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MONTHLY MAGAZINE OF THE FREE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND APRIL 2018 • £1.50
DAVID SUCH MYSTERY OF BY THE EDITOR
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according to his own words: ‘Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division’ (Luke 12:51). What divides the great Abrahamic faiths is the person of Christ. Christ, of course, comes to bring unity, to break down the dividing wall of division, but he does so by the teaching about himself that often initially causes division. Perhaps it would help Mr Suchet if we changed the word doctrine (dogma), which has such a negative, polemical feel to it, and instead simply say truth. Jesus is the truth and Jesus speaks the truth. ‘Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me”’ (John 18:37). The first disciples came to recognise that Jesus spoke the truth and they gave themselves to that truth. John 6:68-69: ‘Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”’ The doctrine of Scripture tells us about the miracles of Christ, which point to the divinity of Christ, and bring us to faith in Christ — ‘Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20:30-31).’ Jesus wants us to know his doctrine and to obey it — he even gives us his Spirit to write the doctrine on our hearts. How foolish of us to reject Word and Spirit and think we can still have Christ. ‘If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you (John 14:15-17).’ Suchet asks what went wrong with the Abrahamic faiths. Why is there so much trouble? It would be
here is a common misunderstanding that does
— the idea that doctrine is somehow unworthy of and unlike the Christ who is love. It’s something that we come across continually. Recently I was asked to write a comment on David Suchet’s comments on his new podcast series, in which he appears to question the value of doctrine in the life of a Christian. David Suchet is a big part of my life. Every day I hear his voice — not because I am an Agatha Christie fanatic endlessly watching repeats of Poirot, but rather because I listen each day to him reading the Bible. His voice is astonishing. I have found listening to the Word in this way such a spiritual blessing. So it was with great interest that I listened to his views about doctrine. Although I have a great deal of sympathy with some of his statements, overall they were somewhat disappointing and confused. Suchet has fallen into the oldest trap known to man — the devil’s favourite trick question, ‘Did God really say?’ There is nothing that the Father of Lies likes more than to get us to question the Word of God. He knows that the Church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ as the chief cornerstone. He knows that if he wants to destroy the church, then he must remove the foundation and the words of Christ. In a post-truth, postmodern, alternative-fact, ‘relational’ society, it’s all too easy for us to fall for the lie that doctrine doesn’t really matter, that it is divisive and that we should just be about the love of God. ‘It’s all about Jesus, not doctrine.’ It sounds so good. Lots of ‘likes’ are acquired whenever anyone plays that card. The only problem is that setting up doctrine and Jesus as opposites is a false dichotomy and ultimately ends up with the paradox of those who are against doctrine also being against Christ. Suchet doesn’t like doctrine because it is divisive. But isn’t that the case for everything valuable? In one sense no one is more divisive than Jesus, at least a great deal of harm in the church today
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ET AND THE DOCTRINE better to ask what went wrong with humanity: division exists in every society and community, whether religious or not. But it is true that something has gone wrong with the Abrahamic faiths — it is when they see themselves as Abrahamic and leave out Christ. Abraham is not the one we are to have faith in; he is instead an example of faith in Christ (Romans 4). What’s gone wrong with Islam, Judaism and much of Christianity? They have become Christless religions which ultimately lead away from, rather than to, God. Suchet also correctly states that doctrine is dangerous. ‘Religion with power is a very, very dangerous thing.’ Indeed it is. The Word of God is powerful, the Spirit of God is powerful and the Gospel of God is powerful. But the danger that Suchet fears is the misuse of the powerful force of religion, especially when it is used by politics. And with that I wholly agree. My problem is not with his analysis but his solution — getting rid of doctrine/dogma. The problem is that it won’t work. Why? Firstly, because it is impossible to get rid of doctrine (truth). The statement that ‘all doctrine is dangerous’ is itself a doctrine. Secondly, to remove doctrine is to remove the teaching of Christ — do we really want to get rid of the doctrine that ‘God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life’ (John 3:16)? No, the problem is not with doctrine per se; it is with false doctrine which leads us away from Christ. The solution is not no doctrine, but rather Christ’s doctrine. There are difficulties in the teaching of Jesus. They are often offensive to human feelings, religions and ideologies. But they are full of the Spirit and life. ‘Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you — they are full of the Spirit and life (John 6:61-63).”’ David Suchet has done the Church a wonderful
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service in putting the words of Scripture into an audio format. I am sorry that he appears to have been sidetracked from the Christ to whom those words testify, and I pray that he will once again experience that these doctrines are ‘full of the Spirit and life’. After reading the above, David Suchet himself responded — I wonder how you would respond to these comments and challenges? I add my own below, but it would be good to see how others would respond in a tweet (280 characters). Feel free to write in with yours and we will publish them next month! DS — Thank you. Another trap is to believe that what is printed in the press and edited on video clips is all I said! Similar to taking certain Biblical quotes out of context. Jesus' doctrine for us is LOVE. He condemned manmade 'religious' rules and traditions. THESE separate/divide. DAR — Thanks. Agree completely both about the press and the love of God. As regards the former, I apologise if I have inadvertently misrepresented you. As regards the latter, I totally agree that manmade religious rules cause harm — it’s best to stick with the Word of the God who is Love.
DAR — Jesus' Sermon on the Mount is also doctrine/ dogma which divides, precisely because it does challenge the world’s values. Adultery, violence etc. The key issue in any church’s teaching is whether they teach the doctrine of Christ or whether they have added to or taken away from it.• The Editor
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ITV for Masterpiece
DS — Just read the various Christian Church catechisms! Dogmas that are certainly polemical. Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount turns the world’s values upside down. Jesus’ prayer ‘To Love one another’ is not being answered by Church dogmas that divide.
GOVAN CAFÉ VENTURE
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he free church in govan recently confirmed a joint venture to launch a free café with street connect,
a Scottish charity that helps the marginalised and disadvantaged within society. Govan Free Church minister Rev. Norman Mackay said, ‘We are really happy working with Street Connect. Coming from an addiction background, both Ricky and Julie have proven God in their own personal experience. ‘Many of the guys who come to our drop-in struggle with addiction issues or perhaps just loneliness. Both these struggles are huge in our community, and working together or pooling our resources simply makes sense as we are both aiming at extending the Kingdom of God through ministering lovingly to the local community. ‘The fact is that recreational Christianity, where Christians simply exist for themselves and their families, means little or nothing over here. You have to be actively involved in the community and demonstrate God’s love in these practical ways to make any inroads into people’s lives.’ Street Connect works in partnership with a range of local and national organisations. Their current services include street work, drop-in cafes, 1-2-1 consultations, group work including their own community recovery programme, befriending, community detoxification services and referrals to residential rehabilitation. They have also recently purchased their first twobedroom flat to provide accommodation for those who have completed a period in residential rehabilitation. Julie McAddock of Street Connect said, ‘This outreach with Norman and the Govan Church Plant has been really good. Recently we had 43 people walk into the café from the Govan Road. The BBC wish to come along to explore the positivity surrounding the project, and an MSP also is keen to view the positive contribution that we are making in this area of multiple deprivation. ‘We identified the Free Church as a partner for the simple reason that under
Norman’s leadership the church is deeply involved in and highly respected by the Govan Community. As a minister of the gospel, he spends more time in the streets of Govan than he does in the pulpit. Jesus spent lots of time among the marginalised in society. So Street Connect and the Govan Church Plant want to do the same.’•
CHURCH PLANT IN GLASGOW
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hrist
church
glasgow
is in the early stages of planting a new church in Northwest Glasgow. Glasgow is Scotland’s most populous city and the fourth largest in the UK. Its vibrancy and thriving cosmopolitan outlook provide it with significant influence. The city heavily shapes culture due to its impact on business trade and manufacturing as well as its innovation in the arts, media and entertainment. With some 133,000 students from 135 countries, Glasgow also plays a large part in moulding education. Yet it has many social problems, with one of the poorest health profiles of any UK city and the largest number of deprived areas in Scotland. However, Glasgow’s greatest problem is spiritual.
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The city of Glasgow has as its motto ‘Lord, let Glasgow flourish through the preaching of thy Word and praising thy name.’ While everyone wants Glasgow to flourish, sadly, not many believe this will happen through the preaching of God’s Word. But Glasgow is urgently in need of more diverse churches to preach God’s Word and praise his holy name amongst the many people who are lost and know nothing of the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ. The church planting team is led by Rev. Jonathan de Groot. Commenting on the new plant, he said, ‘The launch team are burdened by the lack of gospel witness in the area and want to be a church engaged in this urban context where people can hear the
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gospel, see it lived out and come to believe it for themselves. ‘Amidst the affluence and poverty, you find professionals and the unemployed, students and the elderly, young families and singles all living in close proximity to one another. We are all excited by the opportunity to begin this new work and bring the gospel to the entire community.’ Give thanks to God for the support for this new church plant and for the people committed to reaching the many unbelieving people in northwest Glasgow. Please pray for Jonathan de Groot and the team as they have now begun to meet together to pray, plan and work towards a biblical and bold vision for what the new church should be and seek to find the most strategic location possible.•
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BY REV. IAIN MACASKILL
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I had the pleasure of meeting and hearing Will Graham at the launch event in Grangemouth at the beginning of the year. In many ways he’s a ‘chip off the old block’; what struck me was his humility and passion for reaching the lost. He also reminds me of his grandfather when he preaches; there is a real sense of the power of God and the presence of The Holy Spirit when he proclaims the gospel of Jesus Christ. Will shared with us that evening how he prayed long and hard before accepting the invitation to come to Scotland — an invitation which, incidentally, clashed with his twentieth wedding anniversary. He was compelled to say yes, and he’s now bringing his wife along with him. After the Celebration is over, they plan to visit the Isle of Skye — an appropriate place for them to celebrate twenty years of marriage! We believe that God will bless the Celebration. Already churches in the area are working together, whether from Charismatic, Pentecostal or Reformed traditions. Special prayer meetings are being held as we petition the Lord to bless this nation of Scotland. It’s no coincidence that the BBC is screening a documentary titled ‘Billy Graham and Scotland’, which will receive a higher profile now that he has passed into glory. What a legacy it would be for Billy Graham, a true legend in the field of evangelism, if scores of souls were won for Christ through his grandson’s preaching! Wouldn’t it be wonderful if those saved would grow in their faith and be ambassadors for Christ in this generation? We are reminded of Billy Graham’s words at the Kelvin Hall in 1955: ‘Millions of prayers have gone to the throne of Grace that God might send a spiritual awakening to Scotland and make an impact on the entire world.’ Our nation and world needs such a revival today. Where there is unity, God commands a blessing. Do it again, Lord! •
write this having watched the moving funeral service of rev. dr billy graham,
a man used by God to reach many millions with the gospel of Jesus Christ. It finished with a piper leading the family and the pallbearers with a medley of hymn tunes. The piper went on to play a well-known Scottish tune, ‘The Dark Island’, composed by Iain MacLauchlin, an accordionist from Creagorry in Benbecula. This particular tune was probably chosen because of Billy Graham’s links with the west of Scotland. His heritage was in Uig in Skye and his forefathers would have looked across the water to the Isle of Benbecula — An t- Eilean Dorcha (The Dark Island). Billy and Ruth Graham loved Scotland, and he is best remembered here for his visit in 1955 to the Kelvin Hall in Glasgow, where many committed their lives to Christ. Some of those people are still serving in leadership in the Church in Scotland today. My own memory is of his visit in 1991, where his messages at ‘Mission Scotland’ were relayed by live link to Benbecula, the Dark Island! I had just been converted the year before, so this provided a wonderful opportunity to invite friends and family to hear the gospel in a neutral venue. Here we are twenty-seven years later and I’m now helping to organise the visit to Scotland of Billy Graham’s grandson, Will Graham. The Central Scotland Celebration of Hope has been planned for Falkirk Stadium on 15-17 June 2018. We hope to see thousands of people coming to the event on three consecutive nights, the idea being that each Christian coming brings at least one non-Christian friend. The event itself — although the focus — is only 10% of the workload; 45% involves preparation for the Celebration, and importantly, 45% is in preservation: following up with those who make a commitment and connecting them with a Bible-believing church in their area. Part of the preparation involves Christians attending the Christian Life and Witness Course, which is held over three successive evenings in various locations in the Central Belt. The Free Church congregations of Dowanvale (Glasgow), Christchurch (Edinburgh), Hope (Coatbridge) and Stirling are hosting these courses, which are designed to help Christians re-ignite their faith and share it with others.
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Iain MacAskill Vice-Chairman Central Scotland Will Graham Celebration of Hope For updated information visit our Facebook page.
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ome people really enjoy their work.
That Monday morning feeling, for them, is springing out of bed and bounding to work with joy and zeal. Others, however, find work just a drudge — something they have to do to pay the bills. It’s Monday but Friday’s coming. Sometimes we enjoy going to work, at other times not. Having dealt with sex, pleasure, food, entertainment and, as we saw last month, wisdom, Solomon now turns to this question of work (Ecclesiastes 2:17-26). And it’s clear that he’s on the side of the ‘It’s Monday but Friday’s coming’ people. ‘So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me; all of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.’ He hates toil, the daily grind — one’s daily responsibilities. We do all that work and what’s the point of it? We can say that we are doing it for our family, but what if the person coming after us ruins all the good work we have done? A great example of this was Solomon’s own son, Rehoboam, who destroyed much of his father’s work in building up the kingdom. Here again wisdom and folly come into play — you can work during your life with wisdom and end up leaving it all to a fool! So what is the point of work? It is little wonder that his heart ‘began to despair’ (verse 20). Despite wisdom, knowledge and skill, there is no escaping death and there is no guaranteeing what comes after. So what does all this work and toil achieve? Sweet nothing. Nothing except pain and the sleepless
nights caused by the frustration of knowing that it is all pointless. Solomon shows that existential angst existed long before Sartre and Camus discovered it. So many of us can identify with the picture Solomon paints. You work hard, whether it’s physical labour or mental exertion, and then at night, when you are supposed to be recharging your batteries, you are so stressed you cannot sleep. There is no escape from the daily grind. In the words of the great Swedish philosophers, ABBA: ‘I work all night, I work all day, to pay the bills I have to pay — but still there never seems to be a single penny left for me. In my dreams I have a plan — if I got me a wealthy man...’ Or as the Canadian novelist Douglas Coupland puts it: ‘As the expression goes, we spend our youth attaining wealth, and our wealth attaining youth.’ We work hard when we are young in order to obtain money to help us look young when we are old! Solomon’s description is, ‘under the sun’ (i.e. without Christ), a realistic, sober and honest assessment of life. So let’s eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die. Is that it? Is there really nothing better and nothing more to life? In verses 24-26 there is a change. God is brought into the equation. As the Italian proverb states, ‘He who leaves God out of his reckoning does not know how to count.’ This is what happens when we do so. The Bible is not saying, forget all these things – it’s not saying
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there is no life ‘under the sun’ or that it does not matter. Instead it provides us with the bigger picture and talks about the life of faith. Life is to be enjoyed. We are actually meant to enjoy the simple things in life — eat, drink and enjoy our work. This is not the greed of the rich fool (build bigger and bigger barns for retirement) or the mundane, unreal and hopeless life of the unbeliever, where, as Ernst Becker observes, ‘they tranquilize themselves with the trivial’ to live ‘normal’ lives. It is not licentiousness or cynicism — but contentment. The Christian learns to be content whatever the circumstances. And of course this cannot take place without Christ. God gives wisdom, knowledge and joy to the person who pleases him. The contrast with the person who does not acknowledge God and who does not take his life from the hand of God is strong. We are given the choice of two worldviews, two kinds of life. On the one hand secular pessimism leads to the vicious cycle of a pointless world, temporary pleasures, fruitless work, futile wisdom, and inevitable death. On the other, life from the hand of God is, to borrow a phrase, life lived to the max. This is the God who gives us all things richly to enjoy, the One who, along with Christ, graciously gives us all things that we need. ‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth’ (Matthew 5:5). ‘Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and
yet possessing everything’ (2 Corinthians 6:10). The contrast is seen in how that works out. Take the issue of sleep. The Christian can, like their Lord in the storm, lay down their head and rest. I love the story of Peter in jail (Acts 12:6). The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. Chained and imprisoned, about to be brought to trial for his life, and he sleeps like a baby. ‘He gives his beloved sleep’ (Psalm 127:2). As for work, if you are a Christian, then no matter how mundane or difficult the task may be, you have the joy of knowing that it is done for the Lord. ‘Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain’ (1 Corinthians 15:58). I met an owner of a pub restaurant who told me of a Christian dishwasher she employed — who, as a young man on the minimum wage, nevertheless worked with such joy, honesty and vigour that she was compelled to ask him why. He explained that he loved Jesus and did it for him. Instead of hating our work and hating life, of all people Christians are those who really can live life to the max. And none of it is pointless or meaningless with Christ. That should transform our work practices and environments this Monday morning! Get Christ. Get life. •
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REST AND
DOES A PREACHER NEED A UNIVERSITY DEGREE? BY REV. THOMAS DAVIS
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ince 2001, ets has been a partner
institution
university
of
of
the
glasgow.
This means that ETS students can study for a degree which is validated by the University. The first BTh graduates received their degrees in 2003, and since then we have added several MTh courses that can be studied through the ongoing partnership between ETS and Glasgow. But the question is sometimes asked: why does a preacher need a university degree? In many ways, the life of a preacher is more vocational than academic, so why is a degree important? Well, we believe that a degree is a vital part of preparing people for gospel ministry. Here are several reasons why.
DISCIPLINE As every student knows, studying for a degree requires a lot of discipline. There are constant deadlines, often there are various assignments that simultaneously need attention, and the student has to make sure that they have the self-discipline to get all the
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work done. All of that is really good preparation for the week-toweek life of a preacher. Preparing sermons requires a lot of selfdiscipline; often a preacher will be working on two or three at the same time, and the deadline of next Sunday is absolutely nonnegotiable. Of course, studying for sermons is one of the greatest privileges someone can ever have, but it requires hard work. The discipline of studying for a degree is excellent preparation for that.
primary means through which the gospel is spread, and that means that they command our very best in terms of study, preparation and delivery. When a student preacher submits an assignment for their degree at ETS, we want them to strive for excellence. Not because we want impressive grades, but because we want to train preachers who will give their congregations nothing less than their very best when they open up God’s Word each week.
EXCELLENCE Studying for a degree is also a great inspiration to aim for excellence. As students, we can only ever do our best, and that is different for different people. But the key point is that we must give our best. So in studying for a degree at ETS, we want students to aim as high as they can, and often they far exceed their own expectations, which is a wonderful thing to see. But it is a reminder that the work of a preacher demands our very, very best. Sermons are not just a few thoughts thrown together in a halfhearted way. They are the
INTEGRITY The cardinal sin of academic study is plagiarism. That basically means copying someone else’s work and pretending that it is your own. It is a shortcut to completing an assignment, but it is totally unacceptable in a university degree. As a student, you are submitting your own work, and you are assessed on that basis. Anything you use that has come from someone else is to be acknowledged as such. And ultimately, that is a question of integrity. A university degree commands integrity from every student, and exactly the same
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principle applies to a preacher. When we preach each week, we must never stand up and preach someone else’s sermon, pretending that it is our own. That doesn’t mean that we don’t use commentaries and books to help us prepare, or that we can’t quote writers in our sermons. Of course we can, and we should when appropriate. But alongside all that, there must be an integrity that works hard to understand God’s Word and prepare a presentation of it which is fitting for our own context and in which we rightly handle the Word of Truth for ourselves.
TRUTH Alongside integrity, a university degree always has a focus on presenting the truth. That applies to any degree, not just theology. If you are doing an essay, then most of the time you are going to be engaging with opinions,
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and your task is to evaluate the extent to which each opinion is true or false. The best students are the ones who can engage with a variety of points of view and then identify and explain the reasons why one is true and the others are false. Sometimes that is not an easy process, and often it might not be totally clear-cut who is right and who is wrong. But underlying all of that evaluation and analysis is a quest to find the truth. And that, of course, is brilliant training for a preacher. Because, as preachers, we are aiming to tell people the truth. In fact, as preachers we are aiming to persuade people as to what is the truth. That is what Paul did: he persuaded people as to the truth of the gospel (Acts 17:4), and it is the preacher’s job to do exactly the same. If a student writes an essay that is irrelevant, incoherent and unpersuasive, then they are not very likely to pass. If the same is true of a sermon, then the result is likely to be equally disappointing. As preachers, the goal is to tell people the truth and to do so in a way that is so coherent, so logical, so robust that those who hear will be fully persuaded that God’s Word is truth. So is a university degree a dry, academic exercise that is irrelevant to the needs of a preacher at the coalface of gospel ministry in the local church? Not at all. The
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reality is that a university degree challenges a student to develop many of the key skills required for the work of a preacher. Now, that does not mean that a degree is the only thing that you need in order to be a preacher; that is not true at all. Anyone who wants to be a preacher also needs to be immersed in the life of his local church so that he can develop the skills and character that will enable him to minster to the many different needs that people have.
The work of preaching is a great privilege, but it also requires our very best. We believe that a degree awarded in partnership with one of Scotland’s most prominent universities is a crucial part of preparing people for that work. We give thanks to God for the ongoing partnership between ETS and the University of Glasgow.•
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