View of Edinburgh, Scotland.
Do not for a moment consider the decline of human government and what now takes the place of true Christianity in Scotland, England, throughout Europe, and into Australia and Canada somehow is their situation, their problem and America will remain untainted. We’re already infected and the spiritual disease is rapidly spreading and more contagious than any biological virus or agent.
It may take longer to spread but once it has and infects the results are always certain death. Spiritual death. Death of a nation and people. Eternal death.
The only remedy, or cure?
True repentance and a true turning to God Almighty and the Lord Jesus Christ not giving the Holy Spirit but abiding in the will and instruction of the Holy Spirit which is discerned by the wisdom and understanding, the meditation upon God’s Word.
Period.
Otherwise? Certain death. On every level in every form. The worst of which is the eternal death of the individual spirit and soul.
The deconstruction of language, of what passes for Christian faith, for what passes for sound rational objective, and wise government leads to this eternal spiritual death.
Only God. Only the Lord Jesus Christ. Only the Holy Spirit [which is not merely neglected but denied], only the Holy Bible, only true repentance, only true faith, only the grace of God poured out upon such a rebellious and lost people can rescue, save, and spare an individual, a nation from such death and wrath.
Romans 1:16-32 is not an ancient discourse directed only to the believers in Rome at the time of the apostle Paul’s writing of that letter. Romans 1:16-32 is as alive and active today, perhaps more so in the fact the world is now discovered and populated in the manner it is.
What has, what is transpiring in Scotland, England, Australia, Canada, and throughout Europe is already happening in America. And as America erodes and falls into the bondage of evil the people and government deluding themselves they are creating a better world, it’s all about love, tolerance, and compassion, and the people choose, the people are the power, the people are gods not in need of God — well, the people of America and every place on this corrupted and fallen world will come to see, hear and understand. Tragically too late for the overwhelming majority.
Take heart in the fact you do not need to be in that number.
Take heart in the power, authority, and will of God, the Word of God.
Take heart in the Lord.
Take heart that the door of grace remains open and more whose name is in the Book of Life will hear, will see, and will come before the Lord Jesus Christ returns His Second and Final Time.
RELATED:
The Gospel Is the Power of God — Preacher, Alistair Begg
“Without Excuse” — Preacher, Alistair Begg
Search the ARCHIVES here for past articles on the rapid spread of euthanasia, assisted suicide, and homosexual legislation throughout Western governments. Making the bitter sweet, the sweet bitter, the good evil and the evil good;
Ken Pullen, A CROOKED PATH, Monday, November 21st, 2022
Understanding the Times: The View from Scotland
By Michael Veitch
Reprinted from The Banner of Truth Magazine December 2022, Issue #711
Browsing a charity shop in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis last summer, I purchased an old copy of Sermons of the Great Ejection, published by the Banner in 1962. It is has proved to be one of the best books I’ve read. A collection of messages from godly ministers on the cusp of being removed from the Church of England in 1662 for their adherence to gospel truth, it is a book of acute relevance north of the border, here in Scotland, three hundred and sixty years on.
While ‘A Pastor’s Legacies’ by Thomas Brooks and ‘Parting Counsels’ by Thomas Watson are both outstanding, it is the sermon by the far less known John Collins (c.1632–87) that speaks poignantly of the present situation here in the U K. Based on Jude 3, ‘Earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints,’ Collins affirms, ‘The church is called a candlestick, not only to hold out the light, but to hold the light; whence the church is called a pillar and ground of the truth’. We know from the Scriptures that we worship a God who is deeply concerned about truth, yet Isaiah’s lament, ‘truth is fallen in the street’ (Isa. 59:14, KJV), has come to pass, for it is truth itself that is under attack throughout the U.K. at this time.
At the time of writing, this has manifested itself most starkly with the Scottish Government’s1 Gender Recognition Reform Bill that would essentially dismantle the legal realities of male and female by making legally recognized sex a matter of personal preference. Scripture, science, and plain reason unite to affirm the objective reality of biological sex, yet, much as in the fable of the Emperor’s New Clothes, truth is disregarded.
There are also two legislative proposals being pursued by individual Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs): to legalize assisted suicide for the terminally ill, and to implement legally enforceable ‘buffer zones’ outside abortion providers. Both proposals flow from a view that deeply undermines the preciousness and sanctity of all human life, from the embryo to our very last days.
Perhaps the greatest ‘iceberg’ facing the church is a proposed ban on ‘conversion practices’ being supported across the Scottish political spectrum. While Christians should be the first to condemn any practice involving coercion or cruelty (anathema to the gospel), the reality is that what is being discussed could potentially criminalize those who teach repentance and biblical sexual ethics.
There are, tragically, elements of the visible church in Scotland who heartily endorse the spirit of the age. Others, it seems, are either unaware or unconcerned about the magnitude of what is happening. Collins’ observation of his own times still carries weight: ‘It is to be lamented that there is so sad a spirit of indifference among Christians at this present day’.
The reality is that for those who do speak out, regardless of whether they come from a faith perspective, there will be a heavy cost. As Collins goes on to say: ‘Some who profess Christ’s name are for easy and soft compliance, as if Christ gave them leave to agree to anything. I believe that some Christians are of the opinion that the saints of God are ill-advised to venture their all upon those truths they see others died and suffered for. It is a sad thing, many Christians study to draw out the lines of obedience as far as the honesty of the times will give them leave, but no farther.’
It was the timeless John Newton who warned a century later that: ‘The Bible is the grand repository of [truth]… Every attempt to disguise or soften any branch of this truth, in order to accommodate it to the prevailing taste around us, either to avoid the displeasure, or to court the favour, of our fellow mortals, must be an affront to the majesty of God, and an act of treachery to men.’2 Certainly, when it comes to speaking light into the present darkness, there are clear biblical virtues that should govern engagement, such as wisdom, humility, grace, compassion and love (Eph. 4:15). Yet we must be simultaneously willing to declare unequivocally that there is such a thing as absolute truth. As Paul affirmed in 2 Cor. 4:2, ‘we have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God’ (KJV).
It is undoubtedly tragic that the ‘land of the Book’—of Knox, Henderson, Rutherford and M‘Cheyne—has fallen so far, yet as the OldTestament history of Israel soberly reminds us, rich spiritual privilege and heritage are no ultimate guarantor against future apostasy. Even so, God is faithful, and he will certainly keep the light of the gospel of hisSon burning.
Paul’s ‘gospel of Christ crucified’ (1 Cor 2:2) remains the only ultimate hope for Scotland and of any nation. Declaring it without caveat or reserve will not win us friends (one has only to tour the many martyr memorials in my hometown of St Andrews to be reminded of that). It will however bring glory to God—and by his power it will continue to bring men, women, and children in Scotland to a place of truth, forgiveness, and restoration through Christ.
It is surely beyond doubt that God is sifting his church at this time. This could, and should, be painful for us all, yet we would surely wish it no other way. Complacency and ‘keeping our heads down’ is not an option, at least not a biblically valid one. If ever there was a moment for the people of God in Scotland (and those elsewhere who care about Scotland) to humble ourselves before God, ‘rend our garments,’ and cry out to him in much prayer, then this is surely it. But let us give Collins the last word: ‘some Christians say… that it does no good by standing out. I answer, whether we get good, or do good, or no, we are to do our duty. The Lord will honour you for suffering for the truth.’
- The constituent parts of the United Kingdom (except England) have their own
legislative assemblies and executives, responsible for certain areas of government in
those parts of the U.K. - 1 The Works of John Newton, vol. 3 (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 2015), pp.
541-2.
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