Nesher Articles
Here is a collection of useful articles on various subjects of Christian interest. A summary of the article appears here, to access the full article, please click the appropriate button on the left.
The Apocrypha
Many old Bibles contain fourteen extra books which are not
usually seen
in modern Bibles. This has caused some people to think that the Word of
God has been tampered with in some way, or has changed over the years.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The Word of God was inspired
by God at the moment of writing, and has always been there ever since,
for the Christian to use as his final authority on what man is to
believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man.
These
fourteen books, otherwise known as the Apocrypha, seem to be making
some kind of comeback these days, one supporter of which is Dr Craig
Lampe. This booklet has been produced primarily to counteract his false
arguments, but it is also very useful in giving an overview of why it
is important to realise that the Apocrypha is not and has never been
the Word of God, and consequently we need not fret that anything is
missing from the true Word which we have in our Bibles today.
The Catechist Catechised
Infant
baptism is a much neglected doctrine these days. It seems as though it
is the sole realm of those who believe there is some kind of
superstitious element in it, whereby the infant is magically brought
into the kingdom of heaven simply by spashing water on its forehead.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Infants are the natural
recipients of baptism, as a mark of entry into the visible church; and
this has been the case for the whole of the life of the Christian
church, apart from a few aberrant sects here and there.
These
sects were rearing their ugly head in the 17th Century, and Richard
Hollingworth from Manchester wrote this article as a rebuff to an
Anabaptist catechism which had then been produced and was being
circulated.
Here
we see the answer to all the Anabaptists’ concerns, the true doctrine
of infant baptism being ably defended.
Divorce and Remarriage
The
subject of Divorce and Remarriage is being hotly debated these days. On
the one hand there are those who say that marriage is for life until
the death of one of the partners, so even if a divorce is necessary for
adultery, remarriage should not be possible under any circumstances as
long as the other party is alive. On the other hand, there are those
who say they follow the Westminster Confession of Faith, but allow for
remarriage after a lawful divorce for both parties. Both are wrong.
Here we have a clear picture of the true Biblical position on these
things, especially the state of the guilty party, which the Westminster
Confession does not deal with.
The state may be liberalising its views on this subject to give divorce
and remarriage “for every cause”, but that does not mean to
say that the church should follow it. The church should stick close to
Scripture, and that is what this booklet succeeds in doing.
Christian Hatred
Many
people think that the term “Christian Hatred” is an
oxymoron, believing that the Christian should never hate, and always
forgive everyone, everything unconditionally all the time. This is not
true, because there are things which God hates. “God is angry
with the wicked every day” (Psalm 7:11), and “The wicked
and him that loveth violence His soul hateth” (Psalm 11:5).
If
we are supposed to be growing to become more and more like Christ (who
is God), surely one of the attributes we should be seeing growth in
ourselves in, is godly hatred.
This article deals with this subject, and clearly shows that
the opinion of
the majority of Christians these days does not tally with Scripture. We
all need to change our ways with regards this matter.
Hypercalvinism
“Hypercalvinism”
is a derogatory term which is bandied about a lot these days, but what
does it mean? When the people who use this word are challenged on this,
we get many different answers, usually all dependent on which church
the antagonist is from. It is so easy to blindly follow what
one’s church teaches, rather than actually think through the
issues for oneself.
In
this article, we have a clear guide as to the truth about
Hypercalvinism, what the “Free Offer of the Gospel” really
is, and where the churches who claim to either support it or are very
much against it, are all going wrong. There is a middle path through
the quagmire, but few there be that find it. Here we seek to steer our
way through misunderstandings and misconceptions on the subject, and
bring a clear picture into view on the whole matter.
The Millennium
When
Christ came the first time, the Scribes and Pharisees were adamant that
they knew exactly how and when the Messiah would come, and what He
would be like. They were completely wrong. Many people and many
churches today are adamant that they know exactly how the Second Coming
of Christ will happen.
We do have some information about this in the Bible. It is not
wrong to
study this, in order to make ourselves ready "Ye know not when the time
is"
(Mark 13:33). But on the other hand, it is very foolish to pretend that
we know every last detail of this forthcoming event. Every theory is
just that – only ever a theory (like the "Theory of Evolution" or the
"Atomic Theory").
Here is presented another theory. The
writing of this article has been provoked by a feeling of
dissatisfaction with all the major theories found in the
churches and (frustratingly) preached in them as fact.
Postmillenialism, Amillennialism and Premillenialism are all found
wanting, and until someone can come up with a better theory from the
Biblical information we have, the one presented here must stand.
The Quest for Certainty
We are thoroughly convinced of the following:
- The 66 books of the Protestant Bible are the Word of God, every word of which (in the original languages) was inspired by God Himself.
- The Bible is the only source of truth.
- The need for the use of logic in order to analyse the text to see what can be deduced by good and necessary consequence from it.
- The Word of God (which is contained in the scriptures of the Old and New Testament) is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy Him.
But there is a problem. Not, we hasten to add, with the Word of God, but the problem is that God can ony communicate to us through the medium of language. Language is the problem, and this is why no-one can know the truth.
The Foundation of the Christian Religion gathered into Six Principles
Catechising
is a much neglected area in the modern church. Knowledge is despised
these days, and anyone who teaches their children the truths of the
Christian religion in this manner is thought of as strict and
particular.
But
we do not learn the doctrines of our Bibles (of which this Catechism is
an excellent summary), simply to be more knowledgeable than our
neighbour; rather we learn it so that we may know truth (which only is
contained in the Bible) and live our lives in accordance with it. We
are indeed sanctified by the truth (John 17:17).
The
original intention of William Perkins (1558-1602) was that this
Catechism was “to be learned of ignorant people, that they may be
fit to hear sermons with profit, and to receive the Lord’s Supper
with comfort.” And this is still our intention today, as we
republish this long forgotten work.
"I have heard him speak of his learning Mr Perkins’ Six Principles when he was very young” - Matthew Henry on his father Phillip (Life of Rev. Philip Henry p.3)
Psalms Only
The Presbyterian Reformed Church of Australia would say that
they subscribe to the Westminster Confession of Faith, and are
therefore claiming to be heirs of Presbyterian tradition. However, they
allow hymns to be sung in the public worship of their church, and do
not stop such uncommanded material from being accompanied by
instrumental music. Both of these are gross errors, and against the
Second Commandment, which forbids any religious worship not instituted
directly by God.
Here is a blow by blow answer to an original paper by
D.C. Shelton, which seems to be the final authority within the
Presbyterian Reformed Church as far as their allowing hymns to be sung
in public worship is concerned.
Edinburgh Guide
This guide takes the form of a walking tour of sites of Christian interest in and around Edinburgh.
Buy the Book
A book is now available containing most of the above articles.
£8.00 plus postage
