Next week, we are going to be in Luke 22 in the Garden of Gethsemane. I spent much time preparing that sermon last night, yesterday, and we're going to be there next week, Luke 22. There are some messages that we preach. You know, obviously sometimes we're straight exposition through a text of the Bible. There's sometimes we deal with a topical issue. And there's some things that in my own mind that I kind of just think about as housekeeping. Last week was one of those where we talked about forgiveness. And it's essential at times for the church to remind it about those attitudes that are essential for church membership or church life in general. Forgiveness. This morning is another what I would consider kind of housekeeping. What I mean by that is that sometimes we need to be reminded of things as a church. Why do we do the things that we do? Is there any rhyme or reason why we preach the way that we do, why we worship the way that we do? There is. And if you have come to Calvary Baptist Church for any amount of time, hopefully you understand that there's a philosophy that undergirds how we operate. This is essential that there be some guidance as far as what church ought to look like, because you could go any particular Sunday morning to a variety of different churches that do things very, very differently. Some churches you go to and you wonder if anybody has a pulse as they worship. Other churches you go to and you don't know whether you're in a church or you've stumbled into a rave. You're wondering when the mosh pit's going to break out. There's a whole spectrum of churches and approaches to ministry. So why do we do things the way that we do them? Is it preference? Just, pastor, elders, I think this would be a good way to do it. Is it tradition? We have some tradition that's been passed on to us and say, well, we do things this way because of tradition. Is it just pragmatism? Well, you know, I think this will work. Let's do it that way. What is it that guides us? Well, I'm going to suggest to you this morning that Calvary Baptist Church is driven by a biblical philosophy of ministry. We're driven by a biblical philosophy of ministry. And so we recognize certain biblical principles or even commands that really lay out for us how a church ought to be done. And so this morning, if you're new to Calvary Baptist Church, relatively new, or maybe it's your first time here, you're going to learn something about us, why we do what we do, and hopefully you'll understand that we are principled, we are guided by Scripture. You may disagree, maybe, with some of the application, but you'll see that we, frankly, see the Word of God as our guide, and a proper understanding of the Word gives for us principles that dictate how we worship and how we do church together. Ultimately, our main desire at Calvary Baptist Church is to glorify God. I mean, that's the broad picture. Our little tagline says, for His glory, by His grace. We believe that we are to stay true to God's revelation, and when we do that, we invite His blessing upon ministry. And so we have principles that are paramount. because they're biblical principles. No program or person or methodology at Calvary Baptist Church ought to violate these principles. And so this is our biblical philosophy of ministry. It's the measuring rod by which we measure everything that we do. It guides how we conduct our ministry, and it even determines how we measure success. And you say, well, success is determined by how many people show up. No, not at all. A burning building attracts a crowd. You can learn how to fill seats. That's not a measure of success. And so our measure of success is how faithful are we to the biblical principles that we believe undergird how a church ought to operate. And that's how we measure. Numbers? God builds the church. And I believe he builds it in response to our faithfulness. And so how do we determine our faithfulness? Well, in part, by determining how faithful we've been to these biblical principles. And for the most part, these principles really speak to what we believe about God, and Christ, and the Spirit, and the nature of man, and his design of the church. And so this is going to be topical. I'm going to have you turn to some passages in a bit, and there'll be a variety of passages that way. But for the most part, if you could listen, I'm going to be quoting Scripture. I'm going to try to go a little bit, not run through it, even though there is a lot of content. So if you could listen and be alert, and there's going to be a few passages that I ask you to turn to. But for the most part, learn about us. And learn what we believe is God's design for the Church. The first principle. that we believe as a church ought to guide the way that we operate is a high view of God. A high view of God. Proverbs 9 in verse 10 says, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. We believe that God is holy and that He is to be feared. This is a reverential awe. We believe that the very nature of God demands that man have a right response to his character. He is the Holy One, the right response, reverential fear. That ought to be reflected in our lives, our attitude towards God. It also ought to be reflected in how we worship. The Bible says of the reprobate in Romans 3.18 that there is no fear of God before their eyes. And so the characteristic of a believer is just that, fear of God, response to His holiness with reverential awe. And so we recognize who God is. He is sovereign. He is eternal. He is self-existent. He is all-powerful. He is all-knowing. He is always present. He is unchanging. We believe this about His character, and our worship ought to reflect it. He is holy, and He is righteous, and He is just, and He is a jealous God, and He is a good God, and He is loving, merciful, gracious, long-suffering, forgiving. His character determines how He is worshiped. And so Hebrews 12.28 says, Therefore, let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire." In other words, the nature of God requires or determines that there is an acceptable and an unacceptable worship. The acceptable worship is that which is offered in reverence and awe, in recognition of the fact that He is a consuming fire. And so, our view of God determines how we do church. We worship in the splendor of His holiness, Psalm 96.9 says. It says, "...worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness. Tremble before Him, all the earth." And so those who fear God are those who believe in His self-revelation. He's revealed Himself as the Holy One. We believe that God is a holy God who hates sin and will judge all iniquity, and this fear then leads believers to walk in obedience and submission to Him. Now, if you're new and you're saying, oh no, He's a hellfire and brimstone preacher, God is a holy God just waiting to cast judgment down upon the earth. Listen, through the Lord Jesus Christ, we are brought into intimate fellowship with the Father. The Holy Spirit in us cries, Abba, Father. And so there's intimacy there, there's relationship there. But we have intimate relationship with the Holy God. Proverbs 16.6 says, "...by steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the Lord one turns away from evil." In other words, the fear of the Lord then determines not just how we worship corporately, but it determines how we walk privately. He is holy, I fear Him, therefore I turn away from evil." In Deuteronomy 10, 12 it says, and now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? That's a big question, right? I mean, you want to know what to do with your life? What's the meaning of life? What does God want from you? Well, here it is. What does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, and to walk in His ways, to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul." And it's wonderful because the God of the Old Testament, which is just God, is often viewed as the one who is harsh in judgment, imposing law upon the people, and so on. We understand that God's standard of worshiping Him in spirit and in truth of the whole heart is consistent with His character from beginning to end. So Deuteronomy 10.20 says, "...you shall fear the Lord your God, you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him, and by His name you shall swear He is your praise. He is your God who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen." And so that matters to us. That determines how we do church. That determines how we worship when we get together. We recognize that God is holy. He is to be feared. This determines how we live personally. It determines how we worship corporately. We worship in response to the holiness of God, but our worship is also to be a reflection of the holiness of God. And so you ought to be able to come into a church and in short order get a glimpse or an understanding of who the God is that they worship. And so if you come into a church and there's flippant worship, and irreverent worship, and superficial worship, and worldly worship that tells you something about the God or what they believe about the God they're worshiping. And so our worship ought to be conducted in such a way that properly reflects what we believe about the God of Scripture. So you ought to be able to come here and realize they believe that God is holy. They believe that God is to be revered. They believe that you cannot simply rush into the presence of God and bring in sin and worldliness and flippancy and irreverence. So that drives us. We believe that He is holy and majestic. We believe that He must be worshipped in holiness, and it matters. And so, as a church, we seek to tremble at His Word. Isaiah 66.2 says, "...all these things My hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the One to whom I will look, He who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at My Word." And so, the Bible says, because God is holy, we then are to be holy. And Peter catches this. And maybe you can turn there, 1 Peter 1. 1 Peter 1. Because Peter gives us a practical application of the holiness of God. 1 Peter 1. Peter says in 1 Peter 1 verse 13, But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct. Since it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy. And if you call on Him as Father, who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile." God is holy, so you be holy. God is holy, so you be holy. Conduct your life in a way reflective of His holiness and live in the fear of God, reverential fear. like a child fears a loving father. So there's a practical import to the holiness of God in our personal lives and our corporate lives. Now, turn in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians 6. 2 Corinthians 6. We're going to see another practical application of this. I want us to look at verse 14, and we're going to go down to chapter 7, verse 1. 2 Corinthians 6. And about now is when you're missing the fact that we used to put all the scriptures on the screen, right? 2 Corinthians 6, verse 14. Paul says to the Corinthians, "...do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?" What agreement is the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said, I will make My dwelling among them, and walk among them. And I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing. Then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you. And you shall be sons and daughters to Me, says the Lord Almighty." That's the promise. I will be in your midst, I will be your father, you will be my children, sons and daughters. Don't touch any unclean thing. Come out, be separate from the world, be different from the world. Live in response to my holiness. But then look in chapter 7 verse 1. Since we have these promises, beloved, what promises? The promise of relationship, the promise of God being in our midst. Since we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God. And so this drives the personal Christian life. God is holy. He is to be revered. He is to be feared, which means that I order my life in holiness and obedience to Him. This is reflective in how we worship. This is reflective in how we do church together. How can you have a holy people who are living in response to the holiness of God who then come together and worship irreverently? You can't. And so the worship that we offer together is not contrived, is not manufactured. You are bringing the worship of your own heart together, and together as individuals we are worshiping corporately, expressing the worship that exists within our own hearts. So having a fear of God is not the same thing as being scared of God. It is possessing a loving, reverential awe for His majesty that leads one to submit to and glory in His awesome power and authority. It recognizes His perfect holiness and hatred towards sin. The fear of God causes us to fundamentally transform our lives in order to please Him and obey Him. It's not the fear of a cruel tyrant, but the reverential fear of a loving Father who's invited us into relationship with Himself. We saw that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Naturally, then, it makes sense that a philosophy of ministry is founded upon the fear of God. How does this impact ministry? Well, we teach and preach the biblical revelation of who God is. He's holy. He's sovereign. He's all-powerful. He hates sin. He loves holiness. He does not look lightly upon sin, and so it's required, ultimately, the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. We teach this. We don't downplay the character of God. We don't try to smooth over the edges of the character of God that we think are too hard for people to accept. We teach the biblical revelation that God has given of Himself. We believe that He will execute judgment and wrath upon those who have not exercised faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We don't downplay this. We preach God as the Bible presents Him. He is the glorious King of all the universe. He sits upon His throne, high and lifted up. He's surrounded by angels who continuously cry, Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts, and the whole earth is filled with His glory. That's who He is. And it's not our place to downplay this. So we cannot and will not promote or tolerate irreverent worship. We don't deviate from the Scriptures in creating a conception of God which detracts from His majesty, His glory, or His holiness. You don't like His sovereignty, you come up with some other concept of how salvation works. You don't like His justice, and so you don't talk about hell or eternal judgment. You don't like the concept of God pouring His wrath out upon His Son, and so you do away with penal substitution. We can't do it. We must be consistent with the Scripture and God's revelation of Himself. And so, will not deviate from Scripture in creating a conception of God which detracts from His majesty, His glory, or His holiness. We don't rush into the throne of grace with flippancy and irreverence. And so this will be manifest in our approach to preaching and teaching and music and prayer and every other area of ministry. We proclaim His glory and majesty in worship. We exalt Him. We will submit to Him. We will encourage all men and women to order their lives in a way reflective of His holiness. And so we're God-centered. This is not a cult of personality. It's not about me. It's not about the elders. We preach to please God and not people. We conduct our ministries to please God and not people. So the Bible is not primarily a book of how-tos. We love lists. Have you noticed this trend on the internet? You see the articles, and generally these articles are five ways to do this, or three ways to do this, very quick read, bullet points to keep our attention, which is fine, it's helpful, but we cannot take the Word of God and try to make it contort to the present day or modern conception of truth. The Bible is primarily a revelation of God. not something easily whittled down to a book of how-tos. It's a book that reveals God. And so, when we believe and submit to God's self-revelation as contained in the Scriptures, then we're doing things in line with God's will. Our ministry must promote the fear of God in the lives of people. And so, a high view of God is number one. Number two, The principle which undergirds the ministry of Calvary Baptist Church is an affirmation of the sufficiency of Scripture. An affirmation of the sufficiency of Scripture. We believe that the Word of God provides for us everything we need for a life of godliness. We believe the Word of God is sufficient. It's everything that you need for spiritual growth. The Holy Spirit imparts that to you and God can provide for your reproof and correction and teaching and training and righteousness and so on. So the Bible says in 2 Timothy 3.16, all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. Jesus said Himself that man cannot live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. We believe the Scriptures are sufficient. We're not looking for something novel. We're not looking for something that can produce results outside of the Scriptures. We do not believe that the Scriptures are old and outdated and we need to find something fresh and new in order to reach a new generation. We believe that the Scriptures are sufficient and they are eternally relevant. We believe the Word of God is inspired by Himself. We receive it as it is, the Word of God. Paul commended the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 2.13. He says, we also thank God constantly for this, that when you receive the Word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it, not as the Word of men, but as what it really is, the Word of God, which is at work in you believers. And so we preach the Word as it is, the Word of God. And so our exhortation to you is that when you come, you receive it as it is, the Word of God. And so this is a reason why our teaching and our preaching seeks to simply make Scripture plain. Because we believe it's the Word. We're not trying to distort or corrupt the truth and then give it to you in some way to get you to do something that is our desire. We just preach it plainly. Because it's the Word. And it's sufficient. And it's inspired. And God will use it in your life. It's sufficient to that purpose. And so we trust that. We believe it's inspired. We believe it is inerrant. It's inspired, so we receive it as the Word of God. It is inerrant, so we trust what it says. It is authoritative, and so we do what it says. So James tells us in James 1.21, "...put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted Word which is able to save your souls." Receive with meekness the Word. Submit to it. and say, the Word of God is to change me, not me change the Word. I don't sit in judgment of the Scripture. The Scriptures stand in judgment of me, and so I receive it with meekness. It's authoritative. The Scriptures are inspired, inerrant, authoritative, insufficient. We rely on it to do what it promises to do. Look at Isaiah 55, verse 11. It's a very key verse. I want you to see it for yourself. Isaiah 55, 11. Isaiah 55.11. We were just in Isaiah 53 a couple weeks ago. Isaiah 55. It's a wonderful promise. This is not in the context of the New Testament church, but it gives us a wonderful principle regarding the Word of God. Isaiah 55.11 says, "'So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth. It shall not return to me empty. but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." God is saying, the power is in My Word. To accomplish My purposes, employ My Word. It will accomplish all that I intend to accomplish. All that which I purpose will succeed via the ministry of My Word. Now, if you're trying to do church biblically, God, show me some principles as to how we ought to do things. What's going to result in you blessing and the kingdom expanding? What a wonderful promise. Preach the Word. I can stand on the reality that if I faithfully proclaim the Word of God as it is, not filtered through my own preferences, my own desires, my own thoughts, if I just proclaim the Word of God, I have a promise. It's not going to return empty. It will accomplish God's purposes. Whatever He purposes shall succeed as the Word goes out and does the work. And so, man, I don't want to deviate from that. I don't want to get up here and preach my preferences or my desires. Why? Because if I wanted to build my kingdom, maybe. It's not about me. It's not about Jared. It's not about Charles. It's about God and His glory and the exaltation of His Son. It's about drawing men and women to Himself. It's about lives being transformed. It's about preparing us and causing us to persevere to the end. It's about convicting sinners. That's what it's about. And the Word of God accomplishes all of this. It is the power of God unto salvation. Paul said, I am eager to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome, Romans 1.15. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. See, that's where the power is. It's the gospel. I want to preach the gospel. That's it. Just preach the gospel. Why? Because it's impregnated with power. That's where the power lies. It's the Word of God that calls out God's people to salvation. Peter said, you've been born again, not a perishable seed, but imperishable through the living and abiding Word of God. So we believe the Word of God has life. It has power. The Spirit of God imparts it to lives, draws men to Himself, makes people alive through the preaching of the Word. Everything else just trifles. You get pastors and preachers behind the pulpit, and it's like a comedy routine that they're up doing, or doing silly object lessons, or just trying to keep your attention with worldly tactics. Man, that's not where the power is. You may be able to keep somebody's attention, you may be able to fill seats, but you're not expanding the kingdom. Romans 10 verse 12, Paul says, there's no distinction between Jew and Greek. The point he's making here is salvation is the same for all. For the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing His riches on all who call on Him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? Paul's saying everybody comes to Christ the same way. Jew, Greek, it doesn't matter. You all come the same way. Everybody who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, but how can they call if they haven't believed? And how can they believe if they have not heard? And how can they hear if there's no preaching? And so he elevates the preaching of the Word of God as that in which resides the power to generate belief in all those who would believe. So in verse 17 he says, "...so faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." You know how impactful that is in our philosophy of ministry? Faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. I cannot generate faith in you. I can't convince you to believe. I can't argue you into faith. It's not going to be the fact that I chose the perfect choice words, and that I had to turn a phrase that just penetrated your heart. Imagine if that was my thinking after preaching on a Sunday morning. Man, if only I would have said things a little bit differently. Maybe that person would have come to faith. How could anybody live under that kind of burden? No, instead I understand our job is simply to be faithful to the Scripture. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Make the Scriptures plain, and God will do the work. The Holy Spirit generates faith as the Word of God is ministered. And so we believe this, and it dictates how we do ministry. The Word of God is the power of God unto salvation. The Word of God is the power of God for spiritual growth. Peter says the Word of God is like milk for a newborn babe. We were babysitting Elena the other day, and Elena's relatively, she's not a big baby, but man, you put that bottle near her, she won't let go, and within a matter of 30 seconds, man, she sucked that whole thing down. And you're like, she likes this stuff, right? And you look at that and say, and she wants more. And thankfully, she tends to fall asleep after a few ounces, and otherwise, she would just keep on going. What is that? That's a newborn babe's sincere desire for milk. Peter says in 1 Peter 2 too, like newborn infants long for the pure spiritual milk that by it you may grow up into salvation. So, believers, long for the milk of God's Word so that we can grow, because that's where the power of our spiritual growth is as well. Ephesians 5.25 says, So even the Lord Jesus Christ, using means to cleanse and to sanctify His church. What are the means? The Word. This deeply impacts how we do ministry. The Word of God softens hearts, exposes hearts, hardens hearts, it produces faith, it draws men to Christ, it brings forth salvation, it establishes truth, it reproves, it corrects, it instructs us in the way of righteousness, it acts as a mirror and exposes our sin in every area in which we fall short of the glory of God. The Bible says the Word of God is living and active. is sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intention of the heart. And no creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." The Word of God penetrates, the Word of God exposes, it lays you bare before God, it shows you your own sinfulness, it shows you how to change and be transformed into the image of Christ from one degree of glory to another. It's a sword which exposes the thoughts and intents of the heart. It edifies, it builds up, it encourages, it comforts. Man, we have the most powerful tool for spiritual transformation that God has ever given to man, and yet we have churches who think that we're going to use some novel approach or novel tactics to reach a new generation. It's folly. The Scriptures are the inspired, inerrant, authoritative, effectual, eternally relevant, and therefore sufficient Word of God. And so we preach it. Like Paul said to the Ephesians, he did not shrink from declaring the whole counsel of God. A high view of God will lead us to submit to His Word and trust Him to bless it. A failure to recognize that will cause us to seek some authority outside of Scripture, personal experience, world's philosophies. A failure to recognize sufficiency causes us to downplay scripture, rely on man's methods, and so then you have preachers who end up becoming motivational speakers or therapists from the pulpit. And so, we preach the Word. We put an emphasis on personal study and the application of God's Word. I want you in the Word. You don't look at me as your interpreter. You don't read the Word of God through me. You get into the Word for yourself. God's given you the Holy Spirit, and so the Holy Spirit will illuminate that Word for you. So get in, so we promote personal study. So I ask you, what are you reading? What are you studying? We elevate Scripture above tradition, denominational distinctives, and even historic Christians, where they have deviated from Scripture. We rely upon the Word. What does the Word say? Number three, we recognize the Spirit's ministry. We have a high view of God. We depend upon the sufficiency of Scripture. Number three, we have a recognition of the Spirit's ministry. This is tied to everything that we've just seen. Why is this important? I believe that If you're an unbeliever, the Holy Spirit is going to draw you to Himself. The Spirit does that. If you're a believer, I believe that you are indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God. And so you have the internal agent of change inside of you. So that matters? Because what I'm not going to do then is impose upon you legalistic rules meant to affect outward change? Because I believe you have the Holy Spirit who is seeking to change you internally and authentically on a spiritual level. And so Paul said to the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 1-4, For we know, brothers, loved by God, that He has chosen you. How does He know that God has chosen these men, these men and women in Thessalonica? Because our gospel came to you not only in word but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. So it is evident that you are the chosen of God. Why? Because when the word of God was preached, the Holy Spirit imparted it to your heart and drew you to Himself. It's the evidence. He said also to the Thessalonians, in 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 13, That's the Spirit's ministry. John 6.44, Jesus says, No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day. The Father does that through the Spirit. He has a drawing ministry. John 14.17, Jesus said that He would send the Spirit, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees Him or knows Him. Then Jesus said, You know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. And that's happened after the resurrection. The Spirit is in us. And so the Holy Spirit draws, the Holy Spirit indwells. John 14, 25, Jesus said, These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, Helper, Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. We've already seen that the Holy Spirit teaches us through the Word of God. The Holy Spirit draws, the Holy Spirit indwells, the Holy Spirit imparts the truth of God. He draws and convicts and softens and hardens and blinds and reveals. And so what? We believe the Holy Spirit is going to bless proper means. We preach the Word because we believe the Word is empowered by the Spirit. I don't have that same guarantee with my creativity and my novelty. I don't have the same guarantee with methodology that we've invented. But we do have that guarantee when it comes to using God's means and methods the Holy Spirit will impart. If the Spirit is the one working in us effectually, if it's the Spirit who sanctifies us, you know what else that means? Again, no legalism. Not trying to impart rules upon you. You must do this, you must not do that. We're not falling into the pharisaical trap. Why? Because I know you have the Spirit. You're living in a way that I don't agree with, or I think that maybe you have a blind spot, and you're gravitating towards sinfulness in this area, or you're making wrong choices. What do I do? Come down on you with the authority of the pastor and say, you can't do that as a member of Calvary Baptist Church. No. We don't impose upon people. We use God's means. And so I believe you have the Holy Spirit of God. I believe that if the scriptures are revealed to you and taught and counseled, and you can see that in the Word of God yourself, and you can receive counsel from other believers, which is another means of grace that God gives us, I believe those means being used in your life is what God will bless. An internal change will happen from the inside out. And so it does result in holiness, it does result in changed behavior, but it comes from the inside out, not the outside in. Why are we going to fall into the trap? Why are we going to go and try to resurrect the old covenant, seeking to change people from the outside instead of the inside? The Bible says in Romans 8.4 that the righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in us when we walk according to the Spirit. And so the Spirit draws, the Spirit indwells, the Spirit imparts, the Spirit sanctifies, that is sets apart and causes us to be increasingly set apart to greater degrees of holiness. The Holy Spirit transforms. So the Holy Spirit, I believe, in the believer causes fruit to be formed, evidence of His presence. What does that look like? Galatians 5. The fruit of the Spirit is love, and joy, and peace, and patience, and kindness, and goodness, and faithfulness, and gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. That is, those character qualities that you have that need to be changed, how do we go about helping people to curb those things or to become more Christ-like? We have to use the means of the Spirit, because it's the Spirit who produces Christ-like character. And so it's not our role to manipulate people into receiving Christ, because the Spirit draws them. If the Spirit imparts the Word of God, then our concern is with the accurate teaching of Scripture and not novel ways to preach. If the Spirit works through the Word, then our emphasis is on a saturation with the Word of God. We recognize the spiritual problems of spiritual solutions. And so we have a high view of God. We believe in the sufficiency of Scripture. We recognize the Spirit's ministry. We seek to have an accurate view of man's nature. An accurate view of man's nature. You'll see why this matters. Jeremiah 17 says, the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick. Who can understand it? The testimony of the Word of God is that the nature of mankind is total depravity, spiritually dead, unable to please God while in the flesh. Spiritual death, enmity against God, inability to submit to the law or to please Him. That's the biblical testimony. So Romans 8, 5, For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law. Indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God." I mean, that's pretty clear. Ephesians 2 says, "...you were dead in trespasses and sins." in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work, and the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind. The biblical testimony of the nature of man is spiritually dead and unable to please God without God's spiritual intervention." That matters, because we're not preaching moralism. We're not just trying to get people to reform. Because I recognize that at the root of this is a depraved human nature that needs absolute regeneration and transformation. And so what in the world, what kind of good is it going to do to try to get somebody to make external or outward changes? It's like taking a dead tree and hanging plastic fruit on it, and then talking about how wonderfully the tree is producing. It's still dead on the inside, and the fruit is fake. We believe the biblical testimony about the nature of man. Spiritually dead, spiritually blind, unable to please God, an incurable heart. And so what? The New Covenant, the promise was what? Ezekiel 11, I will give them one heart and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh. that they may walk in my statutes, and keep my rules, and obey them, and they shall be my people, and I'll be their God." He's saying a new covenant's coming, not like the old, not like the law. The law was the external pressure, but you know what? There's going to be a new, and it's going to have internal pressure. The Holy Spirit of God is going to write the law on their hearts. It's going to transform them. That's what mankind needs. He needs a new birth. He needs a new covenant. And so Ephesians 2 that I already read to you about the nature being by nature the children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. What's the rest? But God being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved. Colossians 2.13 reflects the same truth, and you who were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses. And so we believe the nature of man. is depraved, spiritually dead, unable to please God, in need of transformation, regeneration, so that he can be reconciled to the Father. John 1.12 says, All who did receive him, that is Christ, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. who are born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." So we do not believe that mankind has a flame of goodness that just needs to be fanned. And so everybody is a kernel of goodness and we just need to encourage them to explore that goodness so that they can live moral lives. That's not it. Mankind is spiritually dead, unable to save himself, unable to rectify his own spiritual deadness, and then needs life outside of himself to make him alive. That affects how we preach. It affects what we preach. It affects how we understand salvation. James 1.18 says, "...of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures." In John 5, Jesus said in verse 19, "'Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of His own accord, but only that what He sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all that He Himself is doing, and greater works than these will He show Him, so that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He will. He's saying there's life that's needed. It's God's purview. Just as He said, let there be light in creation, so He says, let there be light in the soul of man. He brings the life, He regenerates, He makes us spiritually alive. And that's what's needed, because we're spiritually blind, spiritually dead, spiritually incurable. We have a defiled heart in need of the new birth, and only God can open the eyes of the blind and bring to life the spiritually dead. So our biblical philosophy of ministry requires that we seek to satisfy man's real needs. What's man's real need? Spiritual birth. Transformation. Not Reformation. Not trying to do better. He needs to be made new through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Transformation, not Reformation. And so we preach a pure gospel message. Not seeker-sensitive. Faithful to Scripture. And so what? Everybody is depraved, spiritually dead, in need of salvation, condemned by the law, worthy of the wrath of God, separated from the Father, in need of reconciliation. God himself has provided the means through which man can be made spiritually alive, receive eternal life, be reconciled to himself, and have an inheritance in heaven. God has done that. How? Through the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ lived a perfect life. He fulfilled and satisfied the law. He gave himself upon the cross. It was not simply a martyrdom. Christ gave himself as a substitute. And so there's a substitutionary atonement. There is penal substitution in that Jesus Christ bore the penalty for the sins of all who would believe in Him. God the Father poured His wrath out upon Christ. God's wrath then was satisfied against the sins of all those who would believe in Christ. We then identify with Christ. He took our sins into the grave. He rose from the dead. He has been exalted. And so He overcomes sin, having fulfilled the law, and turning away the condemnation of the law for all those who will believe in Him. And so when you believe, what does that look like? Well, faith and repentance. You believe God's revelation of Himself and of His Son. The proper response then is repentance. Like Peter at Pentecost, the Jews said, well what then shall we do? Repent and be baptized. And so you believe the message. Your response is repentance. What does that look like? Turn from your sin. Lord, forgive me for my sin. Forgive me for living under my own authority. I recognize I ought to be living in the fear of You, in the means which You have prescribed for me to have a relationship with You as Your Son, so that I must honor the Son as I'd honor You. And so I believe in Christ. He fulfilled the law on my behalf. He bore Your penalty on my behalf. He is now living. He is exalted over all. And I must bow the knee before Him and confess Him as Lord. We're going to preach that, unmitigated, Diluted. Why? Because faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. It's the power of the Gospel. So we preach the Word. Undiluted. Why? Because we know the real need of man. Spiritual transformation. That transformation only comes when we respond in faith to the Gospel properly presented. And so, I understand I'm not going as quickly as I ought to. Some of you are probably already having a little bit of trouble following the speed that we're going, but I do want to finish this. So, number five. We have a correct understanding of the purpose of the Church. A correct understanding of the purpose of the Church. The Church exists to worship and to glorify God. The Church exists to be a repository of divine truth. 1 Timothy 3.15. Paul said to Timothy, "'If I delay, you may know how one ought to behave.'" He's saying this is the reason that he's written these things to Timothy. So, "'If I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God.'" And then Paul says this of the church, "'Which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.' This ought to be the place where you could come and hear the truth. People going through life trying to find meaning and trying to find truth, trying to find direction, you ought to be able to come to the church and get it. Not come to the church and get some motivational message, some feel-good thing to puff you up so that you can just go out of here and that wanes within a day. You ought to be able to come here and get the truth of God. It is the pillar and buttress of the truth, the church is. The church exists to provide a context of loving fellowship with one another. Look at Ephesians 4. Turn to it, Ephesians 4, and we'll make this the last, well, Ephesians 4. Ephesians 4. Some of you are saying, well, where's long preaching in your philosophy of ministry? It's not one of the elements, but sometimes it happens. Ephesians 4. And so the context here, speaking of Christ's death, His resurrection, upon His resurrection and His ascension, He sent the Holy Spirit to the church. The Holy Spirit then equips the church with what? Well, men to teach and to preach. The apostles, the pastors, the prophets and evangelists and so on. The role of those men whom God has equipped or have empowered by His Holy Spirit is what? Verse 12, to equip the saints. That's all of you if you're believers or if you're one of the saints. To equip the saints for the work of the ministry. And so this is not top-down, this is not a professional ministerial staff, this is the work of the ministry being performed by believers in general. For what? For building up the body of Christ. So we believe that God's Church, the body of Christ, is built up as every individual is working together, as we'll see, until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood to the measure of the stature of fullness of Christ." I know it's a little bit hard to follow, but saying that we teach and we preach the Word of God to saints so that the saints then can do the work of the ministry, and this is what the church looks like, to what end? the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God to mature manhood, the spiritual maturity that looks like Christ's likeness to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. And so the church is operating in such a way where you are ministering to one another, to what end, so that we all can collectively become more and more like the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what it's saying, the spiritual maturity. That's the purpose of the church, to bring about spiritual maturity. Verse 14, "...so that..." What is a spiritual maturity going to do for us? "...so that we may no longer be children tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness and deceitful schemes." What is that? Spiritual maturity brings about doctrinal stability. You know what you believe and you're not susceptible to false teaching. Because why? Well, because the spiritual growth comes about by the Word of God. You become grounded in the Word, and you know what you believe. You're not susceptible to every wind of doctrine. And so spiritual maturity, doctrinal stability, the church ought to be bringing about these things. Verse 15, rather speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ. And so collectively, we are growing together into Christ, in love, and so that's loving unity. loving unity, spiritual maturity, doctrinal stability, loving unity. Verse 16, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. The idea being, you are members of that body, you all have something to contribute, when every part is working properly, it builds up the whole. What is that? That's selfless ministry. And so you have spiritual maturity, doctrinal stability, loving unity, selfless ministry. That's what the church does. And as the church does that, we grow up into what God has designed the church to be, which is representative of Christ. And so the church exists to provide a context of loving fellowship with one another for the purpose of mutual edification. It's a repository of divine truth that exists to glorify God. It exists as a training center whereby people can grow through the application and teaching of the Word of God and the utilization of their own spiritual gifts. That's what we just saw. And it exists to be a light in the dark world for the evangelization of the lost. And that's the Great Commission. to go in and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded to you." That's making disciples. It's a great commission. And so we recognize God's design for the church, a correct understanding of the purpose of the church. And lastly, and I'm not doing this on purpose, But the last point is godly qualified leadership. You're saying, oh sure, he's not going to turn this on himself, except in the last two minutes of the message. Number six is godly qualified leadership. We believe that Christ is the head of the church. Christ is the head of the church. He is Lord of all things to the church. But he does mediate that rule through godly leadership. but it's servant leadership, isn't it? We talked about that a few weeks ago. And so we believe that the Bible lays out for us requirements for leadership. The requirements aren't that you have the natural inclination and ability to lead like a CEO might lead. There's plenty of people who have leadership qualities who are not qualified to lead a church. 1 Timothy 3, verse 1. The saying is trustworthy if anyone aspires to the office of an overseer. He desires a noble task. Therefore, an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity, keeping his children submissive. For if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into the snare of the devil. It goes on to talk about deacons. Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. And let them also be tested first. Then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their households well. For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves, and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus." You can see something very similar in the book of Titus chapter 1. So we're looking for elders, we're looking for a pastor. How do we advertise that? What requirements do you look for? Somebody who can cast a vision? Visioneering? Somebody who's a gifted orator? Somebody who has a name in the community? What are you looking for? Nothing more than the biblical requirements. And what are they? This is character. With the exception of able to teach, they're all character qualities. And so we're committed, when it comes to the leadership of Calvary Baptist Church, to hold leadership to the standards set out in the Word of God. That again comes back to the sufficiency of Scripture, doesn't it? And so, Now you know what you're in for. If you're a member of Calvary Baptist Church, let all that be a reminder of where we stand. We're not just kind of adrift on the ocean trying to figure out how to do church. We're driven by clear biblical principles. If you're a member of Calvary Baptist Church, let that be a reinforcement to you, and make those things your convictions. If you're contemplating becoming a member of Calvary Baptist Church, that's what you're looking at. And so if you have fundamental disagreements with any of that, let's have a conversation and see if we can help you to see those in Scripture. If you have no concept as to what church ought to be, maybe you're new to church in general, hopefully you can see that the Bible does determine for us what church ought to look like. So that we're not just going darkening the doors of multiple churches, seeing which one appeals to me. Oh, I kind of like this one, that one was kind of enjoyable, kind of like the music there. Okay, there's biblical principles that have to determine what you're looking for in a church. And then lastly, could we hold each other accountable? If we believe that these things are biblical principles, then we corporately have a mandate. We hold each other accountable. These are the principles that we're going to be true to. Not because we contrive these principles, but because we see them in Scripture. And so, let's make sure that all that we do is consistent with the Word of God. I'm going to pray, and then we actually have somebody who's going to join the church. And so, let's go ahead and pray. Dear Lord, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for the clarity of it. Lord, I recognize that we raced through a lot of content this morning. I pray that it could still be effective and helpful. Help us to stay true to your word and to your design for the church. Help us to hold these things as convictions. Though we recognize that there are many churches who might not do things exactly this way, help us not to be judgmental in spirit. Help us instead to recognize just our mandate. Lord, if we know these things to be true, it's our responsibility to employ them and to be faithful. And Lord, we do invite your blessing. We pray that you would bless. We trust you that if we do things your way, it invites your blessing. It invites your Holy Spirit to work. And so Lord, we trust you to build the church. We pray that you would do it. Even in the dark culture like this, we believe that your kingdom is expanding. And we just pray that you would use us to that end. Help us to encourage and build up one another. Help us to look outwardly to the world and to seek to draw men and women to yourself by using your means. Lord, we thank you for this. Help us to be faithful to you. It's in Christ's name that we pray. Amen.