The Covenant of Works and the Do we all worship the same God?

The Resurrection: John 20

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Treasure in Clay Jars

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Philippians 1 v 9-11
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Theme verses The Covenant of Works and the
Philippians 1:9-11
Christian Life (Part 3)
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Do we all worship the same God?
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FIRST WORD
The King, the cripple, and the kindness of God
Last month, I had the wonderful privilege of sitting in on a
courtroom hearing as my sister-in-law and her husband
officially adopted two little boys. They have been caring for
them for the past two and a half years, but in that courtroom
that afternoon the adoption finally became official: those two
boys were legally and permanently brought into the family! A
new status was conferred upon them: they became sons to
a new set of parents, with all the love and joy and hope that
that entails.
I n gospel terms, adoption has been described as the “apex” of
God’s blessings towards us in Christ. The little-known story
of Mephibosheth, in 2 Samuel 9, provides us with a wonderful
picture of this.
By now, David has been made King of Israel. But the question
is, now that David has become King, how will he treat the
household of Saul? One might expect that David would try
and wipe out the household of Saul, but instead David shows
kindness to them. David asks, “Is there still anyone left of the
house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s
sake?” (v1). Notice three things about this kindness that David
shows in this story:
1) David’s kindness was faithful
Notice that David wants to show kindness to the household of
Saul “for Jonathan’s sake”. A few years previously, David and
his close friend Jonathan, the son of Saul, had entered into a
covenant with one another. Jonathan pledged his loyalty to
David, and David swore not to cut off his steadfast love to
Jonathan’s house. But now that David is King, and Jonathan
himself is dead, it would have been so easy for David to forget
about that covenant he had entered into. He could have just
ignored Saul and Jonathan’s household, or worse still, he could
have tried to wipe them out completely, so that no one from
Saul’s household would be a threat to him in the future. But
no, out of this kindness, David was faithful to what he had
promised. He would show kindness to the household of Saul,
for Jonathan’s sake.
David asks around – is there anyone left of Saul’s household
to whom he can show kindness? David’s men find a man called
Ziba, who had been one of Saul’s servants. They bring Ziba to
David, and David says to him, “Is there not still someone of the
house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him?”
Ziba says, yes, there is a surviving son of Jonathan, called
Mephibosheth. As a very young child, Mephibosheth had been
injured in an accident and was crippled in both of his feet (2
Sam. 4:4). David says, bring him to me. In showing kindness
to Mephibosheth, David would be faithful to what he had
promised to Jonathan.
2) David’s kindness was gracious
Mephibosheth is brought before David, and instantly he bowed
down before David. It is likely that Mephibosheth feared for his
life. After all, he belonged to the household of Saul, who had
been so opposed to David. But David calmed Mephibosheth’s
fears. He said to him, “Do not fear, for I will show you kindness
for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you
all the land of Saul your father, and you shall eat at my table
always.” (v7)
Understandably, Mephibosheth is astounded! He was worried
that he was going to be put to death, but instead he has been
granted incredible kindness. He paid homage to David and
said, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for
a dead dog such as I?” Mephibosheth was weak, helpless, and
a son of the enemy – a direct descendant of Saul. But out of
remarkable graciousness, David showed him kindness.
3) David’s kindness was adoptive
Not only would Mephibosheth receive all the land that had
belonged to Saul – also, he will have a team of servants to
look after him! David brings back Ziba the servant and says to
him that he, all of his sons and all of his servants (36 people
in total) are to become Mephibosheth’s servants. They are to
work the land and produce all the food that Mephibosheth
would eat.
But, amazingly, Mephibosheth would sit at the king’s table to
eat. We read: “So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table, like one
of the king’s sons.” (v11)
To all intents and purposes, David is effectively adopting
Mephibosheth. Out of faithful, gracious kindness, he is
bringing him into his household and treating him as a son,
showing lavish provision towards him.
It’s is a wonderful story, isn’t it? David’s kindness was faithful,
gracious and adoptive. He kept his promise, even to one who
belonged to the household of the enemy, and he treated him
as one of his own sons. This story gives us a wonderful picture
of God’s kindness towards his people.
His kindness towards us is faithful. He keeps his covenant
promises to us. All his promises are “yes” in Jesus. He will
never go back on his word.
His kindness towards us is gracious. Like Mephibosheth,
we were weak, helpless, and by nature we belonged to the
household of the enemy. But out of remarkable graciousness,
God has shown his kindness to us, in Christ.
And God’s kindness to us is adoptive. In his kindness, God has
brought us into his family. He has conferred a new status upon
us. He treats us as his children, pouring out his lavish blessings
upon us in Jesus. The apostle John writes: “See what kind
of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called
children of God; and so we are!” (1 John 3:1)
How can someone receive this new status of being made into
one of God’s children? The answer is given to us very clearly in
John chapter 1:
“To all who did receive [Jesus], who believed in his name, he
gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12)
For those who receive Jesus, who believe in his name, a
wonderful new status is conferred upon them by God. Children
of God! We become recipients of God’s faithful, gracious and
adoptive kindness, in Christ.
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 Treasure in Clay Jars

This article is an edited version of the Moderator’s

address, given at the 2019 Presbytery Day Conference
in April by Rev. Andy Hambleton.

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to

show that the surpassing power belongs to God
and not to us.” (2 Cor 4:7)

I f you’re familiar with this letter of 2 Corinthians as

a whole, then you’ll know that one of Paul’s main
concerns in writing it is to defend his own ministry.
Some false teachers have arisen in Corinth, and they
are undermining Paul and his ministry. They say of
him, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily
presence is weak, and his speech of no account.”
“Why on earth listen to a preacher like that,” they say.
“Why believe his message?! Just look at Paul’s track
record! His ministry is a joke! Everywhere he goes, he
seems to get into trouble. He’s always being arrested,
or stoned, or beaten up. He’s always in one scrape or
another. He can’t seem to set foot on a boat without
it being shipwrecked. He struggles with ill health. The
Jews find his message to be a stumbling block, and to
the Gentiles it is sheer foolishness. Surely Paul is not
a true apostle, and surely his message is not the true
gospel.”
With all of this going on in Corinth, Paul sits down to
write this letter which we call Second Corinthians, and
in it he defends himself against these criticisms that
have been levelled against him. Throughout this letter
Paul is showing that the true gospel is not what the
false teachers say it is. The true gospel is not what
someone has described as “a trouble-free ticket to a
cross-free journey to a this-world glory”. That’s what
the false teachers would have you believe. But Paul
is saying that true gospel ministry is marked, rather,
with this surprising juxtaposition of power through
weakness, glory through suffering, and triumph
through adversity.

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That surprising dynamic of true gospel ministry is
cross of Christ. That great record of debt that stood
captured for us vividly in this verse upon which we
against us because of our sin was nailed to the cross,
will focus our thoughts today. Let’s notice three things
paid for in full, once and for all. The result of that is that
from that verse.
we are now reconciled to God. Forgiveness is ours! God
does not count our trespasses against us. We are at
1) God’s gospel is precious
peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Furthermore, in Christ there is righteousness. Chapter
That’s what Paul wants us to realise when he describes
5 verse 21: “For our sake he made him to be sin who
the gospel as “treasure”, here in verse 7. What is the
knew no sin, so that in him we might become the
treasure of the gospel? Well, Paul has already told us
righteousness of God.” By his perfect obedience to
what the treasure of the gospel is, back in verses 4 and
his Father throughout his life on earth, Jesus Christ
5: it is “the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For
has lived the life that we should have lived, but have
what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as
failed to live. He has kept the law of God perfectly,
Lord.” Jesus Christ himself is the treasure of the gospel.
fulfilling all righteousness, doing so on our behalf,
Christ himself is what makes the gospel precious.
as our representative. By faith alone in him, that
Without Jesus, the gospel is worthless, because he is
righteousness of Christ is counted as ours. We’re
its treasure.
justified, declared righteous in God’s sight, in Christ.
We could spend a very long time unpacking what
There is so much more that could be said of the
treasures are found in Christ. But, just very briefly,
treasures that are ours in Christ. Even eternity will
notice some of the treasures that are found in Christ,
not exhaust them. Indeed, as Paul writes elsewhere,
which Paul will go on to speak of a little later in this
we have been blessed in Christ with every spiritual
letter.
blessing in the heavenly places. Thanks be to God for
Firstly, in Christ there is New Creation. Chapter 5
his inexpressible gift!
verse 17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new
Do you see, the gospel is precious because the Jesus
creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new
of whom it speaks is our greatest treasure! The
has come.”
false teachers of Corinth, and our detractors today,
In Christ, the age to come has broken into this present
may pour scorn on the gospel that Paul preached.
age. New Creation has broken into this old, fallen
But Paul says, no, the gospel is more precious than
Creation, and it has done so in Christ when he was
anything else, in all creation. The gospel is the finest
raised as the firstborn from the dead, the first fruits of
of treasures, because it’s the gospel of Jesus, in whom
those who belong to him. And anyone who is in Christ,
are unsearchable riches.
says Paul, anyone who is united to him, shares in this
To whom has this precious, treasure-filled gospel of
amazing reality already. Indestructible, resurrection
Jesus Christ been entrusted? That’s where we come
life, the life that belongs to the age to come, flows to
to this surprising juxtaposition that is the hallmark of
them now, by virtue of their union with the risen Christ.
true gospel ministry. Because this precious, priceless
Eternal life is theirs, already! “If anyone is in Christ, he
treasure of the gospel has been entrusted to weak
is a new creation!” says Paul. Therefore, even though
people like us!
their outer nature may be wasting away, inwardly they
are being renewed, and even their afflictions here are
2) God’s servants are weak
preparing for them an eternal weight of glory beyond
all comparison. In Christ there is the treasure of New
Paul writes, “But... we have this treasure in jars of clay.”
Creation, which is experienced in principle now, and
In those days, the clay jar was the lowliest, the most
which will be experienced in its glorious fullness in the
commonplace vessel around. Clay jars are weak and
age to come.
fragile. Drop one on the floor, and it is likely to break
As well as that, in Christ there is the treasure of
into many pieces. They are prone to getting chipped and
reconciliation to God. Chapter 5 verse 19: “In Christ God
cracked and breaking. There’s nothing at all impressive
was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their
about them. And if one gets broken, it’s no big deal,
trespasses against them.”
because you can easily replace it with another at little
At one time we were hostile to God, by nature children of
cost. Paul uses the humble clay jar as a picture of
wrath, enslaved to sin, and facing God’s condemnation
himself. He’s weak, he’s fragile, and he’s unimpressive.
for it. But, in the richness of his grace and mercy
towards us, God reconciled us to himself through the

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 In fact, in chapter 11, he will go to great lengths
to emphasise his weakness and his suffering in his
ministry. He gives us a long list of the trials and
tribulations he has gone through – being beaten with
rods, stoned, shipwrecked, being adrift at sea, danger
from all quarters, toil and hardship, hunger and thirst.
And at the end of it all he asks this rhetorical question:
“Who is weak, and I am not weak?” He’s like a jar of
clay. Weak, fragile, unimpressive.
Then in chapter 12 he speaks of his personal struggle
with this so-called ‘thorn in the flesh’, this messenger
of Satan which clearly caused Paul a great deal of
distress and heartache, whatever it was, and it left
him feeling weak. And he prayed three times that it
would be taken away from him, and yet it remained,
hampering him to some degree.
Do you see, even as he preached the bountiful treasures
of the gospel, the unsearchable riches of Christ, the
apostle Paul himself was just like a jar of clay – so
weak, so fragile, so unimpressive. Glorious contents,
in a decidedly inglorious container. God’s gospel is
precious, but God’s servants are weak.
In our ministry we can relate to what Paul is saying
here, can’t we? In God’s grace towards us, we have
been blessed with the exact same treasure, the same
gospel of Christ, to proclaim to the world. We have the
greatest treasure of all in our hands. All the riches of
Christ to rejoice in, and to share with those around
us! Never forget that the gospel we believe and we
proclaim is immeasurably precious – priceless even.
It’s treasure, says Paul!
Yet, we look at ourselves, and what are we?! We
are like a clay jar, aren’t we? Nothing about us that
is impressive, in any way. We’re very fragile. We’re
easily broken. Perhaps at times we wish that that
were not the case. We think to ourselves, “If only our
denomination was a bigger player on the church scene,
with a better ‘brand’. If only our churches had more
members. If only our ministry was a bit more slick, a bit
more professional. If only we had big name preachers.
If only we weren’t like jars of clay, then we would really
get somewhere!”
But that’s not how things are, is it? We have this
treasure, and we have it in jars of clay. Maybe you
serve in a particular ministry in your congregation
and you turn up there, week after week, and you look
around and you think to yourself, “This ministry is so
fragile, it’s so weak, it’s so unimpressive! We’re here
to proclaim Christ and yet, to all appearances, there is
nothing at all glorious about what we’re doing here.”
Or maybe you look at yourself and you think, “I wish
I was more gifted! I wish I had more skills with which
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to serve in the church! I wish my health was in better
shape. I wish I had more energy. I wish I had greater
intellect and eloquence, and greater boldness with
which to communicate the gospel to my friends. I wish
I wasn’t so weak!”
I have to say, the same is true of all of our ministers
as well. If Paul could describe himself as a jar of clay,
what on earth does that make us?! We are certainly
not sufficient in ourselves. We are a weak, fragile,
unimpressive bunch of men. I’m sorry if that shatters
any illusions you have, but it’s true! We’re jars of clay.
But don’t despair, because, in his wisdom, this is how
God has ordained things to be. This is the surprising
juxtaposition that characterises true gospel ministry,
says Paul. The gospel is an incomparably precious
treasure, and yet it has been placed within jars of clay.
The work of gospel ministry has been entrusted into
the hands of people like us and churches like us – those
who are weak and fragile and unimpressive.
It should make us wonder, why has God arranged
things like this? “God, why did you put your treasure
in jars of clay like us?” That brings us to the third and
final thing to notice from this verse. As we have seen
already, God’s gospel is precious, and God’s servants
are weak. But thirdly, remember this: God’s power is
enough.
3) God’s power is enough
God’s good purpose in entrusting the treasure of the
gospel into the hands of those who are weak, fragile
and unimpressive is explained by the rest of the verse:
It is “to show that the surpassing power belongs to God
and not to us.”
How is this surpassing power of God seen to be at work
through gospel ministry?
It is seen, first of all, in the conversion of sinners. That’s
what Paul has just said, isn’t it? Verse 6: “For God, who
said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, has shone in our
hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory
of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” By his irresistible
power, God opens blind eyes to the truth, and he shines
the light of the gospel into darkened hearts, so that
people come to the knowledge of the glory of God in
the face of Jesus Christ.
There was a time when it happened to you and it
happened to me. And, from time to time you have seen
it happen to other people, perhaps even very recently,
as they too have come to faith in Jesus. And every time
it happens, it is not because of any inherent wisdom or
strength in us as Christ’s servants.
What are we but clay jars? It is only because of the
surpassing power of God at work in the gospel.
This surpassing power of God is seen, furthermore,
in the perseverance of the saints. That’s what Paul
goes on to say, isn’t it? “We are afflicted in every way,
but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair;
persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not
destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of
Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested
in our bodies.”
As Christians, we are united to a Saviour who when
he walked this earth was humiliated even unto death,
and yet who lives. And by virtue of our being united to
him, that same principle plays out in the experience
of his people. The church on earth is humiliated, even
unto death sometimes, and yet the church lives! The
church perseveres! Against all odds, the church keeps
going. They are afflicted, but not crushed, perplexed
but not driven to despair, persecuted, but not forsaken,
struck down but not destroyed. At times it looks like
the church is on its last legs, but somehow she has the
strength to keep going! And she does so only by the
surpassing power of God sustaining her each step of
the way.
Paul is telling us here that God has a purpose in things
being this way. Because when the world looks on and
sees these weak, fragile, unimpressive people, these
jars of clay, persevering on, still believing in Jesus after
all these years, still proclaiming Jesus, still faithful to
him, it shows that there must be a far greater power
at work within us than anything we could muster for
ourselves out of our puny resources. And by God’s
grace, those around us will look beyond the jar of clay,
and see the treasure within. Jesus Christ is glorified
most in the church not when the church enjoys an
easy ride in the world, but rather when the church is
afflicted, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down, but
by the surpassing power of God, keeps going. This is
the shape of our ministry. God’s gospel is precious.
God’s servants are weak. But God’s power is enough.

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 The Covenant of Works and the
Christian Life (Part 3)
T his is the third contribution to a series about how the
doctrine of the covenant of works affects the Christian
life. Biblical evidence indicates that the densest theological
sections of Scripture either culminated in profound worship
(Romans 11:33-36) or directed believers to robust comforts
(2 Thessalonians 1:1-12). Even though, therefore, the
covenant of works is doctrinally rich, we should believe
that it provides rich fuel to flame our hearts in worship.
Part one examined the evidence that God did make a
covenant with Adam before the Fall: the condition in that
covenant was Adam’s perfect obedience, and the potential
reward in that covenant was incorruptible life in the new
creation. Part two reflected on the theological importance
of that doctrine, namely, that the covenant of works 1)
helps us explain why God’s moral law, summarised in
the Ten Commandments, has been and remains binding
as the rule of life on all humanity, and 2) it gives us a
deeper understanding of Christ’s work as the last Adam
who has earned a justification for us that guarantees our
eternal citizenship in heaven if we take hold of him by
faith. Now, however, we need to think about the practical
importance of this doctrine, and here in part three we are
going to consider how the covenant of works should affect
preaching, whether we deliver or digest those sermons.
Reformed people generally have multiple concerns
regarding sermons. Both faithful preachers and faithful
listeners want to uphold several things simultaneously.
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We want to be clear in our commitment to that great
Reformation doctrine of justification by faith alone, which
plainly and unapologetically states that none of our works
can contribute anything at all to the procurement of our
salvation. In Romans 6:1-2, the Apostle Paul seemed
to know that the freeness of grace he had described in
chapters 4-5 might open the door to an abuse of grace,
and so he denied that such free grace means we can sin
as we wish. If we do not at times preach grace so free that
we have to add that qualification afterwards, then we are
not preaching biblical grace. At the same time though, we
certainly do not want to omit that qualification that we are
not free to sin even though we are free from sin. We need
to balance our commitment to absolutely free justification
with a commitment to thriving sanctification. This raises
the relationship between works and grace, which has
perennially plagued Christian theology, but the covenant of
works actually helps us gain some clarity on how we might
faithfully preach (and hear preaching) with a proper balance
in the works-grace relationship.
The way the covenant of works helps clarify our sermons
is by providing nuance and perspective to the way we think
about our relationship to the law. How do we think about
the law? Is the law our friend or foe? How should the law
be presented in sermons? These questions actually have
layered answers, as we shall see, and I want to frame this
discussion largely around Galatians 4:1-5 and 5:1-4.
“I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different
from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, 2 but
he is under guardians and managers until the date set
by his father. 3 In the same way we also, when we were
children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of
the world. 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God
sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to
redeem those who were under the law, so that we might
receive adoption as sons.” (Gal. 4:1-5)
“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore,
and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. 2 Look: I,
Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will
be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man
who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the
whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would
be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.”
(5:1-4)
These passages make us consider the nature of the law
and our relationship to it in a very profound way, and we
can think about that in reference to what I am going to call
the twofold way that we should preach about the law. In
light of the above questions, we can say that the law is our
foe if we try to earn God’s favour by it, but it is our friend
if we use it as a guide to faithfulness in the Christian life.
The covenant of works gives us the conceptual tools to
structure our sermons around this distinction.
Presbyterians who hold to the Westminster Confession
of Faith should know that the Mosaic covenant was
one administration of the unified covenant of grace
(Westminster Confession 7.3). Although the Mosaic period
looked different in the way God administered salvation
to his people then, the benefits of salvation (justification
and sanctification) were exactly the same and came to
them in the same way (by faith) (Romans 4:1-25). There
was, however, a distinct emphasis on the law in the way
that God governed his covenant people in that time. Paul
discussed this emphasis when he wrote about how they
had been under the “elementary principles of the world”
(Gal. 4:3) and how Christ came to redeem those who were
under the law. The case I want to argue is that Paul meant
that, although the Mosaic covenant was an administration
of the covenant of grace for personal salvation, if we
return to its outward trappings that emphasized the law’s
demands after Christ has come to free us from the law,
then we are not returning to Moses as a covenant of grace,
but as a covenant of works. This should be clear enough
from Galatians 4:3-5. Christ was born to redeem those
who are under the law, which corresponds to that group
who were enslaved to ‘the elementary principles of the
world.’ By referring to the law as ‘the elementary principles
of the world,’ Paul indicated that God’s law was not just
binding for national Israel but binds all humanity to the
works principle as those made in God’s image, represented
by Adam in the covenant of works (see part two in this
series). In other words, there is general correspondence
between the law of the covenant of works and the moral
law given at Sinai (Westminster Confession 19.1-2).
To clarify this point, if we detach the law from its place
within the covenant of grace as a guide for our lives, then
we have returned to the law as the covenant of works, in
which case it demands perfection. This is why Paul wrote
in Galatians 5:1-4 that any attempt to keep God’s law as a
way to earn justification obligates us to keep the entirety
of the law. God does not accept our best efforts when it
comes to justification. He demands perfection. That is why
if we seek to be right with God by works in any sense, then
we are ‘severed from Christ’ (Gal. 5:4). In sum, even the
parts of the Mosaic covenant (or any biblical covenant for
that matter!) that were given as an act of grace become
condemning slaveowners over us if we try to use them
to earn God’s favour. The ‘elementary principles of the
world’ (that law as it was built into us as God’s image and
presented in the covenant of works) are of no help to us
for salvation, so we must lean entirely on Christ as the one
who will redeem us from the law, justify us by faith, and
grant us adoption as sons. This still leaves that lingering
question, however, how does this help us think about
sermons?
We have to frame our discussion about God’s law in
reference to whether we relate to it as part of the covenant
of works or the covenant of grace. Nearly every text of
Scripture makes some sort of demand upon us. How do we
relate to that demand? We must always first consider that
there is a way that we could relate to that demand as if it
were part of the covenant of works. Consider, for example,
the responsibilities for husbands and wives in Ephesians
5:22-33. Certainly, Christians should vigorously endeavor
to obey everything in this passage. What if, however, we
consider this passage apart from the considerations that
Christ has forgiven our failures? What if, for the sake of
argument, we contemplate ourselves as if we need to
do these things to try to earn God’s favour? If we think
about these demands as if we are under the covenant of
works, apart from the consideration that Christ’s cross has
covered our sins, then every one of these obligations would
condemn us. None of us has succeeded perfectly in loving
our husband or wife in the way this passage describes.
We realise we are sinful by how far short we fall of the
Scripture’s demands. If you are not married, then simply
apply the same reasoning to Ephesians 6:1-3, since no one
has perfectly obeyed their parents. God’s law, considered
apart from Christ, condemns us.
9
 Preachers should proclaim the law in this way. People
need to see that they are sinners and are in need of a
Saviour. They need to see that God’s standards are not
set according to our best efforts and that if we fail at any
point, we stand condemned for all eternity. That is the first
way we can consider the law, and this way should drive us
to hope not at all in our own works, but to flee to Christ for
redemption. Hearers of sermons should keep this clearly
in mind, that your preacher, when he thunders the terrors
of the law, is not being mean to you or legalistic, but is
setting forth your need for a Saviour. The people of Israel
clearly perceived these terrors of the law when, directly
after God declared Ten Commandments, ‘the people were
afraid and trembled’ and asked Moses, rather than God, to
speak to them (Exodus 20:18-19). But this recognition of
the depths of our sin only makes the glories of our Saviour
sweeter when we realise how much he has done for us.
In sum, firstly the covenant of works helps us to proclaim
the freeness of grace by showing that we cannot earn
God’s favour by the law and we must flee to him only in the
gospel of Christ, never mixed with our works.
Then, if grace is so free, how does the covenant of works
help us to avoid licence to sin? Well, we think back to
part two of this series and our considerations from
Westminster Confession 19 that the law that was given
to Adam as the covenant of works, was given to Moses
within an administration of the covenant of grace. The
moral law, that has its roots in the covenant of works as
‘the elementary principles of the world’, still binds us to
obey it because we are still made in the image of God. The
difference is that now we do not consider the law as our
condition for inheriting eternal life, but as the guide to how
to live for God. The law considered in light of Christ’s work
to forgive our sins takes on a new dimension. Now that we
do not have to fulfill that law personally perfectly to enter
heaven, since Christ has done that for us, we can look to
the law as a faithful guide to how we might please God in
the Christian life as an expression of gratitude for what he
has done for us in Christ. In other words, the covenant of
works categorically helps our preaching to describe more
clearly on which side of the law we live. Do we live under it
as a condition for life or as a guide to life?
There are of course two sides of the sermon experience.
Preachers must keep diligent awareness of whether they
are speaking the law as a covenant of works to drive their
people to Christ for salvation, or if they are speaking it as a
guide to faithfulness once their people have been forgiven.
The first way must be spoken in preparation for the gospel
to drive hearers to repent and feel the need for the Saviour.
The law in this sense should be preached with (conceptual)
ferocity and all the fires and terrors that the people felt at
Sinai (Exodus 20:18-19).
10
The second way must be spoken tenderly with attention
to how the Spirit will help us even when we are
immensely weak as we “endeavour after new obedience”
(Westminster Shorter Catechism 87). On the other side,
those who hear sermons must also be careful to think
clearly about the law and whether they hear it as a
covenant of works or as a covenant of grace. For example,
your pastor might tell you that you must keep the fourth
commandment to remember the Sabbath to keep it holy.
This is legalism only if your pastor said that you have to do
this to earn God’s favour. If he simply said that you must do
this as one expression of the obedient life, in other words
as a directing principle in the covenant of grace for people
saved by Christ, then he is faithfully explaining the content
of sanctification.
Reflecting on the covenant of works and preaching in this
way helps us to understand why Paul can refer to the law
as a ‘ministry of condemnation’ (2 Corinthians 3:9) and
James can refer to it as ‘the law of liberty’ (James 1:25).
The law only condemns in reference to justification, and
in that case brings nothing but death. But if you are in
Christ and there is no condemnation for you because you
are saved by faith alone, then the law is the sweet guide
to the faithful Christian life. In that case, we can say with
the psalmist, ‘I will delight in your statutes; I will not
forget your word.’ (Psalm 119:16) Therefore, whether we
are delivering or digesting sermons, we must do well in
thinking about how we relate to the law, and the covenant
of works helps us do so.
Harrison Perkins serves as assistant minister at
London City Presbyterian Church, a congregation of
the Free Church of Scotland. He and his wife Sarah
are from Alabama, but the Lord moved them to the
UK in 2016. While doing further studies at Queen’s
University Belfast, Harrison served at a church
in Northern Ireland, which quickly became and
remains ‘home’ to him and Sarah, before taking the
call in London in late 2018.
Do we all worship the
same God?
22 “Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob; but you have all the way to that day when the church’s King returns in all
been weary of me, O Israel!
23 You have not brought me your sheep for burnt offerings,
or honoured me with your sacrifices.
I have not burdened you with offerings, or wearied you with
frankincense.
24 You have not bought me sweet cane with money, or
satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices.
But you have burdened me with your sins; you have wearied
me with your iniquities.
25 “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my
own sake, and I will not remember your sins.
Isaiah 43:22-25 (ESV)
T he higher the window, the further you can see. Peering
out from such a lofty vantage point reveals, all at once,
the fields close by, the hills further away, and the mountains
receding into the distant horizon - a glimpse of everything, in
one direction, from what is nearby to what is far away.
Frequently, the Old Testament prophets pull back a little the
impenetrable curtain otherwise blacking out the window of
time, and allow us to glimpse something of God’s panoramic
plan for the future direction of the world. All at once,
momentous truths are revealed concerning God’s sovereign
unfolding of history, all the way from the prophet’s own day,
to our day and beyond, and on to the final climactic end - and
further still, into eternity.
Isaiah 43:22-25 is one of these passages where the curtain of
history is thrown open, and an amazing vista unfolds before
our gaze. Against the background of real events in his own
day, and using the vivid imagery and dramatic language of
God’s inspired mouthpiece, Isaiah has much to say to the
church and her ongoing mission today, tomorrow, next year,
His majesty and glory.
1. God’s plan for worship of Him
As often with such promises of the great things God is going
to do, it is set against the background of the terrible sins
mankind has committed. In the historical setting, God is
addressing the Old Testament people of God - the nation God
had chosen specially for Himself - here referred to by God as
‘”you .. O Jacob; .. you .. O Israel!”’ (v.22). Firstly, there is the awful
darkness of man’s dealings with God and their consequences
(v.22-24), but then, secondly, comes the piercing brightness
of God’s gracious dealings with man (v.25). Or, to be more
specific, we have God’s rejection of false worship and the
condemnation of false worshippers, followed by His gracious
creation of a people who will offer pleasing and acceptable
worship to Him.
“Behold,” God announces in the lead up to our passage, “I
am doing a new thing ..” (v.19). For in spite of a long history of
all kinds of worship abhorrent to God, He must be offered
worship pleasing to Him; He must, and He will, have a people
who, He announces, “.. declare my praise” (v.21).
Time and time again, the people had deceived themselves
into thinking that what they were prepared to give, by way
of worship, God had no real choice but to accept. That their
worship was from hearts careless and disobedient towards
God’s law was also something - so they foolishly reckoned
- God would have to put up with. This was worship where
rebellious and self-deluded hearts had decided for God what
He must be pleased to accept as worship. This was the kind
of worship which might have been costly to the wallet but
not costly in terms of coming from repentant hearts and holy
11
 lives. This was man-honouring, God-mocking, counterfeit
worship, or at least, that was God’s opinion, if any one was
interested in what He thought.
2. God’s condemnation of “NOT ME!” worship
If the people assumed that God was grudgingly willing - let
alone relieved and delighted - to receive the worship they
were pleased to offer Him, then clearly their perception of
God was seriously flawed. Their idea of “God” was shaped by
human wishful thinking, a pathetic and desperate little “God”,
just overjoyed to receive any kind of worship he was lucky
enough to get. Theirs was a pet “God” reduced to living off the
scraps that fell from man’s worship table.
Their “God” had an easy-going disposition, seemingly
unperturbed by the flouting of his laws, and either oblivious
to the hypocrisy displayed in their sham worship or somehow
not overly bothered by it. Their “God” was spineless and
unprincipled, for he could be (forcibly) placated by worshippers
engaging in mere mechanical repetition of rituals; a “God” who
could be bullied into submission; a “God” easily intimidated by
the cleverness and boldness of sin-loving man. How dare
this jumped-up “God” insult man by declining to hold out His
begging bowl and humbly accept what man had generously
decided to offer. Paradoxically, while this kind of “God” has
always enjoyed widespread popularity, he hardly seems
worth bothering with, if truth be told.
The self-serving nature of their worship was all too evident
to God. He had long observed and now states, “you have been
weary of me” (v.22). That they had become so ‘weary’ shows
that their minds were much more preoccupied with the
effort they were putting into worship, rather than focusing
on the sheer joy and privilege it was to worship such a God.
“I have not burdened you,” God says, but they had burdened
themselves; “I have not... wearied you,” God says, but they had
wearied themselves (v.23). Human pride being what it is, of
course, while all their efforts had exhausted them, inevitably,
they felt good about themselves: “You have not ... honoured me
with your sacrifices” (v.23), God says, but they had honoured
themselves.
Consequently, according to God, and irrespective of people’s
opinion on the matter, He was not on the receiving end of their
worship. It was not just that God was refusing to accept the
worship offered - and He was refusing unequivocally: “... your
iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and
your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear”
(Isa 59:2). Serious enough as that was, God’s hostile reaction
goes a significant step further. The truth of the matter was
that, while prayers had been made, God says, “Yet you did
not call upon me” (v.22). Or, more literally and highlighting
the emphasis on the “me” in the original language: “Yet it
12
was not on me you called” [1], or, “It is not Me whom you have
worshipped.” [2] So in answer to the all-important question,
“Who were the people worshipping?” God answers with an
emphatic, “NOT ME!”
‘Israel’s worship was such a farce, such a misrepresentation
of the truth, that the Lord did not regard it as worship of
Himself at all. It was utterly repugnant to Him.’ [3]
‘Although the nation did bring sacrifice it did so in a way as
not to honour ... God. In reality, therefore, it did not bring
sacrifice to God.’ [4]
3. God’s rejection of “NOT ME!” worship then
Tragically, the people had deluded themselves when they
imagined that God was on the receiving end of their prayers.
This applied not just to their prayers, but to all aspects of
their personal and corporate worship. They had also ‘brought
... sheep for burnt offerings’ (v.23). Such animal ‘sacrifices’
represented an indispensable part of the rituals of worship
and such offerings, of course, were part of the proper God
ordained worship of the time. Nevertheless, such were the
people’s false notions about God that, God says: ”You have not
brought me your sheep for burnt offerings or honoured me with
your sacrifices” (v.23). Carrying on the focus on the divine ”me”
highlighted in v.22, this can be translated helpfully as: ‘Burnt
offerings you brought - but not to me.’ [5] So once again, whether
it be in prayer or by sacrifice, to the question, “Who were the
people worshipping?” God answers with an emphatic, “NOT
ME!”
The issue was not that the gifts offered were cheap and
therefore an obvious insult to the recipient. They had offered
the best, most expensive gifts. But the high price on the gifts
cannot hide the low motives of the givers. This was the kind
of exorbitantly expensive gift that comes with the price tag
still attached prominently on the box. Had not the people
dug deep into their pockets and ‘bought’ the very best their
precious ‘money’ (v.24) could buy: ‘sweet cane’ (a luxurious
import whose leaves exuded a beautiful fragrance)? Yes they
had. But while their imaginary “God” might be chuffed to bits,
the real God could not be so easily bribed. He was not on the
receiving end: ”You have not bought me sweet cane with money.”
Amazingly, yet all too predictably, the people carelessly
assumed that if they were ‘satisfied’ with the quality and
quantity of their offerings, then it goes without saying that
God must be ‘satisfied’ too (v.24). After all, if it was good
enough for them ...? Yes, they had obeyed the letter of the
sacrificial law and presented ‘the fat of your sacrifices’ (the
choicest cut, rightly reserved for God alone). But while it
might be possible to massage the ego of their little “God” with
ostentatious offerings, God could not be so easily flattered:
”You have not ... satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices.” Or
again, highlighting the emphasis on the ”me” in the passage:
”Burnt offerings you brought - but not to me.”[6] The people
imagined they had invited God to join with them in worship,
as He came humbly and accepted their really nice prayers and
offerings. But God’s response is, significantly, “Do not imagine
that it was me you invited ...”[7]
When it comes to the worship of God, God sets the rules.
What man thinks, and how his manmade “God” is supposed
to respond, count for nothing with God. God determines what
is, or is not, worship He is willing to accept; worship of the
kind that He is actually on the receiving end of. God, not the
worshipper, not some fictitious “God,” is the highest judge and
final arbiter. When God determines that someone’s worship is
in reality being offered to Him - what Christ would later sum
up concisely as ‘worship in spirit and truth’ (John 4:23-24) - then
it is. Likewise, when God determines that someone else’s
worship is not in reality being offered to Him - “NOT ME!”
worship - then it is not.
4. God’s rejection of “NOT ME!” worship now
According to God, therefore, the “God” the people had long
assumed was happily receiving their worship was a figment
of their collective imagination. Such a “God” is “NOT ME!”
according to God; he is a false god, an idol-of-the-mind god.
And the worship of any “God” other than God is idolatry.
False worship of one kind or another, to a false god of one kind
or another, is that which fallen mankind instinctively loves
to offer. By nature all mankind is hostile to the real God and
here that includes, in the historical context of our passage,
those who were numbered outwardly amongst the church of
Jesus Christ in the Old Testament - those whom Paul would
describe later as ‘Jew[s] .. outwardly,’ but not ‘inwardly .. by the
Spirit’ (Rom 2:28-29).
While God denies being the recipient of such worship, that
is not to claim He was indifferent to, or unaffected by, that
worship. While this worship was not to God, it very much, as
we might put it reverently, got to God, by way of provoking a
very negative reaction from Him. God declares, ”... you have
burdened me with your sins; you have wearied me with your
iniquities” (v.24). God was not unmoved by their worship for
it actually added to, God says, ”your sins ... your iniquities.”
It could not be anything else in God’s sight given that the
whole charade was offensive to Him; a mockery of His holy
character.
Not forgetting their alarming tendency to run after the
idol-gods of the surrounding pagan nations, which also
provoked God’s holy and jealous indignation, this was not
the problem in the historical context. There is no indication
in the passage that the people were deliberately worshipping
by name the false gods of other nations, although there
were other occasions when this did happen. The only name
on their lips was “God” yet, nevertheless, God declares their
worship was not of Him. Here was worship, not employing
obscene and sensual pagan rituals, but following (if outwardly
only) instructions given by God. Here also were seemingly
commendable offerings of prayer and sacrifice, not to Baal
of the Canaanites, not to Chemosh of Moab, not to Ashtoreth
of Sidon, not to Milcom of Ammon, not to Bel of Babylon, not
to Re of Egypt, but made with the name of the Lord God on
their lips.
That this damning indictment of worship is, in its historical
context, directed collectively towards the Old Testament
people of God, has great significance, for our evaluation of
the worship found in the religions of the world today, and in
setting out the case for mission to the adherents of those
religions. If those who enjoyed ‘much’ by way of ‘advantage’
(Rom 3:1-2) over against the pagan nations can have their
worship rejected as “NOT ME!” worship, how much more must
this be the case for those nations and peoples whose worship
is deliberately and explicitly offered to other so-called gods
and by other ritualistic means. If those granted the revelation
of God and from God - those ‘entrusted with the oracles of God’
(Rom 3:2) - can have their worship so starkly judged, how
much more so those whose worship in no shape or fashion is
directed to the God who has revealed Himself in the inspired
pages of Scripture and in the incarnated person of His Son?
Offered, not by repentant hearts, not on the basis of God the
Son’s atoning sacrifice, not through God the Son’s mediatorial
intercession, such worship is an insult to the holy character of
God. Offered, not to the triune God of the Bible, but to other
definitions of “God”, leading God to repudiate the notion that
He is on the receiving end of such worship. The worship of
Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and the rest may be extremely
costly; it may be physically mutilating and agonising in its
most extreme forms. This worship may be offered with
sincerity and conviction - the outworking of extraordinary
zealous faith - but, nevertheless, it is still, God says, “NOT
ME!” worship. While not deliberately intended to be offensive
(quite the opposite), the more such worship is offered, the
greater the insult to God. The offerers of all such worship are
engaged in idolatry and, ominously, they are adding only to,
God says, “your sins ... your iniquities” (v.24).
5. God’s grace to “NOT ME!” worshippers
The grotesque, yet alluring, attraction of false religions and
false gods has ever exercised its baleful influence on all
mankind, even on Israel at times. But man’s natural love of
idolatry is not beyond God Himself to deal with.
13
 Rejection and judgement are not His final comment on the
matter. God cannot be thwarted in His plan to call to Himself
a people who will “declare my praise” (v.21). To the glory of
His name - ”for my own sake,” God promises - ”I, I am he who
blots out your transgressions ... I will not remember your sins”
(v.25). Not even the most solemn warning of God’s holy and
implacable hatred of idolatry is His last word, for God Himself
will do for idolaters what they cannot do for themselves.
He will save them. He will make them worshippers of Him:
‘a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the
excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his
marvellous light’ (1 Pet 2:9).

Here is a declaration and a guarantee of God’s saving grace in

Christ being extended to people engaged in every imaginable
kind of “NOT ME!” worship. Down through the ages and to
the ends of the earth, God’s plan is to call worshippers of
Ashtoreth or Baal, Zeus or Aphrodite, Allah or Shiva, to turn
from such “Gods” and worship Him. As the Psalmist foresaw,
they ‘shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify
your name’ (Ps 86:9). Through the proclamation of the gospel,
they will come to worship Christ as ‘Lord and Saviour’ (2 Pet
2:20), for in so doing they will have ‘turned to God from idols to
serve the living and true God’ (1 Thess 1:9). And this, of course,
The Resurrection
John 20
is where the worldwide witness of the church comes in: ‘As it is
written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good
news!”’ (Rom 10:15 cf Isa 52:7).

[1] Mackay, J.L., Study Commentary on Isaiah, Evangelical Press,

2009, Vol.2, p.127. Similarly: Smith, G.V., Isaiah 40-66, B&H, 2009,
p.213; Motyer, A., The Prophecy of Isaiah, IVP, 1993, p.338.
[2] Berlin, A. & Brettler, M.Z., (Editors), The Jewish Study Bible,
Oxford Univ., 2004, p.871.
[3] Webb, B., The Message of Isaiah, IVP, 2003, p.178.
[4] Young, E.J., The Book of Isaiah, Eerdmans, 1993, Vol.3, p.160.
[5] Motyer, p.339-340.
[6] ibid.
[7] Leupold, H.C., Exposition of Isaiah, Baker, 1988, Vol.2, p.92-93.
Sam Francey is an elder in Groomsport EPC and
author of the book One God, One Salvation: The
Biblical case for mission in a pluralist world,
published by the Evangelical Bookshop. Sam is
married to Florence and they live in the village
of Conlig. He is a keen gardener and grower of
fuchsias.
14
W hen we switch on our televisions and watch the news,
or when we pick up our newspapers and read the
latest headlines how often do we use the phrase, “That’s
unbelievable!”? When we read of the latest political scandal,
or when we hear of the latest terrorist attack somewhere, we
say, “That’s unbelievable!”
For many, that is how they view the resurrection: as something
that is unbelievable, as something which cannot possibly
have happened. Yet, should we be surprised by this? Christ’s
earthly life is bookended by these two “unbelievable” events:
his virgin birth and his resurrection. They are so “unbelievable”
because they don’t chime with our common experience. Our
common experience is that virgins don’t give birth to children
and dead people don’t rise from the dead. Yet does this fact
that it doesn’t chime with our common experience make the
resurrection of Christ any less real? Not at all. In this article on
John 20:1-22, notice three things:
The Disappearance
The Appearance to an Individual
The Appearance to the group.

The Disappearance (read v.1-10)
Jesus had died on the Friday; the Saturday was the Sabbath
and so no work was allowed to be done to the body, but very
early on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to
the tomb. This is of course why we now meet together as
Christians on a Sunday, no longer a Saturday, because each
time we meet we are proclaiming the Lord’s resurrection; we
are remembering Jesus risen from the dead.
As she approached the tomb, Mary saw that the stone had
been rolled away. The tomb would have been cut out of the
side of a rock and would have had a large stone placed over
it to stop animals and grave robbers entering into it. Now, of
course, this set alarm bells ringing. There was no good reason
for the tomb of a dead man to be open.
This explains Mary’s reaction in v.2: she runs to get Simon
and John, fearing the worst. She runs and tells them the news
“they have taken the Lord and we don’t know where they
have laid him.” Simon and John head off for the tomb.
They run as fast as they can, but John outruns Peter and
reaches the tomb first. John, being more reticent than Simon,
stoops and looks in and sees the cloths lying there, but he
wouldn’t go in.
Simon Peter arrives, and he is straight in to find out what’s
going on. He sees the cloths lying there, he sees the face cloth
not with the rest of the garments but folded up and lying by
itself. After this, John then enters almost sheepishly behind
Peter and we are told that he saw the same things as Simon
Peter and he believed. What did he believe though? Some
commentators argue that what they believed is that Jesus
had been raised from the dead; that was Christ’s consistent
testimony - that the Messiah must suffer and die and after
three days rise again.
But how do we square that with verse 9? Verse 9 seems to
imply that they haven’t understood yet that he must rise
from the dead. Are these two things contradictory? No, they
believed that Jesus had been raised from the dead; they had
the evidence in front of their eyes, and they had his teaching
ringing in their ears, but they didn’t understand it fully. They
didn’t appreciate fully what it meant. Verse 10 seems to back
that up because they simply go back to their homes, go back
to their way of life.
We all have those experiences where something has
fundamentally changed, and yet life just goes on. Resign
from a job, or announce that you are going to retire, and life
has fundamentally changed - but yet life goes on. So too for
the disciples here: life has fundamentally changed for them,
they don’t understand how yet, they don’t understand the
impact that the resurrection of Jesus will have for them, but
they believe it.
What for us though? Well, we see here the importance of
investigating things for ourselves, don’t we? Peter and John
were not content with Mary’s witness; they went to see for
themselves. John was not content with Peter’s witness; he
went to look for himself. So too, our faith should never be
content with what others say - our faith should always be
looking for ourselves.
Yes, we confer with others, but there really is no substitute
for sitting down ourselves with the word of God and asking,
“What does this passage say? How does it impact my life?”
The Appearance to an Individual (read v.11-18)
Mary, however, can’t just go home. There is a mystery, the
body has disappeared, and she wants to know what has
happened. She stands outside the tomb weeping, and she
peers in. She sees, not what the two others have seen, but
rather two angels sitting in white where Jesus’ body had
been, and they ask her why she is weeping. Her response
shows us that she still hasn’t grasped the full extent of what
15
 has happened, that she thinks someone has taken the body:
“They have taken my LORD and I do not know where they
have laid him.” Strange, isn’t it? Mary, in some senses, has a
stronger experience than Peter and John, because she has
two angels talk to her, but yet it does nothing to dampen her
fear that the body has been taken.
Now, however, she sees Jesus himself, but she doesn’t
recognise him. Again, Jesus asks her the same question as
the two angels: “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are
you looking for?”
There are all sorts of little details in this passage that just
confirm its authenticity. John tells us that Mary mistook
Jesus for the gardener. How did John know that? Well,
presumably Mary must have told him. You can imagine
Mary laughing as she tells John, “I thought he was the
gardener!” It doesn’t cover her in glory, so the only reason
for it to be in here is because it’s true.
Supposing him to be the gardener, Mary says to Jesus, “Sir, if
you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him,
and I will take him away.” Then Jesus speaks that one word
to her: “Mary.” And she knows. For Mary, the way that Jesus
said her name she knew straight away it was him, and she
turns and says, “Teacher.”
Again, if we were writing this there is no way the first person
Jesus appears to would be a woman. Not because the bible
is sexist, but because in the Jewish society a woman was
considered an unreliable witness; their testimony was
inadmissible in court. Again, we come back to the question,
“why does John include it in this way?” Simply because it is
true.
You can imagine the scene, can’t you? Mary is standing
weeping; she hears the voice of Jesus and sees him, and
her natural instinct would be to run and embrace him, but
Jesus says in verse 17, “Don’t cling to me for I have not yet
ascended to the Father.”
Does this mean that the resurrection body of Jesus was not
a real body? Does this mean that what Mary saw was just a
mirage? A phantom? Not at all. At other times in the gospels
we read of Jesus eating a piece of fish for breakfast, and
we read of him telling Thomas to put his hands into his side
and hands. It was a real physical body and a real physical
resurrection.
Jesus goes on to say in verse 17, “Go and tell my brothers
that I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God
and your God.” This is a great reminder to us of the benefits
of the resurrection. Jesus is our brother, the benefits he
has secured are ours; God is our God, and God is our father.
16
That’s what Jesus secured for us! If you are a Christian, rejoice
in the benefits that are yours in Jesus! Rejoice that this is a
historic fact, Jesus’s work is finished, nothing can now remove
us from being children of the most high God.
The Appearance to The Group (read v19-22)
That evening, still on the first day of the week, the disciples
are all together. Why? For fear of the Jews; for the fear that
what happened to Jesus would be their fate as well. They are
all together in a locked room and Jesus comes and stands
in the midst of them. The message Jesus brings to them is
a message of peace. Here they were, anxious, worried and
afraid of the Jews - and Jesus comes and brings them a
message of peace.
It’s a message of peace that Jesus brings to us, a message of
peace with God through his death, a message of peace in the
midst of a world of trouble, knowing that he is in control. Do
you know this peace for yourself?
To prove that it is really him, Jesus shows them his hands
and his side, and the difference that Jesus makes to them is
palpable, because they are glad. For the disciples the faith
has now given way to sight, the empty tomb has now given
way to the reality of Jesus standing amongst them, and he
sends them on their mission. “I was sent by God and now I
am sending you.”
Can we trust the resurrection account? Of course we can.
There is nothing that explains the events around this time
other than the physical bodily resurrection of Jesus. Yet why
does it matter? It matters because this is the future that
awaits every Christian: our future is to be resurrected like
Jesus was. Jesus was the first fruits of this, Jesus was the
forerunner of this. All the dead will be raised: some will be
raised to judgement, but Christians will be raised to eternal
life with their risen Saviour.
Trevor Kane is Minister of Dumfries Free Church. He is
married to Suzanne and they have three boys, Noah, Eli
and Judah, and a little girl, Eva. In his free time he enjoys
watching sport, especially football.
FROM THE CHURCHES

Luka Vandi visit

It was a pleasure to welcome to the Presbytery Day
Conference two friends from Nigeria—Rev. Luka Vandi,
Managing Director of ACTS (Africa Christian Textbooks),
and his wife Roseline. Rev. Sid Garland was delighted to
introduce them as graduates of TCNN (the Theological
College of Northern Nigeria) and invited Luka to bring
greetings to the conference.
In reply, Luka expressed warm gratitude to EPC for their
prayers and for having sent first Sid and then Pamela
(Gaiya) to Nigeria. He spoke of the enormity of the work to
be done, the need for continued prayer and support, and
the requirement for teachers in Bible schools, schools and
hospitals.
Sid asked how the church in Northern Nigeria was
responding to the terrible atrocities being committed by
Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen. Luka’s answer was that
the church is surviving by the word of God and that ACTS
has been key in that survival. When churches have been
destroyed—including Luka’s own church—ministers have
had all their tools taken away from them and people have
survived with nothing but their lives. In these situations,
ACTS has made available Bibles and libraries of theological
books. Christians, including children left without parents,
are being helped through God’s word.
Finally, Sid asked how we should be praying.
On a practical note, Luka requested
prayer for safety for ACTS staff on the
roads, asking that they would have
proper tools to maintain and repair
their vehicles. He reiterated the need for
books, rejoicing that the Hausa edition of
the Africa Bible Commentary has finally
been published and asking for prayer
that testimonies would come in. Luka
encouraged the conference to “keep on
praying—God is at work.”

17
 FROM THE CHURCHES

Presbytery Day Conference

Crumlin EPC was the new venue for this year’s Presbytery
Day Conference on the last Saturday in April. Rev. Ian
Hamilton was the conference speaker, and the subject
was “Lessons for the church today from John Calvin and
Jonathan Edwards”. The Presbytery business comprised a
review of his year as Moderator from Rev. Gareth Burke, the
installation of the new Moderator, Rev. Andy Hambleton,
and an update from the Youth Committee. Greetings were
brought to the conference by Rev. David Pfeiffer on behalf of
EPCEW (the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of England and
Wales) and also by Rev. Luka Vandi of ACTS (Africa Christian
Textbooks), Nigeria. The following reports can give only a
flavour of the day and the rich spiritual fare and fellowship
enjoyed by those who attended.

Rev. Ian Hamilton was previously minister of Cambridge Presbyterian Church (part of EPCEW); he now resides in Inverness
and lectures in the UK and USA. He brought two stimulating and challenging addresses to the Presbytery Day Conference.

Lessons for the Church Today (1) Lessons for the Church Today (2)

We see in Calvin We can learn from Jonathan Edward’s

An unyielding faithfulness in the face of great hostility Commitment to heart religion … how can you be united to
… he put truth before consequences Christ and be unmoved?
Commitment to the priority of preaching …to help the Commitment to spiritual revival … he believed that God could
people of God resist the world’s diet of false delusion … and would use revival
they need to be armoured by the word of God Commitment to prayer … read less, pray more
Passionate concern for the glory of Jesus Christ … Commitment to the priority of love … charity and its fruits…
the ultimate purpose of justification is the glory of God the greatest evidence that we are Christians
and His Son Single-mindedness … driven by a passion for the glory of God
A heart delight in God … when were you last Commitment to thinking … in understanding be men
overwhelmed by the glory of God? Resolve to put truth before consequences
The practice of ministerial humility … nothing more Delight in God … God is my sweetness
adorns the gospel than a humble heart To benefit more fully from Ian’s talks, listen to the recordings
The pursuit of protestant catholicity … we belong from the day (available at epcni.org.uk).
together
Consistent, meaningful pastoral care … sheep need
shepherding
Commitment to church purity
Scripture-shaped worship … when God is not being
worshipped according to His word it is perilous to our
salvation
How vital it is for a pastor to have the support and love
of a devoted wife … the marriage partner can make or
break a ministry

18
FROM THE CHURCHES

One of the lovely things about the Presbytery Day Conference is

that people of all ages attend, including a number of families with
young children. While adults and teenagers enjoyed the morning and
afternoon sessions with Rev. Ian Hamilton, folk from our Stranmillis
and Omagh congregations kindly provided a creche facility and ran a
children’s meeting. About 16 children attended the latter, where they
watched DVDs about William Tyndale and Jim Elliot, completed age-
appropriate worksheets and had time for some games. This was much
appreciated by the children and their parents alike.

19
 FROM THE CHURCHES

Sunday School Project

This year’s project was on William Tyndale and prize-winners
were announced at the Presbytery Day Conference
.
Pre-school and P1 1st Nathan Brockbank
2nd Selah Underwood
P2-P3 1st Esther Brockbank
2nd Jonathan & Rachel Wright
3rd Rose Fairley & Edward Hobson
P3-P4 1st Daniel McMullan & Sophie Johnston
2nd Juliette and Sarah Hall
3rd Alessandro McQuillan

Congratulations to these and all 22 participants.

Foyle EPC
At the beginning of September 2018 regular services
commenced on Thursday evenings at 8pm in the Gateway Studio
(Waterside Theatre), Londonderry. These services have been
organised by the Presbytery’s Church Development Committee
EPCEW
and are the initial steps in an attempt by Presbytery to establish
It is always a joy and encouragement at Presbytery
a witness in the North West of the province. 
Day Conference to be reminded of the work of other
denominations with whom we have links, and to hear what
Initially the services were conducted by Revs Andrew Lucas and
God is doing in other parts of His vineyard.
Gareth Burke. Throughout the Christmas and New Year period
John Roger was keeping the work going and since mid January
Rev. David Pfeiffer, visiting delegate, spoke warmly of the
different EPC ministers have been travelling to the Maiden City
strong relationship between EPCEW and EPC, divided by
to preach the Word. 
the Irish Sea, but with a common confession and ethos.
The EPCEW has 825 members in 20 churches and has
Sometimes we have been joined by friends from other EPC
seen encouragement in the work of church planting, e.g. in
congregations and this is always a source of encouragement
Salford, Oxford and Sutherland, with plans for future church
both to the preacher and to the group who gather faithfully each
plants and four men in training. They currently have a single
Thursday evening. Attendances can vary between 8 - 15 people.
presbytery, but are hoping soon to divide into three.
A small group of local people are always found among that
number. 
He asked for prayer
· For churches without ministers
Please pray for the work.  Please pray that - 
· For servant-hearted men and women
1. The Lord will bless the Word as it is preached each Thursday
· For generous-hearted catholicity
night
· For conversions
2. Those who attend who know not Christ will come to trust in
· For missionary zeal
Him
3. The men who preach will be blessed as they travel, preach
Please use the Praise and Prayer notes in this magazine to join
and interact with those who gather 
in prayer with and for our brothers and sisters in EPCEW.
4. That the Church Development Committee will know much of
the Lord’s guidance as to the way ahead

GNB
20
FROM THE CHURCHES
Passover Meal at
Ballyclare EPC
In April, CWI (Christian Witness to Israel) missionary, Asaf
Pelled, visited churches in Northern Ireland, including a
number of EPC congregations.
Sharon Kelso gives an account of his visit to Ballyclare.
Asaf Pelled, a Messianic Jew based in the Netherlands, was
invited to share with us what a Jewish Passover Meal looks
like, explaining the symbolism of all the elements. For a
typical Jewish family, the Haggadah (‘telling’ in Hebrew) is
vital to continue remembrance of the Exodus account by
ceremonially ‘re-telling’ the story. Food symbols are a visual
reminder of several significant aspects of the historical
account.
Foundational to evangelism in his hometown, Asaf seeks
to make contacts in order to build long-term relationships,
praying for God-given opportunities to speak about the
Messiah, Jesus. Many Jews today do not accept the Lord
Jesus as the Son of God, and reject the New Testament as
part of the inspired Word of God. They view Christianity as a
‘cult’ or a false religion. Asaf shares the Passover Meal with
his non-believing friends as a means of giving a clear picture
of who the Lord Jesus Christ is, why He came to earth and
what this Gospel message means to all mankind. It also
demonstrates that he has not given up his Jewish heritage;
he is a Messianic Jew. He shared the Passover Meal and his
message with us…
I found Asaf’s presentation both interesting and
encouraging.  Culturally though, it seemed a world away
from life in Northern Ireland. But it was during the following
communion service that it dawned on me just how the
Lord’s Supper is actually rooted in the foundation of the
Jewish Passover. I saw how the main elements (bread and
wine) clearly symbolise the body and blood of our Lord
Jesus in the same way that many Jews remember the
Passover, helping us to remember the Lord’s death until He
comes.  We share this special meal with our church family
just as Jesus Himself commanded… at His last Passover
meal.
Thank God for enabling Gareth Burke to be diligent
in attending to all his duties as Moderator last
year, and pray for the same enabling for Andy
Hambleton as he takes over the office.
Thank God for the commencement of the work
in Foyle and seek His blessing on the Word as it
is preached each Thursday night. Pray that the
Church Development Committee will know the
Lord’s guidance as to the way ahead.
Pray that the Lord would raise up men from
within (or without) our denomination who are
gifted and called to the ministry and that the
TOMA committee would have wisdom as they
seek to mentor those in training or considering
God’s call on their lives.
Rejoice in the goodness of God in giving us
fellowship with believers and churches in other
parts of Britain, Ireland and further afield.
Give thanks for encouragement in the work of
EPCEW, with church plants in Salford, Oxford and
Sutherland, plans for future church plants and
four men in training.
Pray for our nation at a time of signicant
constitutional uncertainty and change. Pray for all
our politicians in local government, Assembly and
Westminster and for civil servants as they make
decisions in the absence of any local political
arrangements. Pray that all efforts to introduce
same sex marriage and abortion on demand
would fail.
21

Praise God for church camps and pray that He
would use camps to save and build up our children
and young people in the faith. Pray for teenagers
moving on to further and higher education, that
those who are the Lord’s would quickly identify
themselves as Christians and make helpful
friendships.
Pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send
out labourers into His harvest. Pray for workers
who are equipped to get the Word of God out to
the nations through various channels: preaching
and personal evangelism, writing and translating,
print and digital.
Thank God for the work of CWI missionaries. Pray
for Asaf Pelled as he uses the Passover meal to
reach out to fellow Jews in the Netherlands with
the gospel. Pray that many Jews would receive
Jesus as Lord and Christ.
Thank God for Luka and Roseline Vandi and for
all ACTS staff. Pray that they would have good
vehicles, proper tools and safety as they travel on
the roads of Nigeria. Praise God that the Hausa
edition of the Africa Bible Commentary has finally
been published and pray that fruit would follow.
Uphold the church, suffering at the hands of Boko
Haram and Fulani herdsmen, and pray that they
would be strengthened through God’s word.
Pray for all who have been bereaved, that they
would find in Christ that friend who sticks closer
than a brother.
22
FROM THE CHURCHES
Obituary: Hugh Williamson 1936-2019
Mr. Hugh Williamson went to be with the Lord on the 4th May
2019 after a period of ill health over the past year.
Mr. Williamson became a believer as a young man and was
involved in the Boys’ Brigade, where he played the bugle, and
Richview Presbyterian Church in Belfast.
He and his wife Noele later moved to the Lisburn Road
congregation of the EPC. Hugh was ordained and installed
as an elder in the congregation on 2nd February 1975
and served there faithfully until the amalgamation of the
congregation with Finaghy in July 2008. Since then he has
served as an elder in Finaghy and will be greatly missed by
the congregation.
In his earlier service he contributed as a member of the
Council to the greater good of the whole Evangelical
Presbyterian Church. His commitment to, and passion for the
work was noteworthy in whatever capacity he served.
Hugh always took a great interest in children, and the
children’s work of the church. He served as a Sunday School
teacher and Superintendent in Lisburn Road for many years.
Following the move to the Finaghy congregation he continued
to take an active interest in the work of the Sunday School.
Hugh was always steadfastly committed to faithfulness to
God’s word when taking Bible studies, and put great effort
into preaching in earlier years. He took a practical interest in
the needs of others in the church. His warm-hearted prayers
will be missed in the prayer meeting. His commitment to
attendance at the means of grace even when his health was
declining was a great example to us.
Outside the work of the church he worked for many years in
the NHS, and loved to spend time gardening. It was a great
joy last December for the Finaghy congregation to share in
celebrating Hugh and Noele’s Diamond Wedding Anniversary,
a very special milestone. And we ask that you remember
Noele in prayer, along with the wider family, and ourselves as
a congregation in Finaghy in this loss.
MH
FROM THE CHURCHES
Evangelical Bookshop lectures
Defending Christianity was the title of the latest evening of
Evangelical Bookshop lectures, held in Knock EPC on 30th May.
The event attracted an audience from within and without the
EPC and those who came were not disappointed: how could they
be when the subject of the first lecture was The Humiliation
& Exaltation of Christ? Starting from the second chapter of
Philippians, Rev. Dr Mark Jones, minister at Faith Vancouver
Church (PCA), presented profound truths in a fresh, simple and
heart-stirring way. What a beautiful Saviour we have!
Mark Jones warned us that the subject of the second lecture,
The Eternal Subordination of the Son: an analysis, was
necessarily complex and suggested that all who were not
masochists might want to leave at half time. No one took his
advice! Having enjoyed an ample supper provided by the Knock
congregation, all returned to hear a critique of this erroneous
doctrine. Mind-stretching it was, but dry and academic it
certainly was not. Mark dealt with deep mysteries in a helpful
and clear-cut way, giving his listeners, not new teaching, but a
BOOK REVIEWS
Title: Letters of John Calvin
Publisher: Banner of Truth, 2019
Pages: 282
RRP: £12.00 Our Price: £9.60
Letters of John Calvin contains
some 70 letters from Calvin’s
pen to well-known reformers
such as Bullinger, Knox, Farel,
Melanchthon, Cranmer, Luther,
and his own young protégé,
Beza. It also contains letters to
key political figures who were
sympathetic to the Reformation,
such as Edward Seymour and King Edward VI, and they offer us
much insight into the life and momentous times of John Calvin.
We see something of Calvin’s pastoral heart, his love for the
Church, his learning, his skilful penmanship, and his concern
for the people and nations outside of his locale. The letters
to key figures within the established Church of England show
something of Calvin’s catholicity and his concern that her
leaders carry on the work of Reform to its conclusion.
This book also contains a brief but excellent sketch of Calvin’s
life which helpfully sets the background for the letters which
follow. And accompanying each of the letters is a series of
footnotes which explain the occasion for each letter and, where
necessary, the key people and subjects mentioned by Calvin.
These letters were first published from 1833 to 1837 as part of
a larger collection but this particular collection was published
deeper understanding of the orthodox theology of the Trinity.
It proved to be a wonderfully stimulating and strengthening
lecture, although at least one attendee acknowledges that not
everything was within his grasp on first hearing. The lectures are
well worth listening to. Watch out for news of an autumn lecture
and other upcoming Bookshop events.
by Banner of Truth in 1980 in paperback. This is a much
improved cloth-bound edition which is much nicer to use and
I’ve no doubt it will continue to be well used throughout the
Reformed Church.
“This is one of my favourite books. My copy is highlighted,
underlined, and falling apart from constant use. Students of
Calvin, as well as pastors and serious Christians, will enjoy
these letters. I’m thrilled that Banner of Truth has reissued this
classic.” - Kevin DeYoung.
Title: How We Got the Bible
Author: Greg Lanier
Publisher: Christian Focus, 2019
Pages: 113 (paperback)
RRP £4.99 Our Price £3.75
What books make up the Bible and
why? Who wrote the Bible? Who
decided what should go in? How can
we know that what is in the Bible is
from God?
This short book answers some
critical questions about the Word
of God, helping us to understand where the Scriptures
came from and why we can trust them. Covering the origins
and translations of the Old and New Testaments, this
straightforward introduction answers many questions,
and provides suggestions for further reading if you want to
research the topic further.
23
 Best of the Blogs
Discipleship and the Sacraments (Kyle Borg)
https://gentlereformation.com/2019/03/22/sacramental-
discipleship/
“Central to the church’s mission in the world is to make
disciples. In biblical times a disciple was a follower of
a teacher. But it’s more than the student and teacher
relationship we sometimes think of in our own day. Rather,
discipleship is a close-knit relationship where one follows
the instruction and life of the teacher. In Christian terms, a
disciple is one who follows the instruction and life of Jesus.
The intent of the Great Commission: ‘Go therefore and make
disciples of all nations,’ is that we would make followers of
Jesus through fellowship with Jesus.”
A Mantle of Love for the Weak (Nick Batzig)
http://www.reformation21.org/blog/2019/06/a-mantle-of-
love-for-the-weak.php
“On the night I proposed to Anna 15 years ago, she gave
me a gift-an antiquarian edition of Thomas Brooks’ The
Unsearchable Riches of Christ. It is a work to which I returned
many times over the past 15 years. The section on the riches
and excellencies of Christ, by itself, makes this work a must
read. The opening section on humility and gifts is one of
the most soul strengthening and edifying chapters of any
Puritan work I’ve read. But, Brooks’ section on ‘the duties of
strong saints to the weak’ is something every believer should
commit to reading, digesting and seeking to put into practice
in all of our regular interactions with other believers.”
Golf and the Sanctity of Life (Richard Holdeman)
https://gentlereformation.com/2019/06/27/golf-and-the-
sanctity-of-life/
“The biblical basis for the sacredness of life is not tied to
our function or form but on our being made in the image of
God (Genesis 1:27). Every human has dignity because the
Creator has stamped His image on him or her. This truth
protects babies with chromosomal abnormalities in the
womb, children with paralyzing spinal cord injuries, and senior
citizens with dementia. I am so thankful that my value is not
tied to my ability to shoot par on a golf course! If we ever get
to the point where our value as human beings is tied to our
functionality, we are all in big trouble.”
24
The Coming Millennial Midlife Crisis (Tim Challies)
https://www.challies.com/articles/the-coming-millennial-
midlife-crisis/
“The Millennial generation is not as young as they once were.
When we think of them, we probably think of people in their
late teens or early twenties—those digital natives who have
always been more at home with a screen than a book, with
Netflix than with Blockbuster. But the vanguard is nearing the
end of their thirties and rapidly approaching their forties. And
with it, they’re nearing the age they’re likely to encounter the
dreaded mid-life crisis.”
Distinguishing Marks of a Quarrelsome Person (Kevin De
Young)
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevin-deyoung/
distinguishing-marks-quarrelsome-person/
“Quarrels don’t just happen. People make them happen.
Of course, there are honest disagreements and agree-to-
disagree propositions, but that’s not what the Bible means
by quarrelling. Quarrels, at least in Proverbs, are unnecessary
arguments, the kind that honorable men stay away from
(Prov. 17:14; 20:3). And elders too (1 Tim. 3). These fights
aren’t the product of a loving rebuke or a principled conviction.
These quarrels arise because people are quarrelsome.”
Five Crucial Things for Sunday Morning (Jeff Stivason
https://www.placefortruth.org/blog/five-crucial-things-for-
sunday-morning
“Let me give you five crucial things to remember when going
to church - no matter what the morning may be like…”