Covenanter Witness Vol. 86 - Rparchives.org

Christian VictoryThe Christian may not always be conscious of livinga victorious life, and may not always do so. He is aware ofhaving a continuous conflict. We are clearly told that wewrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities,against powers, against the rulers of darkness ofthis world, against spiritual wickedness in high places, andthat it is necessary to take on the whole armor of God inorder to stand against the wiles of the devil. But we do notwar in our own strength. The apostle exulted, "Thanks beto God, which giveth us the victory through our LordJesus Christ."In Christ the Christian has the victory over temptations.Without Him one is sure to be overcome. Even inhis state of holiness Adam was tempted. He could havehad the victory, but he did not. In our fallen state we aregreatly weakened. But in Christ we can resist the devil andhe will flee from us. The devils were subject to theapostles in the name of Christ. We should take the shieldof faith in order that we may be able to quench all the fierydarts of the wicked.We can have the victory over fear. To Jairus Jesussaid, when he had heard that his daughter was dead, "Fearnot; only believe." Jesus said to the fearful disciples on thelake, "It is I; be not afraid." We have the promise of God,"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for Iam thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee;yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand ofrighteousness."One of the difficult enemies of that which is highestand best in our lives is self. I suppose all of us havesomething of a selfish streak in us. We like to be praised.We like to indulge our appetites. We like to increase ourown prestige, and some of us use questionable methods todo so. Some likewise are not careful to increase theirwealth by lawful means. In Christ it is possible for us toovercome this selfishness, to place Him on the throne ofour hearts, to subject ourselves to His will, to have thevictory over self and selfishness.Only Christ Himself can give us the victory overdeath and the grave. He broke the bonds of death, comingfrom the grave in the resurrection. No longer do we needto fear death as a believer in Christ, for we have Hispromise, "I will raise him up in the last day." We have aglorious prospect of eternal life for the whole man, as wellas for the soul, which never dies. Through faith we arejoined to Christ who overcame the world, Satan, sin,death and the grave.Associate Reformed PresbyterianThe Origin of Church and Principles. .from page 3These measures, aided by persecution and oppression,made Charles feel confident that he had bothChurch and nation well on the way back to their previousbondage and spiritual depression.It is against this dark background that the faithful ofthe Covenant are thrown in bold relief; and it is because ofthis faithful remnant that there still survives a legitimatedescendant of that first Covenanted Church of Scotland.It is upon constitutional grounds, then, thatCameron, Cargill, and their followers opposed Charles, forthey recognized that the fickle King had forfeited all rightto their allegiance. They could not at one and the sametime affirm the principles of the Reformation and own theauthority of a king who trampled those same principlesunderfoot in violation of oaths, affirmed and reaffirmedby him.This is the conclusion of McClintock and Strong'sEncyclopedia, "They renounced their allegiance notbecause the sovereign was an infidel, or differed fromthem in matters of religion but solely and exclusivelybecause he had broken a civil compact entered intobetween him and his Scottish subjects on receiving thecrown and confirmed by a solemn religious vow. By hisown deliberate deeds the traitorous monarch had forfeitedhis right to rule before they had renounced theirobligation to obey. Such were the simple grounds onwhich Cameron, Cargill, Renwick, and their followersconsidered themselves justified in disowning the authorityof the King, and bearing arms against him as a usurper tothe throne and a traitor to the country."The fearless avowal of their principles, and theiractive opposition brought upon the Covenanters thespecial vengeance of the Government. Their leadersperished one after another, and the cause was leftleaderless — yet through societies its unity and existencewas maintained.But after the darkness comes the dawn, and theRevolution Settlement of 1688 heralded the dawn.The Society folk did not stand aloof from thenation's welcome of William as deliverer; but they objectedto the Revolution Settlement as being defective inmany ways. The following points will show, that to beconsistent, dissent was the only possible course.(a) The Covenant, instead of being recognized andadopted, was not even owned; and the King took oathsthat plainly contradicted it.(b) The Revolution Church surrendered herspiritual independence to the State.(c) The Church admitted to her ranks, men with noright to be office bearers.(d) Great laxity was shown in matters of doctrineand discipline.So the Societies remained outside the EstablishedChurch and faithful to their principles. This broughtfurther decimation to their ranks. Three of their ministersdeserted them, and they were left without stated ministryor separate organization as a Church. Then John Mc­Millan and John McNeil came to share their yoke andreproach. In 1743 Thomas Nairn joined them — and nowthat there were two ministers, the first presbytery wasformed, under the name of the Reformed Presbytery.Thus briefly we sketch the origin and existence ofthe Reformed Presbyterian Church.The Covenanter Witness of Scotland and IrelandJUNE 9, 1971 5