Christians today tend to remember only the most well-known figures of the Reformation, such as Martin Luther and John Calvin.
But as the restoration of the gospel and true worship spread from country to country in the 16th and 17th centuries, dramatic and inspiring events took place over several generations involving a wide number of heroic Christians. I strongly recommend the reading of Reformation history and the many biographies that chronicle these amazing events.
The struggle over the gospel was especially dramatic in Scotland during the late 16th century and the whole of the 17th century. Few peoples ever showed such determination to possess true religion, against such bitter and violent persecution, as the Scots. In fact, the Scottish Reformation exerted a great deal of influence over our own history and even on the life of our corner of South Carolina, as many of the persecuted Scots fled to America, establishing strong churches mostly in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and the Carolinas. Our own region is considered a bastion of Presbyterian and Reformed Christianity because of the many Scots who came to our region in pursuit of religious freedom. Many of our church members descend from these stalwart Christians, including your senior pastor, whose Scottish forebears immigrated to North Carolina in the late 1600’s.
In the first generation of the Scottish Reformation, John Knox led the Kirk (the Scottish church) to rebel Mary Queen of Scots’ rule over the church. In their famous interview, Mary accused Knox of sedition against the Scottish throne and Knox accused the Queen of sedition against God’s throne. During the late 1500’s, the Scottish Kirk gained a measure of independence from the crown and organized itself on biblical principles, led by Spirit-called elders who obeyed the Bible (this is known as Presbyterianism).
In the second generation of the Reformation, King James (of King James Bible fame) sought to reestablish his bishops over the Kirk. He famously declared, “No bishop, no king,” meaning that he could only rule Scotland if he controlled the church. Andrew Melville famously replied to him: “There are two kings and two kingdoms in Scotland; there is King James, the head of the commonwealth, and there is Christ Jesus, the King of the Church, whose subject James the Sixth is.” It was from this central issue that the Scottish Reformers gained their rally cry: For Christ’s Crown and Covenant! For his part, King James offered back-handed praise to the Kirk, complaining, “Presbytery agreeth as well with monarchy as God with the devil.”
As the Scottish Reformation reached a third generation, the battle lines were clearly drawn. The king and his bishops asserted the right of the state to govern the church, arguing that an independent church was a threat to civil order. The Presbyterians replied that the church is an institution of Christ’s kingdom and that King Jesus must rule his church through elders who taught and obeyed the Bible.
In 1613, Alexander Henderson was installed by his bishop as pastor of the Kirk at Leuchars. The people welcomed him by nailing shut the doors of the church, so that he would have to enter through the windows like the thieves of Jesus’ parable in John 10:1. It was in an empty and locked church that the unregenerate pastor was installed. The next year, however, Henderson was present to hear the Presbyterian firebrand preacher, Robert Bruce, preach a sermon from John 10:1, when he accused the royalist pastors of usurping Christ’s rule over His flock. The Holy Spirit pierced Henderson’s heart so that he repented and believed on Jesus for the first time. The result was immediate scorn from the royal authorities but the embrace of his people, to whom Henderson repented and to whom he now began preaching the Bible.
For the next twenty years, Henderson pastored his flock and gained a reputation for courage and integrity among the Presbyterians. When, in 1625, King Charles I required obedience to standards that required all churches to practice unbiblical rituals (such as venerating saints and kneeling before idols), Henderson was one of the leading pastors who refused to obey. In the 1630’s King Charles and his notorious archbishop Laud sought to wipe out the Reformation and impose ritualistic Roman Catholic worship throughout the land. The people of the Kirk rose up in rebellion and Alexander Henderson stepped forth to lead them. He publicly refused to use the unbiblical forms of prayers or allow the rituals in his congregation. Threatened with imprisonment, he filed a claim pointing out the legal requirement for the General Assembly to approve any changes to worship. Emboldened by Henderson’s stand, the Kirk stood together against the king, leading to a public stand-off. King Charles convicted Henderson of treason and threatening to invade Scotland with an English army to impose his control over the church. Henderson responded by drafting the famous National Covenant, a document by which all ranks in Scotland agreed to stand as one for the gospel a true Kirk.
The National Covenant was first brought forth in the old Church of the Greyfriars in Edinburgh. After a time of fasting, Henderson and three others appeared in the church with the document. Raising his hands, he called upon God to secure the gospel and the church in Scotland. The Covenant was read and immense numbers of Scots came forth to affix their names. Nobles and barons came forth to stand for Christ. With them came the common people to affix their names in history. For days afterward, the people came in multitudes to stand for Christ’s crown and covenant, and when the National Covenant was taken to each of the other cities of the realm the scene was repeated.
In the years to come, many struggles would ensue and great volumes of blood would be shed by the Scottish Presbyterians for their faith in Christ. But seldom has a greater uprising for the gospel been seen than when Alexander Henderson first refused to betray Christ, second, offered himself to be persecuted for Christ, and, third, challenged a whole nation to do likewise. Henderson’s spirit and example are worth remembering today, as more and more Christians conform to the demands of the world and bow to official opposition to Christ and His gospel. Henderson’s example reminds us that we may have to pay a great price in terms of worldly loss if we are to stand up for the gospel. But he also shows us that God will grant the power of His Spirit to those who refuse to yield the claims of Christ as King of His Church and Lord over the spirits of all men. As we celebrate Reformation Sunday this year, may God grant a renewal of courageous faith, so that we may possess a spirit of bold zeal for the cause of Christ and His Kingdom.
