Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth. 2 Peter 1:12
Many of the Lord’s people in the Maritime Provinces (and I am sure in other parts as well) have fond memories of our late brother Albert Ramsay. He was not only a great Gospel preacher who never bored his audiences but also a great encourager of the saints. We well remember how often, during the middle of a conference meeting that was bogging down a bit and the audience getting a little drowsy, Albert Ramsay would make his way to the platform. Most sat up a little straighter, eagerly anticipating Albert’s message. Although he didn’t deliberately try to be funny, he drew more chuckles from his audiences than any other preacher as he got his points across effectively. Albert was no deep student and expositor of Scripture’s mysteries; in fact, he frequently apologized for serving leftovers. He did exactly what Peter tells us about in today’s text: he put us in remembrance of well-known and basic foundational doctrines. Some referred to him as the kindergarten teacher, always refreshing us with his presentations of the A-B-Cs of godly living, the rudimentary aspects of our faith and our Christianity. Albert Ramsay and Peter both knew that we need to be reminded over and over of basic truths.
A wise person once said if we don’t stand for something, we’ll fall for anything. One of the problems with many of our young people – and I am not blaming the young people – is that they haven’t been fed enough hash. They have heard too little teaching on the principles of our faith, on the truths of God’s Assembly, on the doctrine of separation. These things might be familiar to them, but they don’t know them off by heart. Because their grasp is so fuzzy and so incomplete, they can’t stand firm on these truths with a burning lifelong zeal. They need to have kindergarten repetition until the truths sink into not only their minds but also their deepest convictions.
Repetition need not be boring or tiresome. It certainly was interesting and refreshing coming from Albert Ramsay. We need to be reminded of these things again and again. If we sink our roots into the basics, the prevailing winds of compromise, ignorance, and apathy will not blow us away. -Jim MacIntosh