Benjamin Keach

Benjamin Keach

On an October day in 1664, 24-year-old English pastor Benjamin Keach stood on trial.  The charge was “schismaticall factions and hereticall matter.”  The subject: infant baptism.  The text in question: a primer Reverend Keach wrote for children. 

As a Baptist, Reverend Keach believed and taught the practice was for those mature enough to profess faith in Christ, a conviction he came to after much study.  He was saved at age 15 and began his pastorate at age 18 – in the church that would in later times become known as the Metropolitan Tabernacle – pastored in the 19^th century by Charles Spurgeon.

A prolific author, he received a lot of unwanted attention from the Church of England, resulting in the trial mentioned above.  His books were burned in front of him, he was sentenced to two weeks in jail, then two hours in the ‘pillory’ (i.e. – ‘stocks’) with the written charge to be displayed prominently, “For writing and publishing a schismatical book…” 

Normally in a pillory, the accused would be pelted with objects or stones and be subject to jeering from the crowd.  Keach’s response was to use the time there as a preaching opportunity.  With his wife by his side, he spoke clearly to the crowds, holding their attention.  An Episcopal minister was brought to shout him down but the crowd, knowing the preacher himself lived an ungodly life, was drowned out with laughter.

Through his life, Benjamin Keach found himself fighting the fight for Baptist doctrine in a then-unfriendly situation.  He was noted as a staunch defender who always brought the discussion back to Scripture.  He was fined and threatened numerous other times.  Spurgeon, later writing about him, said that to people like Benjamin Keach, “we as Baptists owe our very existence.” 

Reverend Keach as a reformer as well.  It was common practice then in English churches that, if singing was to be done at all, it was limited to the Psalms.  Studying Scripture, Keach became convicted that music should be a part of the church’s service.  Introducing music he wrote at the observance of the Lord’s Supper, he won both friends and detractors.

Benjamin Keach is an example of a godly man who based his doctrine on the Word of God, and ensured his own life and his congregation followed suit.

Christian History e-mail, 08 Oct 2022

https://digitalpuritan.net/benjamin-keach/

Remegius of Reims

Remegius of Reims

Born to nobility in the city of Leon in Gaul (France) around the year 437, Remegius grew to be noted for his intellect and eloquence.  Having come to faith at an early age, he became the bishop of Reims at the age of 22 – a position he was given even though he had never even been a priest.

Gaul was ruled at this time by Clovis, the Germanic king who had united the warring tribes of Gaul.  Following the polytheistic warlike faith of his ancestors, Clovis married a believer named Clotilde.  Because of his wife, Clovis supported the church but feared that converting would weaken him politically and undermine the morale of his army.  However, during a crucial battle when things were going poorly Clovis cried out to Christ in desperation and imminent lost turned into a decisive victory.

Clovis immediately came to faith and asked Remigius for baptism.  In addition to the king, more than 3,000 of his soldiers were converted and baptized as well, on Christmas day, 496 AD.

Clovis, true to his new faith, deeded large tracts of land to the church throughout his kingdom and asked Remegius to oversee the establishment of dozens of churches.  He encouraged the churches to reach out to the barbarians on the frontier, converting many.  Remegius proved very efficient in the administration of these churches, and ensured the Arian heresy which was then plaguing the church was kept out of the churches he oversaw.  Remegius' efforts resulted in planting the church in large areas of what today is France, individual churches lasting centuries.

Over the years, a number of legends have sprung up around Remegius, mostly concerning miraculous healings.  A contemporary of his, Gregory of Tours, referred to Remegius as “a man of great learning, fond of rhetorical studies, and equal in his holiness to St Silvester.”  Remegius died in the year 533, at approximately age 93.

Christian History e-mail: 13 January 2022

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Remigius-of-Reims

https://www.episcopalchurch.org/glossary/remigius-of-reims/

https://historymedieval.com/clovis-i-the-first-king-of-the-franks/

https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=376