Month: June 2022

            On many occasions, I have remarked that the Bible’s first readers would not have seen the chapter and verse divisions that we see in our Bibles today. The first manuscripts were scrolls with continuous lines that make the text, thoughts, and ideas run together. The scribes who copied these scrolls and those who read them had to be experts in the word to locate the areas of the manuscript they wanted to read and expound.

            When Jesus stood in the synagogue to read from the scroll of Isaiah, the prophecy He read was well-known and neither had He trouble finding it nor were those who heard unfamiliar. Today, if you see a scroll of Isaiah such as the one in the Dead Sea Scrolls Museum in Israel, you would be amazed at how capable these people needed to be to find anything.

            I point this out because when we read Isaiah 53 and then go into 54, the chapter break makes us think the thoughts are not continuous. In the end of the 53^rd chapter, the death of Christ is the subject, and then immediately chapter 54 begins with singing. The singing is oddly connected with Christ’s death. Why? Because the death of Christ was not His end. The ministry of Christ did not end for His death would bring forth the salvation of many more than He saw come to Him during His life.

            When Christ was crucified, there were few in Israel that believed. Many miracles were done but when Acts 2 begins after the ascension, there were only 120 disciples gathered on the Day of Pentecost. Proof of the resurrection was attested by more than 500 people, but the 120 gathered might indicate that most who saw Christ after His death were scattered with fear the whole experience would yield very little. How wrong they were! The Holy Spirit descended, and Peter preached. Three thousand souls came to Christ in one day. More were added to the church in the following weeks than were added during the three years of Christ’s ministry. Soon, the Jerusalem church was bursting at the seams as thousands more heard the gospel and believed.

            Do you see the connection to the work of Christ on the cross? He was wounded for our transgressions. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him. He was numbered with transgressors and then He died. What did it yield? His death is cause for rejoicing, for out of His death we read in chapter 54, “Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine inhabitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes…” The salvation of millions is the result of the death of the cross. Tent stakes must be pulled up. The fabric must be enlarged; the cords of the tie downs must be lengthened to accommodate the burgeoning numbers of the redeemed under the canopy of God’s tent.

            As you read the Bible, keep it together. The divisions may throw you at times and you won’t catch the continuity intended by the old manuscripts read by the ancients. We need the divisions to find what we want because we are not the Bible students they were. From preacher to the pew, we know less than we should.

            Can we do better? Yes. Personal study and presence at the sermons and Bible studies is needed. The word of God comes alive, if only you know how to read it!

                                                            Pastor V. Mark Smith

by J. C. Ryle

• There is an undeniable zeal in some teachers of error–their “earnestness” makes many people think they must be right.

• There is a great appearance of learning and theological knowledge–many think that such clever and intellectual men must surely be safe to listen to.

• There is a general tendency to completely free and independent thinking today–many like to prove their independence of judgment by believing the newest ideas, which are nothing but novelties.

• There is a wide-spread desire to appear kind, loving, and open-minded–many seem half-ashamed to say that anybody can be wrong or is a false teacher.

• There is always a portion of half-truth taught by modern false teachers–they are always using scriptural words and phrases, but with unscriptural meaning.

• There is a public craving for a more sensational and entertaining worship–people are impatient with the more inward and invisible work of God within the hearts of men.

• There is a superficial readiness all around to believe anyone who talks cleverly, lovingly and earnestly, forgetting that Satan often masquerades himself as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14).

• There is a wide-spread ignorance among professing Christians–every heretic who speaks well is surely believed, and anyone who doubts him is called narrow-minded and unloving.

All these are especially symptoms of our times. I challenge any honest and observant person to deny them. These tend to make the assaults of false doctrine today especially dangerous and make it even more important to say loudly, “Do not be carried away with strange doctrine!”

(This was written before the end of the 19^th century. Satan has not changed his tactics—only the names and numbers of false teachers have changed. They are bigger, bolder, and have easier access to the masses of gullible people. Sadly, those willing to confront them are a dying breed. Let’s stand for truth and call them what they are—heretics and enemies of souls. ~ Pastor V. Mark Smith)

            In one of our studies in our Romans class, we talked about witnessing to people who do not believe the Bible is true and do not accept its authority. It seems like an insurmountable problem since our faith is built on the revelation of God in scripture, and without it, we have no reliable basis for our beliefs. It should be that the one who rejects the Bible is an impossible person to reach with the truth.

            A few days after our class, I saw a short missions’ video about a remote tribe in Papua that had no contact with the outside world. About 15 years ago, a pilot was flying over the remote area where this unknown tribe lived and spotted the thatched roofs of houses of this previously undiscovered people. Once the news of the discovery was out, missionaries made this unknown group a target for the gospel of Christ. These indigenous people welcomed the strangers, but the monumental task was before the missionaries of how to communicate and teach these people who had never heard of the Bible or Christ. They had no alphabet and thus no written language.

            Progress was slow at first as the missionaries began with the basic approach of Paul in Romans 1. All people know there is a Supreme Being and none can deny there must be a Creator God. The missionaries began to tell them of the God who made all things by relating the account of creation from Genesis. As they continued their witnessing and education of these backward people, they listened to the sounds and syllables of their language and began to form an alphabet for a written language. When this was accomplished, they taught them to read their own language by translating the Bible into their native tongue. Now these people were enabled to see for themselves what the Bible says about God and His creation.

            The emphasis of the missionaries was the use of the word of God to reach the hearts of the people. First Peter 1:23 says: “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.” It is always the word of God that is the means by which we are born-again. No one circumvents the necessity of the word in salvation.

            Now these people had the word of God, but this does not mean they would believe the Bible is true. Miraculously through the operation of the Holy Spirit, the Bible does its job of converting the soul and convincing of truth. Once the natives began to read for themselves, the Spirit took over and made the word effectual in their hearts.

            I recite this story because the word works the same way with the hearts of skeptics that you often meet. They do not accept the authority of the Bible and they do not believe it is true. However, when they hear and the Holy Spirit works, there is an irresistible draw to the Father. They are changed from unbelief to belief through the regenerating power of God who enlightens the mind and changes the will.

            The testimony of the natives was unanimous. One said, “I was in darkness until the Holy Spirit showed me the truth.” These were people shackled by fear in their animistic beliefs, but their hearts were set free by reading the word of God. Now they are anxious for the word, and they live in the word, and it is their primary source material for learning to read.

            Never underestimate the power of the word. Often, skeptics believe they are intellectually superior, and we are too often tempted to appeal to the learned through their intellect rather than taking them down to the basic truth—all people are sinners in need of the grace of God. Not one person was saved because they were smart or had good sense. The unbelieving college professor is as ignorant of God as the undiscovered tribes of Papua. The word of God is the only way to reach them. Try it and depend on the Holy Spirit to do His work.

                                                                        Pastor V. Mark Smith

A few weeks before church closures in the pandemic, I read an interesting article. This article was about confession of sin. In 1 John 1:9, John wrote: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” For those of you who still remember our 1 John series a few years ago, we examined this scripture and determined it is a verse for believers not unbelievers.  While the verse is true for unbelievers, John did not intend it for them. The verse is for the church as the epistle of 1 John is for the church. The teaching, then, is that believers need to maintain an attitude of repentance and confession of sin.

            We are to confess, a word that means agreement. We agree with God that His assessment of our sins is correct and immediately upon conviction by the Holy Spirit, we are to agree with God that we have broken His holy law. The question framed in the article was, how do we confess? What actions do we take in confession?

            These are good questions when we consider both private and public sins. The answer is dependent upon which type of sin it is. All sin is first and foremost against God, which means in either case God is our confessor. We go to Him in our prayers and with proper confession we admit our sin and ask for His forgiveness. This confession is not with a prescription or form described in the Bible that tells exactly what to say. I believe the words are directed by the Holy Spirit according to His righteous, holy, gracious influences. Private sins only require private confession. The confession is to God never to a priest or anyone we consider to be a representative of God. Forgiveness is granted by God and no other.

            The public sin, however, is quite different. The modern church has abandoned public confession of public sins. In fact, our churches are far away from discipline for public offenses. Occasionally, it is necessary to dismiss members of our church for non-attendance of our services. This is public sin. It is sin against the congregation. Excisive discipline is a church term and a church action. It is intended for the good of the member and the good of the body. It is never a vindictive action but is intended for the hope of later restoration. It is an action taken to emphasize the seriousness of the sin as it requires severing from the body of Christ.

            How might a person removed for church discipline be restored? Our church requires public confession. The church as well as God is an offended party. Therefore, the church must be included in the confession. Restoration to membership is granted when the person admits the sin to the membership and asks for forgiveness. The church desires this, so forgiveness is forthcoming upon credible repentance.

            I might add if the person wants membership restored but does not want to take this step, he does not understand the serious nature of his sin. If he is truly contrite and loves the Lord’s church, he will understand the church must be satisfied. This is more important than his personal feelings.

            Much more could be said on the subject. I believe John in writing to the church envisioned the scenario of which we speak. It is consistent with church discipline as taught by Jesus in Matthew 18.

            I encourage you to pray for members who have been removed. I am afraid to speculate that some of them may need salvation. John addresses this too: “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.” (1 John 2:19) 

                                                                        Pastor V. Mark Smith