Pastors Peter Simpson and John Sherwood were preaching the gospel in Slough High Street on August 29th.
An atheist came by and made some mocking comments regarding the preachers’ presence. He declared the Christian faith to be a fairy story and also quoted the 19th century philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, and his famous saying that ‘God is dead’. Pastor Simpson responded by asking on what grounds the statement of a philosopher should supersede the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ, who authenticated His teachings by many mighty miracles, and who also rose from the dead.
At one stage Pastor Simpson spoke on Jeremiah 17:9-10. Men’s hearts – by their very nature – are inclined to sin and to the rejection of God. God reads their hearts and sees the corruption within each one. He looks into the innermost recesses of men’s minds. He knows perfectly well if people love their sin and despise Him in their thoughts and in their general inward disposition.
Passers-by were warned of the extreme danger of their unbelief, and the preacher quoted the Lord’s words in John 3:18,
“He that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18 ).
Non-believers, therefore, are not neutral or innocent, but are right now in a state of condemnation and under God’s wrath, being governed and controlled by a sinful heart, and the only solution for having the condemnation removed is repentance from sin and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
As Pastor Simpson declared that “all have sinned’ (Romans 3:23), a passing Muslim said that he was assured that Allah would be merciful to him, implying that there was no need to come to Christ.
The preacher, in order to counter Islamic teaching, responded that forgiveness cannot be earned, and sin cannot be compensated for by good works or religious duties. Forgiveness can only be obtained through the Lord Jesus and His shed blood, by His sacrificial death in the sinner’s place. There must be atonement by blood as the righteous basis for God to forgive sin; otherwise, the forgiveness would constitute a bypassing of His justice.
Prayer is now being offered up that those in Slough who heard of the danger which they are in might resort to Christ with the utmost urgency.
