I want to do two tasks or accomplish two tasks in the message today. The first is to continue with our series of studies in this great letter of Paul to the Ephesians and the second is to draw attention to the 10th anniversary of the constituting of this church. We're looking at this second chapter in which Paul highlights the two great problems that confronted the Ephesian believers before their conversion. The first problem was their ruined condition. You were dead, he says, dead in trespasses and in sins. And that spiritual death came about because of the fall of Adam in the Garden of Eden. When Adam broke the covenant of works, when Adam transgressed that covenant, the consequence was death. The day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. He did not die physically that day, but he died spiritually. That spiritual life was extinguished and Adam became a fallen sinner ruined by the fall, standing in need of deliverance and salvation and redemption, standing in need of regeneration. a complete work of God to restore him and regenerate him and to give him new life again. And so Paul reminds them here what they were as lost sinners in their natural condition, dead in trespasses and sins. Furthermore, he reminds them of the great problem of their biological standing as Gentiles not the natural descendants of Abraham. And you remember how God took Abraham and he entered into covenant with Abraham, and then he took the seed of Abraham, his natural offspring, his descendants, see, and he entered into covenant with the nation of Israel to be their God and they to be his people. And the Lord gave to them various ordinances and various commands that set them apart, that made them distinguished above all other nations. So privileged, but it created a problem. And the problem was for the Gentiles, those of us who are not the natural descendants of Abraham. And Paul identifies that problem here in verse 12. He says, you were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise. You were outside. and therefore a far off, as Paul says in verse number 13. Here we have two great problems that stand in the way of our reconciliation to God and our entering into salvation. Our natural condition as lost sinners under the curse of a broken law, a transgressed covenant of works, and then separated on account of the covenant made with the nation of Israel, outside of the covenants of promise given to the nation of Israel. Here we have the two great problems. And if we were to be saved as Gentiles, then the two problems needed to be overcome. And Paul shows here how God overcame these two problems. In either case, the great answer, the great solution, the great remedy to our condition as lost sinners, as Gentiles outside of the Commonwealth of Israel, the great solution to these problems was the cross. Verse number 16, and that he might reconcile both Jew and Gentile onto God in one body by The cross, the cross. by the cross. The cross answers both of these great problems, these great difficulties that stood in the way. Our lost condition, our ruined condition, dead and trespasses and sins was answered by the cross. The Lord Jesus went to the cross of Calvary and there he received the penalty of death. that death that had been threatened in the covenant of works. There he dealt with that death and he died for us. He died in our place. He received that curse that had been meted upon Adam when he transgressed the covenant of works. But then you have the covenants that were given to Israel with all their ceremonial requirements, circumcision, and all the sacrifices, all the laws that pertain to Israel as a nation that kept the Gentiles at a distance. They could not come to the temple unless they had been circumcised. They could not eat of the Passover unless they were circumcised. They were outside. of the commonwealth of Israel. But Paul says this obstacle has been overcome by the cross because the cross is the fulfillment of all those requirements. The cross is the fulfillment of all those obligations that were laid upon Israel. All the different aspects of the ceremonial law were all pointing forward to Christ. pointing forward to him, that was their purpose. It was to direct the nation of Israel to the coming Messiah and to his great work of atonement upon the cross. And therefore, when Christ came, when he came into this world, when he came onto his own and he lived upon this earth and he went to the cross, he answered all of those requirements. He fulfilled all righteousness and therefore the ceremonial law being fulfilled, it was abolished. Look at verse 15, Paul says concerning Christ, He has abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances. Those ordinances now are abolished. circumcision, all the sacrifices, all the different laws that were given in the ceremonial aspect of the law. They have all been abolished because they are fulfilled in Christ. They were only typical. They were only pointing forward to the Lord Jesus. So here Paul is emphasizing this. He's emphasizing that the cross work of Christ has answered these great problems, these great obstacles. First of all, the curse that came by the transgressing of the covenant of works. And secondly, all the ceremonial distinctions that separated the Gentiles. They are now done away with by the cross and we are made now. Paul is emphasizing here both the necessity and the centrality of the cross work of Christ, the atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. And therefore, that emphasis I believe is appropriate today as we mark the 10th anniversary of the constituting of this congregation here in Ballyclare. Because it brings us back to the very purpose for which this church was for which these doors were opened for the preaching of the gospel. And I believe it is good and right for us to mark the anniversary, and we mark the anniversary by reminding ourselves of this great emphasis. Look at verse 16, that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross. by the cross. This year is a year of anniversaries. It's the 10th anniversary of the constituting of this church. It's also the 65th anniversary of the founding of this denomination. But it's also the 90th anniversary of an event that led to the subsequent founding of this denomination and the subsequent establishment of this congregation, along with all other free Presbyterian congregations. I'm referring to the heresy trial of Professor J.E. Davie, which began in 1926, 90 years ago, in the Irish Presbyterian church. In fact, we've got to keep that in mind because this date today, our 10th anniversary, is linked back to the events that took place way back then in 1926. And we need to keep in mind the background Why is there a free Presbyterian church? Why is there a need to have a free Presbyterian witness in Ballyclare? Why? The end of the 19th century, what was known as the new theology swept across Europe. Beginning in Germany, it was referred to as rationalism or modernism, higher criticism, and it spread across Europe and it wasn't long until it infected Great Britain, the churches in Great Britain. It was a movement that denied the inspiration and the infallibility of scripture, questioning the deity of Christ, his atoning work, and his resurrection from the dead. In essence, it was the introduction of another gospel. And it wasn't long until its influence came here. to Northern Ireland. Professor Davy attended the German University and he imbibed that so-called new theology and when he came back to Assemblies College, he began teaching that very message. But there were those who were greatly concerned, now they were in the minority, but they were concerned. And they brought charges of heresy against him which led to the setting up of a heresy trial in 1926. I have the record of that trial, the actual minutes that were produced of that trial, and it lasted for quite a number of months. It was conducted by the Presbytery of Belfast. And the men who brought the heresy charge were men like James Hunter and Samuel Hanner and James Edgar. They had set up what was known as the Presbyterian Bible Standards League. They saw this decline. They saw this shift away from the old gospel, the gospel that saved sinners, the gospel that meets the great problem of man's condition as a ruined sinner. They saw the shift away. the decline and the declension. They put out pamphlets and literature, but they were actually rebuked by the General Assembly. There was a vote of censure against them, 499 to 115 against these men for raising the voice, sounding the alarm, warning the people. But eventually, It became more and more pronounced. J.E. Davie held a series of lectures in 1921 and out of that this book was published called The Changing Vesture of the Faith. And that right away should set the alarm bells ringing. The Changing Vesture of the Faith. The faith doesn't change. It is the faith once delivered to the saints. It doesn't change. And so right away when you read a title like this, You should take note. You should expect to find there things that are not right. They brought five charges against Professor David. The first charge was that he denied the doctrine of justification and the imputation of Christ's righteousness to sinners. The second was relating to the perfection of Christ, the third to the infallibility of scripture, the fourth to the origin of sin, and the fifth to the doctrine of the Trinity. Let me just quote you some things that are written in this book concerning the doctrine of justification. This is what he says in the Changing Vesture of the Faith. Salvation is usually connected with the historic fact of Christ's death rather than with the divine human character which it reveals. And we get such extreme statements as the notorious reply of an Orthodox Protestant to a supposed legalist, your religion is all doing, mine is all done. In its relation to the forgiveness of sin, this view is usually expressed in such terms as the following. My sins, past, present, and to come, were led upon Christ. This, baldly stated, means that even of my future sins, the guilt and punishment alike were expiated and borne by Christ on Calvary. The Apostle Paul was greatly troubled. Listen to this. The Apostle Paul was greatly troubled about the ethical deductions from such a theory. Whatever its values in the past or present, no one at any rate could accuse it of a primary regard for Christian morality. That is just a sample of what was written in this book concerning the infallibility of Scripture He says it is the pursuit of the will of the wisp of theology. In other words, it doesn't exist. It doesn't exist. The fact that there is an infallible book, a book that is without error, a book that's true, that you can depend on and rely upon, he questions it. He was imbibing the spirit of German rationalism. that tried to make a difference between the Scriptures and the Word of God. In fact, he says in his own defense in this record, he explains that. He says that when you come to the Bible, it is Scripture, but it doesn't contain all the Word of God. And he makes the statement in his trial that the only infallible guide is the Holy Spirit himself. Well, how do you know what the Holy Spirit thinks or what the Holy Spirit says without his word? This is what was imbibed. And when they brought these five charges, the presbytery of Belfast voted against the charges on the first charge, 60 to five in support of David. The second charge, 63 to 7 in support of Davy. The third charge, 65 to 11. The fourth charge, 69 to 10. The fifth charge, 69 to 11. And the Presbytery of Belfast exonerated J.E. Davy. The men who brought the charge We're not content with this. They were bound over to be quiet. They were not allowed to say anything under threat of being brought to the Discipline Committee. But they brought an appeal and they wouldn't be bound. They brought an appeal to the General Assembly in that following year, June 1927. They were defeated by 707 votes to 82. And J.E. Davie was not only acquitted of the charges, but he was later promoted to become the principal of the college, and then later to be the moderator of the Irish Presbyterian Church. A man who did not hold the doctrine of justification, the imputation of Christ's righteousness. He said, sin cannot be transferred. This is what was happening. This was the background. And the consequence of that decision was that the heresy spread. It infected the minds of the students that were training for the ministry. And it created a situation that eventually led to the forming of this denomination in 1951. 25 years Later, when a gospel mission was planned in Masara Presbyterian Church, giving their church hall to the mission, they had invited the Reverend Paisley at that time. But the Presbytery of Down stepped in, closed the door, refused permission, and anybody who didn't agree with it would be suspended. And that's exactly what happened. People came out, They seceded and they formed a free Presbyterian congregation. Free. Now what lay at the heart was more than just the local circumstances of a church hall being prohibited for use in a gospel mission. That wasn't the issue. That was simply the outworking of a much deeper problem. The fact that modernism, the new theology, had spread in the denomination, had been imbibed by the students under the care of J. E. Davie and others. And they despised the gospel. They despised the gospel. What lay at the very heart was this great truth that Paul was emphasizing here to the Ephesians, that the answer to man's sin as a lost sinner under the curse of a broken law, the answer to the problem of the Gentiles being outside the covenants of promise, the answer is the cross. It's the finished work of Christ, the sending of God's Son in the flesh, who took the likeness of our humanity without ceasing to be God, who lived a sinless life, who answered every demand, every requirement of God's law. J. E. Davy, in his defense, he makes the statement that Christ It was not a case of him not being able to sin, but that he was able not to sin, so there may have been a possibility that he could have sinned. The old gospel that Paul preached with absolute assurance and absolute conviction was a gospel that emphasized the deity of Christ and the sinlessness of his life upon this earth and his atoning death bearing our sin in all of its entirety and his resurrection from the dead. That's what lay at the heart and that's why there was a need in 1951 for a stand to be taken separation to be made, sacrifice to be endured, in order to retain this gospel message, this gospel message. And that challenge still remains today. What we have to keep in mind is Both decisions by the Belfast Presbytery and the General Assembly of the Irish Presbyterian Church in that year in regard to Professor Davey have never been retracted and they have never been rescinded. That was a decision made by the Irish Presbyterian Church in support of modernism, in support of the new theology and in rejection of the Old Gospel. That was the decision. Decide with the great doctrinal shift from historic Christianity and the principles that had been recovered and rediscovered in the Reformation. And that challenge still remains today. It's still the same. The call of Scripture is the same. Think of what Paul said Hebrews chapter 13, and he was writing in the context of that epistle in relation to people who had for a time embraced Christianity, receiving Jesus of Nazareth as the promised Messiah, but then after a while they were turning back and They were going back to Judaism and Paul deals with that all the way through this letter to the Hebrews. Because those who had remained in the New Testament church, those who had remained with Christ were feeling the impact of that spirit of turning back that they witnessed in others. Perhaps it was family members, perhaps it was friends, people that they had been acquainted with for a long time. And they were watching as they were going back to the old Judaism that rejected Christ, that nailed them to a cross, that persecuted the apostles. They were going back to that dead, lifeless system. And Paul writes here to encourage the Hebrew believers And he says to them, the challenge is still the same in verse number 12. Wherefore, Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore onto him without the camp. Outside the camp, we're not belonging to the camp. The Lord Jesus was rejected by the religious establishment. They did not believe his claim. They branded him as a blasphemer, one who was Beelzebub, the prince of devils. They rejected him as the Messiah and he went outside the camp. And there he suffered when he offered himself as a sacrifice for our sins. And now, Paul says, that's where Christ still is. Let us, therefore, go forth onto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. And there is a reproach to be born in siding with Jesus Christ. The trend at this particular time in the context of the letter to the Hebrews was that of going back, casting off the reproach. But Paul says to those who had remained steadfast, let us side with Christ. Let us go forth onto him. As we come to our own anniversary today, 10th anniversary, in the 65th anniversary of the founding of this church. To retain the gospel, that was the purpose. That was the purpose. To keep alive a gospel testimony, to keep open doors for the preaching of the old gospel that is the only remedy for man's lost condition. As we come to this anniversary today, the alarming situation is that that line of distinction has become greatly blurred. And the old battle lines have been lost sight of. People say, ah, well, the Presbyterian Church It's not all that bad, not as bad as it used to be. Fact of the matter is, it has never rescinded the decision to uphold the new theology, modernism. It has never repented of that decision, still on its statute books. going to have some supper tonight after the service. What would you think if I brought out a beautiful cake and it was in a lovely silver cake tin and I gave you a silver knife and a silver fork and silver plate and I told you this cake was made with the very best of ingredients, the best cherries are in it, best you could ever find, the best fruits in it, the best Ingredients. But there's just a little bit of poison. But you shouldn't be all that worried because it's got so many other good things in it. Would you eat it? Look at the icing. Oh, it's so tempting. The marzipan, it's the best you'll ever taste. There's poison in it. And if there's poison in it, you would be a fool to take the cake, no matter how good the other ingredients are. And the fact of the matter is that denomination imbibed this teaching of rationalism, modernism, and it spread to the extent that it closed its doors to the gospel. And it voted to uphold a man who in his own writings made these statements. You would be wise to stay as far away from the poisoned cake as you could possibly be. Do we really appreciate the stand that was made 65 years ago the sacrifice, the reproach. To keep open doors for the preaching of the old book, so that men can stand behind a pulpit and say, this book is the infallible word of God. It is without error. You can trust it. It is reliable. It is dependable. It is an errand. Thy word is truth. But J.E. Davies says, well, you have to search through the scriptures to find the word. Yes, where you have the word of God, that's inerrant. But that means then you have to sit through this book and you have to decide which is inerrant and which isn't. And how do you know? You can never have assurance in that case. that men took a stand outside the camp so that we could have doors open where pulpits are unfettered to preach an infallible Bible. We believe that this is the Word of God. We believe that it is the God-breathed Word, the Word that is proceeded from the mouth of God, and you can rest on this for all eternity. when death comes, when the day of judgment comes, and the great unending eons of eternity roll out before us, we can rest upon this book. And we rest upon a Christ who is God manifest in flesh, truly God and truly man, and who went to the cross and took our sin receive that sin and its punishment in our place so that his righteousness would be transferred to our account. And we'd be made righteous in God's sight. And yes, we believe without shame. Our religion is all done. It's finished. We're trusting in the finished work of Jesus Christ. That's why the stand was taken. That's why Dr. Paisley came from a sickbed where he was a death store. The day that he left hospital, having been at the point of death, before he even got home, first place that he came to was this building. This building. Why? because of a burden and a vision to see the old gospel preached in the town of Ballyclare. Whether popular or not, whether in season or not. And that's why he labored and that's why he raised the money. A hundred thousand pounds it took to buy this building. And he raised the money to purchase this building. so that the door could be kept open for the preaching of the gospel. That's why. What a high privilege it is that we're not fettered, that we're not bound together in an organization where some believe the Bible and a whole lot more don't. where some preach the gospel and a whole lot of others preach another gospel. And you have nothing but conflict and division. That was the vision. That was the burden. And the sacrifice was made. The sacrifice was made. You know, one of the alarming things that I see is people who have had this privilege and yet they send their children back to that system. Send them back for the organizations. I just don't understand that. And the only answer that I can come up with is They're just not prepared to make the commitment and the sacrifice in a Bible-believing, gospel-preaching church to provide for their children there. I wanna take the easy way. Yes, it's our anniversary, but what about the future? What about the future? If the door's gonna be kept open, If the gospel's going to continue to be preached, and the old book declared without fear or fever, it's gonna take a new consecration on the part of us all. A new consecration to Christ. Do you remember what the Lord said to the church at Ephesus? I believe this is such an applicable warning, not only to us as a local church, but to our whole denomination. The church at Ephesus was the church that Paul stayed at the longest in all of his missionary labors. They had his labor there, his ministry, his teaching, and then this letter from Paul that's so rich, so full, that brings the focus upon the finished work, the cross work of Christ. And Ephesus as a church was strong in that orthodoxy, strong in that orthodoxy. But in Revelation chapter two, the Lord says to them something that is most alarming. He recognizes their knowledge of orthodoxy, their stand for the truth. He says in verse two of Revelation 2, I know thy works and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil. Thou hast tried them which say they are apostles and are not, and hast found them liars. There will always be times in the church when there's a necessity for trials in relation to heresy. There it was, a way back there. Ephesus had to face it. You've tried them, they've been on trial. You've found them liars. You've borne and has patience and for my name's sake has labored and has not fainted, standing for the Lord outside the camp. But the Lord noticed something in which they were at fault. Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. And could I say something today? The greatest danger to any Bible-believing church, the greatest danger is not heresy. The greatest danger is not the battle with unbelief and false teaching. and false apostles, the greatest danger is when the love of Christ in the heart begins to wane. Because the Lord says in the very next verse, he says, repent, do the first works or else I will come on to thee quickly and I will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thy repent. It's not the false apostles and the false prophets that close the church. What closes the church is when the Lord's people leave their first love and cease to love the Lord the way they used to love Him. That's what leads to the closing of the church, the removing of the candlestick. And as we come today to recognize this point of anniversary. It brings a challenge for the future, for the present and for the future. There's still a cause, there's still a need. There's still a cause and there's still a need. But we must fear complacency. and we must fear the dwindling of our love for Christ. May we recognize today the high privilege God has given us. Other men labored and we are entered into their labors. We have been made the recipients and we have been made to benefit from what others have done. So that we might have a church that's unaffected, uninfluenced by the new theology. It doesn't even merit the name theology. And that we might have the old gospel. And we need to pray, and we need to work, and we need to labor. The Lord will come and visit this witness here and also across our denomination. If we think for one minute that we are somehow aloof or somehow exempt from what took place in the Irish Presbyterian Church, then we are the greatest fools on the face of the earth. The very same thing can happen. But how it will happen is this. When we leave our first love, when we lose sight of the cross, when we lose sight of the Christ of the cross, Paul says, let us go forth therefore onto him without the camp bearing his reproach. May the Lord speak to all our hearts today, and may we dedicate ourselves afresh, consecrate ourselves afresh to His cause in this part of the vineyard. May the Lord stir our hearts for His name's sake.