Bethany Primitive Baptist Church

Salvation by Elder David Montgomery 7-26-2018

The other day, I could not find my car keys. Those of you who know me will understand that this is a daily thing with me. If it’s not the keys I can’t find, then it’s the wallet; if not the wallet, then it’s the glasses. Well anyway, after 45 minutes of searching, I found them. Oh how happy I was! Finding those keys saved my life!

What exactly do I mean by that? How did finding my keys “save” my life? Well, it helps to substitute the word “delivered” for the word “saved” and then ask yourself two questions:

1. What was I delivered to?
2. What was I delivered from?

In the above scenario, I was delivered to the comfort of knowing where my keys were and I was delivered from the having to take an Uber to work. Of course, I didn’t mean that finding the keys saved my physical life or that I would have died if I hadn’t found them—but in finding them, I escaped a whole lot of stress and trouble. I was saved TO something and saved FROM something…I was delivered TO something and delivered FROM something.

Here are some other things that save my life: coffee, coffee makers, grocery stores, microwave ovens, air conditioning, heating, my iPhone 8+, plumbers, electricians, that honest mechanic I go to, my sweet Leslye, the prayers of the saints, the fellowship of the saints, spiritual hymns and songs, the gospel, and most of all: The Lord Jesus Christ.

Each one of the above saves me from something and saves me to something; but the salvations they bring are different. This is a very, Very, VERY important thing to know, especially if you are serious about understanding the Scriptures. If you cannot get this lesson, you will be totally confused because there are scriptures in the Bible that will totally confuse you.

Understanding this point will unlock many scriptures for you and will save you FROM confusion and save you TO understanding.

The lesson is this: Not every scripture in the Bible that contains the words “save” or “saved” means salvation from hell or salvation to paradise. I am going to throw out a few scriptures and let us see if all these scriptures are talking about saving souls from hell.

Matthew 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. (Yes, He did)

Eph 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) (Yes, we are)

1Timothy 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. (Yes he was and yes he was)

Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (Yes, it is)

Hebrews 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. (So thankful)

John 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (And it was)

Romans 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. (Yes, we were)

2Timothy 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, (Amen and amen)

Matthew 8:25 And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. (But save them from what? Read the context of the verse and you will see).

Acts 2:40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. (But I thought Jesus saved…is this saying that we have to save ourselves?)

1Corinthians 9:22 To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. (How can the chief of sinners save lesser sinners from sin?)

James 1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls (But I thought Jesus saved, now we have to receive the engrafted word? And what the deuce does that mean?)

James 2:14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? (Not in that case)

James 5:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. (But you taught in chapter 2:14 that faith alone can’t save us, now you say it does.)

James 5:20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. (But I thought Jesus saved; now we need to go around converting people?)

1Peter 3:21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: (But I thought Jesus saved; now we have to get baptized?)

Luke 7:50 And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace. (But James said that faith can’t save us)

Acts 15:1 And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. (I think these guys were wrong. So did Paul and Barnabas)

Acts 27:20 And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away. (What do stars do with saving us from hell?)

Acts 27:31 Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved. (Well, they better stay in the ship then. If they left, would’ve Paul and everyone else go to hell?)

Romans 8:24 For we are saved by hope: (But I thought faith saved us and also the grafted word and baptism and conversion and those idiots staying in the ship!!)

Romans 10:1 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. (Well Paul, you said over there in 1Corinthians 9:22 you were going to save some, so stop whining and get after it!)

Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (So you have to confess to get to heaven?)

Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Paul, will you make up your mind? You said earlier that you have to confess to get saved!)

1Corinthians 15:2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. (But I haven’t heard you preach, so how can I get saved?)

1Thessolonians 2:16 Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost. (So these folks stopped you from saving people from hell?)

1Timothy 2:15 Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety. (WAIT A SECOND! The only people going to Heaven are mothers who have faithful kids??)

1Peter 3:20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. (WAIT A MILLISECOND! The only people going to Heaven are these eight people??)

If you look closely at these scriptures, you may have noticed that several seem to contradict each other. Some has it that God saves, some that faith saves, some that others can save others, some baptism, one mentioned of a salvation in bearing children, one said the waters of the Great Flood saves. The Apostle Paul wrote in one verse that he was the worst of all sinners and then in another verse he wrote that he is going to save sinners. How can the worst sinner save sinners? Then, Paul says in another verse that folks can be saved by remembering his preaching. So the worst of all sinners is so good a preacher that his sermons can save people? If Paul is the worst of all sinners, it seems to me that others ought to be preaching to him so he can be saved. Am I making sense here? I can go all day like this. Are we having fun yet?

To solve the dilemma and still make sense, I can see only two conclusions:

1. The Scriptures are wrong.
2. There is more than one type of salvation.

I subscribe to point #2. There is more than one type of salvation.
Consider this illustration: How many types of apples are there? I can think of several: Gala, Fuji, Granny Smith, Red Delicious, Yellow Delicious, Pink Lady, Rome, etc. Lots and lots of apples, right? OK, so here’s the point: There are different TYPES of apples but they are all called APPLES. The same reasoning applies to salvation. Yes, it is salvation but what type of salvation? Remember the two questions I asked previously: What are we saved FROM? And what are we saved TO? You have to ask these questions when you read scriptures about salvation or you will get majorly confused and could end up believing a doctrine that isn’t in the Bible.

Let’s apply this line of reason to some verses in our list.

1. Matthew 1:21 “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

Jesus is going save his people FROM what? The verse says He will save them from their sins.

Jesus is going save His people TO what? Well, we can imply that he will save them to a position where they cannot ever be tainted by sin, which is exactly what Jesus did (see the essays on Justification and Sanctification).

2. Matthew 8:25 “And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish.”

Save them FROM what? From the storm, of course.

Save them TO what? To a place where the storm isn’t there.

3. 1Corinthians 15:2 “By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.”
Now here is a verse that says we save ourselves. Well, apply the questions and see what you get.

Saved FROM what? If you read the context, it is a salvation from a vain, empty and hopeless mentality.

Saved TO what? To a knowledge which yields happiness and confidence.

It is always a good idea to check the context of any verse of Scripture before you make any assumption as to its teaching. This is especially true when a verse mentions salvation. I always ask myself, what salvation is this text teaching? Is it salvation from hell? Salvation from fear? Salvation from physical death? What? What? What? You see, that is the burning question: When a verse in the Bible mentions salvation; is the context always about saving sinners from sin, death and hell?? My answer is NO, and a thousand times, NO.

There is a salvation that only God can accomplish and that is to save no-good hell-deserving, lousy, filthy, stinking, bushwhacking sinners. The work of this salvation began in the process of election and went through predestination to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ when He paid our sin debt on the cross, and on to Regeneration where we are born again and our sins are washed away. I call this work of salvation, “eternal salvation” but once we have this spiritual life within us, we *ought* to live as best as we can. We *ought* to obey His commandments and believe the gospel. When we do these good works, we experience a deliverance FROM fear, ignorance, bad philosophy and a deliverance TO hope, confidence and good judgment. I call this work of salvation, “time salvation”. Using expressions like this has greatly helped make sense of what was once a very complicated puzzle to me.

THE GOD MAN

“And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.” (John 3:13)

The Lord Jesus was in Heaven while He spoke to Nicodemus upon Earth! How was this possible?

Regeneration–by Elder David Montgomery–July 17, 2018

Regeneration means to restore life; to bring life from death. If you ever watched “Doctor Who” you should be very familiar with regeneration because he’s done it like 18 times or so. Anyway, the act of regeneration is what gives spiritual life to people who did not have it before. This is very important, for without spiritual life you will never know God. Jesus said “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” If anyone wants to see anything spiritual, and that include Heaven above, they MUST be born again. And by the way…the expressions regeneration, born again, new birth, born from above and quickened all mean the same thing.

The question was asked in part one: How can I move away from a dead and depraved state over to an alive and non-depraved state. The answer is—I can’t. The reason is very simple: a dead person cannot do anything; they can’t move, talk or even think. For a dead thing to become alive again, a greater force us must act upon it …a living force…no, not Obi Wan’s force! This is a divine force—a power from above—the same power that breathed life in Adam’s nostrils is the same one that breathes spiritual life into us. And that force and power is GOD.

Paul said in Ephesians 2:1, “And you hath he quickened (made alive or born again), who were dead in trespasses and sins” Who did the quickening? The Lord did. We were dead in depravity but through the act of “regeneration,” we are now alive in Jesus Christ. The capability is now in us to see the Kingdom of God, to enter the Kingdom, to believe, have faith and hope, exhibit love and kindness. That capability was not there before but now it is. You are born again…you are alive. Wow! Living is such an excellent concept!

Some might say…So tell me how to get born again and I’ll get started right now. Not so fast! Let me ask you something: How much input did you have when you were born physically? Did your mother check it out with you to see if you were ok with the idea? I highly doubt it and I also highly doubt that you sent a mental email to her saying, “Hey Ma! I’m checking outta this place, all right?!” By the way, do you even REMEMBER when you were born? You don’t? So why would you think that you would have anything to do in getting born again? The fact is—you had nothing to do with it…you were totally passive…it was all done by God. You didn’t ask God to get born again nor did God ask you for permission. This is one major point where Primitive Baptists differ with many other denominations for most of them believe a doctrine where the sinner has some part in regeneration.

Some advocate the doctrine of “Gospel Regeneration” which teaches that a person has to believe the gospel in order to get born again. This cannot be true for how can a dead person believe anything? Consider the following analogy…

I love to discover and investigate cemeteries. Yes, this is weird but I like being weird. There is so much history in these places—I have been to the graves of many notable people of secular and church history. Sometimes I will be driving down the road, see a cemetery and pull in to see if there is anything of interest. The folks are real friendly there; they don’t mind you coming in and never give you a hard time when you leave. Sometimes as I wander among the graves, I think about the Resurrection and before too long, I’ll get to preaching, sometimes even out loud. Some of my best sermons have been preached at cemeteries. But, if any one of those dead folks ever cried out “AMEN” then I am getting the heck out of there! (Sorry, seen too many zombie flicks). But that isn’t gonna happen. Why? Because they’re dead! Well, if a physically dead person can’t respond to the gospel, then it stands to reason that a spiritually dead person cannot respond as well. Spiritual life MUST precede any spiritual response just as physical life MUST precede any physical response. That just makes good horse sense. Mr. Ed would agree with it.

Primitive Baptists believe in Holy Spirit Regeneration. The Holy Spirit comes down and kindles the pilot light in us. Where once was death and depravity is now life and righteousness. The Holy Spirit is like the wind—it comes and goes when and where it pleases. We can’t tell the wind when to start blowing, where to blow, when to stop, etc, and it is the same with the Holy Spirit. Jesus made this analogy Himself in John 3:8, “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”

So what if I believe the gospel but I am not born again? Go back and re-read this article, then read 2Timothy 1:10, and then write your name 1000 times. Belief is a sign of life…it confirms that you have been born again, it is not the cause of regeneration but an effect of it.

So what if I am born again but do not believe the gospel? Go back and re-read this article, then read Romans 3:3, and then write your name 10,000 times and stop worrying it. Belief is a wonderful thing and you should believe, it will bring great happiness and joy to your life; but just as belief does not cause regeneration, unbelief does not cancel it. God’s grace is not dependent on your obedience.

But, Brother David, why do I still sin? Because your body is still depraved—it was not born again—but there is now something inside you that is good, clean, and spiritually conscience. Yes, now, you have a good conscience. Now you can understand what is right and what is wrong. Now the potential to do well is inside you. Jesus would often tell repenting sinners, “Go, and sin no more.” They can do it because they have the Holy Spirit inside them, they are alive and well. One of these days, on the Last Day, our bodies will be regenerated and then we will be totally sinless: soul, body and spirit. Praise the Lord! He has taken us from Total Depravity to Total Righteousness. I wonder how that is going to feel? What a day that will be!

Bethany was blessed once again to have a Spirit filled Communion meeting with outstanding preaching by Elder Ronald Lawrence, good visitation from sister churches and friends, singing, food and fellowship. The weather was threatening but the Lord blessed us not to have any really bad weather and Friday night Elder Lawrence preached a sermon primarily on mercy from the Canaanite woman’s plea to Jesus “Have mercy on me, thou son of David.”

Saturday night we were blessed to have a great supper of fish, chicken and everything else with the fish prepared by Gene York. The food and fellowship was greatly enjoyed and followed by a good congregation and outstanding preaching, as usual, by Elder Lawrence on the subject of “the heart” as the seat of emotion and feeling and only the Lord can change a heart of stone by nature into a heart of flesh capable of spiritual feeling. Elder Lawrence had to leave Saturday night and was blessed with a safe journey home and he wished to thank the church for their hospitality and the opportunity to be with them dring the meeting.

Sunday we were blessed to have a good congregation and after a shirt sermon by the Pastor, Larry Wise, on the subject of the “smitten rock” the church entered into communion with the observance of the Lord’s Supper of the bread and wine as symbolic of the body and blood of Christ. This was followed by the washing of the saint’s feet by the brothers and sisters. Some fathers and sons washed each others feet and some mothers and daughters did the same. We welcome all who participated and especially those who may have been participating for thew first time. Some were unable to participate due to sickness or physical limitations. After communion there was a prayer of thanks and dismissal and each expressed their love for their fellows brothers and sisters by telling of their love for one another and a godly embrace.

Here are a few of the scenes from the meeting and more to follow under the Communion meeting page on church website:

SISTER DEANNA WISE’S MOTHER (DIANE BROWNING FALLS:

Sister Deanna Wise’s mother (Diane Browning) fell today (May 9) off a six foot ladder into a pile of lumber and had to go by ambulance to Union County Hospital. She has a broken left wrist, a broken and dislocated right shoulder and possibly arm. She is being put to sleep to put shoulder back in place and will be seeing an Orthopedic doctor afterward. Pray everything will go well in regard to any surgery and recovery from these injuries.

“The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” James 5:16.  He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we are able to ask or think. Eph. 3:20

It seems that people today are always seeking something new to entertain their fancies. They want new clothes, new cars, new houses and new ways to worship the Lord. It is evident that people have not learned what Paul had learned. “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” (Phil. 4:11). Contentment is a great virtue for the child of God as it brings peace of mind and stability in difficult times. The worship of the Lord in the assembly of saints should be a time of peace and contentment and we are given plenty evidence of the New Testament pattern of worship. It is too bad that people aren’t satisfied as David was with the house of God. David said, “… we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.” (Psalm 65:4). David was satisfied with the goodness of God’s house.

People today aren’t satisfied with the goodness of God’s house as something new is continually being added. The apostle John tells us the seriousness of adding anything to the clear instructions in the word of God. “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:” (Rev. 22:18). By the same token, those that would take away from the book of prophecy will have their part taken out of the book of life (not Lamb’s book of life) and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. The modern worship service doesn’t even begin to resemble the worship service that is recorded in scripture.

They are desiring things new today and they were wanting things new even in the Old testament but what does the Bible say? Jeremiah admonishes the people of God: “Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.” (Jer. 6:16). The old paths are those instituted by God and are found in God’s word. Not only do people want new ways but they want leaders (ministers) to encourage them in their scriptural deviance. Paul writes Timothy, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;” (II Tim. 4:3). Israel of old did not want the prophets to really tell it like it actually was. Israel’s attitude was: “Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:” (Isa. 30:10).

I see new places of worship sprout up in new areas and they must be disgruntled believers who have become disenchanted and desirous of something new so they will start their own church. The truth is it is not “our church” but the Lord’s church and He has given us a pattern to follow that is complete. As the song says, “If it was good enough for Paul and Silas, it is good enough for me.” David was satisfied with the goodness of God’s house and so should we. ‘There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” (Prov. 14:12). The old adage “the bigger the better” is not always true as Jesus describes what the true kingdom of God consists: “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32). Notice it is a little flock; it is not a Mega church. Money is the name of the game in the Mega church and this is only reasonable since they have so many “new” things they have to support.

The church is the ship of Zion and it sails on troubled seas. It will be fine as long as the water stays outside the ship, but when it begins to seep into the ship, it is in danger. The church is in the world; that is true; however, when the world gets into the church, there is danger. Remember it doesn’t take a lot as “a little leaven leaventh the whole lump.” The Bible tells us to prove all things and God’s way has always been proven to be the right and best way. Stick to the old paths and maintain the course and not be led astray with those that are continually seeking something new in the Lord’s house.–April 5, 2018–Elder Larry Wise