Kilskeery Conference - Morning Meeting, September 15th 2024
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 15:58.
This chapter begins with a glorious definition and exposition of the heart of the gospel message, verses 1-4. It ends with an exhortation to us all how it is we ought to live out our days because of the victory given us by Christ and revealed in the gospel. The word “therefore”, which begins the verse, links what is said to the verse 57.
This exhortation is all the more applicable to us today for, as a generation, we are living nearer the return of Christ and all that will mean for believers, than has any other generation! If time was ‘short’ in Paul’s day (1 Cors 7:29), it is much shorter today! The word ‘short’ carries the meaning of ‘winding up’! I recall from my days in Ulster television that the studio floor manager, if he wished an interview to come to an end as the time for the programme was nearly up, he could use one of two gestures. He could draw his finger across his throat meaning ‘cut the interview off’ or a winding motion with his hand meaning, ‘wind the interview up, bring it to a close.’
The latter is basically what Paul was indicating. The word translated ‘short’ appears in only one other place. “And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him,” Acts 5:6. Here it is linked with the end of the life of Ananias.
The Lord is ‘winding up His purpose’ amongst men in this age!
We surely understand therefore what Paul was indicating. The last days of this age were approaching back then, nearly 2000 years ago! How much closer the end is today.
In the light of the ever nearing return of Christ our duty is set down here.
I. A SETTLED ADHERENCE TO THE TRUTHS OF THE GOSPEL IS EXPECTED OF US
1. The words “stedfast, unmoveable” tell us what is expected of us. The essence of the meaning of the words may be seen in one of the other places where the word translated “stedfast” appears. “If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister,” Colossians 1:23. There is what is meant by being “stedfast”. We are to be “grounded” and not “moving away from the hope of the gospel”!
2. This exhortation is especially relevant today. Why so? Because this is a day of ‘departure’! “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils,” 1 Timothy 4:1. The word “depart” means to “withdraw, to remove oneself”.
That is not preached today!
Look out on professing Christendom and what do you see? Churches, denominations, daily declaring that they are ‘decamping’ from the old orthodoxy of Bible truth! Sad to say, many Free Presbyterians do not believe what was believed by our founding fathers! Separation from apostasy and all that is marked by and linked to it is no longer practised as once it was. Some of our ministers feel it is perfectly in order to join in a gospel mission with ‘evangelicals’ belonging to ecumenical, modernistic denominations which no longer adhere to the Word of God regarding the cardinal doctrines of the gospel as set forth in verses 1-4 of this chapter and, furthermore, reject God’s Word regarding the iniquitous perversions of today’s society!
Now it may be argued that fellowship with brethren who are truly saved, even if they belong to apostate denominations cannot be wrong.
BUT THAT IS AN ERRONEOUS VIEW! God’s Word is explicitly clear on the matter.
“Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us. For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you,” 2 Thessalonians 3:6-7.
“For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread. But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing. And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother,” 2 Thessalonians 3:11-15.
I have raised this matter only to be told that such ‘disorderliness’ is sanctioned by the ‘Book of Order’ drawn up by our Presbytery back some 15 years ago. That being so, it is not what Paul teaches here in these quotations.
The word ‘disorderly’ means someone who is ‘out of step’ or who ‘deviates from the prescribed order’ that we should follow.
On the matter of membership and fellowshipping with apostate denominations which openly flout the Word of God, we are commanded by God to:
“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty,” 2 Corinthians 6:14-18.
In the light of this commandment, those ‘evangelicals’ who have remained within ‘the temple of idols, that is ecumenism’ are walking ‘out of step’ with God and we therefore are to ‘have no company’ with them but rather to ‘withdraw’ from such. That being so, joining in a gospel mission with such is getting out of step with God and into step with disorderly brethren!
Those words in 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 are especially familiar to the older generation of Free Presbyterians. They were frequently quoted in the past as the battle against ecumenism and modernism in the mainline churches here was pressed home. Sadly, they seem to have ‘fallen by the wayside’ and been set aside in the minds of some Free Presbyterians today!
In the light of our text, we cannot abound in the work of God by moving away from the teaching of God’s Word!
3. Irrespective of what deviations may be sanctioned by Presbytery decisions in the past, there needs to be a reappraisal of such decisions and a returning to that believed and practised from the beginning of our Church. Churches do go astray. As Free Presbyterians, we have gloried in the campaign of the great Irish Presbyterian stalwart, Dr Henry Cooke (1788–1868). He it was who courageously campaigned against the growing influence of the ungodly denial of the divinity of Christ and other associated doctrines by ‘Unitarians’ within the denomination, chiefly found in the Antrim Presbytery. Following Dr Cooke’s opposition to Unitarianism, there was a secession by some seventeen ministers and Irish Presbyterianism enacted the unqualified subscription to the Westminster Confession by ministers on 9 August 1836 and extended that rule to include elders on 8 April 1840.
This return prepared the Presbyterian Church to largely become the channel of the great ‘1859 revival’, the effects of which were enjoyed for many, many years!
Divine Pattern
In the past, Free Presbyterians have rejoiced in that history (and not in the prayers of popish ‘saints’) and have seen it as a divine pattern to be followed and also as a vindication of their separation from the apostate churches which repudiated the doctrines of the Bible. They were right in doing so and if we are to follow in the footsteps of Dr Henry Cooke and our founding fathers, then there needs to be a renewed rejection and repudiation of all that has crept in to our camp which is contrary to the Word of God.
There can be no hope of doing anything substantial and lasting while the present conditions are allowed to prevail.
We have all rejoiced in Fanny Crosby’s old hymn:
Here in thy name we are gathered,
Come and revive us, O Lord;
"There shall be showers of blessing"
Thou hast declared in thy word.
Oh, graciously hear us,
Graciously hear us, we pray:
Pour from thy windows upon us
Showers of blessing today.
But there will be no gracious hearing of our prayers while we persist in defying God and disobeying His Word.
Unwelcome as these words may be, I defy any to show from the Bible that they are wrong!
II. EVEN BELOVED BRETHREN REQUIRE SUCH AN EXHORTATION AS THAT GIVEN IN OUR TEXT
“Therefore, my beloved brethren . . .” Paul had earlier defined ‘charity’ or love with these words.: “Charity suffereth long, and is kind . . seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil . . . Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth . . . Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things,” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.
Paul showed patience, born of love, to the foolish and wayward Corinthians and addresses them as “beloved brethren”. “For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears; not that ye should be grieved, but that ye might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you,” 2 Corinthians 2:4.
1. Paul loved the people in Corinth despite their foolish departure from God’s Word. There can be no doubts about the Corinthians backsliding. Paul deals with very serious sins in the church as a result of the information sent to him by friends. “For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you,” 1 Corinthians 1:11. These contentions or divisions and disputes were the lesser sins in the church. Paul had to deal with very serious matters. Proud claims of superiority by some over others, 1:12-13; the most dreadful immorality was tolerated, 5:1; suing fellow believers in the civil courts, 6:1; misconduct at the table of the Lord, 11:20-21.
2. In dealing with these matters, Paul uses very strong language as he rebuked the wayward. “But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power. For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. What will ye? shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness?” 1 Corinthians 4:19-21. He was glad to be able to put off his visit and so give them time to put matters right. “Moreover I call God for a record upon my soul, that to spare you I came not as yet unto Corinth,” 2 Corinthians 1:23. He was, however, prepared to use the ‘rod’. Indeed, in the case of the immorality he was most stern with the guilty man. “For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed, In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?”1 Corinthians 5:3-6.
He indicated that the Lord was sore vexed with their misbehaviour, even so far as slaying some of the Corinthian believers! “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world,” 1 Corinthians 11:28-32.
The term ‘sleep’ is used of death when applied to believers. (John 11:11-13, 1 Thessalonians 4:14).
Sin amongst God’s people is no light matter in God’s eyes!
3. It must be emphasised that despite their great departure and backsliding, Paul does not term them ‘apostate’! He addresses the Corinthians in chapter 1, verse 2 as the church of God. “Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours.”
There is recovery for those who sinned as dreadfully as did the Corinthians. Of course, we learn that from the life of David and of Peter, both of whom were guilty of shameful failures and sin.
I do not believe there is amongst us the open sin that was found in Corinth so therefore, though I am often cast down and made to despair at the direction taken by some within the Free Presbyterian Church, I have not given up all hope of recovery for the Free Presbyterian Church.
III. PAUL OFFERS A WONDERFUL ENCOURAGEMENT TO THE FAITHFUL CORINTHIANS
“ . . . forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”
1. Nothing discourages like the thought that ‘I am wasting my time, nothing will come of my efforts’. There is none who plants this thought in our minds as frequently as the devil and his lackeys. Poor old Job lamented, “Why then labour I in vain?” Job 9:29. The Psalmist likewise expressed disappointment. “Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches. Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency. For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning,” Psalm 73:12-14. Even Paul came close at times to thinking so. “I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain,” Galatians 4:11.
We must heed Peter’s warning regarding abandoning steadfastness. “Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen,” 2 Peter 3:17-18.
2. Though God’s service entails ‘labour’, it is not in vain. But here is assurance that no matter how opposed, how despised and ridiculed and mocked, even the giving of “a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward,” Mark 9:41. Giving a cup of water hardly amounts to labour but even the smallest effort is marked by the Lord and will be rewarded. How much more will those efforts for the Lord that do indeed entail labour be rewarded.
The word “labour” carries the meaning of “a beating of the breast with grief, sorrow”. Yes, what grief and sorrow has been associated with serving the Lord Jesus in this wicked world. Paul testified to the elders at Ephesus: “Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons, serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews: and how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house, testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ,” Acts 20:18-21.
The great prophet Jeremiah, known as ‘the weeping prophet’ cried out in grief: “Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people! Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men. And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the LORD,” Jeremiah 9:1-3.
But nothing serves to dry our tears like these words: “Forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”
3. When we are brought before the King, this encouragement will be seen to have been well based. How precious are the words given us by Christ in which He depicts that time when He shall gather together His servants and deliver His ‘Well done’ to them.
“Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me,” Matthew 25:34-40.
It is to be noted that not only have we here the Saviour’s words of praise but there is the reward of a ‘kingdom’. As well as that, the faithful carry with them into eternity a sense of having done nothing worthy of reward. “Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we, etc etc.”.
That genuine humility is offset by the Saviour’s gracious correction. “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” Kindness to fellow believers is kindness to the Lord Himself. May we ever remember this!
These words in Matthew 25:34-40, serve to highlight how sure and certain the day of ‘reward’ is! The Saviour here relates His words of gratitude to the faithful and the fervent.
What an encouragement to go on in the service of the Lord in this day of ever increasing darkness.