Join the Church with New Testament Doctrine

Berean Baptist on January 28, 2019


Join the Church with New Testament Doctrines

Recently, I wrote a short doctrinal statement of our church based on 2 Timothy 1:9-13.  We are committed to these doctrinal truths as all churches should be. If these doctrines are true, they must be true for all churches, not just ours. Thomas Paul Simmons wrote in his systematic theology, “When one is saved, the next consideration that should claim his attention is the church. Gratitude to God for salvation should make him as conscientious about church affiliation as about matters pertaining to salvation.” I believe this is an accurate assessment of the value placed upon church membership by the apostles in two ways. As Simmons states, we should be conscientious about affiliation. His primary meaning is that each Christian should carefully choose a church that is faithful to New Testament doctrine. To this we would add, a Christian should be conscientious about becoming a church member in the first place! Neither the apostles nor Simmons would imagine a Christian not being a part of a church.

In the Great Commission, the apostles were told to preach the gospel, to make disciples, to baptize them, and teach them to observe the commandments of Christ. Thus, we find another great reason to become a part of the Lord’s church. The church is the place for the teaching of God’s word. Paul explained in Ephesians that God put pastors and teachers in the church for building the faith and knowledge of His people. Contrary to what many think, the church is not primarily a place for evangelism. The church is for believers and teaching them is our primary mandate. Since God predestined us to be conformed to the image of Christ, He gave His church as a place to receive instruction that we might come “unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13).

Additionally, I would mention the fellowship of the church. The church is a place for Christians to meet to encourage one another. Hebrews says, “Not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another…” (10:25). Church membership identifies you with other Christians and is acceptance of the responsibilities of your faith. Membership is commitment to the cause of Christ and the responsibility of the commission Christ gave to His disciples. The Great Commission was given to the apostles as they were the first church. They were commissioned as a church, not as individuals, for the perpetual work of evangelism. It is your responsibility as God’s child to assist in carrying out the commission under the authority of the church.

The New Testament is filled with instructions for the church. Nine of Paul’s epistles were written specifically to local congregations. Three were written for instructions to pastors and deacons and for church order. The Revelation written by John begins with a message to seven local churches. Acts is the history of the organization and growth of the local church in the first century. These books along with the gospels and general epistles are centered on the church. We cannot escape the reality that the local church is the plan and purpose for God’s people today. I encourage you to join a true Bible believing church and serve God faithfully by committing yourself to its ministry. Be conscientious about your choice of affiliation. Be sure your choice is a church that is committed to sound doctrine. I can think of none better than Berean Baptist Church! Join with us as we minister to this community and send the gospel around the world.

                                                                        Pastor V. Mark Smith

The Testimony of Church Truth

Berean Baptist on January 21, 2019

“Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,  (10)  But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:  (11)  Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.  (12)  For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.  (13)  Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 1:9-13) 

 

Often when speaking to visitors in our services and to perspective members, I like to tell them we are historical Baptists. In this day, it is common to find churches that march under no specific banner but are what we sometimes term “generic Christians.” This means they fit in well with just about any group, especially those that have abandoned the teaching of specific Bible doctrines that would define their theological bent.

As historical Baptists, we observe the time-honored confessions of faith that our Baptist forefathers stood for. However, we do not believe creeds and confessions are superior to the Bible, and we observe them only as they agree with true Biblical teachings. Three very important confessions of faith reflect the interpretation of scripture as held by Berean Baptist Church. These are the First London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1644, the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689, and the New Hampshire Confession of Faith of 1833. While we are not in agreement with them every minute detail, these confessions largely represent the teachings of our church.

If I were to pick one portion of scripture that contains many of our specific teachings, I would choose 2 Timothy 1:9-13. Here are found these important truths: (1) Salvation is not by human effort but only through the grace of God bestowed upon depraved, unworthy sinners (v 9). (2) The means of salvation and those who receive it were determined by God before the world began. This determination was not based upon the condition of any foreseen goodness in man including faith in the gospel but was based solely upon the grace of God and the good pleasure of His will (v. 9). (3) Salvation is in Christ and Him alone (v. 10). (4) Those that God has chosen are effectually called by the Holy Spirit in conjunction with the preaching of the gospel (vv. 9-11). (5) All those chosen, effectually called, and justified, are forever preserved in the faith so they can never fall away (v. 12). (6) Believers are not only preserved in the faith, they must also persevere in the faith (v. 13). Their continuance in the faith is evidence of their true conversion.

These beliefs are expressed in the historical Baptist confessions of faith. We affirm these as important truths of scripture, and to deny these is not only denial of these historical statements of faith, but more importantly is denial of the Holy Scriptures. Because of 2 Timothy 1:9-13 and many other confirmations of the same truths spoken elsewhere in the Bible, we cannot be “generic Christians.” Paul, the apostle, encouraged Timothy to hold on to the sound truths he was taught (v. 13). These words are recorded and preserved for us that we might also receive the same encouragement as Timothy.

We make no apologies for believing, preaching, and being identified with the same truths our Baptist forefathers taught. If Christ and the apostles taught these doctrines, we want them to be our doctrines too!

 

Pastor V. Mark Smith

The Testimony of Truth in the Pulpit

Berean Baptist on January 14, 2019

But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. (2 Peter 2:1-2)

The second chapter of 2nd Peter begins with a solemn warning for Christians in every generation. In the first century, the seeds of heresy were already beginning to grow as Satan was busily trying to tear down the work of the gospel and blind people’s eyes to the truth. The apostle Paul speaks of Judaizers in Galatians chapter 1 that taught a false gospel that opposed the teaching of pure grace, and faith alone as the instrumental cause of justification. The apostle John spoke of antichrists that denied the incarnation and the full deity of Jesus Christ. Jude warns about deceivers that sneak into the church bringing heresies that deny the faith that was given through the teachings of Jesus and the apostles. This is a very common theme in the New Testament and one that we should be keenly aware of.

We may be tempted to think that false teachers will boldly announce themselves and it will be very apparent they are not teachers of truth. We might think we can easily identify them and thus protect the church from their harm. The language of scripture gives a very much different picture. False teachers are subtle. Peter says they “privily shall bring in damnable heresies.” This means they come secretly and in disguise. Jude says they creep in unawares. The truth is they may be hard to detect. They tell just enough truth mixed with their lies to be believable and if a Christian is not fully armed against them by having a firm foundation to his faith, he can be led down a path to destruction.

While it is true no born again believer can be destroyed in hell, it is just as true that Satan can ruin a Christian’s influence by undermining his ability to clearly articulate the doctrines of the faith. For this reason, we must be diligent students of God’s word. We must not only be able to state the doctrines of the faith, we must know why they are true. I am afraid this is where most Christians fail. They know enough and believe enough to be saved, but their personal growth is severely stunted because they attend churches that are unconcerned about teaching doctrine, and may not even have the correct doctrine anyway. Also, in the Christian’s personal life, there is very little to no study of the word.

This is the issue for the believer in the pew. How much more is a false teacher a destroyer of souls when he is dealing directly with unbelievers? A false gospel will never save anyone and will ultimately lead the person to the fires of hell. There are many people headed there that are very religious and believe their souls are safe. They are deceived and have stopped looking for truth because they believe they already have it.

With the advent of Christ, the first century began the widespread revelation of the gospel of grace. It was also the beginning of an earnest effort to stop the advancement of the gospel and thus the growth of the church. In the ensuing centuries, the opposition has only grown worse. Today there are hundreds of denominations preaching just about any doctrine you care to hear. We cannot afford to be lazy and complacent and permit false teachers to continue without opposition. If you hear me mention a name or oppose a doctrine of a certain church or pastor, please do not think I do so to try and destroy Christian unity. It is my responsibility to identify the false and to teach what is true. If it takes naming names, so be it. This is part of the hedge of protection you receive by being in a church that is very concerned about doctrinal matters. If you pay attention and attend faithfully, God will protect you from destructive heresies. Try every word that is said by your own diligent study. God expects no less and neither do we.

 

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Humble Pie

Berean Baptist on January 7, 2019

This article is further musings from my article last time, entitled The Ministerial Lie, In the last article, I considered the great travesty of ministerial lies. These are lies preachers tell when trying to make points in their sermons, whether they are made up false illustrations or embellishments to make the preacher appear better, more studious and/or more intelligent than he is. The source of these tactics is prideful arrogance.

Last week, I read a great article on the Judgment Seat of Christ which included the following information about the change of attitude in believers when Christ appears, and we stand before Him. Here are some thoughts from this article that deals with humility in heaven. The arrogant pastor will be changed—that is assuming he makes it there! Enjoy the wisdom of the following excerpt from Sam Storm’s book, One Thing. The italics are in the original.

“Hardly anything will bring you more joy [in heaven] than to see other saints with greater rewards than you, experiencing greater glory than you, given greater authority than you! There will be no jealousy or pride to fuel your unhealthy competitiveness. There will be no greed to energize your race to get more than everyone else. You will then delight only in delighting in the delight of others. Their achievement will be your greatest joy. Their success will be your highest happiness. You will truly rejoice with those who rejoice. Envy comes from lack. But in heaven there is no lack. Whatever you need, you get. Whatever desires may arise, they are satisfied.

“The fact that some are more holy and more happy than others will not diminish the joy of the latter. There will be perfect humility and perfect resignation to God’s will in heaven, hence no resentment or bitterness. Also, those higher in holiness will, precisely because they are holy, be more humble. The essence of holiness is humility! The very vice that might incline them to look condescendingly on those lower than themselves is nowhere present. It is precisely because they are more holy that they are so very humble and thus incapable of arrogance and elitism.

“They will not strut or boast or use their higher degrees of glory to humiliate or harm those lower. Those who know more of God will, because of that knowledge, think more lowly and humbly of themselves. They will be more aware of the grace that accounts for their holiness than those who know and experience less of God, hence, they will be more ready to serve and to yield and to go low and to defer.

“Some people in heaven will be happier than others. But this is no reason for sadness or anger. In fact, it will serve only to make you happier to see that others are more happy than you! Your happiness will increase when you see that the happiness of others has exceeded your own. Why? Because love dominates in heaven and love is rejoicing in the increase of the happiness of others. To love someone is to desire their greatest joy. As their joy increases, so too does yours in them. If their joy did not increase, neither would yours. We struggle with this because now on earth our thoughts and desires and motives are corrupted by sinful self-seeking, competitiveness, envy, jealousy, and resentment” (180-81).

As pastor, I like to apply these words to pastors. I hope Sam Storms is right, otherwise some controlling, arrogant pastors will be miserable watching the saints in higher places than them. Pride goes before destruction. There is no destruction in heaven, but pride here will put you in a lower place up there.

 

Pastor V. Mark Smith