Pastor Ricky Powell

The Method For Making Disciples

9/25/2011 from Fort Caroline Baptist Church on Vimeo.

David Nasser Is Coming To Fort Caroline Baptist Church!

David Nasser Youth Conference

• October 14-16, 2011
• DiscipleNow Retreat Weekened for Middle and High School students: $50 (includes evening sessions w/David Nasser)
• Evening Sessions with David Nasser: $10 per night.
• David Nasser will also preach in both morning services on October 16!
• Contact Joe Otwell at 904-534-4230 for ticket information. 

Fort Caroline Baptist Church

11428 McCormick Road Jacksonville, FL 32225

904-642-2288 www.fcbcjax.com

The Harvest: Connecting The Mission Force With The Mission Field

9/18/2011 from Fort Caroline Baptist Church on Vimeo.

Do Yourself A Favor And Learn The Rules Of Biblical Interpretation

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15, HCSB)  

I have found seven principles of biblical interpretation to be very useful as I grapple with the Word of God. These are from Kay Arthur's book, "How To Study Your Bible: The Lasting Rewards of the Inductive Model." You will keep yourself out of a lot of theological error if you remember these rules.

Principle one: Remember that context rules.  (CONTEXT IS KING) This principle states that the context of a verse or passage must always be considered for correct interpretation. The student of Scripture must consider the surrounding verses and chapters of the text, the book in which the text is found, and finally, the entire Word of God. The interpretation of a text must be consistent with the theme, purpose, and structure of the book in which it is found. The interpretation must be consistent with other Scriptures about the same subject in the Bible. And the historical and grammatical context of a text must be weighed foe correct interpretation. Just because two writers use the same word, for example, does not mean the two verses are related or have the same meaning. 

Principle two: Always seek the full counsel of God's Word. The Bible student must avoid building his interpretation on a few isolated proof verses. He must consider the larger teaching of God’s Word by saturating himself in a comprehensive study of the Bible. He must ensure that he has not overlooked other important Scriptures related to his text.

Principle three: Remember that Scripture will never contradict Scripture.  Kay writes, “The best interpreter of Scripture is Scripture.” This statement is true because God is the author of the Word of God and He never contradicts Himself.

Principle four instructs the interpreter to not base a doctrine "on an obscure passage of Scripture." Kay Arthur defines an obscure passage of Scripture as one in which the clear meaning is not easily understood. Doctrine should be founded upon the clear, consistent, and repeated teachings of God’s Word.

Principle five: Interpret Scripture literally. This means that the Bible student should take the Word of God at face value instead of looking for hidden meanings. The interpreter should look for the clear meaning of a passage by considering its literary style, historical context, and grammatical construction. "Consider what is being said in the light of its literary style. For example, you will find more similes, and metaphors in poetical and prophetic literature than in historical or biographical books" (p. 63).

Principle six: Look for the author’s intended meaning of the passage. To interpret a passage one must seek the original meaning of the author. Every Bible author wrote with a specific purpose in mind, to a specific audience, in a specific time and place. The Bible interpreter cannot twist the Scripture into a meaning the author did not intend.

Principle seven: Check your conclusions by using reliable commentaries.  This practice will be a further check of correct interpretation. Commentaries should be used to examine the text and to compare the interpreter’s conclusions with noted Bible scholars. It is vital, however, that the commentaries used for this purpose comes from a person who holds to the inerrancy of Scripture. Some people object to this principle saying that they only need to rely on the Holy Spirit for guidance. While it is true that the Holy Spirit is our teacher, it is also true that God has gifted the church with "pastors and teachers" to equip the saints of God for the work of God and for spiritual maturity (Ephesians 4:11-16). The reason some people are "tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine" as Paul puts it, is because they will not study the Scriptures accurately and they will not learn from gifted teachers God has placed in the church. 

 

Prayer and Evangelism

8/21/2011 from Fort Caroline Baptist Church on Vimeo.

Should Christians Contend For The Faith?

Is it possible to contend for the Christian faith without being contentious?  Is it even necessary to refute theological errors?  Would it not be better for the world if people downplayed doctrine and emphasized ecumenical unity?  Is it not mean-spirited to emphatically teach the truth of God’s Word when other people disagree with you?  These questions are being asked by many people in this day of political correctness and ecumenicalism.  People are being led to believe that doctrine divides, and therefore, must be minimized.  People are being taught that to be an insistent believer in orthodox Christianity is to be hostile and insensitive to those who hold to a different belief.   

Truth by its very nature is defined and definite.  Truth about the nature of Christ is the very heart of Christianity.  Christianity, if it is anything, is Christ.  There can be no room for compromise on the biblical affirmations of Scripture.  The Christian faith rises or falls on the doctrine of Christ.  Just as heretics are willing to tirelessly work toward the promulgation of their error, so must believers work for the promulgation of truth.  Contending for the faith is not a mean-spirited thing to do.  On the contrary, it is the loving thing to do.  What other option is there for the one who loves God supremely and who loves the truth?  What other option is there for the believer who loves lost humanity and who longs to share with them the life-changing Gospel of Jesus Christ?  There is no other Gospel but the Gospel of Scripture, handed down to us through the faithful teaching, preaching, and defending of the truth. 

The Apostle Paul sounded a clear call for orthodoxy in Galatians 1:8-10. "But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ."

 

Missional Principles (Guest Sermon by Rick Wheeler)

9/4/2011 10:30am service from Fort Caroline Baptist Church on Vimeo.

I Have A Complaint!

“Do all things without complaining (murmuring) and disputing” (Philippians 2:14).

Murmuring, complaining, and fighting are kill-joys in a believer’s life and in a church. These actions make you miserable and they make everyone around you miserable. The problem is these are hard habits to break. We are negative by nature and by nurture. We tend to naturally focus on the bad things of life. We are also conditioned by society to be negative. Bad news sells newspapers.

“Murmurings” have been defined as the undertones of dissatisfaction; “disputings” are the overtones of dissension. Murmuring is what you do in private, while disputing is what happens when you take your complaints public with the wrong attitude.

• Has a negative attitude built a stronghold in your life?
• Are you defensive?
• Do you complain more than you praise?
• Are you easily angered?
• Are you critical of others?

Murmuring and disputing can destroy your peace. These attitudes can destroy a marriage, a relationship with your children, and friendships. Murmuring and disputing can certainly destroy the fellowship and effectiveness of a church. It is sad when a church is harmed by the negative attitude of members. Some members expend more energy complaining and criticizing trivial things in the church than they ever do in trying to reach a lost soul for Christ. Their attitude is destroying their witness in the world. People will not believe the authenticity of our Gospel message until they see the reality of our love for one another. That is why Paul wrote, “Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world…” (Philippians 2:14-15).

Here is a challenge for all of us:

1. Ask the Lord to fill you with His Spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).
2. Measure your love by how you treat others. Don’t just say you love someone; show it by how you treat them. Anyone can declare their love with words. Christians are to demonstrate love by their deeds. “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 [English Standard Version]).
3. Ask the Lord to tame your tongue. “And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself. People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring” (James 3:6-12 [New Living Translation, Second Edition]).
4. Repent when you find yourself being negative and work to maintain unity. “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:1-3 [English Standard Version]).
5. Commit to coming to church this week and leaving your criticisms at the door. “For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another” (Galatians 5:13-15 [New Living Translation, Second Edition]).
6. Try to make your pastor’s job easier by exhibiting a positive attitude. Don’t grab him on Sunday to unload your latest complaint. You certainly should not jump him just before the service before he has to preach. Most pastors would appreciate you scheduling an appointment during office hours if you need to discuss a matter. To corner a pastor before the service is saying that your complaint is more important than what will happen in the service that day and that his attention should be on you instead of getting ready to lead in worship. “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you” (Hebrews 13:17 [New King James Version]).
7. Forgive. Most of our criticisms are over personal preferences not precepts of God’s Word. In that case, we need to build a bridge and get over it. Life won’t always be to my liking. However, if a person has sinned against you then you should seek to restore the relationship. Jesus gives clear instructions in Matthew 18:15-20 on how to lovingly confront a person who has sinned against you. In Colossians 3 we are commanded to forgive one another just as Christ has forgiven us. “Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive” (Colossians 3:12-13 [English Standard Version]).

What are other ways we can cultivate a positive spirit?