THISTLES & GUM TREES Paperback

Now out in paperback,

Thistles & Gum Trees is a selection of short stories.

Some are set in Scotland. Others are set in Australia. Some are serious. Others are humorous. But all are meant to be enjoyed!

To my big brother

Stuart McKinlay

The mere mention of your name or the words “He’s got a big brother!” helped to keep me safe from some of those bampot playground bullies during my school years!

 

CONTENTS

The Vale of Leven

‘Up the Hill’ at Tullichewan

The Fall of Tullichewan Castle

Castle Cranium

The Love Tree

My Mother and The Robin

The Day We Went To Rothesay O

Losing My Sole

The Ghost Writer

Going Home

Sweetwater Sweetheart

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GRACE UNDER FIRE

GRACE UNDER FIRE

“Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead), and all the brethren who are with me,

To the churches of Galatia:

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” Galatians 1:1-5.

Introduction

“The occasion was a typical Sunday church service, but the locale was behind the iron curtain in Communist East Europe. The service was progressing as usual when suddenly two Communist soldiers brandishing submachine guns kicked open the door. With flailing arms and angry voices, they denounced the Christians and their vile worship. ‘Such worms as you have no right to exist upon the face of the earth!’ they shouted. ‘We are going to shoot all of you! However, those who are willing to denounce their faith and deny Christ can move immediately to the right side of the sanctuary and you will be free to leave.’ A portion of the congregation got up and moved. The soldiers then commanded them to get out. Most of the congregation sat motionless in their pews. When the doors were closed, the Communists turned to those sitting before them. ‘We too are Christians,’ they said. ‘We’ve come to fellowship with you, but we first had to get rid of the hypocrites.’”

I would be surprised if that’s a true story. However, I use it to illustrate a point. What is Christ to you? What is Christianity to you? Is it something worth getting all het up about? Is Christ and the true Faith something worth dying for?

The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Australia is held in Sidney. Every three years or so each Presbytery sends representative elders to the General Assembly. At these General Assemblies decisions are made which affect the whole of the Presbyterian Church in Australia. Some people get fired-up at these meetings. And why shouldn’t they? Isn’t Christianity worth defending with passion? We can thank God that in the Presbyterian Church of Australia, God’s Word is still our rule of Faith!

When it comes to the issues facing the church today, the Scriptures are searched for the answers. Issues such as: What does the Church believe about Euthanasia, In Vitro Fertilization, Homosexuality, Same-sex Marriage, etc., are thrashed out.

The Presbyterian Church has a good system. Some call it Presbyterianism, I prefer to call it Biblical. Were you to read Acts 15, you would see that Elders were sent from different congregations to meet at the General Assembly, not in Sydney, but at Jerusalem. The main issue at that meeting wasn’t euthanasia or IVF programs or Same-sex Marriage. The issue was that certain men from Judea had been telling Christians “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved” (Acts 15:1). Paul’s Letter to the Galatians is dealing with that very matter.

I don’t have to tell you we live in an age where just about anything can call itself Christianity and people will believe it! A number of years ago, the Anglican Archbishop Peter Hollingworth was telling us all not to believe the Genesis account of creation. Then there was a Presbyterian Professor of Theology in Sydney telling us he wanted to “bring God into the Church. If there is a God” he said!

You’ve heard the phrase, “Live and let live”? By that people mean, “Each to their own!” Then they import that teaching into the churches. Then they proceed to ignore the clear teaching of Scripture. Well, the Apostle Paul for one, would rather die, than see the clear teaching of Scripture disregarded.

Paul had been all through Galatia proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Churches had been established among the Gentile people who lived there. People were hearing the Good News and getting saved. But then the wolf showed up. The wolf in sheep’s clothing. The angel of darkness posing as an angel of light. They began to distort the Gospel message Paul had preached. Then, before you know it, they began turning against Paul.

We’ll look at the first five verses of Galatians in the following. They call these verses the “Salutation” or the “Greeting” verses.

The Judaizers have gone for the jugular. They were trying to kill the Gospel of God’s Grace to fallen man. In these first five introductory verses we see Paul come out fighting right from the bell. He’s fighting for what we all should be fighting for, i.e., the purity of the Gospel!

The Messenger Under Fire

Paul displays his credentials. Right from the outset Paul wants you to see his credentials. “Paul, an Apostle”. He wants to establish his authority God has given him. “I was made an Apostle by Jesus Christ and God the Father.” He’s like a policeman thumping on the door of the Galatian Church. He’s flashing his badge, and he’s saying, “Open up in the name of the Law!”

We see here that he’s not a self-proclaimed Apostle. He didn’t decide one day to be an Apostle. Neither is his Apostleship from men or through men. An illustration of this would be an elder in the Presbyterian Church. When we make a man an elder, we do it because he is already is an elder. When certain men display the gifts of an elder, we simply make it official.

It’s God Himself who calls His Elders. He draws the attention of the Session and the congregation to those in the congregation who are displaying the qualities of an Elder. By ordaining the elder the Lord provides him with the badge of office. The Elders swears before God to uphold the teachings of the Faith. We Presbyterians call the teachings of Christianity the Westminster Confession of Faith.

God gives the Elder the authority he needs in order to rule and discipline the Lord’s flock. The people of God in turn are to give God respect by respecting those whom the Lord has appointed as His Elders. For this is how the Lord runs His Church on earth, i.e., through the Eldership. However, an Apostle is more than an Elder.

An Elder oversees the Lord’s flock in some particular corner of the vineyard. Whereas an Apostle oversaw the Lord’s Church at large, i.e., the whole thing. An Apostle is one who has seen the risen Christ, and has been commissioned by Him. That’s why Paul mentions that he’s an Apostle “through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead” Galatians 1:1.

“I’ve met the risen Saviour in Person” is what he’s saying. Paul met the Christ on the road to Damascus, didn’t he? Remember how the Lord blinded him and sent Ananias to him? Talking about Paul, the Lord said to Ananias, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of mine to bear My name before the Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel” Acts 9:16. Paul, therefore, is reminding the Galatians that he is the Apostle, not by choice, but by commission of Jesus Christ and God the Father. Why did he have to do this? Well, certain men were trying to undermine his authority. The Judaizers were attacking his credibility. The Messenger was under fire.

Have you ever noticed when they have an election in the US, we always get to hear about the candidate’s past life? Bill Clinton had tried marijuana when he was younger. How was he going to get out of that one? Who in their right mind would want a dope-head for a president? “Yeah! I tried marijuana. But I didn’t inhale!” You have to admit that that was a smart thing to say. He was saying, “Sure, I might have held a marijuana cigarette in my hand, you might even have a photograph to prove it, but you’ll never prove that I inhaled it!” Put that in your pipe and smoke it! And so the enemies of Bill Clinton had to search elsewhere for dirt on him. That’s how it goes in politics, isn’t it? If you can undermine the opposition’s credibility, then it’ll be easier for you to attack his policies.

Look at our own government. So and so has had “X” amount of flights to the Bahamas or Paris or somewhere. He’s even taken his girlfriend with him first-class. He’s even claiming for flights he never took. Therefore, how can you trust this man? How can you trust his policies? The Judaizers had been doing the same with Paul. “He’s just after your votes!” They were saying Paul was a “man-pleaser”. They painted Paul as walking around “kissing babies” in order to gain a following for his policies.

Take pot-shots at the man and you’ll hit his message too. They were firing at the messenger of grace, i.e., God’s grace. Isn’t that always the way? If you don’t like the message, kill the messenger. Do you reckon it happens in churches today? Have you ever been guilty of killing the messenger? Maybe some preacher has preached some doctrine you don’t like? Instead of searching the Scriptures like a good Berean “to see if these things are so”, you’ve just written off the message. “Oh! He’s just some know-it-all college professor!” Or, “He’s just some young whipper-snapper!” And so, you pass judgment on the messenger. and disregard the message. Well, that’s what’s been happening with Paul.

The Judaizers had got in among the Lord’s flock in the churches of Galatia. They’d been saying things about Paul in order to lead the flock into the wolf’s den. In another place the Apostle Paul says, “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ” Colossians 2:8. The Judaizers were enticing the Galatians away with the traditions of men and empty deceit.

It wasn’t as if these Galatians didn’t know Paul. Paul said that the Galatians received him as “an angel of God, even as Christ Himself!” He said that they would have plucked their eyes out if possible and given them to him. But now they were turning against him. But more importantly, they were turning away from his message. They had been listening to the whispering gossip. The smear campaign of the opposing party had taken affect.

Paul’s not happy, to say the least, that these Galatians were so quick to dismiss him and his message. He’s like a storm cloud nursing its anger on the horizon. His letter is punctuated by flashes of lightening and ear-splitting claps of thunder. But it’s bringing with it the refreshing rain of a summer storm. Some hear only thunder, while others hear the voice of God as His grace echoes off the mountains.

As Christians we need, more than ever, to proclaim God’s grace from the rooftops, from the mountain tops, “Repent and believe in the gospel!” Paul had the credentials. He was commissioned by God. He had the authority. And Paul was above reproach! The things the Judaizers were saying about him just weren’t true. It’s important that we too strive in our lives never to give the devil a toehold. Because the enemy seeks to undermine your character in order to put people off your message. What was Paul’s Message?

The Message Under Fire

What was his message? Paul’s message is the Gospel. It is the good news of Jesus Christ. It is the good news that Jesus Christ has given “Himself for our sins that He might deliver us from this present evil age according to the will of our God and Father.” So we see in the first five verses of this Epistle, in what we call the Salutation, the whole substance of Paul’s message to the Galatians. Usually a preacher will introduce the subject of his sermon, then he’ll preach what he’s just introduced. And so he reminds the Galatians of the One who gave Himself for their sins. And how He rescued them from the present evil age. And how He did it according to the will of our God and Father.

Paul’s message is one of grace and peace. It is because of God’s Grace that we experience God’s Peace. That’s what the Gospel is all about. It’s about the good news of the Grace of God in the Person of Jesus Christ. It’s about the Peace with God that we find in only Jesus Christ. We see God’s grace in Jesus Christ at the cross. “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” That’s the grace of God to fallen and sinful mankind.

We see at the cross Christ make peace between God and sinners. Did Christ at the cross not ask His Father to forgive us? “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” So Paul’s message to the Galatians is still one of grace and peace. And yet, as mentioned above, there are thunderbolts and lightning, very, very frightening! Is he doing this perhaps to show that he’s no wimp? He’s already been accused of being a man-pleaser. No!

Paul’s livid because some people are preaching a false gospel. What does our Confession say? “The purest churches under heaven are subject both to mixture and error.” So you need to go to heaven to find the perfect church! Our Confession goes on to say, “Some [churches] have so degenerated as to become no churches at all, but synagogues of Satan.” Westminster Confession of Faith 25:5.

Paul would rather die first than see a congregation turn its back on Christ and His Gospel. There were people ignoring the truth of Scripture, and they were teaching others to do likewise. Paul’s livid because people who should know better are listening to them.

He’s not out to defend himself. He’s out to defend the gospel. He doesn’t care about himself. He says later on in this letter, “God forbid that I should glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” “I seek no glory” says Paul, To God “be glory forever and ever. Amen.” he says. He doesn’t care about the things the world cares about. The world’s been crucified to him. He’s dead to the philosophy and deceit of the world. And so it should be for the Galatians. And so it should be for us.

But the Judaizers were saying that grace isn’t enough for salvation. They were adding to the Gospel message. They were telling the Galatians that they had to be circumcised to be saved. It’s the same as you or me telling someone they have to be baptized to be saved. But that’s not the Gospel. The Gospel is that we’re saved by grace through faith. Not by grace through circumcision or baptism. But by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone! He’s saying “Christ gave Himself for our sins.” He gave Himself where? At Calvary, at the cross, the place where He said, “It is finished!”

The Judaizers were adding to the finished work of Christ. His work on the cross is a masterpiece! You wouldn’t try to add something to a masterpiece, would you? The only thing you can add to a masterpiece is the applause. To God be glory for ever and ever. Amen. What would you add to the Mona Lisa? To add something you’d ruin it, wouldn’t you? You’d be like a kid with a magic marker. “Here’s a moustache and a pair of glasses!” That’s what the Judaizers were doing to the Gospel. They were defacing the priceless picture of the Gospel. They were distorting it beyond recognition.

Before the collapse of the Soviet Union it is said that you couldn’t always be sure of reaching your destination. When you looked at a map you couldn’t be sure if your destination actually was where the map said it was! The government was always trying to hide and conceal things from people. And so they would make sure that maps were “government approved”. You’re guaranteed to get lost using an unreliable map. The Judaizers were changing all the road-signs on the road to heaven. They were giving vehicles a heavy load and telling them to take an alternate route. The trouble was that they were sending them down a road where the bridge had been washed out. Jesus Christ is the bridge we cross into heaven. He delivers us there. He picks us up in this present evil age and delivers us into His everlasting kingdom. That’s what Paul’s message is.

Christ has come behind enemy lines. He’s rescued us. He’s delivered us. His grace is sufficient. God’s grace was sufficient for Paul. It’s sufficient for the Galatians. And it’s sufficient for all of us. The Message of Grace is forever. Thank the Lord for the Everlasting Gospel. Paul applied the Gospel to a people who were quickly forgetting the Doctrines of Grace. The Gospel doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Paul was restating the good news in the context of what was going on in the church at that time.

Martin Luther restated the Gospel to the church in the 1500s. Luther felt driven by God to re-form what had become de-formed. Do you feel like that? When you look around all at all the de-formed things in the church, do feel the urge to re-form? We have to keep restating the Gospel to every generation. We have to keep reminding them “By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.” Martin Luther was a great re-former of the church. He said that he was led on by God as a horse is led on by a man. He said, “I simply say that true Christianity had ceased to exist among those who should have preserved it, the [elders] and scholars.”

What is Christianity like today? We’ve got ministers performing weddings for same-sex couples all claiming they’re Christians. We’ve got people who don’t believe the Bible is God’s Word claiming they’re Christians. We’ve got a man in Rome who claims he’s infallible while at the same time claiming he’s a Christian!

Where do you stand? Do you stand with Paul for the purity of the Gospel. Or is it live and let live? Where do you reckon we should draw the line? We hear Christians say nowadays saying, “Let’s not argue over non-essentials.” I’ve even heard them say the Lord’s Supper is a non-essential. I’ve had people tell me Baptism is a non-essential. I find it all a bit strange because of the fact that the Lord’s Supper and Baptism are the Gospel in visual form. You hear the Gospel in a sermon or see it with your eyes in the two Sacraments.

Conclusion

If you want to re-form a de-formed church, then you’ll need to know what the Gospel is. You’ll need to rediscover it like Luther at the beginning of the Reformation. You’ll need to re-state it in the context of the church today. It won’t be easy for you. When people don’t like the message, the messenger gets it.

I don’t know if you’ve seen this quote before, but John MacArthur Jnr. says,

The man of God is thrilled to be soldier. It is not that he goes out of his way to antagonize people and make enemies, but he is willing to fight the battle for truth. It is greatly disturbing to live in a time when battling for truth is looked upon as divisive and unloving.    Far too many in the church today are willing to compromise theologically to avoid conflict, forgetting Jude’s exhortation to, “contend earnestly for the faith.”

Look at what happened to those Reformers during the Reformation. CH Spurgeon puts it rather poetically where he says somewhere something to this effect, “The martyrs rose to heaven mounted on chariots of fire.” They were burned at the stake by people who should have known better, burned for their unwavering belief in Jesus Christ and His gospel.

I BELIEVE! The Apostles' Creed

Out now also in paperback. Please don't trample each other in your rush to purchase your copy of my book...

A river runs through the valley. The River Leven (pictured) takes the waters of Loch Lomond to the north and deposits them into the River Clyde at Dumbarton some five or so miles to the south. Neil Cullan McKinlay grew up in the beautiful Vale of Leven.

The word ‘Creed’ comes from the Latin ‘credo’ which simply means ‘I believe’. All words have meanings and histories. Like everything else, as far as words are concerned, context is most important. Therefore, the words of the Apostles’ Creed ought to be read in their proper context.

The historical context is not that the Apostles’ formulated this creed, but rather that the early Church Fathers formulated it in accordance with the teaching of the Apostles as recorded in Scripture. Therefore, the Apostles’ Creed is a brief statement of what the Bible says about God, Christ, the redemption He provided, and redemption’s access and application.
Neil Cullan McKinlay will take you through the Creed line by line, holding your attention by discussing and explaining where its teachings are found in the Bible.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08DC63RBC/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=neil+cullan+mckinlay&qid=1595399735&sr=8-1

CHURCH FOR SALE

CHURCH FOR SALE

How can you sell a church? Didn’t Jesus say that He would build His church and that the gates of hell, i.e., the gates of hades, would not prevail against it? Yet, I was saddened to see a church I had attended as a schoolboy while growing up in Scotland has a “for sale” sign on it. How can this be?

Jamestown Primary School & Jamestown Parish Church

I set off into the world from Scotland just before my 21^st birthday way back in 1977. Occasionally I return to my hometown to visit. Invariably, while back, I head for Balloch, (at the southern end of beautiful Loch Lomond), the place where I grew up. There are two Church of Scotland churches there, (three, if you count the one further down river, i.e., the River Leven), at Bonhill. One we called the “White Church” and the other “Jamestown Parish”. It’s the Jamestown Parish Church that’s sadly up for sale.

I attended Jamestown Primary School, which was next door to the church. It was constructed of the same red sandstone as the church’s, all hewn, as my dad many years ago told me, from a local quarry up the Auchencarroch. The sandstone had been transported by horse and cart.

The following is a little bit of history regarding the building of Jamestown Parish Church,

It was arranged that the foundation-stone of the church be laid with Masonic honours in addition to the religious ceremony, and on 17th October 1868, this was duly accomplished. The Rev. John Alison, the minister at Bonhill, conducted the religious ceremony, while R.W.M. Ross of Dumbarton, in the absence of P.G.M. Alexander Smollett through illness, carried through the Masonic ceremony.

A glass jar was deposited in the cavity of the foundation-stone, and in it were placed the following articles:- A copy of the “Glasgow Herald”, containing an account of the laying of the foundation-stone of Glasgow University; the “Daily Mail and Dumbarton Herald”; the “Missionary Record” of the Church of Scotland; the “Illustrated London News”; abstract Accounts of Bonhill Parochial Board; the Statistical Account of the Parish of Bonhill; and an account of the proceedings in connection with the erection of the church. Along with these papers and documents there was placed a specimen of the Turkey Red manufacture of Levenbank Works.[1]

The "White Church"

The words, “the foundation-stone of the church be laid with Masonic honours in addition to the religious ceremony” will immediately stand out to the eye of any discerning Christian reading this. “Masonic honours”? What do these have to do with Christ’s church? There are “stonemasons” and then there are “speculative masons”. The foundation-stone layers are of the latter kind of masons.

I wrote a book, published by Nordskog Publishing Inc., called From Mason To Minister.[2] Among other things, the book tracks my geographical journey as well as my philosophical, and spiritual journeys. I became a Mason, i.e., a speculative mason, aka, Freemason, in 1986 in Manitoba, Canada. I had been searching for meaning in my life, which became a quest for truth, and then a cry to God. I had thought that maybe God could be found hiding in the Masonic Lodge.

Though I had attended church on occasion with Jamestown Primary School, and subsequently with the 1^st Jamestown Boys’ Brigade, I had been more interested in counting the church’s big organ pipes, than listening to any of the preacher’s sermons! The Bible was read in a language that was foreign to me (i.e, the King James’ Version), and I never had any idea what the preacher was going on about! Sure, that may have been my own problem. Or was it?

I was ordained as a minister of the Presbyterian Church of Australia in 1998. You see, when I had been attending the Masonic Lodge in Manitoba, I had been given an award for some papers I had written and presented on Freemasonry. Part of the award was a Bible, albeit a Masonic Bible, (which was simply a complete King James Bible with some masonic material as a preface to its contents). With the Bible in one hand and a dictionary in the other, I read the Book I had been given in 1988 through which I was converted by God! His Spirit had worked with His Word in my heart, especially the verse which says, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6.

I had learned through Freemasonry that we shared the masonic altar equally with Muslims, Jews, and various other religions. However, here was Jesus Christ making an extraordinary claim of exclusivity! Don’t miss it: Jesus is saying that Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs, Atheists, you name it, must go through Him if they want to get to God! Yet, the organisation that the ones who had laid the foundation stone of the beautiful red sandstone of Jamestown Parish Church taught that there are other ways to get to God, i.e., without Jesus Christ. Yet, Jesus, speaking of Himself said, “Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?” Matthew 21:42.

I'll let you be the judge as to whether Jesus, “The stone which the builders rejected” is also being rejected by the organisation the Jamestown Parish Church foundation-stone layers belonged to. But know this, to reject Jesus’ teaching is to reject Him. For Jesus says, “Whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when He comes in His glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” Luke 9:26. Yes, words matter, especially the words of Jesus.

Jesus says to Christians, to His church, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” Matthew 5:13.

There is a church for sale. Why? Could it be that the Church of Scotland has lost its saltiness? On the occasions I visited Jamestown Parish Church and the “White Church” when back on holiday, I did not hear the Gospel, i.e., the Good News of Jesus Christ, proclaimed from the pulpits. I was looking for bread but was given only stones from the theological liberals who occupied the pulpits on Sunday.

Church with "for sale" sign

Sure, pep-talks and motivational speeches, even with some Bible allusions thrown in, like the ones I heard, may help some people to get through their week or through life, but they are not the Gospel! How are these wee pious spiels supposed help Christ’s church prevail against the very gates of hell? Granted I only attended a couple of services here and there while back on holiday. Therefore, I was unable to gather much intelligence on the state of Jamestown Parish Church. But it is up for sale. Little wonder.

The good news? The church is not the building. It’s the people who gathered in the building. Speculative Masonry and Theological Liberalism may have had a negative impact on Jamestown Parish Church, but, “The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes” and Jesus said, “I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Therefore, be encouraged!

Jesus lived, died, was resurrected, and was taken up to glory that sinners could be forgiven all their sins and receive everlasting life. Therefore, trust Jesus and His words.

And, for the record, I cut my ties with Freemasonry when I left Canada to settle in Australia in 1990. Also, the Presbyterian Church of Australia, to which I belong, though descended from the Church of Scotland, officially cut its ties too with Freemasonry during the 1980s.

---

[1] Malcolm B. MacGregor, Jamestown Parish Church 1869-1934, Printed at the Herald Office, Church Street, Dumbarton, 1934. http://www.valeofleven.org.uk/docs/JamestownParishChurch.pdf

[2] From Mason To Minister: Through the Lattice, Nordskog Publishing Inc, Ventura, California, 2011. https://www.nordskogpublishing.com/product/from-mason-to-minister-through-the-lattice/

CONQUERED BY GRACE

CONQUERED BY GRACE

Introduction

Eileen Donan Castle

History is a funny thing. Take historic battles, for instance. When we went to school in Scotland, the Battle of Bannockburn was a great victory. It took place in 1314, and the Scots are still talking about it! It was the time when Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, defeated the invading English. Ask any Englishman about that battle and he’ll probably know little or nothing about it. But for the Scots it’s Independence Day, June 24, 1314.

There is one little event that took place after that battle. King Robert the Bruce knighted one of his soldiers on the battlefield. He made James Douglas captain of his troops. To the Scots he was the Good Sir James, or Good Douglas. To the English he was Black Douglas. His name breathed terror into their hearts. Good Douglas was a true and faithful servant of King Robert. Douglas died in the service of his king. Before Robert the Bruce died, he had had Douglas promise he would take his heart and bury it in the Holy Land. Douglas only got as far as Spain, dying in a battle against the Muslims. It is said that he hurled the cask containing Bruce’s heart at the oncoming enemy while yelling, "Braveheart!" Douglas knew the heart of his lord and king.

In the following I want to, as it were, open up the cask and reveal the heart of your Lord and King. We, who are Christians, carry the heart of our King around with us as we head toward the Promised Land.

We are mainly focusing on a couple of verses in Galatians 1. The Apostle Paul has been going to great lengths to show the Galatians that it was the Lord Himself who made him an Apostle. He wants them to see that He received the Gospel personally from Jesus Christ. He has been proving his case by presenting Christ to them all over again. He has been showing them how Christ has changed his whole life!

But they were hearing only, “He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith which he once tried to destroy.” And they glorified God in me. Galatians 1:23-24.

The Gospel Paul preached to the Galatians is from God not man. Therefore, you need to be conquered by grace before Christians will glorify God in you.

What does it mean to be conquered by grace?

1.      You have been rescued.

2.      You have been repaired.

3.      You have been reactivated.

Rescued

To be conquered by grace is to have been rescued. Jesus Christ rescued Paul when He met him on the road to Damascus. Paul beheld the resurrected and glorified Son of God when Jesus revealed Himself to him. Paul was literally blinded as he was brought out of darkness into God’s kingdom of light.

What is it like when your sleeping and someone turns on the light? Well, the Lord Jesus woke Paul up when He shone His glorious light directly into his eyes. Jesus Christ is the light that shines in a dark place. John in his Gospel says, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” John 1:5. Unless someone turns on the light in the room where you’re sleeping you won’t see it. That’s what happened to Paul. The Lord decided to wake up Paul.

Paul used to persecute Christians for a living. He was a soldier in Satan’s Army, wasn’t he? But the Lord said as it were, “Oh no you don’t Satan. This one is one of Mine, He is a chosen vessel of Mine.” That’s the way it is for all Christians before the Lord rescues you. You are a foot-soldier in the army of the enemy. And Satan is a brutal commander. You are just canon-fodder to him.

There is a scene in the Braveheart movie. I love that movie! It’s maybe the only time you’ll ever seen the Scots win anything! In the movie Edward Longshanks is sitting on his horse while the battle is raging. His foot-soldiers have engaged the army of Scots. Edward gives the command for his archers to finish things off. “But sire,” says one of his captains, “Won’t our men be killed too?” Longshanks just draws him an icy look and says, “We have reserves.” Down rained the arrows killing Scot and English alike.

The devil doesn’t care about his minions. He just wants to expand his borders. He wants his kingdom of darkness to keep on growing. And he will stop at nothing to accomplish this. But he met his match when he came up against King Jesus, didn’t he? Jesus says He will build His church and not even the gates of Hades will prevail against it.

There was Paul before he met Christ zealously persecuting Christ’s Church. He was a captain in the army of the adversary. Like an overflowing sewer-pipe, he used to spew forth threats against the Lord’s anointed! He used to rattle his sabre at Christ and His royal army. But the Lord confronted Paul in Person. He captured this captain in Satan’s Army. He knocked him to the ground, and He disarmed him, didn’t He?

Up until that point Paul had been kicking against the goads. A goad is a stick used for prodding cattle. It’s a cattle-prod. Have you ever been goaded into something? Well, Paul had been reacting against the goads. Paul was kicking against the goads by being an enemy of the Lord and the Lord’s gospel.

Here it is! Bow the knee to King Jesus, swear allegiance to Him, and He will reward you with an estate in heaven. Or in the words of the Psalmist, “Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him” Psalm 2:11-12. “Never!” says Paul as he continued to breath deadly threats against the Lord and His army. But that was all before he saw the Lord in His Gospel. That was before he was conquered by His Grace the King. That was before he met the one who sits on the white horse. The One who is called , “Faithful and True.” The One on whose robe and thigh are written the words, “KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS” Revelation 19:16. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” said the King of Kings and Lord of Lords to the Apostle Paul as Paul went about his business of trying to destroy the Lord’s Church.

When Christ came from heaven in the fullness of time and went to Calvary’s cross, He came to tie up the strongman and plunder his house. He, the Seed of the Woman, came to crush the Serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15). To the victor belong the spoils. Christ has conquered the enemy, and He has rescued His own people whom the enemy had taken captive. Satan, the strongman, is powerless against the risen conquering Son. That means that We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Romans 8:37).

Paul saw Christ as He really is, in all His glory and splendour. He could easily have written the words of the hymn by George Matheson,

Make me a captive Lord,

and then I shall be free;

force me to render up my sword,

and I shall conqueror be.

Paul dedicated his life to the very furtherance of Christ’s gospel. Have you dedicated your life to the advancement of Christ’s Kingdom of light? If you haven’t yet, perhaps it’s because you are still kicking against the goads. Perhaps you’re still rattling your sabre toward the Lord. Perhaps you’re still a recruit in Satan’s Army. You need to look to Jesus as He is presented in the Gospel.

Render up your sword to the Sovereign Ruler of the universe. Christ has bound up Satan the strongman. He did it to rescue those members of His army whom Satan took captive. The one’s whom Satan has blinded and had brainwashed. Turn your eyes and behold Him who is “clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and whose name is the Word of God” Revelation 19:13. The same One who said, “Do not think I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword” Matthew 10:34.

Fix your eyes on the Jesus of the Gospel. The One who burst forth triumphantly from the tomb. Be done with the effeminate impostor put forth by some. Be done with the limp-wristed Jesus who sits around waiting for you to decide to follow Him. That isn’t the Jesus of the Gospel. The Jesus of the Gospel intrudes in your life. He expects your loyalty. He rescues His people completely, to the uttermost! He doesn’t leave you in no man’s land. For He says, “If you are not with Me, you are against Me!” Jesus can’t speak to you any plainer than that. You are either rescued, or you are not rescued.

Paul used to persecute Christ and His Church. But then the risen conquering Son rescued him. Did Paul come kicking and screaming? No! Christ rescues only those who are His. Those who were chosen in Him from the foundation of the world. He gives new life to those whom He rescues, and He fixes them up.

If you have been rescued from Satan’s domain of darkness, not only have you been rescued, but you also have been repaired.

Repaired

How do you know you have been repaired? Well, you no longer do those things you used to do. You no longer rattle your sabre against God by going against His revealed will. O you still sin against God. But things are different now, aren’t they? You hate your sins. You hate them because they are blows against the Empire.

In one of the Gulf wars we started hearing the term “collateral damage”. This meant that innocent people were unavoidably killed by bombs and what have you meant for others. When someone on your own side shoots you, they call it “friendly-fire”! The Apostle Paul copped a great deal of flak from his own side when he began to preach the Gospel. And a lot of it was coming from Galatia. Some Christians found it hard to believe this one who used to murder Christians was now trying to save sinners!

When Paul was converted, the Lord told Ananias in a vision that Paul was coming to visit. That’s like you or me being told that a mass-murderer is coming over to your house for tea! How would you react? “Isn’t he the one who killed all those people in cold blood?” Ananias said to the Lord about Paul, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done Your saints in Jerusalem” Acts 9:13. The Lord replied that Paul was His chosen vessel! “I recruited him”, says the Lord.

CH Spurgeon somewhere tells the story of a private in Napoleon’s army being made a captain of his guard. Napoleon’s horse had bolted with him on it as he was inspecting some of his troops. The army private grabbed hold of the horse’s bridle.

“Much obliged to you captain,” said Napoleon.

The man took Emperor Napoleon at his word, “Captain of which regiment?” he asked.

“Of my guards”, came the reply. The soldier gave away his gun and headed to position himself among the officers of Napoleon’s army.

One of the officers said, “What does this fellow want here?”

“This fellow”, replied the man proudly, “is a captain of the guard!”

“You? my poor friend! You are mad to say so!”

“He said it!” the soldier replied, pointing to the emperor who was still in sight.

“I ask your pardon,” said the officer, “I was not aware of it.”

There’s so much friendly-fire flying around in Christian circles. Some even take pot-shots at our own side. If anyone tells you that you are not a Christian, then you just point them to Jesus Christ and say, “He said it!” But make sure you point them to the One who rides on the white horse. The One who is coming to judge the nations. The One with KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS written on His robe and thigh. If you point me to some wimpy effeminate Jesus, you’ll have me too wondering if you really are a Christian! You need to point people to the Jesus as presented in the unadulterated Gospel. The One who has the power to destroy you both body and soul in hell, yet grants pardons to even the chief of sinners such as Paul. “He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith which he once tried to destroy.” There’s the proof that Paul is not an impostor, “He now preaches the faith.”

Jesus says, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits” Matthew 7:15. Paul is warning the Galatians against these false prophets. These men who have been telling them that the Gospel is not sufficient for salvation. The Galatians were turning against Paul. They were taking pot-shots at Paul, “friendly-fire!”

Paul has been re-establishing his Apostolic authority. How has he being putting forth his case to the church? Does he say, “Look at all the miracles I’ve done”? Does he say, “I’ve raised someone from the dead”? It is true that miracles did testify to the Apostles’ authority. But is that how Paul chooses to show that He is an Apostle of Christ, and that the Gospel he preached came from Christ? No! He points them to Christ and says, “He said it!” “Let God be true but every man a liar” Romans 3:4.

What kind of fruit are you showing? Do you gossip about other Christians? Don’t take pot shots. If you see the Christ of the Gospel in another Christian, then point people there. Then maybe they’ll see Christ too. Then you’ll be showing you’ve been rescued by Christ. Then you’ll be showing that you’re on His side and not the enemy’s. Then you’ll be showing that your life has been repaired.

It is said when the young Scottish preacher Robert Murray M’Cheyne entered the pulpit, people began to weep just looking at him! Like Peter and John in Acts chapter 4, people realized M’Cheyne had been with Jesus! The preacher Harry Allan Ironside who died in 1951 says, “If we would prevail with men in public, we must prevail with God in secret.” Are you able to point people to Jesus? If you can, it’s a good sign that you have been repaired by the Lord. It’s a sign that there’s good fruit on your tree, if you can point to a Christian and say, “There’s Christ! Look everyone! Can’t you see Christ in this man or this person?”

What happens when people look at you? It’s been said before, but if they were throwing people in prison for being Christians, would they find enough evidence to convict you? Don’t point people to other Christian’s faults. We all have them! Point people to the Christ of the Gospel. If you do this, you’ll be demonstrating that the Lord has rescued you. You’ll be demonstrating that He has repaired you. You’ll be demonstrating that you have been reactivated

Reactivated

Those who have been reactivated or regenerated seek to bring glory to God. The chief end of man, the chief purpose, is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. During the time of the Reformation five things came to the fore. Now, these five things had been neglected by the Church for centuries. They call these five things the five “solas”. Sola is Latin for alone.

The Five Solas are:

1.      Grace alone.

2.      Faith alone.

3.      Christ alone.

4.      Scripture alone.

5.      To the glory of God alone.

The Reformation was all about the rediscovery of the way of salvation, i.e., the Gospel! The Gospel had been hidden under tons of dust and rubble. The Lord reactivated one man by the name of Martin Luther. He rescued him from behind enemy lines. He brought him out of a dark age and into his kingdom of light. He repaired him by revealing Himself to him in the Gospel. Luther wrote,

The prince of darkness grim,

we tremble not for him;

his rage we can endure,

we know his doom is sure,

the Word of God shall fell him.

Luther is reported to have hurled an inkwell across the room at the devil! He must have done that before he wrote those words, “the Word of God shall fell him”.

Luther rediscovered that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. He rediscovered the forgotten doctrine of justification by faith. He discovered that without the grace of God he would have remained dead in his sins. The whole of Europe was set on fire with the good news of Jesus Christ. It rang from church bells across the land. Like a light shining once again in a dark place, sleepy eyes beheld the face of Jesus in the Gospel once more.

The Lord had mounted His white charger once more. He held His sword in His hand, the sword of the Spirit, as He rode across Europe rallying His troops. The risen conquering Son made captains of privates as He inspected His troops. Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Beza, Farel, Knox, Latimer, Cranmer the list goes on. The Lord reactivated each one of these men and commissioned them to accomplish great things.

There are Christians nowadays who have never even heard of any of these Reformers. Yet we should be praising God for the work that Christ did in and through them. There are Christians nowadays who have never even heard of the Reformation! It was during the Reformation that Scripture alone became the rule of salvation. Up till that point the Church claimed equal authority to Scripture. In other words the Church reserved the right to interpret Scripture. No! Said the Reformers. Let Scripture interpret Scripture. But a lot of this has been lost nowadays. One Christian writer, Willem VanGemeren, speaking about this says,

The present status of interpretation is not greatly different from the period before the Reformation.

If this is true, then the Dark Ages have returned! It means that the Gospel has been slowly but surely hidden under dust and rubble once more by the Church. Paul had to contend with people adding to the Gospel back then. People were quick to distort it beyond recognition. We have the social Gospel which says, “It’s food the poor need, not Bibles!” And so they send people to hell on a full stomach!

Then there’s the “Let go and let God” crowd. Where we’ve all to put our brains into neutral. We’ve all to imagine a god who says one thing in His Word but does another in practice. We’ve to imagine a God who is not a doer of His own Word. The God who tells us to be in control of our minds at all times. A God who transforms us by the renewing of our minds. “I would be out of my mind if I let go of my mind!”

We must use the sword of the Spirit as we battle against the philosophies of the world as they creep into the Church. Consider what Paul says to the Corinthians,

The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 2 Corinthians 10:4-5.

Bring every one of your thoughts into captivity. Does this sound like “Let go and let God”? But that’s where a lot of people are at in some churches nowadays. If God has reactivated you, then you’ll have seen the Christ of the Gospel. You’ll have seen that it’s the Gospel people need more than anything else! You’ll have a burning desire inside you to show people Christ, the real Christ! You’ll be seeking to do it all for the glory of God alone. If this is the case, then other Christians will glorify God on your account. This is how it was for Paul, i.e., other Christians glorified God because of him. They could see their Lord in Paul, in his actions. They knew the Lord, and they could recognize their Lord in this man Paul. Therefore, they glorified God in Paul.

Conclusion

Let’s tie things together: I want to remind you once again of God’s grace in His Gospel. We’ve seen how Paul used to be a zealous warrior in Satan’s Army. He was a complete and total and utter enemy of the Lord! He fought against the Lord with a passion. We see that the Lord captured him, (which in reality was that the Lord rescued him). Paul went on to preach the Gospel every bit as zealous as he used to try to stomp it out. Christians heard about the marvellous work Christ had done, and they glorified God in Paul.

Has the Lord captured you? Has He captured your heart? Are Christians glorifying God in you for your service to Him? Have you seen the beauty of God’s grace in His Gospel? Have you been conquered by grace? I’ve been trying to get you to see Christ the King. The One who sits upon His white horse with a drawn sword.

I don’t want to leave you with a picture of King Jesus galloping around and cutting off the heads of His enemies. Christ has already defeated His enemies at the cross. The Seed of the Woman has already dealt the Serpent the fatal blow to the head. Satan, and his whole army, has been defeated. I mentioned above about Napoleon making one of his privates a captain as reward for stopping his horse from bolting. Well, look what Jesus has done: He has made, not one of His own army a captain, but one of His chief enemies!

Christ took this man Paul who persecuted Him zealously and made him a prince! How did Christ do it? He conquered Paul by grace. All true Christians have been conquered by grace. When Christ crushed the head of Satan at Calvary, we became Christ’s, to do with as He pleases.

So there we all are. You, me, Paul the Apostle lined up, hands tied behind our backs. See if you can picture it in your mind. The whole world is there awaiting the judgment of King Jesus. We are standing there still breathing threats against the Lord as He arrives on His white horse. We are forced to kneel before His presence. Christ is dismounting from His horse. Picture it. We can see the words written on His robe and thigh clearly, LORD OF LORDS AND KING OF KINGS. He is removing His sword from its scabbard. We hope His sword is sharp, that our deaths will be quick and painless!

There we all are. On our knees before the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. We are all praying to our gods, such as your mum, your dad, and your children. You’re thinking of everyone, everything, but Almighty God! You’re looking for comfort in each one of your idols, your religion, your favourite sport. Sex, the booze, your new car, all of them. O how you’re going to miss them. But not one of them can help you now!

It’s just you and a holy God with a sword in His hand. But instead of treating you as you deserve, instead of lopping of your head, He places His sword on your shoulder as you kneel there, He makes you a knight, right there on the battlefield. He says “Arise! And go and sin no more!” That’s the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. He conquers by grace alone. It’s all to the glory of God alone. You need to be conquered by grace before you can bring glory to God.

Make me a captive Lord,

and then I shall be free;

force me to render up my sword,

and I shall conqueror be!

George Matheson.