How do we revive the Christian church? Many people can see the decline in the Christian church, although there are not so many that are able to diagnose the problem. There are two things that are urgently needed for the revival of the Christian church. The first need is exegetical preaching, with emphasis on both …
Evangelical errors
Evangelical Christians pride themselves in believing the Bible and in preaching the Gospel. However, this self-assessment does not completely stand up to scrutiny. I have heard many an evangelical preacher who is rather niggardly with the Gospel and sometimes I wonder if they know how to preach it. As for their biblical teaching, I have …
Experts and professionals
What is the difference between an expert and a professional? A professional may not be an expert. An expert may not be a professional. A professional has professional standards and an external professional body maintaining these standards. An expert may not behave professionally. They may have no external standards to live up to and their …
Are you religious or are you spiritual?
Some people say that they are not religious, but that they are spiritual. What is the difference? Are these the only options? Whatever they mean by this, it is true that human beings are spiritual. We are more than body; a human being is a spirit with a body. When we die, our body ceases …
Jesus’ teaching on the Trinity and the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the third Person in the Triune Godhead. Only Jesus Christ has explained the Trinity to us, because only He is capable of doing so. He has made it sufficiently clear that it astonishes those who meditate upon God's majesty. The wonders of science are a little insight into the wonders of …
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Jesus’ views on ecclesiastical leadership
Having considered Jesus' view of those Christians who do not pay attention to His Word I now turn to notice Jesus' opinion about ecclesiastical leadership. Leadership During His time on Earth, Jesus criticized Jewish officialdom. It was not "the Jews" but the leadership who persecuted Jesus and finally secured His crucifixion. The ordinary Jewish public "heard …
Christian “workers of iniquity”
My previous blogpost has some of Jesus' teaching on why people do not listen to Him nor believe in Him. Jesus has gone to heaven and left His people in this world to carry on His teaching. How are they progressing? It is relevant to follow up the previous blogpost with Jesus' own opinion of …
Why do people not believe in Jesus Christ?
Jesus Himself gives us various reasons why people do not listen to His teaching, far less believe in Him as God's Saviour of sinners. 1. They do not want to listen. Jesus explained that there are many people who close their eyes and ears to Him and His teaching. He put it like this: "Their eyes …
International strife
South Africa has taken on the role of advocate for Gaza at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). I have argued for years that justice needs adequate advocacy. "The LORD said to Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not. Am I my brother's keeper?" Gen 4:9. There are too many people …
Feeding upon the Word of God
How do we feed upon the Word of God? A mother feeds the body of her child with food. A teacher feeds the mind with information. Jesus feeds the soul with spiritual truth using the Bible. The devil poisons the mind with false doctrine. He tempts the soul with wicked suggestions. He even tempted Jesus Mat 4:1-11. …
The joy of the Lord
The New Year is a time for reflection. We should be thankful to the Lord that we are still alive and that we have been spared to see another year on Mercy's Ground. Indeed each day is a cause for thankfulness. "Each day I rise I will Thee bless,And praise Thy name time without end." Ps …
How is Jesus Christ the only Saviour of sinners?
The short answer is that only Jesus has the authority to forgive sin. A slightly longer answer is that only He has laid the foundation in divine justice to forgive sins. An even longer answer is that only Jesus can save us from the Penalty of sin, the Power of sin, the Pollution of sin …
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What is a Christian?
A Christian is the term describing a person who has been baptised as a disciple of Jesus Christ into the Christian church. Jesus Christ had disciples, literally meaning 'a student', some of whom were in due course baptized as His disciples Jn 4:1-2. The Jews were disciples of Moses Jn 9:28 and John the Baptist …
Christian care is not the same as secular care
Just as Christian morality is not the same as secular morality, neither is secular care the same as Christian care. Secular care is very choosey; it picks and chooses. On a recent walk I met two runners who identified themselves as atheists. Having established that they were open to discussion, it was immediately apparent that …
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What is Christianity?
Christianity is that divine worldview explained and introduced to world consciousness and world affairs by the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God 2Jn 1:3. Jesus focuses on the big questions in life - why we are here, Who made us, where we are going after death, and how do we prepare for it? Some …
Do you ignore the Prince of peace?
Many people acknowledge that the world would be a better place if people were like Jesus Christ. So why not listen to Him? Why do people ignore His message? Why do politicians in particular ignore His message? The world thinks it can promote peace but it has singularly failed. How many dozen countries are currently …
The Pros and Cons of Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is now in the news although it has been around for some time. As with any new technology, there are early adopters and late adopters. Ever since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in November 2022, some have enthusiastically experimented with what ChatGPT can do for them, while others are cautious about it. However, it …
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Reforming the Reformed Church
The Reformed Church is the Christian church that emerged in Europe during the 16th-century European Reformation, reforming the church from the Roman Catholic corruptions that had emerged under the Roman Catholic pope in Rome. These reforms are generally described as "Reformed in Doctrine, Worship and Practice". 500 years after these events, there has been a …
There are too many religions in the world
There are so many religions that people are confused. It puts off intelligent people investigating much further. Competitive religion is a devilish ploy to confuse people. Medicine has the adage that if there are many treatments proposed for a condition, then none of them work because the one that works would drive the others off …
When conscience fails
Conscience is a person's ability to form moral judgments, whether something is right or wrong. Conscience is a judge, not about everything but whether something is right or wrong. This is not the same as judging if something is true or false. We may all agree about the facts but disagree about the interpretation of …
What is your morality?
People make the mistake of thinking that there is only one morality. There are multiple moralities and people choose the one that they want. Christian morality is different from secular morality, which is different from Jewish and muslim morality, etc. People choose the morality they want to follow, and they are responsible for their morality …
What is the human soul?
A human being is not a body with a soul, but a soul with a body. Long after our body is dead, our soul continues to exist. Some people like to think that human beings are simply complicated pieces of matter. They hope that death is the end of them because they do not want …
What is the nature of faith?
Faith is a personal judgment. You cannot believe something that you do not think is true. You have judged it to be true, so you believe it. If you judge it to be false you are not able to believe it. Therefore you are personally responsible for your own beliefs because they are your personal …
What is Truth?
Pontius Pilate famously asked the Lord Jesus Christ: "What is truth?" Jn 18:38. Jesus had just told Pilate that He came into the world to bear witness to the truth Jn 18:37 but Pilate dismissed the topic in this cursory manner with this infamous question, but he did not wait for the answer, although he …
Reserving judgment
Public discussion is polarising society into the familiar "us and them" mantra. "Are you one of us?" Current discussions too often resolve into binary choices, and many people expect you to subscribe to one or other – left or right, for or against Donald Trump, for or against the Russo-Ukrainian war or the coronavirus vaccine, …
Catalysts, advocates and intercessors
The world needs peace-makers. Jesus placed them among His Beatitudes: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God." Matthew 5:9 There are too many peace-breakers. This blogpost is about international affairs and conflict resolution, and God knows that we need it. There will be no lasting peace between man and …
Governments and criminal behaviour
Media commentators frequently confess that they do not know why Governments act as they do in particular circumstances. For example, the US President Joe Biden has authorised cluster bombs for the war in Ukraine, which kill civilians and children and are condemned by 123 countries including the UK. So why did he do so? In …
Is true Christianity confrontational?
Jesus Christ was a radical teacher Who astonished even His own disciples Mat 19:25. Yet crowds of people heard Him gladly Mk 12:37. He appealed over the heads of Jewish officialdom to teach the people publicly. He contradicted Jewish officialdom and called them hypocrits Mat 23. Yet there are those who want Christians to be …
The utility of Christian fellowship
Christian fellowship is not an option – it is a necessity for Christian development and usefulness. Having noted the nature of Christian fellowship, and the content of Christian fellowship, I now turn to the utility or usefulness of Christian fellowship. This usefulness is not simply personal, but collective, even to the extent of national and …
Bullies and cowards
Bullies and cowards have something in common – they cannot win an argument. Poor debate is very common but poor arguments are just as common. So what do people do when they have a poor argument? They browbeat their opponent, they ridicule them, they miscall them, they prejudice the impressionable against them, they cancel them, …
The content of Christian fellowship
Having noted the nature of Christian fellowship, I now turn to the content of Christian fellowship. Christian fellowship is Christocentric, meaning that it centres on the Lord Jesus Christ because He is the centre of everything Col 1:17. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last Rev 22:13. Different people focus …
The Scientific Reformation
GB News is attempting to be the mainstream alternative media in Britain, telling us the news that the BBC and other mainstream media outlets will not tell us. Neil Oliver is doing a good job with his weekly monologue at 6 p.m. each Saturday evening. He has covered many topics that need to be aired. …
A global display of Christ’s Lordship
The coronation service of King Charles III in London's Westminster Abbey today was an impressive display of royal ceremony and pageantry, but better still was the clear assertion before a global audience of Christ's Lordship and His unique role as Saviour. It was an extravaganza that no other country on Earth with such history could …
Nationalism and patriotism
Patriotism is about people, their heritage and the culture of a nation, whereas nationalism is ultimately about land and borders rather than the people within these borders. This is why nationalistic leaders were happy to needlessly sacrifice the lives of thousands, if not millions, for “the fatherland”. This is not a Christian sentiment. Nationalists like …
The nature of Christian fellowship
It might surprise you to consider these biblical passages about the nature of Christian fellowship. Christian fellowship is eternal and does not come to an end. What does this say about your relationships with other Christians, far less about your evangelizing zeal for the lost and perishing? If you don't know about Christian fellowship, how …
Morality or Christianity?
The Christian Party does not campaign for morality but for Christian principles and values being articulated in public life. Secular conversion Many secular campaigning groups, ever since homosexuality was legalised in Britain in the 1960s, complain that they do not want to be merely tolerated but to be positively affirmed. They consider toleration to be …
The prejudice of offence
Some of the most prejudiced people are those who take easy offence. How is this so, and so what? This is very relevant in our politically correct era when those in public life and on social media are busy taking offence at their opponents' opinions. So what is the connection? Both prejudice and offence are …
Walking in darkness
Jesus describes those who are walking in darkness. They do not know where they are going. "He that walks in darkness does not know where he is going." John 12:35 Multitude of people do not know where they going after death, and Jesus described this as walking in darkness. Jesus is the Light of the …
Motives for Christian living
Jesus said: "If you love Me, keep My commandments." John 14:15. The Lord Jesus Christ tells us that "If anyone loves Me he will keep My words, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make our abode with him" Jn 14:23. Experiencing the love of God is a strong …
Adequate modes of Christian baptism
There are a variety of opinions on how Christian baptism should be performed or administered. Who should do it, where should it be done, by whom and in what circumstances? In recent times, Roman Catholicism experienced an internal controversy particularly in America in which people changed the words used in baptism so that the Roman …
God-defying political boldness
The SNP Scottish Administration promoted, and the Scottish Parliament has now passed, the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill. The Scottish Christian Party has drawn attention to the sexualised agenda of Scottish politics since 2006. When I said in the mid-1990s that Scotland was only halfway through the Sexual Revolution, I did not know what the …
What does the Christian Party stand for?
Often at political hustings I have been asked: "What does the Christian Party stand for?" I summarise it in three ways. We stand for the main points that other parties stand for, without their unchristian polices. Then I summarise the other Parties quickly. Finally, I say: "So if you mix the blue, red, yellow and …
Exegesis of Christian baptism
The only solution to the many controversies in the Christian church is the proper exegesis and application of Scripture. Readers may have noticed in my previous blogpost on discipleship baptism that I used this approach to address the subject of Christian baptism. Instead of the standard arguments that each group uses, I used biblical exegesis …
Christian discipleship baptism
Christian Baptists teach “believer's baptism”, that one should only baptize those who profess faith in Jesus Christ as their Saviour. In practice, this means that they baptize adults and do not baptize infants. The problem with this is that the Bible does not teach this. A second problem is that these Baptists baptize only Christians …
Changing the UK Constitution
The United Kingdom Constitution, such as it exists, is under review by a Labour Party think tank under the chairmanship of former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. As one of the architects of New Labour, Brown's Commission is recommending A New Britain. This New Britain will have a new Constitution that will be guarded by …
Christian usefulness
The usefulness of Christians is paramount. It is not enough to listen to sermons and to worship God, but God expects us to be useful. "Faith without works is dead." James 2:20,26 I suggest that prayer without works is dead also Ex 14:15, Act 9:6-11. Jesus' Sermon on the Mount – Matthew, Chapter 5 Immediately …
Old heads on young shoulders
There are many adages from a by-gone era that need to be resurrected for the benefit of today's youth. One is that "you cannot put an old head on young shoulders". The cult of youth and the pandering to youth and their opinions, on the principle that they are the leaders of tomorrow, has a …
Hiding from accountability
Officials in public life are hiding from accountability. How do we improve public accountability? It did not begin with Kwasi Kwarteng's "not-so-mini" budget, which proved to be the biggest tax-cutting budget in a generation, disguised as a mini-budget, for which he did not provide the usual Report on the Economic and Fiscal Outlook from the …
Donald's Thoughts 