Is Your Faith Amazing?

Berean Baptist on December 16, 2019

When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. (Matthew 8:10) 

            Matthew records several specific miracles that demonstrated the power and authority of Jesus. The second one is unique in its emphasis on faith. There are only two instances in scripture where it is said that Jesus marveled, or was amazed, and both concern faith. This one is because of the presence of uncommon faith and the other is because of the absence of expected faith. In the first instance, it was because faith came from a man without the external privileges of God’s revelation. In the second, it was lack of faith from those that had been blessed with every opportunity, with every privilege, with easy access to God’s word, and yet it did not develop into full dependence upon God.

            Matthew 8:5-13 describes the faith of a Roman centurion, a Gentile, who was not born into one the families of God’s chosen nation. He was an outsider, one whom Paul would describe as one of the “aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise” (Eph. 2:12). This means he had none of the external privileges of Israel. He had not grown up learning what they learned about Jehovah God. He had not partaken in the lifelong rituals of Judaism that were intended to prepare them for the coming of the Messiah. And yet when He heard of Jesus, he recognized the power of God was in Him. He recognized His authority as the Son of God and His transcendence over the creation. He recognized the power of His words; with His word alone, His will would be done. This recognition amazed Jesus.

            In the second instance (Mark 6:6), Jesus marveled at the unbelief of the Jews. They had every advantage. Paul said, “unto them were committed the oracles of God” (Rom. 3:1-2). The first promise of the Messiah was given to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:15). The promise was renewed with Abraham, and then with Isaac and Jacob. Finally, God’s greatest prophet Moses was given the Law contained in “divine ordinances” that found their fulfillment in Jesus Christ (Heb. 9:1). In contradistinction to the “alien” centurion, the ones with all the unique privileges did not recognize the Messiah when He came. They rejected His teachings, miracles, and authority; they claimed He was from the devil (Matt. 12:24) and then crucified Him. Jesus was amazed at their shameless rejection.

            As I think on this story, I wonder how God views lack of faith in His chosen church, by which I mean those who have been elected to salvation, given the privilege of faith in Christ, and have become members of His body on earth. What about your blessing of being in a church that preaches truth, that still believes the Bible, that is unafraid to declare the whole counsel of God when opposed by false Christianity? What about you who are members of a church unlike any in our area? What about you that hear the same doctrines preached as from our Baptist forefathers? How much faith do you have in God?

The answer can be found in how you support your church. It can be found in your attendance, in your tithes, in your witnessing, and in your lifestyles. If Jesus came to our services, would He say, “I have not found so great faith, no, not in America?” Is your faith so uncommon that it would amaze Jesus?

                                                                                    Pastor V. Mark Smith

Religious Thieves

Berean Baptist on August 12, 2019

The eighth commandment says, “Thou shalt not steal.”  The subject is thievery which is a command broken in myriads of ways. There is an important aspect of this command that might have escaped your attention. This aspect is that of religious thievery. False teachers are guilty of theft in a most serious way.

Theft is taking place as you read this and as you got to church on Sundays. Across our country and the world, there is an insidious lie that is told which says that God offers health, wealth, and prosperity to those who plant seeds of faith in the ministries of prosperity preachers. These seeds are dollar bills, of course, and the bigger the seeds the more the growth of prosperous trees that are large enough for the fowls of the air to lodge in. This false teaching encircles the globe so that good missionaries in many countries say it is the biggest hurdle they face in preaching the true gospel of Christ. In other words, the biggest threat to salvation is not Islam, Buddhism, animism, or other false religions. The worst is the perversion of Christianity.

In a sermon about ten years ago, John Piper who was then pastor of the Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, made this statement: “I don’t know what you feel about the prosperity gospel—the health, wealth, and prosperity gospel—but I’ll tell you what I feel about it…hatred.” He went on to say, “It is not the gospel, and it’s being exported from this country to Africa and Asia, selling a bill of goods to the poorest of the poor: ‘Believe this message, and your pigs won’t die and your wife won’t have miscarriages, and you’ll have rings on your fingers and coats on your back.’ That’s coming out of America—the people that ought to be giving our money and our time and our lives, instead selling them a bunch of crap called ‘gospel.’”

Admittedly, Piper used strong language that I probably would not use from the pulpit, but his deep disgust for a false gospel is reflected in his disgusting description. The prosperity gospel is theft when it asks for money to fulfill a promise that will not come true because it is based in a lie. It dupes people into believing material goods are the gauge of good hope in Christ. It teaches people to seek satisfaction in this world’s offerings when God clearly says we must set our affections on things above.

Piper made another heart stopping riveting statement. He said, “I’ll tell you what makes Jesus look beautiful, it’s when you smash your car, and your little girl goes flying through the windshield, and lands dead on the street . . . and you say through the deepest possible pain, ‘God is enough.’”

When we preach this gospel, “God is enough, Jesus Christ is enough—He is all I need”—we do not steal from the people. We do not take—we give. We give the best possible gift they can receive. We give them hope that never fails to bring lasting peace. The worst thief is a religious thief. Souls are the commodity he takes from unsuspecting seekers. Souls seek the kingdom of God without realizing Satan has his thieves seeking them.

Praise God for those who preach truth! Let us stand with those who do and let us stop the mouths of the thieves of the glorious gospel. Without apology, we will fight religious thievery!

                                                                                    Pastor V. Mark Smith

All Creatures of Our God and King

Berean Baptist on August 13, 2018

Psalm 148

In the last week of Jesus’ life, He entered Jerusalem to the wide acclaim of the people. They hailed Him as the King whom they believed would deliver them from the occupation of Rome and restore the kingdom to Israel. With one voice they shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.” It was a remarkable display as palm branches were strewn in His path. The people wondered as He approached.

Perhaps the most intriguing part of this display is the way Jesus chose to enter. It was not on a fine steed with bright regalia but on the foal of a donkey. No Roman official would enter a city this way. They would have a full cohort of soldiers in a display of power and they would ride on white horses with heads held high. Jesus, however, was meek and lowly and riding on a beast of burden that was the transportation of the common man. This fulfilled the ancient prophecy which said: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass” (Zechariah 9:9).

In Luke chapter 19, the story is told in a little different way. Like did not concentrate on the people’s shouts of praise but rather on the disciples. A multitude of them gathered to join the people’s homage. The Pharisees protested and asked Jesus to rebuke them, to which He replied, “If these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.” From this we can see that all creation was made to glorify Jesus Christ. Stubborn men may withhold their praise and never make mention of the majesty of His name, but the creation shall never cease to give their maker the acclaim He deserves.

The psalmist would certainly agree. In 14 verses of the 148th psalm, he bids all of creation to witness the glory of Christ. He encourages all from every corner of the universe to sing their maker’s praise. He begins in heaven with the powerful angels. They were made to protect God’s throne and His holiness. They always do His perfect will and never stop as messengers of His good will to men.

Then the psalmist moves to the celestial creation. He calls upon the sun, moon, and stars to join the chorus. And then it is the physical earth with its wide variety of creatures and natural beauty. From there, kings and rulers must lend their voices. Finally, it is all people especially those who are called by His name. The creation cannot be silent. Wicked men will not lift up their voices, but need we be disappointed because of them? Jesus was not. The Pharisees would not give Him praise and insisted others should not. Jesus simply said, “They may be silenced but you cannot silence the creation.”

Christ will have His glory. We do not worry that the race of fallen men will not bow. We are not offended by what they may or may not do. The mighty vast creation is sufficient for this beautiful chorus. It will not be silenced no matter how loudly unbelieving skeptics may rail against Him. Remember this when you are worried about what America will do. The leaders of this country will not trample the sovereignty of God. He will triumph with all of the hosts on His side. “Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest” (Luke 19:38).

 

Pastor V. Mark Smith

 

 

Give Thanks and Sing Praises to the God of Jacob

Berean Baptist on January 30, 2017

Psalm 75

In this week’s commentary on the Psalms, we return to the venerable Robert Hawker who had such a pleasant way of revealing Christ in his expositions. It is fitting for this Sunday’s reading that we should begin with the first verse of the 75th psalm which reads: “Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks, unto thee do we give thanks: for that thy name is near thy wondrous works declare.”

This verse follows upon the dire and desperate plea of Judah in Psalm 74. The 74th psalm was written soon after the destruction of the temple by the Babylonians. As we noticed last week, the most troubling aspect of the destruction was God’s refusal to come to their aid. There were many in Judah that thought the temple was indestructible which led them to flee there for what they thought was certain refuge. Their hopes were dashed because God would not stay the hand of chastisement due to Judah’s rejection of His prophets and their warnings of repentance. Israel was abandoned without a prophet (74:9) and their outlook was most dismal.

The end of the psalm saw increasing hope as they plead for God to arise and claim His people again (74:19-23). Thus we see the tone of Psalm 75 changes and thanks are given for God’s wonderful works. Notice particularly the change in speakers between verses 1 and 2. The first verse is the cry of the congregation. We might well compare this to the righteous in America that wonder if our cause is lost. Is it possible to save America from the inevitable destruction that looms (Ps. 9:17)? We have systematically destroyed the moral fiber of our people until the conscience is seared (1 Timothy 4:2).

In the second verse the speaker changes. Now, the one speaking is Christ who promises to restore just judgment. As Hawker notes, “Who but Christ supported the whole fabric of our nature, when sin had dissolved all its powers? Reader, is it not always blessed to look to Jesus?” Mark well the words of Robert Hawker. There is no hope for recovery in this country or any other except through Christ. Has it ever been any different? Was there any time we upheld ourselves? How could we when sin dissolved our powers? It is God that puts up one and takes down another (75:7). Left to ourselves, we would be as godless as the Communists of the Cold War. Government will never answer our problems. It is God that has always suppressed our forays into the worst of our depravity. Thus the psalmist speaks of the only righteous government—the government of Jesus Christ.

Today, we pause to give thanks that as Christians we live under the New Covenant. There has always been a covenant of grace, but never as fully understood as in this dispensation of the Christian church. We have the unequivocal promise of God’s favor. No matter what should happen, we are God’s people that shall never experience captivity again. We are citizens of His heavenly kingdom and have escaped the bondage of sin.

We gather to give thanks for temporal provision, but more importantly for the spiritual benefits of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. The righteous are always and only God’s people. Therefore, verse 10 says the horns of the righteous shall be exalted. What better reason to give thanks and sing praises to the God of Jacob?

 

Pastor V. Mark Smith

 

 

Hope in God

Berean Baptist on May 9, 2016

Hope in God

Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God. (Psalms 43:5)

One of the strange curiosities of the end times is the appearance of the Antichrist during the time of tribulation. I have often wondered why many are more interested in what the Antichrist will do rather than what THE CHRIST will do. We must not lose focus and misunderstand that the end times are the revelation of THE CHRIST and not the Antichrist. However, there is much information in the Bible about the Antichrist.

Would it surprise you to learn that in the Old Testament book of Psalms there is information about the Antichrist? Did you think he is only revealed in the New Testament? In Psalm 43, there is a likely reference to the Antichrist. The first verse of chapter 43 reads: “Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man.”  We understand that prophecy in the Old Testament often has a near term fulfillment as well as a long term one. The immediate fulfillment of this Psalm is the psalmist’s desire for the return of Israel from the captivity. The psalmist longs to return to his homeland, but he is prevented by a foreign king who holds him prisoner in a distant land. This may well be emblematic of a distant future event when the deceitful and unjust man, the Antichrist, will force the Jewish people out of their land and into hiding.

The tribulation will be a terrible time for the Jews as at first they will receive promises of safety, but then the Antichrist will spew forth a flood of propaganda against them and turn the entire world into their enemies. We would expect nothing less than Satan’s deceit in any alliance with the Jews because he has tried for 3500 years to obliterate them from the earth. They find no friends, and yet God has miraculously preserved them for all this time. God will continue to protect them as there are long standing promises in the Old Testament that guarantee their safety.

The last part of the Psalm in verse 5 repeats the last verse of Psalm 42. The Psalmist encourages himself in both places to put his hope in God. He wonders why he should be troubled. There is no reason for despair because God has never forsaken His people. The Old Testament scriptures are replete with tales of God’s salvation of Israel. At times men were able stop them, but with each oppression God raised up a deliverer.

In the present time, Israel is far off from God. No hope is given that in the church age there will be a wholesale turning of the Jews to Christ. However, the tribulation does hold such a promise. Despite the efforts of the deceitful and unjust man, God will call the Jews back to Him and He will provide a kingdom for them in which they will recognize the last king to sit on David’s throne. This is Jesus Christ—both King and Priest who is the Saviour of the world.

In this election year, there is much discussion about America’s support of Israel. We may be living in the near approaching time of tribulation. There is no promise America will stand and certainly no guarantee if we turn our back on Israel. Is there any need to be troubled? Certainly not—their hope and ours is in God. We are citizens of God’s kingdom. America may experience swift destruction but God’s kingdom never shall!

Pastor V. Mark Smith