The Faith Once Delivered: Nantlais Williams. Seven. 'Good and Faithful Servant.'

Nantlais Williams retired as Minister of Bethany, Ammanford in 1944. He had spent his working life at the Chapel. The ambitious literary minister left behind a legacywhich he could hardly have anticipated in 1900, not only in the Confession of Faith, but in a faithful Church. His Chapel had experienced several movements of the Spirit. Awakened young people from Ammanford were a driving force in the formation of the Aberystwyth Evangelical Union, while Nantlais' son, Reinallt, was a lecturer at Swansea, and a driving force in the formation of the Evangelical Union at that University. Nantlais himself was a sought-after speaker for the Welsh Evangelical Unions.

After the breaking in of the Holy Spirit in 1904, Nantlais' life had changed completely. He had been used to warn the Presbyterian Church about their slide from orthodoxy. But most importantly, he had been a faithful pastor to his flock, equipping them in days of doctrinal slackness. He died in 1959, before the final descent of his beloved Presbyterian Church into apostacy, but after seeing young people from his own church play a part in the founding of the Evangelical Movement of Wales.

Tomorrow, if the Lord wills it, we shall be starting a series on the conversion of Howell Harris.

The Faith Once Delivered: Nantlais Williams. Six. The End of the Issue

Nantlais was far from happy with the draft Declaratory Articles, which would replace the 1823 Confession as the ultimate standard of Welsh Presbyterian belief. While they were vaguely Trnitarian, he was adamant that the substance of the 1823 Confession had to be preserved. References to the Virgin Birth of Christ, the substitutionary nature of the atonement, His resurrection (which had not been mentioned at all), and His Second Coming in glory had to be strengthened/included if Nantlais were to accept the Bill.

At the 1931 meetings of the Presbyterian General Assembly, Dr. E. O. Davies tried to persuade Nantlais that not all the missing doctrines were essential for the faith, although he, personally believed them. Nantlais was not persuaded, but E. O. Davies believed that so long as Nantlais was a lone voice in the widerness he could be brought roun, given time. But there were big names already lining up. Ellis W. Davies, elder and MP for Caernarfonshire, along with former Moderators Peter Hughes Griffiths and R. R. Roberts, took up Nantlais' case against the Declaratory Articles as they stood.

Davies was forced to climb down. At a private meeting, he agreed to insert references to the virgin birth, the substitutionary atonement, the resurrection and the second coming of Christ. Nantlais, his concerns addressed, agreed to the new measure, and in 1932, both North and South Wales Associations agreed to the Bill. In the words of D. Densil Morgan, 'Although this development was not devoid of ambiguities, it was nevertheless a clear victory for the conservatives.'

The Faith Once Delivered: Nantlais Williams: Five. The Continuing Struggle

Predictably, Nantlais' forthrightness on the question of Confessional Reconstruction was not appreciated by everyone. Not only did theological liberals accuse him of being a reactionary, but orthodox ministers such as the Rev. John Thickens of Willesden Green, London, accused Nantlais of alarmism. The reconstruction exercise, he maintained, was not a liberal ploy: '[...] the subject under discussion at present', he maintained, 'is not whether the Confession of Faith should be abolished or changed, rather that the Connexion be afforded the right to preserve the Confession if it so desires.'

To say the least, Thickens was guilty of naiveté. When the final report appeared, it recommended that a Declaratory Act, modelled after the Church of Scotland articles be passed to take the place of the Confession as the ultimate standard. Described by D. Densil Morgan as 'much more succinct than the 1823 Confession', it was still larger than the Shorter Declaration on Faith and Practice. This was to be accompanied by an historical sketch of the life and doctrine of the Connexion, a staement affirming that Christ alone and not the state is the head of the Church and a statement affirming that the Connexion had the right to make further chages to the expression of its faith, provided these were in accordance with the 1823 Confession and the Word of God. Finally there was a paragraph committing the Presbyterian Church of Wales to inter-denominational co-operation and unity.

There was still a long way to go before these changes were accepted, and Nantlais would have his say in this process.

The Faith Once Delivered: Natlais Williams. Four. Constrained to Fight

E. O. Davies, Secretary to the Reconstruction Committee expressed his admiration for the Confession of Faith, assuring denominational conservatives that the Confession would not be abolished, but supplemented by a Shorter Declaration on Faith and Doctrine. In his own words:

'My own opinion [...] is that neither the Shorter Declaration nor any other statement which the Connexion may devise will ever replace the Confession of Faith. [...] Any further declaration made in the light of new-found knowledge and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit would only serve to augment and not supplant the present Confession of Faith.'

To Nantlais, such statements indicated that the Confession of Faith was to be downgraded to a mere ceremonial bauble. In a series of articles entitled Torri'r Rhaffau (cutting the ropes) published in the Presbyterian Newspaper Y Goleuad, in 1925 and later re-issued as a pamphlet, he criticised the process. While making it clear he was not opposed to confessional revision per se, if the object was to make the Confession more evangelical and scriptural. However, Nantlis was convinced that the liberals intended to use the process to move the Presbyterians away from Biblical truth towards rationalism. When liberals spoke of freedom, Nantlais responded that there were limits to freedom, the limits of God's revelation.

More, Nantlais understood that a confessional revision would mean that the liberals would cement their control over the denomination prior to an ecumenical process ending in a single united church which included Unitarians and Roman Catholics, possibly even other religions. With the 1823 Confession in place, this would be impossible, for the church's property would belong to the evangelicals if they stood outside. With a revised, latitudinarian confession, the Presbyterian Church of Wales would be dragged into Babylonian captivity. Freedom for the liberals meant slavery for the true people of God.

The Faith Once Delivered: Nanlais Williams. Three. Hold a goodly Confession

As we saw in our series on Tom Nefyn, the theology of the Calvinistic Methodist Church had slid from the orthodoxy of the 1823 Aberystwyth Confession of Faith. While men like Nefyn had gone far beyond the Confession, by the 1920s, most ministers in the Calvinistic Methodist Church were frankly embarrassed by their Confession. In 1870, Thomas Charles Edwards announced that 'High Calvinism' was dead in Wales, while we have already seen that the Calvinistic Methodist leaders, interrogated before the Disestablishment Commission, were unable to give full assent to the teachings of Calvinism. In 1914, one reviewer had observed that 'Calvin and Calvinism are familliar words in Wales. But the man himself is a stranger and his doctrine is almost unknown.'

In the latter part of 1923 and 1924, the North and South Wales Associations of the Calvinistic Methodist Church (which will from now on be referred to as the Presbyterian Church of Wales) saw calls for a new doctrinal standard. A 'Reconstruction Committee' was set up, its principal secretary being E. O. Davies, minister of Shilo Church, Llandudno, former Professor of Christian Doctrine at Bala College. Davies was a mild liberal. The question before the Committee was whether the Confession should be changed, but it was generally assumed that they would recommend a new confession.

And many evangelicals felt that any revision of the Confession of Faith would have the effect of loosening the denomination's standards, allowing liberalism a free rein.

The Faith Once Delivered: Nantlais Williams. Two. Flames of Revival

The newly-converted Minister of Bethany, Ammanford had no time to rest. The Church found itself in the centre of the revival in Carmarthenshire. Rather than following Evan Roberts (pictured) in itinerating, Nantlais decided to remain in his church to disciple the new converts. In the words of R. Tudur Jones, his intention was '[...] to turn the initial emotionalism into spiritual discipline.' [Faith and the Crisis of a Nation, p.308] Although a new convert himself, Nantlais found that the Holy Spirit equipped him for this task. The result was a congregation equipped to weather the storms that were coming.

From this point on, Nantlais ended his association with Welsh literary competitions and writing poetry for its own sake. His works were hymns and religious prose. He was concerned to live for God, not for self. The Holy Spirit had taken the literary Minister, concerned for his own reputation had become an officer in the army of King Jesus.

The result of the Revival for Nantlais was new life, a revived ministry in Ammanford, and a wider ministry as editor of the Welsh-Language magazine Yr Efengylydd (The Evangelist) from 1916, the only evangelical publication in Welsh for much of the first half of the twentith century. As a result of this, Nantlais was to become drawn into the inter-war struggle for the soul of the Calvinistic Methodist Church.

The Faith Once Delivered: Nantlais Williams: One. The New Birth

Last Lord's Day evening, the Pastor was forced to speak in the after-meeting due to unforseen circumstances. He chose to speak on his call to the ministry. In the course of his words, Mr. Hughes mentioned that some men are called to the ministry before being converted. Before the lynch-mob is formed, I should be quick to point out that he went on to say that the Holy Spirit will convert the man if he is truly called of God.

As a case in point, he mentioned Bethany Chapel, Ammanford and its minister in the early years of the twentieth century, W. 'Nantlais' Williams. An orthodox Calvinistic Methodist, he was as yet unconverted when called to Bethany in 1900 from Trefeca College. A man of immense literary talents, he took part in the eisteddfodau and loved to adorn his sermons with literary motifs.

Until the 1904-5 Revival, his great ambition was to become a successful, popular preacher and poet. But in November 1904, Joseph Jenkins, Minister at New Quay, Ceredigion, came to Bethany, Ammanford came to speak in the town. Nantlais preached on the Holy Spirit the Sunday before Jenkins' arrival, but he knew nothing of the new birth. The week following, he became dreadfully aware of his unregenerate state. He spent a whole night pleading before God, but to no avail. In the Saturday night meeting, however, the Spirit came, and he could not help singing. The Holy Spirit had come to live in his heart. From here, Nantlais will tell his own story:

After going home, and sitting down, quite quietly and soberly, I saw that it was
through believing thatsalvation comes to us, not through effort and anguish in
all-night prayer on my part, but through the effort of someone else for me in
the Garden and on the Cross; yes, through leaning upon Him and His bloody sweat
and dying agony. Oh! What a relief. What peace! I believed, because the ways of
life were unmistakably revealed to me. Well! well! so simple, so near! So plain!
So free! The way of salvation is so endearing in its conditions! ... Such a pity
that its simplicity is so great an obstacle to the wise and the intelligent, and
everybody.

God was not finished with the talented minister. He had great works prepared for
him.