Synod Sermon: “But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.” by Rev. D. J. MacDonald, Uig, Retiring Moderator

But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden. But that which ye have already hold fast till I come. Revelation 2 vs 24 and 25.

As enabled I would like to direct your minds particularly to verse 25, “But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.” The message in this part of the book of Revelation which is directed especially to the seven churches of Asia, was given by direct revelation. That is, it was given by the Saviour himself. It is the Saviour himself who says “unto the angel of the church of Ephesus, write.” And again, “unto the angel of the church of Pergamos, write.” And again more particularly for our consideration just now, “unto the angel of the church of Thyatira, write.” In this chapter and in the previous one, the Saviour speaks particularly of His relationships to these churches. “These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks.” Perhaps we can just remind ourselves of what is said in chapter 1, verse 20, “The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches; and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.”

This reminds us of the relationship of the Saviour to the church. He is the One who dwells in the midst of His church in the New Testament as well as in the Old Testament where it is written, “God in the midst of her doth dwell.” The fact that He dwells in the midst of His church, brings before us the fact that He rules, that is, He is the Head of His church, He is the One who rules in His church. And this is an important doctrine of scripture. For the sake of brevity and for clarity, perhaps we could just quote a short extract from the Westminster Confession of Faith, which says, “there is no other head of the church but the Lord Jesus Christ,” Now that establishes that not only is He the Head of the church, but that He is the One who orders the doctrine, or the teaching, of the church. He is the One who commands the worship which the church is to give to him and He is the One who commands the practice, or the rule, within the church. Therefore these matters are not to be thought of as matters indifferent. These are not matters which have been left to the opinions, inventions, or the devices of men. These are laid down for us in the Word of God. In an age in which there is much liberty of a very unscriptural kind, it is well for us to remember that the doctrines of the church of God, the worship and it’s rule are all given by the One who is Himself the Head of the church. We dare not speak of these things as of being of secondary importance. And I think it would be most appropriate if we had a sense of responsibility to Him when we meet as a Synod, as a court of His church, so that we would have something of that sense of responsibility as we approach the work and the decisions which are before us, doing this as those who are acknowledging and who ought to acknowledge and who must acknowledge the headship of Christ in His church in the world.

Let us also notice briefly that although this word was spoken in the past and spoken by direct revelation at a particular time, this word is still speaking to us this night: “He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” This is the authority of what the Spirit is speaking to the churches. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God.” “Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” That is the authority of the Word of God still. That is the authority of the Word of God read and that is the authority of the Word of God preached and that is how we are always to heed it.

What I would like to direct your minds to particularly this night from the words which are before us is this — that in these words of our text we are confronted with this statement to those who are addressed, “that which ye have already hold fast till I come.” They had certain privileges, and certain duties which were attached to these privileges. And that is true of ourselves as a branch of the visible church, that is true of ourselves this night as a Synod. We have privileges to which duties are attached and we have privileges for which we are accountable. I need scarcely remind you that there is much in our generation to keep such thoughts away from our minds, to divert our thoughts from the realities of the Word of God. How much there is in our generation to take our thoughts away from this, that “Every one of us shall give an account of himself unto God.” How much there is in our generation that diverts our thoughts from this fearful reality, “We must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.” How much we come across every day in our life and in our work which blurs this statement of the scriptures, that as we journey on to an endless eternity, “One thing is needful.” Not only is it true that there is much in our generation to keep our minds from that, but perhaps there is much in our very circumstances this evening which stands between us and seeing these realities. Perhaps we are taken up in an inordinate way with the fact that we are in the presence of our fellow men, that this is a special occasion. As if because these things are true, we could in some way or other lay aside these solemn realities.

These are realities to which we can blind our eyes for a season. And these are realities to which indeed we can blind our eyes for as long as we are in this world, but we shall see them most clearly in that day of which it is written, “Then shall I know, even as also I am known.” Let us not forget that it is towards that solemn day we are all journeying. It is with that day in view that we should speak tonight and it is with that day in view that we should hear tonight also. It is with that in view we should transact all the business that will come to our hands on this occasion as a Synod. Perhaps it would be appropriate for us at the very outset this evening to confess that this spirit has not always been apparent in the past, that we have been carrying out our duties as in the presence of the Most High. In fact perhaps it has not always been true and that is proof of this, “that in all things we sin and come short.” But we cannot excuse ourselves on that ground either. But it brings this forcibly to our minds that we need the cleansing of the blood of atonement even on our holy things.

One other thing I would like to mention by way of introduction and that is this. This being the first night of a Synod and that it is time for the Synod to meet again, focuses our attention on the passing of time. And that is another fact that we should be seeking grace not to lose sight of. For each year, each month, each day is all adding up the time which we have in this world — the time of which it is written, “the wind passes over it and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.” The time is coming and coming soon when we will no longer be among men and the place which we fill this night will be empty and it would be our wisdom to ask ourselves where we shall be then. When our place here knows us no more, where shall we be?

Now as the Lord will be pleased to help, there are three things arising from the words of our text to which I would like to draw your attention briefly:—

First of all we would like to say a little concerning, the things which we have, as that relates particularly to our meeting as a Synod and to our standing as a branch of the church in the world.

We will only value these things if we grasp this at the very outset, that these things which we have are God-given privileges. It is of His sovereign dealings with us in providence that we have them and any other view of them will lead to a wrong valuation. If we think of these things merely in terms of something we have inherited from our fathers, or something which we have because of our cultural background, we will have no right spiritual appreciation of them and we will not use them for the purpose for which they have been given us primarily, and that first purpose is to seek mercy for our own souls. That is the prime purpose for which we have been given these things. But it is true of us as individuals, as congregations, as a branch of the visible church that we have the gospel. That is the central part of these things which we have, the gospel, the good news, the good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. In brief that is this, that God has in His grace and mercy provided salvation for a number which no man can number of our lost and ruined race. Now that is not a full definition of the gospel, neither is it meant to be, but what I want to say is that we cannot accept a lesser definition of it and why I insist upon that just now is this, that until men see themselves and know themselves in truth as lost, ruined sinners, unable to help themselves, they will not appreciate the gospel and they will not appreciate the Saviour. Did He not say Himself, “They that the whole need not a physician, but they that be sick.” And we fear that that is why there are those in our midst even as a congregation this night who do not appreciate the gospel, a gospel which speaks of a free salvation to lost and ruined sinners. They like to hear about the church and they like to hear about the church’s stand and the church’s position and they like to hear of their privileges and that gives them a feeling of belonging. But they do not welcome this question, “What think ye of Christ?” That is a question which makes them feel uncomfortable and yet that is the important question. That is the question which ought to take up our minds first and foremost. For how can we love the cause of Christ if we do not love the One whose cause it is. As a people we have the gospel in its fullness — all the counsel of God. This is the gospel that makes known to us, that God the Son, the second Person of the Trinity, came into this world as the Saviour, came into this world as the God-man. The One who had in Himself, who united in Himself the two natures, the divine nature and the human nature and who as the God-man is the Mediator, and who as the God-man was His people’s Surety and as His people’s Surety gave a perfect obedience to the law of God. As His people’s substitute He died for the ungodly, “the just for the unjust.” He died instead of them to ensure that they would be set free. That is how we are to understand what took place at Calvary — that Christ died for the ungodly. This is left on record for us in the scriptures that on the cross He cried out, “It is finished.” He finished the work of His people’s salvation. He died and He rose again, and He is alive now to make intercession. He ever liveth to make intercession.

Now these things are the things which we have already. Things with which we are all familiar and there is none in our midst, as far as I know, who is a stranger to the gospel and there is none who is a stranger to the invitations of the gospel. There you see the first part of our responsibility, that none from our midst need perish for lack of a Saviour. None from our midst need perish for lack of a Saviour preached. All your life you have heard of this work. You cannot remember this night how often you have heard this One being lifted up. How often you have heard this said in the preaching of the gospel, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” You cannot remember the number of times you have heard the gospel invitations. How often have you heard, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” How often have you heard this, “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God and there is none else.” And what a solemn responsibility is upon you, as those who have heard these invitations. Surely that is what many in our midst ought to be taken up with this night, rather than anything else. “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches:” and let him hear tonight that the Saviour of sinners is saying to sinners still in their sins in our midst, “Look unto me, and be ye saved.” Well we have the word in it’s entirety. We have the Bible with nothing added to it and nothing taken away from it, and that ought to be precious to us. And it ought to be precious to us, for this reason among others, because of it’s rarity in our day. For these things which we have already are not things which are common to the human race, far from it. They are not things which are common in our midst as a nation. What a solemn matter it is, that God is a stranger in the land as far as the preaching of the full-orbed gospel is concerned. That is in our land, not to mention just now the many millions of our lost, ruined race who have never even heard the gospel and how favoured we are in comparison to such. What responsibility is ours in comparison to such, for as I said this is not a gospel that is common or that is common in our own land. It is not a gospel which you will find in most of the mainstream churches of our land, where many of the vital doctrines of the Word of God are denied. These are things which are known to you all — that there are those who hold positions as preachers in the churches and they deny such fundamental doctrines as the virgin birth of the Saviour the atoning nature of His sacrifice, His physical resurrection, and the fact of eternal punishment. Where the necessity of the new birth and the saving, personal operation of the Holy Spirit are not denied, these are lost sight of because those who preach fail to assert them. Failing to assert these doctrines is tantamount to failing to hold them fast. Now as I said these are facts which any who are interested can discover for themselves and therefore we need not take up time unduly with them just now.

But perhaps we ought to say this — that this is not the gospel which the Decade of Evangelism is going to proclaim in this land. It is not the gospel of free and sovereign grace. This is not the gospel which Billy Graham preaches. His preaching is soon to be heard again in our land with all it’s attendant unscriptural practices, but I say, and I say without fear of contradiction, that it is not the gospel which we have that he is going to proclaim and that the thousands or the millions who will hear him, will hear. Sad as that is, it is none the less an incontrovertible fact.

The gospel which we have is not the gospel which is proclaimed among papists. It is not the gospel which is known to Romanists, although they know the word, for they are adding to the word. They are adding to the word their sacrifices, as they call them, the sacrifice of the mass, which, as we understand the matter, is a direct insult to the Saviour who said on the cross, “It is finished.” Here are these people, who are getting a place as Christians, and they are saying, It is not finished. We must add to it, we must daily add to it and although it is specifically stated in the scripture, there is one God and one Mediator between God and man, yet the Romish priests without any fear interpose between God and sinners as mediators. According to themselves, they need more than the intercession of Christ, they need the prayers of saints. And after all this, all they can promise their people is purgatory, years or centuries of suffering before they are eventually fit for heaven. These things are well enough known to need no more comment, but this I would like to say, How sad it is and how solemn, the place that is given by our national church in Scotland to this wicked institution, the church of Rome. This year, for the first time the ‘anti-christ’ is to be officially represented at the General Assembly. There is a bishop from Dunblane going to be at Edinburgh, representing the church of Rome at the Church of Scotland Assembly, and surely we ought to tremble at that very fact. Surely this is among the things of which it is written, “Shall I not visit for these things?” These are the things which we have and they should be precious to us because of their rarity and also because of their intrinsic value. We are not saying that we are better than others as individuals or as a church, but we are saying, and we are saying without apology, that to us much has been given and therefore much shall be required of us. This is a personal responsibility from which we cannot turn away without incurring guilt and this is a responsibility which is on us as a church to which we ought to give constant attention.

In the second place I would like to dwell briefly on this, how we are to regard these things — Hold them fast.

But I must go on secondly to notice this, how we are to regard these things which we have. That is contained in these words “That which you have already, Hold fast.” Use your strength to retain it, keep possession of it. Lay hold of it so as not to lose it. The words convey all these ideas and that these things are to be highly regarded. They will only be highly regarded if we see them as received from God. As we mentioned already, there is a danger in our midst that many do not value these things as they ought, for that very reason. They do not see them as what is come from God.

We have these things, because by God’s blessing, others laboured faithfully and watched and held fast in their own day. So that it is true of us, “others have laboured but ye have entered into their labours.” It would be a fit subject for our personal meditation this night to consider how many others have laboured prayerfully and faithfully since the time these words were written until the present time to ensure that in God’s overruling providence we might have these things which we do have.

But to confine ourselves just now to a consideration of ourselves as a branch of the visible church in the world, you know at the very beginning of our separate existence men were raised up who saw the necessity of cleaving to the Word of God in its entirety. They saw the necessity of separating from those who were willing to tolerate compromise as to the doctrines of the Word of God, compromise as to the worship of God, compromise as to rule in the church of God. What our church stood for from the beginning was for the truth, for the whole truth and for nothing but the truth. And it is to the grace of God working in those of whom we speak as our founding fathers that we can directly trace these things which we have.

We must seek to understand that if we are to hold them fast we will need the same appreciation of them. We will need the same understanding of their spiritual value, as they had. It is the same testimony for the Word of God and for the Word of God in it’s entirety and for the purity of worship and for scriptural church practice that is needed now as was needed then, nearly one hundred years ago. I say that particularly because it is only if we are convinced of this that we will indeed hold them fast. It is the gospel which the Reformers had. It is the gospel which the Covenanter had. It is the gospel which the Disruption fathers had in 1843 and the founding fathers of our own church had in 1893 that present day sinners need also. And let us beware, of a new gospel or an up to date gospel for modern man. For whatever technical advances man has made, whatever scientific discoveries they have made, the need of man in our day is still to be called to repent and believe the gospel. That is the gospel that must be preached amongst Jew and Gentile, amongst black and white, “Repent and believe the gospel.” There is no other remedy for fallen, ruined, sinful man and to convey any other impression is going to lead us into all sorts of danger. It is going to lead us we fear into deceiving our fellow sinners as to their relationship with the God with whom they have to do. They are to repent of their sins. We are to repent of our sins and repenting of our sins we have to look to the One who is alone the Saviour of sinners.

Now we will only preserve this, we will only hand it down intact to coming generations, if we hold these things fast. Let us not underestimate the difficulties that are involved in that. We live as you know in an ecumenical age, where the whole spirit of the ecclesiastical world is this, let us all come together. Let us all come and worship together, let us all, as it were, shelter under one umbrella. It is a generation as you know, or as you ought to know, which hates distinctions. It is a generation which finds it hard to tolerate ecclesiastical separation. It is a generation, which is prepared to make allowances for sincerely held doctrines, it is prepared to make allowances for scriptural practices, but it is not prepared to make allowances for making these a ground of separation. There you see the subtlety of that situation. Of course you will preach the doctrines of free and sovereign grace, of course you will tell men that they are totally depraved. But you must not, you cannot, make that a ground of separating from those who teach otherwise.

The danger as far as we see it is that we will be affected by the spirit of the age and that we will be ashamed of the testimony of our church. Although as I said, and as I say again, it is a testimony for the truth, for the whole truth and for nothing but the truth. How sad that any who bear the name of Christian are ashamed in any way of the gospel. What the apostle said was, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth;” and let us seek grace to be on our guard against being ashamed of it. Let us be on our guard against those who hide their true colours as we fear many do with ambiguous names. It is very difficult to know, at least we find it very difficult to know, who they really are who claim to be conservative evangelicals. We find it hard to understand what the distinctive testimony is of those who call themselves liberal fundamentalists. Let us not waste our time with such ambiguities, but let us declare unashamedly and unambiguously our allegiance to the testimony of the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland. Because it is, as I said, and as I repeat again, a testimony for the truth, for the whole truth and for nothing but the truth.

There is nothing in the testimony of our church to be ashamed of. Certainly we have to be ashamed of departures from it on the personal level, on the congregational level and indeed on the ecclesiastical level. We have to be ashamed that we have at times failed to live up to it. We have to be ashamed of our own hearts and minds, but that is another matter altogether. And let us as we face all the difficulties which are involved in cleaving unambiguously to this testimony, let us bear in mind the words of the Saviour Himself when He said, “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, He it is that loveth me.” John 14: 21. Not the one who has the applause of the world, or the one who has the approval of the world or even the ecclesiastical or religious world, but He that hath Christ’s commandments and keepeth them. It is only by a positive effort and by a positive holding fast that we shall earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to the saints and that is what we are required to do. Hold fast, hold fast the faith once delivered to the saints. Delivered by God and delivered to them to be trustees of it. It is ours because of the faithfulness of others. It is written of Israel,

His testimony and His law
in Israel He did place,
And charged our fathers it to show
to their succeeding race; Psalm 78: 5

Now that is something that can be applied to ourselves and I would like to apply it in this way, that our fathers discharged this responsibility faithfully. We cannot this night charge or accuse them that they did not keep their charge, they kept it faithfully and they kept it responsibly and they passed it on in that way to us. But it is a solemn consideration to ask how will future generations judge us. I would like to say this, although it is something we cannot dwell on just now, that this is part of holding fast, these things which we already have. “And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children.” That is what we are to teach, what man is to believe concerning God and what duty God requires of man. What a responsibility that is. How can we think of such a responsibility without seeing our need of holding fast. As I said there is much in our own lives to be ashamed of, but there is nothing in what is set before us in God’s truth of which we need for one moment be ashamed and as far as we understand the matter you will not find and our children will not find a closer adherence to the Word of God, to what man is to believe concerning God, than they do at the present time in our own church. They will not find a clearer exposition of the doctrines and the teachings of the Word of God in any other denomination that we know of. What we must seek is grace to hold fast to the Word of God as our rule of faith and our rule of life. And we need not be surprised if this leads to conflict, it is inevitable in an age of compromise.

Now I don’t want to digress at all but some of you will be familiar with the term, “consensus politics,” where on certain issues political parties instead of emphasising the differences between them, concentrate on the things that they have in common. The religion of our day is what you might call, a consensus religion. Protestants, Roman Catholics, Hindus, Jews, they will all come together and they will concentrate on the things that they have in common. Now surely one need not comment on how unscriptural that is, how dishonouring this is to God who has given us this revelation of Himself. How dishonouring this is to the One who says of Himself, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” He does not say, I am one of the ways. He does not just say, I am the best way. What He says is this, “I am the way” and to allow any other deities or to allow any other mediators when there is One who makes this claim is surely nothing short of a denial of the name of Christ. How can they say they are following Christ and keeping His word when they can gather with Hindus, Moslems and Jews and worship with them. What a solemn situation we are in as a nation.

Now as God preserved His witness in Scotland in 1893 when it seemed as if the triumph of His enemies was complete, so recently when the forces of the worldly opposition concentrated all their energy upon the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland and it went through one of the severest crisis of it’s existence, by the grace of God the witness was preserved. Let us this night think of that with humility and with gratitude. Cast your mind back just two brief years and let us this night humble ourselves before God and let us this night be thankful in the presence of God. Let us say, “The Lord hath done great things for us,” for it could have been otherwise. Having said that let me say this also, let us beware of self-glory. Let us beware of saying, “We did it.” That kind of carnal triumphalism has no place in Christian life and certainly has no place in the Christian church. It was the doing of the Lord and we have no cause for glorying, in fact the very opposite. What we have to say is this that it was in our midst that this movement grew up. It was by us that these men were given a place and in that very fact there is cause surely for heart searching. Did we like Israel to fail to value our privileges, did our hearts waver, did our hands slacken in holding fast. Let us think of it personally for that is how we must think of these things. In the final analysis it is not churches that are found faithful or unfaithful, it is individuals within them. So what we are called to in the words of our text is a personal holding fast, a daily and consistent holding fast and of being so convinced of the truth of God’s word that we are prepared to stand alone and if necessary in our families or in our communities or as a church in this land or in other lands. And only grace will enable us to do so.

But this is what we are called to in a dark day, a day of small things and a comparison to the past in Scotland will convince us that this is a true description of our day. I was thinking just this afternoon if you stop for a moment and compare the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1638 with the one of 1991, surely that will dispel any lingering doubts from your mind as to whether this is a day of small things. In 1638 they were covenanting with God as far as the purity of worship was concerned. They were covenanting with God as to their allegiance to the truth. So far as we hear this year in 1991 they have wasted their time talking about women elders and the admission of children to communion. Now we need make no comment upon that except to note the difference between the one and the other.

And thirdly, the time element that is mentioned, “till I come.”

But lastly and briefly there is the time element mentioned here, “Till I come.” Now we are told quite clearly that Christ is coming again. He is coming to judge the world in righteousness. He is coming to each one of us at death and then we shall be required to give an account of our stewardship, particularly of our stewardship of our gospel privileges that we have had all our lives and which in the grace and the mercy of God we are still enjoying. Now there is a danger of us being like Capernaum, which was exalted to heaven with privileges but which also was cast down to hell. There is a danger of us being like Bethsaida, which though they saw all these mighty works they did not believe. And there is a further exhortation later on in this book concerning this very matter, “hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.” Rev. 3: 11. For if we fail to hold fast, if we fail to hold fast the gospel personally we shall not obtain the crown of which the apostle could say, “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day.” And it is time, is it not, to ask ourselves what are we doing with the gospel which we have from sabbath to sabbath and from year to year. Privileges will not save anyone, they will only add to our condemnation. And however long or short our time is this night, it is all the time we have, “till I come.” It is all the time there is as far as you and I are concerned. And how necessary to be living our lives as those who believe the truth of our accountability, who believe this that the Word of God is the standard by which we are to be judged when He comes, and it is our wisdom to have it as our standard now.

And if that involves, as it will involve avoiding teachings, wherever they come from or whoever puts them forward, which seem to suggest there is an easier way into the kingdom, we are to turn away from such. That is the exhortation given by the apostle himself, “from such turn away.” From such as would explain the new birth in any other context except as the work of God the Holy Spirit. It is not making a decision, it is not turning over a new leaf, it is the Spirit bringing alive those who are dead in trespasses and in sin. And let us turn away also from those who suggest that the Christian life is easier now than it was at any other time and therefore that we can give scope to ourselves or give licence to ourselves in sin. The standard is still this, “holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.” Heb. 12: 14. The Saviour has said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me.” Matthew 16: 24. And that is still the standard no matter what the majority say, no matter what the view accepted in our day. But let us hold fast with an eye to our accountability although we can expect to be misunderstood and misrepresented, but we cannot hold fast and be in step with a generation that has forsaken the Word of God. We should not be unduly moved by the judgements of our fellow men. Let us seek grace to have our eyes lifted up to the One who is saying, “And, behold, I come quickly: and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Rev. 22: 12. Let us seek grace to live our lives in the light of that coming.

May He bless His word.