Month: May 2012

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

Today in our congregational reading we begin with the first chapter of 1 John. We recently finished this book in our Wednesday night studies so I know the theme is familiar to many of you. This is truly a remarkable little book in which John helps Christians to find assurance of their faith. In order to have assurance, a Christian most know that he is actually in the faith. John uses this letter to to explain how you may know that you are a Christian. He proceeds along three lines of proof. There is a doctrinal test, a moral test, and a social test. The doctrinal test concerns the proper knowledge of the person of Christ. The moral test is obedience to God’s commandments, and then thirdly the social test is our love for other Christians. A true believer will be right in all three areas.

A true believer will also realize what to do when he feels himself failing in any of these areas. Failure is sin which is a problem we all struggle with every day of our lives. It is impossible for us to stop sinning altogether since the sin nature is not eradicated when we become Christians. We will not be entirely sanctified until we reach the immortal state. We also cannot be content in sin else we are not true believers. The question then becomes, “What do we do when we sin?” 1 John 1:9 has the answer for this. We are to come to the Father with confession and repentance. When we do, we have the promise that He will forgive our sins and will keep us in fellowship with Him by the continual cleansing of Christ’s blood (1:7).

Recognition of sin is a critical factor for our happiness. Our desire is not to sin and the desire is fueled by three important factors. We do not want to sin because it violates our conscience. We do not want to sin because it violates God’s commandments, and we do not want to sin because sin has consequences. Our conscience has been renewed in regeneration so that it has a strong aversion to sin. The Holy Spirit convicts through the conscience so that we cannot be happy living in sin. We also know that God has commanded us not to sin. A real Christian will not be happy if he disobeys His heavenly Father. We also cannot be happy when we sin because the consequence of sin is chastisement. While we are never in danger of eternal punishment, there are temporal corrections that for a time can be very unpleasant. Hebrews says, “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby” (Heb. 12:11). We do not like chastisement but we are eventually made happy by it because it has the effect of bringing us to our knees in confession which in turn brings the cleansing desired in 1 John 1:9.

As we read through 1 John, pay particular attention to how John emphasizes the factors that help develop assurance. A careful reading of the book will cause you to cautiously evaluate your salvation. We are encouraged to do this because confidence in our faith makes for happy Christians!

Pastor V. Mark Smith

To me, the 2nd epistle of Peter is one of the most interesting books in the Bible. I am impressed with the absolute assurance Peter had of his faith in Christ and in God’s plan for the redemption of His people. I am reminded of the conversation Peter had with Jesus after Jesus told him Satan was hot on his trail or as He put it, ”Satan hath desired to sift you as wheat.” Peter told the Lord, “I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.” It was then that Jesus told him in that same night he would deny Him three times.

Peter is the apostle that Jesus prayed for that his faith would not fail, and after that fateful night when Peter did indeed betray the Lord he went out and wept bitterly. I believe it was at this point Peter was strengthened and poised to become a great leader of the faith. Soon he would see the risen Lord and his mission would become crystal clear. We see him in the first chapter of Acts as the “take charge” apostle and then in the second chapter as the fiery preacher that led three thousand souls to the Lord with one sermon.

This book was written shortly before his death and if we could sum up Peter’s desire in the last words that he wrote we can say he wanted to go out with a bang. His confidence in Christ shows up in the first chapter as he describes seeing a glimpse of Christ in His glory on the Mount of Transfiguration. His fiery temper is apparent in the second chapter as he shows no tolerance for false teachers. And then in the third chapter comes the bang. He describes how Jesus Christ will return in power and glory and how in a great deafening noise the heavens and the earth as we know them will be destroyed. All is not lost however, because the promise of God is sure that a new heaven and new earth will appear and the righteousness of God will reign supreme.

Peter wrote this while knowing his death would soon come. Tradition says that he was crucified on a cross upside down. Whether or not this is true, we do know that Jesus said Peter would be carried by others to his death and his hands would be outstretched (John 21:18). Many believe this is an allusion to his death on a cross. It is clear this information did not shake Peter’s confidence. He was ready to die and he left his readers with a command to live in the light of Christ’s return. He wrote: ”Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless” (3:14).

Peter’s courage inspires us to wait for the Lord and to endure patiently any hardships we may face. The world is against us and believes we are utterly foolish to expect Christ’s return. The world is doing now as Peter describes; they mockingly ask “Where is the promise of his coming?” By and by, they shall see. God will end this world with a bang and the end will be the exaltation of His people with Him in glory!

Pastor V. Mark Smith

But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. [2] And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. (2 Peter 2:1-2)

The second chapter of 2nd Peter begins with a solemn warning for Christians in every generation. In the first century, the seeds of heresy were already beginning to grow as Satan was busily trying to tear down the work of the gospel and blind people’s eyes to the truth. The apostle Paul speaks of Judaizers in Galatians chapter 1 that taught a false gospel that opposed the teaching of pure grace and faith alone as the instrumental cause of justification. The apostle John spoke of antichrists that denied the incarnation and the full deity of Jesus Christ. Jude warns about deceivers that sneak into the church bringing heresies that deny the faith that was given through the teachings of Jesus and the apostles. This is a very common theme in the New Testament and one that we should be keenly aware of.

We may be tempted to think that false teachers will boldly announce themselves and it will be very apparent they are not teachers of truth. We might think we can easily identify them and thus protect the church from their harm. The language of scripture gives us a very much different picture. False teachers are subtle in their activity. Peter says they “privily shall bring in damnable heresies.” This means they come secretly and in disguise. Jude says they creep in unawares. The truth is they may be hard to detect. They bring just enough truth with their lies to be believable and if a Christian is not fully armed against them by having a firm foundation to his faith, he can be led down a path to destruction. While it is true that no born again believer can be destroyed in hell, it is just as true that Satan can ruin a Christian’s influence by undermining his ability to clearly articulate the doctrines of the faith. For this reason, we must be diligent students of God’s word. We must not only be able to state the doctrines of the faith, we must know why they are true. I am afraid this is where the vast majority of Christians fail. They know enough and believe enough to be saved but their personal growth is severely stunted because they attend churches that are unconcerned about teaching doctrine, and may not even have the correct doctrine anyway. Also, in the Christian’s personal life, there is very little to no study of the word.

This is the issue for the believer in the pew. How much more is a false teacher a destroyer of souls when he is dealing directly with unbelievers? A false gospel will never save anyone and will ultimately lead the person to the fires of hell. There are many people headed there that are very religious and believe their souls are safe. They have been deceived and have stopped looking for truth because they believe they already have it.

With the advent of Christ, the first century began the widespread revelation of the gospel of grace. It was also the beginning of a great effort to stop the advancement of the gospel and thus the growth of the church. In the ensuing centuries, the opposition has only grown worse. Today there are hundreds of denominations preaching just about any doctrine you care to hear. We cannot afford to be lazy and complacent and permit false teachers to continue without opposition. If you hear me mention a name or oppose a doctrine of a certain church or pastor, please do not think I do so to try and destroy Christian unity. It is my responsibility to identify the false and to teach what is true. If it takes naming names, so be it. This is part of the hedge of protection you receive by being in a church that is very concerned about doctrinal matters. If you pay attention and attend faithfully, God will protect you from destructive heresies. Try every word that is said by your own diligent study. God expects no less and neither do we.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: [13] But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. (1 Peter 4:12-13)

As we have been reading through 1 Peter over the past few weeks, you should have noticed a common theme that underlies almost every section. After the salutation of the letter and the initial giving of thanks, Peter tells his readers to rejoice even though they are in the midst of terrible trials. The theme that underlies this epistle is suffering and affliction for the cause of Christ. This type of suffering is often addressed by the writers of the New Testament because of the terrible persecution inflicted upon them by an empire that was hostile to Christianity. When Jesus called twelve men to be His disciples, He warned them that following Him and witnessing for Him and remaining true to the faith would not be an easy path to follow. Although the gospel of Christ is the only hope for a world awaiting the wrath of God, people reject this message and they often do it with hatred and sometimes even with violence.

The tone of 1 Peter makes it clear that suffering for Christ is not to be unexpected. Peter says, “Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you.” The explanation for these trials comes in 4:13 and is attributed to the sufferings of Christ. To paraphrase Peter, he tells these persecuted Christians, “Don’t be surprised when people hate you and want to kill you. If you desire to follow Christ, you will not receive better treatment than He received.” The reason for this should be easy to discern even if we do not consider the natural negative disposition of men towards the gospel. We can approach the problem from another angle which is simple deductive reasoning in the comparison of our lives to Jesus Christ.

What kind of man was Jesus? He was kind, compassionate, considerate, supremely loving, temperate, patient, self-sacrificing, perfectly righteous, and a dozen other superlatives that could be added. How was Jesus treated? He was abused, accused, told He was from Satan, and run out of town. He was called a glutton and a drunkard; He was accused of sedition and finally cruelly crucified. All of this happened to the perfect God-man, and yet He never struck back at anyone that wanted to harm Him.

Now consider your life. How do you compare to Jesus in any of these areas? I am sure you have some good traits, but each of us even at our best falls far short of Christ’s example. The indignation we feel when treated badly is just one more example of our inability to match His standard. So, how will we be treated being imperfect as opposed to the perfect Son of God? Not for a minute should we expect better treatment.

You may say now, “How depressing! Is it really worth it?” This is when you should remember Peter’s answer to this question. 1 Peter 1:6 says this is a temporary condition. In 4:13, he says Christ will appear in His glory and you will be exalted and honored with Him. The worst trial you face for the cause of Christ will be worth it when you come to the realization of your final salvation. Never fear what anyone can do to you. As Peter says in the last verse of the fourth chapter, you can commit the keeping of your soul to Christ. He is the powerful Creator who speaks the word and vanquishes all enemies!

Pastor V. Mark Smith