"Follow No Divisive Course"

To the ordinary person, this sounds like very good counsel. Within Christian circles, we are to "maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace," (Eph.4:3). We are to pursue "peace with all men,...." (Heb.12:14). The writers of these wise words knew full well that it is simply not possible to be in good terms with everyone because all do not hold to the historic Christian faith. So their own experiences and the experiences of fellow apostles and disciples of the Lord demonstrate that these words are not to be taken at their face value.

But some churches do just that! They counsel their ministers not to follow any divisive course. Now you know what that means in practice. They are never to take a decision that would tend to cause disharmony within the congregation even though the congregation is made up of the converted and the unconverted. They are to keep in with the unconverted members of the church, and do or say nothing that would cause them to be offended. As one former theological college principal told a young colleague, "Say what the people want you to say and do what they want you to do." This is what even the professedly purest reformed churches are doing in practice, the most theologically orthodox, the separatist churches.

When it comes to sacramental discipline, they are bound to accept as Christian members those covenant children and young people who are requesting church membership, provided their behaviour does not undermine their profession. The policy seems to be that if a potential church member's behaviour does not contradict their profession, the church presumes that they are regenerate, so admits them to full church membership. If it creates a mist on a mirror that is placed under its nostrils, and its parents are already members of the church, then baptise it - just to keep the peace. Whatever you do, do not ask about whether or not they are born again, or saved, or converted to Christ. Why? Because that is liable to cause division in the congregation.

But perhaps the worst manifestation of this is in the case where the Gospel is not preached with anything resembling clarity by the minister. Problems arise when the minister preaches a clear biblical Gospel. But problems ought to arise where the minister simply does not preach the Gospel clearly and biblically and to the consciences of the members. In fact, problems ought to be caused in any church that does not preach the Gospel. Elders have an awesome responsibility to God and to those who worship in the same church to ensure that the Gospel is preached with power and conviction, and that hearers are left in no doubt as to their spiritual condition and what God requires of them if they are to escape the wrath and curse of God due them for sin. How will they answer to the Lord when while on earth they knew the gospel is not being preached in their church, yet they took no decisive action to have this unacceptable situation rectified? Such elders have now come to accept that it is OK for the churches not to preach the everlasting Gospel. And what can be more divisive than a minister who does not preach the Gospel. What can be more spiritually dangerous than a man who claims and is accepted to be a Gospel minister in a 'Gospel' church refusing to preach the Gospel? That is massively divisive. But it is not deemed to be divisive because no one creates a stir about a non-Gospel preaching minister. And the church authorities are content to tolerate such a situation.

And all because their church requires of them not to follow a divisive course. What if Luther, who preached from the Bible as we are supposed to do, had have taken that approach to church life; would the reformation ever have taken place? Had Calvin been content to let things go on as they had done, would the reformation ever been organised? What if the Huguenots and Covenanters and Puritans had taken this advice and 'followed no divisive course,' where would the church have gone?

Ask yourself this: if every church member and elder was like me, how long would the Gospel survive in your church?

Pray On!

It’s amazing how much the Lord teaches us about Himself when we’re faced with an illness as serious as cancer.  He proves His faithfulness in every situation.  He demonstrates that however things appear to the contrary, we can still cast our burdens on Him (1 Pet.5:7), and not be disappointed.  In fact, we feel ourselves being carried along, upborne, and blessed.  He manifests Himself to us in various ways – in normal ways through the kindness and support of Christian people and also, as a testimony to God’s common grace, of non-Christian people.  He also demonstrates His love for us in much more personal ways, as when He draws really near to us by His Spirit and assures us that we are His children by new birth and also by adoption (we’re doubly His!).  During family devotions when He comes right into our room and leaves the unspeakable impression that we have been in the presence of the great King Who is our Father, we know we are His and He is ours (Song of Songs 2:16; 6:3; 7:10).  How sweet are these precious lessons.  What He teaches us in the dark places and in the valleys of life cannot be learned out of a book or even by listening to sermons.

But it’s also amazing how much He teaches us about ourselves – and most of that is not always nice; but it’s needed.  One of the big lessons He has taught us is that head belief will certainly not get an individual through the challenge of a life-threatening illness.  Having all the right words and repeating them will just not ‘cut it’ when faced with the ultimate.  We need more than that.

What we need, however, are the right beliefs that have found their way into the heart, beliefs that have warmed the heart and melted the heart, and beliefs that have motivated the will to give our all to the Saviour.  It is the head that understands (and we need biblical understanding), but it is with the heart that we believe. “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Rom.10:10).

Looked at from another angle, Jesus is our Prophet, Priest and King.  True faith lays hold of a whole Christ.  So true faith is believing Christ as our Prophet, trusting Christ as our Priest and submitting to Christ as our King.  All three must be present otherwise we have ‘faith’ in only a partial Christ – which is no faith at all.  When all three are present, our head, our heart and our will are all engaged in our faith.  And remember, no one who has submitted to Christ the King will live in daily disobedience to Him.

This lesson was reinforced to us during this period of challenge.  How true it is.  And how necessary it is when we come to pray.  Praying with the mind only is not enough; nor is praying only with the heart, or with the will (however that may be done!).  That’s why we need that knowledge of God that comes only from the Bible.  But if our hearts are cold when we approach the Lord, then of what use are right words?  And if we are not motivated to surrender our all, our life, to Him, then the mind and heart roles are redundant.

Remember what old John Bunyan said: In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart.  Make sure your prayer comes right from your heart.  Charles H. Spurgeon added: “Groanings which cannot be uttered are often prayers which cannot be refused.”  So be deeply encouraged, and pray on.  Let us come as whole persons to a whole Christ and we’ll see even greater things happen.

               Are we weak and heavy laden,

               Cumbered with a load of care?

               Precious Saviour, still our refuge;

               Take it to the Lord in prayer.

               Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?

               Take it to the Lord in prayer!

               In his arms he'll take and shield thee;

               Thou wilt find a solace there.

Trusting in Christ Alone For All

Trusting is about rolling our all onto Christ, and leaving it there – easier said than done.  It’s about depending upon Him to do what’s right and best.  We have no one else really in whom we can trust always.  Trust in the sovereign Lord is not a vain thing.  I know how easy it is to become all theological and say all the right things, and I also know how hard it is at times to put all this trust into practice.  We fail so often; and it’s then that we have to cast ourselves unreservedly on our Lord for His mercy and grace.  Thankfully, it is we who fail, not our faith (Lk.22:32); because it is our faith that takes us straight back to our glorious Lord and Saviour, our only hope and refuge. 

The good thing is, this is true however we feel.  How futile a thing it is to trust in our         feelings!  We have feelings and feelings have their place; but they can be so deceitful if    allowed to rule us.  In dare not act on the basis of my feelings just now because these         could encourage me not to trust the Lord.  Wasn’t Edward Mote (1797-1874) quite correct when he penned those immortal words:

        My hope is built on nothing less

        Than Jesus' blood and righteousness;

        I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

        But wholly lean on Jesus' name.

        On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;

        All other ground is sinking sand.

If I were to trust “the sweetest frame,” I’d be undone.  It’s a case of “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak” (Mk 14:38).  Our Lord shows that there is a distinction between the lack of faith and the weakness of the flesh.  No matter how clearly we see and understand the teaching, yet when faced with situations we cannot control, we feel fearful.  God understands our human frailty and has made provision for it by reminding that His greatest servants of old were mere men like ourselves – Abraham, Jacob, Noah, Elijah, Elisha, David, Peter, Paul - I could go on.  So how wonderful it is to know that human fear combined with God’s unerring Word is then order of the day. 

Why am I writing these things?  To teach myself those precious truths that will minister to my weakness and fear, and overcome them.  It’s to get my mind and heart fixed afresh on Christ, and to “Wholly lean on [His] name.”  It’s about re-gaining spiritual perspective, and moving on from there.  It’s about standing on Christ the solid Rock Who will never let us down, whatever His plan is.  So we rest content in this.

Everlasting pre-occupation with God

One year ago yesterday, Margaret had her mastectomy and lymph node clearance in Antrim hospital. Today, one year on, she had her surgical review which involved examination by medical staff, another mammogram and an ultra-sound scan. She was told that it will be three weeks before the results would be sent out to her GP. But as it was, a doctor was there and when he read the negatives, he assured her that he could see nothing wrong.

You can hardly imagine the relief that this brought, particularly to Margaret, but also to me, and to our sons. This was no surprise for a number of reasons; first, there were no indicators to suggest that there was anything wrong; second, Margaret’s general state of health was good; but most importantly, thirdly, God’s people were praying for God’s blessings upon her as she had her surgical review, and He answered your prayers. 

Does prayer work (a clumsy question, I know, but a good one nonetheless)? Here again is the proof. When you pray, God answers. Let that encourage you to the highest heavens.

Dr A. W. Tozer wrote, “We can afford to suffer now; we’ll have a long eternity to enjoy ourselves.” How true this is. Whether the suffering is physical or emotional or mental or spiritual, God has laid up for us in heaven what has never entered the mind of man to conceive. Tozer: “We are called to an everlasting pre-occupation with God.” And isn’t it great that He honours us with the privilege of pre-occupation with Him here and now! 

What a joy it is to be taken up with Him in His goodness and grace and love and mercy. Only the Holy Spirit can enable a fallen and rebellious man to worship God in Spirit/spirit and in truth. This is a miracle of grace. To be lifted up into contemplation of His glorious Person is the next thing to heaven on earth. This is what He does to those who seek Him. Oh, seek Him, my dear friends, and go on seeking Him until you are, in Charles Wesley’s wonderful words, “Lost in love, wonder and in praise.” Let the Lamb have all the glory.

God really does astonish His children by the things He does. The Christian barrister, William Cowper, sings,

Sometimes a light surprises

The Christian while he sings,

It is the Lord who rises

With healing in His wings.

How true it is that the god of modern day evangelicalism rarely astonishes anybody. He never rouses, never comes down, just sits back and allows everything to go on as before. He is so well-behaved that you’d like such a god in your church every Sunday; He never causes a stir, is very denominational and always very much one of us, such a tame god. I’m not interested in a god like that and I find it hard to have much respect for such a being.

But our God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is so different. You just never know what He will do in any situation; and that’s what brings so much excitement into the Christian life. Today, He surprised us by His grace and lifted our hearts up to Him in grateful praise and thanksgiving. We could see His hand so clearly at work. He raised His Son, the Saviour of the world, from the tomb, so there’s nothing He cannot do, all praise to His Name. Oh, to get to know God better! To be taken up with Him 24/7! To see His glory and dominion and power in everything! Now, that’s a God worth having and worshipping; but the other god, no, thank you.

I think that twenty-first century evangelicals have succeeded in taming their god so much that we hardly ever notice Him when we are at church. There’s nothing striking about Him. We have lost any sense of His majesty and as a result we no longer stand in awe of Him. And we’re the losers.

But, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is so different. He’s alive and reigning and acting and moving all over this world. Seek to know Him move in your life, and you’ll know the difference.

Praise God for answering your prayers for Margaret. Our God is so good that He deserves our all, now and always.

Praise Him for stooping down and hearing your prayers;

Praise Him for His love and mercy that He shows to us daily;

Bless His Name for not forgetting His poor children;

Worship Him for stepping in to the situation today and giving Margaret the results today rather than in three weeks time;

Just spend time worshipping Him for Who He is – our great Saviour and Lord. Make this a time of worship for you and your family. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you, James 4:8. Do you really want to meet God? Then draw near to Him. But beware; you never know what He’ll say or do to you!

What have I to do....?

"My Lord, I have nothing to do in this World, but to seek and serve thee; I have nothing to do with a Heart and its affections, but to breathe after thee. I have nothing to do with my Tongue and Pen, but to speak to thee, and for thee, and to publish thy Glory and thy Will. What have I to do with all my Reputation, and Interest in my Friends, but to increase thy Church, and propagate thy holy Truth and Service? What have I to do with my remaining Time, even these last and languishing hours, but to look up unto thee, and wait for thy Grace, and thy Salvation?"

—Richard Baxter, Dying Thoughts on Philippians 1:23

Wise Words from Whitefield

These words from the conclusion of one of Rev. George Whitefield's sermons is given here for your encouragement. The call is to follow Christ fully, or wholeheartedly, as Caleb of old did. There is no one better to follow than He. Give your heart and life to Him, and He will be with you forever. Meet with Him frequently in prayer and in the Gospel. You are on the victory side, remember. Our Saviour has trodden down every opposition to us, and all we have to face in this world are the mere dregs of Satanic attack. That does not mean that we will not know suffering for Christ's sake. Those who stand close to Christ when the world's brick-bats start flying are very likely to get hit. But let us not be afraid. His promises to us are "Yea and Amen." Not only has He bruised Satan's head, so will you and I.
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Let us, therefore, not be weary of well-doing; for we shall reap an eternal harvest of comfort, if we faint not. Dare, dare, my dear brethren in Christ, to follow the Captain of your salvation, who was made perfect through sufferings. The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent’s head. Fear not men. Be not too much cast down at the deceitfulness of your hearts. Fear not devils; you shall get the victory even over them. The Lord Jesus has engaged to make you more than conquerors over all. Plead with you Savior, plead: plead the promise in the tent. Wrestle, wrestle with God in prayer.

If it has been given you to believe, fear not if it should also be given you to suffer. Be not any wise terrified by your adversaries; the king of the church has them all in a chain: be kind to them, pray for them; but fear them not. The Lord will yet bring back his ark; though at present driven into the wilderness; and Satan like lightening shall fall from heaven.

Are there any enemies of God here? The promise of the text encourages me to bid you defiance: the seed of the woman, the ever-blessed Jesus, shall bruise the serpent’s head. What signifies all your malice? You are only raging waves of the sea, foaming out your own shame. For you, without repentance, is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever. The Lord Jesus sits in heaven, ruling over all, and causing all things to work for his children’s good: he laughs you to scorn: he hath you in the utmost derision, and therefore so will I. Who are you that persecute the children of the ever blessed God? Though a poor stripling, the Lord Jesus, the seed of the woman, will enable me to bruise your heads.

Church of Scotland's Moderatoress Laughs at Knox!

The Church of Scotland's Moderatoress, Mrs Lorna Hood, has taken a swipe at John Knox (1514-1572), the man attributed with having brought the Protestant reformation into the Church in Scotland.

Knox was a reformer by nature, and it was his Calvinistic convictions that drove him to seek the reformation of the church in Scotland.  Having studied in Geneva under Calvin (1509-1564), claiming that the academy there was "the most perfect school of Christ since the days of the apostles," he learned from Scripture the Presbyterian form of church government (not to be confused with what is being passed off as Presbyterian church government today), and brought his learning back to his native Scotland, successfully reforming the church of his day. He was quoted as referring to the "the monstrous regiment of women," the reference being directed primarily at Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth I.

Now, the church that he founded has a member of that "monstrous regiment" as Moderatoress, and she dismisses Knox's view on women in leadership with a smile. She knows he would not approve of this ecclesiastical move, but n entering the Assembly Hall she has to pass Knox's statue, and can see nothing but the funny irony of so doing.

Given the clear prohibitive teaching of Scripture on women's ordination to the Christian ministry, every church that blatantly defies biblical teaching and those who accept it have been swallowed up by theological liberalism. And in order to be swallowed up by theological liberalism, one has personally to swallow this religious lie. Sadly, many reformed evangelicals have done just that! And in accepting the rightness and legitimacy of liberalism as one interpretation of the Bible, they have quite easily moved on to embrace the Roman principle that "the church is always right." Luther was strongly advised to "Listen to the Church" just after he nailed his 95 theses to the chapel door at Wittenburg.

Any Christian who "listens to the church" and not to Scripture has already apostacised from the church of Jesus Christ because the has departed from God's Word to the church. Only apostate church's will defy God and ordain women and non-Christians to the Christian ministry. Only apostate churches will accept into church membership for life and on profession of faith without a mechanism to review such professions those whose faith proves to be false. And the wholesale acceptance of members on profession of faith results in non-Christians becoming ministers, and now in Scotland holds the position of Moderatoress. These are the churches that know better than the Lord of the Church who said that women are not to hold such office as elder - it is for men only.

But to get back to Hood and Knox, for anyone to speak well of Knox in the one breath and then to make him the subject of derisory humour is extremely serious. Where are the CoS's evangelicals? Why aren't they screaming from the rooftops at such irreverence? How can they remain within such a denomination, one that accepts the pagan religion called liberalism on a par with biblical truth? As J. Greshem Machen put it, Liberalism and Christianity are two very different religions. Yet in today's spineless and faithless churches, keeping in with the current fashion is more important that maintaining biblical truth. Spurgeon is right: those who marry today's fashion will be tomorrow's widow.

In Ireland. the CoS has a daughter church, namely, the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI). Has the Church of Scotland embraced theological liberalism? So has PCI. Therefore, has the CoS preached soul-damning liberalism. So has PCI. Has the CoS embraced same sex marriage? So has PCI - in principle, for she has at least one elder who publicly supports same-sex marriage, yet he still holds his office. Has the CoS persecuted evangelical ministers? So has PCI, and is still doing so.

Yet evangelical church ministers and elders and members are prepared to defend their church to the death against any criticism to the contrary, and continue to support such a religious aberration with their last pound. They hold Knox and his like high, yet they tolerate those who deny Knox's theology and evangelistic zeal. May the Lord show us His mercy.