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The Law and the Gospel

Part two: Antinomianism
(Page 4)

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Part two: Antinomianism
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1 Thessalonians Chapters 1 to 3:
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Best of the blogs
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FIRST WORD
If you’re someone who keeps a keen eye on world news
then you might have seen that there have recently
been some big political changes in China. On the 11th
of March, the Chinese parliament met together and
voted to get rid of presidential term limits. Since the
1980s, Chinese presidents have only been able to serve
for a maximum of two five-year terms. That policy was
effectively overturned, which means that the current
President of China, Xi Jinping, can now continue as
president for the rest of his life, should he wish.
A s you can imagine, people have mixed views about
this. Many in China see it as a very positive thing,
arguing that it will bring much more unity and stability
to the country. Others, however, see this as a very
worrying move, putting too much power in the hands of
one man, and wonder what that might mean later down
the line.
I would imagine that most of us would share that
concern. We like to have a political system where,
within a handful of years, you can vote to get rid of the
leader if they are doing a bad job, or if they are leading
the country in a worrying direction. As the well-known
saying goes, “power corrupts, and absolute power
corrupts absolutely.” For that reason, we like to impose
certain limits on the power and the length of a leader’s
rule.
However, I think we would probably all agree that if we
could find a leader who was free from any corruption,
free from any sin, and whose reign was always
absolutely perfect, then, in that kind of situation, we
would be happy for that kind of ruler to rule indefinitely!
Of course, the bible points us to a King just like this. In
2 Samuel chapter 7, God made this promise to David,
saying to him, “And your house and your kingdom shall
be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be
established forever.” (2 Samuel 7:16)
Later on, the prophet Isaiah would speak of this great
promised ruler, born into David’s line, who would sit on
the throne of David, and whose reign would be perfect,
and whose reign would be forever: “Of the increase of
his government and of peace there will be no end, on the
throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and
to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from
this time forth and forevermore.” (Isaiah 9:7)
The identity of this great king, who would rule with
justice and righteousness and bring peace, and whose
rule would be without end, is announced in Luke chapter
1. When the angel Gabriel visited Mary and spoke to her
about the son she would give birth to, he pointed her
again to those promises given to David, which would be
fulfilled in her child:
“He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most
High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his
father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob
forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke
1:32-33)
In the book of Revelation, we’re told that the voices
of heaven will praise him, saying, “The kingdom of the
world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his
Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” (Revelation
11:15)
What a great comfort this is for us – especially when
we might feel concerned about all the political upheaval
in our world. When a new leader comes to power, we
tend to ask ourselves the questions, “What will their
leadership be like? Will they rule well, or badly? And, if it
goes badly, how quickly can we get a new leader?!”
No matter what the political climate might be, God has
already provided for us the perfect King, who will reign
forevermore. The question for us is, “where do we stand
before this King Jesus?” Have we come to him and
trusted him? Have we sought his forgiveness for all the
ways we have sinned against him? By his grace, have
we been brought into his kingdom? Are we now living
our lives serving and obeying him? And are we looking
forward to the fact that, even beyond this life, we know
that we will spend forever in the glorious Kingdom of
Jesus, who is King forevermore?
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 The Law and
the Gospel
Part two:
Antinomianism

In the first article in this series we saw that there is a ditch

on both sides of the path of Christian obedience. We began
by looking at the ditch on the right hand side; the ditch of
legalism. We also distinguished between ‘hard’ legalism
(seeking to justify ourselves by works) and ‘soft’ legalism
(allowing a legalistic mind-set to creep into our Christian lives).

On the left hand side of the road, there is another ditch; the
ditch of antinomianism. And we need to be just as careful to
avoid this one as well.

In what way does the antinomian misunderstand the

relationship between the law and the gospel? Whereas the
legalist uses the law to displace the gospel, the antinomian
uses the gospel to displace the law. The word antinomian
simply means ‘against the law’. The antinomian is someone
who has negative stance regarding the law of God. They want
rid of it – and they use the gospel to try and get rid of it. Again,
we can distinguish between ‘hard’ antinomianism and ‘soft’
antinomianism within the church.

i) Hard Antinomianism
Hard antinomianism is when someone deliberately abuses the
grace of God in the gospel. They hear the message of salvation
by grace through faith in Christ, and not through works of the
law, and they think, “great! I can forget all about God’s law!
I can just sin as much as I want now – because as long as I
believe in Jesus, God won’t punish me!”

Do you see, they are using the gospel to displace the law? If
you’ve got the gospel, you can toss the law to one side and do
what you like!

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This is the issue that Paul is dealing with at the start of
Romans 6. He writes, “What shall we say then? Are we to
continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can
we who died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:1-2) A bit later
on, in verse 15, he says, “What then? Are we to sin because we
are not under law but under grace? By no means!” In a similar
way, Jude speaks of “ungodly people, who pervert the grace
of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord,
Jesus Christ.” (v4)
All of those verses are addressing what I’m calling ‘hard
antinomianism’; abusing God’s grace by casting aside God’s
law and indulging in sin. All of those verses say that living that
way puts a question mark over whether or not this person
really is a Christian at all – because it is simply impossible to
love Christ and be unconcerned about sinning. As someone
has put it, if you don’t have a new relationship with sin, you
don’t have a new relationship with God.
Once again, it is pretty easy to spot this error, isn’t it? And
though we are not immune from this error, we are well aware
of it. But then, there is ‘soft’ antinomianism, which, just like
‘soft’ legalism, is much more subtle, less obvious, and can
creep much more easily into our hearts.
ii) Soft antinomianism
What I mean by soft antinomianism is the idea that, after we
have become a Christian, the law no longer has any authority
over us. Such people are not condoning sin, like the hard
antinomian; they are just saying that the law no longer has
any function in their life. So, people will point to Romans 6
verse 14, where Paul says, “you are not under law but under
grace.” They will (wrongly) interpret what that actually means
and they will say, “look, if you’re a Christian, you’re done with
the law! It’s all about grace now.” In a different way to the hard
antinomian, they are nonetheless displacing the law with the
gospel.
This is an approach to the Christian life which in the last 10
years or so has become very popular. It is sometimes referred
to as the “contemporary grace movement.” It is characterised
by this approach to things which says that as soon as you try
and apply any kind of law or command to a Christian person,
you’re a legalist. The objection will be raised, “You’ve forgotten
about grace! You need to come back to the gospel and realise
being a Christian is all about grace, and not about law.” Do you
see, it is trying to get to the gospel by getting rid of the law?
Now, maybe you’re thinking, but what about all the commands
in the New Testament which are applied to Christians? How
on earth does a soft antinomian deal with those? This is how
they do it. They come to a command and say, “see, this is
God’s standard. This is what he expects. And have you kept it?
No, you haven’t, because you’re a sinner. But the good news
is that Jesus has kept that command for you, and taken the
punishment for your breaking that command. So, through faith
in him, you are justified.”
And then you get to the next command. And it’s the same
again. “This is God’s standard. This is what he expects. And
have you kept it? No, you haven’t kept this one either, because
you’re still a sinner. But the good news is that Jesus has kept
that command for you too, and taken the punishment for
your breaking that command. So, through faith in him, you are
justified.”
And on it goes. Command after command, sermon after
sermon. The same point over and over! Lather, rinse, repeat.
Dare I say it, there is something quite boring about soft
antinomian preaching, because it just keeps going in circles. It
is justification ad infinitum.
Now, let me clarify: of course we love the doctrine of
justification by faith alone. We want to keep preaching that.
But it would be remiss of us to make that the particular
doctrine that we keep coming back to, every single time to the
exclusion of everything else – and especially to the exclusion
of preaching about sanctification, that is, our growth in
godliness as we live in greater obedience to God’s law.
The worrying thing is that this kind of treatment of God’s
law has started to go mainstream, even in some Reformed
circles. Let me share with you a couple of quotes from two
very well-known preachers, who would be considered
Reformed, broadly speaking. (When I say “Reformed, broadly
speaking”, you understand that that is code for saying “they
are Reformed… but they’re not EPC.” (wink!)
I was listening once to a sermon by an American pastor,
who is probably the figurehead of the “contemporary grace
movement” in many ways. He was talking about grace,
and how as Christians we are not “under law”, and he said,
“Wouldn’t it be great if every American preacher for a whole
year had no application in any of their sermons!”
In other words, “Preachers, stop telling people how to live!
Just tell them about what Jesus has done, and leave it there.
Say nothing more. Don’t try and give people any laws or
commands to go and obey.”
5

And then, from our side of the Atlantic, another well-known,
and well respected preacher. This is a tweet he posted, some
time ago.
“Preach justification, and people will be justified AND
sanctified. Preach sanctification, and neither will happen.”
Now, notice, he is not a hard antinomian, because he is not
saying that sanctification is not important. What he is saying,
though, is that we should only preach justification – just keep
telling people about Christ’s work, and never actually spell out
the implications of that for how they should live now, because
that would be legalism. In fact, he is saying, preaching on the
doctrine of sanctification is going to be damaging to people.
Do you see how the soft antinomian, in a more subtle, more
convincing way, is actually driving a wedge between the
law and the gospel, separating the two radically? They are
displacing any mention of God’s law with the gospel. Even to
the point of saying that there are certain Christian truths you
should not preach about!
This, then, is the ditch on the other side of the road to
legalism; the ditch of antinomianism. In the subsequent
articles in this series we will explore how we avoid these two
ditches, and stay on the right path of Christian obedience to
God’s law. For now, though, it is worth teasing out some of
the pastoral implications of all of this.
First of all, it would be good to ask yourself, “Which of these
two errors am I personally more likely to drift towards? Am I
more likely to drift towards legalism, where I start to displace
the gospel with law, to one extent or another? Or am I more
likely to drift towards the antinomian side of things? Do I have
the tendency to think that, now that I am a Christian, I am free
from God’s law and it is no longer something I need to think
about? I just need to think about grace, not law.”
Or maybe it’s the case that you oscillate between the two.
Amusingly, Martin Luther once said that Christians can
sometimes be like a drunk person getting on to a horse. They
stand on one side, and they jump up onto the horse’s back,
but fall straight off the other side. So they try again, from the
other side, but the same thing happens, and they are back
where they started.
We can be like that with God’s law, can’t we? For a while, we
have quite a legalistic mind set, and realise that that needs
6
to change, but we end up actually displacing the law with the
gospel and become antinomian. Then, after a few months of
being antinomian, we realise this is not right either, so we go
back to being legalistic. We oscillate from one to the other.
Out of one ditch, and straight into the other, because we just
can’t get that delicate relationship between the law and the
gospel right.
As well as considering where you are at personally, think
about it in terms of your fellowship with your fellow church
members. God has placed you in a church family. The way
that your fellow believers misunderstand the relationship
between the law and the gospel may be different to the way
that you misunderstand the relationship between the law and
the gospel, and that’s going to have an impact on your life
together as a fellowship.
This is how that plays out:
Firstly, the antinomian looks at Christian discipline, and
mistakes it for legalism. So, you have someone who is maybe
drifting towards an antinomian outlook. They see other
believers in their church, and they look at them and think,
“Those people over there are legalists! Look at how strict their
Christian lives are. They’re always talking about God’s law –
they must be legalists!” Well, they might be, but actually, that
might just be normal Christian discipline, which from your
antinomian perspective, you wrongly interpret as legalism.
It works the other way as well. The legalist looks at Christian
liberty, and mistakes it for antinomianism. So, you have
someone else in the church who has something of a legalistic
outlook on things, and they look at others in the church, and
they say, “I can’t believe how they live their life! Look at what
they wear! They engage in this and that which I would never
touch. And I would never do that on a Sunday. They must be
antinomians!” Well, again, they might be, but actually, all of
those things might be areas of Christian liberty, which, with a
legalistic outlook, you have misinterpreted as a sinful flouting
of God’s law.
Do you see, how you understand the relationship between
the law and the gospel is so important, for you yourself as a
Christian, and also for how you relate to one another in the
church. We need to be aware of the ditch of legalism and the
ditch of antinomianism, lest we get that relationship between
the law and the gospel wrong. In the forthcoming articles,
we’ll look at how we can make sure we are getting that
relationship right.
1 Thessalonians
Chapters 1 to 3:
A Message of Encouragement
Introduction
S aying goodbye to people you love is always painful. It
leaves a pang of sorrow, a sharp sense of loss. And this
sharpness is accentuated if the parting has been sudden and
unexpected. How hard it must be if you are torn away from
loved ones without any warning; without any chance to give
fond farewells; not sure when, if ever, you’ll see them again.
If you’ve ever experienced anything like this, then you’ll
be in a good position to understand the frame of mind in
which the apostle Paul wrote his first letter to the church
in Thessalonica. Having spent probably no more than a
few weeks planting the church there, Paul, along with his
companions Silas (“Silvanus”) and Timothy, was suddenly
forced to leave the church when a Jewish-inspired mob
attacked the home of Jason (see Acts 17:1-10).
The apostle was “torn away” from his brothers and longed
to see them again (2:17). He was understandably anxious
about their spiritual condition, especially because they were
enduring a period of suffering and affliction (1:6; 2:14). Were
they continuing in the faith or had they perhaps given up?
What is more, Paul’s sudden and unexpected departure from
the Thessalonians meant that he hadn’t taught them as much
as he would have liked, with the result that they required
further establishing in the faith (3:2).
All of this meant that Paul was deeply concerned about the
church in Thessalonica. So concerned, in fact, that he ended
up sending his trusted companion, Timothy, to find out
how they were bearing up. And, to Paul’s great relief, when
Timothy came back, he brought a profoundly encouraging
report that the Thessalonians were doing well, persevering in
their faith and demonstrating Christian love (3:6-10).
This, then, gives us the background to Paul’s first letter to
the Thessalonians, which he probably wrote from Corinth
in c.50 AD. It is a very personal letter, with Paul spending
most of the first three chapters recalling his relationship
with the church. It is also a letter that deals with certain
doctrinal and pastoral questions, especially from chapter 4
on. But more than anything else, 1 Thessalonians is a letter
of encouragement. Paul’s chief aim in writing this epistle is
to encourage the church in Thessalonica to keep on living as
Christians, particularly in the midst of suffering and affliction.
And this note of encouragement sounds out loud and clear in
three main ways in the opening three chapters.
1. Be encouraged because you are a Christian
The first form of encouragement Paul gives is perhaps
the most foundational: the reality of the Thessalonians’
conversion to Christ. Paul informs his readers that he is
thankful that God has loved them and chosen them (v4). But
how does he know this? Because, as he goes on to say in v5,
“our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power
and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.”
Paul is saying that he is sure that the Thessalonians have
been loved and chosen by God because of their believing
response to the gospel. They heard Paul and his companions
proclaim that Jesus Christ is the Saviour of sinners and they
received this good news for themselves. They “turned to God
from idols to serve the living and true God” (v9b).
And how did this turn of events come about? How was it
that the Thessalonians became Christians? Paul is very clear
about this in v5. It was by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is
what he means when he says that they didn’t just receive the
gospel in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and
with full conviction.
7
 He means that his own Spirit-empowered preaching of the
gospel was met with the Spirit-empowered conversion of
the Thessalonians. In both cases – the preaching and the
conversion – the Holy Spirit was the key agent.
Just think about how encouraging this is if you are a Christian,
as it must surely have been for those early believers in
Thessalonica. God has freely and lovingly chosen you in
eternity, and in the realm of your experience, through Spirit-
anointed preaching of the gospel, the Spirit of God has
converted you, turning you from idols to serve the living and
true God. You are a product of God’s election and the Spirit’s
power.
And in becoming a Christian, the effect is not just internal,
but also external. This was clearly so in the case of the
Thessalonians. They may well have received the word in the
context of much suffering, but they did so with “the joy of
the Holy Spirit” (v6b) and the results were profound. They
became, as Paul says in v7, “an example to all the believers
in Macedonia and in Achaia.” The renown of their conversion
to Christ – clearly evidenced in their work of faith, labour of
love and steadfastness of hope (v3) – had spread far and
wide. People throughout a vast region couldn’t stop talking
about the remarkable transformation that had taken place
in the hearts of this relatively small group of Christians from
Thessalonica. So much so that Paul even says there was no
need for him to say anything (v8). The Thessalonians were
themselves living letters, loudly confirming by their changed
lives the truth of what Paul and his companions preached.
Do you see how full of encouragement Paul is? He is
effectively saying to the Thessalonians: “I know that you’re
afflicted; I know that you’re living in a hostile world; I know
that I had to leave you suddenly and you’re probably feeling
vulnerable and fragile. But please listen to this: I thank God
for you! I thank God that he has chosen and converted you.
And do you see how, by God’s power, your faith is having such
an impact throughout the world? Please, be encouraged by
this!”
This was God’s word to the Thessalonians two thousand
years ago. And this is what God’s word continues to say to
you today. You may not be living in Thessalonica, but you’re
not all that different from the original recipients of this letter.
You too are afflicted in various ways. You too are surrounded
by an increasingly hostile, pagan world. You too are part of a
small and fragile church.
But you have been chosen by God. You have been converted
by the Spirit. Jesus has delivered you from the wrath to come
(v10). And through your afflictions, God is able to use your
Spirit-produced faith for the good of so many others. Is this
not a great encouragement?
8
2. Be encouraged because the gospel is
true (2:1-12)
As we move into chapter 2, we see another great
encouragement that Paul gives to the Thessalonians: that the
gospel they have received is true. They have not believed in
fake news. They have not been converted to a myth. They are
not suffering for a lie. On the contrary, their faith is founded
on fact.
We see this in Paul’s expression, “the gospel of God” (vv2,
8, 9). This means that the gospel is divine in origin, not a
human invention. It also means that the gospel is about God,
particularly the person and work of Jesus Christ. God is both
the origin and subject of the gospel message. It is therefore
true. After all, God cannot lie.
But what is interesting in Thessalonians is how Paul connects
the integrity of the gospel message to the integrity of those
who preached it. He essentially says to the believers in
Thessalonica, particularly here in ch2: “You can believe the
gospel is true because of us! You can have confidence in
the veracity of the message we brought to you because we
showed, by our very lives, how true it is!”
It seems as if some people in Thessalonica were saying to
the Christians: “You can’t trust Paul. You can’t trust Silas or
Timothy. Look at the way they left you all of a sudden! They
don’t care about you!” They were accusing them of being
untrustworthy and not caring.
And that’s why Paul writes as he does in ch2. He’s defending
his and his companions’ characters because he knows that, if
their opponents are successful in undermining them, then the
whole gospel message will be undermined.
As such, he says in v3 that “our appeal does not spring from
error or impurity or any attempt to deceive.” They didn’t
indulge in flattery or self-glorification (vv5-6). They were, in
fact, straight with the Thessalonians. They spoke the plain
truth.
And why were Paul and his companions like this? Because,
as he says in v4, “just as we have been approved by God to
be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please
man, but to please God who tests our hearts.” Paul was so
conscious of having been called and commissioned by God
that he recoiled with horror at the thought of being deceitful.
He lived before the face of God.
As such, how could he lie, given that he’d been approved by
God? How could he flatter when he’d been entrusted with the
gospel? How could he seek his own glory when he lived to
please God and not man? This is the compelling logic of Paul’s
argument; it is inconceivable for the messengers of God to
speak anything other than the truth.
This is the way we should all think, especially preachers of
the gospel. Given both the divine origin and subject of the
message we proclaim, how can we be anything other than
trustworthy men?
But Paul wasn’t just trustworthy. He was also deeply caring.
He and his companions were like, as he says in v7, “a nursing
mother taking care of her own children.” They were kind,
gentle, and tender towards the Thessalonians. Such was the
strength of their affection that they didn’t simply tell them
the gospel, they also poured out their lives for them (v8).
This is how those of you who are mothers feel about your
children, isn’t it? You’ll do anything for them. You’ll give them
your very self. And this is exactly the way Paul felt about the
church in Thessalonica. He had, as it were, given birth to it. As
a result, he yearned for them with motherly affection. Added
to that, he exhorted them with fatherly love (v11).
Paul had been accused of not caring for the Thessalonians.
In response, he reached for the picture that displayed most
vividly how rich his care for them truly was: the picture of
motherly and fatherly love.
This provides us (again, especially pastors and elders) with a
real challenge: do we have a love that is comparable to Paul’s
for the church where we serve? Do we, albeit imperfectly,
embody in our lives something of the truth of the gospel?
3. Be encouraged because of the church’s Be encouraged that the gospel is true. You are not following
perseverance
A third encouragement for the Thessalonians comes in ch3,
where Paul expresses his joy that they are continuing in the
faith. The apostle was clearly worried that the experience of
affliction may have knocked the church off course, which is
why Timothy was sent (vv1-5).
To his great delight, however, Timothy brought back with him
the good news that the Thessalonians had not given up on
Christ and were in fact standing fast in the Lord (vv6-10).
It is worth noting here how Paul’s joy was other-orientated. It
wasn’t tied up with his own welfare, but with the welfare of
the church, particularly its faithful perseverance in the midst
of suffering. This is what gave him joy. This is what made him
live (v8)! Imagine how encouraging it must have been for the
Thessalonians to hear how delighted Paul was with them.
It’s perhaps easy to be critical of the church. And no doubt
there’s much to be critical about. After all, the church is full of
sinners. But take a leaf out of the apostle’s book here. Rejoice
to hear of Christians standing fast in the Lord, particularly as
they endure pain and affliction. Be encouraged by the way
Christ preserves his people throughout the ages.
Conclusion
Paul had been torn away from the church in Thessalonica.
He longed to see them again. He feared that Satan may have
tempted them away from Christ. He therefore rejoiced when
he heard the good news from Timothy that they were doing
well. And so he wrote them a letter in order to encourage
them.
And as Paul reminded the Thessalonians that God had chosen
and converted them, that the gospel message was true, and
that they were continuing well under trial, no doubt their faith
was greatly boosted.
And these things ought to encourage you too. It is perhaps
easy to be discouraged, particularly if, like me, you’re more
of a glass-half-empty kind of person. You see so much in the
world, so much in the church, and so much in yourself to get
you down. If this is true of you, take to heart the message
of encouragement we find in the first three chapters of 1
Thessalonians.
Be encouraged that you are a Christian. You may not think
that you’re a particularly good Christian, but that’s a subject
for another time. However well (or badly) you think you’re
doing, the fact remains that God has chosen you, the Spirit of
Christ has converted you, and Jesus has delivered you from
the wrath to come.
a lie. You may suffer for it, but is it not worth suffering for the
sake of the truth? More to the point, is it not worth suffering
for him who is the Truth? After all, Jesus, far more than Paul
or anyone else, embodies the gospel because, of course, he is
the gospel.
And be encouraged that, by God’s grace, you will continue
to stand fast in the Lord until your heart is established
“blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the
coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints” (3:13).
Doug McCallum is Associate Minister at
Cambridge Presbyterian Church. He is married to
Rebecca, and they have recently welcomed the
arrival of their first child, Luke.
9
 Reformed Theological College
Faithful in a Hostile World
Daniel 6:1-5
Y ou may not know the story of Daniel in the Lions’ Den.
If you don’t, go and read Daniel 6 now – you’re in for a
treat! But to most people reading this article, the story will
be very familiar. It’s up there with Noah’s Ark, Joseph and his
Dreamcoat, and David and Goliath as well-known highlights
of the Old Testament. It can therefore suffer like a joke from
a Christmas cracker – we know the punchline already. Even
so, there are so many lessons to learn from this one chapter,
that I’ve benefited from considering it slowly, and hope you
will too.
A Hostile World
The statistics vary from survey to survey, but over the last 30
years the proportion of those in UK professing “no religion”
has risen from a third to a half; and in the same period church
attendance has plummeted from 12% to 5%. The picture is
somewhat brighter in Northern Ireland, but increasingly, we’re
seeing Christians challenged, sued or sacked because of their
beliefs.
Tim Farron, the former leader of the Liberal Democrats was a
high-profile example. When he stepped down in June 2017,
he said, “The consequences of the focus on my faith is that I
have found myself torn between living as a faithful Christian and
serving as a political leader.” The well-publicised court cases
around the Ashers Bakery are another example. The culture
is squeezing Christianity to the sidelines, and it’s happening
quickly.
10
Consequently, it can feel like a hostile world. You may be very
much aware of that. Perhaps you feel some of that hostility
with family or friends, or with colleagues or policies at work.
Now it’s important to remember, we’re not unique. The
church has always been on a rollercoaster, with ups, downs,
and constant opposition. We also don’t want to overplay our
situation. Many believers through the centuries have found
themselves faced with much more overt persecution than we
encounter. The same is true for brothers and sisters around
the world today – enduring physical violence, oppression,
imprisonment, even death.
The point is, we shouldn’t be surprised, or crushed, by the
opposition we face from the world around us. It was ever
thus. The question isn’t, why is the world hostile, but will we
stay faithful?
Daniel was certainly aware of living in a hostile world. As a
young man, maybe a teenager, he’d been taken captive from
Jerusalem to Babylon by the invading army. By the time we
reach chapter 6, Daniel is perhaps in his 80s, serving under
at least his third foreign king, and second world superpower.
The Babylonians have been overthrown, and the new ruler is
Darius of the Medo-Persian empire.
Daniel is in a hostile world. The question is, will he stay
faithful? And what can we learn from him? I want to draw
three lessons from v1-5.
 1. Remember you’re in Exile
In one sense, for Daniel, it was obvious. Different landscape,
different language, different food, different religion, and he’s
even given a different name! The “el” in Daniel pointed to the
God of the Jews; the “Bel” in Belteshazzar to a Babylonian
god (Daniel 1:7).
But after 60 or more years, and having forged a successful
career, it would be natural for Daniel to feel more at home.
We might expect him to have adopted aspects of the culture,
just as those from abroad who settle here inexplicably find
themselves asking for tea, craving fry-ups and joining queues.
But throughout the book, Daniel never forgets his identity,
never forgets that home is Jerusalem.
A Christian is no less in exile. Look at what Peter writes to
believers in the 1st Century.
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a
people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him
who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you
were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you
had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
1 Peter 2:9-10
These are all Old Testament terms that would have been
familiar to Daniel, but Peter applies them to Christians.
Through Jesus, we have a new identity, we are part of the
chosen people of God. But, Peter goes on, “Dear friends,
I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world,” (1 Peter
2:11). Whether you hold a UK, US, Irish, Brazilian or Chinese
passport, as Paul says, our true citizenship is in heaven
(Philippians 3:20). We’re exiles here.
If that’s true, then we should expect to feel a bit
uncomfortable from time to time, because we’re not yet at
home. We shouldn’t be surprised by the hostile world. In
fact, when you begin to feel at home, when you feel like the
world is welcoming and accepting of you, perhaps you’ve
forgotten your true identity. Perhaps you’ve forgotten you’re
part of a new nation, and have slipped back into being part of
this world. It’s not strange that the world is hostile; we’re the
strangers!
2. Work Hard in Exile
It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the
kingdom, with three administrators over them, one of whom was
Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so that the
king might not suffer loss. Now Daniel so distinguished himself
among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional
qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.
Daniel 6:1-3
Here is Darius’ latest cabinet reshuffle. “Satraps” is just a
term for officials within the empire. Daniel, as he has done
before, does a good job and gets himself noticed. But it’s not
only the king who’s noticed Daniel. His colleagues have too.
At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds
for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs,
but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption
in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor
negligent. Daniel 6:4
Many people will be able to relate to feeling jealous of
someone else – at school or work. We don’t like someone
doing something better than us, and our pride kicks in. But
for these satraps, that jealousy against a diligent, reliable,
honest co-worker morphs into bitter hatred.
Have you ever wondered why Daniel is working so hard?
What’s the point when this brutal pagan dictator gets the
benefit? Perhaps you feel that in your own workplace.
What’s the point in me slaving away and working hard when
it’s the boss or shareholders or taxman who benefit? People
who might have very different values from your own.
The prophet Jeremiah had sent a letter to the exiles in
Babylon. He wrote, “seek the prosperity of the city to which I
[God] have carried you into exile,” Jeremiah 29:7. Why? The
exile was not a mistake. God was in charge of the exile. He
had taken his people away from their land, but they were still
his people. Even his captive, exiled people, were to be good
citizens. Daniel took this to heart.
Our motivation for hard work is spelled out in Colossians 3:23:
“Whatever you do, work with all your heart, working for the Lord,
not men.” Being in exile is no excuse for shoddy work. In fact,
doing your job well pleases God and glorifies him. Of course,
it doesn’t have to be paid work. It equally applies to mums
and mechanics, volunteers and vets, carers and consultants.
For those of us who sometimes find our jobs wearying, dull,
frustrating, this should be incredibly encouraging! In the
classroom, in the factory, in the office, at the kitchen sink,
God is honoured by you working hard. If no one else seems to
notice or care what you do, God does. Daniel is not ultimately
working for Darius, but for God.
Now there are times when we can’t do what’s asked of us,
as we’ll see for Daniel next time. We have a higher authority,
so we can’t lie, or bully, or engage in unlawful activity for the
sake of the company.
But Daniel works hard, and his colleagues know it. They set
about the ultimate smear campaign, desperate to discredit
him. They’re watching for solitaire on his laptop, trawling
through his tweets from the last decade for signs of sedition,
seeing if they can find someone he’s given a back hander to.
But they come up empty!
Would the satraps have trapped you? None of us is sinless,
but are we diligent, trustworthy, hardworking in our God
given vocation? Or at least striving to be? This means not
wasting time, cutting corners, doing the minimum, but doing
everything asked of us to the best of our ability – working for
the Lord, not men.
11
 And when we realise how far short we fall of Daniel’s
example, we don’t despair. Instead, we look to our perfect
saviour. The angry crowds could find nothing to condemn
Jesus for (see John 8:46, Mark 14:55-56). He did his perfect
work, to the ultimate exile of the cross, in order that one day
he might take us to our true home.
3. Stay Faithful in Exile
Finally, these men said, “We will never find any basis for charges
against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the
law of his God.” Daniel 6:5
Daniel has an Achilles heel. He takes his religion so seriously!
And the satraps know it. The hostility of the world, hasn’t
squeezed the faith out of him. Could the same be said of you?
At the risk of prejudicing your opinion of me, growing up
I used to collect stickers on my Bible. One I remember
vividly was of a cartoon of a judge peering menacingly over
the bench with the caption: If you were arrested for being a
Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you? Good
question.
The one thing these men knew about Daniel was his strong
faith, his commitment to God. That’s how we’ll trip him
up. Do people know you’re a Christian? Do they know you
go to church? And if so, would they think Christianity is
just another hobby for you, with fly fishing and crochet? Or
would they see that following Jesus is the all-encompassing,
controlling principle of your life? That being obedient and
faithful to him is your highest priority and that he is the one
you want to please?
In exile, just like Daniel, we all face pressures to compromise,
to settle in and feel more at home. The world offers us
the carrot and the stick. It says, “don’t stand out, don’t be
different, keep quiet about Jesus”. Then the world shows us
its dazzling array of temptations, and says, “come and join us,
we’ll give you all the pleasures and desires of your heart”. In
other words, make yourself at home!
Peter was well aware of these pressures and temptations on
the Christian exiles he was writing to.
Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to
abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. 1 Peter
2:11.
He urges his readers to resist the temptations, and stay
faithful to God. To wage war on those sinful desires. And as
we do that, people will notice.
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse
you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify
God on the day he visits us. 1 Peter 2:12.
By ‘pagans’ here, Peter simply means non-Christians.
Whether you like it or not, you’re a walking billboard for Jesus.
Are you a faithful one?
Peter doesn’t mean that people will always like us.
12
The book of Daniel makes that clear. Sometimes people will
hate us because of our beliefs and morals. Being faithful to
God sets us against this world. But those people should also,
even through gritted teeth, have to admit we’re trustworthy,
reliable, kind, selfless and generous. We’re different because
of Jesus.
Sadly, as we all know, sometimes Christians can simply
be unpleasant, even obnoxious. We can carry an air of
superiority and disdain amongst the “pagans” around us.
That shouldn’t be the case.
Maybe you’re reading these words as someone who has had
very bad experiences around churches or Christians. Maybe
you’ve been bruised by those who claimed to be Christian but
weren’t trustworthy, and were utter hypocrites. If so, please,
don’t judge Christianity on Christians. Judge it on Christ. He
is the one against whom no charges can stick. And he is the
Saviour.
Peter frames his instruction in the light of the last day, the
day God visits us. When Christ returns, our friends, family,
colleagues and neighbours will ultimately acknowledge our
godly behaviour, and give glory to God.
Daniel’s example is such a challenge to me, and I’m sure it
is to you too. Because I think all Christians would love it to
be true of us that the only basis for a charge against us was
to do with the law of our God, that others would see being
faithful to God was what was most important to us.
Conclusion
We find ourselves as exiles in a hostile world. Don’t be
surprised by the hostility. But don’t cave in either. We’re
called to work hard and stay faithful to the God who called us
out of darkness into his wonderful light. It may get very hard
– as it will for Daniel as we read on. It might get very hard
for you this week, this month, or this year. But keep going,
because people will see your good deeds, and glorify God.
James Buchanan is the Minister of St Peter’s International
Presbyterian Church in West Liss, Hampshire. He is married
to Jenny, and they have three children. James is also an avid
supporter of Sheffield Wednesday.
Philemon v1-7
Grace-based Fellowship
In this series of three articles we will
unpack Paul’s short letter to his friend,
Philemon. As you probably know, the
main body of the letter is all about this
man’s interactions with someone called
Onesimus, but we’ll get to that whole
matter next time. After all, it is not until
a third of the way through the letter
that Paul actually starts addressing that
situation concerning Onesimus. To start
with, he focuses on Philemon himself,
and so that’s what we’re going to do in
this first article.
Who was Philemon?
We don’t have a great deal of
information about this man Philemon
but we know that he lived in the city
of Colossae, which is in modern day
Turkey. We can also assume that
Philemon was, probably, fairly well-to-
do. We know that he owned at least one
slave who worked in his household, a
man called Onesimus, who we will find
out about next time. It may be the case
that Philemon had a number of other
people working for him like that, too.
Also, we can probably assume that he
had a decent sized house. The Colossian
church met for their worship services in
Philemon’s house, verse 2 tells us.
So, it’s a bit of a guess, but you would
imagine that he would have had a fairly
decent sized lounge. Later in the letter,
we also find out that he was able to set
aside a guest room for the apostle Paul,
so we can assume he wasn’t short of
space.
Reformed Theological College
So, putting together the few things
we know about Philemon, we assume
that he was from the upper classes of
Colossae. A businessman, perhaps, with
people working for him, and with a nice
house.
As Paul writes this letter to Philemon,
he reminds him of three things that God
has done for him, out of sheer grace.
The reason Paul reminds Philemon
of these things is because, before
he considers what he should do for
Onesimus, he needs to remember what
God has already done for him.
1) By grace, God saved Philemon
Again, we don’t have too many details
about how this happened. We know
that the apostle Paul had never actually
visited Colossae at this point. But it is
very likely that, early on in Paul’s third
missionary journey, perhaps about
55AD, Paul had met Philemon in the city
of Ephesus. Ephesus was the big port
in those days, and so perhaps Philemon
was in town on business.
As God would have it, when Philemon
was in Ephesus, so was Paul. Philemon
wasn’t a Christian at this point, but he
heard the apostle Paul preaching the
gospel. He sat down with Paul and
spoke with him about the gospel. Paul
told him about Jesus; about who Jesus
is and what Jesus has done. And, in
time, Philemon became a Christian. He
trusted in Jesus. He believed the gospel
that Paul had told him. The two became
not only friends, but brothers in Christ.
That’s what Paul is reminding Philemon
of in verse 19: he says in that verse that
Philemon owes him even his own self.
It’s Paul’s way of saying, “Philemon,
remember your conversion! Remember
how, through my ministry, God saved
you! Without that, you would still be
lost. But God intervened. He arranged
things so that our paths would cross in
Ephesus, and I would have the chance
to tell you the good news of Jesus – and
God opened your heart and brought you
to himself. By grace, God saved you!”
Of course, neither Paul nor Philemon
was going to stay in Ephesus that long.
Philemon would have to return home
to Colossae, and Paul, in time, would
continue with his missionary journey.
So, what happened next?
Sometime later Philemon went back
home to Colossae, but he did so a new
man. He told his family about his new
found faith in Jesus. He shared the
gospel with them, and they too became
Christians. And Philemon became very
instrumental in the setting up of a new
church in Colossae. He was probably
one of the elders there. As we have
seen already, the church gathered for
worship at the house of Philemon.
And that brings us to the second thing
that God has done for Philemon…
2) By grace, God drew Philemon
into Christian fellowship
If you look at the first couple of verses
of the letter, you can’t help but notice
13
 that Philemon is a man who has been
drawn into Christian fellowship. That’s
what Paul keeps underlining time and
time again – the fact that as someone
who has been saved by God’s grace,
Philemon now has been drawn into
Christian fellowship with other believers.
Notice how Paul keeps underlining that
repeatedly in those opening couple
of verses. See how many words and
phrases Paul uses to convey the idea of
fellowship.
Firstly, after introducing himself, he
mentions Timothy, whom he describes
as “our brother”. Timothy had been
with Paul for at least some of that time
in Ephesus, so there is a chance that
Philemon had got to know Timothy back
then. Now, as he writes this letter about
6 years later, Paul is under house arrest
in Rome, and Timothy is with him. So
Paul mentions him – but he describes
him warmly as “our brother”. He’s saying
to Philemon, “Timothy is my brother,
and he’s your brother as well, in Christ.
Through being saved, you’ve been
brought into Christian fellowship with
him.”
And then, Paul refers to Philemon
himself, whom he describes as a “fellow
worker”. We can assume that this means
that, in those days immediately after
Philemon was converted in Ephesus, he
did not return immediately to Colossae.
Rather, for a little while at least,
Philemon worked together with Paul
for the sake of the gospel. He became
a fellow worker. But, not just a fellow
worker. Notice that Paul describes
Philemon as a “beloved fellow worker”.
Again, Paul is emphasising the warm,
Christian fellowship that they have
shared over the past few years.
And then Paul mentions two other
individuals; Apphia and Archippus.
We can’t be sure exactly who they
are, but it is very likely that they are
Philemon’s wife and son. But, yet again,
notice that the way in which they are
described is intended to underline this
idea of Christian fellowship. Apphia is
described as “our sister”, and Archippus
is described as “our fellow soldier”. That
probably implies that this young man
Archippus had some significant role
14
to play in gospel work. In fact, in the
letter to the Colossian church, which
was sent along with this personal
letter to Philemon, Paul has a little
line addressed particularly to this man
Archippus, calling him to “complete the
work you have received in the Lord.”
Archippus was a fellow soldier. He
stood alongside Paul and Timothy, and
Philemon and Apphia, in fighting for the
gospel.
And then, of course, the whole church
is mentioned in passing: “the church in
your house.” Remember, having returned
to Colossae a converted man, Philemon
then put his fancy house to good use
by opening up its doors and providing a
place of worship for this new, growing
gathering of believers. By doing that,
Philemon was expressing that he was
in fellowship with these people. They
would have been people from different
walks of life. From Paul’s letter to that
church, we can conclude that there were
husbands, wives, children, parents,
slaves, masters, and so on, in that
church family. And every Sunday, and
probably at other times as well, this
man Philemon would open the doors of
his house, and all these different sorts
of people from throughout Colossae
would gather together for a time of
fellowship, under Philemon’s roof, as
brothers and sisters and fellow workers
for the gospel.
One commentator sums it up by
saying that this letter is all about the
reconfiguration of relationships in terms
of the gospel.
Even in this opening greeting, that’s
exactly what Paul is putting his finger
on, isn’t it? Ever since that day in
Ephesus 6 years previously when, by
grace, God saved Philemon, Philemon’s
relationships have been reconfigured by
the gospel. He became a beloved fellow
worker. Paul and Timothy became his
brothers. Apphia and Archippus became
his sister and his fellow soldier. And he
opened the doors of his house to the
whole church family.
All of which is to say that, by grace, God
drew Philemon into Christian fellowship.
Of course, the same is true for us, isn’t
it? When, by grace, God saves us, he
doesn’t leave us just as an individual,
isolated believer. No, he draws us into
Christian fellowship with other believers.
He unites us together in Christ, so that
we become brothers and sisters and
fellow workers.
3) By grace, God was changing
Philemon’s heart
Paul turns now to prayer and
thanksgiving, and he says, “I thank my
God always when I remember you in my
prayers…”
Though he had not seen Philemon in a
few years, Paul was clearly very faithful
in praying for Philemon. And those
prayers were filled with thankfulness,
because Paul had been hearing great
things about how Philemon was doing
as a Christian.
If Paul met someone from the church
in Colossae, or if he knew someone
who had visited there, he would say to
them, “And what about my old friend
Philemon? How is he doing? I’ve not
seen him for a few years now, since he
returned home to Colossae. Is he going
well as a Christian?”
It appears that there were two things
that people would mention as they gave
Paul an update on Philemon.
They would mention his faith. That’s
there in verse 6; the faith that Philemon
had toward the Lord Jesus. This was a
man marked by ongoing, obedient trust
in Jesus.
And, as well as that, people would
remark upon his love for other believers.
Again, verse 6 mentions Philemon’s love
for the saints. And then, verse 7 spells
it out more fully: Paul says, “For I have
derived much joy and comfort from your
love, my brother, because the hearts of
the saints have been refreshed through
you.”
Paul doesn’t go into any specifics here,
but it’s clear that Philemon was a man
who showed great love to his brothers
and sisters in Christ. He would refresh
their hearts. We’ve already seen that
he was happy to open his doors and
welcome in the whole church family,
Sunday by Sunday. But, clearly, there
was more to it than that. He loved
his brothers and sisters in Christ, he
refreshed their hearts, and Paul is filled
with joy and comfort, as he hears that
news.
Notice, in verse 4, Paul thanks God for
these things. We might ask, ‘why does
Paul thank God for Philemon’s love
and faith? Shouldn’t he be thanking
Philemon for that?’ The reason that
Paul thanks God for this is because it is
all a work of grace. God was changing
Philemon’s heart, filling it with faith
in Jesus, and love for his brothers and
sisters in Christ.
So what are the three things that Paul
wants Philemon to be reminded of, right
from the start, as he reads this letter?
He wants Philemon to be reminded of
what God has done, and is doing, for
him:
By grace, God has saved Philemon.
By grace, God has drawn Philemon into
Christian fellowship.
By grace, God is changing Philemon’s
heart.
And that brings us to verse 6 – which
is the key verse in this opening section.
In that verse, Paul doesn’t say explicitly
what the issue is that has caused him to
write this personal letter, but he sets it
up. Have a look at that verse, and then
we’ll unpack it in the rest of our study.
Paul says to Philemon, “and I pray that
the sharing of your faith may become
effective for the full knowledge of every
good thing that is in us for the sake of
Christ.”
What does that verse mean, exactly?
First of all, what does ‘the sharing
of your faith’ mean? When we read
that, we instantly think of personal
evangelism, don’t we? We think of
sharing our faith with unbelieving
friends. But that’s not what Paul is
talking about here. The word ‘sharing’
is actually the word for fellowship (or, in
the Greek, koinonia). Do you see, what
Paul is saying here is tying in to that
theme of being drawn into Christian
fellowship? Through coming to faith,
Philemon is in fellowship with other
believers. That’s what is meant by that
phrase “the sharing (or the fellowship)
of your faith”.
And so Paul continues:
“I pray that the sharing [or ‘fellowship’]
of your faith may become effective for
the full knowledge of every good thing
that is in us…”
If I can paraphrase, what Paul is saying
here is, “Philemon, through coming to
faith in Jesus you have been drawn into
fellowship with other believers, and I
pray that you might come to understand
the full ramifications of every good
thing that that fellowship calls you to be
and to do. I want that fellowship to be
fully effective as you understand more
of what God requires of you. Because,
you see, Philemon, in this letter I am
going to ask you to do something quite
extraordinary. Something counter-
intuitive. Something that will make
everyone else in Colossae scratch their
heads and wonder about it. I want
your relationship with Onesimus to be
thoroughly reshaped in terms of the
gospel.”
You see, things between Onesimus
and Philemon were not good. We’ll go
into all of the details of that next time,
but suffice to say that Onesimus had
sinned greatly against Philemon, and yet
Onesimus was, now, a brother in Christ.
So, the question that is on Philemon’s
mind as he receives this letter is, “how
do you relate to a brother, or sister, in
Christ, who has sinned against you,
perhaps even in a very severe or hurtful
way?”
Well, here’s the starting point. You
need to remember what Paul has been
putting in place here.
You need to remember that, by sheer
grace, God saved you. He forgave you all
of your sin, through Christ.
Secondly, you need to remember that,
by grace, God has drawn you into
Christian fellowship. He’s made you
a part of the family. Even that other
believer who might have sinned against
you is now your brother or sister in
Christ.
And, thirdly, you need to remember
that God is now changing your heart to
love your brothers and sisters in Christ.
Thank God for that, because it’s his work
of grace! There are signs of that change
already. By his grace, he is making you
able to love and forgive those in the
church in a way that you would never
be able to do otherwise. By the grace
of God, your relationships are being
reshaped, in terms of the gospel. You
need that fellowship to become fully
effective to restore that relationship.
That, you see, is the predicament
this man Philemon is in, as he opens
this letter, and sits down to read it in
Colossae, in 61AD. Something dramatic
has happened, and he is hurting. He’s
probably feeling quite angry about it.
He’s contemplating his next move; what
will he do with Onesimus?!
Well, Paul writes to him, and before
getting to the matter, he says,
“Remember this, first of all, dear
Philemon: by grace alone, God has saved
you, and he has drawn you into Christian
fellowship, and he is changing your
heart to love your brothers and sisters
in the church. Within that work of grace,
there are all the resources you need to
respond rightly to this situation.”
And if Philemon does act in line with
that, then it will all be, as Paul puts it
at the end of verse 6, “…for the sake of
Christ.” In other words, it will all be to
Christ’s glory.
You see, it brings glory to God when we
allow our relationships in the church
to be shaped, by God’s grace, in terms
of the gospel. We can’t manage to do
that on our own, and that’s why Paul’s
blessing there in verse 3 is so relevant
to Philemon, and the church of Colossae,
and to us:
“Grace to you and peace from God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
15
 BACK TO THE FUTURE
L ooking back, and looking ahead, as CHRISTIAN WITNESS TO
ISRAEL celebrates 175 years.
A BURDEN THAT BIRTHED A MISSION
The date was 20th May 1842. The General Assembly of the
Church of Scotland approved the setting up of a Committee
‘for the purposes of collecting funds… and superintending such
missionary operations among the Jews in London… to avail
themselves as far as possible, of the concurrence and co-
operation of the Christians of other denominations who may
be willing to give their aid to this good work of the Lord’.
Where did this idea come from? The details would go beyond
the scope and word count of this article, but suffice to say the
Church of Scotland’s 1839 Mission of Discovery to the Holy
Land was the major impetus. On that missiological ground-
breaking trip the young, restless and reformed R M M’Cheyne
and Andrew Bonar were overseen by the mature Drs Black and
Keith. Their return, findings and preaching, further prompted
holy desires for the ancient people, particularly on the home
shores in the UK.
Of course those holy desires were not as a
result of the imaginations of eschatological
speculation, but a biblical and theological
hopefulness as expressed two centuries
earlier in the Westminster Documents
(Larger Catechism Q.191 & Directory for
Public Worship, ‘A Prayer for the Church
Universal’).
The Church of Scotland’s ‘Jewish’
Committee of 1842 was thus deeply
involved in the forming of an inter-denominational missionary
body in London (both theologically and financially, to the tune
of £500!). The first meeting was planned for November 7th
1842. Rev James Hamilton of the National Scotch Church,
Regent Square, London had invited his good friend down from
Scotland to preach for him that week-end. So it was that the
young Rev Robert Murray M’Cheyne was present, and then
prayed the opening prayer as the new missionary society was
formed.
It is fair to say that theology drove missiology, and the longings
of the 1600’s became the burden of much preaching in the
1700’s and 1800’s, unto the birthing of several evangelistic
endeavors for reaching the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
That same theology drives the desired aspirations of CWI
today, as we seek to reach those ‘loved on account of the
patriarchs’ (Romans 11:28).
16
A PRESENT THAT PRIORITIZES EVANGELISM
The money and the manpower that was put into the ‘Mission
of Enquiry’ was staggering. Four of Scotland’s finest were
sent on a somewhat perilous journey because of what? – ‘My
heart’s desire and prayer for Israel is that they may be saved.’
(Romans 10:1)
If we today are solely content to discuss eschatology (reformed
or otherwise!), or gaze at blood moons, or support Jewish
return to the Land, or a ton of other distractions, and fail to
do the ‘one thing needful’, then we do a great disservice to
those who began the ministry of CWI and more importantly a
disservice to our God.
Having spent most of my life in Northern Ireland I now live in
the USA, where reside 42% of the world’s Jewish population.
Never before in New Testament history have there been so
many Jewish people and evangelical Christians living side by
side than today, in the USA – fact! But I see tele-evangelists
stirring support for the Land of Israel, or charlatans making a
fast buck by marketing ‘Israel’, or the latest blockbuster book
giving us the Secret of America’s Future by
a warped exegesis of an obscure prophetic
verse. And I weep, first, for my Lord, and
then for this lost people, 6 million of whom
live beside us.
If there is more emphasis on the Rapture
than a Redeemer, ‘Houston, we have a
problem.’ If there is more emphasis upon a
‘secret’ than upon a Savior, yes, a problem.
If more emphasis upon the Land, than upon
the Lord… if more emphasis upon blood
moons, than a bloodied Messiah… OK, you
get the message. But this is 21st century America. And the UK
is not far behind.
Why did I get into preaching mode? Because, CWI, in its
present, prioritizes evangelism. We have a wide variety of
ministries, and missionaries and staff, but the arrow-head of
all our labours, is the one thing needful – ‘that they may be
saved’.
If you subscribe to our ‘Herald’ newsletter (if not, please
write to Head Office below), you will read many stories of our
missionaries meeting Jewish people and telling them about
Jesus. You will also read encouragingly of many, many stories
of the lost being found.
You can read of Holocaust survivors (whose time is running
out!), being touched by evangelistic efforts for them. In
December we held a Hanukkah Outreach event in Israel, when
our Field Director David Zadok, himself a Jewish believer,

preached the gospel to ‘his own’. There were 112 Holocaust
survivors at this event.
Our missionaries will tell of interactions with rabbis
over a coffee in a Paris café, or a chance meeting
of an Orthodox Jew asking for money at a petrol
station in Israel, or meeting Jewish people who are
searching at the ‘Mind Body Spirit’ event in London,
or visits to a Jewish Nursing Home in Hungary. And
so I could go on and on… CWI’s priority, is ‘that they
may be saved’.
We are driven by theology, but it is fair to say we are
also driven by the awareness of ultimate realities.
Our CEO in the UK, a Jewish believer, lives with
the mournful reality that his mother died without
knowing her Jewish Messiah. And he challenges us,
‘Stephen, a Gentile told me about Jesus. We need to
do this one thing!’
AN ASPIRATION THAT PROMOTES AN INTENTION
The longings of the Westminster Divines, the ‘hope’
of the Puritans, and the desires of the Scottish
Assembly promoted intentionality. Their theology
drove their missiology, and their burden birthed a
mission.
I currently drive around 40,000 miles per year
and have the privilege of speaking in many
churches all over the USA. Some of my recent
seminar titles were ‘Correcting the Confusion’, and ‘Desiring
the Conclusion’, as I seek to renew within the Gentile Church
that same aspiration of 1840’s (no, of the 1640’s!), - the
aspiration the drew forth a sincere commitment to reach our
Jewish neighbors with the gospel of Jesus the Christ. We had
a missionary for two years in Miami, where 660,000 Jewish
people live. There is a kosher Dunkin Donuts there! – and a
Cuban synagogue! Sadly our work in Miami had to close, but we
are hopeful to set up soon in Chicago with a new missionary.
Chicago is home to 300,000 Jewish people (- more than in all
the UK combined.)
So I long for and labour for Church intentionality. When the
burden is developed, so comes forth the active missionary
labour. And also the Lord brings the increase. When M’Cheyne
was returning home from the Mission of Enquiry, he found
Scotland ablaze in revival. His response was simple, as
Scotland was blessing Israel, so the Lord was blessing Scotland
(Gen 12:3).
A couple of years ago I was asked to preach in a church in
a Cleveland suburb. A month before I came, the minister
contacted me to tell me a Jewish man had just started
attending. When I got there, the Jewish man had already been
converted. A month ago, I was preaching in Pittsburgh and
discovered before I got there, there was a new-born young
Jewish believer in the congregation, now going through the
membership classes in the PCA church. The Lord gives the
increase.
I have a friend from Arkansas who is in the world of finance,
and is part of a study group, with three other Jewish people.
They call themselves ‘Three Jews and a Hillbilly’! One of those
Jews recently wanted to talk about spiritual things and took
a book from him - ‘Christianity is Jewish’, by Edith Schaeffer. I
got a text a few days ago, asking for advice on a local church
as this Jewish man is dating a Gentile and they want to go to
church! And so I could go on, about the phone-
call requesting help in reaching his Jewish dentist,
or another person asking me how to reach his
Jewish partner in the law firm, or the long standing
friendship a pastor’s wife has with a Jewish lady,
that now needs to get talking on the ‘one thing’!
Conclusion
In January I took part in some CWI Training Days. I
sat with a room full of CWI colleagues. The cultural
and even sociological diversity was stunning: a
Ukrainian-Israeli heroin addict now saved and
reaching his Jewish lost sheep at the Rehab center;
a Jewish believer whose family never came to his
wedding because he was a believer; several Chinese
missionaries with a heart for Israel; a Dutchman,
sharing his country’s history and love for the Jewish
people; a ‘personable Parisian’, who would talk to
anyone about the Lord; an Englishman who speaks
Hebrew, who interacts with Israelis in shopping
malls in the north of England; and again I could go
on…
What would M’Cheyne think? Well, that would
require another article…
Resources:
CWI Head Office: Christian Witness to Israel, Suite 6, Chilbrook,
1 Oasis Pk, Stanton Harcourt Rd, Eynsham, Witney, OX29 4TP
www.cwi.org.uk (UK)
www.cwina.org (USA)
www.ha-gefen.org.il (ISRAEL)
STEPHEN ATKINSON
(Director of Ministry, CWI-N America)
17
 FROM THE CHURCHES

Pressing Onwards and Upwards - Stranmillis update

For the last 8 months Stranmillis congregation has been in a period of transition. Having vacated our normal location at 36
Stranmillis Road at the end of July 2017, due to the major building project now underway, services of worship relocated to
Stranmillis University College on Sunday mornings and to Lisburn Road Hall in the evenings.

We are thankful to the Lord for his hand upon us during this
time, both in the measure of unity and togetherness among
our people, and the increasing number of visitors that have
been with us, especially on Sunday mornings.
There has been minimum disruption to the weekly activities
during this time with most groups being able to meet at
Lisburn Road, while the Pathway Club meets at Kimberley
Street City Mission. The Tuesday Student Café is the only
activity that we are unable to maintain.

Many of us did wonder when we first began to consider the

possibility of rebuilding, what with the costs involved in such a
project, as to whether our vision for the future would become
reality. The Lord’s goodness to us and his generous provision
for us are truly a matter of praise and thankfulness when we
consider that in just over 3 years our total income towards the
project now stands at just over £1million.

The church, however, is not primarily about buildings though they are necessary for the life and witness of the church.
Our location in the University area provides a mission field on our doorstep to both local and international students. Much
prayer is necessary as we seek guidance on how best to utilise the new building in increased witness and outreach in South
Belfast. The level of interest that has been aroused in the area with the construction work currently in progress has led to
some good conversations and opportunities for witness, both with those working on the site and to those in the immediate
neighbourhood.

We look to the Lord for his blessing upon the congregation as we enter in to this new chapter in the life of Stranmillis and we
covet the prayers of God’s people over the coming months as we seek to proclaim the Gospel of God to a needy society.
We anticipate moving back to Stranmillis Road, God willing, in the summer, and special opening services have been scheduled
for the weekend of 29/30 September with Dr Derek Thomas as our guest preacher.

Harold Gibson

Richhill EPC
After thirty years of EPC worship and witness in the village
of Richhill, the decision was taken to suspend services
in the church over the summer months, 2017. Sadly, we
report that services have not resumed and that all that is
left of the work, to the human eye, is a relatively new set
of buildings. Presbytery asks us to pray, seeking God’s
wisdom and leading concerning the possible future of any work in Richhill. In the meantime, there are plans to hold a monthly
Sunday evening service in the building as a help to discerning God’s will for the way ahead.

18
FROM THE CHURCHES

Ministers’ and Office OBITUARY - Mrs Ella Loney 1925-2017

Bearers’ Conference
Neil Beatson from Erne West
Evangelical Church (in Co.
Fermanagh) was the speaker
at the recent Ministers’ and
Office Bearers’ Conference
held in Knock EPC on the
third Thursday and Saturday
in February.
The subject was strength
and weakness in the
ministry and in the church, using 2 Timothy and Psalm 119
as the focus. A good time of fellowship was enjoyed around
God’s word.
What’s been cooking in
Mrs. Ella Loney was born in 1925 and became a member
of the Irish Evangelical Church (before the name change to
Evangelical Presbyterian Church) in 1941 at the age of 16.
She and her husband Albert were married in Botanic
Avenue IEC in June 1948 by Rev. W.J. Grier. They were
lifelong members of the Lisburn Road congregation where
Albert served as an elder for many years, as well as a
Sunday School superintendent.
Ella was very faithful in her support of the church both
at home, and overseas through the Women’s Missionary
Fellowship.
Her husband Albert was called home in July 1992. Thanks
to the faithful support of her friends in the congregation
she was always able to get to the services on Sunday and
the midweek prayer meetings.
On 2 November 2011 she celebrated 70 years as a
communicant member at Lisburn Road (and later Finaghy).
The occasion was marked by her friends at Finaghy with
supper and flowers.

Omagh? By January 2015 failing health meant she could no longer

get to church, and moved to Silverbirch nursing home in
Saintfield, close to her daughter Dorothy’s home, and it
On Thursday 23 Nov 2017 there was a ladies’ bakery/cookery
was here that she was called into the presence of the Lord
demo which had a Christmas theme held in Omagh EPC.
on Christmas Eve 2017 in her 93rd year.
This was organised by 2 ladies from the congregation - Mrs
She is greatly missed by her son Colin, and daughter
Christine Hamilton & Mrs Sandra Hawkes. Approx 50 ladies
Dorothy, her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. We
gathered in - mostly from the congregation and neighbouring
rejoice that she is at home with her Lord and Saviour
churches but several from the community also. There were
whom she loved and served.
lots of delicious festive goodies made and of course sampled
e.g. cheese and cranberry scones, banana and cranberry
Colin Loney.
loaf, coconut and cranberry cookies and blueberry and lemon
cheesecakes. There was a talk given on the real meaning of
the season and all enjoyed a delicious supper.

On Saturday 25 November also in Omagh EPC there was a

first ever Food Hygiene course. Approximately a dozen people
from the church attended this one-day intensive course.
It was delivered by a lecturer from South West College.
Many topics were covered including: personal hygiene;
contamination; disease; environmental health etc. There was
a lunch break and then back to note-taking!! At 5.30 pm after
a long and tiring day we all sat our multiple-choice exam
which was quite tricky at times... Thankfully everyone passed
- this Level 2 Food Hygiene qualification is valid for 3 years.
We had a busy day but it was a good day of fellowship. This
now leaves the church in a better position to provide food/
hospitality for the public and is highly recommended.

19
 FROM THE CHURCHES

Camp reunions
Saturday 10 February was the date and Ballyclare the venue
for another action packed Junior Camp Reunion. Forty-six
campers enjoyed the usual mix of games, craft, swimming,
quizzes and photos from last summer. It was an opportunity
to welcome potential first-timers for Junior Camp 2018 and
to encourage older campers to sign up for Inters. The day
finished with memory verses, singing praise to God and a
lesson from the story of Naaman- a reminder of the true
purpose of camp. We thank God for a safe and happy time
and ask Him to bless His Word as plans are made for July’s
camp.

The weather forecast was atrocious and planned outdoor

activities had to be changed, but none of the 31 young
people and leaders seemed to mind as they set off for the
Inters Reunion on Saturday 3 March. Bangor was the new
venue, with Eddie Irvine Sports and Air-tastic providing the
thrills and spills, and Groomsport EPC accommodating the
happy campers for lunch and more relaxing activities. Colin
Moore spoke on ‘Jesus is number one’ and it was great to see
friendships renewed and new-comers joining the group. We
look forward to seeing many of you at Inters Camp the first
week in July.

The Senior Camp/Ignite weekend 2018 was held on 9-11

February in Ganaway, Millisle. We enjoyed a packed schedule
of activities combined with excellent Bible teaching and
fellowship. Matt Bingham’s talks on the Armour of God
proved to be interactive and engaging, as well as challenging
and encouraging. Feedback from campers (and leaders!)
about the whole weekend was very positive. We now look
forward to more of the same for summer camp, 7-9 July.
Booking via Eventbrite now available: at eventbrite.co.uk
search ‘EPC senior camp’ and get booked!
A booking form for all three summer camps is now available
from your minister or youth leader, or on the church website
at www.epcni.org.uk

20
 BOOKSHOP NEWS
EPC Night
On 11 & 14 December 2017, we held our second series of
seasonal EPC evenings in Evangelical Bookshop. These were
an opportunity for everyone within the EPC to come down to
the bookshop, meet up with friends within our denomination,
enjoy some fellowship, drink some coffee, and buy some
books for friends and family! As on previous occasions, an
extra 10% discount was offered off everything on the night.
Pray for a good time of fellowship,
Ruth Burke read some extracts from Mansoul, her modern
re-telling of John Bunyan’s Holy War, which was well received encouragement and teaching at the
by the children- as well as some of the adults! A free copy Presbytery Day Conference in April. Pray for
of Catherine McKenzie’s book on John Calvin, After Darkness the preacher, Rev Ian Parry, and others who
Light, was given to each child in attendance. will take part. Ask that all will be done to the
We had a larger attendance this year and, due to increased
glory of God.
interest, we are going to run this event again on Monday 10
December. Why not put this date into your diary and come
and make the EPC Night even bigger and better than last Thank God for the ministry of his Word in
year? Richhill over the years and praise him that his
Word does not return to him void. Please join
Presbytery in praying earnestly for wisdom
regarding any future work in Richhill.

Praise God for the burden of CWI workers and

Tim Challies ‘Meet the Author’ Event - 30 January 2018
On Tuesday 30 January, Evangelical Bookshop played host to
Tim Challies on the first leg of his EPIC World Tour. More than
75 guests packed into the bookshop to meet Tim and hear
him talk about this very interesting project.
Tim is taking a year out to travel the world and is looking at
the history of Christianity through the artifacts he encounters
along the way. His local interest was Amy Carmichael and
highlights of his visit included viewing Amy’s annotated Bible
in the Public Records Office and seeing her new sculpture at
Hamilton Road Presbyterian Church. Tim hopes to connect
with the Dohnavur Fellowship in India, which was founded by
Amy Carmichael, later in the year.
During this event, Tim conducted an ‘Ask Me Anything’
session when he fielded many different questions and offered
his audience some really helpful answers.
If you would like to watch some of Tim’s ‘Ask Me Anything’
session, you can find it at the following link: -
https://www.challies.com/articles/epic-extra-ireland-ask-
me-anything/
supporters to evangelise Jewish people. Pray
for CWI missionaries in the UK, North America
and around the world. Ask God to give them
many opportunities to meet Jews and to bring
to them the truth of the Gospel. Thank God for
Jews who are coming to know Jesus and pray
that many more will come to a knowledge of
their Messiah. Pray for Stephen Atkinson as he
directs the CWI ministry in the US.
Thank God for safe and happy times at the
three camp reunions and for the good number
of young people interested in the summer
camps. Continue to pray for every leader to be
walking with God and well prepared to serve
him at camp. Remember especially Robert
& Julie Johnston (Juniors), Andrew Johnston
(Inters) and Mark & Jacqui Thompson (Seniors)
as they step into new roles of responsibility.
21

Join the Stranmillis congregation as they
praise God for his goodness to them during
these months of transition due to the building
project. Give thanks for unity among the
people, for visitors coming in, for opportunities
for witness and for financial provision. Pray for
the planned move back and the opening of the
new building and for guidance as Rev Gareth
Burke & the office bearers plan how best
to utilise the facilities in reaching out to the
South Belfast area.
Pray for Colin Campbell and the other staff at
the Evangelical Book Shop as they continue
to provide reformed books to many in the
province and further afield. Thank God for the
interest in recent events in the Shop and pray
that the lectures planned for the summer will
be well attended and useful. Pray especially
that the provision of good books will result in
the reading of good books and ultimately in
increased knowledge of God.
Pray for John Roger as he completes his
training for the ministry, sits exams and
completes a summer placement. Pray that
God would bless and keep John and his family
and direct him in his future. Thank God for the
Reformed Theological College and for the two
fellow students also finishing this year.
Pray about the proposal by a Belfast City
Council committee to have Belfast designated
as a holiday resort, therefore giving extended
Sunday trading hours to large shops. Pray that
councillors will vote against increased Sunday
trading and so protect the Lord’s day.
22
BOOKSHOP NEWS
‘Meet the Author’ Event with Jonny Gibson
(Westminster Theological Seminary)
Venue: Evangelical Bookshop
Date: 19 June 2018
Time: 7pm-8pm
Jonathan Gibson (PhD, Cambridge) will be in the bookshop
chatting about his new book, Reformation Worship. Jonny
is ordained in the International Presbyterian Church, UK,
and is Assistant Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew,
Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia. Previously,
he served as Associate Minister at Cambridge Presbyterian
Church, England.
Bookshop Lecture 2018
Venue: Knock Evangelical Presbyterian Church
Date: Friday 3 August
Time: 7:30-9:30pm
Speakers: Esmond Birnie & D.G. Hart
Lecture 1: Esmond Birnie - ‘Thomas Chalmers & the
Politicians’
Lecture 2: D.G. Hart - ‘The Political Thought of J. Gresham
Machen’.
We are delighted to announce that during the evening’s
lectures there will be a launch of Esmond Birnie’s new book
entitled, Chalmers: Reforming the Modern World.
Bookshop Lecture 2019
Venue: Knock Evangelical Presbyterian Church
Date: Tuesday 22 January 2019
Time: 7:30-9:30pm
Speaker: Carl R. Trueman
Lecture 1: Sola Gratia in Scripture & History
Lecture 2: Sola Gratia in the Church
We are delighted to announce that Carl R. Trueman (Professor
of Historical Theology & Church History at Westminster
Theological Seminary) will be back to deliver another
bookshop lecture. This time his subject will be ‘Sola Gratia’ in
Scripture, in history, and in the church.
Evangelical Bookshop: 15 College Square East,
Belfast, BT1 6DD. Tel: 02890 320529
e-mail: info@evangelicalbookshop.co.uk
website: www.evangelicalbookshop.co.uk
 BOOKSHOP NEWS
Five hundred years ago, the church was in crisis. Church leaders
were morally compromised. The laity was largely ignorant of the
Scriptures. Man-made traditions were exalted over God’s Word.
The gospel was buried under non-biblical practices. Today, the
church is again in need of reformation, which will only come as
we remember the insights of the Reformers and apply them to
the challenges of our day.
Drs. Sinclair Ferguson, Steven Lawson, Burk Parsons, Michael
Reeves and Derek Thomas will explore the history and legacy of
the Reformation and explain how we must continue the work of
the Reformers today.
We hope that you will be able to join us for this special event and
the time of worship, study, and fellowship that it will offer.
SESSIONS
• Before Light, Darkness by Derek Thomas
• Here I Stand by Michael Reeves
• A Reformation of the Heart by Sinclair Ferguson
• Speaking Truth in the Home by Michael Reeves
• A Temple of Living Stones by Steven Lawson
• The Reformation and the World by Burk Parsons
• Questions and Answers with Sinclair Ferguson, Steven life of prayer and the necessity of keeping close to the Lord is a
Lawson, Burk Parsons, Michael Reeves, and Derek Thomas
Book through Ligonier’s website:
https://ligonier-uk.brushfire.com/belfast/442177?
VENUE
Assembly Buildings Conference Centre
2-10 Fisherwick Place
Belfast
BT1 6DW
BOOK REVIEWS
Title: Seven Leaders, Preachers
and Pastors
Author: Iain H Murray
Publisher: Banner of Truth Trust
(2017)
RRP £15, EBS price £12
Any biography written by Iain Murray
will be sought after by those who love
church history and desire to learn from
the lives of God’s saints. This is an
intriguing volume in which Mr Murray
shares with us concerning the lives
of seven leaders in the church from
different eras of history. The following men are considered in
these pages: John Elias, Andrew A Bonar, Archie Brown, Kenneth
A MacRae, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, W. J. Grier and John MacArthur. The
amount of biographical detail included varies considerably from
person to person, and some of those featured will be much better
known than others. Whilst I don’t think the author consciously set
out to do so, there are a number of themes that recur throughout
this volume, most notably the importance of prayer and communion
with God among those who lead in Christ’s church, and also the need
to recognise that systematic exposition of scripture is a good model
for preaching but not the only one that God chooses to bless.
Perhaps the best way to review this book is by giving you a quick
flavour of three of the chapters. In considering Andrew Bonar,
Murray asserts that ‘he was not what is commonly called a ‘popular
preacher’. How then did he build and sustain a large congregation
through many years? The answer is because what a preacher is as
a Christian is of greater consequence than his natural gifts.’ (P 61).
‘It has become customary in many places for preachers to think that
the only way to preach is to expound a passage or book of Scripture
consecutively from week to week. It is worthy of notice that this
was not the view of Bonar or his friends. Their most common
method of preaching was to take distinct and separate texts’. (P67)
Iain Murray returns to this theme of preaching in considering the life
of Kenneth MacRae:
‘In his lectures MacRae dealt with the danger of taking single texts,
in no consecutive order, from week to week. In that practice a
preacher may too easily revert to the type of text which suits his cast
of mind. Or he may lose much time in trying to determine the text he
should take. But there are remedies for these dangers, and speaking
from a single text was MacRae’s normal, though not invariable,
habit. I believe there are good reasons why this method has usually
been the most popular in Christian history’. (P119)
In his chapter on W J Grier, which is appropriately subtitled, ‘Against
frittering Life away’, Murray lays out effectively before us the sheer
busyness of Mr Grier’s life. One is left wondering – ‘how was this
possible? How could so much be done by one man in the service of
Christ?’ However we are reminded in regard to Mr Grier, as well as in
regard to the other leaders, that his effectiveness in Gospel ministry
wasn’t just a matter of good organisation married to significant
intellectual ability, but above all he achieved what he did though
cultivating a close walk with God. The importance of a regular
worthwhile theme that oozes from every second page of this book.
In an address to the Leicester Conference on Acts 1: 12–14 Mr Grier
stated that ‘Prayer had priority in those days. The professing church
today has often got her priorities all wrong ….unless we look up to
God in heaven, we can never work effectually on the earth below’
(Page 201)
This is a well-researched book which will be of benefit to any of the
Lord’s people who read it, but will prove to be particularly challenging
and helpful to those involved in the work of the ministry.
Gareth Burke
23
 Best of the Blogs
A selection of online blogs and articles to challenge and
encourage you in your walk with God and his people…
How to Reconcile with Another Christian (Jason Helopolous)
www.tabletalkmagazine.com/posts/2018/01/how-to-
reconcile-with-another-christian/
“How do we reconcile with fellow Christians? In my thirteen
years of pastoral ministry, I have found that much of my
calling deals with helping those who have been injured by
other people—especially other people in the church. We
live in a messy world filled with messy relationships. The
church exists in that world, so it isn’t immune to messy
relationships.”
“Join or Die?” The Necessity and Gift of Church Membership
(William Boekestein)
www.alliancenet.org/christward/join-or-die-the-necessity-
and-gift-of-church-membership#.Wo7lbobfXYU
“In 1754 Benjamin Franklin published a cartoon called “Join
or Die.” It pictured a snake cut into eights representing the
British colonies in the New World. Franklin argued that unless
the colonies formed one body they would never be able to
resist the powerful threat of the French and their Indian allies.
Considering the fierce enemies assaulting believers in every
age (1 Pet. 5:8; John 15:19; Gal. 5:19) Franklin’s plea speaks
to one of the most basic questions every believer has to
answer: “What is the relationship between the Christian and
the church?”
Reformed Christians hold to this model of Earth history.
Nevertheless, many seem unaware of the actual events they
must inevitably adopt when affirming a 13.8 billion-year-old
universe. After all, one cannot extend history for billions of
years without attaching new events to it. Those events have
theological consequences. This is why Reformed thinkers like
Geerhardus Vos, Louis Berkhof, and D. Martin Lloyd-Jones
embraced 6-day creation. They understood it is the events
included in 6-day creation that are essential for Christian
theology.”
8 Ways to Welcome People with Disabilities into Your
Church (Heather Peacock)
https://ca.thegospelcoalition.org/article/8-ways-to-welcome-
people-with-disabilities-into-your-church/
“The importance of parents teaching their children to have
compassion and be intentional in this effort cannot be
emphasized enough. Our Lord Jesus Himself, spoke of the
importance of loving the “least of these” (Matthew 25:40).
Don’t let your kids miss out on this opportunity of mutual
blessing and the ability to grow in Christ-like character!”
City of Joy (Mark Johnston)
www.placefortruth.org/blog/city-joy
“The theme of joy in Scripture finds its focus in the joy of
knowing God as our God and Saviour. As we seek his glory
(as opposed to our own) we experience a joy that is utterly
different from all the joys of earth combined. Nevertheless,
amazingly, this joy can be found and experienced on earth.”

Six Reasons Reformed Christians Should Embrace Six-Day

Creation (Thomas Purifoy Jr.)

www.challies.com/sponsored/six-reasons-reformed-
christians-should-embrace-six-day-creation/

“I recognize that among some Reformed Christians this is

not a popular view of history. Instead, some have adopted
the framework hypothesis, analogical days, or the cosmic-
temple model to interpret Genesis 1. They then accept
the conventional chronology of universal history. This
includes the slow formation of everything over billions of
years starting with a Big Bang, the corruption, and death of
trillions of creatures before the arrival of Adam and Eve, a
Fall that introduced death only to mankind, and a local flood
during the days of Noah. I realize that intelligent and godly

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