Chosen!

Berean Baptist on October 31, 2016

Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple. (Psalms 65:4)

Psalm 65 is another of David’s psalms of praise. The first part of the psalm has always been one of my favorites because it declares one of the most crucial doctrines of God’s word. This is the doctrine of God’s sovereign choice of unworthy sinners for salvation. The psalm describes the person that God chooses and causes to approach Him. Actually, in this is found two great doctrines. The first is the doctrine of election and the second is the effectual calling of the Holy Spirit. God chooses the sinner for salvation and ensures He will receive it by the Spirit’s work of regeneration. Even though God chooses, we would not come by ourselves because our hearts are depraved and turned against Him. The scripture describes men as the enemies of God and hostile to every righteous intention (Rom. 8:7; James 4:4). In this condition, we will neither choose God nor come to Him. It is therefore the work of God that sinners believe (John 6:29) and also His work that we come (John 6:44).

The result of this election and effectual calling is the blessing upon the one who is chosen and called. What greater favor could any person be shown than to be chosen to enter the courts of the Lord? The court is His presence; it is the place He abides; it is to be near Him and enjoy Him for eternity. This verse clearly shows none of this is owed to anything we have done. God chose us and called us without considering anything He foresaw in us. Since this election was made before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4), we know it cannot be based on good works that God foresaw we would do (Rom. 9:10-13).

God’s choice of certain individuals is not a doctrine barely noticed because it is well concealed in scripture. There are many places such as this that put the doctrine on open display, so that it cannot be disputed. Amazingly, as prominent as it is, there are those that hate it. Preachers will either skip over the many glaring instances of it, or else try to explain it away.

Once you understand these doctrines and accept them, you will never open your Bible again and spend very much time without seeing them. The Christian who gladly embraces this teaching has a completely new world view opened before his eyes. He sees Christ magnified and God glorified because he understands he had no part in his salvation. “Salvation is of the Lord” is the cry that continues to ring in his ears. He will never attribute any part of what happened to him to his own contributions (Titus 3:4; John 1:12-13). Even his will is overcome and changed in regeneration, so that he sees Christ and gladly comes to Him (John 3:8).

Many Christians have come to me joyfully proclaiming their new found understanding. They appreciate that Berean Baptist has opened their eyes to these truths. The theological black holes that many fall into and the brick walls they run up against are filled in and torn down, so that the word of God seems fresher and livelier than ever before.

It is no wonder we love these doctrines. Like David, it brings us to our knees in praise. Who are we that we should come into the courts of the Lord? We are His—He has chosen us—He clothed us with the righteousness of Jesus Christ. We come because He caused it. If you find a greater reason to glorify God, please tell me. This is enough to put me at the door of heaven. Anything more and surely I must be there!

Pastor V. Mark Smith

God’s Presence and Heaven’s Pleasures

Berean Baptist on April 15, 2015

Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. (Psalms 16:11)

Psalm 16 is another of the remarkable Old Testament passages that speak of the great Messiah who was to come. There are many Old Testament prophecies that speak of the coming of Christ in ways that could not have been completely understood by the prophets. This Psalm was written one thousand years before Christ came, yet it speaks of the resurrection which is the triumphal event of Christ’s life and the hope of every Christian.

Verse 10 says, “For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” Though David wrote this, it is impossible for him to speak concerning himself. David’s body is still in a grave in Jerusalem and has seen the decay of the flesh. When Peter preached on Pentecost, he revealed the meaning of this Old Testament text which no one could have known unless the Holy Spirit unlocked it and showed it referred to Jesus whom the Jews had just crucified. Jesus was buried but the grave could not contain Him. As David prophesied, Christ arose from the dead and now sits on the throne in heaven. Peter said of David, “He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption” (Acts 2:31).

We should note the use of the word hell in both Psalm 16:10 and Acts 2:31. This word translates the Hebrew sheol and the Greek hades. In these two scriptures, neither of these mean hell in the sense of the place of eternal torment. Neither David nor Christ were ever in the place of torment. Rather, sheol and hades in both instances refer to the grave. Christ was not left in the grave to suffer the corruption of His flesh, but rather was raised and His body was glorified. No Christian goes to a place of suffering or purging such as is taught by the Roman Catholic doctrine of purgatory. The soul of the Christian goes immediately into heaven to await the resurrection of the body. Every Christian may joyfully quote Psalm 16:9: “Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.” These sentiments of Christ expressed His immediate hope of the resurrection, while we await ours according to the sure promise of God.

The last verse of the Psalm is also sweet to the Christian. We must remember that when we came to Christ in faith we were placed “in Christ.” Everything that happens to Him happens to us. Christ was raised to return to heaven to the blessed fellowship of the Father: “In thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” I am sure as David penned these words he knew they would somehow apply to him. At the moment of his death, his eyes opened to the glories of heaven and the presence of God the Father. His words that were somewhat mysterious as he wrote them became crystal clear as he received a mind that was perfectly in tune with Christ.

This is the same hope for you and me. We preach the glories of heaven and the fellowship of the Father without knowledge of the fullness of them. However, after this brief sojourn of life is over, we too shall see the full revelation of what we have so longed hoped for. Whenever you are discouraged, turn to this Psalm and think of the presence of God and the pleasures of heaven. Troubles melt away in the blessed promises of scripture.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

What Did Jesus Really Say?

Berean Baptist on July 19, 2013

The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: (Revelation 14:10)

Recently, I was visiting with a lady in a nearby neighborhood discussing salvation and what it means to know Jesus Christ personally as Saviour. At the beginning of the conversation, this lady freely admitted that she had not read much of the Bible because it was too hard to understand. And yet, she had opinions about Christ and what He taught.

I find in my discussions with many people there is a great deal of misunderstanding about who they think Jesus is and what He said and did as opposed to the Bible’s record of His words and deeds. It is very rare to meet people that are adverse to Jesus Christ since He is universally recognized for His kindness, care and compassion for those that are downcast and hurting. Without having read the Bible, many assume they know exactly who Jesus is and most of the time He thinks and acts just like they do. If their politics are liberal and they support such things as gay rights and gay marriages, they will appeal to Jesus and say it is unchristian not to fight for the equality of all people. On the other hand, if the person is very conservative and does not favor things such as gun control, the argument is that Jesus and the Bible favor strong protection of families and these types of personal individual rights. Whatever our politics or religion may be, no one wants to think their position is opposed to Jesus Christ. You will never hear a churchman or a politician say, “I don’t care what Jesus taught or did, He was wrong!” So, they just pretend Jesus thinks the same as they do.

In my conversation with this neighbor, the statement was made, “I think we are all God’s children and all will eventually find our way to God and everybody will be in heaven.” When I asked, “Do you believe in Jesus Christ?” the answer was affirmative. “Do you believe He is God?” The answer again was “Yes.” “Do you believe if Jesus is God that He must always tell the truth?” Again, the answer was “Yes.” I then asked, “Did you know Jesus said there are some people that are not the children of God? Did you know He said some have Satan as their father and they do the works of Satan? Did you know Jesus said that all people are not going to heaven?” At this point, I gave the scripture references where these statements of Jesus are found.

As I said, this is not really uncommon. Perhaps we should not be too surprised that the average person really doesn’t know much about Jesus and the Bible. We should be surprised, however, when we find the same abject ignorance among those that stand in pulpits and preach from the Bible! We could go down a long list of Bible doctrines and show how convoluted the teachings of pastors and teachers are that claim to believe what the Bible says. None of them will happily admit they are opposed to Jesus and the teachings of scripture.

This thought comes to my mind when reading Revelation 14:10-11. There are those that deny the eternity of hell, and either believe hell does not exist, or is a place of annihilation. This is an opinion unsupported by the word of God. Those that refuse the gospel of Christ and will not submit to His authority, “…shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever…” These words were written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and agree with Jesus’ words in Mark 9:42-48.

If Jesus is God, then knowing exactly what He said and meant is the most critical information you could ever know. You may think you know Him and you may think He thinks like you. Don’t make the mistake of finding out otherwise when it is too late. Hear Him now and believe Him now. Tomorrow may be too late.

Pastor V. Mark Smith