Challenging Today from the Past

Introduction

Thank you, Duncan, for inviting me to speak today. Greetings to those who know me, and to those who don’t. My name is Paul James-Griffiths and I’m the director of Christian Heritage Edinburgh, and my wife Isolde works with me. During the summer months we run the Christian Heritage Centre in an old church near the castle. By the end of this summer, we will have welcomed over 200,000 visitors from every nation in the world. By the grace of God, we share the gospel every year with thousands, and some become Christians. During most of the year we also run Street Café teams to reach local people with the gospel. There are now between 30 and 40 teams in 5 nations. God is using this simple method to reach thousands with the gospel, and every year some also become Christians. Besides this, we also run Christian Heritage Tours, through which we bring out the amazing history of Christian movements that changed Scotland and the world from Edinburgh.

Bible Reading: Israel

I would now like to read you a passage from the Bible. It is from Deuteronomy 4:7-10.

⁷ “For what great nation is there that has God^[a] so near to it, as the Lord our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him? ⁸ And what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day? ⁹ Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren, ¹⁰ especially concerning the day you stood before the Lord your God in Horeb, when the Lord said to me, ‘Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.’

In this passage God spoke through Moses to the Israelites. God had made the people a great nation. He had blessed them. He had performed many miracles for them. He had given them laws which were greater than any other nation. But he also warned the Israelites to make sure they obeyed him and watched their lives carefully and regularly recalled God’s miracles and acts of grace, and passed this Jewish heritage on to their children and grandchildren. When they did this, God prospered them. When they failed to do so and turned to other gods, God’s judgment came upon them.

‘Great’ Britain and the UK

In Britain we have a long history in which England, Scotland and Wales came together in a union, and later Northern Ireland joined us to form the United Kingdom. For a long time, we were known as Great Britain. But what was it that made Britain great? Was it because of the Royal Family or government? Was it because of our democracy and human rights? Was it because of our education, science and medicine? No, it was none of these things. It was because of God’s grace working through his Christians. If you look at the national flag you will see the flag of St George of England, St Andrew of Scotland, and St Patrick of N. Ireland. Wales is missing because when the flag was chosen, Wales was part of England. Some have suggested that the Welsh dragon ought to be there, but really it ought to be the flag of St David, the patron saint of Wales, which is a yellow cross. If you visit the Houses of Parliament in London in the Central Lobby, you will find statues of all the four saints: George, Andrew, David and Patrick, symbolizing the union of the four nations. This is what made Britain and the UK great – God working through his church, despite its faults, and bringing social transformation.

One day I was in our Christian Heritage Centre, when four Chinese men came in. It turned out that two of them were high-up officials in the Chinese government, and the other two had both studied social history and had received their PhDs. The two scholars had studied Scotland because they wanted to discover why this nation, which is such a tiny country, had impacted the world in so many ways: in education, healthcare, science, democracy, human rights, and many other things. Their conclusion was that it was largely due to Christian movements of the past. They were amazed at this, even though none of them were Christians. But what amazed them even more was why people in Scotland have thrown Christianity on the rubbish dump. For these men were finding rich treasures which we have thrown out! I had the privilege of sharing the root cause of these Christian movements – Christ himself and his wonderful gospel, which changes lives!

British Values and Christian Values

During the last ten years or so the phrase ‘British values’ has been discussed increasingly. Many people are concerned that we will lose Britain and the UK to diversity, but especially to a radical Islam that does not want to integrate, but to dominate us. But what are ‘British values’? What are the values and principles which built our nation over many centuries? In the last few years people are realizing that these values are actually Christian values. More people are now understanding that for the last 70 years we have rebelled against the faith that brought those values. 

There is now a slow movement back to Christianity in the UK, in what has been called the ‘quiet revival’. For example, since 2018 two million people have been added to the church in the UK, and instead of continuing decline, we are witnessing growth. With Generation Z (the 20s) 4% of them going to church has quadrupled to 16%. The Bible Society reports an increase of 87% in Bible sales during the last few years. Something is stirring! Meanwhile, there is a grassroots movement amongst working class white men in England to identify with Christianity, perhaps as a stronghold against Islam. Time will tell what is just nationalism, and what is genuine Christianity. Among the thinkers, movers and shakers of British culture there is also a searching into the Christian faith.

Scotland: Land of the Book

Scotland was once called the ‘Land of the Book’ because of the deep impact the Christian faith had in shaping our culture. Christians rediscovered a biblical worldview that transformed everything. They were so excited about it that hundreds of missionaries went abroad to reproduce this Christian worldview in Africa, Asia, South America, and elsewhere. I’m now going to take you on a quick tour of our Christian history and how the Bible changed our nation, impacting Scotland, Britain, and the world, particularly from Edinburgh.

Christianity first became established among the Britons in what we now call Scotland by the end of the second century, in Dumbarton. This means that when the apostle John died in about AD 100, just about 90 years after he died there were Christians in Scotland. Firstly, the British Christians spread the gospel; then the pagan Romans killed many of them in the fourth century; next in the fifth century the Picts and Scots from Ireland slaughtered the British Christians; then the Picts and Scots were converted to Christ. The next migration movement was the Anglo-Saxons from Germany who were fierce warrior pagans, and they slaughtered many Pictish and Scottish Christians, as well as Britons. The Anglo-Saxons were won to Jesus Christ, and they in turn were slaughtered by the Vikings, who later also were converted to Christ. So, Christianity has deep roots in Scotland, going back about 1,800 years, but it was born out of much suffering for Christ.

When Christians wanted to love God and their neighbours and live out the Bible, they developed a Christian worldview. They cared for the sick, established schools and universities, pioneered fairer laws and justice, developed democracy and human rights. They cared for the poor and needy, and did many things which improved Scottish culture. This all took centuries to develop.

Have you heard of any of the following Christians who changed the world for good from Edinburgh?: In medicine, Sir James Young Simpson who pioneered anesthetics in hospitals with chloroform; Lord Joseph Lister, who pioneered antiseptics and advanced modern surgery; Alexander Wood, who invented the modern hypodermic syringe; Thomas Latta, who pioneered the saline drip, which has saved countless lives from cholera epidemics; Sir Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin, from which we get antibiotics; Edward Jenner, an Englishman who qualified at Aberdeen University in medicine and was inspired by a Scottish doctor to introduce vaccination, and conquered smallpox. Other medical Christians pioneered hospitals, one invented the obstetric ultrasound so that we can now see the baby in the womb; another pioneered the first successful kidney transplant; another introduced the first breast-screening for women to check for cancer. All of these were Christians.

Did you know that Scotland’s greatest scientist ever was James Clerk Maxwell? He was Albert Einstein’s hero in physics. Maxwell introduced his Maxwell Equations, which were foundational for our technological advances. From his foundational work came X-ray machines, computers, mobile phones, televisions, and radio. He co-pioneered colour photography and established the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge University, where small particles in physics were discovered, and where the DNA code was first cracked. It was also Christians who established our first professional nursing.

Did you know that the first four universities in Scotland were all founded by the church? It was the Reformers who pioneered our national education through their church parish schools.

For democracy, instead of turning to the Greeks and Romans, we have to acknowledge the Scottish Reformers in Edinburgh who brought back Christian democracy to the church. The Presbyterians in turn impacted the Puritans in London, thus causing a movement of democracy in our British government. Did you know that the first leader of the Labour Party was James Keir Hardie, a dedicated Christian? Are you aware that of the three key men who pioneered the vote for the working class in Scotland, two were Christians: Andrew Hardie and John Baird. These friends were hanged to death in 1820 in Stirling. The Scottish government has honoured their stand for the right of the working class to vote, but has not mentioned their Christian faith.

The Presbyterians took a stand against the tyranny of kings who tried to control both church and governments, resulting in great suffering of 18,000 Presbyterian Christians, but ending in a great victory for human rights. It was out of the Presbyterian stand that the English Bill of Rights and Scottish Claim of Rights came into being in 1689. Alongside the Magna Carta of 1215, Petition of Right in 1628 and Habeas Corpus, these are the milestone documents for human rights in Western civilization. From the Bills of Rights in Britain came the French Bill of Rights and the American Bill of Rights, and finally the United Nations Charter for Human Rights in 1948.

We do not have time to tell of Christians who pioneered abolition of slavery, the right of women to vote, care for the poor, and care for animals, which produced the RSPCA (the Royal Society of Protection of Cruelty to Animals). All of this came from a biblical Christian worldview.

We need to go to the Root: Jesus Christ Himself

Margaret Thatcher, a former UK Prime Minister, once said to the Church of Scotland General Assembly next to the Royal Mile in 1988:

‘I think back to many discussions in my early life when we all agreed that if you try to take the fruits of Christianity without its roots, the fruits will wither. And they will not come again unless you nurture the roots. But we must not profess the Christian faith and go to church simply because we want social reforms and benefits or a better standard of behaviour; but because we accept the sanctity of life, the responsibility that comes with freedom and the supreme sacrifice of Christ expressed so well in the hymn:

‘When I survey the wondrous Cross, On which the Prince of glory died,

My richest gain I count but loss, And pour contempt on all my pride.’

Margaret Thatcher clearly understood that the only way that Christian values will return to Britain and the UK is through a return to the Lord Jesus Christ himself. This is what our governments and people need to understand. In January this year my book, What has Christianity ever done for Scotland? was published and is now available. A copy has already been given to John Swinney, the First Minister of Scotland, and we are preparing to give a copy to every one of the Scottish MSPs later in the year. Please pray with us that this information will inspire, impact and challenge them, and steer them to Jesus Christ.



The Gospel

It remains for me now to share the beautiful good news of Jesus Christ. Probably most of you are Christians, which is wonderful. But some of you may not know Christ personally yet. Some of you may have even been brought up in church and come every Sunday, but you still do not know Christ. May I ask you a vital question? If you died, would you be going to heaven with God? How are you answering this question in your mind right now? Are you thinking, ‘I hope so.’ If you are, what is your hope based on? Are you thinking now that your hope is based on yourself, on your own good works? Perhaps you think, ‘I’ve been a really nice, caring person, and have done lots of good things. I’m not a bad person. So, yes, I think God will welcome me in heaven.’ If you are thinking this, I’m going to shock you now. The Bible tells us, ‘for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,’ and ‘there is none righteous, no, not one’. If you want to get to heaven through your own self-righteousness you will have to be perfect every day for your whole life. Can you do it? Of course not! That’s why God came to save us from hell. 

In many old churches you will see the altar at the front. On the left on the wall there are the Ten Commandments, inscribed in stone. In the middle there is the cross of Jesus, and on the right, there is the Lord’s Prayer. The message is clear: to know God we have to believe he exists, but when we come near him, we must realise he is holy and pure. There is no sin in God, or in his heaven. We look at the Ten Commandments and it acts as a mirror to show us the true condition of our hearts before God. All of us have broken his law. All of us have sin. We have not put God first, we have followed the gods of money, fashion, and ourselves. We have told lies, and been envious of others. We have disobeyed parents and not honoured God. We may think we have never murdered anyone, or committed adultery, but Jesus says that if we hate someone in our hearts, this is the beginning of murder, and if we have sexually lusted wrongly over someone, then this is the beginning of adultery. All of us have sinned. All of us deserve hell.

But if we now look at the cross of Jesus in the middle, we see that God loves us so much that he came from heaven as Jesus Christ. He died on the cross to take the punishment of our sin, and rose again from the dead, then returned to heaven. He is waiting for you to repent and trust in him, rather than yourself. You have a choice now: take the punishment for your own sin in hell, or humble yourself and receive the gift of God’s forgiveness. What does ‘repent’ mean? It simply means to stop going your own way, turn around, humble yourself, and cry out to Christ to save you, to forgive you of your sin, and to fill you with the Holy Spirit to live God’s way. If you receive Christ you will receive God and heaven; if you reject him, you will be lost forever. The Bible says, ‘Today is the day of salvation’. Are you ready to come to Christ? Don’t wait until you are perfect – you never will be. Come as you are to be washed clean, forgiven, and be given a new life in Christ. The third point I mentioned is the stone tablet with the Lord’s Prayer on it. If you come through Jesus Christ, you will enter a relationship with your heavenly Father, which starts now, and goes on for eternity in heaven.

Today, if you know that you do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, it’s time to act. It’s time to respond to this message. If that’s you, I would like you to put up your hand to let me know that you want to give your life to Christ, and I and the church elders would like to talk with you later to make sure you understand what you are doing. I also have a little booklet for you to read, called, Why Jesus? You are welcome to take one to read. Let me pray.