doctrine

Things That Go “Thump” in the Night – Part 2

May 2, 2016 by Beryl Smith Leave a Comment

Continued from Part 1

6. Robbing God in a world of plenty:

We are told that less than 6 percent of today’s churchgoers tithe, that is, give at least one tenth of their gross income to the Church. We explain away God’s question and answer in Malachi:

Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you.” (Malachi 3:8-9)

We no longer build beautiful churches in which to worship. We build what looks like a warehouse or a lecture hall. Why? It’s quite simple: our churches are filled with thieves – professing Christians who fail to give what belongs to God – His tithe. Our church attendees think they can tip God and get away with it. We allow ourselves to join our highly commercialized and pleasure seeking culture and get smothered in either things or debt. Then we convince ourselves that we cannot “afford” to tithe. And the “devourer” – Satan – laughs at our affluency, lust for things, and failure to please God by giving Him tithes and offerings. As a result, we miss the message of God through Malachi:

“I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of Hosts. Then all nations will call you blessed, for your will be a land of delight, says the Lord of Hosts.” (Malachi 3:11-12)

[Read more…]

Give Thanks for These

June 8, 2015 by Beryl Smith Leave a Comment

“The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yes, I have a godly heritage.” (Psalm 16:6)

We are so remiss to give thanks for the blessing of Providence. We read in the Scriptures of the saints of old – Abraham, Joseph and others – how God in His mercy saved, protected, and preserved them. Yet in our temporal freedom and abundance, we fail to show gratitude to the Father of mercies. We are an ungrateful lot! And what are those mercies we so easily neglect to consider?

Statisticians tell us that only five percent of people on this earth live under true democracy. Ninety-five percent live under military, political, or religious dictatorships. Look at the list of almost 195 nations and see the poverty, physical danger, diseases, and terror that holds these people in a dungeon of hopelessness. [Read more…]

A Frightening Prospect

June 2, 2015 by Beryl Smith Leave a Comment

“For whosoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
(Mark 8:38 ASV)

John MacArthur begins each of the broadcasts we see on the NRB network with this statement:

“What in the world makes us so embarrassed about the Gospel?”

There are some good answers to this question. It would do us well to look at them briefly.

Statistics tell us that less than six percent of professing evangelicals honor God by tithing. Some have convinced themselves that the first ten percent of their income is theirs – not God’s. It’s no wonder many evangelicals meet in warehouses or other rented buildings. Our churches are filled with tithe thieves. But that isn’t the statistic that really disturbs me.

Less than five percent of professing evangelicals have ever witnessed to another individual who needs Jesus Christ as savior. For various reasons they have totally missed the New Testament teaching on evangelism. Many professing Christians would say, “Witnessing must be someone else’s responsibility…not mine.” [Read more…]

The Whole Enchilada

September 5, 2012 by Beryl Smith Leave a Comment

“Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.” (II John 7-9)

One of the characteristics of many postmodern pastors and teachers in the Evangelical Church in America is that of treating the teachings of Jesus Christ and His Apostles as though those teachings were a blob of play dough.

Ignore the broader context of those teachings, abandon the great, historical creeds of the Protestant Church that expound them, and turn Jesus into whatever you want him to be. Dance around the theological doctrines taught in the inspired Holy Scriptures and make your sermons or Sunday School lessons what you think your hearers will enjoy.

After all, we don’t want to offend anyone or make them feel as though they weren’t very nice people.

Isn’t doctrine or theology a divisive matter to be left to the theologians? Fortunately, the Word of God presents a different message from what we’re hearing as “sermons” today.

The text in II John is quite explicit in its teaching regarding what Jesus Christ said in His earthly ministry. The one who “goes too far,” that is, goes beyond what Jesus actually said, adding one’s own thoughts, and the one who does not stick to what Jesus said – and I mean ALL that Jesus said – does not have God. He might have a tortilla with some refried beans, but the meat, cheese and sauce are missing. He doesn’t have the whole enchilada of biblical theology. He’s missing the meat of the precious doctrine that makes Protestantism the message of the Gospel that can save condemned souls. Without the biblical facts of Christ’s incarnation, substitutionary death, blood atonement, crucifixion, burial, resurrection and ascension, he’s left with only a good teacher. He’s substituted the pop psychology of a Tony Robbins or Joel Osteen for the truth of the Son of God.

Jesus plainly said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven…He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent me.” (Matt. 7:21, John 14:24)

Jesus clearly taught that there would be a lot of people who thought they knew Jesus, who called Him Lord, prophesied in His name, performed miracles and did wonderful deeds. They thought they knew Him; but they didn’t – and still don’t know Him. They make their play dough Jesus and set Him up as a fine example to follow; but they refuse to believe that he is the sovereign God of the universe, co-equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

They fail to teach that He may one day say to them, “I never knew you!” (Matthew 7:23) He will banish them from His heaven as those who practiced lawlessness. What will be their hell-deserving sin? Refusal to believe all of His teachings will banish them to eternity in hell.

I might not understand all that Jesus said. I might find some of His teachings grating against what I have been taught. But the fact remains: if I don’t believe everything He said, I do not have the Jesus who is God. And God does not have me as one of His chosen individuals from the mass of humanity.

So, if you claim to be a believer in Jesus, I would urge you to ask yourself, “Do I really believe everything Jesus said, or am I just believing in a Jesus who is compatible with my ideas about life?”

Since Jesus Christ is God, I want to discover everything He said. If “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10), I pray that I will have enough sense to be afraid of rejecting some of His words that might conflict with my ideas. I pray that God the Holy Spirit will give me grace and faith to say, “Whatever You have said in Your word, Lord, I believe. Please help me to discover more and more of Your sovereign work in the redemption of Your people. I want the whole enchilada. I want the whole counsel of the teachings of Christ and His apostles that can make me wise unto eternal salvation.