A farewell to evangelicalism
____________________________________________
The greatest need of the hour to which we should all work and pray is that God will raise up those will faithfully teach and preach a biblical Gospel as happened in New Testament days and at the time of the Reformation and with the same boldness. With little care for their own personal safety, they will give their all to making Christ known. They will eschew and expose the vain pretence of fraudulent and apostate Christianity such as is widespread and growing everywhere today.
Some years have passed since my wife and I finally bade goodbye to evangelicalism and I would like to outline some of the reasons as to how this came about. It was not so much a sudden break, but a steady drift. In fact, neither my wife Valerie nor I came to Christ within evangelical circles. My commitment and saving knowledge of Christ came about as the result of hearing the Gospel preached in a mainstream Baptist Church. Valerie’s first inclinations to follow the Lord were experienced whilst still within a Baptist youth meeting in Germany. Despite this, our time among evangelicals has played an important role in our early Christian experience and we are both thankful to the Lord for the many godly people with whom we had contact. The reasons for our departure are not trivial ones but constitute serious differences in our understanding of the fundamental nature of the Christian faith and the Gospel so that neither my wife nor I feel we can remain in these circles and at the same time remain faithful to the teaching of the Scriptures. It is also clear that it would be uncomfortable for both sides were we to attempt to return.
I am deeply sorry to let go the name ‘evangelical’ for in its historic meaning it would identify us with many great men of God of the past. Yet most of these men would be appalled at the state of modern evangelicalism and decline emphatically to be identified with it. Genuine evangelicalism can be said to have begun in the 18th century as a response to spiritual deadness within the Anglican Church. Historical evangelicalism can be said to have died in the middle of the 20th. It is also a fact that many of today’s evangelical preachers have abandoned the long-held, essential doctrines of the faith as formulated in the early creeds of the Church, not to mention the later Confessions of the Reformers. Some have revived old heresies, especially in respect of the person and work of Christ and the Trinity, deviations that put them well outside the Christian Church altogether.
It is perhaps stating the obvious, seeing that evangelicalism as such first arose in the 18th century, but it behoves us to remember that the giants of the Christian Church of byegone days were not 'evangelicals'. Augustine, Wycliffe, Tyndale, Luther, Calvin, Knox and most of the Puritans would have found the movement curious if not strange. In some elements they would have rejoiced others they would have rejected. Modern evangelicalism they would have found deeply disturbing, identifying much as false teaching or even heresy.
Numerous matters have deeply disturbed us. Some are better left unmentioned. Some of those issues of greatest concern to us are:
First, what I have called Charismatic and pentecostal pandemonium: and the proliferation of false prophets and heretical doctrine
I have included in this the contemporary Christian music industry which is part of the charismatic world.
Second,
A second area of concern is the movement by evangelicals away from the historic position on the inspiration, inerrancy and self-attesting authority of the Holy Scriptures
I include in this a back-peddling on creation and a denial of the historicity of the early chapters of Genesis.
Also of concern is the proliferation of modern re-written versions of the Scriptures. As I have already dealt with this elsewhere I will not repeat myself.
There has been a compromise with humanism and failure to carry the Christian faith into every sphere of life.
Third,
There has been a distortion of the biblical Gospel and the suggestion by some important evangelicals that there are other routes to salvation other than through faith in Christ alone.
Let me now turn to a few of the serious concerns that caused us in the end to turn our backs completely on the evangelical world. In doing so, I do not want simply to dwell on that which is negative, but at the same time to present the true and biblical position as clearly and as best as I am able.
1.
Charismatic and pentecostal pandemonium: and the proliferation of false prophets and heretical doctrine
There are of course aspects of evangelicalism of which we were never a part and that of which we were never a part we cannot said to have left. Charismatic-Pentecostalism is one such area. In the early nineteen sixties, we watched with some alarm at firsthand the rapid expansion of the charismatic-Pentecostal movement and were deepened saddened to see how many of our friends and family were swallowed up into it, many into the more extreme wings, one into a leadership position in the Toronto movement in Canada, another a teacher in the Vineyard Church movement in Sweden. Most have now not unexpectedly cut their ties with us.
The modern charismatic-pentecostal movement has infiltrated, swamped and in many instances entirely obliterated evangelical causes. Yet, we ought not to be surprised as we are warned in Scripture of this very phenomenon.
FIRST
The appearance of false teachers and heresies is to be expected wherever the truth has been preached. Where the servants of Christ sow good seed, the devil sows tares that threaten to overwhelm the good wheat. (Matthew 13). The wheat and the tares are almost but not quite indistinguishable. The farmer sees what has been done as seeds grow and the harvest develops. They are left to grow together and only at the end of time will they be separated: the wheat stored in barns, the tares thrown into the fire. False teachers do not appear as such but always as if they are genuine followers of Christ. Were this not so, they would not be able to command such a wide following and deceive people. Satan began by making God the liar and presenting himself as a speaker of the truth.
“For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” (2 Corinthians 11:13-14)
A straightforward way to destroy opponents is to mingle with them, to become as one of them and overcome them, take them over or close them down. This precisely what these false teachers of the charismatic movement have done on an enormous scale: they have sidled into almost every branch of the professing Christian Church and wrought havoc. They seem so plausible, so believable. With their extravagant claims and pseudo signs they have deceived huge numbers of people and engaged them in their false faith. Yet, we ought not to be surprised as we are warned in Scripture of this very phenomenon.
SECOND
False teachers came into the Church in the days of the apostles, but that they should proliferate and spread as they have is a sign of the last times.
The Bible warns us specifically that one of the sure signs of the last days is that “there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” (Matthew 24:24) There are three things that immediately stand out in this verse:
- These false teachers present themselves as true followers of Christ when in fact they are not. They talk a lot about ‘Jesus’ but they present a false Christ, a Jesus who is not the biblical Saviour of men but someone else. Again, the New Testament speaks of this: “he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached ... another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel” (2 Corinthians 11:4) – another Jesus, another spirit, not the Holy Spirit as is claimed. Examine the doctrine of many of these present-day false teachers and it quickly becomes evident that a great number of them have strayed well into the realm of heresy, much of it a revival of past and ancient error. Their gospel is another, not one that can save anyone or change anything. This is not a trivial but a deadly serious matter. The apostle Paul says this: “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:8) The Galatians even as we have an infallible criterion by which we can judge that which is another Gospel, namely, the teachings of the apostles, recorded for us in the New Testament.
- These false teachers seek to authenticate themselves and identify themselves with Christ using apparent replications of the signs and wonders of the apostles. Close scrutiny and comparison with Scripture will show them to be very different and not at all like those done by the Lord or His disciples. Some is evident trickery and the rest a deception.
- We note, however, that the elect, that is, true believers will not be deceived. It can therefore be said that a rejection of these false miracles and wonders is an evidence of being a genuine follower of Christ, elect by God’s grace. Acceptance of them is the opposite. It places the perpetrators of these deceptions and their followers firmly in the camp of the enemies of Christ and the Gospel. The apostle Paul writes: “For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.” (1 Corinthians 11:19)
THIRD
Where the biblical Gospel of repentance and faith in Christ alone has already been watered down, altered or refused, what then happens is that God says, “You do not want the Gospel, then you shall not have it.” Indeed, God sends “them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie” (2 Thessalonians 2:11). Widespread dissemination of error is an indication that God is refusing the Gospel to those who have repeatedly turned their back on the truth. Interesting is that this declension, falling away and apostatizing has spread most widely in European countries that were blessed by the Reformation, but have since turned their backs on the Gospel of God’s grace. Our Lord said that the last days will be much as they were at the time of Noah just before the flood covered the whole earth and all in it drowned. “But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:37). Whilst the door remains open to all who will trust Christ until He returns, the principle applies also as in the days of Noah however long the length of days: “My spirit shall not always strive with man” (Genesis 6:3). In short, when error proliferates in the place of truth, then it is a clear sign that God has closed the door to many who could otherwise hear the Gospel because of their rebellion and blatant refusal of His mercies.
Look, quite the opposite they say, look! See how large gatherings there are, see how many follow with us! Yes indeed and this is unsurprising, “for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat” (Matthew 7:13). It is not that modern evangelicals lack followers, far from it. Yet numbers are not the test we use of a work of God, but rather compliance with the teaching of the Bible alone is the touchstone of authenticity and this is precisely what we find lacking. There exist ‘emerging’ mega-churches as varied as Joseph’s coat of many colours, charismatic, non-charismatic. These places are found in the USA, but also here in the UK, and they often boast thousands in their congregations. Virtually without exception, they are marked with superficiality, error, apostasy, and fraudulent claims of spirituality and healing.
Closely associated with pentecostal-charismatic movement and emanating from it is the Contemporary Christian Music industry.
It can be called an industry for this exactly what it is. Historically, this industry emerged in the mid-70s out of the ‘Jesus rock’ concerts of the Christian counter-culture of the late 60s when young ‘believers’ performed in their own groups, appropriating the electronic instrumentation of the secular rock idiom to religious lyrics. At one time this kind of music seemed to be a poor imitation of the pop and rock scene found in the world. It is now very clear that it is most certainly the music of the ungodly world around us given a ‘Christian’ slant. It is promoted by and the albums of many of the more well-known ‘Christian’ bands are manufactured and distributed by the same companies who service regular pop stars. The reason for this is a simple one: they can make substantial amounts of money from it.
Having listened to as much of this kind of music that I can possibly bear, I find it objectionable, obnoxious and even blasphemous. It is impossible to equate this kind of ‘worship’ with God-honouring music and praise due to the Lord Jesus we know, love and serve. This is not praise but fairly primitive mind control. Two elements in this kind of music have a hypnotic effect, the rhythm and the deafening volume. The live concerts induce light-headedness and intoxication because the sounds cause an increased level of the neurotransmitter or ‘pleasure hormone’ dopamine such as would be experienced when taking narcotics. It is highly addictive and adherents will be drawn to ensure their daily dose. Detoxification is difficult. This concert hype is a preparation for the message to come. The whole audience is by then on a ‘high’ and ready and anxious to accept whatever the speaker serves up to them. Say black is white and they will believe it. Tell them they will receive thousands of dollars/pounds in recompense if only they will cough up to the speaker’s cause is enough to make them clear their bank accounts.
The musicology is linked to the specific theology of the teachers who stand behind it. Most are false teachers; many plainly propagate heresies, ‘doctrines of demons’. Their allegiances stretch from the top of the Roman Catholic Church through to independent Churches and fellowships that are of recent origin. In the words of one of their leaders, “more unites us than divides us.” This is indeed a part of the great apostasy sweeping though the world today. It is of deep concern that much of this contemporary music has trickled down into Churches that once professed to preach the truth of the Gospel but have now become tainted. The old hymns are despised and the hymnbooks once in regular use are stuffed in a backroom cupboard next to abandoned copies of the Authorised Version of the Bible or thrown into a skip.
What is God-honouring worship such as has been found among believers for generations has now all but disappeared? In recent days my wife and I have learned to appreciate more a hymnbook that God Himself has given us. It is contained in the Bible, the Psalms. Singing the Psalms is a very fruitful and uplifting experience. They are after all the Word of God. They have one real advantage over against hymns: we can be sure they will hold not wrong teaching or bad doctrine. We have not given up on hymns and as ‘spiritual songs’ they have their place, but demand much discernment. Hymns like prayers are the response by the human soul to the goodness, mercy and grace of God. Many hymns are themselves prayers. Some so-called hymns should not be found in any collection of sacred songs. Others can be sung omitting one or two of the verses. Tunes too can prove to be problematic. Certain favourite melodies have been culled from suspect operas such as Carl Maria von Weber’s occult classic Der Freischütz or Mozart’s masonic masterpiece the Magic Flute.
The growth and widespread use of modern so-called Christian worship songs has seriously alienated us from the evangelical world. We feel uncomfortable and compromised in such gatherings. ‘Worship’ or ‘praise’ gatherings are reminiscent of a Glastonbury rock concert, perhaps this is how it is supposed to be. The name ‘evangelical’ has been highjacked by a modern movement that has nothing to do with historical evangelicalism. Mention ‘evangelical’ to most people outside the Christian Church and they immediately think of the insane mass gatherings that have now even invaded our television channels Thousands crowd into their meetings like Saturday night at the Apollo with a comedian-like preacher holding forth on the podium, theatricals, pure theatricals. As in any theatre production, applause follows applause. To equate this with the Christian Gospel is abhorrent in the extreme. This poisonous river has flowed into many places where once the Bible was preached and into hearts that once professed to follow Christ. This is a powerless religion, powerless to save, powerless to change anything for the better. They are themselves shaped by the world and part of it themselves rather than occupied with transforming it.
2.
A second quite different area of concern is the movement by evangelicals away from the historic position on the inspiration, inerrancy and self-attesting authority of the Holy Scriptures
We read in the Bible, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1:7)
The source of all human knowledge is God, whether this is about God Himself or the universe He created. He alone knows all there is to know about everything. If anyone knows anything it is only because of God, out of His goodness and His grace has He shown it to us. God Himself can be known only inasmuch as He wants to be known and this ultimately for His own sake rather than ours. And it is faith that is the essential element in the appropriation of this knowledge. It must be stated at the outset that there is a clear difference between what a Christian and a non-Christian claims as a basis for the certainty of human knowledge of any kind.
There is nothing that God does not know altogether and outside the knowledge of God nothing exists. In fact, we cannot even speak like this because His comprehension and understanding is infinite and ours as creatures is finite. This means there is nothing the human mind can discover that God does not thoroughly know. Human reason can therefore not function as an agency independent of God and discover anything that is true, original, but not known to God. Our knowledge must reflect in every way the thoughts and knowledge of God in order to be true. To claim otherwise is to raise one’s own reason and understanding to the level of God or beyond. This was the temptation in Eden: to be and to know as gods. Unless we own the authority of Christ in the field of science, as an example, we assume our own authority is ultimate and is able to finally decide matters one way or the other without reference to Him.
We cannot know all there is to know because we are not as God; we need only to know what God has revealed to know anything as it really is. Yet, only a believing, regenerate heart has any possibility of interpreting anything properly inasmuch as it is submitted to God. Can then unbelievers know anything? That which unbelieving minds discover is known only as a direct result of God’s goodness and grace to all men, although they will inevitably pervert or misunderstand it because as at the time of Noah, “the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” God wants us to know the truth in all things and has taken great pains to make it accessible. Yet we despise what He has done. Surely now as then “it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.” (Genesis 6:5-6) What an unspeakably sad state of affairs.
How can we know as God knows? We know only what God is pleased for us to know. There is one essential external principle of truth, namely the Scriptures and there is only one internal principle, namely believing reason that is worked in us by the grace of God.
“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
God revealed Himself in the living Word, Christ, but also in the written Word of the Scriptures. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). All faith is a gift of God’s grace that comes as we read His Word. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 28).
Many evangelicals do not take this position. Instead they share the common Greek notion that the world of nature can be interpreted in terms of human wisdom quite apart from reference to God and the Scriptures, that when speaking of natural things rather than spiritual all men Christian or otherwise have the same powers. Reality is reduced to one level to which all men have the same access. For theology we need God, but for everything else we need only to look around us. Working on the basis of a false dualism of spiritual and secular, what this means in practice is that in all areas that are not directly concerned with the spiritual life or salvation, it is perfectly possible to profess faith in Christ and think and reason in the same way as unbelievers and live very much as do worldly people. This is unacceptable idolatry and does not represent the historic reformed view nor is it the teaching of the Bible.
Whether in the understanding of science; biology; mathematics and logic; languages; psychology; philosophy; history; human nature; these and other spheres, God and His Word are set aside as irrelevant. The unbeliever regards his own mind as ultimate, or at least on a level with God, whereas the believer submits in all matters to God. It is frequently said by evangelicals that the Bible is not a book of science. However, without a reading of the Scriptures enlightened by the Holy Spirit, a proper understanding of all these subjects is not possible. In the first chapter of Calvin’s Institutes, the reformer shows that a true knowledge of things natural can only come in the light of a true knowledge of self which in turn can only come from the truth of God and His Word. There is no such thing as autonomous secular thought. All scholarship arises consciously from a religious commitment which for the Christian believer must mean from a foundation laid in Christ and the Word of God. Only the Christ of the inspired Word of God as expounded in historic reformed theology can realistically challenge men and women to forsake their sin and sinful ways of thinking and establish them in the truth. It is this we must bring to the world.
There are then two very difference worlds of science, that issuing from the regenerate heart and that from the heart of the unregenerate. It is clear that when it comes to observation, measurement, calculations, the two are likely to be close or even identical. The divergence becomes rapidly apparent when an interpretation is sought for what each has discovered. The belief that the fall is a historical event that has rendered the physical body subject to deterioration and death will determine a very different approach to medicine than from those who deny it. The same will apply to psychology, history and just about every discipline there is. The denial of the necessity of regeneration is ultimately a rejection of the Christian faith as a whole.
Paul urged his son in the faith to “avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called” (1 Timothy 6:20)Only Scripture enables us to distinguish between true and false science. In the first two chapters of his first letter to the Corinthians, the apostle contrasts two kinds of wisdom each of which is to the other as foolishness. The wisdom of this world laughs at what we regard as science.
The Puritan divine, John Owen, wrote:
“...the whole rational soul of man since the fall, and by the entrance of sin, is weakened, impaired, vitiated, in all its faculties in all their operations about their proper and natural objects. Neither is there any relief against these evils, with all those evil perturbations wherewith it is possessed and actually disordered in all its workings, but by some secret and hidden operations of the Holy Spirit of God, such as he continually exerts in the rule of the world.” (Works, Vol.3, p.248)
Our understanding of the natural world has been severely impaired by sin. The apostle Paul writes to the Ephesians: “This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart.” (Ephesians 4:17-18) Falsehood, self-deception and delusion of every kind dominate the unregenerate mind. Our imagination without Christ is in an abnormal state falsifying the images it perceives. As a result falsehood and untruths have entered our everyday speech as given axioms. Darkening of the understanding does not mean that we can never think logically, but it does mean that all too often sin causes us to reason in an illogical way which we believe to be logical but thereby arriving at false conclusions.
When God breathes life into our dead souls, we are able to discern that which is good because He now works in us “both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). This is an ongoing experience for the Christian believer. We are not to be “conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Romans 12:2) Without this we shall continue to suppress the knowledge of God within and misinterpret the things without. The unregenerate mind is entirely unqualified as a reliable judge. What must always be uppermost in our minds is the “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).
God speaks to us through the Scriptures. The Bible speaks of everything directly or indirectly. Faith in every sphere of life is always the last link by which we know anything for certain and that not only in matters of our salvation. Reformed theologians, Benjamin Warfield and Herman Bavinck both saw the giving of the Scriptures as being more than a mere record of divine revelation, but as one of God’s redemptive acts by which He saves the world. It is the climax of redemptive revelation within which is organically interwoven revelation concerning the world as a whole. Bavinck believed that the purpose of this redemptive work of Christ is that the world which has fallen into sin may be cleansed and saved from sin and in spite of that sin reveal the glory of God.
Benjamin Warfield, said the Bible is “the Word of God in such a sense that whatever it says, God says.” Augustine of Hippo maintained of Scriptures that “not one of their authors erred in anything.” Martin Luther, the reformer who relied so much on Augustine declared that the whole of the Scriptures are to be ascribed to the Holy Ghost, and therefore cannot err. Calvin demanded that the Scriptures as a whole “without exception shall be humbly received by us with the same reverence which we give to God, because they have emanated from Him alone and are mixed with nothing human.” This would all be largely dismissed by most evangelicals these days. Although it came into being through the instrumentality of human writers the whole of Scripture is from God in all its parts, its form of expression as well as the substance of its teaching but in a way that does not make it a mixture of the human and the divine. Warfield again, the Bible is “the very Word of God itself, spoken by God Himself through human lips and pens.” God prepared these men for the moment of inspiration, making them wholly subject to His will in their words, albeit not mechanically. Abraham Kuyper believed strongly in the inspiration and infallibility of Scripture because he was convinced that only here do men have the living God speaking to them.
The attitude of many evangelicals towards Scripture is determined more by a false mysticism than reverence for God’s once-for-all infallible and authoritative interpretation to man. The Reformation maxim of sola Scriptura is now a liability, a burden. How many times have I heard it said that ‘doctrine’ does not matter but a common experience does? Nothing in human experience can be understood with confidence as to what it is that has not first received in light of the Word of God. Interpreting our experience with fidelity is reliant upon the clear statements of the Bible. To lay aside the authority of the Scriptures in any sense is to despise the very words of God, it is to insult Him. Scriptures come to us as the voice of God so it is Him on whom we are turning our back.
Whilst many admit the Bible speaks in very general terms, they insist upon the need for God to speak individually to them in one way or another. All the revelation we need has been deposited in the pages of Scripture and all that we need is the guidance and enlightenment of the Holy Spirit who inspired it. After giving us the Scriptures, we can be sure that no one will obtain a special revelation by ignoring what God has already revealed to us. The sacred Scriptures shine as a light onto everything relating to our salvation, but also every fact of the created universe. I was once told by a near relative that to equate Scriptures with God in the way I do amounts to nothing less than bibliolatry. Not so. The Scriptures are to be identified with God in the same way as the words of anyone are identified with the person speaking. In reading my Bible there is no difference other than a physical one than were God to be present at my elbow speaking in sounds that my ears could hear.
Many evangelicals baulk at the idea of plenary verbal inspiration of the Bible that secures the words of God. However, the Bible claims nothing less for itself. Without such a Bible we can have no absolute God interpreting reality for us. We are then left with no reliable interpretation at all. Some evangelicals we have encountered have adopted a position on Scripture more in line with the doctrine of Barth and Brunner. The Scriptures have much that is human still about them, so we are told, nevertheless the voice of God can still be heard almost as if we were listening to a scratchy vinyl recording. God’s word is what comes to us as we read the Bible not the once-revealed, once-inspired written word. God may say one thing to you on one occasion and something else another time and God may say something different to someone else. An objective infallible Word of God that can always be relied upon to say the same thing every time you read it does not exist. It is shocking and surprising to find how far this kind of thinking has penetrated the evangelical world.
Thankfully, we have in Scripture something quite different and it is indeed a solemn matter to read the Bible.
“We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”
(1 Peter 1:19-21)
Selling out to humanism, setting aside the Scriptures, assuming that outside so-called ‘spiritual’ matters believers and unbelievers stand on the same neutral ground, that not only does the Bible have nothing to say on science, but neither can we rely in it to speak on matters of social concern, this has deprived evangelicals of having anything very relevant to say on such matters as abortion. Indeed, many have ended up endorsing the views of godless men.
A large number of evangelicals have embraced political and economic humanism to the extent that they feel free to publicly advocate the legalization of abortion, including notable professors from renowned conservative Calvinist theological seminaries. Countries once under the influence of the biblical Gospel having turn their backs on Christ, with few to question their laws or actions are happy to see thousands if not millions of half unborn infants yearly executed. Already in 1969 in a symposium authored by a number of neo-evangelical doctors and theologians published by the Christian Medical Society and Christianity Today, instead of providing a much-needed justification for opposing abortion, they provided support for the slaughter of innocents for profit. According to one doctor of theology, eternal life begins only at birth, so that no one should have any qualms about murdering the unborn. Furthermore, today as against in Bible days when children provided economic security, children ‘tend to be a financial hindrance rather than a help.’ His claim was that the Bible nowhere forbids abortion. Seeing then that an unborn child is not a human soul, surely it is preferable to refer to it using the more impersonal term of fetus. It cannot then come under the protection of the fifth commandment. In Luke 1:41-44 we find “that, when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb.” As one commentator remarked, strange how one impersonal fetus leaped when another impersonal fetus entered the room! The authors of this book gave their blessing to ‘Christian’ health professionals to ply their bloody trade with impunity. One day, they must give answer to God for their murderous deeds. So awful, shall we then say that Mary was carrying God’s fetus? Unthinkable!
Because of its complexity, time forbids dealing with the issue of modern Bible translations, something else that has been the cause of much heartache and dissent and as I have dealt with the subject elsewhere, I will move on for the time being on this matter.
For the time being I will move on to issues concerning the early chapters of Genesis which are closely related to the general move away from the way the Scriptures are now treated very different by evangelicals. No self-respecting evangelical scholar can surely believe that the early chapters of Genesis describe actual history?
We note that there has been quite some considerable back-peddling on creation including a denial of the historicity of the early chapters of Genesis. This is a serious matter that strikes at the heart of the Gospel.
There can be few theological seminaries anywhere in the world today, even among evangelicals where six-day creation is taught as scientific fact or where the early chapters of Genesis are considered real history. Many neo-evangelical theologians make it intellectually acceptable for bright evangelical students to reject six-day creationism by proposing the so-called ‘framework hypothesis’ which argues that the six days of creation are not literal, but literary devices. One of the best and most scholarly refutations of this position came from E. J. Young in a small book Studies in Genesis One (1964). Over the years many Churches have followed this trend away from Scripture, albeit often quietly and without much of the congregation being aware of the significance of changes made to their Statement of Faith. This has enabled them, especially in university towns, to accept into fellowship those who would otherwise be excluded because of their views on theistic evolution. A belief in six-day creation will be looked down upon as excessive biblicism. Again, we are told that the Bible cannot be used in this way as a textbook on geology, looking for evidence of a literal six-day creation or a ten-thousand-year-old earth!
If the early chapters of Genesis are not understood as being literal, this undermines the Christian Gospel irreparably. Hence the constant attacks on Genesis by those who would destroy our faith. It is also a significant move away from the historic biblical reformed faith. Abraham Kuyper wrote: “The narrative of creation is not a myth, but history. The events took place as recorded in the opening chapters of Genesis. …To believe in Scripture is an act of life which thou, O lifeless man! Art not capable, except the Quickener, the Holy Ghost, enable thee. He that caused the Holy Scripture to be written is the same that must teach thee to read it.” Of course, many modern Kuyper aficionados and admirers would heartily wish that he had never written any such thing as they themselves have long jettisoned the Genesis account. In one of his most highly regarded lectures , Evolutie, Kuyper launches into a serious attack on evolutionary theory. He begins with a memorable opening phrase: “Our nineteenth century is dying away under the hypothesis of the evolutionary dogma.” It is claimed that Kuyper conceded in this article “affirmatively, without reservation” the possibility that creation proceeded by evolution over a long period of time. This is not what he says at all in this passage. In fact, the opposite is the case. Kuyper writes in the subjunctive mood, very clear in Dutch, subjunctive being the verb form used to explore a hypothetical situation. Kuyper’s suggestion is that had God chosen so to do, He could have used some other way to create the universe, the clear implication being that He did not so choose.
“We will not force our style upon the Chief Architect of the universe. If He is to be the Architect, not in name only but in reality, He will also be supreme in the choice of style. Therefore if it had pleased God not to create the species but to have one species emerge from another, through the medium of enabling a preceding species to produce a higher following species, creation would still be no less miraculous.”
Be it far from this great theologian to engage in literalistic readings of Genesis, although elsewhere he confirms his belief that the early chapters of Genesis are history, as we have seen; be it far from him also to fantasize about the geology of the flood. Be it far from me of accusing anyone of dishonesty or of using Kuyper to further their own theological interests, rather let the man answer in his own words in the same article.
“And preachers, as well as authors, who wrongly imagine themselves as gaining scientific approval by mixing a dose of evolution with their Christian profession both in preaching and writing, indict themselves most strongly, in the view of the expert, of unpardonable naivete or characterless cowardice.”
We concur wholly with the view the great man expresses here in the same article:
“The Christian religion and the theory of evolution are two mutually exclusive systems. They are antipodes that can neither be reconciled nor compared.”
Only the Scriptures tell us the thoughts of God, so they alone can tell us the origin of all things. Because science is a product of time it cannot go back to when things were not yet in existence. Experience, empirical investigation can tell us nothing about the origin of things. The theory of evolution being a process cannot explain beginnings.
For nigh on 100 years government education departments and liberal theologians have vehemently opposed what they call ‘creationism’. Those teaching the early chapters of Genesis as history are frequently mocked, shunned, and harassed. Opponents to a literal understanding of the Genesis account must be well aware that biblical Christianity is incompatible with Darwinian evolution or even a theistic version of it. Governments continually strive to be a law unto themselves, the highest instance, in order to relieve themselves of any answerability towards God. Any citizens who claim an allegiance to another higher authority have always been a constant irritant to them. Rulers want to be free to introduce whatever laws they deem right based on their own degenerate moral values rather than live according to those laws and ordinances rooted in creation, but to do this first they must dismantle the Christian faith and insisting all accept evolution is an efficient tool in this task. To accept any form of evolution, theistic or atheistic, is to reject the Christian faith. Godless men know that to destroy the influence of the Christian faith it is necessary to discredit and destroy every notion of a divine purpose working out in nature.
There can be nothing in the created universe that is not a revelation of the thought of God.
“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20) No one can say they did not know; all are without excuse; the world itself is evidence enough on its own of God as Creator.
God has prescribed the existence, appearance, law of life, destiny and the passing of all things and of all beings. Everyone conversant with the Word of God will recognize that behind creation, behind nature lies the operation of God’s power and wisdom. Without this nothing could function as it does. This is the true understanding behind all science. Man is made in the image of God and for that reason alone the thoughts of God about the world He created can be replicated in our minds. Scripture does not limit itself to matters concerning the salvation of sinners.
According to the first chapter of Genesis, God created everything after its own kind. Just as the hands, head, feet, eyes, ears are all part of the body so the intrinsic nature of the whole of creation determines the place of each part in the whole. Each sphere within creation operates within its own limits determined by its inherent nature and laws. Within the realm of social relationships there is given the family and marriage. A further creation ordinance is the principle of one day of rest in seven.
“For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.” (Exodus 20:11)
We ignore these ordinances at our peril as they are built into the structure of the way the world is supposed to function. Modern evangelicals follow Karl Barth wanting nothing to do with any ordinances or laws embedded within the structure of the created world that would determine or govern our natural life. God created the heavens and the earth and everything in it. He gave within creation ordinances that make the earth and all in it to serve God’s purposes.
“For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth. They continue this day according to thine ordinances: for all are thy servants.” (Psalm 119:89-91)
Genesis gives us an account of the first married couple, Adam and Eve, one man married to one woman. To crush opposition to same-sex marriages the origin and institution of Christian marriage must be destroyed. As long as the Genesis account is held as an authoritative institution they will face an uphill struggle. Yet we have the creation of Adam and Eve in real time as described in Genesis 1:27 & 5:2 substantiated by the Lord Jesus when talking about divorce in Matthew 19:4, “Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female?” Christian marriage can only be justified on these grounds and no other. It is therefore puzzling as to why many evangelicals seek other reasons to defend this divine institution and throw away the best argument they have. Can it be because they doubt the veracity of Genesis? Then they have no grounds whatever to support a biblical marriage.
The whole of Scripture presupposes the Genesis account to be actual history that cannot be received as myth or allegory. Those who profess Christ whilst at the same time diluting, denying a literal and historic understanding of the Genesis account are doing the work of the enemies of Christ and His Gospel. The book of Genesis is written as a historical record from beginning to end containing specific stories in chronological order with names and locations. 1 Chronicles 1 contains an extensive genealogy showing how Abraham’s line goes back to Adam. A similar genealogy is found in Luke 3 showing how Jesus descended from Adam.
A distortion or rejection of the historical testimony to creation in Genesis immediately calls into question the heart of the Christian message and God’s saving activity in particular. It is difficult to understand how anyone can entertain any form of evolution and at the same time claim a knowledge or experience of salvation. Without the historical biblical doctrine of creation, there can be no doctrine of salvation.
To make any sense of Paul’s first letter the Corinthians , chapter 15, both the first man and the second man, Adam and Christ, must both be real historical figures. If it is argued that Adam was not a real person, then neither could Christ have been a real person
“And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.” (vv. 45-47)
In Romans 5 and also 1 Corinthians 15 the apostle Paul authenticates the historical account in Genesis 3. Adam was a real man, the first man. Christ as the second man was also a real man. The parallel the apostle draws with respect to the origin of sin and the provision of salvation cannot hold unless both the fall into sin and the death and resurrection of Christ are historical events involving real persons. Deny the historicity of Genesis 3 is to deny to doctrine of original sin. Without original sin man can have no knowledge of his desperate condition and need of salvation. The entry of sin into the world is based on a historical fact, not a myth nor an allegory.
“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” (Romans 5:12)
That sin entered the world by one man is an essential parallel on which the whole of Paul’s teaching on justification rests. Without this, it falls. This was the beginning of sin and death in the human race, caused directly by Adam’s sin. Condemnation and death passed upon all men by the trespass of one man, Adam.
“For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous” (Romans 5:19).
Here we see that it is not the actual of transgression of each individual that brings condemnation. It is enough to be born the offspring of Adam. Deny Adam existed; deny we are sinners by nature needing salvation. If we are sinners each because of our own sin, then we can surely be each justified by our own works and have no need of Christ. We are sinners because of our involvement in the transgression of Adam. Christ by His obedience is placed as the antithesis to the transgression of Adam. We are introduced to two respective heads of humanity. Verse 18 states the parallel most clearly.
“Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.”
Our relation to Adam means the imputation to us of his disobedience. In a similar way, our relation to Christ means the imputation to us of His obedience. Justification means our involvement in the obedience of Christ in terms of the same principle by which we were involved in Adam’s sin. To be in Adam brings death; to be in Christ brings life.
It is difficult to see how anyone can claim to be a Christian believer and yet at the same time deny the historicity of the early chapters of Genesis. It is to deny many doctrines central to the Christian Gospel such as the fall into sin and its universal consequences also the promise of redemption.
3.
There has been a distortion of the biblical Gospel and the suggestion by some significant evangelicals that there could be other routes to salvation other than through faith in Christ alone.
Not only must we insist on the substitutionary atonement for sin, we also need to insist that men can find peace with God only through Christ. It is disturbing to find that many evangelical preachers have let this doctrine go. The Bible could not be clearer:
“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6) Sure, they like the first part of this verse, but not the second. There are many ways to God, we are led to believe. God can be found in nature even by heathens without them even knowing it. One well-known evangelical preacher, not long ago departed this life, said in a television interview with respect to Jews, Muslims, they are in God’ hands ‘I don’t judge them’. He also stated publicly in a televised interview:
“I think there's the Body of Christ. This comes from all the Christian groups around the world, outside the Christian groups. I think everybody that loves Christ, or knows Christ, whether they're conscious of it or not, they're members of the Body of Christ. … whether they come from the Muslim world, or the Buddhist world, or the Christian world or the non-believing world, they are members of the Body of Christ because they've been called by God. They may not even know the name of Jesus but they know in their hearts that they need something that they don't have, and they turn to the only light that they have, and I think that they are saved, and that they're going to be with us in heaven.”
Billy Graham said that people can get to Heaven another way besides through hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ and then repenting and believing the Gospel. He basically says that "good" and "sincere" people who know nothing about Christ are on their way to Heaven. There are some aspects of the youtube video below I do not endorse, but nevertheless offer it as evidence of what I have been saying.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MZWug3QAvs
This is a distortion of the truth, serious error and apostasy coming from a man widely respected in conservative evangelical circles for many decades.
Another millionaire evangelist, again speaking on television, refused to assert clearly when challenged from the Bible, that Jesus Christ is the only way to God using the same get-out, “Let God be the Judge, I am not going to say who is going to heaven and who is not.” These men are blatant liars, devoid of the truth, propagators of a false gospel. It is all very straightforward:
“He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:18)
Only Christ can save, all else is falsehood of the worst kind.
“Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.” (2 John 9-11)
All religions are not equal. There is one Saviour, one Lord, therefore all others are false gods, no gods, whether in Islam, Buddhism or Hinduism.
“But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him” (1 Corinthians 8:6).
There can be no more than one right, one truth, all else is falsehood.
Every religion has its own ethical system, each different from all the others. Plato’s morality held that some acts of gross perversion were acts of love. All systems of morality have a religious basis. It is a mistake to think that it is possible follow Christian ‘values’ as some claim, yet in the next breath deny Christ and God. Different systems cancel each other out. Christianity and Islam cannot co-exist. This would bring nothing but chaos and the eventual breakdown of law and order. Christianity and humanism also exclude each other. Humanism preaches ‘freedom of individual choice’, so that many humanists murder babies in the womb. Abortion must be made illegal even if this restricts freedom of choice. The inconsistency with this position is that the baby in the womb is deprived of any choice. Humanism speaks of ‘human rights’. Yet in truth, the only ‘right’ we have really is the right to death: “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). We do not deserve, nor can we earn the right to life. Every second is a gift of God. The worship of other gods than the One true God cannot be permitted. “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3) Christ as the only way of salvation is intrinsic to the Christian message.
Justification by faith: at the heart of the Reformation
One more essential upon which we must insist is that justification, being put in good standing with God, comes to us through faith alone in what Christ has done and nothing else, nothing that we can contribute ― even our faith is a gift of God! Indeed, “all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). In the words of Augustus Montague Toplady (1740-1778) from his well-known hymn ‘Rock of Ages’:
Not the labours of my hands
Can fulfil thy law's demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and thou alone.Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to the cross I cling;
Naked, come to thee for dress;
Helpless, look to thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Saviour, or I die.
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8-10)
“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3-5-7)
Many evangelicals have been all too eager to ditch the doctrine of justification by faith. Luther rightly maintained the doctrine of justification to be the article upon which the Church stands or falls. Justification it is now said is not the imputation of Christ’s righteousness on account of individual faith, but instead the accounting of one as righteous, forgiven, based on inclusion in the people of God and “the faith of Jesus Christ.” In other words, it has nothing whatever to do with the salvation of the individual at all. It is about the creation of God’s family and the extending of God’s purposes into the wider world. The Bible teaches, right standing with God rests alone on what God has already done outside of us in the person of Jesus Christ, alone in His atoning work, nothing added, nothing removed. Only when God looks upon the righteousness of Christ can we be right with Him. It cannot be that any morsel of our own righteousness, even that produced by the Holy Spirit within us, should interpose itself.
Those know nothing of God or His salvation whose sins and judgement have not been borne by the Son of God and in exchange His righteousness imputed to us, bringing forgiveness, everlasting life and the power of the Holy Spirit through faith. The core of the Gospel message, saving grace, is not unintentionally, but deliberately set aside by the Church growth movement, ‘worship’ is reduced to entertainment with applause, the message is given by therapeutic life-style preachers.
The Council of Trent in the mid-16th century anathematised all who preached justification by faith alone and this has not since been rescinded. Yet among evangelicals all movement has been back towards Medieval Catholicism. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that justifying faith is not about the forgiveness of sins but the granting of a supernatural power to do good works and thereby to merit or earn salvation. Nothing could be further from the teaching of the Bible. However, it is now becoming increasingly clear that many modern evangelicals believe this falsehood. Salvation is after all by our good works.
“Evangelicals and Catholics Together” (1994) was an ecumenical document signed by noted evangelical and Roman Catholic theologians. There was agreement between them on this vital doctrine so that it can no longer be taken for granted that evangelicals believe in Christ’s justification of sinners by faith, apart from their own works and merit. Without doubt this has led to obnoxious moralism, legalism and self-righteousness.
Over our poor world hangs the most frightful threat of God’s wrath outpoured, whilst at the same time there is the offer of reconciliation and peace with God through Christ Jesus, God’s Son. Yet what modern evangelicals can offer our fellow citizens is a distorted message at best, rank apostasy and mindless drivel at worst. We are not discouraged for we know that the purposes of God shall be unfailingly accomplished. Christ shall triumph and we with Him. These events must happen, there is no getting away from them, in order that Christ shall come. Sadly, this is not the time or place for an extended perusal of the chapter, but we should note most carefully the Apostle Paul’s warning and exhortation here in 2 Thessalonians 2.
“Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition. … And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (vv. 1-3; 10-12)
CONCLUSION: Men and brethren, what shall we do?
To true believers today has been committed a word of reconciliation. We are all appointed ambassadors for Christ, “as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:19-20). At a time when professing ‘Christian believers’ are at ease in Zion, as much taken up with indulgence and justifying to themselves a life style much the same as those around them, how can we make anyone understand that all those who genuinely know Christ have a personal responsibility to warn sinners, but also to invite them to trust Christ. To fail in this task is to risk blood guiltiness for our omission (see Ezekiel 33:8). How much rather to be pure from the blood of all men, as Paul, who did not shun to declare all the counsel of God (Acts 20:26-27). Surely, the point is this: we have at our fingertips in the pages of Holy Scripture the answer in Christ to all the world’s suffering and strife. It is unforgiveable negligence and rank disobedience not to give ourselves to bringing Christ to those around us.
Many will rush to say why these words do not apply to them, why they are excused! All I can say is that this is not in the spirit of the Lord Jesus of whom we constantly read in the Gospels when He saw the multitudes as sheep without a shepherd, He was moved with compassion. So should we be as we see those around us, lost, following falsehoods, trapped in sinful thinking and ways. We could at least begin by getting calloused knees from time in prayer for family, friends, acquaintances. Does their condition not tear at our hearts and make our eyes wet with tears? If not, then there is something seriously amiss with our faith.
Some will say Matthew 28:18-20, quoted above, applies only to the apostles or at most to those of their generation. I cannot resist saying straightforwardly, this is utter nonsense and contradicts the last part of the verse. We are to go and in this our Saviour is with us alway even unto the end of the world. This command has not been rescinded, but is until the end of the age. Yet others, and there are still some such left, claim this is not their business but God’s to save those whom He has chosen and because they are elect they will come anyway. Indeed, they say it is quite wrong for us to give the non-elect false hope by inviting them to come to Christ. This is such a wrong-headed erroneous understanding of the sovereignty of God in salvation, taught by none of the Reformers, that it is undeserving of an answer, except to say that the Bible teaching is that Christ is to be offered as the Saviour of men to all without exception or distinction. Take your arguments elsewhere do not bring them to me should you follow this teaching, I settled this matter long ago. Then there are those who say that because God only works in times of awakening, there is little point in efforts to promote the message of Christ as it will only otherwise be done in the strength of the flesh. The implication must be that at all other times the Word of God has lost its power (Hebrews 4:12) and so we must dismiss this view as an incitement to unbelief and disobedience. We can all rejoice in times of awakening, the greatest of which since the New Testament we believe to have been the Reformation. This does not absolve us of the requirement of obedience to our Lord’s commission that we teach all nations.
The United Kingdom, along with much of the Western world, is confused and degenerate, a veritable moral cesspit. Despite centuries of Gospel preaching our nation has hardened its heart to the Word of God and turned its back on godliness. Any call to repentance toward God and faith in Christ will be received with silence, mockery, or active opposition. What really nags at my heart is that there appear to be precious few if any voices preaching anything remotely like a biblical Gospel. There is little to be expected from the mainstream churches who have over the past 150 years or more renounced all pretence of a biblical faith with their theological colleges tied to liberalism. Those Churches and Christian groups from whom we would have expected more seem to have locked themselves away inside their Chapels and Tabernacles, speaking only to each other. Others have fallen into an unhealthy sectarianism whereby they only receive those of a similar persuasion as themselves.
In all honesty, as I come into personal contact with those, some near and dear and members of our own family, who clearly need the Gospel message; as I meet up almost every day with the consequences of godlessness in high places, this complacency sickens and disturbs me greatly. In Psalm 2 we have a very good description of what is going on around us today. It ends with this advice to those who have the rule over us, advice they would do well to heed and of which we should make them aware.
“Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.” (vv.10-12)
Governments intervene in every area of life. They arrogantly oppose Christian teaching on such matters as marriage and the family; they have introduced same sex marriage, transgender laws, and insist that this wickedness is instilled into our children in schools. Open opposition will bring down the wrath of the courts. Thankfully, a few professing Christians raise a protest: for the rest it is just a matter of ‘believe in Jesus and make sure you are in church every Sunday’. There is nowhere anything approaching a prophetic or an apostolic spirit. Part of the answer must be that many of us, although genuine believers are simply lacking in the necessary courage. Do we doubt the assurances of the Saviour; are we prepared to trust His word? “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). The apostle John reminds us: “greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4). We must live according to this truth, over and above enemies of the Gospel.
As I think of godly minsters in days gone by, it was all very different. Sadly, I see no counterpart today. I ask myself continually why this is. Richard Baxter in his seventies was threatened by the Star Chamber with being dragged through the streets behind a horse and wagon. His preaching was such that spies sent to his Kidderminster Church by his enemies fled in fear. This is deeply humbling. Where is Baxter? Where are Latimer and Ridley, where is a Tyndale? Previous generations gave up their lives for the Lord, are we alone to be exempt? Shall we alone escape or do we too have such courage as they? They lived not in fine houses wearing goodly apparel but were, says the apostle Paul: “made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day”. (1 Corinthians 4:13) Let us hang our heads in shame who put so much store by material things, who have so much yet give so little.
In years gone by and in some parts of the world still today, believers “had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.” (Hebrews 11:36-38)
Shame on us who count our lives and extravagance for so much and the things of Christ for so little!
We lack courage, lack commitment, but are we not also lazy and disobedient with respect to making Christ known so that we clutch at any theological straw to avoid that which our Saviour has bidden us do? Many sit waiting for God to undertake that which He has committed to us. ‘God has left us’ they whine. Unless there is some great movement of God’s Spirit, there is little point in trying to present the Gospel to our people – a lazy and a lame excuse. This is not the God in whom we believe, instead:
“Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear.” (Isaiah 59:1)
Have we forgotten Paul’s plea to Timothy, “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season”? (2 Timothy 4:2) Have we forgotten our Saviour’s commission to us all? The task is committed to us, the results rest with God. “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11). Every time the Word of God is preached, the outcome is never ever fruitless. This is a truth for all times. Have we forgotten that to our Saviour is given all authority in heaven and on earth and resting on this ground we are commanded to go in His Name (Matthew 28:18-19). “We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthian 5:20) There is no higher authority in heaven or on earth and we need none. There is no greater power than the Holy Spirit who dwells within every believer. It is by Christ’s authority, by His command that we plead with our fellow men.
David W. Norris