Associate Presbytery

Ballantyne Presbyterian Church is a member of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian denomination. This denomination was formed in the United States through the merging of two presbyteries that came from Scotland (and there had broken away from the Church of Scotland). I have been reading the Memoirs of George Whitefield by John Gillies, and I came across part of a letter that George Whitefield had written Ebenezer Erskine in regard to the Associate Presbytery in Scotland. Written May 16, 1741, Whitefield said,

"This morning I received a kind letter from your brother Ralph, who thinks it best for me wholly to join the Associate Presbytery, if it should please God to send me into Scotland. This I cannot altogether come into. I come only as an occasional preacher, to preach the simple gospel to all that are willing to hear me, of whatever denomination. I write this, that there may not be the least misunderstanding between us. I love and honor the Associate Presbytery in the bowels of Jesus Christ: But let them not be offended, if in all things I cannot immediately fall in with them." Whitefield stayed in the Church of England.

Rotherham

The town of Rotherham is located in Yorkshire. In the 18th century, George Whitefield preached there . . . and he was met with great hatred and loathing from the crowd. Whitefield almost decided never to preach there again; however, he found out that some who had been bitter and terrible persecutors had been converted through his preaching and his work in the town. One particular incident is telling:

Whitefield was held in such contempt in Rotherham that public bars became theaters in which the Bible, true religion, and Whitefield were roundly ridiculed. At one of these public houses, a Mr. Thrope and three of his companions decided to mimic Whitefield. A wager was made that the one who mimiced the best would win the money. The first three in order got up on the table in the inn and did their best to ape Whitefield and to destroy everything sacred. Mr. Thrope was the last to ascend the public house pulpit. He exclaimed as he rose, "I shall beat you all!" A Bible was handed to him, and, by the mysterious providence of God, it opened to Luke 13:3, "Except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish." As he read the verse, great conviction came to his soul . . . and so he preached. And he preached with great earnestness. As he would later say, "If ever I preached in my life by the assistance of the Spirit of God, it was at that time." The crowd was struck dumb, but not by entertainment but by Thrope's sincerity.

Thrope was converted that hour by an unexampled act of divine grace. Later he became pastor of a church in Masborough where he served the church for 13 years until his death in 1776. Oh the mysterious providence of God in the conversion of a sinner!

Godly Influence

In his commentary on Malachi, John Benton tells the following story of George Whitfield:

George Whitefield, the eighteenth-century evangelist, was only a young man of twenty-three when he first decided to cross the Atlantic. He was to be the military chaplain on the voyage aboard the ship the Whitaker, sailing with two other ships to Georgia. Captain Whiting was in charge of the ship and, besides the crew, there were about a hundred soldiers (under a Captain Mackay), twenty or so women and a few children aboard, all bound for the colony in the New World.

Whitefield began to hold public prayers at the commencement of the voyage and declared that he intended "to know nothing among them save Jesus Christ and him crucified." The moral tone of the ship was low and his announcement met with nothing but derision and scorn. The officers and crew told him that they believed that his religion was phoney and they would treat him as an impostor. On the first Sunday there was nothing to be seen but gambling and little to be heard except cursing and swearing and the sound of an oboe player entertaining everyone. "I could do no more," writes Whitefield, "than while I was writing, now and then turn my head by way of reproof to a lieutenant who swore as though he was born with a swearing constitution. Now and then he would take the hint, return my nod with a 'Doctor, I ask your pardon' then to his swearing and cards again."

Yet Whitefield began to exert an influence for Christ. He visited the sick and shared his provisions with them. He prayed privately for the people. Each morning and evening, undeterred he continued to read public prayers on the open deck. He took up every opportunity for legitimate socializing and witnessed for Christ whenever he could. Some of his entries in his diary read as follows: "Had some religious talk with the surgeon, who seems very well disposed"; "Gained an opportunity, by walking at night on the deck, to talk closely to the chief mate and one of the sergeants, and hope my words were not spoken in vain"; "About eleven at night, I went and sat down with the sailors in the steerage, and reasoned with them about righteousness, temperance and a judgement to come."

Gradually, by his evident godliness and courteous but plain speaking, things began to change on the ships. As the journey continued the time came when the captains would come and stand on each side of Whitefield as he preached every morning. Captain Mackay ordered a drum-beat calling the soldiers to these daily services. Often when the weather allowed it all three ships would draw near together and everyone joined in the worship of God!

Quote from Renwick

James Renwick, minister of the Covenanters during the "sifting times", said the following: "Let us be lions in God's cause and lambs in our own."

The Lion of the Covenant

In an earlier blog we mentioned Richard Cameron, who was known as "The Lion of the Covenant." As a brief reminder, his father Alan Cameron was in prison, and one day the guards threw into his cell a severed head and severed hand. They belonged to his son Richard. Alan responded by proclaiming the sovereignty and providence of God even in this brutal execution.

Richard Cameron had returned from exile in Holland in 1679 in order to stand tall for the covenanters in Scotland. In a sermon he preached in May, 1680 he declared that much of Scotland acknowledged Charles as their king, but "We will have no other king but Christ." Cameron and some of his supporters were surrounded and massacred at Ayrsmoss. They severed Cameron's head and hands and affixed them to the Netherbow port for all to see. And, indeed, all of Scotland did see . . . and they said, "There's the head and hands of a man who lived praying and preaching, and died praying and fighting."

Hard Times

In the late 1970's I went to hear Francis Schaeffer speak at Tremont Temple in Boston; at the time I was a naive seminary student at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. One thing he said that night has stuck with me ever since: "The time of ease and comfort for the church in the west is soon coming to an end." Many of us when we hear such things become nervous and fearful. But I do wonder if those are the right reactions. Listen to the words of William Wilberforce (1759-1833) concerning the persecution of Christians:

"Christianity especially has always thrived under persecution. For at such times it has no lukewarm professors. The Christian is then reminded that his Master's kingdom is not of this world. When all the earth looks back, he looks to heaven for his consolation. Then he sees himself as a pilgrim and a stranger. For it is then as in the hour of death that he will examine his foundations and cleave to the fundamentals."

Spurgeon on Calvinism

Spurgeon defined Calvinism in the following way:

"If anyone should ask me what I meant by a Calvinist, I should reply, 'He is one who says, "Salvation is of the Lord."' I cannot find in Scripture any other doctrine than this. It is the essence of the Bible. 'He only is my rock and my salvation.' Tell me anything contrary to this truth, and it will be heresy; tell me a heresy, and I shall find its essence here, that it has departed from this great, this fundamental, this rock-truth, 'God is my rock and my salvation.' What is the heresy of Rome, but the addition of something to the perfect merits of Jesus Christ -- the bringing in of the works of the flesh, to assist in our justification? And what is the heresy of Arminianism but the addition of something to the work of the redeemer? Every heresy, if brought to the touchstone, will discover itself here. I have my own private opinion that there is no such thing as preaching Christ and him crucified, unless we preach what nowadays is called Calvinism. It is a nickname to call it Calvinism; Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else."

Perspecuity of Scripture

In the most recent Banner of Truth magazine (Nov. 2008) we read a story of a discussion between Mary, Queen of Scots, and John Knox regarding the interpretation of Scripture. Mary asked John Knox the following question:

"You [Protestants] interpret the Scripture in one way, they [Roman Catholics] in another. Whom shall I believe? Who shall be the judge?"

Knox answered, "You shall believe God who speaks plainly in his Word. Further than the Word teaches you shall not believe the one or the other. The Word of God is plain in itself. If there is any obscurity anywhere, the Holy Spirit, who is never contrary to himself, explains it more clearly in other places. No one can remain in doubt, save those who remain obstinately ignorant."

Christian Autobiography

It would be a good thing for Christians to take the time and write an autobiography. By this, I don't mean a man-centered writing in which one praises one's own life and work. Rather, it should be a running account of how God brought one from life to death, and how God sanctifies one in the Christian life and walk. What a testimony to those who follow. Along these lines, listen to the discerning words of Flavel:

"Ah, sirs, let me tell you, there is not such a pleasant history for you to read in all the world as the history of your own lives, if you would but sit down and record from the beginning hitherto what God has been to you, and done for you; what signal manifestations and outbreakings of His mercy, faithfulness and love there have been in all the conditions you have passed through. If your hearts do not melt before you have gone half through that history, they are hard hearts indeed." - John Flavel, The Mystery of Providence (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1963; first published, 1678), p. 118.

Facing Death

Due to the encouragement of a good friend, I just finished reading Corrie Ten Boom's The Hiding Place. I read it years and years ago. As I read it this time, I indeed saw its lasting value as Christian literature and that it still has a powerful impact. In one scene, for example, Corrie talks about as a child she was confronted with another child's death . . . it troubled her greatly. And later that night Corrie's father came to see her, and

"I burst into tears, 'I need you!' I sobbed. 'You can't die! You can't!' . . . Father sat down on the edge of the narrow bed. 'Corrie,' he began gently, 'when you and I go to Amsterdam -- when do I give you your ticket?' I sniffed a few minutes considering this. 'Why, just before we get on the train.' 'Exactly. And our wise Father in heaven knows when we're going to need things, too. Don't run out ahead of Him, Corrie. When the time comes that some of us will have to die, you will look into your heart and find the strength you need -- just in time.'"

Mr. Standfast

Many people in the church are familiar with John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progess. But, in reality, many have not read part II of the book . . . it was written later by Bunyan and it describes the pilgrimage of Christian's wife and their children. It is true that part II is not as engaging as part I, but there are indeed some powerful scenes in it. For example, when Mr. Standfast crosses the cold river of death, Bunyan provides a most profound and stunning description:

Now there was a great calm at that time in the river; wherefore Mr. Standfast, when he was about halfway in, stood a while and talked to his companions that had waited upon him thither; and he said, "This river has been a terror to many; yea the thoughts of it have often frightened me. But now, methinks, I stand easy . . . The waters indeed are to the palate bitter, and to the stomach cold, yet the thoughts of what I am going to and the conduct that waits for me on the other side, doth lie as a glowing coal at my heart. I see myself now at the end of my journey, my toilsome days are ended. I am going now to see that head that was crowned with thorns, and that face that was spit upon for me.
I have formerly lived by hearsay and faith, but now I go where I shall live by sight, and shall be with him in whose company I delight myself. I have loved to hear my Lord spoken of; and wherever I have seen the print of his shoe in the earth, there I have coveted to set my foot too . . . His voice to me has been most sweet; and his countenance I have more desired than they that have most desired the light of the sun. His word I did gather for my food, and for antidotes against my faintings . . . "
Now while he was thus in discourse, his countenance changed, his strong man bowed under him, and after he had said, "Take me, for I come unto Thee," he ceased to be seen of them.