, and understanding how Christ had not yet ushered in his kingdom in glory. We said he would do that when he returns. But since we live in these last days, the church needs to announce this coming of the kingdom and preach the gospel. Well, this passage now explicitly calls us to consider the times. It calls us to live in a certain way because we know the times. The basic point of this passage is simple. We live in the last days. Christ’s return is almost here. Because of this we need all the more to be alert and on the lookout for his return. This means we will all the more look to cast off our old ways of living before becoming a Christian. And instead we look to live for Christ and like Christ, and all the more as we see the Day approaching. This is a summary of this passage. That the nearness of Christ’s return needs to spark spiritual vigilance in our Christian walk. Knowing the times we live in, should cause us to be on guard all the more in terms of how we live as Christians. And so that’s the summary. Let’s dig into the details now. Let’s begin first by considering the times that we live in. Verse 11 says that this is something we as Christians are supposedly well aware of already. Let’s make sure we know then what it assumes we know. Let me read verses 11 and 12 again: And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. The thing it says we are supposed to know is the time. This is referring to the time in human history that we live in. That time is defined here in relationship to another time. To the time of our salvation. This passage is saying that this time of our salvation is nearer to us now that when we first believed. This is basically saying what we see elsewhere in the New Testament — that we are living in the last days. Christ return is coming. Each day it gets closer. Every moment it gets closer. The day of Christ’s return is closer now than when we even started our worship service a few minutes ago. For some, the language of our salvation might seem a bit confusing. It talks about our salvation here as in the future. It has in mind Christ’s return as I mentioned. But you might ask, isn’t the Christian already saved, at the very point of faith? How then can it talk about our salvation as something in the future, and different from our point of initial faith? Well, the answer is simple. When we think of our salvation, there are several aspects of our salvation. Several benefits you might say. Let me mention three. Our justification, our sanctification, and our glorification. All of these are part of our salvation. But they each happen at different points. Our justification is something that happens right when we become a believer. At that point we are set in a right standing with God. This part of our salvation has already occurred then. Our sanctification, on the other hand, is how God is growing us and changing us right here and now. We are growing to cast off our old sinful ways and replace them with new godly ways. This sanctification is God’s work of grace to grow us. This part of our salvation is going on right now. It began when we first believed, and will continue until Christ’s return. The third aspect I menti[...] Romans Rev. W. Reid Hankins no no http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/2013/04/21/heidelberg-catechism-lords-day-41/ http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/2013/04/21/heidelberg-catechism-lords-day-41/#comments Sun, 21 Apr 2013 23:37:43 +0000 Pastor Reid Hankins http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/?p=2088 http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/2013/04/21/heidelberg-catechism-lords-day-41/feed/ 0 0:41:58 Adult Sunday School class led by Rev. W. Reid Hankins at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 04/21/2013 in Novato, CA. This week we continued a series through the Heidelberg Catechism, studying Lord’s Day 41. Adult Sunday School class led by Rev. W. Reid Hankins at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 04/21/2013 in Novato, CA. This week we continued a series through the Heidelberg Catechism, studying Lord’s Day 41. Rev. W. Reid Hankins no no http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/2013/04/14/owe-love/ http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/2013/04/14/owe-love/#comments Sun, 14 Apr 2013 19:26:29 +0000 Pastor Reid Hankins http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/?p=2084 http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/2013/04/14/owe-love/feed/ 0 0:31:33 Sermon preached on Romans 13:8-10 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Worship Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 4/14/2013 in Novato, CA. Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div. Romans 13:8-10 4/14/13 “Owe No One Anything Except to [...] Sermon preached on Romans 13:8-10 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Worship Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 4/14/2013 in Novato, CA. Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div. Romans 13:8-10 4/14/13 “Owe No One Anything Except to Love One Another” Debt. Who really likes debt? Who really like to owe something to someone? All around us, we see talk about getting out of debt. There is a whole business industry around helping people get out of financial debt, for example. Of course, on the other side of that, there is a whole industry on debt collection too. And we hear about this with our government too — how big the national debt is getting and how much that concerns people. Debt can be a burden. It can be enslaving. And it runs the risk of putting us in a place from where we cannot get out. Well, this passage, in some sense talks about debt. To clarify, it’s focus really is not that much on financial debt. There is some small part of this passage for which you could derive a financial application, for sure. But this passage is much more than just about finances. It wants to think about debts we have of all sorts. And it calls us to look to satisfy those debts. It connects this with love. And it connects this with the law. And so our outline for today’s message will be three part. First, we’ll consider the call to not leave our debts outstanding. Second, we’ll think about a debt we can never truly repay: the debt to love others. Third, we reflect on what sense this love is a fulfilling of the law, as described in this passage. And so let’s begin then with verse 8 and consider first this call to not leave our debts outstanding. Verse 8 says at first, “Owe no one anything, except to love another.” We’ll talk about that exception about love in our next point. For now, hone in on the first part. Owe no one anything. This doesn’t seem to say that we ought never go into any kind of debt with someone. In other words, a simple translation might make you think that this is forbidding going into debt at all. It would seem that such an interpretation, however, would not be fitting with the rest of Scripture, let alone the immediate context. For example, there are so many passages in Scripture that talk about the financial transaction of lending and borrowing. None of them forbid you from taking a loan from someone. If incurring a debt to someone, say even financial, was inherently sinful, any of those other passages would have the opportunity to say so. But they don’t. However, there is a proverb that seems to get at the same sense as what is here. Proverbs 37:21 says that, “The wicked borrows and does not repay.” That seems to be the sense here in verse 8. That we ought to leave no debt outstanding. A more literal translation here might be to say: do not keep on owing someone anything. The grammar would support that nuance, and the rest of Scripture would seem to affirm it as well. Now, before I move off that point, don’t take this to mean that Scripture says that debt is a good thing. Just because this passage doesn’t seem to be forbidding borrowing, doesn’t mean that Scripture paints borrowing as a good thing. Taking on a debt may not be a sin, but that doesn’t mean it’s ideal. In fact that proverb I just quoted goes on to make a contrast with the wicked man who does not repay with a different kind of person. You might think it would contrast such a man who does repay. But it doesn’t. The entire verse of Psalm 37:21 says, “The wicked borrows and does not repay, but the righteous shows mercy and gives.” The contrast is more than just between someone who doesn’t repay with someone who does repay a debt. Yes, that would be a contrast. It would be better to be someone who repays a debt versus someone who does not repay. But the even be[...] Romans Rev. W. Reid Hankins no no http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/2013/04/14/heidelberg-catechism-lords-day-40/ http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/2013/04/14/heidelberg-catechism-lords-day-40/#comments Sun, 14 Apr 2013 19:23:06 +0000 Pastor Reid Hankins http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/?p=2081 http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/2013/04/14/heidelberg-catechism-lords-day-40/feed/ 0 0:35:04 Adult Sunday School class led by Rev. W. Reid Hankins at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 04/14/2013 in Novato, CA. This week we continued a series through the Heidelberg Catechism, studying Lord’s Day 40. Adult Sunday School class led by Rev. W. Reid Hankins at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 04/14/2013 in Novato, CA. This week we continued a series through the Heidelberg Catechism, studying Lord’s Day 40. Rev. W. Reid Hankins no no http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/2013/04/07/gods-ministers/ http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/2013/04/07/gods-ministers/#comments Sun, 07 Apr 2013 23:36:29 +0000 Pastor Reid Hankins http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/?p=2076 http://www.trinityopcnovato.org/2013/04/07/gods-ministers/feed/ 0 0:40:51 Sermon preached on Romans 13:1-8 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Worship Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 4/07/2013 in Novato, CA. Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div. Romans 13:1-8 3/24/13 “For They Are God’s Ministe[...] Sermon preached on Romans 13:1-8 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Worship Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 4/07/2013 in Novato, CA. Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div. Romans 13:1-8 3/24/13 “For They Are God’s Ministers” As we continue to think about how a Christian lives in light of the gospel, this passage reminds us of our obligations toward the civil government. Last chapter talked about loving others, including our fellow Christians, strangers, and even enemies. Now, Paul turns to express the way we are to relate to the rulers in human governments. Surely this is something that people who lived in Rome, the political capital of the Roman Empire, would have thought about. And it is surely something we as Christians in the United States tend to think a lot about as well. I think it’s especially pertinent to us for at least two reasons. One, because we see how our government has trended more and more away from its Christian heritage and ethics. The growing atheism and increase of wickedness coming forth from some parts of our government causes our hearts to mourn and desire for change. Two, because our government is one where we all get to participate in at least some degree through voting and making our voice heard in the political process. And so we tend to feel a greater sense of obligation and responsibility to not sit by in connivance, that is in passive cooperation or assent. No, we tend to feel a responsibility to seek righteousness in our government. And so most of us here sense at least some concern about how we as Christians relate to our civil governments. Paul too thinks this is something we need to be concerned about. What we have here then is some biblical teaching on how we are to understand the government, it’s role, and our role within it. And so today we’ll see what this passage says about the nature of civil governments. We will deal first with their institution and authority. Second we’ll deal with their role and purpose. Lastly, we’ll think about our role in relating to these human authorities. So, first, let’s consider the institution of civil governments. What is the basis for their authority. The answer might be surprising to you. God is the basis for their authority! Now to clarify right away: this does not mean that every civil government actually acknowledges this. Nor does it mean that every civil government actually looks to run the government the way described in this passage. The book of Daniel helps us to see this with the story of King Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel chapter 4. There we see that King Nebuchadnezzar was taking pride in his position of authority. He was giving the credit to himself for his high position. And God gave him a dream and ultimately had him go mentally insane for a time until he realized the reality. That God the “Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses” (Daniel 4:25). That was God’s way of telling a pagan king of a pagan kingdom what we find here in Romans 13. That God sets ups earthly rulers and he removes earthly rulers, as he sees fit. That their authority ultimately comes from God. And so this is what we see here. Let’s do a quick survey. Verse 1 says there is no authority except from God and the authorities that do exist are appointed by God. Verse 2 applies that further by saying that if you then resist the government’s authority, you are actually resisting God’s authority. Why? Because God gave that government it’s authority! As a side note, that’s a principle that’s true in general. God has established lots of authorities in this life: parents over their children, a husband over his wife, church elders in the church, etc. Any time we try to subvert that authority we are actually fighting against God. Of course related to this is what to do when that authority is[...] Romans Rev. W. Reid Hankins no no