Martyn Lloyd-Jones - The Lord's Supper guards Doctrine

I am currently preaching on the early chapters of the Book of Acts in the mornings at Bethel Evangelical Church, Hanley. While doing preparation for a sermon on the latter part of Acts 2, I came across this Lloyd-Jones quote in his Authentic Christianity:

“So the Lord’s Supper was not just the idea of the apostles, not something conjured up by the Church, but it was a solemn command of the Lord. Why did He command them to keep it? And here is a most significant thing. I believe he gave this command in order to preserve the doctrine, it is a kind of display of the truth, and our Lord wanted to preserve the truth throughout the centuries until the end of the Christian era.
“What a wonderful thing this has been! This table with its bread and wine has often been a terrible condemnation of the pulpit. Men have entered pulpits and said that Jesus was only a man, that he was nothing more than a moral exemplar and a good teacher. They have said that his death was the death of a pacifist, that it was a great tragedy and that we must imitate his spirit and live in the same way. They have preached like that in pulpits and then they have gone down to the Communion table, and there has been no connection between their preaching and the message of that Communion service. The Communion table, the broken bread and the poured out wine, has been preaching a message.
“And so, because of men and their fallibility – and we are all fallible – the Lord took a step to preserve the truth, the doctrine. And if you want to know how to test modern teaching and modern preaching, here is your test: what relationship does it bear to the bread and the wine? Does it lead to that? Is the Communion service a demonstration of the message that has been preached? If it is not, the message has been false. Here is the Lord’s own command and he has commanded it in order to preserve the teaching.”

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: Authentic Christianity Vol. 1 (Edinburgh, Banner of Truth, 1999) Pp. 159-160

Donald Fraser's Preaching: The place of Christ.

Today we give you the opening part of one of Donald Fraser's sermons entitled 'In the Midst'. The text is from John 20.19 and 26.

"Some truths are central, and some are circumferential. Some people are central, and others form groups around them.
"In Christian thought, the Gospel is the central truth. In christian life and fellowship, the Christ of the Gospel is the central personality. Distrust a theology that is not Christo-centric, that has not Christ for its Sun of Righteousness in the midst, from whom grace and truth radiate, and to whom homage and faith return. Avoid any Church connection which is not Christo-centric - which is content to have the Lord somewhere within reach on an emergency, but does not form itself around Him as the indispensable Saviour. His proper place is in the midst, in the heart of the service and of the sermon, central in the assembly of the saints, with all the prayers and praises and all the joy of faith circling and twining round Him.
"There are two classes of statements in the Scripture on the Lord's centrality. One of these shows Him in the midst between the saved and the unsaved, making a difference; the other shows Him in the midst of the saved, for their union and strength and gladness."

(Our Ilustration shows Blyth Presbyterian Church, which Fraser opened)

On Keys

The Rev. John Brown of Broughton Place, Edinburgh (author of commentaries on Romans, Galatians, Hebrews and One Peter) was also Professor of Exegetical Theology at the United Secession College. In his lectures he gave hints concerning commentaries - both good and bad. When lecturing on Romans he recounted an anecdote at the expense of the Unitarian minister Dr. John Taylor of Norwich. Taylor, a contemporary of John Wesley, had published a book entitled 'A Key to the Epistle to the Romans' which professed to open that book in the lowest Arminian fashion. Brown used to recite, with much enjoyment, the verdict passed on the work by an evangelical theologian of the eighteenth century: "The poor man gave the key a violent wrench, and behold it moved; but it was not the door that was opened, it was only the lock that was broken."

(From John Cairns, 'Memoir of John Brown, D.D.', (Edinburgh, Edmonston and Douglas, 1860) P. 161)

Good Friday Quote: Atonement and the Love of God

As always, this year we have been treated to the spectacle of some apostate cleric contrasting the love of God with the cross. We at Free St. George's have therefore decided there is no better way of marking Good Friday than by giving the following quote from James Denney, the great Scottish Theologian of the Cross. The Cross, as James Denney quite rightly says, is the revelation of the love of God.

"Perhaps the most striking thing in the first Epistle of St. John is the manner in which the propitiation of Christ is related to the love of God. The connection of the two things is, as we have seen, universal in the New Testament. No one could teach more emphatically than St. Paul, for example, that it is to the love of God we owe the presence of Jesus in the world and His work for men. No one could contrast what the love of God has done for us in Christ more emphatically than St. Paul does with the utmost which men will do from love for each other. But St. John rises above all comparisons to an absolute point of view at which propitiation and love become ideas which explain each other, and have no adequate illustration apart from each other. He not only defines the propitiation by relation to love - God Himself loved us and sent His Son a propitiation for our sins (iv. 10); He defines love by relation to the propitiation - in this have we come to know what love is, that He laid down His life for us (iii.16). The emphasis in this last sentence is on the expressly contrasted works 'ekeinos huper hemon'. It is the contrast of what He is and of what we are, of the sinless Son of God and the sinful sons of men, in which the nerve of the proposition lies. So far from finding any kind of contrast between love and propitiation, the apostle can convey no idea of love to any one except by pointing to the propitiation - love is what is manifested there; and he can give no account of the propitiation but by saying Behold what manner of love. For him to say 'God is love' is exactly the same as to say 'God has in His Son made atonemennt for the sin of the world.' If the propitiatory death of Jesus is eliminated from the love of God, it might be unfair to say that the love of God is robbed of all meaning, but it is certainly robbed of its apostolic meaning. It has no longer that meaning which goes deeper than sin, sorrow, and death, and which recreates life in the adoring joy, wonder and purity of the first Epistle of St. John"

James Denney 'The Death of Christ' (Fifth edition, London, Hodder and Stoughton, 1905) P. 275-6

We would advise our readers to read the quotation carefully, memorise it if possible, and use its substance against the old canard that 'If God is Love then He wouldn't punish His Son in the place of sinners.'

Idolatry of the Bible (By Edward Irving) III

"I hesitate to pronounce that unqualified approbation upon that sign of the times, in which the times delight themselves so much, that the written word is translated into all languages and circulated in all lands. It is a token of good for them; but to us it is no token for good, if the labour of that ministry of translating and circulated be abstracted from the higher ministry of reading, learning, marking and inwardly digesting the word... The times were when the words of the preacher were spirit and life, and master minds lent their energies to the noble work of this spiritual embassy, and wearied themselves, and wearied the people, and rallied again; so that in the olden time when a bishop preached, and turned the glass at the end of the hour, the congregation rejoiced with a manifest joy that they were to have the music of the glad sound a little longer in their ears."

"The second evidence and measure of the extent to which the idolatry of the Scriptures hath advanced amongst us, I discern in the notion which now begins to prevail amongst the most pious both of our ministers and people concerning faith, that it is no more than the reception of the truths of revelation into the mind, and their activity thereupon as truths... Now, the true doctrine concerning faith is, that to its production in the soul the Spirit of God must work as effectually as the word of God: or, even further, that the word is the instrument with which the Spirit worketh, and that the word, to be profitable to redemption, regeneration, and salvation, waiteth for the Spirit to work therewithal; and that we must be born of the Spirit by the seed of the word which liveth and abideth for ever... But we seem in the churches to be relapsing into the condition of those disciples mentioned in the Acts, who did not know that there was a Holy Ghost... they are converting religion into an objective thing, and the object they have chosen is surely the most worthy one, the written word; but inasmuch as it is objective merely, it is idolatry. Objective it must be, but subjective it must at the same time likewise be; and to make it subjective in us, the Holy Spirit must work upon us..."

That is idolatry of the Bible, despising preaching, and forgetting the need for the Holy Spirit. Thank you, Mr. Irving. But Irving must have the last word:

"But when I shall witness as strenuous and sedulous endeavours to seek out children of the Spirit for preaching the word, as much boldness to speak against the children of the world who usurp the high places of this ministry, - when I shall hear not in word, but see in deed, that the Holy Spirit is looked to for all the increase, and that in this dependence all expedients, managements, solicitations of the high and noble, and traffic with the vanity and self-importance of men, and human wits and wiles, are supplanted in all our works by spiritual trust, then shall I be sure that the way of the Lord is mightily preparing, and that He is going forth as a man of war to convert the nations."

Idolatry of the Bible (By Edward Irving) II

Resuming at the point where we left off:
"But the Spirit of God having no visible representation as the word hath, no form of a holy dove or consecrated oil, the danger is that His needful part should be lost sight of in an unspiritual age, and that the visible form of the word should carry it before the observation of the sense... there is a constant danger lest we should place our chief expectation of Spiritual knowledge upon the perusal of the word itself, and forget that a spirit hath to be born within us of the Spirit of God, which, like a mistress of all spiritual art, shall sit at the centre and weave the web of spiritual wisdom out of the revelations which are contained in the word of God.
Now that this safeguard, most clearly percieved by our fathers, and by them constantly presented to view, hath, through the wonderful mastery of things visible over this age, fallen out of sight of the godly among us, and the written word become proportionately more prominent than it ought to be, and in so far become an idol, appears manifest to my mind from the following characteristic features of our days."
By Now you are no doubt thinking that Irving was a way-out Charismatic. Bear with him.
"First, that the main current of our enthusiasm hath set towards the written word of God to a degree hitherto unexampled in the world; which would be to my mind the source of unmingled joy and glory, did I witness consentaneous therewith an equal enthusiasm for the preaching of its spiritual doctrines. But I witness the imperial ordinance of preaching Christ postponed in the estimation of the religious to pleadings for charitable and religious benevolence, to the reading of the liturgy, to public meetings, and other such inventions of men, and find, moreover, that there never hath been an age in the Church wherein spiritual doctrine was at so low an ebb, and the gifts of the preacher so little cared about, and the work of preaching so miserably put by..."

More to come (God willing), including Irving's plea for longer sermons.

Idolatry of the Bible (By Edward Irving) I

Edward Irving (1792-1834) is best known for his interest in eschatology and the gifts of the Spirit. He was, however, also a gifted preacher. Recently some things have been said about 'Idolatry of the Bible' at a certain blog. Irving had a few things to say on this matter.
The sermon 'Idolatry of the Bible' was part of a series on idolatry preached in Regent Square Church, London. It is found in volume IV of Irving's Collected Writings (London, 1865). These are some selected portions. Do not be put off by Irving's opening statement. Or by the fact that this is something of a space filler. Normal service will be resumed in January.


"It may make many to startle when I tell them that the first point upon which we are at present assailable, and where the enemy hath worked his mines the most effectually, is the Holy Scriptures itself, and that even now the worship of God is hindered among us by the worship of the Bible. Yet we need not start at such an announcement when we remember that the idolatry of the law is that which even now sealeth the bondage of the Jews, and that the law was inspired no less than the rest of the Scriptures, and contained within itself the warning of its own insufficiency to save the soul, no less than the book of the New Testament containeth within itself the declaration of its insufficiency to save the soul without the gracious aides of the Spirit of God..." Irving goes on to speak of the central place of the Bible in Protestantism, and Protestantism's victories won through the Bible.
"Now the book, never to be praised enough for these its mighty works unto us and to our fathers, doth contain within itself the safeguard against all idolatry, to which our fathers had dilligent respect, and from which if we their children do withdraw our eyes, it will become an idol to us as surely as the body of Moses would have become an idol to the children of Israel, had not the archangel Michael, our Prince, contested for it with Satan, who desired it for his craft, and prevailed to have it buried, no one of the camp knew where, and no one was able to discover. The safeguard against the idolatry of the word of God which it containeth within itself, is the assurance everywhere given that it is not profitable to any blessed uses save as the Spirit of God taketh it and useth it, and worketh with it effectually to the salvation of men and the redemption of the world... And it is the sound doctrine of all the Reformed Churches that the study of the word without the co-operation of the Spirit is as little able to produce spiritual life as the sight and study of the visible world is able of itself to beget intellectual life; and that as there is a mind given us of God for recieving the impressions of the sense and digesting them into the forms of understanding, so there is a spirit wrought within us by the Spirit of God for recieving the impressions of the word and digesting them into the forms of spiritual being."

(Pp 75-78) Next (God willing), Irving will tells us more about 'The Idolatry of the Bible'

Why Hyper-Calvinists are like Arminians

"In regard to the claims of God, each of these extremes (of Hyper-Calvinism and Arminianism) worked from a common principle which they turned to opposite ends. The Hyper-Calvinistic brethren held that there is no world-wide call to Christ sent out to all sinners to whom the in letter the Gospel comes, neither are all bidden to take Him as their Saviour. On the other hand, they maintained that Christ is held forth or offered as saviour to those to whom God effectually calls. To such positions they came because they reasoned that man, as a bankrupt in spiritual resources, cannot be called upon to do what is out of the compass of his power. He can neither repent nor believe. So it was out of place to call upon him to do what he cannot do. In this, when we look into it, we find the common Arminian position that man's responsibility is limited by his ability. The Arminian holds to the presence of a certain ability in those that are called; otherwise sinners could not be called upon to repent and believe the Gospel. Each side takes up the principle from its own end. They fail together to recognise that the sinner is responsible for his own spiritual impotence. It is the fruit of sin; and man's sin does not destroy nor put out of court God's right to ask for an obedience alike in service and repentance and faith that his sinful creatures have disabled themselves from yielding to Him. His title to make His demand is entirely and absolutely unimpaired."

John Macleod Scottish Theology (Edinburgh, Banner of Truth Trust, 1974) P.141

Yes, I AM going to post the last post in the 'New Evangelism' series. This is 'news'. It came up in a Systematic Theology lecture yesterday. Our Principal isn't sure Macleod wrote it. Here's the proof!

The Death of William Cowper (By Alexander Whyte)

(This post is the result of a post on Cowper on Steve Hays' Blog)

"When William Cowper died, there came out upon his sad countenance a look of 'holy surprise.' The very last poem Cowper had composed was about himself, and he had entitled it 'The Castaway.' But, instead of being what he thought he would for ever be, a look of 'holy surprise' came out of his heart, and spread over his dead face - so abundant was the entrance that was being at this moment administered to him.

Come then, away, O downcast soul! Come away! And William Cowper, and you, and I, will one day hold a three-cornered contest in heaven as to which of us three has the most wonderful story to tell and the most wonderful song to sing. I think I know who will carry away the prize from you both.
Nay, I am sure I know! 'Of whom I am chief.'"

(The conclusion of a sermon entitled 'A Wonder in Heaven' preached in Free St. George's January 13th 1901) published in With Mercy And With Judgement (London, Hodder and Stoughton, no date) Pp. 91-2

Covenanter Wisdom

Before leaving behind for a while the heroic Covenanters, who purchased a freedom now enjoyed in America and the United Kingdom with their sufferings, here are a few choice sayings of theirs:

"In the worst of times, there is still more cause to complain of an evil heart than of an evil world." - Robert Fleming (1630-1694)

"Prosperity, ease, and the desires of the soul, send leanness to the soul; the evils of the world are much better than the good thereof." - James Fraser of Brea (1639-1698)

"Here there is much repining and fretting at God's dispensations; but believe it, the day is approaching when ye shall write upon the posts of the doors of heaven, He hath done all things well." - Andrew Gray (1634-1656)

"Heaven is a land of peace, and all things are there in full age; here all are in minority [childhood], it is but yet night; but, when the day shall break up, and the shadows fly away, and the Prince of peace shall appear and be revealed, He shall bring peace and grace both with Him, and both perfect." - Hugh Binning (1625-1654)

"Our apprehensions [fears] are not canonical [Scripture]." Samuel Rutherford (1600-1661)