Christians in Somalia live in one of the harshest environments in the world and persecution arises from multiple sources. A key one amongst them is the extremist group Al-Shabaab, which openly executes anyone they suspect might be a Christian. Conversion to Christianity comes with extreme risk – believers can be disowned by their clan which leaves them highly vulnerable, and some are even killed by their own relatives to preserve the ‘honour’ of the community. Aweis, a Somali believer, received a threat from his father when he found out about his son’s interest in Jesus: “My father said, ‘I cannot stop you from reading your Bible, but if you become a Christian, I will be the one to kill you.’”

Christ has not been unclear about who may serve as a pastor in any church that bears His Name. He cares deeply about how His churches are organized and operate. We see this in the language that the Apostle Paul uses to instruct Timothy about giving leadership in the church at Ephesus. He writes, “I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:14-15). God cares about how His people conduct themselves in His house. In other words, His house—His rules. And God has made it a rule that only qualified men can serve as pastors in His church. This is abundantly evident from the plain teaching of the New Testament both in the examples we have (no church was led by women pastors) and in the qualifications prescribed for pastors—“he must be…the husband of one wife” (μιᾶς γυναικὸς ἄνδρα, a “one woman man;” emphasis added), 1 Timothy 3:2. Additionally, the Apostle Paul addresses the question directly in 1 Timothy 2:9-14.

Devotion is a word we hear often. We hear it in love songs and in references to early morning times with the Lord. To be devoted is to be loyal and dedicated to some cause or to a person. Stories of devotion abound in our world. In The Return of the King, Samwise Gamgee sees the utter exhaustion of his friend, Frodo. They are at the foot of Mount Doom—so close to the end. Sam does not simply take the ring and finish the journey himself; he lifts his ring-bearing friend onto his shoulders and carries him up the mountain. He is devoted to the end. Films like Saving Private Ryan and Braveheart likewise portray devotion to a cause, where one is willing to risk his own life for the freedom of another. Devotion inspires heroic acts of courage in the face of looming threat. We love stories like these because we know how difficult devotion really is.

The Coalition for Marriage writes: Marriage is the freely chosen, public, lifelong union of one man and one woman, and the gold standard for couples and the children they raise. The Government has just opened a consultation that would quietly dismantle its place in law. Blandly titled “A fairer end to relationships”, it would automatically hand the legal benefits of marriage to couples who never married – unless they opt out – and, when one partner dies, give the other the same inheritance rights as a husband or wife.

Benedict writes: There are so many opportunities, here! To give one example. There was one man at the pastoral training who spoke a little English. He pastors a church 2 or so hours from Chiang Rai. He gives some very basic pastoral training every Sunday night to the other men present at the training week. But he himself is coming to this basic pastoral training and learning, showing that he is in great need of being taught. Ideally, someone would go to his church to see the situation and to guide and teach and help him. But, the men here simply do not have the time because of all their other ministerial commitments and responsibilities. Sunday was a blessed day. It was a joy to worship with fellow believers in such a familiar manner, even though we were nearly 6000 miles from England. At 9:15am, we had the Bible hour with teaching on chapter 13 of the 1689 Confession, ‘Of Sanctification’; we were well-reminded of the ‘irreconcilable war’ that wages in us between the flesh and the Spirit but were encouraged by the truth that sanctification is a work of God, and he shall complete what he has started. Worship began at 10:45am. We were familiar with two of the hymns that were sung: ‘Praise my soul the King of heaven’ and ‘Before the throne of God above’. The sermon drew our attention to the remarkable richness of Genesis in explaining the origins of the world, of sin, and even of salvation, it being so filled with types and pictures of Jesus Christ. We fellowshipped with the brothers and sisters and were heartened by their commitment and love of the Lord.

Oliver writes: Thank you for your continued interest in the work of APC. We praise God for answered prayer, and for his ongoing blessing upon the ministry of APC. This year we have already completed several conference runs across the continent, and many have received vital guidance concerning the hermeneutic of the Scriptures modelled by the Lord Jesus and his Apostles. You can see attached the summary of our conference schedule, outlining the content of each session and the overall objective of this year's teaching. We praise God for all that is being accomplished for the good of the churches. Our objective is always long-term, to influence the present and future generations of ministers so that they might preach Christ in all the Scriptures and call their people to put their faith in the Lord Jesus alone for their salvation. 

Keith writes: I had started to draft this Newsletter to tell you the arrangements for the proposed visit to Kenya that was scheduled for late next week (leaving June 12). But I have had to cancel it because Priscilla suffered a small stroke two weeks ago. She is back at home, but very tired, and I need to care for her in this recovery period. Humanly speaking, this is a big disappointment for us both, as even Mama has been preparing for months for me to take things to those to be visited. Yet there is much to be thankful for: it could have been much worse, it has provided opportunities for witness, and the love of God’s people has a further opportunity to be demonstrated. We are also brought face to face again with the hope in Christ that we have that nothing, not even death, can take away.

In the Coffee House, John-Mark is joined by Brandon Adams and Benedict Allmand-Smith to discuss Covenant Theology, the Sinai/Mosaic covenant, Paul’s argument in Galatians 3, the Abrahamic Covenant and its relationship to the New Covenant, and the different views on Abraham and Moses, particularly expressed in the majority Reformed view and the arguments of Meredith Kline. Brandon begins by defining the historic “subservient covenant” view: Sinai is distinct from the covenant of grace and serves it by functioning as a typological covenant of works tied to temporal life and blessing in Canaan, conditioned on obedience. They contrast this with the majority historic Reformed view that post-fall covenants are one covenant of grace, and explain competing readings of Galatians 3:10–12 and 3:15–18 (including the “ad hominem” reading). Adams relates Kline’s works-principle approach, critiques attempts to separate the Abrahamic and Mosaic covenants, and argues Paul’s “promise” centers on Christ blessing the nations, distinguishing the historia salutis from the ordo salutis. Dive deep into covenant theology as you join this Coffee House Session at the Wharfe.

A Christian former police community support officer has won a legal settlement from North Yorkshire Police after taking legal action when he was forced out of his role and permanently barred from policing for asking questions about Islam during mandatory diversity training. Luke Salmons, a former Police Community Support Officer (PCSO), brought legal claims against the Chief Constable of North Yorkshire Police, alleging the force unlawfully discriminated against him because of his Christian beliefs and violated his rights to freedom of religion and expression under the European Convention on Human Rights. Supported by the Christian Legal Centre, the matter has now settled without the need for Mr Salmons to pursue his case to trial before the Employment Tribunal. Mr Salmons’ case offers a rare insight into the level of political and ideological control being exercised through so‑called ‘diversity’ training within the UK police, raising serious concerns about freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and the treatment of Christians and other dissenting voices in public institutions.

Jewish-Christian thought sees man as made up of two distinct substances that are not in conflict. Nor does the Bible view matter as being inherently evil. For the Christian, redemption is OF the body, not FROM the body. The Christian doctrine of substantial dichotomy is not dualistic. Man is not a dualism but a duality. That is, we have a real body (material substance) and a real soul (immaterial substance). There is an analogy with the person of Christ in that He has two natures or substances, divine and human, united in one person. That He has two substances does not necessitate a dualism in His person. (Of course the human nature of Christ also includes a human body and a human soul.) That we are made up of body and soul is indicated in the creation account: “And the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul” (Gen. 2:7). In the creation imagery man’s body is formed first. But the body without the soul remains lifeless. When God breathes the breath of life into the body, then man becomes a living soul.