John Johnstone, Author at Kirkcaldy Free Church

Forgive as you have been forgiven

1 April 20251 April 2025 John Johnstone Vision Statement

Sermon: Sunday, 30th March, 2025
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Ephesians 4:31-32

Most of us know the saying that if you find the perfect church then don’t join it because you’ll ruin it. Of course, there is no such thing as a perfect church. Churches are made up of sinners who are saved by God’s grace. Even as Christians, as changed people, new creations, we will still upset one another and become angry with one another. However, we must strive with God’s help to be as loving a church as we can be. We saw how important that is a few weeks ago, when Jesus said: ‘By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.’ (John 13:35) Our attitude of love one towards the other is the distinguishing mark of the Christian. This morning we are returning to the last item in our 7-part vision statement: ‘To grow closer as a loving church family, through mutual support and practical care.’ It would be easy for us to just gloss over this line and then, well of course churches must be places where everyone is loved and cared for. We do that don’t we? But it is not as easy as all that.

1. Why is it so hard to be a supportive and loving church?

If it was easy then Christians wouldn’t leave churches in a huff. If it was easy to love one other then churches would be gossip-free and anger-free zones, but they are not. If it was easy to care for everyone well in our church then no one would be missed out in the care and everyone would be involved. But we are far from perfect. Sometimes whole churches split and people fall out after taking sides.

Why is it so hard to support and care for one another? Why is it so hard to maintain the unity of a church and for people not to fall out? In the old days, we used to speak about ‘the world, the flesh and the Devil’ as the enemies of the soul and three reasons why progress in the Christian life is so hard. Let’s think briefly about the world, the flesh and the Devil, in reverse order.

The last thing Satan wants is for us to be a loving church family. He is at work in every single church trying to cause disunity amongst its members. If we want to help Satan do this, then let’s be angry with one another. ‘In your anger do not sin’: do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.’ (Ephesians 4:26-27) There is a real Devil, and even when we begin to nurture some angry feelings, it gives him a ‘foothold’ and he becomes hard to dislodge.

Next, we all know how easy it is for us to react in all kind of damaging ways when we feel someone has hurt us. Paul has to command us to: ‘Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice’ verse 31), because he knows these things lurk in the heart of every Christian. They lurk in my heart, so I must be on guard.

And finally there’s the ‘world’ which means the world in its rebellious attitude to the ways of God. Whilst God calls us to forgive one another, some would give the opposite advice. For example, if someone hurts you just blank them. Ignore them. You can do without that! Surround yourself with people who affirm you! The ball is in their court to make the first moved- they wronged you, not the other way around! Let’s be honest, people fall out with each other all the time, and the church is not immune from those kind of worldly reactions. In fact, they come naturally to us. This passage reminds us that when others hurt us, we must respond in a different way. And that’s harder.

Why should we respond in a different way? ‘Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.’ (Ephesians 4:32) God has been kind to us and that’s why we must be kind to one another. God has had compassion on us. He looked at us in all our brokenness and sin and guilt and lostness with sympathy. So, we must look at fellow sinners with sympathy. And Christians are people who know they don’t deserve God’s forgiveness and yet amazingly he offers us that forgiveness even though it necessitates the death of his Son. We are forgiven people and so we must be forgiving people. It’s the gospel which transforms how we react when others hurt us.

How do you become a Christian? Only when we pray to Jesus and say sorry for messing up so badly, and thanking him for loving us and dying on the cross for us. We know we cannot sort out our own lives but need God’s help, and we trust in Jesus to change us. When we trust in Jesus, we become new people, new creations. We receive a power we never had before, God’s Holy Spirit.

Put simply, God’s Holy Spirit inside us helps us to change over time, usually gradually. The Spirit enables us to get rid of more and more which belongs to our past lives and to put to death the things which are unlike Jesus. And positively, the Spirit helps us to develop the character of Jesus in our own lives. We, over time, think and behave more like him. It’s not enough for Christians just to try to stop doing wrong things; they must also, in God’s strength, seek to do good, just as Jesus did. Every day is a school day for Christians. Because every day we must take off the dirty clothes from our old ways and put on the new clothes which Jesus supplies.

2. Each day involves taking off and putting on

If a mechanic is going to a wedding, he must take off his oily work clothes. But that’s not enough. He must put on his wedding clothes – a kilt or his best suit. Both taking off and putting on are needed. That’s the picture we have here in Ephesians chapter 4: ‘You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.’ (Ephesians 4:22-24) This picture of taking off and putting on is so important because it describes what ordinary Christians should be focusing on doing day by day.

I also love the illustration of gardening. In order to have a beautiful garden, each day you must weed out the things which are harmful and not meant to be there. But that is not enough. You must also plant what is beautiful in the garden. You must do both. Are you doing both? Perhaps you are someone who overstresses the negative and you’re always thinking of Christianity as don’t do this and don’t do that. That is part of it. But what about the positives of seeking justice and helping others and sharing your faith? Then there are people who just focus on the positive, but aren’t so good at identifying the sins lurking in their own lives and dealing with them. Friends, let’s burn this image into our minds – every day is a day for taking off dirty clothes spiritually speaking, and putting on clean ones. And we can only do it prayerfully, depending on the Spirit to work within us.

Verse 25 makes it clear that it’s not enough just to stop speaking falsehood – we must also speak the truth. In verse 28 we read that it’s not enough just to stop stealing, but positively we must work hard, not so we can buy luxuries, but so that we can share with those who are in need. But today our focus is how Christians are to react when someone wrongs us or hurts us. We’re told we must not harbour bitterness in our hearts and react in sinful anger. That might sound hard enough for you! But the Lord goes beyond that with the positive. Yes, we must stop reacting in anger to such people, but we must also treat them with kindness and compassion and forgiveness. These verses are counter-cultural in many ways. What should our church be like? It should be full of people who don’t retaliate when they are mistreated, but rather consider how they can be a blessing to the one who has wronged them. This is a supernatural response, because it is only possible with the help of God, but we are still responsible to choose this path, instead of the path of anger and retaliation. And as we choose the path of kindness, compassion and forgiveness, the precious unity of the church family is maintained and Satan doesn’t get a foothold.

This radical call of how to respond to others when they hurt us is beautifully illustrated by Joseph in the book of Genesis. He was hated by and deeply wounded by his brothers. Their jealousy of Joseph was so great that they wished he was dead and sold him into slavery – their own brother. Joseph lost a colossal amount: his family home, his language and culture and his freedom. If anyone had a right to be bitter and angry, you might think it would have been Joseph. I believe Joseph might well have wrestled with feelings of resentment and anger. However, he makes a choice in God’s strength not to retaliate, even know he had great power and would have been able to do so. He chooses a different path than bitterness and anger. Not only does Joseph forgive his brothers, but he also treats them with kindness and compassion.

‘Joseph also provided his father and his brothers and all his father’s household with food, according to the number of their children.’ (Genesis 47:12)

‘You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.’ And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.’ (Genesis 50:20-21)

Friends, Joseph took off bitterness and anger and put on kindness, compassion and forgiveness.

3. How not to respond when we are hurt

Let’s take a closer look at this negative list of reactions in verse 31. Bitterness is when we refuse to be reconciled with the person who wronged us. Instead, we keep on thinking about how we have been mistreated. It is a valuable thing when we have files of our favourite photos on our laptop or pc, and from time to time we open them up and look at them and precious memories flood back. But imagine we had photos of times when people hurt us and we kept on clicking on them and mulling over what happened. Would that be helpful for us? And yet sometimes we do just that and we become bitter. Proverbs gives us some crucial advice here: ‘Whoever would foster love covers over an offence, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.’ (Proverbs 17:9) When we replay the incident in our minds, we repeat the matter to ourselves. We also repeat the matter by bringing it up again and again to the person who wronged us, and also repeating the matter to others, which is gossip. Haven’t we all repeated the matter and strained a friendship? Why not choose instead to foster love by covering over an offence?

Perhaps there’s someone at home or in the church and you have become embittered towards them. This is something you need to do something about. This kind of resentment leads to all other kinds of things: rage and anger and brawling and slander and malice. When bitterness takes root in our hearts, it becomes far easier to lose our self-control with someone and fly off the handle in a rage. And the more we do that, this behaviour can become habit-forming. Brawling is when we might start shouting or tell someone to ‘Get out!’ This negative anger often leads to slander. We use our words to attack the person who wronged us, through nasty cutting words. If we know the person well we might know how to strike a low blow. And the tragedy of choosing the response of bitterness is this: often our angry and reactive behaviours are actually worse than the original thing which was done to us. We have stooped down to their level, or worse. And ultimately we are harming ourselves, because becoming a bitter person makes us unattractive and will even impact our physical and mental health. So, if there is someone you need to forgive, then sort it out as soon as possible.

But far worse than harming ourselves is this fact: it grieves God the Holy Spirit. ‘Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God…’ (Ephesians 4:30) Here’s the thing, by choosing the path of anger instead of kindness and forgiveness, you are actively resisting the path the Holy Spirit is prompting to take and you are grieving Him. He is displeased. He is disappointed with us. The triune God is in perfect unity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. No wonder then disunity hurts him. Have you ever thought about that before? I think many of us forget we are indwelt by the Spirit. He is our permanent lodger.

4. How the Spirit wants us to respond when wronged

In Luke’s Gospel we read: ‘So watch yourselves. If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.’ The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’ (Luke 17:3-5)

In his book called ‘Forgive’, Tim Keller draws our attention to the 3 words ‘so watch yourselves’. He reminds us that so often when we are wronged, we focus all our attention on the person and what they have done. Jesus does not. He says ‘Watch your own heart’. Jesus knows how hard we find it to forgive others and how easy we find an angry response. Let’s take this practical lesson into our own lives. The next time someone wrongs you, would you be willing to watch your own heart’s response? That’s what Jesus calls us to do.

It’s not enough for us to refrain from reacting in anger. We must do far more than that: ‘Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.’ (Ephesians 4:32) Dan Hamilton says this: ‘Forgiveness is more than a matter of refusing to hate someone. It is also a matter of choosing to demonstrate love and acceptance to the offender…’ That’s challenging! And it requires great humility on our part. But friends, we ought to be humble if we understand the gospel.

The gospel informs us that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. We owed God a debt so large that we could not begin to pay it. We messed up enormously. God reacted to us in kindness, compassion, and by forgiving us. And so we must react to one another like this. Not to do so is a sign that perhaps we have never really been saved and have never understood just how great a debt we owe to God. So when someone lets you down, don’t ignore them or write them off or retaliate. Instead, show kindness towards them. And when hurt by someone, don’t just feel sorry for yourself. Instead, show them compassion, because like them, you also hurt others and you also let people down.

Can we really blame other people for our anger and resentment?

Jerry Bridges:‘In facing up to our anger we need to realise that no one else causes us to be angry. Someone else’s words or actions may become the occasion of our anger, but the cause lies deep within us- usually our pride, or selfishness or desire to control’

When we come back to the cross of Christ, it becomes harder to refuse to forgive. ‘…forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.’ (Ephesians 4:32) How did God forgive us? He forgives us fully and freely. He doesn’t brood over our confessed sins or cast them up in our faces. He always forgives us when we repent and ask him to, no matter how great the sin. Are we willing to do the same? Surely the well-known parable of the unmerciful servant should be enough for us to see that because Christians are a forgiven people, we must be a forgiving people. God in Christ has forgiven our astronomical debt and so we must forgive others who owe us far smaller debts. Really, this is basic Christianity: in the Lord’s Prayer we pray: ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.’ (Matthew 6:12)

In Kirkcaldy Free Church, as in all churches, there will be differences of opinion, personality clashes, wrong thoughts and words and actions and various tensions which arise because we are all still sinners this side of eternity. The question is, when this happens, how will we respond? Will we respond with humility. Will we remember how God has treated us? Or will we become bitter and bring division into the church and into our families?

‘Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.’ (Ephesians 4:32)

The importance of corporate prayer

17 March 202517 March 2025 John Johnstone Vision Statement

Sermon: Sunday, 16th March, 2025
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Acts 12:1-19

We are part of the Free Church of Scotland. Our denomination’s vision statement is: ‘A healthy gospel church for every community in Scotland’. That is a wonderful vision to have. But it also begs the question, what is a healthy church? It is an extremely important question. Is it one with growing numbers, an excellent praise band or a large number of full-time staff members? When I think of what it means to be a heathy church, my mind often goes back to Acts chapter 2 and to the description of the early church just after the Holy Spirit had been poured out at Pentecost:

‘They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.’ (Acts 2:42)

‘And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.’ (Acts 2:47)

A healthy church is devoted to certain things. Devotion to something means we are heavily committed to something, recognising its value and importance. What are you devoted to? These Spirit-filled Christians were devoted to the teaching of the church, sharing their lives with their fellow Christians and supporting them, the sacraments of the church and to the church’s meetings for prayer. We also see evangelism is a crucial ingredient in the life of the early church as the Lord is adding to their number. These things give us the blueprint for the church. They map out what we should be devoted to today. Out of all of these ingredients, which are we best at as a church and which are we weakest in? I believe the two areas we need to grow in the most are in learning to share our faith with others, and in learning to pray together. For me, identifying areas of weakness can only be positive, as then with God’s help, we can endeavour to become a healthier church. All churches must try to be healthier.

This morning, we are returning once again to our 7-part vision statement for the next 4 years. The fourth part of our statement is this: ‘That we would keep close to God, and be faithful in prayer, both in our homes and also at the prayer meeting.’ We cannot possibly be a healthy church unless we are a church family which prays together. Praying together is one of the most basic things Christians gather together to do. We need to be honest and recognise just how weak we are in this area. However, our purpose is not to make people feel guilty but remain unchanged; rather, our purpose is to be inspired by the early church and get back on track. The early church was a church steeped in an atmosphere of prayer, both prayer in private and in public. They were devoted to prayer. As the early church was waiting for the Spirit to be poured out we read: ‘They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.’ (Acts 1:14) Wouldn’t it be thrilling if today some of us were inspired by God’s Word to meet together in order to pray more? This would please the Lord.

The early church would gather to pray together in times of crisis but also in times of peace and calm. At all times, they want to spend time together with the Lord because they love him and because they want to be found in his will.

As we zoom in on Acts chapter 12, we find the church in a time of crisis. There is a spiritual battle going on in this book – the same battle that is going on today. Put simply, it is a battle between good and evil. The evil side seems so powerful, headed by Herod Agrippa the 1st: ‘It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.’ & nbsp; (Acts 12:1-2)

Herod is a people-pleaser. He is unpopular, but desperate to win the favour of the Jews (and everyone else). And so he has James, one of the twelve disciples, put to death and this delights the Jews: ‘When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also.’ (Acts 12:3) His uncle was the Herod (Antipas) who had tried Jesus and his grandfather was the Herod (Herod the Great) who had the infant boys of Bethlehem massacred. In other words, this was a family totally opposed to the gospel.

Now Peter has been imprisoned, ‘… guarded by four squads of four soldiers each…’ (Acts 12:4) The might of Rome is coming up against this small Christian group. What chance did they have? What could they do? Perhaps it seemed as if the church would never last. It might get snuffed out like a candle.

Herod didn’t want to do his dirty work during a religious festival lest he offended the Jews! This is so hypocritical. He will wait for a few days until the festival is over, conduct a show trial, and bring Peter to the same fate as that of James. What can Christians do, a small hated minority, when up against Roman guards, iron chains, and an iron prison gate? What can the church do? What weapons can the church yield? They have no army to muster. They have no contacts from foreign armies to call on for help. The state seems all-powerful. Its rulers have no concern whatsoever for the plight of Christians. And yet there is a weapon.

1. The early church recognised the power of prayer

‘So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.’ (Acts 12:5) The church had a massive weapon. And they go on the offensive. Prayer was a big deal for them. Prayer was the main thing that they could do, even when circumstances seemed impossible to overcome. Is that how you see prayer, as the main weapon we have as a church? On Wednesday we gathered to pray for the good of the great nation of Turkey. Only 1 in every 10,000 people is a Christian there. That seems so bleak. It might seem impossible to change. It might seem pointless trying to do anything in a place like that. The early church would look at that situation and say to us, ‘Friends, we need to pray together.’ The early church believed and experienced that prayer changes things, because God hears and answers our prayers.

Let’s be honest, many of us struggle to believe in the power of prayer to bring about real change. If we did, our prayer meeting would be far busier on a Wednesday night. We would be enthusiastic about hearing about other nations, and sharing in the work through praying together. We would meet together pleading with God to save our loves ones, to be at work in our communities, to strengthen our families and to help us in our struggle against sin. Many people in our churches today can accurately be described as ‘practical atheists’. They believe in God but their actions and prayerlessness reveal that really God is irrelevant to their every day lives. They pray little at home if at all, and they seldom gather with others to pray.

The early church were the opposite. They look at this really tough situation with Peter’s incarceration and they see Herod’s military strength. But they see far more. They look with the eyes of faith beyond what they can physically see and know that there is a far greater king on the throne that Herod. They factor that into the equation. They don’t say ‘there’s nothing we can do’. Rather, they instinctively know that there is something to be done: they must gather to pray. They pray with faith, believing that the Lord is able to set Peter free should he deem that to be best.

They pray with faith but they also pray ‘earnestly’ (verse 5). In other words, they pray with zeal and passion and with all their hearts. This word ‘earnestly’ is the same word used to describe the way in which Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane: ‘And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.’ (Luke 22:44). Jesus prays with passion for another way to be found if there was another way, but all the time he prays submitting to the fact that his Father’s answer might be. ‘No’. ‘Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.’ (Luke 22:42) Jesus knows the power of prayer, but he also knows that prayer is not just getting what you want. Prayer is not an insurance policy against adversity!

Does prayer work? Yes it does, because God works when we pray! On this occasion there is a quick answer to the prayers of the church. It’s usually not like that! But God chooses to send an angel to rescue Peter. It is comical just how effortlessly Peter is able to escape. The chains just fall from his arms and the prison doors open by themselves. Herod and his military might is no match for the King of Kings: ‘… the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches…’ (Act2 12:11) I love the honesty of the account of this prayer meeting in Mary’s house. They are praying with faith and yet when their prayers are answered the are so slow to believe it. Perhaps I’m like that when I pray for conversions but then doubt it has actually happened. Could he or she really be a Christian?

Campbell Morgan: ‘These people pray earnestly and doubtingly, and yet that force of earnest halting prayer was mightier than Herod and mightier than hell.’

Thomas Watson: ‘An angel fetched Peter out of prison, but prayer fetched the angel out of Heaven’. Friends, we need to believe in the power of prayer. ‘You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God.’ (James 4:2:)

Can it be said of Kirkcaldy Free Church that we are not seeing more conversions and more growth in holiness because we do not ask? Let’s come together and ask!

Please note again what the early church were doing in verse 12: ‘When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.’ Many of the men and woman in spite of their busyness, come together in order to pray. They don’t make lame excuses and they don’t need their arms twisted to come. They come because they wanted to come. They recognise that there is no better use of their time than to come together with the saints to pray. ‘Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.’ (Matthew 18:19-20)

2. The early church know praying does not mean getting what we want

Some people use their own negative experience as an excuse not to pray. They say, ‘I tried praying and it didn’t work. God left me in the situation’. But Jesus was also left in the situation. The difference is this: God sustained him in that situation and brought him through it. Prayer is not about getting what we want, or even what we think is best. We can still pray specifically, but all the time, like Jesus we must say, ‘Father, may your will be done’. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t hear and answer our prayers, but he does so according to what he knows is best. He is altogether wise. He alone sees the big picture. So, then, we pray with faith and fervour but also favouring the will of God to come to pass rather than our own wants. Though he doesn’t always give us what we want, he will strengthen us in our situations.

The mystery of God’s will is something we seen clearly in Acts 12. It’s illustrated by the fact that God allows the apostle James to be killed but chooses to save the apostle Peter. This is not random. God knows what he is doing, but we do not. We need to trust him and submit to his mysterious will. I believe the church would have been praying just as fervently for James; however, it is the Lord’s will to take him to Heaven. We cannot understand this. There is no explanation given by God. But I agree with Campbell Morgan, who says that there is great comfort in the revelation of a God like this: ‘…the one who could deliver Peter, and in his wisdom did so, was equally wise when He did not deliver James. Life can never be perfectly understood in the process of its living; we must wait… God does all things well.’

This reminds me of the way Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego pray before entering the fiery furnace. They understand that God is able to save, but that he might not. ‘If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.’ (Daniel 3:17-18)

3. Let us learn from and be like the early church

If we are honest, prayer is sometimes a last resort for us. We try to sort our own problems in our own strength, and if that doesn’t work, then we might just pray. But prayer should be our first recourse. It should be our first resort in times of need and times of peace.

Gordon Keddie: ‘Prayer properly precedes whatever other actions, if any, may be decided upon… This is a vital test of the reality of a person’s faith. Those who are really trusting the Lord pray first, and then act while continuing to look to the Lord. Those who trust themselves act first, and then pray only in desperation, and to whoever will hear.’

Friends, let’s encourage one another to make prayer our first port of call in all situations. This is exactly what prayer was for the early church.

The seemingly impossible situation the church faced was Peter being held in maximum security and facing death. What impossible situations do we face as a church family or in our own families at home? There are situations you face which you cannot change by your own actions. There are relationships which are broken and loved ones who are not converted and family and work situations which are draining and we see no way out. Change seems impossible. Learn from the early church and get down on your knees and pray through these things each day. Do not give up. Believe that God specialises in changing situations where it seems hopeless. Jairus was told, ‘Your daughter is dead; don’t bother the teacher anymore.’ Jesus says to him ‘Keep on believing’. You need the eyes of faith to see beyond the circumstances and see God on his throne.

And finally, let’s wrestle with this fact, in the early church these under-pressure Christians, Jews and Gentiles, slaves and free, men and women were in the habit of praying together. Yes, they prayed on their own too and in their families. But they regularly came together to pray. That’s what the church does. What will you do with that fact?

Harry Reeder: ‘Often in our churches today every other ministry takes over from the ministry of prayer. And I suggest that many times this is the primary reason why churches decline or die. They have charismatic leaders or slick programmes, but they have become ineffective because the church has stopped praying. On the other hand, any church that commits itself to prayer, no matter how bad things may have become, can be renewed and rebuilt by the power of the Spirit.’

If you can join us on a Wednesday evening to pray I would encourage you do to so. If you cannot, then I would encourage you to find another time when you can meet with other Christians to pray. May we be a church committed to praying together.

A new command…

10 March 202510 March 2025 John Johnstone Vision Statement

Sermon: Sunday, 9th March, 2025
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: John 13:33-34

On Friday, I reposted our church’s 7-part vision statement. I want us to take a break from our studies in Romans in order to focus on our vision statement. The last (but not least) of our aims is: ‘To grow closer as a loving church family, through mutual support and practical care.’ If we want our church to be as God glorifying and God pleasing as possible then it must be a church full of practical acts of love. This should be an obvious feature of church life, clear for all to see. Jesus says: ‘A new command I give you: Love one another.’ (John 13:33) This is not a divine suggestion or invitation from God. He’s not asking us: ‘Please love each other’. It is a divine command. This is something that we all must be doing. And it is something I believe we are doing. But we must not be resting on our laurels. We must not relax. The truth is, for us to excel in this arena as a church is extremely difficult. In fact, it is impossible. That is, it’s impossible for us to love one another the way God wants us to without his supernatural help. And yet unless there is evidence of love in our hearts for one another, we cannot possibly be true disciples of Christ.

What is the context into which Jesus gives us this new command? Well, it is just hours before he goes the way of the cross. He is about to endure great physical agony and even more than that, spiritual agony, as he himself becomes accursed in order to pay for our sins. He has so much to think about. And yet, here is Jesus taken up with the needs of his disciples rather than his own needs. This is in itself a tremendous window into Jesus’ heart of love. Of course, at such a significant time, knowing that he is about to leave his disciples, he is not going to teach or focus upon secondary issues but primary ones. Jesus will home in on what is crucial. And what is crucial for Christians is that they actively display love for one another.

Many years ago, we did a series looking at the ‘one another’ statements in the New Testament. There are around 50 such statements in the New Testament. However, the command to ‘love one another’ is repeated 12 times, far more than any of the others. After loving God, this is the most important command which God gives us.

1. Is this a new command?

Why does Jesus call a command to be loving a ‘new’ command? After all, surely the first 4 commandments in the Decalogue teach us how to love God, and the 5th to the 10th commandments are given in order to teach us what it means to love one another. If we want to love others then we must tell them the truth and respect their property and be faithful in our marriages and honour our parents and guard the sanctity of life and so on. Jesus summarises the 10 commandments in terms of love. ‘The most important one,’ answered Jesus, ‘is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.’ (Mark 12:28-31)

And even in the Old Testament we read: ‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbour as yourself. I am the Lord.’ (Leviticus 19:18) So, in one sense this is not a new command! Why then, does Jesus call it a new command? There are two Greek words for ‘new’. One means completely new, but the other meaning (and the one used here) means giving a new dimension to something which is already there. It means a fresh expression of something.

I believe that’s why Jesus calls this command a ‘new command’. The coming of Jesus Christ into this world did indeed bring a new dimension to the meaning of love. Jesus’ love surpasses loving our family or even loving our neighbours; it includes loving our enemies. It is a love for those who simply don’t deserve it. And the coming of Jesus into the world raised the standard of love as never before. Nothing before or since has exemplified the costliness of love as the cross of Christ. Jesus washing his disciples feet was an act of love; but it was but the prelude to a much greater act of humiliation and service at Golgotha. This is a new command.

It is a wider command, encompassing not just Jewish neighbours but neighbours world-wide. It is a command which now has a perfect example for us to model ourselves on; higher levels of intensity and costliness and self-sacrifice, eclipsing anything which had ever been seen before. It is a new command in that it needs new power, the power of the Holy Spirit, if we are going to carry it out.

James Montgomery Boice: ‘The power is the power of the Holy Spirit, the life of the Lord Jesus Christ in each believer. Without it we cannot love as Christ loved; for such love cannot be achieved by human energy.’

Following this, Boice helpfully underlines the way in which Jesus perfectly embodies true love. Using the famous description in 1 Corinthians 13, Boice says: ‘Jesus is patient and Jesus is kind. He does not envy, he does not boast, he is not proud. Jesus is not rude, or self-seeking or easily angered. He keeps no record of wrongs. Jesus does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. Jesus always protects, always trusts, always hopes and always perseveres. In other words, Jesus is our great example of love. God is love and Jesus is God. It is also a humbling exercise to take this famous section of 1 Corinthians 13 and insert our own names in there. John is not rude, self-seeking or easily angered. This reminds me of how unlike Jesus I am, and how much I need the power of the Spirit in order to become more like my Master.’

2. What is authentic love?

If we are to be a ‘loving family’ in this church what does this look like? The last thing we want is a vague line in our vision statement which we read and then forget about. This needs to be lived out. This has to be practical. What is the standard of our love? What is the benchmark? If we ask someone to do work in our homes, whether an electrician, plumber or plasterer, we expect a high standard. Does Jesus have high standards for the way we love one another? ‘As I have loved you, so you must love one another.’ (John 13:34b) Wow. The standard could not be higher. The bar has been well and truly raised. We are to love one another in the same way that Jesus has loved us. That begs the question, how was that?

Jesus love was gracious. He loved those who did not deserve his love. It was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us. Jesus didn’t just teach ‘love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you’ but he did just that. ‘Father forgive them…’ A few days ago I was reading of Stephen, the first martyr. As Jesus had loved with such grace, so Stephen follows in the footsteps of his master. How does Stephen die? Praying for those who had stoned him: ‘Then he fell on his knees and cried out, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ When he had said this, he fell asleep.’ (Acts 7:60)

It’s relatively easy to love those who love you back. God’s standards of love are far beyond that. ‘Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.’ (1 Peter 4:8) We all sin against one another in church and in our families. The question is, will we love and forgive one another at those times? Will we say, yes, you hurt me badly and deeply and many times, and what you did to me was serious and wrong. But I am going to respond in love. Here’s the honest truth – we cannot love with such grace without prayer – praying to ask God to fill us with this supernatural gracious love. But note this: this kind of love covers over a multitude of sins. This kind of love brings healing we never thought possible. This love is the love Jesus has given to you. Don’t you want to reflect that love? Don’t you want to love those who don’t deserve it? This is what Jesus commands.

Jesus love was gracious but it was also sacrificial. It cost him everything, quite literally. His love is shown by giving his life for others and dying in their place. The parable of the good Samaritan reminds us of the costliness of love. The Samaritan risks his own safety, spends his own money and uses up his own time in order to help another. Love is a costly business. It is self-denying. It looks beyond our own legitimate needs seeing the needs of others and meeting those needs, even though we have needs of our own. When was the last time you loved someone who didn’t deserve it? When was the last time you loved someone so that it cost you a great deal? Pray for such a love. Genuine love is gracious and cross-shaped. It extends well beyond loving those who we get on well with, to those who get on our nerves and try our patience.

3. What does Christ-like love prove?

V35 ‘By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.’ Christ’s love shows that we are genuine Christians. We are not fake. “Christian” is more than a label for us. What will persuade other people that we are genuine about following Jesus? Jesus is crystal clear. Love is the most powerful witness: there is so little gracious and sacrificial love in this world. And yet, is this not the kind of thing everyone is looking for? People long for a community where there is forgiveness. Where burdens are shared and where there is unconditional love.

This kind of love turns the world upside-down: if people come into our church and after a few months they see resentment, hear gossip, see people more interested in how they are treated than they are in loving others, then this will do enormous damage to the church. This hypocrisy will repel people. If we are preaching about being reconciled with God but cannot get on with one another then no one will listen and rightly so.

The world’s love is seldom gracious and sacrificial, and so if we can listen to Jesus’ command and practice it, albeit imperfectly, then we will stand out and make a huge impact. People will realise that we know God and follow God because his love radiates out from us. ‘No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.’ (1 John 4:12) God is invisible, but if we love one another graciously, we in the church are like visual aids, demonstrating the reality of God to the world!

4. How can I take this sermon into the week ahead?

Part of our fallen human nature is that all too often we see ourselves as the centre of the universe, and everyone else are the satellites who revolve around us. We need to get far away from this kind of thinking.

First of all, we need to get to know one another better, which involves spending time with one another. We cannot love, support and care for one another if we don’t spend time together. As well as knowing one another, we need to notice the needs of others. So, we are not the kind of people who just talk about our own problems (though it is good to share). We have tea and coffee after the service, and it’s not all about us. We are asking others how they are, and if we can help them then we will. Are you a noticer? Or are you so blinkered by your own aches and pains and needs that truth be told, you seldom think of others? These same principles apply in our families, with our spouses and our children. In those relationships, you are asking yourself, how can I be a blessing to them?

JC Ryle: ‘Of all the commands of our Master, there is none which is so much talked about and so little obeyed as this. Yet if we mean anything when we profess to have charity and love toward all men, it ought to be seen in our tempers and our words, our bearing and our doing, our behaviour at home and abroad, our conduct in every relation of life. Specially, it ought to show itself forth in all our dealing with other Christians.’

Terry Johnson: ‘We’re commanded to love not because it’s easy, but because it isn’t….. do you want to be this kind of person? How does it happen? By the work of the Holy Spirit. This kind of love is the fruit of His presence in the life of a believer. He will make you a loving person. He will obliterate the selfishness and pride that keep getting in the way. He will transform your heart and fill it with compassion, charity, grace, and genuine care. This is the promise of the gospel.’

So, what is the most practical thing you can do if you want to become a more loving person? Keep praying for a heart like Jesus’ heart!

A magnificent promise

20 February 202520 February 2025 John Johnstone Studies in Romans

Sermon: Sunday, 16th February, 2025
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Romans 8:28

There are times in our lives when we wonder what on earth God is doing. I remember a Christian lady I knew who got cancer. Shortly after that she tragically lost her son. And not long after that she was brutally attacked. I don’t understand why all of these things happened to her. There’s great mystery in these events. There is no easy explanation to this level of suffering. I also remember my friend taking early retirement in order to get involved in a mission in central Europe. On his first trip he was in a car accident and died. This made no sense to me. Why had God allowed this to happen? To this day I do not know. There are a lot of things we don’t know the answers to. Satan wants us to focus on these things and have them drown out the things God has revealed to us!

We all have experienced suffering to one degree or another. We experience physical and mental ill health. Life can be full of disappointments, not working out as we had hoped. We face unemployment, addiction, bereavement, being mistreated by others, difficulties in our families and problems at work. Life as a Christian is never easy. We battle against sin and temptation and we fail on a daily basis. Have I cheered you up yet? It is no wonder that we groan (Romans 8:23), longing to be free from living in this fallen world, full of its pain and suffering.

When Christians go through times of suffering, we don’t always react in a godly way.
We might become bitter – feeling that life is just cruel.
We might feel distant from God – and feel that carrying on communicating with God is pointless.
Our prayer lives dry up.
We might feel that God doesn’t care. The disciples felt like that in the boat during the storm: – ‘Don’t you care if we drown?’ they ask Jesus. (See Mark 4:38)

What can keep us from doubting God’s love and goodness during our times of suffering? What’s the antidote to becoming disillusioned with God?

Well, God does not usually answer our ‘why’ questions. Why has this happened to me? Why has life worked out this way? Most of the time, we don’t know. But there is a reason to continue to trust our heavenly Father, even when things go wrong. Why should we trust Him? We trust him because of the magnificent promise he gives us here: ‘And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.’ (Romans 8:28)

1. How Powerful is God?

This verse teaches us about the providence of God, one of the most helpful teachings God has given us to help us to trust in him.

Shorter Catechism
Q11: What are God’s works of providence?
A: God’s works of providence are, his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures and all their actions.

In other words, God is in control of all of the events in our lives – good and bad. Life is not just down to chance. Our lives are not out of control. If we can believe the promise of this verse, it will transform the way we look at our suffering. It is a precious promise.

Let’s be careful we don’t misunderstand this verse. Paul is not saying that everything that happens to Christians is good. Many bad things happen to us. We are hurt by others and we experience much pain. What is he saying then? He’s saying something profound – all things, including bad things which happen to us, are ultimately working for our good. That means that although it seldom feels like it at the time, it is good that they have happened to us.

RC Sproul: ‘The bad that we experience is redeemed in the providence of God. This means that God brings good out of the evil we experience… These bad things are truly bad things. But they are only proximately bad things; they are not ultimately bad things. They are blessings in disguise.’

Many bad things happened to Joseph. He was hated by his brothers and sold into slavery. In one act of evil, he lost his freedom, his culture, his language, his family, and almost everything he had ever known. Whilst in Egypt, he was falsely accused and imprisoned. For years, he endured enormous suffering and pain. But Joseph did not become bitter towards God. He did not become disillusioned. Why not?

In Genesis 50, when Joseph considers all the suffering and pain he experienced at the hands of his brothers, he is able to see the providence of God in it all. He can see that God has been orchestrating everything that happened. ‘But Joseph said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.’ (Genesis 50:19-20)

In Joseph’s life, God bends evil to accomplish his good purposes. Joseph’s family are saved from the famine. This is the family from which the Lord Jesus would come. Our view of what is happening in our lives is so limited. But God sees the whole of history and oversees all the details of the lives of his children.

Cancer is not good. Death is not good. The evil actions of others which hurt us are not good. But God is so powerful that even these things result in our good ultimately. Friends, this is God’s superintendence over your lives. His providence. His control. Nothing ever takes him by surprise and nothing can thwart his eternal purposes for us.

The best example of God working all things for the good of his own is found in the life of Christ himself. Many bad things happened to him. He is lied about. He is rejected and falsely accused and sentenced to death in a kangaroo court and mocked and flogged and brutally killed on the cross. Were those who handed Jesus over to be crucified responsible for his death? Of course they were. Their actions were wicked. However, we must also ask: was God in control? Did the crucifixion have a purpose? ‘This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.’ (Acts 2:23)

God worked the evil actions of Judas and Herod and Pilate and the Sanhedrin for good, resulting in the salvation of millions upon millions of people- as many as the stars in the sky. How powerful is God? So powerful that he bends evil for good. Yes, this is mysterious. Is this a God we can worship? A God who is that powerful? It certainly is.

Let’s spend the rest of our time focusing on Romans 8:28.

2. God is working for good

Imagine for a moment that there is no God. What could we say when going through pain and suffering? There would be no reason for the suffering. There would be no order to it. The events of our lives would just be random. We would be victims of chance. We would be without hope. Imagine that there is a God but that he is not sovereign and that he is not good. Again, our suffering would just be meaningless at best, or cruel at worst.

However, this truth is wonderful. God is not only involved in the details of those in the Bible, like Joseph and Moses and Jesus, but he is involved in the details of our lives too. God is working in your life. And because he is a good and compassionate and wise and all-powerful God, logically, he is working for our good. He promises this to be the case. God is very much ‘hands on’ in our lives.

However, we must be careful not to misuse or misunderstand this verse, thinking that everything that happens to us is good, especially with a narrow understanding of ‘good’. Our good is not the same thing as our pleasure or our happiness or our comfort.

Douglas Moo: ‘What God promises us in Romans 8:28 is not that every difficult experience will lead to something good in this life. The ‘good’ God may have in mind may involve the next life entirely. He may take us out of a secure, well-paying job in order to shake us out of a materialistic lifestyle that does not honour biblical priorities and we may never have a good job again’.

I believe Moo is right. It will not be until eternity that we will understand many of the things which happened to us in this life. Joseph was blessed enough to see some of the reasons why God has allowed him to suffer; but remember that for years and years, he had no idea why. And many of us will not know why in this lifetime.

What is the ‘good’ God ultimately has in mind for us? It is not health and wealth in this life. The purpose is given as follows: ‘For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.’ (Romans 8:29) God’s plan for us is to mould our characters into the character of Jesus. He wants to make you more like Jesus. Making us more like Jesus will involve massive work on God’s part, and suffering is one of the tools he uses for that. ‘… we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.’ (Romans 5:3-4) God is like a master sculptor, chipping away at all that is amiss in our lives.

Sometimes as children we are asked, ‘What would you like to be when you grow up?’ We might want to be a vet or a nurse or an engineer or a painter and decorator. But when we ‘grow up’ spiritually, we will all be like Jesus. And we will be part of a great family gathering in Heaven, where we will all be the people God intended us to be. (See Romans 8:29) And Jesus will be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters, including us if we love Jesus. That’s what things are working towards. That the ultimate ‘good’ God is working towards, and it will be for His glory.

3. God is working all things together for good.

The word ‘all’ is both a challenging and comforting word. ‘All’, of course, includes the good and the bad experiences in our lives. It even includes our sins. He can work them for good.

David’s sin of murder and adultery was a great evil. But did God work it for good? I believe he did.

What about Peter’s denial of Jesus? Peter learned many tough lessons through that sin, resulting in his spiritual maturity.

Robert Haldane: ‘It is not sin in itself that works the good, but God who overrules its effects to His children, shows them, by means of it, what is in their hearts, as well as their entire dependence on Himself, and the necessity of walking with him more closely. Their falls lead them to humiliation, to the acknowledgement of their weakness and depravity, to prayer for the guidance and overpowering influence of the Holy Spirit, to vigilance and caution against all carnal security, and to reliance on that righteousness provided for their appearance before God.’

Of course, this truth should never cause us to take sin lightly. We must always battle against sin. But what a wonderful thing to know that God’s promise here is so powerful that nothing in our lives is wasted with God, not even our sins. We don’t say ‘everything happens for a reason’ just to make ourselves feel better, but because it is the truth, even if we cannot understand how this could possibly be so until we are in Heaven.

Think of all the things you have gone through in your life. They have a reason and a purpose in God’s hands. Paul himself knew this to be true. He had a painful condition which he called his ‘thorn in the flesh’ but that too had a purpose, so that he would not become proud and so that he would experience even more of the grace and love of God. That did not mean it was easy for Paul. In fact, it was so painful that he begged and begged for the thorn to be removed. God is using your depression for good and your failures for good and the hurt in your family for good and the closed doors of opportunity for good. Do you believe that? That is the promise. Trust in it.

4. The qualification of this promise.

This promise is not for everyone – it is only for Christians.

‘And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.’ (Romans 8:28)

Sometimes, people who aren’t Christians say, ‘Everything happens for a reason’. But the promise of God working for good is only for those who love Jesus. It’s an exclusive promise. Christians are not just those who believe in God. They are those who love God. We don’t love him perfectly, but we love him who gave his one and only Son to die on the cross for us. And the reason we love Him is because he first loved us and called us into the circle of his love.

Do you want to be able to claim this magnificent promise today? Then you need to be on the narrow road that leads to eternal life. You need to be able to say like the psalmist: in Psalm 116: ‘I love the Lord because He heard my voice; he listened when I cried to Him for aid.’ (Psalm 116:1)

Challenge: can you rest in this wonderful promise. If you can say that you love Jesus, there is great peace to found, even right in the middle of our suffering.

Abba, Father!

27 January 202527 January 2025 John Johnstone Studies in Romans

Sermon: Sunday, 26th January, 2025
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Romans 8:11-16

How can human beings experience lasting change? Think of communities in Scotland where there is high unemployment, widespread use of drugs and alcohol and high rates of crime. What will bring lasting change to these communities? Can politics alone deliver? A government could pump more money into the NHS and create more job opportunities and provide better care services and improve education, and in many cases that would be welcomed. It will bring about a certain kind of change. But people will only experience radical change if they come to know Jesus as Saviour and King. Why is that? Because only Jesus can change us from within. Only he can give us new hearts and new motivations. Only he can deal with our root problem of sin and provide a solution for that sin- his own blood shed on the cross.

I think self-help books have a place, as long as we recognise their limitations and are able to discern when they contradict Scripture or have an unhealthy worldview – and many of them sadly do. Nevertheless, we can learn a great deal from experts whether or not they are believers. For example, I keep on seeing the book by Robin Sharma called the 5 am club: own your morning and elevate your life. Sharma is described as one of the world’s premier speakers on leadership and personal mastery, and recently named one of the world’s top leadership gurus. I genuinely believe I could benefit from reading this book. Perhaps getting up earlier would help me to exercise more and become more productive. There might even be spiritual benefits, having more time with God. But this book will not change my heart or make me more loving or forgiving and it won’t give me peace with God.

I read an excellent article by Josh Maule on self-help books. He says: ‘Self-help books have one thing in common. They place you at the centre of your quest. You are the hero who must take charge of your life—thinking and acting better, starting your day smarter, finishing your day wiser — thus unlocking your full potential.’ He goes on to say something which is contrary to most self-help books, but which I believe to be true: ‘Christianity teaches universal brokenness. Worse, it teaches we are in active rebellion against our creator. Alcoholics Anonymous begins with a statement that: ‘We admitted we were powerless over alcohol — that our lives had become unmanageable.’

Regular Christianity begins with a similar confession. We admit we are sinners —morally and spiritually bankrupt. We live ignoring God and his plan for us. And deep down, we like it a lot. I can’t help myself. The second step Christians have made is to acknowledge that we can’t do anything to help ourselves. Like an insect caught in a spider’s web, a sinner caught in sin can wriggle. But it only makes things worse. We can’t stop how we live. We can’t fix up past mistakes. We can’t make it up to God or others. We’re in what the English call ‘a right pickle’.’

Let’s continue to think about lasting change. The greatest change which happens is when we become Christians. This change is a work of God’s grace. He takes away our hearts of stone and replaces them with hearts of flesh. We are unable to pay the huge debt of sin we owe God, but God provides the payment in the death of his Son Jesus. Remember those words: ‘For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.’ (Romans 8:3)

Do you think God would have sent Jesus to die such a shameful and cruel and painful death if we humans were able to save ourselves from Hell? Of course not! If you are not yet a Christian, you cannot save yourself. All you can do is cry out to God for mercy, based on the death of Jesus on the cross. As we’ve seen in recent weeks, once we receive Jesus as our Saviour and King, God does something wonderful – he sends the Holy Spirit to dwell in us in a mysterious but real way. All Christians have God the Spirit living within. There is no such thing as a Christian without the Spirit as a constant presence. It is God’s Spirit who gives us new desires to live for God, rather than for ourselves. God’s Spirit alone brings lasting change.

For the rest of our time, let’s look at 3 things which the dwelling of God the Holy Spirit brings us: A new hope, a new enemy and a new relationship.

1. A new hope

The fact that all Christians are temples of the Spirit brings us enormous and certain hope as we face death – our own deaths and those of other Christians. ‘But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.’ (Romans 8:10-11)

Here’s a question – how much power do we have as Christians to change? Well, the power we have within us is the same power which raised the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. This is incalculable power. With God’s help, we can indeed change and become more like Jesus (more of that later). But notice the logic Paul gives us here: just as the Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead, so the Holy Spirit will raise the bodies of believers from the grave. As Christians, our bodies will die because of sin, but that’s not the end of the story. Our bodies will be raised one day because the Holy Spirit dwells within us.

My friend Douglas died just a few weeks ago and his funeral is here on Wednesday. I only knew him as a man in a wheelchair due to his MS. However, now I’ve seen lots of photos of him before his illness, when he was in full control of his body and could ceilidh dance and play shinty. Latterly, Douglas couldn’t use his hands so couldn’t drink a cup of tea on his own. But here’s the truth – one day, because of the Holy Spirit, he will be given a brand-new body which will be an everlasting human body. It will pulsate with energy and never grow weary or sick or stop working. It will be more glorious than any body we know of on earth. How do we know this will happen? Because the Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead, the first fruits of what is to come.

Death is the separation of body and soul. What is our certain hope as God’s children? That we will be made perfect in body and soul and that body and soul will be united once again, this time for ever. Christ’s resurrection is the pledge and pattern of our resurrection.

John Stott: ‘The ultimate destiny of our body is not death but resurrection.’

Friends, we have so much to look forward to.

Robert Haldane: ‘Christ the first fruits will be followed by that great harvest, in which…the bodies of believers sown in the earth, after having died like grain cast into it, shall be revived and raised up. The life which has been communicated to our souls will, at the glorious resurrection, be also communicated to our bodies… Believers, then, may defy the grave and glory over death, being assured of this resurrection… On Jesus then, the sure foundation, is the whole of our salvation built.’

2. A new enemy

‘For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.’ (Romans 8:15) What is our new enemy as Christians? It is sin! When we become Christians we are to wage an all-out war against sin in our lives. Sin is not something to be treated lightly or played down, or tolerated; rather, with the Spirit’s help it is something to be starved and smothered and slain. Is that your attitude to the sin in your heart? To help us focus on that personal question, I will ask, what particular sin have you been fighting against over the last few days? This must be a daily and constant fight. We cannot take our foot off the gas.

When we think of the work of the Holy Spirt, so often we think of Him guiding us in big decisions, like whether or not to take a new job or move to a new place. We talk about the Spirit leading us, or prompting us to speak to someone, and that happens. However, the ordinary yet vital work of the Spirit Paul speaks of here is to help us to put the sins in our lives to death. The fancy word for this is mortification. We need to rediscover this word. Mortification. It means that we must have a ruthless attitude to the sins in our lives. We must be radical in getting rid of them. After all, did not our Lord say, if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off? That does not suggest a lax attitude to sin. That does not suggest pruning sin around the edges, like we often do, if we are honest. Before slabs were put down in our garden, I had to dig out an ivy which had been there for years. I dug a really deep hole, but it wasn’t deep enough. I pulled and yanked and tugged on the ivy with all my strength and managed to get a fair bit out, but not the roots. Often, we treat our sin like that – we try to get rid of it using our own strength, and it might seem like we are making progress. But what does Paul say in Romans 8: ‘…if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.’ (Romans 8:8) So, if you have a problem with gossip, or internet porn, or pride, then you need to ask the Holy Spirit to help you. Do you do that? You must. You have to ask Him in order to kill sin.

If we are honest, many of us probably have a peace-time mindset, as if there’s no war going on in our lives. Let’s be clear – the war only stops in Heaven. The whole of our lives is marked by a battle against sin. The wonderful news is that we are not on our own in this battle. The Holy Spirit is our Helper. If only we asked for his help more often.

Perhaps you are not taking your Christian faith seriously enough just now. Know this, whether you realise it or not, sin will be flourishing in your heart. Here’s a practical step we can all take- run through the ten commandments in our minds, and try and discern the different ways we are currently breaking these commands. Then take radical steps to pray for help and do all we can to eradicate them. For example, the first commandment is that God should have the first place in our lives. Ask yourself, what is really first just now? Then prayerfully, depending on the Spirit, and using the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, tear down that idol. We do not owe the flesh anything. We do not owe sin anything. Kill it! It promised us so much but failed to deliver time and time again. It promises life but leads to eternal death. This is serious.

3. A new relationship

‘The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.’ (Romans 8:15-16)

RC Sproul: ‘The greatest privilege of all is to be able to come before God and address him as Father. And we are not able to do that by nature, because by nature we are children of wrath.’

Do you realise that God is not everyone’s Father? It is only those who receive Jesus as Saviour and King who can call God their Father. In other words, very few people in Fife, a tiny fraction, are currently able to do this. That’s why we desperately need to share the good news of the gospel. For those of us who are Jesus’ disciples, do you realise the immense privilege you have?

What does it mean that God is our Father? I love the words of the Westminster Confession of Faith here.

XII ‘All those that are justified… receive the Spirit of adoption, have access to the throne of grace with boldness, are enabled to cry, Abba, Father, are pitied, protected, provided for, and chastened by him, as by a father: yet never cast off, but sealed to the day of redemption; and inherit the promises, as heirs of everlasting salvation.’

Those are wonderful words – God pities, protects and provides for us. Satan wants us to cast a false image of God in our minds as a tightfisted, harsh, killjoy who makes unreasonable demands of us. This is nonsense.

Terry Johnson: ‘We pray not as we ought and live not as we ought. We stumble. We fall. We fail. How does God look at us? As a father does his children. He looks upon us with compassion. What could be more liberating that this? What could be more freeing and healing than to know that God is my Father? What could be more therapeutic than to know that He looks upon me with all my brokenness and strife with sympathy, with pity, with compassion?’

We ought also to be confident of our Father’s protection. If good earthly fathers protect their children, how much more with our heavenly Father? ‘… who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.’ (1 Peter 1:5)

When a young child falls and skins their knee, they will instinctively call out ‘Daddy, Daddy.’ We should have that same instinct in prayer when we are in trouble. Cry out to Abba Father for protection.

Because God is our Father, we can also be confident of his care in all areas of our lives. He provides. He knows what we need. He encourages us to ask him for all we need: ‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.’ (Philippians 4 v6).

Once I was on a bus and sat next to a nun and we got chatting. I asked her if she knew she was going to Heaven when she died. She said, ‘I hope so but cannot be sure’. The thing is, God wants us to be sure that if we trust in Jesus, we have become his children. In fact, the Holy Spirit gives us the assurance that we are adopted as sons and one sign of it is that in times of great distress, we find ourselves just crying out, ‘Father..

‘And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ (Romans 8:15) It is the Holy Spirit who brings to us the awareness that we are sons of God. This word ‘cry’ is used around 50 times in the New Testament and almost always in the context of someone crying out in deep distress. For example, blind Bartimaeus is said to ‘cry out’ in all his distress. There’s something really significant here – when as Christians we go through times of deep despair, depression, loneliness, pain or suffering, isn’t it true that we instinctively just cry out ‘Father’. Sometimes that’s all we can manage to say. This cry is itself a sign that we are sons of the living God. In our times of great need, the Spirit ministers to us and enables us to cry out ‘Abba, Father’.

When we do, this is the hallmark of a believer. This is the cry of the child of God.

An anchor and a rudder

12 January 202512 January 2025 John Johnstone Studies in Romans

Sermon: Sunday, 12th January, 2025
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Romans 8:1-4

1. An anchor

We all know how important anchors are to give ships stability allowing them to securely hold their position and to stop them from drifting dangerously into rocks or other vessels. Sometimes there are strong winds or currents or tides that push against a ship or a boat. You need to make sure your anchor has been dropped, to keep both you and your boat safe. When it comes to the Christian life, stability is extremely important. We need certain spiritual anchors, which are the promises of God, to give us assurance of our salvation and to provide stability in the storms of life. Sometimes these storms can be long-lasting and ferocious. Our circumstances might be so tough that we think God must be against us, or must have forgotten us, or doesn’t really love us.

The old hymn asks the question:
‘Will your anchor hold in the storms of life,
when the clouds unfold their wings of strife?
When the strong tides lift, and the cables strain,
will your anchor drift, or firm remain?’

The answer is given:
‘We have an anchor that keeps the soul,
steadfast and sure while the billows roll,
fastened to the Rock which cannot move,
grounded firm and deep in the Saviour’s love.’

Romans chapter 8 begins with one of the most magnificent anchors of God’s love in all the Bible. These 12 words can keep us stable when circumstances seem against us or when Satan is dredging up our weaknesses and sins of the past: ‘There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.’

No condemnation! If you knew how black my heart has been, even as a Christian, then you’d realise how much these words mean to me. I ought to be condemned by God. I agree with the Psalmist; ‘If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?’ (Psalm 130:3) In Romans chapters 1 to 3, we explored how both pagans and the religious fall well short of God’s standards. We live in a world full of pride, greed, racism, exploitation, hatred and lust. The truth is, these vices aren’t just in the hearts of other people- they are in our hearts too. There’s something in us all that wants to dethrone God and put ourselves on the throne instead. We wrongly think freedom means pushing God out of the centre and occupying the centre ourselves. However, the reality is that this results in selfishness and slavery rather the freedom we think we will get. Only lives centred in Jesus can experience true and lasting freedom.

Even Christians still behave in shocking ways and were it not for God’s grace would still deserve to be condemned. Think of Peter denying he even knew Jesus. I can think of my own life and the catalogue of wrongdoing in the book of my Christian life. There’s a lot from my past which Satan can dig up and hold before my face. And he does. And I need to say to him, ‘Yes, but there’s now no condemnation for me, not because I deserve pardon, but because I am now in Christ Jesus.’ I never need to fear being rejected by God. I never need to fear being condemned by God. Why? Because Jesus has already been condemned in my place. He was condemned for me, and that’s why there’s no condemnation to be experienced. What an anchor!

Again, the hymn says: ‘grounded firm and deep in the Saviour’s love’. That’s exactly right. ‘For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.’ (Romans 8:3) In love, God the Father sent Jesus to be our ‘sin offering’. In other words, he would die on the cross in our place, paying the price for sin. And as we need to remind ourselves again and again, God never demands payment twice. That’s unfair. If you pay a bill in a restaurant, you don’t have to pay it again. Bills are settled once. Jesus has settled our account and so nothing more can be demanded of us, and thus rather than being condemned we are in fact justified – made right in the eyes of God.

The hymn ‘Before the throne’ puts it so well:
‘When Satan tempts me to despair, and tells me of the guilt within,
upward I look and see Him there who made an end to all my sin.
Because the sinless Saviour died, my sinful soul is counted free,
or God the Just is satisfied to look on Him and pardon me.’

God has given the verdict ‘not guilty’.

Let me be more personal. Is this an anchor you have in your life? Can you say with confidence that you don’t need to fear God’s judgment and that you will never be condemned by God? Let’s take a closer look to remind ourselves of who is able to say this wonderful thing. Look at the end of verse 1. It is for those who are ‘in Christ Jesus’. The ESV translates verse 2 better, and we hear the same phrase: ‘For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.’

There’s only one place to be in all the world if we want to be free from condemnation, and that is ‘in Christ’. The ‘not guilty’ verdict is not found in the false religions of the world or in humanism or paganism or agnosticism. The Bible is clear. You must be ‘in Christ’. What does this mean to be ‘in Christ’? It means we trust that he is King and that he died on the cross for our sins. Christianity is not a bunch of rules or a philosophy but rather a relationship of trust, where we rest on the work Jesus has already done on the cross.

Here’s the good news – let’s allow it to sink in – we are free from the penalty of our own sin. The hymn Man of sorrows says this:
‘Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
in my place condemned he stood,
sealed my pardon with his blood:
Hallelujah, what a Saviour!’

2. A rudder

It is indeed wonderful news that there is no condemnation for those who rest in Christ. However, imagine a prisoner who has been imprisoned for serious crimes. He receives a pardon from the prime minister; however, he remains locked up in jail. That would not be ideal predicament: ‘Yes, you are free from the guilt of these crimes, but you will remain imprisoned.’ The stunning thing about how God treats us in Christ is that he not only frees us from the penalty of sin saying ‘No condemnation’, he also frees us from the power of sin, by filling us with the Holy Spirit. God’s Holy Spirit gives us the desire to do what is right and opposes our old sinful desires to do what is wrong.

A rudder is the part of a ship which controls its direction and allows it to change course. Before we trusted in Christ, we were unable to change course in our own strength.

John Flavel: ‘We are more able to stop the sun in its course or make rivers flow uphill, as by our own skill and power to rule and order our hearts.’

In other words, we cannot really change within, in our hearts, without God’s power. Let’s make this statement more positively – we must never think as Christians that we cannot change for the better. You can change. With the Holy Spirit within us, we can change for the better. We can have more of the love and forgiveness and peace of Jesus in our hearts. Before the Spirit of Jesus was in our hearts, the 10 Commandments were just a reminder of how far short we fall from God’s standards. But what does the Holy Spirit do with these commandments? The prophet Jeremiah speaks of the blessings of the new covenant: ‘But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.’ (Jeremiah 31:33) The Spirit gives us new desires and inclinations and empowers us to root sin out of our lives.

You cannot change for the better just by trying really hard to obey God’s rules. ‘For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.’ (Romans 8:2-4)

Before, we were unable to keep God’s rules. The problem wasn’t with the law. The law is good. The problem was our sinful flesh was unable to obey it. We needed an external power outside of ourselves. We needed the power of God. God enables us to walk according to the Spirit.

John Owen: ‘Our minds now, have a new saving supernatural light to enable them to think and act spiritually.’

Before we were Christians, the master of the house was the evil one. We were under his dominion, and the evidence of this was that we lived for ourselves and pushed God out of the centre. But now we have a new master of the house, and that is the Holy Spirit. Yes, there’s still an unwelcome guest in our house, a squatter – that’s our sinful nature. He’s guest to get rid of. In fact, it’s only in Heaven that we’ll be totally free of him. But although the change is not total, it is nonetheless enormous.

I’ve been a Christian for well over 40 years. I’m ashamed how little progress I’ve made in some of those years. I think I spent too much of it trying to change myself, rather than coming to Jesus and asking for his help. Perhaps you can relate to that. But let’s really let this sink in, we’ve been given not only a wonderful anchor in our justification, but we’ve also been given a new rudder – the Holy Spirit. Will you open your Bibles through the week and listen to the Spirit speaking to you? And when Scripture comes to mind and you feel the Spirit prompting you to do something, or not to do something, will you be directed by the Spirit? Will you keep in step with the Spirit? If you are willing to, you can change. You can make real progress. You don’t have to give up.

In the excellent book ‘You can change’, Tim Chester asks: ‘Have you despaired of ever changing? Do you think you are a lost cause? Maybe you think it’s different for you. Other people can change but your history or temptations or problems make it different for you… Only God can bring true and lasting change. And that’s because only God can change our hearts.’

Let’s keep these two images before us. Our anchor is the fact that God will never, ever condemn us. And our guiding rudder in life is now the Holy Spirit. These are great truths which we need to rub into our lives each day. Why did we sing the hymn ‘Rock of Ages’? Because it speaks of Jesus saving us from the guilt of sin (we are not condemned) and also of the power of sin (we have the Spirit):
‘Let the water and the blood,
from thy riven side which flowed,
be of sin the double cure,
save me from its guilt and power.’

Often human beings think their main problem is their unhappiness. ‘If only I could be happy…’ God knows our deepest problem isn’t unhappiness but unrighteousness and powerlessness. So, in his kindness, he provides us with a Saviour and his Spirit. He provides us with exactly what we need. And this leads to our eternal happiness, and more importantly, the glory of God: ‘… the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us.’ (Romans 8:4) How good our God is.

Keep on keeping on

29 December 202429 December 2024 John Johnstone Sermons

Sermon: Sunday, 29th December, 2024
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Philippians 3:10-16

We’ve reached the last Lord’s Day of 2024, a natural time for us to both look back at the year gone by and to look ahead to 2025. Some of us like doing that kind of thing naturally. We make New Year’s resolutions, and we might even journal our progress through the year. However, the truth is many of us might not want to look back or look ahead. It might seem too painful or hopeless or uncomfortable to do so. It is easier just to take a day at a time and not think about things too much. We avoid the serious thing. We avoid assessing how things have been going and what we want in the coming year.

1. Stagnation versus growth

Imagine close friends meeting for a coffee and discussing their respective jobs. One tells how she feels she’s been stagnating in her job all year. Her skills remain untapped, and she’s not being given enough responsibility. Her boss takes little interest in her work. The other friends encourage her to look for a new job, even if that’s hard in the short-term. No one likes stagnation. It’s a negative word. Stagnant water, by definition, has no fresh water entering it, making it unhealthy and a breeding ground for bacteria and parasites. This friend longs for a job in which she can grow and develop and be nurtured and expand her skills. When it comes to work, we’d all choose an environment of growth over one of stagnation. What is true of the working world is also true of our spiritual lives. Each of us has a responsibility to look back and to look ahead and to ask ourselves, have I been growing as a Christian or have I been stagnating?

We’ve been weighing our week-old puppies daily to make sure they are gaining weight and are healthy. We have to do that. We must take responsibility for them. But the sad thing is that often we fail to spiritually ‘weigh’ ourselves and take time to check if there is spiritual health and growth. Do we have to? Really?

Paul instructs Timothy: ‘Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you. Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress.’ (1 Timothy 4:13-15)

Fiends, the Christian life is a pilgrimage in which we aim to see progress and not stagnation. Would others in your family or church family be able to see that you have made progress spiritually this year? Or is this stuff just for preachers like Timothy? No, it’s for all of us to work hard, in God’s power, to make progress.

Our passage today is full of teaching which helps to jolt us out of coasting along in the Christian life, if that is what we are doing. Paul wants us to follow his example as he follows Christ. He wants us to emulate him, and he is a man who has kept his desire to grow stronger and develop in the Christian life, seeking to know Christ and become like Christ. Paul says so plainly: ‘I want to know Christ — yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death…’ (Philippians 3:10) Paul has known Christ for decades now, so what does he mean that he wants to ‘know Christ?’ It simply means he wants to know Jesus more and more, just as a loving friend continues to want to know more about his friend after years of friendship. It’s a relationship. And when it comes to Christ, because he is God this means that we will never come to the end of knowing him. That’s thrilling! There is always more about Christ’s wisdom and love and grace for us to discover. We can never claim to have ‘arrived’ spiritually.

Paul wants us to know more of Christ’s power. Amazingly, this is the same power which raised Christ from the tomb. Who wouldn’t want to know more of this life-giving power from the Holy Spirit? It is so appealing. Don Carson reminds us that it is this power which enables us to grasp the dimensions of God’s love for us, and that gives us endurance, faith and gives rise to lives marked by thankfulness. Only God’s power can bring such changes to us. But Paul doesn’t stop there. He also wants us to participate in the sufferings of Christ. At first, that might sound much less appealing. What does it mean? That just as Christ’s life involved suffering in this life followed by glory, our lives must share this pattern.

In other words, Christ-likeness must lead us to Calvary. We too must take up our crosses and follow Jesus, and as we do that, he will be with us, he will fellowship with us. God often uses persecution and the sufferings of this life to bring us closer to himself and to bring growth in our lives. Consider the familiar image of pruning a bush in our garden; the pruning can be painful and seem severe, but it leads to growth and fruitfulness. We cannot look ahead to 2025 and say to God, ‘I want your power but not the suffering.’ We must have both. In fact, the amazing thing is that it is in those times of testing and suffering that’s God’s grace works in us all the more, and our lives bring more glory to God.

Paul prayed three times for the thorn in his flesh to be taken away, but God said: ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ (2 Corinthians 12:9) I have to be honest and say that I still struggle with the fact that so much Christian growth comes through our suffering. However, I also attest that it most certainly does. Here’s the heart of the matter: Paul is not stagnating in his faith but is growing in his knowledge of Christ and love of Christ, and he wants us to grow too.

D Carson: ‘It is a shocking thing for Christians to have to admit that they have grown little in their knowledge of Jesus Christ.’

May 2025 be a year of spiritual growth for us and not spiritual stagnation.

However, there’s a danger that we all leave church just feeling guilty today. We might wring our hands and think, ‘There’s no way I can make progress.’ We might leave discouraged. Instead, let’s take a closer look at these verses to learn from Paul what we need to do to see growth, and what God will do in us.

2. Press on in the race

In verses 9-11, Paul has been speaking about the past, present and future of the Christian life. He has been justified through faith in the past; in the present, he is far from perfect, but is being sanctified, becoming more like Jesus; and in the future he will be glorified, and only then will his struggle with sin be over. In Paul’s day, there were some false teachers who claimed to have reached perfection in this life, a state of holiness in which they no longer sinned. I’d want to get a hold of the wives of these false teachers and ask them if they agreed. I suspect not. Paul wants to be clear that he has not reached this point: ‘Not that I have already obtained all this or have already arrived at my goal…’ Paul, like all of us, had to fight against sin every day and strive towards holiness, knowing that perfection would only come in Heaven.

Here’s a question; why is it so dangerous to stagnate in our Christian pilgrimage? Because although we are justified by faith, we are still sinners.

John Owen: ‘Indwelling sin lives in us in some measure and degree while we are in this world, so that sin is always acting, always conceiving, always seducing, always tempting.’

That is so true. So, if we start to coast or switch off in our Christian lives, this indwelling sin will run riot. We cannot ever stop fighting against sin and we cannot stop asking God for help to become more like Jesus. We must do all we can in this fight against sin. When we are driving, we can never really switch off. We always need to be aware what’s behind us and in front of us and this changes all the time. There are obstacles and dangers which can come upon us quickly out on the road. Likewise, in the Christian life, we must be concentrating all the time, looking for dangers and watching and praying. Whether we are young Christians, or much older Christians, John Owen’s advice remains equally true: ‘be killing sin or sin will be killing you’.

What is Paul’s advice to us as we anticipate 2025 together? We must ‘press on’ in the life of faith. This is an image from the world of athletics. We are all in a marathon and need to keep on running. The language Paul uses involves us working really hard, running and sweating and stretching every muscle as we concentrate on the prize of eternal life with Christ. There’s nothing here of Paul being passive, just turning up in church when he feels like it, allowing his Bible to gather dust and not bothering serving in the local church, but leaving that to others. This is a race. Sins are put to death.

We pursue Christian growth through the usual channels: reading the Bible, spending quality time in prayer to God in stillness with our phones, Xboxes, televisions and radios switched off. We make time for Christian fellowship to keep ourselves accountable and to encourage others. We make church a priority. We confess our sins at the end of the day in prayer and think and think again about how we can root out the sins which keep tripping us up. This is pressing on.

I love that, in a positive sense, Paul is a monomaniac here. There’s one thing he wants to do. He’s focused on one thing like a laser beam. ‘But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize…’ (Philippians 3:13-14) What does Paul mean by ‘forgetting what is behind’? Well, all runners know that you can’t run effectively if you are looking back over your shoulder on the time. You must look ahead.

We can look back at past mistakes we’ve made and get stuck in the things we have done. However, if we have confessed those sins to God, and repented, then don’t keep looking back. Look ahead to Jesus. We could look back at things which have happened in our past and blame others or blame God. But we can’t make progress if we’re harbouring bitterness about past wrongs. Forget what is behind. That’s not always easy. I find it easy to be like a pig wallowing in the mud of my sins from the past. But God wants me to press on. Perhaps you’re not like a pig but a sloth. You look back at all you have achieved in your Christian life, years of service in Sunday School, creche, café, or the like. And you rest on your laurels. You look back and wrongly think you’ve done enough. To the sloths as well as the pigs, the Lord would say ‘press on’. Perhaps this is a danger to middle aged and older Christians. You want to ‘retire’ from Christian service, but God wants you to ‘press on’.

3. Press on, but with God’s help!

What do you hope to do in 2025? Perhaps you have some DIY projects or countries you’d like to visit. Of course, work and family will take up much of our time in the ordinariness of life, but all this we must do for the glory of God. What God is asking from you this morning is to focus on the main thing: ‘Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead…’ (Philippians 3:13) When I think of straining, I think of how much our dog used to strain on the leash when out for a walk. It would drive us crazy. But this is a positive straining. We are straining towards becoming more like Jesus. We will arrange our lives, and organise our diaries, and make plans with this one thing in mind. We won’t get too distracted by things that don’t really matter, like endless entertainment and money and pleasure. Sure, we’ll enjoy God’s good creation and be joyful Christians, savouring music and friendship and the positive things in our culture. But in a secondary way. ‘Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. I am a stranger on earth; do not hide your commands from me.’ (Psalm 119:18-19) We are pilgrims on the earth. We’re just passing through. So, we’ll hold loosely to the stuff of this world. And we will strain towards the lasting heavenly prize.

Let’s end the year with some massive encouragements. Yes, we must ‘press on’. But there’s something else taking place which inspires us to keep on going, and that’s the knowledge that Christ has got a grip of us and will not let us go: ‘… but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.’ (Philippians 3:12) Because Jesus’ grip of us is unbreakable, we can run the race with joy, because we know that we cannot lose this race. Jesus himself enables us to keep on running.

We work, as God works. It’s not all about us. The hymn puts it well:
‘When I fear my faith will fail, Christ will hold me fast.
When the tempter would prevail, He will hold me fast.
I could never keep my hold through life’s fearful path,
for my love is often cold. He must hold me fast.’

We also hear this same wonderful note sounding in verse 14: ‘I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.’ (Philippians 3:14) God has ‘called’ us heavenward. Because God himself has called us in this direction, this means he is determined that we shall reach our destination. If God calls us to this race, and he does, you can be sure that he will provide all the grace we need to run, and we will finish.

For or against?

23 December 202423 December 2024 John Johnstone Sermons

Sermon: Sunday, 22nd December, 2024
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Luke 2:21-40

Christmas is only three days away. At this time of year, we often think about the shepherds and the wise men, but there’s a part of the story we often miss out – Jesus’ presentation in the temple. Let’s not miss this part out! It’s an amazing event with much to teach us. As baby Jesus is in the temple, an old godly man gathers him up in his arms and prophesied about him. What he says is so wonderful that we read Mary and Joseph marvel about it (verse 33). Simeon looks at this tiny, fragile, dependent baby and says that he is salvation and that he is the light for a dark world.

Jesus is circumcised at eight days old and then when he is 5-6 weeks old, his parents take him to the temple, to present him to God, because Jesus was the first-born son. Normally, five shekels was paid to ‘redeem’ the first-born. ‘The first offspring of every womb, both human and animal, that is offered to the Lord is yours. But you must redeem every firstborn son and every firstborn male of unclean animals. When they are a month old, you must redeem them at the redemption price set at five shekels of silver…’ (Numbers 18:15-16)

Another ceremony is going on here too – the purification of the mother (Mary) – where a lamb or, if people were poor, a pair of doves or pigeons would be sacrificed. It’s fascinating to note that Mary and Joseph are too poor to sacrifice a lamb. Jesus is brought up by parents who did not have much to spare. More importantly, we see that Jesus is brought up by parents who seek to honour God in their lives. Clearly, Mary and Joseph are obeying the Old Testament requirements, and were a pious, God-centred young couple. They bring their family to synagogue each Sabbath and bring up their children in the ways of the Lord. This is the kind of home we want to have. We want a home where our children are taught to pray and understand God’s Word. We don’t need a materialistic Christmas. Of course, we can enjoy giving and receiving gifts, but the focus is on something deeper – the birth of the Saviour.

Mary and Joseph are examples to us that we are to worship God in God’s way, in the way in which he has prescribed in the Bible, and not making it up as we go along. Many people are confused about this. They think they don’t need to go to church to worship God and don’t need Jesus to worship God. But it’s not our place to decide how we want to worship God. It’s God’s place as God to tell us how we are to worship him. That’s why we aim to worship according to the Bible, God’s revelation. It’s mentioned five times here that Mary and Jospeh act in accordance with the ‘law of the Lord’.

1. The humility of the first Christmas

There is so much in the Christmas story which underlines Jesus’ humility. He leaves the worship and splendour of Heaven and comes down to a broken world to rescue us. What kind of situation does he enter? He is born in a stable and placed in a manger. He is hunted by wicked king Herod and forced to flee to Egypt, becoming a refugee. He is born into a despised race, Israel, which has been conquered by nation after nation for around 1000 years and currently subjugated the might of Rome. He is born to poor parents and grows us in an obscure town called Nazareth. And in this passage, Jesus is himself is subjected to all the regulations of the Mosaic law, needing to be redeemed for five shekels as the firstborn son. ‘But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.’ (Galatians 4:4-5)

I find it ironic that Jesus, who is the Redeemer, is himself redeemed for five shekels of silver. Redemption means to set someone free through the payment of a price. Jesus is the perfect Son of God who never sinned and so in that sense does not need to be redeemed. But in keeping with the law, and in his humility, he is treated as if he is an ordinary sinful human being, needing to be redeemed. This is a bit like when as an adult, Jesus is baptised, in spite of not needing to be washed from any personal sin. Again and again, Jesus identifies with the sinners he has come to save. Then on the cross, Jesus redeems us. He sets us free from the horrors of sin by paying a great price. The price is his own life. The baby redeemed here goes on to become the Redeemer, who pays with his own precious blood.

2. The first Christmas was worth waiting for

We only have three more sleeps until it’s Christmas! I’m sure we can all wait a little longer. In verse 25 we’re introduced to a man called Simeon who is waiting for the ‘consolation of Israel’. Consolation means comfort, and this phrase is another way to say ‘the Messiah’. Simeon is a highly privileged individual. Not only is the Spirit of God upon him, but he had received a unique and amazing promise from God – he would not die until he had seen the Messiah with his own eyes. That’s some promise! We are not told when Simeon was given this promise and so we don’t know how long he has been anticipating the coming of the Messiah. Every day, he must have longed more than the one before that this would be the day. The spiritual darkness in Israel was enormous, therefore the coming of the light of the world to dispel the darkness was something to long for indeed.

The Holy Spirit prompts Simeon to enter the temple courts, just when Jesus is being presented there. God is orchestrating everything together in order to fulfil his promise to Simeon. Simeon takes baby Jesus in his arms and praises God.

What can we learn today from his words? ‘Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace.’ (Luke 2:29) In other words, Simeon is now ready to die.

How would you fill the blank? Before I die I want to …
Walk my children down the aisle?
Travel the world?
Enjoy many happy and healthy years of retirement?
See my grandchildren?

Often, what someone truly longs for tells us what they truly value. For Simeon, the one thing he wants is to see the Christ child. This totally blows everything else out of the water. Nothing else comes remotely close to the thrill of this privilege. Why? Because in Jesus, Simeon has all he could possibly need or want. He has forgiveness, and eternal life. He has salvation from sin. He has seen God’s glory in the person of Jesus. And because Simeon trusts in Jesus, and even entrusts his death to Jesus, he knows that he need not fear death, and that everything is going to be ok. In fact, everything is as good as it can be, because Jesus’ love for Simeon will never come to an end. Simeon trusts in the one who will right all wrongs and usher in a new world one day. Nothing else really matters in comparison.

Darrell Bock: ‘Simeon knows that he can be content with his life, since he has had the honour of witnessing God’s salvation. This attitude is important because it put the other events and traumas of life into perspective.’

Simeon really challenges me to think – what am I waiting for? What’s the one thing I really want? Is it to be in a successful church, whatever that means? Is it to have stronger relationships with my family? Is it to be happy and healthy? It also challenges me to think, am I ready to die? Is having Jesus enough for me?

If, like Simeon, we truly see who Jesus is and trust in him, then we too can share that same peace. We need not fear death. We need not fear anything. We have eternal life and compared to that, nothing really matters. We can be contented, even if work is tough and relationships are far from smooth. When God is for us, who can stand against us? At the prayer meeting on Wednesday, we were reminded of this verse; ‘For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory.’ (Psalm 149:4) Your boss might not delight in you. Your family members might not delight in you. You might even struggle with feelings of anxiety or worthlessness. But God delights in you and loves you and for Simeon, that is more than enough. Jesus deals with our root problem – our sin. And the truth is that because we have been made by God and designed to have a relationship with God, we are never going to know the contentment Simeon knows until we too cherish knowing Jesus.

We can also be like Simeon by being fellow waiters. We wait for Christ’s second advent. ‘Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.’ (2 Timothy 4:8) Friends, the second coming of Jesus is what we should be anticipating and longing for. It will be worth the wait.

3. The reach of the first Christmas

Who is Christmas for? Last week, we saw that the coming of the Magi from the east was a sign from God that Jesus was born not just as the Saviour of the Jews, but also of the Gentiles – the whole world. The reach, then, is all-encompassing. God so loved ‘the world’ that he gave his one and only Son. God has seen the mess the world is in but has not left us to ourselves; in love and grace he puts his arms around the world, offering salvation to all. This world-wide reach is explicitly stated by Simeon: ‘For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.’ (Luke 2:30-32) That’s why we can sing the carol: ‘Joy to the world, the Lord is come, Let earth receive her King…’

However, if Jesus is God’s gift to the whole world, then each one of us must respond to him. This means that Jesus’ gift of forgiveness is offered to you. Will you take this gift and unwrap it? Sadly, many people reject the best gift ever given, and Simeon prophesied about this too, saying to Mary: ‘This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.’ (Luke 2:34-35)

4. The division the first Christmas brings

There are certain things which divide people which do not really matter. You might love or loathe marmite, but it doesn’t really matter. You might be a turkey fan for Christmas dinner or you might be a steak pie person. It’s not too big a deal. People are divided over these trivial things. As a nation we have been politically divided for many years over the question of independence. This is a more serious matter, which splits people in two. However, the most serious issue which splits people is actually Jesus himself. Simeon tells us that Jesus will divide the nation in two; that’s what the imagery (rooted in Isaiah chapters 8 and 28) of ‘rising and falling’ means.

Darrell Bock: ‘Jesus’ ministry reveals where the thoughts of one’s heart are. As the salvation of God and the expression of God’s will, the reaction to him reveals our reaction to God’.

No one is more loved in the world than Jesus Christ. And no one is more hated. He divides people. Why? Because some people in darkness refuse to come into the light because they do not want the reality of their lives to be exposed. No group of people in history has been more hated or persecuted than Christians. Mary’s own heart will be pierced when her son is misunderstood and hated, and most of all when he is crucified at Calvary. ‘Whoever is not with me is against me…’ (Matthew 12:30) What on earth does Jesus mean? He means we cannot be neutral about him. We either receive him as our rightful King or we reject him, in order to be our own king.

Jesus claimed to be the way, the truth and the life. This is an exclusive claim. But it forces us to ask ourselves today, are we for Jesus or against him? Do we love him, or deep down, do we resent his claim over our lives? The Christmas story divides us. On which side do you land? It’s a matter of eternal life or death.

‘Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.’ (John 3:18)

Be wise…

16 December 202416 December 2024 John Johnstone Sermons

Sermon: Sunday, 15th December, 2024
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Matthew 2:1-12

For many people in Scotland, the Christmas story brings back memories of the school nativity play. Perhaps you were in one yourself or have watched one of your own children be an angel, a wise man or a shepherd, or even Mary or Joseph is they were lucky enough to have a starring role. It’s good that at least many of the children in our land still know the gist of the Christmas story, though that number seems to go down each year, as Christmas Carol services are replaced by winter celebrations. There are several dangers we face when returning to the Christmas story. There’s the danger of familiarity. We think we know the story and have nothing left to learn and so we just switch off and wait for the mince pies. There’s a danger that we see the account as a made-up story, like an ancient myth, something which probably didn’t happen. And there’s a danger that we sentimentalise the story, thinking ‘That’s lovely that Mary found somewhere for her baby eventually.’ but failing to think deeply about what God is trying to tell us in this crucial part of history. Let’s try and briefly deal with some of these dangers.

Firstly, this is not a myth but a historical event. Almost all serious historians agree that Jesus was a historical figure, who was born in Bethlehem and died by crucifixion. The King Herod mentioned in the account is Herod the Great, whose reign is also well attested in history. He was known as a paranoid ruler, who got rid of his own wife and some of his sons when he felt they threatened his reign. The killing of the boys aged 2 and under is a horrific act which accords with similar actions throughout his reign, recorded in secular sources. However, the Christmas story is a also a supernatural story. That’s no big deal if you believe in God. If you say that you don’t believe in God, then you must conclude that the world, including our own existence, happened by chance and has no ultimate meaning or purpose or hope beyond the grave. It’s hard to see how the world could be so full design and order, with the amazing laws of chemistry, physics and biology, if it all came about by time plus chance. In the praise earlier we sang: ‘Chanting bird and flowing fountain, praising you eternally’. In other words, we can see God’s fingerprints all over creation. But if God has always existed, and he has, then we should not be surprised that the birth of Jesus was accompanied by the supernatural, such as angels, special stars and dreams.

Last week, we thought about the names God tells Joseph to give to his son. Immanuel means ‘God is with us’ and Jesus means ‘the LORD saves’. This captures the whole of the Christmas story. Jesus, who is the Maker of all things, and is eternal God, leaves heaven and comes down to earth to become a human being. Why? In order to rescue human beings like us from their sins. This is the heart of the Christmas story. Of course, it is supernatural – God becoming a true human being is marvellously supernatural. But that does not mean it isn’t true. We know it is true because it is historical and we know it is true because of the prophecies given. The prophet Micah predicts, 700 years before Jesus’ birth, that he will be born in Bethlehem. Bethlehem was an obscure town 5 miles away from Jerusalem and often missed off the maps of Israel being so small. The prophecy comes true. In Matthew chapter 2 verse 15, we read that Jesus’ fleeing into Egypt as a refugee was also prophesied, as was the killing of those in Bethlehem, his growing up in Nazareth, and the appearing of those from the east with gold, frankincense and myrrh. These are prophecies which were historically documented in the Hebrew language long before Jesus’ birth. In fact, there are dozens of prophesies about Jesus’ life recorded in the Old Testament. Every single one comes true. This is totally supernatural. God is telling us here that the Bible is true. Conservatively, Jesus fulfilled at least 300 prophecies in His earthly ministry. You cannot explain that.

Secondly, we won’t sentimentalise this account this morning. Instead, let’s ask ourselves what God is saying to us through these events. That might even unsettle or offend us. Let’s consider the wide range of reactions to Jesus’ birth and think about which reaction we can relate to the most. In other words, let’s remember that God speaks to us today, loudly and clearly, through the pages of the Bible. That’s why it has been the best-selling book every single year for hundreds of years. It’s because God speaks to us through His Word.

We don’t know much about the Magi from the east. One Christmas carol says ‘We Three kings From Orient Are’ but the truth is, we don’t know how many there were, which country they were from and it is unlikely that they were kings. At least the carol gets the ‘orient’ part right. Our best guess would be that they are from modern day Iran or Iraq, coming from Persia or Babylon. They are likely to be well-educated, experts in the stars, in interpreting dreams, and in religion. Perhaps they had some Old Testament prophecies, such as in the book of Daniel, since Daniel was prime minister in Babylon. We cannot be sure. We are not told.

What we do know is that the star-gazers see an unusual star in the sky and understand what it means – a very special king of the Jews has been born. They travel for hundreds of miles, armed with expensive gifts fit for a king, so that they can pay homage to this special person. In spite of their limited understanding, these Magi, Gentile foreigners from the east, come looking for the Jewish Messiah. They find him and worship him.

What’s the significance of the wise men in the Christmas story? What is God telling us through it. God is telling us that Jesus is God’s special gift, not just to the Jews, but also to the Gentiles, in other words, to the whole world. Let’s make this more personal, seeing ourselves in this story where we belong – in a sense, this baby is for you. ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son…’ (John 3:16) If you believe in him, you can have eternal life.

The worship of the wise men signals to us that the Kingdom of God is international in its scope. Yes, Jesus is the King of the Jews. But he is also the true King of the whole world. As God-in-the-flesh, he is my rightful King and your rightful King. The question is, will you receive him as such? Will you give your allegiance to him?

The prophet Isaiah, eight centuries before Jesus was born, makes this prophecy about the birth: ‘Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. ‘Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the hip. Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come.’ Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the Lord.’ (Isaiah 60:3-6)

So, in a very real sense, the wise men are the first fruits of millions upon millions of Gentiles who like them, will come to Jesus in faith and worship. First fruits are special as they signal that the rest of the harvest will follow. The wise men are the first fruits signalling the massive worldwide growth of Christ’s church. That is one of many reasons we celebrate having so many different nationalities in Kirkcaldy Free Church. Jesus is for all the nations. He is for the rich and educated like the wise men and he is for the poor less-educated like the shepherds. He is for the Jews and the Gentiles. He is for men and women. He is for the young an the old. He is an international Saviour-King.

If someone hands you a gift then you need to make some kind of a response. Myself and Geoff handed out some more welcome packs to people in new houses in Kirkcaldy. Thankfully, we weren’t met with much hostility, though that can happen. Most people responded with apathy and indifference. A few responded positively. That was just a welcome pack. But imagine it is Christmas morning, and you hand a close family member a present you have made yourself, having poured time and money and thought and love into it. The person opens it and says,‘I don’t want this.’ Or perhaps they open it and you can tell they don’t really want it. Though special and useful, it’s not valued by them and remains unused, gathering dust amongst the several unwanted Christmas presents in the house. What if God himself offers you a gift which is just what you need. Your response to that gift is highly significant and will actually shape your future. That’s why you are part of the story.

Let’s look at some negative responses to Jesus’ birth first. Herod hears the news about the birth of a new king of Israel and he (verse 3) is disturbed. He must have thought ‘I’m the king of Israel’ and felt threatened. His mind would have been working overtime, thinking about getting rid of any potential rival. Herod wasn’t actually truly Jewish and he wasn’t in the line of Israel’s kings as Jesus was. He was half Jewish and half Idumean. He was appointed by Roman authority and not from the Jewish people. For Herod, the answer to the question ‘Who is in charge?’ is ‘I am’. He is a ruthless and selfish man and will do anything in order to cling to the power he shouldn’t even have. He only cares about himself and not even for his own immediate family. When the wise men enquire (verse 2) about where the king of the Jews will be born, Herod does not care a jot about this claim, even though it is a right one. Jesus is the true king and not Herod. Whilst Herod rules with selfishness and greed, Jesus will reign (verse 6) as a shepherd who truly cares for the flock. In fact, he will lay down his life for his sheep. Of course, we might find it hard to relate to Herod’s response.

However, it’s all too easy to be like Herod spiritually. What do I mean? Jesus, as God, is the one who has the right to be in charge of all people. We ought to follow him. He is the true King and not us. The universe revolves around him and not us. But we can feel threatened by his claim over our lives. We want to cling onto being the ones in charge and want to do what we want when we want, and relegate God out of our lives altogether. We don’t want God, a rival king, telling us what to do, nor do we want him in the Bible to tell us how we ought to live. It’s all about what we think and what we want. That’s all. If that’s where we are at, then we are like Herod spiritually. In verse 3, we read that all Jerusalem is disturbed. I’m not sure why. Perhaps they fear Herod’s mood swings and are scared about more political unrest. Whatever the reason, the nation which had been waiting for the Messiah-king for centuries reacts negatively when he actually arrives.

Then there’s the apathy of the religious leaders. They should have known better. They should have been excited and filled with enthusiasm, as the religious leaders of the day. They ought to have jumped on their donkeys and travelled the 5 miles to Bethlehem to see Jesus for themselves. They don’t bother. Yes, they have the head-knowledge (verse 5) knowing that the Bible had revealed the Christ would be born in Bethlehem. It’s all just a job for them. They have no sense of longing and wonder about the birth of the Rescuer. It seems to make no difference to them. They are comfortable with their own positions of religious power, but their hearts are far from God. This is a sobering response.

Perhaps a parallel today is those who come to church out of routine, or guilt, or because they think they are good people. But they don’t really love Jesus and are not thankful to him for dying on the cross. Inwardly, they shrug their shoulders at the true Christmas message, and it fails to impact their everyday lives. Which of these responses can you relate to?

Finally, we have the positive response of the wise men. It is wonderful that although they have far less knowledge than scribes and pharisees, they are the ones who have faith and love and worship in their hearts. ‘On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.’ (Matthew 2:11) The Magi put Herod and the religious leaders to shame. The faith of the Magi stands in stark contrast to the unbelief of the religious elite.

J C Ryle captures the strength of the Magi’s faith: ‘They believed in Him when they saw Him a little infant on Mary’s knees, and worshipped Him as a King… They saw no miracles to convince them. They heard no teaching to persuade them. They beheld no signs of divinity and greatness to overawe them… and yet when they saw that infant they believed they saw the divine Saviour of the world! They fell down and worshipped Him.’

What about us here today? We have the whole Bible and can read the records of Jesus’ miracles and incomparable teaching. We can read of his act of love dying for others on the cross. We can read of the greatest proof of his identity – his resurrection from the dead. We have more light than the wise men. The question is, are we willing to honour and worship the King? Will we gladly honour him with our gifts of love and time and service.

The carol ‘In the bleak midwinter’ asks the question:
‘What can I give Him poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would give a lamb.
If I were a wise man, I would do my part.
et what I can, I give Him, give my heart.’

If you refuse God’s greatest gift what are you refusing? You are refuging his forgiveness, grace, peace, love and eternal life. Instead, be like the wise men. Worship the true King.

What’s in a name?

8 December 20248 December 2024 John Johnstone Sermons

Sermon: Sunday, 8th December, 2024
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Matthew 1:18-25

Our names are very important. I remember a book of baby names which we had when choosing the names of our children. These days, I guess most people will just use a website. Some people will choose names because they simply like the sound of them. There’s a tribe in Papua New Guinea who love the sound of English words even though they don’t know what they mean. This resulted in one boy being named ‘tinned fish’ by his parents and one girl being called ‘2nd gear’. If you think that’s crazy, then we need just consider Ellon Musk, whose most recent child is called Techno Mechanicus. It seems he is better with rockets than with choosing names. Some people choose names because it’s in the family. The golfer Davis Love III has the same name as his Dad! Some people choose a name because of what it means. The cadet’s flight lieutenant’s first name, Stephen, means ‘crown’ (after all he is the boss). The name David means ‘beloved’. Michael means ‘who is like God?’ Cameron means ‘crooked nose’. Fiona means ‘fair or pale’. Sophia means ‘wise’. And Amelia means ‘hardworking’.

Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Christ, and if we want to understand why Christians celebrate it, we need to think about the names of Christ. It is not Mary and Joseph who name their child, but God does that and reveals his choice through the prophet Isaiah and through an angel. The child is called Jesus, which means ‘the Lord saves’ and also Immanuel, which means ‘God with us’. This gets to the heart of who Jesus is, none other than God the creator, and also why he left Heaven and came down to earth to become a real human baby, in order to rescue us.

1.The problem of Christmas

In Matthew chapter 1 Joseph, the central character in the story, has an enormous problem. He is betrothed to Mary – betrothal is bond stronger than our engagement today. He must have been looking forward to getting married and setting up a home with Mary. ‘Not long to go now’. But then he hears the stomach-turning news: two words- ‘Mary’ and ‘pregnant’. Joseph must have thought: ‘She wouldn’t do that!’ ‘She must have.’ ‘She has cheated on me.’ What a hammer-blow. God’s people then and now don’t have intimate relations before marriage.

We see in Joseph a man of dignity and a man of compassion. He knows he cannot marry Mary now. She has been unfaithful (or so it seems). However, he still loves her, and doesn’t want to drag her name through the mud, and so decides to divorce her quietly. Joseph’s example is so helpful in that it’s not just being right which matters, but how we go about things. Will he behave in a gentle or abrasive way? Joseph is a refreshing combination of truth and love. Ephesians 4:15 tells Christians that when we speak to others we must ‘speak the truth in love’. Too many people might say something true, but say it in an unkind way. Others might lie, saying what you want to hear.

What must it have been like being in Joseph’s sandals? The bottom falls out of his world. I’m guessing he had tears flowing down his cheeks as he thought about divorce. But then God speaks to Joseph to explain that what is happening isn’t a nightmare after all. In fact, this pregnancy is the best news ever. Mary has not been unfaithful. This is a supernatural pregnancy, unlike any other before or since. ‘What is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.’ (Matthew 1:20)

Who is this child? ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ (which means ‘God with us’).’ (Matthew 1:23) This baby is none other than God, leaving Heaven, and coming down to earth to become a human. Why? Why is God (who created the world) coming down to enter it in this remarkable way? The angel explains this to Joseph as well: ‘She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.’ (Matthew 1:21) In other words, God has come to earth on a rescue mission – to save people from their sins! To save people from all the wrong things they do, say and think.

What is the problem of Christmas? It’s not just a problem Joseph has, but one we all have. Because if we pause to think, God is saying to each of us today that we need to be rescued from our pride, greed, selfishness, ignoring God, lack of love for God, lack of thankfulness to him. This is, of course, a highly offensive message. But isn’t it true? Personally, I don’t even live up to my own standards of how I know I should live, far less God’s. I’ve upset many people in my time. There are many good things I should have done, and didn’t. Some of the things I’ve thought about have been nasty or ugly or just plain wrong. Are you any different from me?

We can see so much war going on just now, both in the Middle East and also in the Ukraine. And then there are things happening which don’t get much coverage on the news, like the 8,000 Christians killed in Nigeria last year alone. The reason we need an army and air force is because we live in a world where there is always war. We need to be ready and able to defend ourselves. But we also need to ask, ‘Why’? Why are human beings so bent on killing one another and exploiting one another?

I’ve been watching a medical drama on Netflix recently and in each episode the doctors must find out the root cause of the symptoms. That’s the crucial thing. If you know the root cause then you can find the solution. The angel identifies the root cause of our problem: ‘She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.’ (Matthew 1:21)

Hark! the herald angels sing, ‘Glory to the new-born King,
peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!’

If ordinary people want to be friends with God, then we need to be rescued from our sin problem.

One of my favourite quotes from our late Queen was: ‘History teaches us we… need saving from ourselves, from our recklessness or our greed. God sent into the world a unique person, neither a philosopher or a general, important as they are, but a saviour with the power to forgive.’ The Queen was right. By rebelling against God, each of us has angered God, and we face his fair judgment. In love, knowing that we are unable to save ourselves, he left Heaven and entered our world by becoming a real human being in history. This is a loving rescue mission.

2. The Promise of Christmas

The Christmas story is so wonderful because God (in Jesus) has sent us exactly what we need. I’m not sure what you think your biggest problem is in life. I think in Jesus’ day, many in Israel saw their biggest problem as the Roman occupation. They wanted God to send a military Saviour to set Israel free from the might of Rome. What is your biggest problem? Is it loneliness or health or lack of job security, or finding accommodation or growing old and infirm? As we have said, God actually diagnoses your biggest problem. He says your sin spoils your relationship with God! The good news is Jesus is totally qualified to deal with that sin for you. In doing so, he sets us free to be the people he always intended us to be. True freedom means having a loving relationship with our Maker.

What makes Jesus so qualified to save us, aside from his name, which means ‘the LORD saves’? He is qualified as he is ‘Immanuel’. ‘All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Imanuel’(which means ‘God with us’). (Matthew 1:22-23)

On Tuesday evening at the cadets, we were thinking briefly about where Jesus was before he was born in Bethlehem. I explained that the Bible teaches us that the Christmas story is not the start of Jesus. Jesus, as God, has always been there. He created the world. The Christmas story is not the beginning of Jesus, for he is eternal. However, it is the beginning of him becoming a real human being, born of the virgin Mary, through the power of God the Holy Spirit.

When it comes to Jesus, there was never a time when he was not. Now, he has become one of us, and is 100% God and 100% human. This is something completely supernatural. And it is also something wonderful. Just because it is beyond our understanding does not mean it isn’t true.

St Augustine: ‘He lies in the manger but at the same time he holds the whole universe in his hands. He was created by a mother, but a mother whom he created. He was carried, but by hands that he himself formed.’

When one of you recently had a flat battery, I got a call asking for help. The question then became, was I willing to help and was I able to help? As it turned out, I was willing, as I’m such a nice guy, and was able as I was in Kirkcaldy and had jump leads. But sometimes we ask people for help and they are either unwilling to help us, or they are unable. We need people to be both. The best news at Christmas is that when we talk to Jesus in prayer, he is willing and able to help us. He is willing because he loves us. He understands our problems because he entered into our world at Christmas time. He knows what it is like to lose a loved one, to be tempted, to become sick and he knows what it is like to be a refugee and to be rejected and to be misunderstood and to be disappointed. He is willing to help us.

But Jesus is also able to help us. His sacrifice on the cross was a perfect sacrifice because Jesus never sinned. And his sacrifice was an infinite sacrifice because he is God. That means he is able to forgive anyone who is willing to ask for his help. The proud will not come and ask Jesus for help. But those who know they have messed up, can come and in prayer, ask for his forgiveness and help. I regret many things in my life, but one thing I will never regret is having asked Jesus for forgiveness and help.

What happens when we pray to Jesus asking him to forgive us and help us and take charge of our lives? He forgives us and that means we become friends with God. The sin which blocked us from having a proper relationship with God has been atoned for, dealt with by Jesus on the cross. And at this point he comes into our lives and never leaves us. He is Immanuel – God with us. He is with us both in this life and in the life to come.

I love this verse; ‘… being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.’ (Philippians 1:6) The motto of the RAF, Per Ardua ad Astra (Through Adversity to the Stars). Let me tweak this a little to help us understand the meaning of Christmas: ‘Through the adversity of Jesus to Heaven.’