Avoid the Path to Nowhere

Berean Baptist on August 27, 2017

A few weeks ago in this space, I wrote about spiritual thirst and how important it is to quench this thirst by often visiting God’s word. That article was prompted by my experience in the exercise routine of walking up Taylor Mountain. These walks have been very productive both physically and spiritually as I use the time to think on sermons and pray (yes, you can walk and pray at the same time—no extra coordination required). This past week I developed a sermon outline while walking and had nothing to write on, so I used my iPhone to dictate the points. Passersby must have been a little stunned to hear Exaltation! Encouragement! Equality! as I walked by.

Here is one of the thoughts that came to me on one of the trips last week. At Taylor Mountain, there are well-marked trails that are mapped and traveled by most. I have my own section I walk regularly because I know how long it will take, how difficult it will be, how many miles it covers, and how many calories it will burn. I stick to this section 90% of the time.

I noticed every time on every trip I pass a path off to the right that disappears into the trees. I often wondered where it went but I never took time to explore it. I just kept passing it over and over and kept on walking where I was supposed to. Finally, I decided I had to satisfy my curiosity. I took off down the trail with the lizards and ticks over a creek and up a rocky incline until it leveled off in a clearing. The path was well-worn and then abruptly stopped. There was no trace of it beyond that point.

It turns out the path was well-worn because the many people that traveled that way found out there was no gorgeous view like walking the right path. The path was beaten down because every person made an about face and traveled back the way they came. It occurred to me that the marked trail is the one you are supposed to follow and if you get off it you end up nowhere. This is much like the Christian life. God has the right way for your life marked out clearly in His word. There is a path that wastes no time, produces the right results, and leads straight to the proper destination.

We too easily give into the temptation to that which appears to be a more appealing path and we take a different direction only to find out it leads nowhere. Worse yet, if I had been in a wilderness area, this kind of foray could have led to bewilderment and a nasty fall from a cliff. Fortunately, it is hard to get lost on Taylor Mountain. Not so in life when you leave God’s path. When you are off His trail, there is no guidance. It’s a difficult walk and each step leads you farther and farther away from the one who can help.

The moral of this story is not to yield to the temptation of the new and exciting. The old path is good so don’t pick a new church, don’t pursue a new doctrine, don’t take a new job, don’t get with a new crowd unless you have evaluated each step to see if it is the right way. The reality is that you might be on the wrong path right now. You thought it was right but your faith is weak, your growth is stunted, and your contentment is suffering because you have been going the wrong way far too long.

The goal of Berean is to lead you in God’s path. We stay in God’s word to point you to the spiritual markers that give assurance of the right way. We promise every step will be backed by the scriptures—and with them, you will always end in the beautiful somewhere of God’s glory.

 

Pastor V. Mark Smith

The Word of God or Spirit of God?

Berean Baptist on August 21, 2017

 

In our Fundamentals of the Faith class, we studied the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer. One of the very important topics of the Spirit’s work is His filling. We learned that being filled with the Spirit is the same in meaning as being filled with the word of God. In relation to this, I read a great article by J.D. Greear in TableTalk magazine that I thought was well worth repeating here.

Greear wrote: “When it comes to the Holy Spirit, Christians tend to gravitate toward one of two extremes. Some pursue experience in the Spirit apart from the inscripturated Word of God. They listen for voices in their hearts or seek ‘signs’ from God in the heavens. Others, however, seek to know and obey the Word without any tangible interaction with the Spirit. These Christians believe the Spirit, but they relate to Him the way I relate to my pituitary gland: I’m really grateful it’s in there; I know it’s essential for something. I would never want to lose it…but I don’t really interact with it. For these Christians, the Holy Spirit is not a moving dynamic person. He’s more of a theory.

“The problem with both sides is the assumption that we have to choose between the Word and the Spirit. But Scripture indicates that the two work inseparably. The vibrant Christian life is a union of clarity in the Word and openness to the Spirit. If we seek the Spirit of God apart from the Word of God, our faith will end in shipwreck. More havoc has been wreaked in the church following the words the Spirit of God just said to me…than any other phrase. God’s Spirit never acts independently of His Word. Since He inspired it, why would He work apart from it?

“But in the same way, if you seek to obey the Word apart from the power of the Spirit, not only will your spiritual life be lifeless and dull, you’ll also miss out on the help God wants to give you and the most exciting things He has planned for you. You’ll miss out on the dynamism of relationship. I know; I’ve been there.

“If you want to be led by the Spirit of God, then devote yourself to the Word of God. The Spirit’s primary vehicle for moving and speaking in our lives is the scriptures. The Spirit, through His Word, works in us to shape us into the kind of people God wants us to be, we will do the things God wants us to do.

“Almost every time we see the phrase ‘the will of God’ in the Bible, it refers to the shaping of our moral character in response to the gospel. The Spirit conforms us to Christ’s character: ‘For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son’ (Rom. 8:29). ‘Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind’ (12:2). And the Spirit helps us walk the paths of wisdom that the righteous travel (Prov.2:20-22; see 1 Cor. 2:6-16). As we do, we accomplish the will of God.

“You won’t know the Spirit any more than you know the Word. But the Word won’t yield up its treasures until you allow God’s Spirit to apply it directly to you. So, if you want to walk with the Spirit of God, get on your knees and open your Bible.” (Tabletalk, June 6&7, The Word of God or Spirit of God?)

This article perfectly complements our teaching on the relationship between the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. Never expect any movement of the Spirit without the knowledge of the Word and heartfelt obedience to it. Every Christian is indwelled by the Spirit, but not all are adequately filled. Filling is in direct proportion to your surrender of obedience to the Word. Expect us to continue to exposit the Word because we desire the Word of Christ to dwell in you richly (Col. 3:16).

                                                           

 

Pastor V. Mark Smith

God’s Providence in a Child’s Conversion

Berean Baptist on August 13, 2017

John Flavel has long been one of my favorite Puritan authors and his masterpiece on God’s providence is one of the first of his books I read. Providence is a very important concept in scripture as it describes how God works all things after the counsel of will and knows how each detail of His creation works together for the blessings of His children. In other words, providence comprehends more than the predestination of God’s people to salvation. It considers His total control of all His creatures to bring about His sovereign purposes. Among its many properties is the confirmation that all things consist by the power of God and that no creature is self-sustaining.

In chapter 3 of Flavel’s book, he deals with God’s providence in salvation. Flavel seems enraptured as he expounds on the way God orders all the occasions that bring His people to belief in Him. There are no accidents in our conversion. Each step is carefully planned by God. Of all the good God does for us, nothing compares to His meticulous care to bring us to salvation.

The point of this chapter is the gratitude and the testimony of a Christian because of what Christ has done. And yet Flavel points out that all testimonies are not equal. All experiences of conversion are not the same. Every Christian does not tell the same story or give as much detail in relating what happened in their lives at the time God saved them.

This interested me because I have experienced exactly what Flavel describes. I was saved when I was very young. My father was a Baptist preacher and I grew up in a Christian home. The first place I was taken as a child was to church. My name appeared on the cradle roll of South Broadway Baptist Church when I was just a few days old. There has never been I time when I have not been in church, and at the age of seven I trusted Christ as Saviour. Believe me, that was a long time ago.

If you ask me to provide the details of my conversion, to tell you the sermon, the songs, to relate what happened afterwards, to tell you how I felt—I cannot. I do remember the conviction, but that is all. Because I can’t remember the details, does it mean I am not saved? Surprisingly, I have heard preachers say if you don’t know the day, the hour, and the minute you trusted Christ, then you aren’t really saved.

Your experience of coming to Christ may be different. I have heard many testimonies of people who were in deep sin when they were saved. Some were in drugs, alcohol, adultery, pornography—and each has a very clear recollection of the day God brought them out of those horrible lives of sin. And there lies the difference. I was young and had very little life experiences. I needed salvation as much as anyone, but I don’t have that riveting, interesting, enthralling story that causes people to shout, Praise God! I don’t believe anyone ever said ooh and ah at my testimony.

Here is the point. An exciting testimony is no more proof a person is saved than a dull, vague, boring memory of a child who came to know Christ. In fact, you should pray to God every day that your children end up with a boring story of conversion rather than a spectacular turnaround. When a child is saved, it is the most exciting salvation of all.

 

Pastor V. Mark Smith

God Is Grieved with this Generation

Berean Baptist on August 7, 2017

Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways: Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.

(Psalms 95:10-11)

In April when we began our reading of Book IV of the Psalter, I mentioned this portion of the psalms is linked to the book of Numbers with the theme of unrest and wandering. This is especially evident in today’s reading of Psalm 95. This psalm mentions Israel’s temptation in the wilderness and how God was grieved with their unbelief. Israel saw God’s wonderful works numerous times, yet still they hardened their hearts in sin. As punishment, God would not allow them to enter their rest in the Promised Land. The entire generation that left Egypt died in the wilderness without realizing their hope.

Two weeks ago, in preparation for this article, I was reading the results of a Pew Center study that said the numbers of people in America who identify as Christians has reached an all-time low and is still sinking. Most in our church would not find it hard to believe seeing we live in California where real Christians are as scarce as hen’s teeth. Our assumption is there are far more Christians in other places, particularly in the Bible Belt where I was born and raised. However, the phrase “real Christians” is a very limiting term. For many, many years the numbers of “real Christians” even in the Bible Belt has been dismal.

Russell Moore who is president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention noted there was a time that anyone living in the South or Midwest had to at least claim to be Christian to be considered “normal.” Good parents and good neighbors and people you weren’t afraid to have your kids around would always carry the Christian label. Any other claim would push them out of the mainstream of accepted social behavior.

Moore rightly acknowledged that Christianity for maintaining social status is not really Christianity at all. Including those types in the definition of Christian, has caused many mainline denominations to tailor their doctrinal beliefs to the masses. The result of churches making peace with the world is that too soon the church is the world with no discernible difference. These denominations are losing their identity which means the Bible Belt is taking in notches from a size 40 as if it was on a crash diet.

America is certainly in the wilderness of unbelief. We never hear of the revivals that gripped this country like they did in the early days. Poorly guarded theology is a huge reason for this which has given us unconverted “Christians.” These pseudo-Christians eventually lose the need for the label. When we think God did nothing for us, why do we want to have anything to do with Him?

As each year goes by, we wonder if there is anything worth saving in this country. Our brand of democracy has seen its own conversion to one that more seeks a mandate not to worship God rather than for freedom to worship Him. Perhaps God is letting this generation die in the wilderness. Has He sworn they will not enter His rest? If so, real Christianity is not dead. The gates of hell are no stronger than they were. As Moore said, the light of Christ still drives out the darkness of all false gospels.

Remember this—God’s Promised Land is for His people. They are still going, still trudging on with enemies on every side. The worse the foes the greater the grace, and we shall never fail to make it there.

 

Pastor V. Mark Smith