justification – Berean Baptist Church

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

Thank God for Our Church

Berean Baptist on October 29, 2018

(This article was written two years ago before the presidential election. I believe it is as timely today with upcoming elections as it was then.)

At times, it seems we hope against hope for our survival as each year presents new challenges to our faith. The gruesome presidential election is over, which for the first time presented us with no good options, or at least none we felt we could make without violating every decency of a sanctified conscience. Never have Christian Americans had to vote for such unqualified evil. We were torn between our patriotic duty of voting, and a feeling if we did vote we might in fact conflict with our duty as citizens of the heavenly country. How do you vote when evil wins either way? You can decide how you feel about the outcome. I am thankful that Bereans can sit together in church today, and that despite different political opinions, we rejoice as one in the word of God.

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 to hear and believe the gospel. His work precedes our repentance and faith in a secret operation upon the soul. We realize it 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 Him in His fullness as an abiding presence when we place our faith in Christ.

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. Rejoice with us in our Thanksgiving holiday. God’s kingdom and His church are great no matter who our elected representatives may be.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

The Name Matters

Berean Baptist on June 18, 2018

Although the name BAPTIST was not intended for this, each of the letters in Baptist stands for a doctrine that has been a scriptural tenet of our churches since the time Jesus began the church. The consistency of church doctrine through these many centuries is a remarkable testimony to Christ’s promise in Matthew 16:18 that the church would never lose the truth or surrender to the attacks of Satan.

The doctrines represented by the acrostic are not necessarily the core essential beliefs that make a person a Christian, but rather the criteria that makes the Christian a Baptist. They are distinguishing doctrines that separate us from Roman Catholics, most of the Protestants, and all of the cults. We believe each doctrine in the acrostic should be taught and believed by all churches and to whatever degree some or all of them are not taught will determine the seriousness of their error. If these doctrines were held by all churches, there would be no denominationalism. All Christians would be Baptists because they would be in compliance with the doctrines Christ and the apostles gave the first church.

Some might think this is an arrogant statement, but it is only a logical conclusion that any church would want to claim for itself. Shouldn’t any church want to make the claim they are apostolic? What is the point of belonging to a church that makes no claim to hold to all the same doctrines given at the beginning to the church? Clearly there are differences in denominations. We are divided but Christ is not, which means we must determine which church most closely adheres to the New Testament.

There are some doctrines that when changed do not affect the salvation of the soul but do affect the constitution of the church. Enough error in a series of these doctrines would prevent the church from being a true church. This is the point of the acrostic. Can we take each of these doctrines and find a scriptural basis for it?

Some of the doctrines will affect not only church constitution but will indeed affect the soul’s salvation. In some cases, an error on baptism may not be serious enough to affect salvation. For example, a church that practices infant baptism or sprinkling in which they are in error on the mode and the recipient of baptism, has not necessarily committed an error that condemns the soul. It does affect their recognition as a true church because proper baptism is essential for church constitution. If this error is compounded by teaching that baptism is a sacrament whereby saving grace is obtained, it has become a salvation issue. Salvation is affected because the critical method by which we are justified with God is breached. Justification is by grace alone through faith alone. In this is changed, the church fails because salvation cannot be obtained when justification is compromised.

Many times in my sermons I refer to the name Baptist on our sign. Our doctrine is different from Methodists, Presbyterians, Assemblies of God, and others. We believe the doctrinal differences matter. If we didn’t think so, we would identify as a “community” church or simply a “Christian” church. With those names people are left to guess if they have a good starting place to find a true New Testament church. Baptist identifies us historically. Historians agree people who believe like Baptists have been present in every age since the time of Christ. As a seeker, I believe I would have more confidence in the doctrine of a church if I know it has an apostolic claim.

Admittedly, the name on the sign does not guarantee the truth of the doctrine within. However, it is a good place to start. Investigations must be made to prove the doctrines are true. At Berean, we gladly invite this and encourage it—we expect no less. In our case, historicity of doctrine is extremely important. It matters because we want to be known as a true New Testament church.

Start with the name. Is it historical or does the church you are interested in fall into the generic category of startups and may only be a few months or years old? The name could be the first key piece of your investigation. Note this last comment. Baptists were not always known as Baptists. We were identified by our doctrine first and then we were named by our enemies. The name became significant because it identified us with apostolic doctrine. Therefore, the name is important.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Legalism vs. Discipline

Berean Baptist on November 13, 2017

Recently I read an article that was helpful for those who misunderstand the dichotomy of legalism and discipline for Christians. As you know, I decided long ago as the pastor of Berean not to adhere to a lengthy list of rules that are enforced by the “holier than thou committee.” Many churches use rules to sit in judgment of others’ Christianity. Legalism is a theological issue in these churches and often they do not understand they are legalists.

Strictly speaking, legalism is the belief that salvation is obtained by keeping commandments (rules), or in other words that we are justified by works rather than by faith. This strict definition causes many legalists to say they are not legalists because they would never teach that salvation is by any other means than grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ.

However, a broader definition is needed because legalism also concerns an inordinate preoccupation with the Law. Legalism may be defined as “excessive adherence to law or formula.” This is where many churches fall into legalism. Their issue is not usually justification but sanctification. Unfortunately, these two doctrines are often blended until unbiblically, sanctification becomes justification. These churches become excessive and insistent about rules for the membership to follow. This definition of legalism must be resisted as much as the other.

We have our own problems to deal with in this area, and my purpose is not to throw stones at those we disagree with. Our problem is not legalism—it is lack of discipline. In our efforts to combat legalism, many have fallen away from good Christian discipline. Discipline may be defined as “activity, exercise, or a regimen that develops or improves a skill; training.” As the author of this article said, “The danger of confusing the two [legalism and discipline] is that we can lose the important spiritual disciplines which are crucial to our growth, sanctification, protection, and intimacy with Christ.”

This author did not address personal appearance issues but went on to describe other spiritual disciplines that are not optional if a person wants to grow in his walk with the Lord. These are extremely important, and we discussed those things in our Living for Jesus series. I want to turn our attention instead to the issue of how we appear to others.

How we dress is also a spiritual discipline. The teaching of our testimony before the world in all its facets forms an integral part of New Testament instructions for Christian living. How we appear can cause instant formation of opinions, and whether it is right or wrong to form an opinion of someone merely by the way they dress is immaterial to its being a fact of life we must live with. We have few opportunities to sit down with people to explain what we believe. The limited amount of information someone knows about you—who you are and what you are in their minds—is communicated instantly through your appearance. An unkempt appearance, sloppiness, even the wrong swagger evokes its assessments. A clean-cut conservative appearance does the same. We tend to form good opinions of the latter and poor opinions of the former.

Likewise, assessments of moral values are made by appearance. Provocative clothing does not speak a character of godliness. It characterizes the wearer as conforming to the purpose of modern fashion, which is to entice, exude sexiness, and invite the onlooker’s inspection. We can make all the excuses we want, but we can never escape that exposing the body invites examination of things which should never be seen.

What is my point? Disciplining ourselves in appearance is godly and expected. We cannot justify our resistance to legalism by developing habits that kill our influence for Christ. Think about the testimony of your appearance wherever you are. From what I see inside in our church services, more personal discipline is needed, which no doubt means it is needed much more outside among those who do not know us personally.

Personal appearance is not all there is to godliness, but surely it has its important part to play.

Pastor V. Mark Smith