James Allan, Dowlais

It is a challenge to select a handful of bible verses to take to a desert island. It is also a great opportunity and humbling privilege to reflect on God’s grace and blessing over a period of time.

Which verses would you take to the desert island?

For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 1 Corinthians 15:22

When I was on camp as a 10-year-old boy, Terry Williams (Bethel, Nelson) was the chaplain for the week; and being ‘in Adam’ or ‘in Christ’ was the week’s theme. I’m not sure whether I really grasped Romans chapter 5 that week, nor the doctrine of inherited guilt. However, one thing did become clear – a person is either ‘in Adam’ or ‘in Christ’. Mr Williams said, “There is no sitting on the fence.” I knew I was in Adam – but I wanted to be in Christ.

Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. Hebrews 12:14

In my first year of secondary school, my father had left a dull looking hardback book out in the house. It was Holiness by J.C. Ryle. I began to flick through the pages. Commenting on Hebrews 12:14 at the beginning of chapter 3, Ryle wrote: “The text which heads this page opens up a subject of deep importance…It suggests a question which demands the attention of all professing Christians: are we holy? Shall we see the Lord?” I was terrified. Was I a Christian? I didn’t feel very holy. Over the next few years I was bothered tremendously by the thought of my sin.

…having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. 2 Timothy 3:5

  

In my mid-teens, I sat in a packed church hall, listening to a preacher expound 2 Timothy 3:1-5. As I listened, I was convinced that I was guilty of every sin listed in those verses. The sermon did not provide much relief for my awakened conscience. I tossed and turned that night before the gospel I had always known as a child became real to me. I knew now that only Christ had given me all I needed. I sighed the deepest sigh of relief I had ever sighed.

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. Romans 5:8-9

My Sunday School career was not hugely successful. I was never a prolific memoriser of verses. However, in my mid-teens someone set me the challenge of learning Romans 5:8-9. These verses enabled me to share my faith and would be in my mind when explaining the gospel to others. They were the verses preached at our wedding and are now framed and on my living room wall.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places Ephesians 1:3

This verse was instrumental in developing my understanding of Christian experience. As a student, I read a book called Christian Experience, by a 20^th century Free Church of Scotland minister, Donald MacDonald. I remember hoping for a semi-mystical book, outlining how the felt presence of God could be cultivated. What I discovered was a book largely about doctrine. At the same time, I was experiencing a growing affection for the book of Ephesians. Chapter 1 verse 3 taught me that I have already been blessed “in Christ with every spiritual blessing.” Chapter 1 describes the believer’s election before the foundation of the world, their adoption, their redemption through Christ’s blood and their sealing with the promised Holy Spirit. I came to understand that if I have already been blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing, the nature of my Christian experience is plumbing the depths of what I already possess in Christ. I still feel I’m only paddling up to my ankles and there remain great depths to be known.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. Romans 6:5

Every day I am conscious of a real battle with sin. I have desires that should be resisted and my battle with sin does not seem to have got any easier. Romans chapter 6 has helped. It tells me I am united to Christ. As a believer, I am joined to Him – what has happened to Him has happened to me. I have died with Him so that my body of sin might be brought to nothing. I have been raised with Christ, to new life in Him. This understanding has been foundational in my daily battle. As I seek to obey Romans 6:12, “Let not sin reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions,” I do so against the background of the transformation that Romans 6 explains. I have powers that I did not have before because I am a new creation – the ‘old man’ is crucified. God has made me a new creature and possessed me with resources, capacities and abilities I did not have before.

Who would you like to find on the island for company?

At university, I read Shadow of the Almighty by Elisabeth Elliot. The book is her biography of her husband, the missionary Jim Elliot, killed aged 29 by Auca Indians in Ecuador in 1956. Later, I bought his journals and if I’m honest, as I read them, I was not always sure what he was talking about. But I remember thinking there was a loveliness about his life. For much of the book, he is away from home at college – so was I for the first time. His life was single-minded in its service to Christ. Some words he penned are well-known, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” I wanted to imitate him in my service to Christ. There seemed an attractiveness about his devotion to Christ. It made any other way of living seem completely foolish. So, I’d like to spend time with him. I could also ask him what he was on about in the bits of his journals I didn’t understand.

Which song would you take to the island?

As a young Christian, initially I struggled with the doctrine of election. In time, I embraced it. The bible clearly taught it and how could someone as sinful as me choose Christ? I love how verse 4 of the hymn below describes being “lost in holy wonder”.

Sovereign grace o’er sin abounding,

Ransomed souls, the tidings swell;

’Tis a deep that knows no sounding;

Who its breadth or length can tell?

On its glories

Let my soul for ever dwell.

What from Christ that soul shall sever,

Bound by everlasting bands?

Once in Him, in Him for ever,

Thus the eternal cov’nant stands:

None shall pluck thee

From the Strength of Israel’s hands.

Heirs of God, joint-heirs with Jesus,

Long-ere time its race begun;

To His Name eternal praises;

O what wonders He hath done!

One with Jesus,

By eternal union one.

On such love, my soul, still ponder,

Love so great, so rich and free;

Say, while lost in holy wonder,

‘Why, O Lord, such love to me?’

Hallelujah!

Grace shall reign eternally.

John Kent, 1766-1843