Ribbons and Markers

(We originally published this article in February 2025)

Knowing I must write articles with timeliness to meet printing deadlines, I sometimes write far in advance. I am sure you noticed last week that I must have written before my dear wife Pam went to be with the Lord, which left some of the wording a little awkward. I will never come up against such a date again, so I chose to leave the article as it was hoping you would understand the primary intent. It was not just about Pam and what I am doing but more so what you should do regarding prioritizing family. Now that she is gone, my time away from you may seem a little selfish. I want to keep emphasizing how blessed I am that my church cares to give me time to grieve. The many notices I have received made this clear even though I assume no official action of the church was taken. 

Now, I hope to move on although my wife of more than fifty years will always be with me. I still have something to say before I do. Bulletin articles have become harder as of late since my mind has been flooded with too many thoughts to calculate. After meeting with the funeral director, I came back to my daughter’s house with a list of items that needed attention. Clarissa took care of most of them, but some required personal attention. Two were difficult—a brief comment for the ribbon on the casket spray and likewise for the gravestone marker. “Loving wife” and “devoted mother” are quite common and exceedingly true for Pam. Somehow, they were not the direction I wanted to go. I sat for a few minutes after my sister asked if I had decided on the ribbon. She was taking care of the flowers and had her deadline. At that moment thoughts of who to thank, who to be most grateful to because of the gift Pam was, led me to say, “I think the ribbon should say, ‘To God be the Glory.’” Clarissa suggested a variation that I was most pleased to accept—“Soli Deo Gloria.” My sister questioned whether many would understand what this meant. “Not in my church,” was the reply: “Glory to God alone.” I decided this would also be on the gravestone.

I have given my life at Berean to expounding the doctrines of Soli Deo Gloria, Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, Solus Christus, and Sola Scriptura (Glory to God Alone, Grace Alone, Faith Alone, Christ Alone, Scripture Alone.) It is not difficult to believe that during the apostles’ ministry and then immediately after their deaths, the old serpent, Satan, was at work to destroy belief in God’s work alone in our salvation. A system of works righteousness headed by men and perpetuated by an apostate church introduced a meritocracy by which the guilt of sin could be removed but not the punishment of it. Christ death was not enough therefore this church introduced a requirement of purgatory for punishment until each person completed the suffering required which Christ death did not satisfy. This apostate church grew rich selling indulgences for sin (and they still do—see Jubilee) and set the price through the centuries for families to pay to retrieve their loved ones from this awful place and grant their entrance into heaven.

I could spend countless time and energy explaining the horrible harm the doctrines of this church have done to millions and how they have trampled the blood of the atonement of Jesus Christ beneath their feet. True suffering in the lake of fire from which no one ever escapes awaits those who live and die in this system. No amount of good works in this life will ever attain to the worth of Christ’s blood. When I put the praise of Soli Deo Gloria on Pam’s casket and tomb, it is her testimony that she is now, immediately in the presence of Jesus Christ. He is her Saviour who died that no guilt or punishment would be assigned to her. Grace alone and faith in Jesus Christ alone is her guarantee. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” (John 5:24)   When she received Christ at 15, she was alive unto God forever. Thus, I will end today. My wife never preached a sermon in her life, but she preached a remarkable one in her death.

Pastor V. Mark Smith