20th May 2024


Pray (ACts)


Read (Romans 1:2-6)


Message (Alan Burke) 


First Posted


Today we talk about the Hypostatic Union. If you are wondering what on earth is that, or thinking to yourself it’s not relevant or important for me then think again. The Hypostatic Union is a theological term for the plain teaching of Scripture that Jesus Christ was fully God and at the same time through the incarnation was fully man. The Shorter Catechism it reminds us in Q21 as it asks Who is the Redeemer of God’ s elect? The only Redeemer of God’s elect is the Lord Jesus Christ, who, being the eternal Son of God, became man, and so was, and continueth to be, God and man in two distinct natures, and one person, for ever. 


This truth of how Jesus was fully God and fully man to many in Paul’s day would have been scandalous, especially to the Romans! To them they could have comprehended if Jesus took on the form of a human for their gods sometimes did that, they took on humanity for a purpose, but to come by birth was to them a humiliation. In their mind no self respecting God would have come in this way but then we care once more confronted with the wonder of the incarnation, that Jesus, who was fully God would give up the riches of glory and condescend, that he would face what we faced, come into the world as we come into the world all that we might know the joy of salvation. 


Jesus came with sweat, blood and tears, he cried, filled nappies or what ever they had, he needed fed, there is nakedness of mother and child. In his coming, our God condescended, he came just like us, so that he might do what we could not. Pilate himself during the trial after Jesus was lashed and his bones visible cried to the crowd, ‘here is the man’ (Jn 19:5). The humanity of Jesus is key in our understanding of the atonement, without Jesus being fully man, a decedent of David then there can be no amends made for our sin, Jesus while fully God on our humanity and through his death the Devil’s power has been destroyed. (Heb 2:14-18). 


This is something that we should marvel in, that love that God had for his creation that in the midst of the fall, that he promised beforehand regarding the coming of His son, who took on our humanity to our impoverished and lowly estate to exalt us and make us rich in Him! “For it is the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for our sake he became poor, so that we by his poverty might become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9 paraphrased), and “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:8).


And it was in substitutionary death that as verse four emphasises, in how by the Spirit of holiness that is the Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead. In all the history of the human race Jesus has done enabled by the Spirit what no other man has. In the resurrection Jesus was declare with power to be the Son of God. This Gospel that was promised by God involved all three persons of the Godhead, the Father Son and Spirit in its fulfilment, the Father sent the son, the Son died for us and the Spirit raised the humanity of Jesus from the dead, brining him back to life so that his claim as the Son of God would be shown to be true. 


When the Spirit raised the corpse of Jesus from the tomb on that first Lord’s day, that resurrection day it was announced to the world that he indeed was the Son of God. This is good news, in the midst of the news you hear this day as you switch on your telly, scroll through that app, hear on the radio what ever it is, know that Jesus Christ who is the only Redeemer of God’s elect, who, being the eternal Son of God, became man, and so was, and continueth to be, God and man in two distinct natures, and one person, for ever, so that our sin could be dealt with finally and we who are the enemies of God by our nature could be reconciled, forgiven, become the children of the living God through faith. 


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Q43 What is the preface to the ten commandments?
The preface to the ten commandments is in these words, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. (Exod. 20:2)

18th May 2024


Pray (ACts)


Read (1 John 2v2)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


In my last devotion we discussed the word "propitiation" stating that Jesus is the sacrifice that turns away the wrath of God. Christ knew the full weight and fury of God's wrath and because He faced it, we never will. What we didn't discuss is John's phrase that Christ was the propitiation for the sins of the whole world (v2).


Does this mean that Christ's death has paid the price for the sins of every person who has ever walked this earth? Well no. I don't know anyone who believes that Hell is empty and equally, Scripture teaches that there will be a multitude who will know punishment for their sin (Matthew 25v46). If this is true and we certainly believe it is, then Christ cannot have paid the price for everyone's sin. It would be unjust for God to punish someone whose sins have already been covered by the blood of Christ.


What John means here by "world" can be easily explained. The Gospel came first to the Jew and then to the Gentile (Romans 1v16). John and his fellow Apostles lived and died to take the message of Jesus throughout the known world. So much so, that one day we will see the glory of the redeemed people of God. They will have received Christ by faith and be from every nation, all tribes, all peoples and all languages (Revelation 7v9). The Gospel has come to the world and every people group on earth will be represented before Christ in heaven.


Brothers and sisters, understand that you have a place in the worldwide church of Christ. We may be divided by location and language but we are united by faith. Jew and Gentile alike are no longer strangers and aliens, but fellow citizens and members of the household of God (Ephesians 2v19).


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Q42 What is the sum of the ten commandments? The sum of the ten commandments is, to love the Lord our God, with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength, and with all our mind; and our neighbor as ourselves.

17th May 2024


Pray (ACts)


Read (Exodus 12:29-42 focus v33-42)


Message (Alan Burke)


In everything that unfolded in the book of Exodus, the Lord was revealing who he was, he was making his glory known and was saving a people for his glory. Here as the Israelites are told to leave the Egyptians urged them to hurry because they had felt the full force of the Lord’s judgment. Just as the Lord had said he made the people favour, they were sent with silver, gold and clothing, they plundered the Egyptians. They had learnt that there is only one God and some of them were let to go and worship him, serve him with his people. Those who gave freely to the Israelites, their silver and gold had begun to believe that the God of the Israelite was the one true God. And were acknowledging his power, were honouring him with their wealth. In all of this the Lord was showing his sovereignty, over Egypt and over its people, he was sovereign over the Egyptians and his people the Israelites just as he is sovereign over all the nations today, and the Lord is. 


It is what comes next that is just wonderful. For we are told the sheer number of people that left Egypt in the exodus. Six hundred thousand men on foot beside women and children. Now the men would have of fighting age and above to be recorded, that 20 years old so we can put the number at well over two million people leaving Egypt. The Lord had kept his promises to Abraham, God’s people had went into Egypt, 72 descendants of Jacob we are told that back in chapter 1:5 and now they are leaving after 430 years with over two million. Added to how God kept his promises to Abraham we have a wonderful reminder to us of God’s inclusion of the gentiles in his plan of salvation. For we are told here were v38 “Many other people went up with them”. 


The Lord God that we come before today is the God of all people, and here in the Exodus he was redeeming a people for himself that included not only his chosen people the Israelites but other. There were those in Egypt who had witnessed what the Lord had done, who experienced the loss of the first born and who left with the Israelites to worship their God. It is something that we see elsewhere in scripture, in the book of Ruth, Ruth returns to Judah with Naomi. Ruth who was a foreigner went with Naomi and said “Where you go, I will go, and your God shall be my God” (see Ruth 1:16). Ruth is named in the Genealogy of Jesus. Our God is the God of all people and graciously invites us to come and to worship and serve him, to be part of his people here on earth as we await our future hope of dwelling with him forever.


All who call on his name, whether a stranger to us, or part of the furniture will be saved by God, he is saving a people unto himself and one day we will join with a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. (Rev 7:9). All through his grace. Our God is the God of all.


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Q41 Where is the moral law summarily comprehended?
A The moral law is summarily comprehended in the ten commandments.
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16th May 2024


Pray (ACts)


Read (1 John 2v1-6)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


A Christian is someone who has repented of their sin and put their faith in Christ. Such a person has been called by the God of light and in response they are to walk in the light. But a follower of Jesus isn't perfect and can be described by the latin phrase "simul justus et peccator". What does this phrase mean? The Christian person is at the same time justified and sinful.


Even so, the Christian isn't to delight in sin. John was clear "My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin." (v1). The Apostle knew rightly that perfection on this side of heaven is impossible but nevertheless, the Christian should hate sin and strive by all the means of God's appointment to walk rightly before the Lord.


But what if we do fall into sin? Can the Christian lose their salvation? Will Jesus get fed up with us and remove us from His Book? By no means. If we sin then we can be assured that Jesus is our advocate who even now is at the right hand of the Father (v1b). Christ lives forevermore and although we do not see Him, we know where He is and what He is doing. Christ is the righteous one and He is able to save us to the uttermost. Even when we fall we should remember that Jesus always lives to make intercession for us (Hebrews 7v25).


Robert Murray M'Cheyne put it beautifully when he said "If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me." Christ is our advocate and He is the "propitiation for our sins" (v2). This word is hard to say and sometimes misunderstood. What does it mean? That Christ is the sacrifice that turns away the wrath of God.


Imagine a fierce storm coming to your family picnic on the beach. No one wants the wind, rain and lightning to beat down upon them so they quickly run for cover. The storm comes but the wise have found shelter in the car. God is rightfully angry with sin and His wrath burns against all manner of wickedness. But for the Christian, the sacrifice of Jesus has turned God's wrath away from us because it was poured out on Christ. He is our propitiation and under His wings we are safe from the wrath to come.


How should be respond to such good news? If we love Jesus then we are to keep His commandments (v3). To say we love the Lord without any obedience to His word, makes us a liar (v4). Let's be clear - we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Our own obedience cannot save and will always be incomplete, but if our faith is genuine then obedience will and must be evident.


If we are united to Christ by faith then we are to walk in a manner worthy of the Gospel following the path Christ charted for us (v6). In this way God's love is perfected (v5). Does this mean that God's love was lacking and needed to be improved by us? No. The love of God has a purpose - to redeem and sanctify sinners. So if a man calls upon the Lord and is saved and responds to the grace of God with obedience, there God's love is perfected, or in other words His love is accomplishing its purpose.


Christ is our advocate and propitiation and to His people He says "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." (John 14v15).


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Q40 What did God at first reveal to man for the rule of his obedience? The rule which God at first revealed to man for his obedience, was the moral law.
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15th May 2024


Pray (ACts)


Read (Exodus 12:29-42 focus v31-32)


Message (Alan Burke)


Many of you will remember the Cold War that began in 1947 and ran until 1991 with the fall of the Soviet Union. Then the two world super powers were the United States and the Soviet Union. The two supper powers played out the struggle between them with what are known as proxy wars as they supported opposing sides. The United States even contributed billions to rebuild Europe after WW2 under what is often known as the Marshall Plan, or officially the European Recovery Program to avoid Europe being swallowed up by the Soviet Union. Thankfully the Cold War never really got too heated as there were plenty of nuclear weapons around that had the potential to have ruined my lovely view of the golf course from the study window. In all that time no one would have expected Nikita Khrushchev giving in completely to the demand to Dwight D. Eisenhower or John F Kennedy while he was in office or the other way about. 


That is though wha the have here, the worlds most powerful man, the one who ruled over the largest superpower at the time, who was seen as a god, to whom people would have prostrated themselves before him as they approached had been broken by his opponent. The Lord God had bought Pharaoh to his knees. Notice the way he says it, it is a three fold command of Pharaoh, v 31 he tells them twice in different ways to go, Up he says, then leave my people, you and the Israelites and go, then again in v32 he tells them to go. He is a man who had been humbled by the Lord. He had refused to obey the word of the Lord, he had refused to let the people go, he was obstinate before the Lord but now he wants nothing more than the people of God away from him and his people, all of them and their flocks and herds. 


It is what comes then though at the end is striking, for Pharaoh asks that Moses would bless him. Before he had asked for prayer, never blessing and when he asked for prayer Moses did pray for him even though he knew that Pharaoh would change his mind but here there is nothing said of Moses answering the request of Pharaoh. It was too late for Pharaoh and this was one last desperate attempt for something, some kind of favour from God, but there is no repentance from Pharaoh. He wants the blessings of God on his terms. The blessing that the people received is that they were spared this judgement and it came thought the blood, while God makes the rain to fall and the sun to shine on the just and the unjust it is only his people whom he blesses through the blood sparing them what they deserve. Pharaoh and the people of Egypt had received what they deserved. 


There are many people act like Pharaoh, they are obstinate in their refusal to give their lives to his plans and purposes, they will not bow the knee but in their lives they want God to bless them, they want his help when they are in the midst of trial, they want the Lord to act on their behalf but God gives his blessing through the true passover lamb, how the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ was spilled for us. In Christ we are forgiven, redeemed, sanctified, the Lord brings us into relationship with him, as step Holy Spirit works within us we can call out Abba Father (Gal 4:6), ‘And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him’ (1 Jn 5:14-15). Why would God bless or listen to those who refuse to hear and obey his word?


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Q39 What is the duty which God requireth of man?
A The duty which God requireth of man, is obedience to his revealed will.
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14th May 2024


Pray (ACts)


Read (1 John 1v10)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


It might surprise you to know that in some churches "sin" is a dirty word. That's good, isn't it? Well no. It's not that these fellowships hate sin and see it for what it is. Instead, sin is seen as something that should never be mentioned in polite company or a concept from the 1800s that has no place in a modern church.


I hope your church isn't such a place. Christ did not come to make good men better but to save sinners. Therefore we would do well to understand sin, make repentance a daily feature of our walk and resist all temptation to downplay the gravity of sin. John put it this way "If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." (v10). Did you catch that? If we are so deceived by sin that we declare ourselves sinless, then we have rejected Christ's word and made Him a liar. Perish the thought!


The reality is that sin remains the greatest issue facing the human race. To pretend it doesn't exist or isn't important is a foolish stance. The Gospel is exceptionally good news for those who are perishing (1 Corinthians 1v18) and so the perishing must understand their need for forgiveness. To ignore sin is like telling your Doctor all is well even though you haven't slept in months and your appetite is nonexistent.


Sin is deceitful and many, including churches, ignore it or pretend that everyone isn't too bad. But I humbly suggest that to deny the existence and seriousness of sin is the work of Satan himself. Brothers and sisters, may we not be deceived into thinking that we are without sin. We must be aware of it in our own lives and bar the door to it in our fellowships. Christ is no liar, sin exists and He died to save us from it. Thanks be to God.


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Q38 What benefits do believers receive from Christ at the resurrection? At the resurrection, believers, being raised up to glory, shall be openly acknowledged and acquitted in the day of judgment, and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoying of God to all eternity.
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13th May 2024


Pray (ACts)


Read (Exodus 12:29-42 focus 29-30)


Message (Alan Burke) 


I remember learning about the plagues as a child, they filled me with wonder at the Lord. That the Lord our God could turn the Nile into blood, send frogs, gnats and flies on the land then bring disease on the livestock, boils on all of Egypt, hail and fire fell from the sky, locusts consuming everything, darkness consumed the land and then this final plague the death of the firstborn. All these years later I still have the wonder but I see things differently than I did as a child for I now know the pain that death brings, I see it all to often and how whether that death is sudden or expected that it comes to all. While the Lord had given his people a substitute so they could be saved from the judgment that he would bring, that night for the Egyptians there was no substitute. 


That night the Lord moved, the houses who had killed the sacrificial lamb and painted their doorposts and lintels with the blood were spared but from the the the firstborn of Pharaoh, to the firstborn of the prisoner, and the firstborn of all the livestock died. Pharaoh we are told and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead. 


Two verses that covey the horror of the judgement the Lord brought upon the Egyptians. We hear this, and when we think of it more than just facts, words on the page, this is a highly distressing reality that was brought upon Egypt. In all that unfolded, it doesn’t sit comfortably with many people. The reason is that the God that we have been spoon fed throughout our lives is all about the love, or he is the senile old grandad figure that loves us even though we burnt down his garden shed. We forget that our God is Holy, Holy, Holy, he cannot look on sin and we all deserve not his grace but his wrath. 


The Lord provided a substitute for his people, they deserved the judgement also, he provides a substitute for all who will trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, a substitute that died in our place. This is important for us all to hear and to know the substitute because the Lord once more will bring his judgement on this earth, Jesus himself warned of it, the book of revelation details it, every person who has ever lived will stand before the Lord and be judged and it will either be in our sin and we will face the judgement we deserve or it will be in Christ the substitute, who took the punishment that we deserve. God had saved his people from the judgment he himself was brining, saved by God from God but know this “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Rom 10:13). Share this gospel with those who you know and love, pray for them that the Lord would bring them to faith for one day it will be too late.  


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Q37 What benefits do believers receive from Christ at death?
A The souls of believers are, at their death, made perfect in holiness, and do immediately pass into glory; and their bodies, being still united to Christ, do rest in their graves until the resurrection.
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10th May 2024


Pray (ACts)


Read (Exodus 12:14-28)


Message (Alan Burke)


We are all prone to forget, the memory isn’t maybe what it use to be and life goes on for everyone. Well the Lord through the passover with the feast of unleavened bread that was to be reenacted each year to help his people remember the wonderful grace that they had been shown. It is also to act as a testimony, a teaching tool. Look to v25-26; 25 When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. 26 And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ The children in the coming generations would witness the people of God celebrate the passover and feast of unleavened bread and the children were part of it, they would see and they would ask. If you’ve had any experience of children you’ll have heard that question why, but why, they are inquisitive by their nature, they ask questions, they will want to know, why their parents make this such a big thing. 


Like we’re roasting a whole lamb and burning the left overs, and then which they would literally done and still do in devout Jewish homes today, search to make sure that all the leaven was out of the house then brush the house out the front door to get rid of the leaven. As the children watched this they would see that this was something important to their parents, that it was part of their lives as a new year began and they didn’t miss it. Like why dad did you kill the lamb, why are you putting its blood round the door, why are we having to eat it in one go, why are eating flatbread, what is wrong with the loaf of nutty crust?


And they were to tell their children the wonder of what God had done, that he provided a substitute for them, a lamb died so that they might live, that the Lord had brought this salvation, and he wants us to leave the old life behind, living for him. They would have told them it wasn’t just how they had been saved from slavery but that the passover lamb was an offering for their sin, and they needed God’s grace, they needed a substitute for them and when God brought judgment he would see the blood and know that his justice was satirised, their sins were covered. 


They are to tell these truths to the generations that follow, to their children so that they would know the Lord God as well, the focus of all of this was that God would be known. And it was to be the family who were to pass these truths on, from one generation to the next, this is what God has done, this is who we are. Likewise it is the same today, faith is passed down in the family, from the parent to the children, the grandparent to their grandchildren, every day is an opportunity to pass on the truths of the faith to the next generation, in simple ways, from prayer on the drive to school asking for the Lord’s help, to answering those questions and not ignoring them, to bringing them to worship to see and hear and to know the truth of God. 


The response of the people as they hear what the Lord says comes in v27-28 “Then the people bowed down and worshiped. 28 The Israelites did just what the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron.”. What they were doing was responding to the grace of God, and it was coming with worship and obedience. How do we respond to the grace that we have been shown, through the true passover lamb the Lord Jesus who laid down his life for us, well it is to worship and obey. The Israelites worshiped and when they had done that they did exactly what God had commanded them to do, they knew he wasn’t messing about, he knew he was to be feared and it shows the correct response for us to the grace we have been shown. We are all prone to forget, minimise the sin in our lives, and we need constantly reminded what the Lord has done for us through the Lord Jesus Christ. 


Pray (acTS)


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Q35. What is sanctification?
A. Sanctification is the work of God’s free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness.
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8th May 2024


Pray (ACts)


Read (Exodus 12:14-28 focus v14-20)


Message (Alan Burke)


All bread is not equal in my mind, there are some loaves which far surpass the average, you might be partial to a bit of Veda, Wheaten or Soda but in my mind the bread that surpasses them all is Nutty Crust. In our wee country we are all use to the Veda, Wheaten and Soda none of them are made with yeast but most of the bread that we eat like my favourite Nutty Crust is made with yeast. Here we are told of the feast of unleavened bread that they are not to add leaven or yeast to it. Both do the same thing, today we have yeast that comes in a wee packet or tin but what they had to do in bible times is that you’d keep a wee bit of yesterdays bread dough, and the yeast was already working in it and you’d add it to todays bread dough and this is what was called leaven, and the leaven did the same thing as what we use yeast for today. It only takes a tiny amount, just a little bit of it to transform. 


What the Israelites were to do is to was on the first day remove the leaven, and the consequences for not removing the leaven, or rather eating anything with yeast in it must be cut off from Israel which seems a little bit severe, eat a bit of bread and you’re cut off from your people. Like it’s only a bit of bread, surly God is being way too harsh here, what if you didn’t get the memo. 


Well let’s first think to the leaven and what it symbolises in scripture then to the warning that anyone who eats anything with leaven will be cut from Isreal. There was something significant that the people were being taught, it was at the most basic level they were to leave their old life behind, they were leaving Egypt and they are to leave the thing anything that might work in them that can transform them, that can corrupt them, well they are to leave it behind in Egypt, they are leaving their old life behind, because the Lord desires something better for them. Throughout scripture leaven was used symbolically to represent the corrupting power of sin. 


Now the people were being given a new beginning, they were to leave the old life behind, they were to leave Egypt behind, with it’s idolatrous practices, with its sin, the people were being given a new beginning leaving Egypt behind and they were to live as their Lord desired. They are to leave their sin behind. Now leaven is a really helpful symbol for us in understanding sin, because it can start small, we may not give a second thought to something and then before we know it that sin has grown, spread, it has impacted our entire lives, it like the leaven has worked its way through the dough and sin has worked its way through us. But God wanted his people to live as he desired, leaving this old life behind, he wanted them to live lives that were being sanctified, lives that were not lived how they use to but living for him, living as he wanted them to live. It is the same for all who trust in Jesus Christ, who have been saved from their sin, we are saved to be sanctified, saved from sin to live as God wants and not how we once lived. The reason why is that the Lord’s ways are better, his ways are far better. 


For us just as the Israelites we are called to leave the old life behind, to live as the Lord desires and we can see just how sin acts like leaven today when we do not take sin seriously. The reason why the Lord warned the consequences of those who failed to remove the leaven from their homes was just because of how even at this stage if they failed to listen to the Lord they would soon disregard everything he said. 


The way we work is we think to ourselves “augh sure, it’s not really that big of a deal”, “like it’s not that serious, everyone else is doing it”, “sure that church don’t make an issue of those things”. We often minimise the seriousness of sin, of what God has said, sure it’s not a big deal is it? Is that what Jesus taught, we show that we are loving by tolerating sin? No we are to hate sin, as believers, as a people, the problem is that when we allow a wee sin, something that we don’t see as a big deal to take a hold then sure what difference does it make for one more little sin, and the problem is sin is like leaven, it soon spreads. Our Lord calls us to live as he desires, leaving the old life behind. 


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Q33. What is justification?
A. Justification is an act of God’s free grace, wherein he pardoneth all our sins, and accepteth us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone.
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7th May 2024


Pray (ACts)


Read (1 John 1v1-4)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


The late great Edward Donnelly once wrote “A Christian is anyone who has looked into the face of Jesus and said, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God'.” That's it isn't it? We are not Christians by an accident of birth or because we do good things or because we attend a church. A Christian is someone who has looked unto Jesus and found Him to be the Saviour and friend of sinners.


Nevertheless, there may be moments in a Christian's life of crippling doubt. Many Christians have at times echoed the cry of a man from long ago who told Jesus “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9v24) How can such brothers and sisters be comforted? How can any of us be sure of what we have come to believe?


Certainty in Christ is possible, for what we have believed is not a myth but the truthful proclamation of those who saw Jesus with their own eyes. John was one of those eyewitness, an Apostle, a member of the Twelve, the disciple whom Jesus loved (John 20v2) and alongside his brother James one of the "sons of thunder" (Mark 3v17). This same John was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write four books and over the next weeks we will consider 1 John.


Why should we listen to John? Because he heard, saw and touched Jesus (v1b). Christ is the eternal Saviour who "was from the beginning" (v1a) and whose life was made manifest some two thousand years ago (v2a). John saw Jesus (v2b) and so John proclaimed Jesus (v2c). He testified that Christ was indeed the Son of the living God and proclaimed to us that eternal life had been made possible for all who would believe (v2d).


Can the Apostles be trusted? Is their account of Christ's life and death a sham? While some argue this exact thing, I am always struck by the remarkable change in John and his fellow Apostles. They scattered when Jesus was arrested (Matthew 26v56), they struggled to believe that He was raised (Luke 24v11) and they hid themselves away in the days that followed (John 20v19). But then these same men left their darkened rooms and stepped once more into the daylight. Their doubt had turned to belief and their fear had turned to faith. They would be scattered once more, but this time not out of terror. Instead the Apostles would take the Gospel to the world and lose their lives as a result.


Although there is a tradition that says John was once thrown into boiling oil, he would be the only Apostle who would die a natural death probably as a prisoner on the island of Patmos. What had changed for men like John? They had come to realise that Christ had been raised. They had seen Him and walked with Him and watched His Ascension. Therefore 1 John is a letter from an eyewitness of Christ's majesty whose life was radically changed because he could not deny who and what he had seen. 


So wy did John write 1 John?W That we might have assurance, fellowship and joy. Fellowship with whom? With the Apostles (v3b) and ultimately with the Lord (v3c). The Gospel brings us into fellowship with each other and fellowship with God. Christianity is not a solitary pursuit. Christ's blood was shed for His people and as we believe the Gospel we belong to one another and we belong to the Lord with the result of this fellowship being fulsome joy (v4).


Sometimes we practice our faith with scowls rather than smiles but there is joy to be had in the realisation that we have not believed a lie. The foundation of the church is the teaching of the Apostles and Prophets with Christ Himself as the cornerstone (Ephesians 2v20). Sinners like us have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, we have been brought into membership of the Holy Catholic Church and although we were once enemies of God we now have fellowship with Him.


There's nothing dubious about any of this. Brothers and sisters, rejoice with inexpressible joy. Christ's work is certain and those who believe in Him have not done so in vain.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC


Q32 What benefits do they that are effectually called partake of in this life? They that are effectually called do in this life partake of justification, adoption, sanctification, and the several benefits which, in this life, do either accompany or flow from them.
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