The Free Church is Needed TodayDo we need to have a Free Church of Scotland today? It was required in the past. In 1843 a great principle was at stake. Congregations were not allowed the liberty to call a minister of their choice. Unsuitable individuals and men of questionable moral character were being foisted on churches. Wealthy landowners had undue influence. The civil authorities and the law courts were demanding the right to over-rule the Assembly. A Church of Scotland -- Free was required where the Church could conduct her affairs without state interference. A Faithful Minority In 1900 there was another great crisis. The vast majority of the then Free Church wished to join with another denomination, the United Presbyterian Church. Church union is something admirable, but again there were principles at stake. This union could only take place by our Church changing to accommodate the other group. The Free Church had always been strongly Calvinistic. If there was to be a merger, a Declaratory Act had to be passed allowing for more freedom in subscription to the Westminster Confession of Faith. The Free Church was required to water down and deny her principles and this the majority were quite prepared to do. Even integrity alone demanded that our fathers stay out of this union. At their ordination, the ministers and elders had pledged themselves to the utmost of their power to assert, maintain and defend the doctrine of the Free Church. How could they now deny it? A Different Day But today things are different. The controversies of 1843 and 1900 are part of the dim and distant past. Why do we not join up with the Church of Scotland? We are a tiny Church today. There are more born-again Christians in the National Church than in the Free Church. Also, they have some good and godly ministers. They are the parish Church in contact with the people right across our land. What useful purpose can the Free Church serve today? In heaven there will be no denominations. At the end of last century, when church unions were popular, Professor A. A. Hodge of Princeton, sounded a warning when he argued that: "Unless touched by the spirit of schism.....denominations are not detrimental to the church. They represent great ideas....which God commits to them, in order to have them act upon them". It is their duty to maintain their "true inheritance" (Princeton Seminary, Vol. 2, D.B. Calhoun, p.76). Rather than seeking for a lowest common denominator on which we are to unite and so ignoring our doctrinal principles, let us, while working with others where possible, at the same time hold fast to the whole truth as we know it. If we were to join the Church of Scotland we would be swallowed up and lost in the much larger Church. We stand apart in order to witness to the nation and its churches. Purity of Doctrine So what does the Free Church stand for today? Surely top of the list should be purity of doctrine. We believe in the great truths of God's Word such as the sovereignty of God, the sacrificial death of Christ, regeneration by the Holy Spirit and justification by faith alone. Our doctrine of Scripture is more vital than anything else. We cannot know God and His grace without the Word. The Free Church stands for the inspired, infallible, inerrant and authoritative Bible. God has spoken and we must listen. In 1843 the Free Church was a Church founded on the Word of God. However, as the century progressed liberalism came in from Germany. Some of the ablest divinity students were sent to the Continental universities and returned home with more faith in the human intellect than in God's Word. Several of these men, being highly educated, obtained influential positions in the Church. Bit by bit they took over the teaching roles in the theological colleges. Attempts were made to maintain orthodoxy by church discipline. After a long struggle, William Robertson Smith was removed from his professor's chair for articles he wrote in The Encyclopaedia Britannica in which he displayed his rejection of the infallibility of Scripture. In the trial it became obvious that similar views were held by others. Attempts to discipline them failed. It was fashionable to be liberal. People, it was said, have to "move with the times". Satan, having succeeded in getting the Free Church off its foundation on Scripture, was able then to introduce all kinds of other errors. The Free Church of 1900 completely rejected liberalism. Once again the Bible was treated as the only rule to direct us how we are to glorify and enjoy God -- which is the purpose of our existence. If we have God's Word as our rock we need not fear the cleverest enemies. Today our duty is to bear testimony to the Scriptures. In the Church of Scotland there are some who believe the same biblical doctrines as we do. Sadly, however, there are many more who consider the Bible to be full of errors. We must be on our guard that no teaching which undermines the Scriptures be allowed a foothold in the Free Church. We have a role in Scotland and beyond in standing clearly for God's Word and purity of doctrine. Purity of life Surely every church calls on people to live holy lives. Some, however, have a very different view of the Christian's relationship to God's law. The verse which says that "we are not under the law but under grace" (Rom.6:15), is taken by many to mean that the law of God is not binding on Christians today. People say that the only law we have is love. But our understanding of Paul's teaching is quite different. We are not under the law as the ceremonial law with its exacting regime of sacrifices. Christ has fulfilled that law for us. Neither are we under the law in the sense of obtaining salvation by keeping the commandments. Salvation is a free gift. Christ has kept the law for us and His righteousness is imputed to us. Yet, having found peace with God through faith in Christ, we show our appreciation to God by striving with all our might to live according to His law. "If ye love me keep my commandments" (Jn.14:15). Purity of Worship This is another area where the Free Church has a witnessing role today. Never was there more confusion in the form of worship than there is today. Every man does that which is right in his own eyes. Organs were followed by guitars and rock music. Psalms were replaced by hymns and then by repetitive choruses. Reverential singing has given way in many churches to hand-clapping and dancing in the aisles. Drama has in some places become a substitute for preaching. With many, the only principle is what do they enjoy, what makes them feel good, or what brings in the people. But worship is first and foremost to be directed towards God. We must ask what pleases Him and what has He ordained. The Bible gives us principles and sets before us a pattern of worship which it is our duty to follow. From the Second Commandment we obtain what we call "The Regulative Principle". It states that we should only worship God in the way He, Himself, prescribes. The Israelites were tempted on many occasions to worship God by means of images. Everyone else did, so why not follow the majority? An image might help them to focus their worship. God, however, totally rejected such worship. He punished Israel when they indulged in it. Their sincerity was no excuse. "See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount" (Heb.8:5). Our worship is to be according to the pattern laid down in the New Testament. It involves the unaccompanied singing of Psalms, prayer and the reading and preaching of God's Word. In this age of confusion, the Free Church has a duty to bear testimony to the simple spiritual worship that God loves. Some people seem to want a broad Free Church, tolerant of many different opinions and practices. The home for such people is obviously in one of the existing broader churches. The Free Church can only justify her existence if she stands for something clearly distinctive. As a Church which calls for, and believes in, purity of doctrine, purity of life and purity of worship she has an important and biblical role in the Scotland of today. [Professor Macleod and Ordination Vows][Intimidation][Concern for Justice][True calvinism] Any comments or questions please E-Mail me or Rev William Macleod the editor. [Back to Reformed Christian Pages][Back to Free Church Foundations] |