Month: September 2012

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. (3 John v.4)

One of my favorite characteristics of the Apostle John’s writings is the terms of endearment he used towards his children in the faith. John was their spiritual father and much like a physical father loves to see his children happy and prosperous, John loved to see God’s people prospering in all spiritual blessings. A common theme in John’s writings is his emphasis on truth. He is not only concerned that believers know the truth but that truth would always rule their lives.

The feeling John had toward those he ministered to is the same a pastor feels towards those that he shepherds and have been entrusted to his care. John emphasized the keeping of commandments as evidence of true saving faith. As we discussed on many occasions, Jesus said the whole law is comprehended in these two sayings: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” and “thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” A pastor has nothing else to use as a gauge for the spiritual welfare of the people. He must evaluate their service on the basis of its demonstration of walking in the truth of these two statements.

A pastor becomes very concerned when those that claim salvation are consistently urged to walk in the light of truth and yet they choose activities that are harmful to the cause of Christ. It is one thing to live in a grey area without understanding clearly what you are doing wrong, and quite another to know the error and be convicted of it and then choose to disobey anyway. This is not a characteristic of one that truly knows Christ. Even worse is to be told very clearly you are doing something sinful and not be convicted by the Holy Spirit. The scriptures teach that God convicts and chastises His children. Those that sin without chastisement are not children of God (Hebrews 12:5-11).

There was a time when Christians (to their shame) would keep their sins hidden from the church. The sin could continue perhaps for years and no one would find out about it. All of us at some time or another have probably lived in this type of hypocrisy. But “times are a changing!” Now to their greater shame, I am amazed Christians will parade their sins for the whole world to see as their lives are constantly plugged into social media. Nothing is more defiant of truth than to see filthy language and pictures, and sometimes downright meanness posted on interactive media. Purchasing a billboard on highway 101 to advertise sin would be no less defiant than church members that regularly update and timestamp their ungodly vices on Facebook!

Should we wonder why ministry is sometimes so difficult and ineffective? Sin in the camp is a destroyer of God’s work (Joshua 7:7-13). Thank God there is a remedy! Pastors would be stressed to the max and unable to function if we believed we were responsible to change people. This is God’s work and we trust the Holy Spirit to make the word effectual. When the pastor preaches about sin, it is not to hurt anyone. It is to exhort and correct so God’s blessings will be on your life and you will prosper spiritually. The pastor rejoices when his spiritual children walk in truth.

This article has dealt mostly with obedience to “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” In light of the ever present social media, what about the second statement “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself?” Stop for just a moment and evaluate where you stand with God. Who in the church have you “defriended” rather than forgiven? There is much to think about in these two statements of Jesus. Are you walking in the truth? Do you actually want to?

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. (2 John 9)

This evening in our services we begin a new series of messages on evangelism. For the next two months, each message will emphasize some aspect of the gospel including the truth of the message we preach, the necessity of it, the desire to proclaim it, and the church’s role in the propagation of it. Tonight we will briefly speak on each of these issues, but if I were to choose the most important of the different aspects, it has to be the gospel itself. We must have the right gospel or else all the peripherals are useless.

The loss of the true gospel message is the most serious issue of all because without the truth people cannot be saved. John wrote, ”Whosoever…abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God.” Recently one of our members related a conversation with a pastor of a large congregation nearby. A simple question was asked, “Do you believe salvation is by grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone?” The pastor answered affirmatively and enthusiastically. A second question was asked, “Do you believe a Christian can lose his salvation?” It was a great follow-up question because it began to break down this pastor’s understanding of what it means to be saved by grace through faith alone. The pastor replied as if this subject was a secondary issue and that some in the church believed it is possible while others did not. He preferred not to teach either way because it was not really important. This is actually very important because this pastor in effect denied salvation by grace and justification by faith alone. Charles Spurgeon wrote: “That doctrine of the final perseverance of the saints is, I believe, as thoroughly bound up with the standing or falling of the gospel as is the article of justification by faith. Give that up, and I see no gospel left.”

This pastor’s response is not unusual among so-called “evangelistic churches.” They do not abide in the doctrine of Christ and therefore there is no saving gospel in their churches. If there is no gospel, what is their purpose? What does their church actually do? A recent article in Tabletalk magazine summed it up well. The author said:

“Every weekend in churches everywhere, music is performed to the glory of human skill and artistry. Once upon a time, I sat through a little ditty in a church service in which the congregation was led to sing, ‘I can change the world with these two hands,’ and the question struck me like a lightning bolt: ‘Who exactly am I worshipping right now?’”

“Likewise, every weekend men and women file into church buildings in order to exult in the rhetorical skill of their preacher, to admire him and think of their church as his church, not Christ’s church. Many of us file in each week to enjoy the conspicuous spiritual exercises of our brethren. We worship the worship experience; we tithe with expectation of return from heaven’s slot machine; we dress to impress; and we serve and lead to compensate for the inadequacies in our hearts that only Christ can fill. Every weekend, hundreds of preachers extol a therapeutic gospel from the pages of the same Bible where the real gospel lies.” (Tabletalk, June 2012)

This is the pitfall we seek to avoid in Berean Baptist Church. We will hold steadfastly to the doctrine of Christ that teaches we are enemies of God and our greatest need is to be reconciled to Him. This is accomplished by recognition of our sinful depravity, repentance from our vile wickedness, and faith alone in the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. This is the only gospel that saves!

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. (1 John 5:1)

For those of you that do not keep abreast of news among the various Christian denominations, you may not be aware of the significant occurrence that happened in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) recently. For the first time in its history, the SBC elected a black president. This is very significant because the SBC was formed prior to the Civil War due to a split among Baptists over the issue of slavery. The Southern Baptists were in favor of slavery, which as you might expect turned very quickly from a civil issue into a theological one. Baptists in the North could no longer in good conscience remain in fellowship with those in the South because of their dehumanization of this race of people.

As you are aware, the Southern states held on to their prejudices well past the end of the Civil War and in some areas those prejudices still strongly remain. I grew up in the South and am well acquainted with racially segregated churches. Much of this is due to prejudice, but in some cases it is preferred by both blacks and whites as a matter of ministerial prudence. I do not have space to delve into the reasons here, but suffice it to say sometimes ministers have to deal with issues as they are. The most important issue is the condition of the heart, and until people truly understand how the gospel produces an indissoluble union between all the redeemed in Christ we have to deal with people as they are. It is fruitless to attempt a real reformation of attitudes without the Holy Spirit’s regeneration of the mind.

Our church has serious doctrinal issues with the SBC mainstream. More than fifty years ago my church in Kentucky disassociated with the SBC over theological liberalism which has only grown worse since that time. There is a reform movement in the SBC to bring it back to its original theological base (minus the racial prejudice, of course), which we whole heartedly endorse. I have no idea where the new SBC president stands on doctrinal issues. However, I do know where a man stands on the word of God is far more important than his race.

With these thoughts in mind, we turn to the passage before us. 1 John 5:1 teaches the unity of all believers in Christ. If we love Christ, we will love every person that has become a child of God through faith in Him. I have often spoken of the joy of racial diversity in our church. It is comforting to know that God works in the hearts of people of all races and nationalities. The gospel is the same for all and is not confined to one people group. God respects no person because of race. He only sees two people groups in the world. Either they are believers and are in His kingdom or they are unbelievers and are in the kingdom of Satan. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom while Satan’s kingdom will be destroyed.

One of the most important points made by John in this epistle is this defining characteristic of God’s people: Christians love other Christians. The love of Christ for us produces the love of Christ in us. We love Christ supremely which in turn causes us to love every other person that He loves. Regard for this important principle is the backbone for peace, love, and harmony in the church.

Pastor V. Mark Smith