V O L . 4 / N o . 2 S P R I N G 2 0 1 5

THE POPE TO VISITAMERICATHE BIBLE

PRINCIPLE OF THE BLOOD

THE DARKEST DAY

BRUISEDJESUS THE SUBSTITUTE:THE SINNER’S

ONLY HOPE

EBOLASUBSIDING IN WESTERN AFRICA

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The Free Presbyterian Church of North America is a conservative, Protestant, and Reformed denomination with churches in Canada and the United States. We maintain a biblical position of separation from false ecumenism while seeking to stand with all who stand for Christ and the historic Protestant faith. While we are unashamedly Reformed in our theology, our Calvinism is never a hindrance to our preaching the free offer of the gospel since we always seek to keep our Calvinism Christ-centered and evangelistic. Our great desire is to preach “the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:18) in our churches and throughout the world.

For a complete listing of our congregations, contact information, and instructions on how to listen online to sermons from our ministers, please go to www.fpcna.org.

Current is published quarterly by the Free Presbyterian Church of North America (www.fpcna.org). The annual subscription price is $15.00 (US). To subscribe, please go to www.fpcna.org/subscriptions. You may also subscribe by writing to Rev. Derrick Bowman, 4540 Oakwood Circle, Winston-Salem, NC 27106. Checks should be made payable to Current.

General Editor, Rev. Ian Goligher. Assistant Editor, Rev. Andy Foster. Copy Editor, Judy Brown. Graphic Design, Moorehead Creative Designs. Printer, GotPrint.com. ©2015 Free Presbyterian Church of North America. All rights reserved.

Subscriptions

The editor may be reached at cloverdalefpc@telus.net,phone: 604-897-2040, or Cloverdale FPC, 18790 58 Ave.,Surrey, BC V3S 1M6.

CONTENTSCalvary: The Greatest of Days

In Their Own Words: Rev. John Wagner

Calvary: A Blessed Place to Visit

The Darkest Day

Presbytery News

The Pope to Visit America

Ebola Subsiding in Western Africa

Jesus the Substitute: The Sinner’s Only Hope

The Bible Principle of the Blood

Church News

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This issue of Current is about Calvary. Its very name calls us to remember the place where the plague of sin’s curse was met by the power of God’s cross. On that lonely hill, known in New Testament times as Golgotha, for it bore the shape of a skull, our Lord Jesus purposely offered up His life for His church. With a holy zeal for His own glory and for the salvation of souls God “spared not His own Son, but delivered him up for us all” (Romans 8:32). God the Father “made him [his Son] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). On that cross that day at Calvary a transaction took place between God the Father and God the Son that changed the eternal destiny of billions of souls. The death of our Lord Jesus Christ at Calvary, therefore, was the greatest event in the history of the world.

We know that from eternity past God had mount Calvary in mind as the place where the Lord would suffer and die, because fifteen hundred years before Christ, God called on Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac on that same mount when it was known as Mount Moriah. And one thousand years before Christ, King David conquered that mount in order that Jerusalem might be the center of worship for God’s Old Testament people. The ark of the covenant was brought to rest there. Solomon built and dedicated the temple there. Through successive ages countless animal sacrifices were offered up to God there. Each blood-stained offering pointed believing Israelites to the perfect sacrifice, the Lord Jesus Christ, who became a sin offering there at Calvary.

On the day when Jesus died on the cross Old Testament prophecies, types, and shadows of the Messiah’s death were fulfilled as was the Lord’s own testimony that “the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed” (Mark 8:31). On that day God plunged the world into darkness declaring the eternal significance of the death of His Son, for darkness not only shrouded the scene of the

cross it also reached to the extremities of the earth.

I trust you will take to heart the doctrine of substitution—Jesus dying as God’s provided Lamb in the place of perishing sinners. This is at the core of the Christian gospel and it is the essential confession of a true believer in Christ. Miss the meaning of substitution in Christ’s death and you miss all of Calvary’s message. Get that message into your heart and you get all that Christ came to accomplish by offering up Himself as a sacrifice for sin.

The death of Christ is at the center of the faith of Bible-believing Christians; we live and die by faith in the One who offered Himself as a sacrifice for sin. Many ask why Christ went to the cross, and multitudes grapple to find the answer. For this reason every gospel preacher is commissioned to preach the cross to an unbelieving world. It is the only message by which sinful men can be reconciled to God. We are to preach it until our dying day for we know that this is the means by which the Spirit of God convicts men of sin and by which He converts sinners to become new creatures in Christ. The seeming anomaly of the message from the cross is that by the death of one, life comes to many. It is through hearing of Jesus’ sufferings as a blood-atonement to satisfy the wrath of God that believers in Christ come to know the eternal joys of salvation. We must persist in preaching this truth from our pulpits with the same holy zeal for the glory of God and the salvation of precious souls that moved our Lord to go to the cross.

Yet we should not be surprised if we are despised and rejected of men for preaching the message of a crucified Saviour. The carnal

man can see no beauty in a Saviour who humbled Himself to die on a Roman gibbet. But this is our message: “Christ crucified” (1 Corinthians 1:23). The apostle Paul warned that this will be a despised message about a despised Saviour delivered by despised messengers. After outlining the power of the cross and its foolishness to proud men, the apostle expounded why God planned the cross as the way of life for sinners: “That no flesh should glory in his presence” (1 Corinthians 1:29). So let us glorify God by proclaiming the good news of salvation by the cross of Christ. We must sing about it, preach about it, and pray about it. With its emphasis on Calvary we send forth this issue of Current with the prayer that it will lead each reader to faith in the Christ of Calvary!

Letter from the Editor

CALVARYTHE GREATESTOF DAYS by Rev. Ian Goligher

“Many ask why Christ went to the cross, and multitudes grapple to find the answer.”

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross, The emblem of suff’ring and shame; And I love that old cross where the Dearest and Best For a world of lost sinners was slain.

Refrain: So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross, Till my trophies at last I lay down; I will cling to the old rugged cross, And exchange it someday for a crown.

Oh, that old rugged cross, so despised by the world, Has a wondrous attraction for me; For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above To bear it to dark Calvary.

In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine, A wondrous beauty I see, For ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died, To pardon and sanctify me.

To the old rugged cross I will ever be true; Its shame and reproach gladly bear; Then He’ll call me someday to my home far away, Where His glory forever I’ll share.

George Bennard 1873 – 1958George Bennard was born in Youngstown, Iowa, on February 4, 1873. After his conversion to Christ, he worked with the Salvation Army as an evangelist, preaching in the United States and Canada. Though an accomplished author of a number of gospel hymns, he is best known for the soul-stirring words of “The Old Rugged Cross.” It was for composing this hymn that he was honored by the Chamber of Commerce in Reed City, Michigan, where he retired. He went home to share in the glory of his Lord on October 10, 1958.

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While serving as the previous editor of Current, Rev. John Wagner escaped being interviewed for this series, but it is now his turn. As a husband, father of seven children and grandfather of five, church planter, pastor, and professor of Homiletics in our seminary, Mr. Wagner has a lot of experience to draw from. As you will learn from his answers to the following questions, he has sound advice for God’s people in the Christian life, for God’s servants in church ministry, and for young men who may be exercised about the call of God to preach the gospel. May his testimony of God’s goodness and faithfulness in even the darkest of times encourage your heart.

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CURRENT: Please tell our readers where you’re from and when and how you came to Christ.JW: I come from a small town called Hebron on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. I learned many years later that I lived not far from the birthplace of the first Presbyterian church in America. In 1683 Francis Makemie left the shores of Northern Ireland and came to the Eastern Shore as a Presbyterian missionary. That same year, he founded America’s first Presbyterian church in Snow Hill, Maryland, which has led to his being called the father of American Presbyterianism.

But I wasn’t always a Presbyterian! My mom and dad were saved in an independent Baptist church when I was an infant. Growing up in that church, I heard the gospel preached many times, but it wasn’t until the summer of 1968 that “the preaching of the cross” became for a twelve-year-old boy “the power of God unto salvation.” While that was over 45 years ago, I still remember the deep conviction of sin that I felt that Sunday morning as I heard the preacher close his message with a warning about hell. I stayed behind to speak to him about my soul and in that little room beside the pulpit, I asked the Lord to save me. I walked out of that church as if on air!

I wish I could say that I went on with God from that day until now, but around the age of eighteen I left home and spent three long years pursuing “the lust of the world.” The Lord finally brought me to the end of my backslidden state, oddly enough through an unsaved professor at the college I was attending at the time. There’s not enough space to tell that part of the story here, but it was a case of sin having abounded in my life, God stepped in and caused His grace to “much more abound.”

You have been involved in the FPC for many years now. Please tell us how you first came to be part of this denomination.I first learned about the Free Church in the late 70s while attending Bob Jones University, where Dr. Ian Paisley was a regular speaker at the spring Bible Conference. It wasn’t until sometime in 1982, while living in New Jersey, that I learned that a Free Presbyterian church had been started in Greenville, South Carolina, and that a man from Northern Ireland by the name of Alan Cairns was its minister. A friend who had started to attend that church began to send me cassette tapes of Mr. Cairns’ messages. I must admit that I had never heard preaching like it. Such was the blessing that his ministry had on my life, that when I was told there was a minister from Northern Ireland being installed

Questions & Answers with

Rev. John Wagner

In Their Own Words

Theological Hall Students Myron Mooney, Mark

Fineout, Reggie Kimbro & John Wagner 1987

my arrival. It is an understatement to say that my call to Orlando was very quickly put to the test.

We lost our church pianist with one of those departing families, but God had already been preparing a replacement.

I will never forget the first Sunday our decimated church was going to have to sing without any musical accompaniment.

That morning a family was visiting for the first time. I announced the first hymn and said that we would have to

sing a cappella since we had no pianist. One of those first-time visitors raised her hand and offered to play. I was overjoyed! That young lady was Miss Kathy Walker, who now serves as one of our missionaries in Kenya.

There was another time when I felt the work just could not go on. I had been called to Orlando through a sermon Dr. Cairns preached on 1 Samuel 17:27:“Is there not a cause?” But after laboring for a number of years with just a handful of people and fearful that the work was about to become even smaller, I had long forgotten that verse. In deep discouragement I went to the Lord in prayer one morning and asked Him to confirm from my Scripture reading that day that my ministry was finished. You can imagine my shock and disbelief when I discovered that 1 Samuel 17 was part of my scheduled reading! I had come to the Word of God expecting the Lord to tell me that I was through. Instead He assured me that there was still a cause in Orlando and that I was still part of it. Times like that you never forget.

You have also pioneered your present congregation in Columbia, South Carolina. Please give our readers a sense of some of the challenges and rewards you have experienced in church planting work.Every church has similar challenges, whether its ministry is carried on in a large, well-established congregation or in a small, newly planted work. There’s always the challenge of seeing church growth through conversions, of seeing people work and pray together in one accord, of seeing believers gripped with the vital importance of the prayer meeting, of finances, of people leaving—the list goes on. But the big difference you find when facing these challenges in pioneer work is that they are magnified because of the smallness. A family (or even an individual) being absent from church on a Sunday or from a mid-week prayer meeting will be noticed in a larger church, but it’s more keenly felt in a pioneer work when there are so few people to begin with. Take that thought and apply it to the challenges that come because of finances, or a lack of prayer, or people leaving, or whatever the case, and you will see these challenges are more daunting in church planting.

But church planting has its rewards as well. The challenges deepen your faith and teach you something about “earnest prayer” you wouldn’t have learned otherwise. There’s a closeness that is found among God’s people involved in pioneer work—a real sense of family—that is often missing in a larger church. It’s also a blessing to watch people become involved in a small pioneer work because there’s no way you can really “hide in the woodwork.” Perhaps one of the most rewarding aspects of being in a church plant is to watch the Lord sustain and maintain His little flock during those times when it seems impossible to go forward.

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in a Free Presbyterian church not too far from where we lived, I knew I wanted to be at that meeting. So on a cold, rainy night in March of 1983, I made my way to Newtown Square FPC and attended the installation service of a young Ulster preacher named John Greer. When that night was over, I knew in my heart that this was the church where the Lord wanted my family and me to worship.

How were you called to the ministry? Can you share some highlights of your training in the Theological Hall?Even while at BJU, I felt the Lord dealing with me about the preaching ministry. But after Kim and I got married in the spring of 1981, we both began to teach full time in a small Christian school in New Jersey. So for a season, the thought of preaching took a back seat in my life. That soon changed when we started attending the FP church in Newtown Square. As I sat under Mr. Greer’s ministry, the Lord began to deal with me again about the call to preach. But as I looked at the spiritual caliber of men like Alan Cairns and John Greer, I felt that I wasn’t fit material. However, through much prayer and searching the Scriptures, the Lord brought me one evening to those verses in Isaiah 41: “Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away. Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” I knew then that however feeble and full of failure I was, God had chosen me to be one of His servants. He had not cast me away but promised that He would be with me and would be for me and do for me all that I would ever need. After more than 25 years of ministry, I can say with Solomon, “There hath not failed one word of all his good promise” to me.

As far as highlights during our time in the Theological Hall, that could fill an entire edition of Current! Here were five young men with vastly different backgrounds and personalities living with each other for six to eight hours a day, five days a week. That’s how long our classes were since we were condensing a two-year program into one! The “white knuckle” days came twice a week when every student had to preach to Dr. Cairns. You have no idea what sheer terror is like until you have had to do that! Aside from the camaraderie that we were able to enjoy as students that very long and intense year, the other great highlight was the exams that lasted for weeks. We began writing around 8 a.m. and often wrote until midnight, trying to put down everything we knew about those exam questions from Dr. Cairns that often began with the word “Discuss.” We did find some small satisfaction in knowing that he had to spend many hours reading our answers.

What are some of the memories of your first pastorate in Orlando, Florida?You gather a lot of memories over a fourteen-year period, but some stand out. Like the time when four of the original five families left within the first six months of

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John Wagner & Rev. John Greer prepar

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with posters to prot

est at a Good

Friday Ecumenical serv

ice being held at a

church of the PCUSA in 1985

John & Kim on their Wedding Day

May 30, 1981

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The Wagner family on the

last Sunday in

Newtown Square before commencing th

eir

ministry in Orlando - J

an. 1989

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What has been the hardest thing you have had to deal with in church work?There’s probably nothing more difficult to go through than having people who have been with you for many years leave and go somewhere else for reasons that don’t seem to be justifiable. It is like a death in the family and it always hits the congregation (especially a small one) painfully hard. But the Lord has promised to take even the painful things in church work and make them work together for good.

Many readers will be aware that for a number of years your wife, Kim, has struggled with serious illness. How do you feel this has shaped you as a person and as a preacher of Christ?Being someone who has a tendency on any given day to think more about his faults and failures than his successes, I am reticent to speak to this question. But I would also be dishonest if I denied that the Lord has used Kim’s illness to round off a number of my sharp edges. It’s very easy to take your spouse for granted. But when you face the very real prospect of losing her, you begin to realize how much your wife means to you.

The Lord has also shown me that the one truth you must fix your mind on when sadness and fear about the future fills your heart, is that God is always doing what is the best, the wisest, and the most loving thing that could be done for His people, even when it causes them deep sorrow. Every time the Lord has brought me to see that truth about Himself and His ways over these last nine years, great peace has always filled my heart.

As regards to any effect this has had on my preaching, I can only say that I feel I am able to

passage of Scripture that has been a gracious reminder that I am where I am at the call of God and therefore all is well. Regardless of what verse the Lord has used during those times, it has always been a gracious repetition of those verses in Isaiah 41 that He used to call me to the ministry in the first place.

If you were asked to list the three greatest needs of the church in North America just now, what would they be?Heading the list of the needs of the church of Christ in North America would be the undeniable need for a personal revival of the prayer lives of Christ’s preachers. Any real spiritual power in the ministry comes from spending serious time with God in earnest prayer. I believe that church prayer meetings are dying because there is a dearth in the preacher’s prayer closet. I believe that we, as preachers, see so little accomplished because we pray so little. We seem to have time for everything else but prayer, which is the key that unlocks the windows of heaven. There are just too many promises in God’s Word with regards to humble, believing, persistent prayer that would allow me to conclude otherwise.

Related to this is a great need for a revival of passionate, Christ-filled, expository preaching in the Reformed tradition. This is God’s primary method of establishing His people in the gospel and of securing spiritual maturity. Milk is good and necessary for infants, but meat is what’s needed for solid and lasting growth. That will mean a lot of work for the preacher because there’s a lot more effort that goes into preparing a full-blown meal than there is in preparing a bottle of milk. But the rewards are well worth the effort. Christians who are well-grounded in the great doctrines of the faith make for a stable and steadfast church, no matter what the culture says or does.

Finally, I believe that there is a great need for a purifying work in the church. Things that were once looked upon as sinful in former days are now either tolerated, excused, or outright defended by God’s people. I’m not speaking now about areas where the Scripture allows the Christian liberty of conscience, but areas that are clearly either required or forbidden by God’s law. Again, a full account of what I mean is not possible here. But the answer to church growth, to keeping our young people from leaving our churches, to effective evangelism, and a whole lot of other blessings is not becoming like the world, but being unlike them through a holy walk with God.

enter into the sufferings and sorrows of others in a way that I never have before. I hope that has been reflected in my ministry to the Lord’s people both in and out of the pulpit.

As a preacher yourself and the professor of Homiletics in Geneva Reformed Seminary you have a special interest in the preaching ministry. Can you convey to readers some aspects of the importance of biblical preaching to the present and future life of the church?This is another one of those it-would-take-an-article-all-by-itself answers. To put it simply I would say, “As goes the preaching, so goes the church.” God’s primary means of saving the lost and edifying the saints is through the “foolishness of preaching” (1 Corinthians 1:21). Passionate, Christ-centered, expository preaching has always been the God-appointed means of blessing His church. That doesn’t mean that lean times never come to churches where such preaching is found. Paul told Timothy that there would be times when he would have to be ready to “preach the word … out of season” (1 Timothy 4:2). There have always been times in church history when the preaching of sound doctrine was not welcomed or appreciated by many in Christendom, and I believe we are in one of those seasons just now. But God’s instruction to His ministers is very clear and plain: “Preach the word.” What that actually looks like in practice would take more space than I’m allotted here.

When days have been their blackest and bleakest in the work of the ministry, what one thing has kept you laboring on?For me it has always come back to the call of God being reaffirmed to me. When things seem like they can’t get any worse and it looks like it’s impossible to go on, the Lord has always brought me to some

Rev. & Mrs. Wagner November 2004

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From the noisy bus station reeking with diesel fumes, we gazed past the teeming people to the low-lying cliff just outside the north wall of the ancient city of Jerusalem. There before us on the cliff face were the unmistakable eye and nose sockets marking “the place of a skull.” Christians know it as Golgotha or Calvary.

There were five of us—John and Eunice Douglas, David and Madge Herron, and myself—who hoped to be able to visit the top of the hill where Jesus was crucified. It would not be easy because the place is now a Muslim cemetery surrounded by a formidable fence. Our first attempt had found the gate closed and locked, but we determined to come back. Here we were a few days later to try again. We walked to the entrance and surprisingly found the gate open and no warden in sight.

We entered quickly and began the climb before anyone could hinder us. We were joined by a pleasant Arab boy of about eight or nine years old, who offered to show us the way to the top. He also offered to carry my camera and my hat. I gave him a good tip and the hat, which I had hastily purchased for protection from the hot Israeli sun, but kept the camera. That was the last I saw of him and my hat, for he ran off with the hat, leaving me very thankful I had not given him my camera as well!

The site is known as Gordon’s Calvary, named after General Charles Gordon, a well-known British military leader of Khartoum fame. Gordon lived near Jerusalem in 1882 and

made, Gordon’s Calvary and the Temple Mount would have been one continuous part of Mount Moriah.

Standing on the hill convinced me of the authenticity of Gordon’s Calvary. It is above the cliff, “the place of a skull” (John 19:17). It is across the road from the original Damascus gate that marked the northern wall of Jerusalem. It is outside the city wall as Mrs. Alexander put it when she wrote of the “green hill far away without [outside] a city wall, where the dear Lord was crucified.” To the east, about a hundred and fifty yards away, lies the Garden Tomb. “Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre” (John 19:41).

After exploring the site and convincing ourselves of its authenticity, we decided to have a time of prayer. The five of us sat on some rocks beside a big tree resplendent in an abundance of green foliage. We felt we were not far from the place where the cross would have been placed. It was far enough back from the top of the cliff face to allow people to read the inscription on the cross. The luxuriant tree, magnificent evidence of life in a place of death, reminded us that the cross, the tree of death, became a tree of life to the believer.

That prayer meeting was a memorable event. Right there, near where the cross was erected, each of us led in prayer. It was an emotional time and many tears were shed. The moment was such that, after prayer, no

identified what he believed was the site of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It appears more authentic than the traditional site at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Excavations below the present-day Damascus Gate confirmed that the traditional site would have been inside the city wall at the time of the crucifixion. Since Jesus was crucified “without the camp” that would render the traditional site unauthentic.

Calvary, then and now, is a place of death. It was the place where Jesus was crucified, and today the hill is a Muslim cemetery covered with headstones. At the top we saw a large, abandoned artillery gun and were told that the hill had been a Jordanian gun post in the famous Six Days’ War three years earlier. So fierce was the fighting then that still hanging from the trees were small fragments of the clothing of defenders who had been blown to bits by the incoming shell fire. We spent about an hour perusing the scene and meditating upon the events of two thousand years ago.

I have always been of the opinion that Jesus was crucified on Mount Moriah where Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac (Genesis 22). Yet Mount Moriah has traditionally been identified as the site where the Jewish Temple stood, the site now occupied by the Islamic mosque the Dome of the Rock. While standing at Gordon’s Calvary, I was thrilled to see that Gordon’s Calvary is a continuation of the Temple Mount, interrupted by an east/west road that was excavated through the rock in the days of King Solomon. Had that excavation not been

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News reports abounded about the word Eternity appearing all over Sydney. At first no one knew who the mysterious writer was, so he became known in the city as Mr. Eternity. In the 1990s an Australian TV network made a documentary about Arthur that was shown all across Australia. Then in July 1997 they erected a plaque in Sydney Square as a permanent memorial to him with the word Eternity on it. But the greatest acknowledgement of Arthur’s impact upon Sydney was the fact that as part of their millennium celebrations the city officials had the word Eternity displayed in lights on the Sydney Harbour Bridge for millions of viewers to see.

All Arthur Stace wanted people to do was to think about eternity and that is what I want to encourage you to do. As we have just entered into a new year the temptation is to be taken up with time, but let me exhort you to give earnest consideration to eternity. Remember, eternity is real, it will never end, and it is vital that you think of the question, Where will you spend eternity?

CALVARY

However, whether you visit the present Jerusalem is of no real importance. What is critical is that you be able to stand in the new Jerusalem spoken of by John in Revelation 21:2. There are difficulties in the way, the main one being that “there shall in no wise enter into [the new Jerusalem] anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21:27). In other words, your sin has to be removed before you can enter there. Only Jesus Christ can do that: “The blood of Jesus Christ [God’s] Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). You need Christ to enter heaven. He is the only “door” (John 10:9). You can enter that door today by calling on the Lord’s name to save your soul..

one could speak, but we lingered quietly just a little longer in thanksgiving to the Lord. We had climbed Calvary by faith many times, but being at the actual place was emotionally overpowering.

Our reverie was unexpectedly arrested when we heard strains of the hymn “The Old Rugged Cross.” We looked over towards the cliff and saw a group of Spanish Christians singing in their native tongue. What a precious moment that was!

We followed our visit to Calvary by going to the nearby Garden Tomb, a favorite meeting place for evangelical Christians. The tomb lies in a beautifully tended garden with an abundance of trees, flowers, and fruit, including pomegranates. The tomb itself has two compartments and two places for the dead, no doubt having been prepared for Joseph of Arimathaea and his wife.

The tomb was excavated from a vertical limestone rock. Outside, and below the entrance, is a rocky channel, along which a stone could

be rolled. Alongside is a piece of such a stone which would be circular like a wheel. From our observations, assuming the stone would be about eight feet in diameter and about one foot thick, it would work out at about three-and-a-half tons of limestone. Mark records that the stone “was very great” (Mark 16:4), giving rise to the obvious concern of the women who went there on the resurrection morning: “Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?” (Mark 16:3). If the Garden Tomb is not the actual tomb of Christ, then it certainly is the type of burial place used for the Saviour. Later in Northern Israel we saw a similar tomb with its circular stone intact.

That first visit to Calvary and the Garden Tomb in 1970 was a thrill of a lifetime. I would encourage anyone who has the opportunity to go on a tour to Israel to take it. Even a brief two-week tour of the Holy Land is worth two years in Bible school. Seeing the biblical sites firsthand makes their stories come alive. When you read of place names in the future you can immediately identify with them and say, “I was there.”

Dr. Frank McClellandis minister emeritus of Toronto Free Presbyterian Church in Toronto, Ontario.

Arthur Stace was brought up in Sydney, Australia, in a home in which his father was a drunkard and his mother ran a brothel. Early in life he began to drink himself, and alcohol got such a grip on his life that he was soon reduced to drinking methylated spirits and stealing food to stay alive.

When he was forty-six he found himself in a center for needy men, a place that provided food for those who were down and out but that required them to listen to a gospel message before they could have the refreshments. That day God spoke to Arthur and after the service he went out into University Park and kneeled under a fig tree and asked Jesus Christ to be his Saviour. There was a great change in his life and the Holy Spirit gave him the power to resist the temptation of alcohol, even when his friends continued to invite him to go out drinking with them.

About two years after his conversion he heard a preacher say he would like to go through the streets of Sydney shouting, “Eternity.” As Arthur listened he determined that he would go through the streets of Sydney and write the word Eternity on the roads and pavements. He did just that for the next thirty-three years until his death in 1967. Approximately every one hundred yards he wrote, “Eternity.” It is estimated that he wrote that one word half a million times.

From The Paper Pulpit by Rev. David McMillan, minister of Armagh Free Presbyterian Church in Northern Ireland.

Mr. Eternity

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“It was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour” (Luke 23:44). This is the first of the remarkable signs that accompanied the death of Christ. There were the rending of the veil of the temple, the great earthquake, and the opening of the graves of many saints, but first there were these three hours of darkness.

Supernatural darknessThis darkness commenced around midday, when the sun would have been at its brightest. Some have surmised that there was an eclipse of the sun, but that is impossible. First, Christ was crucified at Passover time, which was at the full moon, when a solar eclipse is impossible. Second, an eclipse doesn’t last long enough to produce three hours of darkness at any particular spot. So there was no eclipse. God sent the darkness. It was supernatural.

Worldwide darknessThe darkness spread over “all the earth.” Trans-lating Matthew’s account, the Authorized Version says the darkness was “over all the land,” and many argue that it extended only over Israel or even just the area around Jerusalem. Though the Greek noun gē may refer to either the earth or a region of it, the context here demands that we understand this darkness as universal. Why? The answer is simple: Luke immediately explains the reason for the darkness. He says, “The sun was darkened” (verse 45). From very ancient times that was understood to mean that “the sun was failing,” a reading that crept even into some very ancient manuscripts. The cause of the darkness lay in the sun’s “failing” so that the entire part of the earth that should have been in daylight was plunged into darkness.

penalty of the broken law and so delivered us from its curse (Galatians 1:4; 3:13). Thus the darkness sounds out the word of gospel grace: God “made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

The darkness lifted once Christ finished the work of atonement. That is a glorious truth. It tell us that “there is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). When God dealt with His Son in the deep darkness of Calvary He exhausted His wrath against the sins of His people on Him. “Jesus paid it all.” He left no wrath for any of His people to bear. And to prove it, He rose again from the dead (Romans 4:25).

Darkness: A warning“God spared not his own Son,” though He was personally sinless, because He “bare our sins in his own body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24). That should make every sinner shudder, for it tells us that God is holy and will judge sin wherever He finds it. For those who are “in Christ” the darkness of judgment is past, but for those who reject Christ outer darkness awaits. Let every one of us be sure to flee to Him who alone can bring us “out of darkness into his marvellous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

Darkness: A message of judgmentWhy would God have sent such a darkness on the earth? Many reasons have been suggested, but one has the clear support of Scripture. The darkness provided a powerful sign that God was acting in judgment, for in Scripture darkness is a frequent sign of divine judgment. Describing the day of judgment and wrath, the Bible associates the judgment with darkness. Joel says, “The sun shall be turned to darkness …. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining” (2:31; 3:15). Isaiah makes the same association (5:30; 13:9–11). The Lord Jesus prophesied, “After the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened … : and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in the heaven” (Matthew 24:29–30), and He described hell as “outer darkness” (Matthew 8:12). The apostle Peter records that the angels that fell are reserved in chains of darkness unto the final judgment, a destiny that is reserved for apostates forever (2 Peter 2:4, 17). So we can be sure that darkness at Calvary tells us that God was working in judgment.

Darkness: A message of graceBut here God’s judgment is not falling on guilty sinners. They throng the cross, even mocking the Son of God in His sufferings, but God does not strike them down in wrath. No, at Calvary His judgment falls on His own dear Son. He who did not spare the angels that sinned, nor Sodom and the cities of the plain, “spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all” (Romans 8:32). Darkness shrouded Sinai when God gave the law, and darkness surrounded Golgotha as our Saviour paid the

The Darkest Day

Dr. Alan Cairnsis minister emeritus of Faith Free Presbyterian Church in Greenville, South Carolina, and the founder of Let the Bible Speak.

Darkness shrouded Sinai when God gave the law, and darkness surrounded Golgotha as our Saviour paid the penalty of the broken law.

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Meditating on the sufferings of Christ has humbling and purifying effects on believers. Throughout the gospels, we behold the physical sufferings of Christ as we read of His being apprehended, beaten, spit upon, scourged, and at last crucified. But while these sufferings were painful in the extreme, they were not the only sufferings Christ endured. Just as truly as Christ was a man and possessed a true body and a reasonable soul, so His sufferings were experienced not only in body but also in soul. His spiritual sufferings came into sharp focus in the garden of Gethsemane and reached their culmination in His cry from the cross, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46).

In Luke 22:44 we see Christ’s spiritual sufferings in the garden of Gethsemane and the effect they had on His body: “And being in an agony He prayed more earnestly: and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” The spiritual agony was so intense that He felt compelled to pray, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me” (Matthew 26:39).

In his sermon on Luke 22:44 Jonathan Edwards explains this aspect of Christ’s spiritual suffering:

Christ was going to be cast into a dreadful furnace of wrath, and it was not proper that he should plunge himself into it blindfold[ed], as not knowing how dreadful the furnace was. Therefore that he might not do so, God first brought him and set him at the mouth of the furnace, that he might look in, and stand and view its fierce and racing flames, and might see where he was going, and might voluntarily enter into it and bear it for sinners, as knowing what it was. This view Christ had in his agony. Then

for whom He was to die, the filthy rags of their “righteousnesses” (Isaiah 64:6). Can you picture yourself taking a tattered, torn, and filthy robe that has been lying in sewage and dressing yourself in it? Yet it was even more horrific for the Lord Jesus to take our sins as His own, when His Father “made him to be sin for us” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Small wonder that He said to His disciples that His soul was exceeding sorrowful even unto death!

But as awful as these things would have been to the soul of Christ, the thing He most dreaded was the pain of being forsaken by His Father. All the while He suffered through the cruel physical tortures of men He never uttered a word of complaint. But when it came to that crowning penal affliction of being forsaken by His Father, it brought forth the cry that will never be fully comprehended: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34).

Christ’s spiritual sufferings, then, teach us that the way of the cross was hard but that the love of Christ was strong. We also learn that a great price had to be paid for sinners to be saved. If the thought of sin’s being imputed to Him and of His Father’s forsaking Him led to such oppression of spirit that Christ sweat great drops of blood, how fervently we should dread sin and strive against it. And how grateful we should be knowing that Christ endured being forsaken of His Father in order that believing sinners may enjoy fellowship with God.

God brought the cup that he was to drink, and set it down before him, that he might have a full view of it, and see what it was before he took it and drank it.

If you’ve ever had to take medicine that was bitter tasting, you know the worst thing you can do is to draw out the process—stare at the bottle of medicine, slowly pour the stuff into a measuring cup, and then sip it carefully—all the while thinking about its awful taste. The best thing to do is to get it down as quickly as possible with as little thought as possible. That is exactly what Christ was not allowed to do. He must, as part of the process of atoning for sins, contemplate that cup. He must know full well what He was about to embark on and what He must bear.

Christ’s spiritual sufferings, then, teach us that the way of the cross was hard. It was hard because believers’ sins would be imputed to Christ, and, while this transaction would not alter Christ’s character so as to make Him morally sinful, He would still be very much aware of the guilt, defilement, and filth of sin. Things that were foreign and repugnant to Him, would be charged to Him.

Believers love to think on the text of Isaiah 61:10 with regard to their justification: “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.”

In the garden of Gethsemane, Christ had to contemplate putting on very different garments. He was to be dressed not with ornaments as a bridegroom or with jewels as a bride. He was to be covered instead with the garments of those

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Rev. Geoff Banister is the minister of the Free Presbyterian Church of Indianapolis in Indianapolis, Indiana.

My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death.Matthew 26:38

The Spiritual Sufferings of

Christ

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NEW MISSION BOARD WEBSITEThe FPCNA Mission Board has a new website: www.fpcnamissions.org. All the latest news on our missionaries in their fields of service with photos and video clips is posted on the website. Prayer requests and contact information for individual missionaries are also available. The Mission Board wishes to thank those who gave of their time and talents to build the website and post articles to keep people informed of the ongoing work of our missionaries in various parts of the world.

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hosted by the Armagh Free Presbyterian Church and its minister, Rev. David McMillan.

Monday afternoon was the first meeting with a message from Rev. John Greer, the Ulster moderator, followed by a time of prayer. Later in the evening the men gathered at the Armagh FPC for a special communion service.

For the past ten years the Free Presbyterian Church of North America and the Ulster Free Presbyterian Church have exchanged representatives at their annual presbytery Weeks of Prayer. This year Rev. Aaron Dunlop and I had the privilege of attending the meetings in Northern Ireland. It was held in the Armagh Hotel during the first week of January and was

ULSTER WEEK OF PRAYER by Larry Saunders

Ministers worshipping at the beginning of a prayer session

Each morning and afternoon session began with praise, the preaching of the Word, and about two solid hours of prayer. A bulletin of prayer requests for each day gave specific needs of churches and mission works.

It was a great encouragement to hear men with many years of preaching and pastoral experience side by side with students and young ministers calling on the Lord for an outpouring of God’s power in personal and denominational reviving. The prayer times were filled with spontaneous cries to God for the salvation of sinners, for the building up of the church of Christ, and for blessing upon all our international missionaries. This not only included works connected with the Ulster presbytery but all of North America as well. I was blessed to be among over eighty men of God seeking the Lord with strong prayers.

There were also times of fellowship at the lunch and dinner breaks and in the evenings. We pray that as these united times of prayer continue our churches will grow stronger and stronger for the cause of Jesus Christ and His kingdom.

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YOUTH OUTREACH INITIATIVE IN TORONTO July 20-27, 2015The Toronto FPC is hosting the Presbytery Youth Outreach Initiative for young people ages 14–20. The week will coincide with the Pan Am Summer Games being held in Toronto, which will provide excellent outreach opportunities. If you are interested in this ministry, please download an application form from www.FPCNA.org and send it to torontofree@bellnet.ca. This opportunity is for youth who are regularly attending one of our churches and who have their local session’s recommendation.

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THE POPE TO VISIT AMERICA

On March 13, 2013, Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina took the shorter name of Francis when the Roman Catholic Church made him its new pope. Pope Francis is now the first pope from the Southern Hemisphere and also the first to be a Jesuit. A logical question would be whether such a pope would take the church in a new direction. Francis is reaching out to America by coming to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September 26–27, 2015, for a conference on the family in the context of evangelism. Central to his travels, including the USA trip, is his celebration of the Mass. For his private devotions Francis states that he celebrates the Mass and prays the rosary each morning, but in the evening, “between seven and eight o’clock, [he] stay[s] in front of the Blessed Sacrament for an hour in adoration” (America, September 30, 2013). While he is in the States he will celebrate the Mass publically in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia. Two million Roman Catholics are expected to attend the Mass in Philadelphia. The pope’s emphasis on the Mass reminds us of the continuing errors of the church of Rome. Its Mass is controversial, illogical, and unscriptural.

ControversialTo be pope, Francis had to submit to the profession of the Tridentine Faith (1564): “I profess, likewise, that in the mass there is offered to God a true, proper, and propitiatory sacrifice for the living and the dead; and that in the most holy sacrament of the eucharist there is truly, really, and substantially, the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ; and that there is made a change of the whole essence of the bread into the body, and of the whole essence of the wine into the blood; which change the Catholic Church calls transubstantiation.” The Council of Trent, which met just prior to this profession, pronounced Rome’s anathemas or condemnations on any who reject her teaching on the Mass (Twenty-second Session, September 17, 1562, Chapter IX, Canons I–IX ). The Catechism of the Catholic Church (1994) reaffirms Rome’s teachings on the Mass to be the same as the Council of Trent and Tridentine Faith (paragraphs 1374–1382) and actually quotes from the Council of Trent (1376).

Bible-believing Christians see three errors in the Roman Mass. The first error is the supposed miracle of transubstantiation, the Romish teaching that when the priest repeats the words of Christ at the Mass, the bread and wine are transformed into the actual physical body and blood

of Christ. The second error is the idolatrous adoration or worship of the elements. The priest lifts up the wafer and then the cup, at which time those present must worship the elements since they are held to be Christ’s true and physical body. The third error is the belief that the Mass is a continuation of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for sin.

In opposition to Rome’s assertions, the Westminster divines wrote, “The Popish sacrifice of the mass (as they call it) is most abominably injurious to Christ’s one, only sacrifice, the alone propitiation for all the sins of the elect.” The Mass “is repugnant, not to Scripture alone, but even to common sense and reason; overthroweth the nature of the sacrament, and hath been and is the cause of manifold superstitions; yea, of gross idolatries” (Westminster Confession, 29.2 & 29.6). The controversy between Roman Catholic theology and the truth of God’s Word is brought into sharp focus every time the pope, or even a priest, performs a Mass.

IllogicalAccording to Rome, the elements look, smell, feel, and taste like a wafer and juice, but they are actually the body and blood of Christ. In this modern scientific age, many Roman Catholics have trouble accepting this speculative change because it disagrees with their own senses. The more backward a country, the greater Rome’s hold due to their superstition and willingness to believe a lie.

From a theological standpoint, the human body of Christ would cease to be truly human in the Mass because it

THE POPE TO VISIT AMERICA(ALAS, TO SAY THE MASS)

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MISSION REPORT

The number of Ebola cases in Liberia is decreasing. The Liberian government has lifted the travel ban, schools are opening again, and in many places life is returning to normal. Dr. Mark Allison, chairman of the Mission Board, comments: “They were predicting in August that the numbers would be over 1 million by January (last month). Instead, after the Week of Prayer in Vancouver and a day of prayer in Northern

Ireland, the numbers have plummeted. We thank the Lord for answers to prayer. There are still a few cases in Liberia, but we pray that there will not be another outbreak. David and Joanne have been in daily contact with the brethren in Liberia and they have helped to distribute food to those in our congregations who were in need. Pray that the Lord will continue to keep our people safe and that our missionaries will be able to return soon.

EBOL ASUBSIDING IN

WESTERN AFRICAWe need to resume the work on the second house as the funds are available.” God’s people should pray for clear direction for our missionaries to know God’s time for them to return. Rev. David DiCanio is presently doing deputation meetings in the Ulster FP churches, and Miss Greer is teaching at the Christian school under the care of the Ulster Mission Board in Nsaalu, Uganda.

teaches. Christ is not physically present in the Mass and to worship the elements is to perform an act of idolatry and come under God’s judgment (Exodus 20:4–6; 1 John 5:21).

The prophet Isaiah laid out the test for truth: “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this Word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:20). The Mass fails that test profoundly. In promoting the heresy of the Mass, Pope Francis continues to propagate darkness. Let us do all we can to show those lost in that darkness the glorious light of the gospel of the finished work of Christ.

would have to be present in different parts of the world at the same time. A physical body could not be present at Rome and Philadelphia at the same instant. Only deity is omnipresent, so either Christ’s humanity in the elements becomes divine (and therefore capable of being omnipresent) or there is no real change to the elements. Faith in that which is unseen is not virtuous unless it is scripturally true and real. “The simple believeth every word” (Proverbs 14:15); they are often led astray and destroyed by false doctrine (Proverbs 1:22, 32).

UnscripturalThe main passage Romanism uses to teach her doctrine of the Mass is John 6. There Christ speaks of Himself as the “manna” from heaven and says that His people must eat His flesh and drink His blood (John 6:54, 56). But it is clear that Christ was not referring to His literal body. In John’s gospel, Christ often uses images that are not to be taken literally to speak of Himself. Christ is the “true vine” (John15:1), the “door” (John 10:9), and the “good shepherd” (John 10:11). His people are also called “sheep” (John 10:26–28). That Christ is “manna” is obviously an image, and the eating or drinking would be a part of that imagery.

“Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, ye have no life in you” (John 6:53). If this verse refers to the Mass, then none of the Old Testament saints or the apostles had life at that point because the ordinance had not yet been instituted. The Scripture is clear also that after Christ’s resurrection He “dieth no more” (Romans 6:9). On the cross, Christ completed once and for all the atonement for His people’s sins (Hebrews 7:24–27; 9:26–28; 10:11–14). “When he had by himself purged our sins, [he] sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:3). So we see that the Romish Mass is a corruption of what Scripture

Dr. Mark Allisonis the minister of the Free Presbyterian Church of Malvern in Malvern, Pennsylvania.

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A number of years ago, while doing some inner-city evangelism, I offered a gospel tract to a passerby. Without prior introduction or conversation he angrily threw this question at me: “Do you mean to tell me that I have to admit that everything I do is bad and everything he [God] does is good?” It was obviously a rhetorical question, for he didn’t wait to get an answer. He hurried onto the crosswalk in a state of distraction and I, recognizing his danger, refrained from speaking to him further.

That short exchange was very telling and left me pondering the man’s background and his state of confusion about the gospel. He understood or at least was aware of two essential elements of the gospel message: that man is inherently sinful and that God is inherently and perfectly righteousness.

But the gospel is not contained in these two facts alone; instead, it is the story of how these facts are brought together. It is how a sinful man can be reconciled to an infinitely holy God. In 2 Corinthians 5:14–21 the apostle Paul calls his preaching the “ministry of reconciliation.” Paul tells us that God is reconciling the world to Himself through Christ (verse 19). He goes further and explains that Christ does this by standing in the sinner’s place, by taking the sinner’s sins on Himself, and by giving the sinner His righteousness (verse 21). Jesus, the Friend of sinners (Matthew 11:19), in an act of unprecedented mercy, stood in our place to take our punishment in order to set us free from the guilt of our sins. Paul explains this act of substitution: “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corin-thians 5:21). This good news is based on three important facts about Jesus Christ.

all condemnation. They would be sin free and thereby reconciled to God. Through faith in the blood of Jesus Christ they have peace with God and future fellowship with Him (1 John 1:7–9).

Jesus was a sufficient substitute. Paul says that the believer is “made the righteousness of God”; that is, he is regarded by God as righteous because of Christ. To use the words of the apostle in another place, we are “justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24). The sufficiency of our justification is in Christ alone. It is “not of works” so that we cannot boast of our ability (Ephesians 2:9), and it is also “not of works” so that we cannot be condemned for our inability. “Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died” (Romans 8:34). Christ is not just necessary as the only author of salvation; He is altogether sufficient as the only finisher of our salvation. The Bible is clear that our salvation rests entirely on the sufficiency of Christ. It is wonderful to know that because Christ is sufficient our salvation is secure.

The death of Christ as a substitute for sinners is God’s good news to all in the world who will stop to listen and believe the gospel. The man I met on the street that day didn’t allow me to explain to him the wonders of God’s so great salvation. He was unwilling to admit his own sinfulness and reluctant to give Christ the credit for His sinless and substitutionary sacrifice. He lacked both repentance from his sin and faith in God’s solution (Acts 20:21). Without repentance towards God there is no way out of sin, and without faith there is no enjoyment of the righteousness provided in Christ. It is faith alone that transfers Christ’s accomplishments to the believer’s account and that provides him with life and immortality. Be sure to give your full attention to this good news of God’s saving work. Take it to heart that Jesus died in the place of sinners and know that you are called to believe in His death as a substitutionary sacrifice for your sin. Believe that God transfers the sins of men to Christ and then transfers Christ’s righteousness to believers. By faith in this good news you can go on your way rejoicing, free from the burden of sin.

Jesus was a sinless substitute. He “who knew no sin” became sin for us. John knew that the law of the Old Testament required sin offerings to be perfect. Each lamb had to be without blemish or spot. And Christ was truly God’s lamb to fulfill the typology of Old Testament sacrifices because He was sinless. His life met the full approval of God the Father, and even his enemies, including Pilate, could find no fault in him (John 19:6). So we know that the Lord Jesus did not die for His own sins. He died vicariously as a substitute in the place of sinners. He died not for His own sins, but, as Paul the apostle stated, “Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). The sinless life of the Lord laid the foundation for His substitutionary death.

Jesus was a suffering substitute. If the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), then to cancel the debt of sin on our behalf Christ must go through death in our place. This is what He did on the cross. When the Israelite went out to his flock to choose a lamb, it was for the purpose of death. So the Lord Jesus was born with a distinct purpose: to die as a sacrifice for sin. In that classic passage on the substitutionary death of Christ Paul the apostle was careful to state it this way: “[God] hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin” (2 Corinthians 5:21).The force of Paul’s words demonstrates that Christ died for the sins of His people in totality. They were all laid on Him when God punished Him as a sacrifice for our sin. The guilt of sin incurred by God’s people was transferred to Christ while He suffered on that cross. In His life He kept the law in perfect holiness for us and in His death He paid the penalty of the law that we had broken. He suffered as the sinless Lamb of God in the place of His people. The purpose of His death was to remove the guilt of sin from sinful men so they would be set free from

Rev. Aaron Dunlop

is the minister of Victoria

Free Presbyterian Church in

Victoria, British Columbia. He

also maintains a blog at

www.thinkgospel.com.

JESUS THE SUBSTITUTE:

THE SINNER’S ONLY HOPE

“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

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THE BIBLE PRINCIPLE OF THE BLOODA vital question is asked by Isaac in Genesis 22:7: “Where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” That same question needs to be addressed to the religious world today, when the pulpit has largely departed from the propitiatory blood of God’s appointed and provided Lamb. This should not be the case. The inspired scriptures give a very clear answer to the question, “Where is the Lamb?” It sets before us the principle of blood shedding for acceptance with God.

The blood is introduced on the altar of Abel (Genesis 4:4). The principle of a blood sacrifice is first implied in Genesis 3:21, where blood was shed and a righteous covering was provided for sinful Adam and Eve. Abel demonstrated the principle when he brought of the firstlings of his flock (no doubt lambs) to offer a blood sacrifice to God because of his sin. The blood of a lamb is introduced here as an absolute necessity for a sinner’s acceptance with God (Hebrews 11:4).

The blood is typified in all of Israel’s altars in the Old Testament. Consider the example in Genesis 22. Isaac’s greatest need was a lamb for a burnt offering. Without it Isaac must die for his own sins. The words of verse 13 are vital to a true understanding of the vicarious nature and necessity of atonement by blood. The ram must die in the place of Isaac. How clearly this teaches the doctrine of substitution and satisfaction. The centrality and necessity of the lamb appears again in Exodus 12 on the Passover night. They were to take a lamb for an house, kill it, and sprinkle its blood on the side posts and lintel of the door. And God said, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you,” emphasizing the principle of shed blood. Shelter and covering from death and

own blood.” This is a remarkable statement that only the Holy Spirit could make. The blood is properly related to the human nature of Christ and yet the union of the two natures in Christ are so related that what is proper to the human is addressed by the name of the divine. Does this not underline the value and efficacy of Christ’s precious blood? In Ephesians 1:6–7 Paul speaks of the acceptance of the blood. Our acceptance in the beloved rests upon the redemption we have in His blood. In the book of Hebrews we have the ascendancy of the blood; Christ’s blood ascends far above all the sacrifices of the Old Testament (Hebrews 9:12, 24).The apostle Peter speaks of the attribute of the blood, its sinlessness, in 1 Peter 1:18–19: “The precious blood of Christ” was “as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” John the apostle speaks of the agency of the blood: it “cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7–10).

Finally, the blood is glorified on the throne of God in glory. In Revelation 5:6–14 John answers our opening question for the last time. Where is the Lamb? He is in the midst of the throne in glory. Christ and His blood is and will be the theme of the song of the glorified saints for all eternity. Unto Him be all glory “that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood” (Revelation 1:5–6).

judgment are possible only by the blood of an offered lamb. All the sacrifices of the tabernacle and temple likewise demonstrated the principle of blood shedding. Leviticus 17:11 teaches the central principle of these sacrifices: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.” The life is in the blood and in order for that life to be given and taken the blood must be shed. So likewise in order that Christ’s covenant people in union with Him might be justified and saved, the life of Christ in His incorruptible blood must be offered.

The blood is fulfilled in the offering of Christ upon the cross. John the Baptist introduces God’s provided Lamb in the person of Jesus Christ (John 1:29). He is the perfect fulfilment of all the lambs on Jewish altars slain. The Lord Himself at the last supper underlines the principle of the blood in relation to the covenant: “This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many” (Mark 14:24). The eternal covenant is now confirmed and sealed with the Saviour’s blood as His life is yielded up as a ransom for many. The blood of God’s incarnate Son had been shed, the law of God was perfectly fulfilled, the wrath of a sin hating God had been propitiated, the guilt of every believer’s sins expiated, and the soul gloriously reconciled to God and by faith clothed in righteousness divine.

The blood is magnified in the ministry of the saints and apostles. The principle of the blood occupied a unique place in the ministries of the saints and apostles. The apostle Paul speaks of the attribution of the blood in Acts 20:28, saying God purchased the church with “his ph

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Rev. James Beggs

is minister emeritus of J.

Kyle Paisley Memorial FPC

and lectured in Systematic

Theology at the Whitefield

College of the Bible in

Northern Ireland for 32 years

until his retirement in 2012.

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exists in Canada where the moral and constitutional powers are in the hands of non-elected judges, who in turn dictate to elected politicians. Implementation of this ruling by politicians and healthcare professionals will be problematic and rife with fear. An article in a leading Canadian newspaper stated that 74% of physicians in Canada are opposed to participating in assisted suicide and that only a minority have indicated their willingness to administer a lethal drug to end a patient’s life. This ruling, however it is implemented, may require physicians to act against conscience. Christians should pray for our political leaders and medical professionals, who are on the frontline of this battle. The following Scripture texts should direct our thoughts on the sacredness of human life:

• “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 1:7• “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.” Genesis 9:6• “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” Genesis 1:27• “And [Job] said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” Job 1:21• “Thou shalt not kill.” Exodus 20:13 (the sixth Commandment)

The Bible clearly teaches that doctors who assist death are guilty of homicide and that the person who requests it commits suicide. Both are forbidden by the sixth Commandment.

REFORMING FAMILIES CONFERENCEThe Free Presbyterian Church of Indianapolis looks forward to partnering with Sermonaudio.com again this year to host the fourth annual Reforming Families Conference. The conference will be held once again at the

KJV STUDY BIBLE AVAILABLE AS AN EBOOKThe KJV Study Bible recently published by Reformation Heritage Books is now available in ebook format. The ebook version contains the same content as its equivalent hard copy and can be read on your computer, tablet, or other electronic book reader such as a Kindle or Nook. Check out the options at www.kjvstudybible.org or at Amazon.com.

ASSISTED DEATH COMING TO CANADA In the case known as Carter vs. Canada the Canadian Supreme Court in a 9–0 decision struck down the existing law prohibiting assisted suicide and ruled that assisted suicide is constitutional. This will make assisted suicide legal for consenting adults under physicians’ care, who determine they cannot tolerate the physical or psychological suffering brought on by a severe, incurable illness, disease, or disability.

The unanimous ruling has reduced human life to the animal level with no thought of God as the creator or giver of life. Of course when God is ruled out of schools and other government institutions it is only a matter of time until He is ruled out of medical care as well. No one is sure how the Conservative government will deal with this ruling from the Supreme Court as assisted death is a thorny issue in an election year. A political conundrum

Legacy Hall of the Creation Museum just outside Cincinnati in Petersburg, Kentucky, June 11–13. Those planning to attend the conference can look forward to the preaching ministries of Joel Beeke, Mike Barrett, Al Martin, Steve Ham, and Kevin Swanson. A number of talented musicians from various churches will also minister at the event. Please visit www.reformingfamilies.org for more information and to register. Sermonaudio will again carry the meetings via live webcast. The Free Presbyterian Church of Indianapolis is not far from the Creation Museum. Conference attendees are invited to stay over and worship at the church on the following Sunday when Dr. Mike Barrett will be the guest preacher.

SPECIAL SERVICES IN MALVERNThe Free Presbyterian Church of Malvern will be having evangelistic services April 4–5 with Rev. Colin Mercer as the guest preacher. Pray that it will be successful in bringing the lost to Christ through the preaching of the gospel. On April 18 the men of the church will join with the men from Dr. John McKnight’s congregation at Reformation Bible Church for an evening of prayer.

EASTER CONFERENCE IN PORT HOPEThe Free Presbyterian Church of Port Hope, Ontario, is holding an Easter Bible Conference April 3–5 with Rev. Derek Erwin, minister of Orlando FPC, as guest preacher. Pray for souls to be brought into the services that they may hear the good news of Christ’s death and resurrection.

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CALGARY RECEIVES ITS NEW MINISTEROn Friday, March 6, a commission of presbytery conducted a service to install Rev. Armen Thomassian as minister of Calgary Free Presbyterian Church. Rev. Ian Goligher, the interim moderator of the congregation during its five-year vacancy, welcomed guests from the Ballymoney (Northern Ireland), Toronto, Cloverdale, and Penticton churches as well as from the Edmonton and the Calgary areas. He also welcomed Mr. Thomassian, his wife, Melanie, and their two daughters, Elissa and Lois.

Dr. Mark Allison, minister of Malvern FPC in Pennsylvania, brought greetings from the North American presbytery. Rev. David Park, who was present with his wife, Susan, his clerk of session, Mr. Norman Hanna, and Mr. Hanna’s son, Phillip, brought greetings from his congregation in Ballymoney and the Ulster presbytery. Mr. Park read notes of congratulation and said that many asked him to assure the Thomassians of their continued prayer support. Other ministers who took part in the service included Dr. Frank McClelland, Rev. Andy Foster, and Rev. Aaron Dunlop. Mr. George Robinson, presbytery treasurer and financial advisor to the Calgary church, was also present with his wife, Linda.

The clerk of presbytery, Rev. David Mook, read the prescribed questions to Mr. Thomassian. His answers indicated his commitment to the doctrine and practice of the FPCNA and his determination to labor fervently as the under-shepherd of the congregation.

With ministers and elders gathered around the pulpit, Dr. Larry Saunders offered the installation prayer. He then preached on the responsibilities of the gospel minister to care for the souls of God’s people. Using several key Bible passages he preached with conviction that the minister must expound the Word of God without fear of man to edify believers and evangelize lost sinners.

Mr. Dwayne Egert and Mrs. Heather Downey welcomed the Thomassians into the life of the congregation. They testified of God’s goodness in sending them a pastor in answer to much prayer. They also presented gifts to the new minister and his wife and to Rev. and Mrs. Ian Goligher. Refreshments were served and happy fellowship was enjoyed late into the evening.

Household Salvation

The Lord has set His seal on the ministry of Rev. Armen Thomassian by converting two brothers in Calgary FPC. A family attending the church asked for prayer for their two sons and in mercy the Lord has saved them both–one (age 20) on the Sunday after Mr. Thomassian’s installation and one (age 18) the following Sunday. The minister and congregation are rejoicing with both parents and their three children who are now united in Christ. Household salvation is an eternal blessing from the Lord. This is the power of the gospel of Christ as prophesied by Malachi: “And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers” (Malachi 4:6).

May this stir parents and families in each of our congregations to pray on for the visitation of the Lord to convert our children. Praise God that the gospel is still the power of God unto salvation.

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The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised. —Luke 4:18

Those of you who have been following the Kid’s Corner for many months, will know that we have been looking at the five kinds of people listed in Luke 4:18 that our Lord was sent to minister to. The last kind of person is said to be bruised. You have probably heard the saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” You may have spoken it yourself to someone who said something unkind to you. But we all know it isn’t true. Words can hurt us, sometimes more deeply and with longer-lasting effect than a physical attack.

God, suffering and death entered our world. Our sin bruises us often and in many ways. The earth, the animals, and all the people who live in this world are under God’s curse. Sin has caused disease and decay in everything and everyone.

But the bright promise is that the Lord took pity on our bruised and broken state. By dying as a worthy sacrifice to save us from our sin, He sets us free from our sentence of doom. By His death and resurrection He replaces it with the glorious, liberating promise of eternal life. And if our bruising is the result of things other people have done to us, the Lord has comfort and healing for those wounds as well. Are you bruised and broken today? Trust the Lord as the only One who can and will set you free.

Words don’t leave black-and-blue marks on our skin, but they can hurt our hearts and make us feel bruised and sore inside.

That is the kind of bruising the Lord was talking about in Luke 4:18. The bruised people He came “to set at liberty” have wounds in their hearts. Maybe they carry the memory of insensitive or mocking words. Or maybe their spirits are bruised and battered by the nagging memory of a past sin or failure. Maybe they are hurting because of sad things that have happened to them. Sometimes other people don’t know that these people are hurting inside, but the Lord knows and He cares.

It’s not difficult to trace man’s tendency to hurt himself and to hurt other people back to the sin committed by Adam in the garden of Eden. The painful truth is that because Adam sinned against

Brian Forrester

A WORD WORTH KNOWING

LibertyFreedom from the control of another, or from living as a slave.

BRUISED

Winners will be announced in the next issue of the Current.

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PLEASE NOTE: Please send your completed puzzle to Current Kids’ Corner, Attn: Mrs. Rachel Carper, 3 Elmira St., Greenville, SC 29615, or by email to rcarper@bju.edu by May 29, 2015. Include your name, address, age, and the name of the church you attend. Five winners will be drawn from all correct submissions received. The contest is open to young people ages 5–12, and winners will receive a $10 cash prize.

5. “The captive ... hasteneth that he may be ___.” (Isaiah 51:14)

9. “With ___ in his wings.” (Malachi 4:2)

12. “A new ___ also will I give you.” (Ezekiel 36:26)

13. “He layeth it on his ___.” (Luke 15:5)

Across 6. “Me he restored unto mine ___.”

(Genesis 41:13)

7. “The LORD’S portion is his ___.” (Deuteronomy 32:9)

8. “Thou art taken with the words of thy ___.” (Proverbs 6:2)

10. “I will make a covenant of ___ with them.” (Ezekiel 37:26)

11. “For God hath not appointed us to ___.” (1 Thessalonians 5:9)

13. “I will ___ of excellent things.” (Proverbs 8:6)

15. “Let thy salvation ... set me up on ___.” (Psalm 69:29)

17. “Every ___ that shall rise against thee.” (Isaiah 54:17)

19. “The LORD ... despiseth ___ his prisoners.” (Psalm 69:33)

21. “The stone which the builders ___.” (Mark 12:10)

22. “Of the children of Israel did Solomon make no ___.” (1 Kings 9:22)

23. “When I fall, I shall ___.” (Micah 7:8)

Down 1. “Thou shalt bruise his ___.”

(Genesis 3:15)

2. “Take of them of the ___.” (Zechariah 6:10)

3. “I have ___ every sorrowful soul.” (Jeremiah 31:25)

4. “I will restore ... the years that the ___ hath eaten.” (Joel 2:25)

14. “I have taken out of thine hand, the cup of ___.” (Isaiah 51:22)

16. “And the soldiers also ___ him.” (Luke 23:36)

18. “Cause me to ___.” (Psalm 71:2)

20. “The tongue can no man ___.” (James 3:8)

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LET THE BIBLE SPEAK RADIO BROADCASTS FROM FP CHURCHES IN USA

FROM FAITH FPCGreenville, South Carolina94.5 FM Sunday 9:00 a.m.WMUU.com Sunday 10:00 p.m.Mon., Wed., Fri. 6:30 a.m. 7:45 p.m.

GRENADA, WEST INDIESHarbour Light 94.5 FM & Internet Monday-Friday 3:30 a.m. (AST)Harbour Light 1400 AM, 94.5 FM Monday–Friday 10:30 a.m. (AST)

VCY AMERICASee syndicate station list on www.vcyamerica.orgListen online: www.lbtsradio.com

CHINAWORLD HARVEST RADIO UTC 1100 Saturdays 7–8 p.m.

FROM GRACE FPCLitchfield, New Hampshire WDER 1320 AM Saturday 11:30 a.m.

FROM FPC OF MALVERN (near Philadelphia)Malvern, Pennsylvania WFIL 560 AM Sunday 1:00 p.m.

APRIL 3–5 Easter Bible Conference, Port Hope FPC, Ontario, with Rev. Derek Erwin

APRIL 4–5 Evangelistic Services, Malvern FPC, Pennsylvania, with Rev. Colin Mercer

MAY 8–9 Men’s Bible Weekend, Toronto FPC with Rev. David Smith & Rev. Thomas Murray

MAY 11–15 Presbytery Meeting and Week of Prayer, Grace FPC, Litchfield, New Hampshire

MAY 29 Graduation Day at Geneva Reformed Seminary, Greenville, South Carolina

JUNE 11–13 Reforming Families Conference, Creation Museum, Petersburg, Kentucky JULY 11–18 Free Presbyterian Youth Camp at Rock Mountain Bible Camp in Pennsylvania

JULY 20–27 Presbytery Youth Outreach Initiative at Toronto FPC

Pray the Lord will be pleased to bless the preaching of His Word by radio to reach souls with the gospel, minister to His saints, and strengthen our churches. The local churches and our mission board, which produce and air these programs on the above stations, would be greatly encouraged by your financial support.

A list of churches along with contact information is available at www.fpcna.org.

www.letthebiblespeak.ca

LET THE BIBLE SPEAK RADIO BROADCASTS FROM FP CHURCHES IN CANADA

FROM CALGARY FPCSouthern Alberta CHRB 1140 AM Sunday 10 a.m. & Saturday 5:30 p.m.

FROM CLOVERDALE FPCGreater Vancouver KARI 550 AM Sunday 10 a.m.Mon.–Fri. 5 a.m. & 5 p.m.

SASKATCHEWAN CKSW 570 AM Sunday 9:30 a.m.

FORT ST. JOHN, BC Moose FM 101 Sunday 8:30 a.m.

FROM FREDERICTON FPCFredericton, New Brunswick 104.5 FM Sunday 8:30 a.m.

FROM PENTICTON FPC & CLOVERDALE FPCNorthern Saskatchewan CIOT 104.1 FM Monday-Friday 6:00 p.m.

FROM HERITAGE FPCPrince George, British Columbia93.1 CFIS FM Sunday 8 a.m.

LET THE BIBLE SPEAK RADIO BROADCASTS FROM OUR MISSION BOARD

LIBERIA, WEST AFRICAELWA 94.5 FM Monday–Sunday 3:30 p.m.ELBC 99.9 FM Mon., Tues., Wed., Fri. 9:30 p.m.