Christ Crucified in a Fractured World
Dear brothers and sisters,
I don’t know about you, but I find myself asking more and more these days: what on earth is going on? Gender politics, the rise of Christian nationalism, the continued advance of Islam, and the very real pressures of fuel poverty and a stagnant jobs market all make for a rather confusing and concerning melting pot of current affairs. Sometimes it feels as though the world we thought we understood is changing before our eyes, and at a pace that’s difficult to keep up with.
I recently listened to Glen Scrivener, of Speak Life, discussing what he calls a “four-way fracture” opening up across the Western world. Drawing on the historian Tom Holland, he describes four competing visions of society that are increasingly pulling in different directions.
There is post-Christian liberalism, which continues to champion equality, compassion and human rights, while increasingly rejecting the Christian foundations from which those convictions arose. There is a return to something resembling the ancient, pre-Christian world, where power, strength and self-interest determine what is right. There is the growing influence of Islam, offering a very different religious and moral vision for society. And, interestingly, there are signs of a renewed interest in Christianity itself, as people begin to reconsider the faith which has so profoundly shaped Western civilisation. For much of the past eighty years, Western society has been held together by a shared moral consensus, shaped by the horrors of the Second World War and the determination that such evil should never be repeated. But that consensus is increasingly fracturing, and the question is what will take its place.
What particularly struck me was Scrivener’s observation that at the heart of it all lies the cross of Jesus Christ. The ancient world celebrated strength, conquest and power. But Christianity turned those assumptions upside down. Here was the Son of God, the Lord of glory, humbling himself to death upon a cross. Here was true greatness revealed in sacrificial love, and the dignity of the weak and vulnerable established through the astonishing mercy of God. The cross has shaped our civilisation far more profoundly than many today realise.
The apostle Paul’s rallying call is timeless and true – “We preach Christ crucified” (1 Corinthians 1:23).
That is the great task entrusted to the church. For all the confusion of our age, our calling remains unchanged. We are to proclaim Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, the only Saviour of sinners, and the one in whom alone true hope is found.
This was very much on my mind recently when I had the pleasure of attending the twentieth-anniversary celebrations of Cornhill Scotland. Beginning in 2006 with just twelve students, Cornhill has now spent twenty years serving churches across Scotland by training preachers and equipping men and women for Bible-teaching ministry. What a wonderful cause for thanksgiving! During the celebrations, David Jackman spoke about the essential work of biblical preaching, reminding us of the simple but invaluable discipline of stating, explaining and applying the Word of God. The preacher must make clear what the passage says, explain what it means, and bring its truth to bear upon the hearts and lives of those who hear it. That may sound straightforward enough, but what a vital task it is! The church needs men who will faithfully open the Scriptures, preach Christ and apply God’s truth to the lives of his people. Indeed, what greater service could we render to a confused and uncertain generation than to make known the living God through his living Word?
So let us give thanks for twenty years of Cornhill Scotland and pray that the Lord will continue to raise up faithful preachers of his Word. And let us pray for the ministry of the Word here at Gilcomston, that Christ would be clearly proclaimed, his people built up, and many brought to saving faith.
The future of Western society may be uncertain. But the gospel we have been entrusted with is not. Christ crucified remains “the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24).
Your Pastor and friend,
Nathan