INTRODUCTION: Today we celebrate 56 years as a Church. 56 years of preaching the Gospel of the Lord, Jesus Christ. 56 years of standing on the fundamentals of the faith. 56 years of holding to the Baptist distinctives. Nearly 56 years on this same corner and in this same building, although there has been some repair and remodeling. These have been years of “highs” and “lows”. These have been years of blessings and burdens. There have been times during these last 56 years that the doors of this church have almost closed, and a few weeks that the doors of this church were closed. But God’s hand has seemingly been on this church for each and every day of these 56 years. Even during the past 25 or 30 years when membership hasn’t risen above 10 without the Pastor’s family and attendance rarely reached 20 on a consistent basis, this church has continued on.
The question that has been on my mind for several weeks is, Why? Why are those doors still open when there has been no visible growth, and even some decline in attendance and membership for the last several years? Why, when it seems like the bank account has been depleted to just a few dollars, does something happen to raise the balance? Why have you not listened to those who have told you to thank God for the “glory days” and just throw in the towel? Why is this church still here even though the odds are against us? I believe there are a few possible answers to that question and I want to share them with you tonight.
Let me just say at the outset of the message that I may say some things tonight that will “shake you up”. I may say some things that will make you feel uncomfortable—and maybe even mad. But please believe that I have been preparing this message for a couple of months and every word has been bathed in prayer. I have written and rewritten my notes several times—and, even now, the Lord is laying some things on my heart to say. Even as I preach I am praying and I want you to be praying as well. I want you to know that I love you with all my heart and nothing I will say tonight will be out of anger nor is this message directed at anyone in particular. These are just some observations that I have made and I want to be a help to you tonight.
Why are we still here? There could be several reasons:
I. TRADITION
It could be that this church has been here after 56 years because it has been here for 56 years. If that sounds like an oxymoron to you, hold on. As I have had opportunity over the last year-and-a-half to meet people in the area and find out about the various church affiliations I have found that most folks in town claim a church home, whether or not they are a member and faithful attender. A couple of times after meeting and visiting with someone who claims to “have a church”, I’ll meet their “Pastor” in the post office or around town and comment that I met one of their members, when I mention the name a look of bewilderment comes over the face of the Preacher and he’ll say something like, “Never heard of him.” or “I haven’t seen her in a long time.” What these folks mean when they say, “I’m a member of __________ Church” is, “My family has been a part of that church for generations so when I go to church that’s where I go because that’s my family church”.
We may laugh about that or shake our heads in wonderment over why people would be so steeped in tradition, but more intriguing to me are the folks I’ve met who have said, “Oh, yes. Bible Baptist. That’s my church. I’ve been a member there for years! I was married in that church by Pastor ______. My kids grew up there—even went to the school.”
Could it be that what we scoff at others for—hanging on to tradition—we are guilty of ourselves? Is it possible that this church has continued on for 56 years, a good number of those years with the same membership, because you have been coming to this church so long that it has become habit—tradition?
Turn to Mark, Chapter 7 and let’s see what the Lord Jesus thinks about tradition. [READ MARK 7:1-9]. Traditions are fine as long as they don’t interfere with your worship of your God. Paul said in 2 Thessalonians 2:15, “Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.” Many people allow tradition to blind their minds and hearts to a full and intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. After a while traditions become vain and routine and liturgical. The Apostle Paul warns in Colossians 2:8, “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”
Maybe you are here because of tradition. If so, just make sure that it’s the right kind of tradition. Keep your eyes on Jesus.
II. OWNERSHIP
Another reason for this church being here after all these years may be because most, if not all, of you have been here during the valley days and the mountaintop days. You’ve been here when the had of God was evident on this church as well as those times when you may have wondered if He had forgotten about you. You’ve spent countless hours on your knees shedding tears and praying over this church. You’ve seen Pastors come and go—some who just spent time here and some who invested time here. You’ve seen members come and go—some gladly and some sadly. Through it all you’ve been faithful. You have persevered. You have put your blood, sweat, toil and tears into this church—this is YOUR church. You’ve shingled the roof, nailed the paneling, painted the walls and arranged the pews. You take a great deal of pride in the fact that through rough waters and smooth sailing you’ve remained strong. Thank God for you! Thank you for not throwing in the towel when others said to just give up. Thank you for giving sacrificially—often times more than you could afford to give so that this work could go on. Thank you for thwarting the efforts of a small minority who took it upon themselves to liquidate all the assets of the church, feeble as they were, and close the doors for ever. I realize none of you may have been here at that time, but there were some who said, “No! We’ll not allow you to close God’s house!” There have been those during these past 56 years who have stood in the gap and not allowed the Devil to have a foothold. Their sacrifices will long be remembered.
We must remember, however, what I preached this morning. We must recognize Who it is that owns this church. We must remember the words of the Psalmist in Psalm 127:1 “Except the LORD build the house, they labor in vain that build it…” I am very careful to never call this church “my church”. It’s not my church; it’s not your church; it’s not even our church. This is God’s church. It was the Lord Jesus Christ Who hung on a rugged cross and gave His life for this church. We ought to take pride in our church. But we need to remember that it’s the Lord’s house and we are just the caretakers.
III. DOCTRINE
A third reason why our church is still in existence after 56 years may be because although in this little town of 1,600 there are nine churches, there is not one other that believes exactly as we do on what we consider to be the fundamentals of the faith. We come to this church because no other church in town teaches:
Ø The Bible is the inspired, infallible Word of God, divinely preserved in the Authorized (King James) Version.
Ø The Autonomy of the local church. That we ought not to be under the authority of any denominational headquarters or hierarchal board or body.
Ø The Preservation (eternal security) of the believer. Once a person is saved there is nothing that he can do to lose his salvation.
Ø The only Two scriptural offices in the church are those of Pastors and Deacons.
Ø Individual soul liberty. We have freedom in Christ to live our lives without laws and restrictions. This is not liberty to sin and live how we want. It is the liberty to live without fear of condemnation because we know that the penalty for our sins was paid at Calvary.
Ø Being Saved and baptized are prerequisites for church membership.
Ø The Two ordinances for the church are baptism by immersion and the observance of the Lord’s Supper.
If you were taking notes or keeping track you might have noticed that with each of those points I was spelling the word “Baptist”. These are the so-called Baptist Distinctives. They are what sets us apart form other mainline, Protestant denominations. Let me say that I’m a Baptist by conviction and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Sometimes we get the idea, though, that only those who have the name or wear the banner of “Baptist” are correct doctrinally and we don’t make room for those who don’t dot their I’s or cross their T’s exactly the same way we do. The fact is I have a lot of friends who don’t believe exactly as I do on a lot of issues and we have sweet fellowship. I know some Preachers who don’t agree with me on all of our Baptist distinctives and we have no problem getting along. Please don’t get me wrong—I’m not talking about compromise or ecumenicalism. There are some doctrines that I won’t budge a single millimeter on. I don’t associate, for example, with folks who believe that the Bible is not the Word of God or Jesus wasn’t born of a virgin. There are some other things that are non-negotiable. But I don’t major on the minors. I have a hard enough time trying to keep myself in line without worrying about what everyone else is doing or how they dot their I’s or cross their T’s. We need to be careful about becoming Pharisaical in our beliefs. Jesus warned in Mark 8:15, “Take heed, beware of the leaven [DOCTRINE] of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.”
We must know why we believe what we believe and we ought to take a stand on the doctrines that are crucial—the fundamentals of the faith. But wouldn’t life be boring if everyone we met believed exactly as you do right down the line?
IV. WE’RE NOT DONE
A final reason that I believe Bible Baptist Church is still here after 56 years—and will be here for 56 more years if Jesus tarries His coming, is that God isn’t finished with us yet. He still has a work for us to do. He wants us to continue to be faithful until He comes in the clouds to call us all home. When that time comes may we say that we heeded the advice of the Apostle Paul, who’s last words are recorded in 2 Timothy 4:1-5, “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; 2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 3 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; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. 5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. And may we be able to say as he did in verses 7 and 8, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”
CONCLUSION: Why are we still here? Let me make the question more personal: Why are you here? It could be any of these reasons, or a host of others. The fact is, we are here and we have work to do. Thank God for 56 years! Let’s get busy for however much longer God gives us to serve Him here on this street corner and to the uttermost parts of the Earth.
