Thank God for Our Church

Berean Baptist on June 24, 2019

           At times, it seems we hope against hope for our survival as each year presents new challenges to our faith. Gruesome presidential and congressional elections present us with no good options, or at least none we feel we can make without violating every decency of a sanctified conscience. Never have Christian Americans had to vote for such unqualified evil. We are torn between our patriotic duty of voting, and the feeling if we vote we might conflict with our duty as citizens of our heavenly country. How do we vote when evil wins either way? I am thankful Bereans can sit together in church today, and despite our different political opinions, we rejoice as one in the word of God.

            How are we able to do this? It is because our political divisions pale in comparison to our spiritual agreements. We are not divided about the gospel. We have firm unchanging conviction in the saving power of Jesus Christ. No campaign for a different salvation will shake us from our belief in justification by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone.

            We are not divided on the Bible. We believe it is the inerrant, inspired word of God that is our constitution of faith and practice. We are not divided on its proper translation. We believe the King James Version is the best translation for English speaking people.

            We are not divided on Christ. There is no other way to the Father but through Him. He is the way, the truth, and the life. We believe salvation is exclusively in Him as the author and finisher of our faith. We are not divided on His cross, believing it is the only place for our sins to be forgiven. We are not divided on His death as the atonement for our sins and that Christ died as a penal substitute to redeem us from all iniquity.

            We are not divided about our standing in Christ. We are held safely and securely in the Father’s hand and no power of hell can separate us from the His love. Our perseverance in the faith is assured because He is the defender of His people.

            We are not divided on the work of the Holy Spirit. He regenerated us when we were dead in trespasses and sin and brought us to life in order to hear and believe the gospel. His work precedes our repentance and faith in a secret operation upon the soul. We realize this work only by the fruits it produces. We are not divided on His sanctification of believers which is sealed to us upon our belief. We receive the Spirit in His fullness as an abiding presence when we place our faith in Christ.

            We are not divided concerning the Father’s work of choosing us in Christ before the foundation of the world. All benefits of salvation flow out of this sovereign choice founded only in the good pleasure of His will. No blessings are secured to us based on any act of foreseen faith.

            And lastly, we are not divided about the body of Christ, the church of the living God. We are a visible body complete in Him—vessels of mercy made to glorify Him through the preaching of the gospel. Our duty is to bring more of His chosen ones to the throne of His grace.

            We are thankful that human government rules temporally for the good of our society. We have no trust in it beyond God’s stated purpose to be His instrument to restrain evil. Though it often disappoints and causes temporary dissent, it will not dampen our enthusiasm or ruin our faith that God always does all things well. God’s kingdom and His church are great no matter who our government officials may be.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Will You or Won’t You?

Berean Baptist on March 27, 2017

Psalms 81:13-16

Recently I was asked a question about Matthew 23:37 in which Jesus said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” This question concerned the ability of man to make a decision to believe in Christ. Is salvation a matter of the will in making a purely rational decision of the mind, or is a person incapable of choosing Christ because of the depravity of his will? Still another way of asking is, “Was the will of man debilitated by the fall to the extent he is spiritually incapacitated?” These questions are important because they address the ordo salutis (order of salvation).

This is an interesting query that would take quite a bit of time to explore fully. I only mention it today because of our congregational reading in Psalm 81. There is an interesting parallel in this psalm to Jesus’ words in Matthew. The parallelism helps to explain what Jesus meant. His lament over Jerusalem is nearly identical in thought to God’s plea for Israel in verses 13-16: “Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways! I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries. The haters of the LORD should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever. He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.”

Notice the parallels: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee.” This corresponds to “Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!” How did God speak to Israel? He spoke through the same prophets that Jesus said they killed. Jesus said, “How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings.” This speaks of His power of protection which is echoed by God’s words, ”I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.”

The response of Israel in both cases was “They would not.” It is clear in the Old Testament that God is speaking of the temporal blessings Israel would have enjoyed in the establishment of her kingdom as the dominant government in the world. In the context of Matthew 23, Jesus speaks the same. The result of Israel’s rejection, specifically the rejection of the religious rulers, was the destruction of Jerusalem and the loss of any significant role for Israel until the Second Advent. The kingdom of Christ was not ushered in during the First Advent because Israel rejected the Messiah King.

The importance of this understanding of scripture is to show the will of man in salvation is not under consideration in this passage. It is critical to keep scripture in context rather than wresting it from its context to support erroneous doctrines. It is far better to examine scriptures that without doubt deal with the question at hand. For example John 1:13:  “Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” Does anyone have an issue declaring this to be a salvation verse? Another is John 5:40:  “And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.” Is salvation a matter of the will? Most certainly and nothing is clearer than “Ye will not come to me.” How can this verse be cast positively to argue that man’s will enables him to come when Jesus said you will not come?

There is not time or space to explore this question in depth. A little reading in John chapter 6 would certainly further our understanding of the matter. These are the kinds of questions we explore in detail in our Fundamentals Class on Wednesday evenings. For now, be sure to keep scripture in context lest you run afoul of its plain declarations.

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