Pastor's Letter
"This I write, beloved in the Lord, that albeit you find your hearts sometimes assaulted with dolour [sorrow/distress], grudging, or with desperation, that yet you be not troubled above measure, as that Christ Jesus should never visit you again. There falls nothing to you, nor yet to the flock of Christ Jesus this day within the miserable realm of England, which did not fall on Christ's true and beloved disciples before and after his death." -- John Knox, An Epistle to His Afflicted Brethren in England (May 10, 1554)
Beloved in the Lord at Redeemer Church: Grace, Mercy and Peace from God our Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ,
In just less than two weeks I will have the privilege of traveling with Ligonier Ministries to Scotland for a week-long tour of Edinburgh, Cambridge, and London to see first hand the sites where the Reformation in Scotland and England took place in the 16th century.
The quote above, which opens my letter to you, is from a letter written by the great Scottish Reformer John Knox while he was exiled in France to escape the persecution of "Bloody" Mary. While physically he was separated from his congregation in England, his heart and his spirit could never be severed from those God had called him to feed and lead as a faithful shepherd. He was very much aware that his flock was enduring a great trial of affliction under the heavy hand of Queen Mary, bent as she was to eradicate the Reformed faith from England. He wrote his "comforting epistle" to steel their resolve to remain steadfast in the faith under the fiery arrows of the Evil One.
Over the last several months I have been reading (consuming!) everything that I can about the life, preaching, and ministry of John Knox (1514-1572). Among all that I have come to learn about this man, one characteristic stands out above all: his unflinching zeal for the proclamation of the truth of the gospel (even at the risk of losing his life) and his unshakable faith in that Word alone to cause the followers of Jesus Christ to press on, to persevere in their faith by the power and aid of the Holy Spirit.
Knox wanted his people - God's sheep entrusted to his loving, pastoral care - to ground their faith in the unchanging promises of God given to them in the gospel of Jesus Christ, in spite of circumstances that might cause them to question if those promises could indeed be trusted.
In America in 2023 we are not facing nearly the extremity of persecution which our brothers and sisters in 16th century England and Scotland endured. But I am aware that many of you are undergoing a great trial of affliction. That trial takes on different forms for each of you.
For some of you it's a personal crisis of faith. For others it is chronic health issues that have worn you down not only physically, but emotionally and spiritually. Others are overwhelmed with financial stress. Broken relationships within your family, estrangement from your children, the care of an aging parent. The death of the dearest on earth to you. The sickness of a child. Divisions at home and at work over politics. The degrading of morals within our culture. The triumph of evil over righteousness. The struggle to live godly lives as lights in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation (Philippians 2:15).
I'm writing to you today simply to say that your pastor sees you. I readily identify with your grief, pain, sorrow, struggle. And also to say that Jesus sees you - and He told us to expect these trials (John 16:33). In most cases, He himself has led us into these trials so that we might come to see Him more clearly, and know the surprising, comforting presence of His peace - the peace that passes all understanding - not in the taking away of the trials, but in the midst of them.
No trial has beset you that has not been the experience of every true follower of Jesus. Whatever form the trial may take which is assailing you, may I admonish you to trust the promises of the gospel as you bear up under them? The Lord knows every detail of your affliction (Job 23:10). He is using this great trial of affliction to make you more like Jesus (Romans 8:29). And when by His grace you have endured to the end of the trial, he will bring you out of it like gold refined by fire - more precious, more sanctified, more holy. The future glory that is yet to come is not worth comparing to the present suffering which is producing glory in you (Romans 8:18). It really will be worth it all when we see Jesus!
So my dear flock, endure! Treasure God's word in your heart so that you might not sin against Him through unbelief. Believe His gospel word to you: "I will not leave you nor forsake you." "He that spared not His own Son, how shall he not with him also freely (graciously) give us all things?" (Romans 8:32)
Consider one another, to provoke one another - (think about one another, to spur one another on) - to love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24). And keep on doing this until we see our Savior Shepherd face to face in glory!
May every blessing in the Gospel be yours in abundance through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Pastor Paul
Beloved in the Lord at Redeemer Church: Grace, Mercy and Peace from God our Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ,
In just less than two weeks I will have the privilege of traveling with Ligonier Ministries to Scotland for a week-long tour of Edinburgh, Cambridge, and London to see first hand the sites where the Reformation in Scotland and England took place in the 16th century.
The quote above, which opens my letter to you, is from a letter written by the great Scottish Reformer John Knox while he was exiled in France to escape the persecution of "Bloody" Mary. While physically he was separated from his congregation in England, his heart and his spirit could never be severed from those God had called him to feed and lead as a faithful shepherd. He was very much aware that his flock was enduring a great trial of affliction under the heavy hand of Queen Mary, bent as she was to eradicate the Reformed faith from England. He wrote his "comforting epistle" to steel their resolve to remain steadfast in the faith under the fiery arrows of the Evil One.
Over the last several months I have been reading (consuming!) everything that I can about the life, preaching, and ministry of John Knox (1514-1572). Among all that I have come to learn about this man, one characteristic stands out above all: his unflinching zeal for the proclamation of the truth of the gospel (even at the risk of losing his life) and his unshakable faith in that Word alone to cause the followers of Jesus Christ to press on, to persevere in their faith by the power and aid of the Holy Spirit.
Knox wanted his people - God's sheep entrusted to his loving, pastoral care - to ground their faith in the unchanging promises of God given to them in the gospel of Jesus Christ, in spite of circumstances that might cause them to question if those promises could indeed be trusted.
In America in 2023 we are not facing nearly the extremity of persecution which our brothers and sisters in 16th century England and Scotland endured. But I am aware that many of you are undergoing a great trial of affliction. That trial takes on different forms for each of you.
For some of you it's a personal crisis of faith. For others it is chronic health issues that have worn you down not only physically, but emotionally and spiritually. Others are overwhelmed with financial stress. Broken relationships within your family, estrangement from your children, the care of an aging parent. The death of the dearest on earth to you. The sickness of a child. Divisions at home and at work over politics. The degrading of morals within our culture. The triumph of evil over righteousness. The struggle to live godly lives as lights in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation (Philippians 2:15).
I'm writing to you today simply to say that your pastor sees you. I readily identify with your grief, pain, sorrow, struggle. And also to say that Jesus sees you - and He told us to expect these trials (John 16:33). In most cases, He himself has led us into these trials so that we might come to see Him more clearly, and know the surprising, comforting presence of His peace - the peace that passes all understanding - not in the taking away of the trials, but in the midst of them.
No trial has beset you that has not been the experience of every true follower of Jesus. Whatever form the trial may take which is assailing you, may I admonish you to trust the promises of the gospel as you bear up under them? The Lord knows every detail of your affliction (Job 23:10). He is using this great trial of affliction to make you more like Jesus (Romans 8:29). And when by His grace you have endured to the end of the trial, he will bring you out of it like gold refined by fire - more precious, more sanctified, more holy. The future glory that is yet to come is not worth comparing to the present suffering which is producing glory in you (Romans 8:18). It really will be worth it all when we see Jesus!
So my dear flock, endure! Treasure God's word in your heart so that you might not sin against Him through unbelief. Believe His gospel word to you: "I will not leave you nor forsake you." "He that spared not His own Son, how shall he not with him also freely (graciously) give us all things?" (Romans 8:32)
Consider one another, to provoke one another - (think about one another, to spur one another on) - to love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24). And keep on doing this until we see our Savior Shepherd face to face in glory!
May every blessing in the Gospel be yours in abundance through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Pastor Paul