The Testimony of Church Truth

Berean Baptist on September 16, 2019

“Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,  (10)  But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:  (11)  Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.  (12)  For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.  (13)  Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 1:9-13) 

            Often when speaking to visitors in our services and to perspective members, I like to tell them we are historical Baptists. In this day, it is common to find churches that march under no specific banner but are what we sometimes term “generic Christians.” This means they fit in well with just about any group, especially those that have abandoned the teaching of specific Bible doctrines that would define their theological bent.

            As historical Baptists, we observe the time-honored confessions of faith of our Baptist forefathers. However, we do not believe creeds and confessions are superior to the Bible, and we observe them only as they agree with true Biblical teachings. Three very important confessions of faith reflect the interpretation of scripture as held by Berean Baptist Church. These are the First London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1644, the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689, and the New Hampshire Confession of Faith of 1833. While we are not in agreement with them in every minute detail, these confessions largely represent the teachings of our church.

            If I were to pick one portion of scripture that contains many of our specific teachings, I would choose 2 Timothy 1:9-13. Here are found these important truths: (1) Salvation is not by human effort but only through the grace of God bestowed upon depraved, unworthy sinners (v 9). (2) The means of salvation and those who receive it were determined by God before the world began. This determination was not based upon the condition of any foreseen goodness in man including faith in the gospel but was based solely upon the grace of God and the good pleasure of His will (v. 9). (3) Salvation is in Christ and Him alone (v. 10). (4) Those that God has chosen are effectually called by the Holy Spirit in conjunction with the preaching of the gospel (vv. 9-11). (5) All those chosen, effectually called, and justified, are forever preserved in the faith so they can never fall away (v. 12). (6) Believers are not only preserved in the faith; they must also persevere in the faith (v. 13). Their continuance in the faith is evidence of their true conversion.

            These beliefs are expressed in the historical Baptist confessions of faith. We affirm these as important truths of scripture, and to deny these is not only denial of these historical statements of faith, but more importantly is denial of the Holy Scriptures. Because of 2 Timothy 1:9-13 and many other confirmations of the same truths spoken elsewhere in the Bible, we cannot be “generic Christians.” Paul, the apostle, encouraged Timothy to hold on to the sound truths he was taught (v. 13). These words are recorded and preserved for us that we might also receive the same encouragement as Timothy.

            We make no apologies for believing, preaching, and being identified with the same truths our Baptist forefathers taught. If Christ and the apostles taught these doctrines, we want them to be our doctrines too!

                                                                        Pastor V. Mark Smith

THE TESTIMONY OF TRUTH IN THE PULPIT

Berean Baptist on September 9, 2019

But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. (2 Peter 2:1-2) 

            The second chapter of 2nd Peter begins with a solemn warning for Christians in every generation. In the first century, the seeds of heresy were already beginning to grow as Satan was busily trying to tear down the work of the gospel and blind people’s eyes to the truth. The apostle Paul speaks of Judaizers in Galatians chapter 1 that taught a false gospel that opposed the teaching of pure grace, and faith alone as the instrumental cause of justification. The apostle John spoke of antichrists that denied the incarnation and the full deity of Jesus Christ. Jude warns about deceivers that sneak into the church bringing heresies that deny the faith that was given through the teachings of Jesus and the apostles. This is a very common theme in the New Testament and one that we should be keenly aware of.

            We may be tempted to think that false teachers will boldly announce themselves and it will be very apparent they are not teachers of truth. We might think we can easily identify them and thus protect the church from their harm. The language of scripture gives a very much different picture. False teachers are subtle. Peter says they “privily shall bring in damnable heresies.” This means they come secretly and in disguise. Jude says they creep in unawares. The truth is they may be hard to detect. They tell just enough truth mixed with their lies to be believable and if a Christian is not fully armed against them by having a firm foundation to his faith, he can be led down a path to destruction.

            While it is true no born again believer can be destroyed in hell, it is just as true that Satan can ruin a Christian’s influence by undermining his ability to clearly articulate the doctrines of the faith. For this reason, we must be diligent students of God’s word. We must not only be able to state the doctrines of the faith, we must know why they are true. I am afraid this is where most Christians fail. They know enough and believe enough to be saved, but their personal growth is severely stunted because they attend churches that are unconcerned about teaching doctrine, and may not even have the correct doctrine anyway. Also, in the Christian’s personal life, there is very little to no study of the word.

            This is the issue for the believer in the pew. How much more is a false teacher a destroyer of souls when he is dealing directly with unbelievers? A false gospel will never save anyone and will ultimately lead the person to the fires of hell. There are many people headed there that are very religious and believe their souls are safe. They are deceived and have stopped looking for truth because they believe they already have it.

            With the advent of Christ, the first century began the widespread revelation of the gospel of grace. It was also the beginning of an earnest effort to stop the advancement of the gospel and thus the growth of the church. In the ensuing centuries, the opposition has only grown worse. Today there are hundreds of denominations preaching just about any doctrine you care to hear. We cannot afford to be lazy and complacent and permit false teachers to continue without opposition. If you hear me mention a name or oppose a doctrine of a certain church or pastor, please do not think I do so to try and destroy Christian unity. It is my responsibility to identify the false and to teach what is true. If it takes naming names, so be it. This is part of the hedge of protection you receive by being in a church that is very concerned about doctrinal matters. If you pay attention and attend faithfully, God will protect you from destructive heresies. Try every word that is said by your own diligent study. God expects no less and neither do we.

                                                                        Pastor V. Mark Smith

The Ministerial Lie

Berean Baptist on September 2, 2019

The ninth commandment says, “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.” We must remember the commandments were given as the ruling code of law for Israel, and was a constitution for their government. For this reason, we notice the ninth commandment appears as a regulation for judicial procedures and for those who conduct the courts. This is certainly true, but as we learned before, all the commandments are broad in governing all parts of our everyday lives. Thou shalt not bear false witness extends beyond the witness stand in the court of law to every dealing we have with every person. God never gives an excuse to lie even though we know lies sometimes protect people, may even promote their welfare in some degree, or in general may be told for the greater good.

            It is the last of these that colors my article today—lies that are told for the greater good. Surprisingly, this is the excuse for ministerial lies. I will cover this aspect of lying more extensively in a later message, but it strikes me today as important because of what I heard recently from the pulpit of a fundamental Baptist pastor. I am very sensitive to what I term ministerial lies. I find no support for it in any place in scripture. Further, it destroys the integrity of the preacher who tells them.

            At this point, you may be thoroughly confused. What are these lies? They are varied, but the several I just heard were fabrications of doctrine assigned to another group which the preacher claimed represented their beliefs. These false accusations were hurled for ridicule and were attempts to make the one who told them seem to be a defender of truth, a security force against heresy in his church. In this case, the preacher fabricated a conversation and debate with a man who teaches the doctrines of grace and proceeded to tear down doctrines the man did not believe. In other words, the preacher built a straw man to attack, and with what he described as his “debating prowess,” he tore down the straw man and conquered the gainsayer.

            All of this may seem insignificant to you, but on this day, it is very significant to me. The preacher that was belittled, lied about, and ridiculed was me. The man was unable to defend his doctrine on its own merits, so he chose to invent some for me that nobody like me believes. Our Baptist churches are in sad theological shape when preachers resort to lies to make themselves appear theologically astute. The most unfortunate part of this encounter was not what he did to me, but to those in his own congregation whom he owes the truth. At times, he belittled them too for their lack of understanding. The only question we need ask is why don’t they understand? This man has been their teacher for 15 years—why don’t they know anything?

            My point today is that it is unconscionable to tell a deliberate lie, and a thousand times worse if it is a ministerial lie. The pretense is that it will result in a greater good. If the man cannot defend his doctrine fairly, what else will he do? To maintain it, he must lie or else his ignorance is exposed to his congregation. The greater good is to protect his false integrity. If he had any integrity, he would deal with the real issues and take his lumps fairly and squarely.

            I hope you have confidence in this Baptist pulpit. If you disagree with me, we can discuss it. But I will not resort to any lie to uphold any doctrine. Our doctrine stands without the support of lies. It is just that good because it is the doctrine of God.

                                                                                                Pastor V. Mark Smith                                                     

No More Blood Sacrifices Required

Berean Baptist on August 26, 2019

Many sacrifices of the Mosaic Law were not fully understood by the Old Testament saints who practiced them. We have the advantage of the New Testament which helps decipher aspects of them that were unknown to ancient believers. We have knowledge of the resurrected living Christ who is the antitype of the symbols.

It is not knowledge of symbols so obscure and deeply hidden that only a few can discover them through uncommon intellect. These truths are discovered to any Bible student who will do the work of digging through the texts, praying for guidance, and carefully thinking them through. The key is that we can put Old and New Testaments together to uncover the fascinating picture of Christ that emerges from them. The picture is multifaceted and is only seen as the depths of scripture are mined. I am confident if you study and apply, you will see patterns emerge, and you will find yourself with many “aha” moments in which you say, “Why didn’t I think of that before?”

One of the most mind-boggling aspects of the sacrifices is the sheer volume of animals required to make them all. Sacrifices were made every morning and evening of every day—a lamb in the morning and a lamb in the evening. On the first day of each month, the number increased to two bulls, one ram, one goat, and seven lambs. On high feast days, such as the Day of Atonement, more animals were needed. But perhaps nothing is as stunning as the dedication of the temple by Solomon. Over a fourteen-day period, 142,000 animals were offered. There were so many the altar constructed for the purpose could not handle them. Solomon had to sanctify the middle court to give more space for more altars. This caused a lasting impression to be indelibly stamped on the people. The shedding of blood is required to satisfy God as atonement for sin. Hebrews says if no blood is shed there is no forgiveness of sin.

I would like to emphasize this because modern theologians desperately rewrite biblical history to get rid of the blood connection to the salvation of souls. They do not want the blood of the cross because they believe it is barbaric. At least they do not want God to have anything to do with it. They say if God sacrificed His Son, He is a cosmic child abuser. Rather, it was man’s idea there should be a cross and Christ was crucified on man’s initiative not God’s. This denies the plain statements of the Bible such as found in Acts 2 and divorces Old Testament worship in sacrifices from anything to do with the plan of redemption.

This rewrite of biblical theology is devastating to the salvation of the fallen race. Embracing this error is fatal in its consequences, for man can never be reconciled to God without the blood. We cannot entertain any doctrine that devalues the blood atonement. Therefore, rather than lessen the impact by running away from the sacrifices in order to sooth spiritually squeamish weaklings, we accentuate them as much as possible by learning the sacrificial system in all its glorious difficult implications.

We are thankful blood sacrifices need not be made today, but this is only because the value of Christ’s blood is infinite. His death did what 142,000 animal sacrifices and millions more could not do. Thank God for the cross. The Son of God is the last sacrifice forever.

                                                          Pastor V. Mark Smith

Seeking the Saviour in the Sacrifices

Berean Baptist on August 19, 2019

The Old Testament is often ignored in many churches without people realizing it holds the key to many New Testament references. At first, the only Bible New Testament preachers could use was the Old Testament. This meant they were continually seeking Jesus in Old Testament texts. Even Jesus referenced the Old Testament testimony of Him. He taught two disciples on the road to Emmaus immediately after He arose from the tomb. He explained the Old Testament text beginning at Moses and the prophets to show them He was the true promised Messiah.

In the New Testament era, God speaks through the living word, Jesus Christ, as revealed in the written word, the Bible. We have no other way of knowing Him in the fullness of His splendor except as we understand Him through scripture. We need not expect any other revelation because scripture testifies to its sufficiency. It tells us everything God wants us to know in this present day. Yet, God spoke in various ways in times past. Sometimes He gave dreams and visions. Sometimes He appeared in theophanies. These were manifestations of His presence through other forms. For example, He spoke to Moses in a burning bush or appeared as a stranger conversing with Abraham. Joshua saw Him as an angel and Jacob wrestled with Him at Peniel. Those were unusual occurrences even for Old Testament times. The more common way of God teaching about Himself was through the pictures of worship.

God gave Moses the plan for the tabernacle, a tent-like structure, made from a pattern of the divine in heaven. Each part of the building, the materials, the articles of furniture, the superstructure, the surroundings, and the priests who served were types of the Lord Jesus Christ. There were also many sacrifices classified as either sweet savour or non-sweet savor.

I am convinced there is no better way to learn the person and work of Christ than to study Old Testament worship. If Jesus used the Old Testament to teach His work to confused people, and if the apostles had nothing but what they learned from the Old Testament to guide them at first, surely an examination of Old Testament worship is time well spent. As the authors wrote the New Testament, it gave life to the types the Old Testament portrayed. The Israelites could not see it as well as we do today. The recognition of a type requires the unveiling of the antitype. We more recognize the types/antitypes because we have a completed Bible. But what good does it do to have the antitype if we do not recognize the type? You see, the dilemma is the same. If you do not know the Old Testament, the antitype is largely unrecognized.

There are many of these in the scriptures. We miss much meaning if we do not take time to study and learn them. As the Old Testament and New Testaments complement each other, so does Sunday morning and Sunday afternoon at Berean. Sunday afternoons are usually the deeper of the two services and affords the opportunity to increase your understanding of scripture. How much you grow in the Lord depends on how much you know about scripture. If you don’t know about the sacrifices of the Old Testament, you are missing important information you really need to know.

Christ taught Himself and the apostles taught Him by using the Old Testament. If the New Testament is all you know about Christ, you haven’t learned enough. Be sure to study the Old to find Him in more ways than you can imagine.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Remove Not the Ancient Landmark

Berean Baptist on August 5, 2019

Proverbs 22:28

There is scarcely a Christian in a fundamental church that has not heard a sermon on Proverbs 22:28. There is no debate over the original meaning of the verse. Landmarks were used to set the boundaries of a person’s property. These were set to designate the ownership of land in recognition of a person’s legal right to a specific part of the land. Often, large stones placed at corners of the property made it obvious to others where the property lines extended. We still use the same basic principles today in less obvious ways. Surveyors set property pins. It is impossible to move the property lines by theft since modern surveying techniques do not depend on physical markers. GPS coordinates take their place. But, in Bible times, to move a marker to increase one’s part of the land and to decrease another’s, was dishonest and destructive to property owners.

The question about this text is whether it is right to make a spiritual application. I have never heard of a fundamental preacher who said we should not. It is a favorite text for teaching the danger of moving away from the great doctrines of the Bible. These doctrines are the markers of our faith and practice. We cannot go beyond or fall short of them. To do so is to destroy the faith as it was once delivered by the Holy Spirit through New Testament authorship (Jude 1:3). In Jude’s terms, contending for the faith is the defense of these landmarks.

As Bereans, we examine every doctrine to be sure it corresponds to the written word. If it does not, we reject it as an attempt to move the landmark. In two thousand years of church history, many splinter groups have been busy moving landmarks all over the map. They put new ones down while adjusting others or completely removing them. These bogus landmarks should be soundly rejected. If they are not scriptural, they do not come from God. This shows the main positioning pin is vital. This pin is the belief the Bible is the infallible, unchanging word of God.

When others describe our church as a traditional church, some may think this refers to our worship style, such as the types of songs we sing and the way we present them. This is a tradition in one sense, but not the tradition we care to be most defined by. Rather, we want to be known as a traditional New Testament Bible church. We want to be known as those who have no other standards than the standards found in God’s word. We want no other doctrines than those we can defend with an open Bible. We want no other text of scripture than translations that are faithful to the author’s original intent. We want no flirtation with non-biblical methods of increasing attendance. The church belongs to Christ and He will build it as He sees fit.

If you visit Berean, expect to hear the word of God taught book by book, chapter by chapter, and verse by verse. We don’t skip the hard parts or the controversial ones. If what we teach, defies the culture, we keep on preaching. If the deficiencies of the culture are in the word, the culture must be notified and called into account. If our doctrine is in the word and undercuts theological liberalism and false doctrines of apostate churches, so be it. The Holy Spirit placed the landmarks and we believe it is our duty to observe them.

                                                            Pastor V. Mark Smith

PUNY PREACHERS AND POLITICS

Berean Baptist on July 29, 2019

Proverbs 21:1: “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.”

This scripture is both appropriate and comforting in these days of political turmoil. Everyday there is a news story of mostly complaints about the activities of the president. In my lifetime, I have never seen the amount of sour scrutiny of every action in negative reporting of everything he does. It is as if the right action is always the opposite action of what he does no matter the subject. You can be the judge of that but notice those who clamored most before the election that we should accept the results of the election when they thought their candidate would win, are the loudest in their protests we should not. Those who live to defend free speech die when the speech does not agree with them. Such is the hypocrisy of America politics.

            This political unrest engages many pastors, and I do not want to ride on that bandwagon. As one author said, “I am concerned when I see pastors throw their weight behind causes good Christians might disagree on. There are many reasons one might be cheered by Trump’s Supreme Court nominees, but there is nothing in the Bible that says Christians must be originalists when it comes to the Constitution.” I certainly have my viewpoint on how the Supreme Court should be constructed, but I agree with this author. The pastor’s position is not to be an interpreter of the Constitution. Our calling is to interpret the Word of God. I do not need to inject controversies that have no bearing on the eternal destiny of the soul, nor if they do not speak of the virtues of the Saviour.

            I will speak from the pulpit on moral issues that face us because those are addressed in the scriptures. We have an obligation to the people to engage them because they bear on righteousness. Other matters I do not care to address. A few months ago, I steadfastly refused to fight a battle over the Internal Revenue 501(c) 3 issue. It will neither help nor hinder me from preaching the truth from the Berean pulpit.

            There is something that seriously irks me about political commentary. It is the strange media concern over Hollywood’s opinions of governmental policies. I tend to believe much less attention is paid to their opinions than they think. Mostly they are insipid people supported by other insipid Hollywood people just like them. I care nothing at all what George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio or Jon Stewart say. How they get to congressional hearings is beyond my capacity to understand. I have never voted for or considered for three seconds whether Robert De Niro supports a candidate. I’ve read he still wants to punch Donald Trump in the face. I wish he would, then we would never hear of Robert De Niro again. These people have no policy expertise that compels any reasonable person to listen to their advice.

            Ah, but here is the rub. Neither do preachers have any policy expertise. What makes a preacher any more a reliable guide than a Hollywood starlet? When he strays away from the field he knows, he is dumber than De Niro. At least, he ought to know better. Quite hypocritical, me thinks! Another quote strikes me: “I am concerned when I see pastors making extravagant, unqualified statements on issues that require some level of nuance and expertise.” Seems running the United States government might have a small requirement for that, doesn’t it?

            I am content to leave the king’s heart in the hand of the Lord. Nothing he does or does not do will affect the church. The preacher who says it will needs to sit down and shut up. For most of Christian history, the government never favored the true church. It did not stop us then and it will not stop us now. We need to stick to the Lord’s business. On the individual level, go at it with all the vigor and vim you please. This pulpit will stay out of it. Do not expect to be ratified by the Word of God when God does not speak.

                                                                                    Pastor V. Mark Smith

Photobombing Jesus

Berean Baptist on July 25, 2019

Recently I read an article intitled, Photobombing Jesus. The article began with a definition of photobomb. It means, “to spoil a photograph by appearing in the camera’s field of view as a picture is taken.” If you still don’t understand the meaning, ask any teenager with a cell phone. They will be happy to demonstrate for your education.

The article was about a pastor who lamented the beginning of his ministry. He attempted to outshine Jesus. It started with his testimony. God saved him out of a life of drugs, parties, gambling, and women. Everyone knows this testimony is much more interesting than one like mine. I was a preacher’s kid who grew up in church and saved at an early age. No wild parties for me. A testimony like this man’s will help catapult a person to the top 40 on the evangelistic circuit. In his words, the author was ushered on the stage of churches and campus ministries to tell what Jesus had done for him.

With his experiences, he thought a good place for God to use him was in a large campus ministry, and soon he was involved in one. To his dismay, he wasn’t put up front. Instead, his job was to raise and lower the curtain for people who were on stage. He was upset at the turn of events because he thought his ministry was more valuable to God than being a backstage hand. It was then the Lord convicted him. He recognized this as his attempt to photobomb Jesus.

From this point, he ended the article with “six glory-stealing confessions.” The first one caught my eye relating to a sermon I preached. He confessed, “I want Jesus to be glorified, but I want glory too.” Nothing better describes a photobombing pastor. He wants applause as a way of getting into the picture with Jesus. It is fine if Jesus is in the picture too, but he must be sure he isn’t left out and gets the recognition he needs. His bio will read about how the church has grown since he became the pastor. The numbers in attendance are noted, the value of the buildings is announced, and don’t forget how many books he’s authored. He is a jack of all trades but master of none. He expects the congregation to applaud as he enters the sanctuary with his entourage in tow.

In a similar way, there are preachers such as I who pastor smaller less prominent ministries. We do not expect applause for good reason. If you have heard our attempts, they are too weak to be anything but embarrassing. We seek recognition in other ways. Ours is to photobomb Jesus by seeking compliments. We love to hear someone at the door tell us how great the sermon was that day. We need at least one of these to remind us who is the most important around here. If we get two, there is no doubt Spurgeon was in the building. If there are no compliments, we are grossly under appreciated.

Do we need this affirmation to be successful preaching God’s word? If it bothers us, we need to step back and remember who should receive glory. This author said, “A servant who seeks affirmation steals something that does not belong to them…A preacher who preaches to gain glory for himself is flirting with Christ’s bride for whom he died to have for His own.” Let Christ be the only one framed in the picture. This is His church not mine.


Pastor V. Mark Smith

The Lord’s Supper

Berean Baptist on July 15, 2019

The Lord’s Supper is a solemn occasion which we labor to maintain through its observance as a sanctified, holy remembrance of our Lord. The Lord’s Supper was given as a memorial ordinance to remind the church of Christ’s death. It is to be observed until He returns to receive the church to Himself. The Bible does not tell us how often we should observe the Supper, only that we should do it. The timing is left for individual churches to decide.

            From my fifty-eight years of experience as a Christian, I have reached the conclusion the Supper should not be observed too often to the point it begins to lose its special sense of significance. Though we may claim it is always special, we note that members’ frequent absences to attend its observance obviates their claims. We must confess that reducing the frequency will do as the adage says, “absence makes the heart grow fonder.”

            For years, our church celebrated the Supper at the begging of each month and was usually little more than an extra function tacked on at the end of the service. I believed we should change this and reduce the frequency to the beginning of each quarter. This enabled us to separate it from the other services and to concentrate on the Supper as our main theme. Does this mean there are no other times we speak of the Lord’s death? Certainly not, for every sermon in every service will find its way to the cross, and all preaching is tied to Christ’s sacrifice for our sins.

            Some years ago, I had an encounter with a Christian couple who claimed their church was very disappointing in its celebration of this blessed memorial. Their complaint was that in their two-year membership in the church, the Supper had not been observed. The excuse according to the pastor was the church was not ready for it. He did not believe the church was spiritual enough to satisfy the Lord that they were worthy to take of His body and blood. This is very unfortunate for every child of God has been made worthy by the blood of the Lamb. Our sins are forgiven, and we stand in the righteousness of Christ, not in the merits of our supposed earned holiness. This is not to say there are no restrictions. We are clearly told not to tempt the Lord, and we should not come to His table with unconfessed sins.

            Confession of sin does not require penance as taught by Catholicism. Therefore, there is no time lapse between repentance and forgiveness. As soon as we repent, we are ready for fellowship. This interdicts the pastor’s objection. It is removed with a singular encouragement—a plea for the people to repent. When this is done, the Supper may proceed. The faithful are blessed, and if some will not repent, they are judged by God and not by man.

            After observing our night of the Supper, after the prayers and the singing of hymns; after the message preached from the word; after the visuals of breaking bread and pouring cups; after witnessing the members united and partaking of the elements, the visiting couple were saddened for the blessings they had missed.

            I encourage all members of Berean to be here and not miss our few opportunities each year when we place our focus entirely on this ordinance. Our practice is not intended to be critical of churches and their frequency of observing the ordinance.  We do what is best for this body to solidify the solemnity of the occasion.

                                                            Pastor V. Mark Smith

Resolved to be Righteous

Berean Baptist on July 8, 2019

(This article was written for the church at the beginning of 2017)

Is there a better way to begin the New Year than to begin by worshipping the Lord with your church? Perhaps we should redouble our efforts to make this year the year of worship. Here today, right now, all together, we should resolve to be faithful in our attendance to the services of our church.

            Today’s message is entitled Resolved to Be Righteous. This is based on resolutions made by Jonathan Edwards, but more importantly on Paul’s words of encouragement in Philippians. He challenged Christians to press on to claim the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. If I may, please take a look back at the past for a moment. The following is the text of a bulletin article I wrote on Jonathan Edwards a few years ago. I hope it will be helpful in light of today’s message.

In the year 1722, America’s greatest theologian, Jonathan Edwards, sat down to make a list of resolutions. Rather than concentrate on only a few goals he wished to achieve as we would when making our most important New Year’s resolutions, Edwards made a list of seventy items which he promised to read at least once each week. By doing this, he would not easily forget as we do but would be reminded each and every week to strive for these goals.

Edwards’ resolutions contained some of the same things we attempt such as not eating too much or drinking too much. He also included such standards as never speaking evil of others but to be humble and consider his own faults. His opening statement read thusly: “Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God’s help, I do humbly entreat him by his grace to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ’s sake.” With such sensitivity to God’s work in his life, his first resolution does not come as a surprise. He wrote, “Resolved, that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God’s glory, and my own good, profit and pleasure, in the whole of my duration, without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriad’s of ages hence. Resolved to do whatever I think to be my duty and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general. Resolved to do this, whatever difficulties I meet with, how many and how great soever.”  

His twenty-eighth resolution is one of my favorites. He wrote: “Resolved, to study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly and frequently, as that I may find, and plainly perceive myself to grow in the knowledge of the same.” If I were to put my finger on the one resolution that guaranteed the success of the other sixty-nine, this would be it. No one grows in scripture without application of it. The sacred scripture is the place to find God’s activities manifested in the life of Christ. If our lives are to be of the highest order, they must be conformed to His activities. What resolution is of any value if it is not one that would be kept by Christ?

This is the reason we plow the Bible at Berean Baptist Church. Solomon wrote in the Proverbs: “My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee” (Prov. 3:1-2). Many promises such as this that associate success with the knowledge of scripture are found in the Bible. One of the most important is David’s statement, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psalm 119:11). Sin is the crucial sticking point between us and God. If knowledge of the Word of God prevents sin, shouldn’t we resolve to study the scriptures steadily, constantly, and frequently?

This year you may not list seventy resolutions that you promise to read every week, but you should realize as Jonathan Edwards did that you must humbly entreat God for His help each day. Nothing you will do in any week this year will be as personally gratifying and enriching as spending time in God’s word. If you are faithful to it, all Christ-like activities will flow out of the knowledge you gain. This is your guarantee of success.

                                                                        Pastor V. Mark Smith