“Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent,” Revelation 2:5.
I believe I may respectfully and reverently paraphrase the Saviour’s words in this manner:
“If you do not face up to the fact that you have backslidden and departed from what you once believed and practiced and return to your former ways, I will swiftly cast you off for you are on the doorstep of apostasy.”
We should remember that these words are addressed by the Saviour to a church which before was spoken of by Paul the Apostle in these words.
Ephesians 2:12-22
“That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: but now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: and came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.”
It was a church of those gathered out of the darkness and ignorance of idolatry, a people without God, without hope and afar off. But they experienced reconciliation with God through the blood of the Lord Jesus and were now resting upon the foundation of the Holy Scriptures and enjoyed Holy Ghost fellowship with God the Father and were His holy habitation.
But see where they are just some thirty years later! They had “fallen”, no longer engaging in their first zealous works of holiness.
I. THE SAVIOUR CALLS UPON THEM TO REMEMBER FROM WHENCE THEY HAD FALLEN.
In this seventy fifth year of our existence as a denomination, just how much REMEMBERING of the stand taken by our founders and the generation that followed, has truly taken place?
I would claim there has really been very little.
Historical data
Oh yes, the details of the actions in Crossgar back in 1951, of Dr Paisley and the elders in the Lissara congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, have been repeated in a number of gatherings. The details of how the Presbytery of Down refused to allow a Gospel mission, at which Dr Paisley was the invited evangelist, to take place in church property, have been rehearsed.
But just how much of the ‘spirit of separation’ that our founders possessed and lived out, exists today amongst us?
There is not that much, in truth, when Free Presbyterian ministers can share meetings with ministers within the apostate denominations and our Presbytery has sanctioned such an ‘undoing’ of that step taken in Crossgar seventy-five years ago!
We are in grave danger of repeating the folly of Judah for which the Lord chided them by His servant Jeremiah. (more…)
“But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none; and they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away,” 1 Corinthians 7:29-31.