Rev Dmytro Levytskyi
There is some hope that the present situation in Ukraine may become more peaceful than it was at the time of my last newsletter. It may seem that the rage of war has calmed down as a result of peace talks, but this would be wrong. Some in the outside world may think that, if there are peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, a permanent peace will inevitably follow; however, during these peace negotiations, both sides of the conflict are preparing their armies for war. Through this war situation, the Lord in His mercy has given the people of Ukraine another opportunity to repent of their idolatry and superstition. The judgement was postponed, as in the time of Jonah, but the question is, Will the people of Ukraine react in the same way as the people of Nineveh, by repenting?
In pursuing the task of bringing Christ’s gospel to the people of Ukraine, the Eastern Europe Mission of the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland is engaged in Mission activities in Odessa as well as throughout Ukraine. Odessa is a city with many opportunities for furthering the Kingdom of God. One of the main tasks of the Mission, in fulfilling this great commission, is to preach the gospel. The Bible, confessional documents and tracts continue to be distributed, both to the local people and to others throughout Ukraine. This distribution work has brought many people into contact with the Mission, and we pray that the Most High would bless the word of grace sown in the hearts of sinners.
A recent result of this work was that two men, Alexander and Oleg, 40 and 42 years of age, received literature from our Mission and became interested in The Westminster Confession of Faith and visited the Odessa congregation on a Sabbath for worship. They told us they had never read the Westminster Confession and did not know, as is true of many other people in Ukraine, what a Presbyterian Church is.
The situation with the Presbyterian churches in Ukraine is far from encouraging, since Churches which call themselves Presbyterian do not explain to their members what it means to be Presbyterian. The main focus of such Church’s activities is the social, not the spiritual, life of their members. It is unusual to hear from them anything about the Westminster Confession or Catechisms. We have also met Presbyterians who adhere to the erroneous doctrines and practices of Charismatics, yet claiming to be the true Church. It is one of our tasks, as a Mission, to make known to the people of Ukraine, through the preaching of the Word and the distribution of biblical literature, what a Presbyterian Church should be in doctrine and practice.
The books that the Eastern Europe Mission has printed have been distributed among the people of Ukraine and have been received with interest and gratitude. We hope that these books will be of much interest to the multitudes of spiritually thirsty and hungry sinners of this land. It is our constant prayer that the Most High would turn the hearts of the people to embrace the truth of the gospel of Christ. In order to fulfil that task, the Eastern Europe Mission in Ukraine is reprinting a translation into Russian of The Westminster Confession of Faith; this translation was made under Free Presbyterian auspices and is an improvement on a previous translation. Other books too are ready to be printed. The work of distributing books is an enormous task and Mr Zadorozhnyi is very busy with this, as well as replying to numerous letters.
But the most important task of our mission work is the preaching of the Word. It is the great responsibility of the messenger of Christ to warn the people of their lost and ruined condition and deliver to them the gospel message. It is his responsibility also to take care of Christ’s sheep, drawing their attention to Christ so that they will rely on Him in every situation.
In all these mission activities, we seek the Lord’s guidance and blessing, for we are absolutely dependent upon Him. We are very thankful to the Most High, the giver of all good, for making possible this mission work in Ukraine. We also thank those who continue to support the spreading of the gospel in Eastern Europe and who remember it at the throne of grace. “Brethren, pray for us” (1 Th 5:25).