ARE CHRIST AND THE CHURCH SYNONYMOUS?

Berean Baptist on January 6, 2020

The church at Sardis is the fifth of the seven churches of Asia. Christ’s message to this church is a sobering examination of a church that exists, that carries on its work, that meets as usual and appears to be Christian, but is absent of Christ. This is a strange paradox for a Christian church since the church is called the body of Christ.It is possible to have a church without the Christ of the church. This, of course, is according to the common perception of the church.

            Most people only know the church by the building where the people meet. If the sign says “Christian,” they must be. This is not the Bible’s definition of the church. The church is a select assembly of people called by God to be unified and cooperating in the doctrines of the faith and commissioned with the gospel of Christ. The doctrines and the commission are the preaching of Christ Himself. It is therefore impossible to have a church without Christ.

            This definition of church clarifies the warnings given to Sardis. As the presence of Christ in the church diminishes by allowing factions of heresy and outright admission of unbelievers into membership, the church ceases to be Christ’s body. If enough body parts are cut off, eventually the body dies. The light of the gospel goes out, and the assembly of people are no longer the true church of Christ.

            Sardis was a church called to repentance. They were nearing the point of realizing Christ’s threat—I will come on you as thief. In scripture, this expression always equals destruction. As Jesus told the wicked Jews, a thief comes to destroy. In this analogy, Jesus likens His actions to the sudden stealth of a thief. His judgment is leveled at the most unexpected moment.

            Some argue this cannot happen because if so, Christ destroys His own body, thus Himself. We must be careful to understand the metaphors of scripture. The church is the body of Christ, but it is not Christ. As one author wrote, “[The church] is founded by Christ, formed by Christ, commissioned by Christ, and endowed by Christ. But it is not Christ. The church can preach salvation and nurture the saved, but it cannot save. The church can preach, exhort, rebuke, and admonish against sin, it can proclaim the forgiveness of sin, and it can give theological definition to sin, but the church cannot atone for sin.”

            This observation is correct. Great confusion has been fostered on Christianity by those who teach that Christ and the church are essentially synonymous. This leads to the opposite of nearly every statement in the preceding quotation. The church saves, the church sanctifies, the church forgives sin, and the church atones for sin. If the church is Christ, it can do all these things. If this defines the church, it cannot be adequately rebuked, and thus can become utterly corrupt while still claiming it has authority. Christ will not destroy it because it would be to destroy Himself.

            The 2nd and 3rd chapters of Revelation strongly refute the concept of church/Christ equality. The church stands in judgment of its faithfulness to Christ. We are required to faithfully proclaim the word by holding up the glory of Christ and renouncing all forms of unrighteousness. This is how the light of Christ is kept burning brightly. This is the church that wards off destruction because its judgment has found it to be worthy. It is a church that keeps the name of Christ. To remain His body, we must heed the warnings and hear the Spirit lest we become a church like Sardis.

                                                                        Pastor V. Mark Smith

Seeds and Sorrows

Berean Baptist on February 26, 2018

Psalm 126

Psalm 126 is one of the psalms written during the captivity of Judah in Babylon. It is hard for us to relate to the extreme sorrow the Judeans experienced when they saw their holy temple destroyed, the walls of their beloved city breached, and then their subsequent deportation to a foreign land. The temple and the city were the center of their lives. Everything they were was structured around the worship of the temple from their diet to their health and hygiene, to their morality and social interactions, and then finally to their spiritual welfare. The tragedy of the deportation was the realization that their lives were destroyed. Everything they were was lost—except for one thing—they were still God’s people with a promise that if they would return to Him, He would be faithful to restore them (2 Chron. 7:14).

In verse 6, the psalmist wrote: “He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” The Reformation Heritage Study Bible helpfully explains: “The imagery suggests that the sorrows of believers are like God’s seeds by which He will produce a harvest of happiness for them.” We can relate this to the suffering of God’s people in the church age. As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians, the experiences of Old Testament believers are for our learning. The hardships of living a Christian life and the inevitable suffering that results will at last bring joy when we enter the heavenly kingdom. Each heartache for the cause of Christ is a seed sown which will be reaped with the benefits of eternal reward.

Peter commented on this phenomenon by saying, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.” (1 Peter 4:12-14).

These blessed words are a reminder of God’s faithfulness to us. We should never worry that in the dark night of sorrow God has abandoned us. Each sorrowful seed that is sown will someday grow up to our health and happiness in His eternal presence. It is hard to imagine the soul could be strengthened by such hard labor when at times it seems we are in such despair of trials that we are ready to die. However, true to the scriptures, no sorrowing in a life of toils lived for Christ goes unnoticed. None of the seeds fail to germinate into life everlasting.

The story this psalm tells is of the exiles going home. They realized their mistakes in turning from the living God. They repented of turning against Him, and the Lord was faithful to honor His promise by turning the hearts of kings to allow them to return home. God’s marvelous providence in changing the rulers’ hearts amazingly caused them to give financial aid and protection for the rebuilding projects of the temple and the city walls (Ezra 9:8-9). Tears welled in the eyes of the Judeans as their hearts burst for the graciousness of God in forgiving their terrible sins and restoring them to their homeland.

Relief was granted but the way was still difficult. Rebuilding took several more years as work stoppages by opposition kept them from their task. However, the leaders trusted God and were patient to work through every difficulty. Eventually, the work was done and the sorrows of hard labor and the weeping for troubles turned to the joy of being home in their beloved city.

The same is true for you, Christian. It may be hard now, but as the psalmist said in another place, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning” (Psalm 30:5). Keep your hope through the long night of despair. The seeds of sorrow you have sown will grow and you will have the joy of knowing God never leaves you or forsakes you.

 

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Patience Will Pay

Berean Baptist on June 5, 2017

Psalm 89

Psalm 89 is a great reminder of the patience needed as Christians try to live for Christ in a very hostile world. As you read this psalm, you can feel the disappointment of the author as he wonders what has happened to the promises of God. He begins the first part with an expression of the faithfulness of God to the Davidic Covenant, and then continues with a repetition of God’s promise to preserve the throne of David to all generations. He reminds us of God’s promise to never recant and thus break this covenant.

The psalmist knows this is true as he wants to maintain his assurance with God, but the present circumstances seem too much until he finally asks, “Lord, where are thy former lovingkindnesses, which thou swarest unto David in truth?” Whatever his present problems, they seemed to overwhelm his patience as he pleads with God to deliver him from his enemies.

This psalm contains many references to Christ because the exalted language could not refer to any other. Especially interesting is verse 27 which says, “Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth.” This takes us beyond David to the King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the firstborn of all creation, meaning He is preeminent over all—He is the highest in rank of all. The promise is that David’s throne would be made higher than all thrones, which will be fulfilled when Christ begins His glorious kingdom on earth.

I thought about our patience for this to happen as I studied for the message this week. When Jesus appeared before Pilate, Pilate asked Him if He was a king. Jesus replied that He was but His kingdom was not an earthly one. He meant that at that time He had no designs on overthrowing Rome or being involved in any type of political insurrection. However, His answer was not a denial that at some point Pilate and all of Rome’s Caesars and all powers on earth would bow to Him. He made this clear to Caiaphas just hours earlier when He said He would sit on the right hand of power and come in the clouds of heaven.

Jesus was patient for this to happen. There were steps to the kingdom that were ordained and each step had to be painstakingly fulfilled before He would claim His crown as the world’s king. His present suffering was one of those steps. We must think of this when we are prone to depression because we have so much suffering to endure. The call for patience is modeled after that of Jesus. Paul wrote that if we die with Him, we shall live with Him; if we suffer with Him, we shall reign with Him. Likewise, there are steps in our lives to be taken before we reach the final reward of our heavenly home. We are encouraged to faithfully endure each of these steps because God’s promise will not fail any more than Christ will fail to sit as the everlasting king on the throne of David.

Remember this as you pray. Pray that Christ’s kingdom will come and God’s will is done. But as you do, be patient and walk the steps God has planned for your Christian life.

Pastor V. Mark Smith