The Ultimate Goal

Berean Baptist on March 2, 2020

            Recently, I read an article titled Church Planting Is Not the Ultimate Goal. The title alone set me off before I read what the author had to say. For those of you not acquainted with the lingo, a church plant is not of the variety sitting in a pot on our platform. A church plant means a new church started in a place where there is none or where there is no true church of Jesus Christ.

            According to the article, it is not starting churches that is most important but the making of new disciples. The author wrote, “The Great Commission was not ‘go into the world and plant churches.’ Jesus said go and make disciples.” This is one of the most shortsighted misinterpretations of the Great Commission I have heard.  Can you imagine the apostle Paul would have returned from his mission trips to report to the church at Antioch, “I made a lot of disciples, but sorry, no churches?” This would be total failure for the man who wrote, “Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it.”

            Much of the gobbledygook of misunderstanding derives from the wrong definition of the church. When it is taught that any disciple, anyone saved, anyone who believes is a member of the big church in the sky, it is easy to see why someone would write we are to make disciples not plant churches. In the Great Commission, the Lord did not give the commission to the apostles as mere disciples themselves, but to a group of men who were chosen as His first church. The Great Commission is a church commission. To make disciples presupposes the new disciples will be grouped together in the fellowship of a new church committed to perpetuating the same gospel. This is the Lord’s method of preserving the church until He returns. This means the ultimate goal of missionaries is exactly this—plant churches! If one of our missionaries said, “We’re not going to start churches but make disciples,” I would say, “Well, you won’t do it with our money.” The Lord’s money is too precious to waste on a fool’s errand. Good disciples are church disciples.

            The scriptures say the church is the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15). It does not say any one disciple or even a missionary is the pillar and ground. This is the fertile field of the cults and of pastors that become lords of their little fiefdoms. The gospel, the truth of the gospel, cannot be preserved for future generations without the undergirding of the church. We start churches to preserve truth.

            Disciples are not biblical disciples until they are organized into a church that will do what churches before them have done. They are not true disciples and grounded disciples until they follow the Lord to become a part of the body of Christ. I am incensed when I hear anyone say the church is not important, or never becoming a member of one is inconsequential. Kevin DeYoung wrote, “The man who attempts Christianity without the church shoots himself in the foot, shoots his children in the leg, and shoots his grandchildren in the heart.”

            Those who refuse membership in the church are not grounded disciples. To follow Christ, one must love what He loved, go where He goes, and be what He wants him to be. The church is the bride of Christ, and His bride is not a universal entity that never meets, never observes His ordinances, has no power, and has never baptized a single convert.

            The goal—always the goal of missions—is to plant churches. Do not believe a person is a disciple or can be fully discipled until he is committed to a church. Let’s not try to sound profoundly intelligent by saying the commission is not to go into the world and plant churches, but to make disciples. Splitting discipleship from its foundation in the church is doctrinal suicide.

                                                                                                Pastor V. Mark Smith

Church Discipline

Berean Baptist on February 24, 2020

            In our study of the Laodicean church, I have used a word that sounds scary to some. It conjures up thoughts of church councils, trials, judgment, and torture. The word is discipline.We speak of discipling our children and most of the time we mean we have given them some sort of punishment to modify their behavior. This is not the way the Bible uses the term.

            Discipline is related to disciple which in its verb form means to teach. In the noun form, it is a person who is taught. The purpose of discipline is to instruct and to correct through instruction. It does not need to be considered a form of punishment.

            As it concerns the Laodicean church, the counsel the Lord gave them was not punishment but an appeal for them to change their ways and to receive Him back into the church. This is always the goal of discipline. It is to restore to fellowship and to bring us back into harmony with the Lord and our fellow church members. Thus, discipline is not considered punitive but formative.

            We become confused about discipline when it must be stepped up to the next level. Sometimes we must protect the church by removing members that are involved in serious sins. We always remember that each of us is sinful, but there are some sins that are categorized as too harmful to the testimony of the body to let them go unanswered. These offenders must have their membership rescinded until they repent of their sin. There is no greater temporal judgment we can pass than to remove someone from fellowship.

            We learn this biblical and effective method from Paul’s instructions to the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 5. A man in the church was guilty of a sexual sin and had to be removed. Paul was concerned about the reproach on the name of Christ and how it would harm the church’s testimony. Later in 2 Corinthians, we learn the discipline worked. The man repented and was restored to fellowship. This is the expected result when a believer is confronted with his sin. If he does not repent as a response to this serious action, we are to assume he is an unbeliever. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to draw His people to Him. If this does not happen, what are we to assume but that they do not belong to Christ?

            Removing members for sexual sins should not be a point of contention between us. The scriptures are clear what needs to be done. However, some offenses may not seem as serious, but they too warrant excisive discipline. We remove members for non-attendance which is often seen as an inconsequential action. It is merely procedural and does not carry the same weight as removal for other reasons. Is this true? I do not believe so.

The reason for removal does not change the eternal weight of the Lord’s most important institution. Non-attendance shows contempt for the Lord’s work. This contempt is also a sign of unbelief. We cannot love Christ if we do not love His church. The church is not helped by members that do not attend. Often, they are involved in a deep sin that we are not aware.

Our duty is to protect our church. The Lord expects the purity of the body. Therefore, we will follow the instructions in the Bible. When we obey, we reflect the proper understanding of discipline. Christ wants only dedicated people in His church, and so do we.

                                                                        Pastor V. Mark Smith

WHO IS THE MORMON GOD?

Berean Baptist on February 16, 2020

This week I continue to be impressed with the salutation of Christ’s letter to the Laodicean church. I have discussed with you the likely issue of Laodicea’s faulty belief concerning the deity of Christ. The Colossian letter gave us a clue as Paul said the letter needed to be read at Laodicea. This may have been necessary because Laodicea experienced the same doctrinal problems as Colossae.

            I am prompted to think more on this issue and how the deity of Christ has been challenged throughout church history. In this article, I want to write a little about Mormonism and their teachings about God. Their official name is “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints” which suggests they are a branch of Christianity. Nothing could be further from the truth.

            The early controversies in church history about the nature of God scarcely encompassed the extreme heresies of Mormonism. Since I don’t have space to go in-depth concerning their many heretical beliefs, I need only mention one which is more than fair warning that Mormonism is pure paganism.

            The central question is this: Who is the God of Mormonism? As a Christian, you understand God is transcendent over His creation. God is of vastly contrasting character to humans. He is spirit and He is light. He is unapproachable light which speaks of the ineffability of His being. However, when you and I say God and when a Mormon says God, we are not in the same universe of meaning. Mormons believe God is as we are. They believe God is of the same species as us. He is a man that has reached a higher stage of development than we are. He is still a man but has attained a higher level.

            Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, said: “God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heaven…I am going to tell you how God came to be God. We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea, and take away the veil, so that you may see…that he was once a man like us; yea, that God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ Himself did…”

            This fantastical idea of God is only deeply worsened as Joseph Smith dilates. Mormons teach that the current iteration of God is one of a succession of other men who have attained the position. Further, it is possible that some Mormon today could likewise hold the position in the future and become for a time the most exalted man. If you ask a Mormon, “Who is the number one God?” he will not answer because he doesn’t know nor dares to ask.

            Without delving further into this deep darkness of deceit, is this not enough to demonstrate that Mormonism has nothing to do with Christianity? Be careful when you speak to a Mormon because they use the same language as you—grace, faith, sin, redemption—and God. The meaning of the terms is nothing like yours.

            First and foremost, remember when they say God, they are worlds apart from who we understand God to be. Salvation is impossible for them if they persist in their fantasy of unbelief. Are they good family people? Not really. They are horrible because they are taking their children to hell.

                                                                        Pastor V. Mark Smith

The Flip Side of Life

Berean Baptist on February 10, 2020

This week I was thinking about one of our favorite scriptures written by Paul in Romans 8. I believe Bereans may know this verse just as well as they do John 3:16. In the 28th verse, Paul wrote: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” He said we know this, but I am not sure most Christians have the same confidence Paul had or understand why he was so sure. Paul knew because he was a big-picture guy. He understood that God can see what we cannot see and everything He does is according to a master plan. The end of the plan is the ultimate good for His children to the praise of His glory. With a love that is unequaled, unqualified, and always invested in our welfare, how is it possible for Him not to work for our good? The reason we doubt God is that personal struggles are never fun. Personal gratification is too slow coming. We don’t like the process of getting to the good outcome.

            I read an interesting analogy that may help us understand. Life is like a tapestry, or if you are more familiar, a Persian rug. The upside of the rug is beautiful. This is the side you expose and use to dress up your house and impress your friends. The other side is not beautiful. There is no pattern, the threads seem random and without rhyme or reason. It is scattered and ugly and may even show stains and dirt that have worked their way through the fibers. We would never turn the rug upside down for everyone to see. For sure, it would not help the décor!

            Our lives are much like the underside of the rug. We can’t see the beauty on the other side where the weaver has perfectly placed all the threads into a beautiful tapestry. The apostle Paul was that big-picture guy who knew the other side is exactly as the designer intended.

            While contemplating this, I thought of the advice I often give men who seek the office of deacon. I tell them they must be prepared to see the underbelly of the church. They must be prepared for disappointment in people they thought were spiritual paragons but may not have it all perfectly together. Included are the pastor and their fellow deacons. Along the way, they discover it is best not to throw stones because others will learn a few things about them. The ministers of the church are privy to much information the average church member does not know. This information is best not told as issues are better worked out with time and prayer.

            My point is the underbelly of the church doesn’t always look good, but we know the true church of Christ is being sanctified to get where God wants it to be. We must be patient with the process to know that someday we will see the other side in which God has made us the beautiful bride for His Son.

            When life’s troubles are too much, remember the big picture. Every thread is in the place God wove it. Every stitch is perfect because God never makes mistakes. If you know God, be sure He knows you too. “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For you have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, you might receive the promise.” (Hebrews 10:35-36).

The Idolatry of Sports

Berean Baptist on February 3, 2020

Thankfully, secular Sunday (Superbowl Sunday) is over. Today, I thought I would include this thoughtful article by Dr. Jon Payne. I apologize for losing the original source. I sincerely beg for Christian forgiveness for reproducing this article without acknowledging the publication.

Although soccer is like a hairball caught in my throat, the comments on soccer fit well with the biggest sports event of the year—the Superbowl. They also work well with any other activity that takes the place of Christ and His church. The questions in the last paragraph were answered this past Sunday afternoon. See if they weren’t!

“A few years ago, a friend treated my son and me to a tour of St. James’ Park, the home grounds of Newcastle United F.C., a famous English Premier League soccer club. Having spent a good portion of my life on the soccer pitch, I could not help but be impressed by the beautifully manicured (and heated) playing surface, palatial locker rooms, and illustrious trophy collection. St. James’ Park is truly a first-class stadium. As the tour continued, however, I began to feel uncomfortable. It was becoming increasingly apparent that Newcastle United was more than just a soccer team to the tour guide. The team was his identity, his religion, his life.

“After the tour, we hunted for a souvenir in the stadium shop. Sadly, we found a shirt that audaciously declared, ‘St. James’ Park is My Church & Newcastle United is My God.’ Not only was this declaration blasphemous, it was a stark reminder that idolatry comes in all forms; yes, even sports.

“Idolatry is the replacement of God with something else, the yielding of our primary devotion and chief affections to anything or anyone besides the Lord. It is the ‘giving of that worship and glory to any other, which is due to him alone’ (Westminster Shorter Catechism 47; see Isa. 42:8). Indeed, the first commandment unequivocally states, ‘You shall have no other gods before me. . . . You shall not bow down to them or serve them’ (Ex. 20:3, 5). Dear believer, God will entertain no rivals—sports included.

“I grew up the oldest son of a prominent sportswriter and have been around sports for as long as I can remember. For many years, my dad was the beat writer for the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders. He covered major international soccer matches and multiple college sports. He introduced me to dozens of famous athletes, many of whom inspired me to pursue and realize my own athletic dreams. As a result, I am very thankful for sports. They have played an important and valuable role in my life. Sports bring people together. They encourage health and fitness. They cultivate grit and discipline. They provide an array of life lessons. They can also be a wholesome source of entertainment. Sports are a gift from God. However, as with anything, if we are not careful, the gift can supplant the Giver. Sports can become a golden calf that leads us down the path of idolatry.   

“A friend and former college football star told my son, ‘Sports are great, but they make a terrible god.’ This is a message that athletes and sports fans need to hear today, especially since sports are given such an inordinately prominent status in our culture. 

“Do sports hold a higher priority in your life than Jesus? Is God on the sidelines of your heart? Have your Lord’s Days morphed into sports days? May sports never take precedence over your relationship with or devotion to the living God. ‘Little children, keep yourselves from idols’ (1 John 5:21).”

Dr. Jon D. Payne

ASSEMBLY VS. CHURCH

Berean Baptist on January 27, 2020

Of the seven churches in Revelation, the church at Laodicea has become nearly synonymous with Christ-less Christianity. Professor Michael Horton of the Westminster Theological Seminary wrote a book with this title, Christless Christianity. He questions whether America is fast arriving at the point where Christ is left out of the church and out of His own gospel.

            One of the chapters in his book is titled, “How We Turn Good News into Good Advice.” In this chapter, he argues that reducing the good news of Jesus to good advice makes the gospel no better than any other method of life coaching. If all the gospel amounts to is a better way to feel good about ourselves, there are many competing philosophies that will be sworn by as better methods. If this is true, how do Christians rightly argue for the exclusivity of the gospel? The issue with this dilemma is that the modern church has replaced the person of the gospel with a plan of the gospel. Neither Christ nor His church is about a plan. Both are about the person of Jesus Christ. Without Him the plan has no more value than any other plan. Some rightly argue salvation is not a plan although we often term our presentations of it as the plan of salvation. Salvation is to have Christ. If He is not the center and focus, we will never have the salvation offered in Him.

            This is the problem of the Laodicean church. Without Christ, it is a social organization. The word church means assembly. It comes from a common Greek word that means nothing more than people gathered in one place. However, our Bible translations render the word church when the translators are certain the assembly refers to people who are born-again, assembled to work for Christ, to obey His commission, and to glorify Him. In this sense, the Laodicean church is better termed the Laodicean assembly. Christ is not their focus.

            As the time grows nearer to the coming of Christ, the Bible seems to indicate that more and churches will become usurpers of the term. They have been turned into assemblies. Though they carry Christ’s name, Christ can have no part of them because He is no part of them. If He stayed in those assemblies, He would only compete as another life coach with many other coaches and their paths to success. We already know Oprah wins that one hands down.

            There are several indicators that you might be a member of an assembly rather than a church. Among these we might ask, is their gospel about your economic prosperity? It is not a church but an assembly for financial seminars. Is the preaching absent the Bible and people are not encouraged to carry, read, and study the scriptures? It is an assembly of rationalizers weighing the best methods of success.

            Christianity is a person—Jesus Christ. His church is an expression of His redemptive work that only cares how our lives can best glorify Him. Sometimes the way is through sickness and poverty. Plug that into the assembly’s plan and see how much traction it gets. Until you are ready to make Christ central no matter how it affects you physically, financially, or in any other personal way, you must remain a member of the Laodicean assembly. You are not ready for membership in Christ’s church.

                                                                                    Pastor V. Mark Smith

The End Is Near!

Berean Baptist on January 20, 2020

But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. (1 Peter 4:7) 

            I am sure each of you is familiar with the cartoon of a man with long hair and beard standing on a street corner with a sign reading “THE END IS NEAR!” Usually, the sign flanks both the front and rear and some sort of funny caption is placed beneath. The idea is that anyone that thinks the end of the world is approaching is a fool. Every day we wake up to the same sunrise, we head off to work, put in our shift, and then make the drive back home. At night we watch a little TV, crawl into bed and go to sleep. The next morning it starts all over again, and we do this 365 times per year and have done it for every year since we were born. Further, everyone we know has done the same routine with only slight variation and everyone we have ever heard of or read about in the history of the world has done the same. It is no wonder that when someone begins to sound an alarm for the approaching apocalypse, he is considered a fool.

            It has now been 2000 years since Peter wrote “the end of all things is at hand” and no doubt there were many that read his words and said he was a fool. Peter’s reference is to the Second Coming of Christ when God will destroy this universe and all that is contained therein. In his second letter, Peter spoke of scoffers that said “Where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation” (2 Peter 3:4). Are we to consider Peter a fool because Christ has yet to return? Is the Bible’s warning nonsense?

            It is helpful to understand that although New Testament Christians believed in the imminent return of Christ, they were not date-setters. Peter did not imply he was certain tomorrow, or next week, or next month, the world would end. He followed the consistent pattern of New Testament teaching, especially that of Jesus, which said the Second Coming would be a sudden event that would occur without warning. The “end” refers to the consummation of the ages. “At hand” means the day is approaching. Every day we live we are one day closer to the time Christ will return. We are encouraged therefore to live in anticipation of the event. This does not mean to stand on street corners with signs, although we should witness of it in a rational manner. It does not mean to neglect our daily routines and stare at the sky. It means to guard our personal lives so that we are a living testimony of faith. The closer we are to the Lord in obeying His commands the more it speaks to the degree of our confidence in the truthfulness of the scriptures.

            The prophet Amos said, “Prepare to meet thy God.” Years ago, I remember seeing signs along the roadway that said the same. The time of our life is uncertain and at every turn in life’s roadway there is a possible hazard that could end our lives. It is not as crazy as we might think to say, “the end is near.” One way or another we will meet God. It could be at the suddenness of the Second Coming or at our failure to breathe the next breath. No one knows the time of either. Are you prepared? In either event, you can be by placing your faith in Jesus Christ.

                                                                                    Pastor V. Mark Smith

Preach Christ!

Berean Baptist on January 13, 2020

We have no purpose as Christians if first and foremost we do not glorify Christ. We regularly state this in our services at Berean. You will not attend any Sunday service without hearing it in a prayer, in a song, in a sermon, or in a class. Our purpose is to glorify Christ.

            This is the theme of our church every Sunday of every year, which doubles my enthusiasm for the subject of the message today. We begin a multiple part sermon on the church at Philadelphia, which of the seven churches in Revelation is the one we most want to use as a role model for ours. The letter to this church begins with Jesus proclaiming His holiness and truth. These two attributes of Christ might well be the overarching definition of Him as God. He must be perfectly holy and absolute truth, or He fails in His work and His self-revelation.

            In today’s message, I have chosen to concentrate on His holiness. Some struggle to define holiness. Many times, the definition includes the word which is not always helpful. The Greek word is hagiosune, which is also translated sanctification.This causes us to dig deeper to discover that holiness means what sanctification means—that is, to be set apart. It is to be distinctly different. In this application, it is to be different in ability, in character, in reverence, in righteousness, and in spirituality. God is distinctly different from us in all these areas.

            God commands us to be holy as He is holy, but we can never reach that perfect ideal of the extent of His different holiness. The Bible describes Him as high and holy. His holiness is above all others; it remains so and is thus unattainable. I mean to say the holiness we achieve as His people is of a different quality. For this reason, when we speak of the righteousness of God imputed to us by faith, it is not God’s inherent righteousness we receive. This righteousness cannot be transferred to us. Instead, we receive righteousness that is earned by Christ keeping God’s law perfectly. We are incapable of doing this ourselves, and yet it is the holiness without which no person will see God (Hebrews 12:14). This holiness is first derived from God, but its connection is to earned righteousness by obedience to the Law. In other words, it is not our intrinsic holiness, but that which comes from outside of us.

            God is distinct because unlike us, His holiness is not derived from any other. It is not earned by keeping laws. It does not come by imputation, or by bestowment of any other. He is holy because His being is holy. As God is self-existent, He is self-holy. In Revelation 3:7, Jesus said He is holy. This holiness is the same as God’s inherent holiness, the being of holiness that only God is. Therefore, Jesus is God.

            Similarly, Jesus said He is truth. In the next message, we will concentrate on truth. Think on this during the week. Jesus did not claim to know truth. He said He is truth. He is the standard of truth, which means how you or I feel about truth is of no consequence. We will not be judged by our opinion of truth. We are judged by the one who is truth.

            This is a fitting beginning to Philadelphia, the model church. They preached Christ, and for this, they were commended. If we preach Christ, so shall we.

                                                                                      Pastor V. Mark Smith

ARE CHRIST AND THE CHURCH SYNONYMOUS?

Berean Baptist on January 6, 2020

The church at Sardis is the fifth of the seven churches of Asia. Christ’s message to this church is a sobering examination of a church that exists, that carries on its work, that meets as usual and appears to be Christian, but is absent of Christ. This is a strange paradox for a Christian church since the church is called the body of Christ.It is possible to have a church without the Christ of the church. This, of course, is according to the common perception of the church.

            Most people only know the church by the building where the people meet. If the sign says “Christian,” they must be. This is not the Bible’s definition of the church. The church is a select assembly of people called by God to be unified and cooperating in the doctrines of the faith and commissioned with the gospel of Christ. The doctrines and the commission are the preaching of Christ Himself. It is therefore impossible to have a church without Christ.

            This definition of church clarifies the warnings given to Sardis. As the presence of Christ in the church diminishes by allowing factions of heresy and outright admission of unbelievers into membership, the church ceases to be Christ’s body. If enough body parts are cut off, eventually the body dies. The light of the gospel goes out, and the assembly of people are no longer the true church of Christ.

            Sardis was a church called to repentance. They were nearing the point of realizing Christ’s threat—I will come on you as thief. In scripture, this expression always equals destruction. As Jesus told the wicked Jews, a thief comes to destroy. In this analogy, Jesus likens His actions to the sudden stealth of a thief. His judgment is leveled at the most unexpected moment.

            Some argue this cannot happen because if so, Christ destroys His own body, thus Himself. We must be careful to understand the metaphors of scripture. The church is the body of Christ, but it is not Christ. As one author wrote, “[The church] is founded by Christ, formed by Christ, commissioned by Christ, and endowed by Christ. But it is not Christ. The church can preach salvation and nurture the saved, but it cannot save. The church can preach, exhort, rebuke, and admonish against sin, it can proclaim the forgiveness of sin, and it can give theological definition to sin, but the church cannot atone for sin.”

            This observation is correct. Great confusion has been fostered on Christianity by those who teach that Christ and the church are essentially synonymous. This leads to the opposite of nearly every statement in the preceding quotation. The church saves, the church sanctifies, the church forgives sin, and the church atones for sin. If the church is Christ, it can do all these things. If this defines the church, it cannot be adequately rebuked, and thus can become utterly corrupt while still claiming it has authority. Christ will not destroy it because it would be to destroy Himself.

            The 2nd and 3rd chapters of Revelation strongly refute the concept of church/Christ equality. The church stands in judgment of its faithfulness to Christ. We are required to faithfully proclaim the word by holding up the glory of Christ and renouncing all forms of unrighteousness. This is how the light of Christ is kept burning brightly. This is the church that wards off destruction because its judgment has found it to be worthy. It is a church that keeps the name of Christ. To remain His body, we must heed the warnings and hear the Spirit lest we become a church like Sardis.

                                                                        Pastor V. Mark Smith

Walking with the Dead

Berean Baptist on December 30, 2019

In the beginning of Revelation 3, the Lord had a letter delivered to the church at Sardis. Using comparative terminology that most people understand, we might cautiously call this church the Zombie church. I use the term only to emphasize the point with a contemporary reference. They had a reputation of being alive, and yet in the Lord’s estimation they were dead. Their reputation of life might well have been their many social works and their benevolent programs practiced without the power of the Holy Spirit.

            I believe the issue in Sardis was their attempt to be Christian without knowledge and belief of Christian doctrine. Although some in Sardis were faithful and were not defiled with sin, it seems they were in the minority. The church at one time must have been filled with the faithful, but over time unbelievers became dominant. Membership in the church made them appear to be believers, but they were living a false profession.

            How do we know they were not believers? The best indication is the use of the word dead to describe them. The Lord never speaks of His people as being dead. To be spiritually dead is to be without faith in Christ and thus without life in Christ. It is the living (believers) versus the dead (unbelievers). Dead is the often reference in scripture to those still depraved in heart and still in their natural condition apart from God (see Ephesians 2:1-5).

            Since the church at Sardis is used as an example of churches across all ages, we conclude there are active churches doing many works without the knowledge of doctrine that proves they are God’s people. I have addressed this issue from this pulpit many times as the reason the Berean Baptist Church does not fellowship with many churches nor care to join with them in cooperative efforts. We have only one method of cooperation—a common belief in the true gospel of Jesus Christ. There is one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. This is the basis of Christian unity—it is doctrinal not emotional. We must be compelled by more than common compassion to work together. It must be doctrinal unity in the faith of Jesus Christ.

            We encounter many churches that have a zeal for Christ, but their zeal is not according to knowledge. Ask them about their doctrinal positions and you are greeted with either blank stares or this response, “Does it matter?” It matters because we cannot glorify Christ without knowledge of His ways and works. These are found in scripture encapsulated in the doctrines of the faith. For example, does it matter if you believe Christians are safe and secure in their salvation, or if you believe salvation can be lost? Yes, it matters. The first displays dependence on faith in Christ alone, while the second is dependence on self. One affirms justification by faith and the other justification by works. The first upholds the promises of Christ and gives glory to Him for salvation, while the second glorifies self and our ability to do enough good things to be saved. If salvation can be lost because of doing evil things, it can be gained by doing good things. One ratifies the doctrine of scripture—the other blasphemes the God of heaven.

            When we join with churches that are muddled in their doctrine, are unsure of their doctrine, or have no sense of Christian doctrine, we link arms with the dead. We cannot do Christ’s work without the vital connection of life through the belief of the truth. The living in Christ have no business in the graveyard of the dead.

            What will we do? Continue to walk in the light of Christ’s truth and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. To do otherwise, to work with unbelievers, is to shame the name of Christ.

                                                                                    Pastor V. Mark Smith