1 00:00:31,379 --> 00:00:34,899 If you in your Bibles turn to two Timothy tonight, our theme verse 2 00:00:34,899 --> 00:00:38,779 for our study on the Baptist distinctives. We'll use that tonight 3 00:00:38,779 --> 00:00:45,339 as our verse springboard into the subject. Second Timothy, chapter 4 00:00:45,339 --> 00:00:50,779 two and verse two. Again, the Baptist distinctives are a collection 5 00:00:50,779 --> 00:00:54,619 of biblical truths unique to Baptists. Doesn't mean that there's 6 00:00:54,619 --> 00:00:58,509 not other churches or other groups out there that teach some 7 00:00:58,509 --> 00:01:02,469 or most of these Bible doctrines, these Bible teachings. 8 00:01:02,949 --> 00:01:06,509 But what makes it unique is that collectively these biblical 9 00:01:06,509 --> 00:01:14,629 truths have historically been taught, preached, believed by Baptist 10 00:01:14,629 --> 00:01:18,189 churches. There are some other churches. I was doing some reading 11 00:01:18,189 --> 00:01:23,109 today just kind of clarifying what other denominations others believe. 12 00:01:23,109 --> 00:01:27,589 And interesting to look at those. There are many, there are 13 00:01:27,589 --> 00:01:31,629 several denominations they may not call themselves a denomination 14 00:01:31,629 --> 00:01:36,109 that believe very closely. One of those is most Bible churches. 15 00:01:36,429 --> 00:01:41,269 Most Bible churches believe very close to what Baptists have 16 00:01:41,269 --> 00:01:45,349 historically believed. And now we call a lot of churches out there 17 00:01:45,349 --> 00:01:48,589 that don't have Baptists on their name, we call them Baptistic. 18 00:01:49,559 --> 00:01:59,239 You they're afraid of the Baptist label. They're in hiding 19 00:01:59,239 --> 00:02:04,559 Baptists, they're in the closet, they're in the shadows. They're 20 00:02:04,559 --> 00:02:07,799 now afraid of calling themselves Baptists. So they don't 21 00:02:07,799 --> 00:02:10,119 want to put it on their sign because they believe it's going to 22 00:02:10,119 --> 00:02:16,449 scare people away. I'm just so thankful for my Baptist heritage. 23 00:02:16,449 --> 00:02:19,289 I'm thankful for those who paved the way, those who gave the 24 00:02:19,289 --> 00:02:24,649 many millions of Baptists who gave their lives for what we believe 25 00:02:24,649 --> 00:02:31,809 in. And so just, just proud to be a Baptist again. As I say that, 26 00:02:31,809 --> 00:02:39,009 I clarify and say some Baptists are so hard line, so hard 27 00:02:39,009 --> 00:02:41,689 nosed, they're going to be so surprised when they get to heaven 28 00:02:41,689 --> 00:02:46,779 and see, you know, Lutherans there, Methodists there, even Catholics, 29 00:02:46,779 --> 00:02:49,579 those who put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ and don't put 30 00:02:49,579 --> 00:02:52,299 their faith in the church or the Pope, but they put their faith 31 00:02:52,299 --> 00:02:54,619 and trust in Jesus Christ, his life, death and resurrection. 32 00:02:55,499 --> 00:02:56,139 Amen. 33 00:02:56,619 --> 00:03:00,619 They go to heaven, they don't have to be a Baptist. And so but 34 00:03:00,779 --> 00:03:05,019 I do believe, as I've clarified many times, that Baptist 35 00:03:05,099 --> 00:03:11,009 historic Baptist doctrine is as close to Bible doctrine, any denomination 36 00:03:11,089 --> 00:03:16,289 or any churches that are there in existence today on the world map. 37 00:03:17,089 --> 00:03:22,169 If I thought there was another church, a group that was closer, 38 00:03:22,169 --> 00:03:28,569 I would be that I believe Baptists are not Protestants. I believe 39 00:03:28,569 --> 00:03:32,449 Baptists went through the Dark Ages, went through the Reformation 40 00:03:33,249 --> 00:03:37,729 and have been in existence since the founding of the church 41 00:03:37,969 --> 00:03:42,129 by Jesus Christ himself. And so I believe that, by the way, I 42 00:03:42,129 --> 00:03:44,529 believe I can back that up historically. And we've talked about 43 00:03:44,529 --> 00:03:47,729 that and looking forward to Heritage Day this year. Brother Locke's 44 00:03:47,729 --> 00:03:53,449 going to be with us. He is the former pastor of Lake Worth Baptist 45 00:03:53,449 --> 00:03:56,809 Church. In fact, our storefront was just a few blocks 46 00:03:56,809 --> 00:03:59,969 away from that church when we were meeting there. And Brother Locke's 47 00:03:59,969 --> 00:04:03,639 going to be here and he's going to preached to us on being 48 00:04:03,639 --> 00:04:06,559 a Baptist and what that means historically and so forth. So looking 49 00:04:06,559 --> 00:04:09,199 forward to that. Second Timothy, chapter two, verse two. 50 00:04:10,319 --> 00:04:14,239 Paul says to Timothy, the things that thou has heard, and I 51 00:04:14,239 --> 00:04:20,319 told you ought to circle or underline the word things that thou 52 00:04:20,319 --> 00:04:23,559 hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same. And I would 53 00:04:23,559 --> 00:04:27,079 underline the word same, commit thou to faithful men who shall 54 00:04:27,079 --> 00:04:31,709 be able to teach others also. We are to take the things, the doctrines, 55 00:04:31,709 --> 00:04:36,269 the teachings that we have been taught that we have heard, and 56 00:04:36,349 --> 00:04:40,029 we are to pass those same doctrines on to the next generation. 57 00:04:40,509 --> 00:04:44,388 We don't have the right to change them. We don't have the right 58 00:04:44,388 --> 00:04:48,549 to change the mode of baptism from immersion, which that's the 59 00:04:48,549 --> 00:04:52,789 only mode of baptism the Bible teaches in the New Testament. We 60 00:04:52,789 --> 00:04:55,669 don't have the right to change it from immersion to sprinkle or 61 00:04:55,669 --> 00:04:59,519 to pour. We don't have the right to change it from believers. 62 00:04:59,519 --> 00:05:03,119 Only baptism, that is that you have to accept Christ as your Savior 63 00:05:03,199 --> 00:05:08,799 first, and then you are baptized. It's not that you baptize 64 00:05:09,039 --> 00:05:11,799 a child when they're a little kid or when they're not a little 65 00:05:11,799 --> 00:05:15,799 kid, but when they're a baby. That sprinkling or that pouring of 66 00:05:15,799 --> 00:05:19,679 that baby with some water by a priest doesn't get them to heaven. 67 00:05:20,559 --> 00:05:24,249 It doesn't. Now the age of accountability will. And that's a 68 00:05:24,249 --> 00:05:27,849 whole nother teaching. One of the easiest ways to describe that 69 00:05:27,849 --> 00:05:33,449 is when David said of the baby that died that he had with Bathsheba, 70 00:05:33,529 --> 00:05:36,209 I will see you in heaven. David said that. King David said 71 00:05:36,209 --> 00:05:41,689 that. So we know there is an age of accountability. But baptism 72 00:05:41,689 --> 00:05:44,249 doesn't get you to heaven. Don't matter how many times you sprinkle, 73 00:05:44,249 --> 00:05:49,819 pour, you know, drip on somebody, you know, tidal wave on 74 00:05:49,819 --> 00:05:52,979 the shoreline, whatever else, none of that sending you to heaven. 75 00:05:53,459 --> 00:05:55,939 The things which thou hast heard of me, among many witnesses, 76 00:05:55,939 --> 00:05:59,339 the same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to 77 00:05:59,339 --> 00:06:02,619 teach others. Also, review is the best teacher. So everybody, most 78 00:06:02,619 --> 00:06:05,299 of you should have this sheet. Maybe not all of you, but some of 79 00:06:05,299 --> 00:06:08,219 you. But if you don't have it, just listen. These are the things 80 00:06:08,219 --> 00:06:10,899 we've covered. All right? So here's the doctrines we've covered 81 00:06:10,899 --> 00:06:14,899 12 Brother Stewart. These are loosely based on his studies. And 82 00:06:14,899 --> 00:06:17,339 those sheets that I passed out are definitely Brother Stewart. You 83 00:06:17,339 --> 00:06:22,179 can see that right off. But my messages have been loosely based 84 00:06:22,179 --> 00:06:26,019 on his lessons and I've given him credit all along. But I do want 85 00:06:26,019 --> 00:06:28,779 to clarify again as I'm. This is the last lesson, so I'm doing 86 00:06:28,779 --> 00:06:33,419 some clarification that if you were to type in Baptist distinctives 87 00:06:33,419 --> 00:06:36,539 to Google, you're going to bring up a lot of different ones. 88 00:06:36,939 --> 00:06:42,109 And Brother Stewart, he, he parses out some of them. In other 89 00:06:42,109 --> 00:06:45,189 words, he divides out some of them. If you look them up, most of 90 00:06:45,669 --> 00:06:50,389 the theologians and those who are considered way smarter than me 91 00:06:50,389 --> 00:06:55,349 and smarter than everybody else anyway, they usually have eight. 92 00:06:55,748 --> 00:06:59,429 So anywhere from eight to 12 Baptist distinctives. All right? 93 00:06:59,749 --> 00:07:06,279 And if there's 12, it just means that he, again, he's just parsing 94 00:07:06,279 --> 00:07:12,399 out some of the others and making them more individual. Am I 95 00:07:12,399 --> 00:07:17,719 making any sense? I'm not making sense to myself. Alright, 96 00:07:17,719 --> 00:07:21,919 so look at these. So number one is the Scripture is a sole, absolute, 97 00:07:21,919 --> 00:07:24,519 full, sufficient and final rule of faith. I didn't use that 98 00:07:24,519 --> 00:07:27,919 exact wording, but I said the Bible is the final authority for 99 00:07:27,919 --> 00:07:32,489 our faith and practice. The Bible, the word of God. This is the 100 00:07:32,489 --> 00:07:36,209 final authority not only for what we believe, but what we practice. 101 00:07:36,209 --> 00:07:39,129 Because what you believe really is only as good as what you 102 00:07:39,129 --> 00:07:43,729 practice. Alright, so what you think is what you do, what you believe, 103 00:07:44,049 --> 00:07:45,809 what you truly believe is what you do. 104 00:07:46,929 --> 00:07:47,489 Amen. 105 00:07:48,129 --> 00:07:50,529 And so that's what it is for faith and practice. By the way, I 106 00:07:50,529 --> 00:07:54,129 believe the King James Bible to be the inspired, inerrant, the 107 00:07:54,129 --> 00:07:57,569 very word of God in the English language. I believe that 108 00:07:57,569 --> 00:08:01,869 because the King James Bible is an honest translation. Are you 109 00:08:01,869 --> 00:08:06,229 saying the others aren't? I'm saying the others were many. Most 110 00:08:06,229 --> 00:08:13,229 all. Almost all. Maybe all motivated by money. By money. The 111 00:08:13,229 --> 00:08:16,549 ones being produced today are motivated by money and many other 112 00:08:16,549 --> 00:08:20,549 things. But anyway, why do I believe the King James Bible to be 113 00:08:20,549 --> 00:08:23,429 the inspired, inerrant word of God? Because the translators were 114 00:08:23,429 --> 00:08:27,799 superior. The translators of the King James Bible were superior 115 00:08:27,799 --> 00:08:31,679 of the translators of today. I believe the King James Bible to be 116 00:08:31,679 --> 00:08:34,879 the inspired, inert word of God. Not only that, because that 117 00:08:35,119 --> 00:08:39,479 the text is superior. In other words, the text that the translators 118 00:08:39,479 --> 00:08:44,079 translated from is superior than to text that many and actually 119 00:08:44,079 --> 00:08:49,119 all the new translations draw from. There are corrupt. There are 120 00:08:49,119 --> 00:08:54,639 corrupt texts out there and you have to be able to, you have 121 00:08:54,639 --> 00:08:58,879 to be able to have some wisdom there to divide those out of the 122 00:08:58,879 --> 00:09:02,759 texts. We call it the received text or the Texas Receptus. Of those 123 00:09:02,759 --> 00:09:09,999 texts, there are 5,300 either parcels of text or full text that 124 00:09:09,999 --> 00:09:13,519 are still among us. By the way, there are no original texts 125 00:09:13,519 --> 00:09:20,019 left. So when you read somebody, you read a church's articles 126 00:09:20,019 --> 00:09:23,499 of faith on their website, and maybe you're moving and you're trying 127 00:09:23,499 --> 00:09:26,939 to decide what church you want to be a part of. One of the things 128 00:09:26,939 --> 00:09:32,379 I would look for on their website is do they say on their articles 129 00:09:32,379 --> 00:09:35,899 of faith that the Bible's the inspired, inerrant word of God in 130 00:09:35,899 --> 00:09:40,059 the original language? If they do that, I wouldn't go there. Or 131 00:09:40,059 --> 00:09:42,579 at least I would get some clarification because I would ask 132 00:09:42,579 --> 00:09:46,849 them, I would ask their pastor, do you believe there's some 133 00:09:46,849 --> 00:09:50,209 original text still around? The answer is no, there's no original 134 00:09:50,209 --> 00:09:54,249 text around. So do you believe the inspiration of God that the Bible 135 00:09:54,249 --> 00:09:59,609 perished? Then it's a whole study again, the texts are superior, 136 00:10:00,249 --> 00:10:03,529 the text in which it was translated. And number one, number 137 00:10:03,529 --> 00:10:09,209 three, the. Not only that, but the. And there's another T that I'm 138 00:10:09,209 --> 00:10:13,819 forgetting here. Some of you remember, I've given You this outline 139 00:10:13,979 --> 00:10:23,859 345 times. Text, tongue, tongue. That was it. Tongue, meaning 140 00:10:23,859 --> 00:10:29,059 that the English language in the 1600s was at its zenith. It was 141 00:10:29,059 --> 00:10:32,739 at its peak when Shakespeare was writing and many of these others 142 00:10:32,739 --> 00:10:36,989 were writing. I mean, the English language was more solid, 143 00:10:37,069 --> 00:10:42,309 solidified. Hot meant hot, cold meant cold. There wasn't, you 144 00:10:42,309 --> 00:10:47,869 know, 3,000 definitions for one word. It was just more fixed 145 00:10:48,189 --> 00:10:51,229 as the English language. And there's many other things that I 146 00:10:51,229 --> 00:10:56,069 could say. So that's my brief, very brief explanation of why we 147 00:10:56,069 --> 00:10:59,229 use the King James Bible. So the Bible is the final authority. 148 00:10:59,229 --> 00:11:02,989 Number two, salvation by grace through faith only in the life and 149 00:11:02,989 --> 00:11:05,749 death and burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Right. 150 00:11:05,829 --> 00:11:10,069 Salvation is by grace, through faith in the works of Jesus Christ. 151 00:11:10,709 --> 00:11:15,749 All right, so that's number two. Number three, I'm going to follow 152 00:11:15,749 --> 00:11:18,869 along with you. Number three is eternal security of the believer. 153 00:11:19,509 --> 00:11:22,189 We believe the Bible teaches once you're saved, you're always 154 00:11:22,189 --> 00:11:26,589 saved. And we went through that and understanding that you can't 155 00:11:26,589 --> 00:11:32,439 lose your salvation, you can't lose your salvation. I want to stop 156 00:11:32,439 --> 00:11:36,879 and camp out some of these, but I need to move on. Number four, 157 00:11:36,879 --> 00:11:43,039 soul liberty and competency. Again, we are all as human beings, 158 00:11:44,079 --> 00:11:48,519 personally accountable to God. We will all stand, the Bible says, 159 00:11:48,519 --> 00:11:51,679 before the judgment, seat of Christ. So if we're personally accountable, 160 00:11:52,159 --> 00:11:57,309 then we have soul liberty. God did not create us as robots, we have 161 00:11:57,309 --> 00:12:02,589 a free will. We have the will to worship or not worship Him. We 162 00:12:02,589 --> 00:12:08,269 have the choice. So again, soul, liberty and competence. In 163 00:12:08,269 --> 00:12:15,629 other words, I can't save my kids. I can't give them eternal life. 164 00:12:15,629 --> 00:12:19,709 They don't inherit it from me. I can't make that choice for them 165 00:12:19,709 --> 00:12:22,549 either. They have to get to the age in which they can make a 166 00:12:22,549 --> 00:12:26,869 personal decision to trust Christ as their Savior themselves. 167 00:12:28,149 --> 00:12:28,709 Amen. 168 00:12:31,429 --> 00:12:36,149 Number five. Separate and equal priesthood of all believers. 169 00:12:37,029 --> 00:12:41,229 Of all believers. Again, it's a privilege to be a priest. We are 170 00:12:41,229 --> 00:12:43,909 all. All those who are saved are priests. The Bible says. We are 171 00:12:43,909 --> 00:12:47,559 a royal priesthood. The Bible says it also calls us a peculiar 172 00:12:47,559 --> 00:12:51,079 people. But we are a priesthood. We are priests. You don't 173 00:12:51,079 --> 00:12:54,559 have to go to someone else in order to go to God. No, Jesus is 174 00:12:54,559 --> 00:12:58,879 the mediator between God and man. The man Christ Jesus. We have 175 00:12:58,879 --> 00:13:04,319 one mediator, not two, not three. And so you have every privilege 176 00:13:04,319 --> 00:13:09,559 and right to go directly to God, as I do, as any person does. 177 00:13:09,959 --> 00:13:14,059 You don't need someone sitting in a little telephone booth to confess 178 00:13:14,059 --> 00:13:17,259 your sins to. No, you go straight to the Father yourself. 179 00:13:17,739 --> 00:13:21,259 I'm thankful I have a heavenly Father. I go to him and I confess 180 00:13:21,259 --> 00:13:24,779 my sins. He says in First John, if I confess my sins, he's 181 00:13:24,779 --> 00:13:28,299 faithful and just to forgive me of my sins and cleanse me from 182 00:13:28,299 --> 00:13:31,419 all unrighteousness. Doesn't tell me to go to someone else. Sure, 183 00:13:31,419 --> 00:13:34,939 you can come to your pastor. You can come to a spiritual leader 184 00:13:34,939 --> 00:13:38,939 in your church or whatever and talk through some things and get 185 00:13:38,939 --> 00:13:43,009 help. But listen, when it comes to confessing sins, it's go 186 00:13:43,009 --> 00:13:48,569 to the Father, go to the Father yourselves. Number six, One 187 00:13:48,569 --> 00:13:51,369 kind of biblical church. And boy, we spent three weeks on that 188 00:13:51,929 --> 00:13:57,649 and we have hammered that the last 25 years. The Bible only teaches 189 00:13:57,649 --> 00:14:01,409 a local visible church. Local visible church. Some of y' all came 190 00:14:01,409 --> 00:14:04,529 to me Sunday night after the missionary preached. Sunday night. 191 00:14:04,529 --> 00:14:06,929 By the way, he did a fantastic job. I loved hearing his kids sing 192 00:14:06,929 --> 00:14:09,669 with him. Wasn't that fantastic? And to think he had brain 193 00:14:09,669 --> 00:14:13,029 cancer and went through the surgeries and some of y' all weren't 194 00:14:13,029 --> 00:14:15,749 here. So some of you have no idea what I'm talking about. But 195 00:14:15,989 --> 00:14:19,749 you said two or three of you. But I'm so impressed. Came up to 196 00:14:19,749 --> 00:14:22,509 me afterwards and said, preacher, he believes in universal 197 00:14:22,509 --> 00:14:26,149 Church, doesn't he? I said, yes, he does. Yes, he does. I'm glad 198 00:14:26,149 --> 00:14:29,709 you caught that. And so you say, well, man, if he believes in 199 00:14:29,709 --> 00:14:35,889 universal Church, no, it's okay. Alright. Lots of. Again, there's 200 00:14:35,889 --> 00:14:40,729 a lot of Protestant influence among Baptists. A lot of Baptists 201 00:14:40,729 --> 00:14:44,089 now believe in the universal invisible church, that all the saved 202 00:14:44,089 --> 00:14:46,529 are the church. Well, the Bible doesn't teach that. It does 203 00:14:46,529 --> 00:14:50,929 teach all the saved are the family of God. And I'm thankful to 204 00:14:50,929 --> 00:14:56,609 be part of the family of God, aren't you? Amen. And so the feather 205 00:14:56,689 --> 00:15:00,499 Lutheran or Methodist or whomever, non denominational, any 206 00:15:00,499 --> 00:15:03,099 of those who have trusted Christ as their savior. Yes, we're 207 00:15:03,179 --> 00:15:05,979 a part of the family of God together and we ought to be kind 208 00:15:05,979 --> 00:15:10,859 to each other and love each other as family, but not a part of 209 00:15:10,859 --> 00:15:18,299 the church. Invisible church. Okay, so one kind of biblical church, 210 00:15:18,299 --> 00:15:21,339 local and visible. Number seven, saved and scripturally baptized 211 00:15:21,339 --> 00:15:24,019 church membership. You say, well, that should just take that 212 00:15:24,019 --> 00:15:29,639 for granted. No, now, not all churches believe that and practice 213 00:15:29,639 --> 00:15:33,199 that. So in order for you to be a member of Heritage Baptist Church, 214 00:15:33,199 --> 00:15:37,559 you have to have been scripturally baptized, right? Scripturally 215 00:15:37,559 --> 00:15:41,879 baptized. That means if you've been poured, sprinkled, any of those, 216 00:15:41,879 --> 00:15:44,799 you need to be baptized again in order to be a member of our church. 217 00:15:45,599 --> 00:15:48,279 If you were baptized in a church that doesn't believe in salvation 218 00:15:48,279 --> 00:15:53,049 by grace through faith and faith alone, then the Bible biblically 219 00:15:53,289 --> 00:15:57,929 makes them. They don't have the authority that baptism was not 220 00:15:58,809 --> 00:16:02,409 within the right authority. Right. So again, there's lots of 221 00:16:02,409 --> 00:16:07,329 things here, but one kind of church, one scripturally saved baptized 222 00:16:07,329 --> 00:16:09,649 church membership, and you can look there, underneath there, he 223 00:16:09,649 --> 00:16:12,809 gives you some verses and things you can look up yourself. 224 00:16:12,969 --> 00:16:16,929 Okay, number eight. Only two ordinances, Baptism in the Lord's 225 00:16:16,929 --> 00:16:20,859 Supper. Both are symbolic. I'm going to use a big word for you. 226 00:16:20,859 --> 00:16:25,899 None of them are efficacious, none of them save none of them extend 227 00:16:25,899 --> 00:16:31,499 grace to anybody. Everybody. See, taking a wafer in your mouth 228 00:16:31,499 --> 00:16:34,859 and given to you by a priest doesn't give you eternal life. 229 00:16:36,299 --> 00:16:36,939 Amen. 230 00:16:37,499 --> 00:16:45,719 Drinking from the same cup, which whatever you go by doesn't 231 00:16:45,719 --> 00:16:52,399 save you that juice or that wine or that bread has no saving 232 00:16:52,479 --> 00:16:57,479 power because salvation is by grace through faith and the life, 233 00:16:57,479 --> 00:17:00,999 death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. So again, there are 234 00:17:00,999 --> 00:17:04,039 two ordinances. And we also clarified there's not three ordinances, 235 00:17:04,039 --> 00:17:08,319 not four, though there are some who practice foot washing as 236 00:17:08,319 --> 00:17:10,819 an ordinance. There you go. How many y' all want to be that do 237 00:17:10,819 --> 00:17:16,979 that? Nobody. Okay, number nine. Only two offices in a church 238 00:17:17,379 --> 00:17:21,859 pastor, which again, the label pastor, elder, bishop, are the same 239 00:17:21,859 --> 00:17:25,859 office. And those are misused and abused. Those other two titles, 240 00:17:25,859 --> 00:17:29,539 elder and bishop, they all are Referring to the same office, the 241 00:17:29,539 --> 00:17:33,339 pastor of the church. And then the other office is deacon. And these 242 00:17:33,339 --> 00:17:36,438 are the only two offices. There's nothing. Three, four, five 243 00:17:36,438 --> 00:17:40,278 and six offices. Church, in other words, biblical offices. We 244 00:17:40,278 --> 00:17:45,358 do have practical offices that we as a church have voted to have. 245 00:17:45,838 --> 00:17:49,758 It's not wrong to do that. But we have, you know, trustees, we have 246 00:17:49,758 --> 00:17:54,398 a treasurer. And so. But the biblical offices are pastor and deacon. 247 00:17:54,638 --> 00:17:58,678 Number nine. I'll show what I already said. Number ten. I have 248 00:17:58,678 --> 00:18:01,158 them out of order on my page. And then I went back and put them 249 00:18:01,158 --> 00:18:03,729 in the same order that you guys have them on the sheet. Number 250 00:18:03,729 --> 00:18:08,449 10. Self supporting, self governing churches. Again, churches 251 00:18:08,449 --> 00:18:10,769 are to be self supporting through the tithes and offerings 252 00:18:10,769 --> 00:18:17,289 of the membership. And that's why I remember years ago when we 253 00:18:17,289 --> 00:18:23,529 started the fall fest, we used to do a raffle at the fall fest where 254 00:18:23,529 --> 00:18:26,609 we made up these really nice baskets and we'd have businesses 255 00:18:26,609 --> 00:18:30,889 give products and we would make nice baskets out of them and 256 00:18:30,889 --> 00:18:33,799 then we'd have a raffle to raffle off these baskets. I had many 257 00:18:33,799 --> 00:18:38,679 people come to me and say, pastor, that's wrong. Either they 258 00:18:38,679 --> 00:18:41,479 would say that's gambling, or they would say, you know, the church 259 00:18:41,479 --> 00:18:44,759 is to be supported by the membership and its tithes and offerings. 260 00:18:44,759 --> 00:18:48,079 And so I kind of let it run off like a water on a duck's back 261 00:18:48,239 --> 00:18:51,439 because it was just fun. And all those stuff was given to us anyway. 262 00:18:52,639 --> 00:18:57,759 But I do believe we have to be careful again, it's not a matter 263 00:18:57,759 --> 00:19:04,539 of having a garage sale or some other thing or some other fundraiser. 264 00:19:04,619 --> 00:19:07,299 Know that it's supposed to be through the tithes and offerings 265 00:19:07,299 --> 00:19:11,779 of the church membership and self supporting, self governing. 266 00:19:11,779 --> 00:19:15,698 And we talked about this at length that there, the Bible does 267 00:19:15,698 --> 00:19:19,179 not teach about a hierarchy outside the church that has control 268 00:19:19,259 --> 00:19:23,739 of the churches, that the churches are to be self governing, 269 00:19:24,219 --> 00:19:27,709 self governing again, under the headship of the Lord Jesus Christ 270 00:19:27,709 --> 00:19:32,629 through his word, because he is the head of the church and he 271 00:19:32,629 --> 00:19:35,869 governs the church through His Word. And then the under shepherd, 272 00:19:35,869 --> 00:19:39,829 we talk about the deacons and the membership. It is a limited democracy. 273 00:19:39,989 --> 00:19:45,429 It's not churches. This is not a pure democracy because we are governed 274 00:19:45,429 --> 00:19:53,999 by this, right? So it's not a pure democracy and self supporting, 275 00:19:53,999 --> 00:19:58,159 self governing. The next1, number 11 is self propagating churches. 276 00:19:58,159 --> 00:20:03,759 So if you look there at 11 on this sheet, it says sending missionaries 277 00:20:04,239 --> 00:20:07,359 to the nations of the world and to start churches is what Christ 278 00:20:07,359 --> 00:20:10,879 commissioned the churches to do. That's propagating, that's getting 279 00:20:10,879 --> 00:20:15,039 the message out giving the good news, out, giving the gospel 280 00:20:15,039 --> 00:20:18,979 out. That's the commission that Christ gave the church and we 281 00:20:18,979 --> 00:20:21,819 are to fulfill that commission. It's our marching orders. 282 00:20:22,299 --> 00:20:27,019 We're soldiers of the cross. We're to be fulfilling the commands 283 00:20:27,019 --> 00:20:33,899 of our commander in chief, which is Jesus Christ. And only churches 284 00:20:34,379 --> 00:20:40,459 that are propagating the gospel are fully, by definition churches. 285 00:20:41,019 --> 00:20:44,219 And so the number one goal, the number one purpose of a church 286 00:20:44,899 --> 00:20:51,579 is to spread the gospel locally, you know, throughout the 287 00:20:51,579 --> 00:20:56,539 region and then to all the world. We ought to be working. The 288 00:20:56,539 --> 00:21:01,299 thing we work hardest at as a church should be spreading the gospel. 289 00:21:01,939 --> 00:21:05,259 The thing we spend the most money at should be spreading the 290 00:21:05,259 --> 00:21:12,779 gospel. The thing we do the most is spreading the gospel. Everything 291 00:21:12,779 --> 00:21:14,779 we do is connected to it. 292 00:21:14,779 --> 00:21:15,339 Amen. 293 00:21:16,859 --> 00:21:23,259 I enjoy fellowship. I enjoy yalls cooking. I do. I enjoy a good 294 00:21:23,259 --> 00:21:28,779 Baptist dinner, good Baptist supper. I enjoy that dinner's lunch. 295 00:21:28,779 --> 00:21:34,419 By the way, those two whole nother controversy, it's called the 296 00:21:34,419 --> 00:21:39,639 Lord's supper in the Bible. Just to let you know. I love fellowship. 297 00:21:39,639 --> 00:21:43,999 I love it. But it's not the primary purpose of a church. Primary 298 00:21:43,999 --> 00:21:47,839 purpose is to tell people about the gospel, to give them the 299 00:21:47,839 --> 00:21:53,479 good news. And of course fellowship is a part of the church's 300 00:21:54,199 --> 00:22:00,399 purpose as it is up on the side as we think about. I gave you 301 00:22:00,399 --> 00:22:03,809 these and the last one is tonight, which we're going to touch 302 00:22:03,809 --> 00:22:09,649 on briefly because it's more, it's connected to the, it's connected 303 00:22:09,649 --> 00:22:14,369 more to number four, soul liberty and competency. It's connected 304 00:22:14,369 --> 00:22:17,289 to a couple of the others that we've already mentioned and that 305 00:22:17,289 --> 00:22:22,049 is separation of church and state. We believe, and Baptists have 306 00:22:22,049 --> 00:22:26,409 historically believed that the church and the state should be separate. 307 00:22:27,609 --> 00:22:33,429 Separate from about 300 AD to the 1800s, early 1800s, governments 308 00:22:33,429 --> 00:22:36,869 decided where and what kind of churches you would be allowed to 309 00:22:36,869 --> 00:22:41,069 attend. Can you imagine that being told what kind of church you 310 00:22:41,069 --> 00:22:45,069 can have in your community and then told where you could attend 311 00:22:45,389 --> 00:22:49,109 and then your taxes went to that whether you believed in what 312 00:22:49,109 --> 00:22:53,229 they were teaching or not. And this was happening in America and 313 00:22:53,309 --> 00:23:00,119 of course Europe and other places. And so every believer, every 314 00:23:00,119 --> 00:23:06,959 believer has equal priesthood. That each of us has equal are equal 315 00:23:06,959 --> 00:23:12,199 before the Lord. That no one has more authority over another individual, 316 00:23:12,359 --> 00:23:15,479 that no one has an authority over another individual except the 317 00:23:15,479 --> 00:23:19,079 Lord. Everybody with me, but nobody has authority over another 318 00:23:19,079 --> 00:23:24,899 church as well. We just again, these are all connected. So we believe 319 00:23:25,139 --> 00:23:29,579 that churches should be self governing. Again, there's no outside 320 00:23:29,579 --> 00:23:31,539 authority telling that church what to do. 321 00:23:32,339 --> 00:23:32,979 Amen. 322 00:23:33,459 --> 00:23:35,339 So you can't have the government telling the church what 323 00:23:35,339 --> 00:23:43,099 to do and line up biblically. And so the government, no authority 324 00:23:43,099 --> 00:23:46,819 over the church, no control over the church by outside sources, 325 00:23:47,219 --> 00:23:51,829 government, other churches, whichever that may be, that there 326 00:23:51,829 --> 00:23:54,949 can be voluntary, according to the Bible, voluntary cooperation, 327 00:23:55,349 --> 00:24:00,469 but never by force. In other words, we as independent Baptists 328 00:24:00,469 --> 00:24:04,989 especially, there should be no outside force telling the church 329 00:24:04,989 --> 00:24:09,549 what to do, no government telling the church what to do. This 330 00:24:09,549 --> 00:24:15,399 is biblical, but we can of course, voluntarily fellowship with 331 00:24:15,399 --> 00:24:18,599 others. Worth Baptist Church, Fort Worth, that we had a Wednesday 332 00:24:18,599 --> 00:24:21,999 night service together and fellowshipping together, supporting 333 00:24:21,999 --> 00:24:24,559 churches that support these missionaries. If you go out into 334 00:24:24,559 --> 00:24:27,159 this hallway and walk down there and look at all the missionary 335 00:24:27,159 --> 00:24:30,279 letters, you'll find those missionaries usually are supported 336 00:24:30,279 --> 00:24:34,239 by 50 to 100 churches that are voluntarily cooperating together 337 00:24:34,399 --> 00:24:37,879 to put a missionary on the field. But nobody forced any of those 338 00:24:37,879 --> 00:24:41,479 churches to support that missionary. Each one of those churches 339 00:24:41,479 --> 00:24:44,599 decided individually to support that missionary. 340 00:24:44,839 --> 00:24:45,479 Amen. 341 00:24:46,359 --> 00:24:49,079 That is what we're talking about, separation of church and state. 342 00:24:49,399 --> 00:24:52,599 The Roman Catholic Church emerged in the three hundreds, though 343 00:24:53,079 --> 00:24:56,519 they would say Peter was the first Pope. But it's very easy to 344 00:24:56,519 --> 00:24:59,679 go back in history and see where that's not true. And you can 345 00:24:59,679 --> 00:25:02,199 do a lot of reading on your own. But it emerged in the early 346 00:25:02,199 --> 00:25:06,359 3000 A.D. again, the Catholic Church believed in the universal, 347 00:25:06,359 --> 00:25:09,079 visible church. They believed they were the replacement Israel, 348 00:25:09,649 --> 00:25:12,769 that they were the church that replaced Israel. They adopted a high 349 00:25:12,769 --> 00:25:16,329 priestly figure, just like in the Old Testament. So they took some 350 00:25:16,329 --> 00:25:19,369 of the Old Testament and adopted some of those things. The 351 00:25:19,369 --> 00:25:24,209 Pope is kind of the, again, adaptation of the high priests in 352 00:25:24,209 --> 00:25:30,169 the Old Testament. Again, we think about the wedding of the church 353 00:25:30,169 --> 00:25:34,329 and the state together. The Catholic Church wed the state and 354 00:25:34,329 --> 00:25:38,859 church together. The government was the Catholic Church. 355 00:25:38,859 --> 00:25:41,739 The Catholic clerk was the church. The government, they were 356 00:25:41,739 --> 00:25:45,659 wed together. You were Catholic and that's all you could 357 00:25:45,659 --> 00:25:52,899 be or face the consequences. Protestant Reformation happened in 358 00:25:52,899 --> 00:25:57,059 the early 1500s when Luther and others protested against the 359 00:25:57,059 --> 00:26:00,259 Catholic Church. And you say, well, why did that happen? Well, 360 00:26:00,499 --> 00:26:08,229 what happened was many of these, you know, their clergy, their 361 00:26:08,229 --> 00:26:13,029 priests began to get access to the Greek manuscripts and not just 362 00:26:13,029 --> 00:26:15,789 the Latin Vulgate, the Latin vulgate, which is the Catholic Bible. 363 00:26:15,949 --> 00:26:20,349 They began to get access to the Greek manuscripts and guess what? 364 00:26:20,509 --> 00:26:23,589 It taught different than what the Latin vulgate, which was very, 365 00:26:23,589 --> 00:26:27,109 very corrupt. And they began to read, and Luther began to read 366 00:26:27,109 --> 00:26:32,519 the Book of Romans. He got saved. And once he got saved, man, 367 00:26:32,519 --> 00:26:37,079 his eyes were open and you began to see this great reformation 368 00:26:37,079 --> 00:26:41,639 take place. And though there was some, by the way, it wasn't just 369 00:26:41,639 --> 00:26:44,438 the manuscripts either. There was a lot of corruption in the church, 370 00:26:44,519 --> 00:26:47,999 in the Catholic Church at that time, too. I mean, like gross, absolutely 371 00:26:47,999 --> 00:26:52,279 gross corruption. And it was appalling to many of the priests 372 00:26:52,279 --> 00:26:58,499 that were in the Catholic Church. And they began to kick back 373 00:26:58,499 --> 00:27:05,259 and all that kind of happened together as they began to see the 374 00:27:05,259 --> 00:27:08,419 corruption that was happening in the church. But having access 375 00:27:08,419 --> 00:27:12,099 to the clear scriptures, we saw many of the priests get saved 376 00:27:12,579 --> 00:27:16,099 and the Protestants as they protested, these men who protested 377 00:27:16,099 --> 00:27:19,859 became protested, or Protestants got a lot right. But 378 00:27:19,859 --> 00:27:23,659 universal, invisible. Also universal. Instead of a universal, 379 00:27:23,659 --> 00:27:25,939 visible church as we've already preached on, it became a 380 00:27:25,939 --> 00:27:30,259 universal, invisible church. Well, they didn't leave all the baggage 381 00:27:30,259 --> 00:27:33,859 behind of the Catholic Church. The universal, invisible church became 382 00:27:33,859 --> 00:27:37,899 the state church. So then you had the Lutheran Church become a 383 00:27:37,899 --> 00:27:41,579 state church or whatever, the Church of England a state church. 384 00:27:41,579 --> 00:27:46,459 And so you had these put in places instead of the Catholic Church. 385 00:27:46,459 --> 00:27:50,299 But it was in some instances just as much persecution taking place 386 00:27:50,779 --> 00:27:53,899 as the Catholic Church was doing. In other words, they were 387 00:27:53,899 --> 00:27:58,379 forced to attend these churches, these state churches. So 388 00:27:58,379 --> 00:28:02,539 Baptists, called by other names throughout history, whether 389 00:28:02,539 --> 00:28:06,339 that was Montanist or Waldensians or Paulicians, separatists, 390 00:28:06,339 --> 00:28:10,219 Anabaptists, many other names. And some of these even there were 391 00:28:10,219 --> 00:28:14,299 different offshoots of. Came through the Dark ages, as I said, 392 00:28:14,579 --> 00:28:18,059 came through the Protestant Reformation and were persecuted by 393 00:28:18,059 --> 00:28:21,699 the way, persecuted by Rome, but then persecuted by the Protestants. 394 00:28:22,819 --> 00:28:26,819 And that's why I gave you this, this other pamphlet. John Clark, 395 00:28:27,379 --> 00:28:31,379 who is in our Heritage hall of Fame over here on this side, the 396 00:28:31,379 --> 00:28:35,539 First Baptist Church, really. And there's some debate whether it's 397 00:28:35,539 --> 00:28:40,979 John Clark or Roger Williams, but John Clark, the first true Baptist 398 00:28:41,549 --> 00:28:45,629 pastor in America. If you go through and you read, you'll see 399 00:28:45,709 --> 00:28:50,069 it says that while these three men, John Clark, Obadiah Holmes and 400 00:28:50,069 --> 00:28:54,029 John Crandall, who represented the Baptist churches in Newport, 401 00:28:54,269 --> 00:28:57,509 Rhode island, while they were expounding the scriptures, they were 402 00:28:57,509 --> 00:29:00,869 arrested by two constables. They were watched over that night 403 00:29:00,869 --> 00:29:04,029 in the ordinary as thieves and robbers by the officers. And on the 404 00:29:04,029 --> 00:29:07,689 second day they were lodged in the common jail in Boston. On July 405 00:29:07,689 --> 00:29:11,489 31, they were brought to public trial in Boston without trial 406 00:29:11,489 --> 00:29:16,729 by jury and at the will of the magistrates. Governor Edencott charged 407 00:29:16,729 --> 00:29:20,249 them with being Anabaptist. Clark replied that he was neither 408 00:29:20,249 --> 00:29:23,049 an Anabaptist nor a paedobaptist nor a catabaptist. And 409 00:29:23,049 --> 00:29:26,129 you can look all those up at this reply. The Governor stepped 410 00:29:26,129 --> 00:29:31,609 up. In other words, they would not baptize babies. Right. So John 411 00:29:31,609 --> 00:29:35,659 Clark, I'm not baptizing babies. And these the Baptists there 412 00:29:36,139 --> 00:29:40,939 stood for, right. And he said, and I told us, we denied infant baptism 413 00:29:40,939 --> 00:29:44,219 and being somewhat transported, told me I had deserved 414 00:29:44,219 --> 00:29:48,899 death and said he would not next page, have such trash brought 415 00:29:48,899 --> 00:29:52,419 into his jurisdiction because they believe you shouldn't baptize 416 00:29:52,419 --> 00:29:56,419 babies, that baptizing babies doesn't get into heaven. These Baptists 417 00:29:56,419 --> 00:29:59,979 were called trash by the governor. Moreover, he said, you 418 00:29:59,979 --> 00:30:03,739 go up and down and secretly insinuate into those that are weak, 419 00:30:04,059 --> 00:30:07,899 but you cannot maintain it before our ministers. You may try 420 00:30:07,899 --> 00:30:11,059 and dispute with them. So he basically challenges John Clark and 421 00:30:11,059 --> 00:30:13,179 says, okay, tell you what we'll do. We'll have you debate one 422 00:30:13,179 --> 00:30:16,979 of our ministers. Well, he doesn't follow through. So Clark 423 00:30:16,979 --> 00:30:19,978 was about to make a reply. They were remanded to prison. I'm 424 00:30:19,978 --> 00:30:22,659 skipping around if you're trying to follow me. As I went from 425 00:30:22,659 --> 00:30:27,059 the bar, he said, so as he left the judgment hall, I expressed 426 00:30:27,059 --> 00:30:30,699 myself in these words. I bless God. I am counted worthy to suffer 427 00:30:30,699 --> 00:30:34,259 for the name of Jesus. Whereupon John Wilson, their pastor. 428 00:30:34,499 --> 00:30:37,699 All right, so the Protestant pastor, as they call him, struck 429 00:30:37,699 --> 00:30:41,859 me, hit him before the judgment seat and cursed me and saying 430 00:30:42,179 --> 00:30:49,619 the curse of God or Jesus go with thee from prison. Clark accepted 431 00:30:49,699 --> 00:30:53,939 the proposition to debate the subject, but it wasn't given that. 432 00:30:53,939 --> 00:30:56,299 So let me go, I'm going to skip down. Clark and Crandall were 433 00:30:56,299 --> 00:30:59,409 not long after were released. Listen to this. Upon the payment 434 00:30:59,409 --> 00:31:03,369 of their fines by some tender hearted friend without their consent. 435 00:31:03,369 --> 00:31:07,329 So somebody paid for their fine so they could be released, the 436 00:31:07,329 --> 00:31:12,009 three of them. But listen, Holmes, not accepting deliverance, 437 00:31:12,009 --> 00:31:16,489 was publicly whipped. Holmes said, no, I did nothing wrong. This 438 00:31:16,489 --> 00:31:23,129 is, I'm not accepting to be released. And so he was whipped severely. 439 00:31:23,599 --> 00:31:25,999 In fact, if you look down the next paragraph, he was whipped 30, 440 00:31:26,079 --> 00:31:31,079 with 30. He was whipped, was whipped 30 stripes, in other words, 441 00:31:31,079 --> 00:31:35,999 30 times in such an unmerciful manner that in many days, if not 442 00:31:35,999 --> 00:31:40,239 some weeks he could not take, he could take no rest. But as he 443 00:31:40,239 --> 00:31:43,679 lay on his knees and elbows, he laid on his knees and elbows, 444 00:31:44,319 --> 00:31:47,359 not being able to suffer any part of his body to touch the bed 445 00:31:47,439 --> 00:31:52,129 wherein he lay. The trial, the last paragraph there on that page, 446 00:31:52,129 --> 00:31:55,929 the trial and the whipping of Holmes was the occasion of the conversion 447 00:31:56,089 --> 00:32:02,609 of Henry Dunster, the president of Harvard. That's the 448 00:32:02,609 --> 00:32:08,609 effect Holmes had on him to be Baptist. Isn't that cool? What's 449 00:32:08,609 --> 00:32:14,369 not cool is as I've said before we talk about the persecution 450 00:32:14,369 --> 00:32:19,829 that happened in Europe by the Roman Catholic Church, but there 451 00:32:19,829 --> 00:32:24,149 were many Baptists in America who were also persecuted by Protestants 452 00:32:25,269 --> 00:32:28,389 and killed, by the way, martyred, especially down in Florida. 453 00:32:28,389 --> 00:32:31,629 You can go read about all this. It's nothing hidden. It's not 454 00:32:31,629 --> 00:32:35,829 secret. You can read about it. And it was really. If you read the 455 00:32:35,829 --> 00:32:38,909 rest of this little pamphlet Brother Stewart has, you'll see where 456 00:32:38,909 --> 00:32:41,669 Rhode island. The churches, the Baptist churches of Rhode island 457 00:32:42,339 --> 00:32:46,299 had a significant part in influencing our Constitution and 458 00:32:46,299 --> 00:32:50,819 Bill of Rights for our freedom, that we have to worship 459 00:32:50,979 --> 00:32:56,739 as our own conscience dictates. It was Baptist who influenced 460 00:32:57,139 --> 00:32:59,779 Jefferson and many. George Washington and many of the others. 461 00:33:00,819 --> 00:33:04,659 It was Baptist. And that, by the way, that's easy also to find 462 00:33:04,819 --> 00:33:07,859 in history. It's not like, well, you're just a Baptist, so you're 463 00:33:07,859 --> 00:33:12,359 going to say that. Go read it. It's very clearly the truth. It was 464 00:33:12,359 --> 00:33:16,199 Baptists who had that influence. I want to encourage you 465 00:33:16,199 --> 00:33:18,919 tonight, take these couple things home. You can read them. It 466 00:33:18,919 --> 00:33:23,879 gives you references there as well. But the things that thou has 467 00:33:23,879 --> 00:33:27,799 heard of me, among many witnesses, the same commit thou to 468 00:33:27,799 --> 00:33:33,879 faithful men. We are the churches, are the caretakers of biblical 469 00:33:33,879 --> 00:33:38,649 truth. And we need to stand firm and never waver. There are so 470 00:33:38,649 --> 00:33:41,649 many today who have wavered, who have drifted and compromised. 471 00:33:42,449 --> 00:33:45,049 You say, well, what does it matter? What does it really matter? 472 00:33:45,049 --> 00:33:48,449 Well, doctrine shapes our thinking and therefore our doing. 473 00:33:49,009 --> 00:33:54,849 What we believe will shape what we do. And if your thinking 474 00:33:54,849 --> 00:33:59,129 is off, if your understanding of scripture is off, then the doing 475 00:33:59,129 --> 00:34:03,799 will also be shaped by that. So doctrine shapes our thinking and 476 00:34:03,799 --> 00:34:07,119 therefore our doing. It protects us from doing wrongly. All 477 00:34:07,119 --> 00:34:11,119 doctrines are dependent on other. They're interdependent on 478 00:34:11,119 --> 00:34:14,119 each other, they rest on each other. They affect each other. You 479 00:34:14,119 --> 00:34:17,318 get off on one doctrine, it will affect the others. And we see 480 00:34:17,318 --> 00:34:20,959 this very much in the modern church that if they're off on the 481 00:34:20,959 --> 00:34:24,559 local church, it will affect the way they do missions or affect 482 00:34:24,559 --> 00:34:27,719 the way. There are a lot of modern churches today who have gotten 483 00:34:27,719 --> 00:34:31,479 away from reaching the world and just reaching specific people. 484 00:34:32,039 --> 00:34:35,559 It's kind of what you think about when you think about a biker 485 00:34:35,559 --> 00:34:40,679 church or cowboy church or again, our job isn't to reach one. 486 00:34:40,759 --> 00:34:44,879 Our job is to reach all. I'm sorry I mentioned a cowboy church 487 00:34:44,879 --> 00:34:50,279 and so get in trouble. They're good people. A lot of cowboy churches 488 00:34:50,279 --> 00:34:54,919 are Baptistic, but doesn't make it right. We're to reach everybody. 489 00:34:55,638 --> 00:34:58,438 Another example would be churches in the modern era. And a 490 00:34:58,438 --> 00:35:01,238 lot of Baptist churches who've done this have gone from supporting 491 00:35:01,238 --> 00:35:04,638 a plethora of missionaries to many different countries to maybe 492 00:35:04,638 --> 00:35:08,998 supporting one or two missionaries only and just concentrating 493 00:35:08,998 --> 00:35:12,998 on that missionary or that field. Well, that's not what the 494 00:35:12,998 --> 00:35:16,398 Bible says. It says to go into all the world and preach the gospel 495 00:35:16,398 --> 00:35:21,798 to every creature. Well, we can have a bigger impact if we concentrate 496 00:35:21,798 --> 00:35:26,669 on, you know, this particular missionary in India who has this 497 00:35:26,669 --> 00:35:29,549 big school who can reach this many people, and if we just spend 498 00:35:29,549 --> 00:35:33,029 all our money with him, we can have a bigger impact. That's not 499 00:35:33,029 --> 00:35:36,029 what the Bible says. Bible says go into all the world and preach 500 00:35:36,029 --> 00:35:39,109 the gospel to every creature. It should be our goal to get into 501 00:35:39,109 --> 00:35:43,429 every country. And that is our goal. That is our goal. I told me 502 00:35:43,429 --> 00:35:45,909 and Brother Stone we're talking about today. It's amazing 503 00:35:45,909 --> 00:35:47,869 how many missionaries have come off the field in the last few 504 00:35:47,869 --> 00:35:51,069 years. And we have stayed around that hundred foreign missionaries, 505 00:35:51,069 --> 00:35:54,269 but right now I think we're down to 91. We've had missionaries 506 00:35:54,269 --> 00:35:57,629 come off the field, and we'll add four or five new ones next year, 507 00:35:57,869 --> 00:36:02,149 and our basis for that will be, hey, is there any of our kind 508 00:36:02,149 --> 00:36:04,869 of missionaries in the field? We don't have yet. We want to try 509 00:36:04,869 --> 00:36:07,949 to do our best to get in another country. 510 00:36:08,109 --> 00:36:08,669 Amen. 511 00:36:09,549 --> 00:36:13,389 Amen. I want to get in another country. Let's reach them. And so 512 00:36:14,589 --> 00:36:19,429 we want to continue that with that Bible frame of mind. Satan attacks 513 00:36:19,429 --> 00:36:22,669 biblical truth and teachings and doctrines because he seeks to 514 00:36:22,909 --> 00:36:29,549 destroy God's work. God does not lie. Sorry. God has a purpose 515 00:36:29,549 --> 00:36:34,269 for our church. He's commissioned our church. Satan hates 516 00:36:34,269 --> 00:36:38,789 it. Satan wants to take as many people to hell as he can with 517 00:36:38,789 --> 00:36:42,889 him, as many people as he can. And he will do everything he can 518 00:36:43,209 --> 00:36:50,889 to discourage and distort truth, to get a church sidetracked. 519 00:36:50,889 --> 00:36:53,609 And most churches today, and I believe that's absolutely true, most 520 00:36:53,609 --> 00:36:56,448 churches are sidetracked today. They've deterred from their 521 00:36:56,448 --> 00:37:01,609 purpose. And let us never compromise. Let us stand our ground. 522 00:37:02,009 --> 00:37:06,089 Let us stand firm in the faith. Quit ye like men. Be good 523 00:37:06,089 --> 00:37:10,949 soldiers of the cross. Continue with purpose to reach people 524 00:37:10,949 --> 00:37:15,509 with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Being a good steward of God's 525 00:37:15,509 --> 00:37:22,909 word. Being a good steward of God's word. I'll end with this, but 526 00:37:23,468 --> 00:37:27,869 I'm thankful we can rejoice with all believers. I want to make 527 00:37:27,869 --> 00:37:31,909 that clear. We're not out to get anybody. I've said it many times. 528 00:37:31,909 --> 00:37:34,109 We're independent Baptists. I'm independent Baptists. I'm just 529 00:37:34,109 --> 00:37:37,509 not mad about it. Some people are Baptists and they're just mad 530 00:37:37,509 --> 00:37:41,949 about it. There are a lot of others that don't have Baptists on 531 00:37:41,949 --> 00:37:44,989 their name who are giving the gospel and spreading the gospel. 532 00:37:44,989 --> 00:37:50,709 Thank the Lord for that. There are other believers and other. There 533 00:37:50,709 --> 00:37:53,789 are others who have trusted Christ as their Savior and other 534 00:37:53,789 --> 00:37:56,709 churches who may not have Baptists on their name. And they 535 00:37:56,709 --> 00:38:00,629 are our brothers and sisters in Christ. Praise the Lord for that. 536 00:38:00,629 --> 00:38:01,069 Amen. 537 00:38:02,269 --> 00:38:02,669 Amen. 538 00:38:05,149 --> 00:38:10,389 But just because they're our brothers and sisters are Christ, 539 00:38:10,389 --> 00:38:15,229 and we can rejoice with all believers, but beware of the doctrinal 540 00:38:15,229 --> 00:38:19,749 differences. Just because we are believers, we are part of the 541 00:38:19,749 --> 00:38:24,909 family of God, doesn't mean we compromise. When it comes to doctrine, 542 00:38:25,309 --> 00:38:29,029 when it comes to the Bible and what it teaches, we stand firm. 543 00:38:29,669 --> 00:38:30,309 Amen. 544 00:38:31,589 --> 00:38:36,709 Amen. Let's all stand. We have a verse invitation, the end of a 545 00:38:36,709 --> 00:38:40,389 series. We actually finished one. Sometimes with my add, we kind 546 00:38:40,389 --> 00:38:44,229 of get off, you know, we'll stay on one for a while, then get 547 00:38:44,309 --> 00:38:49,029 sidetracked and we finished one. These are so important as time 548 00:38:49,029 --> 00:38:53,389 goes on that we stand firm. Heavenly Father, we thank you for 549 00:38:53,389 --> 00:38:58,069 the Bible, your word. I pray God that we continue to stand on 550 00:38:58,469 --> 00:39:03,949 your biblical truths and not compromise. Lord, may we also do 551 00:39:03,949 --> 00:39:06,669 that in a way that is loving and kind. May we preach the truth 552 00:39:06,669 --> 00:39:12,149 in love as you've stated. Lord, may we continue to hold the 553 00:39:12,149 --> 00:39:16,509 fort. May we continue to not let things slip. May we continue 554 00:39:16,509 --> 00:39:19,349 to stand firm until you return in Jesus name. Amen.