A KING LEAVES behind unimaginable wealth, endures homelessness and faces a gruesome death to save his true love this could be the synopsis for a spell-binding novel or a Hollywood epic. In the tale greater than all others, Jesus gave himself up to save his bride and paid her ransom with his blood. Whilst it is true that Jesus died for all the individuals who trust him, Christ’s bride, the Church, is the primary object of his love. This contradicts the individualistic emphasis which has seeped into the Christian mindset. Objections to Church membership such as ‘All I need is my Bible’ or ‘I’m part of the global Church’ may sound pious but are deeply flawed. Union with a local body of believers is an expression of your union with Christ as part of his bride. In this month’s cover article Robert McCollum provides 10 compelling and practical reasons for becoming a member of your local congregation. These reasons are underpinned by a realisation of our King’s epic, radical and fullycommitted love for the Church. This issue includes the final part of Andrew Stewart’s series on the Holy Spirit and we’d like to thank him for a fantastic set of articles. As one superb series ends, another begins. In a bit of a coup for the Messenger we have a new church history series with Carl Trueman, the Chair of Church History at Westminster Theological Seminary and author of The Wages of Spin, Republocrat and The Creedal Imperative. You may also know him from his writings on the prominent Christian blog Reformation21. We also have an exclusive interview with Carl so you can get to know him a little better. If you haven’t already skipped on to read some of our exciting content, now is the time to do so. Thank you for your continued support. I hope you enjoy this issue as much as I have. Yours, James
Abigail Nelson Alistair Rolleston Andrew Morrison Emma Dunwoody James McCullough Philip Aicken Robert McCollum Stephen Steele
The Messenger is the bi-monthly magazine of the Covenanter Youth, the young people’s association of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland. The subscription cost is £8/€10 per year (6 issues). Cheques made payable to the Messenger Magazine and sent to: Alistair Rolleston, 3 Hawthorn Close, Newtownards, BT23 8EU. Please visit our website for other payment and subscription options. You can contact the Messenger by email via messenger@rpc.org. All news items and articles must be with the committee by the first of the month prior to publication and be in accordance to the requested word count. Any reports of events, camps or go teams should be no longer than 350 words. The Editorial team reserve the right to alter the content and adjust the layout of all work submitted. S.D.G. -
Photo: Ben Hanna
Stand OUT ONLINE THERE IS NO DOUBT about it: social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter are on the rise, with hundreds of millions of people already having their own ‘online space’. The younger generation especially has taken to these sites as a channel to express personal opinions on matters ranging from global tragedies to Justin Bieber’s new hairstyle. These sites can be a great way of gaining information and communicating. We can keep in touch with friends from our childhood or relatives living on the other side of the world. Social media definitely has its advantages. On the flip side, we hear of many cases where online bullying has caused pain and hurt. It is also argued that social media can discourage real face-to-face interaction. If you have made the decision to join a social networking site, as Christians we need to be aware of the dangers that come with these sites. We aren’t in complete control of the content that can appear on our news feed, and can be easily misled into clicking on something we should be avoiding. ‘I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless’ (Psalm 101 v3). We all have that friend who repeatedly posts inappropriate content or uses foul language over the internet. We need to think honestly about
how this impacts us and consider removing them from our friends list. We should really take advantage of the wide audience Facebook and Twitter gives us. There are many online groups and pages that send out a Bible verse for the day, or something to help encourage you in your Christian walk. We could take 2 minutes to tweet what we learnt from the Sabbath morning service or your own Bible readings. It can be an easy way to invite a number of friends to your Holiday Bible Club or CY. The internet, especially social sites, can be a dark place filled with complaining and grumbling. Why don’t we use these sites for good and glorify God in how we use them, by expressing our relationship with Christ and what He means to us? Stand out from the rest of the crowd and don’t be afraid to go in the opposite direction. Matthew 5 v16 ‘In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your father in Heaven.’
Church Membership AFTER 2,000 YEARS OF Christianity some Christians now suggest that there is no biblical warrant for formally becoming a member of a local congregation. You may not fit into this category but some of your Christian friends may and you need to know how to answer them. In the New Testament, church membership was accepted as normal. Believers belonged to the church at Ephesus, Corinth, or Philippi, etc. There was no spiritual drifting. C.H. Spurgeon described drifters as, 'birds of passage who nest nowhere'. Knowing that Jesus Christ is Head of the Church and that the Church is his Bride should make all Christians want to be a member. Church membership commits you: 1
To publicly profess your faith (Matthew 10:32, Romans 10:9) When a Christian stands before the elders and members of the congregation and verbally gives assent to the 'Terms of Membership' he/she is making a public profession of faith. He may have been a Christian for some time but it is only -
after making a public declaration before Christ and his church that he is formally recognised as a Christian. 2
To subscribe to a doctrinal statement (Jude 3) There exists a whole range of views about who Jesus is. The Christian, in becoming a member, publicly acknowledges that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the only Redeemer of men, Supreme in Church and State and that he has had a personal experience of his saving grace. People also regard the Bible in various ways but the prospective member is asked to accept the Scriptures as the Word of God and the only infallible rule of faith and practice. 3 To being discipled in the faith (1 Timothy 4:6, 2 Timothy 2:2) Ministers of the Word have the responsibility to teach God's people to observe everything that Christ has commanded (Matthew 28:20). When a Christian becomes a member they commit to sit under the teaching ministry of the church. At an early stage in his spiritual growth he will be taught simple
truths (milk of the Word). Later he will progress to more substantial truths (meat of the Word). A healthy Christian is a believer who is growing spiritually under the supervision and guidance of good teachers. 4
To belong to a community of God's people (1 Corinthians 12:14) Membership of the church commits the believer to being part of the body of Christ. Scripture does not subscribe to a lone-ranger mentality. Individualism is very much a feature of 21st century life but that attitude is foreign to Christianity. We belong to his body, to use the analogy of 1 Corinthians 12, and have a role in the efficient functioning of the body. ‘The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you," nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable.’ 5
To accept responsibility within the Church (Ephesians 4:11-13) Most people seek to evade
responsibility. Church membership commits the believer to taking responsibility for his fellow church members. These have been described as the ‘one anothers’ of the New Testament, of which there are at least twenty. For example, ‘Love one another’ (1 John 3:11); ‘encourage one another’ (Hebrews 10:25); ‘serve one another’ (Galations 5:13) and ‘forgive one another’, (Colossians 3:13). Many of these New Testament imperatives can only be meaningfully obeyed within the context of Christians belonging to one another in the same congregation. 6
to the stated times of congregational worship established by the elders, it should also be regarded as keeping an appointment with Christ. In a special way he is always present when God's people meet for worship (Matthew 18:20). A casual attitude to church attendance not only dishonours Christ, disappoints the minister and elders, but also impoverishes the soul.
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To participate in corporate prayer (Acts 12:12) In addition to private prayer, Christians have a responsibility to meet together for prayer. This should be given a high priority. It ought to be regarded as a privilege to pray with and for others. There will always be those in the church who need our prayers in a particular way: the lonely, the sick, the grieving, the backslider, those facing temptation, etc. For members the prayer meeting should not be considered an optional extra but a vital part of Christian commitment.
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9 To give a tithe to the Lord (Malachi 3:10) Giving a tenth of one's income to the Lord's work was an obligation God gave to his people in the Old Testament. The New Testament emphasises that a Christian should give generously in proportion to his
To engage in the weekly worship of the Church (Hebrews 10:25) Membership commits the Christian to being present at the meetings for worship on the Sabbath. This should not only be considered an appropriate response
To participate in the church's evangelistic programme (1 Thessalonians 1:8) Christ has called the church to bear witness, to evangelise. Very effective personal witness is maintained by Christians at work and when pursuing a hobby. Nevertheless each congregation has a responsibility to witness as a unit. An evangelistic programme will be organised by the elders (Go week, evangelistic guest service, door-todoor witness, etc) and each member is to respond consistently with gifts and opportunity.
income (1 Corinthians 8:12-15). The tithe (one tenth) should be brought ‘into the storehouse’ (Malachi 3:10). The 'storehouse' is regarded as Christ's church and for the church member this means that his tithe will be given as an act of worship to his own congregation (1 Corinthians 16:2). 10
To be accountable to the elders (Hebrews 13:17) This is a crucial aspect of church membership. When Christians are received into the communicant membership of a congregation the elders take on the responsibility of: ‘keeping watch over [their] souls as those who will have to give an account’ (Hebrews 13:17). Like sheep believers are inclined to stray. It is a wonderful blessing to have elders who, in Christian love, will gently correct and faithfully admonish. This will prove to be an immense blessing in the life of all the members. Consequently, if this were the only reason for Church membership, every Christian should consider it a matter of fundamental importance. If you are a Christian and have not yet publicly professed your faith in Christ before God and his church, then you are committing a sin of omission. Seek guidance and help so that soon you may rectify this key aspect of your discipleship.
THE DAY HAS FINALLY arrived. You're waiting for the postman. What’s inside that envelope? Are you going to become a doctor or an accountant? Are you going to be able to go to Edinburgh or Belfast? This envelope holds your future. The postman arrives and you're now holding that envelope in your hands. A sudden thought goes through your head. What if I don't get the right grades? What if I don't get to the university I have been dreaming of? But I must; I worked so hard, I spent hours at my desk, in CY I asked for prayer and I prayed to God to help me - there is no way I won't get them. What is in that envelope? Inside is your future and God's sovereignty. I opened that envelope and I lost my dreams, or at least I thought I did. Thankfully, God knew better than I. God never let go of being in control and now, as I look back, I see how those hardest weeks were some of the best weeks of my life. As you are waiting for that envelope I know how you are feeling. The feeling that I did my best and will cope with whatever God has for me. In reality, coping with what God’s plan for us isn't always as easy as you had thought. To find out that university will no longer accept you and you are faced with going through Clearing or, worse still, repeating your A levels, is a harsh reality of God's sovereignty. Throughout Scripture we are reassured time and time again : ‘For I know the plans I -
have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope’ (Jeremiah 29v11). But in that dark hour of disappointment, anger, pain and sadness you can't see God. I have been there and for two weeks of my life I cried out to God asking him where he was and where he wanted me in life. The answer was not where I had wanted to go. God changed my plans because they were not his plans. For two weeks I felt lonely and lost. I stood at those crossroads asking question after question. Why? Where? What? And for two weeks I felt silence. Being made to wait on God is one of the most humbling experiences of your life. For the first time I actually felt that I didn't have control. Every
door I tried wouldn't open and I couldn't find the window. God made me wait and God made me learn what it is to let him have control. God is sovereign. As Christians we are happy to throw the word ‘sovereign’ about but when it really hits we don't always like it. We don't like it when God says, ‘No, or not now, or wait.’ We don't always like it when God says, ‘Go this way.’ We see that in Scripture in the life of Jonah when he tried to fight against God's sovereignty and look what happened to him! God will do the same for us we are not in control, and for that I am truly thankful. After two weeks of prayer God answered me. The phone rang and the window opened. I was going where God wanted me and I followed. Throughout our lives doors will open and close. We will stand at crossroads. The big question is whether you are going to wait and listen to God. God knows where he wants you. You may have to wait days, weeks, months or even years, but God will guide and answer. It is in his time. As you wait seek him; God is sovereign and for that we can be thankful. So while you wait for that envelope, trust God and ask him to take control because his ways are better than your ways.
I was born in Dudley. When I was eight, my parents moved to Gloucestershire. While they were not Christians and I rarely went to church, my childhood was pretty idyllic. I grew up in Thomas Hardy country and learned to love the countryside. I went to the local grammar school, Marling, and from there to Cambridge, where I read Classics. I am married to Catriona, a girl from the Isle of Lewis, with two sons, both now at university in the US.
I first heard the Gospel when a friend took me to a Billy Graham rally at Ashton Gate, the Bristol City ground. I then started going to church but it was probably about a year or so later that I became a Christian. The local Baptist pastor gave me a copy of J.I. Packer’s book, God’s Words when I left for college. I read it in my first term and it clarified the Gospel for me in a fundamental way.
When I started my PhD in Aberdeen, I was renting a room from an elder in Bon Accord Free Church of Scotland. Out of politeness I attended the church and joined the Free Church Student Association there. My wife happened to be on the committee and that was how we met. We married about a year and a half later, in 1990.
I have been in the US since 2001. I miss live rugby, my extended family, decent chocolate, HP Sauce, proper bacon and comedy which is actually funny.
We are all heirs of the past. It shapes the world in which we live. If we are ignorant of it, we have no means of understanding why we think and act the way we do. More specifically, when it comes to theology, the language we use – e.g., Trinity, Incarnation – and many of the ideas we think are important – e.g., justification – have been debated and refined over the ages. A knowledge of these debates and discussions can help deepen our understanding of what exactly their significance is and why they are important.
The traditional way of doing church history in the church has been to present it as a series of inspiring anecdotes about spiritual superheroes and supervillains. The net result is that most of us read such material and come away perhaps encouraged to attempt great things for God or (maybe more likely) a little disheartened that we can never measure up. My approach to history is somewhat different; I try to present it in a way that humanizes the characters so that we see them as flawed human beings like ourselves operating in specific historical situations. I hope I help students not only to learn from their examples, good and bad, but also to develop skills of critical analysis which can be helpful in engaging with the present.
I do love America really. It’s just not home. I think, negatively, America often has a supreme cultural selfconfidence which sometimes taints even Christians and yet is not appropriate. That may be changing: the rise of China and the recent economic struggles have dented the national mood quite significantly. Positively, American Christians have a strong commitment to financially supporting their churches and missions. I have never encountered quite such generosity on a routine basis anywhere else.
Absolutely. Most of my theology is refracted through my historical reading. A study of history has also helped me understand how people think and how institutions, such as churches and denominations, often operate. Above all, it has convinced me of two things about the individual pastor and congregation: they are responsible to make sure that the faith is passed on correctly to the next generation; and life is short, too short to become preoccupied with the trappings of worldly success.
Aurelius Augustine is perhaps the most important theologian in the Christian church since Bible times. His writings have shaped theological discussions past and present more than anyone else. Whether it is the Trinity, sin, grace, predestination, the sacraments, the church or the relationship between Christianity and the secular world, Augustine’s writings offer fundamental insights to the thoughtful Christian reader. His life spanned the years 354 to 430 and thus he lived during turbulent theological and political times: the debates about the Trinity culminated in the Councils of Constantinople (381) and the establishment of what we now call -
the Nicene Creed; and this was followed by decades of debate about Christ which were still ongoing at the time of Augustine’s death. Politically, Rome was sacked by the Visigoths in 410. Given Rome’s previous reputation as a god-like city, this was culturally catastrophic and precipitated Augustine’s longest and most politically insightful work, The City of God. Augustine’s own life is full of interest. He was born in Thagaste, now Souk Ahras in Algeria. We should not, however, think of him as an African theologian. The ancient world did not have such a category. More important was the fact that Augustine’s family were Roman
citizens and it was as a citizen of the Roman Empire that he would have thought of himself. His father, Patricius, was a pagan but his mother, Monica, was Christian. His father remains a somewhat shadowy, vague figure in the Augustine story. It is his mother Monica to whom he refers most extensively in the book describing his early life, the Confessions. At age 17, he went to Carthage to study the art of rhetoric, or public speaking. While there, he embarked on a life marked by fun, including generous amounts of sexual activity. He started an affair with a woman who was to be his companion for many years and by whom he would
have a child, Adeodatus (literally, ‘a gift from God’). The coming years saw him return home, then back to Carthage where he taught for nine years. Then, seeking better students he departed for Rome and then Milan. During this time he had also been on an intellectual quest; as he became bored with dazzling stylefor-style’s-sake of rhetoric, he had turned first to Manicheeism, an ancient equivalent of today’s eastern religions, then to scepticism and finally to the mystical philosophy of Neoplatonism. Finally, under the influence of the profound and compelling preaching of the great Bishop of Milan, Ambrose, he converted to Christianity in 386. His mother longed to see him converted and baptized. This was the answer to years of her agonizing in prayer. In 387, she, Augustine and Adeodatus returned to North Africa. Sadly, Monica died on the journey and Adeodatus died shortly thereafter. Augustine now devoted his entire life to the church. He was ordained in 391 and became cobishop of Hippo Regius in 395, and then within a short time sole bishop of the diocese. He was to remain in this office until his death in 430. A famous preacher and writer, his works laid much of the foundation of both medieval Western Catholicism and the Reformation. Indeed, B.B. Warfield, the greatest American Presbyterian theologian of the nineteenth century, declared that the Reformation represented the triumph of Augustine’s understanding of grace over his doctrine of the church. Of all the books which Augustine wrote, the one which all Christians should try to read is the Confessions. This work is important for a number of reasons. Firstly, at the most basic level, it is Augustine’s Christian testimony, describing his life up until the point where, in a garden in Milan, he accepts the Christian faith and turns his back on his previous life of selfindulgence. Secondly, it is a masterpiece of religious literature. The autobiography is cast entirely as a prayer addressed to God. This is quite brilliant in two ways. First,
Augustine has taken a pagan literary genre, that of the philosophical treatise expressed as a prayer to a pagan deity, and made it Christian in such a sophisticated fashion that it can have no pagan rival. Second, it gives the whole work a delightful devotional and doxological quality. Thirdly, it is a profound exploration of the psychology of sin. While many remember Augustine as the man who tended to identify sex with sin, it is not his sexual activity which provides his primary discussion of sin in the Confessions. Instead, it is an act of petty theft. In Book II, Augustine describes how, as a youth, he and a group of friends stole a load of pears from a neighbour’s garden. The genius of this incident is manifold. The trivia of the crime mean the reader can sympathise with it (had he described something more spectacular, that would not have been the case). The mediocrity of the pears and the fact that the youths simply throw them to pigs rather than eat them allows Augustine to highlight the fact that the purpose of sinning was simply the transgression and nothing else. They broke the law for the sake of breaking the law. Then, the nature of the crime – stealing from a tree – has biblical resonances and carries the reader’s mind back to Eden. Finally, the fact that it was a group who did it allows Augustine to explore the group psychology of sin and the nature of peer pressure.
“ In short, this little incident and Augustine’s analysis of it is perhaps one of the most profound studies of the psychology of human rebellion against God that one will find anywhere. And, as noted, its very trivia pulls the reader in so that they too are caught in the trap of divine condemnation. At the heart of Augustine’s Confessions, and indeed, of his theology as a whole, is the notion of love. As God exists as a community
of loving persons, so humans made in his image are also designed to find their fulfilment in love. Love, of course, reaches out to something else and humans are thus designed to find their perfection in loving God. The tragedy of the fall is that human love is misdirected from the Creator to the creature. The question we ask is the right one: whom or what should we love? The answer we give is tragically wrong: ourselves. In trying to find our perfection in loving ourselves rather than God we are doomed always to be seeking happiness and never to be finding it. As Augustine says at the very start of the Confessions, ‘The heart is restless above all things until it finds its rest in you.’ In closing, this is perhaps where Augustine is most useful today. We live in a world obsessed with both love and with self-fulfilment. Ironically, it is also a world where dissatisfaction is rampant. Augustine, drawing on Paul, can help us to explain why this is so: yes, we love; but we always love the wrong things and are thus doomed to keep searching. The drug addict, the man hooked on pornography, the promiscuous woman, even the one who simply cannot stop buying things – they are all searching for happiness by worshipping themselves and their own felt needs. Not until they realize that they can only find that for which they are looking in God himself as revealed in Jesus Christ can they hope to find true happiness. Read the Confessions; reflect in its acute analysis of the psychology of sin and salvation; learn thereby more about yourself and thus learn more about God. That is time well spent. Further reading: Confessions is available in various translations. My favourite is that by Henry Chadwick in the Oxford World Classics series. The best short biography is that by Garry Wills in the Penguin Brief Lives series. The classic scholarly biography is Augustine of Hippo by Peter Brown (University of California Press)
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ONE OF THE FIRST things we notice when we read the Bible is that it is divided into two parts – the Old and New Testaments. The Old Testament contains God’s promises of salvation, while the New Testament tells how God kept those promises. Christians living in the New Testament era enjoy the benefits of two major developments. One is the birth, life, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, the promised Messiah. The other is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. But, you may ask, wasn’t the Holy Spirit active in Old Testament times? In a previous article we saw that he was indeed active. Yet even as he worked in the hearts of God’s people he pointed forward to an even greater outpouring of his presence, first upon the coming Messiah, and then upon his people. Here are five New Testament phrases which describe the Spirit’s activity in our midst. The Baptism of the Spirit John the Baptist predicted that Jesus would baptise his disciples with the Spirit (Luke 3:16) and shortly before he returned to Heaven our Lord repeated that promise (Acts 1:5). His disciples eagerly awaited this baptism which came on the Day of Pentecost. Tongues of fire came upon the twelve (Acts 2:1-4,14) and thereafter they were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in languages they had not previously known. -
Three thousand people believed and became followers of Jesus. This baptism was not a work of the Holy Spirit, but an act of the risen Lord. The tongues did not rest on everyone, only on Peter and the eleven (2:1, 14); but this baptism had enormous implications for the whole Church. It was a declaration that the prophecy of Joel 2:28-32 had been fulfilled and that a new age had begun. All God’s people will speak about God’s mighty works (2:17f) and others will call on the name of the Lord and be saved (2:21). This was the long-awaited renewal of spiritual life in Israel. The benefits of this renewal were not limited to Jews. In Acts 8:15-17 Peter and John laid hands on Samaritan believers and they too were filled with the Spirit. Then in Acts 10:44-46, as Peter preached in the gentile household of Cornelius, the Spirit was poured out and they spoke in tongues. The boundaries of Israel were expanded to embrace groups which had previously been excluded from the people of God. These were not primarily personal experiences to be sought, but statements about the Church. So when Paul described the baptism of the Spirit he made a point of reminding his readers that there is one Spirit - filled Church and everyone who has been baptised into Christ is part of it. There is only one way of salvation for Jews and Gentiles (1 Corinthians 12:13). Every believer has received the same
Spirit and all are to seek the unity of the Spirit (Ephesians 4:3). There is one Spirit and one baptism and it (the baptism of the Spirit) was given at Pentecost. It is the definitive and unrepeatable indication that the Spirit is present in the Church. The Sealing of the Spirit This is another indication that the Spirit is at work in the Church in a glorious new way as a result of our Lord’s death and resurrection. ‘He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come’ (2 Corinthians 1:21-22). A seal guarantees the authenticity of that upon which it is placed. That is its purpose on an official document or contract. In this case the Holy Spirit does not apply the seal, for he is the seal. God, who has redeemed us, also guarantees our final salvation. ‘Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit…’ (Ephesians 1:13). Simply by being present he assures us of God’s mercies. Thus we look forward to our Lord’s return with confidence (Ephesians 4:30). The Filling of the Holy Spirit There are many references in Acts to the followers of the Lord Jesus being filled with the Spirit. By means of this filling the Holy Spirit empowered them to do the work to which the Lord Jesus had called them. When the Spirit withdrew,
they were deflated, hence the warning of not to grieve the Spirit (Ephesians 4:30). This is followed by the command to be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) indentifying a need that is not met by a momentary burst of the spiritual activity, not even a work as wonderful as the new birth. We need to be controlled by the Spirit (Romans 8:6) and led by the Spirit (Romans 8:14). We need the Spirit’s daily help in prayer (Romans 8:26). The presence of the Holy Spirit highlights this need so that we hunger after him. But why do we need to be filled like this? The Fruit of the Spirit In Galatians 5:22-23 Paul describes several traits of godly character. These are the evidence of the Spirit’s presence for this is how he changes us. We could focus on each virtue individually and show how each one is produced in us by the Spirit. For instance in Romans 14:17 Paul describes how the Spirit produces peace and joy. However, the evidence of the Spirit’s work is not one or two of these – but all of them. The fruit of the Spirit is – the lot! The Gifts of the Holy Spirit As well as transforming our conduct, the Holy Spirit equips us for service. He gives gifts to every believer (1 Corinthians 12:7-11). There are many different kinds of gifts, but they all come from ‘the same Spirit’. He is the Spirit of God who was present and active in the Old Testament. Yes, he does some of the same things as he did back then. He moved prophets to speak and believers to rejoice before and after the redemptive work of Christ. What is new is the degree and scope of his mission. There is a new intensity to his work. His presence raises Christian living and service to a new level. We can observe the impact he makes on the variables of the Christian life. When you visit a person in
hospital you may see that he is linked up to machine which measures his heart rate, blood pressure or oxygen levels. These vary from minute to minute but if he gets the right treatment they will trend in a certain direction. So it is when the Holy Spirit is present in a believer. So, in conclusion we will note five variables in our spiritual experience which move to ever higher levels as a result of his presence.
“ 1. Greater apprehension of God’s presence God is present everywhere and at all times, but many are oblivious to the fact. That was certainly the case with Ananias when he encouraged the apostles in Jerusalem to believe that he had been more generous than he really was (Acts 5:2). Peter’s rebuke in Acts 5:3 reflects the enormity of what had happened, ‘You have not lied to men, but to the Holy Spirit.’ Because Peter was full of the Holy Spirit he sensed the horror of sinning before the face of God. All too easily we become comfortable with sin. We imagine that God is too distant to be concerned about petty sins. The presence of the Spirit dispels that idea. 2. Greater clarity in our understanding of God’s truth That is what Paul prayed for in Ephesians 1:17. The Spirit of wisdom enables us to ‘know Him better’ and when we know him we appreciate the fullness of what he has done for us, hence Paul’s affirmation in 1 Corinthians 2:10. Without his help we can barely imagine what God has in store for us, ‘but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.’
3. Greater certainty in our hope Not only do we know what God has in store for believers, but we come to a deeper assurance that it has been stored up for us! When the Spirit ‘testifies with our Spirit that we are God’s children’ (Romans 8:16) we eagerly expect ‘the hope of righteousness’ – or the day when we are finally declared to be righteous by God (Galatians 5:5). Faith in Christ is the ground of this hope, while the presence of the Spirit nurtures and renews it. 4. Greater aspiration after holiness Even though we often stumble we are to pursue after holiness. Yet repeated failure saps our energy. That is why Paul reminds us that, with the Spirit’s help, we can do the many things we have failed to do in our own strength. In 1 Corinthians 6:11 he describes the change which had taken place in the Christians of Corinth. Their lives had been a cesspit, but now they were “washed… sanctified… justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God”. Legally, this was made possible by the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus. However, the change became visible when the Spirit gave them a heart for holiness. 5. Greater boldness in our witness This is where many of us feel our weakness most keenly. We dry up when we have an opportunity to speak the Gospel. We read about the bold witness of the first Christians and sigh! Yet the Spirit who worked in them is at work in us. It is important to remember that boldness is not a stand-alone quality. It grows in us as we come to have a greater sense of God’s reality, the wonder of his truth, the certainty of our hope, and desire after holiness.
IN RESPONSE TO several providential requests in early January for an RP work to be set up in Cookstown, Prof. Robert McCollum and I have been leading a core group of 7 at the local Leisure Centre on Thursday evenings. These meetings have included psalm singing, bible study and question times. We are grateful to those who have attended the meetings and made the work a matter of regular prayer. The group has begun to work its way through Hebrews, focusing on the person and work of Christ. These studies have been interspersed with one-off topics like ‘Why sing Psalms?’, ‘The Centrality of Love’, ‘Unity in the Church’ and
in the days and months ahead. On Saturday 25th May, a team, drawn from all parts of the denomination, gathered in Cookstown to distribute invitations in the area. The following Thursday, 30th May, an inaugural public meeting was held in the Burnavon Centre. Professor McCollum gave an excellent address, followed by a question and answer session, on the subject ‘A Broken World: Where is God when things go wrong?’ We thank God for all the help we received in giving out invitations, for the fifty or so people who attended the meeting, and for the strength God granted His servant to speak so effectively. We look forward, in God’s mercy, to reporting a good
the ministry during the summer months. It is our hope, if God blesses the work, to commence regular services in November. Please ask that the Lord would grant wisdom as we seek to set a starting date, and that He would provide a suitable, regular, affordable location for these meetings. Pray also for a strengthening commitment of all those who are and may become involved in the work in the future. Give thanks for the facilities already
©Linda Bailey
Cookstown within Northern Ireland
Cookstown main street ‘The Importance of Forgiveness’. It has been a joy to witness bonds of love deepening, an evident hunger for truth and a strong desire to reach out. Our expectation is that more will come to meet around the Bible -
response and to others being added to the group as an outcome of this meeting. Please pray that God would continue to grant safe travel to all those who will be involved in leading
provided and pray for meetings that lie ahead. We would also ask those who are living in the area to come and support the meetings as often as they can. To young couples who are already living in the vicinity or considering moving to the area we would ask you to prayerfully consider becoming connected with this work on a more permanent basis. There are great opportunities for Gospel witness in this town among both loyalists and nationalists. What a privilege it would be to get involved in a work for the extension of the realm of King Jesus! In God’s due time may a pastor be raised up to shepherd this flock.
reach the rest of Ireland. Our resources may be limited and our numbers may be small, but it is an exciting time to be in this denomination. REPORTS, PROPOSALS, SECONDERS and amenders; lots of talk, lots of food, lots of time; Synod can be a strange experience for casual observers. But despite appearances, our Synod is simply a heartfelt effort at carrying out the biblical responsibilities of church leadership: that is, to carefully watch over all that King Jesus has given us to do as a Church. As a college student currently training for ministry in our denomination, there were three highlights for me at Synod 2013: Time Spent Considering Mission It is an exciting time to be in our Church. Last November, 120 people attended our first church-planting conference; a group of believers, convinced of the distinctives of our Church, are now meeting weekly in Cookstown and want to see the town won for Christ; and there was also exciting news from Dublin - the crucial location in our desire to
Time Spent In Prayer
On the Wednesday morning of Synod, our church elders and preachers split into groups to pray for us. It was a humbling experience to hear pastor after pastor pray for our congregations, our young people, our camps, our outreach, our future. A whole morning of Synod is spent simply praying to our God and Father for our Church and our nation. I was reminded again of the apostles’ first concerns in Acts 6: prayer, and the teaching of God’s Word – and the order is crucially important. Thank God that he has
raised up men of prayer to lead us, and set us an example in how to pray. Time Spent United Together Rev. David Sutherland, the outgoing moderator of Synod, opened Synod by preaching from Ephesians 4:3, on the theme of maintaining unity amongst believers. Churches can split very easily, over very small things. For any young men feeling called to spiritual leadership, Synod ’13 was a lesson in humility, and in maintaining unity, of keeping a calm spirit and submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. You will not find humility in our culture today. Be thankful that you can find it in the leaders of your Church. I’m glad I got to observe the work of the men sent to Synod 2013. I came away understanding a little more of the responsibilities that come to anyone called to leadership in Christ’s Church.
©Buzzfarmers
“Why, O LORD?” is the question that often echoes in our minds after we have watched the evening news. When a teenage gunman goes on the rampage, a suicide bomber detonates in a Middle Eastern marketplace, or more babies are killed in their mothers’ womb, it is right to cry ‘Why, O LORD?’ Why did you not jam the firing pin? Why did you not stop the terrorist? Why do you not bring this nation to its knees for its murderous ways? Psalm 10 is for the ‘why?’ moments. It is the song that the Lord Jesus gives to bewildered
believers to sing to ‘the LORD who is king for ever and ever’. The psalmist spells out all the graphic details to God – ‘the wicked hotly pursue the poor… his mouth is filled with cursings. he sits in ambush... the helpless are crushed.’ God is saying to us that we can tell him about all that grieves us in this broken world. As you sing this psalm some key truths will begin to dawn about the God you are praising, ‘You do see... you do note... you hear.’ The Lord of Heaven misses nothing that happens in his world and you can ask him, ‘Arise O LORD; O God, lift up
your hand... break the arm of the wicked... do justice.’ And that is exactly what he is going to do when the Lord Jesus Christ is revealed from Heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire. They will inflict vengeance on those who do not know God and those who do not obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. When the Son of Man returns, ‘the man who is of the earth will strike no more.’ So keep singing and keep on praying. The Lord Jesus has taught us to pray, ‘Your Kingdom come.’
THE SCRIPTURES TELL US that Abraham ’went out, not knowing where he was going’ (Hebrew 11:8). In obedience to God’s call Abraham simply upped sticks and left his hometown to follow wherever God would lead him. In 2009, when God called Lynn and I to leave Limavady, we knew where God was calling us to go - Enniskillen. We knew what God wanted us to do - head up a new work seeking to plant a church in the town. What we didn't know was how challenging it was going to be. Perseverance is one of the most important spiritual characteristics for anyone involved in church planting. It is wonderful to read in the book of Acts of how Paul and others visited towns where through the preaching of the Gospel people were saved and churches were quickly established. Perhaps initially I had the hope and expectation that this is how it would be in Enniskillen. The town was not and still is not renowned as being a centre of Biblical, evangelical, gospel preaching. The majority of the population is Roman Catholic and in
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the Protestant community "Churchianity", as opposed to Christianity, prevails. Perhaps somewhat naively I thought that good Reformed, evangelical gospel preaching would draw many to our new work Christians who were longing for good Biblical teaching, unbelievers who were searching for the truth. So far the reality has been somewhat different from our expectation and hope. That is not to say that there have not been encouragements. We have had the joy of seeing at least one person converted whilst others who have made a profession of faith or have shown an interest in learning more about the Gospel. We have had the joy of seeing the Lord add to our initial small group, giving us a regular Sabbath attendance of around 20 people at present. We have paid off our manse, costing £200,000 in only four years due to the amazing generosity of people in our own Fellowship and people in the wider Church who have supported us. We have had
encouragements. However, there have also been discouragements and difficulties. Some people have come along and initially shown a real interest, only for it to wane after a number of months and for them to move on to some other bigger well-established church with hymns and music, a lot more (young) people and more activities. There have been times when even our most committed members have been discouraged and disappointed when they have realized that the reality of churchplanting is very different from the theory. The singing at times can be, let's say, not up to recording standard, especially if some of the stronger singers are away. It also only takes one or two families to miss a Sabbath day for our numbers to drop discouragingly into single figures. Because the minister is far from perfect, the sermon or Bible study can at times be uninspiring, disappointing and discouraging to preacher and hearer alike. And whilst Enniskillen is the hub of Fermanagh, the reality is, as far as
RP churches go, it is quite a bit away from other congregations. Pastor and people can at times feel isolated and cut off from the rest of the Church. Please don't get me wrong. All of us in Enniskillen believe with all our hearts that this is where God wants us to be. There is certainly a great need for a church like ours in this part of Ireland. We do have really good times of fellowship with one another and are all growing spiritually. We have seen God working in us and through us to gather in his elect. We have had real opportunities to share the Gospel with unsaved people and for all these things we are truly thankful to God, but it is hard work! Of course,
you already know this because the work in which you are engaged in your own congregation is not easy. The people in Counties Antrim, Down, Londonderry, Tyrone and Armagh are the same, spiritually speaking, as those to whom we are seeking to witness in Fermanagh. People today are not rushing to hear the Gospel. Of the thousands upon thousands of invitations that we give out in our communities encouraging people to come to meetings very few result in any real, ongoing, meaningful contacts. Yet this does not mean that we give up. Two verses of Scripture have impressed themselves on me in the past few years. ‘Unless the Lord builds the house those who build it
labour in vain’ (Psalm 127:1) and, ‘Let us not be weary in well-doing for in due season we shall reap If we do not give up’ (Galatians 6:9). In Enniskillen we keep on plodding. We keep on witnessing. We keep on striving to be faithful. We could do with help. If you are looking for a job in the next few years, don't rule out Fermanagh; rather look there first because there is a small group of God's people meeting on the Sligo Road who would welcome you into their Fellowship with open arms.
IT IS HELPFUL to remember that art is our clumsy words, not God’s perfect words. The lyrics of teen pop -princess Demi Lovato’s ‘Heart Attack’ come from a sorry and anguished place. The thrust of the song comes from an ecstatic bellow in which she exclaims, ‘You make me glo-o-o-ow.’ She describes the dichotomy of whenever she doesn’t care about impressing guys she can ‘play them like a ken doll’ but, whenever she cares too much, she fears that falling in love will give her a ‘heart a-a-attack’. Notice that she sings with similar gusto in ‘glow’ and ‘heart attack’. She’s caught between infatuation and heartbreak. She sings, ‘You make me wanna act like a girl/ paint my nails and wear perfume.’ We have huge industries of hair, shoes and clothing
that say something of the enormous effort and deep- seated desires of (some) women to attract an illusionary guy who makes them nervous and glowing. It is not difficult to point out that she is on the brink of idolizing romance and is not really attracted by the personality of her desired. The centre of her affections has become her kryptonite, capable of destroying her. It is a tragedy that a relationship that could make her happy is something that gets her “feelings lost in her lungs/ they’re burning, I’d rather be numb/ … I’m flying too close to the sun/ And I burst into flames”. No guy, girl, romance or thing is capable of holding our meaning to life. Only Jesus is strong and worthy enough to be held at the centre of
our affections. Anything less is dreaming too little. It is much easier to say than do, but having Jesus as our King aligns all desires into the right perspective. Perhaps in light of this truth you may ask why should I spare Lovato’s song a thought? Sometimes, we write songs to step back and consider something too traumatic to consider in ‘normal life’. Singing about having a heart attack, although evoking similar imagery, is not having a heart attack. In this song she’s stepping back and looking at the bigger picture. Lovato is hinged somewhere between heartbreak and realising she could have a happy relationship with the one who makes her glow. Let’s hope and pray that all things will be added unto you, me and Lovato if we first seek the Kingdom of God.
I was born in Monmouth, Illinois and raised in Illinois and Ohio, where my father was a pastor. I was very blessed to have two loving Christian parents and one brother. My father was a minister of the United Presbyterian Church of North America, which was a Covenanter type of denomination. He was an Army Chaplain during WW2, so I didn’t get to spend much time with him after my twelfth birthday. My Christian parents were a great influence on my becoming a Christian. At the age of about 12 I was very convinced of my own sin and asked God to forgive me. After some months I found assurance of God’s forgiveness. I’ve always known from when I was a very small lad that I was to be in the ministry. There was no question. I preached my first sermon to a group of young people at the age of thirteen.
Our parents were friends whom I had met, but had not met their older girl who was at university. After I went into the Navy as a chaplain Lois’ mother wrote me a friendly letter, to which I replied saying I would be glad to correspond with one of her girls. That older one responded and this started a two-year letter correspondence-romance. I was in North Carolina, the Caribbean and in Japan and Okinawa with the Marines during those two years. We were able to have three dates, but we really became acquainted by letter. Before I went to Japan and Okinawa we talked about marriage, and during the thirteen months I was there we made final arrangements and eight days after returning to the United States we were married. We have now been married fifty-six years and have had eight children - two natural births and six whom we adopted. We also have twenty-three grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, all of whom live in various parts of the United States. It is hard to visit everyone because of the long distances they live from us, but we usually manage to see them all each year. In fact, it is easier to come to Northern Ireland than to see our children who live so far away within the States.
I joined the Navy when I was twenty-four years of age. I served for twenty years altogether, with three tours (three years) with the US Marine Corps. During the -
Vietnam War I was chaplain aboard the USS Canberra, a heavy cruiser ship. I was the only chaplain on board with twelve hundred men. I was able to move anywhere on the ship to see the men and to build good strong relationships. Our ship came under attack from shore batteries, while off the coast of North Vietnam, taking two direct hits. My last duty in the navy was to be the senior chaplain at the US Merchant Marine Academy in Long Island.
After retiring from the Navy I studied at the theological college and earned a Doctor’s degree in Greek studies. In 1976 we started a small seminary in the Colorado Mountains at nine thousand feet elevation. Our emphasis is on teaching biblical languages and how to use these languages to make more effective preachers and teachers. I teach the advanced Greek and Hebrew classes. Our son became the director in 2000, which then allows me to serve in other churches around the world.
In 2001 the Mid West Reformed Presbyterian Church was having a conference right next door to the seminary where I teach, at which Andrew Quigley was speaking. I spoke to him about filling in at a vacant congregation in Scotland or Ireland. As a result in 2002 and 2004 we were able to serve in the Portrush congregation. More recently, we have spent the last two years in Ballylaggan serving for about four months at a time. We were aware of the vacancy at Cloughmills and I offered my services. We are delighted to be back here again and spending time with new and old friends.
What impresses me most about the Reformed Presbyterian Church is there appears to be a greater attempt of humility, than in some other denominations. Also there is a concern to reach out to others who have both spiritual and physical needs. My wife and I have been greatly encouraged by the fellowship every time we come over to Northern Ireland. You can go anywhere in the world and see sights like the Giant’s Causeway or Dunluce Castle, but you can’t go anywhere in the world and have fellowship with good Christian people, and that is more important than sightseeing.
RATHER THAN A book about theology, or a commentary, or something by John Piper, this issue we're looking at a book from a sparsely populated section of writing: Christian satire. Evangellyfish by Douglas Wilson is a book that focuses on the lives of two pastors in a mid-sized American city. Chad Lester is the hugely successful pastor of the Camel Creek Mega Church. Adored by his thousands of disciples, his life is thrown upside down when a local newspaper accuses him of inappropriate behaviour with another gentleman in the past. Chad is hit hard by the scandal; of course, he'd been in dozens of lewd relationships with women outside of his marriage over the years, but for
Douglas Wilson is a prominent writer and Presbyterian pastor in Idaho, America. He is a controversial figure who is best known for his public debates with leading atheist Christopher Hitchens in the documentary film Collision.
someone to insinuate that he was gay? Utterly ridiculous. In the same town, John Mitchell is labouring away with his much smaller flock in a Reformed church. Judging by his description in the book, he's the Reformed pastor dreams are made of, being described as, ‘a cross between Moses, Elijah, John the Baptist, and Gandalf.’ He'd known Chad for years, and indeed, knew that his sister-in-law had visited him for what Chad might refer to as counselling. John decides to dig a little deeper into the story to see what he can find and potentially expose Chad as the womaniser that John knows he really is. Now, I know that some of you already have the ‘good guy/bad guy’ figured out in your head when I mentioned the word ‘Reformed’, but the story's not as clean-cut as that, and at times John definitely conducts himself in a manner unworthy of his profession. This being a novel I don't want to give too much more away in terms of ‘plot’, but plot isn't why you should be reading this book. It is savage satire that takes aim at the heart of modern Evangelicalism and lets loose with both cannons of wit and humour. The beauty of the book lies in its ability to make you laugh at something as being very much something ‘they’ would do, but then causing you to realise, ‘Hey wait; we do that too.’ It will help you think
about those sins we tolerate in the modern world and those sins we tolerate in ourselves. It brings about a realisation that condescension of others has no place in our lives because we are often guilty of exactly the same things. We need to be focusing on removing the plank from our own eye before worrying about the speck of dust in our neighbour’s. On the flip side of that coin, it does savagely rip into the notion of megachurches being large because the flock is being well fed spiritually or challenged about sin on a weekly basis. It gives no quarter to ‘feelgood theology’ and paints a vivid picture of people sitting back in pews and being told not to worry because, ‘Hey, at least you haven't killed anyone.’ As long as you turn up every few weeks, or even once a month if you're feeling a bit ‘far from God’, sing a few ditties with some vaguely positive lyrics, clap and hold your hands up at the appropriate song breaks and drop a tenner in the offering plate, you'll be fine. This book is well worth reading, although not as a Quiet Time replacement for a good commentary. Think of it as being an exceptional satirical novel, and you'll not leave disappointed.
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