Attempt to Bind the Conscience Sadly Successful

I suppose it was a solemn scene in man’s eyes when the Special Judicial Commission of the Presbytery of West* Jersey met on September 10, 1935.  But in God’s eyes, surely God’s Spirit was grieved when this judicatory met to bind the conscience of a minister of the Lord Jesus for the sole reason that he had disobeyed a mandate of the General Assembly regarding his membership in an Independent Board for Presbyterian Foreign Missions.  And yet that was the censure of this presbytery regarding the pastor of the Collingswood Presbyterian Church, namely, the Rev Carl McIntire.

*[Thanks to our friend Walt for this correction: There was no “Presbytery of New Jersey” in the PCUSA. The PCUSA jurisdiction that tried Dr. McIntire was the Presbytery of West Jersey, named for the old colonial providence, whose capital was Burlington.]

There had been six charges against this minister.  But aided by his counsel consisting of Hon. James E Bennet and the Rev. H. McAllister Griffiths, Carl McIntire was acquitted of three of them.  They were: rebellion against the brethren in the church in lawful counsels, commands, and correction; conduct unbecoming a minister; and advocating rebellion against the constituted authorities in the church.  In these three, he was declared “Not Guilty.”

However, in three others, he was convicted as guilty.  They were: disapproval, defiance, and acts in contravention of the government and discipline of the church; not being zealous and faithful in maintaining the peace of the church; and violation of his ordination vows.

We have to remind ourselves again that Carl McIntire’s error, as was J. Gresham Machen’s, and others was that they dared to organize an Independent Board for Presbyterian Foreign Missions which believed in sending out only Bible-believing missionaries of the cross.  Further, that they dared to obey God rather than man, in disobeying the Mandate of the General Assembly in 1934 to cease their participation in and support for said Independent Board.

But the proverbial die was cast.  Carl McIntire was suspended from the ministry of the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. until he resigned from that Independent Board and gave evidence of repentance to the Presbytery of West Jersey. If appeal was made to this ruling, then they would suspend their judgment though they held to their authority to not do so.The appeal of their decision was made on September 19, 1935 to the General Assembly.

It is interesting that one member of the Commission, Hon. Samuel Irebell, disagreed from the judgment, stating that the weight of the evidence presented was on the defendant’s side and not on the Commission’s side.

Words to live by:  What was going on here in the New Jersey Presbytery was occurring all over the land with the members of and supporters for the Independent Board of Presbyterian Foreign Missions.  When one stands up for the Word of God against unbelief, unbelieving man will try to squash your testimony. If he cannot do that, then you may suffer expulsion from the visible church.   But be faithful to God, His Word, the Great Commission, and the Reformed Faith, and He will honor you at the last, if not here, then certainly hereafter in heaven.

The First Attempt to Cross the Atlantic Ocean Failed
by Rev. David T. Myers

It was an ambitious plan to move four Presbyterian pastors and another 140 church members to the new world for religious freedom on a new ship specially built for crossing the Atlantic Ocean. That was the blessed hope and prayer of Scottish Presbyterians living in Ulster, yet under great difficulty from the Church of England. The four ministers—Robert Blair, John Livingston, James Hamilton, and John McClellan—were the spiritual leaders of the expedition. Their life and work in their congregations was being made more and more difficult. So through a letter to the Rev. Cotton Mather in New England asking whether Presbyterians could exist in that colony, and being assured that it could, plans were made.

For a ship to cross the ocean, a ship was built named Eagle Wing, based on Exodus 14;4, “Ye have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagle’s wings and brought you unto myself.” Finished at the small village of Groomsport, Ireland, it was barely large enough for the passengers to board it. With no trial run to see how it would do through rough seas, the ship and its passengers boarded it and left Carrickfergus, Ulster on September 9, 1636. Pastor Livingston commented that “there was much toil in our preparation, many hindrances in our setting out, and both sad and glad hearts in taking leave of our friends.”

Off the coast of Newfoundland, the ship was hit with a mighty hurricane featuring “mountains of water.” Springing a leak, which was fixed, the rudder next broke. A brave passenger went over the side with a rope tied to him so he could be extracted. He fixed the rudder. After a discussion among the whole body, Pastor Livingston suggested that they should wait a day to see if God would give them smooth sailing. However when that delay didn’t accomplish their wishes, they turned around and sailed back to Ulster with smooth sailing.

The first attempt to cross the ocean for Scot-Irish Presbyterians met with failure. But was it a failure? It is true, they did not get to their new place of ministry. But their presence back in Scotland strengthened the cause of Christianity. They became leaders in the new National Covenant of 1638. In Scotland and Ireland, they laid the spiritual foundation of that church which could justly claim to be the mother of the American Presbyterian Church. And after the lapse of a century or less, swarms of Scots-Irish sailed again and again to the shores of this new land, filling the colonies of Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the Carolinas, and beyond, with godly Presbyterian families.

Words to Live By:
There have been occasions in all of our spiritual lives where dreams of life and ministry were frustrated by what many have called “dark providences.”  We thought that this was where God wanted us to be, or what God wanted us to do. But instead, God’s sovereign will lovingly spoke by means of a closed door. God had other plans for us, not unlike that which was spoken to the Jewish church in Babylon, where there were “plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give us a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11.) Learn the spiritual lessons behind the Eagle Wing, dear readers. As Solomon writes in Proverbs 16:9, “The mind of man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps.”

THE SCHOOL & FAMILY CATECHIST
by Rev. William Smith

The Westminster Shorter Catechism, Questions 41-42.

Q. 41. Wherein is the moral law summarily comprehended?

A. The moral law is summarily comprehended in the ten commandments.

EXPLICATION.

Summarily comprehended. –Briefly contained, or shortly expressed.

ANALYSIS.

In this answer we are taught two things :

1. That there is a summary or short statement of the moral law.
2. That this is to be found in the ten commandments. –Deut. x. 4. And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments. Matt. xix. 17. If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

Q. 42. What is the sum of the ten commandments?

A. The sum of the ten commandments is, to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength, and with all our mind ; and our neighbor as ourselves.

EXPLICATION.

The sum. –The substance, matter, or meaning.

To love the Lord with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind. –To love him far more than any other object, even as much as it is possible for us to do.

To love ourselves. –Earnestly to seek our own happiness and comfort, next to the glory of God.

To love our neighbor as ourselves. –To love every one around us, as sincerely as we do ourselves, and to do to others whatever we think they should do to us, in the same circumstances.

ANALYSIS.

In this answer we are taught four things :

1. That love is the sum and substance of all obedience. –Rom. xiii. 10. Love is the fulfilling of the law.
2. That the first and supreme object of this love, is the Lord our God. –Matt. xxii. 37, 38. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God—This is the first and great commandment.
3. That we must love the Lord our God with our whole heart and mind. –Matt. xxii. 37. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

4. That our neighbor and ourselves are the next, and subordinate objects of this love. –Matt. xxii. 39, 40. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thy self.  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Vanguard Presbyterian was organized this day, September 7, 1972. As John Edward Richards wrote, “There were ministers and churches who could not wait for the formation of the new church. Under the Presbyterian system they needed a Presbyterian home.” Richards presented the following report in Contact, the official publication of Presbyterian Churchmen United:

VANGUARD PRESBYTERY

A significant event in the Presbyterian family occurred in Savannah, Georgia on September 7, 1972. A group of ministers and independent Presbyterian churches met and formed Vanguard Presbytery.

Early in August the Reverend Todd Allen, pastor of the Eastern Heights Presbyterian Church of Savannah, contacted the Administrator of the Steering Committee for a Continuing Presbyterian Church and requested advice and counsel with reference to his plan for calling a meeting of the representatives of independent Presbyterian churches and their pastors for the purpose of forming a presbytery that would be faithful to the Word of God and the Reformed Faith. The Steering Committee is ever ready to assist Presbyterian churches in uniting for this worthy purpose. The Administrator was glad to be of what service he could, but the credit for the accomplishment of the Vanguard Presbytery must go to the Reverend Todd Allen and others closely associated with him.

The meeting on September 7 was on a high spiritual plane, beginning with a devotional lesson from Philippians 1:1-6. The Communion service which followed was according to the Word of God and the presiding minister reminded the worshipers that the Sacrament commemorated the substitutionary atonement of our Lord for our sins.

In a most orderly fashion a temporary moderator and clerk were elected and four standing committees were “The Constitution and Service for Constituting the Presbytery”, “Naming and Chartering”, “Presbytery Organization and Schedules” and “Committee of Thanks.” The entire group united in intercession to God for His blessing upon these committees.

The feature of the afternoon meeting was an address by Attorney Owen H. Page. Mr. Page was the attorney for the Eastern Heights and Hull Memorial Churches when these churches went independent in 1966. The case went to the United States Supreme Court and was decided in favor of the local churches’ ownership of their respective properties. The case was decided on neutral principles, that is, without reference to church doctrine or government. Mr. Page stated that the vast majority of church property decisions recently rendered in various states had used the Savannah churches as the precedent effecting their decisions. (Incidentally, state laws vary greatly on the matter of church property and any local congregation wishing to assure the ownership of their church property should consult local attorneys to work out the proper legal instruments.)

The standing committees worked during the afternoon and completed their reports.

The people of the Eastern Heights Presbyterian Church graciously entertained the entire group at supper.

The concluding session of the presbytery was held at 7:00 p.m. All committee reports were unanimously adopted. Rev. Todd Allen was elected Moderator and Ruling Elder Chester Hall of the First Presbyterian Church, Louisville, Kentucky was elected temporary clerk and treasurer. The Presbytery was named “VANGUARD PRESBYTERY, a provisional presbytery for Southern Presbyterian and Reformed churches uniting.” The presbytery accepted an invitation for their November 14 meeting from the Tabb Street Independent Presbyterian Church, Petersburg, Virginia.

The meeting in Savannah was joyously Christian and was without criticism or derogatory remarks concerning any other religious group. The presbytery voted to accept the invitation of the Steering Committee for a Continuing Presbyterian Church for its moderator to become a member of that Steering Committee.

Words to live by:
The organizing meeting of the Vanguard Presbytery began with a message on the text of Philippians 1:1-6. The central truth of that message is that “He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”

In everything that He does, God unerringly accomplishes His purpose. And here, in this text, the apostle Paul drives home the point that as the Lord has raised you up from death to a living faith in the risen Savior, so He will continue to work in you, bringing you at last to Himself in glory. God’s work is sure, and there is no condemnation for those who in Christ Jesus.

“Read history ; but read it in the light of God.”