Month: September 2009

I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes…  (Psalm 101:3a)

Over these past few months in our study of the Sermon on the Mount, we have seen Jesus’ remarkable teachings concerning the lives of Kingdom citizens. The gospel is not an addendum to the life of a Christian; it is his life. It is a remake of the very core of our being, and this is why we refer to salvation as the new birth. It changes our relationship to God, our relationship with those around us, and gives a new view of self.

The Sermon on the Mount describes the characteristics of one who has been born of the Spirit of God. It teaches how God’s commandments can be kept not through self righteous efforts but through the power of Christ who lives within. A revealing factor of Jesus’ teachings is that the Ten Commandments were good enough all along to teach us how to love God and love one another. We don’t need a new list of commandments, we don’t need new regulations, and those who seek some new concept in Jesus’ teachings will not find it.

The gospel of Christ does not include with it a code of conduct any different than you will find in the Law given from Mount Sinai. When the gospel reaches the heart and converts the sinner, a forensic declaration takes place immediately. We are cleared from the guilt of our sins and we are justified before God. But this is not the only result. We are also sanctified and set apart to live holy lives.

As members of the Lord’s church, we affirm the sanctification of the believer. We don’t offer new rules to live by, but we expect the gospel will produce lives characteristic of those who are Kingdom citizens. Some of these expectations are expressed in our Church Covenant. I quote from one section of our Covenant which reads: “We also engage to maintain family and secret devotions; to religiously educate our children; to seek the salvation of our kindred and acquaintances; to walk circumspectly in the world; to be just in our dealings, faithful in our engagements, and exemplary in our deportment; to avoid all tattling, backbiting, and excessive anger; and to abstain from the use and sale of intoxicating drink as a beverage and to be zealous in our efforts to advance the kingdom of our Saviour.”

The membership of Berean Baptist has covenanted together to make this our code of conduct. It is nothing more or less than what is expressed in the two divisions of God’s law—love God supremely and our neighbors as ourselves. Do you abide by the covenant? Kingdom citizens will do so gladly!

Pastor V. Mark Smith

…exhort and rebuke with all authority… (Titus 2:15b)

One of the most unpleasant subjects that a pastor has to deal with is the issue of divorce. If I could ignore the subject altogether and go merrily on my way preaching my favorite topics and those alone, surely I would. Some have taken that tack because it is so much easier not to awaken this sleeping giant. Divorce is such a pervasive problem even among Christians that it upsets the congregation when you talk about it.  But preachers are called to expound the whole counsel of God’s word and the truth of scripture is that it meets us right where we live.

The apostle Paul wrote some of the hardest scriptures you can find on deep doctrinal subjects. Even Peter said some of the things Paul wrote were hard to understand, and when you get into topics such as election and predestination, you understand why. We notice, however, that sometimes after speaking of weighty theological concerns, Paul will settle down to what most consider mundane subjects in order to instruct on issues of everyday living. Preachers today are called to balanced ministries where we do not fail to deal with deep doctrinal subjects, but we also do not fail to speak on the issues of everyday life.

This is why we are committed at Berean to preaching the word of God chapter by chapter and verse by verse. We must deal with every subject whether we like to talk about it or not. As you read the word of God, it won’t help you very much if you don’t let it instruct you when you are wrong as much as affirm you when you are right. So, we must speak about divorce and we must let God’s word correct us. If preachers of the past had been as forceful as Jesus on the subject and as faithful to preach it as they should have been, we would not face a divorce statistic among Christians that is no different from the world around us. Further, if churches enforced proper disciplinary measures to retain an unleavened church membership, we would have people that consider much more carefully the moves they make in marriage.

Having said this, divorce is not the end for a Christian. No marriage ends in divorce without a serious sin on the part of one or both marriage partners, but God is a forgiving God. When we admit our sins and confess them, God is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from our unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). The best thing to do when the preacher is following the text of God’s word and he hits you head on with your sin is not to get mad, but to get glad! He may have aroused the sleeping giant, but now you can slay him and be returned to fellowship with God.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Revelation 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

Recently, our country celebrated its two hundred thirty-fourth year of independence. I am sure that everyone in attendance today is proud of our country’s heritage and you are thankful that you have the freedom to come to church and worship the Lord according to your faith and conscience. Religious freedom is one of the hallmarks of our independence.

As we look back on the founding of our country, most are aware that our forefathers were “Christianized,” if not in fact Christian. Among our founders were Deists and Universalists and some were agnostics, none of which are truly Christian, and yet nearly to a man the founders understood the value of the Bible and the importance of moral values. The Ten Commandments were accepted as a moral code and the foundation of all laws especially of our Constitution.

But the question remains, “Are we a Christian nation?” Most Bible believing evangelicals immediately take up arms when anyone suggests otherwise. If you take a closer look at Revelation 11:15, the implication of scripture is that there are no Christian nations. Every nation is against God and is under the domain of Satan who is the god of this present world. The world is waiting for the time when it is redeemed from the curse of sin and then all nations will surrender to the power of Christ whether willingly or reluctantly.

We may like to call ourselves a Christian nation and perhaps we are still “Christianized” like our forefathers, but a visit to the halls of Congress and even to the office of the president himself will reveal that we are nothing like what the Bible terms as Christian. With an agenda that supports nearly everything immoral and indecent, how can anyone say we are Christian?

The United States is fundamentally in its heart like all nations of the world. We have set ourselves against God and His Christ and there is no changing unless the Holy Spirit of God convicts the heart and turns our people to faith in Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world. In the consummation of the ages if this country still exists, it will be forced to bow the knee to Christ. Then and only then will it become a kingdom of our Lord.

Meanwhile, you and I who are born again believers in Christ are already a part of His kingdom. We are in His spiritual kingdom which one day will become a physical kingdom where Christ rules in perfect righteousness. It is our work to call all people to repentance and faith in Christ so that they may become a part of His spiritual kingdom, for this is the only real Christian nation.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
(Romans 8:2)

Years ago in our church in Kentucky we used to sing a hymn that began this way:

“Free from the law, O happy condition, Jesus hath bled, and there is remission;
Cursed by the law and bruised by the fall, Grace hath redeemed us once for all.”

I haven’t sung that song for years, but it comes to mind each time I read Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:17: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.” Is there a contradiction when Paul says we are free from the law and yet Jesus upholds the law? These are not different viewpoints, but complimentary viewpoints.

Christ speaks of the law in terms of its high demands in reflection of God’s righteous character. The law is against sin; whatever is opposite the law represents the commission of sin. John wrote, “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” Since sin is the transgression of law, sin brings the condemnation of God’s justice. There must be a penalty for breaking the law, and that penalty is death. Jesus Christ is God so He can do no less than to keep all of God’s laws perfectly. This He did through His sinless life.

Now we see where Paul’s viewpoint compliments Christ’s statement. Because we cannot keep the law perfectly, we are under God’s righteous condemnation. However, God in His grace has allowed the life and death of Christ to become our righteousness. Through our faith in Christ, His satisfaction of God’s law becomes our satisfaction. His death for our sins makes us free from the law’s exacting demand which is the penalty of death. Christ’s blood paid sin’s penalty. When we trust the sacrifice of Christ for the payment of our sins, Christ transfers His righteousness to us and we stand perfectly justified before God.

The old hymn also says, “Grace hath redeemed us once for all.” Christ’s sacrifice is all that is needed. We are eternally justified by faith so there is no possibility of falling and coming under the condemnation of God again. This is why Paul says we are free from the law of sin and death.

Have you been set free from sin’s penalty? Have you received God’s full and free pardon? You can be free today through faith in the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Then you can sing, “Free from the law, O happy condition!”

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)

Immediately after Jesus spoke the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount, He began to speak about the disciples’ obligation to the world. The Christian life was never intended to be one of isolation and solitude, but it is to be one that is an open book for the world to see. Most of you have heard the saying, “Too heavenly minded to be of any earthly good,” and this is the way some approach Christianity. They think so much about heaven that they forget about their duty to their fellow man. This has led some into monasticism which isolates the Christian from the world.

This is against the teaching of the scriptures because Christians are here to influence the world. We cannot withdraw into a shell and have no contact because in that way we have no influence. But we must also be aware that if our lives are an open book, they mustn’t read like a dirty novel. We must be pure and clean. We must influence in a godly way.

Jesus used two similitudes to express this. In the first, He addressed the passive side of our lives. He said we must be like salt. As salt preserves, so Christians retard corruption by living holy lives. But then He followed with the active side. We must be light. We must shine out, reach out, speak out the gospel and turn hearts to the Lord. The passive side is sometimes called “relationship evangelism” while the active side is termed “confrontational evangelism.” Both are needed if we are to make a difference in our world.

When Jesus was on earth, He said, “I am the light of the world.” He is the one that illuminates the darkness of the soul and turns spiritual blackness into the light of salvation. But He also said in Matthew 5:14, “Ye are the light of the world.” He is the light source and we are light reflectors. Some use the relationship between the sun and the moon as a way to explain this. The moon is not a light source, but it shines because it reflects the sun’s rays.

How well do you reflect the Son of God? Have you pulled a curtain across your life so that no one sees Christ in you? Sin veils the majesty of Christ. Let your light shine through a life of good works. The best you can do for anyone is to give them the light and life of the gospel.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. (Matthew 5:13)

Today in our study of the Sermon on the Mount, we transition from the Beatitudes to the practical application of living in the world as citizens of Christ’s heavenly kingdom. Each of us that have received Christ as Saviour has been translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. A change has taken place in which we have been raised from our spiritual death in the corruption of sin to spiritual life in the holiness and righteousness of Christ.

This change affects our relationship with the world. According to the last beatitude, it invites persecution because there is a vivid contrast between our way of living and the world’s way. Jesus depicts this contrast in Matthew 5:13 through a similitude. He compares Christians to salt. Salt is a savory substance that changes the way food tastes. It improves the taste; it takes what is bland and unsavory and makes it palatable.

Similarly, Christians are to influence the world for good. We can help retard the corruption of the world by seasoning it with righteous living. One more sinner saved is one more sinner that no longer adds to the world’s corruption. At least this is the way it should be. But sadly, there are many Christians that lapse into sin and lose their godly influence. They live like those who are unregenerate and in so doing they lose their savor. They lose the contrast and thereby the gospel is hindered.

If salt is not salty, what good is it? Why use it if it makes no difference? These verses are intended to alert us of the need to maintain a good testimony. We are the only witnesses God has. He has chosen no other means to spread the gospel. If we lose our ability to be effective with it, who will win the lost? If we are not salt, who will be? Examine your life and determine the quality of your influence. Are you making the right kind of difference?

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:10)

In today’s message, we come to the last of Jesus’ eight dynamic statements called “The Beatitudes.” These sayings are the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount and they are descriptions of kingdom citizens. Christ’s kingdom is one of happiness and thus “beatitude” means happiness, for those who possess these qualities have found joy in the salvation of Christ.

No one comes by these qualities naturally. They are begun in the Holy Spirit as He moves upon the heart through the gospel of Christ. In each beatitude, whether poverty of spirit, meekness, mercy, purity of heart—each one requires a special work of God’s Spirit. The last beatitude is perhaps the most difficult because we can never imagine how happiness comes from pain and suffering.

And yet, nothing was modeled more convincingly as a means to happiness than Jesus’ suffering. Hebrews says that Jesus endured the shame of the cross because of the joy that was set before Him. Isaiah wrote, “He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities (Isaiah 53:11).

Christ’s joy was in the redemption of His people. It could not come without the suffering and death of the cross. It is impossible to imagine with an unregenerate heart how this could ever be. However, the apostles who lived it affirmed it. They counted it joy to suffer for Christ (James 1:2). There was pleasure in it (2 Corinthians 12:10). There was rejoicing and glory in it (Acts 5:41, 1 Peter 4:13-16).

This is the product of a heart made new like Christ and a mind renewed in the spirit of holiness. Those who have not been changed will not hold up in times of testing. If faith is not genuine, it will fail. Thus, enduring trials and persecutions is evidence of saving faith. Joy comes when we feel God’s strength surging through our veins.

The tendency of those who are not real in the faith is to shy away from declaring their faith in hostile situations. If you are able to stand strong, if you don’t waver, if you feel God’s power, rejoice! God has just claimed you as one of His own!

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. (Matthew 5:9)

Our study today brings us to the Sermon on the Mount’s seventh beatitude. I have chosen the title “The Pacific Beatitude” for today’s message which may be somewhat confusing to many of you. The word pacific simply means “promoting peace.” It seems somewhat ironic that Ferdinand Magellan the great Portuguese explorer named the largest of the world’s oceans, “The Pacific Ocean,” meaning “the peaceful sea.” The mighty Pacific has claimed the lives of thousands, and many of the early explorers were never able to cross its expanse without losing their lives.

The world today can be compared to the Pacific Ocean because there are days when we can travel to the beaches near here and gaze out over the beautiful, serene, deep blue sea and whisper to each other, “How lovely, and how peaceful.” There is a quiet and a calm that can lull us into thinking that every day will be peaceful and calm. But those who sail the seas know far differently. There is no lasting peace on the sea. A peaceful day can very quickly turn into a raging storm.

Likewise, there is no lasting peace among the people of the earth. Politicians promise they can achieve it. Groups and committees are formed to promote it; nations join together in bodies like the League of Nations or the United Nations; but in the end, every peace that is forged breaks down into hatred and strife. It is simply not in the heart of man to be at peace because in all of us evil lurks. A storm is waiting to break out and given enough time, it always will. We can no more tame the human heart than we can stop the wind from making waves on the sea.

Why then does Jesus say, “Blessed are the peacemakers?” It seems He promises an unachievable blessing. Not really—for the one who is able to calm the seas is the one who can give a new heart. He can change our hearts through the gospel. Real peace will never come with the efforts of any Nobel peace prize winner or any human government. Only Christ can bring lasting peace. So, Jesus says “Blessed are the peacemakers.” These are those who herald the life changing, heart cleansing gospel of Christ. “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!”

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. (Matthew 5:8)

Today as we look into the sixth beatitude, we come to the apex of these eight sayings of Christ. All of these sayings are critical, they go together, and are present in every true believer. This one, however, is the blessing from which all other blessings flow. We cannot possess any of the others inwardly or outwardly without purity of heart.

This beatitude speaks to the change in nature of the believer. We are all born in sin; we have a sinful nature that was passed on to us by our earthly father, Adam. This nature prevents any of the beatitudes from being a natural characteristic of humans. To realize poverty of spirit, to mourn because of it, to be meek and humbled by it, to seek to remedy it by pursuing righteousness, and to demonstrate with mercy that we have been changed from it, requires a new heart, a new nature that comes only from God above.

It is also a pure heart that enables believers to be peacemakers. We do this by giving others the only thing that will bring peace—the gospel of Christ. Strangely enough those with pure hearts are persecuted for it. It is precisely because our hearts are changed and we are different from the world that we are persecuted. Men need peace because their hearts are not pure, but they seek it in all the wrong ways for this very reason—they are not pure in heart. Do you see why this is the cardinal beatitude?

A pure heart is one that is as God, meaning it has been purified by the washing of regeneration by the Word of God. This is a heart that has been given the perfect righteousness of Christ through faith in Him. Essentially, we can say this is the person that has been justified by faith in Christ alone.

“They shall see God.” They see Him now in the Word. They realize His presence by faith, but they shall see Him face to face. As the hymn writer said, “And I shall see Him face to face and tell the story saved by grace!” If you have a pure heart, one cleansed by the blood of Christ, you shall see God!

Pastor V. Mark Smith