The reality of death has been brought before us all over the last few weeks with the outbreak of the Coronavirus. It has gone from a taboo subject rarely discussed, to one that is uppermost in the minds of men and women. Solicitors across the country are reporting an increase in people making wills so that their affairs are in order. If you have been following the posts on this site, you will have read a few days ago that the Bible has much to say about the subject of death.

Death, as the Bible shows, is something that faces every one of us. Regardless of our age, health, circumstances in life or standing in society “death has passed upon all men for that all have sinned” Romans 5v12. But the Bible makes clear that death is only the beginning for us, when our life, like a vapour, has past and gone.

Job, a man of old, understood the fact that faces us all, “man dieth, and wasteth away… ”  He knew that death and the grave lie ahead for all. Yet Job’s understanding didn’t stop there. He asked “… yea man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?” Job 14v10.  Job was not referring to where an individual would be found in this earth, but in eternity. Where would that soul be? Where for the countless, never-ending time of eternity will they be?  The Bible makes clear that there are only two places for a soul to be for eternity – Hell for the unrepentant sinner, or  Heaven for the believer.

The world moves and lives for the moment as it cannot bear to face up to the reality of such solemn facts. They give rise to fear and trepidation in the face of what society describes as the ‘great unknown.’ Yet God’s word makes clear that eternity is to be faced by everyone. We cannot avoid it in any way. It is sure, and the facts about it are revealed in the Bible. And the Bible shows that men can face it with certainty and hope in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Read the words the apostle wrote to a group of Hebrew believers long ago, speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ:

“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” Hebrews 2v14-15.

What a blessed hope for every believer, who has received forgiveness of sins and salvation from Him, that death can be faced in the calm assurance that He has died and He lives having defeated death’s power, removing all fear.

“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive”. 1 Corinthians 15:22

“How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation”? Hebrews 2:3

As we come to the end of the first week of a lockdown in the UK, where most families have been indoors, how much time have we given to thinking about our spiritual need? How much have we considered the great salvation that God is offering to men? God is “longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance”. 2 Peter 3:9

The following are just some of the verses in the bible that explain the ‘great salvation’ that God offers to men:

Forgiveness of sins: In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. Ephesians 1:7

Justification: And by Him, all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. Acts 2 13:39

Reconciliation: For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. Romans 5:10

Peace with God: Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ Romans 5:1

Access to the Father: For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father Ephesians 2:18

The Help of the Spirit: Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Romans 8:26

The Care of the Son: When Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. John 13:1

Eternal life: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. John3:15

A place in heaven: In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. John 14:2

The following are some verses from the Bible about death and the answers to be found in Jesus Christ the Lord:

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Genesis 2:16,17

For we must need die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither does God respect any person: yet does he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him. 2 Samuel 14:14

For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye. Ezekiel 18:32

And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:28

Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? John 11:25,26

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. Romans 5:12

For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. Romans 5:17

That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so, might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 5:21

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38,39

For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 1Corinthians 15:21

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18

And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. Revelation 21:3,4

PSALM 23

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

It is well to bear in mind that this is not the day of Christ’s power, but it is the day of His sympathy. When passing through the deep waters of affliction, the heart may, at times, feel disposed to ask, ‘Why does not the Lord display His power, and deliver me?’ The answer is, This is not the day of His power. He could avert that sickness — He could remove that difficulty — He could take off that pressure — He could prevent that catastrophe — He could preserve that beloved and fondly-cherished object from the cold grasp of death. But, instead of putting forth His power to deliver, He allows things to run their course, and pours His own sweet sympathy into the oppressed and riven heart, in such a way as to elicit the acknowledgment that we would not, for worlds, have missed the trial, because of the abundance of the consolation.

Such, my reader, is the manner of our Jesus just now. By and by He will display His power; He will come forth as the Rider on the white horse; He will unsheath His sword; He will make bare His arm; He will avenge His people, and right their wrongs for ever. But now His sword is sheathed, His arm covered. This is the time for making known the deep love of His heart, not the power of His arm, nor the sharpness of His sword. Are you satisfied to have it so? Is Christ’s sympathy enough for your heart, even amid the keenest sorrow and the most intense affliction? The restless heart, the impatient spirit, the unmortified will, would lead one to long for escape from the trial, the difficulty, or the pressure; but this would never do. It would involve incalculable loss. We must pass from form to form in the school; but the Master accompanies us, and the light of His countenance, and the tender sympathy of His heart, sustain us under the most severe exercises.

Charles Henry Mackintosh 1859

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given.” Isaiah 9:6

This verse is perhaps well known at Christmas because it is used in the lyrics of Handel’s Messiah.

The verse divides into two parts. It tells of a Child who is born – Jesus who was begotten of the Holy Ghost and born of the virgin Mary. The first part of the verse tells of His humanity. But as Jesus Christ is God’s Son, He is said to be given, as He existed eternally and is the creator of all things. The second part of the verse tells us of His deity. The apostle Paul was the greatest theologian of the New Testament. As he pondered the mystery of the Child born and the Son given at Bethlehem, he said:

“And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh”. 1 Timothy 3:16

Although it may not have taken place on 25th December, it is a fact that that the Son of God became man, was born at Bethlehem, wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger. But the verse becomes very personal, for Isaiah says that the Child is born unto US – the people of Bishopton, Dargavel, Langbank, Linburn and Erskine.

And so the questions we all need to ask at Christmas 2019 are: Is this Child born to us? Is He given to us?  Have we a personal interest in the child that was born at Bethlehem? Do we know that he is our Saviour? Do we rejoice in the glad tidings He has brought to us? Does He belong to us? Do we belong to Him?

These are not questions to be discussed and debated around the Christmas dinner table. These are personal questions that each individual must answer for themselves. There was a man called Simeon who held the baby Jesus in his arms shortly after his birth. Simeon settled these questions in his own mind and said:

“Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: for mine eyes have seen thy salvation” Luke 29:30

The real test of all our beliefs, ideas and notions is how they will stand up when we have to depart from this world in death. Simeon believed that the Child who was born and the Son who was given was his Saviour and so was filled with peace at the thought of leaving this world and going to meet God.

We wish you all a Happy Christmas and ask you to take time to consider these important questions.

 

As usual, the school holidays have flown by and the kids are preparing to go back to meet their new teachers and begin a new year of learning. The Bible tells us that we all have a schoolmaster:

^“Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” Galatians 3:24

The lessons of the law are easy to understand, even in our modern world:

1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
5. Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
6. Thou shalt not kill.
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
8. Thou shalt not steal.
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbour’s.

However, a big problem for many is that they have tried to keep the commandments of the law as a way of gaining favour with God and hoping to reach heaven. In other words,  they did not really listen to what the schoolmaster was telling them! The law was intended to teach us that we can never achieve these standards and meant to show us that we are failures, sinners, in God’s sight. The law was given to point us to faith in Christ as the only way of pleasing God and obtaining His salvation.

“Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith in Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe”. Romans 2: 20-22

The results of the European elections have made it clear that over 60% of people in the United Kingdom did not vote for anyone! The issue of Brexit has dragged on for three years and is still far from being resolved. There are strong opinions held on each side but its is clear that many people do not trust what politicians or journalists are telling them.

The issue of trust is one that Jesus Christ confronted in John chapter 6. This remarkable day began with Him speaking to 5,000 men and ended with Him speaking to 12 men. That means that 4,988 people did not accept His message. Or to put it in electoral language, He received 0.24 percent of the vote that day! By the standards of men the mission of Christ in the world was marked by extreme failure. We would expect that after such a poor result that we would never hear of Him again.  And yet, today there are millions of people across the world who believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that salvation can be found in Him alone. 

The simple answer to this difficulty can be found as the message unfolds. Men came to Christ that day with the wrong expectations, looking for the wrong things. He did not offer economic stability, a national health service, an education system, reduced taxes, or a fairer world. He came to offer everlasting life – “labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life”. John 6:27

One man of the twelve who stayed to listen to Christ  grasped what was being offered and as he thought about where else he could find eternal life, he came to a definite conclusion and cast his vote for the Son of God.

^“Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.” John 6:68,69

In a hundred years time, Brexit will be consigned to the history books and everyone who was alive on 27th May 2019 will discover that the greatest decision we had to make on earth was whether or not we would believe and be sure about Christ, the Son of the living God. Don’t delay your decision! Don’t make a mistake! Don’t trust anyone but Him!

 

 

We have decided this year to have a secret Santa for family members, so that one person will buy one present for another family member.  We only have one opportunity to get it right and choose something the person really wants for Christmas.

There are things that money can’t buy like, love, happiness, peace and contentment. The Bible tells us of a present for Christmas that is priceless and beyond the means of any billionaire:

“…and thou shalt call His name Jesus for He shall save His people from their sins” Matthew 1: 21

The modern world has done its best to eradicate from our minds the thought of sin. The Bible definition of a sin,  is a falling short of God’s standard. In medieval times people would practice archery on the village green and when they missed the target, it was describes as a sin. Most people in Bishopton do well when comparing themselves with others but God has set the standard much higher:

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23

The Gospel message starts with us all on the same level before God. We have all sinned, we have all failed, we have all messed up our lives and we are all in need of salvation. This is what makes Christmas so awkward for anyone who looks into the manger at Bethlehem because we are brought face to face with a Saviour! Christ did not come into the world to educate us, moralise us, entertain us – He came to save us! The fact that He came from heaven to earth should show us immediately that  we cannot save ourselves or save each other.

And mark carefully the terms of the Gospel – ‘He shall save his people from their sins’. There is no offer of salvation to those who want to keep their sins. But to those who are tired of a life of sin, there is offered today, on 1st December, before Christmas even comes, a free salvation from our sins. That would be cause for a Happy Christmas.

“…for we have heard Him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.” John 4: 42

It is always encouraging to have visitors come to our hall. On Sunday we had a nice surprise when friends from Ontario, Canada spent the day with us before they travelled onto Inverness. They heard a message about:

“It is appointed unto men once to die but after this the judgment” Hebrews 9: 27

“When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, He said, it is finished: and He bowed His head and gave up the ghost” John 19:30

“But He answered and said, It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” Matthew 4:4

‘It is appointed’ tells us of the certainty of death. Most people do not like to think or speak of death. Yet we are all very fragile. The Bible urges us to confront the day of our death, and to  ask the question, what happen afterwards? So many people do not know. Other say they will wait and see. Some think that when God reviews their life, the good they have done will outweigh the bad. Yet we do not need to be unclear as we are solemnly told that if we just continue to live as we are, after death there is the judgment!

‘It is finished’ declares the finality of the sacrifice of Christ. This is the good news that is at the heart of the Christian message. God has provided a Saviour for sinners. His Son died on the cross at Calvary. A man once asked, what must I do to inherit eternal life? So many in Bishopton are trying to do things that will earn them God’s favour. Yet what can we do for God when His Son has cried , ‘it is finished’? The work is done! All that we can do is accept what Christ has done for us. The apostle Paul’s confidence was in ‘the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me’ Galatians 2:20.

‘It is written’ underlines the authority of scripture. In this modern world there is no shortage of opinions and views about faith. But if we intend to know God and be accepted by Him, we will eventually have to acknowledge the authority of the Bible – Old Testament and New Testament. It is a very challenging book. Yet it is a book of comfort for those who find themselves in distress. Why not begin to read it?

I have just learned from Google maps that our friends from Canada travelled 5,248 km to be with us on Sunday! Most people in Bishopton and Dargavel are a few minutes walk or car journey from us. Why not come one Sunday and hear the Gospel message for your self?