From the Pastor
Thank you for coming to Clement Missionary Baptist Church website. I believe if you are looking for a church home, you need to know what the pastor believes. This is important because it will come out in his teaching and preaching. EVERYONE is welcome to come and worship with us.
Salvation
There are only two ways to be in right standing with God. The first way is to live a perfect life without breaking any of God’s law (which only God Himself can do). The second way (which is really the only way) is to trust in Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross. It is God who has given us the law, so when we sin, it is always against Him (Psalm 51:4). If we were to able to keep His law perfectly (which we are not), we would live forever. We all have sinned and come short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). As a result, we have earned eternal death, separated from God for eternity. Because we are sinners, we are all in need of salvation. Salvation is to be rescued or saved from something, or from someone. The law is our schoolmaster teaching us what is righteous. Since I cannot keep the law, I must face judgment. God is the Judge who can judge us because He is the law giver. He is a good judge, and being a good judge, He must rightly judge. He will not judge on the curve or let sin slip by. He will not sweep sin under the rug or turn a blind eye, for if He did, He would not be a good or righteous judge. Because we have all sinned against God, we deserve to be punished. The punishment is God’s wrath, which will be poured out on all unrepentant persons. We need to be saved or rescued because, in our sinful condition, we are without hope. We need someone who will intervene on our behalf if we are to have any hope. We need to be saved or rescued from God Himself and His wrath (John 3:36).
This is where our hope comes in. There was one who did keep God’s law and commandments perfectly. He is the only one who deserves to live and not die. This person is Jesus, the Christ. All of the Old Testament in the Bible told and prophesied about the Christ who was to come. Now, when we get to the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, they all testify to who the Christ is. Now Christ has a name, and His name is Jesus. He is God in the flesh. He did not come to earth to condemn us
(John 3:17, we are already condemned because of sin) but to save or rescue us. He came to rescue us from God’s wrath. How did He do this?
2 Corinthians 5:21 “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
Jesus was the only one who deserved to live because He was without sin. Jesus took on our sin debt, and as a result, He had to be put to death, the death we deserved. When we trust in the Gospel, the finished work of Jesus on the cross, He clothes us with His righteousness. We are then in right standing with God. We go from being enemies of God to have a reconciled relationship with Him (Romans 5:10).
What happened when Jesus was on the cross?
1 John 2:2 "And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."
God’s wrath, which I deserved, was poured out on His Son while He was on the cross. Jesus endured “The cup” of God’s wrath for every person’s sin. On the cross, He cried out, “It is finished” which is to say, “Paid in full.” The wages of sin is death, and Jesus paid our debt when He was on the cross. “I owed a debt I could not pay; He paid a debt He did not owe.” The word, “Propitiation” means to satisfy or appease. Jesus, on the cross, satisfied God’s holy wrath against my sin. Then on the third day after Jesus was buried, He rose again. This was for our justification. This proved God was satisfied with the payment made on my behalf. Salvation has always been by faith alone, by Christ alone. All the Bible, Old and New Testaments are about Jesus. I believe the Gospel for the church today is found in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. I believe it is a different Gospel than you find in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The Gospel that saves today is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
I believe all Scripture is given by God
2 Timothy 3:16 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”
I believe we need to rightly divide God’s Word.
2 Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
As an example of ways to divide the Word of God, we need to divide prophecy from mystery. We are living in the time, or dispensation of mystery which was kept secret from the foundation of the world.
Romans 16:25 “Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began” (Ephesians 3:3-5; Colossians 1:26; and many others)
I believe we are living in the dispensation of grace.
Ephesians 3:2 “If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:”
We are not saved by the law. We are not under covenants or Israel. The church has not replaced Israel. God has made promises to Israel, His elect, chosen people, and He will keep His promises to them.
I believe God has kept His Word as He said He would. The English Bible that I believe He has done this through is the King James Version. This is what I use when I preach. The Bible doesn’t need to be rewritten; it needs to be reread.
Isaiah 40:8 “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.”
1 Peter 1:25 “But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.”
If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me, I would love to talk to you.
Pastor Scott Keith