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Sermon: Sunday, 30th November, 2025
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Matthew 5:27-30

As we continue the most famous sermon ever preached, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, we have reached the section dealing with adultery and lust. I hope that all of us can see that Jesus’ teaching is much-needed in our churches today. This is a sensitive area. Many of us will have committed sexual sin and some of us will have been victims of adultery. All of us will have experienced problems in our hearts with lust. Some of us might be addicted to sexual sin. From the outset, it is important to say that no matter what we have done in the past, in Jesus we can always find forgiveness and the power to change. The mistakes of our past do not need to define us forever. There is hope for those caught up in sexual sin. ‘I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.’   (Luke 5:32)

Let’s start off by saying that when Jesus speaks to us about the boundaries of sexual behaviour, both in physical acts and also in our thought lives, he does so as the Creator of the world, whose boundaries are wise and given because he loves us. God invented sex. It sometimes feels like all the church ever says about sex is that it is negative. But that is not true. The Bible is extremely positive about sex. It is God’s gift to us. In its proper context, it is a wonderful expression of love to another person. There’s a whole book of the Bible, Songs of Solomon, devoted to the topic. Jesus is not old-fashioned or prudish when it comes to sex. It’s just that as our Creator, he sets the boundaries for sex, not us as individuals (doing what we like) and not society, whose values change over time.

The early chapters of Genesis give us the original context for sexual intercourse and show that God has designed this wonderful gift to be expressed within a lifelong marital relationship between one man and one woman. As they are joined together as husband and wife their unity and diversity is expressed: ‘So a man will leave his father and his mother and be united with his wife, and they will become one flesh.’ (Genesis 2:24) God has made us as sexual beings, and so in that sense it is a natural appetite. The problem is, our human appetites are now distorted by sin, and so now we sometimes use for evil what God created for good. We want to go our own way. We want to escape from God’s loving boundaries. Our sexual desires can be distorted, and when they are, they need to be resisted.

Amy Orr-Ewing: ‘What is wrong with sex before marriage? How about: ‘What is wrong with anything?’ In other words, where do you get the moral code by which you live your life? There may be a whole number of different responses: ‘I do what I feel is right’ – my morals are entirely personal and arbitrary. Or: ‘Society decides what is right and wrong’ – laws are made and as long as I stick within them everything is OK. Or anything in between those two responses. For us as Christians, right and wrong are not purely up to the individual; after all, what you feel is good for you may hurt me. It is not only up to society either; lots of societies have allowed things to be ‘legal’ that you or I might take issue with. Right and wrong for the Christian come from a higher standard than any individual or group of humans – they come from God. The creator is also the moral lawgiver. So, when I say that I believe that sex is designed to be expressed within marriage, I am not setting myself up as judge and jury and deciding to make life difficult for single people – I am trying to follow the maker’s instructions.’

1.The act of adultery is wrong

We all know the seventh commandment: ‘You shall not commit adultery.’   (Exodus 20:14) Most of the Pharisees believed they managed to keep this commandment. It’s probably true that most of them had not committed the outward act, though many of them facilitated easy divorces so that men could indulge their desires for other women but still be viewed as righteous. This was, of course, total hypocrisy. It is good for us to remind ourselves of how devastating adultery can be to families. One of the most famous adulterers in the Bible is King David. His story reminds us that adultery breaks several of the 10 commandments at once, not just the 7th. David steals the wife of another breaking the 8th commandment. He covets his neighbour’s wife breaking the 10th commandment and this leads him to murder, having Uriah the Hittite killed, breaking the 6th commandment. Lust, left unchecked, can lead to absolute disaster.

A Christian man committed adultery and eventually met up with his pastor. He defended his act. He wasn’t looking to have an affair. He and his secretary just fell in love. How can that be wrong? They couldn’t help themselves. It just happened. ‘Pastor, I know it was wrong. But really—nobody got hurt. It was a private matter.’ The pastor quietly listened and then replied: ‘Nobody got hurt? Thirty people have already come to me in tears because of what you did.’

He went on to list the kinds of people affected: the man’s wife, broken and humiliated. His children, confused and wounded. The children of the woman involved. The man’s extended family. The church leaders, shaken and grieved. The friends who felt betrayed. members of the church who struggled with trust. New believers whose faith was unsettled. Unbelievers who mocked the name of Christ. Sin always has ripples far beyond what the sinner imagines. In other words, God forbids adultery because it wrecks families and scars our children and emotionally and psychologically damages our spouse and others. It leaves people broken-hearted.

Before we move to lust, let’s be clear: Jesus says marriage is the only context for sexual activity. So, if any of you are breaking that command, then if you want to take following Jesus seriously, you need to stop. Wait until you are married. This is God’s boundary for true joy in sexual relationships – a context of life-long commitment and love. Is there something you need to stop doing?

2. Adultery in our thoughts is also wrong

Over the last 60 years, since the 1960s, the sexual ethics of most people have radically changed, drifting further and further from what the Bible says. We all know this. Many people think it is ridiculous to confine sex to the context of marriage. For many people, anything goes, as long as you don’t harm anyone. But here, Jesus swims against the tide of our culture. He goes in the opposite direction. Jesus does not limit the reach of the 7th commandment to just the act of adultery but explains to us that it also includes the lustful look: ‘You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.’   (Matthew 5:27-28)

What is Jesus doing here? Jesus is pointing out that the root of adultery lies in the lust in our hearts. Jesus has already explained that unrighteous anger breaks the 6th commandment – do not murder. In the same way, Jesus deepens and widens the reach of the 7th commandment. Lustful thoughts in our minds break the spirit of this command. Lustful thoughts are wrong. It is not wrong to look at someone and admire them but when we look in a lustful way, we begin to desire what is not ours to have, and we allow our imaginations to run riot. Which of us is a stranger to such thoughts?

Friends, lust has always been a massive problem in the human heart. We need to be honest about that. And in 2025, if anything it is becoming harder to remain pure in the sexual arena. We are bombarded with sexual images on films, adverts, the internet and in fact, almost everywhere. Here are some shocking facts to underline this. The average age children see pornography in the UK is 13. It is accessed 1.4 million times per month by British children. The UK has one of the highest rates of visiting pornographic sites in the world. This means that porn is often the starting point for young people when it comes to sex. 25% of search engine requests are pornography related. 30% of church leaders access porn more than once a month. 75% of Christian men view pornography on a monthly basis (figures from CARE). Why? They might feel it is private, that it does not hurt others, and that it gives them freedom. The opposite is actually the case.

3. Jesus tells us to get practical – have a plan to counter lust

‘If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.’   (Matthew 5:29-30)

Jesus’ warning is graphic because he knows where lust can lead. David’s lustful look at Bathsheba on the roof of his palace led to mayhem. Our lustful look at a person or a person on a screen can also lead to mayhem. Never think, ‘This will never happen to me,’ Lust and sexual sin are highly addictive and always leave us wanting more. They promise much but deliver pain ultimately. Of course, Jesus is speaking in hyperbole here – he does not want us to cut off any body parts. His point is this: take immediate and urgent action against lust before it gets out of control. Lust is not your friend but your enemy. Have a plan to counter lust.

So, for us, to gouge out an eye might mean that we refuse to watch certain movies or TV programmes. We might decide against reading a novel if its erotic content leads us to lustful thoughts. We might need to install software on our laptop, phone or tablet, so prevent us from seeing certain things. We might need to stop clicking on certain things we come across on the internet. We might have to say, ‘No.’ to someone we like who wants to meet us for a drink, because we or they are already married.

And here’s a really hard but important practical step. We might need to admit to a friend in the church or another Christian that actually we do have a problem with lust and porn, and ask them to help you keep accountable to them. If someone asks you regularly about these things it is so helpful, because it is so hard to break the patterns on your own. And I hope it goes without saying that we need to confess our sins in this area and ask for the Holy Spirit to give us power to resist temptation. This is basic Lord’s Prayer stuff – ‘Lead us not into temptation.’   (Matthew 6:13)

When someone goes to the gym in order to strengthen their muscles, what do they do? They have to resist the force of the weights they push against. As they resist, they get stronger. The same is true spiritually. Expect the temptations still to come but be ready to resist them.

Here’s the thing – we are all fallen human beings and that means many of our desires must be resisted. If I often have the desire to eat far more food than I need, I need to resist this wrong desire, otherwise I will develop significant health issues. Sometimes we have lazy desires and might not bother doing the work we need to do. We need to fight this desire. If we have enough resources but have a love of money, with an unhealthy desire for getting more and more, we need to resist these selfish and destructive desires. The truth is that we have many desires which lead us away from loving God and loving our neighbours. We need to resist them all. Lust is another of these desires.

Vaughan Roberts: ‘The modern idea is that we have to affirm the feelings we have and that we can only be authentic as we fulfil our desires. But the Bible teaches that some of our desires should be resisted. We are to measure our desires and feelings against the will of God, as the Spirit through the Bible makes us sensitive to those things that grieve him, and helps is to want to live in the ways that please God.’

In other words, part of being a disciple of Jesus is this tug-of-war experience. Sometimes the good we want to do we do not do and the things we don’t want to do we end up doing. So, we need to pray for help, and we need to resist wrong desires. We need to understand that lust never delivers what it promises. And we need to believe that true and lasting joy and satisfaction only come through living within our Maker’s boundaries. Jesus himself is the water of life who can satisfy our deepest desires.

And if you carry the burden and guilt of sexual sin, then take it now to God in prayer. Remember what happened to the prodigal son who returned to his father – he was welcomed with open arms.

Sermon: Sunday, 16th November, 2025
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Matthew 5:21-26

Sometimes we can think something is relatively easy to do when actually it is difficult. For example, when the KFC creche room was being plastered I was watching Darren the plasterer at work. He said to me, ‘D0 you want to try?’ I said, ‘Sure.’ I took hold of the hawk in one hand (what the plaster is held on) and a trowel in the other and had a go. I was terrible. It was much harder than it looked. The 10 commandments are a bit like that. At first, they might seem manageable and relatively easy to keep. That’s what the rich young ruler thought of the commandments when he said to Jesus: ‘All these I have kept since my youth.’   (Mark 10:20) How wrong he was. The Pharisees were also wrong about God’s commandments. They had a superficial and external attitude to the law.

1. True or false? The 6th commandment is easy to keep.

Have you ever murdered someone? Have you kept this particular commandment? The Pharisees thought they successfully kept the 6th commandment, thou shalt not murder, as long as they did not spill any blood. Jesus comes to them and corrects this false understanding. The commands of God are so deep that they concern the heart as well as our actions. And so, if we are angry with someone in a wrong way then we have broken the spirit of this command: ‘ class=”blu”You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment.’   (Matthew 5:21-22) In other words, murder is not only a crime of the hand but also of the heart. You don’t have to commit physical murder to have the heart of a murderer. You can have murderous thoughts and break this command.

The 6th commandment not only prohibits the act of murder, but also an attitude towards people which hates, resents, is embittered, is angry, despises and wishes someone dead. Which of us has kept the 6th commandment? None of us. That is the truth of the matter.

How big of a problem is anger? Surely Christians will have got a handle on ‘anger management’!

Jerry Bridges: ‘It permeates each person and spoils our most intimate relationships. Anger is a given part of our fallen human fabric. Sadly, this is true even in our Christian homes and churches… our anger is often directed towards those we should love most: our spouse, children, parents, or siblings in our human families, and those who are our true brothers and sisters in Christ in our church families.’

What is anger? It is a strong feeling of displeasure, and usually of antagonism. It is usually accompanied by sinful emotions, words and actions hurtful to those who are the objects of our anger.

‘Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.’   (Ephesians 4:31-32) Here we see Christian discipleship is like gardening. Both the weeding out (get rid of) and the planting (be kind and compassionate) are necessary in the Christian life.

‘My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.’ (James 1:19-20)

‘Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end.’   (Proverbs 29:11)

‘An angry person stirs up conflict, and a hot-tempered person commits many sins.’   (Proverbs 29:22) Anger leads to other sins: bitterness, resentment, church splits, divorce, rudeness and violence.

Can we ever say, ‘Yes I’m angry, but that’s because someone else has made me angry’? Or, is this just blame-shifting for our own reactions? ‘What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.’   (Mark 7:20-23) Even when we are wronged, we can still choose how we will respond to the sinful actions of others towards us.

Jerry Bridges: ‘Someone else’s words or actions may be the occasion of our anger, but the cause lies deep within us – usually our pride, or selfishness, or desire to control.’

Often it is our words which reveal our murderous thoughts. In verse 22, Jesus mentions this word ‘raca’ which means ‘empty’ and is probably similar to when we might call someone an ‘airhead’ or a ‘blockhead’. You are insulting their intelligence. Or you might call someone a ‘fool’, which seems in this context to be close to calling him a scoundrel. In other words, we are engaging in the character assassination of another person, which is a serious business. Of course, insulting words may never lead to murder, but they are serious in the sight of God. That is why there is a warning of divine judgement in verse 22.

‘Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.’ (1 John 3:15)

John Stott: ‘Anger and insult are ugly symptoms of a desire to get rid of someone who stands in our way. Our thoughts, looks and words all indicate that, as we sometimes dare to say, we ‘wish he were dead.’

I hope we are all more sensitised to just how serious anger is in the sight of God and how destructive it can be.

Jerry Bridges: ‘Anger held on to, is not only sin, it is spiritually dangerous. Anger is never static. If it is not dealt with, it will grow into bitterness, hostility and revenge-minded grudges.’

And because it is so serious, we should do anything to avoid it and do all we can to limit its effects as quickly as possible. Jesus stresses the urgency of dealing with anger in the two illustrations he gives in vs 23-26.

2. Christian disciples: sort our disagreements speedily.

Jesus’ teaching on the immediate action anger requires is quite shocking: ‘Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.’   (Matthew 5:23-24)

For us in 2025, we might picture ourselves in church listening to a sermon, but then realise there is a relationship which has become bitter, leave church there and then and go and sort it out. Did Jesus mean this literally? Certainly, it gets the point across emphatically – sort it out as soon as is humanly possible. If we don’t, the issue is likely to get bigger and bigger. Paul says a similar thing ‘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) Paul is urging us not to hold onto our anger.

Notice something else. I would have expected Jesus to say something like: ‘If you are in church and you are angry with someone in your heart then go and sort it out.’ But that is not what Jesus says. Jesus says that if you realise someone else is angry with you, rightly or wrongly, get it sorted. Scotrail don’t want unidentified baggage lying around on trains or in train stations. They tell us: ‘See it. Say it. Sorted.’ That’s what we must do with our anger, whether it comes from our own hearts or from someone else’s heart to us. We have to identify that ‘dangerous baggage’ and have it removed.

Let’s be honest. Most of us are not good at keeping ‘short accounts’ with one another. Nor are we very good at going to someone and saying the words, ‘I’m sorry’. We might wait for them to make the first move. Don’t do that. Remember how important it is to God to deal with anger speedily. Are you willing to take the initiative with a family member, friend, someone in the church family or someone else and sort out resentment? Are there people we refuse to speak to? It should not be.

In a church context, we can see from this passage that God would rather you leave church and sort out a relationship that stay in worship when your worship is contaminated by a damaged relationship. God would rather you worship here with your brothers and sisters in Christ from a place of unity of heart and not from a place of bitterness and division. Such divisions go against the gospel of grace.

In Jesus’ second example (verse 25), there is once again a stress on the urgency of personal reconciliation. This is a legal image. In Jesus’ day, a person who defaulted in his debts could be thrown into a debtors’ prison.

Sinclair Ferguson: ‘Jesus says the two men should settle the matter now, before they are in the courtroom with the judge. It may be costly to settle it now; it will certainly be humbling. But if it continues, one man may find himself in prison, and unable to get out until he has paid the last penny.’

Let me quote Sinclair Ferguson again in his brilliant summary of these two illustrations: ‘Animosity is a time bomb; we do not know when it will ‘go off’. We must deal with I quickly before the consequences of our bitterness get completely out of control. Most human relationships that are destroyed could have been preserved if there had been communication and action at the right time. Jesus says that the right time is as soon as we are conscious that we are at enmity with our brother.

There is another obvious reason why anger ought to be dealt with speedily in a church. Unchecked, it is a terrible witness. We are meant to be pointing others to how they can be reconciled to God, and so if we cannot reconcile with one another, it is just an awful witness. That’s why as far as it depends on us, we should live at peace with all people. ‘By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.’   (John 13:35)

Let us take a moment to pause and think: is there someone we need to put things right with? Do we have to stay stuck in our anger? Is there a way back? Even after years?

Mature Christian disciples will acknowledge that their anger is very likely to be sinful. They will then try and think about what lies behind that anger. Is it our pride, our selfishness or our desire to be in control? Repent of whatever is feeding your anger and pray to God for a godly attitude towards the person who has wronged you.

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

Sermon: Sunday, 9th November, 2025
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Matthew 5:17-20

If we want to grow and develop as Christians, is it important that we understand the place of God’s law in our lives. God’s law is summarised in the 10 commandments, and these commandments are summarised by Jesus in one words – love.

‘Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: ‘Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?’ Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.’   (Matthew 22:4-40)

So, Jesus reminds us that the law is good and is really concerned with how we can love God and love one another. We can also see just how good the law is by understanding that it reflects the character of God himself. For example, God tells us not to lie as he is the God of truth and he tells is not to commit adultery because he is a faithful God. The problem all human beings have is not that the law is bad or irrelevant. It is good and extremely relevant. The problem is that we are unable to keep the law in our own strength. In that sense, the law is like an x-ray, which shows all the moral failures we have inside our hearts. So, when we hear the simply command not to be jealous of what other people have- do not covet- we begin to realise that we are experts in coveting, and that is a serious problem.

When it comes to the commandments of God, Christians often fall into two dangerous extremes. Some wrongly believe that the law no longer applies to the Christian. They say things like, ‘We are now no longer under law but grace.’ or ‘I don’t need to keep the law – Jesus has forgiven me.’ This is wrong. They will twist a few New Testament verses to try and justify this position. Yes, we know that we cannot be justified or get to Heaven through keeping the law, but nonetheless it still has an important place in our lives. This view is called antinomianism, which just means ‘against the law’. I hope none of us here thinks that the 10 commandments or the beatitudes no longer apply.

The other extreme when it comes to the law is legalism. Legalists focus on keeping the law outwardly but often ignore the need to keep the law in our hearts. By doing this they try and ‘domesticate’ the law, reducing its power and making it something manageable, something that they can keep really easily. This too is wrong. Legalists sometimes think they can earn God’s favour by rule-keeping and they also have a tendency to add human traditions on top of God’s law.

Sinclair Ferguson: ‘The legal spirit is not to be confused with the Spirit of holiness. It is a subtle distortion that leads us to think that God’s approval of us is conditioned upon our obedience rather than upon Christ’s obedience.’

Our passage today, just 4 verses, is extremely helpful because here Jesus explains what his relationship is to God’s law, and then teaches us what our relationship with the law ought to be.

1. Jesus’ relationship with the law of God

This section begins with Jesus saying, ‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets…‘   (Matthew 5:17) Clearly, for Jesus to have said this, some people did think, wrongly, that Jesus was against the law. Why did they think that? Well, when Jesus picked ears of corn on the Sabbath or healed the sick on the Sabbath the Pharisees and teachers of the law got extremely angry with him. They thought Jesus was breaking the Sabbath commandment. However, he was not. Jesus was only breaking the human traditions they had added to the Bible, but he would never have broken a commandment. He was perfect. It was their made-up rules which were wrong, not Jesus! Or when Jesus ate and drank with tax collectors or prostitutes, the religious leaders thought Jesus was breaking the commandments. But again, they were wrong. He was only breaking their human traditions and false interpretations of the law. In any case, Jesus knows some people have been claiming that he is against the law.

And Jesus wants to make his relationship to the law crystal clear. He says, ‘I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them.’   (Matthew 5:17) What does he mean?

Before we consider how Jesus fulfils the God’s law, let’s first just hear his plain and powerful affirmation of the moral law in the Old Testament. He says it has not been abolished. It still stands. So, as we continue in our studies on discipleship, know that Jesus expects all his followers, in God’s strength, to keep his law. We must try to honour our parents and keep his day and not tell lies. Those people (antinomians) who claim we are no longer obliged to keep the law are wrong.

How does Jesus fulfil the law and the prophets? This is a wonderful thing to consider. The phrase ‘the law and the prophets’ is just another way of speaking about the whole of the Old Testament. Jesus fulfils the Old Testament as he fulfils the many predicative prophecies there made about him. What was predicted would happen to the Messiah, predictions made hundreds of years before Jesus’ birth, came to pass in Jesus. It was prophesied that the Messiah would be born of a virgin, born in Bethlehem, but would go down into Egypt for a time. All of this happened to Jesus. He fulfilled these prophesies. Throughout Matthew’s gospel, as things happen to Jesus, he reminds us of this by saying: ‘This happened to fulfil what was written in the prophet so and so.’

Let’s just pause here. How do we know the Bible is a supernatural book coming straight from the mouth of God? How do we know we can trust what is written there? One massive reason is this – there are hundreds of predictions about Jesus written hundreds of years before his birth and they all came true. All of them. It was predicted that he would be crucified with criminals, be offered wine vinegar to drink, be buried in a rich man’s tomb and then rise from the dead. All of these things came to pass. Let’s have confidence in the Bible. It is not a book where God explains everything to us exhaustively. He does not answer all our questions. However, in his wisdom, he has revealed so much to us- all that he wants us to know. Even conservatively speaking, Jesus fulfilled over 300 prophecies.

But Jesus also fulfils the law in another sense – he shows us how deep God’s law really is. It is not just a matter of something external but it is a matter of the heart. If you think of God’s law as a bike tyre, the Pharisees had actually deflated the law of its power by only keeping it on the surface. Jesus comes and puts air back into the tyre, filling up the law so that we can see its true significance. For example, the Pharisees thought they could keep the 7th commandment – do not commit adultery. They thought they were good people and that this law was manageable. Jesus smashes this falsehood by saying: ‘You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.   (Matthew 5:27-28) This is crucial to grasp. Jesus shows the law concerns our motives and thought -lives and hearts and not just outward appearance. Man looks to the outward appearance but God looks to the heart.

Ironically, the religious leaders had accused Jesus of abolishing or weakening the law. In fact, it was they who had weakened it, by ignoring our need to have our hearts right with God.

Sinclair Ferguson: ‘Jesus did not weaken the law. On the contrary, he let it out of the cage in which the Pharisees had imprisoned it, allowing it to pounce on our secret thoughts and motives and tear to pieces our bland assumption that we are able to keep it in our own strength.’

What’s the practical lesson here to take away this morning? When we read the Old Testament, there are some laws that no longer apply, and for good reason. For example, the ceremonial laws for priests concerning how to sacrifice animals no longer apply today because Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice and has fulfilled the ceremonial law. It is no longer required. And there are also Old Testament laws which were specifically for Israel as a nation. For example, the food laws, not to eat pork. These laws are no longer in force as God’s people no longer constitute a nation. But all the other Old Testament laws are still in force for us, and Jesus’ followers must seek to obey these moral laws.

Jesus is so strong on this. He says that the moral law is as enduring as the universe itself. ‘For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.‘   (Matthew 5:18) God’s law remains in force.

Imagine you are reading through Deuteronomy and you read in chapter 15: ‘If among you, one of your brothers should become poor… you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him.’   (Deuteronomy 15:7-8) Friends, these moral principles of open-handed compassion still apply to me and to you. The same goes for laws about justice, and care for the vulnerable, especially widows, orphans and foreigners.

2. The Christian and the law of God

Let’s start by considering Jesus’ shocking statement: ‘For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.’   (Matthew 5:20) Most ordinary Jews regarded the Pharisees and the teachers of the law as the most righteous people on the planet. If anyone would get into Heaven, they wrongly thought, it would be them. They were the experts. The knew the law inside out and seemed to keep the 248 commands and 365 prohibitions. Please understand how flabbergasted the people would have been to hear the standard of righteousness must exceed theirs. Does this mean that we need almost perfection to be good in God’s eyes? No!

The truth is, as we have seen, that the quality of the Pharisees’ rule-keeping was so surface-level that they were not righteous at all. They actually distorted God’s commands, twisted them, and like everyone else failed to keep them. To help us understand this, remember the rich young ruler in Matthew 19. Jesus reads him the commands, and the ruler says: ‘All these I have kept’. He looked like a good person externally but inwardly he loved money more than God. Jesus tells him to go and sell his possessions and give the money to the poor. He cannot do it. Money is his God. He cannot even keep the first commandment. He is not righteous. Our righteousness must be greater than his.

How can we do this? How can our righteousness be greater than that of the Pharisees? Some must have thought that Jesus was joking! Here is the answer. We can only do this by having a heart-righteousness. And a deeper heart-righteousness is impossible for us unless we are given a new heart by God himself. And we only get a new heart following a new spiritual birth- being ‘born again’.

Here’s the wonderful process – when we turn from our sins and trust in Jesus for our salvation and follow him, God gives us a new heart, and this heart begins to want to keep God’s laws, not to earn his love, but because of our gratitude to him. Our new heart obeys God out of gratitude. This is the opposite of why the Pharisees tried to keep the law. This should not be a surprise to us. We read in Ezekiel, ‘I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.’   (Ezekiel 36:26-27)

For all of Jesus disciples here this morning, our righteousness does exceed that of the Pharisees. Is this something we can boast about? Absolutely not. It is God who gave us new hearts and it is God who gave us his Spirit who helps us to love and keep the law. Without God’s help, without conversion, no one is able to keep God’s law out of gratitude to God. We need God’s help to keep the beatitudes and the 10 commandments and any other aspect of the moral law.

We also see this clearly in Jeremiah, ‘This is the covenant that I will make with the people of Israel after that time,’ declares the Lord. ‘I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.’   (Jeremiah 31:33)

Here’s the before and after. Before salvation, God’s law is something external and burdensome. After salvation, we understand more of its depth and we have a God-given desire to keep it, fuelled by our love for Jesus and motivated to please him.

Sermon: Sunday, 2nd November, 2025
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Matthew 5:14-16

We return to Jesus’ most famous sermon – the Sermon on the Mount. We spent four weeks in the beatitudes as Jesus described what the character of a Christian must be like. We must be those who are poor in spirit, not thinking too highly of ourselves. We must mourn our sin and the fact we have all let God down, and broken his rules. We are to hunger for the ways of God and be peacemakers, and so on. We cannot ‘whip up’ these characteristics on our own strength, so must be praying that the Holy Spirit would empower us and enlarge our hearts. Jesus is honest with us. In v11, he tells us plainly that living in this different, counter-cultural way will result in being persecuted by others. We must be aware that the Christian life was never meant to be easy. It is, in fact, a battle.

Next, Jesus moves on to consider the influence Christians who live out the beatitudes will have on the rest of the world. Last week, we focused on the image of salt. Salt prevents meat and fish from rotting. Likewise, as Christians follow the ways of Jesus closely, we hinder those around us falling into deeper decay. Last week we thought of some examples of this. As men have been converted in outer Mongolia, and as Jesus has changed their lives, they no longer waste their wages on alcohol and neglect and abuse their families in drunkenness. This widespread practice is not as prevalent there as it used to be. Christians are acting as salt. And we also saw how it was following British revivals in the 19th century that ‘salty Christians’ spearheaded the abolition of the slave trade, the end of child labour, the rise of the nursing movement, prison reform, the building of hospitals and schools and formation of labour unions. When a church is strong in a country, it hinders decay and when the church is weak, the decay happens more quickly. But the influence of Christians is not just about slowing decay. There’s a more positive side.

Jesus makes this wonderful statement: ‘You are the light of the world.’   (Matthew 5:14) Light dispels the darkness and brings life. It exposes falsehood and brings truth and love. It guides and reveals. Light is something precious and beautiful and positive. Remember who Jesus is talking to – Galilean peasants, who were ‘nobodies’ in the eyes of the world. They were not rich or influential or powerful. They did not have political connections. And yet because they were the people who trusted in Jesus and had a relationship with him, Jesus says emphatically: ‘You are the light of the world.’ He says the same to us this morning. If Jesus is your King and Saviour and you are his apprentice, then you too are the light of the world. You have a massively important role to play in this world. You will be a bearer of truth and a guide and one who dispels darkness. Society might look at the church as irrelevant or inconsequential. Jesus invests us with this marvellous responsibility. Is it arrogant for Christians to see themselves as the light of the world? Who do we think we are?

1. Jesus is the ultimate light; our light derives from him

‘Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’   (John 8:12)

Who is the ultimate light? Jesus! But listen closely to what Jesus says – it is as we follow him and his ways that we too will emit his light. As we remain united to Jesus in faith and as we nurture our relationship with Jesus through the Bible and prayer, and as we obey his ways, his light will flow into us and be seen by others. One excellent illustration of this is to think about the moon. Think of a beautiful full moon in a dark sky. It shines and breaks into the darkness. But where does its light come from? It comes from the sun. It is a derivative light. The moon reflects the light of the sun. In the same way, our light comes from Jesus. Our light is but a reflection of his. Jesus is the light of the world. He is the source of truth and love and life we all desperately need.

‘… people living in darkness have seen a great light…’   (Matthew 4:16) So, we are not arrogant as Christians. We know we don’t deserve to be lights. This is the work of God’s grace within us.

‘… giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.’   (Colossians 1 vs 12-14)

2. The world is in darkness

It is obvious that the world is in great darkness. It is easy to see this all over the world when we consider crime, war, greed, exploitation, drugs, abortion, the worship of self and gossip and lies and pride and lust and laziness. But Jesus is keen for us to look closer to home, and understand that these things also lurk in our own hearts.

Jesus said, ‘What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.’   (Mark 7:20-23) Perhaps you have a more optimistic view of the human race than Jesus. But I know these things lurk in my heart.

The renowned author GK Chesterton once entered a newspaper essay competition. Essays had to answer the question – what is wrong with the world. He wrote: ‘Dear Sir, I am. Yours Sincerely, GK Chesterton’

The darkness of the world is more than a moral darkness. It is also a spiritual darkness and a darkness of understanding. Most people in Scotland do not know the meaning and purpose of life. They do not know about God or what he is like or how he wants us to live. They do not know what will happen to them when they die. They have no hope beyond the grave. Most people wrongly think they are basically good people, and don’t need Jesus or the forgiveness he offers. Friends, this is a thick black darkness. Many do not know we are more than just animals. We are made in God’s image. We are made to live for God and to enjoy a relationship with God. This world desperately needs our light. And God in his wisdom has chosen to shed his light into the world through his church – through ordinary people like us. The world likes to think it is enlightened. But it cannot even answer basic questions on purpose and meaning.

3. The purpose of our identity as lights

Jesus has given his church and the individuals with his church a huge privilege and responsibility – to be light bearers for God. We might feel inadequate for such a task. But Jesus is encouraging us. He’s not saying this is what you could be, but this is what you are. You are the light of the world. The more closely we follow Jesus, the brighter our light will shine. But even a small amount of light can make a huge difference in the darkness.

Many years ago, I went to a Hungarian national park called Aggtelek. They have an incredible network of caves there. You go down into the cave system in Hungary and can come out on the other side of the border, in Slovakia. Deep in this cave system, our guide turned off all the electric light. It was the darkest darkness I have ever experienced. Then he turned on a small torch, and that made a huge different. We did not feel so disorientated any more. That’s the impact the church can have in the world. That’s why Leven Free Church is so important in Fife, for example.

One of the functions of light is to show people the way. It acts as a guide. We know why the world is the way it is. We know its Creator. We know his Word. We know what he wants. We know how to get into Heaven. As we tell others this wonderful message, we act as lights in the darkness.

When we considered being the salt of the earth, we were reminded of how salt must be rubbed into the meat or fish to have an impact. Likewise, for light to have an impact, it must shine in places of darkness. If a room is already well lit during a summer’s day, turning on a light will have no impact whatsoever. Likewise, without compromising, Christians must be involved in society, even when it is dark, and in so doing act as lights. We need to be involved in ordinary things, clubs and societies and neighbourhoods and the social structures of the workplace, where possible.

What does it really mean for us to shine as lights in the darkness. As we’ve already heard, it does involve pointing people to Jesus and showing them the way. But in this passage, the focus is on our ‘good deeds’. Wherever the Lord places us, in school, at work, in the family, in church and in the community, we must never grow tired of doing good.

‘God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.’   (Acts 10:38) Like Jesus before us, we must go around helping others, loving others and working hard. Our workplace ought to be all the better for us being there. We should not be the moaners and complainers or the gossips or the lazy.

‘Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honourable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.‘   (1 Peter 2:12)

‘Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world…’   (Philippians 2:14-15)

Think back to the last week, in your workplace, in the community, at the shops, meeting other people in any context, were these places better because you were there encouraging others, helping others, listening to others, and promoting their welfare? Jesus wants other people to be blessed by our words and actions and see the light within us. And that light within us should not point to ourselves but our Father in Heaven. Light is not meant to point to itself. A spotlight shines on a person on the stage. Our light is meant to spotlight God. People are meant to be attracted to God because they see God within us!

Sinclair Ferguson: ‘The regeneration of men’s lives is a sovereign work of God’s grace. We cannot bring anyone to newness of life. But it is our responsibility to live the new life in order that others may be challenged by it. It is our responsibility to shine for Jesus Christ so that others will see his salvation expressed in the flesh-and-blood reality of our daily lives. This is the point Jesus is making: we have a responsibility to show the Christ-like life of light to those around us. We cannot hide it under a cover.’

As we have already heard, light is meant to be placed in the darkness and meant to be seen, not covered. If you think of a one room Scottish black house or one room home in Jesus’ day, a lamp would be put on a stand to light up the whole room. It would be ridiculous to cover that lamp with a bowl. We are not to be lights hidden away in Christian bubbles. And if you lived in Jesus’ day, before electric streetlights, travellers would be delighted to see the light of a city shining in the distance, breaking the darkness and showing them the way. That city on a hill is meant to be seen. Let me be more personal- you are meant to be seen. Whether you like it or not, Jesus’ plan is that his light will be shown to the world through his people. What a privilege and what a responsibility. One of the main ways God in his wisdom chooses to reveal himself to others is through his transformed people, people now living out the beatitudes. We are, in this sense, being watched all the time. And if our light is shining, we are living proof that Jesus Christ is alive and is a great Saviour who forgives and transforms his people. That’s what happened in Outer Mongolia. People could see the power of God in the change taking place in the people of God and this, in turn, changed more lives.

We are God’s ambassadors. In his providence, he has placed us in a variety of families and communities and workplaces. The question is this, will you pray for God to help you to love and care for those around you, that you would shine brightly for him? If we have not been in this mindset, then we need to repent of our careless discipleship. This is basic Christianity.

Will you go into the rest of this week determined to love those around you and to help them? You might be in a time of stress and trouble. You are still watched at such times as to how you will react. If you can maintain a love for others at such times, your light will be powerful and impactful. May the Lord help us all to shine for him as we do good to others.

Sermon: Sunday, 31st August, 2025
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Mathew 11:28-30

What’s the best invitation you have ever had? It’s lovely to receive an invitation. Perhaps it was a wedding invitation to celebrate the ‘big day’ of close friends and to share in their joy. Or perhaps you were invited on holiday to a beautiful area to explore all kinds of new places with your friends. You might be invited to apply for a job and that feels like a great boost – people appreciate your efforts in the workplace. We are inviting people to come to Meal with a Message; they might accept or decline the invitation. You might receive a handwritten note from your spouse, inviting you for a special picnic and walk; sometimes these personal invitations are the most touching. Or it could be a surprise milestone birthday party you are asked to. Roger is inviting us all to a musical concert on the 1st of November. As we know, when invitations arrive then we have a decision to make, to accept or politely decline. A response is required. But the best and most important invitation you have ever received comes here in Matthew chapter 11. Make no mistake, you are invited and you are invited by Jesus himself. Let’s explore what it is exactly that Jesus is inviting us to and what the implications are if we accept or reject the invitation.

1. An astonishing invitation

‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.’   (Matthew 11:28)

What is astonishing about this invitation? It is staggering for one man, Jesus, to invite the whole world to come to him to receive all the things that they need most. Can Jesus really deliver that? Does he have the resources to meet all our needs? This is the kind of invitation that only God could extend. We read in the book of Isaiah; ‘Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.’   (Isaiah 45:22) God is saying that only he is qualified to rescue us. That would be arrogant were it not true. Likewise, Jesus’ claim to the only one in whom the deepest needs of the world can be satisfied is either some kind of foolish arrogance or it is the truth. We know that Jesus is far more than a human being; he both God and man in one person. That is why he is able to make this amazing invitation. Jesus is, in effect, inviting us to have a relationship with him. It is one where we trust and obey and follow him. And it is through this relationship alone that we can find rest for our souls. It is a relationship where we talk to him in prayer and listen to his voice as we read the Bible.

No politician can say to us, ‘Follow our party and we will meet the deepest needs of your soul.’ No scientist can point to a discovery which will give us peace, meaning and direction. No false prophet in other religions can accomplish this. Only Jesus can. And the good news is that he actually invites you to come to him to receive all you need and more. The question is, will you come?

But it’s also an astonishing invitation because it is an invitation made to those who have rejected him. Jesus has been denouncing the towns of Chorazin and Bethsaida. They had seen his miracles and heard his teaching first-hand and yet still rejected him. The Apostle John was right when he wrote: ‘He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.’   (John ch 1 v11)

Today in Fife, the vast majority of people have no time for God or for the things of eternity. Even though these are the critical areas of life, we just focus on what we can see and touch instead. We conveniently forget about the big questions of life: what happens when we die? What will God do about all the wrong things I have done personally? What is the meaning of life? Does God love me? Even though the human race refuses to thank God for his goodness to us and to live our lives for him, Jesus still invites us into a relationship with him. Jesus is here opening his arms to receive the whole world, even a world which has ignored him. It is an invitation we really don’t deserve. Instead of condemnation, we receive an invitation.

2. Who specifically is invited?

We have already seen that the whole world is invited. But Jesus is more specific. He is inviting the ‘weary and the burdened’ He is inviting those who labour and are heavy laden. But does this not describe the whole world without Christ?

Augustine said: ‘You have made us for yourself and our heart is restless until it rests in You.’

It’s hard for people to be satisfied without knowing life’s true purpose, even if their family and work circumstances are positive. And it’s no wonder people are weary in a world full of pain and suffering when that pain and suffering seems random and pointless. Is life really meaningless? Life is not a level playing field. Some carry more burdens than others. However, life is hard for everyone. Sometimes we are burdened by guilt weighing us down. We know we have hurt others, but we don’t really know what to do about that. Our consciences begin to bother us. Sometimes we’re crushed by rejection, or bad relationships or an addiction. We are just so worn down by life. Are you loaded down by your sin, or sorrow or regret this morning? You are invited to come to Jesus.

In Jesus’ day, many were weighed down trying to earn God’s favour keeping all kinds of rules. Not just rules in the Bible, but many man-made rules as well. In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus describes the actions of the Pharisees: ‘They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.’   (Matthew 23:4) In other words, they falsely teach that people must earn their place in Heaven by ensuring that their good outweighs their bad. But we cannot earn our salvation. We cannot rescue ourselves. We cannot even keep God’s laws, but break them on a daily basis. What a massive burden to place on people – telling them they must, in their own strength, be good enough for God. And even if we do go down this false road, we would never know if what we have done has been enough. We would always be in a state of spiritual anxiety.

It’s not just back in Jesus’ day that people were over-burdened trying to earn God’s favour. This happens just as much today. In fact, every religion teaches this false path and in so doing places burden after burden on people. Jesus invites us to come to him and have this burden removed from our backs. He is able to keep the law on our behalf. And he is able to pay the price for the wrongs we have committed by dying on the cross for us.

3. What does Jesus promise those who come to him?

In a word, rest! There is rest for our souls and it is found in a relationship with Jesus. There is rest for our conscience as in Jesus our sins can be totally forgiven and we no longer carry the burden of shame and guilt. There is rest in our hearts because in Jesus we know who we are, why we are here, what our true purpose is and what will happen to us at death. There is rest in Jesus because our Creator specifically designed us to have a relationship with him.

Most of us know what it is like to be exhausted and burnt out but then to have a proper rest. We might just need time away from work, or a parent might need a break from the relentless task of watching young children. To those trying to earn God’s favour, Jesus tells us that he has done everything necessary for us to be saved and to enter Heaven. We can rest in what he has done. It is not restful to live life running away from God and just doing our own thing. How can we know spiritual rest doing that?

What does coming to Jesus for rest involve in practical terms? It means coming to him in prayer, and asking him for his forgiveness and his help. It means coming to him with empty hands and asking him for all that we need. It means giving up trying to go it alone and receiving his love and grace. It means entering into a relationship with King Jesus.

4. A life-long apprenticeship

But the rest Jesus offers us is not a life of idleness. We are not called to do nothing. And it’s not an easy life but one full of battles and difficulties and temptations. Can that still be restful? Yes, it can. He says: ‘Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.’   (Matthew 11:29-30)

What does it mean to take Jesus’ yoke on us? We don’t often think about animal yokes in our culture. A yoke is a wooden collar that runs across the shoulders of a pair of oxen, helping them to pull huge weights. When we become Christians, giving our allegiance to Jesus, this is just the first day of a whole life of serving him. To take Jesus’ yoke on our shoulders means to follow him, serve him and learn from him. In other words, we become Jesus disciples, or apprentices. In the Bible, a yoke speaks of submission to authority. He is in charge of all areas of our lives. We submit to his authority about forgiving others, relationships, our use of money and time, and in terms of our attitudes and desires. Does that sound restful to you? Submitting to Jesus’ authority? The amazing thing is this- it actually is restful to give up trying to live any way we please. Doing as we please is not how we were designed and leads to frustration and hurt and emptiness. In contrast, living according to the ways of Jesus gives us true rest and freedom and peace.

In verse 29, Jesus says: ‘Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…’ Christian disciples are to be life-long learners. We must always have our Bibles open so that we are learning from Jesus. When we are learning to drive, we display the red L-plates. When we pass our test we have the option of displaying a green P which stands for probationary. We still have a lot to learn. As Christians, I think it’s useful to think of ourselves as always keeping the L-plate on. We never reach a stage where we no longer have to follow Jesus. We need to be committed each day to the process of learning from Jesus.

If you learn a language from the app Duolingo, you aim to complete at least one lesson every day. The number of continuous days you have is called a streak. Keen language learners become quite obsessed with making their streak as long as possible. Christians must do the same with our Bibles. We need a healthy obsession to ensure each day we are learning from the attitudes of Jesus and the actions of Jesus and the commands of Jesus. And because Christians are now filled with the Holy Spirit and because we do so with gratitude in our hearts to the one who died for us, this should not be a burden. Following and obeying Jesus should bring us rest. ‘In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome…’   (1 John 5:3) Friends, is this your attitude?

5. Is there anyone better to follow?

I love the answer Peter gives to Jesus when Jesus asks if the twelve want to stop following him, as many from the large crowds had done. ‘Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.’   (John 6:68-69) This is so true.

There’s another reason for following Jesus. ‘I am gentle and humble in heart…’   (Matthew 11:29) This is the only time in the whole Bible when Jesus describes his own heart. When Peter denied Jesus, eventually he was able to come to Jesus and what did he find? One who was gentle with him and humble and who would restore him to usefulness once again. For us who are Christians but have made a right mess of something or other, be assured that we can come to Jesus and he will be gentle with us. Is that not a precious truth? The religious leaders of Jesus day were uncaring and harsh and critical and proud. You wouldn’t want to have gone to them for help. But Jesus’ arms are always wide open to receive us and bless us. If you come to Jesus he will meet you with kindness and gentleness. So, come!

And if you are not yet a Christian, I would urge you to stop carrying the heavy load of sin and guilt and meaninglessness and rebellion. Instead, come to Jesus in prayer. Ask for forgiveness. Ask him to be in charge. Become his disciple. Learn from him. And you will know rest.

Sermon: Sunday, 24th August, 2025
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Revelations 8:1-5

It’s been several weeks since we were last in Revelation, so let’s recap. In chapter 5, we saw a scroll with writing on both sides in the hand of God the Father. This scroll symbolises God’s plans for human history. At first, no one could be found worthy to open the scroll, and bring God’s plans to fulfilment. However, there is a lion-like Saviour who is going to put things right! This lion is also a Lamb who has been slain.

In chapter 6, we were introduced to the four riders of the apocalypse. Through these coloured horses, and the opening of the first four seals, God is telling us what must take place between the first coming and second coming of Jesus, which includes right now. God wants us to be prepared for the great suffering on the earth from the time of Jesus’ ascension, until the day he returns, at the end of the world. God says to expect a world of military conquest (the white horse), war (the red horse), famine (the black horse) and death (the pale horse). And this is exactly our experience of life. God’s warning is exactly right. The fifth seal transported us from the earth up into Heaven, where the martyrs ask God how long the suffering of Christians on earth must last for; God tells them it will be until he has finished gathering in all the saints. Then, most soberingly, we saw that the opening of the sixth seal marks the Day of Judgement. A great shaking and destroying of all evil will take place. The sun turns black and the stars fall from the sky. The universe is being dismantled. The end has come. Those who have rejected God in this life will have nowhere to hide from God’s justice on that day. They will have missed their opportunity to receive God’s mercy. They must now face the consequences of their own failures.

If the opening of the sixth seal seemed too climatic, with the whole universe being dismantled, what is going to happen when Jesus opens the seventh seal? Will the earth melt with fire? After the action-packed descriptions of seals 1-6, the last seal might seem to arrive with a sense of anti-climax: ‘When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.’   (Revelation 5:1) There is not much silence in the book of Revelation; usually we hear loud cries of praise on the sound of war or a loud voice speaking, but not silence. What are we to make of it? The silence is deafening. It is an intense and overwhelming silence, like the calm before a storm.

1. Evil will be punished

As we have seen again and again, the best key to unlock the imagery in Revelation is the Old Testament. What does silence signify there? There are many Old Testament passages which link silence to the righteous judgment of God. For example, in Isaiah 23 v2, when Tyre is being judged by the Lord, we read: ‘Be silent, you people of the island and you merchants of Sidon…’   (Isaiah 23:2) And in the book of Zephaniah, God gives a prophecy about judging the whole earth on the day of the Lord: ‘Be silent before the Sovereign Lord, for the day of the Lord is near.’   (Zephaniah 1:7) This is a holy and reverent silence before divine judgment takes place.

The silence, then, signals to us here this morning that there will be a day when we are all brought to account for how we have lived. We cannot live any way we please and ignore God with impunity. Why does this silence last for half an hour? I am not sure. Perhaps it signals how suddenly this judgment will come upon us. We need to be ready for it, by becoming followers of Jesus.

Many Christians today struggle with the truth of God’s judgment. Some are emotionally troubled by it and others might feel even stronger and be morally outraged by it. The fear is that hell will be an unfair punishment and that it does not square with a loving God. These are genuine concerns people wrestle with. I’ve got several questions about hell myself which I don’t know the answer to. I leave these things with the most loving, just and fair being in the universe – God himself.

Recently, I read a helpful article by Rebecca McLaughlin about the link between love and anger:

‘The idea of the wrath of God seems alien to us a psychologically damaging relic from a bygone era. But just as we cannot absolve people of moral accountability without also erasing their ability to love, so God’s love and God’s judgment cannot be pulled apart. Think of the anger you feel when you see school children shot, women raped, or people beaten because of the colour of their skin. Think of your anger at the slave trade, the Holocaust, and global sex trafficking. When you analyse that anger, its root is love. No one who regards those of other races as subhuman cares about racial exploitation. No one who believes that women or children are property cares about sexual abuse. And the more we love, the more easily our anger is kindled. We rush to defend our children from the least attack because we love them: anyone who harms them inspires our fury.

Imagine that this kind of love-motivated anger is so deeply entrenched in the heart of God that your own commitment to justice is like a drop in the ocean, like the justice of a child dressing up in a police outfit compared with a high-court judge.’

In 2014, it came to light that Jimmy Savile was not the man we might have thought he was. Yes, he raised 40 million for charity. But the truth is that he was a sexual predator who never received punishment for his decades of criminal activity. Did he get away with it? No. He will be brought to account by God. We all will.

Earlier in the month, the Steadfast Global prayer notes told us about Nigeria: ‘Violent attacks against Christian communities are continuing across Plateau state with a further 17 Christians killed by suspected Fulani Muslims since 15 July’. From a human point of view, these attackers got away with it. But have they? Do you want to live in a world where evil actions do not matter? Yes, for many hell is a tough truth to wrestle with. But a universe without justice is also an awful thought. And we can be sure that God will never over-react when meting out punishments. It will be done with absolute fairness. Jesus says, ‘But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.’   (Matthew 11 v 24:) In other words, there will be different levels of punishment in hell.

What will we say to the Lord when we stand before him in judgment? What will Savile say? What will the Fulani herdsman say? Will we be complaining to God about how unfair the punishment is going to be? ‘Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.’   (Romans 1:19) Every mouth will be silenced because God will be judging us and not the other way round. Evil will not remain unpunished forever.

2. The power of prayer

Is there really any point in praying to God? What difference does it make? If we look closely at these few verses it ought to be a massive encouragement to us to pray more. Prayer makes all the difference. Who exactly is praying here? Verse 3 says it is the prayers of ‘all of God’s people’. It is the prayers of all the saints. That includes the prayers of us here this morning, if we are Jesus’ disciples. And what happens to our prayers when they are uttered? They do not bounce of the ceiling and get lost. They do not enter a black hole. Rather, they reach the front of the throne of God. In other words, God hears them. The King of the Universe listens to us personally.

If we all wrote letters to Keir Starmer expressing our various concerns and needs, I very much doubt we would get a personal reply. The letters will go through a screening process at his office with many being ignored. Probably, one of his secretaries will send us a generic reply to some people. How many letters does the prime minister get each day? How many does he read and respond to and take action on personally? A very small number. God is the opposite.

Notice that our prayers are mixed with incense. What does this tell us? That our prayers are like a sweet smelling aroma to our heavenly Father. Do you believe that? That’s why we sang from Psalm 141: ‘May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice’. Even when we do not know what to pray for and we cry out to God, and even when our prayers are mixed with wrong motives and faltering faith, because Jesus is our perfect sacrifice and we are united to him in faith, he makes our prayers acceptable to the Father. When we pray in Jesus’ name, our prayers are covered by Christ’s blood and ascend clean and beautiful and bring joy to our Father. Isn’t that wonderful?

There’s the story of a very young girl picking flowers for her mother. An older woman sees what she has gathered and says ‘let me help you – I’ll take out the weeds and the dirt’. And she does. And the girl gives this beautiful bouquet of flowers to her mother. This is what Jesus does with our prayers. He perfects them for us. He intercedes for us.

Here’s the most exciting part – God not only hears our prayers but he responds by taking action. Our prayers are influential. Far from being a waste of time, they result in the action of God.

Kevin Deyoung: ‘God has ordered the world so that our prayers make a difference. He has sovereignly ordered the world so that he responds to prayer. His sovereign purposes are accomplished through his people praying. The hands that fold in prayer move the hands of him who made the world.’

We see the truth of this as the Lord responds to the prayers of the persecuted church by finally bringing judgment on those who have attacked his church: ‘Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.’   (Revelation 5:5)

Remember what happened when the 5th seal was opened. The martyred saints in Heaven pray: ‘They called out in a loud voice, ‘How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?’ Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.’ (Revelation 6:10-11) God answers their prayers at the end of time.

When I think back over the last 30 years, I should have been more politically involved. I could have written more letters to MPs to both encourage and challenge. But there’s something much more powerful I could have done more of – and that’s pray. Because our prayers are more powerful than we realise. God uses them for the outworking of his purposes. I believe God pays more attention to our prayers and uses our prayers more than he does with the political structures we have. Political structures are important and we ought to be involved in them, but the power of prayer is more important than politics. May this remind us to pray for our politicians.

If we take this passage seriously, and if we really believe that God uses our prayers to fulfil his eternal decree then we won’t need to have our arm twisted to come to the prayer meeting or to pray more at home. If we trust prayer makes a difference it is likely we shall do it.