Attitude of Gratitude

Berean Baptist on November 27, 2017

What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD. I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people. (Psalms 116:12-14)

The phrase “attitude of gratitude” is one you will often hear Bro. Gary Moline use in his offertory prayers. The phrase is certainly biblical and a really good time to use it is just before we give our tithes and offerings. This thought is contemplated by the psalmist in Psalm 116 as he asked, “What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me?”

This is a great question since we are too often prone to ask, “What shall I complain to the Lord about all the problems I have?” This seems to be our primary thought when we go to the Lord in prayer. There is always some trouble that fills our mind so that our purpose in praying is only to lift up our complaints. We ignore prayer unless there is a problem just like many people ignore church until they figure things are so bad they had better resort to church attendance as their last best hope. Prayer is often viewed the same way.

In teaching the model prayer, Jesus said God knows every problem before we have a chance to tell Him. We do not bring Him any information He has not already considered. In fact, He brings many of our trials upon us to teach us to trust Him. The model prayer teaches that before making any petitions we should express glory to the name of God. We do this in several ways, among which is thanking Him for being our benefactor in His providential care of our lives. In this way, we acknowledge His sovereign control and remember we cannot exist a minute without Him.

The psalmist goes on to say how he will show his appreciation for the Lord’s benefits. He knew it is impossible to repay the Lord, but the Lord is not really looking for repayment. His benefits are by His free grace bestowed because of love. This is all the more incentive to show our appreciation. How would the psalmist show his gratitude? He began by thinking of the wonderful gift of salvation. It is hard to imagine anyone saved by God’s grace could be forgetful of this, but this is precisely what Peter described in 2 Peter 1:9. He said some have forgotten they were purged from their old sins. Their sins kept them from God’s favor, and yet it is to the old sins they return. The forgiveness of sin brought us into right relationship with God and turned His wrath away from us. Forgiveness removed all legal claims for punishment. How can we not be grateful for His salvation? What shall I render to God? First, my undying thankfulness for the salvation of my soul.

The second action of the psalmist verifies the first. The demonstration of thanksgiving is obedience to His commands. The Jews expressed their gratefulness by taking vows in which they promised certain acts of service. These vows were to be strictly observed. In like manner, we must strictly observe our vows to God. The first vow is the one made in baptism. Baptism is the acknowledgment of our belief in the atoning sacrifice of Christ. It is also a vow that we have died to our old way of life and we will no longer allow the old life to control us. We are risen to walk in the new life of Christ. In other words, in your baptism you promised to obey Christ as the Lord of your life.

There are also times we make vows that are bargaining chips to receive something from God. We do not need to make these vows but nevertheless if we do, we had better be sure to fulfill them. In Old Testament times, it was good to make a vow. It showed willingness to surrender to the Lord in service. The idea of it was good but the idea became very bad if there was no follow through. The scripture says it is better not to make a vow than to make one and not perform it (Ecclesiastes 5:4-5).

The most important point for today is to show gratitude by honoring Christ with faithful service. No one likes ungrateful people, and neither does God. Stop complaining for a while and show an attitude of gratitude. God is pleased when we remember His abundant mercies.

 

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Legalism vs. Discipline

Berean Baptist on November 13, 2017

Recently I read an article that was helpful for those who misunderstand the dichotomy of legalism and discipline for Christians. As you know, I decided long ago as the pastor of Berean not to adhere to a lengthy list of rules that are enforced by the “holier than thou committee.” Many churches use rules to sit in judgment of others’ Christianity. Legalism is a theological issue in these churches and often they do not understand they are legalists.

Strictly speaking, legalism is the belief that salvation is obtained by keeping commandments (rules), or in other words that we are justified by works rather than by faith. This strict definition causes many legalists to say they are not legalists because they would never teach that salvation is by any other means than grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ.

However, a broader definition is needed because legalism also concerns an inordinate preoccupation with the Law. Legalism may be defined as “excessive adherence to law or formula.” This is where many churches fall into legalism. Their issue is not usually justification but sanctification. Unfortunately, these two doctrines are often blended until unbiblically, sanctification becomes justification. These churches become excessive and insistent about rules for the membership to follow. This definition of legalism must be resisted as much as the other.

We have our own problems to deal with in this area, and my purpose is not to throw stones at those we disagree with. Our problem is not legalism—it is lack of discipline. In our efforts to combat legalism, many have fallen away from good Christian discipline. Discipline may be defined as “activity, exercise, or a regimen that develops or improves a skill; training.” As the author of this article said, “The danger of confusing the two [legalism and discipline] is that we can lose the important spiritual disciplines which are crucial to our growth, sanctification, protection, and intimacy with Christ.”

This author did not address personal appearance issues but went on to describe other spiritual disciplines that are not optional if a person wants to grow in his walk with the Lord. These are extremely important, and we discussed those things in our Living for Jesus series. I want to turn our attention instead to the issue of how we appear to others.

How we dress is also a spiritual discipline. The teaching of our testimony before the world in all its facets forms an integral part of New Testament instructions for Christian living. How we appear can cause instant formation of opinions, and whether it is right or wrong to form an opinion of someone merely by the way they dress is immaterial to its being a fact of life we must live with. We have few opportunities to sit down with people to explain what we believe. The limited amount of information someone knows about you—who you are and what you are in their minds—is communicated instantly through your appearance. An unkempt appearance, sloppiness, even the wrong swagger evokes its assessments. A clean-cut conservative appearance does the same. We tend to form good opinions of the latter and poor opinions of the former.

Likewise, assessments of moral values are made by appearance. Provocative clothing does not speak a character of godliness. It characterizes the wearer as conforming to the purpose of modern fashion, which is to entice, exude sexiness, and invite the onlooker’s inspection. We can make all the excuses we want, but we can never escape that exposing the body invites examination of things which should never be seen.

What is my point? Disciplining ourselves in appearance is godly and expected. We cannot justify our resistance to legalism by developing habits that kill our influence for Christ. Think about the testimony of your appearance wherever you are. From what I see inside in our church services, more personal discipline is needed, which no doubt means it is needed much more outside among those who do not know us personally.

Personal appearance is not all there is to godliness, but surely it has its important part to play.

 

Pastor V. Mark Smith

God’s Works Remembered

Berean Baptist on November 6, 2017

He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the LORD is gracious and full of compassion.

(Psalms 111:4)

As I was thinking on the 111th psalm, verse 4 reminded me of a negative application of the same thought in 2 Peter 1:9:  But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. The psalmist said God has made His work to be remembered while Peter said the one who does not care to build on his faith by adding Christian graces will soon forget the mighty works that God has done in his life.

I think it is interesting how many times the Old Testament retells the story of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt. I have commented on this before from other psalms and scripture texts, and here we find it again in more subtle references in the 111th psalm. It seems the crowning achievement of all God’s wonderful works for His people is how God humbled the defiant Egyptian Pharaoh and brought His people out with a mighty strong arm. He brought them through the perils of the wilderness and gave them the land promised to Abraham. This is reflected in verse 6: He hath shewed his people the power of his works, that he may give them the heritage of the heathen. The scriptures continue to remind of this fact so that Israel would never lose the assurance that God was on their side and would always fulfill His promises to them.

The same is true for the Christian today. Our deliverance in the moment of our salvation when God broke through the stronghold sin had on our hearts is a grand touchstone to return to time and time again. God brought us into the marvelous light of the gospel of Christ and became the author of our eternal salvation. Like Israel’s remembrance of deliverance from Egypt, this is our place of remembrance of God’s wonderful works.

There is, however, another similarity between the 111th psalm and the quest for holiness in 2 Peter 1. Israel was taken into captivity because they forgot what God did for them. They were not careful to maintain their obedience which caused them to fall and to experience bitter chastisement. The Christian has the same propensity if he is not careful to maintain his focus on Christ. We will also fail and find ourselves back in the captivity of sin.

This is what Peter warns against in 2 Peter 1:9. The person who forgets that he was purged from his old sins will soon fall into those old sins again. We are doomed to repeat our past mistakes which is the exact problem with Israel. Old sins always yield the same results—it never changes. The loss of assurance is its fruit; when the fruit of the Christian life should be grace, peace, and the contentment of resting in God’s promises.

As I read the psalm and compared it to 2 Peter, I was also reminded how scripture says Old Testament stories were given to warn us not to fall in the same holes as Israel. We must guard ourselves and be diligent to add all spiritual graces. This is the sure method of never failing to remember God’s wonderful works. Look at the world around you and see the immensity of His power. And then, look into your heart once blackened by sin and see it cleansed by the gospel of Christ. Keep looking and you will never forget the joy of being purged from your old sins.

 

Pastor V. Mark Smith