The Agreement between Law and Grace

Berean Baptist on June 25, 2018

In studying the Ten Commandments, we are presented with a subset of scripture that permeates the whole. The Law is both Old and New Testament and is the basis for all our dealings with God. The preacher wrote in Ecclesiastes, “Let us hear the conclusion of the matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments” (Eccles. 12:13). This Old Testament verse seems to be at odds with what we think we know about the New Testament. We are living in the dispensation of grace and we are accustomed to singing songs like “Free from the law oh happy condition…” How does this agree with the statement that keeping commandments is the whole duty of man? The conflict can only be resolved by recognizing the different spheres of law and grace. They are not opposed to each other. They work seamlessly together to give us the full picture of how God brings us to salvation.

The song says we are free from the law, but this has nothing to do with our obligation to obey it. We are free from its condemnation. We are free from the consequences of its unrelenting justice as it insists that all transgressions against the holy God must be satisfied. This satisfaction is achieved for us by Christ’s perfect obedience which is transferred to us by faith. His goodness becomes ours, and thus we stand perfect before the judgment bar of the law. We are free from condemning justice but never free to disobey the law. As Paul said, “Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?” (Rom. 6:1). In our salvation more than ever, we recognize the whole duty of man is to keep God’s commandments. No one who truly loves God will sidestep any command and regard it as unimportant.

In today’s message, we see the gravity of the law. It was momentous as God was about to give Israel the most important document in history. It was accompanied by His personal presence. It was direct as chapter 20 in Exodus shows and intended to speak to each individual. Earthquakes and thunder and lightning on Mount Sinai showed the power of God and the reverence that must be observed for His holiness. It had not been written yet, but Israel knew “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Heb. 10:31).

We tend to believe that because of God’s grace law is relaxed and therefore we need not fear God any longer. It is okay to speak of God like a tired old grandfather whose sternness has played out over time. He is not really serious when He tells us we must obey. This is a terrible mistake. Grace has not calmed God and taken the bite out of His rebukes. Grace heightens the responsibility of obedience. Without grace, we are ignorant of His ways. Though without excuse for disobedience at any time, surely with right understanding comes more serious responsibility.

This is not an abstract. The person saved by grace recognizes this truth. God put it into his heart in his regeneration. Lack of obedience reveals a lack of saving grace. The person who says, “Free from the law oh happy condition” and by this he means I am free from condemnation therefore I need not be concerned for the way I live—that person has never experienced the saving grace of God.

Make sure you evaluate your understanding of God’s law. Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). This is equivalent to saying, “If you keep my commandments, you prove you have been touched by my grace.” He never meant this as an option—that any can be saved without it. Christ is not just a Saviour who keeps you from the condemnation of the law. He is also the Lord that requires absolute strict obedience. He will not be one without the other.

 

Pastor V. Mark Smith

The Name Matters

Berean Baptist on June 18, 2018

Although the name BAPTIST was not intended for this, each of the letters in Baptist stands for a doctrine that has been a scriptural tenet of our churches since the time Jesus began the church. The consistency of church doctrine through these many centuries is a remarkable testimony to Christ’s promise in Matthew 16:18 that the church would never lose the truth or surrender to the attacks of Satan.

The doctrines represented by the acrostic are not necessarily the core essential beliefs that make a person a Christian, but rather the criteria that makes the Christian a Baptist. They are distinguishing doctrines that separate us from Roman Catholics, most of the Protestants, and all of the cults. We believe each doctrine in the acrostic should be taught and believed by all churches and to whatever degree some or all of them are not taught will determine the seriousness of their error. If these doctrines were held by all churches, there would be no denominationalism. All Christians would be Baptists because they would be in compliance with the doctrines Christ and the apostles gave the first church.

Some might think this is an arrogant statement, but it is only a logical conclusion that any church would want to claim for itself. Shouldn’t any church want to make the claim they are apostolic? What is the point of belonging to a church that makes no claim to hold to all the same doctrines given at the beginning to the church? Clearly there are differences in denominations. We are divided but Christ is not, which means we must determine which church most closely adheres to the New Testament.

There are some doctrines that when changed do not affect the salvation of the soul but do affect the constitution of the church. Enough error in a series of these doctrines would prevent the church from being a true church. This is the point of the acrostic. Can we take each of these doctrines and find a scriptural basis for it?

Some of the doctrines will affect not only church constitution but will indeed affect the soul’s salvation. In some cases, an error on baptism may not be serious enough to affect salvation. For example, a church that practices infant baptism or sprinkling in which they are in error on the mode and the recipient of baptism, has not necessarily committed an error that condemns the soul. It does affect their recognition as a true church because proper baptism is essential for church constitution. If this error is compounded by teaching that baptism is a sacrament whereby saving grace is obtained, it has become a salvation issue. Salvation is affected because the critical method by which we are justified with God is breached. Justification is by grace alone through faith alone. In this is changed, the church fails because salvation cannot be obtained when justification is compromised.

Many times in my sermons I refer to the name Baptist on our sign. Our doctrine is different from Methodists, Presbyterians, Assemblies of God, and others. We believe the doctrinal differences matter. If we didn’t think so, we would identify as a “community” church or simply a “Christian” church. With those names people are left to guess if they have a good starting place to find a true New Testament church. Baptist identifies us historically. Historians agree people who believe like Baptists have been present in every age since the time of Christ. As a seeker, I believe I would have more confidence in the doctrine of a church if I know it has an apostolic claim.

Admittedly, the name on the sign does not guarantee the truth of the doctrine within. However, it is a good place to start. Investigations must be made to prove the doctrines are true. At Berean, we gladly invite this and encourage it—we expect no less. In our case, historicity of doctrine is extremely important. It matters because we want to be known as a true New Testament church.

Start with the name. Is it historical or does the church you are interested in fall into the generic category of startups and may only be a few months or years old? The name could be the first key piece of your investigation. Note this last comment. Baptists were not always known as Baptists. We were identified by our doctrine first and then we were named by our enemies. The name became significant because it identified us with apostolic doctrine. Therefore, the name is important.

 

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Doxology and Benediction

Berean Baptist on June 11, 2018

Psalm 134

Psalm 134 is both a doxology and a benediction concerning the priests and Levites who served the Lord at the temple. The first two verses of the psalm are spoken by the people as encouragement for their intercessory leaders as they labor on the behalf of God’s chosen people. In this psalm, worshipers recognize that God is to be praised for all the gracious benefits He richly bestows. I especially like this part of the psalm because I like the way the people held their leaders to a standard. They desired for the Lord to be magnified and would accept nothing less or expect nothing less from their leaders than uncompromising devotion.

I like this part because there is nothing that warms the heart of a godly pastor than to know the people appreciate the word of God declared plainly, without mixture, without compromise—without restraint even though it can be painfully convicting. Psalm 120-134 are known as Pilgrim Psalms. You will notice as you read through them there is continual recognition of God’s power and His providence. The people recognize where they stand in relation to Him. They are fully dependent which always puts them at God’s mercy where they should be.

I believe these are people that had no problems with instruction on man’s depravity. They had no problems with God’s sovereignty. They were not resistant to teachings that God’s will is not dependent on the whims of fallen, fallible man. A pastor loves to preach when there are no subjects like these that make the church uncomfortable. He does not answer to the people for acceptance of his sermons. His allegiance is to God alone and he fears to leave out anything God says to His people. The priests did not fear to teach the whole counsel of God, for it appears the people demanded it of them.

The last verse of the psalm speaks of the power of God. Why should praises be lifted to the Lord in the sanctuary? It is because He is Lord that made heaven and earth. This is the priests’ benediction upon the people. It is the last words they spoke in this grouping of psalms for pilgrims.

The priests pronounced a blessing on them in the name of the Lord. His omnipotence grants to them all spiritual blessings in Christ. The blessings come from Zion which means they originate where God dwells in His holy temple. Although the church is not Old Testament, I believe an application can be made that all blessings for the world come through the work the Lord does through His church. The church is the authorized place for His work. This work is given to no others for Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it.

The Lord dwells in the church as the temple of His praise. The people themselves are His temple. The Holy Spirit lives in each of us. Corporately we do His work, but individually we are responsible for its holiness so that all work will have God’s approval on it. We are reminded of this holiness in our study of the New Jerusalem, the home of the bride of Christ. The church is His bride, and He intends for it to be spotless, holy, and without blame (Eph. 5:26-27).

These three verses show pastor and people working together with the same sense of duty. This is what church is—a place for the glory of God and for thankfulness and appreciation that the mighty omnipotent God should consider lowly creatures for His service. “What is man, that thou are mindful of him? (Psalm 8:4a).

This benediction and word of thanks comes from the Pastor. Thank you for standing on and appreciating the word of God. Blessings on you from the Lord that made heaven and earth.

 

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Every Day Is for God’s Glory

Berean Baptist on June 4, 2018

In the text of Revelation 21, the glory of God is depicted in the Bible’s consistent manner which is its connection with light. The New Jerusalem is a place of brilliant light because of the unveiled presence of God. That same light would blind us if God were not hidden from us by a spiritual veil.

Glory is an expression of God’s holiness which is essentially the aggregation of all God’s attributes. Everything God is can be summed up with glory which is why we consistently teach that all of creation exists for God’s glory. The creation is an extension of God which helps us understand why God is intent to restore the world to its original perfection.

In this article, I want to speak about how we glorify God. Fundamentally, the method is worship. Since we are created for the glory of God, everything we do must be centered on worship. You may think it is not possible or necessary to worship in everything because only church is the place of worship. However, the scripture says, “whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31). This means your work, your school, your home—wherever you are, is a place of worship.

I think we would all agree that of all places church is not a place for sin. Generally, we treat others better at church. We are friendlier at church. We are less likely to be angry at church, and we act like we care more at church. We pray, we sing, we read the Bible at church; and most of you will be sure to check your bad language at the door. I have pastored for a long time and although I have heard some bad language at times in church, I have yet to hear that anyone sat in the church service watching smutty videos on a smart phone. Why do we think God is only at church? More pointedly, why must worship be confined to church? I would submit if church is the only place you worship, the quality of your worship when you get here is very poor. We never have a pass on the glory of God and thus we do not have one on worship.

The biblical mindset for a Christian is to be alert, to be vigilant, to be holy, and to be ready. A song of praise or an utterance of worship should never be more than an instant thought away. Too often we think of church as the fulfillment of duty. We come to worship and get it over with and to finish our obligation. When the last amen is said at 12:30 on Sunday afternoon, we are through until next week.

This attitude is wonderfully changed when we get to heaven. It is objectionable to some because it seems far too boring to spend eternity in perpetual worship. And yet, heaven is the perfection of what we should be doing already. A perfect mind in heaven is locked on God’s purpose for us. When sin is completely removed, the mind can go nowhere else but to the glory of God. Perhaps this will help you understand that not worshiping at all times is sin. When you pat yourself on the back for the occasional good deed, are you really all that good? When we have done the best we can do, we’ve done nothing more than what we were told to do and what we were created for. There is no special commendation for the occasional good deed. You should always do the right thing.

This week think about worship. You don’t have to break out in song when you punch the time clock. You don’t have to preach a sermon at break. You just need to live in the light of God’s presence. Think on Christ and you will glorify God.