Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland

Reformed in Doctrine, Worship, and Practice

“Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth.” Psalm 60:4

  • Contact Us
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Who We Are
    • What We Contend For
    • What We Believe
    • How We Worship
    • How We Are Organised
    • Important Documents
    • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Articles
  • Publications
    • Free Presbyterian Magazine
    • Young People’s Magazine
    • Gaelic Supplement – An Earrann Ghàidhlig
    • Synod Reports
    • Religion and Morals Committee Reports
  • Audio
    • Sermons
    • Theological Conferences
    • Youth Conferences
  • Congregations
    • Places of Worship
    • Current Ministers
    • Galleries of FP Churches
  • International
    • Zimbabwe Mission
    • Other International Congregations
    • Translation Work
    • Metrical Psalms in Various Languages
  • History
    • History of the FP Church
    • Congregational Histories
    • Deceased Ministers and Probationers
    • Obituaries and Synod Tributes
    • Moderators of Synod etc.
  • Spiritual Help
    • How to Find Spiritual Help
    • How may a sinner be saved?
    • How may someone know if they are truly saved?
    • Spiritual Mindedness
    • Scripture and Catechism Exercises 2020-21
  • Bookshop
Home / Publications / Free Presbyterian Magazine / 1998 to 2003 / June 1998 / The Lord is Risen Indeed

The Lord is Risen Indeed

By the late Rev. Donald Campbell, M.A.*

Preached in Edinburgh in December 1979, and now abridged and edited.

Text:“The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon,” Luke 24:34.

THIS chapter is Luke’s account of the Lord Jesus Christ after His resurrection. He was in this world for a period of forty days after He rose from the dead, and before He ascended to the right hand of God the Father. We have not only Luke’s history of the Lord during that very important period, but also the accounts given by the other evangelists, Matthew, Mark and John. Putting all these together one has a very full record of that glorious period in the history of the world. There was nothing comparable to it and there never will be.

The resurrection of Christ has been, and continues to be, called in question by many. Not only does this apply to the Jews, who rejected Him as their Messiah, and to other anti-Christian bodies, but also to the professing Church in which are those who question it, and even some who deny it outright. They will not accept that the body of Jesus is now exalted in the person of the Son of God at the right hand of power. We must seek grace to believe the testimony of God’s word regarding this all important matter. This is the testimony that will stand when all others will fail and when all objections will be proved false.

Our text is a statement of the fact of the resurrection of the Saviour. “The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.” The writer had no doubt regarding the veracity of what he was saying. So we would notice, first, the statement of the fact of the resurrection of Christ:”The Lord is risen indeed”. Secondly, there is the confirmation of this fact given in these words: “and hath appeared to Simon”. The reference is to Simon Peter, who had recently been involved in the very heinous sin of denying his Master. Yet, this is the one to whose testimony the inspired writer is appealing as a reliable ground for accepting the resurrection of the Lord as factual and true.

First, we have the statement of the fact of the resurrection of Christ: “The Lord is risen indeed”. This claim and fact cannot be emphasised enough. It is too important to just mention it and pass over it. We must take account of the attempts being made by very powerful forces to refute this claim and fact. Satan, the father of lies, leads in this evil work. We find the attempt to refute it beginning very soon after the resurrection of Christ, especially when the High Priests and the rulers bribed the soldiers, who had been watching the grave, to give a false report. That false report was accepted, and is yet accepted, by the Jews, as an explanation for the empty grave of Jesus. Unreasonable and manifestly untrue as that report was, it was accepted by a people filled with prejudice against the Saviour. But the fact is irrefutable no matter what unbelieving men and the devil say, or may attempt to do. However successful they may seem to be, the fact remains that “the Lord is risen indeed”. He is not dead but alive, and is alive for evermore, and has the keys of hell and of death.

Notice also the timing of this important event. It was on the first day of the week. People can change dates, and begin their year from a certain important event in their history, as Israel itself did, but no man can change the order of the days as originally created and arranged by their Maker. The resurrection took place on the first day of the week. In the very beginning, on the first day, which itself was divinely created, God “created the heavens and the earth”. He also created the light. Until then, darkness covered the earth, which was void and without form. On that first day God said: “Let there be light: and there was light. . . and God divided the light from the darkness,” Genesis 1:3,4.

We now have our attention directed to this other momentous first day of the week – the day when Christ rose from the dead. This is in order that we may consider the first day of the week: its properties, its origin, its Maker, and the purpose for which the things created on that day were created. Not only were the heavens and the earth created but also light, which is essential to life on the earth. In Christ we have a new light the Light of the World, for the Saviour described Himself as such. In an awful sense, the Light of the World was put out and great darkness covered the earth on the day that Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God in our nature, was put to death and His body buried. Surely that event caused no ordinary darkness in Jerusalem, throughout Judah and throughout the world. Now, if the resurrection of Christ had not taken place verily the world would be in darkness. If He had not risen from the dead, the hope of man would have perished forever; for “if Christ be not risen . . . then your faith is also in vain.” If He had not risen, heaven would be devoid of the spirits of just men made perfect, for “if Christ be not raised . . . then they also which are fallen asleep in Jesus are perished”.

That has not happened. Christ rose! Yes, “the Lord is risen indeed”. On the first day of the week the Light of World is, in accordance with prophesy, risen. “But unto you . . . shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in his wings,” Malachi 4:2. The Lord, rising as the Light of the World, as the Sun of Righteousness, about to shine on this benighted world of the human race, as the conclusion of this chapter so clearly shows, was the beginning of a light which would lighten the whole world and would bring hope, peace, order, prosperity, and eternal life to many nations.

Further, we are told that it was early on the first day of the week. We read that the women (Mary Magdalene and the other women who accompanied her to the sepulchre) went there “very early in the morning”. But they were too late to see the resurrection of the Lord Jesus actually taking place. The morning, according to the Jewish reckoning, was from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m., so that the Saviour must have risen from the dead about 3 o’clock in the early morning. The possibility is that the women were there very shortly after that, for they seem to have left home to go to the sepulchre soon after the Sabbath was ended. By the time they reached the sepulchre they were too late to see the great event of the rising of the Saviour of men from the state of death. That, however, did not deprive them of blessing and joy, for they eventually had these.

Even although they had been there, there is no assurance that they would have been privileged to see Him coming out of the grave. There were soldiers there, but they did not see Him. While we must make a distinction between those gracious women and the soldiers who were guarding the grave, there was no assurance that the women would have seen the Lord coming forth out of the grave, had they been there. The soldiers were like dead men. They were there; they could have seen it, but they did not. They did not see it because they were smitten and helpless in that glorious situation. Although the soldiers did not have that privilege, they did have an extraordinary experience which no one before or after had, but that did not change their foolish, covetous hearts. They were prepared, after all, to accept a bribe to tell what they knew very well was untrue. They accepted the security offered to them in order that they and their masters could spread a lie a lie that is perpetuated in the hearts and lives of generations of the human race.

The fact that the resurrection of the Saviour was “very early in the morning” implies also that He did not wait one moment beyond the appointed time of His rising. He did not wait one second in the grave beyond the moment when it was proper, and in accordance with the mind of God, that He should rise. He came forth in the power of eternal life to live after the power of an endless life. Nor did He wait for anyone to be there at the sepulchre.

It was soon afterward, we believe, that the women were there. It is altogether out of the question, indeed inconceivable, that they could have been guilty of staging the resurrection; or that their report of His having risen was based on false zeal. There is nothing to substantiate such an inference. They came to the grave with an intention, and they “prepared spices and ointment” for accomplishing that intention. Their intention was to anoint the holy body of Jesus, for they were expecting to find the body as they had left it in the sepulchre. They did not come to the grave with any false pretension or intention. They came in all sincerity in order that they might use this opportunity to give expression to their love for, deep admiration of, and indebtedness to, the One whom their souls loved.

So they came. In doing so they found themselves involved, and very deeply involved, in this great event the resurrection of the Saviour. They came with their fears and their wondering, and in the face of many obstacles. They arrived to find that the stone was removed from the door of the sepulchre; that obstacle was now gone and one fear was removed. They discovered an empty sepulchre, but now they were discomfited, especially Mary Magdalene. She, and no doubt the others also, could not accept that the body of their Saviour was lost. Mary did not then understand, and neither did the others, the significance of the empty grave. As far as one can judge from their response to the empty grave, their preference was to find the body still there.

We see also that the women were not alone at the sepulchre. Angels were there, in the form of human beings, as messengers to console, to help, to direct those who would come to the grave and find themselves confused and afraid, as the women were. Notice that it was not Peter and John, nor any of the disciples, who were there; neither was it one of the glorified saints such as Elijah, or Moses, or Samuel, or Daniel. The angels were there to minister comfort and to give assurance to those who were perplexed on account of not understanding the significance of the situation confronting them. “Why seek ye the living among the dead?” they asked the women. “He is not here.” They were saying to the women, as it were, “Can you not remember what He said? Have you forgotten His words? Are you so swallowed up by your sorrow, and that unnecessarily, that you have forgotten all that He said during those years you were in His company? And among His many sayings, He had much to say about His own resurrection. As He told you about His sufferings and death, so He told you also that He would rise again; and not only so but He made an appointment with you, and with His disciples, to meet Him in Galilee. Have you forgotten all this? Are you now so overcome by your grief, and so relying on your own interpretation of this day’s developments, that the words of Him who has the words of eternal life are forgotten?” And so the angels declared plainly, “He is risen, as He said,” Matthew 28:6. The angels were not delivering that message by their own authority. They did not say that the Lord was risen because they were saying it, but “He is risen, as He said.”, that is, “As He Himself said; this is but the fulfilment of His own words.”

Further, the women were given a duty to perform a very important and weighty duty. They were sent to tell His disciples. As far as one knows, there was no move on the disciples’ part to come to the sepulchre on the morning of the first day to see for themselves whether or not those words they had heard from Him were, or could be, fulfilled. It was on the third day that the two disciples on the way to Emmaus had the whole matter on their minds. “Today is the third day since these things were done,” they said, Luke 24:21. If the fulfilment of His words had been on the minds of the disciples at the time of His burial, why were they not waiting at the grave on that first day morning? Why did they not make sure that they would be watching there also, not with the intention of stealing His body, but to see whether the truth spoken by Himself concerning His resurrection would be fulfilled? No, it was the women’s role that day to convey this message of hope, of joy and of security to His disciples and, indirectly, to the world of sinners. “He is not here,” said the angel, “for He is risen. . . And go quickly, and tell His disciples that he is risen from the dead;” saying, as it were, “Let this no longer be a secret known to angels only and to God in heaven. Let the church waken up, even such as are sleeping. Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead and Christ shall give thee light.’ That first day of the week has brought into the experience of the human race a Light which will lighten the Gentiles and fill the world with the glory of that Light. Yes, the Lord is risen, He is no longer buried in the earth. His body is not stolen. His body and soul, together in His divine person, are somewhere in Judah, and you will find Him if you keep the appointment He made with you. Go to Galilee and there you will meet Him.” The women then carried out their mission, and the disciples were informed of the glorious fact, “He is risen from the dead.”

Secondly, there is the confirmation given of this fact in these words: “and hath appeared to Simon”. As John tells us, the result of the disciples being informed by the women of the resurrection of their Lord was that two of the disciples went to the sepulchre to investigate. This was a new development in the history of the church of God, and it required examination and proof. Peter and John, who were even then pillars in the church of God, must know whether or not this be true. So, we find this investigation beginning, but with very little result. They, of course, discovered that the body of their Master was not there. They also discovered that by whatever means the body was removed, there was no hurry, no confusion and all was done very orderly. The linen, in which His dead body had been wrapped, was lying there and the napkin about His head also folded and lying there. Whoever was responsible for the removal of His body from the grave could not have been disturbed at any stage of the operation. That was not enough, but it was so much, for it provided ground for speculation. There was this possibility, and that possibility, but they were after the truth. They had heard the truth from the women, of course, and they were there to do what they could to confirm it for themselves and for those whom they represented, and would represent. The message sent by the angel, that the Lord was risen, was both the truth and the explanation of the situation that confronted them. The empty grave was there because He had risen from the dead. He left behind Him evidence, not of confusion, but of peace and order, for God is not the author of confusion but of peace, and of order. However, the disciples were not left to conjecture. They were delivered out of that situation which gave rise to questions and investigation.

We see that deliverance came with a further proof of the resurrection of Christ. Two of the disciples were on the way to a certain village, Emmaus. As they proceeded to their destination, the theme of their conversation was what had taken place in Jerusalem the death of their Master and the sadness which that brought in its wake, in the experience of themselves and others. They were probably thinking, and no doubt saying to one another, “We thought that He would deliver Israel. We were expecting so much from Him; our opinion of Him was so high. We accepted Him as the Messiah, the Son of God, who should come into the world to save the world. Now here we are, leaving Jerusalem, sad and without the Master, and not likely to see Him again.”

Then they were joined by someone whom they did not recognise. “Jesus Himself drew near, and went with them.” To them He was a stranger, albeit one who indicated genuine sympathy with them, for He noted that they were sad and that their conversation was of such a sad nature. He asked them the reason for it. They told Him that Jesus of Nazareth, “a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people”, had been condemned to die, and crucified in Jerusalem. They told Him also of their disappointed hopes concerning Him, and that now was the third day since those sad events took place. They expressed their wonder too that He had not heard of those things, and doubted that anyone could possibly have been in Jerusalem and not known. (This shows us the widespread nature of the reports of this dreadful event. The crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth was an event which was known far beyond the bounds of His own city or His own country). That anyone should be in Jerusalem and not know it was hardly acceptable to them. Then they listened with wonder as He proceeded to instruct them from the Scriptures.

Eventually the disciples and their divine but unrecognised Teacher came to a point in their journey when they must part. His conversation had captivated their hearts. He was a sympathiser. Here was someone who, when He was told about their feelings, could understand; and their hearts burned within them as He opened to them the Scriptures concerning Christ having to suffer and enter into His glory. They felt that they could not part with Him; they pleaded with Him to remain with them. Even nature was on their side, for the first day of the week was coming to an end. The Light of the world had been set before them in the Scriptures. They must not allow themselves to lose this Light. They persuaded their Teacher, and He tarried with them.

Then they prepared a meal, and as He sat with them to partake of it He blest it, broke the bread, and handed it to them. Suddenly their eyes were opened to know Him. What a discovery, miles away from the city of Jerusalem, miles away from the sepulchre. Here is the living Saviour! Here is the Light of the world. The One who was dead, is here alive. It is He, Himself. “The Lord is risen indeed.” There was no doubt in their minds. He was the One who explained to them the Scriptures, who told them that the inspired writers of the oracles of the Old Testament expected all this to happen and recorded the same. They saw that the body of the Messiah being laid in a grave was something to be expected. It was also foretold and fully expected that He would rise again. As God would not leave the soul of His Holy One in the hell of His sufferings for His people, so He would not permit the body of His Holy One to see corruption. “The Lord is risen indeed.”

To the women at the grave He was risen indeed. There was no doubt in their minds. When Mary Magdalene saw Him and cried out, “Rabboni, Master,” there was no devil in hell who would ever succeed in creating the least doubt in her mind regarding the veracity of the angel’s words: “He is not here, but is risen.” She had met Him herself. He spoke to her. He addressed her as “Mary”. She discovered anew the everlasting tie between her soul and her Saviour which neither death nor life could break. These men also had their hearts prepared and, when their eyes were opened to see Him and His glory, they received Him anew. They had the testimony in their own souls. There was no questioning of it. The testimony they had, and the testimony they gave, were based especially on the eternal truth. As we mentioned at the beginning, it is altogether impossible to prove this fact to be untrue. It is a fact of unassailable truth that “the Lord is risen indeed.” The testimony of the women was based on the witness of angels, and that witness in turn was founded upon the words of both the Holy Spirit, through His inspired writers during the Old Testament dispensation, and of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself to His people during the time of His ministry in this world.

The confirmation given by the words, “and hath appeared to Simon”, are very remarkable, having regard to the fact that this disciple had been in disgrace a few days before. He denied his Master with all the vehemence at his disposal. He used swearing and cursing in order to establish in the minds of his hearers the sincerity of his denial. So far as we can follow the record, the Saviour’s appearing to Simon, which the text speaks of, was not when He met him at the Sea of Galilee and asked him, “Lovest thou me?” It was actually on the day of Christ’s resurrection. Simon Peter was still not yet formally restored, although he had genuine repentance in his own soul, and had in his memory the compassionate look of his Saviour. During the ministry of Christ, Peter had been promised a prominent and powerful position in the church, but his sinful conduct would seem a justifiable reason for withholding from him the high position he at one time seemed destined to hold. Yet, he was the one whose testimony on this occasion was recorded as conclusive. Peter saw Him. If Peter reported the matter, that should be acceptable to all. Peter saw Him, therefore He is risen from the dead and, no doubt, this has its own import. Peter became an inspired writer. Peter became an Apostle of Jesus Christ. Peter became a pillar in the Church. But Peter was never given the pre-eminence that the papal system gives to him. He was never given the position and place of being head of the Church, and he was never given infallibility even in the discharge of his official duties or speaking in the discharge of his office. These are the words which should be accepted as reliable and worthy of all acceptation what the Word of the Lord says, what the preachers of the gospel say in preaching the gospel. The gospel is the Word of God and the declaration of it. These sources are absolutely reliable and fully worthy of acceptation, and not for a moment should place be given to those doubts about, and questionings of, the possibility of such an event having taken place. May each one of us discover the blessedness of this eternal truth, and be enabled to say in our own hearts this day, “The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.” May He bless His Word to us.

* The Rev. Donald Campbell, (1908-83), was born in Skye, educated at Edinburgh University, and licensed to preach the gospel by the Western Presbytery of the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland in 1942. He then became the pastor of Raasay Congregation, and in 1947 of the Stornoway Congregation. Inducted as the minister of the Edinburgh Congregation in 1951, he laboured there until his sudden call to “the rest that remaineth for the people of God”, on Sabbath, 20th November, 1983, at the age of 75.

Return to Table of Contents for The Free Presbyterian Magazine – June 1998

Publications

  • Free Presbyterian Magazine
    • Historic Sermons
    • 1896 to 1904
    • 1904 to 1910
    • 1910 to 1919
    • 1920 to 1929
    • 1930 to 1939
    • 1940 to 1949
    • 1950 to 1956
    • 1998 to 2003
      • October 2003
        • A View from the Outer Hebrides
        • The Untiring Travellers – Part 2
        • Sanctification – Part 2
        • The Ten Virgins
        • John Wesley 1703-1791
        • A Pastor’s Concern
        • Seeking Great Things
        • Notes and Comments
        • Church Information
      • September 2003
        • A Kingdom Where Order Reigns
        • Church Information
        • The Untiring Travellers – Part 1
        • Sanctification – part 1
        • The Achreny Mission – 2. 1815 to 1843
        • Evidences of Saving Faith – part 4
        • Book Reviews
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
      • November 2003
        • Church Information
        • A Prayer-Hearing God – Part 1
        • The Achreny Mission – Part 3 – After the Disruption
        • Meditation – Its Blessedness
        • Obituary – John Beaton, Raasay
        • African Missions Update
        • Growing Vatican Sovereignty
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
        • Christ as Prophet
      • March 2003
        • What We Make It?
        • King Solomon’s Chariot
        • Samuel Rutherford – St Andrews and Westminster
        • Those Who Have Fled for Refuge – Part 4
        • The Parable of the Talents
        • The Kinsman
        • Scottish Church Initiative for Union
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
      • May 2003
        • A Powerful Voice
        • Notes and Comments
        • “Ye Shall Ask What Ye Will”- Part 2
        • Christianity – an Exclusive Religion – The Religion of the Bible
        • The Prodigal Son
        • The Study of Providence
        • Poor and Needy
        • John Piper and His Doctrine
        • African Missions
        • Protestant View
      • June 2003
        • No Sense of Need
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
        • The Call of Matthew
        • Christianity – an Exclusive Religion – The Christian Doctrine of God
        • The Sower
        • Evidences of Saving Faith – Part 1
        • Meditation Sanctifies
        • Mbuma Zending Meeting – 2003
        • Zimbabwe Ordinations and Inductions
        • Book Reviews
      • July 2003
        • Acceptable Worship
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
        • Grace Glorified in Election
        • Christianity – an Exclusive Religion – Some Further Doctrines
        • The Pharisee and the Publican
        • Rabbi Duncan
        • Evidences of Saving Faith – Part 2
        • A Plea for Prayer
        • Continuing Repentance
        • Book Review: Christmas Evans, The Life and Times of the One-Eyed Preacher of Wales
      • January 2003
        • Thankfulness
        • The Lord God of Elijah
        • Samuel Rutherford – Fair Anwoth by the Solway – 1627 – 1636
        • Manna
        • All of Grace
        • Obituary – Mr Edward Arthur Christensen, Auckland
        • Obituary – Miss Isabel Murray, North Tolsta
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
      • February 2003
        • Christ’s Infinite Riches
        • Protestant View
        • Church Information
        • The Lord God of Elijah – Part 2
        • Samuel Rutherford – His King’s Palace in Aberdeen
        • The Privilege of Prayer
        • In Possession of the Promises
        • The Rich Man and Lazarus
        • Humiliation and Prayer
        • Book Reviews
        • Notes and Comments
        • Book Review – Sidelights on Bible Characters
        • Book Review – Authentic Christianity: Sermons on the Acts of the Apostles
      • December 2003
        • Nineteenth-Century Drift
        • A Prayer-Hearing God – Part 2
        • The Achreny Mission – 4. After the Disruption – Part 2
        • Meditation – Its Consequences
        • Visit to the Ukraine
        • Book Review – Letters from the South Seas, Margaret Paton
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
        • Church Information
      • April 2003
        • The Promised Land
        • Church Information
        • “Ye Shall Ask What Ye Will”- Part 1
        • Samuel Rutherford – The Last Years
        • The Pearl of Great Price
        • Repentance
        • A Private Among the Padres
        • Damaging Doubts
        • The Prince – Defender of all Faiths
        • Protestant View
      • August 2003
        • What Kind of Faith?
        • Notes and Comments
        • Church Information
        • The Head Stone of the Corner
        • The Vineyard
        • Mary and the Spiritual Mind
        • The Achreny Mission – 1. 1760 to 1815
        • Church of Scotland General Assembly
        • Evidences of Saving Faith – Part 3
        • Book Reviews
        • Protestant View
        • Book Review – God’s Hymnbook for the Christian Church
      • September 2002
        • The Shepherd’s Reward
        • Notes and Comments
        • The Jubilee
        • The Early Christian Church – The Era of Conflict
        • Those Who Have Fled for Refuge – Part 2
        • The Beliver’s Sanctification
        • Trinitarian Bible Society Update
        • The New Archbishop of Canterbury
        • Book Reviews
        • Protestant View
      • October 2002
        • “My Counsel Shall Stand”
        • Church Information
        • The Way to the City
        • The Early Christian Church – The Era of Consolidation
        • “Your Mercy”and the Jews’ Future
        • Springing Up After Many Days
        • Book Reviews
        • Eastern Europe News
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
      • November 2002
        • Christ’s Spiritual Conquests
        • Church Information
        • The Call to the Water of Life – Part 2 (1) A Sermon by William Nixon Revelation 22:17. And the spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
        • The Right Way (1) Rev J S Sinclair
        • Obituary Mr Murdo Macleod, Elder, Stornoway
        • Book Reviews
        • Foreign Mission News
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
      • May 2002
        • Divine Compassion
        • Book Review – The Antichrist
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
        • Church Information
        • Coming to Christ – Part 2
        • A Master in Israel
        • The Cleansing of the Leper
        • The Christian’s Life
        • The Puritans on Prayer
        • Advice on Preaching
        • The Great Draught of Fishes
        • Book Review – Church and State
      • March 2002
        • “Hear the Word of the Lord”
        • The Blessing of Asher
        • Thomas Cranmer – That God Might Be Truly Worshipped
        • Psalms or Hymns in Public Worship
        • Obituary – Reverend Donald Nicolson
        • Is Britain Being Protected?
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
        • Protestant View
      • June 2002
        • “Another King, One Jesus”
        • Church Information
        • Pray Without Ceasing
        • The Puritans on Prayer – Part 2
        • Inventing Religion
        • Princeton and Pelagianism
        • Among the Children
        • Hopes of Future Usefulness – A Letter of John Love
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
      • January 2002
        • “Religion in its Purity”
        • Notes and Comments
        • Attaining a Knowledge of Our Sins
        • The Meat Offering
        • The Strength of Faith
        • Thomas Cranmer – Moving Towards a Reformation
        • The Extent of the Atonement
        • Rev John MacDonald (1925-2000) – Obituary
        • Book Review – God and Cosmos
        • Protestant View – Queen Invites Cardinal to Sandringham
      • July 2002
        • The Need for Opened Eyes
        • God’s Wrath Against Sin
        • The Puritans on Prayer – A Wondrous Mysterious Grace
        • Revival in Arran
        • Man’s Righteousness and God’s
        • Church of Scotland General Assembly
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
        • Protestant View
      • February 2002
        • Offering up Our Desires to God
        • Notes and Comments
        • Church Information
        • Look unto Me and Be Ye Saved
        • Thomas Cranmer – The Man of Extreme Caution
        • The Power of the Gospel
        • The Goodness of God in Redemption
        • Obituary – Mrs Isabella Turner
        • Book Review – Galatians
        • Book Notices
        • Protestant View
      • December 2002
        • “A Zealous, Godly Preacher”
        • The Call to the Water of Life – Part 2
        • Samuel Rutherford – From Birth to New Birth
        • Those Who Have Fled for Refuge – part 3
        • Obituary – Mrs Annie MacIver, North Tolsta
        • Book Reviews
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
      • April 2002
        • “I am the Resurrection and the Life”
        • Coming to Christ – Part 1
        • Thomas Cranmer – On to the Fire
        • The Plague of Leprosy
        • Divided Allegiance
        • Obituary – Miss Margaret Sutherland
        • Book Review – The Hidden Pathway
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
      • August 2002
        • Everything Devoted to God’s Service
        • Unity Among the Brethren
        • Those Who Have Feld for Refuge
        • The Early Christian Church – The Era of Conquest
        • Symptoms of Spiritual Death
        • Book Review – The King’s Daughters
        • African Mission News
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
      • September 2001
        • Knowing God
        • Notes and Comments
        • Church Information
        • The Path of the Just
        • Obituary – The late Miss Jean Nicolson
        • Obituary – The late Mrs Lexie MacLeod
        • Raasay Congregation – a Brief History
        • The Knowledge of Sin
        • Induction at Sengera
        • Book Review: The Source of the IRA/Sinn Fein
        • Protestant View
      • October 2001
        • Tragedy
        • “God Gave the Increase”
        • The Westminster Confession of Faith – It’s Usefulness for the Church
        • Desires for Glory
        • Calling a Minister
        • The Vatican Archives
        • A Visit to Singapore
        • Notes and Comments
      • November 2001
        • Scotland’s Preachers
        • Recent Inductions
        • The Rose of Sharon
        • The Westminster Confession of Faith – It’s Usefulness on the Personal Level – Intellectually
        • “Be Strong and of a Good Courage”
        • God’s Wonderful Goodness
        • “Withhold not Correction”
        • Obituary – The late Mr Donald Beaton, Elder, Auckland
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
        • Obituary – The late Mr Donald Beaton, Elder, Auckland
      • May 2001
        • Sinking in Capernaum’s Doom
        • Book Review – Irish Worthies
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
        • The Goodwill of God
        • Keeping the Heart in Temptation
        • The Establishment Principle – Part 2
        • The Garden of Nuts
        • The Son of Man Lifted up
        • Obituary – The late John Angus MacLeod
        • A Deputy’s Visit to Africa – Kenya
        • Book Review – Faith and Justification
      • March 2001
        • “Just with God”
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
        • Church Information
        • Christ Set up from Everlasting
        • Stevenson on the Offices of Christ – Christ as Priest
        • W S Plumer- Part 2
        • Obituary – The late Rev Alexander McPherson, Perth
        • Pastoral Letter – Rev Alexander McPherson
        • Joseph MacKay
        • Book Review – Forerunner of the Great Awakening
      • June 2001
        • Blessedness
        • Church Information
        • Christ Coming for His people’s Help – Part 1
        • Who Belong to the Visible Church?
        • The Establishment Principle – Part 3
        • Religion in the Highlands After 1688 – Part 3
        • Raising Questions Against Darwinism
        • Eastern Europe News
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
      • July 2001
        • Cry Aloud Spare Not
        • Christ Coming for His people’s Help – Part 2
        • Stevenson on the Offices of Christ
        • Our African Missions – an Update
        • Church of Scotland General Assembly
        • Spring Visit to Ukraine
        • Trinitarian Bible Society Report
        • Notes and Comments
        • Church Information
      • January 2001
        • Looking Forward
        • Book Review – The Government of the Church
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
        • Church Information
        • Faith, Its Nature, Origin and Effects
        • Thomas Halyburton and How God May Be Known
        • The Divinity of Christ
        • Religion in the Highlands after 1688 – Part 1
        • Keep a good conscience
        • God’s True Family
        • What is the Object of Faith?
        • Communion in Singapore
      • February 2001
        • Calling the Sabbath a Delight
        • Notes and Comments
        • Church Information
        • Christ Set up from Everlasting
        • Stevenson on the Offices of Christ – Christ as Prophet
        • Religion in the Highlands after 1688 – Part 2
        • Book Review – Daily Prayer and Praise by Henry Law
        • Psalm 122 – Henry Law
        • The enemies of the Christian
        • African Mission News
        • Protestant View
      • December 2001
        • Protestant View
        • African Mission News
        • Eastern Europe News
        • Book Review – Tell it to the Generation Following
        • The Westminster Confession of Faith – Usefulness on the Personal Level
        • The Impossibility of Neutrality
        • “Christian”Entertainment
        • Attaining a Knowledge of Our Sins
        • Church Information
        • Notes and Comments
        • A View From Zimbabwe
      • August 2001
        • “There They Preached the Gospel”
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
        • Church Information
        • “He Will Bless Us”
        • Stevenson on the Offices of Christ
        • “He Delighteth in Mercy”
        • “The Voice of Christianity in Scotland”
        • Obituary – The late Mr Ian M MacLeod, Elder, Dingwall
        • Obituary – The late Mrs Catherine MacKenzie, Stornoway
        • Book Review – Southern Presbyterian Leaders 1683-1911
        • Book Review – The Westminster Confession of Faith, Milestone, Millstone or Manifesto?
      • April 2001
        • Sowing the Seed
        • The Duty of Nations to the Church
        • The Establishment Principle – Part 1
        • “The Finger of God”
        • Obituary – The late Miss Peggy Nicolson, Inverness
        • A Deputy’s Visit to Africa – Zimbabwe
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
        • Church Information
      • September 2000
        • The Resurrection of Christ
        • Church Information
        • Reading the Scriptures Profitably
        • The believer is to put those sins… into the hands of Christ
        • The Puritans and the Ministry
        • Christ Glorifying God
        • Blessed Are They That Mourn
        • The Nature of Vital Piety (2)
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
      • October 2000
        • The Fear of God
        • Church Information
        • Reading the Scriptures Profitably (2)
        • He indeed is rich in grace whose graces are not hindered by his riches
        • The Puritans and the Ministry (2)
        • James Stewart
        • Christ Healing a Leper
        • Visits To Eastern Europe
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
      • November 2000
        • “What Are They Among so Many?”
        • Vain Religion
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
        • Church Information
        • The Desired Haven
        • God may bear long with the wicked, but…
        • Thomas Halyburton
        • James Stewart (2)
        • The Temptation of Christ
        • Book Review
      • May 2000
        • The Church of God From Age to Age
        • Jesus of Nazareth passeth by
        • Rev Lachlan MacLeod (1918-1998) – Obituary
        • “So let him give”
        • The Solemn League and Covenant
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
        • African Mission News
        • Church Information
      • June 2000
        • The Example of the Church in Smyrna
        • Eastern Europe – Spring 2000 Report
        • Church Information
        • The Nature of the New Birth
        • This is Indeed the Christ
        • Obituary The late Mr Alasdair Gillies, M.A., Elder, Dingwall
        • Report of Mbuma Zending Meeting – 29th April 2000
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
        • Ma Donsa One of the Pilgrims at Ingwenya
        • African Mission News
      • March 2000
        • Two Free Churches
        • Sermon The Gracious Invitation of Christ
        • The Rev John Sinclair of Bruan (1801-43)
        • Princeton Theology – the Scottish Connection
        • Regeneration Regulating the Affections
        • Book Review
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
        • Church Information
      • July 2000
        • The Church of Scotland General Assembly
        • Church Information
        • Lift up a Standard for the People
        • At the Westminster Assembly
        • The Earth Corrupt before God
        • The Trinitarian Bible Society Report
        • Obituary – The late Mr Kenneth Gillies, Elder, Raasay
        • The Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland Synod
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
      • February 2000
        • The Rev. Christopher Munro (1817-85)
        • African Mission News
        • Church Information
        • “Come unto me”
        • Joy and Peace in Believing
        • Princeton Theology – the Scottish Connection
        • Negotiations in London
        • Obituary
        • Trinitarian Bible Society Scottish Day Conference
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
      • January 2000
        • Another Millennium
        • Notes of a Sermon The Earth Filled with His Glory
        • The Second Coming of Christ – Three Main Views
        • The Latter Day Glory
        • Building up the Church of God
        • Princeton Seminary – The Majestic Testimony by David Calhoun.
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
        • Church Information
      • December 2000
        • The Divine Saviour
        • A Sermon by John Kennedy
        • Thomas Halyburton
        • The Late Roderick Macleod,
        • The Aberdeen Church
        • Book Reviews
        • Book Reviews
        • Notes and Comments
      • August 2000
        • Where Are We Now?
        • Notes and Comments
        • Church Information
        • Christ Given in His Fulness
        • Alexander Henderson
        • I cannot always come to Christ
        • Obedience to Christ
        • The Nature of Vital Piety
        • The Puritans for Today
        • Protestant View
      • April 2000
        • The Family Under Attack
        • Sermon
        • Princeton Theology – the Scottish Connection
        • The King in Scotland
        • Comments on Psalm 51
        • Unsettling the Settlement
        • The pope’s visit to the Holy Land
        • Notes and Comments
        • Church Information
      • October 1999
        • Declaring All the Counsel of God
        • Church Information
        • God so Loved the World
        • The Rev. James S. Sinclair
        • The Glasgow Assembly
        • Calvin’s View of the Millennium
        • Book Review
        • Trinitarian Bible Society Annual General Meeting
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
      • September 1999
        • Old Testament Types
        • Church Information
        • Christ Seeing of the Travail of His Soul
        • Alexander Stewart of Cromarty
        • The Intercession of Christ
        • Resolved to Abolish Episcopacy
        • “And the sun was darkened”
        • Book Review
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
      • November 1999
        • Morality and Politics
        • Church Information
        • Sermon
        • Rev Alexander Morrison (1925-1999) – Obituary
        • The Charismatic Movement – The Gifts have Ceased
        • Casting down the Walls of Jericho
        • A Visit to Singapore
        • Book Review
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
      • May 1999
        • “Upon this rock I will build my church”
        • The Blessed Poor
        • Rev Angus Mackay
        • Is Christ our High Priest?
        • Signs of Religious Declension
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
        • Church Information
      • March 1999
        • Heaven-provoking Legislation
        • Church Information
        • The Drawing Power of the Cross
        • The Alpha Course Examined
        • Teaching Christianity in Scottish Schools
        • The late Mrs Margaret Tallach, Glasgow
        • Letter by John Love, D.D.
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
        • African Mission News
      • June 1999
        • Made a Faithful Shepherd
        • Notes and Comments
        • How May Sanctification Be Attained?
        • Protestant View
        • Mbuma Zending Meeting Report
        • Address to Mbuma Zending Meeting
        • Spiritual Pride in Man
        • Church Information
        • Preaching the Unsearchable Riches of Christ
        • The Free Church and the World
      • January 1999
        • When the Enemy Shall Come in Like a Flood
        • Church Information
        • Let me see thy countenance
        • The Religion of the Highlands
        • Personal Creed and Resolutions
        • Book Review
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
        • African Mission News
        • Eastern Europe Mission
      • July 1999
        • The Church of Scotland General Assembly
        • Notes and Comments
        • Church Information
        • The Pre-eminence of Christ
        • A Man Who Wished to Live Obscurely
        • The Nature of Saving Faith
        • The Light of the World
        • God is: therefore God is to be Worshipped
        • Book Review
        • The Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland Synod
        • Protestant View
      • February 1999
        • The Purposes of the Lord’s Supper
        • The Trinitarian Bible Society – Appointments
        • The Light of the Knowledge of the Glory of God
        • Holy Importunity in Prayer
        • A Heavenly Eternal Crown of Glory
        • Book Review
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
        • African Mission News
        • Church Information
      • December 1999
        • The End of a Millennium
        • African Mission News
        • Church Information
        • Until the Day Break
        • The Charismatic Movement – The Gifts have Ceased
        • The Rev. Donald Macfarlane of Dingwall
        • The Pagan Origin of Christmas A Reminder
        • Ministers Prepared by Temptation
        • Book Review
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
      • August 1999
        • The Advance of Rome under Hume
        • Notes and Comments
        • Eastern Europe Mission
        • Church Information
        • The Marks of a Time of Revival, and the Means of Bringing it About
        • The Free Church of Scotland General Assembly
        • Thy Kingdom Come
        • The National Covenant
        • Work of the Trinitarian Bible Society in 1998
        • Unsettled and Discouraged?
        • Book Review
        • Protestant View
      • April 1999
        • The Observance of Easter
        • The Smitten Shepherd and His Flock
        • The Prince of Highland Preachers
        • The Inter-Faith Movement
        • Book Review
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
        • Church Information
      • September 1998
        • The Golden Key of Prayer
        • Church Information
        • Weighed in the Balances
        • Christ, the Way
        • Praying as Beggars
        • Book Reviews
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
        • Our African Mission
        • Patrick Mzamo – A sketch of an African elder and lay-preacher
      • October 1998
        • The Westminster Assembly and Romanism
        • African Mission News
        • Church Information
        • Christ Liveth in me *
        • God’s Way of Bringing Sinners to Christ
        • The Effects of Television Violence
        • Sin and Sanctification
        • Book Review
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
        • Philemon Ndebele
      • November 1998
        • Faithfulness or Vilification
        • Church Information
        • The Best Security in Evil Times
        • Pentecostal Dialogue with Rome
        • The Prayers of the Aged
        • The Religion of the Highlands – The Persecution of a Highland Laird
        • Book Review
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
        • Eastern Europe Mission Work
      • May 1998
        • The Mode of Baptism – A Defence
        • Outlines of Lectures on the Bible
        • A Vessel Meet for the Master’s Use
        • African Mission News
        • Church Information
        • Serving the Lord with Humility
        • The Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland on the Internet
        • Booklet Reviews
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
        • The Story of Mamlotshwa
      • March 1998
        • A Minister of God
        • “I will yet for this be inquired of”
        • African Mission News
        • Church Information
        • Godliness With Contentment
        • Protestant View
        • African Mission News
        • Outlines of Lectures on the Bible
        • Private Prayer and Public Profession
        • Truth and Life
        • The Free Church, Psalms and Hymns
      • June 1998
        • Family Worship
        • Notes and Comments
        • Ma Ngwenya – Mother of the late Rev. B. B. Dube
        • Church Information
        • The Lord is Risen Indeed
        • Outlines of Lectures on the Bible
        • The Pastoral Epistles
        • The Church of Scotland and the Bible
        • Mbuma-Zending Meeting – 1998
        • Three Characteristics of True Faith
        • Book Reviews
        • Protestant View
        • Three Characteristics of True Faith
      • July 1998
        • The General Assemblies
        • Church Information
        • The Scriptural Warrant for Creedal Subscription
        • The Pastoral Epistles
        • The Trinitarian Bible Society Report
        • A Cambuslang Case of Conversion
        • Booklet Review
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
        • The Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland Synod
      • January 1998
        • Book Review
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
        • MaHlabangana
        • Winter Visit to Eastern Europe
        • THE NEW YEAR
        • The Church Built and Kept by the Lord
        • Outlines of Lectures on the Bible
        • The Fruits of the Declaratory Act In the Free Church of Scotland
        • Redeeming the Time
        • African Mission News
      • February 1998
        • Outlines of Lectures on the Bible
        • Book Review
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
        • A Mission Day of Prayer
        • Church Information
        • Leaning Upon her Beloved
        • Brought Home to Heaven
        • Observing the Sabbath
        • Church Deputy’s Visit to North America
        • African Mission News
        • A Faithful Ambassador is Health
      • December 1998
        • When the Enemy Shall Come in Like a Flood
        • “My grace is sufficient for thee”
        • The People of the Great Faith
        • Sudden Conversions
        • A Good Soldier of Jesus Christ
        • “Give ye them to eat”
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
        • Church Information
      • August 1998
        • The General Assemblies
        • Sermon – The House of Many Mansions
        • Lessons From the Doctrine of Divine Justice
        • Book Notice
        • Protestant View
        • Notes and Comments
        • Paul Magaya – Lay Preacher in Shangani
        • Church Information
      • April 1998
        • Outlines of Lectures on the Bible
        • The Mode of Baptism – A Defence
        • Notes and Comments
        • Protestant View
        • The Manner of Coming to Christ
        • Book Notice
        • A Lily from the Ukraine
        • Eastern Europe Mission
        • Church Information
        • Called of God
        • Threats to our Religious Liberties
        • Mazwabo’s Amazing Transformation
    • 2004 to 2011
    • 2012 to 2019
    • 2020 to 2021
  • Young People’s Magazine
    • 2012 to 2019
    • 2003 to 2011
    • 2020 to 2021
  • Gaelic Supplement – An Earrann Ghàidhlig
  • Synod Reports
  • Religion and Morals Committee Reports

Calendar

  1. 9 Mar - Meeting of Presbyteries: Western and Northern
  2. 16 Mar - 17 Mar - Synod Committee meetings
  3. 23 Mar - Meeting of Presbytery: Outer Isles

View All Events

Latest Articles

  • Youth Conference 2021
  • Special Offers on New Books for March
  • Magazines for February 2021

Recently Added Audio

  • Our responses to what Christ says 11 Oct 2020
  • Nehemiah and the fear of God 11 Oct 2020
  • Who is worthy to open the book? 20 Sep 2009
  • Lazarus at the table with Christ 20 Sep 2009
  • Sons of God 27 Dec 2020
  • Mine eyes have seen thy salvation 27 Dec 2020
  • Direction for Joshua 4 Oct 2020
  • God pleased to use preaching 4 Oct 2020
  • Enduring by faith 27 Dec 2020
  • I was brought low 3 Jan 2021

View All Sermons

Download Latest Issues:
The Free Presbyterian Magazine
Young People’s Magazine

Free Presbyterian Places of Worship

Browse the Church Bookshop

Messages from Captivity: Sermons from Ezekiel 1-24 by Allan W MacColl, £6.79
A Day’s March Nearer Home: Autobiography of J Graham Miller edited by Iain H Murray £12.79
The Quest for Full Assurance: The Legacy of Calvin and His Successors Joel R Beeke, £9.59
The World Conquered by the Faithful Christian by Richard Alleine, £9.59
Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties and Roots by J C Ryle,  £11.99

Back to top

Website Contact

Rev Keith M Watkins
[email protected]

Moderator of Synod

Rev J Bruce Jardine
FP Manse, Tarbert
Isle of Harris, HS3 3DF
UK

Clerk of Synod

Rev Keith M Watkins
Free Presbyterian Manse, Ferry Road, Leverburgh, Isle of Harris, HS5 3UA, UK.
[email protected]

General Treasurer

Mr William Campbell
133 Woodlands Road, Glasgow,
G3 6LE, UK.
[email protected]

Copyright © 2021 Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland · Log in · Subscribe via RSS · Privacy Notice

This site uses cookies to improve your experience. Read more.