Teaching For Today

With so many challenges coming from science, education, politics, and popular culture, there is a danger that some Christians may get swept along by the cultural drift. What do we say to Christians who start to doubt what the Bible says on essential truths? How can the faithful believer retain confidence in what the Scriptures say on these issues? If we are saved through faith, does the presence of doubt imperil our very salvation?

The media and education loudly proclaim that we are a secular society. Sociologists tend to believe that affluence, universal education, scientific and medical advances mean there is no longer any need to believe in God. They say that secularisation and modernity have gone hand in hand. But how does this claim stand up to scrutiny? Has history been distorted to make secularisation theory more plausible? And has belief persisted in a way which undermines the cherished theory?

Whatever the Bible declares is true, whether people believe in it or not. While Christians need to realistically assess the level of opposition that they will encounter in the public arena, they also need to remember the utter reliability and truthfulness of God's Word, in whatever area it addresses, as well as God's common grace to all mankind and the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit. We have every reason to be confident and not to lose heart.

Christian believers are often puzzled and distressed when they see the apparent triumph of evil over good. We wonder what God is doing when the ungodly prosper. This is a recurrent theme addressed in the Bible. This talk will look at the right approach for faithful believers to take. Satan wishes us to be depressed and discouraged but we must look to God and be strong.

Though we are saved by grace through faith in Christ alone, faith is never alone. As James says faith without works is dead. We have to work out our salvation with fear and trembling in whatever sphere of service in every sphere of life – in our jobs, family and society. That includes thinking Christianly about the ethical issues which face us and acting accordingly. Putting our faith into action will be costly but in so doing we will be bringing glory to Christ and having a disproportionate influence for good on those around us.

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them" (Matthew 5:17). Through his sacrifice on the cross, Christ's righteousness is imparted to the believer. Jesus Christ has fulfilled the law's demands on our behalf. Christ did not come to abolish the law. The law condemns the sinner, yet the law is good. It is a friend to all those who seek to live a Christ-like life in an increasingly hostile world.

Throughout the course of salvation history God has progressively revealed more and more information about himself "at many times and in various ways" (Hebrews 1:1). This progressive revelation culminated in the person of Jesus Christ. He is God's final word to all mankind. There is no other name by which we must be saved.

Israel in the Old Testament was called to be a nation set apart from the world, with clear rules about separation of the clean from the unclean. Jesus shocked the Jewish leaders of his time by sharing meals with sinners, and touching unclean lepers. Instead of Jesus being "contaminated", his purity transformed their lives. He announces a New Covenant age of spiritual power where believers are called to be salt and light which reaches every part of society. The Gospel drives back spiritual darkness and brings hope to all the nations of the world.

The Covenant of Grace is the common cord that runs through all of Scripture. It is an expression of the Covenant of Redemption, entered into by the Godhead in eternity. The Covenant of Grace was administered differently before the coming of Christ (Old Testament/Covenant) from after the coming of Christ (New Testament/Covenant). The Hebrew Christians were in danger of going back to 'Old Covenant' rites and ceremonies. The writer to the Hebrews points out, especially in chapter 8, how vastly superior (better) the 'New Covenant' is, as it is fulfilled in Christ, the mediator of the Covenant.

This lecture covers the theme of divine immanence in creation, relating it to Eden, the land promised in the Old Testament, the city of Jerusalem, the Tabernacle and the Temple, and how all these move forward to culminate in Christ.The lecture helps to provide an understanding of how God dwells with his people, and the work of the Holy Spirit. It also sheds light on contemporary issues such as the health and wealth gospel.

John Nevin was one of the most significant American theologians of the 19th century. The favourite student of Charles Hodge at Princeton University, he went on to become a professor of theology at the German Reformed Seminary at Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. He argued against the prevailing revivalist theology of Charles Finney and the individualism of his day. He helped Protestants nurture a high view of the Lord's Supper. He also worked alongside his close friend and colleague Philip Schaff to promote the vital importance of church history.

J. Gresham Machen was a distinguished scholar, incisive theologian, and committed churchman who fought higher criticism and co-founded two of the most important institutions of American Presbyterianism. He was the leading voice for Reformed thinking during the fundamentalist-modernist controversy of the early 20th Century. He served as Professor of New Testament at Princeton until the seminary was overtaken by liberals, leaving to establish Westminster Theological Seminary. Likewise, after years of resisting liberalism within the Presbyterian Church, Machen helped form the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.

Jonathan Edwards is arguably America's best known preacher and theologian, and one of the most influential evangelicals of all time. Under God his teaching was not only of a high intellectual calibre but was also used by the Lord in the widespread US revival known as the Great Awakening.Edwards is often called 'the last Puritan' and is described by J.I. Packer as "a Puritan born out of due time". Shortly before his early death Edwards was made president of the College of New Jersey, which would later become Princeton University.

One of the most influential Christians of recent times, Francis Schaeffer pioneered modern apologetics. Converted from agnosticism, Schaeffer went on to study at Westminster Theological Seminary under Cornelius Van Til. Throughout his life Schaeffer countered the philosophy of relativism by defending the existence of absolute truth. In his biography Colin Duriez describes Schaeffer's teaching as being able to "deeply and personally influence people of every age and position… in a way that few others have."

In this lecture Dr Nick Needham explores the relevance of the early Christian church to us today. To this end he highlights a number of key figures and events in the first 500 years of the church.

In a fallen world, how is it that unbelieving men and women are capable of great acts of kindness, can experience a measure of joy and happiness, and possess wonderful skills and talents? Why does God cause "his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous" (Matthew 5:45)? The doctrine of common grace powerfully explains the world we live in and how we should act towards unbelievers.

Does the Bible only concern itself with personal piety? Or does its authority extend across other areas, such as work, entertainment or even the life of our nation? The Psalmist says that "The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple" (Psalm 19:7b). To heed the words of scripture in all that we do is not only obedient but also wise. In this lecture, Gareth Burke will help us to see more clearly the application of God's wisdom to the whole of life.

History shows that Christians have long had an influence for good on the world around them. In this lecture, Ranald Macaulay will explain how the Christian faith has had a profound impact upon the moral and intellectual foundations of British society. Christians have pioneered advancements in civil liberty, education, health care and democracy. The past should help and encourage us as we look to the future.

In this lecture Nick Needham focuses on Jeremiah 29:7: "Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper." Dr Needham helpfully draws out the parallels between the exiled Jews in Babylon and Christians today.

As well as being a formidable preacher and church leader, Thomas Chalmers also orchestrated many social initiatives especially in regard to education and poverty. He believed that the Church should be fully involved in the nation's life, but he also sought to guard the gospel. So he insisted on the rights of a church to appoint a believing minister, rather than have one imposed upon them by a land owner. The Government refused this right and so Chalmers led the Disruption of 1843 where one third of the ministers left the Church of Scotland to form the Free Church of Scotland.