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Separation from apostasy in the Old Testament era
In my article, ‘What to do when a crisis overtakes the people of God’ I used the actions of Moses in Exodus 32, as “a prime example of obedience to God” in a day when great sin had broken out amongst God’s people.
Moses sought the Lord that He might not destroy Israel but grant repentance and forgiveness.
God answered His prayer though the ‘ringleaders’ were punished, Exodus 32:26-28. ‘Three thousand men’ were slain and the rest of Israel spared. This amounted to a small percentage of the nation that were deemed guilty of great wickedness. It was for this reason the nation was spared and thus provides us with a basis for believing that sin amongst God’s people does not ALWAYS require us to separate from them.
All sin and wrong-doing amongst professing Christians does not qualify as ‘Apostasy’ and therefore require separation from the guilty by the faithful believer!
There are occasions when we cease shopping in a store because we do not like some of the products on sale, some of the prices charged or the behaviour of the proprietor. We cannot avoid contact with much that is sinful in this world for “then must ye needs go out of the world” (1 Corinthians 5:9-10).
Such withdrawing of contact is not the same, however, as the separation that the Lord commands us to exercise with regards apostasy. That separation is to be complete and public and is usually accompanied by a denouncing of those we have separated from and an explanation of the reasons for our actions. We are not to even ‘touch’ the uncleanness of apostasy, (2 Corinthians 6:17).
But then sensible people readily understand that distinction! Click to read more…
Posted on 2025-02-28 a 8:00 am
Criticisms answered
I am posting these comments in response to some ‘Facebook’ criticisms, mounted in reply to my recent Burning Bush article: “What to do when a crisis overtakes the people of God”.
The basis of the criticism was that if what I said in my article was correct then our forefathers were wrong in leaving the Presbyterian Church in Ireland back in 1951, for that church was, it is claimed; ‘still a majority evangelical denomination at that time.’
I have never read a more untrue and stupid statement than that!
For some reason, neither myself nor my article was named in the Facebook criticisms, so I will observe the same measure of anonymity when dealing with this matter, and not name the author.
This morning, as part of my daily reading of God’s Word, I read these words in Job 27:3-4.
“All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils; my lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit”.
I believe I can humbly say that such has been my desire throughout my 61 years of preaching and writing. There have been times when something I have said or written has been challenged and, as the Lord is my witness, I can say that my heart trembled lest I had indeed set forth in the Lord’s name that which was wrong. It was only when I carefully checked my statements and found them in keeping with God’s truth, that the fear was lifted.
I have likewise reacted to the reported comments on FaceBook, which criticise my article. However, I do not find in them any reason for my changing what I said, however it may appear.
The teaching on apostasy is that which was followed by the founders of the Free Presbyterian Church back in 1951.
The denomination from which our founding fathers separated had embraced heresy back in 1927 when the General Assembly voted by 89% to back the man who had denied, among other cardinal truths, the atoning blood of Christ and His deity, as well as mocking the idea of the inerrant inspiration of God’s Word. Click to read more…
Posted on 2025-02-26 a 7:52 pm
What to do when a crisis overtakes the people of God
“Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass.
And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied. Then were assembled unto me every one that trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the transgression of those that had been carried away; and I sat astonied until the evening sacrifice.
And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the LORD my God,” Ezra 9:1-5.
In the morning services in Kilskeery Free Presbyterian Church of late, there has been a setting forth, by the minister, Rev Samuel Fitton, of the vital and very relevant teaching of the book of Ezra.
On two recent Lord’s Days, the above verses have been expounded. As is the case with most preachers, even when sitting under good preaching, thoughts arise in one’s mind from the passage under consideration that may be a little diverse from what the minister is setting forth. It is impossible in one message to comment on all that is contained in any given passage of God’s Word.
As the minister spoke, in his introductory summary of what has been noted so far in these opening verses of Ezra chapter 9, there occurred to me a thought very applicable to the situation in which the Free Presbyterian Church finds itself today.
I jotted down that thought for further consideration later. I want to share with you what presented itself to me from this passage.
1. EVEN IN THE MIDST OF REVIVAL, SIN MAY BE HARBOURED IN THE HEARTS OF GOD’S PEOPLE.
1. Note what Ezra said in his distressed praying in response to the revealing of the wickedness found amongst the Israelites. Click to read more…
Posted on 2025-02-26 a 8:07 am
THE GOLDEN AGE - When will it dawn? Part 2
“The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God,” Isaiah 35:1-2.
I was prompted to consider this subject by the foolish boasting of the recently inaugurated president of the United States, Mr Donald Trump. He is a man renowned for his swank and swagger and vain-glorious self-promotion. But even he ‘outstrips’ himself when he claims that his election is an indication that America’s ‘Golden Age’ has begun.
Screenshot from a YouTube video
Our last study brought us to the end of this age. What will follow is clearly stated to be so in the Word of God.
THE NEXT AGE WILL LAST FOR 1000 YEARS
The following quotation from Revelation chapter 20, follows on from the closing verses of Revelation chapter 19.
“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh,” Revelation 19:11-21.
The conjunction, ‘and’ with which chapter 20 begins indicates clearly the time of the events in the chapter — they immediately follow the return of Christ to this earth! Click to read more…
Posted on 2025-02-24 a 8:04 am
You are invited ...
Posted on 2025-02-23 a 1:55 pm
Christ deemed guilty of ‘‘Contumacy’ by His accusers!
“And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest. And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee? And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly,” Matthew 27:11-14.
‘Contumacy’ simply means a stubborn refusal and is used within ecclesiastical circles for the refusal of any who will not bow to the authority of a church court.
I have no doubt that the refusal of the Saviour to answer some of the questions put to Him by His accusers would have been seen as that termed today as ‘contumacy’.
It is to be noted that the Saviour did not refuse to answer all questions put to Him. In our text above we have Him answering the question, “Art thou the King of the Jews?”. But it also says that; “when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.”
Why was that so?
May I suggest that had He refused to answer the first question it would have left the impression THAT HE WAS NOT THE KING OF THE JEWS! Silence would have implied He was unable to truly affirm that He was the Messiah.
However, His silence in response to the other questions, based upon the lying testimonies of false witnesses, clearly indicated that such accusations were unworthy of a reply.
DAVID
David likewise chose this course of action in the face of false accusations. “They also that seek after my life lay snares for me: and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day long. But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and I was as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth. Thus I was as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs,” Psalm 38:12-14. Click to read more…
Posted on 2025-02-22 a 8:03 am
Washington Madness
Dear Friends,
I have submitted the following letter to the ‘Belfast Newsletter’ a short time ago.
Whether or not it is published remains to be seen!
Washington Madness
Sir,
The recent statements issued by the Whitehouse in Washington, by both the President and his subservient flunkies, promote a strong suspicion that the President, whose cosseted upbringing and lifestyle has created an illusionary world in which the man lives, believes himself to be the supreme repository of wisdom.
I don’t think I have ever listened to a world leader more limited in his ability to vocalise!That such a man should be considered as a pillar of moral rectitude and a political ‘messiah’ by millions of American voters, is utterly astounding! Click to read more…
Posted on 2025-02-21 a 1:28 pm
A Farewell to Rev William Beattie
Rev Beattie went to be with the Lord on 13th February 2025.
“And Joseph went up to bury his father: and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, And all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father’s house: only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen. . . For his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a buryingplace of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre. And Joseph returned into Egypt, he, and his brethren, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father,” Genesis 50:7-8, 13-14.
Those words from Genesis chapter 50, were part of my daily reading on Monday 17th February. I thought of the brief glimpse that the children of Jacob had of the promised land as they buried their father Jacob, before returning to Egypt.
I mused on how it is that Christians too catch a glimpse of the promised land at the funerals of their believing family members, before returning to the daily routine in the ‘Egypt’ of this world in which we dwell. May it be so as we consider the service of a faithful preacher and bid farewell to a brother in Christ. Click to read more…
Posted on 2025-02-20 a 2:32 pm
Compromise amongst God's people
Here is the morning message preached in Kilskeery Free Presbyterian Church on the Lord’s Day past – (16:2:25).
Rev Samuel Fitton was preaching on the subject of “Compromise Amongst God’s People”.
The general reaction to the message was one of rejoicing at the refreshing power of God amongst us under the minister’s preaching. For the older members it brought back to mind the witness of the Free Presbyterian Church which the Lord had owned and blessed mightily in past times and for which the Lord had brought the denomination into existence to uphold before the world.
I want to share that message with you today. I trust you find it as a great a blessing as it was to those in the service.
Ivan Foster
Posted on 2025-02-18 a 12:30 pm
Rev. William Beattie has gone to glory
IT IS WITH SORROW THAT WE INFORM OUR READERS THAT THE DEATH HAS TAKEN PLACE OF REV WILLIAM BEATTIE, retired Free Presbyterian Church minister.
He went to be with the Lord yesterday evening, February 13th 2025.
Funeral arrangements may be viewed here.
Called home 13th February 2025. Beloved husband of Sally and the late Bertha, loving father of Phillip, Louise and the late Samuel, father in law of Margaret and William, dearly loved Granda of Noah, Samuel, Kezia and Abigail.
Funeral Service will take place in Martyrs’ Memorial Free Presbyterian Church at 1:00pm on Wednesday 19th February 2025 following a family burial in Lisburn New Cemetery at 11:00am.
Wake on Friday at his daughter Louise’s house 42 Ballymoughan Road Magherafelt BT45 6HN from 3.00 – 10.00 and at his son Phillip’s house 5 Glebe Hill Road Tandragee BT62 2DP on Saturday from 3.00-10.00.
Family flowers only please. Donations in lieu, if desired, to Edgard Traboulsi, Lebanon Baptist Church Trust c/o Melville Morgan Funeral Directors 257 Lisburn Road Belfast BT9 7EN.
Will be greatly missed by his loving wife and family.
At home with the Lord, “with Christ which is far better,” Philippians 1 v 23.
We would wish to convey our sympathies to his wife Sally, and his son Phillip and his daughter Louise and their respective spouses and children.
“Absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord,” 2 Corinthians 5:8.
“For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God,” Hebrews 11:10.
Rev. Ivan Foster (Rtd)
Posted on 2025-02-14 a 6:38 pm
What is your method?
“And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like? They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept. For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil.
The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! But wisdom is justified of all her children,” Luke 7:31-35.
Matthew Henry’s comment on these words of the Saviour is as follows:
‘By this it appears that the ministers of Christ may be of very different tempers and dispositions, very different ways of preaching and living, and yet all good and useful; diversity of gifts, but each given to profit withal.
Therefore none must make themselves a standard to all others, nor judge hardly of those that do not do just as they do.
John Baptist bore witness to Christ, and Christ applauded John Baptist, though they were the reverse of each other in their way of living.
But the common enemies of them both reproached them both. The very same men that had represented John as crazed in his intellects, because he came neither eating nor drinking, represented our Lord Jesus as corrupt in his morals, because he came eating and drinking; he is a gluttonous man, and a wine-bibber.
Ill-will never speaks well. See . . . how they put the worst construction upon every thing they meet with in the gospel, and in the preachers and professors of it; and hereby they think to depreciate them, but really destroy themselves.’
John the Baptist differed from the Saviour and vice versa though not in core spirituality and holiness. They differed in demeanour and bearing. But their enemies found grounds for criticising them to the extent that what was present in one was deemed a fault but its absence in the other was likewise deemed a fault.
There is something of that spirit abroad today in that the bold protests in past decades are hailed as most praiseworthy but such actions carried out today are considered sinful and to be condemned!
That may be so because the protests of the past were aimed at those OUTSIDE the Free Presbyterian Church who were guilty of transgressing the Word of God. Now, however, protests of a similar nature are deemed wrong and worthy of sanction when they are directed against some WITHIN the Free Presbyterian Church who are in transgression of God’s Word. There ought to be no distinction drawn. Both protests are proper and warranted by Scripture.
I would have every Free Presbyterian know and understand that Rev David DiCanio, who has been deposed from the ministry of the Free Presbyterian Church of North America, in essence, if truth be told, for exposing the sin of ‘Contemporary Christian Music’ within the Free Presbyterian Church, acted in total concord with Holy Scripture and in agreement with the FPCNA’s own statement on the sinfulness of such music. Click to read more…
Posted on 2025-02-12 a 7:31 pm
THE GOLDEN AGE - When will it dawn? Part 1
“The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God,” Isaiah 35:1-2.
I was prompted to consider this subject by the foolish boasting of the recently inaugurated president of the United States, Mr Donald Trump. He is a man renowned for his swank and swagger and vain-glorious self-promotion. But even he ‘outstrips’ himself when he claims that his election is an indication that America’s ‘Golden Age’ has begun.
Time will tell the truth or otherwise of this assertion which is a mere repeating of what presumptuous and imperious politicians have promised the gullible since the fall of man! It is a fictitious myth, a ‘pipe dream’, an ‘El Dorado’ comprised of the empty imaginings of what man considers to be the answer to all his needs.
Men will cling to this empty hope, proffered by a man whose lifestyle comprehensively demonstrates his total unreliability, rather than heed the promise of the God, “ that cannot lie,” (Titus 1:2) and who has “the words of eternal life,” (John 6:68).
We grieve for those whose folly causes them to embrace this end-time ‘political flim-flam’. No good can come of any administration built upon such a dubious foundation! Click to read more…
Posted on 2025-02-03 a 2:37 am
A great and timely sermon
This sermon by Dr Paisley in his heyday, the Sabbath morning of 25th May 1969, was sent to me by Rev Stephen Hamilton a few days ago. I felt that there was no better way to start a new month than by sharing it with you all.
Brother Hamilton says that he was ten-years old when it was preached and that he would have been at the service with his parents. What a privilege was enjoyed by those present to hear such preaching.
As I listened to the sermon from almost 56 years ago, I rejoiced to hear again the setting forth of the doctrines of ‘the whole counsel of God’, rarely heard today.
I was especially touched by his mention in his closing prayer of his planned visit to ‘Trillick’, that Sabbath afternoon. I can remember well that gathering in a field belonging to the Wilson family, just over a mile from the church that is now here in Kilskeery, for I took part in the meeting.
I solemnly listened with thanksgiving to the boldness and knowledge and discernment, evidenced in the message, that was so common amongst us back in those days.
But as I listened to what I can rightly term ‘prophetic’ utterances by the servant of God long ago, regarding the consequences of unfaithfulness and departures from ‘the old paths’, my heart trembled for the Free Presbyterian Church today.
The picture that Dr Paisley paints of the repercussions that follow drifting and retreat from the ‘good way’, is evidenced before the eyes of those prepared to honestly assess our present spiritual condition.
But the essence of what the sermon sets forth is the means by which we can recover our former faithfulness and power and blessing.
Dear Christian, listen prayerfully and humbly to this sermon, preached under the blessing and power of God.
Ivan Foster
Posted on 2025-02-01 a 10:17 am