Something terrible happened on the 30th June 2021
John Wesley is buried outside a chapel in London. Methodism is named after his methodical organisational practices and regards him as its founder.
Born in 1703 John Wesley faithfully preached the Gospel, travelling, it is estimated, some 250,000 miles on horseback up and down the country. Over his grave is written the words:
"This great light arose (by the singular providence of God) to enlighten these nations, and to revive, enforce, and defend, the pure apostolic doctrines and practices of the primitive church...."
Wesley was a staunch defender of the "pure apostolic doctrines and practices of the primitive church" which included the Scriptures' clear view of marriage and sexuality.
But on the 30th June this year - had anyone watched his London grave - they would have seen John Wesley turn, first in sadness and tears and secondly in righteous anger and disgust.
For sure, if he had been alive on that fateful Wednesday John Wesley would have denounced and abandoned the Methodism he founded.
Why? Because the present rulers of methodism passed this sad motion by a vote of 254 for and 46 against:
"The Conference consents in principle to the marriage of same-sex couples on Methodist premises throughout the Connexion and by Methodist ministers, probationers or members...." (see HERE)
In effect British Methodism has abandoned the historical, orthodox and biblical teaching that marriage is between one man and one woman, and the teaching that declares that all sexual relationships outside this divine plan (such as fornication, adultery and homosexual practice) are wrong, harmful and sinful.
What can Bible believing churches learn from this tragic turn of events? (We have called it apostasy, because apostasy is not only turning from Biblical truth, apostasy includes turning away from Biblical behaviour).
In some good news, the Nigerian Methodist church cut ties with its British counterpart just a few days later, with one insightful African Pastor saying:
...what the British Methodist Conference has done was predicted by John Wesley, “a time will come when the Methodist Church will exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion and denying the power thereof unless they continue with the spiritual fervency with which they first started.”
See more HERE.
Reflections on June 2021
First, let us remember that the Gospel reaches out to all sinners. No group of people who call themselves after the name of Jesus Christ - the friend of sinners - can reject or despise anyone of any race, orientation or sexuality. So we are to love and welcome murderers, idolators, liars, fornicators, thieves, adulterers, slanderers and homosexuals - everyone in Paul's list in 1 Corinthians 6 (see below). Everyone must hear the transforming Gospel of Jesus Christ. Let homophobia - the dislike or hate of those who engage in acts of homosexuality - be condemned, for God so loved the whole world.
Secondly, we must resolutely refuse to accept the accusation that if you disgaree with homosexual practice you are by definition homophobic. This is a lie. We disagree with theft but we are not burglarphobic; we disagree with adultery but we are not affairphobes; and we disagree with homosexual practise but we are not homophobes. This accusation is designed to slur the character of anyone who disagrees with passing present western morality.
Thirdly, intrinsic to the Gospel, let us remember is the message of repentance. When behaviour which the Scripture calls sinful is encountered in anyone we are to call them to repentance. We are to tell those who are greedy to repent and give to the poor.
We are to call those who worship idols to repent and to worship the living God alone.
We are to call those who steal to repent and to work and give to the poor.
And we are to call all those engage in sexual sin to repent, whether they be fornicators, adulterers or practicing homosexuals.
This has always been the Gospel message of the Christian church and nothing has changed in 2000 years to warrant a change in direction or doctrine; and this approach remains the message believed by the vast majority of Christians across the world today, and always will be.
Fourthly, 'marrying' same-sex couples is accepting and condoning sin in the ranks of God's holy church. Let's not play with words: fornication, homosexual practice and adultery are no different from theft, lying, murder, hatred, idolatry or any other behaviour the Scriptures call sin.
"Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolators nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders not theives nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderes nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)
But wonderfully Paul is able to go on and say,
"And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, your were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." (verse 11)
Fifthly, preaching the Word of God week in and week out faithfully will prevent us from falling into such disarray. No church that faithfully preaches the whole counsel of God will drift with the world. But where the Word of God is not preached and not central, churches will discover that they are shaped by the reigning morality and philosophy of the world around it. The church then becomes indistinguishable from the world.
Sixthly, our task is to fear God, not men. We all know that persecution is on the way for all who are faithful to the Gospel. Wesley had many enemies. Churches sensing that the world will not tolerate different views from their own on sexuality are jumping left right and centre before they are pushed. Our task is not to follow the madness of crowds, but to fear God and be faithful to him.
In the seventh place, if compromise is seen as a way of winning the world, we are seriously mistaken. The church has always been attractive precisely because it was counter-cultural, because it ran against the grain, because it was different. Churches that follow every contour of western philosophy and morality will dwindle and soon become irrelevant to a lost world.
Never start a human organisation!
There are other lessons to learn from this tragic apostasy.
First, numbers are no measure of truth. 254 members of that Methodist council were 100% wrong while 46 were 100% right. The Scriptures, not numbers, are the test of truth.
Secondly, the moment we bind ourselves to a man-made institution, we risk being dragged into error. I wonder what the 46 faithful members will now do? Could their bond with the man-made organisation cause them to cave in too, or will they now bravely leave a movement that has so seriously compromised itself? Our sympathy and prayers should go to this brave band of protestants.
All groups of churches, all denominations are human inventions. That includes the one I am personally affiliated to, the Fellowship of Indepedent Evangelical Churches. All these are human organisations and we must never confuse them with "The Church."
When a group of churches begins to drift en masse from the Gospel, we are being shown the wisdom of God's ways. The One True Church, made up of faithful congregations dotted here and there never drifts with time, it remains faithful, but human organisations all drift from the truth.
Fourthly, never start any Christian organisation - because all human organisations drift with time. They have to. Do you know of any human-Christian organisation that has not drifted with time even for 100 years? I know of none. Missionary societies that once burned with zeal are now as lifeless as a dodo, publishers that once vowed to be faithful to the truth now compromised, Gospel organisations who fearlessly preached the Good News now lamely given over to a social Gospel and Bible Colleges once committed to the Scriptures now weighed down by life-sapping academia.
Anyone who founds a human denomination or organisation will one day turn in their grave when it inevitably drifts far from its original foundations.
Only the One True Church of Jesus Christ, loosed from all man-made organisations, remains faithful and constant in all of time.
Don't start a movement, however noble: or if you do, build its terminal demise into your will.
Having started Fishermans Press, I plan to insist on its demise in my will.
