Month: May 2013

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. (Revelation 11:15)

In the book of Romans chapter 13, Paul wrote, “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.” In this verse, Paul is referring to the leaders of civil government. It is the duty of all Christians to obey those that are in power because God has ordained them for our good. There is no person that rules any country unless God permits and ordains him to be there. This is an amazing statement in light of Rome’s government in the first century. At the time of Paul’s writing, Nero was the emperor and his hostility towards Christianity was legendary. Christians were cruelly tortured and killed during his reign and yet there is no mention in scripture that Christians were to rise up to fight against this godless government. How is it possible that Paul should write such an admonition to believers?

We might well ask the same question today as we are very perplexed with the government of our country. Did God put this president in power? It may be hard to swallow, but the answer is “yes.” God providentially ordains governments to His ends. This government could well be the destruction of life in America as we know it, but is this necessarily against the providence of God? Does not God use government also as a means of chastisement? See Romans 13:3-4. The political party that is now in power has made no secret of its hatred of God. While pretending to be still a “Christian” government nearly every evil imaginable has been foisted upon us. In the name of “tolerance” we are commanded to accept murder and perverted lifestyles as the right of individuals. At the same time, true Christianity is proclaimed intolerable and Christians that oppose the evils perpetrated upon us are declared guilty of “hate crimes.” It is shameful that American Christians bear much of the responsibility for the terrible condition of our country. Many have fallen prey to the greed of our wicked society and now vote according to their pocketbooks rather than the principles of God’s word. As we know, the alternative last year was to vote for a Mormon. The leaders of evangelical Christianity like Billy and Franklin Graham were busy about reconciling Mormonism to Christianity! What disgusting choices!

How are real Christians to react to this kind of government? Are we right to obey it? Should we not rather be anarchists? I believe the answer is found in our scripture reading today. Notice the present tense verb in this passage: “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ.” This scripture was written near the midpoint of the Revelation and yet there are eight more chapters to go until Christ returns in power and glory to begin His Kingdom upon the earth. How is it possible that voices in heaven can declare the Kingship of Christ in the present? The secret is the surety of God’s plan. In the Greek language, there is a verb tense that allows a future event to be spoken of as if it has already happened. This is how the Bible writers expressed the absolute certainty of the coming reign of Christ. This means that though we live under a godless physical government for the time being, we are citizens of the perfect government of Jesus Christ. We do not need to concern ourselves with the overthrow of this American government because human government is not our end. We live peaceably now as much as we can while we wait for our true King to come. While we certainly believe in patriotism, our goal is not to make sure America survives, but to pray that it will be utterly conquered and become a kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.

It is often said, “No one knows the future.” I beg to differ. I know the future of America and of every nation of the world. None of them will continue to exist in their present form. Christ will not “tolerate” them. They are guilty of “hate crimes” against Jesus, and friends, it does not pay to be His enemy. For the time being, just wait; be patient. “…greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ…”(1 Pet. 1:6-7)

Pastor V. Mark Smith

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18)

Today, we are privileged to open our Bibles once again to Matthew’s Gospel to begin a three part message on the Lord’s promise to build His church. Our concentration in the morning message will be the foundation of the church, which we believe to be none other than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. There is much to be considered when the topic turns to the church because most of the New Testament is devoted to the founding, development, and doctrines of it. Unfortunately, we do not have time to consider the topic extensively in these three messages and will discuss mostly the meaning of the verses in Matthew.

I want to take a little space in this article to discuss membership in the church. Is it necessary to be a member of the church? We have many people visit our church and we are thankful for each visitor that comes, but I notice many times visitors will attend for several weeks; they like the church and desire to worship with us, but they never make any move towards church membership. Sometimes there is confusion about the steps necessary to become a member of the Lord’s church.

Let me say first that membership in the church is not automatic. Recently, I asked one of our visiting families if they were members of a church and I was told, “Yes, we are members here.” Well, this was quite a surprise because I do keep up with the membership list of Berean. Membership is more involved than attending church services. There are three major requirements for membership in the church. What do you need to become a member of Berean?

1. Salvation – This is number one on the list. The first prerequisite is personal faith and trust in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. As Baptists, we believe the Bible teaches a regenerate church membership, which means every person must be a born again Christian.

2. Baptism – Every person must be a baptized believer. If you are a believer and you have not been baptized, you must submit to the baptism of this church. All those baptized under the authority of our church are immediately received into membership by virtue of their baptism. Baptism is the first step of obedience for a Christian and should be done as soon as practical after a person has received Christ as Saviour. This is your public identification with Christ. If you have been baptized previously in another church and desire membership, we will accept your previous baptism if it was administered by a church of like faith and order to Berean.

3. Commitment – Church membership is a commitment to work and worship with this body of believers. We should not have to emphasize this point because salvation is the receiving of Christ as Saviour AND Lord. This means in salvation there is an element of voluntary surrender to the mastery of Jesus Christ. Church membership is a commitment to the doctrines taught by the church. It is commitment to support the church with tithes and offerings. It is commitment to pray for other members and the leadership and to interact with them and help them as a part of the same spiritual family.

There is much more to be said on this subject, but if you desire to be a part of the Berean Baptist Church this is a beginner’s guide to help you to take the necessary steps. Church membership is very important and should not be taken lightly. According to scripture, Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it. Every born again believer ought to love it too! Membership in a good Bible believing church is not optional for Christians. It is the command of Christ and is to be obeyed.

We sincerely appreciate your attendance today and we hope Berean Baptist will become your church home. If you desire membership, you may express your desire to the Pastor or any of the helpers in the back of the auditorium after the morning service. We strive to help you accomplish the goal for which we were all created—to glorify our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. “Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” (Ephesians 3:21)

Pastor V. Mark Smith

And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. [10] And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. (Revelation 10:9-10)

I firmly believe there is no greater calling than the one God gives to ministers of His word. It is always a joy and privilege to stand in the pulpit and open the precious word of God to preach the great salvation we have in Jesus Christ. Preachers have an awesome responsibility when handling the word of life because the eternal destiny of the soul depends on the truths that are preached and believed. It scares me to think there are pastors that spend little time studying the word and yet they approach the pulpit with confidence that their personal wisdom is sufficient to feed the flock of God. Some years ago I was in the office of a pastor in a nearby town and as we were discussing the church he suddenly remembered he did not have a sermon for Sunday morning. He opened his desk drawer and pulled out a few pages of notes and said, “This one looks like it will do.” Without any thought, prayer, or preparation, he was ready to stand before his congregation and deliver a sermon. When I think how often this scenario goes on in many churches, I am reminded of John’s experience when the angel told him to take the little book and eat it. John said, “And it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.”

Revelation is rich with symbolism and none is more important than the one we read in this text. The book John was told to eat was the seven sealed scroll which is emblematic of the word of God. When he ate, the scroll was sweet to the taste which symbolizes the wonderful message of salvation contained in its pages. The gospel of Jesus Christ is sweet to the ears of the person plagued by his sins and weighed down by an insufferable burden of guilt. Isaiah wrote, “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!” (Isaiah 52:7). What a joy it is to be a preacher that gives the good news to dying sinners. I would never want to come to the pulpit with no thought over a message that contains as much hope as this!

John tasted the word and it was sweet, but when it reached his stomach he said, “As soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.” This statement tells us the word of God has another side. For those that respond to it in faith, it is sweet. The other side is the effect it has on those that do not believe. For these, the word contains bitter judgment. On one side there is salvation; on the other there is condemnation. On one side there is heaven; on the other side is hell. It is as much the responsibility of the minister to preach the judgment of God as it is to preach the salvation of God. What preacher could approach the pulpit with such an awful message of doom and not be heavily burdened for the seriousness of the warning and the hopelessness of its hearers? Preaching requires much thought and preparation because both sides of the message are too profound to approach lightly.

I feel the sense of this great responsibility so I promise not to come to the pulpit of Berean unprepared and without careful consideration of the duty of ministers. I intend to preach the whole counsel of God’s word. You will receive both sides of the message and I make no apologies for preaching it all. I love to preach the sweetness of salvation but I must also preach the bitterness of condemnation. I only hope and pray you are able to receive the word with joy and know in your heart the salvation found only in Jesus Christ.

Pastor V. Mark Smith