Our Questions and God's Answers

I am happy to say that I have a new, short, e-book published on Kindle. This one is a basic presentation of the gospel in a series of questions and answers, mainly using the Bible directly to answer the questions

The book was very much inspired by an old tract written for soldiers during World War II by the American Presbyterian minister, Gordon MacLennan. I have re-written, modernised and expanded MacLennan's work in this new e-book. Longtime readers of this blog will know that I have previously written about and shared the original tract because it was what led be to become a Christian when I read it some 35 years ago.

I had hoped to make this book available for free, but Amazon insists on a minimum price being set. 

You can find the e-book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Questions-Gods-Answers-James-Miller-ebook/dp/B0C28RVHBH/

Man's Questions and God's Answers

For me, this is the greatest evangelistic tract I have ever read. It was written by Dr A. Gordon MacLennan of Philadelphia, and was included in a series of small booklets for the troops during the Second World War. Why the greatest? Not because it is necessarily the best, or the most eloquent, or the clearest, or the easiest to read, though I do not find it deficient in any of these respects, but because the Lord used it to save me when I first read it just before Christmas 1987.

I have only edited it slightly where one or two illustrations for the 1940s are now obscure or misleading.
 

Man is constantly asking questions. One of the most hopeful and encouraging signs in the mental development of a boy or girl is the habit of asking questions. The person who really succeeds in this world in material things is the one who is constantly, inquisitively, and persistently asking questions. The one who takes everything for granted, and receives it just as it comes will generally move along in that type of life all his days, but the person who wants to know the why and wherefore of everything is the one who makes the most of the circumstances which surround him in life.

So our subject is one which concerns every man; and I do feel that the topic, as I have noted it, is one that is particularly applicable to the man who has not yet satisfied himself regarding the great facts of the spiritual life and the spiritual experience.

To each of the questions which I want to bring to you, there is a simple form of answer, all of which are absolutely definite, simple, and easy to understand. They are not obscure questions of the hour, but are entirely practical for you and me, and altogether important, because they have to do with a man's eternal destiny, and a man's experience in all the ages yet to be.

The first is one which every man who believes that there is a God, infinite, eternal, and unchanging, must necessarily stop and ask:

Am I Accountable to God?

Must I answer to Him? Is there a day coming -- and I insist that we keep the question practical -- when you and I in a very real manner shall stand before God and give an account?

This is the fundamental question; this is an important question, and one well worth considering and thinking over: Am I accountable to God? We like to boast of our independence, and we like to say we are not answerable to anyone; but are we definitely, personally accountable to God? Listen to the answer from Romans 14.12: "So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God."

Your question and my question is a definite one: Shall we give an account to God? God answers it just as definitely: "Every one of us shall give account of himself to God." That settles the matter! It is a statement on the authority of God Himself. And it is just as foolish to try to escape the dawning of a day as it is to escape giving an account to God.

The second question:

Does God Know All About Me?

This one, too, is important. Aye, on the basis of the first, it is tremendously important! Now that I have to give an account to Him, does God know all about me?

Those I associate with see merely the outside. They hear what I say; they see my actions, but the inner man they know not. My thoughts are veiled and hidden from the knowledge of my friends. Does God know all about me? God gives answer to this question in Hebrews 4.13: "All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do."

Notice the third question:

Does God Charge Me With Sin?

This becomes more and more important upon the basis of the preceding two questions and their answers. I shall give an account of God, and God knows all about me. (Let us keep it simple and practical.) Does God, to whom I am to give an account and who knows all about me, charge me with sin? It is all recorded against me? It does not matter how well I can excuse myself to some other person. It does not matter how other people regard me. Here is the important question: Does God charge me with sin?

Let me merely read the answer from Galatians 3.22: "But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin." And again, from Romans 3.23: "For ALL have sinned." This is God's charge: "All have sinned." It is an utter impossibility for any man or woman to escape the all-inclusiveness of that little word of three letters, A-L-L. From the prince in the palace to the waif in the street, from the highest to the lowest, from the east to the west -- "all have sinned."

And it does seem as if it would be wise for any man, if these answers are true and correct, to sit down and face them as he would face any question of his daily life or his business life.

The fourth question:

Will God Punish Sin?

Now God's answer to the question just preceding this is that you and I are charged with sin. Therefore, will God punish sin? I realise that there are those who say that God is too good to punish sin. But, notice, this statement originated with men, and not with God. There is no place in all the revealed Word of God where it says He will not punish sin. All the way through God says that He will punish sin.

The answer to that question is found in Ezekiel 18.4: "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." Notice, also, Romans 6.23: "For the wages of sin is death." It is not mere physical death, the death of the body; it is eternal death, the second death.

The fifth question, following naturally after this is:

Need I Perish?

Is there no way I can escape the punishment and judgment for my sins? I am accountable to God. He knows all about me. He does charge me with sin. He will punish sin. But need I perish for my sins?

Let me read God's answer in 2 Peter 3.9: "The Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."

The sixth:

How Can I Escape?

There is running through the midnight darkness of the coming judgment a ray of hope. God is not willing that I should perish. How then can I escape? How can I get away from the coming judgment on sin? That, too, is a practical question.

The answer that God gives is just as plain and definite as the question. In Acts 16.31 we read: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved."

The Gospel is the most simple thing in all the world. There is, first of all, the great, stupendous, inescapable fact of sin, and that we are linked with it. Then there is the fact of Christ, and salvation through Christ. Is it not simple? "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved."

Notice the seventh question:

Is He Able to Save Me?

God says, in answer to the question as to how I can escape, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ." The thing I am concerned about next is whether He is able to save me. Has He the power, has He the ability to rescue me from the punishment of sin and the judgment to come? You will find God's answer in Hebrews 7.25: "He is able to save them to the uttermost that unto God by Him."

Now that we know on God's own authority that He is able to save, the question, the eighth, would be:

Is He Willing to Save Me?

Oh, how many of us are able to do things, but we are not willing! We are face to face with the great facts of sin and judgment. We have discovered on God's authority, in answer to our questions, that He is not willing that we should perish; that He has provided a way of escape by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ; and that Jesus Christ is able to save. Is He willing to save now? The answer is in 1 Timothy 1.15: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners."

When you think of the Babe in the manger of Bethlehem, of the dying form of the Son of God on the Cross of Calvary, and of the empty tomb, dare you ask, "Is He willing?" He undertook the journey to earth from Glory, and went through all the anguish and suffering on Calvary's Cross, the guilty to save. Then He is willing: He is willing!

Let me take the ninth question. This is one in which so many people seem to become involved, and yet God's answer is very clear and very plain. It is a simple question, a practical question, and an important question:

Am I Saved by Merely Believing?

God's answer is in John 3.36: "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life."

There is no other condition of salvation but faith of Jesus Christ as Saviour. May I use just one illustration.

You remember when Jesus hung on Calvary's Cross there were crucified with Him two thieves, one on the right hand, the other on the left. One thief joined with those around in ridiculing Christ, but the other thief rebuked him for it, and said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom." And Jesus said to him, to the thief who was dying on the cross, "Today shalt thou be with Me in Paradise." He had no work to do so that he might gain salvation. He only had a criminal record. But on the cross, with his last breath, he believed. He was saved by merely believing on Jesus Christ.

In following the natural line of questionings, the tenth would be:

Can I Be Saved Now?

It is God's answer I am concerned about, and it is God's answer which means everything to you. Listen, then from 2 Corinthians 6.2: "Behold, now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation."

Now is the time to decide. You know not about tomorrow, and yesterday is gone. "Believe (NOW) on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Let me take the next question:

Can I Be Saved as I am?

Without preparation, without getting ready, without making myself better in character in appearance? Can I be saved just as I am? With all my sin, with all my stains, with all my filthiness?

Let me read the answer from John 6.37: "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."
No matter how filthy your garments, no matter how stained by sin and bruised by many a fall--"Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."

The twelfth question:

Shall I Not Fall Away?

If I do come, and if I am saved, what if I shall fall away again?

In Jude 24, God answers: "Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling."

The thirteenth question:

If I Have Been Saved, How Should I Live?

If I have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, how should I live now? God's answer is from 2 Corinthians 5.15: "They which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them."

And here is a question which has made strong men tremble, and brave men weak. It the question which has broken down the reserve of many a man as he has stood at the edge of an open grave:

What About Death and Eternity?

Let me give the answer of Jesus Christ himself: "I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself: that where I am, there ye may be also." (John 14:2-3)

Is it not true that, as I have passed from one question to another, I have touched all the great questions that man has to ask? And is it not equally true that to every question of man's there is the definite, plain answer from God himself?

God's Question

Over against man's questions and God's answers, I want to put the one great final question that God asks of you. And God waits, the angels wait, all heaven waits for your answer! God has answered your questions. What will you do with God's question? How will you answer it? He has one single question to ask. And I challenge any man or woman who has not yet done so to face it, and give answer! This is God's question to you, my friend: "WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH JESUS, WHICH IS CALLED CHRIST?" God has answered all the questions you can ask. How will you answer him? What will you do with Jesus, which is called Christ? Will you say--

"Here and now I accept him as my own and only Saviour?"

Discipleship - Part 6

Introduction

Jesus said: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." (Luke 9:23)
 
In our sixth post on Christian discipleship we come to the subject of evangelism, which could be thought of as the task of current disciples making new disciples. As throughout we are using David Watson's book Discipleship as our starting off point and guide for our thoughts on this subject. Watson's insights on evangelism form chapter 9 of the book and his insights are particularly valid as he was a skilled evangelist in his ministry.

Evangelism

Watson begins his chapter with a characteristic thought-provoking opening line: "Christ's call to discipleship is not primarily for the benefit of the disciple." I know what Watson is driving at here. His thought is similar in spirit to Archbishop William Temple's famous quip that the church is the only organisation that exists for the benefit of its non-members. It would perhaps be more accurate to say that Christ's call is equally about benefiting the disciple and working through the disciple to make more disciple and benefit others. Yet the point is well-taken that the disciple's focus is to be outward looking, aiming at bringing others into the Kingdom and fulfilling the Great Commission of Christ. As Watson also puts it, Christ's disciples "are called and sent out." In between they were trained by Christ so they could be sent. The same pattern is vital for anyone seeking to do the work of evangelism.

Ghetto Mentality

The first thing Watson addresses is the church's need to break free from a ghetto mentality. If this was true of Britain in 1980 how much more true it is of the church 30 years later in the present day! His point is that so much of the time we spend our time as Christians with other Christians. We attend worship with each other, we pray and do Bible studies together, we socialise with each other, go to events organised for Christians together, and so on. For many of us, apart from the workplace and perhaps one or two other social activities like sports and hobbies, we don't meet non-Christians very much.

Now, I don't personally think that's wrong. The New Testament pattern is that believers spent a lot of time together (Acts 2). The danger is though if we end up spending any real time with non-Christians. In that case, how can we hope to share our lives with people, far less earn the right to share the gospel with them?

We need to find ways to break out of our Christian ghettos back into the world to have much hope of reaching many non-Christians. The solution Watson suggests is for Christians to be better trained to make the most of opportunities in our everyday lives at home, at work and socially. The sad fact is that whereas in 1980 it might have been acceptable to discuss the gospel in the workplace, now there are many workplaces where to mention your Christian faith would be a disciplinary matter. Even with this caveat however, Watson's point is valid.

Witnesses

In the next part of the chapter Watson draws the distinction between being an evangelist and being a Christian witness. The difference being that the evangelist is a particular, specialist role within the church, and not every Christian has been given the gifts or received the calling to be an evangelist. On the other hand, every Christian is called and gifted to be a witness to Christ as their Saviour and Lord.

He goes on to discuss a number of different marks of a witness. First, a witness has to have first-hand experience of Christ. A person who has never met or known Jesus Christ for themselves cannot speak to others of what he has done for them. Second, a witness must be able to express their testimony in words. Although we can communicate much through our lives, in the end we need to be able to speak about it at least at some basic level. Third, a witness will have confidence in the power of God, realising that the potential for his or her witness to bring another person into the kingdom comes not from themselves but from God. Fourth, a witness must have genuine compassion for those to whom they are speaking. If a person gets even a whiff that you don't care about them, why should they listen to what you are saying?

The marks of an evangelist go beyond what is required for a good witness, but they are never any less. They include first, the ability to speak with clarity in explaining the gospel to others; second, the ability to appeal not just to a person's mind, but to a person's will and even a person's heart, to lay down their arms of rebellion against God and accept Christ as their Lord and Saviour; and third, having a strong faith that God will work through his or her work to bring people to salvation.

Motivation, Message and Method (The Three Ms)

Watson identifies lack of motivation as a serious problem that hinders evangelistic efforts. He cites Philip the Evangelist as an example of a godly man who was strongly motivated in his work because he was filled with the Holy Spirit, he had seen God at work, and he was spurred on by the suffering of believers.

He quotes this definition of evangelism with approval: "Evangelism is the presentation of the claims of Christ in the power of the Spirit to a world in need by a church in love."

The focus needs to be on the claims of Christ as rightful Lord and Saviour of the world. The gospel is about more, much more, than making people feel better. It is in many respects a difficult message to take, but it is a life saving one. Much like a doctor having to deliver the news that a person is very ill and needs radical surgery to save their lives.

If our motivations and message are right, this still leaves the method we use. It is possible to have a heart in the right place, and have the doctrines all sorted and still be hopeless at reaching people if we cannot speak in a way that actually communicates with people. Watson summarises this as speaking to the right person, at the right time, using the right words. We need to look out for people who may be open to hearing the gospel, but even when someone is the right person it also needs to be a suitable time when we speak to them, and finally we need to use the right words for them. The New Testament contains many rich themes to explain the work of Christ and salvation. Some people may respond to the idea of being set free, others to being reconciled to God, others to being saved from hell, etc.

Ultimately though, it is not through our eloquence or cleverness that people come to faith, but by encountering the living Christ through what we say, not so much in what we say.

Watson concludes the chapter with a good, simple way to lead a person to faith in Christ if they are open to the gospel and want to respond. It's known as the ABCD method and considers four things the person needs to do. First, there is something to Admit: that they are a sinner in need of Christ. Second, something to Believe: that Christ will save them when they come to him. Third, something to Consider: the Bible is plain that becoming a Christian has certain costs in terms of our need to live as Christ wants and in terms of the opposition we will face from the world if we do. Fourth, something to Do: making the choice to surrender to Christ, accept him as our Lord and Saviour and commit our lives to him in faith and obedience. We might conclude with a prayer that the person might say with us taking them through the ABCDs.

Next time we will look at the very practical matter of living a simple lifestyle day-to-day as a Christian disciple.

Total Church

Total Church
by Tim Chester & Steve Timmis
Inter-Varsity Press

I have been reading a number of books about "doing church" recently and have enjoyed each one, but Total Church is probably the best of them. I think if more of our churches looked like the portrait of church this book describes, our city and our nation would be transformed by the gospel. That's a big statement to make, but I really do believe that.

The key concept in Total Church is that our churches have to live by two key principles: gospel and community. For Chester and Timmis - and I would suggest for the New Testament writers - these two concepts go hand-in-hand and the church is weakened if either is downplayed. The writers suggest that many of the so-called "emerging churches" are good at community, but bad at gospel content. On the other hand they point out the weakness of many evangelical churches which are good at the gospel but poor at doing community. I would say there is truth in both sets of statements.

The proposed solution is to do gospel and community together. This approach certainly chimed with Mark Driscoll's book Radical Reformission, which I've also read recently, which calls for us to live reformissional lives rather than doing evangelism now and again.

So how are these two principles (gospel and community) fleshed out in the book?

First, the gospel. Total Church insists that the church must be gospel-centred and mission-centred. Church has to be focused on the word of God where we find the content of the gospel, and it has to be focused on communicating the gospel in mission.

Second, community. Total Church argues that we are to share our entire lives with each other as Christians, as a true family of God. It also argues that this community should be a place of welcome and belonging for unbelievers so that they can see Christianity in action and so be attracted to find out more, come to the Saviour and take their part in the gospel community.

The writers then take these two principles and apply them to a number of areas of church life including: worship, evangelism, leadership, discipleship, world mission and church planting.

It seems to me that this approach seeks to take the best of our "standard" evangelical churches and combine it with the best bits of "house churches" or "emergent churches" to give a potent blend that better mirrors the church as it was in the New Testament. It is a transforming message that church is not something we do among other activites, whether we are Sunday-only people or involved in midweek events too, but rather church is our lifestyle, something we simply are 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

This is radical stuff, but it is biblical radicalism that our lukewarm, pale churches need. I believe it is a message we need to hear, ponder and act upon if our churches are not to continue to decline.

I must go down to the seas again

The following is the editorial from the parish magazine for June 2009.


The one-time Poet Laureate, John Masefield, was fascinated by the sea. His first collection of poems was called Salt-Water Ballads and one of his most famous poems is entitled "Sea-Fever". It begins like this:

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by...

For a city dweller like me - Glasgow born and bred - the sea has always held a strong fascination. Being close to the sea was only one of many great things about my recent holiday down the Clyde coast at Gourock.

Being close to the sea for a couple of days brought me closer to the natural world in all its wonderful variety: the different kinds of seaweed, jellyfish, crabs, the sunlight on the water, wave patterns, sand and rocks, seabirds. And being closer to the natural world seemed somehow to make me feel closer to God.

As I watched the sunset over the Cowal peninsula and saw the sea turn purple and the sky a rich copper orange, I felt like a little child amazed at what his father could do. I wanted to point to the sunset and say to people in the street: ‘See that? My father made that.’

The writer of the Psalms shared my fascination with the sea and understood the sense of wonder that I feel looking out to sea.

‘The seas have lifted up, O LORD, the seas have lifted up their voice; the seas have lifted up their pounding waves. Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea – the LORD on high is mighty.’ (Psalm 93:3-4)

‘There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number – living things both large and small. There the ships go to and fro, and the leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.’ (Psalm 104:24-25)

As well as marvelling at the beauty of creation, I must admit I also marvelled at the many yachts, boats and ships I saw sailing up and down the Clyde estuary. I even managed to get on board one of the ferries for a trip to Dunoon. The sea was flat as a pond and there was a refreshing breeze out at sea.

I remembered how much the sea and boats are mentioned in the Gospels and I thought how often Jesus and the fishermen-apostles sailed on the Sea of Galilee as it was one of the quickest and safest ways of travelling in those times. It was a hard life working as a fisherman then - indeed it still is today - it was dangerous at times on rough seas, it was frustrating when no fish were caught, it required a lot of skill and knowledge to run a fishing boat and to know how put your nets down in the right place, not to mention the money to buy and run a boat and pay a crew.

I can’t help thinking that part of Jesus' meaning when he said to Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John that they would be made ‘fishers of men’ was that although their life in his service was going to be very different from their old lives, in some ways, it was actually going to be same! Being a ‘fisher of men’ isn't an easy life any more than being a ‘fisher of fish’. It can be dangerous, it can be frustrating and seem like a thankless task, it requires skill and knowledge to do it with any success, and it needs investment of time, effort and money to reach out to those who need to hear the gospel in meaningful, practical and realistic ways.

I hope that over the summer, wherever you are spending it, you too will catch a glimpse of the glory of God in his creation - on foreign beach or local park it doesn't matter for his glory is revealed everywhere. I hope that you'll feel drawn to worship him anew, refreshed and ready for life back in city where we have an ongoing call and duty to be God's people on the ground, learning more about Jesus, living out our faith, reaching out to the lost, and worshipping our Creator and Saviour God. We need rest in order to carry out the work Jesus is calling all of us to do: to catch more fish in our local ponds, streams and rivers.

A Vision for a Parish Church

This was the magazine editorial in our parish magazine for June 2008.

I have been thinking a lot recently about the church. Not so much the church worldwide or nationally, but our local church. I’ve been thinking about and asking myself a lot of questions about us. Hard questions, like why don’t more people want to come and worship with us, or even better, join us and become part of the church family. We give thanks for those who do come with all our hearts. But why don’t more people come?

After all, I think we are a welcoming and friendly congregation and I know how eager we are to see more people coming along to our services and other events. We are a strong and committed congregation – strong in our faith and committed to doing God’s work in our part of the city. And I believe we are a loving and caring church too.

In many ways we are doing well as a congregation. But there’s a hard fact that we have to face. Year by year we are shrinking as a congregation and we have been for years. Now, I know full well that if God wills it, he can send a revival and save a thousand souls. He can fill our church with new life and new Christians by the hundreds if he wants to. And we pray that he will!

But, what if God is waiting until we show our willingness to change and go further as a congregation to bring people to Christ? God has always also worked through the work and witness of his people. Sometimes he waits until we give our lives to his service and to mission. He might be waiting to act until we decide what our priority is as a church, until we decide we are willing to change ourselves and the way we do things, so that he can then do a new thing through us. Look at what he said through the prophet Isaiah:

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.“ (Isaiah 43:18-19, NIV)

The question we all have to face is whether we are ready and willing to change, to give up certain things, to have “dead wood” cut away from the stump of the tree so that new growth can flourish?

What things do I have in mind? Well I don’t have all the answers. I think this is a discussion we need to have with each other within our congregation. We all need to be willing to give and take, learn from each other, and take up different ideas. Here are just a few ideas to get the discussion started.

Faith. Unless we have a real, living faith in Jesus Christ ourselves, unless we know Christ as our Saviour and Lord, brother and friend, how can we really tell other people about him? Unless we understand the gospel, believe it and live it out in our lives, how can we really tell anyone outside the church that we have good news for them?

Worship. We need to worship God in accordance with God’s word. But are there parts of our worship that people from outside the church would find hard to understand, or difficult to engage with? Do we have things that are merely traditions rather than God’s commands? Could we do worship differently at some of our services if this would be more interesting or easy to understand for people who are not used to going to church?

Communication. Those of us who have been going to church for years are comfortable with church language that we use all the time. Do we need to take time to consider that not everyone knows what our church language means? Can we find ways of communicating the truth of God’s word in ways that are more meaningful to people who are not used to reading the Bible or going to church?

Prayer. Are we a congregation that takes prayer seriously enough? We need to become a praying congregation if we are going to become a growing congregation. The apostles were constantly telling Christians in New Testament times to pray for one another. Do we need a new system to enable us to pray for each other and for what we need as a congregation? Or how about coming to join the midweek prayer meeting? It’s a great opportunity to have fellowship with one another and support each other in prayer.

Fellowship. If the churches in the New Testament were anything they were communities. We are God’s family and we need to be as close to each other as any blood family. Are we ready to share our lives with each other, allowing each other to see and to share in our joys and sorrows? Or are we too proud to let our guard down? Too scared of what people will think of us, to be really honest with each other when we have problems, doubts, sadness, or pain? If we don’t live as a family, as God’s community, really loving each other and showing it, how can we convince anyone outside the church that we really love them?

Service. One of the most effective ways of touching the lives of those outside the church is by helping and caring for them in practical ways. In this Jesus is our prime example. As well as teaching people, Christ helped people in very practical ways. He cured the sick, he fed the hungry, he comforted the broken. How can we find ways of doing that for people that we want to reach and bring into God’s kingdom?

I hope this editorial will prompt discussion and, in the longer term, action. Christ calls us to “stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel” (Philippians 1:27).

Our congregation’s history shows that we have always been willing to “rise up and build” when God calls us to work for him. I have no doubt that same dedication to hard work combined with forward thinking and a deep trust in God can see us grow as a congregation in the years to come.

The Importance of Evangelism

The following is an editorial from our Church's parish magazine.

The richness of our Christian heritage is second to none. We have the history of Christianity in Scotland, the wealth of Reformed theology, the triumph of Presbyterianism over its enemies in spiritual and physical battles of centuries long past. For more than fifteen hundred years Christianity has been at the heart of European civilisation. In these circumstances, it’s so easy to think that the church is just something that will always be around, something that’s just so much part of the British way of life, that it’s impossible to imagine the world without it. We take the presence of churches in every parish in the land for granted. And in saying this I don’t judge anyone else – I’m confessing my own thoughts. Our land is soaked in Christian history and influence. "How could it ever be otherwise?" I say to myself.

The trouble is that it’s not the case that the church will just always be around. It’s a very dangerous assumption to just think the Church will always be there. The truth is that living Christianity in our parish, in our city, or even in our country, is not a fortress with all the impenetrable defences of faith and truth to defend it for all time. No, the truth is that real Christianity hangs by a thread, and it must be carefully passed down from generation to generation, otherwise the thread can break and the church can die out. Think about it. The church only exists now because at some point in our lives we started going to it. Just as surely, it can only survive us if by the time we leave this life we have passed on the torch to those who are now young people, or children or even those not yet born, so they can come to know God through our Jesus Christ for themselves. Otherwise, at some point in the future, there will simply be no Christian presence in our land anymore.

Let’s be clear what I’m saying here and what I’m not saying. Of course in one sense the Church will always exist. In one sense it is a fortress of truth and faith that can never been destroyed. We have God’s Word for that. Jesus said in Matthew 16:18, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

But that promise doesn’t necessarily mean the church will always exist in our parish, in Glasgow or even in Scotland. And it certainly doesn’t mean that the church as we know it or anything remotely like it will continue to exist.

It’s nothing new. Look at the churches mentioned in the New Testament – the churches Christ himself addresses in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 for example. None of them survives today. Christ warned them to change their ways or else he said he would “come and remove your lampstand from its place” (Rev. 2:5). In other words, Christ threatened that he could take away the life of a church that departs from his way. We need only look around our church on a Sunday to see that there are far fewer people there than there were even a decade ago. In another decade, how many faces will there be? Can the decline go on forever?

It is really only by God’s grace that the church has survived, its living faith being passed on in an unbroken thread from the apostles down to the those new Christians who only came to faith somewhere in the world in the last few seconds. It’s only because those we look up to in our Christian heritage – the early church fathers, the Reformers, the Puritans, the Covenanters, the Victorian missionaries and many other faithful saints – believed the gospel and loved God so much that they were willing to do whatever it takes to confess the gospel, live the gospel and spread the gospel in their time, that there are any Christians in Scotland and many other countries around the world today.

If we are going to really be Protestants, and claim people like Knox, Rutherford, Boston, McCheyne or Livingstone as our Christian forefathers, we need to be confessing the gospel, living the gospel and spreading the gospel in our day and age. We need to be faithful to the truth, zealous for God’s glory and filled with compassion for those who are living and dying without Christ.

Can we make anyone become a Christian? No, we certainly cannot. God is in sovereign control of who is saved and who isn’t saved. Acts 13:48 says of the New Testament Church that only “as many as were ordained [by God] to eternal life believed.”

The Bible teaches us that by nature the whole human race is so bad that no one can be persuaded to become a Christian purely by human means, no matter how beautiful the preaching, no matter how slick the campaign, no matter how loving the fellowship: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God,” Paul wrote in Romans 3:10-11. The prophet Jeremiah said that man’s heart by nature is “deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.” (Jeremiah 17:9)

It takes a divine act to give new birth to a dead sinner before a person can even have faith in Christ. This was why Jesus told Nicodemus, “You must be born again.” (John 3:7). And why Paul said that saving faith was a gift from God, not something generated naturally within the heart of men and women (see Ephesians 2:8-9).

But at the same time, God commands us to preach the gospel to everyone, precisely because he can bring even spiritually dead, God-hating sinners to salvation by the power of his Word. He commands everyone who hears the gospel to come to him, to accept his offer of salvation in Jesus Christ, promising that everyone who believes in Christ shall be saved. The Lord gave the Word, but it is our duty to take that word out to the world around us, to let them hear it, for “faith comes from hearing...the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17).

Will we do it? Will generations to come look back at us and say: “What great Christians those people at the turn of the millennium were! Look what God did for Scotland through them!”
Or by then will people in Scotland not even know what a Christian was?