Always Abounding........

Love Wins - A Sad Case

2011-03-19T18:27:00.001-07:00

Over these past few weeks I have become aware of the various discussions surrounding the anticipated publication of 'Love Wins' by Rob Bell, pastor of a church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, called Mars Hill.

Justin Taylor's comments on 'The Gospel Coalition' caused a fuss and then the Martin Bashir interview of Bell on MSNBC this past week certainly caught my interest in the light of Rob Bell's responses.

It turns out that Martin Bashir is a committed Christian himself and whilst simply going after the dis-ingenuousness he perceived in Bell's book, it was clear for any with eyes to see and ears to understand that Bashir understood the Christian Gospel better than Bell and exposed the postmodern nonsense that marks so much of this Emergent Church movement.

I have not read Bell's book, I am not sure I want to fork out any money that might go towards Bell's work if the critique's are accurate. Simply going off the Bashir interview is enough for any truly committed Christian to see that Bell is not an orthodox evangelical Christian and he is certainly a postmodernist in his approach to things. Glad that the exposure of this man was so clear.

Sectarian ? Or True ?

2010-10-19T13:51:00.000-07:00

It was very sad for me to receive a message from an old acquaintance back in N.Ireland who felt my posts about the Papal visit to Scotland were sectarian and inappropriate. Sadly it seems that to write as I did about the Roman Catholic Church is to be unwilling to move on and to be somehow stuck in the past of N.Ireland's past.

How should I respond? What should I say? Should I retract my perspectives about the Roman Catholic Church? Should I dumb down my concern for Scotland? Why would a guy that I have regard for and respect for get so offended at what I wrote?

Well at one level I understand it, he is a Roman Catholic and no doubt views my position as hostile to him personally. In reality nothing could be further from the truth. In reality my pointing out the fallacy of the Roman religious system is not to be hostile to any of my Roman Catholic friends, but rather a desire to have them consider what they believe and why? Just like anyone born into a Protestant family, the religion of your fathers needs to be evaluated against the word of God to see if it is according to the truth.

The tragedy and disappointment for me is that there is not really a willingness to consider the issues. Why? Because prejudice is deep-rooted in all our hearts and to examine the traditions of our fathers might result in forsaking them and such a possibility brings with it a price too high to pay. Whether you read my blogs about the Papal visit to Scotland as a Roman Catholic or a Protestant who has grown up in the deeply divided and bitter society like N.Ireland, realize that the Bible defines truth and Jesus Christ alone is the only Savior from sin and one day you and I shall give an account to Him for what we have believed and what we have done with our lives.

For those who might read my blog and think that I only believe Roman Catholicism is a false system, let me make it clear, Liberal Protestantism is no better. God will not ask you when you face Him in judgment whether you were a Roman Catholic or a Protestant, He will ask you if your are trusting only in His Son for the forgiveness of your sins and peace with Him and He will look for the proof of this in the way you have lived your life.

Reflections of the Papal visit to Scotland !

2010-09-16T11:27:00.000-07:00

As a Scottish evangelical Protestant Christian it is hard to watch the Papal visit to Scotland without deep sorrow and sadness of heart !

The Head of the Roman Catholic Church is a frail 90 year old German who comes across very gently and softly when he speaks.He struck some solid notes regarding the danger my homeland is in from aggressive secularism and he was correct about the Christian heritage of the land of my birth. However there is much more to who this man is than is frail, gentle appearance.

What he represents is what people need to understand. Reflecting on what the Pope represents is very important. Why? because the solutions to the aggressive secularism of the modern day are not to be found in the Roman Catholic Church or its heretical dogma.

Sitting watching the celebration of the Mass in Bellahouston Park in Glasgow,which is located only a few miles from the hospital where I was born and the street my father grew up in during the Second World War I was both sobered and moved. Perhaps there was a measure of sentiment and homesickness in my heart, but there was more !

Why did I find it sobering ? I was reminded of the fact that the Roman Mass has not changed. It is still a wrong understanding and wrong practice of the Lord's Supper. The doctrine of 'transubstantiation' is a doctrine of Romanism not of Christ. This is not a mere theological footnote to be ignored. Roman Catholicism is sacramentalism, it is the idea that the saving grace of God comes to us through the observation of religious rites, ie baptism and eucharist. It teaches sinners to be dependent upon sacraments and priests and upon the church for their salvation and not upon the one who saves us from our sins, the Lord Jesus Christ. This is not an insignificant issue. If God in His word calls us to believe in His Son for the forgiveness of our sins and peace with Him it is plainly wrong to teach people anything else in the name of Christ.

All across Scotland lie the earthly remains of many who in refusing to embrace the heresy of Rome were murdered by her. (See my earliest blog about Patrick Hamilton). Rome has never acknowledged this reality and unless she does any talk of unity with those who understand the issues is merely talk.

Why was a I moved ? Not for the reasons some may have been moved. I was moved to sorrow and heaviness of heart for my fellow countrymen who in sincerity are duped by the Vatican and its advocates. I watched the old, the young, the healthy and the sick, the lofty and the lowly participate sincerely in the Mass, delight in the presence of the Pope and I was reminded of how tragic my homeland is. Rome offers no assurance of salvation, Rome does not preach salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, Rome does not bring the true hope of the gospel to the people. Instead of keeps the people dependent upon a system that is full of pomp and ceremony but empty in terms of spiritual power and grace.

The true voice of the Protestant evangelical Christian in Scotland has been silenced. Few if any will speak up on these issues. Most will keep their head down and plough away in their little corner of Scotland and that is perhaps all they can do at this time in history. Yet today in the city whose motto is 'Let Glasgow flourish by the preaching of His word and the praising of His name', thousands gathered to participate in a ritual that in reality denies the gospel rather than proclaims it !

My prayer is that if nothing else the Pope's visit will thrust the issue of Christianity to the fore in Scottish life and give an opportunity for the true gospel to be explained and proclaimed. May the Lord yet raise up true ministers of the gospel and visit a nation once so singularly blessed with evangelical and biblical Christianity but now so lost in religious formalism and secular relativism. Let us not be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes......!

The Pope visits Scotland

2010-09-15T08:29:00.000-07:00

At the time of writing the Pope is about to visit my homeland of Scotland. The land of the Patrick Hamilton, John Knox and the Covenanters is no longer a land that truly believes the gospel of Christ or understands what biblical Christianity is all about.

Now a nation of secularism and liberalism with Romanism seeking a resurgence with the Pope's visit. The nation is languishing in darkness and the people are perishing. Secularism and liberalism have no answers for the addictions of alcohol and drugs...Romanism has no answers for the sexual immorality.

Scotland needs the true gospel of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Does it need a political protest from Free Presbyterians? No, i don't think so. How confused such things leave people. I do object to the tax payers money paying for the visit, I do believe the Pope is the embodiment of the spirit of Anti-Christ, but it is the gospel of Christ Scotland needs above all.

May the Lord raise up faithful preachers of the gospel and visit the nation with mercy and grace instead of the judgment that is evidently upon the land in this generation !

California Same-Sex marriage rises again....

2010-08-04T16:52:00.001-07:00

Today in California a Federal judge overturned the Prop 8 vote regarding Same-Sex marriage deeming it to be unconstitutional.

It is not a surprise to many of us that the issue is raising its ugly head again. Our land languishes in the mire of moral darkness and the USA is not a true republic or democracy. It is governed in the end by a liberal elite who are intentionally anti-Christian.

The Same-Sex issue will no doubt gain front page news again as the Gay-Lesbian lobby seek to have their way. As a Christian I am not disheartened by the fact sinners are pursuing their sin. It only serves to affirm the truthfulness of the Scriptures. It serves to stir me to greater evangelistic activity. Our hope is not in Federal courts, or political campaigns, our hope is the power of the gospel.

We must strive to love the homosexuals of our generation and offer them the deliverance they so badly need. Deliverance from the enslavement to sinful lusts and practices that are extremely powerful and extremely blinding. Only Jesus Christ by the power of His Spirit can bring any of us out of the darkness of sin and the bondage of our own depravity. We must preach Him, we must live according to His ways and seek to see those lost in their sins rescued before it is too late.

The hostility to our message is intense, it is mighty, but the God of our message is Almighty. Let us commit ourselves to prayer and let us not fight a spiritual war with carnal weapons. The Lord is our strength and the gospel is our confidence. Let us show it by preaching it and living it in the days ahead ! Let us love our enemies and let us tell them of our Savior and let us suffer their vitriol refusing to give in to their carnal demands to recognise that homosexuality is acceptable before God and that same-sex marriage is a civil right, when in reality it is a redefining of a God-given institution.

Upholding the Sanctity of Marriage

2010-01-18T18:06:00.001-08:00

Over these past weeks since the close of the 2009 and into 2010 I have been absorbed in studying the subject of divorce and remarriage. My normal expositions of Mark brought me to Mark 10 where our Lord is confronted again by the Pharisees. Their questions regarding divorce faced me with the task of looking again at a subject I had long since thought I settled.

In my deliberations, which I am still in as I write, certain things became clearer to me and some things gave me new perspectives. Perhaps the clearest issues came in terms of what Scripture really says in terms of divorce and what it does not say. The new perspectives came in the realm of emphasis and focus when it comes to this subject.

It was good to see afresh that divorce is not something that is commanded or required of us. In fact God hates it and sin causes it. Those who experience divorce experience something tragic and painful and something that no doubt cuts deep.

When we raise the subject of divorce the issue needs to be done in the context of the biblical emphasis on the sanctity of marriage and not how many reasons does someone have to get out of their marriage. Mark 10 and Matt 19 indicate that when our Lord was asked about lawful divorce He responded by speaking about the sanctity of marriage.

The exception of Matt 19;9 has caused much disagreement in the church, but I am persuaded that DA Carson is spot on when he says it should simply be allowed to have its normative force in the text. The sin of porneia does give concessionary right to divorce and therefore remarriage, if you understand the inseparable connection between the two. The Lord does not command divorce on such terms, nor recommend it, He simply concedes it.

No doubt marriages that can exercise gospel grace and forgiveness when porneia arises are to be encouraged, but the hardness of heart that can exist does mean that divorce will occur. We must work with those whose marriages are tarnished by such sin, but realise that we still must deal with some harsh realities in the realm of broken marriages.

The True Christian by John Calvin

2009-10-29T21:57:00.001-07:00

I had the great privilege this past Saturday, Oct 24 2009 to participate in a Reformation Conference at Covenant Reformed Church in Sacramento. As part of the commeration of the great Genevan Reformer John Calvin I was asked to present a paper on Calvin's view of the Christian life.

The past couple of months have been both encouraging and heart searching as I delved into both Calvin's Institutes, Book 2:6-11 and the 'Golden Booklet of the True Christian Life'. What a rich treasure of succinct biblical teaching Calvin gives us on the true nature of the Christian life.

I set out my paper around Calvin's main points as the actual five points of Calvin regarding what it means to be a true Christian. The five points Calvin believed that mark a true Christian's life are...

1. The Pursuit of Holiness

2.The Exercising of Self-Denial

3.The Cultivation of Patient Endurance

4.The Possesion of an Eternal Hope

5.The Wise Maintaining of an Orderly Life

A few weeks before he entered glory in 1564 Calvin wrote to Farel 'It is enough that I live and die for Christ who is to all His followers a gain both in life and death...'

His motto was as ours should be to 'I offer my heart to you Lord, promptly and sincerely...', Christian are you living as Christ calls you to?

A Church departed from the Faith....a Nation perishing in sin....

2009-07-03T15:43:00.000-07:00

Pray for Scotland ! The Church of Scotland have allowed the installation of an openly practicing homosexual to the ministry. Scott Rennie (pictured right) is in need of repentance and true faith in Christ and to forsake his sin. Sadly he has been recognized as a minister of Christ !

I have long believed my homeland's national church to be apostate and this does nothing to change my view. There are good solid Christian brothers and sisters within her ranks but alas is it not time to separate as those in 1843 ?

The testimony of a church that is muddied and unclean is no testimony at all. A willingness to suffer for the gospel materially and socially will surely bring greater honor to God than the fudging engagement in a discussion about whether or not same sex relationships are viable. A Christian surely has no business sitting down to even pretend to discuss such sin as if it were an open question before a holy God!

Where are the voices of truth and righteousness in the land ? The nation languishes in darkness and evil continues to abound and we think signing a petitition is all we can do to promote the gospel, little wonder the darkness is so great !

The Glory of Marriage

2009-06-23T23:06:00.000-07:00

Elaine and I just recently celebrated our 17th Wedding Anniversary. As I reflected on the blessing that is mine in my beloved wife I am reminded of the mercies of God to me in giving me such a precious gift in life.

Seventeen years have gone in so quickly in many ways, yet much has happened and many experiences have marked our lives together. We had the blessing of taking a couple of days away at San Simeon on the Central California Coast. In visiting Hearst Castle the tragic monument to William Randolph Hearst, the Rupert Murdoch of the 1920's and 1930's we enjoyed watching the amazing sunset over the Pacific, and enjoyed the quaint shops of Cambria. It was good to have time to discuss important family matters and just relax and rest.

The companionship, friendship and love that I share with my wife is more and more precious as the years go by. God has given us a glorious thing in marriage, God will bring it to an end one day, but until then we desire it to be all that God intended. How blessed I am. I love you Elaine and rejoice in what we have by God's grace.....soli deo gloria...

Enjoying Essential Christian Doctrine

2009-06-23T22:50:00.000-07:00

We are approaching week four of our Thursday morning class and the commitment level continues to remain high. We have around 40 regularly committed. This week we will be looking at the Incommunicable Attributes of God as we move from looking at what the Scriptures teach about themselves to what the Scriptures teach about God.

One aspect of the whole subject I have been wrestling with is the concept of time as it relates to the eternality of God. Grudem's treatment is interesting but falls short in my judgment. Is it really accurate to say there is no time with God in eternity past? Does communication between the three persons of the Trinity in eternity past demand no concept of time at all or time in a manner we cannot fully grasp? Surely it is the latter? However I do freely confess understanding past, present and future in an eternity before the world began is a difficult concept. Certainly in terms of time as we understand it, God created it. Yet surely for the eternal God-head to communicate there must be some realm of past, present and future involved?

I am left to follow Calvin and Paul's example and bow in wonder, awe and amazement at the great anf glorious God who is and was and is to come and who in the fulness of time sent His own Son to save us from our sins.....

Essential Christian Doctrine Class Gets Going !!!

2009-06-05T12:10:00.001-07:00

It was a great encouragement to have 30 of our folks turn up at 6:00AM in the morning to study the Word of God.

We began a class on 'Essential Christian Doctrine' yesterday morning, Thursday 4th June at 6:00AM. We will be using Wayne Grudem's edited text 'Bible Doctrine'. I was so encouraged to see the hunger amongst our younger people for this instruction, may the Lord meet with us week by week through the summer and build us up in Him to impact our city for His glory and the triumph of the gospel !!!!

Gospel Coalition 2009

2009-05-04T12:12:00.000-07:00

It is two weeks since the Gospel Coalition Conference in Chicago. I am only now getting a chance to post something on it.

I attended TGC with my good friend Reddit Andrews. It was a spiritually enriching time with good preaching and good fellowship. The theme of 2 Timothy was well chosen and I enjoyed working through it during the week with the various men assigned portions. Mark Driscoll probably dealt the least with the text whilst Phil Ryken and Ligon Duncan were thorough. Piper, Chappell and Copeland all brought truth through diverse personality and style which I was blessed by. CJ Mahaney's message on 1 Peter 5 and pastoral ministry was a highlight for me. Truly it is a great and glorious privilege to be a minister of the New Covenant. I also greatly benefitted from Keller and Carson's messages. Akith Fernando from Sri Lanka gave food for thought regarding suffering for the gospel.

I am encouraged by what I experienced at TGC and look forward to being involved in the future.

Patrick Hamilton - Reformation Martyr

2009-03-24T22:30:00.000-07:00

The picture above has an important place in Scottish Christian history. It marks the spot in St Andrews where Patrick Hamilton was burned at the stake for his faithfulness to the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. Murdered at the hands of evil men who believed that a right standing with God was to be found through the Roman Catholic Church and the doctrine of works righteousness, Patrick Hamilton preached the message of salvation by grace alone in Christ alone. The Christian gospel had set him free and he believed it was the only hope for Scotland.

Of noble birth, Patrick Hamilton was born in 1504. In 1520 he went to Paris, France to study and where he came into contact with the writings and teachings of Martin Luther. Returning to St Andrews in 1523, initially as a student, then tutor, he was becoming increasingly committed to the historic Christian gospel.

Hamilton began to attract the attention of the notorious and merciless Cardinal Beaton. The avowed Romanist was committed to preventing the truth of God's word taking root in Scotland. Sensing his danger, young Hamilton fled to Germany and the university of Marburg in early 1527. He would soon return to his beloved Scotland to face his divine destiny.......(to be continued)....

Scotland's Christian Heritage Remembered !!!!

2009-03-24T22:17:00.000-07:00

If you visit my beloved homeland of Scotland today you will realize that it is a land of great spiritual darkness and moral decline. There are some good solid churches sprinkled throughout the land of rolling hills, rugged mountains, twisting rivers, mists and cold northerly winds. However most who live in Scotland today are secular and without any knowledge of the period of conflict, turmoil and bloodshed that made her a great nation......

It is strange how living in the USA I am caused to reflect more deeply on my beloved homeland than I did during my years in N.Ireland. Perhaps it is because I am reading about the Covenanters to my son, Andrew before he settles down for the evening. Perhaps it is because this year commemorates the birth of Calvin in 1509 and his influence on Scotland has piqued renewed reflections in my heart.

Whatever the reasons, I intend to post some biographical material about those of whom the world was not worthy, Christians, true disciples of Jesus Christ who influenced the nation of my birth and who were devoted to the true gospel of Christ. Many of them shed their blood for the sake of the gospel and all of them believed they were not their own but were bought with a price, the precious blood of Jesus.

We will begin soon with the three earliest reformers.....Patrick Hamilton, George Wishart and John Knox.

Shepherd's Conference 2009

2009-03-23T16:04:00.000-07:00

At last I have a wee bit of time to report on the Shepherd's Conference at Grace Community Church.

It was my second time at this Conference and once again I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The hospitality of Grace Community is excellent and the logistics of the Conference are quite remarkable. As usual I came away with a bagful of books, some bought, most given to us !

I was edified and encouraged and refreshed through the worship and the word.

Phil Johnson's paper on the Friday morning was no doubt the most controversial in terms of the modern scene. I thought he did a good job and that what he had to say in the main needed to be said. I do think there are certain trends arising today that need to be addressed. I am hopeful that Phil's willingness to address this issue that has surrounded Mark Driscoll will serve to open up some of the fundamental issues that require attention in the modern evangelical, and even Reformed context.

Thank you Grace for a blessed few days, thanks to Ernie, Dave and Jeremy for the friendship we enjoy and the fellowship God has given us.

America trusts in itself......

2009-02-24T22:53:00.000-08:00

On our dollar bill the statement is clearly made 'In God we trust'. There is a lot of debate about this from the secularists and there is an ongoing call for it to be removed.

Maybe the secularists have a point. After listening to both President Obama's State of the Union address and Governor Bobby Jindal's response perhaps we should change the dollar bill's statement to 'In ourselves we trust'.

President Obama continues to pose as America's new Messiah, the one who is going to rescue America from itself and make it what it really should be the greatest nation in the world. He is the great redeemer from the old politics, the one who believes that the new era rests on him the great uniter, the great example, the great radical. More and more government involvement in everything is what is needed to save America from itself.

Poor Bobby Jindal, the apparent new upcoming leader of the Republicans. His response from the Governor's mansion in Baton Rouge, LA was embarassingly bad. His mantra 'America can do anything' became nauseating after the third or fourth time. Decrying the President's belief that wider government will save America Gov. Jindal's rhetoric placed confidence in the American people as America's hope. His message 'In ourselves we trust' came over loud and clear.

What a tragic state of affairs this once great nation is now in! Paying lip-service to trust in God on our currency can no longer disguise the truth that we are trusting in ourselves whether at the level of government or society at large. Unless we awaken from the blindness of self-deception and face the fact that without God we can do nothing this nation is heading for much worse than the present economic judgment it is suffering.

Let us stop trusting in ourselves and turn to the living God through repentance from our covetousness and greed, arrogance and pride and let us humbly trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins and seek God for His mercy in our day of trouble......

Thank you John.....

2009-02-17T22:35:00.000-08:00

Take time to listen to John Piper's preaching on the two posts below.
What a gift to the church he is, his holy boldness in these challenging times is a great encouragement to those of us who preach the word of God. Pray for all those whom you know who preach the everlasting gospel of Christ, that they will be pure, holy and faithful men.......

Churches arise and put your armor on !!

2009-02-17T21:21:00.000-08:00

Life in the city can often be viewed as something to be avoided if at all possible. The idea that life in the country is better and that it is more conducive to walking with God is often how many Christians think.

I believe that such a perspective needs to be challenged in our increasingly urbanised culture. All across the world it is evident that God is moving more and more people into cities. We are seeing that to live and move and have our being in God is to live and move and have being in an urban context.

Since the mid 19th Century many have viewed cities as centers of chaos and places of evil and danger to be avoided. The outworking of this has been the retreat of the church from the city and the loss of the gospel in the city. Christians have become afraid of the city and often do not know how to relate to it even as it moves closer and closer towards them in suburbia.

Cities have existed since the earliest of times and through the ebb and flow of history they have grown and developed in their nature and make-up. Now in the early years of the 21st Century we are seeing the urbanisation of the world even to the point where cities are possessing more power than nations.

The Christian church must respond. The city presents many and varied opportunities for gospel mission. Government, education, commercial, medical and media centers pervade the city and regions are influenced by cities as the apostle Paul clearly understood.

We need to respond positively and bring the city of God to the cities of our world. Churches arise and put your armor on. Pray for the peace of your city and the influence of the gospel to spread throughout it, bringing hope, righteousness and justice to its people.....!!!

PCRT Conference in Sacramento

2009-02-17T21:14:00.000-08:00

I am delighted once again to be anticipating the return of the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology to our church in Sacramento. This is the third year we have had the privilege to host this Conference. It has been and continues to be a source of great encouragement to our people and to the wider Christian community.

This year the topic is Justification by Faith Alone, it should be a real encouragement to our hearts. I am particularly looking forward to the Pre-Conference with Steve Lawson, who is responsible to bring addresses on John Calvin.

Behold Faithfulness...

2009-02-17T20:46:00.001-08:00

The Truth about the Prosperity Gospel

2009-02-17T20:39:00.000-08:00