Synod Sermon by Rev J B Jardine
Hebrews 6:1-3. Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgement. And this will we do, if God permit.
The Christian life is described as a walk, a pilgrimage and a race. It is a pilgrimage in this world, it is a life that we are to walk, a race that we are to run. In the Christian life, our second best is not sufficient. We are called to make progress, to go on from one level of the exercise of grace to another: “Beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. . . . Give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall” (2 Pet 1:5-7,10).
We have to ask ourselves: Are we doing all that we ought to be doing? Are we putting on the whole armour of God and endeavouring to go forth into this world to serve the Lord, to fight the good fight of faith? Are we doing all we can to influence this world, to take the gospel to others – to our own people, and further afield? Time is very short, and we are to look at it in relation to the life of never-dying souls, and our opportunities to impart some good to sinners, that they might not perish but be blessed under the gospel and go to heaven at last.
We live in a dark day, when there are many temptations and it is easy to be distracted. It is the Christian’s duty to be diligent and earnest about the things of the Lord, relying on Jesus Christ, who says, “Without Me ye can do nothing” (Jn 15:5). We know that many in our congregations are growing older and many of the rising generation drift away from the influence of the Church. This may make us downcast. We may feel like Job, saying, “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and are spent without hope” (Job 7:6). We wonder what the future will bring for our congregations and for the branch of the Church we belong to. Are we doing our duty as we ought?
1. We have six principal doctrines before us here, foundational doctrines that Christians ought to know. Christian ministers ought to set them clearly before their people, that they may be established in the most holy faith and receive a blessing from them, so that they would not depart from them. What is needed in the visible Church in our day is teaching ministries. We see so
1The sermon delivered by the Moderator at the Synod meeting in October 2021.
many errors creeping in. We ourselves have to make sure that we seek to impart the doctrines of God’s Word to our people. We ought to aim at establishing our people in the fundamental principles and doctrines of the Word of God, that they might have a thorough knowledge, understanding and appreciation of them and not depart from them. Then, even if they were to wander far from the means of grace, at least the truth of these things might be lodged very firmly in their hearts.
We were speaking to a young man today who was brought up in a church in Northern Ireland. Though he had left the church, it was quite evident that he still had the principles of the faith in his mind. We need to set the fundamental principles of the Christian faith before our people, so that they may know what they are, what their importance is, and that we cannot afford to depart from them. This heritage has been passed down to us from the founding fathers of the Church and we ought to pass it on to our children, so that they may pass it on to their children. They should be like the stones the children of Israel placed as a memorial of crossing the River Jordan so that it might be known through the succeeding generations.
The first of these principal doctrines is repentance from dead works. When we go to the New Testament, we see that this is the first Christian doctrine of the gospel: “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt 4:17). This doctrine of repentance needs to be preached from every pulpit, and we need to ensure that our people have before them their need of repentance.
Of the need that each and every one of us has of this repentance! We need to be brought to see that we are sinners, to know that we are transgressors from the womb. We should pray that preaching on repentance from dead works, from a spiritually dead life, may be blessed to our people, that there may be a true grieving over sin, that men and women may be truly converted, truly brought from darkness to light, truly turned from their sins. “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death” (2 Cor 7:10). If they do not have this, if this truth is not set before our people and before this world in which we live in this generation, what do they have? They only have the sorrow of the world, which works death.
Oh how poor the sinner is by nature! How dead he is in his sins and how dead he will be for eternity if he or she leaves this world without repentance. The Word of God tells us: “The soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezk 18:4); “the wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23). The sins of the unconverted are dead works; even the “good deeds” that men do in a state of nature are dead works. They come from a sinful heart; they are for a sinful end. Sin affects every-
thing. This world is a world of sin and misery, of spiritual death, which will lead to eternal death unless there is repentance.
We need true evangelical repentance; we need our hearts to be melted, to be changed; we need a heart of flesh; we need to be born again by the Spirit of God. We need to turn away from what we can do – not to trust to any work of righteousness but to look to the wonderful provision in Christ, who has worked out a righteousness for His people. O how wonderful the doctrines of free and sovereign grace are! We need to bear in mind that this repentance from dead works is by His grace, according to His purpose.
The second doctrine is faith toward God. Faith and repentance are like conjoined twins: one cannot exist without the other. We are first called to believe that God exists. “Without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him” (Heb 11:6). We have to believe in the God revealed in the Scriptures, not a god of our own imagination. We have to believe His attributes. We have to take Him as our God, to follow the living and the true God, not some false god. We have to believe the provision made by the Lord in Christ to meet the needs of our never-dying souls. We are to delight in Christ, in what we read and hear of Christ – to delight that He is the One whom the Father sent in the fullness of time. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
He is to be trusted in for this world and for that which is to come. He is One that we may know something of and love, trusting to His righteousness, His finished work. Here is One who reconciles sinners to God, who through the rent veil of His flesh gives an entrance into the most holy place, who bestows on His people the liberties and privileges of the sons of God, including life everlasting. All the needs of our souls can be met from the full provision Christ has made. Our own righteousness is really unrighteousness, but His righteousness is presented to us as a spotless wedding garment. By the righteousness of Christ, the claims of divine justice may be turned away from us. He gave Himself as a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice; He laid down His life as a ransom for each of His people. This is what we must set before our people and before the world.
We have the truth, which directs us to trust in the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Here is the Messiah, God’s anointed One; here is the one Mediator between God and men. These are the very things we have been preaching to our people, but we see so little effect. O to persevere in preaching the gospel, in setting forth Christ! O to persevere in crying to the Lord that grace would be given to our people, that the Spirit would be sent forth into their hearts,
that the Word may be blessed to them, that these things they have known from their youth may yet be made precious to their souls.
The third doctrine is that of baptisms. We are baptized into the visible Church in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, and baptism is a sign and seal of the covenant of grace. When we come to years of responsibility, we are called to live according to the vows taken on our behalf and to seek that what was represented in baptism may take place in our experience. “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (Jn 3:5). We must see our need of being sprinkled by the blood of Christ for the forgiveness of sin, of being clothed in His righteousness for justification, of receiving the graces of the Spirit for sanctification, of being enabled to die unto sin and live unto righteousness, of casting aside the unprofitable works of darkness and seeking the things of the Lord. This is what we have in Titus: “According to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (3:5).
What need there is of being cleansed from our sins, of being born again, of being given a new heart, a new principle by which we would live! What need to come to Christ, to cast ourselves upon Him! This is what we need for our own souls, what we need to keep setting before our people in season and out of season. Let it be line upon line, precept upon precept; let it be here a little and there a little, but let it be the gospel, the provision that is in Christ. Let it be the need for the new birth, for forgiveness and repentance. “There shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness” (Zec 13:1). What need our people have of these things, what need this generation has of these things!
The fourth doctrine is the laying on of hands. The Jews practised this; it was done when a blessing was to be given or a prayer made for someone. We can think of the people bringing little children to the Saviour; He put His hands on them and prayed, yet the disciples rebuked them. “But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto Me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 19:14). The laying on of hands is also associated in the Old Testament with consecration to holy office; we can think of Aaron the High Priest being anointed. In New Testament times we can think of the Apostles anointing others to the ministry. Timothy was told: “Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery” (1 Tim 4:14). Also the influence of the Holy Spirit was imparted with the laying on of hands: “Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost” (Acts 8:17). But that time has passed, and while we lay hands on those being ordained to the ministry, we no longer do so to impart spiritual gifts.
This doctrine shows that the Church of God is to be properly ordered, that men are to be ordained to the ministry to edify the people and to rule in the Church. This is a duty pressed upon ministers to maintain the Church through succeeding generations in this world to the end. We ought to desire that order would be maintained and due process followed in the Church. And our individual duty is to submit to the processes of the Church and to the discipline of the church. “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” (Heb 10:25).
The fifth doctrine is the resurrection of the dead. This is a doctrine of which the world knows little or nothing. The Confession of Faith sets it forth clearly: “The bodies of men, after death, return to the dust and see corruption: but their souls (which neither die nor sleep) . . . immediately return to God who gave them”. The righteous will be made perfect in holiness; they will be received into the highest heavens to behold the face of God in light and in glory, and wait there for the full redemption of their bodies. But what of the wicked? “The souls of the wicked are cast into hell, where they remain in torments and utter darkness, reserved for the judgement of the great day.” The words of Abraham to the rich man set before us the solemn reality of eternity: “Between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from thence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence” (Lk 16:26).
The sixth doctrine is eternal judgement. The multitudes of this world believe that when a person dies they go to some good place, if they go anywhere. No distinction is made between the righteous and the wicked. Here is a truth that we must preach, that people might know they have a soul that is in danger of perishing in a lost eternity. If there is no repentance or faith, if there is no desire within to know the Lord and the power of His salvation, they will perish eternally.
A judgement is coming. Even within the visible Church, this doctrine is despised: God “hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead” (Acts 17:31). Everyone will be judged. It does not matter when or where they have lived, or what religion they had, they will be judged; the righteous will be rewarded and the wicked condemned. “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement” (Heb 9:27). This judgement is given into the hand of Christ, and no one will escape it. “The sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell gave up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works” (Rev 20:13). Everyone
will receive according to what they have done in the body, whether good or evil. Have they believed in Christ or not? Have they trusted in the provision that is in Him or have they been trusting to their supposed good works, which in fact are dead works?
This day is to manifest God’s glory, to show forth His mercy in the eternal salvation of the elect, and to show forth His justice in the damnation of the reprobate – the wicked and disobedient. The righteous will go into everlasting life and receive fullness of joy. Christ will say, “Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Mt 25:34). But what of the wicked, those that do not know God, that do not obey the gospel? They will be cast into eternal torments, punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power. How sobering when we think of the multitudes in this world and how few of them have ever heard the gospel.
2. These doctrines in the context of a call to go on to perfection: “Let us go on unto perfection”. Believers ought to grow up from a state of spiritual childhood to the fullness of the new man in Christ. They ought to make progress, to grow in grace and the knowledge of the truth, in holiness, in service to the Lord. So we have to be well-grounded in these doctrines. We are to go on to perfection, for “the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day” (Prov 4:18).
Perfection describes what every believer is to aim at, and what ministers of the gospel should seek that their people would aim at – to cultivate a spirit of “holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Heb 12:14). In our Christian lives we ought to seek to present a constant witness to the world on the side of the Lord, so that the world may know that here is one of the Lord’s people, whose speech betrays them. What is their speech? It is holy. We are in this world but we are not of it. Our lives in this world ought to influence this world for good. This is part of the Christian calling. “Ye are the salt of the earth” (Mt 5:13). As individuals, we are called to leave a good saviour behind us wherever we go. Is the Church of God in the world not to influence it for good in a dark day? Yes, even when there are so many difficulties. We are also told: “Ye are the light of the world”.
We ought to endeavour as far as possible, whatever our ability, that the true religion might be established in this land. One of the means by which this may be done is our witness; we are to continue earnestly to seek to break through the obstacles. As individuals we are to aim at the high mark of our calling in Christ. How can any of us be satisfied just to scrape by, to do the minimum necessary? No, we are to strive diligently to do all to the glory of God, to aim at the perfection we have before us. Paul said, “I press toward
the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil 3:14). What need this world has that we would be bright and shining lights and the salt of the earth! This is a dark, wicked world; it needs the moral teaching we can give it. It needs to have the teaching of the Word of God set before it, in such a way that it might benefit.
We ought to be without reproach ourselves; we ought to aim at this. The Word itself may give offence; Christ crucified is “unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness” (1 Cor 1:23); so they turn away. We should seek to set the truth before the world to the best of our ability, giving no offence in anything, so that the ministry is not blamed. We should show them such an example that they may know that here is someone who lives in the way he sets before them, putting these principles into practice. We do not say it is easy, but we believe it is part of the great commission that Christ gave: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (Mt 28:19,20).
What need the world – including those who have been led astray by one error or another – has of a faithful biblical witness! They need clear doctrine to be set before them. We ought to aim to be as influential as possible in our day. The Lord went about doing good. That is how we ought to be, persevering in the will of the Lord, no matter what hinderances are in our way. We ought not to be discouraged or think: No one is listening, so why make any further effort in these things?
3. How are we to go on to perfection? We have it here: “leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ . . . not laying again the foundation”. All that is taught in the house of God is to come from Himself, for His glory. Leaving does not mean forgetting or despising these principles. We are never to lose sight of them or despise them. They are to be a firm foundation of principles laid down in our hearts. But leaving has the sense of moving forward, of building upon them.
We have this testimony, and we must go forth with it. We must seek to build up the Church of Christ in this world, we must preach these things to our people, setting Christ before them, and seeking that the Lord would add daily to the Church such as would be saved. We must lay these things up in our hearts, seeking that this solid ground may be built upon, and that others may benefit from these doctrines as we ourselves have benefited from them. “Upon this rock”, said Christ, “I will build My Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Mt 16:18). That rock was Christ, or the profession that the disciples made of Christ, which was: “Thou art the Christ,
the Son of the living God” (Mt 16:16). Is the Church not to be built on that? We are to maintain a witness to the Lord in this world. Even though we may feel that some of our congregations have become very small and that in some places it is only a matter of time before no one is left, we are to make good use of the time we have, to set forth these principles and build on them.
4. The condition: we will only do this “if God permit”. If we do not advance we must go back. We need to go forward, but we can only do so if God permits. What are we to make of this? We believe it is to be taken in the light of James 4:13,14: “Go to now, ye that say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away”. If the Lord will we shall do this or that. We can have the best of intentions but we will only succeed if the Lord wills.
So we are called here to depend on the Lord, praying that He may indeed bless us – to do our duty in humble dependence on the Lord, not on our own strength. We are to seek that the Lord’s strength may be made perfect in our weakness, and that His wisdom may be seen in what others consider folly. We are to depend on the Lord for grace to help in every time of need, to depend on Him to give us the time and opportunities to do these things, to go on to perfection – if the Lord permits. We must never lose sight of the fact that it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure. A ministry will only do good if the Lord blesses it. It is the Lord that builds the house, that builds the Church. We need then to look to Him.
When we think of the difficulties we face, we think how small we are becoming as a branch of God’s Church, with various responsibilities and a decline in manpower. Yet if the Lord permit, if it is His will, He may yet bless us – in taking the gospel far and wide, as a true witness in the world. He may make our testimony as a Church a means of reviving religion in this nation. How wonderful that would be! We are to be “looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb 12:2). We are never to lose sight of what Paul said, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase” (1 Cor 3:6). We also read the simple words, “Thy God reigneth!” (Is 52:7).
We are to take our responsibilities seriously – to go out with the gospel, to rule as enabled over the things of the Church. We are to do so as undershepherds, seeking to set the truth before sinners and to be examples to them, to show them the way in which they are called to walk in a wicked age. All the time, we must look to the Lord, trusting in the fullness that is in Him.