This year celebrates the 450th anniversary of the establishing of our ecclesiastical mother as the national Church of Scotland. We can’t help but think of the principal architect of that church, John Knox, in whose honour many of our congregations are named. Knox is caricatured as a harsh person who was uncompromising and strict. The truth was he was persistent and earnest and this always appears a negative thing to those who are looking for loopholes that essentially allow them to act and think as they please. What they don’t realize is that Knox was as strict with himself as he was with anyone else. In his famous encounter with the young but strong-headed Mary, Queen of Scots, he answered her accusation of rebellion by saying: “God forbid that ever I take it upon me to command any to obey me, or to set subjects at liberty to do whatever pleases them. But my travel is that both princes and subjects must obey God.”
In other words there was one standard for all — God’s word revealed in holy scripture. That has been the standard in our church ever since and at the last assembly this was once again confirmed in the report of the church doctrine committee. Indeed, that is one of the pillars of our Reformed faith. It is this commitment that keeps us on track. If ever we wander from that we will simply become like those whom the Bible describes with pity as “doing what is right in their own eyes.” Human self-determination is what led to the need of the church to reform in the first place. Scotland only recovered as they returned to the ways of Christ.
So also today in both the mother church and our own church there is a need not merely to affirm the old statements but to become passionate in studying and living out the word of God — only then will we see the renewal needed to revive the church. Sometimes we try new programs or we try to fan the flames of enthusiasm, or we make sincere resolutions but it is all to no avail unless we have a passion for the word of God and a deep conviction of its needfulness in our lives. In many parts of the church this is sadly lacking. Most churches have only one or two Bible studies and some have none at all. Some report having Bible studies but they are really book studies and some of those by authors who have wandered seriously into non-biblical theologies.
Recently a reader sent me the following quote that affirms this same idea: “Revival, like a genuine conversion, is wrought of God, by means of the word — the word applied by the Holy Spirit of course. Therefore, there is something more needed (on our part) than prayer: the word of God must have a prominent place, the prominent place. Without that there will be no revival, whatever excitement and activities of the emotions there may be.” — Eternal Punishment by Arthur Pink, Reiner Publications.
Reformed Christians from the beginning have insisted on regular and earnest use of the means of grace which are described as prayer, the word (preached and read), and the sacraments. There are no substitutes for these basic spiritual practices that Jesus taught and John Knox reminded us of.
The word is to be prayed into being. Jesus taught us to pray: “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
The word is to be shared. Jesus gives us the great commission to go and preach and make disciples.
The word is to be enacted. Jesus said: “Do this in remembrance of me.” We remember not only as we take the bread and wine at the table but each moment of each day as we go into the world filled with his Spirit.
Let us who seek the renewal of the church commit ourselves with our forebears to pray the word into being, to share the word with friends and neighbours and to enact the word in our communities, and then we shall see more of the hand of God on us than we can ever imagine.
