cetf71

CETF 

CONTENDING EARNESTLY FOR THE FAITH 

the 

absent 

cross 

ANTON BOSCH 

the cross of christ 

JC RYLE 

heaven: its hope 

DL MOODY 

THE SHACK: A BIBLICAL EXAMINATION 

JAMES SMITH 

CHRIST OUR PASSOVER 

CHARLES SPURGEON

02 

cwm.org.au 

ed. letter 

b. michael bigg 

The older one gets the quicker time 

seems to fly by, and you realise just 

how short this life truly is. My eldest 

granddaughter is going to be fifteen in 

December, and I still reminisce on 

how cute she was at two years of age 

when, if she slept over at our house, 

she would come into my bedroom in 

the morning and lift one of my eyelids 

to see if I was awake. I think back to 

when I was fourteen/fifteen (it really 

doesn’t feel like that long ago) and oh, 

how much of a child I thought I wasn’t 

any longer. 

James 4:14 says, “...You are just a 

vapour that appears for a little while 

and then vanishes away”, and it is so 

true. If anything, the realisation of the 

shortness of life should – shouldn’t it 

– make us consider the eternal destiny 

of not just our own selves, but also 

friends and loved ones, no matter how 

old or young they are; especially so of 

those who don’t know or walk with the 

Lord. It should drive us to our knees to 

plead with the Lord that the right 

person or persons cross their path (if 

it is not us), that they might wake from 

their stupor and have ears to hear. 

With this in mind, I commend this 

edition of CETF to you and the articles 

herein. J.C. Ryle aptly reminds us – 

especially at this time of the year – of 

the necessity of the Cross and to be 

wary of any religion (or church) which 

would minimise the Cross of Christ. 

C.H. Spurgeon reminds us not only of 

Christ’s Cross, but what it cost Christ 

on that Cross; that He was the Lamb of 

God, THE Passover Lamb who was 

slain for us. D.L. Moody reminds us 

that having come to the Cross, 

having come to Christ, we shouldn’t 

take our eyes off Him, we shouldn’t 

think, “Whew, made it,” and then 

look to this temporal life for 

fulfilment. For what are we building? 

For what are we striving? A good life 

here? It’s fleeting, it’s a vapour. In 

eternity what will it matter? When 

you stand before God Almighty, what 

will your earthly successes and 

achievements account for? 

In 2009 CETF published a two-part 

article by Jeffrey Whittaker called, In 

My Father’s House There Are Many 

Shacks? A Critical Essay of William 

Paul Young’s THE SHACK. In this 

edition of CETF we include James 

Smith’s, A Biblical Examination of The 

Shack. Considering that William P. 

Young’s novel, The Shack, has now 

been made into a movie, such an 

examination is poignant, given the 

calibre of Scripturally inaccurate, 

and/or deficient, Bible inspired 

movies and TV series that have come 

out of Hollywood in recent years (the 

movie Noah, starring Russell Crowe, 

comes to mind). 

But this raises another issue affecting 

Bible-believing Christians, and 

Christian parents in particular; and 

that is the movies their kids might 

want to see. This has always been an 

issue, well, for the last century 

anyway, but even more so now, and I 

think it worth commenting on. 

As has been the case for some time 

now, movie and television productions 

have had a distinctive pro-homosexual 

bent; with many actors, singers, and 

performers on the world stage being 

advocates. “Born this Way Ball” was 

the name of American singer Lady 

Gaga’s (aka Stefani Joanne Angelina 

Germanotta) third tour, and she 

started her own non-profit foundation 

of the same name. 

The lyrics of her 2011 song, Born this 

Way, which has become a homosexual 

anthem of sorts, includes the following 

stanzas: 

It doesn’t matter if you love him, or 

capital H-I-M 

Just put your paws up ‘cause you 

were born this way, baby 

… 

I’m beautiful in my way 

‘Cause God makes no mistakes 

I’m on the right track, baby I was 

born this way 

… 

No matter gay, straight, or bi 

Lesbian, transgendered life 

I’m on the right track baby 

I was born to survive 

The word “gaga” can mean 

enthusiastic or ecstatics, but another 

usage concerns senility, or being 

crazy. I think that just about says it all. 

Disney’s recently released movie, 

Beauty and the Beast, a “live-action 

re-telling of the studio’s animated 

classic” includes protagonist 

Gaston’s sidekick, LeFou, being 

“confused about his sexuality,” and 

as director, Bill Condon, says, the 

film includes a “nice, exclusively 

gay moment.” So too, the latest 

Power Rangers (reboot) movie 

includes lesbian Yellow Power 

Ranger character Trini, who 

director Dean Israelite says is 

“questioning a lot about who she is” 

and that a pivotal moment of the 

film is when one of the other 

characters comes to the realisation 

that Trini is having “girlfriend 

problems” rather than “boyfriend 

problems”. The target audience of 

these movies are not adults, they 

are predominately children. 

“Take religion out of schools; take it 

out of the classroom. Children 

shouldn’t be indoctrinated at school,” 

atheistic anti-religion supporters 

would cry, whilst fully supporting this 

form of indoctrination by stealth. This 

is the social engineering of children: 

allowing the pro-homosexual (anti- 

God of the Bible) camp to disciple our 

children IF PARENTS LET THEM! 

Lady Gaga and her supporters can cry, 

“Born this Way,” all they want; but 

given cases of identical twins –

MARCH 2017 // CETF71 03 

meaning identical DNA – having 

different sexual “orientations” (i.e. 

one heterosexual and the other 

homosexual), the entire notion of 

born this way is shown for what it is: 

nonsense. It’s nothing but a good 

catchcry for justifying one’s sins. Gaga 

was raised Catholic, but now rejects 

institutionalised religion, and instead 

seems to hold a Universalist type 

outlook in her theology (like many 

others today) in which she has a belief 

in the idea of god, but, we’re all going 

to make it to heaven. Their idea of 

what the Bible does (or, perhaps, 

should) say seems to be: God loves me, 

Jesus doesn’t condemn, therefore I’m 

going to heaven. It’s like they read 

John 3:16-17 and fail to read past it. 

“For God so loved the world, that He 

gave His only begotten Son, that 

whoever believes in Him shall not 

perish, but have eternal life. For God 

did not send the Son into the world to 

judge the world, but that the world 

might be saved through Him. He who 

believes in Him is not judged; he who 

does not believe has been judged 

already, because he has not believed 

in the name of the only begotten Son 

of God. This is the judgment, that the 

Light has come into the world, and 

men loved the darkness rather than 

the Light, for their deeds were evil. 

For everyone who does evil hates the 

Light, and does not come to the Light 

for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 

But he who practices the truth comes 

to the Light, so that his deeds may be 

manifested as having been wrought in 

God.” (John 3:16-21) 

It is for this reason that Scripture 

highlights certain groups of persons 

(and I do NOT think this list is 

necessarily exhaustive or restrictive) 

who DO NOT make it to heaven. 

“Or do you not know that the 

unrighteous will not inherit the 

kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; 

neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor 

adulterers, nor effeminate, nor 

homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the 

covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, 

nor swindlers, will inherit the 

kingdom of God. Such were some of 

you; but you were washed, but you 

were sanctified, but you were justified 

in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ 

and in the Spirit of our God.” 

(1 Corinthians 6:9-11) 

“He who overcomes will inherit these 

things, and I will be his God and he 

will be My son. But for the cowardly 

and unbelieving and abominable and 

murderers and immoral persons and 

sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, 

their part will be in the lake that burns 

with fire and brimstone, which is the 

second death.” (Revelation 21:7-8) 

... and then there is 1 Timothy 1:8-15; 

and Revelation 18:8-13; 22:13-15. 

It is not the individual sins 

themselves that are the point of 

these verses (though still relevant), 

but rather the LIFESTYLE that these 

people continue to, and continue on 

living. These people do NOT repent; 

there is NO turning from their sins. 

A Christian may well sin, they might 

slip, fall, or fail, but their conscience 

condemns them, and they MUST 

repent, and ask for God’s forgiveness. 

The verses above talk of people who 

GO ON CONTINUING in THEIR way. 

It is for this reason that you can be 

assured there are no true Christians 

who are hit men (what would it look 

like if God was “blessing” them in 

their work?); there are no true 

Christians whose occupation is that 

of a professional thief or conman, or 

who are practicing witches. 

Similarly, there are NO true 

Christians whose normal practice in 

life is to sleep around, or who are 

“shacked up” with this person or that 

before moving on; there are NO 

Christian “players”. Likewise there 

are NO true Christians who live a 

homosexual lifestyle. Either 

someone has repented of (i.e. turned 

away from and renounced) their past 

sinful lifestyles, and turned to God 

and His view of right and wrong, or 

they haven’t. Such persons might 

SAY they are Christian, but they 

aren’t; they cannot be. 

In Anton Bosch’s article, The Absent 

Cross, he reminds us of supposed 

Christian clergy and pastors who have 

rejected the Cross: one of whom in 

2003 said, “The fact that the cross is a 

symbol of division, shame, suffering 

and bloodshed prove that it is not of 

God but Satan,” and as recently as 

2015, the lesbian Bishop of Stockholm 

proposed that a church in her diocese 

remove all signs of the cross and put 

down markings showing the direction 

to Mecca for the benefit of Muslim 

worshippers. Probably not all that 

surprising considering this “bishop” 

had already denied the truth of God’s 

Word in one aspect of her life that she 

panders to a religion whose 

proponents also say the Bible can’t be 

trusted and has been corrupted. 

Either God is all-powerful or not, 

either God can preserve the essential 

truth of His Word from being 

corrupted or not; and if God can’t stop 

the Bible from being corrupted, then 

how can Muslims (seeing they say that 

Allah is the God of the Bible) guarantee 

the integrity of the Qur’an? They can’t. 

(What a joke! How is it they fail to see 

that they destroy the credibility of 

their own “holy scriptures” by making 

such a claim?) So, either, God is Holy 

and Righteous, and His Word is True 

(cf. Romans 3:4), or He is at best 

‘mistaken’ or at worst a ‘liar’. So which 

is it “christian”? Which is it “christian 

minister”? The choices are a little 

more black and white than some 

might think! 

Finally, to finish on a more positive 

note: in this edition of CETF we’d also 

like to tell you a little about Lesotho 

(Africa) and what Koili & Gerdien 

Moliko are doing for Christ. 

God Bless.

04 

cwm.org.au 

mailbox 

Thank you very much for continuing 

to faithfully send me CETF. Philip’s 

testimony and article which was 

printed was so inspiring and he was 

such a blessing, and also the reprinting 

of the editorial of the December 2006 

edition. I hope that Philip’s family are 

going OK. He was such a good writer. 

In God’s Love 

A Padget (QLD) 

Thank you all so very much for 

teaching us the truth of God’s word 

and warning us of the wolves in 

sheep’s clothing over many years. The 

ministry of CWM has been a blessing 

to me. 

Thank you so much for all your 

faithfulness to what the Lord has 

called you to do. Your reward is with 

Him kept safe. 

Yours sincerely 

L Justin 

I have just received my copy of CETF 

magazine, and wanted to say a big 

thank you. I love your magazine, but I 

thought you must have stopped 

printing it. I even tried to find out your 

address in order to write to you and 

ask if you were still in the ministry, 

but couldn’t find your address. 

Imagine how happy I was when I 

receive your magazine yesterday. 

G Fallon (WA) 

Wow!! What a surprise to find CETF in 

my mailbox! 

I was thinking, I guess, with lots of 

others that the magazine had come to 

a close .... but PRAISE GOD – NOT SO! 

I am so happy that Philip’s work is 

continuing and pray that THE LORD 

will provide the anointing of THE 

SPIRIT that the work will continue. 

I enjoyed reading the articles and look 

forward to more. 

May THE LORD richly bless your 

ministry. God Bless. 

W Glanville (QLD) 

The editor and volunteers who produce CETF would like to thank all 

who wrote letters. It was uplifting and comforting hearing your kind 

words of blessing and support, and we look forward to hearing from 

more of you in future. We welcome any theological questions or 

issues that you would like answers for, insomuch as we might help 

you and others pondering the same questions. 

What a joy and pleasant surprise it 

was to receive the latest CETF! 

Thank you for your apology in taking 

so long for this edition to come out 

but no apology needed. I was more 

than content to allow the LORD to 

have His way with CWM/CETF and to 

wait and see in what direction He 

would lead you. 

Obviously, He has kept you on the 

straight and steady, continuing the 

good work He has begun in you. 

I love the new look and the continuing 

excellent articles that encourage and 

exhort; don’t ever compromise! 

God bless you all and keep CETF! 

S Broyden (Canada) 

Greetings! We were so pleased to 

receive the lastest CETF Magazine, 

and we readily accept Michael’s 

apology as I’m sure it’s no easy task 

he has now! ... We were pleased to 

see (on Page 14 of #70) the article 

about “Biblical Eldership” (via 

Alexander Strauch). Our little 

fellowship (a continuing 

Congregational church) is using this 

method and it works very well!! We 

have a real sense of oneness and 

unity, all glory to God! We do not 

have a pastor. 

God bless you all in this New Year 

B & R Goodall (SA) 

May our God and Saviour keep you all, 

The CETF Team.

MARCH 2017 // CETF71 05 

missions 

Now to Him who is able to establish 

you according to my gospel and the 

preaching of Jesus Christ, according 

to the revelation of the mystery which 

has been kept secret for long ages 

past, but now is manifested, and by 

the Scriptures of the prophets, 

according to the commandment of the 

eternal God, has been made known to 

all the nations, leading to obedience of 

faith; to the only wise God, through 

Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. 

Amen. (Romans 16:25-27) 

Lesotho 

Kingdom in the Sky 

Lesotho is a democratic, sovereign 

and independent country with the 

unique characteristic of being totally 

surrounded by its neighbour the 

Republic of South Africa. It has a 

population of just over 2 million and 

its area is 30,355 km 2 (11,720 sq mi). 

History 

The original inhabitants of the area 

now known as Lesotho were the San 

people 

They emerged as a single polity under 

King Moshoeshoe I in 1822. 

Moshoeshoe’s Kingdom to half its 

previous size. 

Basutoland gained its independence 

from Britain and became the Kingdom 

of Lesotho in 1966 

It experienced 23 years of military 

rule from 1970 to 1993 when power 

was handed over to a democratically 

elected government. A new 

constitution was implemented leaving 

the King without any executive 

authority and proscribing him from 

engaging in political affairs. 

In 1998, violent protests and a military 

mutiny following a contentious 

election prompted a brief but bloody 

South African military intervention. 

Constitutional reforms have since 

restored political stability and 

peaceful parliamentary elections 

have been held since. 

Lesotho is one of three remaining 

monarchies in Africa. 

Three Claims to Fame 

Highest Lowest point – the lowest 

elevation in Lesotho is at the junction 

of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 

at 1,400 m. Hence the name: Kingdom 

In The Sky. 

2nd shortest rail network in the world 

– 1.6km. 

Christianity is the dominant religion 

in Lesotho. The Christian Council of 

Lesotho, made up of representatives 

of all major Christian churches in the 

country, estimates that approximately 

90% of the population identify 

themselves as Christian however true 

disciples are difficult to find. 

Lesotho Protestants represent 45% of 

the population (Evangelicals 26%, and 

Anglican and other Christian groups 

an additional 19%), Roman Catholics 

represent 45% of the population, 

Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Baha’i, 

and members of traditional 

indigenous religions comprise the 

remaining 10%. 

While Christians can be found 

throughout the country, Muslims live 

primarily in the northeast. Most 

practitioners of Islam (mainly Sunni) 

are of Asian origin, while most 

Christians are members of the 

indigenous Basotho. Many Basotho 

“Christians” practice their traditional 

cultural beliefs and rituals along with 

Christianity. They believe Modimo 

(God) cannot be approached by 

humans and ancestors act as 

intercessors between Modimo and the 

living. This form of religious 

syncretism is rampant and has caused 

great confusion about what is true 

Christianity among the people. 

The Catholic and Anglican Churches 

have fused some aspects of local 

culture into their services; for 

In 1869, the British signed a treaty 

One of only three, and the largest 

with the Boers that defined the 

country in the world entirely 

boundaries of Basutoland, and later 

Lesotho, which by ceding the western 

landlocked by only one country. (The 

other two being Vatican City and San 

territories effectively reduced 

Marino) 

Continued page 39

06 

cwm.org.au 

THE CROSS 

by JC Ryle (1816 - 1900) 

What do you think about the 

Cross of Christ? The question may be 

one that you consider of little 

importance: but it deeply concerns the 

everlasting welfare of your soul. 

Eighteen hundred years ago there was 

a man who said that he “gloried” in the 

cross of Christ. He was one who turned 

the world upside down by the doctrines 

he preached. He was one who did 

more to establish Christianity than 

any man that ever lived. Yet what does 

he tell the Galatians? “God forbid that 

I should glory, save in the cross of our 

Lord Jesus Christ” (Gal. vi. 14). 

The “Cross of Christ” must be an 

important subject, when an inspired 

apostle can speak of it in this way. Let 

me try to show you what the expression 

means. Once you know what the Cross 

of Christ means, then you may be able, 

by God’s help, to see the importance of 

it to your soul. 

The Cross in the Bible sometimes 

means that wooden Cross on which 

the Lord Jesus was nailed and put to 

death on Mount Calvary. This is what 

St. Paul had in his mind’s eye when he 

told the Philippians that Christ 

“became obedient unto death, even 

the death of the Cross” (Phil. ii. 8). 

This is not the cross in which St. Paul 

gloried. He would have shrunk with 

horror from the idea of glorying in a 

mere piece of wood. I have no doubt he 

would have denounced the Roman 

Catholic adoration of the crucifix as 

profane, blasphemous, and idolatrous. 

The cross sometimes means the 

afflictions and trials which believers 

in Christ have to go through if they 

follow Christ faithfully, for their 

religion’s sake. This is the sense in 

which our Lord uses the word, when 

He says, “He that taketh not his 

Cross, and followeth after Me, is not 

worthy of Me” (Matt. x. 38). This also 

is not the sense in which Paul uses 

the word when he writes to the 

Galatians. He knew that Cross well. 

He carried it patiently: but he is not 

speaking of it here. 

But the Cross also means in some 

places the doctrine that Christ died for 

sinners upon the Cross, the atonement 

that He made for sinners, by His 

suffering for them on the Cross, the 

complete and perfect sacrifice for sin 

which He offered up, when He gave 

His own body to be crucified. In short, 

this one word, “the Cross,” stands for 

Christ crucified, the only Saviour. This 

is the meaning in which Paul uses the 

expression, when he tells the 

Corinthians, “The preaching of the 

Cross is to them that perish 

foolishness” (1 Cor. i. 18). This is the 

meaning in which he wrote to the 

Galatians, “God forbid that I should 

glory, save in the Cross.” He simply 

meant, “I glory in nothing but Christ 

crucified, as the salvation of my soul.” 

Jesus Christ crucified was the joy and 

delight, the comfort and the peace, the 

hope and the confidence, the 

foundation and the resting-place, the 

ark and the refuge, the food and the 

medicine of Paul’s soul. He did not

MARCH 2017 // CETF71 07 

OF CHRIST 

think of what he had done himself and 

suffered himself. He did not meditate 

on his own goodness, and his own 

righteousness. He loved to think of 

what Christ had done, and Christ had 

suffered, of the death of Christ, the 

righteousness of Christ, the atonement 

of Christ, the blood of Christ, the 

finished work of Christ. In this he did 

glory. This was the sun of his soul. 

This is the subject he loved to preach 

about. He was a man who went to and 

fro on the earth, proclaiming to 

sinners that the Son of God had shed 

His own heart’s blood to save their 

souls. He walked up and down the 

world telling people that Jesus Christ 

had loved them, and died for their sins 

upon the Cross. Mark how he says to 

the Corinthians, “I delivered unto you 

first of all that which I also received, 

how that Christ died for our sins” (1 

Cor. xv. 3); “I determined not to know 

anything among you save Jesus Christ 

and Him crucified” (1 Cor. ii. 2). He, a 

blaspheming, persecuting Pharisee, 

had been washed in Christ’s blood: he 

could not hold his peace about it. He 

was never weary of telling the story of 

The Cross. 

This is the subject he loved to dwell 

upon when he wrote to believers. It is 

wonderful to observe how full his 

epistles generally are of the sufferings 

and death of Christ, how they run over 

with “thoughts that breathe and words 

that burn” about Christ’s dying love 

and power. His heart seems full of the 

subject: he enlarges on it constantly; 

he returns to it continually. It is the 

Take away the Cross 

of Christ, and the 

Bible is a dark book. 

golden thread that runs through all 

his doctrinal teaching, and practical 

exhortations. He seems to think that 

the most advanced Christian can 

never hear too much about the Cross. 

This is what he lived upon all his life, 

from the time of his conversion. He 

tells the Galatians, “The life which I 

now live in the flesh, I live by the faith 

of the Son of God, who loved me, and 

gave Himself for me” (Gal. ii. 20). What 

made him so strong to labour? What 

made him so willing to work? What 

made him so unwearied in 

endeavouring to save some? What 

made him so persevering and patient? 

I will tell you the secret of it all. He 

was always feeding by faith on Christ’s 

body and Christ’s blood. Jesus 

crucified was the meat and drink of 

his soul. 

And you may rest assured that Paul 

was right. Depend upon it, the Cross of 

Christ, the death of Christ on the Cross 

to make atonement for sinners, is the 

central truth in the whole Bible. This 

is the truth we begin with when we 

open Genesis. The seed of the woman 

bruising the serpent’s head, is nothing 

else but a prophecy of Christ crucified. 

This is the truth that shines out, 

though veiled, all through the Law of 

Moses and the history of the Jews. The 

daily sacrifice, the Passover lamb, the 

continual shedding of blood in the 

tabernacle and the temple, all these 

were emblems of Christ crucified. 

This is the truth that we see honoured 

in the vision of heaven, before we 

close the book of Revelation. “In the 

midst of the throne and of the four 

beasts,” we are told, “and in the midst 

of the elders, stood a Lamb, as it had 

been slain” (Rev. v. 6). Even in the 

midst of heavenly glory we catch a 

view of Christ crucified. Take away 

the Cross of Christ, and the Bible is a 

dark book. It is like the Egyptian 

hieroglyphics, without the key that 

interprets their meaning, curious and 

wonderful, but of no real use. 

Mark what I say. You may know a good 

deal about the Bible. You may know 

the outlines of the histories it contains, 

and the dates of the events described, 

just as a man knows the history of 

England. You may know the names of 

the men and women mentioned in it, 

just as a man knows Caesar, Alexander 

the Great, or Napoleon. You may know 

the several precepts of the Bible, and 

admire them, just as a man admires 

Plato, Aristotle, or Seneca. But if you 

have not yet found out that Christ 

crucified is the foundation of the 

whole volume, you have read your 

Bible hitherto to very little profit. Your 

religion is a heaven without a sun, an 

arch without a key-stone, a compass 

without a needle, a clock without 

spring or weights, a lamp without oil. 

It will not comfort you. It will not 

deliver your soul from hell.

08 

cwm.org.au 

Mark what I say again. You may know 

a good deal about Christ, by a kind of 

head knowledge. You may know who 

He was, and where He was born, and 

what He did. You may know His 

miracles, His sayings, His prophecies, 

and His ordinances. You may know 

how He lived, and how He suffered, 

and how He died. But unless you know 

the power of Christ’s Cross by 

experience, unless you know and feel 

within that the bloodshed on that 

Cross has washed away your own 

particular sins, unless you are willing 

to confess that your salvation depends 

entirely on the work that Christ did 

upon the Cross, unless this be the 

case, Christ will profit you nothing. 

The mere knowing Christ’s name will 

never save you. You must know His 

Cross and His blood, or else you will 

die in your sins. 

As long as you live, beware of a 

religion in which there is not much 

of the Cross. You live in times when 

the warning is sadly needful. 

Beware, I say again, of a religion 

without the Cross. 

There are hundreds of places of 

worship in this day, in which there is 

almost everything except the Cross. 

There is carved oak, and sculptured 

stone; there is stained glass, and 

brilliant painting; there are solemn 

services, and a constant round of 

ordinances: but the real Cross of 

Christ is not there. Jesus crucified is 

not proclaimed in the pulpit. The 

Lamb of God is not lifted up, and 

salvation by faith in Him is not freely 

proclaimed. And hence all is wrong. 

Beware of such places of worship. 

They are not apostolical. They would 

not have satisfied St. Paul. 

There are thousands of religious 

books published in our times, in which 

there is everything except the Cross. 

They are full of directions about 

sacraments, and praises of the 

Church; they abound in exhortations 

about holy living, and rules for the 

attainment of perfection; they have 

plenty of fonts and crosses, both inside 

and outside but the real Cross of Christ 

is left out. The Saviour and His dying 

love, are either not mentioned, or 

mentioned in an unscriptural way. 

And hence they are worse than 

useless. Beware of such books. They 

are not apostolical. They would never 

have satisfied St. Paul. 

St. Paul gloried in nothing but the 

Cross. Strive to be like him. Set Jesus 

crucified fully before the eyes of your 

soul. Listen not to any teaching which 

would interpose anything between 

you and Him. Do not fall into the old 

Galatian error. Think not that anyone 

in this day is a better guide than the 

apostles. Do not be ashamed of the 

old paths in which men walked who 

were inspired by the Holy Ghost. Let 

not the vague talk of men who speak 

great swelling words about 

catholicity, and the church, and the 

ministry, disturb your peace, and 

make you loose your hands from the 

Cross. Churches, ministers, and 

sacraments are all useful in their 

way, but they are not Christ crucified. 

Do not give Christ’s honour to 

another. “He that glorieth, let him 

glory in the Lord.” 

I lay these thoughts before your mind. 

What you think now about the Cross of 

Christ I cannot tell; but I can wish you 

nothing better than this, that you may 

be able to say with the apostle Paul, 

before you die or meet the Lord, “God 

forbid that I should glory save in the 

Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Amen. 

■ 

Saving Faith 

Paul gloried in the Cross of our 

Lord Jesus Christ because His 

death alone is the ground of a 

believer’s righteousness, his 

acceptance with God, and the end 

of such a futile quest for 

salvation through one’s own 

good works. He knew that God 

would never ever reduce His 

terms. He does not promise 

salvation and eternal life upon 

man’s sincerity in religion, or 

piety in prayer, or industry in 

endeavour. It is clear: “He that 

believes shall be saved; he who 

does NOT believe shall be 

damned”. Our faith in Christ, who 

He is and what He has done for us 

through death at the Cross. God 

has accepted the offering up of 

His Son in substitutionary 

atonement for our sins. Saving 

faith is, therefore, our accepting 

of God’s acceptance of His Son. 

Aeron Morgan & Philip L. Powell, 

Gathering the Faithful Remnant, p351.

MARCH 2017 // CETF71 09 

The absent cross 

by Anton Bosch 

“For the message of the cross 

is foolishness to those who are 

perishing, but to us who are being 

saved it is the power of God.” 

(1 Corinthians 1:18) 

Foolishness 

There could be no other message that 

is more foolish and more of a 

stumbling block to the Gospel than 

the message of the Cross 1 

(1Corinthians 1:23). This was true in 

the first century and it still is today. 

The Cross was foolishness to the 

intellectual Greeks of the day. How 

can the story about a simple preacher 

from the despised Jews who was 

crucified as an insurrectionist and 

rebel against the religious 

establishment contain any kind of 

wisdom or knowledge? If He was so 

wise, surely he would have known 

how to evade capture or would have 

been able to reason his way to 

freedom. But to be taken without 

resistance and crucified at the age of 

33 speaks of extreme foolishness and 

weakness. After-all, neither the 

religious, nor the governmental 

authorities, would have killed Him, if 

He had even a glimmer of greatness. 

This man must be a loser and good for 

nothing. To make it worse, His 

followers then claimed that this 

weakling and His Cross alone are the 

means of salvation and enlightenment. 

There could be no greater foolishness 

than this! 

…the notion of the 

Messiah being hung 

on a tree was totally 

shameful and 

unacceptable. 

The intelligentsia and politically 

correct of today see it exactly the 

same. Of all the objectionable things 

about the Gospel, the Cross has to be 

the most stupid of them all. What kind 

of God requires the bloody death of 

His Son as a criminal as the only 

means of salvation? 

Linked to the Cross is the resurrection. 

To any thinking person there is no 

claim that stretches credulity more 

than the idea that the same weakling 

that allowed himself to be captured 

and crucified now claims to have risen 

from the dead. There are at least a 

hundred other religious ideas that are 

more plausible to the rational person 

than the notion of a Galilean, of all 

people, rising from the dead. 

To add to the foolishness of it all, 

this man claimed to be God! Which 

god could be captured and killed by 

humans – surely not a real one? 

This man can only be delusional 

and to believe in such a nut case is 

only for the gullible, superstitious 

and weak of mind. As it was then, 

so it is today – foolishness. 

Stumbling Block 

Had Jesus come as the mighty 

deliverer and political saviour that 

Israel wanted, He would have been 

crowned as their King and Messiah. 

But He refused to play to the 

crowds and instead was crucified

10 

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to pay for their, and our, sins. No 

other way of death could have been 

more ignominious and shameful to 

the Jews: 

Galatians 3:13 says: “Cursed is 

everyone who hangs on a tree…”. This 

does not mean that because someone 

hangs on a tree, he is cursed. The 

curse is not because of the hanging 

but rather the hanging is a sign of the 

curse. Hanging was not the Jewish 

tradition and the Law’s prescribed 

method of execution was stoning 

(Leviticus 24). But Galatians quotes 

Deuteronomy 21:22-23 which regulates 

hanging: “If a man has committed a 

sin deserving of death, and he is put to 

death, and you hang him on a tree, 

“his body shall not remain overnight 

on the tree, but you shall surely bury 

him that day, so that you do not defile 

the land which the LORD your God is 

giving you as an inheritance; for he 

who is hanged is accursed of God.” 

Notice that he is put to death and then 

hung on the tree as a display of the fact 

that his sin was so heinous that he is 

cursed of God. 

There are a few examples of hanging 

in the Old Testament (Numbers 25:4; 

Joshua 8:9; Joshua 10:26; 2Samuel 

21:6). In some cases the condemned 

were killed and then hung and in 

others it seems that they were hung to 

die. But in each case the display of the 

corpse on a tree was a sign and 

statement that the deceased was 

cursed by God. The rarity of the 

practice, and in each case, the vileness 

of the subject, emphasizes that those 

who were hung were the worst of the 

worst and certainly those whom God 

had cursed. 

Thus even if a Jew could accept that 

there was need for an atoning 

sacrifice, the notion of the Messiah 

being hung on a tree was totally 

shameful and unacceptable. The 

very fact that he died on the Cross 

“proves” that He is not the Messiah 

and is indeed the worst kind of 

sinner – the kind that God 

has cursed. In this light, Paul quotes 

Isaiah: “Behold, I lay in Sion a 

stumblingstone and rock of 

offence…” (Romans 9:33). To the 

Corinthians he says that the message 

of Christ crucified is “to the Jews a 

stumbling block and to the Greeks 

foolishness” (1 Corinthians 1:23). 

The Message 

As much as the Cross is unacceptable 

and offensive today, it was probably 

even more so in the time of the New 

Testament. If there was one aspect of 

the Gospel that the Apostles would 

…in most cases it is purposely removed from 

the message in order not to offend the “seeker” 

or those from other religions. 

have done well to remove, it was the 

message of the Cross. Without the 

Cross the Gospel would have been 

much more attractive and palatable to 

both Jew and Greek. Should Paul have 

displayed his superior intelligence 

and wisdom or performed dramatic 

miracles, and had he played down the 

Cross, there would have been many 

more followers of this new religion 2 . 

Yet Paul is adamant that he would not 

remove the Cross from the message, 

on the contrary, he was “…determined 

not to know anything among you 

except Jesus Christ and Him 

crucified.” (1 Corinthians 2:2). In spite 

of the Cross being weakness and 

foolishness, Paul is adamant that it is 

the only message that can save. 

(1 Corinthians 1:21). 

The Cross is not only fundamental to 

Paul’s preaching, but it is central to his 

definition of the Gospel: “Moreover, 

brethren, I declare to you the gospel 

which I preached to you, which also 

you received and in which you stand, 

by which also you are saved… For I 

delivered to you first of all that which 

I also received: that Christ died for our 

sins according to the Scriptures, and 

that He was buried, and that He rose 

again the third day according to the 

Scriptures…” (1 Corinthians 15:1,2,4). 

So it is today 

The offence of the Cross has remained 

with us throughout the centuries. To 

those who are perishing today, the 

message is still foolishness and a 

stumbling block. It is for this reason 

that the Cross is remarkably absent in 

most modern preaching. In some 

cases it is conveniently forgotten and 

neglected but in most cases it is 

purposely removed from the message 

in order not to offend the “seeker” or 

those from other religions. 

The removal of the Cross from the 

message is signified by the removal of 

the symbol of the Cross from church 

buildings. Personally, I do not believe 

in icons or that a building is somehow 

sanctified by a symbolic Cross. But 

when even the symbol becomes 

offensive, we clearly have a problem. 

Here are some examples: 

Joel Osteen’s Lakewood “church”: “Like 

many new evangelical churches, the 

building has no cross… Instead, it has a 

cafe with wireless Internet access, 32 

video game kiosks and a vault to store 

the offering.” 3 . Onstage Osteen does 

not speak in the shadow of a Cross but 

of a giant globe. Thus the world has 

become his reference and influence 

instead of the Cross. This symbolism is 

clearly confirmed by the absence of 

the Cross in his preaching and the 

worldliness of his messages. This is 

further illustrated by the fact that he 

does not open his message with 

Scripture but with a joke 4 .

MARCH 2017 // CETF71 11 

Credit: http://alchetron.com/Eva-Brunne-202238-W#- 

During the American Clergy 

Leadership Conference tour that 

president [Bush] hailed last week, 

pastor John Kingara of Massachussetts 

puts a cross out with the garbage, 

April 18, 2003. “The fact that the cross 

is a symbol of division, shame, 

suffering and bloodshed prove that it 

is not of God but Satan.” 5 

The [Lesbian] Bishop of Stockholm 

has proposed a church in her diocese 

remove all signs of the cross and 

Bishop Eva Brunne removed crosses in her 

church to appease Muslims 

and globe) 

These are only four examples of many 

churches who are following the lead of 

governments (especially in the US and 

China), who are doing everything they 

can to physically remove any and all 

displays of a cross from the public eye. 

However, the removal of the symbol is 

simply an accurate reflection of the 

change in theology. In every one of the 

above examples, and in the thousands 

church, even those that are not only 

nominally Christian, celebrate the 

resurrection on “resurrection 

Sunday”. This year, I decided to preach 

on the Cross on “resurrection Sunday”. 

A number of the congregation was 

extremely surprised and even shocked 

to hear a message on the Cross on 

“Resurrection Sunday”! 8 Yes, we may 

accept the glory of the resurrection 

but not the shame of the Cross. 

His Cross, My Cross 

But even those that have continued to 

preach the gospel that Christ died for 

our sins on the Cross have 

compromised the message of the 

Cross. They may still preach that 

Christ died on the Cross and may even 

give it its proper emphasis, yet the 

notion of the believer taking up his 

cross has long ago been banished from 

the message. Where the message of 

our personal cross is retained, it has 

however been changed to refer to 

some personal difficulty as in “my 

children are the cross I bear”. 

In the past 50 or 60 years, the gospel 

has become increasingly mancentered 

and focused on the benefits 

that the gospel contains for the 

“seeker”. Preachers feel the need to 

make the gospel as attractive as 

The temptation to make bread was an enticement to build the Kingdom 

on bread, and the felt needs of people, rather than on the Word of God. 

put down markings showing the 

direction to Mecca for the benefit of 

Muslim worshippers. 6 

“Lawton gave a sermon… likening 

using the cross as a symbol of Christ’s 

life to using a bullet to remember 

Martin Luther King Jr…. The cross has 

become a negative symbol for a lot of 

people.” 7 (He replaced the cross 

outside of his “church” with a heart 

of other instances these represent, the 

removal of the symbol simply reflects 

that the Cross had been removed from 

their theology a long time ago. 

Sometimes the Cross is removed 

flagrantly, but sometimes it is very 

subtly removed from the 

consciousness. For example in the 

USA, we do not commemorate His 

crucifixion at Easter, but every 

possible by convincing the shopper 

that becoming a Christian contains 

benefits and advantages. In this 

paradigm, blessings, riches, health, 

happiness, heaven, peace and so on 

are emphasized. The words 

repentance, sin, sacrifice, suffering 

etc. are never mentioned 9 . 

Yet a central aspect of the Cross is the 

need for the individual to be willing to 

die to self, the flesh and the world. “…

12 

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Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone 

desires to come after Me, let him deny 

himself, and take up his cross, and 

follow Me. “For whoever desires to 

save his life will lose it, but whoever 

loses his life for My sake will find it. 

“For what profit is it to a man if he 

gains the whole world, and loses his 

own soul? Or what will a man give in 

exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 

16:24-26). It is obvious from what Jesus 

said that the cross we bear is not 

wayward children or a difficult 

marriage. It is to die to self and the 

selfish ambitions and desires of the 

flesh. But because we have removed 

this from the message, most believe 

that they can have the whole world 

(including its sin) and still be saved. 

Even worse is the dominionist and the 

prosperity chaser who do not believe 

that we can have the world, but that 

we must have the whole world. Think 

again of Osteen who, in line with his 

symbol of the world behind him, 

promises people the earth, while the 

true preachers only promise the 

Cross. (He represents many thousands 

who do likewise). 

Christianity has become the broad 

road (Matthew 7:13) which is easy to 

access and comfortable to follow. 

While they may not all deny the Cross 

of Christ, in choosing the easy way, 

they have succumbed to the same 

temptations with which Jesus was 

tempted. Each of the three temptations 

in the wilderness was an offer for 

Jesus to by-pass the Cross and still 

achieve his objective: The temptation 

to make bread was an enticement to 

build the Kingdom on bread, and the 

felt needs of people, rather than on the 

Word of God. The temptation to jump 

from the pinnacle of the temple was a 

temptation to build the Kingdom on 

the spectacular and sensational. The 

crowds would have crowned Him as 

King had he jumped and landed 

unharmed. The final temptation to 

worship Satan in exchange for the 

kingdoms was a clear offer to achieve 

His purpose based on compromise, 

by-passing the Cross. Thank God, 

Jesus understood that there was only 

one way to save us and that was to take 

our sin, guilt, shame and judgement 

upon Himself and to die in our place 

on that cruel, shameful and hated 

Cross. He understood that from the 

beginning God had determined that 

without the shedding of blood there is 

no remission of sins (Hebrews 9:22). 

Even so, right up to the last minute He 

pleaded with the Father for the 

possibility of avoiding the Cross 

(Matthew 26:39). But there was no 

other way and thus He endured the 

Cross and despised the shame of it 

(Hebrews 12: 2). He was determined to 

face the Cross and “He steadfastly set 

His face (as a flint) to go to Jerusalem” 

(Luke 9:51; Isaiah 50:7). 

How dare we then be ashamed 

of His Cross? 

Some of the Galatians had begun to 

emphasize circumcision in order to 

avoid the “the offence of the cross” 

(Galatians 5:11). Paul strongly rebuked 

them for this and he even doubted that 

they were saved! (Galatians 4:20). 

Indeed there can be no salvation 

except for the Cross and to deny, 

remove or minimize the Cross is 

clearly to preach another Gospel 

(Galatians 1:6). Denying the Cross and 

preaching another Gospel incurs the 

anathema – the curse of God (Galatians 

1:8,9). Thus in an attempt to avoid the 

shame of the curse of the Cross, they 

actually incur the very curse they seek 

to avoid! My prayer for myself, and for 

you, is that we may fully identify with 

Paul’s understanding of our message 

as well as our method: 

“For since, in the wisdom of God, the 

world through wisdom did not know 

God, it pleased God through the 

foolishness of the message preached 

to save those who believe. For Jews 

request a sign, and Greeks seek after 

wisdom; but we preach Christ 

crucified, to the Jews a stumbling 

block and to the Greeks foolishness, 

but to those who are called, both Jews 

and Greeks, Christ the power of God 

and the wisdom of God. Because the 

foolishness of God is wiser than men, 

and the weakness of God is stronger 

than men. ” (1 Corinthians 1:21-25) 

“And I, brethren, when I came to you, 

did not come with excellence of speech 

or of wisdom declaring to you the 

testimony of God. For I determined not 

to know anything among you except 

Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” 

(1 Corinthians 2:1-2) 

I take, O cross, thy shadow 

For my abiding place; 

I ask no other sunshine than 

The sunshine of His face; 

Content to let the world go by, 

To know no gain nor loss, 

My sinful self my only shame, 

My glory all the cross. ■ 

Endnotes: 

1 I use the term “message of the cross” strictly 

in a Biblical sense. In essence I mean that Christ 

died for our sins and in our place on the cross. 

And that in order to be born again, the sinner 

needs to have been crucified with (in) Christ 

in order to be raised with (in) Him to walk in 

newness of life. 

2 This is the basis of what is known as “pragmatism” 

in modern theological thought. 

3 John Leland. New York Times. http://www. 

nytimes.com/2005/07/18/us/a-church-that-packsthem-in-16000-at-a-time.html. 

July 18, 2005. 

4 Osteen did not remove the cross from his building 

– it was never there and the globe was also 

prominent in his father’s church. 

5 http://gadflyer.com/2014/tear-down-the-cross/ 

6 Oliver JJ Lanes. http://www.breitbart.com/ 

london/2015/10/05/worlds-first-lesbian-bishopcalls-church-remove-crosses-install-muslimprayer-space/ 

October 2015. 

7 Megan Hart. http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2010/06/spring_lakes_christ_community.html 

8 Before you “crucify” me for celebrating Easter, 

I am aware of its pagan roots and the pagan symbols 

that surround the season but it is a wonderful 

opportunity, in a largely Roman Catholic community, 

to preach the Gospel to the many who only 

attend church on Easter and Christmas. 

9 For more on this topic, please see the three-part 

series on the Gospel of Self: http://antonbosch. 

org/Articles/English%202010/gospel%20of%20 

self%201.html

MARCH 2017 // CETF71 13 

HEAVEN: 

its hope 

by DL Moody (1837 - 1899) 

Like all the other wonderful 

works of God, this Book bears the 

sure stamp of its author. It is like 

Him. Though man plants the 

seeds, God makes the flowers, and 

they are perfect and beautiful like 

Himself. Men wrote what is in the 

Bible, but the work is God’s. The 

more refined, as a rule, people are, 

the fonder they are of the flowers, 

and the better they are, as a rule, 

the more they love the Bible. The 

fondness for flowers refines 

people, and the love of the Bible 

makes them better. All that is in 

the Bible about God, about man, 

about redemption, and about a 

future state, agrees with our own 

ideas of right, with our reasonable 

fears and with our personal 

experiences. All the historical 

things are told in the way that we 

know the world had of looking at 

them when they were written. 

What the Bible tells about heaven 

is not half so strategic as what 

Professor Proctor tells about the 

hosts of stars that are beyond the 

range of any telescope - yet people 

very often think that science is all 

fact, and that religion is only 

fancy. A great, many persons 

think that Jupiter and many more 

of the stars around us are 

inhabited, who cannot bring 

themselves to believe that there is 

a life beyond this earth for 

immortal souls. The true Christian 

puts faith before reason, and 

believes that reason always goes 

wrong when faith is set aside. If 

people would but read their Bibles 

more, and study what there is to be 

found there about Heaven, they 

would not be as worldly minded as 

they are. They would not have 

their hearts set upon things down 

here, but would seek the 

imperishable things above. 

>> 

Credit: Mack Wandex

14 

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Credit: Brocken Inaglory 

EARTH THE HOME OF SIN 

It seems perfectly reasonable that God 

should have given us a glimpse of the 

future, for we are constantly losing 

some of our friends by death, and the 

first thought that comes to us is, 

“where have they gone?” When a loved 

one is taken away from us, how that 

thought comes up before us! How we 

wonder if we will ever see them again, 

and where and when it will be! Then it 

is that we turn to this blessed Book, for 

there is no other book in all the world 

that can give us the slightest comfort; 

no other book that can tell us where 

the loved ones have gone. 

Not long ago I met an old friend, and 

as I took him by the hand and asked 

after his family, the tears came 

trickling down his cheeks as he said: 

“I haven’t any now.” 

“What,” I said, is your wife dead? “ 

“Yes sir.” 

“And all your children, too?” 

“Yes, all gone,” he said, “and I am 

left here desolate and alone.” 

Would anyone take from that man the 

hope that he will meet his dear ones 

again? Would anyone persuade him 

that there is not a future where where 

we will be reunited with those who 

have died in Christ? No, we need not 

The ruins of Ephesus lie on the western edge 

of modern day Turkey, about eight kilometres 

(five miles) inland from the Aegean coast. 

forget our dear loved ones; but we 

cling forever to the enduring hope that 

there will be a time when we can meet 

unfettered and be blessed in that land 

of everlasting suns, where the soul 

drinks from the living streams of love 

that roll by God’s high throne. In our 

inmost hearts there are none of us but 

have questionings of the future. 

“Tell me, my secret soul, 

O, tell me, Hope and Faith, 

Is there no resting place, 

From sorrow, sin and death? 

Is there no happy spot 

Where mortals may be blest, 

Where grief may find a balm, 

And weariness a rest? 

Faith, Hope and Love - best boons 

to mortals given - 

Waved their bright wings, and 

whispered: 

Yes, in heaven” 

There are men who say that there is 

no heaven. I was once talking with a 

man who said he thought there was 

nothing to justify us in believing in 

any other heaven than we know here 

on earth. If this is heaven, it is a very 

strange one - this world of sickness, 

and sorrow, and sin. I pity from the 

depths of my heart the man or woman 

who has that idea. 

This world that so many think is 

heaven, is the home of sin, a hospital 

of sorrow, a place that has nothing in 

it to satisfy the soul. Men go all over it 

and then want to get out of it. The 

more one sees of the world the less 

they think of it. People soon grow 

tired of the best pleasures it has to 

offer. Someone has said that the 

world is a stormy sea, whose every 

wave is strewn with the wrecks of 

mortals that perish in it. Every time 

we breathe someone is dying. We all 

know that we are going to stay here 

but a very little while. Our life is but a 

vapour. It is just a mere shadow. We 

meet one another, as someone has 

said, salute one another, and pass on 

and are gone. And another has said, it 

is just inch of time, and then eternal 

ages roll on; and it seems to me that it 

is perfectly reasonable that we should 

study this book, to find out where we 

are going, and where our friends are 

who have gone on before. The longest 

time man has to live, has no more 

proportion to eternity than a drop of 

dew has to the ocean. 

CITIES OF THE PAST 

Look at the cities of the past. There is 

Babylon. It was founded by a woman 

named Semiramis, who had two 

million men at work for years building 

it. It is nothing but dust now. Nearly a 

thousand years ago, some historian 

wrote that the ruins of 

Nebuchadnezzar’s palace were still 

standing, but men were afraid to go 

near them because they were full of 

scorpions and snakes. That’s the Sort 

of ruin that greatness often comes to 

in our own day. Nineveh is gone. Its 

towers and bastions have fallen. The 

traveler who tries to see Carthage, 

can’t see much of it. Corinth, once the 

seat of luxury and art, is only a 

shapeless mass. Ephesus long the 

metropolis of Asia Minor, the Paris of 

that day, was crowded with buildings 

as large as the capitol at Washington. I 

am told it looks more like a neglected

MARCH 2017 // CETF71 15 

graveyard now than anything else. 

Granada is now the housing place of 

lions and jackals. It was once very 

grand, with its twelve gates and 

towers. The Alhambra, the palace of 

the Mohammedan kings, was situated 

there. Probably the animals play with 

the monarchs’ bones. Little pieces of 

the once grand and beautiful cities of 

Herculanaeum and Pompeii are now 

being sold in the shops for relics. 

Jerusalem, once one of the grandest 

cities of the universe, is but a shadow 

of itself. Thebes - for thousands of 

years, up almost to the coming of 

Christ, the largest and wealthiest city 

of the world - is now a mass of decay. 

Very little of Athens and many more 

of the proud cities of olden times, 

remain to tell the story of their 

downfall. God drives His plowshare 

through cities, and they are upheaved 

like furrows in the field. “Behold,” 

says Isaiah, “the nations are as a drop 

of a bucket, and are counted as the 

small dust of the balance; behold, he 

taketh up the isles as a very little 

thing. All nations before him are as 

nothing, and they are counted to him 

less than nothing, and vanity.” 

See how Antioch has fallen! When 

Paul preached there it was a superb 

metropolis. A wide street, over three 

miles long, stretching across the 

entire city, was ornamented with rows 

of columns and covered galleries, and 

at every corner stood carved statues to 

commemorate their great men, whose 

names even we have never heard. 

These are never heard of now, but the 

poor preaching tent-maker who came 

into its portals, stands out as the 

grandest character in all history. The 

finest specimens of Grecian art 

decorated the shrines of the temples, 

and the baths and the aqueducts were 

such as are never approached in 

elegance now. Men then, as now, were 

seeking honours and wealth and 

mighty names, and seeking to 

enshrine their names and records in 

perishable clay. Within the walls, we 

are told, were enclosed mountains 

Credit: Library Of Congress USA 

Credit: MM 

over seven hundred feet high, and 

rocky precipices and deep ravines 

gave wild and picturesque character 

to the, city of which no modern city 

gives us an example, These heights 

were fortified in a marvellous manner, 

which gave to them strange startling 

effects. The vast population of this 

brilliant city, combining all the art 

and cultivation of Greece with the 

levity, the luxury and the superstition 

of Asia Minor, was as intent on 

pleasure as the population of any of 

our great cities are today. They had 

their shows, their games, their races 

and dances, their sorcerers, puzzlers, 

buffoons and miracle workers, and 

the whole people sought constantly in 

the theatres and processions, for 

Babylon, photo taken 1932 

The Peirene Fountain at Corinth 

Cities that have not 

the refining and 

restraining influences 

of Christianity well 

established in them, 

seldom do amount to 

much in the long run. 

something to stimulate and gratify the 

most corrupt desires of the soul. 

This is pretty much what we find the 

masses of the people in our great cities 

doing now. The place was even worse 

than Athens, for the so-called worship 

they indulged in was not only

16 

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idolatrous, but had mixed up with it 

the grossest passions to which man 

descends. It was here that Paul came 

to preach the glad tidings of Christ; it 

was here that his converts were first 

called Christians, as a nickname; the 

first time the name, was ever used, all 

followers of Christ before time having 

been called “saints “ or “brethren.” As 

has been well said, out of that spring 

at Antioch, a mighty stream has 

natural, then, that we should look and 

listen and try to find out who is already 

there, and what is the route to take? 

Soon after I was converted, an infidel 

asked me one day why I looked up 

when I prayed. He said that heaven 

was no more above as than below us; 

that heaven was everywhere. Well, I 

was greatly bewildered, and the next 

time I prayed, it seemed almost as if I 

was praying into the air. Since then I 

Soon after I was converted, an infidel asked me 

one day why I looked up when I prayed. He said 

that heaven was no more above as than below 

us; that heaven was everywhere. 

It is not for short-sighted man to 

inquire why God made heaven so 

extensive that its lights along the way 

can be seen from any part or side of 

this little world. 

In the 51st chapter of the prophecy of 

Jeremiah we are told that: He hath 

made the earth by his power; he hath 

established the world by his wisdom, 

and hath stretched out the heaven by 

his understanding. Yet, how little we 

really know of that power, or wisdom 

or understanding! As it says in the 

26th chapter of Job: Lo, these are parts 

of his ways: but how little a portion is 

heard of him? But the thunder of his 

power, who can understand? 

flowed to water the world. Astarte, the 

“Queen of Heaven,” whom they 

worshipped; Diana, Apollo, the 

Pharisee and Sadducee, are no more, 

but the despised Christians yet live. 

Yet that Heathen City, which would 

not take Christianity to its heart and 

keep it, fell. Cities that have not the 

refining and restraining influences of 

Christianity well established in them, 

seldom do amount to much in the long 

run. They grow dim in the light of 

ages. Few of our great cities in this 

country are a hundred years old as yet. 

For nearly a thousand years this city 

prospered; yet it fell. 

I do not think that it is wrong for us to 

think and talk about heaven. I’d like to 

locate heaven, and find out all about 

it. I expect to live there through all 

eternity. If I was going to dwell in any 

place in this country, if I was going to 

make it my home, I would want to 

inquire about the place, about its 

climate, about the neighbours I would 

have, and about everything in fact, 

that I could learn concerning it. If any 

of you were going to emigrate, that 

would be the way you would feel. Well, 

we are all going to emigrate in a very 

little while to a country that is very far 

away. We are going to spend eternity 

in another world a grand and glorious 

world where God reigns. Is it not 

have become better acquainted with 

the Bible, and I have come to see that 

heaven is above us; that it is upward 

and not downward. The spirit of God is 

everywhere, but God is in heaven, and 

heaven is above our heads. It does not 

matter what part of the globe we may 

stand upon, heaven, is above us. 

In the 17th chapter of Genesis it says 

that God went up from Abraham; and 

in the 3rd chapter of John, that he 

came down from heaven. So, in the 1st 

chapter of Acts we find that Christ 

went up into heaven (not down), and a 

cloud received him out of sight, Thus 

we see heaven is up. The very 

arrangement of the firmament about 

the earth declares the seat of God’s 

glory to be above us. Job says, “Let not 

God regard it from above,” and we find 

the Psalmist declaring, “the Lord is 

high above nations, and His glory 

above the heavens.” 

Again in Deuteronomy, we find, “who 

shall go up for us to heaven?” Thus, all 

through scripture we find that we are 

given the location of heaven as upward 

and beyond the firmament. This 

firmament, with its many bright 

worlds scattered through, is so vast 

that heaven must be an extensive 

realm. Yet this need not surpass us. 

This is the word of God. As we find in 

the 42nd chapter of Isaiah: “Thus saith 

God the Lord, he that created the 

heavens and stretched them out; he 

that spread forth the earth, and that 

which cometh out of it; he that giveth 

bread unto the people upon it, and 

spirit to them that walk within.” The 

discernment of God’s power, the 

messages of heaven, do not always 

come in great things. 

We read in the 19th chapter of the first 

book of Kings: “And behold, the Lord 

passed by, and a great and strong wind 

rent the mountains, and brake in 

pieces the rocks before the Lord; but 

the Lord was not in the wind: and after 

the wind an earthquake; but the Lord 

was not in the earthquake: and after 

the earthquake a fire; but the Lord 

was not in the fire: and after the fire a 

still small voice.” It is as a still small 

voice that God speaks to His children. 

Some people are trying to find out just 

how far heaven is away. There is one 

thing we know about it; that is, that it 

is not so far away but that God can 

hear us when we pray. I do not believe 

there has ever been a tear shed for sin 

since Adam’s fall in Eden to the 

present time, but God has witnessed 

that. He is not too far from this earth 

for us to go to Him; and if there is a

MARCH 2017 // CETF71 17 

sigh that comes from a burdened heart 

today, God will hear that sigh. If there 

is a cry coming up from a heart broken 

on account of sin, God will hear that 

cry, He is not so far away, heaven is not 

so far away, as to be inaccessible to the 

smallest child. In the 7th chapter and 

14th verse of 2nd Chronicles, we read: 

“If my people, which are called by my 

name, shall humble themselves, and 

pray, and seek my face, and turn from 

their wicked ways, then will I hear 

from heaven, and will forgive their 

sins, and will heal, their land,” 

When I was in Dublin, they were 

telling me about a father who had lost 

a little boy, and he had not thought 

about the future, he had been so 

entirely taken up with this world and 

its affairs; but when that little boy his 

only child, died, that father’s heart 

was broken, and every night when he 

got home from work, they would find 

him with his tallow candle and his 

Bible in his room, and he was hunting 

up all that he could find there about 

heaven. And someone asked him what 

he was doing, and he said he was 

trying to find out where his child had 

gone, and I think he was a reasonable 

man. I suppose there is not a man or 

woman but has dear ones that are 

gone. Shall we close this book today? 

Or shall we look into it to try to find 

where the loved ones are? I was 

reading, some time ago, an account of 

a father, a minister, who had lost a 

child. He had gone to a great many 

funerals, offering comfort to others in 

sorrow, but now the iron had entered 

his own soul, and a brother minister 

had come to officiate and preach the 

funeral sermon; and after the minister 

got through speaking, the father got 

up, and standing right at the head of 

the coffin, looking at the face of that 

loved child that was gone, he said that 

a few years ago, when he had first 

come into that parish, as he used to 

look over the river he took no interest 

in the people over there, because they 

were all strangers to him and there 

were none over there that belonged to 

his parish. But, he said , a few years 

ago a young man came into his home, 

and married his daughter, and she 

went over the river to live, and when 

that child went over there, he became 

suddenly interested in the inhabitants, 

and every morning as he would get up 

he would look out of the window and 

look over there at her home. But now, 

said he, another child has been taken. 

She has gone over another river, and 

heaven seems dearer and nearer to me 

than it ever has before. 

Somewhat similar is the Christian’s hope of 

heaven, only it is not an undiscovered country, 

and in attractions cannot be compared with 

anything we know on earth. 

My friends, let us believe this good 

old Book, that heaven is not a myth, 

and let us be prepared to follow the 

dear ones who have gone before. 

There, and there alone, can we find 

the peace we seek for. 

SEEKING A BETTER COUNTRY 

What has been, and is now, one of the 

strongest feelings in the human heart? 

Is it not to find some better place, 

some lovelier spot, than we have now? 

It is for this that men are seeking 

everywhere; and yet, they can have it, 

if they will; but instead of looking 

down, they must look up to find it. As 

men grow in knowledge, they vie with 

each other more and more to make 

their homes attractive, but the 

brightest home on earth is but an 

empty barn, compared with the 

mansions that are in the skies. 

What is it that we look for at the decline 

and close of life? Is it not some 

sheltered place, some quiet spot, 

where if we cannot have constant rest, 

we may at least have a foretaste of 

what it is to be. What was it that led 

Columbus, not knowing what would 

be his fate, across the unsailed western 

seas, if it was not the hope of finding a 

better country? This is what sustained 

the hearts of the Pilgrim Fathers, 

driven from their native land by 

persecution, as they faced an ironbound, 

savage coast, with an 

unexplored territory beyond. They 

were cheered and upheld by the hope 

of reaching a free and fruitful country, 

where they could be at rest and 

worship God in peace. 

Somewhat similar is the Christian’s 

hope of heaven, only it is not an 

undiscovered country, and in 

attractions cannot be compared with 

anything we know on earth. Perhaps 

nothing but the shortness of our range 

of sight keeps us from seeing the 

celestial gates all open to us, and 

nothing but the deafness of our ears, 

prevents our hearing the joyful 

ringing of the bells of heaven. There 

are constant sounds around us that we 

cannot hear, and the sky is studded 

with bright worlds that our eyes have 

never seen. Little as we know about 

this bright and radiant land, there are 

glimpses of its beauty that come to us 

now and then. 

“We may not know how sweet its 

balmy air, 

How bright and fair its flowers; 

We may not hear the songs that 

echo there, 

Through these enchanted bowers. 

The city’s shining towers we may 

not see 

With our dim earthly vision, 

For death, the silent warder, keeps 

the key 

That opes the gates elysian.

18 

cwm.org.au 

But sometimes when adown the 

western sky 

A fiery sunset lingers, 

Its golden gate swings inward 

noiselessly, 

Unlocked by unseen fingers. 

And while they stand a moment 

half ajar, 

Gleams from the inner glory 

Stream brightly through the azure 

vault afar, 

And half reveal the story.” 

(Heaven, stanzas 3-6, Nancy Amelia 

Woodbury Priest Wakefield (1836– 

1870)) 

It is said by travellers that in climbing 

the Alps the houses of far distant 

villages can be seen with great 

distinctness, so that sometimes the 

number of panes of glass in a church 

window can be counted. The distance 

looks so short that the place seems 

almost at hand, but after hours and 

hours of climbing, it looks no nearer 

yet. This is because of the clearness of 

the atmosphere. By perseverance, 

however, the place is reached at last, 

and the tired traveller finds rest. So 

sometimes we dwell in high altitudes 

of grace; heaven seems very near, and 

the hills of Beulah are in full view. At 

other times the clouds and fogs that 

come through suffering and sin, cut 

off our sight. We are just as near 

heaven in the one case as we are in the 

other, and we are just as sure of 

gaining it if we only keep in the path 

that Christ has trod. 

I have read that on the shores of the 

Adriatic Sea, the wives of fishermen, 

whose husbands have gone far out 

upon the deep, are in the habit of 

going down to the seashore at night 

and singing with their sweet voices 

the first verse of some beautiful hymn, 

After they have sung it they listen 

until they hear brought on the wind, 

across the sea, the second verse sung 

by their brave husbands as they are 

tossed by the gale-and both are happy. 

Perhaps, if we would listen, we too 

might hear on this sea-tossed world of 

ours, some sound, some whisper, 

borne from afar to tell us there is a 

heaven which is our home; and when 

we sing our hymns upon the shores of 

earth, perhaps we may hear their 

sweet echoes breaking in music upon 

the sands of time, and cheering the 

hearts of those who are pilgrims and 

strangers along the way. Yet we need 

to look up-out, beyond this low earth, 

and to build higher in our thoughts 

and actions, even here. 

…I think it takes a 

great deal more grace 

to suffer God’s will 

than it does to do 

God’s will; and if a 

person lies on a bed of 

sickness, and suffers 

cheerfully, it is just as 

acceptable to God as 

if they went out and 

worked in his 

vineyard. 

You know, when a man is going up in a 

balloon, he takes in sand as a ballast, 

and when he wants to mount a little 

higher, he throws out a little of the 

ballast, and then he will mount a little 

higher; he throws out a little more 

ballast, and he mounts still higher; 

and the higher he gets the more he 

throws out-and so the nearer we get to 

God the more we have to throw out of 

the things of this world. Let go of 

them; do not let us first set our hearts 

and affections on them, but do what 

the Master tells us: lay up for ourselves 

treasures in heaven. In England I was 

told of a lady who bad been bedridden 

for years. She was one of those saints 

that God polishes up for the kingdom; 

for I believe that there are a good 

many saints in this world that we 

never hear about; we never see their 

names heralded through the press; 

they live very near the Master; they 

live very near heaven; and I think it 

takes a great deal more grace to suffer 

God’s will than it does to do God’s will; 

and if a person lies on a bed of 

sickness, and suffers cheerfully, it is 

just as acceptable to God as if they 

went out and worked in his vineyard. 

Now, it was One of those saints, and a 

lady, who said that for a long time she 

used to have a great deal of pleasure 

in watching a bird that came to make 

its nest near her window. One year it 

came to make its nest, and it began to 

make it so low she was afraid 

something would happen to the 

young; and every day that she saw 

that bird busy at work making its 

nest, she kept saying, “O bird, build 

higher!” She could see that the bird 

was going to come to grief and 

disappointment. At last the bird got 

its nest done, and laid its eggs and 

hatched its young; and every morning 

the lady looked out to see if the nest 

was there, and she saw the old bird 

bringing food for the little ones, and 

she took a great deal of pleasure in 

looking at it. But one morning she 

woke up and she looked out and she 

saw nothing but feathers scattered all 

around, and she said, “Ah, the cat has 

got the old bird and all its young.” It 

would have been a mercy to have torn 

that nest down. That is what God does 

for us very often just snatches things 

away before it is to late. Now, I think 

that is what we want to say to church 

people: that if you build for time you 

will be disappointed. God says: Build 

up yonder. It is a good deal better to 

have life in Christ and God than 

anywhere else. I would rather have 

my life hid with Christ in God than be 

in Eden as Adam was. Adam might 

have remained in Paradise for 16,000 

years, and then fallen, but if ours is 

hid in Christ, how safe! ■

MARCH 2017 // CETF71 19 

What’s New? 

BOOKS 

THE GOOD SHEPHERD CALLS 

Roger Oakland 

An Urgent Message for the Last Days Church. The sheep have been led astray by shepherds 

who have neglected their calling. Roger has brought clarity to what this delusion looks like, why 

this is happening, where is it headed, and what can still be done. 

B557 

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30 YEARS A WATCHMAN SLAVE William Schnell 

This book is an account of how a Cult enslaved a man. William's story illustrates how false 

teachers crept in unawares. It would be wise to heed the warning, William says "Let my life be 

your warning“ 

B231 

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WE WOULD SEE JESUS 

Roy & Revell Hession 

Do you struggle with guilt or feel like God can't accept you as you are. It is easy to forget that 

nothing we do will make us more acceptable to God. Let your life be transformed as you learn to 

see Jesus. 

B556 

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PILGRIM'S PROGRESS Hardcover 

John Bunyan 

Bunyan's plan for his readers is for them to travel through this book as an adventure through the 

Christian Life. His imaginative text brings out the same practical necessary lessons that everyone 

needs to know. Beautifully presented, great as a gift. 

B91 

AU$25.00 

THE GOSPEL IN BONDS 

Pastor Georgi Vins 

Pastor Georgi Vins spent eight years in the gulags. But you won't hear about a man who was sorry 

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B552 

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SABBATH IN CHRIST 

Dale Ratzloff 

This book gives a thorough Biblical look at the Covenants, Law, and the Gospel on the Sabbath. It 

is a most readable book endorsed by leading theologians . 

B539 

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APPLES OF GOLD for small & Large 

Apple a day is a strong medicine to see your day right. These are daily 

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Large B554 AU$16.00 

Small B555 AU$14.00

20 

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DVDs 

HARRY POTTER REPACKAGED 

Jeremiah Films 

Millions have been mesmerised by the stories of the wizard in training, but questions must be asked about 

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DVD028 

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TRANSHUMANISM - Recreating Humanity 


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DVD545 

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FREEMASONRY - FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT 


What is so attractive about Freemasonry? Why are so many famous and important men involved? What are 

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in this revealing video. Uncover the spiritual and historical roots of Freemasonry and the truth that is helping 

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DVD533 

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UNWRAPPING CHRISTMAS 


Have you ever wondered why we decorate the Christmas tree, put up lights around the house, and why we 

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DVD534 

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DEVIL WORSHIP-The Rise of Satanism 


The startling expose of the frightening growth of Satanism. Why is Halloween so dangerous? Testamonies 

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THE BIBLE v THE BIBLE ACCORDING TO HOLLYWOOD 

Tom McMahon 

Many believers and Pastors say that Hollywood is finally doing Christianity a favour. But are these 

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GAME OVER-- It's not just a game. 

Carl Kerby Jnr 

Lifelong Gamer Carl Jnr takes a unique approach to many video games and systems by breaking down 

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OCCULT INVASION 

Dave Hunt 

You will see and hear many of the phenomena about which Dave speaks, such as ancestral worshippers, 

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DVD542 

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MARCH 2017 // CETF71 21 

5 Booklet Pack No 1 B550 $20.00 

Various authors 

1. The Alpha Course. 

Should Christians be comfortable 

with a program like this? 

2. Beth Moore & Priscilla Shirer. 

Their history of 

contemplative prayer. 

3. The "Message Bible" 

by Eugene Petersen 

4. "Ten Word of Faith" Doctrines 

weighed against scripture. 

5. Ten scriptural reasons why 

"Jesus Calling" is a 

dangerous book. 

DVDs 

AMAZING PROPHECIES 

Dave Hunt 

Dave not only proves that the Bible is God's Word and that it can be trusted, but he also refutes many of the 

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DVD539 

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DECPTION IN THE CHURCH 

Dave Hunt 

Where is it taking us? Dave explains the lies that have entered the Protestant evangelical church, namely 

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WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF OUR EXISTENCE 

Dave Hunt 

Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going? Dave gives solid evidence why science, 

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THE FALSE "UNITY" OF ECUMENISM 

Dave Hunt 

Dave addresses the issues of unity. Does it mean that people from different religions or Christian 

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THE RAPTURE-How close do you want to be? 

Dave Hunt 

Jesus promised "I will come again". The early Church believed that Christ would come at any moment. Do 

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THE RETURN OF CHRIST- How close are we? 

Dave Hunt 

Jesus will come again to gather His own and take them to Heaven. When will He do this? We can be sure 

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APOLOGETICS BOOKLETS 


Various authors 

1. Meditation, Pathway to 

wellness or Doorway to the 

Occult 

2. Chrislam,. The blending 

together of Islam & Christianity 

3. Be still and know that you are 

Not God 

4. Is your church doing Spiritual 

Formation 

5. A trip to India, To learn the truth 

about Hinduism & Yoga 


By Warren Smith 

1. Trusting God through it all 

2. Being thankful through it all 

3. Praising God through it all 

4. Remaining faithful through it all 

5. Remaining hopeful through it all

• CWM Catalogue 2015 www.cwm.org.au 

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MARCH 2017 // CETF71 23 

M 

The Shack 

A Biblical Examination Part 1 

K 

by James Smith 

The Shack is a novel written by 

William P. Young, and published in 

2007. Before turning his hand to 

writing, Young did many jobs to pay 

the bills, including being a janitor, 

office manager and construction 

worker. He even appeared on the 

American version of Who Wants to be 

a Millionaire in 2000, where he won 

$250,000.00. However, having already 

been through bankruptcy in 2004, the 

father of six was working three jobs at 

the time of The Shack first being 

published. He says it was originally 

just intended as a private gift for his 

children at a time when they could not 

afford to buy presents; a book he 

started writing to express to his 

children his feelings about God. He 

says he only expected the book to be 

read by his immediate family, and 

perhaps a few close friends. He 

scraped together enough money to get 

just 15 copies published, giving one to 

his wife, one to each of his six children, 

and the rest to close friends. But when 

his friends shared it with their friends, 

word (and demand) spread, and he 

began getting emails from people who 

wanted to discuss how the book had 

affected them. Seeking a way to 

handle the increasing demand for 

copies of his book, he approached an 

author he knew called Wayne 

Jacobson, who quickly became 

enchanted by Young’s novel. He in 

turn involved a friend called Brad 

Cummings, and between them agreed 

the novel would make an excellent 

movie. A plan was therefore hatched 

in order to make this happen. The 

beginning of the plan was for Jacobson 

to help Young rewrite The Shack with 

the hope and intention of it selling 

100,000 copies and capture the 

attention of Hollywood. Young claims 

that when hatching this plan, none of 

them had any idea just how difficult it 

was for a book to sell that number of 

copies, and that the average novel 

sells between 3,000 and 5,000 copies 

during its lifetime. 

After 18 months of editing and 

rewriting with the help of Jacobson, 

the finished novel was sent to 26 

publishers – half “religious” and half 

secular - none of which were initially 

interested, with Young saying of that 

time: Neither group could figure out 

what genre it was. The faith-based 

people thought it was too edgy, and the 

secular people thought it had too 

much Jesus in it. I got caught between 

edgy and Jesus. 

As a result of the lack of interest from 

established publishers, Jacobson and 

Cummings formed their own 

publishing company (called 

Windblown Media) just to publish; 

they were determined it would be a 

success and would be made into a 

movie. They initially ordered 10,000 

copies and sold them from Cumming’s 

home. Mainly thanks to its heavy 

promotion by Jacobson and Cummings 

on a religious podcast they hosted, 

book sales grew and grew and grew, 

with it selling 1.1 million copies 

between May 2007 and June 2008.

24 

cwm.org.au 

In February 2008, Young quit his day 

jobs and agreed to a deal with 

publisher Hachette to sell The Shack 

globally. The rest, as they say, is 

history. It hit the number one spot on 

the New York Times best seller list in 

June 2008 and stayed there for 49 

consecutive weeks. It has been on the 

best seller list for 136 weeks and was 

awarded the “Diamond Award” for 

sales over 10 million copies by the 

Evangelical Christian Publishers 

Association. To date it is reported to 

have sold over 20 million copies 

worldwide and has been translated 

into no less than 48 languages, making 

William P. Young a multi-millionaire. 

In 2013, Lionsgate Entertainment 

obtained the rights to turn the book 

into a film, thus accomplishing the 

long-term plan of Young, Jacobson 

and Cumming. The film is due to be 

released in cinemas in March 2017, 

with Sam Worthington (star of Avatar, 

Terminator Salvation, Clash of the 

Titans and Hacksaw Ridge) taking the 

lead role; it is big-budget. Due to the 

lack of a valid written agreement 

between the three men, a legal battle 

is said to have resulted in Young giving 

up any rights to the film in exchange 

for complete freedom and ownership 

of his work moving forward. 

Born in Grand Prairie, Alberta, 

Canada, Young was only a year old 

when he moved with his missionary 

parents to New Guinea. He was cared 

for during the day by members of the 

local Dani tribe in an area of New 

Guinea Young describes as Cannibal 

Valley. “They were spirit worshipping, 

warring and heavily family-systemed. 

They had some dark sides”, says Young 

in an interview. “They practised ritual 

cannibalism, elderly euthanasia, 

things like that”. Young recounts how 

members of the tribe sexually abused 

him, and was then subjected to the 

same abuse when sent to a boarding 

school in West Papua. 

In an interview originally published 

in the New York Post, Young explains, 

Credit: Dodson Studios 

Author of The Shack, William P. Young 

“Writing was the only way for my 

inside world to come out… I was 

writing [The Shack] really after a 

massive amount of work trying to deal 

with my own brokenness… Sexual 

abuse became part of the tearing 

apart of my own the fabric of the soul”. 

He explains the title of his book was a 

metaphor for “the house you build out 

of your own pain”. 

The Shack tells the traumatic story of 

a father of five named MacKenzie 

“Mack” Phillips who faces every 

parent’s worst nightmare during a 

family holiday, when his youngest 

daughter Missy is abducted and 

brutally murdered in an abandoned 

shack deep in the Oregon woods. 

Sounds like a horror movie so far, but 

that is hardly surprising when you 

The testimony of 

countless professing 

Christians is that 

Young’s novel has 

given them a deeper 

knowledge, 

understanding and 

appreciation of God… 

consider the personal experiences 

Young drew his influence from for 

writing The Shack. 

Four years after Missy is murdered, 

Mack is understandably still grieving 

for the loss of his youngest daughter 

and his life in freefall. But then he 

receives a note from “Papa”, who tells 

Mack that it’ has “been a while” and to 

meet him at the shack where Missy 

was so brutally murdered; Papa is the 

name Mack’s wife affectionately uses 

for God. Mack wonders if the note 

could be from his daughter’s killer, 

trying to taunt him, but curiosity gets 

the better of him, so he goes to the 

shack to investigate, and this is where 

most of the story takes place. 

Upon returning to where his daughter 

was so brutally taken from him, he 

realises the note is from God and Mack 

soon comes face to face with The 

Trinity. The shabby shack disappears 

and is replaced by a lush wonderland 

where he spends a weekend with the 

three persons of the Holy Trinity, 

trying to make sense of all the painful 

events of his life and hoping to get 

some answers to the questions that 

have haunted him in the years 

following Missy’s death; questions 

that any grieving parent would 

naturally want answers to, such as:

MARCH 2017 // CETF71 25 

How could God allow something like 

this to happen? Where was God in all 

this? Answers to questions that 

William P. Young was obviously 

searching for in his own life. 

To get an idea of the scale of the impact 

The Shack has had on people all you 

have to do is read a couple of the many 

reviews posted on Amazon: 

This book is truly amazing. Grabs hold 

of you and doesn’t let go. You go 

through a rollercoaster of emotions 

and learn a lot about the trinity along 

the way. 

I’ve read many many books but this 

one is very special. It was so special 

that I bought my daughter a copy and ] 

[it] has changed her life for the better 

as much as mine. Life changing! 

This is well worth reading. It has 

helped me to view the trinity in a 

better way. A must read for those 

who need confirmation that God 

loves us all. 

Amazingly written book that’s brought 

me closer to understanding God’s 

amazing love and grace and how he 

works in our lives. 

An amazing exploration of adult faith 

and belief. 

I truly believe this book was inspired. 

Young’s captivating description of 

what God is and expects from those 

who love Him has changed my 

conception and understanding of 

what I thought God wants from me. 

LOVED IT – bought multiple copies to 

give as gifts. A fresh perspective on 

building a relationship with and 

understanding our relationship with 

Jesus. Strangely enough some of the 

descriptions in the book made me 

think of the Matrix. 

Bear Grylls described The Shack as: 

Brilliant! One of the most faithenhancing 

books I have ever read. 

The Church Times review of The 

Shack declared: Bunyanesque…bold, 

imaginative, humane and funny. 

The Church Times was not the only 

review to draw a parallel with John 

Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. The 

front cover of The Shack has the 

following endorsement from Eugene 

Peterson, author of the best-selling 

Bible interpretation [1] , The Message: 

This book has the potential to do for 

our generation what John Bunyan’s 

Pilgrim’s Progress did for his. It’s 

that good! 

Is it really as good as Peterson claims? 

Is it fair to compare The Shack with 

Bunyan’s classic, Pilgrim’s Progress? 

As the above copy of the first edition 

cover confirms, the original title of 

the book was The Pilgrim’s Progress 

from This World to That Which Is to 

Come; Delivered under the Similitude 

of a Dream. Not the catchiest of titles, 

so it became known simply as 

Pilgrim’s Progress. 

Originally published in 1678, Pilgrim’s 

Progress is a fictional novel written by 

John Bunyan. It is regarded as one of 

the most significant works of religious 

English literature, has been translated 

into more than 200 languages, and has 

never been out of print. 

Bunyan began writing Pilgrim’s 

Progress while in the Bedfordshire 

county prison for violations of the 

Conventicle Act, which prohibited the 

holding of religious services outside 

the auspices of the established Church 

of England; he suffered persecution at 

the hands of the Church of England. 

The story is one long allegory for the 

Christian’s journey through life. 

Bunyan tells the story of the main 

character (called “Christian”) 

travelling from the City of Destruction 

to the Celestial City (heaven). Along 

the way he meets different characters 

such as Evangelist, Obstinate, Pliable, 

Help, Mr Worldly Wiseman, and many 

more, all of whom represent an aspect 

of what a Christian will typically 

experience through their life. On his 

journey, Christian visits such locations 

as the Slough of Despond, Vanity Fair, 

the Doubting Castle, and the Valley of 

the Shadow of Death. 

In Pilgrim’s Progress, Bunyan very 

skilfully uses a fictional story to 

convey his theology and beliefs about 

the world, humanity, God and our 

relationship with Him. Bunyan’s 

theology and beliefs on these vitally 

important issues are very solidly 

founded on the truth of Scripture, so 

what his fictional story illustrates 

and communicates is Biblical truth; 

so much so that I believe every 

Christian household should own both 

a copy of the adult and child version 

of Pilgrim’s Progress. 

In The Shack, William P. Young also 

uses a fictional story to convey his 

theology and beliefs about the world, 

humanity, God and our relationship 

with Him. The question is: Is 

Young’s theology founded on the

26 

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L-R: Jesus, Mack, Papa (God the Father), Sarayu (The Holy Spirit) 

Credit: hnttp://www.theshack.movie 

truth of Scripture; does his fictional 

story illustrate and communicate 

Biblical truth? 

The testimony of countless professing 

Christians is that Young’s novel has 

given them a deeper knowledge, 

understanding and appreciation of 

God, so surely the answer to the above 

question is yes; I know dozens of 

decent and sincere Christians who 

have a copy of The Shack on their 

bookshelf, even though they do not 

own a copy of Pilgrim’s Progress! 

However, rather than take anyone’s 

word for it, we should perhaps do what 

the apostle Paul commended the 

Bereans for doing (Acts 17:10), and 

search the Scriptures for ourselves to 

examine how Young’s teaching in The 

Shack compares with the Word of God; 

we should “test all things; hold fast to 

what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21), 

and we test all things against God’s 

perfect, inerrant and eternal truth. As 

followers of Christ, we are to “walk in 

the truth” (3 John 3), love the truth and 

believe the truth (2 Thessalonians 

2:10-12). We are to speak the truth, in 

contrast to “the cunning and craftiness 

of men in their deceitful scheming” 

(Ephesians 4:14). We are to speak the 

truth “in love” (Ephesians 4:32). 

Truth is far more than a moral guide. 

Jesus declared, “I am the way, the 

truth and the life, no one comes to the 

Father except through Me” (John 14:6). 

Jesus came full of grace and truth 

(John 1:14). Jesus is truth personified. 

He is the source of all truth, the 

embodiment of truth, and should 

therefore be our reference point for 

evaluating all claims of truth. Jesus 

takes truth personally. The phrase “I 

tell you the truth” appears 79 times in 

Scripture; spoken 78 times by Jesus. 

The Holy Spirit guides men into all 

truth (John 16:13). Christ’s disciples 

know the truth (John 8:32), do the 

truth (John 3:21), and abide in the 

truth (John 8:44). We are commanded 

to handle the truth accurately (2 

Timothy 2:25), and avoid doctrinal 

untruths (2 Timothy 2:18). The “belt of 

truth” holds together our spiritual 

armour (Ephesians 6:14). 

God “does not lie” (Titus 1:2). He is 

“the God of truth” (Psalm 31:5). “God is 

not a man, that he should lie, nor a son 

of man, that He should change His 

mind. Does He speak and then not act? 

Does He promise and not fulfil?” 

(Numbers 23:19). 

It is clear that God takes truth very 

seriously, and particularly truth about 

Himself and His gospel message, even 

if it is conveyed through a fictional 

story, and therefore we should treat it 

as seriously as God does. We should 

carefully test the truth of the 

theology William P. Young

MARCH 2017 // CETF71 27 



communicates in The Shack. The 

thing that has seemingly given 

countless Christians a better 

knowledge, understanding and 

appreciation of God is the way in 

which William P. Young portrays 

God in The Shack. An examination of 

this is therefore the appropriate 

place to start. 

In The Shack, William P. Young 

depicts the three persons of the Holy 

Trinity as follows: 

God the Father - a large African 

American black woman called Papa. 

Jesus - a Middle-Eastern looking man 

who runs around in dungarees and a 

tool-belt round his waist. 

Holy Spirit - an Asian woman called 

Sarayu. 

God the Father 

Firstly, the Word of God teaches that 

God the Father never takes on physical 

form, so for William P. Young to 

provide any physical representation of 

Him automatically goes beyond the 

realms of Biblical truth. John 4:24 

teaches that God is spirit. 1 Timothy 

6:15-16 describes God as …the blessed 

and only Potentate, the King of kings 

and Lord of lords, who alone has 

immortality, dwelling in 

unapproachable light, whom no man 

has seen or can see, to whom be 

honour and everlasting power. 

Secondly, not only does William P. 

Young portray God the Father in 

physical form, but he portrays Him as 

a woman. It is true that God is neither 

male nor female in the way humans 

are, and both feminine and masculine 

attributes are found in God. However, 

in the Bible God has chosen to reveal 

Himself as Father and never in the 

feminine gender. The gender 

distortion by Young confuses the 

nature of God. When the feminine 

attributes of God are described in the 

Bible, they are described in the context 

of God being like something, not 

actually being something. For 

example: God comforts his people like 

a mother comforts her child. 

(Isaiah 66:13). 

Like a woman would never forget her 

nursing child, God will not forget his 

children (Isaiah 49:15). 

God is like a mother eagle hovering 

over her young (Deuteronomy 32:11). 

God seeks the lost like a housekeeper, 

trying to find her lost coin. 

(Luke 15:8-10). 

God cares for his people like a midwife 

that cares for the child she just 

delivered (Psalm 22:9-10, Psalm 71:6, 

Isaiah 66:9). 

God experiences fury like that of a 

mother bear robbed of her cubs 

(Hosea 13:8). 

In addition to the many references to 

God being a husband (e.g. Isaiah 54:5; 

62:3-5; Hosea 2:14-17, 19, 20; 2 

Corinthians 11:2 and Revelation 19:7- 

9), Scripture contains approximately 

170 references to God as the “Father.” 

By necessity, one cannot be a husband 

or father unless one is male. If God 

had chosen to be revealed to humanity 

in a female form, then the word 

“mother” would have occurred in 

these places, not “father.” In the Old 

and New Testaments, masculine 

pronouns are used over and over again 

in reference to God. Therefore, 

Young’s depiction of God the Father as 

a woman does not provide a deeper 

insight into His nature and identity, it 

utterly confuses it. 

But there is more confusion… 

In the story, God the Father has scars 

on His wrists (page 95). This is 

contrary to Biblical teaching in which 

only Jesus became human and only 

Jesus died on the cross.

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On page 96, Papa says to Mack: Don’t 

ever think that what my son chose to 

do didn’t cost us dearly. Love always 

leaves a significant mark… we were 

there together (emphasis added). 

It is true the Father shared in the pain 

of Christ’s suffering, but God stood as 

the judge of sin, not the one who 

suffered on the cross. Christ bore the 

burden of our sins; God the Father was 

the judge who had to render His 

judgment on His Son. 

On page 99 of The Shack, God the 

Father says: When we three spoke 

ourselves into human existence as the 

Son of God, we became fully human… 

we now became flesh and blood. 

Young teaches that all three members 

of the Trinity became human, but the 

Word of God teaches that only the 

Son, not all members of the Trinity, 

became human. This distorts the 

uniqueness and teaching of the 

incarnation. It is the ancient heresy 

of modalism [2] , which claims that 

God is not three persons, but one who 

“manifests” Himself in three modes 

or “personas”. God plays the role of 

Father at times, Son at times and Holy 

Spirit at times. Tertullian stood 

against this heresy back in the third 

century. He created the term 

“Patripassianism,” from the Latin 

words patris for “father”, and passus 

for “to suffer” because it implied that 

the Father suffered on the Cross. In 

Against Praxeas he wrote: 

“By this Praxeas did a twofold 

service for the devil at Rome; he 

drove away prophecy, and he 

brought in heresy; he put to flight 

the Paraclete [Holy Spirit], and he 

crucified the Father. 

(emphasis added).” 

This is precisely what Young does to 

the Father in The Shack by giving 

Papa scars on her wrists. 

Young’s modalistic view of God is 

further illustrated by how Papa’s 

“persona” changes later in the book 

from a slightly overweight black 

woman to a man with “silver white 

hair pulled back into a ponytail, 

matched by a grey splashed moustache 

and goatee” (page 218). 

God the Son 

The first thing that is very telling is 

what is absent from The Shack, 

because nowhere in it will you find the 

word “Christ”. In the Bible, Jesus 

appears as a humble servant veiling 

His glory (Philippians 2). After the 

resurrection, Jesus retains His human 

nature and body but is revealed in a 

glorified state. He appears in his 

glorified and resurrected body and 

His glory is unveiled (Revelation 1). 

As the incarnate Son of God, Jesus 

retained His divine nature and 

attributes. His incarnation involved 

the addition of humanity, but not by 

subtracting His deity. During His 

incarnation He chose to restrict His 

use of His divine attributes, but there 

were occasions in which He exercised 

His divine attributes to demonstrate 

His authority over creation. However, 

in the Shack, “God” says to Mack: 

“Although he is also fully God, he 

has never drawn upon his nature as 

God to do anything. He has only 

lived out of his relationship with 

me, living in the very same manner 

that I desire to be in relationship 

with every human being. He is just 

the first to do it to the uttermost – 

the first to absolutely trust my life 

within him, the first to believe in 

my love and my goodness without 

regard for appearance or 

consequence.” 

“So when He healed the blind?” 


“He did so as a dependent, limited 

human being trusting in my life 

and power to be at work within him 

and through him. Jesus as a human 

being had no power within himself 

to heal anyone” (page 99-100). 

It is simply not true that Jesus “had no 

power within himself to heal anyone.” 

Jesus, as the incarnate Son of God, 

never ceased being God. He continued 

to possess full and complete deity

MARCH 2017 // CETF71 29 

before, during, and after the 

incarnation (Colossians 2:9). As an act 

of ultimate sacrifice and obedience, 

Jesus chose to submit Himself to the 

will and authority of the Father while 

fulfilling His ministry on earth. In 

contrast however, through the words 

of Young’s version of God, he teaches 

that Christ gave up His deity, or 

aspects of it, when He became human. 

This is a dangerous denial of a 

fundamental Christian doctrine 

regarding Jesus’ two natures: God and 

man. He is not half God and half man. 

He is 100% God and 100% man. Jesus 

never lost His divinity. The theological 

term for this doctrine is the Hypostatic 

Union, derived from the Greek word 

hupostasis, meaning “giving 

substance or reality to”. 

Jesus Christ referred to God as the 

Father several times and in other 

cases used masculine pronouns in 

reference to God. In the Gospels alone, 

Christ uses the term “Father” in direct 

reference to God nearly 160 times. Of 

particular interest is Christ’s 

statement in John 10:30, “I and the 

Father are one.” Clearly Jesus Christ 

came in the form of a human man to 

die on the cross as payment for the 

sins of the world. Like God the Father, 

Jesus was revealed to humanity in a 

male form. Scripture records 

numerous other instances where 

Christ utilised masculine nouns and 

pronouns in reference to God. 

The New Testament Epistles (from 

Acts to Revelation) contain nearly 900 

verses where the word theos —a 

masculine noun in the Greek—is used 

in direct reference to God. In countless 

references to the three persons of the 

Godhead in Scripture, there is clearly 

a consistent pattern of His being 

referred to with masculine titles, 

nouns, and pronouns, yet Young 

portrays only Jesus as being male. 

While God is not a man, He chose a 

masculine form in order to reveal 

Himself to humanity. Likewise, Jesus 

Christ, who is constantly referred to 

with masculine titles, nouns, and 

pronouns, took a male form while He 

walked on the earth. The prophets of 

the Old Testament and the apostles of 

the New Testament refer to both God 

and Jesus Christ with masculine 

names and titles. God chose to be 

revealed in this form in order for man 

to more easily grasp who He is, yet 

countless professing Christians claim 

that Young has provided deeper 

insight into the nature and character 

of God by depicting two of the three 

persons of the trinity as female. At 

what point does something cross the 

line from appearing to be blasphemous 

to actually being blasphemous? ■ 

Part 2 continued next issue 

Endnotes: 

[1] I deliberately use the term “interpretation” 

instead of translation, because Eugene 

Peterson’s Message Bible is not a translation, nor 

can it strictly be said to even be a paraphrase of 

the original languages of the Bible. Peterson has 

detoured so far away from the original Biblical 

text in so many ways, it is nothing more than an 

interpretation of what Eugene Peterson would 

like the Bible to say. It is such a perversion that I 

would openly describe it as being even more 

corrupted than the Jehovah’s Witness New World 

Translation (NWT). Why? Because no Christian 

would dream of using a NWT, but millions and 

millions of Christians readily use the Message 

every day as their main source of reading God’s 

Word. 

In an interview with Christianity Today, 

Peterson described the beginning of the creative 

process that produced The Message: 

I just kind of let go and became playful. And 

that was when the Sermon on the Mount 

started. I remember I was down in my 

basement study, and I did the Beatitudes in 

about ten minutes. And all of a sudden I 

realized this could work.” 

Aside from the impossibility of doing justice to 

the Sermon on the Mount in ten minutes, one 

wonders whether playfulness is the appropriate 

attitude for anyone sincerely attempting to 

“rightly divide the word of Truth” (2 Timothy 

2:15). Awe and reverence for a holy God and His 

holy Word, yes. Playfulness? No. 

One of the main (but by no means only) 

perversions in the Message is Peterson’s very 

deliberate insertion of New Age terms, motifs 

and philosophies. For further detail on this 

please refer to my article titled: Bible Versions: 

All Preaching the Same Message? 

[2] Modalism was an early heretical Christian 

movement beginning in the mid-second century, 

named after its founder, Montanus. The 

Montanists believed that their founder, together 

with the two prophetesses Priscilla and 

Maximilla, were in special and direct 

communion with the Holy Spirit in a ministry 

intended to purify the Church in preparation for 

the coming of Jesus Christ. Montanus himself 

claimed to be the Paraclete (return of the Holy 

Spirit) prophesied in John 14:26. The Montanist 

movement flourished in and around the region 

of Phrygia in contemporary Turkey, and also 

spread to other regions in the Roman Empire in 

the second and third centuries. The movement 

was also recognised for its practice of ecstatic 

worship in which its prophets channelled 

messages from God. 

God the Holy Spirit 

In The Shack, the Holy Spirit appears 

as an Asian woman named Sarayu. In 

contrast, the Holy Spirit never appears 

as a person in the Bible; there is one 

time when the Holy Spirit appears in 

physical form as a dove at the baptism 

of Jesus, but never as a person, and 

certainly not female. The Holy Spirit is 

never addressed in the feminine, but 

is always addressed with the 

masculine pronoun.

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-CHRIST- 

OUR PASSOVER 

Delivered on Sabbath Evening, 

December 2, 1855 by ch spurgeon 

“For even Christ our Passover is 

sacrificed for us.” (1 Corinthians 5:7) 

The more you read the Bible, 

and the more you meditate upon it, the 

more you will be astonished with it. 

He who is but a casual reader of the 

Bible, does not know the height, the 

depth, the length and breadth of the 

mighty meanings contained in its 

pages. There are certain times when I 

discover a new vein of thought, and I 

put my hand to my head and say in 

astonishment, “Oh, it is wonderful I 

never saw this before in the 

Scriptures.” You will find the 

Scriptures enlarge as you enter them; 

the more you study them the less you 

will appear to know of them, for they 

widen out as we approach them. 

Especially will you find this the case 

with the typical parts of God’s Word. 

Most of the historical books were 

intended to be types either of 

dispensations, or experiences, or 

offices of Jesus Christ. Study the Bible 

with this as a key, and you will not 

blame [poet George] Herbert when he 

calls it “not only the book of God, but 

the God of books.” One of the most 

interesting points of the Scriptures is 

their constant tendency to display 

Christ; and perhaps one of the most 

beautiful figures under which Jesus 

Christ is ever exhibited in sacred writ, 

is the Passover Paschal Lamb. It is 

Christ of whom we are about to speak 

tonight. 

Israel was in Egypt, in extreme 

bondage; the severity of their slavery 

had continually increased till it was so 

oppressive that their incessant groans 

went up to heaven. God who avenges 

his own elect, though they cry day and 

night unto him, at last, determined 

that he would direct a fearful blow 

against Egypt’s king and Egypt’s 

nation, and deliver his own people. 

We can picture the anxieties and the 

anticipations of Israel, but we can 

scarcely sympathize with them, 

unless we as Christians have had the 

same deliverance from spiritual 

Egypt. Let us, brethren, go back to the 

day in our experience, when we abode 

in the land of Egypt, working in the 

brick-kilns of sin, toiling to make 

ourselves better, and finding it to be of 

no avail; let us recall that memorable 

night, the beginning of months, the 

In holy solemnity let 

our hearts approach 

that ancient supper; 

let us go back to 

Egypt’s darkness… 

commencement of a new life in our 

spirit, and the beginning of an 

altogether new era in our soul. The 

Word of God struck the blow at our 

sin; he gave us Jesus Christ our 

sacrifice; and in that night we went 

out of Egypt. Though we have passed 

through the wilderness since then, 

and have fought the Amalekites, have 

trodden on the fiery serpent, have 

been scorched by the heat and frozen 

by the snows, yet we have never since 

that time gone back to Egypt; although 

our hearts may sometimes have 

desired the leeks, the onions, and the 

flesh-pots of Egypt, yet we have never 

been brought into slavery since then. 

Come, let us keep the Passover this 

night, and think of the night when the 

Lord delivered us out of Egypt. Let us 

behold our Saviour Jesus as the 

Paschal Lamb on which we feed; yea, 

let us not only look at him as such, but 

let us sit down tonight at his table, let 

us eat of his flesh and drink of his 

blood; for his flesh is meat indeed, and 

his blood is drink indeed. In holy 

solemnity let our hearts approach that 

ancient supper; let us go back to 

Egypt’s darkness, and by holy 

contemplation behold, instead of the 

destroying angel, the angel of the 

covenant, at the head of the feast — 

”the Lamb of God which taketh away 

the sins of the world.” 

I shall not have time tonight to enter 

into the whole history and mystery of 

the Passover; you will not understand 

me to be tonight preaching 

concerning the whole of it; but a few 

prominent points therein as a part of 

them. It would require a dozen 

sermons to do so; in fact a book as 

large as [Joseph] Caryl’s [commentary] 

upon Job—if we could find a divine 

equally prolix (i.e. lengthy/verbose) 

and equally sensible. But we shall 

first of all look at the Lord Jesus 

Christ, and show how he corresponds 

with the Paschal Lamb, and 

endeavour to bring you to the two

MARCH 2017 // CETF71 31 

Oil painting of the author: Charles Haddon Spurgeon 

“A humble man before his foes, 

a weary man and full of woes.” 

What tortures the sheepish race have 

received from us! how are they, 

though innocent, continually 

slaughtered for our food! Their skin is 

dragged from their backs, their wool 

is shorn to give us a garment. And so 

the Lord Jesus Christ, our glorious 

Master, doth give us his garments that 

we may be clothed with them; he is 

rent asunder for us; his very blood is 

poured out for our sins; harmless and 

holy, a glorious sacrifice for the sins of 

all his children. Thus the Paschal 

Lamb might well convey to the pious 

Hebrew the person of a suffering, 

silent, patient, harmless Messiah. 

Credit: Alexander Melville 

points—of having his blood sprinkled 

on you, and having fed on him. 

I. First, then, JESUS CHRIST IS 

TYPIFIED HERE UNDER THE 

PASCHAL LAMB; and should there be 

one of the seed of Abraham here who 

has never seen Christ to be the 

Messiah, I beg his special attention to 

that which I am to advance, when I 

speak of the Lord Jesus as none other 

than the Lamb of God slain for the 

deliverance of his chosen people. 

Follow me with your Bibles, and open 

first at the 12th chapter of Exodus. 

We commence, first of all, with the 

victim—the lamb. How fine a picture 

of Christ. No other creature could so 

well have typified him who was holy, 

harmless, undefiled, and separate 

from sinners. Being also the emblem 

of sacrifice, it most sweetly portrayed 

our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 

Search natural history through, and 

though you will find other emblems 

which set forth different 

characteristics of his nature, and 

admirably display him to our souls, 

yet there is none which seems so 

appropriate to the person of our 

beloved Lord as that of the Lamb. A 

child would at once perceive the 

likeness between a lamb and Jesus 

Christ, so gentle and innocent, so 

mild and harmless, neither hurting 

others, nor seeming to have the 

power to resent an injury. 

Look further down. It was a lamb 

without blemish. A blemished lamb, if 

it had the smallest speck of disease, 

the least wound, would not have been 

allowed for a Passover. The priest 

would not have suffered it to be 

slaughtered, nor would God have 

accepted the sacrifice at his hands. It 

must be a lamb without blemish. And 

was not Jesus Christ even such from 

his birth? Unblemished, born of the 

pure virgin Mary, begotten of the Holy 

Ghost, without a taint of sin; his soul 

was pure, and spotless as the driven 

snow, white, clear, perfect; and his 

life was the same. In him was no sin. 

He took our infirmities and bore our 

sorrows on the cross. He was in all 

points tempted as we are, but there 

was that sweet exception, “yet without 

sin.” A lamb without blemish. Ye who 

have known the Lord, who have tasted 

of his grace, who have held fellowship 

with him, doth not your heart 

acknowledge that he is a lamb without 

blemish? Can ye find any fault with 

your Saviour? Have you ought to lay to 

his charge? Hath his truthfulness 

departed? Have his words been 

broken? Have his promises failed? 

Has he forgotten his engagements? 

And, in any respect, can you find in 

him any blemish? Ah, no! he is the 

unblemished lamb, the pure, the

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spotless, the immaculate, “the Lamb 

of God who taketh away the sin of the 

world;” and in him there is no sin. 

Go on further down the chapter. “Your 

lamb shall be without blemish, a male 

of the first year.” I need not stop to 

consider the reason why the male was 

chosen; we only note that it was to be a 

male of the first year. Then it was in its 

prime then its strength was 

unexhausted, then its power was just 

ripened into maturity and perfection, 

God would not have an untimely fruit. 

God would not have that offered which 

had not come to maturity. And so our 

Lord Jesus Christ had just come to the 

ripeness of manhood when he was 

offered. At 33 years of age was he 

sacrificed for our sins; he was then 

hale [healthy] and strong, although 

his body may have been emaciated by 

suffering, and his face more marred 

than that of any other man, yet was he 

then in the perfection of manhood. 

Methinks I see him then. His goodly 

beard flowing down upon his breast; I 

see him with his eyes full of genius, 

his form erect, his mien [appearance] 

majestic, his energy entire, his whole 

frame in full development—a real 

man, a magnificent man—fairer than 

the sons of men; a Lamb not only 

without blemish, but with all his 

powers fully brought out. Such was 

Jesus Christ—a Lamb of the first year— 

not a boy, not a lad, not a young man, 

but a full man, that he might give his 

soul unto us. He did not give himself to 

die for us when he was a youth, for he 

would not then have given all he was 

to be; he did not give himself to die for 

us when he was in old age, for then 

would he have given himself when he 

was in decay; but just in his maturity, 

in his very prime, then Jesus Christ 

our Passover was sacrificed for us. 

And, moreover, at the time of his 

death, Christ was full of life, for we 

are informed by one of the evangelists 

that “he cried with a loud voice and 

gave up the ghost.” This is a sign that 

Jesus did not die through weakness, 

nor through decay of nature. His soul 

was strong within him; he was still the 

Lamb of the first year. Still was he 

mighty; he could, if he pleased, even 

on the cross, have unlocked his hands 

from their iron bolts; and descending 

from the tree of infamy, have driven 

his astonished foes before him, like 

deer scattered by a lion, yet did he 

meekly yield obedience unto death. 

My soul; canst thou not see thy Jesus 

here, the unblemished Lamb of the 

first year, strong and mighty? And, O 

my heart! does not the thought rise 

up—if Jesus consecrated himself to 

thee when he was thus in all his 

strength and vigour, should not I in 

youth dedicate myself to him? And if I 

am in manhood, how am I doubly 

bound to give my strength to him? And 

if I am in old age, still should I seek 

while the little remains, to consecrate 

that little to him. If he gave his all to 

me, which was much, should I not give 

my little all to him? Should I not feel 

bound to consecrate myself entirely to 

his service, to lay body, soul, and 

spirit, time, talents, all upon his altar. 

And though I am not an unblemished 

lamb, yet I am happy that as the 

leavened cake was accepted with the 

sacrifice, though never burned with 

it—I, though a leavened cake, may be 

offered on the altar with my Lord and 

Saviour, the Lord’s burnt offering, and 

so, though impure, and full of leaven, 

I may be accepted in the beloved, an 

offering of a sweet savour, acceptable 

unto the Lord my God. Here is Jesus, 

beloved, a Lamb without blemish, a 

Lamb of the first year! 

The subject now expands and the 

interest deepens. Let me have your 

very serious consideration to the next 

point, which has much gratified me in 

its discovery and which will instruct 

you in the relation. In the 6th verse of 

the 12th chapter of Exodus we are told 

that this lamb which should be offered 

at the Passover was to be selected four 

days before its sacrifice, and to be 

kept apart:—“In the tenth day of this 

month they shall take to them every 

man a lamb, according to the house of 

their fathers, a lamb for an house: and 

if the household be too little for the 

lamb, let him and his neighbour next 

unto his house take it according to the 

number of the souls; every man 

…if Jesus consecrated himself to thee when he 

was thus in all his strength and vigour, should 

not I in youth dedicate myself to him? And if I 

am in manhood, how am I doubly bound to give 

my strength to him? …should I not give my little 

all to him? 

according to his eating shall make 

your count for the lamb.” The 6th 

verse says, “And ye shall keep it until 

the fourteenth day of the same 

month.” For four days this lamb, 

chosen to be offered, was taken away 

from the rest of the flock and kept 

alone by itself, for two reasons: partly 

that by its constant bleatings they 

might be put in remembrance of the 

solemn feast which was to be 

celebrated; and moreover, that during 

the four days they might be quite 

assured that it had no blemish, for 

during that time it was subject to 

constant inspection, in order that they 

might be certain that it had no hurt or 

injury that would render it 

unacceptable to the Lord. And now, 

brethren, a remarkable fact flashes 

before you — just as this lamb was 

separated four days, the ancient 

allegories used to say that Christ was

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Credit: Antonio Ciseri 

separated four years. Four years after 

he left his father’s house he went into 

the wilderness, and was tempted of 

the devil. Four years after his baptism 

he was sacrificed for us. But there is 

another, better than that:—About four 

days before his crucifixion, Jesus 

Christ rode in triumph through the 

streets of Jerusalem. He was thus 

openly set apart as being distinct from 

mankind. He, on the ass, rode up to 

the temple, that all might see him to 

be Judah’s Lamb, chosen of God, and 

ordained from the foundation of the 

world. And what is more remarkable 

still, during those four days, you will 

see, if you turn to the Evangelists, at 

your leisure, that as much is recorded 

of what he did and said as through all 

the other part of his life. During those 

four days, he upbraided the fig tree, 

and straightway it withered; it was 

then that he drove the buyers and 

sellers from the temple; it was then 

that he rebuked the priests and elders, 

by telling them the similitude of the 

two sons, one of whom said he would 

go, and did not, and the other who said 

he would not go, and went; it was then 

that he narrated the parable of the 

husbandsmen, who slew those who 

Jesus is examined by Pilate 

He was tried by all 

classes and grades— 

Herodians, Pharisees, 

Sadducees, lawyers, 

and the common 

people. It was during 

these four days that 

he was examined: but 

how did he come 

forth? 

were sent to them; afterwards he gave 

the parable of the marriage of the 

king’s son. Then comes his parable 

concerning the man who went unto 

the feast, not having on a wedding 

garment; and then also, the parable 

concerning the ten virgins, five of 

whom were very wise, and five of 

whom were foolish; then comes the 

chapter of very striking denunciations 

against the Pharisees:—”Woe unto you 

O ye blind Pharisees! cleanse first that 

which is within the cup and platter;” 

and then also comes that long chapter 

of prophecy concerning what should 

happen at the siege of Jerusalem, and 

an account of the dissolution of the 

world: “Learn a parable of the fig-tree: 

when his branch is yet tender and 

putteth forth leaves, ye know that 

summer is nigh.: But I will not trouble 

you by telling you here that at the 

same time he gave them that splendid 

description of the day of judgment, 

when the sheep shall be divided from 

the goats. In fact, the most splendid 

utterances of Jesus were recorded as 

having taken place within these four 

days. Just as the lamb separated from 

its fellows, did bleat more than ever 

during the four days, so did Jesus 

during those four days speak more; 

and if you want to find a choice saying 

of Jesus, turn to the account of the last 

four days’ ministry to find it. There 

you will find that chapter, “Let not 

your hearts be troubled;” there also, 

his great prayer, “Father, I will;” and 

so on. The greatest things he did, he 

did in the last four days when he was 

set apart. 

And there is one more thing to which 

I beg your particular attention, and 

that is, that during those four days I 

told you that the lamb was subject to 

the closest scrutiny, so, also, during 

those four days, it is singular to relate, 

that Jesus Christ was examined by all 

classes of persons. It was during 

those four days that the lawyer asked 

him which was the greatest 

commandment? and he said, “Thou 

shalt love the Lord thy God with all 

thy heart and with all thy soul, and 

with all thy might; and thou shalt love 

thy neighbour as thyself.” It was then 

that the Herodians came and 

questioned him about the tribute 

money; it was then that the Pharisees 

tempted him; it was then also, [that] 

the Sadducees tried him upon the 

subject of the resurrection. He was 

tried by all classes and grades— 

Herodians, Pharisees, Sadducees, 

lawyers, and the common people. It 

was during these four days that he 

was examined: but how did he come 

forth? An immaculate Lamb! The

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officers said, “Never man spake like 

this man.” His foes found none who 

could even bear false witness against 

him, such as agreed together; and 

Pilate declared, “I find no fault in 

him.” He would not have been fit for 

the Paschal Lamb had a single 

blemish have been discovered, but “I 

find no fault in him,” was the 

utterance of the great chief 

magistrate, who thereby declared 

that the Lamb might be eaten at 

God’s Passover, the symbol and the 

means of the deliverance of God’s 

people. O beloved! you have only to 

study the Scriptures to find out 

wondrous things in them; you have 

only to search deeply, and you stand 

amazed at their richness. You will 

find God’s Word to be a very precious 

word; the more you live by it and 

study it, the more will it be endeared 

to your minds. 

But the next thing we must mark is the 

place where this lamb was to be killed, 

which peculiarly sets forth that it must 

be Jesus Christ. The first Passover was 

held in Egypt, the second Passover 

was held in the wilderness; but we do 

not read that there were more than 

these two Passovers celebrated until 

the Israelites came to Canaan. And 

then, if you turn to a passage in 

Deuteronomy, the 16th chapter, you 

will find that God no longer allowed 

them to slay the Lamb in their own 

houses but appointed a place for its 

celebration. In the wilderness, they 

brought their offerings to the 

tabernacle where the lamb was 

slaughtered; but at its first 

appointment in Egypt, of course they 

had no special place to which they 

took the lamb to be sacrificed. 

Afterwards, we read in the 16th of 

Deuteronomy, and the 5th verse, 

“Thou mayest not sacrifice the 

Passover within any of thy gates, 

which the Lord thy God giveth thee; 

but at the place which the Lord thy 

God shall chose to place his name in, 

there thou shalt sacrifice the Passover 

at even at the going down of the sun, at 

the season that thou camest forth out 

of Egypt.” It was in Jerusalem that 

men ought to worship, for salvation 

was of the Jews; there was God’s 

palace, there his altar smoked, and 

there only might the Paschal Lamb be 

killed. So was our blessed Lord led to 

Crucifixion was the 

only death which 

could answer all of 

these 

three 

requirements. And 

my faith receives 

great strength from 

the fact, that I see my 

Saviour not only as a 

fulfilment of the type, 

but the only one. 

Jerusalem. The infuriated throng 

dragged him along the city. In 

Jerusalem our Lamb was sacrificed 

for us; it was at the precise spot where 

God had ordained that it should be. 

Oh! if that mob who gathered round 

him at Nazareth had been able to push 

him headlong down the hill, then 

Christ could not have died at 

Jerusalem; but as he said, “a prophet 

cannot perish out of Jerusalem,” so 

was it true that the King of all prophets 

could not do otherwise — the 

prophecies concerning him would not 

have been fulfilled. “Thou shalt kill 

the lamb in the place the Lord thy God 

shall appoint.” He was sacrificed in 

the very place. Thus, again you have 

an incidental proof that Jesus Christ 

was the Paschal Lamb for his people. 

The next point is the manner of his 

death. I think the manner in which the 

lamb was to be offered so peculiarly 

sets forth the crucifixion of Christ, 

that no other kind of death could by 

any means have answered all the 

particulars set down here. First, the 

lamb was to be slaughtered, and its 

blood caught in a basin. Usually blood 

was caught in a golden basin. Then, as 

soon as it was taken, the priest 

standing by the altar on which the fat 

was burning, threw the blood on the 

fire or cast it at the foot of the altar. 

You may guess what a scene it was. 

Ten thousand lambs sacrificed, and 

the blood poured out in a purple river. 

Next, the lamb was to be roasted; but it 

was not to have a bone of its body 

broken. Now I do say, there is nothing 

but crucifixion which can answer all 

these three things. Crucifixion has in 

it the shedding of blood—the hands 

and feet were pierced. It has in it the 

idea of roasting, for roasting signifies 

a long torment, and as the lamb was 

for a long time before the fire, so 

Christ, in crucifixion, was for a long 

time exposed to a broiling sun, and all 

the other pains which crucifixion 

engenders. Moreover not a bone was 

broken; which could not have been the 

case with any other punishment. 

Suppose it had been possible to put 

Christ to death in any other way. 

Sometimes the Romans put criminals 

to death by decapitation; but by a such 

death the neck is broken. Many 

martyrs were put to death by having a 

sword pierced through them; but, 

while that would have been a bloody 

death, and not a bone broken 

necessarily, the torment would not 

have been long enough to have been 

pictured by the roasting. So that, take 

whatever punishment you will—take 

hanging, which sometimes the 

Romans practised in the form of 

strangling, that mode of punishment 

does not involve shedding of blood, 

and consequently the requirements 

would not have been answered. And I 

do think, any intelligent Jew, reading 

through this account of the Passover, 

and then looking at the crucifixion, 

must be struck by the fact that the 

penalty and death of the cross by 

which Christ suffered, must have 

taken in all these three things. There 

was blood-shedding; the long 

continued suffering—the roasting of

MARCH 2017 // CETF71 35 

torture; and then added to that, 

singularly enough, by God’s 

providence not a bone was broken, but 

the body was taken down from the 

cross intact. Some may say that 

burning might have answered the 

matter; but there would not have been 

a shedding of blood in that case, and 

the bones would have been virtually 

broken in the fire. Besides the body 

would not have been preserved entire. 

Crucifixion was the only death which 

could answer all of these three 

requirements. And my faith receives 

great strength from the fact, that I see 

my Saviour not only as a fulfilment of 

the type, but the only one. My heart 

rejoices to look on him whom I have 

pierced, and see his blood, as the 

lamb’s blood, sprinkled on my lintel 

and my doorpost, and see his bones 

unbroken, and to believe that not a 

bone of his spiritual body shall be 

broken hereafter; and rejoice, also, to 

see him roasted in the fire, because 

…his blood must be 

on our right hand to 

be our constant guard, 

and on our left to be 

our continual support. 

thereby I see that he satisfied God for 

that roasting which I ought to have 

suffered in the torment of hell forever 

and ever. 

Christian! I would that I had words 

to depict in better language; but, as it 

is, I give thee the undigested 

thoughts, which thou mayest take 

home and live upon during the week; 

for thou wilt find this Paschal Lamb 

to be an hourly feast, as well as 

supper, and thou mayest feed upon it 

continually, till thou comest to the 

mount of God, where thou shalt see 

him as he is, and worship him in the 

Lamb in the midst thereof. 

II. HOW WE DERIVE BENEFIT FROM 

THE BLOOD OF CHRIST. Christ our 

Credit:http://associate.com/photos/Bible-Pictures--1897-W-A-Foster/ 

Passover is slain for us. The Jew could 

not say that; he could say, a lamb, but 

“the Lamb,” even “Christ our 

Passover,” was not yet become a 

victim. And here are some of my 

hearers within these walls tonight 

who cannot say “Christ our Passover is 

slain for us.” But glory be to God! some 

of us can. There are not a few here who 

have laid their hands upon the glorious 

Scapegoat; and now they can put their 

hands upon the Lamb also, and they 

can say, “Yes; it is true, he is not only 

slain, but Christ our Passover is slain 

for us.” We derive benefit from the 

death of Christ in two modes: first, by 

having his blood sprinkled on us for 

our redemption; secondly, by our 

eating his flesh for food, regeneration 

and sanctification. The first aspect in 

which a sinner views Jesus is that of a 

lamb slain, whose blood is sprinkled 

on the doorpost and on the lintel. Note 

the fact, that the blood was never 

sprinkled on the threshold. It was 

sprinkled on the lintel, the top of the 

door, on the side-post, but never on 

the threshold, for woe unto him who 

trampleth under foot the blood of the 

Son of God! Even the priest of Dagon 

trod not on the threshold of his god, 

much less will the Christian trample 

under foot the blood of the Paschal 

Lamb. But his blood must be on our 

right hand to be our constant guard, 

and on our left to be our continual 

support. We want to have Jesus Christ 

sprinkled on us. As I told you before, it 

is not alone the blood of Christ poured 

out on Calvary that saves a sinner; it is 

the blood of Christ sprinkled on the 

heart. Let us turn to the land of Zoan. 

Do you not think you behold the scene 

tonight! It is evening. The Egyptians 

are going homeward—little thinking 

of what is coming. But just as soon as 

the sun is set, a lamb is brought into 

every house. The Egyptian strangers 

passing by, say, “These Hebrews are 

about to keep a feast tonight,” and 

they retire to their houses utterly 

careless about it. The father of the 

Hebrew house takes his lamb, and 

examining it once more with anxious 

curiosity, looks it over from head to 

foot, to see if it has a blemish. He 

findeth none. “My son,” he says to one 

of them, “bring hither the bason.” It is 

held. He stabs the lamb, and the blood 

flows into the bason. Do you not think 

you see the sire, as he commands his 

matronly wife to roast the lamb before 

the fire! “Take heed,” he says, “that not 

a bone be broken.” Do you see her 

intense anxiety, as she puts it down to 

roast, lest a bone should be broken? 

Now, says the father, “bring a bunch of 

hyssop.” A child brings it. The father 

dips it into the blood. “Come here, my 

children, wife and all, and see what I

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am about to do.” He takes the hyssop 

in his hands, dips it in the blood, and 

sprinkles it across the lintel and the 

door-post. His children say, “What 

mean you by this ordinance?” He 

answers, “This night the Lord God will 

pass through to smite the Egyptians, 

and when he seeth the blood upon the 

lintel and on the two side posts, the 

Lord will pass over the door, and will 

not suffer the destroyer to come into 

your houses to smite you.” The thing is 

abroad.” A solemn silence is in the 

room, and they can almost hear the 

wings of the angel flap in the air as he 

passes their blood-marked door. “Be 

calm,” says the sire, “that blood will 

save you.” The shrieking increases. 

“Eat quickly, my children,” he says 

again, and in a moment the Egyptians 

coming, say, “Get thee hence! Get thee 

hence! We are not for the jewels that 

you have borrowed. You have brought 

death into our houses.” “Oh!” says a 

should disturb the air by its motion. 

All is still. God says, “Has thou sealed 

those that are mine?” “I have,” says 

Gabriel; “they are sealed by blood 

every one of them.” Then saith he 

next, “Sweep with thy sword of 

slaughter! Sweep the Earth! and send 

the unclothed, the unpurchased, the 

unwashed ones to the pit.” Oh! how 

shall we feel beloved, when for a 

moment we see that angel flap his 

wings? He is just about to fly, “But,” 

If we have the blood on us, we shall see the angel coming, we shall smile 

at him; we shall dare to come even to God’s face and say, “Great God! I’m 

clean! Through Jesus’ blood, I’m clean!” 

done; the lamb is cooked; the guests 

are set down to it; the father of the 

family has supplicated a blessing; they 

are sitting down to feast upon it. And 

mark how the old man carefully 

divides joint from joint, lest a bone 

should be broken; and he is particular 

that the smallest child of the family 

should have some of it to eat, for so the 

Lord hath commanded. Do you not 

think you see him as he tells them “it is 

a solemn night—make haste—in 

another hour we shall all go out of 

Egypt.” He looks at his hands, they are 

rough with labour, and clapping them, 

he cries, “I am not to be a slave any 

longer.” His eldest son, perhaps, has 

been smarting under the lash, and he 

says, “Son, you have had the taskmaster’s 

lash upon you this afternoon; 

but it is the last time you shall feel it.” 

He looks at them all, with tears in his 

eyes—”This is the night the Lord God 

will deliver you.” Do you see them 

with their hats on their heads, with 

their loins girt, and their staves in 

their hands? It is the dead of the night. 

Suddenly they hear a shriek! The 

father says, “Keep within doors, my 

children; you will know what it is in a 

moment.” Now another shriek — 

another shriek — shriek succeeds 

shriek: they hear perpetual wailing 

and lamentation. “Remain within,” 

says he, “the angel of death is flying 

mother, “Go! for God’s sake! go. My 

eldest son lies dead!” “Go!” says a 

father, “Go! and peace go with you. It 

were an ill day when your people came 

into Egypt, and our king began to slay 

your first-born, for God is punishing 

us for our cruelty.” Ah! see them 

leaving the land; the shrieks are still 

heard; the people are busy about their 

dead. As they go out, a son of Pharoah 

is taken away unembalmed, to be 

buried in one of the pyramids. 

Presently they see one of their taskmaster’s 

sons taken away. A happy 

night for them—when they escape! 

And do you see, my hearers, a glorious 

parallel? They had to sprinkle the 

blood, and also to eat the lamb. Ah! my 

soul, hast thou e’er had the blood 

sprinkled on thee? Canst thou say that 

Jesus Christ is thine? It is not enough 

to say “he loved the world, and gave 

his Son,” you must say, “He loved me, 

and gave himself for me.” There is 

another hour coming, dear friends, 

when we shall all stand before God’s 

bar; and then God will say, “Angel of 

death, thou once didst smite Egypt’s 

first born; thou knowest thy prey. 

Unsheath thy sword.” I behold the 

great gathering, you and I are standing 

amongst them. It is a solemn moment. 

All men stand in suspense. There is 

neither hum nor murmur. The very 

stars cease to shine lest the light 

will the doubt cross our minds 

“perhaps he will come to me?” Oh! no; 

we shall stand and look the angel full 

in his face. 

“Bold shall I stand in that great 

day! 

For who aught to my charge shall 

lay? 

While through thy blood absolved 

I am From sin’s tremendous curse 

and shame.” 

2nd Stanza, “Jesus, Thy Blood and 

Righteousness” by Ludwig von 

Zinzendorf (1700-1760). Translated by 

John Wesley (1703-1791) 

If we have the blood on us, we shall 

see the angel coming, we shall 

smile at him; we shall dare to come 

even to God’s face and say, “Great 

God! I’m clean! Through Jesus’ 

blood, I’m clean!” 

But if, my hearer, thine unwashen 

spirit shall stand unshriven before its 

maker, if thy guilty soul shall appear 

with all its black spots upon it, 

unsprinkled with the purple tide, how 

wilt thou speak when thou seest flash 

from the scabbard the angel’s sword 

swift for death, and winged for 

destruction, and when it shall cleave 

thee asunder? Methinks I see thee 

standing now. The angel is sweeping

MARCH 2017 // CETF71 37 

away a thousand there. There is one of 

thy pot companions. There one with 

whom thou didst dance and swear. 

There another, who after attending 

the same chapel like thee, was a 

despiser of religion. Now death comes 

nearer to thee. Just as when the reaper 

sweeps the field and the next ear 

trembles because its turn shall come 

next, I see a brother and a sister swept 

into the pit. Have I no blood upon me? 

Then, O rocks! it were kind of you to 

hide me. Ye have no benevolence in 

your arms. Mountains! let me find in 

your caverns some little shelter. But it 

is all in vain, for vengeance shall 

cleave the mountains and split the 

rocks open to find me out. Have I no 

blood? Have I no hope? Ah! no! he 

smites me. Eternal damnation is my 

horrible portion. The depth of the 

darkness of Egypt for thee, and the 

horrible torments of the pit from 

which none can escape! Ah! my dear 

hearers, could I preach as I could 

wish, could I speak to you without my 

lips and with my heart, then would I 

bid you seek that sprinkled blood, and 

urge you by the love of your own soul, 

by everything that is sacred and 

eternal, to labour to get this blood of 

Jesus sprinkled on your souls. It is the 

blood sprinkled that saves a sinner. 

But when the Christian gets the blood 

sprinkled, that is not all he wants. He 

wants something to feed upon. And, O 

sweet thought! Jesus Christ is not only 

a Saviour for sinners, but he is food for 

them after they are saved. The Paschal 

Lamb by faith we eat. We live on it. 

You may tell, my hearers, whether you 

have the blood sprinkled on the door 

by this: do you eat the Lamb? Suppose 

for a moment that one of the old Jews 

had said in his heart, “I do not see the 

use of this feasting. It is quite right to 

sprinkle the blood on the lintel or else 

the door will not be known; but what 

good is all this inside? We will have the 

lamb prepared, and we will not break 

his bones; but we will not eat of it.” 

And suppose he went and stored the 

lamb away. What would have been the 

consequence? Why, the angel of death 

would have smitten him as well as the 

rest, even if the blood had been upon 

him. And if, moreover, that old Jew 

had said, “there, we will have a little 

piece of it; but we will have something 

else to eat, we will have some 

unleavened bread; we will not turn the 

leaven out of our houses, but we will 

have some leavened bread.” If they 

had not consumed the lamb, but had 

reserved some of it, then the sword of 

the angel would have found the heart 

out as well as that of any other man. 

Oh! dear hearer, you may think you 

have the blood sprinkled, you may 

think you are just; but if you do not live 

on Christ as well as by Christ, you will 

never be saved by the Paschal Lamb. 

“Ah!” say some, “we know nothing of 

this.” Of course you don’t. When Jesus 

Christ said, “except ye eat my flesh, 

and drink my blood, ye have no life in 

you,” there were some that said, “This 

is a hard saying, who can heart it?” 

and many from that time went back— 

and walked no more with him. They 

The Angel of death did not spare the sons of Egypt 

Credit: Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema 1872

38 

cwm.org.au 

could not understand him; but, 

Christian, dost thou not understand 

it? Is not Jesus Christ thy daily food? 

And even with the bitter herbs, is he 

not sweet food? Some of you, my 

friends, who are true Christians, live 

too much on your changing frames 

and feelings, on your experiences 

and evidences. Now, that is all wrong. 

That is just as if a worshipper had 

gone to the tabernacle and began 

eating one of the coats that were worn 

by the priest. When a man lives on 

Christ’s righteousness, it is the same 

as eating Christ’s dress. When a man 

lives on his frames and feelings, that 

is as much as if the child of God 

should live on some tokens that he 

received in the sanctuary that never 

were meant for food, but only to 

comfort him a little. What the 

Christian lives on is not Christ’s 

righteousness, but Christ; he does not 

live on Christ’s pardon, but on Christ; 

and on Christ he lives daily, on 

nearness to Christ. Oh! I do love 

Christ-preaching. It is not the 

doctrine of justification that does my 

heart good, it is Christ, the justifier; it 

is not pardon that so much makes the 

Christian’s heart rejoice, it is Christ 

the pardoner; it is not election that I 

love half so much as my being chosen 

in Christ ere [i.e. before] worlds 

began; ay! it is not final perseverance 

that I love so much as the thought that 

in Christ my life is hid, and that since 

he gives unto his sheep eternal life, 

they shall never perish, neither shall 

any man pluck them out of his hand. 

Take care, Christian, to eat the 

Paschal Lamb and nothing else. I tell 

thee man, if thou eatest that alone, it 

will be like bread to thee—thy soul’s 

best food. If thou livest on aught else 

but the Saviour, thou art like one who 

seeks to live on some weed that grows 

in the desert, instead of eating the 

manna that comes down from 

heaven. Jesus is the manna. In Jesus 

as well as by Jesus we live. Now, dear 

friends, in coming to this table, we 

will keep the Paschal Supper. Once 

more, by faith, we will eat the Lamb, 

by holy trust we will come to a 

crucified Saviour, and feed on his 

blood, and righteousness, and 

atonement. 

And now, in concluding, let me ask 

you, are you hoping to be saved my 

friends? One says, “Well, I don’t hardly 

know; I hope to be saved, but I do not 

know how.” Do you know, you imagine 

I tell you a fiction, when I tell you that 

people are hoping to be saved by 

works, but it is not so, it is a reality. In 

travelling through the country I meet 

with all sorts of characters, but most 

But having no blood, 

or having blood 

mixed with anything 

else, thou art damned 

as thou art alive—for 

the angel shall slay 

thee, however good 

and righteous thou 

mayest be. 

frequently with self-righteous 

persons. How often do I meet with a 

man who thinks himself quite godly 

because he attends the church once on 

a Sunday, and who thinks himself 

quite righteous because he belongs to 

the Establishment; as a churchman 

said to me the other day, “I am a rigid 

churchman.” “I am glad of that,” I said 

to him, “because then you are a 

Calvinist, if you hold the ‘Articles.’” He 

replied “I don’t know about the 

‘Articles,’ I go more by the ‘Rubric.’ 

[i.e. rules/instructions]” And so I 

thought he was more of a formalist 

than a Christian. There are many 

persons like that in the world. Another 

says, “I believe I shall be saved. I don’t 

owe anybody anything; I have never 

been a bankrupt; I pay everybody 

twenty shillings in the pound; I never 

get drunk; and if I wrong anybody at 

any time, I try to make up for it by 

giving a pound a year to such-andsuch 

a society; I am as religious as 

most people; and I believe I shall be 

saved.” That will not do. It is as if some 

old Jew had said, “We don’t want the 

blood on the lintel, we have got a 

mahogany lintel; we don’t want the 

blood on the doorpost, we have a 

mahogany doorpost.” Ah! whatever it 

was, the angel would have smitten it if 

it had not had the blood upon it. You 

may be as righteous as you like: if you 

have not the blood sprinkled, all the 

goodness of your door-posts and 

lintels will be of no avail whatever. 

“Yes,” says another, “I am not trusting 

exactly there. I believe it is my duty to 

be as good as I can; but then I think 

Jesus Christ’s mercy will make up the 

rest. I try to be as righteous as 

circumstances allow; and I believe 

that whatever deficiencies there may 

be, Christ will make them up.” That is 

as if a Jew had said, “Child, bring me 

the blood,” and then, when that was 

brought, he had said, “bring me a ewer 

of water;” and then he had taken it and 

mixed it together, and sprinkled the 

door-post with it. Why, the angel 

would have smitten him as well as 

anyone else, for it is blood, blood, 

blood, blood! that saves. It is not blood 

mixed with the water of our poor 

works; it is blood, blood, blood, blood! 

and nothing else. And the only way of 

salvation is by blood. For, without the 

shedding of blood there is no remission 

of sin. Have [Christ’s] precious blood 

sprinkled upon you, my hearers; trust 

in [His] precious blood; let your hope 

be in a salvation sealed with an 

atonement of precious blood, and you 

are saved. But having no blood, or 

having blood mixed with anything 

else, thou art damned as thou art 

alive—for the angel shall slay thee, 

however good and righteous thou 

mayest be. Go home, then, and think 

of this: “Christ our Passover is 

sacrificed for us.” ■

MARCH 2017 // CETF71 39 

Continued from page 5 

example, the singing of hymns during 

services has developed into a 

traditional call and response in the 

Sesotho language. Indigenous 

religious beliefs also influence 

Songoma, a form of traditional 

medicine. 

There is a very high incidence of HIV/ 

AIDS in Lesotho which has resulted in 

an increasing number of orphans. 

The disease has ravaged the 

population wiping out mothers and 

fathers, leaving a society made up 

predominantly of grandparents and 

children. These orphans are cared for 

in a number of ways. Sometimes 

children are left in the care of relatives 

where often they become second rate 

members of the family and are not 

always treated with care and 

compassion. 

Other children end up in orphanages 

of varying reputations with the better 

ones facilitating international 

adoption. The locally run orphanages 

with little or no international 

financial support often struggle to 

care properly for the children. 

A large proportion of orphans end up 

in child-headed households, i.e. a 

situation where children bring up 

children. These orphans are largely 

left to fend for themselves. 

The McCartney family, of CWM 

Fellowship, spent five years in Lesotho 

from 2005 to 2010. During this time, 

they built close relationships with 

local Christians and became aware 

that the most effective way to provide 

support to the people of this nation is 

to liaise with these locals as opposed 

to working with Aid Agencies. They 

have made it possible for CWM 

Fellowship to provide support to Koili 

& Gerdien Moliko who are living and 

working in a village called Tebellong 

on the Senqu (Orange) river not far 

from Sekake (see map). Access to 

Tebellong is difficult in the wet season 

as crossing the Senqu can only be 

done by boat. Koili (himself an 

orphan) and Gerdien live life amongst 

the local community and have a heart 

to come alongside the orphans in the 

child-headed households in their 

midst. Gerdien has a desire to bring 

the Gospel to children in an 

educational setting. To that end she 

has set up a small pre-school which 

she hopes will expand. 

CWM’s mission support to Lesotho 

includes providing funding for Koili 

and Gerdien to put towards the 

construction of a new pre-school. 

They are in the process of acquiring a 

parcel of land for this facility. Funds 

for blankets and Sesotho language 

Bibles to be given to orphans. These 

are purchased and transported to 

Tebellong by Mission Aviation 

Felowship (MAF) Lesotho on the 

Fellowship’s behalf. 

Recently, the children at CWM 

Fellowship have been making Bible 

Bags that will be shipped to Tebellong 

along with the Bibles and blankets. It 

gets very cold in the mountains 

during the winter so the Blankets 

will be a very welcome help to keep 

the children warm. 

Thanks to everyone that have made 

donations to Lesotho, and to those 

who have volunteered their time 

working with the local communities 

and orphanages. 

Pure and undefiled religion in the 

sight of our God and Father is this: to 

visit orphans and widows in their 

distress, and to keep oneself unstained 

by the world. (James 1:27) ■ 

Capital City, Maseru

40 

cwm.org.au 

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t: 03 5146 0280 (within Australia) 

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+61 3 5146 0270 (outside Australia) 

e: cwm-au@cwm.org.au 

UNITED KINGDOM 

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Handsworth 

SHEFFIELD S13 9LB 

t: 0114 269 9554 

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WEBSITES 

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LETTERS TO EDITOR 

BY POST: P.O. Box 353, Loch Sport VIC 3851 

BY EMAIL : editor@cwm.org.au 

RESOURCES 

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media & books available, 

contact CWM Australia 

DONATIONS 

Please make payment to 

Christian Witness Ministries 

EDITOR 

B. MichaEL BIGG 

editor@cwm.org.au 

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NEXT ISSUE: 

Irredeemable 

So long as we are Christ’s, we are Secure ... but can we turn our back on Him? 

CETF Magazine is produced by Christian Witness Ministries, Brisbane. 

It is published quarterly and distributed worldwide.

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