Protestant & Reformed?

On Saturday 6th May the United Kingdom witnessed a momentous and historic occasion as King Charles III was crowned King with large crowds in attendance outside of Westminster Abbey. Watching the event live on the BBC were in excess of eighteen million people. During the ceremony, the Archbishop of Canterbury called upon King Charles to make the following oath:

“Will you to the utmost of your power maintain the Laws of God and the true profession of the Gospel? Will you to the utmost of your power maintain in the United Kingdom the Protestant Reformed Religion established by law? Will you maintain and preserve inviolably the settlement of the Church of England, and the doctrine, worship, discipline, and government thereof, as by law established in England? And will you preserve unto the Bishops and Clergy of England, and to the Churches there committed to their charge, all such rights and privileges as by law do or shall appertain to them or any of them?”

This call to “uphold the Protestant and Reformed religion by law established” was a reminder that the Church of England was once a Reformed and Protestant church, and this was also reinforced by the liturgy throughout the coronation, and in particular Cranmer’s communion prayer:

“All glory be to thee, almighty God, our heavenly Father, who, of thy tender mercy,
 didst give thine only Son Jesus Christ to suffer death upon the cross for our redemption;
 who made there, by his one oblation of himself once offered, a full, perfect and sufficient sacrifice, oblation and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world; and did institute,
and in his holy gospel command us to continue, a perpetual memory of that his precious death, until his coming again.”

The Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also read beautifully from Colossians 1:9-17:

“For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness; Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.”

The great tragedy is that the established church has turned its back on God and His Word. In February of this year, the House of Bishops’ proposals to bless same-sex relationships were voted in at the General Synod, a clear sign of apostasy and a rejection of God’s Word and the Gospel itself. Without calling people to repent of their sin and believe in the Gospel of Christ crucified, there can be no true repentance that leads to life, or the forgiveness of sins and eternal life.

Sadly, the Church of England is neither Protestant or Reformed, and is now little more than apostate. And yet these ancient words of biblical truth cried out to us at the coronation of King Charles III akin to that of the prophet Jeremiah:

“Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.” (Jeremiah 6:16)

Let us pray for God’s mercy and grace for our new monarch, the established church and the nation, that we would indeed repent and find the old paths and walk in them.