An Honest Rector

From: A Message From God: 1918

About the same time as Mr. Fraser’s sermon was sent me, a letter came to me from Western Australia. This is an extract: ―

“A memorial service was held in the church on Advent Sunday, and I was sorry to hear, our Rector say, in the course of his address, that the Sacrifice of Calvary was being re-enacted daily by our boys on the battlefield. Having just received the leaflet of yours, ‘Does an heroic death wipe out past misdeeds?’ I forwarded one to him, also a booklet entitled ‘Unbelief the A 1 sin of today,’ in which is a paragraph called ‘The fact of Christ.’ I took the liberty of pointing out how incomparable is the death of Calvary; Our soldiers dying for the salvation of their friends’ bodies; the Saviour of the World shedding His blood to redeem the souls of His enemies. The soldiers die, honored as heroes; our Saviour dies ignobly, despised and rejected of men―the burden of a world’s sin upon One Who was holy. The desertion of His Father―the mock trial and crown of thorns―all this and more, that His enemies might share with Him His Father’s Kingdom. I signed my letter ‘A Parishioner.’

“On the following Sunday the Rector publicly thanked whoever had written to put him right, acknowledging his mistake, and saying that he thought at the time that it was a dangerous thing to say. He quoted from your leaflet (‘Does an heroic death,’ etc.’), and preached a splendid sermon on John 3:16¹⁶For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16) and 1 Timothy 3:16,¹⁶And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. (1 Timothy 3:16) and finished up with Galatians 1:8⁸But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:8).

“I felt glad because he is such a well-liked man, that people would take notice of his, word, and he had before seemed to imply that a soldier making the ‘supreme sacrifice’ would be all right with God.”

This Rector was a brave and honest man, he saw his error, and publicly acknowledged it. Would to God that Mr. Fraser would do the same. What could he give us in the place of the salvation of Christ he seeks to take from us?

Thank God, on sea and land, men are trusting Jesus, as the following incident will tell.

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