Preach Christ!

Berean Baptist on January 13, 2020

We have no purpose as Christians if first and foremost we do not glorify Christ. We regularly state this in our services at Berean. You will not attend any Sunday service without hearing it in a prayer, in a song, in a sermon, or in a class. Our purpose is to glorify Christ.

            This is the theme of our church every Sunday of every year, which doubles my enthusiasm for the subject of the message today. We begin a multiple part sermon on the church at Philadelphia, which of the seven churches in Revelation is the one we most want to use as a role model for ours. The letter to this church begins with Jesus proclaiming His holiness and truth. These two attributes of Christ might well be the overarching definition of Him as God. He must be perfectly holy and absolute truth, or He fails in His work and His self-revelation.

            In today’s message, I have chosen to concentrate on His holiness. Some struggle to define holiness. Many times, the definition includes the word which is not always helpful. The Greek word is hagiosune, which is also translated sanctification.This causes us to dig deeper to discover that holiness means what sanctification means—that is, to be set apart. It is to be distinctly different. In this application, it is to be different in ability, in character, in reverence, in righteousness, and in spirituality. God is distinctly different from us in all these areas.

            God commands us to be holy as He is holy, but we can never reach that perfect ideal of the extent of His different holiness. The Bible describes Him as high and holy. His holiness is above all others; it remains so and is thus unattainable. I mean to say the holiness we achieve as His people is of a different quality. For this reason, when we speak of the righteousness of God imputed to us by faith, it is not God’s inherent righteousness we receive. This righteousness cannot be transferred to us. Instead, we receive righteousness that is earned by Christ keeping God’s law perfectly. We are incapable of doing this ourselves, and yet it is the holiness without which no person will see God (Hebrews 12:14). This holiness is first derived from God, but its connection is to earned righteousness by obedience to the Law. In other words, it is not our intrinsic holiness, but that which comes from outside of us.

            God is distinct because unlike us, His holiness is not derived from any other. It is not earned by keeping laws. It does not come by imputation, or by bestowment of any other. He is holy because His being is holy. As God is self-existent, He is self-holy. In Revelation 3:7, Jesus said He is holy. This holiness is the same as God’s inherent holiness, the being of holiness that only God is. Therefore, Jesus is God.

            Similarly, Jesus said He is truth. In the next message, we will concentrate on truth. Think on this during the week. Jesus did not claim to know truth. He said He is truth. He is the standard of truth, which means how you or I feel about truth is of no consequence. We will not be judged by our opinion of truth. We are judged by the one who is truth.

            This is a fitting beginning to Philadelphia, the model church. They preached Christ, and for this, they were commended. If we preach Christ, so shall we.

                                                                                      Pastor V. Mark Smith

Christ’s Love for His Church

Berean Baptist on December 2, 2019

Next month is our quarterly observance of the Lord’s Supper. Thinking of the Supper, I was prompted to write this article about the great salvation we have in Christ and the wonderful blessing of being a part of the Lord’s church. The observance of ordinances plays a critical role in the expression of our belief in Christ and the appreciation we have for what He has done for us.

Our study in the second and third chapters of Revelation concerning the seven churches of Asia should be a reminder of how important the church is to the Lord. His work in this world is done only through New Testament churches, as no other organization is ordained to preach His gospel. The church is the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15), which helps us understand why the Lord took care to dictate seven letters to the apostle John about the faithfulness of these churches and the problems that needed to be addressed.

It is impossible to ignore the significance of membership in the church. The essence of Christianity is the church because it is Christ’s body on earth. To explain how intimate Christ is with His church, I would begin with Paul’s words in Ephesians 5:25: “…Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it.” This informs that the church is extraordinarily important to the Saviour. While the scriptures never say our salvation is dependent upon our membership in the church, we cannot miss the significance of this statement. The church is special to Christ and whatever is special to Him should be very special to His people. Many of the New Testament epistles were written specifically to churches. In fact, over 95% of the time the word church is used in the New Testament, it references the local assembly.

One of the best arguments in favor of membership is the administration of church ordinances. These are baptism and the Lord’s Supper. On the Day of Pentecost, Peter preached a stirring message in the power of the Holy Spirit which resulted in the conversion of three thousand people. These converts were immediately baptized and added to the church. From this scripture, Baptists have taught that water baptism is an act that signifies our faith in the gospel and our union with Christ in His church. Baptism was given to the church as this sign and is administered only under her authority. The commitment to the gospel demonstrated by baptism is expected of every believer. It is not an optional command because it is our public identification with Christ. Since the church is the only authority for baptism and it is the entrance into the church, membership is automatic upon reception of the ordinance.

Likewise, the Lord’s Supper is committed only to the church. It is a special privilege reserved for those who are members of each individual body of Christ. We certainly could not condone the reception of the Supper by those who have refused the command for baptism and thereby disobeyed the apostolic precedent for church membership. This would be in direct conflict with Paul’s command that each participant examine himself so as not to partake of the Supper unworthily. Refusing obedience to Christ’s command renders a Christian unworthy to partake of the symbol of His suffering. In New Testament times, an unbaptized, unchurched believer was unheard of. Paul also stated the church is to observe the Supper until Christ returns (1 Cor. 11:26). A Christian that ignores church membership is missing the great privilege of honoring Christ’s death as a sacrifice for our sins.      

If you are a Christian and you are faithfully attending church, please carefully consider your obedience to Christ in commitment to a good Bible believing church. Next week, we will observe His ordinance which shows His body and blood given in sacrifice for our forgiveness. Christ loves the church and so should you!

                                                                        Pastor V. Mark Smith

The Testimony of Truth in the Pulpit

Berean Baptist on January 14, 2019

But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. (2 Peter 2:1-2)

The second chapter of 2nd Peter begins with a solemn warning for Christians in every generation. In the first century, the seeds of heresy were already beginning to grow as Satan was busily trying to tear down the work of the gospel and blind people’s eyes to the truth. The apostle Paul speaks of Judaizers in Galatians chapter 1 that taught a false gospel that opposed the teaching of pure grace, and faith alone as the instrumental cause of justification. The apostle John spoke of antichrists that denied the incarnation and the full deity of Jesus Christ. Jude warns about deceivers that sneak into the church bringing heresies that deny the faith that was given through the teachings of Jesus and the apostles. This is a very common theme in the New Testament and one that we should be keenly aware of.

We may be tempted to think that false teachers will boldly announce themselves and it will be very apparent they are not teachers of truth. We might think we can easily identify them and thus protect the church from their harm. The language of scripture gives a very much different picture. False teachers are subtle. Peter says they “privily shall bring in damnable heresies.” This means they come secretly and in disguise. Jude says they creep in unawares. The truth is they may be hard to detect. They tell just enough truth mixed with their lies to be believable and if a Christian is not fully armed against them by having a firm foundation to his faith, he can be led down a path to destruction.

While it is true no born again believer can be destroyed in hell, it is just as true that Satan can ruin a Christian’s influence by undermining his ability to clearly articulate the doctrines of the faith. For this reason, we must be diligent students of God’s word. We must not only be able to state the doctrines of the faith, we must know why they are true. I am afraid this is where most Christians fail. They know enough and believe enough to be saved, but their personal growth is severely stunted because they attend churches that are unconcerned about teaching doctrine, and may not even have the correct doctrine anyway. Also, in the Christian’s personal life, there is very little to no study of the word.

This is the issue for the believer in the pew. How much more is a false teacher a destroyer of souls when he is dealing directly with unbelievers? A false gospel will never save anyone and will ultimately lead the person to the fires of hell. There are many people headed there that are very religious and believe their souls are safe. They are deceived and have stopped looking for truth because they believe they already have it.

With the advent of Christ, the first century began the widespread revelation of the gospel of grace. It was also the beginning of an earnest effort to stop the advancement of the gospel and thus the growth of the church. In the ensuing centuries, the opposition has only grown worse. Today there are hundreds of denominations preaching just about any doctrine you care to hear. We cannot afford to be lazy and complacent and permit false teachers to continue without opposition. If you hear me mention a name or oppose a doctrine of a certain church or pastor, please do not think I do so to try and destroy Christian unity. It is my responsibility to identify the false and to teach what is true. If it takes naming names, so be it. This is part of the hedge of protection you receive by being in a church that is very concerned about doctrinal matters. If you pay attention and attend faithfully, God will protect you from destructive heresies. Try every word that is said by your own diligent study. God expects no less and neither do we.

 

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Connecting the Dots

Berean Baptist on March 27, 2018

 

Psalm 129

I have often mentioned the importance of Bible study so that we may understand how one place in scripture compares and explains other parts of scripture. Often preachers will search through multiple books of illustrations looking for something that will enhance their sermon points and help capture the meaning of a passage. Sometimes the illustrations are the point and the sermon is built on the illustration rather than using the word of God to speak to us.

Instead of looking for multiple illustrations from other sources, I much prefer to let the Bible speak for itself. The Bible is its own best commentary, but to use it as such, a good working knowledge of scripture is necessary. Psalm 129 is a case in point. This is one of the frequent times scripture recounts the history of the Jewish people who have been oppressed since the day God made them a nation. As the psalmist says, Israel was afflicted from its youth.

The nation grew up in Egypt under cruel taskmasters, and then became a people set apart to God through the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai. It seems there is barely a chapter from that point when somebody was not trying to destroy them. The reason is not because Jews have some inherent despicability. I think modern Jews often do not understand this themselves. The real reason is the one who hates God’s people hates because of the one particular person Israel would produce.

If I were preaching this passage, the first place I would go for illustration is the book of Revelation. The first thought that came to my mind was the 12th chapter verses 1 and 2: “And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.” The woman is Israel. The illustration grows with the imagery of sun and moon under her feet and the crown of twelve stars on her head. This is the same as Joseph’s dream when he saw father and mother and brothers bow to him when he became the vice-regent of Egypt.

The chapter goes on to speak of Israel travailing in birth. The birth pains are the difficulties by which the Saviour was brought into the world. Israel suffered because the Messiah was the fruit of her womb and He is the enemy of Satan. He intends to crush the head of the serpent, an illustration taken from Genesis 3.

This causes reflection on the 129th psalm verse 3 which speaks of plowers plowing her back. This is the deep pains of sorrow continually heaped on Israel because of the child that was to come. He too would have His back plowed by the cat o’ nine tails that left Him ripped apart in a mess of mangled flesh.

From point to point to point—dot to dot to dot, the scriptures weave the story of Christ. From Genesis to Revelation, the story of heaven and earth’s hero is told. Do we see these things in scripture as we read, or do we glance over them not understanding how the 129th psalm is one of the stepping stones in the story? Bible study is the only way this book comes alive. I can tell you it is more exciting to discover it for yourself than to have me simply tell it to you. If you try it and stick with it, you will learn this.

If you want the Bible to be your precious book, make it a part of your everyday life. Don’t let a day go by without reaching into it and gathering another of its nuggets of precious truths. If you do, Jesus will be more real to you than you can possibly imagine.

 

Pastor V. Mark Smith

 

 

The Conclusion of Matthew

Berean Baptist on December 11, 2017

Matthew ends with the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ that has through the centuries changed the lives of millions of people. We are sure of the scripture’s promise that heaven will be filled with a vast number of people who will praise the name of our Lord forever and forever. Their salvation was made possible in only one way—the good news that Jesus came to earth, lived, died, was buried, and then arose from the grave. The sacrifice of our Saviour at Calvary satisfied every demand of God’s justice that was laid against the vile repentant sinner.

The gospel is good news; the best news any person can hear. It does indeed change many hell-bound sinners into heaven-bound saints. For this reason, it is strenuously resisted by Satan and his followers who do everything in their power to corrupt it. The gospel alone can save which means a perverted gospel cannot save. Unfortunately, for the unsuspecting, the means of corruption can be so subtle that many who promote Satan’s methods do not even realize they are helping him accomplish his goal of keeping people blinded to the truth.

Energetic soul-winners who are no doubt often sincere in their efforts to see people saved are often guilty of giving people false assurance by leading them through cheapened presentations of the gospel. When the gospel is reduced to a three to five-minute presentation in which repentance from sin is not mentioned and faith is presented as nothing more than intellectual assent, the ingredients of a false gospel are there. This is not the true gospel of Christ. The true gospel demands genuine sorrow for sin, a sense of self-loathing because of offenses against the holy God, a forsaking and turning from sin in deep contrition, then turning to Christ alone in faith as the only hope of salvation. It also includes the surrender of all we are to the Lordship of Christ over our lives.

Quick five-minute presentations will rarely bring a person to the understanding of these important truths. Enthusiastic soul-winners are lightning fast in their efforts to get people to pray the sinner’s prayer when they have not adequately dealt with the demands of Christ for repentance and faith. This method of soul-winning is never found in scripture. There is not one instance of it in the ministry of Jesus, the apostles, or any evangelist in the New Testament. None of them asked anyone to pray what we call the sinner’s prayer. None of them would have sanctioned this method as an indication of real conviction and turning to Christ in repentant faith. Does this mean we are not to call on the Lord in prayer for salvation? No, we must, but not before we have rejected all that we are and are ready to be humbly obedient to all the Lord commands.

I want you to see these truths. We do not want to sell the gospel short. Never let it be said we have wasted time because our converts never really understood the gospel. Jesus is Lord and Jesus saves! But, Jesus never saves with a false gospel. Repent of all your sins, place your faith in Christ with a faith that leads to obedience to His Lordship.

 

Pastor V. Mark Smith

 

For Sale: The Gospel: Are You Buying?

Berean Baptist on December 4, 2017

Our focus in this article is the real meaning of the gospel, which sadly is distorted and misunderstood by many. The gospel is the good news, but what particularly is this news?

Some say it is the news that God has a wonderful plan for your life. I believe this is far too simplistic even to the point of being almost heretical. There are many who have a very bad plan mapped for their lives because God has no dealings with them. To assume God has a good plan for them that might not happen is too have too little confidence that He is able to make any plan happen. On the other hand, for those who hear and believe, it is rare their lives include much good—at least not an attractive good that would cause them to come to Christ. Jesus said the lives of His people would be filled with suffering. They would be hated, ridiculed, and considered the scum of the earth.

As we know, God’s wonderful plan is for the afterlife which puts us in the position of enduring the world until this plan is realized. This is not to say a Christian cannot be happy and find peace and contentment in this life. The apostles suffered beatings for their preaching, and yet they rejoiced they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. Most do not consider this their kind of joy.

Rarely do we find an honest approach with the gospel. Most feel they must sell the gospel as the most attractive offer you can get. If the pot is not sweetened enough, nobody will buy. However, the real gospel does not need to be sold. The Holy Spirit is not concerned whether people weigh the pros and cons of believing and decide accordingly. The Spirit convicts the heart and brings the person to Christ despite all his objections. He makes us willing to receive the gospel when before we were dead set against it. No matter how bad it looks, people will come to Christ because they have been made willing through His power (Psalms 110:3).

In the days of the apostles, it was impossible to hide the negative aspects of belief in Christ. People could see what it meant to follow Him. Christians lining the roads for miles on crosses was a pretty good indication what it meant to trust Christ. If this is what you were selling, they weren’t buying. In one interesting case in Acts 5, it wasn’t enemies that killed Christians—it was God. Two believers were struck dead for lying to God. In that passage, it says fear came on the people. Many wanted nothing to do with the apostles for fear they would be killed as well. Interestingly, those that were drawn to Christ continued to come and the church continued its rapid growth.

Is it necessary to resort to deceitful tactics and hide the truth? A gospel that is not radical and changes the lives of those who believe is no gospel at all. The good news is the saving power of Christ not a short, sweet version that involves little to no commitment. The gospel may cost your life. It declares the wrath of God against sin and the penalty in hell for those who commit them. It provides the alternative for eternal death by repentance from all sin, faith in Jesus Christ alone, and surrender to His Lordship over the life.

This kind of commitment is not good news for those looking for comfort. Christianity does not end life’s problems. It may very well create many more. You cannot sell this because nobody is buying. Tell the truth. The truth is used by the Holy Spirit to save no matter how difficult it is to believe.

 

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Faithful Friends

Berean Baptist on April 18, 2016

 

Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me. (Psalms 41:9)

As I read the 41st Psalm, I am reminded of John’s words in 1 John 2:5-6: “But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.” Psalm 41 is another psalm that gives a glimpse into events in the last week of Jesus’ life. Perhaps we can call it coincidence that we would read so many psalms like this that so closely parallel our Sunday morning series in Matthew.

The connection between 1 John 2 and Psalm 41 becomes apparent to me as we see the integrity of Christ despite the false actions of His friends. In verse 7, there are whispers and plots of harm. In verse 9, a trusted friend who sat at Jesus’ table turned against Him and betrayed Him. This is an obvious reference to Judas who received only goodness and love from the Lord. Judas brought Him down, or so he thought. However, as we saw in Psalm 40 last week, the resurrection was Christ’s triumph. In this Psalm He says, “Mine enemy doth not triumph over me” (v. 11).

Where do we find the 1 John connection? In verse 12, Jesus said: “And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before thy face forever.” Those that truly love the Lord have this same kind of integrity. As John said, we desire to walk as He walked. If we do, charges of evil against us are always false charges just as they were false when hurled at Him. When betrayed by a friend, which sometimes happens, it is not because we deserve it. We have kept God’s word by loving our brother as we do ourselves.

In the last week of Jesus’ life, He was set upon by those who had no real cause against Him. The constant questions intended to entrap Him, the denial of His authority and earlier claims that the good deeds He did were actually works of Satan, were so outside the pale of reason that the most skeptical should have said, “Look for something else. We know this cannot be true.” Nevertheless, the charges stuck in their mind and when the betrayal of the trusted friend came there was no doubt as to the outcome of His trial.

His integrity didn’t really matter to them. No matter how justly He walked they were going to crucify Him. This would be a major concern if it was the accusers that were the final judge. They were not. Jesus stood justified before God because of His perfect obedience to His Father. God would cause Him to triumph in that integrity.

This is what I am saying to you today. When you walk the way Christ walked and you know you have been obedient to His commands, how people judge you does not really matter. God will vindicate you at the last day because you stand in the perfect righteousness of Christ.

As a pastor that must preach on unpopular topics, I think about things like this. I will be accused by some who do not like what I preach. If I do not compromise the truth, I have no fear because God will stand by me. I do not want to be overly cryptic, so let me just conclude by saying, I hope faithful friends remain faithful friends even when telling them the truth is unpopular.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

The Fountain of Life

Berean Baptist on February 4, 2016

For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light. (Psalms 36:9)

 As I was thinking over the congregational reading for today, I was reminded of verse number 9 in Psalm 36 in which David writes: “For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.” The purpose of our series on the Fundamentals the Faith is to open up this fountain of life in order to perfect our knowledge of Christ. We are not in the midst of an academic pursuit to merely fill our heads with useless knowledge, but it is our desire to be filled with the fullness of the knowledge of Christ. To know Christ is to love Him, so as we increase our knowledge of Him so shall we increase our love for Him.

The doctrines of God’s word are so ordered that we might know Him better. In 1671, the great Puritan, John Flavel, presented a series of messages entitled The Fountain of Life Opened Up. In these sermons, he sought to draw the truths of Christ together to present them in an orderly fashion so that his readers could see the interdependency of each doctrine to the meaning of the whole gospel. As a preface to our studies, I thought it would be good to quote from Flavel’s introductory remarks. Think carefully as you read the following.

“A young ungrounded Christian, when he sees all the fundamental truths, and sees good evidence and reasons of them, perhaps may be yet ignorant of the right order and place of every truth. It is a rare thing to have young professors to understand the necessary truths methodically: and this is a very great defect: for a great part of the usefulness and excellency of particular truths consists in the respect they have to one another. This therefore will be a very considerable part of your confirmation, and growth in your understandings, to see the body of the Christian doctrine, as it were, at one view, as the several parts of it are united in one perfect frame; and to know what aspect one point has upon another, and which are their due places. There is a great difference between the sight of the several parts of a clock or watch, as they are disjointed and scattered abroad, and the seeing of them joined, and in use and motion. To see here a pin and there a wheel, and not know how to set them all together, nor ever see them in their due places, will give but little satisfaction. It is the frame and design of holy doctrine that must be known, and every part should be discerned as it has its particular use to that design, and as it is connected with the other parts.

“By this means only can the true nature of Theology, together with the harmony and perfection of truth, be clearly understood. And every single truth also will be much better perceived by him that sees its place and order, than by any other: for one truth exceedingly illustrates and leads another into the understanding. Study therefore to grow in the more methodical knowledge of the same truths which you have received; and though you are not yet ripe enough to discern the whole body of theology in due method, yet see so much as you have attained to know, in the right order and placing of every part. As in anatomy, it is hard for the wisest physician to discern the course of every branch of the veins and arteries; but yet they may easily discern the place and order of the principal parts, and greater vessels, (and surely in the body of religion there are no branches of greater or more necessary truth than these) so it is in divinity, where no man has a perfect view of the whole, until he comes to the state of perfection with God; but every true Christian has the knowledge of all the essentials, and may know the orders and places of them all.”

This is why we study the Fundamentals of the Faith. We must see Christ better through the systematic understanding of truth. If this is your desire, join us for this important series on the doctrines of the faith.

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