The Promise of the Resurrection

Berean Baptist on April 12, 2016

I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. (Psalms 40:1-2)

In last Sunday morning’s message, we had the opportunity to study Psalm 110 in which David declared Jesus to be the sovereign Lord. In the Gospel of John, chapter 5 Jesus gave a wonderful exposition of the resurrection, and then He said there are witnesses that testify to the truthfulness of His words. John the Baptist was one of those witnesses. He was a truly remarkable prophet that had the unique privilege of announcing Jesus as the Lamb of God. Jesus also said the Father bears witness of Him, but that witness is only received by those whom the Father will reveal the Son. A third witness in that passage is the scriptures. Jesus said, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me” (5:39).

With the command to search, we would expect to be able to go to the Old Testament and find Christ. This is why Jesus took the Jews to Psalm 110 where David bore testimony to His Lordship. Our congregational reading today takes us to another place where Jesus is found in the Old Testament psalms. The entire 40th Psalm is about Christ, but verses 1 and 2 are the particular focus of my article today. These verses speak of the resurrection with verse 2 being a personal favorite: “He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.” These are words of praise as Jesus acknowledged the Father’s promise. In the eternal covenant of redemption between the Father and the Son, the Father promised to bring safely home all those for whom Christ would die. The first fruit of this promise is that Christ would be resurrected—a critical event without which the promise fails. The resurrection of Christ was the Father’s stamp of approval on the redemptive work of the Son. When this promise was fulfilled, heaven must have thundered with praise because at this point redemption was forever sealed.

However, there was never any doubt this would happen. Heaven was already populated with the souls of the patriarchs and the prophets and all the people of God that died prior to the resurrection. Because God is timeless, a promise made in eternity past is as certain as if it had already happened. When you read scriptures like Psalm 40, you can see yourself. If you are a believer, you know you are as safe for heaven as if you were already there.

Many people wonder how Christians face bad days with a smile. They wonder why peace fills our heart when they struggle with so many things that burden them to despair. The interesting irony is that we face the same life struggles they face. We have job issues, financial concerns, family disappointments—and yet these things do not rule us. Our happiness is not determined by how well a stock portfolio is doing or whether Junior got accepted to Harvard. We have already risen with Christ and we know that when He shall appear we shall also appear with Him in glory (Colossians 3:1, 4).

Contemplating the certainty of the resurrection will keep our thinking straight when the cares of life start to become too heavy. Christ was in the horrible pit, but the promise kept Him waiting patiently. There was a time limit on the grave—three days. There is also a time limit for you. Wait patiently for it. Redemption is nigh.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Take Some Time to Think

Berean Baptist on April 4, 2016

Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah. (Psalms 39:5)

Last week we read the 38th Psalm in which David was very troubled over sin in his life. Apparently this sin was accompanied by a terrible sickness which only heightened his anxiety. He was dealing with the mental pressure of being out of fellowship with the Lord as well as the physical pain of being sick in his body.

As we move into the 39th Psalm, David paused to reflect upon the brevity of life and how spending our time accumulating riches and those things that will pass away is nothing but vanity (v. 6). C.T. Shedd, who was a missionary in Africa in the late 19th century, wrote a famous poem with this line: “Only one life, twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.” C.T. Shedd lived that line. He gave up an enormous fortune and a beautiful home to go to Africa to serve Christ while living in an old run down wooden shack. Some of you may remember his name from our outreach training. He also said, “Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell.” Every Christian should take into consideration how brief our lives truly are. James said your life is like a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away (James 4:14).

As I read this Psalm, I was struck by David’s comment in the first verse: “I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me.” David was struggling with his condition; he understood it was not God’s fault, but he was terribly tempted to let out a word of complaint. At the very least he wanted to give expression to his grief, but he was afraid if he said the wrong thing or if the wrong person heard it, it would bring reproach upon the Lord.

Have we stopped to consider how words spoken wrongly, in anger or disgust, can harm others? Have you considered that giving vent to anger with the tongue can seriously damage your testimony? Words often bring more pain to people than anything you can do to them physically. We may never live long enough to make up for the hurt we do by speaking the wrong thing. We must think carefully before speaking especially in front of those who do not know the Lord.

I believe David was considering this and thinking carefully. This short life affords us time to reach only a few people. Comparatively speaking, we have little influence in a world filled with billions of people. However, the ones we do influence ought to receive the best impression of us they can. C.T. Shedd and others like him thought if there is to be any influence it ought to be that which leads people to Christ. This is why he was not willing to sit still in the lap of luxury when he could spend his time and money reaching people for Christ.

David said in verse 3 that he was musing about such things—about life and so on. “Muse” means to think deeply. He was thinking deeply about these perplexing problems. Isn’t it interesting that Satan would rather see you “amusing” yourself rather than musing? “Amuse” literally means “without thinking.” We spend far too much time in amusement, don’t we? We amuse ourselves and simply do not think about what matters. “Only what is done for Christ will last.” Spend a little time thinking about that.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

 

Tough Love

Berean Baptist on March 31, 2016

Psalm 38

Have you ever been so sick and felt so miserable that you thought you might not recover? I think most of us have been there more than once and what we really want in those times is for someone to offer a little sympathy. Recovery is nice and we look forward to it, but when we are in our weakest moments we really desire for someone to care.

The 38th Psalm is an interesting study because if we did not know better we would think it was written by Job. At least the physical suffering expressed in the psalm makes us think of him; but we are quickly tuned out of those thoughts because it is evident much of this suffering is mental and due to sin. Job was genuinely afflicted both physically and mentally but his problem was not sin. He was so upright that God used Him as a test case of true faith in His divine providence.

This psalm was not written by Job but by David. An examination of the psalm yields no proof as to the nature of David’s sin, and neither is there any record in David’s life elsewhere that describes this intense physical sickness that accompanied it. We might not think a missing record of sickness would be too strange since these types of illnesses were probably more common among the ancients than among us. Today with vaccines and preventative medicines we do not have to go through the myriads of diseases they experienced.

There is a type of sickness, however, that has not changed and neither does it have a new remedy. It is apparent that as a believer David had entered some sin that overly taxed his mental abilities and the burden was tearing him apart. He said, “Mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as a heavy burden they are too heavy for me” (v. 4). We certainly feel for David and our first thoughts may be what a terrible misfortune to be so miserable. But is it really? Would it be better for David to skip and hop through his sin with no care for what he had done? No! In His divine providence God will not allow us to be happy in sin. Sin prevents the showers of His blessings. Sin prevents closeness of fellowship with Him. Sin separates us from God, so God wants to separate us from sin as quickly as possible. Chastisement is a blessing from the Lord because it shows He cares. Hebrews says: “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth” (Hebrews 12:6). David was blessed to know the way out of his troubles. In that bleak moment, somebody cared! God loved him and was kind enough to send him painful trouble to bring him to his senses.

I know this may be a very strange thing for a pastor to say, but if you have sin in your life and God is running you through the ringer, I am glad. I am not happy for your sin, but I am happy that you are His child and He will lay the stripes on you until like David you come to your senses. Too many claim to be sons without chastisement for their sins. They go on unaffected. What a dangerous place to be! I would be much more fearful for your soul if you prosper in your sin.

The Bible says, “In everything give thanks.” Maybe it is time for you to thank Him for taking a little hide off your backside when you step out of line. When He does, turn around and go back to the path where He leads. God never stops loving us—He just has some odd ways of showing it.

 

 

Pastor V. Mark Smith

 

 

The Steps of a Good Man

Berean Baptist on February 15, 2016

The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand. (Psalms 37:23-24)

 On the last Lord’s Day, we read the first seventeen verses of Psalm 37. My remarks on this Psalm were about the hardships of the Christian life and how it seems we always fall behind the prosperity of the world. We are encouraged not to despair because this life is as good as it gets for the wicked. Though the evil man may appear to be prosperous, his prosperity is a mirage. He may clutch his title deed to the earth for a while, but soon all he has will be taken away. The earth belongs to God and is the inheritance of the people of God (v. 11).

This Psalm is filled with hope for the troubled Christian, but none is better than the words of verses 23 and 24. Think carefully on this phrase: “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD…” These are the most hopeful words you will ever read. They speak of two great doctrines of the faith—God’s divine providence and His sovereign predestination. There is not a step you will ever take that God did not know you would take. He knows because He is the one that puts one foot in front of the other.

When God formed the world by His spoken word, He knew it would be inhabited by a race that He had chosen for His name. The beginning of man was in the predestination of God and we dare not think that after man was created God abruptly relinquished His divine providence. The fall in the Garden was not a surprise to Him and neither was the means by which He would restore all that was lost in that devastating event. If God should have relinquished control at that awful hour, there is not one soul that would ever have hope of redemption. Through the fall, we became completely corrupted. Every faculty of man was radically altered so that we are consumed with sin through and through. This radical corruption is what we call total depravity, and it left man in such a state that we are wholly incapable of looking up to God and helping ourselves in any way. We will not look because we care not to look. The scriptures say we became the enemies of God and of His righteousness. If God should leave us alone in our depravity, we are hopeless because we do not have the power or will to escape it.

The scriptures do not present a God who has abandoned us. We are enabled to come back to Him for one reason—His marvelous grace. In regeneration, He changes our disposition from hostility against His grace to openness to receive His grace. He orders the steps of repentance and faith. If you trust Christ as Saviour, you owe your trust to a sovereign act of the Holy Spirit. You did not change your mind; He changed your mind. Our statement of faith says accurately: “[He] secure[s] our voluntary obedience to the gospel” (Article 7). God’s method leaves Him alone responsible in all ways for our salvation.

With the tremendous costliness of salvation requiring the death of Christ for sin, how can we imagine that God who purchased our redemption with blood should ever let us go? When we fall, God does not cast us off. In the bleakest hour of our deepest despair, God still has His eye on us. He fully intends to raise us again and put us back upon the solid rock. The timing of His lifting is also His alone. We know it cannot be too long because the time of life is nothing compared to eternity. Our long time is God’s short time.

The promise is providentially intact. He sees with His eye but goes much further—He holds with His hands. We know we can never sink too low to be beneath His tender embrace. We often say, “Keep the faith!” We shall because we are kept by the power of God (1 Peter 1:5).

Pastor V. Mark Smith

The Fountain of Life

Berean Baptist on February 4, 2016

For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light. (Psalms 36:9)

 As I was thinking over the congregational reading for today, I was reminded of verse number 9 in Psalm 36 in which David writes: “For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.” The purpose of our series on the Fundamentals the Faith is to open up this fountain of life in order to perfect our knowledge of Christ. We are not in the midst of an academic pursuit to merely fill our heads with useless knowledge, but it is our desire to be filled with the fullness of the knowledge of Christ. To know Christ is to love Him, so as we increase our knowledge of Him so shall we increase our love for Him.

The doctrines of God’s word are so ordered that we might know Him better. In 1671, the great Puritan, John Flavel, presented a series of messages entitled The Fountain of Life Opened Up. In these sermons, he sought to draw the truths of Christ together to present them in an orderly fashion so that his readers could see the interdependency of each doctrine to the meaning of the whole gospel. As a preface to our studies, I thought it would be good to quote from Flavel’s introductory remarks. Think carefully as you read the following.

“A young ungrounded Christian, when he sees all the fundamental truths, and sees good evidence and reasons of them, perhaps may be yet ignorant of the right order and place of every truth. It is a rare thing to have young professors to understand the necessary truths methodically: and this is a very great defect: for a great part of the usefulness and excellency of particular truths consists in the respect they have to one another. This therefore will be a very considerable part of your confirmation, and growth in your understandings, to see the body of the Christian doctrine, as it were, at one view, as the several parts of it are united in one perfect frame; and to know what aspect one point has upon another, and which are their due places. There is a great difference between the sight of the several parts of a clock or watch, as they are disjointed and scattered abroad, and the seeing of them joined, and in use and motion. To see here a pin and there a wheel, and not know how to set them all together, nor ever see them in their due places, will give but little satisfaction. It is the frame and design of holy doctrine that must be known, and every part should be discerned as it has its particular use to that design, and as it is connected with the other parts.

“By this means only can the true nature of Theology, together with the harmony and perfection of truth, be clearly understood. And every single truth also will be much better perceived by him that sees its place and order, than by any other: for one truth exceedingly illustrates and leads another into the understanding. Study therefore to grow in the more methodical knowledge of the same truths which you have received; and though you are not yet ripe enough to discern the whole body of theology in due method, yet see so much as you have attained to know, in the right order and placing of every part. As in anatomy, it is hard for the wisest physician to discern the course of every branch of the veins and arteries; but yet they may easily discern the place and order of the principal parts, and greater vessels, (and surely in the body of religion there are no branches of greater or more necessary truth than these) so it is in divinity, where no man has a perfect view of the whole, until he comes to the state of perfection with God; but every true Christian has the knowledge of all the essentials, and may know the orders and places of them all.”

This is why we study the Fundamentals of the Faith. We must see Christ better through the systematic understanding of truth. If this is your desire, join us for this important series on the doctrines of the faith.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Ingratitude

Berean Baptist on January 25, 2016

I behaved myself as though he had been my friend or brother: I bowed down heavily, as one that mourneth for his mother. But in mine adversity they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together… (Psalms 35:14-15a)

If I were to give a name to the 35th Psalm, I would call it the psalm of the ungrateful. The title would not be given because David was ungrateful, for the psalms are replete with his praises and thanksgiving for the Lord’s wonderful works. Rather, I would look at the underlying issues depicted in the psalm. This is David’s plea for God to turn back his adversaries whom he once befriended but were ungrateful for his friendship. They were people he honestly cared for and prayed for, yet they turned on him and spread lies about him. I hardly think a more loyal and trustworthy friend than David could be found, but though receiving benefits from him they did not value his friendship.

I think you can see in this assessment a striking parallel to the ungratefulness of the Jewish people that turned their backs on the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus stated clearly that He came to save them. He demonstrated boundless love and compassion by expending Himself to the state of exhaustion as day after day He healed the helpless multitude. What was His reward? “They rewarded me evil for good to the spoiling of my soul” (v. 12).

With all the helping and healing, it was very difficult, in fact impossible, to find fault in Jesus. This was exceedingly frustrating for His enemies because when seeking charges against Him they could never find any legitimate accusations. What did they do? Just as David was lied against when they said he was against Saul, so Jesus was lied against when they said He was against God and the government. The psalm says: “False witnesses did rise up; they laid to my charge things that I knew not” (v. 11).

At the time Jesus was taken to the cross, there were plenty in Israel that had been helped by Him. There were so many they could have easily overcome the mob that was against Him. But where were they? Were they thankful? We would scarcely believe they would come to His aid when His own disciples forsook Him and fled. Despite the constant rejection of Him by Israel’s leaders, Jesus still uttered words of compassion. He truly desired even His bitter enemies to repent and He would gather them to Him in loving forgiveness. Still there was no gratitude for His concern—only relentless attempts to murder Him.

This psalm is a lament against such ingratitude. However, it is also a plea for true justice. Those that refuse Christ’s friendship, who live for personal gain, who care little to thank Him for their very breath—this psalm heaps upon them their righteous reward.

We cannot help but think the same attitude prevails today. In a world that is strangely tolerant of every evil harmful to man, there is intolerance for what will do us the most good. We partake of the Lord’s benefits every day, but as the old proverb goes, we bite the hand that feeds us. The psalmist says: “Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion together that rejoice at mine hurt: let them be clothed with shame and dishonour that magnify themselves against me” (v. 26). God will not tolerate ingratitude indefinitely. The second advent of Christ will not end like the first. The ungrateful will meet their demise while the righteous grateful will magnify the Lord forever. Ingratitude is serious sin, so do not be party to it. Praise the Lord and give Him the thanks He deserves.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Spiritual Growth

Berean Baptist on December 31, 2015

A couple of weeks ago I was looking over some old New Year’s sermons and I came across one I preached in 2003. At that time, I had been pastor for only a few weeks and I was trying to set a vision for what the church could do in the following months and years as we began to serve the Lord together in this new relationship.

To make a point in the sermon, I mentioned all of the babies and toddlers in the congregation, and they were numerous. Do you know who they were? Among them were Benjamin and Samuel Petro, Tate Jarrell, and Alexander Brown. My point was about growth. We expect that little children will grow and if they don’t, we would anxiously take them to the doctor to find out what is wrong. Today, you can see there was no need for concern about these children as we have watched them grow and we are blessed to see them taking part in one of our most cherished ministries which is the Children’s Choir.

The comparison to be made was to measure spiritual growth in the same way. Now that thirteen years have passed since 2003, what is the state of our spiritual growth? Although the church has seen many come and go over the years, some of you were here for that first New Year’s sermon. I wonder have you grown in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ? Even if you were not here, how would you assess your growth rate since you became a Christian?

If we want to add a little anthropomorphism to the discussion (you did learn that word, didn’t you?), we would say the Lord must have some concern for His children that have never grown. What is the reason for their stunted spiritual growth? With the physical person, it could be the quality of the food provided. There are many children across the world that do not have the nourishing food they need. The food may be scarce or of poor quality. Is this the case with the spiritual child?

Interestingly enough, Paul said the scriptures are sufficient to furnish us unto all good works. Peter said the word nourishes spiritually new born babes so they may grow thereby. Is the problem lack of spiritual food? I hardly think so. Bibles are readily available—if you don’t have one, we are happy to give you one. The problem must be getting to the table to eat the food because there is no shortage of quantity. So perhaps we have found a key to stunted spiritual growth. The table is prepared; there is a feast in the word of God; but God’s people do not care to partake.

Another issue may be poor quality preaching. This one falls on me. Have I lacked in the preparation, and am I not providing the food in a way to make it desirable and digestible? Actually, this accusation has been made. However, those that make it do nothing to find better food. They make no personal application to make it better. I think it must be more of a problem with the appetite. Some just prefer candy and sweets rather than meat and potatoes.

It is much easier to blame lack of spiritual growth on others than it is to own the problem ourselves. Some have legitimate complaints because they did not have solid preaching in churches they attended. They are late bloomers because it took time to find the right table. Hopefully, Berean is the right table. With some personal ownership of the growth process, you can become spiritually healthy. So, we encourage you to dig in in 2016 and feast on the word of God. We promise to give you more of what you need, not necessarily more of what you want.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

The Promise of Peace

Berean Baptist on December 15, 2015

 

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. (Isaiah 9:2)

 Although Christmas is a time of celebration and happiness, the prophecies of the Old Testament concerning the coming of Christ were often born out of depressing times. When Israel needed some glimmer of hope because of oppressing conquering armies, God had the prophets remind them that He had not forgotten His promise to them.

I have chosen as the subject for this article a passage from Isaiah that is quoted in the New Testament upon the beginning of Christ’s public ministry. Isaiah 9:2 says, ”The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.” This reference is to the land of Galilee where Jesus grew up and spent most of His time preaching, healing, and giving hope to a sin darkened people.

At the time of Isaiah’s writing some seven hundred years before Christ, this area of Israel had been overrun by the Assyrian army and the people were living in a war-torn nation. There was great anguish and distress as we might well expect when people were completely helpless to remedy their ills. The northern kingdom of Israel had been warned by the prophets for many years what would happen if the people did not return to God. God would have protected them from these armies if they would repent, but they did not, and so now they were reaping the just reward of their sins.

However, we must remember they were God’s chosen people and despite their sin, God was gracious to promise restoration. Verses 6 and 7 promised the coming of the Messiah who would deliver Israel from their oppression. These two verses form a sweeping prophecy that encompass both the first and second advents of Christ. A child would be born—this is the first advent—and this child would bring the light of the gospel to Galilee. This is why we find verse 2 quoted in Matthew chapter 4. The prophecy then moves forward more than two thousand years to a date still in the future when Christ shall return the second time to begin a kingdom upon the earth. At this time, the promise to Israel will be fulfilled that a king shall sit on the throne of David forever. King Jesus will be ruler of a kingdom no longer gripped in the throes of war, but one in which peace reigns over the whole earth. Israel’s oppression will be forever ended and God’s people will always dwell in peace and safety.

This is a wonderful promise given by the prophet. It speaks of a loving and gracious God who is willing to forgive sin and restore the penitent to His divine favor. Though these verses are primarily a promise for Israel, we must remember that God has promised to make Gentiles a part of His kingdom. The light has also shined upon us and this is why we celebrate Christmas today.

This is good news for us all because in our deepest despair when there seems to be no hope we can find refuge in the merciful and gracious Saviour. Our hope and prayer today is that you have met your King and surrendered your life to Him. Christmas is far more festive when you truly know the one for whom it is named.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

The Blessing of Forgiveness

Berean Baptist on November 16, 2015

“Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.” (Psalms 32:1-2)

 All of us are familiar with the life of David. The two major events that usually stand out about his life are the victory he had over Goliath as a very young man and the terrible sin of adultery he committed with Bathsheba after he had become king. This sin only worsened as he tried to cover it up by murdering Uriah her husband. These two notable events show in the first an incredible demonstration of faith, and in the second a despicable demonstration of failure. Even though David defeated the giant Goliath, we would more remember him for his failure than his faith if not for this one important factor—God is merciful and He is always willing to forgive our sins.

This psalm is a psalm of forgiveness. It is possible in the worst of our failures, in the deepest poverty of our sins, to find God’s forgiveness. The key is repentance. The joy of forgiveness David found was not until he uttered the words, “God, I have sinned.” It was then and only then that David was restored to happiness and fellowship with the Lord.

The beginning of this psalm is an expression of the forgiveness found: “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.” “Impute” is not a word we often use but it simply means “to charge to the account of.” “Blessed is the man whose sins are not charged to him.” This statement begs for further explanation. How and why does God not charge sin to a person who is as obviously guilty as David was? If God is a God of justice and true righteousness, how can He overlook sin? This is a very good question and one which has a rock solid answer rooted in the divine satisfaction of justice. God never lets sin go unpunished. Every evil deed must receive a just recompense of reward.

If this is true, how was David granted forgiveness? The only answer is that somehow sin was punished by being meted out upon some other who bore the guilt of David’s sin. The New Testament has the answer for this: “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:20-21). This is in response to the Old Testament teaching of Isaiah 53:6:  “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” The death of Christ on the cross provided the means for double imputation without which none of us could ever be forgiven. Second Corinthians expresses it by saying Christ was made sin for us (our sins imputed to Him) and He is made righteousness for us (His righteousness imputed to us). This is the way God’s justice was satisfied for David’s sin and is the basis for his forgiveness. Our sins were punished in Christ and the merits of His righteous life are given to us. This all takes place by faith which was displayed by David when he recognized his sin and repented. He expected that God would do what He always promised—when there is sincere repentance, God always forgives. Later in the Psalms, David wrote: “Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalms 51:9-10).

Today we rejoice as David did because the same God that forgave him will also forgive us. You may have failed God deeply and you wonder if you could ever be forgiven. The answer is “yes.” Repent of your sins and place all your confidence in Christ. Trust Him as the redeemer of your soul and His death as the satisfaction for your sins. When you have done this, you will know the joy of David when he said, “Blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiven.”

Pastor V. Mark Smith

 

 

Puzzling but not Impossible

Berean Baptist on November 4, 2015

Psalm 31

 Psalm 31 is another of the remarkable poems of David that speak of the death and resurrection of Christ. We are prone to wonder how much the Holy Spirit revealed to David as he wrote because these psalms also have an immediate application to David’s life as well. If you will notice the fifth verse, David wrote, “Into thy hand I commit my spirit: thou has redeemed me, O LORD God of truth.” We can see how David would have written this about himself because he was fully dependent upon the Lord for strength. The New Testament records that David had a heart for God and we are encouraged to emulate him in our own affections for our heavenly Father. Though we can see the application of the verse to David’s life, we also know these are words spoken by Jesus as He hung on the cross. Just before He surrendered His life, He said, “Father into thy hands I commend my spirit.”

The confusing part of this psalm is how it alternates between the life of Christ, His death, and His resurrection. These are not presented in a clear, orderly fashion from one step to the next, but rather the joy of the resurrection may be immediately displaced by the suffering of His life. An example of this is seen in the latter part of the fifth verse which speaks of Christ’s redemption, an obvious reference to His resurrection, and then by verse ten we are brought back to His life—“For my life is spent with grief.”

I hope you can see by this how challenging Bible interpretation can be. Most of us read through the Psalms quickly without considering the deeper implications. We might even feel there is no use reading slowly because we just cannot understand. If this were true, the Bible would be nearly useless for a Christian. And yet these same Psalms tell us the word of God enlightens and strengthens us. How can this be if we have no understanding?

Our heavenly Father knows this. He never intended for His words to be understood by those without a regenerate heart (1 Cor. 2:14). However, He most certainly did intend that His people should hear and understand (1 Cor. 2:12). The enlightening of the mind to truth is one of the wonderful works of the indwelling Holy Spirit. When the Christian applies himself to study and asks for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the understanding will come. God wants you to know Him better and the only way you can is by His self-revelation in the written word.

I encourage you first of all to read; and secondly to read carefully and deliberately. There is no secret I reveal in a sermon that you may not already know by your own diligent study. Yes, you will have questions because none of us can plumb all the depths of scripture. God gave pastors and teachers to help you and we promise to do so; but He did not give us to do all the work for you.

Do not be discouraged with your reading. Keep it regular and consistent, and I promise upon the authority of the word itself, you shall see and know God better through scripture.

 Pastor V. Mark Smith