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

Patience Has Never Been Rewarded Like This!

Berean Baptist on August 22, 2016

Psalm 54

Once again we find ourselves on an interesting parallel track as we read through the Psalms. Psalm 54 was written by David after two occasions when he was betrayed to Saul by the same enemies. You can well imagine David’s distress when despite his best efforts to outrun Saul his whereabouts were made known by those seeking favor with the king. Accordingly, David sought relief from the Lord knowing God would bring vengeance on his enemies.

I mention a parallel track with this psalm because of our study this morning in Matthew 24. Our subject is the Antichrist who will be the great enemy of God’s people in the last days before the Kingdom. Never have the saints experienced an evil man with such diabolical power. At most we face hateful despisers who are influenced by Satan, but we do not face anyone that is empowered by the in-habitation of Satan.

Satan is forever mimicking the power of Christ and he does no less here. As Christ indwells His people through the Holy Spirit, so this man is indwelt and given the abilities of the devil himself. As David had to endure the constant pursuit of Saul, so Israel in the tribulation will be vigorously pursued by the Antichrist. As David hid in the mountains and caves of southern Israel to escape detection, so Israel must flee to the mountains to escape certain death (Mt. 24:16). As David was betrayed by the Ziphites, so the tribulation will be marked with betrayals (Mt. 24:10). And, as David had to wait on vengeance, so the martyrs of that time must wait.

Waiting on vengeance is not easy. We are often very impatient when we believe we are wronged. Imagine how the martyrs must feel who because of cruel deaths want to see this peculiar promise of God fulfilled. Revelation 6:9-10 says, “And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?” Perhaps they and we must wait until the motive is correct. We would have destruction for our enemies because of personal offense. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth is the retribution we seek. However, the more important cause for vengeance is the holiness of God. It is not about our personal feelings but about how God is offended when someone touches His anointed. It is desecration of what belongs to God. Whoever harms one of God’s own would just have well stabbed a dagger in God’s heart. God will not let it go. He does not overlook sin of any kind much less would He not grant retributive justice for those elected, called, and justified by the blood of Christ.

Notice how David lays no charge against God. There is no impetuous tantrum insisting God must act now. And so it must be with us. God will answer in His own good time—it is always the right time when it will bring the most glory to Him. Think again about those martyred tribulation saints. How will they receive vengeance? Their lot is to come back with Christ in clouds of glory to the carnage of Armageddon! This is the last and greatest battle the world will ever see—the biggest battle of all. Somehow it seems the wait is worth it. It is a horrible time for the enemy, but one outstanding victory for the redeemed. Never worry about the wait—God always makes it worth it!

Pastor V. Mark Smith

 

 

 

Be Still…

Berean Baptist on June 20, 2016

 

Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. (Psalms 46:10-11)

The Lord always has a purpose in the way He leads and it is always best to surrender to His divine purpose. If I had things my way, I would rather our congregational reading of the Psalms would fall at some different place than Psalm 46. This psalm is better suited for the message I will bring next week, but God has providentially decided this is what we should read this week.

There are allusions in this psalm to the tribulation in the end times when the nation of Israel will be rocked like never before. Verses 2 and 3 are compelling references to that horrible time. It is very difficult to imagine things could be worse for the Jewish people since Jesus pronounced an ominous forecast for them in Matthew 23:38. He said, “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.” This was the sure prediction of the fall of the entire Jewish system when both the temple and Jerusalem were destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70. Since that time, the Jews have been vagabonds, and in every century they have been hated above all people with many attempts made to exterminate them. If Hitler had been successful in winning in World War II, it may very well be the Jews would be nonexistent today. However, we know God still has His plan and no government nor any tyrant will destroy His chosen people from the earth.

Remarkably, the 46th Psalm was written at a time when another despot tried to destroy Israel. This was Sennacherib, the Assyrian king, who besieged Jerusalem with a great army and made plans to assault and destroy her if Israel did not surrender. King Hezekiah saw this massive force that was about to invade and he humbly went before God to implore Him for relief. The relief Hezekiah sought was quickly forthcoming without Israel shooting a single arrow in her defense. Instead, God dispatched one angel in the night who killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers as they slept. Within days, Sennacherib returned to Nineveh where he worshipped in the temple of his heathen god. As he did, his own sons came and murdered him. Psalm 46 was written in celebration of this silent victory. “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.”

In the last days during the time of tribulation, Israel will once again face extermination. The Antichrist will throw the combined forces of the world’s armies against her in an attempt to do what Satan has never before accomplished. By God’s marvelous providence, the God of Jacob will come to Israel’s aid. In Matthew 23:39, Jesus said He would not return for the Jews until they say, “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” He has not returned because Israel is not ready to turn to Him. Israel does not acknowledge Christ as king. In the worst days of the tribulation when Satan sends a flood against them, they will do what Hezekiah did. They will turn to the Lord as their only help and they will cry out for Him to deliver them. The great Sovereign will hear their cry and He will step foot on the Mount of Olives, the same place from which He ascended, and He will call a host of angels to come destroy the armies of the Antichrist just as He did the armies of Sennacherib.

Psalm 46 has always been a great comfort to those facing impossible situations. Martin Luther penned his great hymn A Mighty Fortress Is Our God from this psalm. Soldiers have sung its words before going into battle. Persecuted Christians have relied on it when facing torturous deaths. Perhaps you can find comfort in it today. The worst you can imagine is no match for God. Be still and wait. Call on Him and then wait quietly while He does His work. He is with us—the God of Jacob is our refuge.

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

 

 

Mystery Babylon the Great

Berean Baptist on January 19, 2015

Today’s congregational reading is from the 17th chapter of Revelation which is one of the most fascinating, intriguing portions of the book. This chapter gives a glimpse of the future of religion in the time of the Tribulation, and in many ways it mirrors the current religious climate of our world today. Described in these verses is the religion system of the Antichrist that is an integral part of his government. This religious system is a mixture of all the great religions of the world headed up by apostate Christianity.

In has never been Satan’s main tactic to convince people to be atheists. He knows that man was created with the innate knowledge of God and rather than fight against human nature he chooses to exploit to his best advantage man’s ignorance of the true God. Since the beginning of the church two thousand years ago, Satan’s greatest weapon has been to pervert the gospel by corrupting the church and creating a confusing counterfeit. Today, Christianity claims two billion adherents most of which have some affiliation with the Roman Catholic Church. Through the centuries, Roman Catholicism has proved to be a great compromiser and thus Satan’s most effective counterfeit. During the Reformation, it was common for the reformers to equate Mystery Babylon the Great (17:5) with the Roman Catholic Church. Having been part of the Catholic system themselves, they were very familiar with the rife corruption within.

It has always been the method of Catholicism to increase her numbers by compromise. In the fourth century, Constantine saw the advantages of joining Christianity with his secular government but it was difficult to convince pagans to give up their mythological gods. To diffuse the opposition, the gods of the pagans were given new names and incorporated into the worship of Catholicism. Although known by different names, their practice of worshipping Mary, the saints, and angels predates Christianity by thousands of years going all the way back to the construction of Babel in Genesis 11. In its missionary efforts through the centuries, when Catholicism wanted to embrace a different culture it was never a problem for them to incorporate the superstitions of their converts.

In the Tribulation, history will repeat itself as Roman Catholicism will be the head of the Antichrist’s apostate religion. Compromises will be abundant in order to mix all of the world’s religions into one satanic concoction that will help the Antichrist rise to power and control the world. Today, we see the movement has already begun. When the ECT (Evangelicals and Catholics Together) was signed in 1994, many big name Protestant and Catholic leaders agreed to cooperate in their efforts to propagate the gospel. This was done notwithstanding Rome’s gross perversion of the doctrine of justification. The chief battle in the Reformation was the correction of Rome’s false gospel which doomed the souls of its adherents to hell. This was laid aside in the ECT as being inconsequential, which makes the ecumenicism of the agreement nothing less than the affirmation of the Antichrist’s agenda.

In 2015, it is hard to find a religious leader that still identifies the Great Whore of Revelation with the Roman Catholic Church. Satan’s deception goes on as one world church and religion become more of a reality every day. When the leaders of our country, which claim to be Christians, cover up the atrocities of Islam and approve them as seekers finding their own path to God they are setting us up for the convergence of all religions. As the president and congress give up national sovereignty, they pave the way for the one world government of the Antichrist. Mix these two together, apostate Christianity and one world government, and the result is Mystery Babylon the Great, the wickedest vilest enemy of God that ever inhabited earth.

Revelation 17 is the worst of the world’s history looking backwards or forwards. Thank God for chapters 18 and 19! Mystery Babylon will fall and the King of kings will rule supreme! We pray daily for God’s Kingdom to come to earth. Until it comes, we oppose religious dualism. We cannot and will not join any ecumenical efforts that promote unity by compromise. We are not ashamed to name names and warn everyone against current and coming apostasy. There is still a church and pastor that sees Roman Catholicism painted all over Revelation 17.

 

Pastor V. Mark Smith