Sword & Trowel 2020: Issue 1
the Bible itself, its verbal inspiration, inerrancy, and its character as God’s Word to man rather than a record of man’s unfolding experience of God. The overwhelming majority of Free Church liberals would still have be- lieved in those fundamental doctrines of the faith that are confessed in the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed, and they still thought of them- selves as children of Luther, Calvin, and the Reformation. But they had unwittingly sapped the foundation of those beliefs by embracing a Higher Critical view of the Bible. How long (we may ask) can even a residually orthodox Christianity thrive, if the primary charter of that faith has been thrown to the critical wolves? When the new building for the
Free Church College in Edinburgh was completed and opened for busi- ness in 1850, Rabbi Duncan gave an inaugural lecture entitled – ‘The Theology of the Old Testament’. In the course of his lecture, Duncan gave the following warning: ‘It is to be feared that in the pre- sent day, a tendency, which in other churches and lands has produced the most [ruinous] effects – I mean the denial of the inspiration and permanent authority of the Old Tes- tament scriptures – may begin, nay in some quarters has begun, to show itself, in the form of at least a lamen- tably low estimate of the excellency and power of these oracles of God, which were given by inspiration, and are profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruc- tion in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto every good work.’
Duncan could hardly have sus- pected that his own church – so heroic, so faithful, so orthodox, so reformed – would very soon itself be swamped by this ruinous ten- dency. Perhaps we may feel inclined to blame Duncan and his orthodox brethren for not foreseeing what would happen in so short a time. That, however, might savour of theo- logical self- righteousness on our part. We might do better to ask concerning ourselves: do we see what is coming in our own churches, and are we pre- pared for it?
This and other lecctures from the School of Theology 2019 are available online at
www.MetropolitanTabernacle.org.
In November 2019, the Tabernacle’s branch Sunday School in Brixton held its first Prizegiving in its new location at Brixton Tabernacle. The service was held in the main sanctuary and 55 children attended along with 14 parents. Prizes were given out by the pastor of Brixton Tabernacle, Pastor Martin Humphrey. A good number of new children from the Stockwell area have started attending recently.
From Divine Revelation to Human Reason
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