An Open Letter to the Free Presbyterian Ministers

Of Mr. Linton, Rev. Ivan Foster says:
“A man of unswerving loyalty to the founding principles and witness of the FPC”
Communicant members of Magherafelt congregation who believe Elder Raymond Linton has been unfairly treated can appeal to Presbytery by means of a petition . . More info at:
http://www.ivanfoster.org/article.asp?date=7/29/2007&seq=13

“My prayer is that God will preserve that part of the Separated witness represented by the Free Church in Ulster, and that dirty politics will not destroy its testimony for Christ."
Rev. Stephen Hamilton, FPC, Allentown, PA
Refer to Rev. Hamilton’s Comments posted on 7-17 & 7-18-07 in connection with article 'Paisley - the price I paid to cut deal'/6-10-07/Interview of Dr. Paisley/Belfast Telegraph TV
http://www.sermonaudio.com/new_details.asp?ID=23828#comments

"He values not Christ at all who does not value Christ above all" Augustine

A Solemn Appeal & Prayer . . . . June 4, 2007

Dear Sirs:

In departing once again from my usual format of posing a question to Dr. Paisley, it is my purpose today to post an “open letter” to the Ministers of the Free Presbyterian Church.

I along with many others who consider themselves Friends of the FPC are greatly troubled by the contention . . the division . . the discord . . the strife, which the FPC presently is confronted by and grappling with, as a consequence of the decision Dr. Paisley has made to form what can only be regarded as an ungodly alliance with Sinn Fein/IRA. I can only conclude that you are not as disturbed as I, because of your collective silence. To their credit a few have spoken out, namely, Rev. David Linden of Portglenone FPC, Rev. Ralph Hall and Rev. Ian Kenny , and the most vocal being Rev. Ivan Foster of Kilskeery Free Presbyterian Church. Nevertheless, I am utterly dismayed and perplexed by the level of apathy, indifference, complacency, and reluctance on your part to speak out in opposition to these matters. Rev. Foster appears to be the only one who is grieved and disheartened over these unanticipated and unimagineable developments. If that weren’t enough, to add to his grief he has been unfairly cast as the villain in these matters. And so our Lord said it would be.

“Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

. . . . for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”
(Matt. 5:11-12b)

It is extremely out of character for a preacher to be without comment . . . to be rendered speechless . . to be silent. I cannot believe you are not all outraged over this base betrayal of the Truth committed by one of your very own colleagues in the Congregation of the Lord. I myself, though I be but a “friend” of the FPC, am greatly burdened over these things, and am shocked . . appalled by the path Dr. Paisley has now taken, so far removed from the “old paths” he once traveled. What I find to be equally distressing is your collective silence.

Do you not see that in these things:

- A godly example has not been set by those who are given the spiritual rule over the flock;
(1 Peter 5:1-3)
- Evil has been called good; (Is. 5:20)
- Occasion has been given for the enemy to blaspheme the LORD
(II Sam. 12:14)
- The ungodly have been helped; (II Chron. 19:2)
- Christ has been insulted;
- The Cause of Christ is under a direct assault;
- God’s law has been spurned; (Rom. 13:3-4)
- The testimony/witness of the FPC has been compromised and weakened;
- The truth has not been upheld
- The standard for God’s people, His Word, has been undermined;
(Jer. 50:2)
- The people of God are greatly divided? ? ? ?

Many a time Preacher you have rebuked me through your sermons, and I was glad when you did. I laid it to heart!

“ . . . . . rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.” Proverbs 9:8b

But now, when the time has come for you to rebuke one of your own, you recoil from it . . you shrink from your charge to do so. Did not the prophet Jehu, rebuke King Jehoshaphat for the sinful alliance he formed with King Ahab?
(2 Chron. 19) Should you not do likewise?
http://www.ivanfoster.org/article.asp?date=7/29/2007&seq=11

Rev. Foster has not refrained from doing so, though I know he would wish it were not necessary. Nevertheless he has not shrunk from his duty, and has confronted the matter in a most forthright manner. He has spoken the “truth in love” (Eph. 4:15) to an old and cherished friend and colleague; he has shown no partiality (1 Tim. 5:19-21); he has rightly rebuked his brother in the Lord, and that openly.

“Open rebuke is better than secret love.” (Prov. 27:5)

If you doubt this, I would share with you now an excerpt from an article written by Rev. Foster entitled "The devil's work and who is doing it?", written in response to an article that appeared in the ‘Belfast Telegraph’ of 5-23-07, entitled 'Paisley blasts his critics for doing "the devil's work"'
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"It would be far from the truth to say that I have not expressed my views personally to Dr. Paisley. Equally, it would be far from the truth to say that I have allied myself with the "blatantly ungodly", or indeed, anyone else in any attack upon him.

On November 4th, two days prior to a meeting between a Presbytery delegation of ministers and Dr Paisley and other leading members of the DUP, I e-mailed him with the question that I was going to put to him when I met him. This I did in order to remove any appearance of trying to "score points" in the discussion that would take place. I also said in that e-mail that I believed that should he become First Minister with Martin McGuinness as Deputy First Minister in a power-sharing arrangement with Sinn Fein/IRA, his new role would be incompatible with his being moderator of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster.

Here is the text of that e-mail.

November 4th, 2006.

Dear Ian, You will know that the reported terms of agreement between the DUP and Sinn Fein/IRA which may or may not be finally ratified, are the cause of great concern amongst those who are your friends. Personally, I could never give my consent to Martin McGuinness holding the office of Deputy First Minister and the thought of you, whose life's struggle is known to me as well as any outside of your own immediate family, finding yourself in tandem with one who is guilty of the blood-shedding of so many of our fellow countrymen is utterly heart-breaking and incompatible with your duties as Moderator of our church. Whatever the future holds for us all, I would wish you to know that I and my whole family hold the name and the labours of Ian Paisley in highest esteem. That is what makes the possibility of you in political partnership with such a wicked man so unthinkable and grievous to me. I have been placed upon the Presbytery delegation that will meet with representatives of the DUP on Monday. As a token of my sincerity and to show that I do not consider this to be a matter of scoring points, I am now giving you a copy of the question I intend asking in the will of God.

"In the light of the teaching of the Word of God that aiding wicked men into high office or forming a political alliance with them for such, as in the case of Jehoshaphat, is seen by the Lord as helping the ungodly and loving them that hate the Lord, 2 Chronicles 19:2;

And in the light of the murderous careers of Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness, to name but two of the leaders of the organisation which we have all, in the past, agreed was a monstrous and ungodly organisation upon which the judgment of God rested;

And in the light of the DUP's oft-repeated and uncompromising rejection of the possibility of Sinn Fein/IRA holding office in a coalition while it did not manifest a "sackcloth and ashes" spirit of repentance which would necessitate the complete dismantling of every aspect of its terrorist organisation, its handing over the names of those guilty of crimes for which they have not yet been punished, a return of Sinn Fein/IRA's ill-gotten gains from robbery and intimidation as well as its full support for the police and justice system;

And in the light of the teaching of Rome that "no faith is to be kept with heretics" and that it is lawful for a person to dissemble when taking an oath by holding a mental reservation regarding the substance of the oath being taken:

Will the DUP enter a political partnership with Sinn Fein/IRA?"

Since that meeting on November 6th last year, I have repeatedly enlarged upon my views in Dr. Paisley's presence within Presbytery. There have been occasions when procedural steps have been taken to hinder the articulating of such views. But on Friday 2nd March, March 30th and May 4th, opposition to Dr. Paisley’s occupying the moderator's chair while leading a power-sharing arrangement with Sinn Fein/IRA was clearly stated to him."

The full text of that article can be accessed by following the link below and clearly shows that Rev. Foster has been altogether forthright and forthcoming in his dealings with Dr. Paisley.
http://www.ivanfoster.org/article.asp?date=7/29/2007&seq=6
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Keeping in mind that God’s Word is the Christian’s only rule for faith and practice, and that God's Word plainly teaches 'guilt by association', the issues that you are confronted with and the questions that must be answered, regarding the present controversy surrounding Dr. Paisley, are quite simple.

"But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay; for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil." (Matt. 5:37)

1) Is it ever right to do wrong? The answer is an unequivocal “NO”, and is the answer Dr. Paisley himself has given. I have included a quote by a former American President, Woodrow Wilson, which was cited in the closing remarks of this article co-authored by Prof. C.A.M. Noble in association with Dr. Ian R. K. Paisley on February 21, 1998, entitled
'The United States' Debt to Ulster'.

"May God reveal to President Clinton the truth of Woodrow Wilson's words to Clemenceau at the end of World War I, and may President Clinton way up and apply this great moral principle in his relations with Ulster:

'It is not right to do wrong, even to make peace.'

IN GOD WE TRUST - FOR GOD AND ULSTER"
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"Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." (James 4:17)

The full text of that article can be accessed by following the link below, and was written in the context of the ongoing discussions regarding the Rule of Northern Ireland.
http://www.ianpaisley.org/article.asp?ArtKey=dupusa

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I would also ask each of you to prayerfully read the 'Solemn Covenant' drawn up primarily by Dr. Paisley in 1988 and signed by those worshippers present at the Lord's Day Services of February 28, taken from an article written by Rev. Ivan Foster entitled 'Power-sharing with murderers - right or wrong?', which can be accessed at the link shown below:
http://www.ivanfoster.org/article.asp?date=7/29/2007&seq=1
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2) Can Dr. Paisley, in his position, as Moderator of the FPC, uphold God’s law, which as a Minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ he has vowed to do, and simultaneously uphold the law of the land, which he has sworn to do in his pledge of office of First Minister of Northern Ireland. Again the answer is an unequivocal “NO”. The conflict inherent in the "so-called" Equality Legislation dramatically illustrates this truth.

“ . . . . ye cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matthew 6:24b)
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The answer is plainly set forth by Rev. Ivan Foster, your colleague and fellow Gospel Minister, and contained in this excerpt from the text of a sermon he preached recently on Joshua 24:15, entitled 'Whither Free Presbyterianism?':

"The answer is surely plain. Dr. Paisley must be persuaded to leave this evil political alliance or vacate the position of Moderator.

We cannot permit ourselves to be yoked together with such wickedness."

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I hope and pray you will all be given the mind of Christ to act decisively in these matters to right this terrible wrong, and once again take your STAND for Christ and His Cause.
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I would ask all who love the Lord to pray along with my wife and I for the Free Presbyterian Ministers . . . that . . . . .

- they will all once again be filled with fresh courage and zeal for God’s truth, and that like this faithful man of God, Rev. Ivan Foster, show themselves also to be jealous for their God;
(1 Kings 19:10)

- they will all see in the clear light of Scripture, the inherent wrongful and ungodly nature of this power-sharing alliance that the Moderator of the FPC has entered into;
(II Cor. 6:14)

- they will all see that in this matter truth has not been upheld, neither has righteousness been exalted;
(Prov. 14:34)

- they will all see that in this matter justice has been thwarted and God’s law has been spurned; (Romans 13:3-4)

- they will all work together, strengthening one another’s hands, to preserve the witness of the FPC from any further compromise, that our Lord not withdraw his presence, neither remove his candlestick there;
(Revelation 2:4-5)

- they will all once again be set for the defence of the gospel and earnestly contend for the faith; (Jude 3)

- they will all remain faithful to their “first love”, and demonstrate their fidelity afresh to the One “. . . . who loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever.”
(Revelation 1:5b-6)

May God grant unto each of you the wisdom to resolve these matters according to His will and may He give you the courage to remain silent no more!

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I hope you will receive this letter in the spirit of Christian love in which it was written. I have made every effort, by God’s grace, to the speak the “truth in love”.

In Christian fellowship,


Ralph & June Nadolny,
Friends of the FPC
& Members of the Body of Christ

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