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Maclaren—Scottish Baptist—holds two things simultaneously: slavery was itself the greatest of all wrongs, and yet Paul still expected the slave to maintain certain duties, ruling out bloody revolt as remedy. Two truths, no contradiction. Contemporary discourse struggles with this skill—discrediting traditions over one error while still quoting Edwards.
Bruce—Free Church of Scotland—draws a tight inference: scripture rates kindness to the poor so highly that God himself must delight in loving-kindness. Teaching love, Jesus simultaneously taught grace—good given to the undeserving, no cleanup required first. This troubles certain quarters as much as kindness to the poor does. Same objection, different target.
Andrew Martin Fairbairn was a Scottish Congregationalist minister and theologian. Here he reflects on the work of Christ. He has made us aware that He was the brother of all people the wide world over. And aware that he was the son of God.
Does this sound like the Jesus that we hear from many Youtube sermons or memes?
What would be the implications of such a Jesus?
William Knibb, Baptist missionary advocating against slavery, recounted horrors he’d witnessed in Jamaica. A Church of Scotland minister countered with scripture: Paul says servants should obey masters. Someone shot back, in broad Scots brogue, “The devil can quote scripture as well as you.” Defending abuse while citing the Bible as cover is its own special outrage. We still see this. How would those who serve you (at a diner, for ex.) speak of you, generations on?
Spurgeon laments that George Whitefield ran his orphanage on enslaved labor and never questioned whether slavery was sinful. Spurgeon allowed for advancing light: future generations might judge his own habits essentially bad. Modern Christendom has largely inverted this—the live question is whether criticizing godly men of the past constitutes the sin.
But how would *you* fare in future assessments.
Isaac Bird was a Congregationalist missionary to Syria. Here he critiques the slogan, “Charity begins at home.” He says it’s not in the bible, it’s not the charity of the bible. . It had origin in some other quarter.
How can you practice the charity of the bible?
#congregationalist #charitybeginsathome #greed #missionaries
Hamilton—Scottish Presbyterian—unpacks “blessed are the merciful” with some precision. Blessed are those with eyes open to discern misery and ears to hear its cry. And blessed are those for whom love of Christ and concern for souls together actually produce endeavour. Not sentiment. Not awareness alone. Endeavour. What misery have you discerned this week, and what, specifically, have you done about it?
Whately—Puritan, advocate for the poor—identifies a self-deception: resolving to avoid every evil while neglecting equal determination to perform every duty. Sins of omission; affirmative precepts. These count.
Some today make memes about the danger of complacency with sin. Omissions involving the poor rarely make that list.
Luther on 1 Peter 1:22: why live a chaste and holy life? Not to earn salvation—to be useful to your neighbor. A pure life makes one more useful; it’s harder to be useful when consumed by messing around. The love here is usefulness to the neighbor, ideally recognized as such by them. Not scolding them about their unchastity and calling that love. Luther would have noticed the difference.
#lutheran #lutheranchurchmissourisynod #service #neighborlove
William Gouge was a Puritan minister. Here he comments on the phrase “bringing many sons to glory from Hebrews 2:10, and how those brought to this glory have a duty to obey and honor God. Then he explains how these “sons” include all sorts of conditions and sexes of people. He points out how this is reinforced in Corinthians.
