The Spirit Speaks to Seven Churches

Berean Baptist on February 25, 2019

The Spirit Speaks to Seven Churches

In the second and third chapters of Revelation, the Lord communicated timeless information to seven first century churches existent in Asia Minor. These seven churches represent the spiritual condition of all churches in every age since the founding of the church by its Lord and Master, Jesus Christ.

The letters are different for each church because churches then and now are different in their spirituality and the holiness of their consecration. Each letter is an assessment of their spirituality. Some required harsh rebuke with the threat of separation from the Lord, while others had correctable issues requiring repentance and rededication to Him and His work. Two churches required no rebuke and stand as models for the church ours aspires to be.

Many understand these seven churches in a different analysis. They see them representing stages of history, and the church fluctuating between the extremes of pious fidelity and rank apostasy. The final apostasy sets the time for the Lord’s return to the earth to take His church out of the world. This is the church that ebbs and flows with the times—a nameless, faceless, unchurchbecause it is an unbody, one that has never met nor can meet. This is the infamous invisible church universal.

On the contrary, the Lord wrote to seven specific congregations is seven specific cities with seven specific pastors. These are local churches each distinct from the other and each experiencing their own problems, and given solutions to those problems. It is best we remain with the intent of the passage. It is consistent with the rest of the New Testament in which we see churches organized at specific locations, some having New Testament epistles written for their doctrinal and practical correction, and encouraged to remain faithful.

For this reason, I believe the seven churches represent churches as they exist in every time. In other words, one church does not represent a period of centuries followed by another church representing a different period of history. Instead, we find these seven types of churches existing together in the same times cutting across the full gambit of faithfulness to apostasy. Some are true churches, but existing on the edge of apostasy ready to lose their standing with the Lord, while others are church bodies for discerning Christians to find refuge with men and women very near to the apostolic model in doctrine and worship.

This concerns me as pastor of this church. The Lord wants me preach doctrines that are centuries old and adhere to the teachings of Christ and the apostles. I often speak of our church as a historical Baptist church. This is what I mean—we are apostolic in doctrine. Our Baptist forefathers taught the same doctrines we preach today.

I am sure of this—there is no era of history since Christ formed the church that is without a true faithful church. Catholicism is not the apostasy of the true church and neither is Protestantism the reform of the apostate church. Christ promised a church that would not surrender to the power of Satan against it. This guarantees a church that never went into apostasy. We were the ones persecuted by the apostate church. Through intense persecution, the church survived owing its protection to the one described in Revelation chapter 1. He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the one who was dead and is alive.

Our view of church history is quite different than most. We are survivors with truth. We need nothing to be restored to us. We live in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ who always walks in the midst of His churches.

                                                                                    Pastor V. Mark Smith

Jesus, the Judge

Berean Baptist on February 18, 2019

Psalm 50

 Before we take our final sanctified position in heaven, Christ’s judgement seat is the place where He will reward His people for their good works. In most churches, this is the only view of Jesus that is explored. Jesus is a loving Saviour, is a kind benefactor, and is the most politically correct person you could ever meet. He never questions a motive nor does He ever rebuke an evil lifestyle. He will advise you to be kind and benevolent, to be peaceful and loving, and to be tolerant of everybody. The strong passages that speak of condemnation in hell and the utter destruction of the wicked are largely ignored.

            I suppose the greatest tragedy in the understanding of Jesus is the separation of Him from the Old Testament scriptures. It is as if the God of the Old Testament is nothing but wrath and hatred while the Jesus of the New came to change the harshness of Israel’s God. This view fails to consider this all-important attribute of God—His immutability. God does not change, and if we understand who Jesus is in the real scriptural view, we will understand the Jehovah of the Old Testament is the Jesus of the New. If God does not change, then whatever God says in the Old Testament is the same as He says in the New Testament. The same actions of the Old Testament are the actions of the New.

            Thus, we come to Psalm 50 which is a representation of God as our judge. In this psalm, we are taught that God judges all. Not only is He the judge, He is also the prosecutor and His prosecution rests its case in the infallibility and absolute righteousness of His law. In this psalm, God accused Israel of false worship in which they disobeyed His statutes, but they brought their offerings as if they could make up for their wickedness by giving God a pacifier. The point the psalmist makes is that God needs nothing from us. Sacrifices are not acceptable payment for a heart that is cold in its obedience. There is also warning against those who pretend to know God and use Him as if He approves while having no relationship with Him.

            The ultimate result of this is divine judgment. Judgment will fall because of the transgression of His holy law. Very simply, God is the judge. This is important to us as we piece together the responsibilities of Jesus revealed in the New Testament. He is nothing different from the God of the Old who will judge according to His righteous standard. We must carefully observe Jesus’ statements in John 5:22 and 5:27: “For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son…And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.” All judgment is committed to the Son who is one with the Father.

When the Old Testament was written, the final judgment was yet future just as it still is today. In other words, final judgment has not yet occurred, so whatever judgment was promised by God in the Old Testament will be fulfilled by Jesus who is appointed by the Father to be the judge. The inescapable conclusion is that Jesus in the New Testament will judge with all the wrathful enforcement promised in the Old. This is the real picture of this aspect of Jesus’ divine work.

This is a very foreboding prospect and should be rightfully considered such. However, there is a more hopeful prospect revealed in both the Old and New Testaments about prosecutorial conduct. The prosecutor who placed the charges against us is the same who is willing to set us free. He does not pardon us because we are not guilty but because He will take our punishment for us.

Do you need to fear Him as your judge? Not unless you are in unbelief. Otherwise you can welcome God’s judgment because you know the perfect righteousness of Christ has covered all your transgressions. What better way to meet the judge than with the perfect righteousness He provided? Consider who Jesus really is. Either fear His judgment or rejoice in it. Which way is He your judge?

                                                            Pastor V. Mark Smith

Terrifying Fear vs. Respectful Fear

Berean Baptist on February 4, 2019


            After our year-long study of the Ten Commandments, many comments were made about the value of the study. Perhaps the best is in this vein— “this has been convicting.” One person told me, and I paraphrase, “I was doing well until the tenth commandment. One through nine, I felt I was okay, but the tenth was very convicting.” I was pleased with this comment because it demonstrated what I tried to prove in the exposition of the last. None of us do very well at all because the tenth exposes the root of all sin—the heart. None of the commandments mention the heart, but the last has everything do with it. Covetousness is not seen. It is the attitude of the heart exposed in the act. It is not the act, but the exposure of evil desire.

            In the final message, the intent was to elicit the same reaction as the Israelites had after hearing God speak in a thunderous voice from the mountain. The sights and sounds were stunning. The voice of God was accompanied by earthquakes and thunder and lightning. Fear was the expected result. Fear of God who judges and will not clear the one who violates His law. God got what He wanted. The people were so afraid they retreated and asked Moses to stand in for them. They asked him to speak with God because they were too terrified to hear His voice.

            God expects the same from us when we approach Him. If we come based on the law, we should be terrified because we are offenders. We will experience His wrath if our violations are still upon us. The happy news of this story is the temperance of wrath because of mediation. In like manner of the mediation of Moses for the people, we have a mediator who will speak to God for us. We need not be terrified if our confidence is in Him. We do not need to fear the judgment of God in the same respect as without Him. Our fear of judgment is turned to the fear of respect, and the awesome wonder of the God who will forgive our horrible transgressions because of the untiring, unfailing work of the mediator.

            The mediator is the Lord Jesus Christ. We dare not approach God to touch His holy mountain without His intercession. If we sidestep, if we slip around, if we circumvent His work, we approach God bare naked with the thoughts and intents of the heart exposed. The scriptures teach God is satisfied for our sins in only one way—it must be the work of Christ for us. When satisfaction is made, the terror of judgment is taken away. Justification by the merits of Christ’s righteousness is the only way God’s wrath is turned from us.

            The Ten Commandments leave no doubt as to our guilt. Perhaps we believe we do well, but we will not reach the last and announce our good spiritual health. The heart, the beginning place of all evil, will catch us. Our transgression of this commandment is enough. One violation is the heart fully exposed before the commission of the act. It is enough to condemn us forever.

            The epilogue of the law is to point us back to the first. The acts of God played out in the laws of chapter 20 must take us back to the prologue of the law in chapter 19. The prologue is grace— “Ye have seen what I did to the Egyptians.” Look back to Calvary to see what God did to sin. You didn’t do it. You could not do it. Only God can. Respond to Him in faith and it is sure you understand the purpose of the law.

                                                                                                Pastor V. Mark Smith