Is Church Government Worth Suffering For?

Is Church Government Worth Suffering For?

by | Oct 15, 2020

Is Church Government Worth Suffering For?

Few people want to hear about church government today, let alone suffer for it. Of all principles and truths it is perhaps one that people are least likely to want to suffer for. They may even think that Scripture doesn’t really require anything very clear about how the church should be ordered. They just think of it as a kind of administration and that there are many ways of “doing church”. We need to consider the matter more carefully, however. To be punished for resisting state control over the church would be to suffer for church government, for instance. Is that worth suffering for? Perhaps, at face value, this issue seems very remote from Christ and the main things. But it does in fact concern us with Christ Himself.

Thousands of Covenanters suffered torture, banishment, imprisonment, loss of goods and execution. Why? For liberty? Yes, in an indirect sense. Certainly for Christ but in relation to a specific matter. The reason they suffered these things was their steadfastness on a matter of church government. George Gillespie was one of many who had in earlier decades suffered for church government. Many had suffered more than he, including imprisonment and loss of possessions. In this updated extract, Gillespie shows that the question of whether the state should control the church is not a side issue. It concerns the glory and authority of Christ Himself. This was the key controversy he was seeking to help resolve.

Christ Himself Suffered for Church Government

This controversy highly concerns Jesus Christ Himself in His glory, royal prerogative, and kingdom which He has and exercises as Mediator and Head of His Church. The crown of Jesus Christ or any part, privilege, or piece of that must be a noble and excellent subject. This truth that Jesus Christ is a king, and has a kingdom and government in His Church, distinct from the kingdoms of this world and from the civil government, has a commendation above all other truths. Christ Himself suffered to the death for it and sealed this truth with His blood.

For it may be observed from the story of His passion, this was the only point of His accusation which He Himself confessed and owned. It was aggravated, prosecuted, and driven home most by the Jews and prevailed most with Pilate as the cause for condemning Him to die. It was mentioned also in the superscription or sign written on His cross. Although in reference to God and providing satisfaction to divine justice for our sins, His death was a price of redemption, yet in reference to men who did persecute, accuse, and condemn Him, His death was a martyr’s testimony to seal such a truth.

This kingly office of Jesus Christ (as well as His prophetic office) is not only administered and exercised inwardly and invisibly by the working of His Spirit in the souls of particular individuals. It is also exercised outwardly and visibly in the Church, as a visible body politic, in which He has appointed His own officers, ambassadors, courts, laws, ordinances and censures. All these are to be administered ministerially in His own name as the only king and head of the Church.

Herod and Pilate (like many princes, potentates, and states) looked on this with so much fear and jealousy, as another government co-ordinate with civil government. But what was dark on their side has been light on the other side to those servants of Jesus Christ who have stood, contended, and sometimes suffered much for the ordinance of Church government and discipline which they looked on as a part of Christ’s kingdom. John Welsh (of Ayr, my countryman of precious memory) suffered much for the same truth and was ready to seal it with his blood.

It is indeed no new thing for the most faithful ministers of Jesus Christ to be reproached and accused of being guilty of Treason. This was not only the lot of David Calderwood, Welsh and those that suffered with him but of John Knox before them. Likewise many martyrs, confessors and the apostles themselves. Yet (if we will judge righteous judgement, and weigh things in a just balance) we do not rob the government of that which is their’s, by giving to Christ that which is Christ’s.

We desire to hold up the honour and greatness, power and authority of government against all that despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. We hold that it is proper for kings, princes and governors to be called lords over their subjects over whom they exercise civil government.  But only Christ may be called Lord and Master in the spiritual government of the Church. All bear office in it ought not to usurp dominion, nor be called lords, but only ministers, disciples and servants. We acknowledge and affirm that civil Government in empires, kingdoms, dominions, and cities is ordained by God for His own glory and for the great good of mankind. Any who are enemies to civil government are enemies to mankind and the revealed will of God. Such persons as are placed in authority are to be be loved, honoured, feared, and held in the greatest respect and esteem because they are the lieutenants of God, in whose seat God Himself sits and judges.

The Lord guide you and all His people in ways of truth and peace, holiness and righteousness. The Lord grant that this controversy may (I trust it shall) have a happy end to the glory of God, to the embracing and exalting of Jesus Christ in His kingly office, to the ordering of His house according to His own will, to keeping the ordinances pure, to the advancing of holiness, and shaming of profaneness. And finally to the peace, quiet, wellbeing, comfort, and happiness of the churches of Christ.

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Applying the Most Popular Promise of the Year

Applying the Most Popular Promise of the Year

by | Dec 20, 2018

Applying the Most Popular Promise of the Year

​According to the YouVersion Bible App, Isaiah 41:10 “was shared, bookmarked and highlighted more than any other this year” on their platform. It’s one of the many “fear not” verses of the Bible and some find that significant. No doubt the focus on bible verses addressing fear may be facilitated by the emoji-based search on YouVersion’s Bible App. This allows users to tap images corresponding to various emotions which in turn locate related Bible verses. Apparently individuals conducted more than 18 million searches to find what the Bible might say to them in the midst of their emotional highs and lows. Apparently the app is used by 350 million devices worldwide. Bible promises are meant to be treasured and to be used in times of trouble and need; they are meant to strengthen our faith. Of course this doesn’t mean that we are to use the Bible like a pick and mix counter of sweets where we select only positive thoughts. It’s one thing to appreciate, highlight and share a promise and another thing to meditate on it and live according to it. Before we consider how to apply Isaiah 41:10 perhaps we need to think about what God’s promises are and how we should use them.

Understanding the promises is vital for prayer, meditating on the Word, encouraging others and living by faith. An old method of making use of the promises is that where we find a command or precept in the Bible we should look for a promise that is directly connected to the precept. Then we should pray the promise and seek to live in obedience by depending on it. Edward Leigh (who was a member of the Westminster Assembly) speaks of how the promises strengthen faith, quicken hope, inflame zeal, reinforce patience, and foster all the graces of God’s Spirit. They help us in all troubles whether inward or outward. But we need to understand them better in order to apply them. Here are some principles in an update extract from Leigh’s large book on the subject.

 

1. Understanding the Bible’s Promises

(a) What is a Promise?

The promises are outward declarations of God’s will concerning good to be received, and evil to be removed.

(b) What is the Most Important Promise?

The main promise is Jesus Christ. All promises for outward blessings, such as food, clothing, health, peace, freedom, deliverance in temptations, safety in danger depend on the main promise of Christ. All God’s promise are sure and certain to God’s children in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20). True Faith first of all directly fastens itself on the main promise of God in Christ. After and with this it exercises faith in all other promises that concern either soul or body. Abraham by the same faith by which he was justified believed God’s promise of a son (Romans 4:18).

(c) What Makes the Promises Precious?

The promises of God are a rich mine of spiritual and heavenly treasures. They are the unsearchable riches of Christ (Ephesians 3:8). The apostle Peter says that they are exceedingly great in quantity and precious in quality (2 Peter 1:4).

  • The giver is precious. God is said in Scripture to be the giver of them (Romans 1:2; 1 Timothy 1:1; Titus 1:2).
  • The price for them is precious.  Jesus Christ for whose sake we obtain them and the price He paid to purchase them (1 Peter 1:19).
  • The way they are given is precious. They are given freely out of the precious loving kindness of God (Psalm 36:7).
  • The way they are received is precious. The precious grace of faith lays hold of them (2 Peter 1:1).
  • The benefit of them is precious.  Being made partakers of the divine nature that is, of the graces of the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:4).
  • The things promised are precious. If the promise is so sweet how much more sweet are the things promised: life and godliness or glory and virtue (2 Peter 1:3).

 

2. Applying the Bible’s Promises

The right use of the promises helps to sweeten all our afflictions, strengthen our faith, spur us on to well-doing and to breed contentment in all circumstances whatever.   But how can we use them in the right way?

(a) Know the Promises

If we have a remedy to hand that would ease our pain but we do not know it what good will that do us? If we do not know the promises even though they are in the book how will that make things better for us?

(b) Remember the Promises

We should strive to remember the promises. What we do not remember, we do not known. David hid God’s promises in his heart and they upheld him in his trouble (Psalm 119:111). God’s promises gave him great comfort (Psalm 119:50). The promises of God are the Christian’s title deeds for heaven. The Hebrew Christians were fainting in their minds because they had forgotten their comfort and strength (Hebrews 12:3, 5). They had forgotten promises of God made for strengthening their faith in the fiery trial. As an oil lamp will soon be out unless it has a supply of oil, so faith will soon fail unless it is nourished with continual meditation on God’s promises.

(c) Apply the Promises

We should believe the promises and apply them to ourselves. Faith not only believes the promises to be true but applies them. Promises are never believed unless they are trusted (Matthew 9:29; Mark 9:23). There are two ways of applying the promises:

  • Meditation, we should take note of and ponder the promises well.
  • Prayer. We should have fervent prayer that God would by His Spirit reveal to us the precious promises He has made to His people in His holy Word and give us wisdom to assess and apply them aright. All our prayers must be based on God’s promises (Genesis 32:9,12; 2 Samuel 7:27-29).

Special promises made to individuals can apply more widely. The promise to Joshua (Joshua 1:5-6) is applied to all believers in Hebrews 13:5. The promise to Peter (Luke 22:32) is applied to all believers in John 17:15.

We should also notice the conditions in a promise and what they depend on. God promises grace and glory (Psalm 84:11) but notice it is grace first then glory. Godliness has the promises of this life and of that which is to come. We must note the order that the Saviour uses, first seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness and then all these things will be added to you (Matthew 6:33). When God has called us to the knowledge of Christ we must not look for the immediate accomplishment of God’s promise of salvation or perseverance by God’s sole power while in the meantime omitting all concern about holiness in our life. God does not only fulfil His promises in us but also by us. The promises also relate to His commands and our duties.

 

3. Applying the Promises of Isaiah 41:10

(a) Promises of God’s Special and Gracious Presence

This is the sweetest comfort which God used to sustain His children in the Old Testament. Those such as Isaac (Genesis 26:3, 24) and Moses (Exodus 3:12 and 4:12) as well as others (Joshua 1:5, 9. and 3:7; Ezekiel 3; Jeremiah 1:8, 19). David encouraged his son Solomon with this (1 Chronicles 28:20).

It applies to the whole Church in general (Isaiah 41:10 and 43:2). Christ is spiritually present with His Church (Revelation 1:13 and 2:1). Christ left this comfort in His farewell to His disciples and their successors: “Lo I am with you…to the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20).

(b) Promises of Growth and Increase in Grace

God has promised to give grace abundantly, not only to drop but pour it (Isaiah 44:3-4). Their soul shall be as a watered garden (Isaiah 58:11 and Jeremiah 31:12). God promises to make His people fruitful. He says He will give strength to His people to walk in the ways of the Lord (Isaiah 45:24; Isaiah 40:29, 31; Psalm 29:11; Isaiah 26:4, 12; Isaiah 41:10; Zechariah 10:12; Philippians 4:13). They go from strength to strength (Psalm 84:7). The righteous will hold on his way and be stronger and stronger (Job 17:9). His path is as the shining light shining more and more (Proverbs 4:18). If we are rich in the work of the Lord, our labour will not be in vain in the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:58).

(c) Promises for Those that Suffer as Well-doers

The promise of “fear not” in Isaiah 41:10 relates to fear of those who oppose them (Isaiah 41:11-12). Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for their’s is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:10; 1 Peter 3:14).  There are promises for those who suffer either for truth or goodness and also those who suffer for both together (2 Timothy 2:11-12; 1 Peter 4:13; Romans 8:35-37).  God will subdue all their enemies (see Genesis 12:3; Deuteronomy 30.7; Jeremiah 12:14; Psalm 37:14-15, 17; Job 8:22; Isaiah 41:11-12; Isaiah 54:15; 59.19; Proverbs 22:23 and 21:1).

 

Conclusion

When we apply the promises within the overall context of Scripture and of God’s priorities for His glory (which includes our good but also our obedience) we are more likely to apply them in the right way. All God’s promises are sure and certain in Christ and the promises should lead us back to Him in faith (2 Corinthians 1:20). God’s promises relate to our growth in holiness as well as our blessing and protection. The Bible is full of precious promises, do we know, value and apply them?

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The Headship of Christ in His Church in China

The Headship of Christ in His Church in China

by | Dec 12, 2018

The Headship of Christ in His Church in China

China detained Pastor Wang Yi of the Early Rain Covenant Church and more than 100 of the church’s members in a raid at the end of 2018. Wang Yi has vocally resisted the Chinese government requirement for all churches to be registered with the government and come under their regulations or be shut down. The purpose is to make sinicise or make all religion conform to the government ideology. Resistance to this is essential for Wang Yi. He  has written: “I firmly believe this is a spiritual act of disobedience. In modern authoritarian regimes that persecute the church and oppose the gospel, spiritual disobedience is an inevitable part of the gospel movement”.

​

​Wang Yi wrote in his defence before he was imprisoned: “I firmly believe that the Bible has not given any branch of any government the authority to run the church or to interfere with the faith of Christians. Therefore, the Bible demands that I, through peaceable means, in meek resistance and active forbearance, filled with joy, resist all administrative policies and legal measures that oppress the church and interfere with the faith of Christians”.

These arguments remind us of the principles for which the Covenanters suffered in Scotland and which may yet be needed in more countries than China. The following is from James Stewart’s classic book Naphtali, or, The wrestlings of the Church of Scotland for the kingdom of Christ (1667).

Christ is Head over His Church

Jesus Christ Himself and not the civil government is the author and fountain of Church power and government. The apostle tells us, that Christ and not the civil government is Head of the Church (Ephesians 1:22 and 5:13). He not only spiritually communicates inward grace to the members, but
governmental power and direction for the outward regulation of the whole body. How then can the civil government be Head of the Church, or supreme governor in all ecclesiastical matters? Must the Church have two Heads, or a Head above a Head? Let Christ be still Head of the Church. And as such. You will find Him, and not the civil government instituting all Church ordinances for:

  • administration of the Word and Sacraments (Matthew 28:19; 1 Corinthians 11:23);
  • excommunication and absolution (Matthew 18:17-18) and all other acts of government and discipline.

You will find Him and not the civil government instituting Church offices. He gave (Ephesians 4:11) and set in the Church (1 Corinthians 12:28) apostles, prophets, evangelists, teachers etc. And who will dare alter by adding or diminishing? You will find Him and not the civil government authorising these officers to exercise the various acts of the power of order and jurisdiction (Matthew 28:19).  You will find Him and not the civil government equipping these Church officers, with gifts and graces for their work. None go on their own expenses. Can any civil government breathe the Holy Spirit as Christ did on His apostles (John 20:22)? In His name (not the name of the state) they must perform all Church acts. They must assemble (Matthew 18:20); baptise (Matthew 28:19); excommunicate (1 Corinthians 5:4); and do all in His name.

Christ, not the state makes laws absolutely and primarily obliging the Church and Church officers. He is therefore called the lawgiver (Isaiah 33:22; James 4:12). He, and not the civil government will call Church rulers to their final account.  They must give an account (Hebrews 13:17) to their judge who gave them their commission (Isaiah 33:22).

they are His servants and therefore should not be pleasers of man

In recognition of all this, the apostle Paul acknowledges that the Lord Jesus, and not the civil government gives ministerial power and authority (2 Corinthians 10:8 and 2 Corinthians 13:10). And because of this, they are called the ministers of Christ (1 Corinthians 4:1) and Ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20) not for the state.  They are His servants and therefore should not be pleasers of man nor of the government (Galatians 1:10).

Thus, Church power and government are distinct from civil government. Jesus Christ and not the state is the author and fountain of that government. Therefore, it evidently follows that it is not subordinate to the civil government.

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The Scottish Covenanters (Book Review)

The Scottish Covenanters (Book Review)

by | Sep 5, 2018

The Scottish Covenanters (Book Review)

“If you only read one book on the Covenanters this should be the one. Not only does Vos provide an insightful, readable and enjoyable account but he sets it in proper context taking us from the Reformation in 1560 through the Revolution period”. This commendation on the back cover is not mere exaggerated advertising, this book is probably the most concise yet thorough and readable introduction to the history of the Scottish Covenanters. Without wasting words Vos covers the important personalities, events, and issues necessary for understanding the importance and place of the Covenanters in the history of the church.

The first two chapters cover the period of the Reformation in 1560 up until 1637 and two further chapters cover the period up to 1660. The benefit of the narrative presented is that it does not become overloaded with commentary. The reflections that are offered are usually of value. For instance:

The modern notion that while doctrine should be Scriptural, worship and organization are matters of indifference to be arranged according to expediency or human preference was entirely foreign to the Westminster Assembly and the Church of Scotland of the period of the Second Reformation. Great stress was placed on the importance of Scriptural forms of worship and organization. Probably the Church of Scotland has suffered more than any branch of the Christian Church through the ages on account of insistence upon a pure and Scriptural form of organization (p.65)

This was the sort of resolve that was behind David Dickson’s reply to Cromwell’s soldiers that invaded the Church’s General Assembly in 1653. They asked him as moderator whether the Assembly was convened on the authority of Charles II or Cromwell. Dickson said, “we sit here by the authority of Jesus Christ and by the law of this land” (p.78).

Vos covers the period of persecution 1660-1688 highlighting the key events and personalities. His focus is on witness-bearing and so the various public declarations are given specific focus. The controversy surrounding the indulgences is carefully explained and issues such as the lawfulness of armed self-defence are discussed in a helpful way. Ultimately the brutal executions, imprisonment and fines would be brought to an end. Vos makes the important observation:

Years before the nation as a whole the Covenanters anticipated the inevitable revolution which came in 1688…They had appealed to the nation; they had appealed to God himself; and they awaited the outcome with grim determination not to yield or compromise, come what might. They stood for the rights of God, and endured as seeing Him who is invisible.(p.148-9)

…in a few short years, the Covenanters’ rejection of tyrannical rulers became the nation’s rejection, and what had been called treason and rebellion, became the deliberate act of the nation, in the Revolution of 1688 (p132)

Chapters added to the close of the book on the sole headship of Christ over the Church and the continuing obligation of the Covenants help to highlight the ongoing relevance of the struggle narrated in the book.

Dr. J.G. Vos (1903-1983) was a noted minister, missionary and professor in the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America. He edited an influential periodical called the Blue Banner Faith and Life. This complete overview of Covenanter history was originally a thesis and first published in 1940. This edition has been re-typeset and typographical errors have been corrected. The index has also been expanded.

Not everything in this book is going to attract widespread agreement. As Andrew Quigley notes in the endorsement on the back cover “many may not agree wholeheartedly with the…position…presented in the third part of the book”. Vos devotes a chapter to assessing the Revolution Settlement in a way that is altogether negative. Ultimately the majority of Covenanters decided that despite the defects they were not obliged to sin in joining with the Church of Scotland at the Revolution. Vos spends time narrating the next few centuries of the history of those who did not join. Eventually they formed the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland.

This book will be useful for reference for those who wish to be informed or inform others about this period of Church history. As Andrew Quigley mentions, it “breathes life into one of, if not the most disturbing and exhilarating periods in Scottish Church history”.

The Scottish Covenanters: Their Origins, History and Distinctive Doctrines by J. G. Vos (Blue Banner Productions, 2018, 256pp)

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Why Doesn’t God Show Himself More?

Why Doesn’t God Show Himself More?

by | Jul 6, 2018

Why Doesn’t God Show Himself More?

Sometimes in our personal experience and in the world around us we are tempted with the feeling that God is absent. Why doesn’t God show Himself more? Are our prayers being heard? Why doesn’t God step in and arrest the moral rebellion that is destroying western societies? These concerns are not new in one sense. The Psalms and other books of Scripture wrestle with such thoughts. Yet it can seem different in a society where God is excluded to such a great extent.

Sometimes we treat the temptation and pressure to unbelief as an intellectual matter. So we seek more and more rational proofs of God’s existence. But the root cause of the temptation may lie deeper in the social realities of a secular age. The felt absence of God is something we grapple with in a particular way in such an age.

This is addressed in a recent book by Joseph Minich Enduring Divine Absence: The Challenge of Modern Atheism (The Davenant Institute, 2018). He seeks to explain how this situation has come about historically and philosophically and then how we can sustain and strengthen our faith in the face of the challenge. A sense of God’s absence helps us to place greater value on God’s presence. Trusting God is not avoiding the problems and challenges we face but fully confronting them holding on to the God that is greater than them all. Minich says the following:

Can it be that we are brave enough to say that in spite of evil…God is here and that He is good? Not as wishful thinking, not as calling evil “good,” but as receiving reality just as it is and as it must be-despite what the world often feels like? Perhaps, indeed atheism is not bravery after all, but capitulation. Perhaps it is an intellectual, spiritual, and psychological failure to endure. It is a failure to say that God, that the Good, is greater and denser and more fundamental and deeper and wider, that love is higher, that all is grounded in the infinite plenitude of a pure actuality which is love Himself-who is God “for us”…God is ultimate and His goodness and eternal being are still greater realities and contain a greater gravity than death and pain

Minich confronts the personal challenge of this:

what does it mean when we find ourselves begging to see God and He does not show up? When He effectively and providentially says “no”. It means, “My grace is sufficient for you. I’ve already shown up. I’ve already raised from the dead. I’ve already forgiven your sins. And just as I’ve done all this for your good, so for your good I want you to grow up. I want you to be strong. Trust me. I’ll carry you. I will allow you to suffer. But I will carry you through. I will allow you to hit the bottom, but there you will find the eternal living and true God-and you will say with joy, ‘This is enough'”. Like Job, you will be reoriented in the gravity of God.

In Psalm 10 there is a lament that God seems to stand afar off. He seems to be hidden in times of trouble and the wicked just seem to be able to do what they want. David Dickson helpfully draws out some further thoughts and implications from the Psalmist’s words. He notes that in the Psalmist’s complaint he is speaking to God according to his feelings and as he sees things in human terms and in an outward way.

1. God’s Word and Providence Can Seem to be Saying Different Things

God’s work in providence may seem to speak in a contrary way to the word of promise. God’s Word says that  He will always be with His own and not forsake them. But here the way He deals with them seems to say that He stands afar off and hides himself in times of trouble (Psalm 10:1). Our feelings may sometimes speak contrary to faith.

2. We Should Depend on God’s Word More than Our Feelings

The truth of the word should be relied on rather than accepting what our feelings are saying. When our feelings seem to object to or question the Word we must bring this before the Lord in prayer. We may discuss it with Him there. This is what the Psalmist does in asking God why He stands afar off (Psalm 10:1).

3. A Humbled Soul Can Speak with God in a Familiar Way

See how a humbled soul may speak with God in a familiar way.  The Lord will not mistake what His people are meaning when faith borrows the language of feeling. The Lord will permit such speech and not take it in the wrong way since He knows it proceeds from faith and love wrestling with our feelings. He will even allow such language to be recorded in His Book (as here) for others to make prudent use of it. He records it even though they appear to challenge Him for standing aloof and hiding Himself.

4. God’s People are Often in a Low Position in this World

It is often the case that the godly are in a low condition in the world while their adversaries are in high places and power. Thus, “the wicked in his pride” is able to “persecute the poor” and oppress them as their underlings (Psalm 10:2).

5. Persecution will Become a Snare to the Persecutors

We may expect that what persecutors devise against God’s people will become a snare for themselves. The Psalmist speaks of this in Psalm 10:2.

6. When the Wicked Seem to Prosper by Casting God Away

Psalm 10:3-11 describes what life is like when the wicked obtain power. They seem to prosper by casting God away. It describes the tendency downward trend of a godless society.

The wicked man has such a high opinion of his own ability it is clear that he scorns the idea of praying to God for anything. In his pride he will not seek God. He does not consider what may please or displease God, what may honour, or dishonour God. He does not trouble himself with such thoughts. “God is not in all his thoughts”. In Hebrew this means that all his thoughts are that there is no God, or none of his thoughts are on God. His ways always vex others, tending especially to hurt the godly.

He does not fear God’s judgements, believing they will never happen. He fears neither God nor man. Prosperity with apparent impunity from God’s judgements persuade him that God will never take notice of him, call him to account, or punish him. He has said in his heart that God has forgotten, hides His face and will never see it.

7. Atheism in Others Should Draw Us Closer to God

The more we see atheism in the wicked, the more we should draw near to. The godly may well feel that God is at a distance when He is not executing justice. Yet when they are tempted with these very temptations to which the wicked have embraced (that God is afar off and will not judge) they must not yield to them. Rather they must pray against the temptation, as the Psalmist does here: “Arise, O Lord” (Psalm 10:12).

8. God will Not Forget His People

The merciful respect and love which the Lord has to His afflicted people will not allow His justice against these persecutors to be quiet for long. He will not forget the humble (Psalm 10:12). He will vindicate His own glory from the way in which the wicked despise His name and expose it to contempt (Psalm 10:13).

9. God’s People are Comforted by Providence though the Godless Deny it

The godless enemies of God’s people deny God’s providence and justice. Yet His people are comforted during their saddest sufferings by the Lord seeing and taking account of them. The godly can say here that God has seen it (Psalm 10:14).

10. God’s Judgements Will Refute the Atheism of the Wicked

God’s judgments on the wicked shall really refute the atheism of the wicked and repay their opposition made to the godly (Psalm 10:14). The power of persecutors cannot be so great that God cannot weaken and break it, so that they will not be able to trouble His people (Psalm 10:15-16). 

Though the Lord does not reckon with His enemies for their sins at first, yet He reckons for all at last. For lesser and for greater, for one and for all: the uttermost farthing will be exacted. He seeks out their sins till He finds none (Psalm 10:15). O how fearful a reckoning the Lord must make with the impenitent, who die unpardoned and unreconciled with God through the Mediator Christ Jesus!

11. We Should Cast Such Burdens on the Lord

When a believer has poured out their heart before God they should cast themselves with their burden on the Lord. When a humble believer has cast their burden on the Lord, the Lord will not fail in taking care of what He is entrusted with. The poor commit themselves to God (Psalm 10:14).

12. Christ’s Kingdom is Everlasting

The prayer of the persecuted will not be rejected because the kingdom of Christ in His Church is perpetual. Earthly rulers cannot keep on living to help their friends, followers or flatterers. Nor can they keep living to persecute and molest God’s Church. Christ is the Lord and King for ever and ever, to defend His people and punish His enemies (Psalm 10:16).

13. These Experiences Humble Us for Our Good

The Lord’s way is to humble His children through troubles and make them conscious of their need of His help. Their sense of need turns into desire for His help. Their desire turns into prayer. He will then in due time answer, so that the Psalmist can say that God has “heard the desire of the humble” (Psalm 10:17).

14. God’s People Have Everlasting Blessings

Even there were no other comfort to the godly when they feel oppressed the expectation of heaven would be sufficient. Their life, inheritance and happinesse is in heaven. Their oppressors are merely men of this earth whose portion is no better than what they have here in this world (Psalm 10:18).

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What Should We Do When the State Invades the Church?

What Should We Do When the State Invades the Church?

by | May 18, 2018

What Should We Do When the State Invades the Church?

​According to senior figures in the Church of England in recent weeks, the Church should lose its exemptions from prosecution under equalities legislation. Dr Ison the Dean of St Paul’s said: “My view is that if there is a price to be paid for what you believe in conscience then you should pay that; you should not make other people pay the price for your conscience. That applies to abortion, to issues of sexuality and gender and right across the piste. If it is legal, decent and honest but you don’t believe it is right, then you have to deal with it.” In other words, there should be legal coercion irrespective of conscience. The Bishop of Buckingham has previously appealed to Romans 13 and the requirement to be subject to the powers ordained of God. Yet Scripture says that we must obey God rather than men when they come into conflict (Acts 5:29). How do we reconcile these principles?

If we end up facing such a situation we will not be the first. Besides learning from Christians in other countries who face state interference we can draw on the wisdom of the past. John Livingstone had to face this dilemma along with hundreds of others. The state was going so far as to forcibly eject him from his congregation. This was because he would not submit to the totalitarian control claimed by Charles II over the Church. He experienced trial, imprisonment and banishment as well as financial losses. In his farewell address to his parishioners he speaks of our duty in such circumstances and how this would affect them personally also. The following is an updated extract.

 

1. We Must Not Deny Christ

Christ insists on this: the man that confesses him before men, Jesus Christ will confess that man before His Father. On the other hand, because many are ready to find out strange ways to save themselves, their means, their life, (these have been a great snare to many,) He speaks very sharply. The man that denies me before men (He says) I will turn my back on him and deny him before my Father.

What is the most dangerous thing in all of religion?  What is the rock that many have beaten their brains out on? It is this: Satan has wiled and enticed them to deny Christ Jesus. In reference to the time we live in, it may be that some think that if it were Christ Jesus or any fundamental point, we would stand for it. We would life and all that we have. But it is thought that some things Christians stand on are but imaginations and over strict scruples and if there is any thing in them, it is only a small matter. Will a man venture his condition now and in the future on such and such a small thing?

If they are indeed not any of Christ’s small things, let them go. But if they are His, will you call that a small thing? His small things are very great things. There was never a trial since the beginning of the world during the time of trial it was a small thing. The Word was very clear and it is very clear still.

 

2. We Must Honour Christ as King

The kingly and royal office of Jesus Christ is now called in question. The state will have specific things done in such a way and time. Now I may truly say, on behalf of all the servants of Jesus Christ, we will be ready, when occasion offers to lay down our heads under its feet and do all the honour and respect that is possible and required. But then, why in these particular things may you not acknowledge the state? Take this illustration. An ambassador is sent with a message to a certain country with these terms: “You shall be subject to the country in all your dealings and conduct yourself uprightly and honestly. You are to negotiate there according to the instructions given to you”. The prince of the country proposes something  and the ambassador says, “with your leave, I will consult with the instructions I have from my Master, I will not wrong you at all”. He consults with his instructions and finds he may by no means do it. “Then” says the prince, “you will be dealt with in such and such a way”. The ambassador answers, “at your pleasure”. “But may you not do such and such?” “I may not”, he says, “and you shall see my commission; it is not private, but public things known and written and may be read by all”. [In other words obedience to civil government is subordinate to obedience to God’s Word]

It is a sad thing that Satan, by any instrument he pleases, for fear of a few days’ life and outward means, prevails so far with them, as to obey when he says, “Come, give me your religion and your soul, your conscience, your vows and covenants to the living God, and I will cast you loose as to religion”. Lord save us from this!

 

3. What Shall We Do?

You will say, “What shall we do? How will we get fines paid? How will we stake our sufferings on such small matters? Can we stand on such a point even if our heart is disquieted about it?” It may be that time and providence will when it comes nearer, make it appear a far different thing and clear enough. Have you observed the providence of God?

What shall we do? Look to him and the Word that you have heard, “Watch and pray, that you enter not into temptation.” And, indeed, those who labour to reform their heart and life, if there is any doubt about some particular aspects, He will, in his own time, make them clear. Christians have various situations, some go and do such things and some not; who can help it? It is a plague that it is so; it has been the plague of the Church these many years.

 

Conclusion

Praised be the Lord that those who are not great friends to the work of God are not always very deep in their planning. It may be they have plans in some respects that we are not aware of. But if they have plans under that, our Lord Jesus has plans under theirs, to reveal and overturn their plans.

We cannot tell, whether if the Lord sees it to be good, He may continue our liberty with us for a while. There are some of us who have endured the loss of our ministry and all we had in the world. We bless God to this day that we had never cause to repent, and we hope never shall. I commend you all to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all them that are sanctified.

Go forward best. Look back first.

Watch the mini documentary series that  opens up a compelling, yet often ignored, chapter in Scottish history to reveal some surprising lessons for the future.

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Spiritual Rest During Outward Trouble

Spiritual Rest During Outward Trouble

by | Sep 22, 2017

Spiritual Rest During Outward Trouble

We can’t escape troubles in this world. Whether it is the heartache of suffering and loss or the storm of calamity and opposition; it touches us in different ways. The brokenness of this world leaves its mark on us. It may be so deep an anguish and trouble that we cannot put words on it. Christ told us that in this world we would have “tribulation”, but in the same breath He directs us to find peace in Himself (John 16:33). This is genuinely possible, despite all that is going on around us.

Hugh MacKail (1640/41–1666) was going into the ministry when the storm of opposition was rising. He was scarcely twenty-one when he took the opportunity to preach on the last occasion before the faithful ministers of Scotland were deposed. It was a spiritual and attractive sermon but he did not avoid reference to the times however. MacKail boldly observed that “the people of God had been persecuted by a Pharaoh on the throne, a Haman in the state, and a Judas in the church”. Everyone believed this was a reference to the main rulers in the land and the next day soldiers were sent to arrest him. He managed to escape and the next four years of his life were spent in hiding. The following brief clip explains more about this.

MacKail returned to Scotland at the time of the Pentland rising in 1666. While he joined the march for some time he was forced to withdraw due to ill health.  On his way home, he was arrested and imprisoned. He was interrogated under torture, his leg was so badly mangled from this that he could not walk or stand. He was sentenced to be executed but endured all these things cheerfully.

He prayed on the scaffold before ascending the ladder, and then said that every rung of the ladder brought him “a degree nearer heaven”. His composure was another fearless sermon in itself. It made a powerful impression on all who witnessed it. His last words were:

Farewell father, mother, friends, and relations; Farewell the world and its delights; farewell meat and drink; farewell sun, moon, and starts; Welcome God and Father; welcome sweet Jesus Christ the mediator of the New Covenant; welcome blessed Spirit of grace, the God of all consolation; welcome glory, welcome eternal life; welcome death!  Into Thy Hands I commit my spirit.”

Let’s take a closer look at MacKail’s sermon which caused all the controversy. It does not seem to have been reprinted in the past 300 or so years. It was on Song of Solomon 1:7 and spoke much of the spiritual rest that God’s people have in the midst of troubles. The following is extracted from that sermon in updated language.

 

There is Rest in Christ Even in the Midst of the Hottest Trials 

Where he makes the “flocks to rest at noon”, there is not only feeding for their necessity but also a comfortable rest for their satisfaction. The ground of a believer’s satisfaction is beyond the reach of earthly troubles. Whatever commotion may arise ,it cannot touch their foundation. Believers are compared to a house built upon a rock (Matthew 7:24). In Proverbs 10:25 we read that “the righteous is an everlasting foundation.” He is compared to a tree in Psalm 1:2,3 and his root shall never be moved.

Outward advantages are only like beautiful pictures or other adornments of a house, which may be blurred or removed without affecting the building. They are like fair-feathered birds chirping melodiously upon the top of a tree, which may suddenly fly away without any disadvantage.The solid adornment of the image of God cannot be defaced by any outward event. It is rather rendered even more illustrious and clear by tribulation. The fiery furnace did not hinder the three children from praising the Lord. Nothing can hinder their obedience to God’s command, and one great command is “rejoice evermore.” There are four things involved in this rest that the followers of Christ enjoy in this time of tribulation:

 

1. Rest from Sin

All the force and fury of temptations cannot constrain them to sin against the Lord. Though a messenger of Satan should buffet them, yet there is a grace sufficient for them (2 Corinthians 12:7 – 9). I believe the malice and fury and craftiness of the devil transcends the malice, fury and craft of human enemies. Though he used his utmost endeavour to try to make Job to curse God and die, yet patience eventually triumphs over temptation. Affliction is the Lord’s furnace where the more they are tried they more purified they come forth. In Job 36:8–10, we read that affliction reveals to the righteous their sin.

The conclusion of a believing soul under affliction is, if God punishes me this sharply for sins that I have already committed against Him, will I not receive greater if I revolt further? This is the conclusion of Ezra (Ezra 9: 6, 7, 13, 14). So, afflictions disengage a believer from sin. It is a dreadful thing to be uncorrectable despite judgements,. If we consider the solemn consequences in Pharaoh’s case, it should bring all such to fear God’s judgements (Psalm 119:120).

 

2. Rest through Peace with God

This peace is through Jesus Christ. This is a shadow from the scorching sun, under which a reconciled believer may sit and the Lord’s fruit be sweet to his taste. No worm can come at the root of this gourd to make it wither. Enemies may do much to secure enemies for the people of God among men on earth, but they can never cause them to have enemies in heaven.

The Lord will not be bribed by their gifts, for all the beasts of the field are His, and the cattle on a thousand hills. He will not be allured by their pleasures, for at His right hand there is fullness of joy and rivers of pleasures forevermore. He will not be deceived by their craftiness, nor constrained by their power to side with them against His people, for He is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who ever hardened themselves against Him and prospered? How unreasonable it is then to turn aside from Him by the flocks of his companions. The whole world cannot make God your enemy when you follow Him in turning aside from them. But if you follow the world and forsake Him, he can make all the world your enemies or destroy you and the world both.

 

3. Rest through Peace of Conscience

This peace passes all understanding and is a continual feast. Better that every creature sets itself in array against a man, than that his sins set themselves in order before him. Better one handful with quietness then both hands full of vexation of spirit. Better to be scorched in the hottest furnace of tribulation, than to have the heart and soul burned up with the unquenchable flames of a self-tormenting conscience. Blessed therefore is that man, even in the midst of outward misery, who retains a good conscience. This cannot be reached by any weapons of devils or men.

O, that these foes, whose hearts are perpetually in the house of mirth, would consider their latter end. The beginning of a sinner’s day may be sweet but their end is bitter as wormwood. Men may hoodwink their conscience all the days of their life, but O, how dreadful is it when death begins to draw the veil and represent things as they are in themselves. I think I hear the screeches and howling of a damned spirit in prison when I read the woeful expressions of an evil conscience in Proverbs 5:11–13.  There we are warned away from sin, lest we “mourn at the last”  when flesh and body are consumed and we say “how have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof; and have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!” When a man through heat of persecution is drawn to turn aside from God he runs out of a spark into a flame. God then becomes your enemy and at last you will become an enemy to yourself.

 

4. Hope of Eternal Rest

There is a rest for the people of God (Hebrews 4:9). The sure hopes of this rest will not only render all tribulation tolerable, but even desirable. They are but light and momentary. They work for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Both the good and evil of the world vanish from view for that soul that has its eye fixed upon the recompense of reward. Christ’s promise that he would be with him in paradise that day (Luke 23:43) made the penitent thief’s cross preferable to all the crowns of the world. The hope of this rest is a helmet of salvation, keeping the head from being wounded. Enjoying this rest places a believer beyond the reach of all tribulation.

Heaven resembles the court of Ahasuerus–none may go there clothed in sackcloth. The Church is beneath the sun here and therefore prone to being scorched but there she is above the sun. The sun shall not light on her, nor any heat (Revelation 7:16). This is the motive the Lord Himself uses to urge steadfastness in Revelation 2:10; “a crown of life” for those who are “faithful unto death”.

Go forward best. Look back first.

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Are Christians in the West Really Being Persecuted?

Are Christians in the West Really Being Persecuted?

by | Sep 8, 2017

Are Christians in the West Really Being Persecuted?

The Christian religion is certainly the most persecuted worldwide. But some people feel that, despite growing hostility to Christian values, it is going too far to speak about persecution in the West. Others speak of an evangelical persecution complex. We tend to associate it with physical violence but persecution actually extends to thought control. If it is impossible to be in a particular job with certain biblical convictions (even unexpressed) then those beliefs are certainly being persecuted. When we turn to Scripture, it is in fact clear that all Christians should expect persecution to some degree.

Christ says, “If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20).  The context of this verse shows that such persecution arises from contempt for the teaching of faithful and godly ministers. A media culture that attacks and ridicules every area of Christian values is one that is constantly both excluding and targeting the Christian conscience. The secular inquisition seems relentless.

Recently a Middle Eastern underground house church leader was quoted as follows: “Persecution is easier to understand when it’s physical: torture, death, imprisonment…American persecution is like an advanced stage of cancer; it eats away at you, yet you cannot feel it. This is the worst kind of persecution.” It echoes what Francis Schaeffer once said: “I believe that pluralistic secularism, in the long run, is a more deadly poison than straightforward persecution.”

Scripture also says “all that will live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12). As David Dickson comments, “it is the common lot, not only of pastors, but of all Christians, to suffer afflictions and persecutions for the gospel’s sake”. If they are living godly in Christ Jesus, Christians in the west are experiencing some form of persecution and should expect it. Persecution of various kinds has been the normative experience of the Church down through the ages. Perhaps we need to dwell on these considerations a great deal more than we do. If persecution increases in the future, will we have a theology of suffering for Christ (as it were) that will sustain us? In the following video clip we have an example of when believers suddenly needed to put their theology of suffering for Christ into practice. 

 

Robert MacWard (1633–1687) knew what it was to suffer for Christ. In 1661, in the midst of preaching he solemnly protested against the way in which Charles II’s government were forcibly overturning the Second Reformation. He was arrested and imprisoned in the Tolbooth on a charge of treason. He was sentenced to be banished and spent the remainder of his life ministering in Holland. He wrote and published books to strengthen those suffering in Scotland, including Samuel Rutherford’s letters. One of these was called The Poor Man’s Cup of Cold Water ministered to the Saints and Sufferers for Christ in Scotland, who are amid the Scorching Flames of the Fiery Trial; it was printed in 1676. MacWard was speaking to people who were suffering in the extreme. MacWard speaks of their “huntings, harassings, and hidings”. Those who attended the conventicles faced heavy fines, exile, slavery and even imprisonment. Ultimately summary execution was used against them with abandon. MacWard earnestly encouraged them that God could be very near to them they were forced to “lie as among the pots, and are black with the smoke of that fiery furnace, heated seven times beyond what you or your fathers have found, or could have feared”.  The following updated extract speaks about suffering for Christ being something that the faithful Christian cannot avoid. A Christian was forced to choose “he must either go with the drove of those who depart from the living God” or stand out in adhering to God and departing from “these workers of iniquity…[and] opposing their Christ-opposing courses” despite their fury.

 

1. We Cannot Avoid Suffering for Christ

The true reason why there is so little of real Christianity to be found among Christians, is that we do not consider that Christianity is the soul shaped by the blessed mould of non-conformity to the world and conformity to Christ. Bearing His blessed name does not only mean association with Him, it also obliges us to be conformed to Him. Without this we will not have benefit from Him and can never make it apparent that we share the anointing that bearing this blessed name implies.  Few who profess Christianity strive to know the excellency of this condition – its special comforts and duties – and how closely these are connected.

You are not of the world. Since there is so great a change made in your condition and in your conduct in contrast with the world do not think these fiery trials strange. You must go through such until you get through the world. He who does not look on suffering as his daily work, has not received Christ Jesus aright. Whosoever would be the disciple of Christ must take up his cross daily and follow Him. This cross must be what Christ chooses and is pleased to lay on us. The cross is the necessary concomitant of a Christian. Sharp conflict must take place before the conqueror’s crown is obtained. We must expect to meet with such fiery trials as will consume our darling idols into ashes for some means must be used to removed our right eye and right hand that have made us offend. We must and may expect to meet with the saddest trouble and the most intolerable sharp trials from an unexpected source and direction. The people and things which should give the people of God most comfort often prove the source of the calamities they endure and the means by which they are afflicted.

We still think there is a way (because we desire it and often make a way where God has not) to evade these hard sayings, shun these heavy things and yet come to heaven. We imagine it is possible to pass through the world with the world’s good will and be religious too. But this is to be wise above what is written. The devil must first cease to lie, murder and way-lay those that are going to heaven. The enmity between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent, must first be abolished, or changed into perfect amity (which shall never be). All this would need to happen before the day could dawn that the traveller to heaven did not need to reckon on meeting with trouble in the way.

 

2. The World Hates Godliness

The wicked have such complete hatred for God that they hate His image in His children.  They do not like but rather hate even the (so-called) godliness of a hypocrite. They do so, not because of the evil that lies below the surface, but because of the good that appears outwardly. There is a light in the Christian’s life who walks as a child of light, which exposes the blemishes of the profane world around him. This light also has a heat which scorches and troubles their conscience. This is why they cannot endure them but take every opportunity to deal with them as if they are come to torment them before the time by their shining and burning. This ought to fortify us in being resolved to prepare for the worse the world can do.  This must be so, for all who will live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12).

 

3. Persecution Must Increase as Apostasy Increases

It is madness to think otherwise, since our time is a time of defection and shameful apostasy and this has always been found to be a time of hot persecution. The practice of apostates has always been to hate as hell those that stand fast in owning the cause of God which they have relinquished. They treat them like the worst of men. A man who resolves to keep his conscience void of offence towards God must take his life in his hands. He must be ready to part with it when his lot is to live in a time and place where those who have made shipwreck of faith and a good conscience are in power.

Apostasy is the special sin of devils. Satan is the great apostate who hates all that set their faces heaven-ward and are servants of God. They seek God and that blessedness from which he for his apostasy is everlastingly banished. Anyone whom Satan draws away from the ways of the Lord into the guilt of apostasy are by him driven into the same sin of hatred. They persecute those who hold on their way, adhere to the precious truths they have forsaken and are followers of God as dear children. This should alarm everyone into watchfulness against the very first and smallest degrees of defection from the good old ways of God.

 

4. Watch Against the Least Defection

It is dangerous for someone (though mainly sound) to slip from one degree of their zeal and integrity (even merely omitting to stand up for defence of the gospel when assaulted by enemies). They can quickly slide, before they are aware, into censuring and despising fellow believers who will not do the same. Such frequently become more active and industrious to draw others away than to strengthen the things that remain and are ready to die in a time of decline.

The enemies of God have not yet finished and therefore you are best to prepare for new assaults and make provision against the evil day. Blessed are those, who in this dismal day, will not be offended in Christ, but will endure to the end. Expect the worst that violence and enmity armed with power and enflamed with revenge can make you suffer. If we have such foresight and preparation we will not be amazed or taken off guard when we meet with what we were expecting.

 

5. Hold Out and Hold On

Hold out and hold on in firm resolution, even though it comes to resisting unto blood after you are robbed and spoiled of your goods. There is nothing in all these fires and waters, dangers and deaths you have to pass through which can make a soul that knows in whom they have believed go back from his master and walk no more with him. When Christ asked whether the disciples would also leave Him they answered with fervent resolve. They could not for He had the words of eternal life (John 6:68). No matter who else would leave, they were forever tied to continue with Him. Eternal life which is in Christ, is to be had by abiding with Him. We must forsake all in following Christ, and be willing to be forsaken of all.

Go forward best. Look back first.

Watch the mini documentary series that  opens up a compelling, yet often ignored, chapter in Scottish history to reveal some surprising lessons for the future.

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Can We Still Speak of Truth in the Post-Truth Age?

Can We Still Speak of Truth in the Post-Truth Age?

by | Dec 9, 2016

Can We Still Speak of Truth in the Post-Truth Age?

It’s the word on everyone’s lips all of a sudden. “Post-truth” means “circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief”.  It is not just an issue in politics; fake news is part of the problem too. No doubt gut feeling informs opinion more than many care to admit. Yet, when any opinion is cynically viewed as mere manipulative advertising in another dress – the world is undoubtedly in trouble. It is a question of trust and reality and therefore threatens the fabric of society. Where can we still find truth?

A post-truth indicates a step beyond the idea that everyone has their own truth to the notion that truth is irrelevant. In many ways it is a natural step for those who believe that the ultimate reality is random chance. If we truly arrive at a point in our culture where information serves only to reinforce what we feel it would be especially solemn. When the Bible speaks of such trends it calls them “strong delusion” in those who “received not the love of the truth” because they “had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12). Of course this highlights that what we now call “post-truth” has always had currency.

For Christians, there is a danger that we become subtly influenced by a post-truth outlook. What does this look like? It means that our lifestyle is dictated by what feels best and our worship determined by our taste. Our message and convictions may be more influenced by how they make us feel, or the response of other people.

It’s time to remind ourselves that objective and absolute truth matters. Jesus said that He Himself was the Truth and that God’s Word is Truth (John 14:6; John 17:17). Truth has its source and guarantee in God. Truth is far bigger and more complex than many appreciate.

We still need to confront those to whom truth is an inconvenient irrelevance with reality. In many ways this is what took place when the Lord Jesus Christ stood before Pontius Pilate (John 18). As has been observed by others, Pilate himself was on trial. He dismisses any reference to the truth with “What is truth?” and walks away without requiring an answer (John 18:38). George Hutcheson comments on Christ’s example in opposing a “post-truth” mindset with steadfast declaration of the truth. This is an updated extract from his commentary on the gospel of John.

 

1. Christ Came into the World to Bear Witness to the Truth

Christ’s office at this time was, in part, to preach truth and avow it. He came to prove himself a king by making it successful and to confirm it by His suffering. More particularly, He came into the world to bear witness to the truth that He was a king and so He published the decree of Psalm 2:6- 7 and avowed it to death.

Everyone is sent into the world and employed by God for some purpose and service. They should bear this much in mind and labour to be faithful in their employment and trust despite all threats. Christ, as man and Mediator looks to the purpose for which He was born and the reason for which He “came into the world” (to “bear witness unto the truth”). He will here avow it in spite of all threats, even before Pilate.

 

2. Everyone that is of the Truth Hears Christ’s Voice

Christ prevents an objection against the truth of His doctrine and witness on the grounds that it is not well received. Only a few may receive His teaching in general or the truth that He is a king. He makes it clear that the fewness of those who receive it does not make the truth void. All who are of the truth (or born of God, begotten by the word of truth) and who love the truth and do not delight in lies will hear Him and embrace His doctrine and testimony.

 

3. Truth Must be Boldly Maintained

Truth ought to be boldly maintained and avowed when we are called to this. It does not matter however absurd it may seem to be in itself and how unpleasant it seems to others. Christ answers that Pilate says that He is a king, rightly gathering it from His words. This is a bold confession in what it asserts; yet modest in the way it is expressed. He does not respond with boasting and later makes it clarifies that He did this out of conscience and duty. He showed that courage and modesty must go together with owning the truth.

 

4. Persecution Presents an Opportunity for the Truth

By persecution the Lord gives His servants an opportunity to publish truth and make it known to the greatest of men. Possibly these men would not otherwise ever hear so much of it as is then spoken in their own hearing. Through Christ’s suffering Pilate comes to hear His teaching, especially concerning His kingdom. Besides this also, the very sufferings of Christians invite men to inquire after the doctrine for which they suffer, which probably otherwise they would not have taken any notice of (Philippians 1:12-13).

 

5. All Who Profess Christ Must Witness to the Truth

All professors of religion must bear witness to the truth or give a testimony to its worth. Partly, they do this by openly avowing it and suffering for it when called to do so in times of peril. Partly, they do this in their ordinary conduct by declaring truth in their personal capacities. This is done by subjecting their life, thoughts and reasonings to it. They magnify the truth in the face of their trials and discouragements. If we neglect this we will never prove resolute in suffering for the truth.

They are also bound especially to bear witness to the kingdom of Christ. Christ Himself is the great Captain of these witnesses. He is the great preacher of truth, whose powerful sceptre as a King is the word of truth. He stands for maintaining the truth and particularly this truth, that he is a King over his own Church, to order its affairs thereof. Christ sealed this and all the truths of God by His blood. He declares this to be one of His great purposes and works in the world –  to “bear witness unto the truth”. He gives an example to all others in their personal capacities and an encouragement to all who follow His pattern. They have such a champion of truth, who still maintains it, though He does not come into the world in person any more, nor suffer any more.

 

6. The Truth is Still the Truth No Matter How Many Reject It

Although most of the world has little regard for Christ’s doctrine, it is still the very truth itself. All the lovers and friends of truth will own it. Those who do otherwise, expose their own estrangement from truth, and are indeed delighters in lies.

 

7. Suffering for the Truth is Foolish to the World

Pilate disdainfully enquires, “What is truth?” but abruptly breaks off the conversation with Christ. This teaches us that Christ and his followers may often seem great fools in their sufferings, as suffering for things of no moment in the esteem of men. The Lord often brings the godly to suffer for a very small hair and point of truth. Worldly men account it great folly for men to suffer for any divine truth. Pilate’s question, “What is truth?” implies this. He advances it, not so much to get a satisfactory answer (seeing he went out not waiting for an answer) but as testifying that he looked on truth (and particularly the truth that Christ now avowed) as a very trivial thing on which to endanger so much.

 

8. Pride is a Barrier to Seeking the Truth

A person’s own thinking and knowledge are such a great idol for them that they can hardly bear to be considered ignorant or esteem any truth to be excellent with which they are not acquainted. This also seems to have occasioned Pilate’s disdainful question, to which he will not stay for an answer. He could not endure to hear truth commended of which he and “the wise Romans” lacked knowledge (as he could gather from Christ’s last words).

 

9. God Can Use Those Who Despise the Truth for His Own Glory

The Lord can make use of, not only men’s natural conscience [Pilate’s natural conscience was convinced of Christ’s innocence] but even their atheistic disposition and contempt of truth and religion. He can do this, when it pleases Him, to bring about the good of those who suffer for the truth. He can make such men vindicate the innocence of those who suffer for God’s truth. In this way He teaches us to look much to Him since He can make use of everything as He pleases. It was Pilate’s contempt of what Christ preached of His kingdom and truth (in the beginning of the verse), which combines with his natural conscience to make him think nothing of the accusation and absolve Him of guilt. Paul was released due to the same reasons (Acts 18:12, 16).

 

Conclusion

Hutcheson draws many striking lessons from this passage to show that we must and can testify to the truth, even when it is dismissed and disdained. It is particularly noteworthy that God can even make use of such an attitude to truth for His own glory and to achieve His own purposes. The more that we see others despise the truth, the more we should embrace Christ as the truth. As Hutcheson comments on John 14:6:

Christ also is the truth, not only essentially in Himself and as the One from whom all truth comes, but more especially He is the truth as a way to His people, and a true way…in opposition to all the delusions and vanities of the world by which men think to attain happiness. These all draw people away from Christ, the true way, and they will prove a lie and not the truth.

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When Books Were Executed in Scotland

When Books Were Executed in Scotland

by | Nov 24, 2016

When Books Were Executed in Scotland

If books are executed for their dangerous ideas, then the Stuarts must have felt threatened by the ideas of the Second Reformation in Scotland. Most of the key books and documents of the time were condemned by these kings to be burnt publicly by the hangman. It was an exercise in the power of the sword over the power of the pen. Perhaps it is not surprising that the first recorded book burning in history was by a king seeking to destroy the words of Scripture (Jeremiah 36:27).

Many books and documents were ‘executed’ at this time. It was a sinister threat to the author and all who would promote the ideas of the book. It was not a long journey for the Restoration regime to make from executing the Covenants to executing the Covenanters. Perhaps it was a desperate attempt to destroy ideas but of course it only attracted more readers for a book. As one writer has observed poetically: “books have souls as well as men, which survive their martyrdom, and are not burnt but crowned by the flames that encircle them”.

 

1. Defending the Liberty of the Church

One of the early books to be burnt was George Gillespie’s argument against the Anglican ceremonies being imposed on the Scottish Church. George Gillespie was young and exceptionally gifted. He explained the reasons in a forthright book. He said that these ceremonies in worship had their origin in Roman Catholic worship not Scripture. He argued they were not necessary, useful or lawful. And neither was their imposition merely unimportant.

The book he published was called A Dispute Against the English Popish Ceremonies obtruded upon the Church of Scotland. It was published anonymously in Holland due to the persecution of dissent. It appeared at exactly the right time – the summer of 1637 -in the midst of protest and uproar due to the introduction of the Book of Common Prayer.

We could think of this as a war between two books. Which would succeed – Gillespie or the Bishops? Although the Book of Common Prayer had the repressive force of government behind it, Gillespie’s book had the power and authority of God’s Word. In October 1637 the Privy Council ordered that all copies of Gillespie’s book to be collected and burnt by the public hangman. It was a last desperate attempt but too late. Gillespie’s book was never answered.

 

2. Defending the Liberty of the People

Our ideas of political power and its limitations were significantly shaped by Reformed writers. Such principles helped the Covenanters to resist autocratic rule. They remain relevant today. Samuel Rutherford published a key statement of these principles in Lex, Rex (The Law and the King). This book is a hammer blow against state claims for absolute power.

When it was published Charles I said that it would scarcely get an answer. It contained such a powerful argument that Charles II ordered it to be burnt by the hangman. Rutherford was charged with treason, dismissed from his post and placed under house arrest. He only escaped execution through being seriously ill. Rutherford said that “he would willingly die on the scaffold for that book with a good conscience.”  Why would he risk so much for a complex book about political government? Experience under the Stuart regime showed that absolute power was an intoxicating notion that did not value either liberties or mens’ lives. More than this, the king was set himself up with a divine authority in place of the authority of Scripture, and this had to be resisted.

 

3. Defending the Liberty of Both

The National Covenant (1638) and the Solemn League and Covenant (1643) were solemn oaths that obliged those who swore to defend such liberties. It is not surprising that these Covenants were publicly burnt, even though they pledged loyalty to the king. Futhermore, Charles II himself had sworn to them together with his government. One pamphlet responded to the covenant breaking and burning. It was called The Phoenix, or the Solemn League and Covenant (1661). The idea was that the covenant like the phoenix would rise from its ashes.

When dying men left a public written testimony behind them, it could be burned publicly. This was the case with the minister James Wood in 1664. It was only an attempt to clear himself from slanderous rumours that he had forsaken presbyterian principles.

James Guthrie’s pamphlet The Causes of the Lord’s Wrath against Scotland (1653) was a frank acknowledgement of the nation’s departure from its former principles. Its reflections on the king were considered treasonable, however. Anyone found possessing it could be charged with treason. The book was of course burnt publicly by the hangman. It would be used as evidence in the trial which condemned Guthrie for execution. This was a clear instance of a book’s execution leading to capital punishment for the author.

The Covenanters sought to defend themselves in print. There were books such as John Brown of Wamphray’s Apologetic Relation (1679) or James Stewart’s Naphtali, or, The wrestlings of the Church of Scotland (1667). These protests against repression and government brutality were burned publicly. The Lanark, Rutherglen and Sanquhar Declarations were all burnt also, together with the Queensferry Paper.

 

Conclusion

Clearly, these were powerful books. They remain powerful. While they speak to their own time in various ways, there are important principles with biblical authority that we may draw from them. If these principles are lost then we are in danger of losing true civil and religious liberty. After all the attempts to destroy such ideas, our generation must not condemn them through mere apathy. We have a duty to the present and past to grasp and maintain principles for which others risked or gave their lives.

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Were the Covenanters Right to Defend Themselves?

Were the Covenanters Right to Defend Themselves?

by | Nov 21, 2016

Were the Covenanters Right to Defend Themselves?

350 years ago, services other than government-sponsored worship were  outlawed. Any who refused to attend the state church were heavily fined. Troops were stationed in people’s houses and given liberty to do anything they liked to the local population. The punishment for conducting “illegal” worship was execution. Landlords, magistrates and any in a position of authority had to support and reinforce such measures. People were driven to desperation under such tyranny. What could they do? In November 1666 they rose up in self-defence, but was it right to do so?

On 13 November 1666, a spontaneous event arose from a particular instance of brutality. The soldiers were exacting “church fines” and one poor old man was being threatened with being roasted alive on his own hearth because he could not pay. When others intervened the soldiers attacked with swords, but one of the Covenanters fired a pistol wounding one of them and the others surrendered.

Realising that, having gone thus far, they would be considered rebels they decided to raise an armed force. They intended to go to Edinburgh to petition the government for relief from oppression. On the way, they renewed the National Covenant at Lanark and Gabriel Semple preached. In his sermon he mentioned Proverbs 24:11-12 which condemns failing to deliver those that are “drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain”. He applied this in a moving reference to the rescue at Dalry and the wider context.

But government troops pursued them awaiting a time to attack. Through night marching and inclement weather when they got to Edinburgh,”they looked rather like dying men than soldiers going to a battle…weary, faint, half-drowned, half-starved”. When the gates of Edinburgh were closed against them they made their way home to the west. It was at this point that General Dalyell engaged them with his army of some 3,000 well-equipped men. The Covenanters had around 700-900. A battle ensued at Rullion Green in the Pentland Hills about seven miles from Edinburgh on Wednesday, 28 November. Fifty of the Covenanters were killed and eighty captured.

Sir James Stewart of Goodtrees (1635-1713) published a defence of the Pentland Rising together with a minster called James Stirling. The book was called Naphtali, or, The wrestlings of the Church of Scotland for the kingdom of Christ. Stewart was an advocate, later Lord Advocate.  He describes the tyrannical laws and events surrounding the Pentland Rising. He then goes on to make some arguments in defence of the Covenanters which are summarised below.

1. Self-Defence

The rising was an act of self-defence. God has given both the power and right of self-defence which cannot be set aside or renounced as it is part of God’s law [see the 6th commandment, Shorter Catechism Q.68-69].

2. Recognition of God-ordained Government

They were not anti-government but neither could they accept that kings and governments could do no wrong. Governments are ordained of God in subordination to His law for the safety of every individual. If either of these are perverted, the common bond of society, government and law, is dissolved. Rulers who command things directly contrary to the law of God may be justly disobeyed. Those who destroy their kingdom may be lawfully resisted.

3. Emergency Action Against Tyranny

When the common bond of government and society is dissolved, individuals may join and associate for their better defence and preservation. This is what takes place when societies are first formed. They may join together in self-defence.

4. God’s Law is Supreme

Scotland’s kings and parliaments had recognised the revealed Word and will of God to be the superior rule of law. They must continue to abide by this even if the current government did not.

5. Continued Obligation to God

They belonged to a nation solemnly and expressly engaged by covenant to God and with each other for the advancing the objectives of the National Covenant. This meant endeavouring a national reformation and the “valiant vindication of the glory of God and His work and cause”. They had to continue to uphold this no matter who departed from it, lest they would come under God’s judgements. They had been burnt and set aside by the government. The king and government had personally signed the covenants in the past and had (like others) held their office by signing them. Yet such sacred covenants cannot be dissolved by man, these obligations remained as far as God was concerned and the consciences of those who feared His name and sought His glory.

6. Defending What is Most Important

They were engaged in the defence and preservation of life, liberties and the commonwealth, “against the most barbarous and horrid violences and injuries that can be imagined”. They also acted for the glory of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, in defence and maintenance of the blessed gospel and its precious ministry and ordinances. These were duties and concerns infinitely more important than civil liberties. Clearer grounds for self-defence and reformation cannot possibly be supposed.

Conclusion

The Pentland Rising was not treason against lawful authority. Risings and leagues contrary to law are treasonable if they “are not warranted and commanded by the superior law and authority of God”.  For this reason, the Rising “was altogether lawful, righteous and necessary”. It was self-defence against the authorities tyrannically invading the rights of the individual with brutal, physical violence. Clearly, applying such principles in a different context needs much careful and prayerful consideration. They were pushed to this last resort. It is clear that these Covenanters had a clear grasp of the religious and civil liberties which they held so dear.

​

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Ashers are Blessed

Ashers are Blessed

by | Oct 24, 2016

Ashers are Blessed

Despite losing their appeal – Ashers, the Christian bakery company, are blessed. They were appealing against a court ruling that they discriminated. This relates to refusing to produce a cake with a slogan promoting same-sex marriage. The decision is a serious infringement of civil liberty, compelling people against their beliefs. But there are other matters to bear in mind also. The name Asher is actually Hebrew for “Blessed” or “Happy”. This reminds us of Christ’s words: “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake”.

“We’re being told we have to promote a message even if it’s against our conscience” (Daniel McArthur).

This case is about punishing those who refuse to support same-sex marriage. That is a serious step: it is the force of civil law being used to persecute. Many will suffer if this ruling is sustained in law in a way more serious than merely being pilloried by public opinion. There has been of course public vilification for this couple in standing firm. 

“We have been called bigots and it seems to be at the minute that if you disagree politely with gay marriage then you are named as a bigot or a homophobe” (Amy McArthur). 

Their shop in in central Belfast has suffered some minor acts of vandalism since the case came to light but the company has not suffered financially. Daniel McArthur has said:

“And I would say to other Christians facing pressure at work or in public life: don’t be afraid to take your Christian stand because we’ve learned God is with you in all of it and he gives you the grace to stand against these trials and challenges.”

They may have to pay £88,000 in legal costs.

David Dickson comments on the final beatitudes of Matthew 5:10-12. He says that the “eighth mark of a true disciple is suffering persecution for righteousness’ sake”. Such are blessed. But these are the blessings that few really want. The following points are extracted and updated from his commentary on Matthew.

1.  Blessed are any who are troubled and persecuted by men in following Christ and for doing that which God approves. Those who choose rather to suffer affliction than to commit sin are indeed blessed, for “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake”

 

2.  Let persecutors do their utmost to rob the godly of all that they have, yet they cannot rob them of heaven, for it is said that “the kingdom of heaven” is theirs. Even if they were banished out of their native country and utterly spoiled, or indeed killed. Heaven belongs to them by Christ’s conquest and by God’s promise. It shall certainly be given to them to make up for all their losses.

 

3.  Reviling or speaking any manner of evil against Christ’s servants is, in our Lord’s estimation, persecution. Thus He expounds being persecuted further, saying, “when men revile you and persecute you”.

4.  Christians must beware that they only give just grounds for facing trouble. It is not persecution when evil is spoken against men truly and justly but when evil is spoken against them falsely, and for Christ’s cause. Therefore Christ says that they are blessed “when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake”.

 

5.  Notwithstanding whatever persecution occurs, the troubled and persecuted servant of Christ still remains blessed “when men…persecute you”.

 

6.  Our Lord will not be content for His servants in persecution do bear themselves with a heavy spirit.  He will have them bear their cross joyfully. He does not want the courage, comfort or countenance of His children beaten down while they bear His glorious cross. He will have them to be cheerful: “Rejoice and be exceeding glad”, He says.

 

7.  Although their suffering cannot merit any thing, yet it will be rewarded graciously. “Great is your reward”, says our Lord.

8.  Whatever consolation God gives to his suffering servants in this world, which indeed is not small (for they have more peace and joy in themselves from God, and more estimation among the saints, than all their trouble is worth) yet he will not reckon this for a reward till he have them up in heaven, for he has said, Great is your reward in heaven.

9.  The light affliction of this life cannot be compared with that which will be given in heaven. He says therefore: “Great is your reward”.

10. Whoever endures any trouble (even if it is only evil words for Christ’s cause) he will be enrolled among the martyrs and holy prophets who from the beginning of the world have suffered for righteousness. This is our Lord’s reckoning, saying, “For so persecuted they the prophets which were before you”.

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