Learning from the Word, by Angus Smith, published by Reformation Press, 247 pages, hardback £21.75; and paperback, £14.70, obtainable from the Free Presbyterian Bookroom.
Learning from the Word contains 40 brief articles originally written by the late Rev Angus Smith for a religious magazine titled, Our Inheritance. The articles really read like short sermons, and it is not surprising to learn that
they were based on sermons which he preached throughout his ministry.
Those who had the privilege of hearing Mr Smith preach will recognise his unmistakable style and not a few of his favourite themes. The articles cover a wide variety of topics, each based on a text of Scripture, carefully expounded in Mr Smith’s usual manner. In reading the book, one is reminded of the rich theology, original insights, experimental balance, and faithful defence of the truth which adorned and characterised Mr Smith’s preaching.
In one article, when the excellence of spiritual worship is being opened up, we have the striking thought “that Solomon made harps of almug wood, which would last, but God makes instruments of true spiritual praise of sinful people, the most intractable material ever, to be in His heavenly temple for evermore” (p 12). In the same passage there is the profound observation that “our praise is pleasant to Christ, for He is the One who earned it as a reward from God for His finished work”.
Mr Smith once stated his opinion that the most liberty he ever enjoyed as a preacher was as a divinity student preaching in Glasgow on the words “the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up”. It was especially interesting then to find an article on this text in the book, in which the following solemn words are found: “Christ was angry, and He made it known. His anger was pure and holy, and such is the anger which His foes will meet at the Great White Throne eventually. It will be both divine and human anger” (p 19). The depths of suffering which the Divine Redeemer endured is a frequent theme throughout. We are told, for example, that Christ “met eternal damnation and was enveloped by the curse of God. Owing to the virtue of His divine Person He was able to take His human nature to the bottom of this bottomless pit and through a whole eternity of demands of inexorable, unbending justice within the bounds of thirty-three years” (p 47).
It was no light and superficial religion which Mr Smith possessed himself, and he knew the cost of a true profession of Christ. In describing what it is to take up the cross and to follow the Lord, he warns, “To take up the cross is a deliberate thing. It involves a death sentence in the eyes of the world, and of the worldly church – the church of Cain, which misses out the Lamb; the church of Ishmael which mocks the child of promise; the church of Esau which despises the spiritual birthright. It seems an inexplicable course of action in the eyes of those who do not know what the love of Christ is and what obedience to Him really is. There are many who can preach of love who do not know this love nor its necessary obedience in cross-raising” (p 55).
One example of the remarkable light which he was given on the truth is found in an article on prayer. He observes in it that “true prayer can always be summed up by the phrase: “Avenge me of mine adversary” (Lk 18:3).
The explanation follows, “The Christian now has the just, loving, patient and true Judge, or God, on his side, and as he is accepted in Christ he can pray, ‘Avenge me of mine adversary’, or, ‘In Thy justice, put all my affairs right. Sin has spoiled all, and, although justified, the child of God has the intercession and groan of the Holy Spirit in his soul, desiring that all the harm done by sin be put right, in himself, in the Church, and elsewhere” (p. 76).
Mr Smith, though possessed of a strong assurance himself, was not unsympathetic to the poor tried believer who is much assailed with doubts and fears as to his salvation. On faith and assurance he says, “Faith is a resting upon Christ. It looks at Christ alone for salvation. Christ is God the Saviour. Sometimes the poor believer groans if he fears something may be lacking in his faith. There are those who scorn such, for they themselves feel sure of our salvation. However, salvation does not lie in us being sure of our salvation. The Pharisees were sure of it too. We must never boast over a poor believer beset by doubt” (p 84).
There were only one or two negatives. In the fourth article, on “Blessed is the man that heareth Me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors” (Prov 8:34), the application seems to be entirely to the regenerate, with nothing for the seeking sinner, who is surely to find encouragement to seek Christ in these precious words. Then in the article already referred to on taking up the cross, there is a statement to the effect that when the believer sins, his will is not involved in it since “his God-renewed will only has one bias, and that is to holiness”. It will be sufficient in highlighting the problem with this view to quote the words of the Confession 6:4: “When God converts a sinner, and translates him into the state of grace, He freeth him from his natural bondage under sin; and, by His grace alone, enables him freely to will and to do that which is spiritually good; yet so, as that by reason of his remaining corruption, he doth not perfectly, nor only, will that which is good, but doth also will that which is evil.”
However, these points are not intended to detract from the overall quality of Learning from the Word. It is a book well worth reading and we would encourage our people to purchase it, and to seek grace “to be followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Heb 6:12).
(Rev) I D MacDonald
Protestant View
King Charles at Mass
The recent funeral of Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent was the first Roman Catholic funeral of a member of the Royal family since the Reformation. The King, the Prince and Princess of Wales and other members of the Royal family were present at this event, during which a letter of condolence to the King from Pope Leo XIII was read by the papal nuncio.
The attendance of our professedly-Protestant Monarch at this funeral is a significant public step in the spiral of national religious decline. In 1994, the Duchess of Kent was the first member of the Royal family to join the Church of Rome in recent times and, since then, a number of her own immediate family have followed her. Her move to Romanism is reported to have been approved at the time by the late Queen. The consequences of such approval are apparent now in the King’s attendance at the abominable idolatry of a royal Roman Catholic requiem mass. Such attendance is a flagrant breach of the King’s accession and coronation vows to uphold the Protestant religion. Support for the Antichristian Church of Rome includes attendance at its services and necessarily undermines the profession of loyalty to Protestantism which King Charles has so solemnly sworn.
The late Duchess said that the firmness of Roman Catholic teaching was an important factor in drawing her into the Romanist fold. This itself was a tacit condemnation of the laxness and ambiguity of modern Anglicanism. It is sad when Rome – with all its scandals and perversions – is regarded as providing firmer moral guidance than Protestant Churches.
The current royal house came to the throne of Britain in 1714 for the sole reason of maintaining the Protestant Succession and has been kept in possession of it until now, as professedly Protestant. But the more that Rome makes inroads among some of the most influential members of our society, the worse it will be for the nation and for those precious souls ensnared by Rome’s deadly errors. And we clearly see once more how little sympathy with the principles of the Word of God and the Reformation so many of the leading figures in British society have shown over the years. “From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises and putrifying sores” (Is 1:6). AWM
Notes and Comments
A New Archbishop of Canterbury
On Friday, October 3, Downing Street announced that His Majesty the King has approved the nomination of the Bishop of London, Rt Revd Sarah Mullally, as the next Archbishop of Canterbury. She will be the one hundred and sixth Archbishop of Canterbury and will be the first woman to hold the office. She will legally become Archbishop of Canterbury at a ceremony in
Canterbury Cathedral in January, followed by an enthronement service at a later date where members of the royal family are likely to be present.
Sarah Mullally has been the Bishop of London since 2018, the first woman appointed to that role also, and before that was Bishop of Crediton in the Diocese of Exeter. Prior to her ordination in 2001, she was the Government’s Chief Nursing Officer for England – the youngest person ever to be appointed to that role, at the age of 37 – having previously specialised as a cancer nurse.
The Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) for Canterbury nominated Sarah Mullally following a process of public consultation that began in February this year. The Canterbury CNC was made up of representatives from across the Church of England, the global Anglican Communion and the Diocese of Canterbury.
The Global Anglican Future Conference (Gafcon) said: “The news has finally arrived after months of prayer and long waiting. But it is with sorrow that Gafcon (Gafcon claims to be steadfastly orthodox and to be rooted in Scripture) receives the announcement today of the appointment of Dame Sarah Mullally as the next Archbishop of Canterbury. This appointment abandons global Anglicans, as the Church of England has chosen a leader who will further divide an already split Communion. . . . However, due to the failure of successive Archbishops of Canterbury to guard the faith, the office can no longer function as a credible leader of Anglicans, let alone a focus of unity. As we made clear in our Kigali Commitment of 2023, we can ‘no longer recognise the Archbishop of Canterbury as an Instrument of Communion’ or the ‘first among equals’ of global Primates [that is, archbishops].
“Although it would appear that there are many who welcome the appointment of a female Archbishop of Canterbury, the majority of the Anglican Communion still believes that the Bible requires a male-only episcopacy.” Gafcon also say, “More concerning is her failure to uphold her consecration vows. When she was consecrated in 2015, she took an oath to ‘banish and drive away all strange and erroneous doctrine contrary to God’s Word’. And yet, far from banishing such doctrine, Bishop Mullally has repeatedly promoted unbiblical and revisionist teachings regarding marriage and sexual morality”.
As Presbyterians we have no truck with Episcopacy; it is unscriptural. The Scottish Covenanters were persecuted, hounded to death and executed without mercy for resisting Episcopacy and the King’s insistence on control over the Church of Christ.
However, it is the established church in England, and it is sad that they have slipped their anchor, which is the Word of God. In 2023, the present
Archbishop-elect was asked whether sexual intimacy in a same-sex relationship is sinful, and she replied that some such relationships could, in fact, be blessed. She also voted in favour of introducing blessings of same-sex marriage into the Church of England. That Church’s own Article XX says that it is not lawful to ordain anything that is contrary to God’s Word. The Church cannot bless or affirm what God has condemned (Num 24:13). What God has condemned is precisely what Bishop Mullally advocates.
Not only will this appointment further divide the Anglican Church but sadly will cause an even more pronounced departure to the welcoming arms of the Church of Rome.
FRD
Yet Another Fossil Discovery
The latest fossil discovery exciting the evolutionary world is three skulls said to be a million years old. The skulls were found in China around 1990, but have recently been identified as belonging to one or more supposed “species” of early man. This may imply, it is claimed, that man (homo sapiens) “began to emerge at least half a million years earlier” than had been thought, and in China rather than Africa. Once again, this discovery “totally changes our understanding of human evolution and, if correct, it would certainly rewrite a key early chapter in our history”. One commentator enthusiastically remarks: “60 years of paleo-anthropology dogma has just been thrown out the window.”
These “upheavals” in evolutionary theory have been going on all the present writer’s life, and much longer than that. Meanwhile, the simple account of creation in the Bible continues unchanged, century by century. Although supposed by the Higher Critics and their successors to be extremely “primitive”, and cobbled together from ill-assorted myths and legends, it stands the passage of time. In a few hundred simple Hebrew words, it identifies and accounts for everything that is important in the world and in human life: light; day and night; the sea and the dry land; the plants; the sun, the moon and the stars; the sea animals and birds; the land animals; and man himself, with his pre-eminence over the animals, and his moral and spiritual nature. Along with these we have the seven-day week and the Sabbath; gold; the two sexes; marriage; Satan and temptation; sin; loss of communion with God; nakedness; a cursed earth; the hope of redemption; false religion; murder; bigamy; and so on. A few chapters later, we have the Flood, the rainbow and the covenant with Noah, and the races of the world. A little further still and we meet Israel.
The Bible unerringly picks out all the things that matter, once and for all. We have no doubt that the “paleo-anthropology dogma”, after its innumerable
upheavals, will eventually conform itself to the account in the Bible, given us by the One who made all these things.
DWBS
God’s Truth: the Standard Even in an Age of Relativism
We are constantly surrounded by a vast array of news and media reports, offering different perspectives on world events, each vying for our attention. We need to pause, reflect and ask repeatedly, amidst all this confusing and conflicting mass of information, What are we warranted to believe? Often we feel compelled to turn away, from the vivid and contradictory presentations before us, confused and concerned. But we should not despair; there is a God in heaven.
The Lord’s people have One to whom they can continually flee. Their Lord and Master in heaven knows all. He is their refuge, strength and very present help (see Ps 46:1). He is Jehovah Jesus, the Son of God, with all authority and power in heaven and earth, who has declared that, although we may be foolish, simple and lacking in understanding in many ways, He – and no other – is, definitively, Wisdom, Understanding and Knowledge (see Prov 8:12,14). At His feet, all the humble followers of Almighty God may cast themselves, knowing that everything – every single one of the countless billions of events happening simultaneously around the world at all times – is (like the wheels within wheels in Ezekiel’s prophecy) completely known and entirely under His power and authority, as the eternal and almighty Lord God, before whom all things are naked and open (see Heb 4:13).
Amid the overwhelming and satanic spiritual darkness, terrible evil, and incredible wickedness that seem to pervade the world today, the Christian’s life must be firmly rooted and grounded in the love of Christ – He who is the way, the truth and the life. We must openly confess that there is no room for self-righteousness or complacency. We are all subject to temptation, and the same dreadful evils that surround us dwell within our own deceitful and desperately wicked hearts (see Jer 17:9), in seed form if (in the Lord’s mercy) they are not manifest before the world in open and blatant wickedness.
Despite all the unbelief and rebellion in the world, we must remember that in heaven there is the one true and living God, who reigns over all. He is the Creator and Sustainer of the world, the One in whom “we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Everyone and everything is completely subject to Him, and He is holy and righteous: He abhors all sin and evil.
Our God, the Triune God, is the true God. He is truth itself (see, for example, Deut 32:4; Is 65:16; Ps 31:5). As the truth, God has given man the Word of truth (Ps 119:43), the authoritative, divinely inspired and preserved Holy Scriptures, to be the sole and supreme rule of truth amongst men. This
written volume of truth (see Ps 40:7 and Heb 10:7) is perfect and sufficient, as the Westminster Confession states clearly and concisely in the chapter titled, “Of the Holy Scripture”, part of which reads: “The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for His own glory, man’s salvation, faith, and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men” (1:6).
This firm stance of the Christian sharply contrasts with the nonsensical wanderings of the worldview of those who do not tremble at the Word of God (see Is 66:5). All who identify as atheists, agnostics, and secularists, along with followers of all pagan religions, wickedly deny the absolute authority of God in the Holy Scriptures. They reject God’s truth and replace it with a perspective where nothing is absolute, accurate or authoritative. At best, their understanding of truth is relative and ultimately devolves into ludicrous and fanciful versions of “my truth”, “your truth” and “their truth”! Such a position is marked by the vague, vaporous, and fleeting authority of individuals who, whether acting alone or collectively, seem consistently to uphold their supposed authority in a domineering, overbearing and intolerant manner, as history has shown us.
If God is the true God, who is Himself the truth, and has given us the Word of God as the written revelation of truth, then anything that does not fully conform to that divinely objective standard must be rejected as untruthful, false, not of God, and consequently harmful to mankind. Thus, in the Lord’s gracious providence, we have in the Holy Scriptures a divinely inspired, infallible and wholly objective standard against which man can test all things (see Is 8:20), for “let God be true, but every man a liar” (Rom 3:4) if man’s word does not fully conform to the truth of the Word of God.
We are to have a Biblical worldview and examine everything that we hear, read or see by the infallible and inerrant Word of God. “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Is 8:20).
In a day so heavily overwhelmed by information that is often confusing and contradictory, the Christian’s duty is both simple and profound: they are to be valiant for truth; humbly, prayerfully and diligently seeking grace to live their lives in obedience to the discriminating teaching of the Holy Scriptures, so that they may fulfill their chief and highest end – living wholly to the glory of God and fully enjoying Him throughout their lives. By consistently assessing every activity and encounter – news, opinions, and daily decisions – against the unwavering standard of Holy Scripture, they will both protect
their hearts from sin and folly, and humbly witness to the world around us whose we are and whom we serve (see Acts 27:23).
Let us prayerfully and earnestly seek, and anticipate the fulfilment of, the Church’s great worldwide privilege and duty, as described by the King and Head of the Church: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations . . . teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Mt 28:19,20). Let the Church do so, in order that we and future generations may, by His grace, witness the days when “the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Hab 2:14).
Finally, may we live close to Christ and each day have His Word as a lamp to our feet and a light to our paths (see Ps 119:105)! DPR