The Supremacy of God’s Word

Berean Baptist on January 1, 2018

Psalm 119

 

The 119th Psalm which is rightly called “The Ode to the Word.” Here are 176 verses of the psalmist’s praise for the Holy Scriptures which are the source of life for the Christian. Peter said we are born again by the Word of God, which shows the indispensable nature of God’s perfect revelation. The Holy Spirit uses the truth to speak to the heart and with the Word He regenerates to make us new creatures in Christ.

Upon conversion, the Word does not stop its powerful influences. It also sanctifies us (John 17:17) which means it perfects us in the holiness of God. Throughout our Christian lives, we can never depart from its usefulness for without it we have no means to discover how we can be pleasing to God. The Word declares Christ who is the Son of God, and is the model of God’s expectation for every son of God. It is the revelation of precepts by which we are given understanding of all false ways (119:104).

All roads to successful, victorious Christian living run through the scriptures. There we find all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). The psalmist makes this same point repeatedly. Each section begins with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet which is God’s way of showing us His word is A-Z of divine revelation. Everything that can be said in English must be said with 26 letters from A-Z. Our Bible is God’s complete revelation so that everything God has to say to the human race is contained in these 66 books we call the canon of scripture. There are no other revelations that will be given. There is no outside source that will discover to us anything more God wants us to know. Paul wrote that scripture is able to furnish unto all good works, so there is no area that needs further elucidation to increase our understanding of Him and make the servant of God complete (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

The Bible’s internal claim holds great significance. It at once dismisses the doctrines of cults that are claimed authoritative by their extraneous revelations. When groups like the Mormons or Jehovah Witnesses knock on your door with a claim they have another testament, another communication from God, you can dismiss them at once without further investigation. They are deemed deceivers by this criterion alone. Likewise, those who seem to be more orthodox can be turned away. Pentecostals must be rejected because they seek more revelation through tongues, dreams, and visions. Roman Catholicism must be rejected because the traditions of their church are claimed to be as authoritative as scripture. One thing is abundantly clear about this psalm—the psalmist has no patience for anything considered more valuable than scripture. He finds in it all he needs.

As I write this article, there is a knock at my door. The Jehovah Witnesses are peddling their literature. To them I say verse 29: “Remove from me the way of lying.” I say to them verse 95: “The wicked have waited for me to destroy me.” I say to them verse 115: “Depart from me, ye evildoers: for I will keep the commandments of my God.” And finally I say verses 118 and 119: “Thou hast trodden down all them that err from thy statutes: for their deceit is falsehood. Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth like dross: therefore I love thy testimonies.”

I advise you to love the Holy Bible as the psalmist loved it. Feast on it every day. It has the power to change you and make you righteous. Let nothing come between you and the Word. To do so is to let something come between you and God.

 

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