Scripture Shall Mold Our Faith and Practice, Part 1

The point: Be equipped to answer intelligently and biblically if asked about the church's core identity.

A hypothetical scenario where a jogger asks a church member to explain what the church is all about, illustrating the need for members to articulate their faith and the church's identity.

This morning's service was held at the Trinity Baptist Church on March 24th, 1991. Now I'm sure that all of us have had at one time or another the experience of driving into the church parking lot or driving out of it after the service and seeing some Sunday strollers or joggers going by the proximity of our church property. Now I'm wondering if on the way out today one such jogger or walker should stop and address you and ask you the question, did you just come out of that church and you answered yes and were to say to you, what is that church all about? And you responded by saying, well, wha...

0:04 - 1:11 Read in full sermon

Driving home: We are determined to have all of our doctrine and practice molded by the Holy Scriptures.

The church's early commitment to follow Scripture is likened to a child placing their hand in a loving father's hand, trusting him to lead them only to good.

We are determined to go wherever the hand of Scripture takes us. We were like little children who were ignorant.

6:23 - 6:34 Read in full sermon

The point: Join hearts with the manifesto, determining that all doctrine and practice shall be molded by the Scriptures alone, within your power and sphere of influence.

A vivid image of a true child of God (the church) pointing with one hand to Christ crucified as the object of hope and confidence, and with the other hand to the Bible as the source of all doctrine and practice.

prayerful assimilation of the scriptures and all that we are committed to practice will grow out of the clear teaching of the word of God now I say the basis of this second dimension of our manifesto this second affirmation is this two-fold basis the inescapable consequence of taking seriously Christ's relationship to his church and the inescapable consequence of taking seriously the church's relationship to the truth the church is not constituted to be the pillar and ground of its own notions of its own insights of its own discoveries but the truth and as to practice the church is not to be t...

31:47 - 33:16 Read in full sermon

The point: Continue to take the confession of faith seriously, recognizing its central place for Scripture.

The example of the Presbyterian Church's 1967 confession, which began with Christ instead of the Bible, is used to illustrate the danger of de-emphasizing Scripture in favor of what sounds 'spiritual,' arguing that Christ cannot be known apart from the Bible.

all of our doctrine and all of our practice molded by scripture is the central place given to the scriptures in our confession of faith and that's why you better continue to take this confession of faith seriously along came a bunch of pious unbelievers pseudo-pious unbelievers they began to tell us well the bible's not central to christianity christ is doesn't that sound spiritual and so they came up with a new confession in 1967 the presbyterians did it didn't begin with the bible it began with christ doesn't that sound so spiritual problem is what do you know about christ apart from the bib...

39:04 - 40:32 Read in full sermon

The point: When reading Scripture and not profiting, blame your own dullness and blindness, not God, and pray for greater understanding.

Martin shares a personal anecdote of leading worship while his heart was in a 'dark valley,' but the prescribed Psalm for the day lifted him, demonstrating how Scripture-molded worship frees leaders from the tyranny of their own emotional state.

to lead you in worship and my heart has been in the dark valley and the psalm for the day was one of ringing bells and horns blowing you know what it did? when I read the psalm and called you to worship God according to the word of God my own heart was free from the tyranny of its own present emotional state

43:28 - 43:52 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The third and fourth expressions are the central place of Scripture in congregational life (elections, discipline, policy, prayer meetings, building programs) and in the…

Martin recounts sneaking into a deacons' meeting and hearing them pray for 45-50 minutes, pleading with God to do their work according to His Word, illustrating the central place of Scripture in leadership deliberations.

my friends if Jesus Christ is really the head then savior if he's really God's final prophet if all authority has been given unto him and he's commanded us to observe whatsoever he commanded and if we believe that the church is pillar and ground of the truth and that in this book there is a sufficient rule of faith and practice the day we undertake any enterprise without first of all opening this book some people call that the quote trinity mentality I call it a Christian mindset in which we think seek to have every thought brought captive to the obedience of Christ just one other expression o...

50:05 - 51:34 Read in full sermon