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March/April 1998

Dear Friends,

We wish you a belated blessed Easter, remembering God's marvellous work of redemption in Jesus Christ, our Lord.
"Up from the grave He arose, with a mighty triumph over His foes; He arose a victor from the dark domain, and He lives for ever with His saints to reign. " We praise God that the prophecy was fulfilled: "Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end.. and upon His kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. " (Isaiah 9:7) - As we await the third Millennium, looking back over almost 2000 years of Christianity, we are conscious that Jesus Christ is Lord over time and eternity. Even the date 2000 A.D., the harbinger of a new age in which the nations of the world want to cast away the cords of the Lord and His anointed (Ps 2), is set by Christ. For all history counts from His birth in terms of A.D. (Anno Domini - the Year of the Lord) or B.C. (Before Christ). He still "rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations prove the glories of his righteousness and wonders of his love. D James Kennedy has asked: "What if Jesus had never been born?" 1) And after careful study he found: "Despite its humble origins, the Church has made more changes on earth for the good than any other movement or force in history.

The fundamental change which Christ brought was to let men understand that they are created in the image of God and that human life, with its immortal soul, has a unique value. Wherever the Gospel reigns life is respected, but where it is not known life is cheap. "God created man in His own image: in the image of God He created him: male and female He created them. " (Gen. 1:27) Man's stature is thus far above what any humanist can conceive. In the ancient world, where this principle was not accepted, abortion and child sacrifice were common. If an infant was unwanted it was abandoned. But then Jesus came. He did not disdain being conceived in the virgin's womb. He humbled Himself to be found in fashion as a man. Because of Him Christi4ins have cherished life as sacred, even the life of the unborn. When the Emperor Constantine (280 -337) committed himself and his empire to Christ, he outlawed many licentious and cruel sports. He made laws to protect slaves, prisoners, mutilated men, women and children. He established hospitals and orphanages and curbed personal feuds and private wars. - We still enjoy so many fruits of the great Christian labours of the past, that we cannot imagine what life must have been like in preChristian times. It is now fashionable to credit all humanitarian achievements to the socialists and humanists, but it is the Christians who have made and still make the difference! In South Africa, too, Christianity brought peace and progress. Only when Christ was officially denied did men's lives become again dirty and cheap.

Among the blessings which our Lord brought are first of all the Hospitals. It was the parable of the Good Samaritan which inspired Christians to great acts of mercy. This good man, on finding the injured traveller, "bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine... and took care of him. " (Luke 10:25-37) In the Western world hospitals were established as early as the Middle Ages, and Christians contributed greatly to general health by teaching purity and holy living. They followed the example of their Lord: "And great multitudes followed Him, and he healed them all - Matt. 12:15) Christ inspired ministers, priests, monks, nuns, missionaries, and untold numbers of laymen to help and heal the poor in all the world. Who has not heard of Florence Nightingale or Albert Schweitzer or the Red Cross and untold others? In South Africa, too, Western medicine came with the Christian missionaries. In short, had Jesus not come, compassion, healing, and medicine would not be what they are now.

Another blessing Christ brought is the Universities which also date back to the Middle Ages. Today every school, college and university - public or private, is a visible reminder of the religion of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is not to say that every school is still Christian - often the very opposite. But education for the masses has its roots in Christianity, which is a teaching religion. Moses says: "These words (of God's Law) which I command you today shall be in your heart: you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house. when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. " (Deut. 6:6-7) Christ, too, commands us to teach, saying: "Go and leach all nations... to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. " (Matt. 28:19-20) Thus, throughout the Christian era the universities were created for and dedicated to Christian purposes. Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Yale, and indeed Stellenbosch were all sacrificially founded by Christians. Martin Luther was so concerned about the life and soul of his country that he said: I am much afraid, that the universities be gates of hell unless they diligently exercise the Holy Scriptures and teach them to the young people. " 2)

Another thing Christ brought is Literacy and Education, once the prerogative of the privileged. When Christian missionaries went went into all the world they committed to writing many Of its languages. People learned to read the Bible for themselves. Who has not heard of the Bible translators John Wycliffe, Martin Luther, Robert Moffat and countless others who lifted up their People in knowledge and righteousness. Tribal languages are still being codified today, and quite recently the South.4fiican Bible Society was honoured for advancing the new Zulu orthography through their Bibles. - When Johann Gutenberg (c. 1398-1468) of Germany invented the printing press, his stated intent was to "manifold the Bible. " Comenius, Luther, and Calvin worked towards education for all. "History bears very clear testimony that Calvinism and education have been intimately associated, " says Dr Loraine Boettner, the late American theologian. "Wherever Calvinism has gone it has carried the school with it and has given a powerful impulse to popular education. It is a system which demands intellectual manhood In fact, we may say that its very existence is tied up with the education of the people. " 3) - In South Africa, too, education was advanced by churches and missions, and to this day many of our best teachers are Christians.

Another thing Christ brought is the prosperity of the Western World. Capitalism and free Enterprise are systems based on applied Christian principles. Private property, the foundation of all good economics, is promulgated in the Ten Commandments. The 8th Commandment: 'Thou shalt not steal" (Exod. 20:15) is a divine guarantee of private property. The 10th says: "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house... nor anything that is thy neighbour's" The Bible makes it clear that it is sinful to seize another man's goods. It also prohibits false witness (9th - v. 16) and adultery (71~h - v. 14) and thereby shows that contracts should be honoured, and that double dealing is forbidden. The 5th commandment "honour thy father and thy mother that thy days may be long" shows that the family, not the State, is responsible for the wealth and well-being of its members. - Labour is understood as a God-given responsibility. For God ordained work, to be done to His glory, even before the fall, and He calls man to accountable stewardship. Devout Christians developed the Protestant work ethic, with its self-reliance and self-denial, and demonstrated that wealth is a fruit of labour and a sign of God's blessing. They encouraged servanthood and generosity to the needy. Today millions of people enjoy the wealth of the West without realising its spiritual roots. South Africa, too, became a rich country because of its Biblical faith and ethics.

Even the (by now mostly secular) governments of the world owe their shape and form to Christ. It was the Calvinist countries which first adopted Representative Government. Christian republics were patterned on Reformed church government In the USA this was credited to the Presbyterians and in South Africa to the Dutch Reformed Church. People who believed that 'Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people', framed their constitutions to reflect their religious covenant with God and shaped their legal systems to reflect His law. In America Abraham Lincoln said: "It is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power a God.. and to recognise the sublime truth. announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord. " 4) - South Africa, too, believed in this principle. We remember how valiantly and in vain its Christians struggled in 1995 to keep in their constitution the preamble which reads: "In humble submission to Almighty God who controls the destinies of nations and the histories of peoples, who gathered our forebears together from many lands and gave them this their own, who has guided them from generation to generation, who has wondrously delivered them from the dangers that beset them. We declare that we are conscious of our responsibility to God and man... " But the words of the covenant were taken out of the constitution and the ultimate honour given to man instead of God. The laws restraining blasphemy and immorality were removed from the law books, and law and order are in disarray.

So the question: "What if Jesus had never been born? is a vital question for our times. The world's ills are increasingly blamed on Christians and Christianity. But! Had Jesus not been born, our world would look different. There would be few civil liberties. In Christ's name slavery was abolished, human life respected, women elevated, adultery, homosexuality and perversity condemned. For His sake charity and benevolence spread, and high standards of justice reigned. Modem science developed as men started thinking God's thoughts after Him. Music and art flourished as men glorified their God. Civilization spread as more and more men accepted the Lordship of Christ. - Though unbelievers now claim that they are bringing all the good things into the world, they are merely boasting of the Christian heritage on which they are building. Only one thing is true: "Christ rules the world with grace and truth, and makes the nations prove the glories of His righteousness and wonders of His love. "

May God bless you richly,
D Scarborough.