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

The Sunday Sabbath

Berean Baptist on May 20, 2019

There are many who believe the Old Testament law of the Sabbath was done away with in the anti-typical fulfillment of Christ’s death. However, this law was given immediately upon the completion of the creation which tells us God intended it as a perpetual law given to all nations to remind us of His power and sovereignty.

            Recently, I listened to a sermon by someone who offers a different opinion. He claimed the idea of a Christian sabbath is not very old but is mostly of English Puritan descent and was not believed by Christians other than the Puritans. One of his arguments said that Baptists are wrong, and we ought to reject the historic confessions of faith that teach Sunday is a sabbath that replaced the Old Testament seventh day sabbath. The argument goes that our most popular confessions do not use the term “Christian Sabbath.” It is true the New Hampshire Confession of 1833 to which we closely adhere in our own statement of faith does not use the term “Christian Sabbath” in the 15th article entitled The Observance of the First Day of the Week. However, the language is very clear a sabbath is meant by the exclusions and duties that are put upon the day. In addition, the last phrase says the day is to be used for “preparation for that rest that remains to the people of God.” This reference is to Hebrews 4:3-11 in which the author says in verse 9: “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.” Rest in this verse is the Greek word sabbatismos which is derived from the word that means sabbath. The Second London Baptist Confession of 1689 in its article on the Sabbath begins, “The light of nature shows that there is a God…” This confession begins by connecting the sabbath to laws that are written on the human heart. It ends by using the word sabbath: “The sabbath is then kept holy unto the Lord.”

            The man who preached this message is a Southern Baptist who referred to the Southern Baptist Abstract of Principles which is their confession of faith. He noted the Abstract of Principles does not use the word sabbath. And yet the language in the Abstract uses the same concepts as are found in others that do. James Petigru Boyce, one of the founders of the Southern Baptist Convention asked in his catechism: “Why do Christians keep Sunday as the sabbath?” Answer: “Because it was on that day of the week that Christ rose from the dead.” Further: “What name is given to it on this account?” Answer: “The Lord’s Day.” Likewise, Spurgeon’s catechism emphasis the same point even more extensively in positively declaring the first day of the week is the Christian sabbath.

            It is interesting to note that the Reformers did not regard a Sunday sabbath. Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Knox, Beza, and others argued against it. However, their opinions were fashioned against the background of the abuses of Roman Catholicism in making Sundays festival days, and of course to their Sacramentarian views of salvation regarding it. Their opinions prevailed over their churches for less than a century when the practice overwhelmingly returned to a Sunday sabbath. Calvin’s arguments notwithstanding that the change to a Sunday sabbath happened about A.D. 60 instead of upon Christ’s resurrection, proves to be only an argument, whereas the law written on the human heart continues to prevail.

            It is therefore disingenuous to assert the Sunday sabbath is a fairly recent invention. It appears the Sunday sabbath did not prevail as practice among Bible believing Christians for only a short interval in the late 16th century. It only seems to hold sway today among those who are bent on returning to the enlightenment of the Reformation, which in most cases is good except when it is not.

                                                                        Pastor V. Mark Smith

Photobombing Jesus

Berean Baptist on November 12, 2018

Last year, I read an interesting article with the title, 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 this experience, 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 this evening’s sermon. He confessed, “I want Jesus to be glorified, but I want glory too.” Nothing better describes a photobombing pastor. He seeks 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.” This quote works for either the morning or evening message. Let Christ be the only one framed in the picture. This is His church not mine.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

 

 

A Psalm of David or a Psalm of Peter?

Berean Baptist on May 8, 2017

Psalm 86

As the title of Psalm 86 reveals, this is a psalm of David. As I read the psalm this week, I noticed how David’s thoughts parallel what must have been in Peter’s mind after he denied Jesus for the third time. This was a dark period in Peter’s life. This is the lowest point, the farthest he ever sunk in the trials of Christian living. Although he made the great confession of faith in Matthew 16, and although he steadfastly protested when Jesus told him what he would do, he still had a moment of weakness that was as bad as the traitor Judas.

The purpose of the story of his failure at the end of Matthew 26 is to show how easily we can fall into denial. In persecution, we may stand strong; in times of heightened sensitivity, we may gather ourselves and with strong resolve, we will not give up our faith. However, Satan rarely attacks at those times. He prefers to wait until we are unprepared; until we are smug and self-assured before he slings his fiery darts. When you lay aside the armor or are too casual to pay attention, Satan has the advantage. Peter was not felled by a burly Roman soldier, but by a little harmless maiden who made no threats.

Peter’s failure was not as sudden as we might think. It was a step by step process. The same is true of our failures. We rarely go from a stellar workhorse for Christ to a scared little weasel who pretends not to know Him.

How does this fit with the psalm? The psalmist wrote in a moment of despair, “Bow down thine ear, O Lord, hear me: for I am poor and needy.” We catch up to the psalm after Peter’s denials. This is when Peter realized his awful mistake. It was when Jesus looked at Him with disappointment that he knew how miserably he failed. Peter’s reaction was the reaction of a true Christian, not of a Judas. It was a gut-wrenching moment and he could not live with himself for what he had done. His tears were not merely tears of regret, but much more deeply felt. They were tears of godly repentance. Can we not image when Peter went out and wept bitterly that verses 5 and 6 of this psalm were the cry of his heart? “For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee. Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications.”

Peter’s denial was as serious as it gets. Jesus said those who deny Him before men He will deny before His Father in heaven. Peter denied before men, not once but three times. What kept Christ from denying Him? It was his repentance. He proved he was a child that God promised never to forsake. David and Peter prayed with the same confidence knowing that when they fell they would not be finally cast down.

When we sin, their plea must be our plea. Paul wrote, “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” No sin is too big for God to forgive. Peter’s story teaches us this lesson. Bitter tears of repentance are always followed by blessed forgiveness and renewal. It is God’s word and you can always count on it.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

 

 

 

Doomed to Repeat the Past

Berean Baptist on February 20, 2017

Psalm 78

In the 78th Psalm, we come to one of the many instances in which the history of Israel, the ups and downs of their relationship with God, is recounted. The purpose of these places is to teach that we must remember the failures of the past and to warn those who have not yet learned the lessons we have learned how to avoid the holes we have fallen into.

In dealing with the Corinthian church, Paul encouraged them to pay attention to Old Testament scriptures. They are not passé and of no benefit. Rather, he says in the 10th chapter that the experiences of Old Testament Israel were for our example. In Acts chapter 7, Stephen used the historical record to point out how the Jews of his time were no different from their forefathers. They claimed to be the righteous children of Abraham, but Stephen skillfully discovered to them they were certainly more like the children of Abraham than they cared to admit. At every turn, their forefathers continually rejected the grace of God and these more modern Jews were no different. They proved it when they crucified God’s own Son (Acts 7:51-52).

Psalm 78 can be rightly called a reminder of Deuteronomy 6:6-7:  “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” The power and might of God in taking Israel to the Promised Land were to be an incentive to follow faithfully. Whenever Israel failed, it was a direct result of disobedience, of stubbornness, and refusal to remember what happened each time they disobeyed.

I believe we find the same incentive in the New Testament in words that are written to Christians. Hebrews 12 speaks of chastisement which we strictly want to avoid, but who among us has not gone back to the same sins time and time again? Who learns the lesson well that the same sins always yield the same results? It seems we have great difficulty learning our lessons as if the holes we fall into are not hard enough at the bottom to make us want to keep from stepping into them again.

While there is no excuse for this, we do have to chalk it up to human nature. We surrender to the flesh rather than continually crucifying it with its affections and lusts (Gal. 5:24). If you wonder how Israel kept doing what they did after seeing the power of God to deliver them, just remember we fare no better. Many times the authors of scripture tell this story about Israel and many times we are challenged to be strong in the faith. Shouldn’t one chapter in one book of the New Testament be enough to keep us straight? Apparently not because encouragement to forsake the flesh and follow Christ is an often repeated theme.

God wants us to keep up the fight. We are not to surrender because the way is hard. Every temptation has a means of escape just as Paul described in 1 Corinthians 10. God knows we will fail—He understands us better than we do ourselves. For this reason, He offers forgiveness rather than condemnation. As the Psalmist wrote in verses 38 and 39, God knows us: “But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath. For he remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again.”

Thank God His compassion is deeper than our holes. When we repeat the past, His forgiveness is there. When we come in confession and repentance, He never fails to forgive. In our flesh, we may be doomed to repeat the past, but the blessing of our salvation is in Christ. He took the blame for us for which we will be eternally grateful.

 

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Who Is Worst of All?

Berean Baptist on August 29, 2016

Psalm 55

Does it seem incredibly unlikely that the most beloved person in the history of mankind and the most hated person in history lived at the same time, knew each other, and were friends? With the billions that have lived on planet earth, how could such a thing be possible? As unlikely as it seems, it is true and none of us has any trouble guessing who these polar opposites are. The first is Jesus Christ. He was the exemplary human, perfect in every detail, kind, compassionate, filled with love, and as John said, “Full of grace and truth.” Nothing honestly disparaging could ever be written about Him.

On the other hand, there is Judas. He is described in Psalm 55 as an acquaintance who took sweet counsel with Christ. And yet, he is the universally despised, the universally hated, and the one who disgusts us all. So extreme is the hatred of Judas that his name is never given to any of our children. None of us wants to be identified with him in any way. He is the antithesis of the holiness and righteousness of Jesus Christ. As high as the exaltation of Christ can go, so is the measurement of how low the denunciation of Judas can go.

Is it really such a mystery that in all the annals of time the most despicable should be in contact with the most delightful? It should not seem strange because the worst crime committed must be against the one who least deserves it. The worst offense is against the one who least deserves to be offended.

The extreme disappointment in Judas is reflected in David’s words of Psalms 55:11-14: “Wickedness is in the midst thereof: deceit and guile depart not from her streets. For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.” David was thinking of Ahithophel, but the Holy Spirit had Judas in mind.

Judas walked in communion with Jesus. He was treated as a brother even though Jesus knew from the beginning what He would do. There was nothing in Jesus that could possibly draw out such hatred as Judas had for Him in the betrayal. We agonize over his treacherous actions because Judas did his worst against the best. He is the model none of us wants to emulate, and each of us sits in judgment thinking we would never do what he did.

Would you consider this scripture for just a moment? “Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?” (Romans 2:1-3) In the following verse, Rom. 2:4, the restraint, the patience, and the goodness of God is still there despite the hatred of Him. “Or despiseth thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?” Who is the most despicable character of all? Who is the person that none should name his child after? Are you ready for a confession? The answer is ME. I have done the worst to the one who is the best. I hated Him; I betrayed Him; I drove nails into His hands and feet. I compete with Paul who said, “I am the chief of sinners.”

Is it a mystery the most beloved person of all time should live at the same time as the most hated? Not at all. Christ came in contact with humanity and that says it all.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

 

Confession Is Good for the Soul

Berean Baptist on August 1, 2016

Psalm 51

There are few places in scripture that in such a small space are as rich in theological content as Psalm 51. I wish we had time to study this in-depth to bring out all of the important truths found therein. This is a great psalm for Christians who are hurting over sin and need to be restored to fellowship with God. We need to look no further than this place to see deep contrition in action as David confessed his sins. David’s despair was not because he thought there was no hope, but because there is hope even though he knew his sins had deeply offended God.

Consider the circumstances of this psalm. This was written right after David was confronted by Nathan the prophet over his sins of adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband Uriah. None of us can think of sins that are much worse, and we certainly do not associate them with born again believers. Is it possible to be forgiven of sins of this magnitude? David believed it was because of the boundless depths of God’s mercy. David’s reaction to the gut wrenching rebuke of Nathan is the same as it should be for any Christian guilty of sin. He did not deny the sin but owned it and asked God to cleanse him from it. The way he asks is a remarkable exercise in humility unparalleled in any other place of scripture.

The theological greatness of this psalm is seen in places like verse 5: “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.”  This is recognition of total depravity that says all are sinners with no goodness to claim before God. It is hard for anyone to argue we become sinners upon the commission of our first sin when David says he was born in sin.

Another great truth is brought to light in verses 7 and 10. God’s free grace justifies from sin. We notice David did not ask for penance. He asked for forgiveness. Nothing David could do could make up for his sin. All he could do was throw himself on the mercy and grace of God for no one conceived in sin has anything to offer. The decision to justify is God’s alone and the ability to create a clean heart is not earned as a reward of good deeds. It should be plainly evident that conceived in sin precludes any such notion of forgiveness as a reward.

A third great truth is the security of the believer found in verse 11: “Cast me not away from thy presence and take not thy Holy Spirit from me.” This is not asked as if David stood in jeopardy of this happening, but is the assurance it could not. Many other psalms and other places of scripture would make no sense if there is no assurance of unconditional forgiveness. David came to God to confess for this very reason. He knew God would forgive and restore him to his former closeness of fellowship with Him. David called upon God confirming what he knew to be true about God’s faithfulness.

These are the kinds of things we should remember when we sin and are ashamed of what we have done. If we truly understand the nature of sin and the affront it is to God, we would also understand we cannot wait until we commit the “big” one to come in confession. However, as surely as we know God forgave David of these horrible acts, He will forgive us from the daily transgressions that are part of our sinful condition. In the model prayer, Jesus taught confession and repentance as daily exercises. He said, “Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts…” Provision and forgiveness are both the daily activities of God.

In the course of my ministry, I have spoken with many Christians despondent over their sins. God does not want us to live in despair. He saved us to glorify Him and we cannot do it in the misery of overburdened hearts. If we confess our sins He is always faithful and just to forgive them. David was the living proof of this spiritual principle.

Pastor V. Mark Smith