Month: January 2011

In last week’s article, I spoke about the need for Christians to be part of a Bible believing church. In the New Testament, the apostles were busy about the business of winning souls to Christ and then teaching the new disciples to band together in local assemblies. These assemblies are the same as what we call churches. Thomas Paul Simmons wrote in his systematic theology, “When one is saved, the next consideration that should claim his attention is the church. Gratitude to God for salvation should make him as conscientious about church affiliation as about matters pertaining to salvation.” I believe this is an accurate assessment of the value placed upon church membership by the apostles in two ways. As Simmons states, there should be conscientiousness about affiliation. His primary meaning is that each Christian should carefully choose a church that is faithful to New Testament doctrine. To this we would add, a Christian should be conscientious about becoming a church member at all! Neither the apostles nor Simmons would imagine a Christian not being a part of a church.

In the Great Commission, the apostles were told to preach the gospel, to make disciples, to baptize them, and teach them to observe the commandments of Christ. Thus we find another great reason to become a part of the Lord’s church. The church is the place for the teaching of God’s word. Paul explained in Ephesians that God put pastors and teachers in the church for the purpose of building the faith and knowledge of His people. Contrary to the thinking of many, the church is not primarily a place for evangelism. Teaching those that have already received Christ is our primary mandate. Since God has predestined us to be conformed to the image of Christ, He has given His church as a place for us to receive instruction that we might come “unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13).

Additionally, I would like to point out the fellowship of the church. The church is a place for Christians to come together to encourage one another. Hebrews says, “Not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another…” (10:25). Church membership identifies you with other Christians and is acceptance of the responsibilities of your faith. Church membership is commitment to the cause of Christ and accepting the personal responsibility of carrying out the commission that Christ gave to His disciples. The Great Commission was given to the apostles as they comprised the first church. They were commissioned as a church for the perpetual work of evangelism. It is your responsibility as a child of God to assist in carrying out the commission through the work of the church.

These two articles by no means exhaust the doctrine of the church. The New Testament is filled with instructions for the church. Nine of Paul’s epistles were written specifically to local congregations. Three were written for instructions to pastors and deacons and for church order. The Revelation written by John begins with a message for seven local churches. Acts is the history of the growth of the church in the first century. These books along with the gospels and the general epistles are centered on the church. We cannot escape the reality that the local church is the plan and purpose for God’s people today. I encourage you to join a true Bible believing church and serve God faithfully by committing yourself to its ministry. Be very conscientious about your choice of affiliation. Be sure your choice is a church that is committed to sound doctrine. I can think of none better than Berean Baptist Church! Join with us as we minister to this community and send the gospel around the world.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Several years ago before becoming pastor of this church, I was asked by the previous pastor if I could help develop a small pamphlet that would be used in the church welcome packets for the purpose of describing the value of being a member of the Lord’s church. We often get visitors that have no church affiliation or are looking for a new church and they continue to come without ever making a commitment to become a member. I know there are some churches that have no specific membership requirements, and if you show up enough times you are automatically considered a part of the church. Therefore, there is no necessity to make formal application for church membership.

Seeing the problem and desiring to move some of those people towards a commitment, I was asked to write this pamphlet. I got started on it and by the time I was through describing why a Christian needs the fellowship of the church, the pamphlet had grown too lengthy and was probably unserviceable for the welcome packet. As most of you know, I do not have much problem stretching a subject trying to cover every conceivable angle. In a short article like this, I cannot cover every aspect, but I would like to share two important reasons for membership. In the next article, I will continue the discussion with additional reasons.

I would start with Paul’s words in Ephesians 5:25: “…Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it.” This tells us the church is extraordinarily important to the Saviour. While the scriptures never say that our salvation is dependent upon our membership in the church, we cannot miss the significance of this statement. The church means something special to Christ and whatever is special to Him should be very special to His people. Many of the New Testament epistles were written specifically to churches. In fact over 95% of the time the word church is used in the New Testament, it has reference to the local assembly. Christ uses the church to achieve His purpose in the world.

One of the best arguments in favor of membership is the administration of church ordinances. These are baptism and the Lord’s Supper. On the Day of Pentecost, Peter preached a stirring message in the power of the Holy Spirit which resulted in the conversion of three thousand people. These people were immediately baptized and added to the church. From this scripture, Baptists have taught that baptism is our entrance into the visible church. Baptism is committed to the church and is administered under no other authority. It is clear that baptism is expected of every believer. It is not an optional command because it is our public identification with Christ. Since the church is the only authority for baptism and it is the entrance into the church, membership is automatic upon reception of the ordinance.

Likewise, the Lord’s Supper is committed to the church, and we believe the Supper is a special privilege reserved for those who are members of the local church. We certainly could not condone the reception of the Supper by those that have refused the command for baptism and have also disobeyed the apostolic precedent for church membership. This would be in direct conflict with Paul’s command that each participant examine himself so as not to partake unworthily. Paul also stated the church is to observe the Supper until Christ returns (1 Cor. 11:26). A Christian that ignores church membership is missing the great privilege of honoring Christ’s death as a sacrifice for our sins.

If you are a Christian and you are faithfully attending church, please carefully consider your obedience to Christ in the area of commitment to a good Bible believing church. Christ loves the church and so should you!

Pastor V. Mark Smith

This month in our Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night services we have reached a convergence of themes concerning the Second Coming of Christ. As you know, our method of study at Berean is to take books of the Bible and go through them systematically chapter by chapter taking the time to carefully exposit their teachings. We are studying Matthew, Revelation, and 1 John in these services which all have portions that deal with this major topic of Christ’s return.

In Mathew’s gospel, we are studying miracles of Christ that occurred soon after His teachings in the Sermon on the Mount. The miracles are a prelude to life in the millennial kingdom where there will be no sickness, there will be great prosperity, and Christ will rule in righteousness. This is the big picture theme of Matthew as He presents Christ as King who will one day reestablish the throne of David. This could be missed if we picked bits and pieces of Matthew to study instead of looking at the book comprehensively.

I suppose it would be very difficult to miss the Second Coming in Revelation. After all, the entire book is called the Revelation of Jesus Christ because it unfolds God’s plan of earth’s redemption culminating in the day that heaven will open and Christ will come with His army of angels and redeemed men to conquer the world and realign all of creation with His righteous purpose. There is no subtlety in the theme of Revelation, and most people are interested in this book precisely because it speaks of the coming of Christ.

In 1 John, the Second Coming is spoken of in a little different light. It is John’s purpose to identify true Christianity. In doing so, he exposes false professors as those who do not live in holiness based upon the hope of Christ’s return. His argument is that if we truly believe that Christ will appear it should produce a holy lifestyle so that we are not ashamed at His appearing (1 John 2:28, 3:2-3).

It is appropriate that we should reach this convergence of scripture at a time when some people are convinced that Christ will return this year on May 21st. The date setters are at it again convinced they have superior insight into scripture and have calculated with their intricate formulas the exact date that Christ will return. Although I do not think it is possible to pinpoint the date in any way, I do secretly hope they are right. Does this mean I will pack my bags, empty my bank accounts, and call a meeting on the night of May 20th in order that our church may gloriously vanish from the same spot? No, because this is not what the Bible means when it speaks of being prepared for Christ’s return. Our preparation is not to search the Bible for clues and then to stare longingly towards the sky to see heaven pealed back and Christ appear. Our preparation is a daily, steady, consistent walk with Christ. We prepare ourselves by being steadfast in the faith, holy, unmoveable, unblameable, and unreproveable in His sight. If you live this way, you are always ready whether Christ comes tomorrow, next year, in ten years, or perhaps not even in your lifetime. Living in the light of Christ’s return has nothing to do with the actual date. It has everything to do with the sure hope that He will fulfill His promise of creating a new heaven and a new earth no matter when that day will come. If you abide in Him, you will be a part of it. This is the blessed hope of every true believer in Christ.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

In the year 1722, America’s greatest theologian, Jonathan Edwards, sat down to make a list of resolutions. Rather than concentrate on only a few goals he wished to achieve as we would when making our most important New Year’s resolutions, Edwards made a list of seventy items which he promised to read at least once each week. By doing this, he would not easily forget as we do but would be reminded each and every week to strive for these goals.

Edwards’ resolutions contained some of the same things we attempt such as not eating too much or drinking too much. He also included such standards as never speaking evil of others but to be humble and consider his own faults. His opening statement read thusly: “Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God’s help, I do humbly entreat him by his grace to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ’s sake.” With such sensitivity to God’s work in his life, his first resolution does not come as a surprise. He wrote, “Resolved, that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God’s glory, and my own good, profit and pleasure, in the whole of my duration, without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriads of ages hence. Resolved to do whatever I think to be my duty and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general. Resolved to do this, whatever difficulties I meet with, how many and how great soever.”

His twenty-eighth resolution is one of my favorites. He wrote: “Resolved, to study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly and frequently, as that I may find, and plainly perceive myself to grow in the knowledge of the same.” If I were to put my finger on the one resolution that guaranteed the success of the other sixty-nine, this would be it. No one grows in scripture without application of it. The sacred scripture is the place to find God’s activities manifested in the life of Christ. If our lives are to be of the highest order, they must be conformed to His activities. What resolution is of any value if it is not one that would be kept by Christ?

This is why we plow the Bible at Berean Baptist Church. Solomon wrote in the Proverbs: “My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee” (Prov. 3:1-2). Many promises such as this that associate success with the knowledge of scripture are found in the Bible. One of the most important is David’s statement, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psalm 119:11). Sin is the crucial sticking point between us and God. If knowledge of the Word of God prevents sin, shouldn’t we resolve to study the scriptures steadily, constantly, and frequently?

This year you may not list seventy resolutions that you promise to read every week, but you should realize as Jonathan Edwards did that you must humbly entreat God for His help each day. Nothing you will do in any week this year will be as personally gratifying and enriching as spending time in God’s word. If you are faithful to it, all Christ-like activities will flow out of the knowledge you gain. This is your guarantee of success.

Pastor V. Mark Smith