April 2012

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April 5 : Horace Grant Underwood

5 April, 2012 in April 2012 by davidtmyers | No comments

This Day in Presbyterian History:   The Foreigners Who Loved Korea

One of the earliest foreign missionaries to Korea, and the first ordained one, Horace Grant Underwood definitely felt the call to be a missionary.  Born in London in 1859, he came to the United States with his parents when he was thirteen years of age.  Graduating from New York University in 1881, he entered graduate school at the Dutch Reformed Theological Seminary in New Brunswick, New Jersey.  After a brief time as a pastor, he thought that the hordes of unbelievers in India would be his calling. But the American Presbyterian Mission Board wanted him to go to Korea.  And so he submitted himself to his spiritual brethren, and traveled to the Far East.

Korea at that time wasn’t safe for foreigners, much less missionaries of the gospel.  So he spent some time in Japan first.  There he met a Korean Christian who taught him the Korean language as well as giving him a translation of the Gospel of Mark in Korean.  God was preparing him for his life-long work.

Landing in Inchon on Easter Sunday, April 5, 1885, he still lacked permission from the authorities to do mission work.  So he worked with  the medical center of missionary doctor  Horace Allen, teaching physics and chemistry.  That educational experience would be duplicated in the rest of his thirty-one year missions work in Korea.

Driven by an intense zeal for missionary work, Rev. Underwood would not only plant churches, but also created elementary schools in each district he visited.  If the need was a high school, then such a school would be begun.  An orphanage was organized the following year of 1886.  The higher grades were not neglected.  Chosun Christian College was organized in 1915, which is now called Yonsei University, one of the premier educational institutions in modern-day Korea.  Horace Underwood was the first president.

Pastor  Underwood was interested in communicating the gospel in their own language.  So the entire New Testament was translated in Korean in 1900 with the Old Testament in 1910.  A Korean hymnal was composed in 1894.

All of these missions work was done as a single missionary.  Lilias Horton, a medical doctor, came into his life before long.  After marriage,  he went on a joint honeymoon – missions a tour of Korea.  He preached the Word of God to their souls.  She healed their bodies with medicine.

Dr. Underwood died in Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1916.  True to his commitment to Korea, his body was transported to Korea to be buried in his adopted land.  His wife survived him by five years.  They were truly the foreigners who loved Korea.

Words to Live By:   The apostle Paul gave the original charge when he said in 1 Corinthians 9:22b, “I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.”  Try this week to so identify (but not of course in their sinfulness) with your lost relatives and neighbors so as to share the gospel with them.

Through the Scriptures:  2 Samuel 5 – 8

Through the Standards: (Note: In the next four days, we will look at the aggravation of sin.  Consider each aggravation prayerfully.  If it characterizes you, then confess it.  If it doesn’t apply to you, then rejoice, and be warned regarding it.)

Aggravation of sin in persons who offend

WLC 151
“Sins receive their aggravations, 1. From the persons offending; if they be of riper age, greater experience of grace, eminent for profession, gifts, place, office, guide to others, and whose example is likely to be followed by others.”

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April 4 : WSC Q. 22

4 April, 2012 in April 2012 by davidtmyers | No comments

This Day in Presbyterian History: 

Christ, the Son of God, became Man

Finding nothing of national importance in historic Presbyterianism [you should always feel free to remind us of important people or events], we turn to Shorter Catechism 22 for our devotional today.  It asks the question of the manner of the incarnation of Christ.  In answer, our Westminster divines state, “Christ, the Son of God, became man, by taking to himself a true body and a reasonable soul, being conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost, in the womb of the Virgin Mary, and born of  her, yet without sin.”

While not a historical event in American Presbyterianism, still the contents of this answer sum up the battle in Presbyterianism in the early nineteen twenties and thirties between the theological conservatives and liberals.  Was Christ the Son of God?  Was He conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost?  Was the Virgin Birth true?  All these were issues fought in the proverbial trenches of seminary class rooms and pulpits across the land.

This answer sums up biblical Christianity regarding the incarnation of Jesus Christ.  He, being the Son of God, became man “by taking to himself a true body.”  An ancient heresy was behind the inclusion of these words in this phrase.  Docetism in the early church taught that Jesus took to Himself only the appearance of a body.  Believing that all matter was essentially impure, they taught that our Lord’s body was not and could not be real flesh and blood.  John the apostle fought against this heresy when he wrote in 1 John 4:2, 3 “By this you may know (perceive and recognize) the Spirit of God: every spirit which acknowledges and confesses [the fact] that Jesus Christ (the Messiah) [actually] has become man and has come in the flesh is of God [has God for its source.]  And every spirit which does not acknowledge and confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh [but would annul, destroy, sever, disunite Him] is not of God [does not proceed from Him] is not of God [does not proceed from Him].  This [nonconfession is the [spirit] of the antichrist, [of] which you heard that it was coming, and now it is already in the world.” (Amplified)  The inspired apostle John says clearly that Docetism is heresy.  Our Confessional fathers state that the incarnation or the taking upon Himself a true body is biblical.

He has also taken upon Himself “a reasonable soul.”  Again, unless we have the  struggles of the early church in our mind and hearts, we will not understand the importance of this phrase.  This clause in the catechism was added due to the false teaching of Apollinaris.  He and his followers falsely suggested that Jesus had a body, but not a soul. They could not accept that Christ had human affections and a human will.  Yet every page of Scripture testifies of the reality of our Lord’s humanity.  He could rejoice and He could sorrow.  He could show compassion on the sheep without a shepherd. He had a human will distinct from a divine will, so that He could say with respect to the Father’s will regarding His atonement, “Not my will, but Thine be done.” (KJV – Matthew 26:39)

Then, we have the phrases in catechism number 22 which states, “being conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost, in the womb of the Virgin Mary, and born of her.”  These two phrases spoke loud and clear regarding the disbelief which was present in the Auburn Affirmation of 1924.  It is why J. Gresham Machen wrote his classic book, “The Virgin Birth of Christ.” Both Matthew 1 and Luke 1 both speak of the supernatural birth of our Lord and Savior.

We cannot miss the last phrase which states, “and yet without sin.”  He escaped being defiled with original sin by being born of the Virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit.  He who knew no sin, became sin for us, as our sins were imputed to Him.

Words to Live By: A memorization of this catechism answer will keep you in the faith and keep you from departing the faith.

Through the Scriptures:  2 Samuel 1 – 4

Through the Standards: The degrees of sin

WLC 150 — “Are all transgressions of the law of God equally heinous in themselves, and in the sight of God?
A. All transgressions of the law of God are not equally heinous; but some sins in themselves, and by reason of several aggravations, are more heinous in the sigh of God than others.”

WSC 83 — “Are all transgressions of the law equally heinous?
A. Some sins in themselves, and by reason of several aggravations, are more heinous in the sight of God than others.”

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April 3 : Rev. Matthew Hill

3 April, 2012 in April 2012 by davidtmyers | No comments

This Day in Presbyterian History: 

Come Over and Help Us

The first two Presbyterian ministers to come to the middle parts of the American colonies were Francis Doughty and Matthew Hill. The former had immigrated from Massachusetts in 1637 where his Presbyterian and Reformed convictions brought him into difficulty with the Independents in that colony.  He, his elder, and some of the Presbyterian adherents found refuge among the Dutch in Long Island, later New York, where they sought to establish another Presbyterian church.  It was successfully begun in 1642, but a war with the Indians caused the whole congregation to move to Manhattan for safety.  Francis Doughty became the first Presbyterian pastor to minister in the city of New York.  For the next five years, he would minister not only to Presbyterians on that island, but also to tiny groups of Presbyterians in Maryland and Virginia.  It was said that he carried on his Master’s work in spite of difficulties of every kind.

Matthew Hill later continued the work that Doughty began.  Born in England, Rev. Hill labored there after college until the Church of England forced him out of the ministry.  Moving to the colonies with a Bible,  a concordance, and a few clothes, he began his ministry in Maryland in 1669.  On April 3 of that same year, he wrote a letter to Richard Baxter in England with a plea regarding  the wide and effective door for ministry in the new land.  Listen to some of his words:

“Divine providence hath been pleased to land my foot on a province of Virginia called Maryland. Under (this) government, we have enjoyed a great deal of liberty.  We have many of the Reformed religion who have a long while lived as sheep without a shepherd.  We have room for more ministers because we are where the people and the plantations are the thickest.  It is judged by some, that two or three itinerant preachers with no dependence on the people for maintenance would be eminently instrumental among them. We cannot but judge it (as a ) duty to come over and help us.  Sir, I hope your own inclination will be advocate enough to plead the cause of this poor people and engage you to improve your interest on our behalf with some of our brethren in the work of the Lord.”

Pleading in words similar to the original “Macedonian call,” Matthew Hill evidenced the heart of a true missionary in asking this influential Reformed pastor in England to send all the ministerial help they could use.  And speaking from the advantage hindsight, knowing the history that effort, we know that much help did come in the way of both ministers and members to advance the cause of Christ through the Presbyterian faith.

Words to Live By:  Our Lord Jesus said to his disciples in Matthew 9:37, 37, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (ESV)  Each of us should be earnest in prayer, but we would particular invite those among our readers who are now retired to take up a special concern, praying that the Lord will literally thrust out laborers into the spiritual fields which are white unto harvest.

Through the Scriptures:  1 Samuel 29 – 31

Through the Standards: The state of sin

WCF 9:3
“Man, by his fall into a state of sin, has wholly lost all ability of will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation: so as, a natural man, being altogether averse from that good, and dead in sin, is not able, by his own strength, to convert himself, or to prepare himself thereunto.”

WLC 149 —  “Is any man able perfectly to keep the commandments of God?
A. No man is able, either of himself, or by any grace received in this life, perfectly to keep the commandments of God; but does daily break them in thought, word, and deed.”

WSC 82 — “Is any man able perfectly to keep the commandments of God?
A. No mere man since the fall is able in this life perfectly to keep the commandments of God, but does daily break them in thought, words, and deed.”

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April 2 : Rev. John Henderson Symmes

2 April, 2012 in April 2012 by davidtmyers | No comments

This Day in Presbyterian History:  

While Strong in  Convictions, He was Mild in their Utterance

What does one do when your congregation takes one side of a national political issue, and you, the pastor of the congregation, takes the other?  Such was the question of the Rev. John Henderson Symmes in 1862 in Cumberland, Maryland.

Symmes was born in Vermont in 1801.  He received  his preparatory education in the schools of his region before studying theology in the Philadelphia Seminary in Pennsylvania.  This was unusual in that he had not yet gone to college.  Nevertheless, he was licensed in 1827 by the Presbytery of Philadelphia.  Then he went to an undergraduate school and graduated from Dartmouth College in 1830.  Filling various empty pulpits in New England and Pennsylvania, he finally was ordained in 1831 as a home missionary in the Reformed Presbyterian Church.  He was the pastor of several churches in Pennsylvania and New York before he became the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Cumberland, Maryland in 1845.  That was where his troubles would begin.

Maryland was a border state in the civil war which divided the nation of America in 1861. Some twenty-thousand Marylanders fought for the Confederacy, with tens of thousands more fighting for the Union.  Often from the same county of Maryland, brothers  fought against brothers, and fathers fought against sons.  So it wasn’t at all unusual for this Presbyterian pastor, even though he had been their spiritual shepherd for seven years, to be at odds with the families of wealth and influence on this matter of the War Between the States. They were Confederate in their allegiances.  He was a strong Union man. So on April 2, 1862, he resigned from the pulpit of the First Presbyterian Church in Cumberland, Maryland.

To further prove his loyalty to the North, he became the chaplain of the Second Regiment of the  Maryland Volunteer Infantry, serving as spiritual guide to the soldiers of that Civil War unit.  This military outfit would serve their nation until the end of the conflict, fighting in fifteen battles and countless skirmishes.  Two hundred and twenty-six men became casualties of their three-year term of service.  Chaplain Symmes was with them til the end of the civil war.

In 1867, he continued on his civilian pastorate at a Presbyterian church in Pennsylvania.  He departed this life in 1874.

In Glasgow’s history of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in America, Rev. Symmes is described as possessing a kind and genial disposition.  He was a most eloquent preacher, and drew for the instruction of his listeners many truths for their edification.   But the best description is that which forms the title of this historical study, namely, “while strong in his convictions, he was mild in the utterance of them.”

Words to Live By:  Strong convictions!  But mild in his utterance of them!  May we have many more, even you reader, who will have this said of you by others.  Consider Paul’s words in 2 Timothy 2:24 – 26 “And the Lord’s servants must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness.  God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by  him to do his will.” (ESV)

Through the Scriptures:  1 Samuel 25 – 28

Through the Standards: The state of innocency

WCF 9:2
“Man, in his state of innocency, had freedom, and power to will and to do that which was good and well pleasing to God; but yet, mutably, so that he might fall from it.”

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April 1 : More on the Machen Trial

1 April, 2012 in April 2012 by archivist | 2 comments

This Day in Presbyterian History:  

 A Question of Jurisdiction

It seemed to be a mere administrative matter between presbyteries.  Anyone who has been a member of these this lower court in Presbyterian churches has gone through such changes dozens, if not hundreds of times.   A teaching elder has changed ministries.  In so doing, he had come under the spiritual oversight of a different presbytery.  So he requests a change in his presbytery membership.  That usually is a normal administrative move which has little, if any, controversy to it.  But this case in the year 1935 was not a normal time, nor was the individual who sought to change his connection a normal teaching elder.

John Gresham Machen was the leader of the conservative wing of the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A.  For decades as a professor at Princeton Theological Seminary, he had been a member of the New Brunswick Presbytery, of New Jersey.  Princeton Seminary, as everyone knows, is located in Princeton, New Jersey.  The new independent seminary with which Dr. Machen was associated with after 1930, namely, Westminster Theological Seminary, was located then in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  And so it was logical that Dr. Machen wished to change his membership from a presbytery in New Jersey to one in Pennsylvania.  And indeed such a change was made, with a vote of 78 in favor and 48 in opposition to such a move.

The question can be asked, why was there such a large number of negative votes for what was seemingly an administrative move?  Usually these votes get passed by a unanimous vote.  Remember the times.  Dr. Machen was not just a seminary professor, but also the president of the Independent Board for Presbyterian Foreign Missions, after 1933. The increasing liberal denomination could abide, at least on the surface, with an independent seminary.  There were already those within the confines of Presbyterianism.  Union Theological Seminary was an independent seminary, still sending its graduates into the Presbyterian Church.  But the creation of a conservative mission board reached right into the local Presbyterian churches themselves, with money going away from the denominational missions board into this independent board.  So thus the Mandate of 1934 from the General Assembly sought to put a stop to the Independent Board, Dr. Machen, and all those who supported it.  The Presbytery of New Brunswick was a more favorable presbytery to do that, to try Dr. Machen for disobedience to the Mandate.  His transfer to the Philadelphia Presbytery is the fly in the ointment.

In the midst of all this, in the midst of the trial of Dr. Machen, the Presbytery of Philadelphia on April 1, 1935, votes 66 – 32, to adopt a memorial to the Synod of New Jersey that John Gresham Machen is under the jurisdiction of the Presbytery of Philadelphia.  However, the Presbytery of New Brunswick has already  appointed a Judicial Commission of seven members who ruled that the jurisdiction issue of Dr. Machen and his attorney, will not be handled by the commission.  As in other dates on this historical devotional, which relate the facts of this trial, the presbytery of New Brunswick finds Dr. Machen guilty, with his appeals to the higher courts  denied for redress.  He is suspended from the Presbyterian ministry.

Words to Live By: The apostle Paul reminds us in 1 Thessalonians 2:4 that those entrusted with the gospel should speak “not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts.” (ESV)  God, not man, is the One whom we must endeavor to please in all things.

Through the Scriptures: 1 Samuel 21 – 24

Through the Standards: Natural liberty

WCF 9:1
“God has endued the will of man with that natural liberty, that it is neither forced, nor, by any absolute necessity of nature, determined to good, or evil.”

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