Author: Berean Baptist

^[1] Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. ^[2] Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.  (Ecclesiastes 5:1-2)

            Since beginning the Forum Class in 1998, it remains one of my favorite parts of ministry at Berean Baptist. I love to preach and understand it is my calling, but I also love to sit in conversation with brothers and sisters discussing the word of God. In an open forum, I am sometimes surprised by the questions. Many times, we hear the same questions asked again and again. I don’t mind these because I am most concerned the class reaches understanding of the scriptures. There are, however, the uncommon questions—questions of misunderstanding picked up during daily Bible reading in obscure passages of scripture. I am like most of you—I don’t spend extensive reading time in passages I am not likely to preach. Without fresh remembrances of them, answers to questions may be perplexing.  Nevertheless, I must answer those questions too.

            Some of the obscure questions can be answered by carefully observing the surrounding verses. The meaning works its way through by reading in context. I encourage each of you to stay within the context of each passage. A notable way for false teachers to confuse is to lift verses out of context. These questions are most humbling because they prove I don’t know everything I hope to know or as much as you think I do.

            With this introduction, I come to Ecclesiastes chapter 5. In God’s house, it is best not to answer quickly or say too much lest your ignorance be discovered. I do not think this applies to honest questions. Ignorance of a subject is not a fault, but speaking as if you know the subject when you don’t is a foolish mistake. I find some people love to speak to impress others with their knowledge. How do I know this is a problem? I have done it myself. Pride is the bane of every person and trying to keep it in check is as much a problem for the preacher as for the people.

            As a matter of confession, I recall an incident about ten years ago when visiting a church in Southern California. I am uneasy and ashamed each time I think of it. I sat in a Bible study class conducted by the pastor which was in form like our Forum Class. An attendee asked a question which I thought was not thoroughly answered by the pastor. When he was through, I raised my hand to add my thoughts. When I think of this, I shudder at the audacity of opening my mouth. My input was not intended to be helpful but to show I too was knowledgeable of the subject. I should have listened to Ecclesiastes: “Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.” Though I have opportunity each week to speak many words, sometimes it is best to listen.

            Despite my mistake, I enjoy discussing the Bible. Some of you have seen me sit for hours on Sunday afternoon discussing scriptures with one of our congregants. This is my “fun” activity. I am inquisitive about what others believe and always enjoy understanding their reasoning.

            If you don’t attend the Forum Class, I encourage your attendance. Come prepared to ask without shame. Our goal is to help everyone understand the scriptures. Class members are at different levels of understanding. Your question may be theirs too. We encourage questions and participation of class members in answering them. The common denominator among us is love for God’s Word.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

(Note: I wrote this article last year while recuperating from back surgery)

            I am writing this article on March 18 about the time I am in the first one-third to one-half of my recuperation. This morning was my first venture outside the house except for the day the staples were removed from my incision. This outing was a 250 ft. journey along the sidewalk around my house. I was guided and held on to by a physical therapist. I was not overjoyed to be outside because I did not want my neighbors to see me walking with a cane. What should have been a triumph of accomplishment was rather an egotist’s tragedy. The depression was made worse because Kentucky lost their first game in the NCAA tournament the night before. I was not much in the mood for celebrating an old man’s rehab. With this you are caught up on the “woe is me” statistics of my weeks’ long recovery.

            These are, of course, minor disappointments in a world of unbelievably shocking “are you kidding me?” moments. The world has gone mind bogglingly insane, which is much more apparent now that I have time to listen to and read more news than I normally do. One of the strangest events during this time at home was to receive a letter from a transgendered “woman”(?) who read one of my bulletin article blogs on the website. If I may quote the comment: “…the words you spoke there were the most Christian words I have heard spoken on behalf of what I imagine a loving God to be in a very long time.” I appreciate the compliment, but I think you can understand HIS (sic) comment sent me scurrying to find out what those words were. I will not repeat the referenced article here, but I imagine these were the most misunderstood words spoken on behalf of what I know the loving God to be. There is no meeting of the minds between God, me, and misgendered men.

            The only way to classify a biological male as an anatomically incorrect woman is to be ignorant of the definition of men and women. In a recent article by Carl Trueman, Professor Trueman begins, “The trans revolution reached new heights of absurdity last week when the BBC asked Anneliese Dodds, the Labour party’s shadow secretary for women and equalities, to define ‘woman.’ Dodds proved singularly incapable of doing so; after saying that ‘it does depend what the context is,’ she equivocated for several minutes and refused to give a direct answer. Trueman went on to say, “To be qualified for a job, one must have a basic understanding of the specific task at hand. The car mechanic needs to know what a car is; the brain surgeon needs to be able to recognize the brain. A politician tasked with safeguarding women’s rights should therefore know what a woman is and be able to articulate that understanding in public statements. ‘What is a woman?’ hardly seems an unexpected or unfair question to ask the shadow secretary for women.”

            This hairbrained type of nonsense was followed by USA TODAY naming Biden’s confused Assistant Health Secretary appointee, their “Woman of the Year.” Richard Levine only needed a name change to “Rachel” to qualify. It seems the best qualification for a woman to achieve public accolades is not to be a woman at all or to know what a woman is. Our only conclusion is we need not worry about defining a woman. We are all women, er men, or something. Women exist only in the mind and are not real anyway.

            Such are my musings after this morning’s 250 ft. walk. Sorry I must end here. I must go out to the car to wash my clothes.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

In the Challies.com post of March 13, Tim Challies made this observation: “You do not need to [search] extensively in Christian history or Christian biography to spot the connection between sorrow and sanctification. Though it is certainly not always the case, very often the people who are particularly used by the Lord are the same people who endure suffering.” From this statement, he continued by quoting from one of De Witt Talmage’s sermons in which he mentions the examples of several notable Christians among whom were John Bunyan, Richard Baxter, and George Whitfield. The quote from the sermon that especially caught my attention was this: “What is the highest observatory for studying the stars of hope and faith and spiritual promise? The believer’s sick-bed.”

            Through the years, I have preached many sermons about illnesses and God’s purposes for them. One of the most common objections is a complaint against God that I am sure is not intended to be as harsh as it may sound. We complain that God is not fair when we have done our best to be faithful and have lived our lives by the word as well as we believe we can. By comparison, it seems the worldly prosper far better than Christians hope to. This is the most troubling part of what I would call irrational Christian reasoning. 

            The reason I say these thoughts are not intended to be as harsh as they sound is because the Christian must surely be aware that our good health is not a sign or reward of payback for a righteous life. God does not love us and care for us because we are righteous people. If this were true, we would face the dilemma expressed by James in his epistle: “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” (2:10).I would encourage you to stay as far away as you can from any thoughts that you have done enough good things to merit special favoritism from God. I promise that if you intend to keep score, you will be buried so deep in a hole that you will never see the light of day.

            My second observation is not understanding that God sees and knows the whole picture of your life not because He has seen what you have done lately but has seen and planned the scope of the entirety of it from the foundation of the world. You make not one move without the plan and purpose of God as the reason you do. Your observatory for studying the stars of hope, faith and promise begins with complete dependence upon the sovereignty of God. There are so many directions for me to take on these thoughts that I feel as if a 600-word article is a straitjacket I cannot escape. To contemplate for even five seconds that God looks through time to decide and determine anything about us by what He observes we will do is another prospect not considered to be harsher than first thought. Without divine Holy Spirit intervention, we are destroyed before crying out at the first breath from our mother’s womb. There is nothing God sees in us but hopelessness and hell if not for the determinate counsel of His uninfluenced, unalterable will.

            My time and space are gone so I conclude with this last thought. Hope, faith, and spiritual promise are not understood by a life of ease. Dependence on God is rarely expressed unless calling on God for help is unmistakably necessary. To exalt myself as one who perfectly endures is to adjudge myself more faithful than the patriarchs, and more sanctified than the apostles. I pray that I understand as well as I should that every event of my life is a learning, sanctifying experience. My observatory is to watch what God does and to shutter the doors to the sky against any thoughts of personal worth.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

On the morning I am writing this article, I have just finished reading a story found on The Christian Post. This story is about a Catholic priest in Phoenix, AZ who had thousands of his baptisms over a period of 20 years invalidated by the Roman Catholic Church. His crucial mistake was that he used the wrong baptismal formula. As he baptized each baby or parishioner, he said, “We baptize you,” instead of “I baptize you.” In the many baptisms I have performed through the years, I have always said, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” This is referred to as the Trinitarian formula. My reason for saying, “I baptize,” is much different than the demands of Roman Catholicism that insist it must be “I baptize.” Rome says “We baptize” is incorrect because “I baptize” means that Christ baptizes. I want to take a moment to note some critical errors in the baptism of Roman Catholicism.

1. Infant baptism – the scriptures do not record a single incident of the baptism of babies and neither any without the expressed faith of the one baptized. The baptism of the scriptures is credobaptism not paedobaptism.
2. Baptismal regeneration – Roman Catholics consider baptism a sacrament whereby special saving grace is conferred. In their theology, baptism washes away original sin and brings the baptized into the grace of God. However, this baptism is not a guarantee of heaven. Other sacraments must be kept which neither in themselves give any assurance of eternal life. Pity those thousands who did not get the memo that their baptisms did not count. Roman Catholics are not uniform in their belief of whether a child dying in infancy without baptism is in the grace of God.
3. Sacerdotal salvation – This means the priest stands between the individual and God. His activity is required for the soul’s salvation. Thus, the priest incorrectly performing sacraments condemns the soul to hell. No priest at all to administer sacraments is hell-condemning or at least confers far less assurance of heaven than their already nonexistent confidence.

Secondly, the Catholic Church invalidated these baptisms based on “We” not “I,” saying it is Christ who baptizes, and “We” does not signify Christ. The “I” identifies the priest as standing in the place of Christ with the same power and authority over the soul. His activity is the same as Christ’s and has saving efficacy.

There are multitudes of other issues that flow out of this such as the priest having the power to give or withhold forgiveness of sin. Another is the purpose of baptism. Still another the work of the Holy Spirit as a technical aspect of the Trinity. I do not care to argue the point, but I am reminded of John 4:2 which says Christ did not baptize. At least the “We” vs. “I” argument suffers because the disciples did the baptizing. I wonder if on the Day of Pentecost, the twelve would have their three thousand baptisms invalidated by using the collective “We baptize you” in their formula.

• Affusion vs. Immersion –  Affusion is the pouring of a small amount of water on the head making sure some runs down further on the skin. This does not satisfy the scriptural mode of baptism. Baptize means “to dip” or “submerge (immerse)” the whole body in water. This symbolizes the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. The believer is also immersed to show his death to his old way of life and his resurrection to new life in Christ (Romans 6:3-14).

Here we have considered one small part of only one doctrine taught in Roman Catholicism. This well is deep and difficult to touch the bottom. Heresies and blasphemies abound that condemn souls forever. Our deepest sympathies and prayers go out to those mesmerized and entrapped by the perversions of Rome. If they stay there, they will meet their popes and priestly companions in the fires of eternal hell.

There is no salvation in the Roman Catholic Church or in any of its priests. All their works and sacraments are INVALID. Sad to say the problem is not for a thousand with invalid  baptisms but for millions worldwide who will die and meet those many, many millions more who through the centuries died believing their diabolical doctrines.

Salvation is in Jesus Christ alone.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

            Now that we are past most of the terrible effects of COVID, most of us think little about it and have gone back to our same habits of the pre-COVID days. Occasionally, I still see people riding alone in their cars wearing a mask. They may have a special reason for it due to some other illness, but I believe many of them are people still living in fear. There are strong differences of opinion about whether COVID is a “thing” any longer to be concerned with. I mention it today not for the talking points of illnesses, vaccines, or mandates. My concern is the excuse it offers many Christians not to gather with God’s people. Of course, I am speaking of those who are not sick, have not much fear of getting sick, but need an easy way out when confronted by the pastor. I also mention this problem in its connection with Lordship salvation. These may seem to be an unusual pairing, so read on to follow my thought processes.

            When Christians look for excuses to miss the assembly, it is troubling to the pastor as it signals a much deeper spiritual problem. Commenting on 1 Cornithians 6:9 which begins, “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?”, Alistair Begg wrote: “We must take note that Paul is not referring to isolated acts of unrighteousness. No member of Christ’s Kingdom lives a sinless life this side of eternal glory. Rather, Paul is referring to someone who persistently pursues or tolerates sin. He has the mindset the kind of life that declares, ‘I don’t want God to interfere in my choices, but I do want to live with the notion that I actually belong in His Kingdom, and I do want all the benefits of that.’”

            Begg continues, “God sets the kingdom borders. It is simply not the case that everybody is in, no matter what they are, what they believe, or what they want! That notion my sound palatable, but it is simply not what God’s word teaches—God, and no one else, decides who is in the Kingdom.”

            Reading the rest of 1 Corinthians 6:9 and verse 10, you will see various sins mentioned—fornication, idolatry, sodomy, thievery, drunkenness, etc. This is quite a list of depravity and are what we consider the worst sins we can commit. In the context of Paul’s statement about the Kingdom of God, he chooses these heinous sins as examples from which many of the Corinthians were delivered.

            We ought not to think that sins we consider lesser do not figure into the apostle Paul’s or Alistair Begg’s point. If you met someone who claims to be a Christian and each time you talked with them, they spoke bitterly and filled their language with cursing and gossip, I dare to observe that on the third day of the same, you would be convinced they are not Christians at all and thus not in the Kingdom of Christ.

            Transfer the same logic to the pastor who sees members of the church constantly, persistently absent themselves from the assembly. I would give the latitude of more than the third consecutive time, but I am highly suspicious of the third month. If you do not want Christ to rule your life, to interfere with your life, and understand that you are accountable to Him, it is highly doubtful that you belong to the Kingdom and that the benefits of it are yours.

            In 1 Corinthians 6:9, Paul did not accuse the Corinthians of living in the sins he mentioned. Rather, he says they were cleansed from these “worse sins” and his subject is that they did not treat brothers and sisters in Christ as they should be treated. This is likewise unrighteousness and the unrighteous do not inherit the Kingdom of God. Salvation brings us into the family of God with new attitudes towards those who are believers. My point is we must reason about sin as Paul reasons. Disregarding Christian fellowship is a sin on par with the worst you can do. You may not think this way. However, remember this quote: “God, and no one else, decides who is in His Kingdom.”

Pastor V. Mark Smith

            On the last Sunday of January, the sermon was interrupted by a catchy ringtone from a congregant’s cellphone. On many Sundays, we remind everyone to turn off cellphones or put them in silent mode. My purpose today is not to chastise anyone for forgetting to turn theirs off, but rather to discuss the use of them in our services.

            I have not thought of this subject nor discussed it in many months since we rarely experience a ringtone. However, this incident was immediately followed upon by an article that reached my inbox and thus the issue was before me again. This article emphasized the distraction of phones and the need to abandon the screen to focus our attention on God. I thought this quote staked the ground on this issue very well:

            “…the transcendence of a Christian worship service is not an escape from the real world, but the entry into a realer world than what we’ve seen all week. It’s here that we brush up against heavenly realities. It’s here we’re confronted with time-tested truth. As we hear the Word of God preached and as we approach the Lord’s Table, we’re ushered toward a thin space where we encounter the One who summons us to worship and promises his presence.

“What role does the phone play in this environment? Yes, you can read your Bible on your phone as the pastor begins the sermon. You can send a text of encouragement to a fellow believer. You can take notes on your phone for reference later. But the pull of the phone toward multitasking—that urge to check Twitter or Instagram, or scroll past the incessant notifications that still arrive even when your phone is silenced—makes it nearly impossible to give undivided attention to God.”

            I do not write this article or cite this quote as one who is innocent. I have had my share of distractions in church services. Since I usually preach instead of listen, this does not happen often. Although I use an iPad for my notes, one of the critical preparations for preaching is to turn off the internet connection and the volume for reminders, so that I see nothing and hear nothing as I preach. I have forgotten to do this on a few occasions, and you might be surprised to learn that an email header would appear obscuring my notes and I must get rid of it while at the same time maintaining my composure and leaving you unaware of my anxious dilemma.

            The cellphone left on is a distraction which none can deny. In a room full of 3000 preachers at the Shepherd’s Conference, you would be shocked at how many have one eye (or neither) on the speaker and the other on the phone reading texts, checking scores, or researching something they just heard. This is surely a problem in our church too. My major concern, however, is that people never handle the book to find their place in the congregational scripture readings or the texts used for the sermon. Because you use the cellphone Bible at church and at home, I wonder how many touch the book at all.

            I know most Christians do not regularly read the Bible. I hope our statistics are higher than average, but I am sure if we required everyone to fill out a form each week reporting how much of the Bible you read, the result would be too dismal and depressing for me to give the account to the congregation. If we are not touching the book at home or at church and the cellphone is our only connection to it, who could find their place in the Bible if we required phones to be checked at the door?

            I am not a fan of the cellphone Bible. Though I use the computer with a screen and an electronic Bible for preparing sermons, I rarely use the cellphone or tablet for my daily reading. You can argue with me until the rapture that reading the cellphone does not diminish retention. I will never believe it because of experience and by observing what digital learning has done to our children’s brains. I do not intend to ban cellphones from the services, but I much prefer the rustling of pages to the sounds of clever rings.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

            As I write this, I think of my wife who is in the bedroom enduring an episode of serious pain. Unlike her, I do not endure pain with much other than constant complaints. While I want to be a man, I find my wife is a much better example of strength through pain than I could hope to be. When the woke-boots come to persecute believers, she will be the one left standing in our family.

            This opens the question of the ability of God’s people to withstand physical pain inflicted by persecutors throughout Christian history intent on breaking the will and destroying the faith of the redeemed. I remember a few years ago discussing this in one of our classes and I noticed several horrified looks when explaining how faith enables one to endure watching one’s children killed before their eyes because the parents would not deny Christ. This is not hypothetical speech because it is both historic and contemporary as believers across the world experience it in countries without religious freedom in general, and certainly none for Christians in particular.

            Enduring persecution works in much the same way as enduring death and threats of it. We cannot latch onto the fortitude of faith needed just yet because we do not experience it. This changes when the prospect is immediately in front of us. God’s grace will envelope us in that moment to see beyond the immediate to the blest future that lies beyond.

            In Hebrews 11, the author speaks of faith that was strong enough to endure every trial the subjects faced. When nearing the conclusion of his examples, the author gives a brief summation of many others not mentioned by name. He wrote, “They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented…” (Hebrews 11:37). This verse has always struck me as beyond imaginable. In fact, it is. I do not believe Hebrews 11 was written to applaud the intestinal fortitude of those willing to die for Christ. Unfortunately, chapter breaks often divide the text with unkind separation from the author’s main purpose. Chapter 12 drives the point home as it identifies the source of uncommon faith. The one to applaud is Jesus Christ who is the author and finisher of this great faith (12:2).

            What makes uncommon faith? Though addressing a different subject, Paul gives an applicable assessment of our thought as well. In 1 Corinthians 4:7, “For who maketh thee to differ from another? And what hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now if thou didst receive it, dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?” Christ is the author of every gift. Another word of encouragement comes to mind. Jesus knew the trials the apostles would face because of their faith. He told them, “Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do… (Luke 12:4). “And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.” (vv. 11-12).

            The answer to this dilemma is the power of the Spirit of Christ who indwells every believer. He gives strength in the hour of trial that is beyond what the human will can conceive. If He gives enough strength to face a torturous death, what is to fear of a doctor’s operation when after that (sic), there is much more he can do. The Holy Spirit supplies doctors and nurses and medications and care that help soothe the pain. Progress in medicine is another enabling by God’s good graces. For the unsaved, it is born in God’s common grace. For you and I who know Him, it is appreciated more as it is accompanied by assurance that Christ is our Great Physician.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: ^[4] In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. (2 Corinthians 4:3-4)

William Ernest Henley was a late 19^th century British poet and editor who introduced the world to the famous authors Rudyard Kipling, H.G. Wells, and William Butler Yeats. A quick review of his life on Wikipedia reveals an interesting little factoid. He had one leg and was the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson’s character Long John Silver in his book Treasure Island. As you can see, Henley was acquainted with some of the literary giants of Victorian England.

Henley was a sick man inflicted with crippling tuberculosis of the bone. Though disadvantaged in many ways, he lived an active productive life writing many books of poetry. We might well imagine that despite his handicaps his uncommon willpower must have been the impetus that drove him to success. It seems likely that Henley’s most famous poem Invictus was a product of his determined self-reliance. Henley wrote:

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the Pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.

This poem was the product of a godless man who was blinded by the power of unbelief. In many pulpits this morning, preachers will speak of the power of faith. They will take examples from the scriptures such as the heroes in Hebrews 11 and they will tell their congregations how faith can move mountains, faith can part seas, faith can destroy enemy fortresses, faith makes the impossible happen. Not too many will speak of how powerful determined unbelief can be.

William Ernest Henley had his own version of faith. His faith was in himself which caused him to express what he thought was his ability to control his life and steer his soul to its own purposeful end. The character of Henley’s faith was of course quite different from the faith we preach from this pulpit. And yet, Henley was right. His faith piloted his soul as surely as does ours. He was the captain of his soul who charted his ship to its inevitable destination. Our faith is powerful enough to change our destination, while Henley was driven by the power of unbelief which was steadfastly resistant to a change in destination.

Henley bragged about his unbending will as if he was an uncommon specimen who was far above average. His fame, fortune, and social circles were not determinative. The truth is he was no different than every baby born in this world. He was natural not supernatural. He lived no differently than any person who is unaffected by the Holy Spirit. He was born to his destination while we are born again to ours. In other words, he charted a course that needed no steering. He was in a rut, a track impossible to pull out of much less one needing an unbending will to remain in.

This, friends, is the power of unbelief. In its own realm, it is as powerful as our faith is in ours. Faith in Christ is a course that leads to one place and one place only. Neither do you have power to change it for as Peter says we are kept by the power of God through faith. You will not change the natural course of your life. It is impossible. Stay the course and join Henley as the master of your fate or pray that God will be merciful to your foolishness. May he grant you the power to say, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.”

                                                                        Pastor V. Mark Smith

            In my 20 years as pastor of Berean, I have always heavily emphasized the doctrine of the church. I have convictions which I believe are biblically based and essential to the general welfare and survivability of these blessed bodies of Christ that are known as local churches. While correct ecclesiology (doctrine of the church) is critical to the proper functioning of the church, there is also need for churches to be faithful to all the doctrines taught in God’s word.

            The preservation of the church is majorly dependent on consistent teaching of all biblical doctrines and the proper interpretation of them. I not only emphasize ecclesiology but hopefully I am faithful to a well-rounded doctrinal ministry. We want to focus on everything the Bible teaches from cover to cover. Unfortunately, doctrine has fallen out of favor. Fewer and fewer preachers neither understand nor teach the doctrines of the faith which leaves the people in ignorance of scripture. Instead, preachers have become life coaches focusing on self-improvement. Most often, they do not look to the Bible for their source material but rely on the philosophies of secular reasoning.

            An example is the power of positive thinking and the plentiful books on self-encouragement and self-esteem. The best-selling Christian books focus on these themes while never approaching biblical understanding of the underlying condition that causes lack of confidence. Neither do they emphasize the proper solution which is Christ living in us by faith. We must have Christ to kill the root which is the depravity of our hearts. While self-esteem preachers claim that you are smart and good and have within you the power to be everything you want to be, the Bible and Jesus Christ categorically deny this. Fundamentally, we are unworthy sinners and can do nothing to help ourselves unless God should speak to our hearts through His word. This message does not travel well in the glitz, glamour, and giddiness of the well-coifed smiling charlatans.

            These preachers abandoned the word which is the only hope for true positivity. If we learn our condition through the truth of the word, we cannot find anything to be positive about until the same word reaches and changes the heart. Anything else is a meaningless placebo which we think helps but lets the disease run rampantly unchecked until it destroys the unsuspecting soul.

            The scriptures continually encourage us to pay attention to doctrine. Paul told Titus to hold on to the truth so that he could instruct others in sound doctrine. Titus labored on the island of Crete whose population was characterized by their own philosophers as persistent liars, evil beasts, and lazy gluttons. I suspect before Titus this is as close as they ever got to the truth. Titus needed a good foundation in strong doctrine to refute opposition to the gospel. These types are usually easily identified because they have crazy unorthodox teachings, and their lifestyles obviously betrays them…or it would seem. Joseph Smith gained quite a following despite this, did he not?

            The most dangerous to the church are preachers who twist orthodox doctrines to make their interpretations appear sound and reasonable. I have often referred to the havoc wreaked upon Baptist churches during the Second Great Awakening by Barton Stone and Alexander Campbell. These men were the seeds of the Churches of Christ, the Disciples of Christ, and the Christian Church. While orthodox on the mode of baptism, their doctrine of baptismal regeneration and claims to have restored the New Testament church along with it, resonated with many Baptist congregations and split them. As Paul said in Acts 20, some would arise and infiltrate the church, drawing away disciples after them.

            This is a clear and present danger for churches that abandon the teaching of sound doctrine. Doctrine preserves the church which is the pillar and ground of the truth. When the church is lost, truth has no one to uphold it and teach it to others. The church soon dies like the human body that is never nourished but feeds on poison.

            The Berean Baptist Church will continue to teach sound doctrine systematically to keep our feet firmly planted. We will not be tossed by every wind of false doctrine. Stay with us as we pursue every truth the scriptures teach.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

            One of the most important and impactful books I have read in the past twenty years is John MacArthur’s The Gospel According to Jesus Christ. I highly recommend this book to all Christians, especially those who may be struggling with their faith and identifying whether they are true believers in Christ. What is true faith and what is the evidence of being born-again? This book centers on the Lordship controversy. Must one believe in Jesus as both Lord and Saviour?

            To most of you who have been taught in this church, this question seems foolish to ask. However, this is an extremely sensitive issue among many fundamental Baptists. In their pursuit of high-pressure evangelism and seeking professions, they separate the Lordship of Christ from the belief in Jesus as Saviour. They believe, at least initially, we must not preach Jesus to lost sinners as anything more than Saviour. It is not necessary to have evidence of a changed life as Christ will save them as they are, and they may or may not “make Jesus the Lord of their lives.” To ask more, is to preach a works salvation.

            We believe, as MacArthur does, that the Lordship of Christ is not optional. It does not come after profession of faith but is an integral part of saving faith. There is no salvation without it. True salvation is always evidenced by a changed life. This is rejected by these fundamental Baptists because they cannot so easily count a person as a believer and thus it dampens their soul winning numbers. After their salvation, the confessor should “make Jesus the Lord of their lives,” which is a phrase nowhere found in scripture. This phrase is so often used that hardly anyone questions it. Dr. Voddie Bauchman commented, “I didn’t make Jesus my Lord. If you make Him your Lord that means you’re Lord because you told your Lord what to do. You acknowledge Lordship. You don’t bequeath Lordship.”

            This is the correct biblical interpretation of this subject. In Peter’s sermon on Pentecost, he preached, “Let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye crucified, both Lord and Christ.” (Acts 2:36). Romans 10:9 says, “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” There should be no argument that salvation in Christ can be separated from the Lordship of Christ. This is the Bible’s teaching and the centuries old Baptist confession. Our statement of faith reads in Article VIII: “We believe that Repentance and Faith are sacred duties, and also inseparable graces, wrought in our souls by the regenerating Spirit of God; whereby being deeply convinced of our guilt, danger, and helplessness, and of the way of salvation by Christ we turn to God with unfeigned contrition, confession, and supplication for mercy; at the same time heartily receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as our Prophet, Priest, and King, and relying on him alone as the only and all-sufficient Saviour.” Notice that we confess our guilt and the way of salvation by Christ; we turn to God with genuine contrition: AT THE SAME TIME heartily receiving THE LORD JESUS CHRIST as Prophet, Priest and King…” This identifies salvation as belief in the Saviour and acknowledging Him as Lord. There is no separation of these. The Confession also says in Article VII that the evidence of salvation is newness of life. Again, who can dispute this with any biblical text?

            The importance of MacArthur’s book is the warning against claims of salvation when no evidence exists. We commonly hear of people who are backslidden, have fallen out of church, and have no desire to serve the Lord or have any sense of His Lordship over their lives. While we do not disagree with the prospect of a backslidden state, we do not believe a true Christian lives in this state for extended periods of time. The problem is not backsliding—the problem is salvation. In Article 17 of the 1689 London Confession of Faith, the confession addresses the perseverance of the saints. Section 3 speaks of backsliding and grievous sins committed at times by believers. Yet it ends with, “they shall renew their repentance and be preserved through faith in Christ to the end.” Baptists did not entertain the possibility of not surrendering to the Lordship of Christ and existing simultaneously in a state of salvation.

            This topic is extremely important to our churches today. Paul wrote we must examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith. What is the purpose of this statement if evidence of Lordship makes no difference? Our conclusion is that many fundamental Baptists are fundamentally wrong on the doctrine of salvation. This is a most dangerous position. We must not be guilty of giving passes to the spiritually unfit. The eternal soul is at stake.

Pastor V. Mark Smith